The paper examines the impact of globalization on culture, social norms and human resource management, especially on the norms for overall success, work achievements and factors promoting success at work based on focus group interviews conducted in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The study deliberates on how multinational firms can take a stronger leadership role in influencing the way people think about business and practices of multinational firms in transition economies.

In a rapidly changing modern world, forecasting people's work behavior is often a risky business. The field of organizational behavior is no exception in this respect. From the early days of theories on organizational behavior, business schools have increasingly focused on the importance of the human factor. More recent conceptual approaches have centered on social and cultural components regarding organizations and people in an attempt to explain different organizational behavior. National culture and values have also been used to explain a wide range of differences between countries, groups and individuals' values (Hofstede, 1980; Low, 2002). These differences can lead to substantive variations in the way organizations operate in various parts of the world. However, little attention has been given to the study of the differences of organizational (national) culture in Transition Economies; in particular, the study of culture, life and work values can vary markedly in concepts and level of analysis. If culture can be clustered to pinpoint regional similarities and if these similarities significantly surpass global similarities, then it may be viable to adjust standard management practices.

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