Discovering the (mis) alignment of the cultural values of African Americans and HR policies and practices

Purpose The US workforce is becoming more diverse, encompassing a wide range of ethnicities, cultures, genders, ages and backgrounds. Further, the presence of African Americans in the workforce has evolved significantly over the years. This paper aims to identify the cultural values of African Americans and assess how well current HR policies and practices align with these values. The research utilizes Hofstede’s (1980) cultural values framework to gain insights into this dynamic. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a conceptual approach to analyze African American cultural values and utilized Hofstede’s (1980) cultural values framework to gain insights into them. We analyze African American cultural values and focus on individualism/collectivism, power distance and long-term/short-term orientation. Findings This study advances the idea that organizations can significantly benefit from understanding the cultural values of African Americans and other minority groups. We found that there was misalignment between current HR practices and policies and African American employees. By aligning HR practices and policies with African American cultural values or other minority groups’ cultural values, organizations may be able to increase job satisfaction and thus lower turnover in African Americans and other minority workers. Practical implications This study emphasized that organizations stand to gain significantly by understanding African American cultural perspectives. Presently, there is a misalignment between existing practices and policies and the needs of non-Anglo-American employees. Aligning these practices and policies with African American cultural values can improve organizational effectiveness and help reduce employee turnover. We offer practical implications for organizational leaders. Originality/value The study’s findings indicate if current HR policies and practices align with African American cultural values, and we discuss the implications of this alignment for reducing turnover and suggest directions for future research.