HR Management Company Studies

The country I have chosen to look further into is Switzerland. Based on what I’ve found, their cultural dimensions are somewhat similar to the United States’. They are a country that has more of an equalized distribution of power, one that values open communication. But they don’t like it when leadership is challenged. They value privacy and believe that there should be a clear line between work and one’s personal lives. The United States scored higher in these dimensions as they value similar things (WordPress). Workplaces in Switzerland focus on achievements and success while being optimistic. This is something the United States also scored high on but they believe that it is important to focus on the short-term rather than the long-term. Overall, there were some similarities between Switzerland and the United States in terms of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. 

A factor I would need to heavily consider is the type of working environment and work culture I would be entering. As mentioned in the lecture video W10 Lecture 5 – Managing Expatriates, countries have different working environments that could produce a challenge for some employees. This is something I would need to research as I’d want it to align with my values and environments I’m comfortable in. I’d also want to think about how I would be compensated and if they would pay for any relocating costs I would incur. Moving to another country can be very expensive so I’d want to make sure that some or all of those costs are covered by the company. If they were, then I would probably take the job. The last factor I would consider is the type of norms in the country and the workplace itself. I wouldn’t want to offend anyone and would want to make sure that I am fully prepared before moving. All of these factors would influence my decision to relocate to a different country. 

Sources:

United-States-hofstede.pdf. (n.d.-h). https://alingavreliuc.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/united-states-hofstede.pdf

Labour market information: Switzerland. EURES (EURopean Employment Services). (n.d.). https://eures.europa.eu/living-and-working/labour-market-information/labour-market-information-switzerland_en

Berith. (2019, December 4). Culture and workplace values in Switzerland and the Nordic countries. Norgesklubben Sveits. https://www.norgesklubben.ch/culture-and-workplace-values-in-switzerland-and-the-nordics/?lang=en

W10 Lecture 5 – Managing Expatriates [Lecture Video], Canvas.

Based on my results from the 3 assessments, I am someone that has a high level of stress in my life and I’m a mix between a Type A and Type B personality. I got so used to being constantly stressed out, due to balancing school and work, that I don’t recognize that it isn’t normal to be stressed out all the time. I think this is something that a lot of people deal with because in that moment, one doesn’t think about how long it’s been since they weren’t stressed. I’ve only realized it after taking the assessments and thinking about how I am constantly creating a checklist in my head of everything I have to get done for the next day. 

I think as I progress through my professional career, I should start creating a routine for myself in the morning before I get ready for the day. Having a routine that I can rely on has always been a way to calm myself down in high stress situations. It helps me feel more prepared for the day if I’m starting off on a good note. Another thing I can do to help manage my stress would be to have a designated time in the day where I stop thinking about everything I have to get done and instead do things that I want to do.

Some of the ways organizations help manage their employees’ stress levels is by implementing policies and programs that focus on flexible work arrangements and help disperse people’s workloads. Another way they can help is by training their managers to help employees that are stressed out. Some organizations have also set up counseling services so that employees have someone they can talk to. All of these programs make sure that employees aren’t getting burnt out and that they feel supported by the organization. 

Sources:

Frumar, M.-L. A. and C. (2025, October 13). Help your employees cope with stress. Gallup.com. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/509726/help-employees-cope-stress.aspx

When I started  working at my current job, there was a worker there that would complain about how much money he was getting paid. He believed that for the amount of effort and work he was putting into the job, he should’ve gotten paid more. It got to a point where everyone knew this about him and usually avoided the topic. Then, his performance started to get worse and it was evident that he didn’t care about the job anymore. His effort significantly decreased and it was difficult to work with him since he wouldn’t do what was needed of him. He made more work for everyone else since he began doing it all wrong. 

Management tried to fix this issue by talking to him and finding a way to help increase his effort level. They discussed incentive plans as they are designed to help motivate employees productivity levels (W8 Lecture 4). But, he wasn’t interested in the job anymore as he found another one that paid an amount he was happy with. This example shows that compensation can have a significant impact on an employee’s productivity levels at their job. Compensation and incentive plans need to be carefully thought out in the effort of retaining employees. I think that my workplace should create an individual-based incentives program since they help retain the best performing employees and reward employees who put effort into their jobs (W8 Lecture 5). I think that the employee in this situation was out of line to make it harder for everyone else at work due to him not liking how much he was getting paid. But, it does reflect on the workplace that there were no incentives plans put in place to help retain employees. 

Sources:

Cieri. M, W8 Lecture 4 – Overview of Incentives [Lecture Video], Canvas

Cieri. M, W8 Lecture 5 – Designing Incentives Programs [Lecture Video], Canvas

A training that I found beneficial was when I was promoted to a higher position that required me shadowing someone for a few months. I am a hands-on learner which made shadowing someone the most effective type of training I could get for that job. This type of training experience made me feel more secure and confident in the role that I was taking on. This was also a time where I was not confident in the new role I was about to enter, so having someone I could voice my concerns to, helped me gain more confidence. In the lecture video W6 Lecture 4 – Development, it mentions how interpersonal relationships, like mentoring, can help employees move up into new positions and make them more comfortable with the change. This was the case with me during this training experience.

A training experience that I did not find beneficial was a job I had this past summer as an administrative assistant. The training was a week long with my boss discussing how to do the tasks that were required of us. He was talking the entire time and I didn’t retain any of the information because I’m a hands-on learner. It was also a lot of information he threw at me in a short amount of time. I eventually learned how to perform the job, but that was after my training ended and I started performing the tasks. In the lecture video W6 Lecture 1 – Training, it goes over the selection of training methods. One of the ways they determine which method fits the job is if the information is discussed in a memorable way. This experience was lacking that aspect which made it more difficult to understand the job.

Sources

Cieri. M, W6 Lecture 4 – Development [Lecture Video], Canvas

Cieri. M, W6 Lecture 1 – Training [Lecture Video], Canvas

Implicit bias could greatly affect the validity of a selection process. People generalize things everyday and a lot of people don’t think anything of it. Like the article Understanding Implicit Bias – and How to Work Through It by Keith Payne, et al. discussed, implicit bias is everywhere and people don’t realize they are doing it until someone directly talks about it. When I was taking the Project Implicit Social Attitudes tests, I was more comfortable being around older people than younger people because I viewed older people as ones who are warm, kind, and caring. That is also the general idea I grew up hearing. Everyone is implicitly biased, people begin to notice it when their actions reflect that bias. 

In terms of the reliability and validity of a selection process, implicit bias can make the process reliable but not valid. It would be reliable in the sense that the process would continue to generate similar results. If the person that is administering the process is implicitly biased against specific groups of people, they can use this process over and over again and get similar results. But, those results would not be valid. It would not be accurate due to the fact that people who are qualified for the job will most likely get passed over for someone underqualified.

I think that by having a selection process where multiple people from different backgrounds are a part of, it will help keep implicit bias out of the process. In the article Understanding Implicit Bias by NC State University, it discusses how having open discussions about this problem can help address it and figure out how to fix it. I think both of these solutions will help limit how much implicit bias is in the workplace and the selection process.

Sources:

Payne, K., Niemi, L., & Doris, J. M. (2024, February 20). How to think about “implicit bias.” Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/Rcleahey. (2019a, September 13). Why we must understand and address implicit bias. Office of Equal Opportunity. https://equalopportunity.ncsu.edu/news/2019/09/13/why-we-must-understand-and-address-implicit-bias-2/

The first time I interviewed for a job, I was 15 and the manager simply asked “Do you want to work here?” and I responded with “Yep”. That was how I got my first job, until I started interviewing for jobs after I got to college. Most of these interviews were conducted online which I found to be ineffective since it took away the personal connection between the interviewer and the interviewee. The interviews I was a part of were very well structured with open ended questions. But, the process wasn’t effective because with the way they were structured, it was difficult for the interviewees to showcase who they were in 20 minutes or less. I wouldn’t say this structure is valid across a variety of different jobs since each job has different characteristics to them. For example, a heavily structured interview for photographers wouldn’t be effective since the job would entail taking photographs and showcasing their talent. I think structured interviews are best for office jobs and ones that are more task oriented.

One improvement I would advise is to try and have the interview take place in person if possible. A lot of employers use Zoom or Teams to hold virtual interviews because it’s easier, but if the interviewee lives close to the company, they should prioritize having the interview in person. There is a lot that you can learn about someone based on their nonverbal communication which is something that is difficult to see over a video screen. Another piece of advice I have to improve the effectiveness of the interviews I was a part of is to ask more questions that allow the interviewee to show who they are. Most interviewers ask them “Tell me about yourself”, but they should have more questions that open the interviewee up. Ones that help them explain the experiences they’ve had and how it shaped them to who they are today.

Company Satisfaction Ratings

The first company I chose to look at was Nvidia. They have a 95% employee satisfaction rating due to the fact that their employees loved the amount of collaboration, closeness and transparency between upper level management and the employees. One thing that I found interesting is most of them expressed that if this company were to lay off anyone, they would know that it’s because it was a last resort for the company. This shows the amount of trust they have and that Nvidia doesn’t see them just as costs but added value for the company.

The second company I decided to look into was the Zillow Group who has an employee satisfaction rating of 92%. They offer great employee benefits which goes to show how they take care of their employees and the trust that they have built. During my research I found that most of their employees have been there for less than 2 years or from 2-5 years. This demographic is something that HR takes into consideration when creating and implementing their processes and policies.

The last company I decided to look into was the Target Corporation who has an employee satisfaction score of 74%. Since it is one of the largest U.S. retail companies, it makes sense why the score is smaller than the other two companies. They have a lot more employees and people to manage. Most employees said that Target gives them the resources to help set them up for success in their job. They also prioritize community involvement which helps foster a positive organizational culture.

Type of Manager I Want to Be

I would like to be the type of manager that always has their door open for employees. I believe that fostering a good professional relationship for every employee will help boost organizational culture and help mitigate any problems that may arise. I would also like to be a type of manager that puts their employees first because I believe that is extremely important when increasing their motivation and quality of work. They should be on the floor working with their employees rather than sitting at their desk with an invisible barrier between them.

Challenges for Managers

I think the most difficult part about being a manager is balancing productivity and employee’s wellbeing. Managers are expected to get each employee performing at their highest level. But this can also easily cause burn out and decrease the quality of their work. Trying to balance the two is difficult for managers especially since each employee is different when it comes to motivation and what works best for them.