Contributions the younger employees do not want

Contributions and limitationsThis study hascontributed to understanding culture by using Hofstede’s (1983) original fourdimensions of national cultures and the findings showed that Confucianism isimportant in explaining the Korean culture. Confucianism considers age as aselection requirement.

Furthermore, Korean organisations are influenced by hardwork, the degree of sacrifice andsocial limitation of the female workforce and such HR practices are not universalisticbut particularistic under Confucianism as it plays a major role in the industrialisation process of East Asian areas, suchas China, Japan and Korea (Kim & Park, 2003; Chan, 1996; Yu & Lee, 1995; Yum, 1988).  Hofstede’s (1991) work did notinclude the demographic breakdown of the employees from an empirical survey andtherefore this research furtherdeveloped the Hofstede’s model. The research included a survey of all levels ofemployees and investigated the relationship between demographic variables suchas ‘ age’ and ‘ gender’ including culture.  Hofstede (1991) suggested thatthere was a very slow change in culture, however some indications from thefindings of the research showed that certain parts of culture are changingquickly: the younger employees do not want toomuch unequal power relationship from the management, also the female employeesare not happy with not getting enough promotion opportunities and the constantsexual harassment from senior managers.

The younger generation seem tohave a more critical view about these issues than the older generation.  What lead to the change in the perspectivesof younger people? This could be associated with the change in attitude of theyounger generation impacted by western ideas and practices. They have observedthe weakening of the Confucian tradition and the increased number ofwell-educated and professionally trained women in the workforce (Chee , 2001; Palley, 1992). This researchhas demonstrated new contributions to the theoretical development of ‘ aestheticlabour’, rather than Hofstede’s national culture.  In the Tourism Promotion Act the quality standards suggesthiring aesthetic labour is common in the Korean hotel industry.

This indicatesthat the aesthetic labour can be sectioned according to hotel class, suggestingthat the high star rating hotels value the importance of “ aesthetic” attributesof the labour force more compared to budget hotels.  In asimilar vein, theauthors have found a new term, whichis ‘ cosmetic employment’ that has very distinctive employee relations within Korea when compared to othercountries.  In order to enhance future job prospects, for example the case of gettinga better job or not fail to get a job, some applicants undergo plastic surgery, and that clearly shows that physical appearance is an important factor forobtaining employment in Korea. This is an uncommon employment strategy and dueto the popularity of ‘ cosmetic employment’ practices this has led to potentialemployees spending a large amount of money on cosmetics and cosmetic surgeriesto be considered by management who see this as good practice. The aestheticconsideration is not related to Hofstede’s concept and is described as acharacteristic of the Korean culture. Thisresearch has developed a new SHRM model (Figure 3) by embedding a combinationof best fit and best practice in a new framework, (Figure 1) sourced by 3different data of HR managers, employees and trade unions.  It shows the specific drivers and type of HRpractices related to employee outcomes. The SHRM model was examined for Korean deluxehotels, however it can be used in other countries.

This model can be used tounderstand the relationship between the employees’ outcomes and the distinctiveHR practices produced in a country; the key drivers (i. e. business strategy, culture, legislation, trade unions, and financial context) are associated withboth best fit and best practice; which leads to improving our understanding ofpositive and negative employee outcomes. The model also demonstrates howsuccessful outcomes can be measured regarding the employees’ feelings abouttheir organisation.

Our SHRM could beused internationally compared to other traditional SHRM models, and thereforewe propose that our model can be used in Asian and Western countries. The purposeof this model is to help develop an understanding of positive and negativeoutcomes for employees in relation to HR practices, under the headings of specific drivers. The HR practices related to positive employees’feelings are training, job security and the role of trade unions. Employeesenjoy training, which are operated by the Korean legislation. These HRpractices lead to positive employees’ outcomes, and therefore this is why thegovernment policies should be supported in this area.  Employees, itwas found, like trade unions to be involved with management; they feel happyabout welfare and welfare facilities trade unions organised, and they werefound to be helpful for employees. Therefore managers need to continue engagingin a positive way with trade unions because this brings positive outcomes forboth sides.  On the other hand, lookingat negative feelings, employees were generally not happy with an unjustrecruitment process, unjustpromotion, unfair transfer of personnel decided by company policy, and the recruitment of atypical employees which is driven by the financialcontext.

It is a truism that a happyworkforce is a more productive one, it is thereforeimportant to see what practices makeemployees feel better. Employeesfind unfair recruitment and selection processes, biased promotions, andinappropriate transfers unreasonable. Inparticular, younger employees do not like HR practices such as widespreadnepotism intheir hotel. Therefore, HR management need to be moreobjective when finding methods for recruitment, make clearer promotionguidelines, and consider the suitable departments for employees.  In conclusion, regarding the HR practices writtenabove, this demonstrates how the government and company policies can impact theemployees’ perspective and their attitudes and thus their outcomes at work. We would argue that itis crucial for a successful business to understand the negative impacts of HRpolicies in their organisation; in doing so they are able to adjust policies tomake employees feel better andmaintain positive outcomes for all employees.

As discussed above, company and government policyneed to respond to each HR practice, therefore the control of HR practices bypolicy makers are very important in this area.  The limitation of the research is due to the cross-sectional design, and thus a longitudinalresearch needs to be conducted to gain a reliable and detailed observation ofthe relationship between the employees’ outcomes and SHRM over time. As a result, the problems of cross-sectional design in this research will be addressed further.  For instance, how the relationshipbetween government and company policy changed during the global financialcrisis, and how at the start of the crisis this impacted the HR practices andinfluenced employee outcomes.   Distinctive HR practice Recruitment and selection Training and development Performance appraisal Job design Job security Compensation and pay system Service quality issues Empoyee voice and consultation Best fit Theoretical frameworks Best practice Employee outcomes Positive outcomes Negative outcomes Business strategy Culture Legislation Trade unions Financial context Key drivers Figure 3 A New Strategic Human Resource ManagementModel         Contributions and limitationsThis study hascontributed to understanding culture by using Hofstede’s (1983) original fourdimensions of national cultures and the findings showed that Confucianism isimportant in explaining the Korean culture. Confucianism considers age as aselection requirement. Furthermore, Korean organisations are influenced by hardwork, the degree of sacrifice andsocial limitation of the female workforce and such HR practices are not universalisticbut particularistic under Confucianism as it plays a major role in the industrialisation process of East Asian areas, suchas China, Japan and Korea (Kim & Park, 2003; Chan, 1996; Yu & Lee, 1995; Yum, 1988).

Hofstede’s (1991) work did notinclude the demographic breakdown of the employees from an empirical survey andtherefore this research furtherdeveloped the Hofstede’s model. The research included a survey of all levels ofemployees and investigated the relationship between demographic variables suchas ‘ age’ and ‘ gender’ including culture.  Hofstede (1991) suggested thatthere was a very slow change in culture, however some indications from thefindings of the research showed that certain parts of culture are changingquickly: the younger employees do not want toomuch unequal power relationship from the management, also the female employeesare not happy with not getting enough promotion opportunities and the constantsexual harassment from senior managers.

The younger generation seem tohave a more critical view about these issues than the older generation.  What lead to the change in the perspectivesof younger people? This could be associated with the change in attitude of theyounger generation impacted by western ideas and practices. They have observedthe weakening of the Confucian tradition and the increased number ofwell-educated and professionally trained women in the workforce (Chee &Levkoff, 2001; Palley, 1992). This researchhas demonstrated new contributions to the theoretical development of ‘ aestheticlabour’, rather than Hofstede’s national culture.  In the Tourism Promotion Act the quality standards suggesthiring aesthetic labour is common in the Korean hotel industry.

This indicatesthat the aesthetic labour can be sectioned according to hotel class, suggestingthat the high star rating hotels value the importance of “ aesthetic” attributesof the labour force more compared to budget hotels.  In asimilar vein, theauthors have found a new term, whichis ‘ cosmetic employment’ that has very distinctive employee relations within Korea when compared to othercountries.  In order to enhance future job prospects, for example the case of gettinga better job or not fail to get a job, some applicants undergo plastic surgery, and that clearly shows that physical appearance is an important factor forobtaining employment in Korea. This is an uncommon employment strategy and dueto the popularity of ‘ cosmetic employment’ practices this has led to potentialemployees spending a large amount of money on cosmetics and cosmetic surgeriesto be considered by management who see this as good practice.

The aestheticconsideration is not related to Hofstede’s concept and is described as acharacteristic of the Korean culture. Thisresearch has developed a new SHRM model (Figure 3) by embedding a combinationof best fit and best practice in a new framework, (Figure 1) sourced by 3different data of HR managers, employees and trade unions.  It shows the specific drivers and type of HRpractices related to employee outcomes. The SHRM model was examined for Korean deluxehotels, however it can be used in other countries. This model can be used tounderstand the relationship between the employees’ outcomes and the distinctiveHR practices produced in a country; the key drivers (i. e. business strategy, culture, legislation, trade unions, and financial context) are associated withboth best fit and best practice; which leads to improving our understanding ofpositive and negative employee outcomes. The model also demonstrates howsuccessful outcomes can be measured regarding the employees’ feelings abouttheir organisation.

Our SHRM could beused internationally compared to other traditional SHRM models, and thereforewe propose that our model can be used in Asian and Western countries. The purposeof this model is to help develop an understanding of positive and negativeoutcomes for employees in relation to HR practices, under the headings of specific drivers. The HR practices related to positive employees’feelings are training, job security and the role of trade unions. Employeesenjoy training, which are operated by the Korean legislation.

These HRpractices lead to positive employees’ outcomes, and therefore this is why thegovernment policies should be supported in this area.  Employees, itwas found, like trade unions to be involved with management; they feel happyabout welfare and welfare facilities trade unions organised, and they werefound to be helpful for employees. Therefore managers need to continue engagingin a positive way with trade unions because this brings positive outcomes forboth sides.  On the other hand, lookingat negative feelings, employees were generally not happy with an unjustrecruitment process, unjustpromotion, unfair transfer of personnel decided by company policy, and the recruitment of atypical employees which is driven by the financialcontext.

It is a truism that a happyworkforce is a more productive one, it is thereforeimportant to see what practices makeemployees feel better. Employeesfind unfair recruitment and selection processes, biased promotions, andinappropriate transfers unreasonable. Inparticular, younger employees do not like HR practices such as widespreadnepotism intheir hotel. Therefore, HR management need to be moreobjective when finding methods for recruitment, make clearer promotionguidelines, and consider the suitable departments for employees.  In conclusion, regarding the HR practices writtenabove, this demonstrates how the government and company policies can impact theemployees’ perspective and their attitudes and thus their outcomes at work. We would argue that itis crucial for a successful business to understand the negative impacts of HRpolicies in their organisation; in doing so they are able to adjust policies tomake employees feel better andmaintain positive outcomes for all employees.

As discussed above, company and government policyneed to respond to each HR practice, therefore the control of HR practices bypolicy makers are very important in this area.  The limitation of the research is due to the cross-sectional design, and thus a longitudinalresearch needs to be conducted to gain a reliable and detailed observation ofthe relationship between the employees’ outcomes and SHRM over time. As a result, the problems of cross-sectional design in this research will be addressed further.

For instance, how the relationshipbetween government and company policy changed during the global financialcrisis, and how at the start of the crisis this impacted the HR practices andinfluenced employee outcomes.   Distinctive HR practice Recruitment and selection Training and development Performance appraisal Job design Job security Compensation and pay system Service quality issues Empoyee voice and consultation Best fit Theoretical frameworks Best practice Employee outcomes Positive outcomes Negative outcomes Business strategy Culture Legislation Trade unions Financial context Key drivers Figure 3 A New Strategic Human Resource ManagementModel