hrm系統(tǒng)動(dòng)力學(xué)在亞洲上下文和研究議程(PDF21)

1、dynamics of hrm systems in the asian context and the research agendadr. pawan s. budhwar reader in ob & hrm aston business schoolaston universitybirmingham b4 7etuktel: 0044-121-5393611 ext. 5092fax: 0044-121-5392919e-mail: p.s.budhwaraston.ac.ukanddr. yaw debrahreader in managementschool of busines

2、s and managementbrunel universitymiddlesex ub8 3phuktel: 01895-274000 ext. 5861fax: 01895-203149e-mail: yaw.debrahbrunel.ac.ukpaper for:4th asia academy of management conference(16-18 december 2004, shanghai)dynamics of hrm systems in the asian context and the research agendaintroductionthe main aim

3、s of this article are threefold. first, to analyse the main issues discussed in the existing literature regarding human resource management (hrm) in the asian context. second, to present a framework useful for highlighting the main determinants of hrm policies and practices from a cross-national com

4、parative perspective. third, to highlight the key challenges facing hrm function in the asian context which sets the agenda for future research.there is the need to examine hrm systems of asian countries (i.e., primarily the important emerging markets which are based in the south and east of the con

5、tinent). for example, at present the south-east asian region produces more goods and services than either north america or the european union and this trend is expected to accelerate in the years to come. moreover, many of the important emerging economies are located in asia (see economist, 2003). f

6、urther, they attract enormous amount of foreign direct investment (fdi). it is also predicted that most new members of the newly affluent nations would come from asia in the 21st century (see tan, 2002). despite all this, most asian emerging markets have a long way to go before they acquire the stat

7、us of developed nations. nevertheless, it is important to examine the role of hrm function in the region as it plays a significant role in the economic development of nations (see debrah et al., 2000; tayeb, 1995). also, there is a need to highlight the context specific nature of hrm, so that releva

8、nt policies and practices can be developed.developments in asian hrmthe field of hrm is still evolving in the asian region. an analysis of the existing literature on hrm in south-east asia shows that research has been and is being conducted on the following topics. first, a number of country specifi

9、c studies are regularly published, such as japanese management systems (see sano et al., 1997), hrm in singapore, hong kong, taiwan and korea (see rowley, 1998). at present, a lot of research is being published on different aspects of chinese management (see warner et al., 2002). similarly, there is

10、 information available regarding different aspects of managing human resources in different countries of the region. for example, the japanese employment system and the management models of singapore, chinese and korean business groups (see rowley, 1998; tsui-auch and lee, 2003). however, in the pre

11、sent context, the validity of a number of such established ideal-typical management models is questionable. to avoid such pitfall, there is now a need to highlight the major factors that determine hrm policies and practices in the asian region in the present global context. such an evaluation will f

12、urther contribute to the development of hrm theories and relevant policies and practices.second, a number of studies focus on the possible issues and problems relating to hrm in asia from a global perspective (see el kahal, 2001). emphasising on cultural values, kao et al. (1999) stress the need to

13、indigenise the management practices in asian organisations. the authors challenge the applicability of western management and organisation theories in the asian context. similarly, kidd et al. (2001) assert that due to the cultural and institutional differences, foreign firms operating in china find

14、 it hard to implement their head-quarters hrm practices in their chinese subsidiaries. on the other hand, study by bjorkman and lu (1999) reveal contradictory results. bjorkman and lu show the successful implementation of global standardised hrm practices in foreign firms operating in the chinese co

15、ntext. such results indicate that perhaps certain level of standardisation of hrm systems is taking place around the globe. however, more research is need in this regard. this is an important agenda for future research.third, a significant number of scholars (see for example, rowley, 1998; rowley an

16、d benson, 2002; warner, 1998; 2002; amante, 1998) have examined the convergencedivergence thesis in the asian context. though, over the last decade or so, research evidence has helped to supplant the convergence view, recent investigations in the asian region (see warner, 2000; 2002) emphasise the n

17、otion of soft convergence as an outcome ofglobalisation. from the mncs perspective, the implementation of global standardised hrm practices and policies (with local adjustments) is also an indication of soft convergence.however, considering the heterogeneity (such as population, geography, economies

18、, economic development phase, labour markets, socio-cultural, legal and political set-up, and hrm systems) in the region and context specific nature of hrm, it will not be sensible to talk about significant or hard convergence .fourth, the unique characteristics of different business groups (such as

19、 chaebols, keiretsus) operating in different countries in the region which have contributed a great deal in their economic success have attracted a lot of research interest. these business groups have deep roots in the core institutions (such as family structure, confucianism), and socio-cultural ba

20、ckground of their respective societies and accordingly have their own hrm systems (see begin, 1997; rowley, 1998). the economic crisis of late 1990s and the present competitive environment have raised questions regarding the validity of such ideal-typical family business management models in the pre

21、sent context (see tsui-auch and lee, 2003; tu et al., 2002). before the economic crisis, such groups, although professionalized their management systems, they retained family control and corporate rule. however, the pressure created by the economic crisis is forcing the groups to relinquish family c

22、ontrol and corporate rule by absorbing more professional managers into their top management. a similar pattern is emerging in the indian private business houses where top positions are being offered to best available professionals and a more formal and rationalised approach to hrm is being adopted(s

23、ee budhwar, 2003). however, this phenomenon is still evolving across many asian countries and there is a scarcity of reliable literature in this regard (white, 2002). to confirm it more research is needed and should the focus of future research.fifth, some scholars highlight the affects of globalisa

24、tion on the employment relations system of asian countries (see verma et al., 1995). most countries of the region (like many others around the globe) experienced decline in the union membership (see kuruvilla et al., 2002). changes in industrial relations in the asian context due to globalisation is

25、 also contributing to adjustment from previously salient constraint (labour peace and industrial stability) to the new imperative of enhancing firm-level competitiveness through both numerical and functional flexibility (kuruvilla and erickson, 2002). it is clear that globalisation and the asian eco

26、nomic crisis of late 1990s have certainly affected the employment relations of asian countries in one way or the other, such as employment security (see debrah, 2002; hadiz, 2002).from the above discussion it becomes evident that the existing hrm research in the asian context is both limited and pos

27、sibly not conducted in a systematic manner with a clear framework which can highlight the main determinants of hrm, and also highlight the context specific nature of the personnel function, and enable to draw a comprehensive picture of the scene. therefore, it does not generally provide insight into

28、 underlying processes and contribute to theory development. a possible way forward is to conduct a systematic analysis starting from a basic level and leading to an advanced level. how can this be conducted? the next section presents a framework for conducting cross-national comparative hrm research

29、.framework for analysing cross national hrmbefore discussing the framework useful to highlight the context specific nature of hrm, we will highlight the complex context of asia which makes it difficult to conduct ameaningful cross-national hrm analysis. perhaps, one of the more common mistake commit

30、ted by both academics and policy makers is the use of terms such as far-east asian or asia-pacific in a very general sense. however, it is important to acknowledge that each nation within the region has an independent set of socio-economic components. these differ from one another in content, arisin

31、g inevitably from the interplay of social relations unique to themselves. hence, there is a clear need to see the management phenomena as part and parcel of the distinctive political, socio-economic, cultural and institutional system of a country in the region (hasegawa, 2002; morishima, 1995).in or

32、der to develop a conceptual framework for examining hrm in a cross-national context involving both developed and developing asian nations which are not homogenous in nature, it is important to define hrm in the broadest sense. for us, hrm is concerned with the management of all employment relationsh

33、ips in the firm, incorporating the management of managers as well as non-management labour.in a recent analysis of developments in the field of international human resource management (ihrm), schuler et al. (2002) highlighted the need to examine hrm in context. in line with these views, different sc

34、holars in the field of hrm have put forth a number of frameworks for conducting international/ cross-national hrm research (for details see budhwar and sparrow, 2002). based on a critical analysis of the existing frameworks and extensive research in the field, budhwar and associates (see budhwar and

35、 debrah, 2001a; budhwar and sparrow, 2002) have proposed a framework for examining cross-national hrm. based on a thorough review of literature, they have identified three levels of factors and variables, which are known to influence hrm policies and practices, and worth considering for cross-nation

36、al examinations. these are:? national factors (involving national culture, national institutions, business sectors and dynamic business environment);contingent variables (such as age, size, nature, ownership, life cycle stage of organization); and? organisational strategies (such as the ones propose

37、d by miles and snow and porter) and policies related to primary hr functions and internal labor markets.however, considering the infancy stage of hrm in many asian countries and the argument that hrm in a cross-national context can be best analysed by examining the influence of national factors (bre

38、wster et al., 1996; budhwar and sparrow, 1998), it is proposed to examine the impact of the main national factors on hrm in different asian countries. this approach was successfully adopted by budhwar and debrah (2001b) to examine the hrm systems in thirteen developing countries. the broad national

39、factors such as culture and institutions form the macro environment of organisations in a national context. for a detailed explanation regarding the rationale for the selection of various factors and variables included in the framework see budhwar and sparrow (2002). the core aspects of each of the

40、four national factors are available in table 1.1.table 1.1: details of aspects of national factors determining cross-national hrm national cultureinstitutionsindustrial sectorsocialisation process; common values, norms of behaviour & customs;influence of pressure groups;assumptions that shape manage

41、rs perceptions, insights and mindset; management style; meaning of work and values;personal dispositions, attitudes and manners; approaches to cultural diversity;national labour laws;trade unions;politics;educational & vocational training set up;labour market;professional bodies;international instit

42、utions;industry by itself;employers federation;consulting organisations;placement organisations;trade bodies;government institutions;local authorities;voluntary bodies.match to the organisation culture. source: budhwar and sparrow (2002: 398)common strategies, business logic and goals;regulations &

43、standards;sector specific knowledge;informal & formal bench marking; crosssector co-operation; common developments in business operations; labour or skill requirements;merger activity;workforce mobility; capital mobility.dynamic business environmentcompetition;business alliances;changing composition

44、 of workforce;restructuring;focus on total customer satisfaction;facility of information technological change;globalisation of business.investigation based on such a framework then helps to highlight the context-specificnature of hrm. for example, the economic environment significantly influences hr

45、m in most asian countries, but its impact varies from country to country. for instance, in japan the recessionary conditions of the past decade is undermining traditional employment practices and precipitating changes in the system. india has witnessed a boom in foreign direct investment since it li

46、beralised its economy. however, the arrival of foreign firms in the indian labour market is forcing local firms, in pursuit of efficiency, to rationalise their human resource management practices.in the same way, the political and legal set-up of the respective countries influences hrm policies and

47、practices in their own unique way. for example, china allows the existence of only one national union which functions strictly according to the wishes of the communist party. but, in india there are many local, regional and national unions which generally function in an adversarial way. similarly, t

48、he country-specific chapters have revealed the unique influence of socio-culture context (for example, islamic work principles in many malaysian firms; confucian principles in china and taiwan) on hrm systems.though the four national factors are suggested to be useful to glean out the context specif

49、ic nature of hrm, an investigation based on both the contingent variables (mentioned above) and organizational strategies can further help to get a more detailed picture of the scene. however, as indicated above due to the heterogeneity of hrm function in different asian nations, it will not be sens

50、ible to propose a single set of solutions for all. due to its unique socio, economic, political and legal set-up, each nation presents its own unique sets of challenges for the hrm function.challenges facing hrm function in asia and research agendaat present globalization is changing the stable work

51、place systems in the region. this is evident in many countries. thus, the effects of changes created by the globalization pose major challenges for hrm in the southeast asian region. for instance, in china and india there is some evidence that economic liberalization arising from globalization and c

52、ompetitive pressures is changing the pattern of hrm, employee relations and industrial relations and labour legislation. some of these changes are occurring both in the private and public sectors in both countries. in china, it is argued that the emergence of market economy is undermining the “ nann

53、y employer ” image of organizations as there is a concerted effort to shift the huge welfare burden from employers to individuals. in line with this approach, then, the downsizing of organizations and changing recruitment and retention practices have resulted in insecurity for workers in china. it i

54、s expected that a similar pattern will emerge in countries like india where many of the state owned firms have surplus labour. however, unlike china, downsizing in india will be strongly resisted by both trade unions and opposition political parties.similarly, the changing business environment in ja

55、pan has put tremendous pressures on employers to change their traditional employment practices in order to survive.accordingly, japanese employers are restructuring their employment systems in response to low growth, globalization and international competitiveness. the major elements of the japanese

56、 style hrm - lifetime employment, seniority promotion system, enterprise unions, keiretsu and sub-contracting relations developed essentially in response to rapid and high economic growth during the post-war industrialization boom- are being fundamentallytransformed.this transformation is by no mean

57、s will be smooth, especially against a background of low growth, recession and rising unemployment, japanese employers are experiencing significant hrm problems. consequently there are calls for a critical re-evaluation of thebasic framework of the established japanese hrm model. in this regard, for

58、 a country famous for providing lifetime employment, this is a major transformation with fundamental and longterm challenges for hrm. the deep-seated challenges are not limited to japan, china and india as they are occurring through out the region. the challenge facing hr managers who are dealing wi

59、th the global forces is how they can minimize the threats posed by global competitive pressures on hrm while at the same time taking advantage of the opportunities created by globalization to restructure their hrm and employee relations practices. this also provides a great opportunity for researchers and should be considered as an important research agenda.globalization and international competiti