Control and co-ordination of Japanese subsidiaries in China: problems of an expatriate-based management system

This paper analyses the international management control (IMC) system that Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) employ to co-ordinate the activities of their subsidiaries in China. It focuses on the role of Japanese expatriates in this IMC system and assesses their performance. In the process, it offers a comprehensive evaluation of the organizational fit of the Japanese IMC model within the current Chinese business environment. Taking Japanese firms as the subject, the analysis identifies areas of incongruity and explains the underlying reasons for problems with expatriate-focused IMC models. In doing so, this paper argues that the Japanese expatriate-based control system in China (as in many other parts of the world) continues to be characterized by an insider-outsider mentality that prevents a real internationalization of overseas operations in the 'transnational' sense.     

中小保险公司绩效管理问题的改进建议

绩效管理对中小保险公司的运转和发展有着极为关键的影响,也是其人员管理的核心部分。因此,诸多中小保险公司将员工绩效与薪资奖金密切结合,以期激发员工提升素质能力的主动性和积极性。论文基于中小保险公司绩效管理问题展开探讨,以供广大中小保险公司管理人员参考。     

Configurations in quality management

Current quality literature often appears to assume that its recommendations are universally applicable, implying that the models can be used by all businesses. Adopting a contingency theory approach, this paper argues that the management of quality can be organised in a variety of ways. Based on an empirical survey of quality work in Danish companies, five configurations of quality work are developed. The study investigates some factors that seem likely to determine whether a company chooses one configuration rather than another. Quality control, the organisation of quality work and certification are illustrated in individual configurations. Finally, the results of quality work in individual configurations are presented. The analysis demonstrates that each configuration represents a significantly different way of addressing and controlling quality in companies.     

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Adrian Wilkinson and his colleagues discuss the growing importance of quality management in the UK, outline the basic principles of TQM, and examine its implications for employee involvement. They suggest that there are contradictions between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sides of TQM. This can be exemplified in the relationship between TQM and employee involvement which has not been fully explored. Drawing on a major programme of research on employee involvement, three cases are analysed. They argue that the links between TQM and employee involvement are more complex than the TQM literature would have us believe and there are tensions between employee involvement and TQM. Finally, there is a wider discussion of the subject which analyses a number of constraints on the implementation of TQM in the UK. Adrian Wilkinson, Mick Marchington and John Goodman are respectively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor in the School of Management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Peter Ackers is a Lecturer at Loughborough University Business School.     

Between trust and control: company‐level bargaining on flexible working hours in the Danish and German metal industries

Denmark is often highlighted as a good example of organised decentralisation in which employee bargaining power remains comparatively strong. However, comparative analysis of the Danish case rarely reflects how the social contracts between management and workers' representatives contribute to the bargaining outcome at company level. Drawing on 10 case studies in the German and Danish metal industries carried out in 2005, this article argues that the social contracts at the Danish case companies allow a more efficient use of company‐level agreements on flexible working hours than the social contracts at the German case companies.     

建立一体化管理体系的理论基础

随着经济的发展和社会的进步 ,企业需要通过多个管理体系标准的认证。本文探讨了如何建立可满足各类相关方要求的一体化管理体系 (IMS)的理论基础 ,分别阐述了融入大质量观的系统方法 ,拓展的八项质量管理原则和管理标准化原理。     

Local complexities and global uncertainties: a study of foreign ownership and human resource management in China

Drawing on qualitative data, this paper examines developments in human resource and employment policies and practices among a sample of joint venture and wholly owned foreign enterprises operating in China. The research reveals that the effects of parent company nationality and ownership form were most visible in the areas of remuneration, worker representation and aspects of employee selection. There was, however, little overt involvement of multinational parent companies in the management of human resources of their Chinese operations. The trend was towards indirect reporting relationships with regional sub-units of multinational companies rather than direct links with the parent headquarters. Overall, these intermediate sub-units were playing an important role in the integration of Chinese business units in the global management systems of multinational companies.     

The environment is free: The quality analogy

This paper argues that quality improvement approaches can be applied in the environmental context. Although environmental issues can occasionally negatively impact an organization's core business, most environmental programs, if properly channeled, can lead to both improved profitability and increased social responsibility. It is argued that time-proven techniques that have helped reduce quality costs and improve market share can provide similar results when applied to many environmental problems. Techniques based on the Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) philosophy (which is based on integrating Total Quality Management (TQM) methods and environmental management methods) are already being used by many organizations. This paper builds upon the TQEM concept (which emphasizes four basic elements: customer identification, continuous improvement, do the job right the first time and a systems approach to work) by showing how other principles used in quality management can also be applied to environmental management. The issues are then illustrated through a case study of a leading German manufacturer, Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH.     

'Fun and surveillance': the paradox of high commitment management in call centres

Much of the research into telephone call centres has focused on the coercive employment systems which are adopted in these organizations. This appears to contrast with the high levels of customer service and satisfaction which are often required for them to be successful. Our research, which is based on two case studies of call centres studied in depth, challenges this 'satanic mills' image. We explore the ways in which both companies sought to balance the pressures in the product and labour markets and employee needs to develop strategies which combined elements of commitment and control. They developed sophisticated human resource practices, which resembled the high commitment management approach, while, at the same time, maintaining a highly controlled and measured work environment. Consequently, there was a greater alignment between their HR practices and control systems, the needs of employees and the high quality of interactions with customers expected. This suggests that high commitment practices are not automatically associated with extensive employee discretion, as has been argued in the manufacturing sector. HR practices of this kind can be used to offset some of the worst features of call centre working. These findings illustrate the variety of HR practices in call centres and suggest some possible reasons for this diversity.     

基于供应链的中药饮片质量管理初探

本文通过对中药饮片质量管理的组织体系、管理规范的研究,指出了中药饮片质量管理在产业链建设、中药饮片质量标准建设及质量管理技术方而存在的问题,深入分析了中药饮片供应链各环节问题的成囚,给出厂提升中药饮片质量管理水平的对策与建议。     

The role of employee participation in generating and commercialising innovations: insights from Chinese high-tech firms

To date, employee participation finds very little recognition in China in research as well as in management practice. It seems to fundamentally contradict traditional values in Chinese culture. The effect of employee participation on innovation is completely unknown, not only for China, but also for many other emerging economies. In contrast, employee participation finds a lot of recognition in the western world for quite some while. Research suggests that employee participation is particularly relevant for innovations in skilled labour contexts, which are becoming increasingly important also for China. Based on a survey of 620 medium-sized and large companies we are investigating the effect of employee participation on innovation generation and commercialisation in China. In the formulation of our hypotheses we take the moderating effects of incentives into account. The contribution of this article is to give evidence on the explanation power of the western concept of employee participation outside the western world. This allows for a better understanding of the robustness of the concept towards cultural context factors.     

Setting people up for success: How the Portman Ritz‐Carlton hotel gets the best from its people

In China, where many multinational companies face a constant shortage of talent and high employee turnover, the Portman Ritz‐Carlton Hotel has been able to attract, develop, and retain high‐quality talent to deliver excellent customer service and ensure profitable growth. Under the leadership of Mark DeCocinis since 1998, the Portman Ritz‐Carlton has not only been named as the “Best Employer in Asia” by Hewitt Associates three consecutive times, but has also rated the highest in employee satisfaction among all of the Ritz‐Carlton's 59 hotels worldwide for five consecutive years. How can DeCocinis and his leadership team achieve such remarkable results? In his interview with Arthur Yeung, Mark DeCocinis, general manager of the Port‐man Ritz‐Carlton and regional vice president, Asia‐Pacific, of the Ritz‐Carlton Hotel Company, shares his philosophy and practices on talent management in China and elsewhere. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

'The persistent myth of high expatriate failure rates': a reappraisal

While there is now a mature literature on many aspects of the management of employees on international assignments (IAs), there is still considerable controversy about the numbers of expatriates who actually fail in these. Traditionally, this has been defined as the number of staff who return home before the agreed end of an IA, because of poor work performance and/or personal problems. Employing this definition, the research described in this paper supports the view that expatriate failure rates (EFRs), among UK employees are, indeed, very low (on average, around 8 per cent). However, this article argues that this traditional definition has limitations and does not reveal the true extent of the problems which IAs can cause to some expatriates and their dependants both during their time abroad and after returning to the UK. The paper then goes onto argue that a broader definition of 'failure' is needed, which includes: an acknowledgement of the considerable stresses and strains experienced by a minority of staff who are under-performing on IAs; the 'poaching' of successful managers by other companies while they are abroad or at the end of their IAs; the often negative outcomes of repatriation experienced by many employees in recent years; the negative (and largely unreported) effects on some families and the career prospects of partners and negative views about the prospect of overseas postings in the future.     

集成化质量信息管理技术在中国企业的实践

面对日益激烈的市场竞争，中国制造业充分认识到信息技术在企业质量管理中的作用，在制造企业内实施集成化质量信息管理的需求快速增长。然而，质量管理信患化建设是一项复杂的系统工程，涉及企业经营战略、运营模式、信息技术、现代质量管理理念、质量管理与控制技术、企业文化与社会人文环境等诸多因素。本文基于作者多年来在中国企业推广集成化质量信忠管理软件系统的实践和大量的企业调查，就集成化质量信息管理技术研究、系统开发和企业实施展开论述，分析并总结了中国企业质量管理信患化建设的现状、问题与困难，并提出了一套在行之有效的实施思路与方法。     

Front‐line managers as agents in the HRM‐performance causal chain: theory,analysis and evidence

Research on the link between HRM and organisational performance has neglected the role of front‐line managers, yet it is these managers who are increasingly charged with the implementation of many HR practices. Using an employee survey in 12 ‘excellent’ companies we explore the extent to which employee commitment towards their employer and their job are influenced by the quality of leadership behaviour and by satisfaction with HR practices. Both have a strong effect on employee attitudes. The article concludes with a case study of a planned effort to improve front‐line managers' skills in people management.     

缅甸输电线路建设的质量控制探析

由于缅甸建设条件的落后,给我国公司在缅甸建设的输电线路工程质量控制带来一定的难度,因此要求施工分包商建立分段管理的质量管理机构,加强现场管理,分析影响质量的因素,并就施工各节点进行控制。特别要针对缅甸工人参与基础施工这一特殊因素,加强对基础施工质量管理,有效控制各工序质量。     

Building from below: subsidiary management moderation of employment practices in MNCs in China

The international human resource management literature has a long tradition of examining the impact of institutional differences on the employment practices adopted by multinational corporations (MNCs). The question of how actors make sense of institutional differences, however, has received less research attention. This study examines the enactment of employment practices as institutional differences are translated, contextualized and deployed by managers at subsidiaries of MNCs. Based on intensive case studies at two Japanese–Chinese joint-venture manufacturing plants, the study first shows that distinctive employment practices were adopted to manage the boundaries between employee groups. These distinctions are then explained by the institutional difference between the home country (Japan) and the host country (China) as well as the way that institutional differences were represented by the managers in the process of designing, developing and executing employment practices. The study therefore argues that country differences are not only assumed spaces, but are also a reservoir of management resources that are moderated, in the case of employment practices, by actors’ strategic choices and political actions before they are enacted in the subsidiary.     

管理会计在企业的应用:社会和组织内部环境的影响

本文依据系统理论、管理会计权变理论的框架,采用历史分析的方法,研究社会环境和组织内部环境对中国企业管理会计应用的影响。认为影响我国企业管理会计应用的社会环境因素主要包括经济模式、政治因素、来自国外的影响、学术界引进等变量;组织内部环境因素主要有:组织文化、员工价值观以及组织结构等变量。     

Exploring the efficacy of healthcare quality practices, employee commitment, and employee control

This exploratory study examines healthcare quality program practices, employee commitment and control initiatives, and perceived results by surveying the directors of hospital quality programs. U.S. hospitals are renowned to be among the highest in quality, but recent studies assert that the majority of error-related deaths per year are preventable. In response, healthcare organizations have adopted quality management programs. Employee commitment and control theories propose that employee initiatives are critical to patient safety. However, little research has focused on the efficacy of employee commitment and control initiatives for quality programs at healthcare organizations. This study examines the responses from Quality and Risk Directors of 372 U.S. hospitals. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrate that perceived quantitative and qualitative quality program results are more highly related to employee commitment and control initiatives than they are related to quality practices.     

探索园林工程施工合理管理方案

随着国民经济的发展,国家基础建设的不断完善,园林施工企业也明显增多。园林企业的快速发展过程中,新要求、新技术也不断推出,日趋成熟的园林企业在工程施工中也出现了新的问题,种种问题的产生,以致常常会出现拖延工期、项目亏损甚至工程不符合标准的情况,导致企业经济效益差,严重限制了企业的发展。本文针对园林工程施工管理过程中出现的问题,结合实践,提出一些相应的意见和看法,主要以施工组织管理为基础,从质量、安全文明施工、成本管理等方面进行了比较概括的分析。