Human Resources Management in China - Case Study Example

Human Resources Management in China Data: Introduction Human resources management (HRM) defines the practices of managing people within any organization in a thorough and structured manner. The process of HRM generally covers the wide areas of recruitment, selection, training and retention of employees, pay and benefit management, performance evaluation and change management (Budhwar & Debrah, 2013). The concept and practices of HRM in China differs in a number of ways from other countries due to the variation in their economic, political, cultural and social backgrounds. Since, 1978 China has witnessed various changes in their HRM practices due to the rapid and successful economical reform. The ‘Open Door Policy’ between the US and China has increased foreign investments and joint venture with different foreign organizations within Chinese economy. This situation has influenced the collaboration of workers from different country and cultural background in different industry sector of China (Cooke, 2013). Hence, the further discussion of the study will efficiently elaborate the HRM concept and practices of China in terms of their differences in cultural beliefs, economical as well as political structures. Concept of Human Resource management (HRM) in China The concept of HRM in China differs in many ways from the Western countries due to the differences in traditional believes and culture. The organizations in Western countries has adopted the practices of standard HRM in a very early stage while the organizations in China are still at an early stage due to their social regime. Since 1978, the HRM practices of the planned economy of China were a political matter where the central government and labor bureau were the major deciders in terms of HRM policies and practices. After 1978 the economical reform has caused a series of changes which relaxed the control of state over the HRM practices. The HRM concept within Chinese organization can be elaborated through their practices in terms of staffing, training and development, performance management programs, reward and recognition programs and promotional activities. Nankervis, et al., (2013) have explained that the successful human resources management within the economy of China requires proper knowledge and understanding regarding the cultural environment of the country. The researchers have stressed on the matter that the culture in China provide huge impact on their management practice of human resources. The of Hofstede’s cultural framework of China describes that almost 80% of the population in China believes in the power distance practice of the culture. This cultural belief causes a significant power distance within the higher level authority and subordinates in any organization. Though the reformation of labor law of China in 2008 protects the right of new job seekers from any culture, gender, ethnicity and traditional, a large number of the organizations in China still rely on the practices of power distance in terms of hiring or firing the workforce (Smale, et al., 2013). The rapid internationalization and joint ventures within China has increased the recruitment of expatriate workers within different workplaces. Alternatively, a large number of enterprises within China still emphasize on the recruitment process of the children and relatives of the past or existing employees. The family values of China play an important role in the recruitment and selection process of workforce. The increase in the international business relationships and joint venture has also influenced the training and development practices of Chinese organizations. The integration of the business practices of different countries has encouragers the management of China enterprises to modify the training and development process by incorporating international rotational training and development programs. The increase in international training program has assisted the enterprises of China to develop the skills and competencies of their workforces while enhancing the retention rate of employees (Sheldon, et al., 2014). The culture of power distance also highly affects the performance management and appraisal process. The practice of power distance within the HRM processes of Chinese organizations provokes the management to impose top-down performance appraisal procedure. This performance appraisal method provides the managers all the power of performance evaluation of the subordinates. This process demonstrates unbalanced relationship within the employee and employer of Chinese organizations, while it assist the supervisors to properly design the future development plan as per the overall performances of the team (Cooke, 2013). The promotional criteria of Chinese organization highly emphasize on the localization of the workforce and management. Therefore, the HRM practices of a large number of Chinese organizations provide preferences to the local workforce rather than the expatriate workforce in terms of promotion (Nankervis, et al., 2013). The traditional beliefs of China allow the organizations to emphasize on non-monetary rewards. The concept of face in China culture influences the workforce to avoid shame and indignity in public. Hence, it influences the importance of practices of recognitions within the HRM process. The increase in the joint venture processes also enhanced the monetary reward policies in China (Sheldon, et al., 2014). Human Resources versus Administrative Personnel Approach in China HRM The administrative personnel management approach focuses on traditional record-keeping functions which allow the management to maintain equal terms and condition for all the employees. On the contrary, the human recourses approach emphasizes on the integration of the traditional administrative personnel management approach to the goals and objectives of the entire organization. Hence, it influences various people-centric organizational development programs (Boselie, 2014). The management of a huge number of Chinese organizations is based on their family orientation. Most of the workforces are equipped with the relatives and family members of current and existing employees as well as management. Hence, this configuration of enterprises minimized the requirement of human resource approach within the organization (Warner, 2014). Apart from the internationalized organizations and joint venture companies most of the private organizations rely on the administrative personnel approach that provides importance to various functional activities such as payroll administrating, manpower panning, compilation with labor law etc. On the other hand, the development of international business structure is influencing few organizations to follow human recourses approach that focused on motivating, developing and maintaining human capital as per the goal and strategies of organizations (Cooke, 2013). The administrative personnel approach within the private organizations of China influence the management to design the job roles of the workforce as per the division of labor. This approach also supports the cultural set up of power distance within China. In contrary to the human resources approach, the administrative personnel approach emphasizes on the sole power of management in terms of decision making and generating organizational rules and regulations. Hence, it restricts the involvement of the feedbacks and comments of subordinates in the process of regulation formation within the organization. It also hinders the practices of collective decision making within enterprises (Cooke, 2013). The traditional approach of administrative personnel management encourages the Chinese organizations provide immense importance towards their organizational regulations and established practices (Smale, et al., 2013). Best Practices to Implement Standard HRM The best practices of implementing standard HRM approaches mainly focuses on generating a globally supported human resources policies and practices that can assist private organizations in China to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. Establishment of 360 degree performance management system can be considered as one of the best practices in terms of implementing standard HRM approach. This process allows organization to indulge in collective decision making process. It also encourages the management to seek for the feedbacks of all levels of employees for performance evaluation process. Therefore, it enables the management to gather diversified views from supervisors, subordinates and peers which influences the decision making process (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Initiation of the open house discussion process and knowledge sharing programs can also encourage the best practices of standard HRM approach. These programs and practices encourage organizations to frequently arrange communication and meetings within the management and subordinate. Therefore, it encourages knowledge sharing within all the levels of organizations while assisting the management to properly communicate their norms and regulations to the subordinates (Boselie, 2014). Introducing encouraging rewards and recognition programs need to be considered to implement standard HRM approaches within organizations. The utilization of Human resources Information System (HRIS) for the recognition of the highest performers can be demonstrated as one of the best practices to implement HRM approach in China. This process will assist the management to highly motivate their hardworking workforce (Boselie, 2014). Finally, the integration of performance management and appraisal programs with the organizational goal and strategies is essential to successfully implement the standard HRM approach within organizational operations (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). RM approaches within the organisdationsl operations. Difference between the Government and Private sectors in term of HRM Implementation The implementation of HRM in the government sector and private sectors of China differs in terms of their recruitment and selection procedure. The government sector of China mainly focuses on the selection of highly qualified graduates through the regional and national examination procedure. Government sector of China utilizes very limited channels of communication to approach the applicants for the vacancies of organizations. These channels mainly include different print media (Li, 2012). Alternatively, most of the private sectors of China are targeted to attract the highly qualified and experienced workers. The private sectors in China prefer to recruit experienced candidates to utilize their skills and competencies for the organizational benefit. Private sector in China prefers to use a large number of channels to search for the best talents for their organizations. These channels include online recruitment sites, job portals, third party agencies, news paper etc (Smale, et al., 2013). The HRM practices of government sector follow the traditional practices of administrative personnel approach. This approach assists this sector to strictly follow the labor law and employment regulations of the country. The government sectors are very specific in terms of abiding the power distance norm of Chinese culture. Hence, they follow rigid and structured hierarchical levels for the organization (Warner, 2014). On the contrary, joint ventures and internationalization of businesses within the private sector is influencing the management to adopt the standard HRM approaches. This process is encouraging the private sectors to modify their HRM implementation process as per the influence of other operating countries of the business (Smale, et al., 2013). Successful Implementation of HRM within Companies of China ZTE Corporation can be considered as one of the major organization that has demonstrated successful implementation of HRM processes within the organization. ZTE Corporation is one of the leading multinational telecommunication system and equipment companies based in China. The organization has been founded in 1985. The organization has demonstrated improvised and successful recruitment and employee retention program throughout the years. The organization has maintained their quality of hiring process to properly recruit talent as per the goals of the organization (ZTE Corporation. 2014). They have also displayed the utilization of competitive and innovating compensation packages to motivate the creativity of their workforce. The HRM practices of the organization have assisted the management to create a positive work atmosphere that influences the knowledge sharing within various hierarchical levels. Hence, these practices have allowed the organization to develop a profitable employer brand across the world (ZTE Corporation. 2014). Conclusion The study has evaluated the HRM practices within the private as well as public sectors of China. This discussion has highlighted the practices of HRM within organizations of China in terms of staffing, training, performance evaluation, promotion and rewards and recognition. The discussion has emphasized on the influence of cultural norms and practices of China in terms of their HRM practices. The study has illustrated the utilization of administrative personnel approach over human resource approach within a number of Chinese organizations. The study has also enlightened the fact related to the transformation of HRM practices of China due to the internationalization of businesses. Hence, it has discussed the successful implementation of HRM processes within the business practices of different Chinese organizations. References Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrongs handbook of human resource management practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Boselie, P. (2014). Strategic human resource management: A balanced approach. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Budhwar, P. S. & Debrah, Y. A. (Eds.). (2013). Human resource management in developing countries. London: Routledge. Cooke, F. L. (2013). Human resource management in China: New trends and practices. London: Routledge. Li, B. (2012). A Comparative Study on Human Resource Management in Private and Public Sectors from the Perspective of Recruit Channels.International Proceedings of Economics Development & Research,  41. Nankervis, A. R., Cooke, F. L., Chatterjee, S. R. & Warner, M. (2013). New models of human resource management in China and India. London: Routledge. Sheldon, P., Sun, J. J. M. & Sanders, K., (2014). Special issue on HRM in China: differences within the country: International Journal of Human Resource Management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(15), 2213-2217. Smale, A., Björkman, I. & Sumelius, J. (2013). Examining the differential use of global integration mechanisms across HRM practices: Evidence from China.Journal of World Business, 48(2), 232-240. Warner, M. (Ed.). (2014). Confucian HRM in greater China: Theory and practice. London: Routledge. ZTE Corporation. (2014). 2014 Annual Report. Retrieved From http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/investor_relations/corporate_report/annual_report/201504/P020150408612617327250.pdf. Read More