Human Systems Management

This Symposium brings together a number of contributions which deal with China's emergence as an ‘economic superpower', now second only to the US in the international league-tables in aggregate terms, if much less so in GDP per capita. Since Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in 1978, the ‘Middle Kingdom' has seen a ‘sea-change' in how it manages its economy, its businesses and its human resources. As well as discussing its egregious economic development at the macro-level, they deal with how its firms are managed at the micro-level. The authors are internationally known experts who hail from a variety of universities in countries, such as Australia, China, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK and the USA. They cover a wide range of topics such as State-Owned Firms reforms, Human Resources, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Business Incubators, International Business, China-Plus-One strategy and last, China-India Comparisons. In this Symposium, we try to see how this remarkable transformation has come about and present a number of both analytical as well as empirical approaches to the study of Chinese management.

At the macro-level, economic reform in the PRC since 1978 has led to the implementation of a multi-ownership system. The consequent transformation of Chinese formerly state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been a major way of improving efficiency and increasing competition. However, the restructuring process has been almost always accompanied by controversy, particularly vis a vis a balance between improving efficiency and competitiveness of businesses on the one hand, and developing harmonious labour-management relations on the other. This article exemplifies the evolution of SOEs from a human resource management (HRM) perspective by using a case-study approach with three illustrative examples of SOE transformation. Our main finding is that there was no ‘one-size-fits-all' solution to SOE reform and that there were alternative ‘strategic choices' vis a vis both ownership form, as well as HRM.

Based on stakeholder theory, agency theory and control mechanisms, the individual competency model has been put into wide practice in Chinese government and enterprises, especially with the separation of the enterprises' right of management from the right of ownership. The related research in this field defines our research direction and choice of management practices, as all kinds of organizations in China are trying to recruit, select, cultivate, utilize and develop talents found to be scarce by human resource evaluation practices. By reviewing the competency models of the position of sales managers, this contribution compares the current application of their evaluation in China and the U.S., setting out the conclusions on the differences between the two countries, and further discusses its application in different fields of human resource management, such as recruitment, training and development, career planning, development and management. The research results help us to establish the difficulties in the current situation and improve the efficacy of human resource evaluation systems in both Chinese government and enterprises.

China's economic and enterprise reforms since 1978 have dramatically altered the structure and dynamics of its enterprises. One of the most remarkable changes during the entire reform process is the rapid growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By looking at its thirty-year development, the contribution provides a thorough review of China's SME since 1978. It illustrates that the development of Chinese SMEs followed a principle of pragmatism. It shows that while the progress has been strongly affected by government policies and regulations, the emergence and expansion of SMEs are closely linked with social and economic problems that occurred during economic transitions and institutional changes. The key factors that affect SME development are identified, especially relating to cultural and institutional influences. The opportunities and challenges for SMEs in the new economic environment are discussed with special focus on their integration in the global economy. The issues of management development in SMEs are examined generally and in the Chinese context. Although major problems may differ at each stage of the reforms, evidence shows an increasing importance of SMEs in China's transformation to both modernization and industrialization. Indeed, SMEs have become the driving power in China's socialist market economy.

The business incubator is an innovative organizational entity, with origins in the United States, designed to provide a supportive environment for new ventures. This innovation was adopted by Chinese government in the late eighties as part of a plan to address market failure in innovation and to win the global game of technological competition. The successful diffusion and subsequent reinvention of this innovation in China has resulted in one of the most successful business incubation movements in Asia that is second only to the United States in the number of business incubators. Chinese incubator models initially tended to be monolithic in form due to the heavy influence of government as innovation gatekeeper guiding their creation and operation; however local demands, such as the need to attract well educated overseas Chinese students back to the homeland, have led to indigenous incubation approaches within these broad parameters as manifested in the second generation of incubation approaches. This contribution traces the growth and evolution of the two phases of business incubator growth in China, taking into consideration determinants of incubator success, along with the role of government, and the macro-environment for new venture creation. Related incubator level dimensions are discussed followed by the various indigenous genres of incubators that have evolved in China in response to local needs. The study includes a critical assessment of the successes and the challenges that lay ahead of the incubator movement in China. Policy and managerial implications are put forth at the conclusion of the study.

During the first decade of the 21st century, China emerged as an unprecedented driving force accountable for substantive transformations in international economy and business. Both its role and impact on international business have been and will be unique in many ways In a short time span, China became a force to reckon with in the domains of international trade, industrial output, international finance and international business. Business firms in the advanced industrial economies see China as the land of promise and opportunities on the one hand and as a serious rival to compete with on the other.

This paper offers a conceptual analysis of the widely discussed idea of a China-Plus-One strategy which refers to the practice of international businesses active in China coupling their investments with a second facility, generally in another Asian economy. The key finding is that a China-Plus-One strategy appears to be beneficial to both firms that seek to pursue it for reasons of risk diversification, cost reduction or avoidance of overreliance on China, for China in that it frees up resources which can be applied to other higher value activities, and for Plus-One host economies which gain the benefits of inward investment. The contribution of the article is in integrating a fragmented business literature, providing a coherent academic framework, in isolating direct and indirect impacts, in identifying the costs of a China-Plus-One strategy, and in integrating company examples. Testable propositions regarding the characteristics of firms more likely to pursue a China-Plus-One strategy are also developed.

The significant and largely unpredicted emergence of China and India as global economic players in recent decades has provoked diverse reactions globally and regionally. Not surprisingly, much of the Western world has been both enthused by the opportunities offered for their potential market share and concerned about the potential adverse economic and political consequences on their own products, services, and global influence. In China and India, economic growth represents a resurgence of the power both countries exercised in pre-Colonial times. In both cases it can be argued that the symbolism of the ‘Asian Century' is equal to (if not greater than) its substance, with their triumph over the West during the global financial crisis as merely the zenith of such a resurgence. One consequence of these triumphs was the promulgation of the concept of an overarching and mutually beneficial economic (and perhaps even geopolitical) partnership between China and India, in which China's highly effective manufacturing sector would be complemented by an Indian economy with significant strengths in information technology innovations and back office services – namely, Chindia. This contribution analyses the contemporary ideological, economic, legislative, socio-cultural and geopolitical contexts of both countries, with a view to exploring the reality of such conceptions. It concludes that, due to the inherent ideological, infrastructural and social differences between China and India, together with the troubled history between them, it is unlikely that such a symbiotic relationship will eventuate. More likely is a dynamic series of intergovernmental economic and limited political agreements of mutual benefit.