‘Re-inventing’ China’s Industrial Relations at Enterprise-Level: an Empirical Field-Study in Four Major Cities

This article discusses the impact of China’s latest reforms on industrial relations at enterprise level in both state-owned firms (SOEs) and foreign-invested joint ventures (JVs) based on a sample of 24 industrial enterprises located in four cities. It concludes that the reforms of the early 1990s have ‘re-invented’ the IR system and have significantly influenced recruitment and selection, wage and reward systems, and social security programmes.     

Manager's occupational stress in state-owned and private enterprises in the People's Republic of China

Privatization that has taken place in the People's Republic of China has brought about improved profitability and effectiveness of enterprises. However, it is not known whether employees' occupational stressors and strains in private enterprises would differ from those in state-owned enterprises. This study aims to examine the major sources of manager's occupational stress in private and state-owned enterprises, and comparing the intensity of these stressors and strains. The relationships between stressors and strains were also investigated in both economic sectors. The questionnaires were completed by 234 managers in state-owned enterprises and 179 managers in private enterprises from eight cities of the PRC. The questionnaires were used to measure sources of stress, job satisfaction, and physical and psychological strain. The results showed that managers in private enterprises experienced higher levels of occupational stressors (mainly ‘Organizational structure and climate’ and ‘Relationship with others’) and psychological strains than those in state-owned enterprises. Moreover, ‘Organizational structure and climate’ was also found to be a major stressor when predicting both psychological and physical strain in both economic sectors.     

Non-wage benefits,corporate ownership and firm performance in post-communist economies: evidence from Ukraine

The economic reforms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe have fundamentally reshaped ownership and governance of economic production, notably through the privatization of former state-owned enterprises. These reforms were expected to transform management practices by displacing ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare arrangements administered by state-owned enterprises. Using data drawn from two large samples of Ukrainian establishments, we investigate, in two different time points, the relationship between non-wage benefits and firm performance during the period of transition to a market economy (1994–2004). We found that non-wage benefits continued to be a critical feature of HRM practices in Ukraine during this period, and were positively associated with firm performance.     

Management-labour relations in the new Chinese economy

This article sets out to cast greater light on employment practices in an emerging ‘socialist market economy’. It is based on empirical research carried out in a range of Chinese enterprises, which are then examined in terms of their management-labour relations, employment practices and human resources. Although the ‘iron rice bowl’ system of job security and ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare coverage found mainly in state-owned enterprises is now being phased out, the study concludes that the degree of overlap with Sino-foreign joint ventures which are often portrayed as more likely to implement labour market-driven practices, to be as yet only partial.     

A problematic transition to a strategic role: human resource management in industrial enterprises in China

The Chinese government has launched extensive reforms to encourage integration with the global economy. Our research investigates the implications for human resource management practices of the changing business environment in China, ownership of organizations, organizational strategies and strategic integration of the HR function. We conducted two surveys in major Chinese cities in 1994/5 and 2001/2, with managers of state-owned, privately owned, collectively owned and foreign-invested enterprises.

Regression analyses showed that organizational strategy and organizational ownership, in contrast with earlier research, were not found to be strong predictors of HRM practices. The changing business environment in China and participation by the HR function in strategic decision-making were the strongest predictors of HRM practices. Overall, a strategic role for the HR function and implementation of ‘Western’ HRM practices are becoming more prevalent in China, although the legacy of traditional practices endures and new challenges are emerging.     

论尊重广大职工在改革中的主导作用

文章论述了尊重广大职工在企业改革中的主导作用,对于我们党更好地代表中国最广大人民的根本利益,团结和依靠最广大的职工,搞好国有企业的改革,具有深远的意义。     

The end of the 'iron rice-bowl': whither Chinese human resource management?

This study examines the degree to which enterprise reforms in the PRC have affected human resource management practices over the 1990s. A comparison is made between state-owned enterprises and joint venture firms, involving a national sample of sixty-two companies ranging from those in the North to those in the South. Our main findings show how organizational inertia has obstructed the change of the mind-sets associated with the 'iron rice-bowl' that characterized Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) before economic reform. The main conclusions of the research point to ownership, location and size of the firm as the main factors affecting the evolution of HRM in Chinese enterprises.     

Democratization in the host country and institutional risk of cross-border M&A: an empirical study on Chinese listed enterprises

We take the sample of Chinese listed enterprises’ cross-border M&A from 1999 to 2010 to construct a Poisson distribution model, and theoretically explore and empirically research how democratization in the host country influences the going-out process of Chinese enterprises. The overall results show that democratization impedes the inflows of Chinese enterprises’ cross-border M&A, because the higher the degree of democratization in the host country, the stronger the intensity of industry protection and the greater the power of trade unions—and this creates institutional risk for Chinese enterprises. We also find institutional risk aroused by democratization deeply influences the cross-border M&A of Chinese state-owned enterprises and the M&A flowing into the natural resources industry. This study contributes to further understanding democratization degree and institutional risk, and at the same time, it is also significantly meaningful for guiding the development and implementation of Chinese enterprises’ internationalization strategy.     

柳州国有企业党建工作回顾和思考

党建工作是国有企业改革发展的重要内容和重要保证.长期以来柳州市国有企业党建工作与时俱进,在促进企业改革、推动企业发展、维护企业稳定、加强企业思想政治工作和精神文明建设中发挥了重要作用.     

新时代国有企业改革的痛点和主要方向

世界经济的不确定性增强、全球价值链重构等给中国深化国有企业改革带来了机遇和挑战。国有企业改革的核心原则是竞争中立,以进一步优化市场竞争环境,提升资源配置效率。国有企业改革需要解决现代企业制度不健全、风险控制体系不完善、竞争力和盈利能力不够强、结构性矛盾突出等问题。中国需要在强化混合所有制改革、完善税收体系改革、深化金融体系改革、推进会计制度改革等方面采取有效措施,深化国有企业改革。     

国企混改与财务价值创造

国企拥有资源优势和政策优势,但经营效率不高增值效果不明显。国企进行混合所有制改革,能否提高经营效率和增加企业价值?研究发现:只“混”不“合”、只“混”不“改”的国企改革,不但不能提高投资效率,而且降低筹资效率,毁损企业价值;既“混”又“合”、既“混”又“改”,“混”、“合”与“改”的有机统一的国企改革,既能提高投资效率,又能提高筹资效率,从而增加企业价值。研究结论以期对国企混改提供理论支持和方向指引。     

市属国有投资公司财务视角下经营业绩考核问题探究

近年来,市属国有企业改革重组愈演愈烈,而所有改革的主要目的无外乎是扩大资产规模、提升资源的配置效率、优化资产的结构等。而通过对外并购投资等一系列资本运作手段,可以在短期内为投资企业带来资产大规模的提升,但是很多情况下,投资的经济效益都有时间滞后性,由此导致市属国有投资公司的经营业绩很难在短期内释放出来。论文以市属国有投资公司为主要研究对象,对投资公司激励考核问题进行详细的分析,并针对该问题提出建议,望能够将投资标的的潜在收益与经营业绩考核相挂钩,提升市属国有投资公司在市场上的竞争力,以便做大做强公司规模。     

防范于未然 规范企业改制

国有企业改制已经实施了多年,前期国有企业改制因相关政策无具体操作方法,参与改制者未按现有规定实施,导致国有企业改制不到位,对企业资产核实不清,人为地调减企业资产,使国有资产和职工利益受损,影响社会和谐发展,因此,应规范国有企业改制,兼顾各方利益。     

The impact of economic reform on the role of trade unions in Chinese enterprises

The movement of the Chinese economy towards a market orientation has been characterized by high levels of foreign direct investment, the diversification of forms of public ownership and the growing economic significance of the private sector as the PRC joins the global economy. These changes have clearly had a significant impact over time on the Chinese labour-force. This study, based on a geographically dispersed sample of sixty-two enterprises, both state-owned and joint venture, examines the effect of these economic reforms on industrial and labour relations, and in particular on the role of trade unions at plant level.     

关于国有商业银行深化改革的若干思考

国有商业银行是我国金融业的主体,但目前这几家银行却面临着激烈的竞争.竞争来自于两个方面:外资银行的进入形成大兵压境之势,国内股份制银行的快速发展形成咄咄逼人之势.面对这种局面,既不能妄自尊大,也不能妄自菲薄,必须振作精神,加快改革才有出路.本文分析了当前国有商业银行面临的困境和挑战,探讨了国有商业银行改革的思路.     

推进国有企业党建工作的思考——以广西农垦国有龙北总场党建工作为例

企业党组织在推进国有企业改革和发展过程中发挥了重要作用。推进国有企业党建工作,应把党建工作与企业生产经营、企业管理制度改革、企业思想政治教育、企业文化建设相结合。     

An investigation on the attitudes of Chinese workers towards individually based performance-related reward systems

The study investigated the attitudes of Chinese workers towards individually based performance-related reward systems (IBPRRS). Participants were 106 white-collar workers employed in a Chinese new state-owned enterprise. In line with hypotheses, attitudes towards equality and equity-based rewarding were negatively and positively related, respectively, with attitudes towards IBPRRS. Also in line with expectations, both concern for loosing face (‘Mianzi’) and the belief that performance evaluations are affected by interpersonal relationships (‘Guanxi’) were negatively related to the attitude towards IBPRRS. However, in contrast to hypotheses, participants reported a more positive attitude towards equity than towards equality-based rewarding. Furthermore, in sharp contrast to the relevant hypothesis, the attitude of participants towards IBPRRS was positive. Ad hoc interviews with middle managers corroborated these findings and, furthermore, suggested that Guanxi and Mianzi were indeed impacting evaluations of performance, especially where there was an absence of objective performance criteria. The implication of the study is that although the views of Chinese employees towards IBPRRS are in principle positive, the cultural characteristics of China, and in particular Guanxi and Mianzi, must be taken into account for the successful design and functioning of such systems in the Chinese organizational context.     

Profit-sharing and financial performance in the Chinese state enterprises: Evidence from panel data

This paper examines the effects of incentives in employee remuneration on financial performance in a sample of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The estimates show that bonus payments as a form of profit-sharing between employees and the state have positive effects on both the total factor productivity and profitability of the sample SOEs. Moreover, the actual level of bonus payments is found to be lower than the optimal level which a competitive firm would set to maximise profits. These results suggest that profit-sharing introduced in Chinese state-owned enterprises as one of the centrepieces of economic reforms over the last decade has been effective.We wish to thank participants at the Seventh Annual Conference of the Chinese Economic Association (UK) in December 1995 and an anonymous referee for comments. The paper has also benefited from the comments by participants at the STICERD Lunchtime Seminar, the London school of Economics. The financial support from ESRC (grant no. L324253025) is gratefully acknowledged.     

人民网“登陆战”

上市历经"八年抗战"的人民网终于闯关成功,但仍然缺少被广泛看好的商业模式如无意外,人民网将于今年3月中旬正式登陆上海证券交易所,从而击败众多竞争对手成为中国"官网上市第一股"。不过,这个以严肃著称的网站还是在上市前夜闹出了一个"娱乐新闻"。在其公布的经过精心包装的招股说明书中,披露了5.27亿元融资的详细使用计划,其中包括花费40万元购置40台iPhone、i Pad等苹果产品。这惹来了外界的一片批评,甚至嘲笑。更多商业方面的瑕疵被陆续发现,其中一个极端案     

Organizational differences in managerial compensation and benefits in Chinese firms

More than two decades of economic reforms have brought profound changes in human resource management practices in both the state and non-state sectors in China. This study focuses on the impact of organizational factors on compensation and benefits for Chinese managers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), publicly listed firms (PLFs), and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). The empirical investigation of 465 firms located in three major Chinese cities, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, provides evidence that organizational factors, such as ownership, firm size, firm age, location and industrial sector, have significant impacts on the variances in Chinese managers' compensation levels, compensation structures and benefits. The trends in the development of compensation and benefits for Chinese managers are also discussed as the Chinese economy moves closer to a more globalized, highly dynamic economy after China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.