HRM in Chile: the impact of organisational culture
| Date | 24 April 2009 |
| Pages | 276-294 |
| Published date | 24 April 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450910946479 |
| Author | Jenny K. Rodriguez,Carlos F. Gomez |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
HRM in Chile: the impact
of organisational culture
Jenny K. Rodriguez
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, and
Carlos F. Gomez
University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to provide insight on the influence of organisational culture on human
resource management (HRM) practices in Chile by exploring shared meanings (basic assumptions and
beliefs) and organisational models that can be identified from activities, dynamics, social relationships
and behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on research conducted in Chile where a
combination of self-completion questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and non-participant
observation was carried out in a non-probabilistic sample of 46 organisations.
Findings – Findings suggest that there is a shared definition of work characterised by five elements;
namely, the existence of great work pressure exerted by managers; a sustained focus of upper levels on
organisational efficiency as an isolated element that does not include HRM; the inexistence of worker
autonomy and empowerment; the use of administrative jargon and understandings of loyalty,
dedication, compliance and professionalism as desired qualities in workers. The paper argues that
there are three distinct categories of cultural discourse in Chilean organisations: pessimistic/fatalistic,
optimistic/maniac and pragmatic/bureaucratic.
Research limitations/implications – Owing to the type of sampling used, findings cannot be
taken to represent the whole of Chilean organisations.
Practical implications – Data presented in this paper help in understanding many of the
behaviours observed in Chilean organisations, which provides HR policy-makers and practitioners
with sounder foundations for designing organisational programs, policies and action plans.
Originality/value – The paper presents new evidence to increase the empirical body of work
addressing the relationship between organisational culture and HRM in developing countries,
particularly in Latin America.
Keywords Chile, Organizational culture, Humanresource management, Business administration
Paper type Research paper
Yo estoy ausente pero en el fondo de esta ausencia
Hay la espera de mi mismo
Y esta espera es otro modo de presencia
La espera de mi retorno[1] (Vicente Huidobro).
1. Introduction
The relationship between human resource management (HRM) and employment
relations (Guest, 1991) would make questionable the suitability of this paper for a
special issue on employment relations. However, whilst the argument that HRM’s
unitarist frame of reference conflicts with employment relations’ pluralist approach
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
ER
31,3
276
Received 31 May 2008
Revised 23 August 2008
Accepted 24 September
2008
Employee Relations
Vol. 31 No. 3, 2009
pp. 276-294
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450910946479
(Legge, 1991; Storey, 1991; Torrington, 1991) remains valid; it is also the case that the
traditional focus of employment relations on trade unions and their activities has
changed and there is an increasing interest in management perspectives, which
includes HRM. An example of this is the work of Flanders on the Fawley experiment
(Flanders, 1970), which is considered to illustrate managerial initiatives in employment
relations (Ahlstrand, 1990).
Similarly, the relationship between HRM and organisational culture is complex.
Literature on organisational culture (Schein, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1999; Kilman et al., 1986;
Byrne, 1987; Bowles, 1989; Alvesson, 1990; Buchowicz, 1990; Denison, 1990; Calori and
Sarnin, 1991; Check-Teck, 1992; Cawood, 2008) has mainly emphasised its impact on
organisational efficiency. Nevertheless, historical divisions between hard and soft
elements of management have hindered closer looks at its relationship with HRM.
HRM is seen as a soft component lacking strategic edge and not a mainstream
management activity (Guest, 1987).
Complexity increases as debates on meaning and main purpose continue to develop
in both areas (Ogbonna, 1992; Legge, 1995; Alvesson and Due Billing, 1997; Gomez and
Rodriguez, 2001; Rodriguez, 2001). An important debate discusses how organisational
culture operates in the form of shared meanings that can be observed at different
levels; from the more visually recognisable ones, such as artefacts and creations; to
more indiscernible ones such as assumptions and philosophies (Schein, 1985 , 1999;
Schultz, 1994). This functionalist approach has been linked to HRM as it sets the
ground for possible uses of HRM to perpetuate “desirable” work cultures.
In addition, the notion of culturally-sound, context-bound practices became vital to
the debate on universalist versus contextual paradigms in HRM (Brewster, 2007). This
meant shifting from generic standardised HRM models towards a more inclusive
thought-out approach where context is crucial to determine the best way to “do” HRM.
This relationship has been researched (Buono, 2005; Bunch, 2007; Taylor et al., 2008)
by exploring its influence on, and interaction with external and internal factors
affecting organisations (Arogyaswamy and Byles, 1987).
This paper focuses on the relationship between HRM and organisational culture in
Chile, particularly discussing shared meanings and models that can be identified from
activities, dynamics, social relationships and behaviours. Its rationale is that analys ing
the underlying principles of HRM practices and their perpetuation by organisational
cultures could be used to inform employment policy-making and practices in order to
move away from the corporativist approach and change employment relation
dynamics.
Following this introduction; the paper is organised in four sections. Section 2
provides general overview of work and employment in Chile and discusses
organisational research in Chile. Section 3 covers methodology. Section 4 presents
findings and the last section concludes.
2. Work, employment and organisations in Chile
With a population of almost 17 million, figures by the Instituto Nacional de
Estadisticas (INE) [Institute of National Statistics] for the period April-June 2008
indicate that 43 per cent of the population is actively employed, and there is an
unemployment rate of 8.4 per cent (INE, 2008a). Workforce is distributed in three
HRM in Chile
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