This volume looks at the relationship between society and human resource management (HRM) in China. In doing so it asks how representative the latter is of the former. The contributors argue that there needs to be a minimum degree of consonance between these two variables if HRM is to be sufficiently underpinned by social reality. It is only in a wider framework that ‘people-management’ in general – and in China in particular – can be fully understood, whether through theory or through practice. Society and HRM in China explores the changes in Chinese society over the last century and then goes on to analyse how these changes have shaped China’s HRM.
Arguably, HRM did not emerge from the void; it was shaped by the societal culture from which it sprung and the economic forces influencing its institutions and organizations. However, there is very little academic literature about the relationship between contemporary Chinese society and its HRM which isn’t extremely specific. As such, much of the research in this collection is not only relatively representative but also highly cross-sectional. The contributions are all drawn from experts in the field across the disciplines, hailing from a diverse range of national origins and educational institutions. They cover a wide range of topics, approaches and emphases.
This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
1. Society and HRM in China Malcolm Warner
2. Explaining the human resource management preferences of employees: a study of Chinese workers Ziming Cai, Jonathan Llewelyn Morris and Jing Chen
3. The impact of Chinese cultural values on human resource policies and practices within transnational corporations in China Yu Fu and Nicolina Kamenou
4. Multiple foci and bases of commitment in a Chinese workforce Andy W. Chan, Ed Snape and Tom Redman
5. When employees fail in Chinese enterprises: attribution, responsibility, and constructive criticism Aiqing Zhang, Christine Reyna and Liqun Huang
6. Newcomer socialization in China: effects of team values and goal interdependence Nancy Yifeng Chen, Dean Tjosvold, Xu Huang and Da Xu
7. Behavioural indicators of turnover intention: the case of young professionals in China Nailin Bu, Carol A. McKeen and Wenguo Shen
8. Good guanxi and bad guanxi: Western bankers and the role of network practices in institutional change in China Jane Nolan
9. The effects of psychological contract violation on Chinese executives Yongjian Bao, Bradley Olson, Satyanarayana Parayitam and Shuming Zhao
10. Knowledge management in Chinese organizations: collectivist values for open-minded discussions Guoquan Chen, Dean Tjosvold, Nan Li, Yue Fu and Dawei Liu
11. Talent management and management fashion in Chinese enterprises: exploring case studies in Beijing David Preece, Paul Iles and Xin Chuai
12. Human resources, higher education reform and employment opportunities for university graduates in the People’s Republic of China Shuang Ren, Ying Zhu and Malcolm Warner
Biography
Malcolm Warner is Professor and Fellow Emeritus at Wolfson College and Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK. His most recent edited book is Confucian HRM in Greater China: Theory and Practice (2011). He is currently co-editor of the Asia Pacific Business Review.
