''In some cases, the degree of sophistication of HR practices is high, although the
constraints imposed by the government regulations result in significant inefficiencies for
those who have a professional approach to HRM focusing on fair compensation,
prevention of occupational health and safety problems, development of the workers, etc.
Some westerners might argue that there should be greater empowerment of the workers
and greater involvement in the decision-making processes at the firm level. However, the
profile of organizational behavior is quite different to that of western countries and to
many other Asian countries. Hofstede (cited in Stening & Ngan, 1997) places Indonesians
as very high in power distance and collectivism and quite high in ‘‘femininity’’ and in
‘‘uncertainty avoidance,’’ although other researchers have found that there is a narrowing
of the differences between Indonesian and American managers compared to Hofstede’s
earlier findings (Heuer, Cummings, & Hutabarat, 1999). As further evidence of more
convergence than commonly perceived, Habir and Larasati (1999) have found cases of a
number of large Indonesian companies (including state enterprises) that are successfully
implementing such international practices as empowerment, participation, and incentiveoriented
human resource systems. Based on these cases, the authors argue that the
Indonesian culture is not necessarily an obstacle to such practices, as is so often
perceived.