The management of a globally competent workforce certainly demands that leaders have an organizational vision and an attitude that are in line with culture. As such, the propagation of `culture compatibility' as the vital ingredient of Global HRM acquires a logical justification based on many psychological parameters. This article looks at the imperativeness of culture compatibility which is applicable to the fast-emerging trans-national corporations that demand a `culture agenda'. It also draws attention to the much-needed `culture management' in organizations.

The name of Infosys chief mentor Narayana Murthy gets a thumbs up from President APJ Abdul Kalam himself as a choice to succeed him and there is a overwhelming response from India Inc. to the proposal. On the one hand, India's business legend is once again in the news by getting endorsement from the corporate circles that his role as the `achiever' in the corporate sector has to culminate into President of India. On the other hand, his two decades of virtuous performance as one of the wealth creators in the Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) era received a jolt with the National Anthem episode that took place at the Infosys premises a few months ago. The chief mentor's controversial remarks about the playing of a recorded (instrumental) version of the National Anthem in the presence of President of India, while fulfilling the protocol formality, raises a new horizon of knowledge on how to treat the workforce beyond cultural lines. It sheds a new light on the management of HR in the changed scenario. We call it `culture compatibility'.

It's not just an attempt to avoid `embarrassment' for the non-Indian workforce at the time of reciting India's National Anthem but also signifies the attitude of corporate management towards employees' sensibilities and their protection," opines Professor UR Ananta Murty, the literary icon of Karnataka. However, some of the people with whom I informally discussed the issue were of a divided opinion. A few of them responded with a chauvinistic bent of mind, deploring the act as unwanted and as a breach of protocol formality by the matured personality (who is expected to become the President of India if everything goes well). Keeping in view the locus standi of the company (Infosys)'s operations, there should be an earnest attempt to protect the cultural values cherished by the nation, unmindful of the beliefs and attitudes of minorities (other nationals), argues K Rajendra Naidu, an employee of TCS in London.

HRM Review Magazine, Culture Compatibility, Psychological Parameters, Transnational Corporations, Culture Management, Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization, Corporate Management, Organizational Hierarchies, Human Resources Management, Global Human Resources Management, Multinational Organizations, Multinational Enterprises, IT-enabled Services, Cross-cultural Teams.