Human Resource Management in China: New Trends and Practices

Citation

Bao, S.(R). (2012), "Human Resource Management in China: New Trends and Practices", Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 79-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/20408001211220584

One of the major tenets in organizational management research is the fact that management practice is, to a large extent, contextually embedded. In other words, organizational changes usually follow social, economic and environmental changes (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Thompson, 1967; Hambrick, 1983). With the transformation of the Chinese economy from a traditional state‐controlled one to a more open and market‐oriented one over the past few decades, Chinese human resource management (HRM) practice, like other Chinese management practices, has experienced immense changes reflecting the shifting economic and institutional context. Cooke's (2012) book Human Resource Management in China links the past and present HRM landscape and integrates literatures and her own research on industrial relations, labor politics and employment regulations at various levels to bring our knowledge of Chinese HRM up to date. The book provides readers with a list of key issues in various aspects of HRM in China, such as staffing strategy, equal employment opportunities and workers' representation and voice and offers a comprehensive ground for continued theoretical, empirical and practical developments in the realm of international HRM research.

The book consists of ten chapters. The first chapter, “Managing human resources in China: evolving institutional environment and key issues“, lays out the contextual background in which Chinese HRM is embedded and provides an analytical framework for the remaining chapters. It also prepares the readers with an adequate understanding of the important institutional factors affecting major Chinese HRM issues. Chapter 2 examines firms' recruitment and staffing strategy in relation to the labor market and the role of the state in the creation of the labor market conditions. It covers both the upper end and the lower end of the labor market and highlights the different opportunities and constraints employers and workers may have for these two ends. Amongst the key issues discussed are talent management and informal employment. Chapter 3 explores the issues related to training and development, with an emphasis on examining the role of stakeholders in the skill shortage problem. Chapter 4 investigates the evolution of the performance management system and highlights a number of challenges both universal and specific to China.

Chapter 5 analyzes the unique features of the Chinese pay system, with special attention on issues such as gender pay gaps, performance‐related reward and social security provisions. Chapter 6 discusses equal opportunity and workforce diversity in China by critically assessing the extent to which the western notion of and approach to manage diversity is appropriate in the Chinese institutional and cultural context. Chapter 7 focuses on workers' representation by examining the governance, structure, power base, resources and regulatory roles of the All‐China Federation of Trade Union (ACFTU). Chapter 8 addresses the issue of Chinese workers' labor rights and enforcements through a critical review of the making and working of the three employment laws promulgated in 2007: the Employment Promotion Law, the Labor Contract Law and the Labor Disputes Mediation and Arbitration Law. It reveals how institutional actors may be confronted with diverse priorities and pressures and responding in pragmatic ways to maximize their interests and/or to minimize disadvantages.

Chapter 9 focuses on an important yet relatively under‐studied topic – leadership and management developments in the Chinese context. It outlines key characteristics of Chinese management style and a brief history of management development and the role of the higher education institutions. It also points out some of the competence gaps of contemporary Chinese corporate leaders if they are to lead successfully in the global economy. The concluding chapter, Chapter 10, recaps major developments in Chinese HRM and evaluates the extent to which Chinese firms have become more strategic in their HRM. The chapter ends with a set of cutting‐edge research questions that may guide future investigations.

Cooke's book makes a significant contribution to current understanding of Chinese HRM in theory and practice. From a theoretical perspective, while general HRM theories have been advanced significantly over the past decades, HRM specifics in the Chinese context still stand fresh with regards to theory development and empirical exploration. This book presents an integrated effort in investigating and evaluating the elements in the Chinese HRM system. It builds on important theoretical and methodological approaches and uses key variables of interests related to this field to add profound insights to the development of Chinese HRM. Tsui (2007) urges that research in international management should not simply proliferate the homogeneous theories internationally. Rather, good research should aim to achieve deep contextualization and rigorous theory building through novel research issues and ideas. This book echoes Tsui (2007) in that it not only offers extensive contextual knowledge specific to Chinese HRM, but also adds a strategic focus on current and emerging issues and topics beyond traditional HRM research. As such, it evokes a potential that Chinese HRM research and practice become a field of its own, capable of generating and stimulating contextualized and novel theory‐driven research and not simply an outlet to duplicate and test existing western HRM theories and ideologies. The book clearly indicates that western HRM practices need to be reassessed and adjusted in the Chinese context in order to be accepted by Chinese employees. To this end, it raises important theoretical challenges for scholars interested in this field to conduct future research that is both theoretically rigorous and practically relevant (Shrivastava, 1987).

From a practice point of view, while numerous practical HRM books overspread the market, the ones that offer useful insights on comprehensive HRM issues specific to China remain limited. Cooke's experience and expertise on the Chinese HRM system provides an intellectually stimulating knowledge base that directs HRM practitioners and students' attention to the challenges of managing people in the Chinese context. At the same time, it equips current and future Chinese and international HRM managers with an extended understanding of the Chinese institutional and economical context necessary for people management. The comprehensive primary and secondary empirical data and analysis, along with instructive vignettes, interesting case stories and a comprehensive and up to date reading list, not only offer intellectual support to the HRM frameworks under development, but also provide dynamic examples that challenge and improve readers' understanding of practically relevant HRM topics under discussion. Moreover, this book offers advice to western multinational corporations operating in the Chinese market to balance a global strategy with an appropriate level of diversity in their HRM initiatives for better organizational performance.

In addition, a unique aspect that differentiates the book from other books covering the similar subject is that it is based on the author's original prolific research conducted in the past few years. It takes a broad approach to delineate HRM issues and as such, covers a number of topics that are often neglected in HRM texts, including informal employment, gender pay gaps and inequality at workplaces. The book reflects the author's broad research interests and can be considered a showcase of her diligent research on Chinese HRM.

Overall, this book examines important and emerging issues on Chinese HRM research. It contributes to the field of international HRM by examining current developments of Chinese HRM framework, providing what is considered to be novel and promising directions for future research in this interesting field of study. The book is well written and presented in a reader‐friendly way. It is hoped that the insights this book provides will increase scholarly interests and publications on HRM issues related to China, as well as contribute to the educational and practical needs of future global HRM leaders.