Changing Patterns Of Human Resource Management In Contemporary China

This edited volume first considers the economic background of the recent changes in HRM in the People's Republic of China from 1978 to the present day, exploring the change from a command economy to a more market-led one. It then goes on to look at the demise of so-called 'iron rice bowl' policy once dominated by a Soviet-inspired Personnel Management model to one now characterized by possibly Japanese, as well as Western-influenced HRM, albeit with what are widely described as 'Chinese characteristics'. Finally, it concludes with a comparative analysis of the contributions in the book on China vis-a-vis an appraisal of these with the national HRM systems of Japan and South Korea. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the similarities and differences of contemporary human resource management systems, processes and practices in the two increasingly important economic great powers in Asia. It covers the full range of human resource management activities, including recruitment, retention, performance management, renumeration, and career development, discusses changing industrial relations systems, and sets the subject in its historical, social and cultural contexts. It examines newly emerging strategies, and asssesses the extent to which human resource management systems in the two countries are coverging or diverging.

The approach to managing human resources has changed significantly in China over the last twenty-five years as its transformation from a state planned economy to a market-oriented economy continues. By adopting a broad notion of HRM, while remaining sympathetic to the strong emphasis on relationship management in the Chinese culture, Fang Lee Cooke builds on the foundations of traditional Chinese HRM practice and brings it right up to date, including analysis of currently under-explored issues such as diversity management, talent management, new pay schemes, and performance management. Including extensive first hand empirical data and pedagogical features such as vignettes, case studies, and further reading lists. This book will be of great use on upper level undergraduate, post graduate and MBA courses covering international/Chinese management and HRM as well as appealing to practitioners, students and scholars of Chinese Business, Asian Business and Human Resource Management.

This book explores the diversity and dynamism of China’s workplaces and of the wider labour market experiences of its workforce. Drawing on the authors’ extensive recent research, it considers a diverse range of issues and types of workplaces. These changes include: the continuing spread of market-oriented human resource management across public and private sector organisations; greater employment rights for workers; local diversity in regulatory control alongside the governmental priority of a ‘harmonious society’; persistent shortages of skilled labour co-existing with vast underemployment amongst the unskilled; uneven access to education and training across regions; and changes in union behaviour and influence. Unlike other studies - which tend to assume changes to management, work and employment are relatively uniform across modernising parts of the economy - this book conveys the rich variety among contemporary China’s local labour markets by looking at them, and the institutions that influence them, from the bottom-up. It focuses on other under-explored but emerging phenomena such as family-owned firms, the role of private services businesses, and the emergence of employer associations.

This edited work attempts to ‘make sense’ of recent developments in the field of Human Resource Management in the People’s Republic of China. It attempts to see how the paradoxes and contradictions engendered by contemporary Chinese society are being resolved in the enterprises and workplaces of the Middle Kingdom. The book starts with an overview of the literature, then follows with a selection of micro-oriented, concerned with topics like recruitment and retention, then macro-oriented empirical studies, a number of the latter dealing with strategic as well as performance issues, with last, those comparing sets of societal cultural values. It attempts a synthesis of what has emerged from recent research on the ‘harmonious society’. These contributions from authors based in universities in eight countries, in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA, cover a wide range of research on HRM, from the micro- to the macro-. Six of them teach and/or research at campuses on the Mainland. Their empirical, field-based research covers the last half-decade and presents a robust picture of both what practitioners have adopted and how researchers have tried to ‘make sense’ of what they have investigated. This book was based on a special issue of Intl Journal of Human Resource Management.

Whither Chinese management? The Middle Kingdom has come a long way since the economic reforms were introduced after 1978. As ownership has opened up and has become more fragmented, the state-owned firms no longer dominate the scene, nor does their management model. Managing has also become more complex and diversified, as well as more professional. This book asks what the next steps are likely to be and will assess the current directions in which Chinese managers are developing, as its economy slows down in the face of global uncertainty. It aims to update previous works in the field covering business and management in these countries. It covers a wide range of topics, including banking, competition, employee satisfaction, expatriates, industrial relations, HRM, organization, SMEs, social responsibility, strategic sourcing, trust and so on. The book also asks in which future directions management may be moving in this important part of the international economy. The authors are all experts in their fields and are all based in universities and business schools in countries such as Australia and the UK, among others. The work is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students in business administration especially those on MBA programmes, as well as those studying development economics, management studies and related courses, including lecturers in those subjects. This book was published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

Enhancing our understanding of HRM in the Chinese industrial sector, this book explores the emerging role of HRM in China's industrial enterprises. A significant contribution to the theory of HRM, this book will be essential reading for students and researchers of Business and Management, HRM and Asian Business.