The strategic and cultural legitimacy of HR professionalization in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, human resources (HR) practice has reached a point of professionalization not yet apparent in other parts of China creating opportunities for best practice diffusion across rapidly developing cities, provinces, and regions. The aim of this paper is to ascertain the strategic and cultural legitimacy of human resource management (HRM) in Hong Kong from the perspective of the occupation’s status as an emerging profession. Combining established theory on professions with documented insights from normative associational ideals, this paper derives four major sources of HR professionalization, which it entitles strategy, communication, administration, and discipline. Assuming that tasks performed by the most senior, qualified and experienced practitioners hold greatest empirical sway over the prospect of occupational association, this study finds that a combination of strategic and communication practices emerge as the two most likely routes to HR professionalization. Based on survey responses from a representative sample of 172 certified practitioners, the findings support the notion of HR as a strategic asset, raising important implications for the professional status of the occupation within an Asian management context.     

Capital flows and stock price volatility: Evidence from Hong Kong

This paper investigates both the short-run dynamics and the long-run co-movement of stock prices, capital flows and the real interest rates in Hong Kong. By using the Johansen multivariate cointegration technique, this paper finds that there are two cointegration vectors among the variables. In other words, the results show that the three variables in Hong Kong are moving together. This long-run relationship implies that even the stock market is efficient in the short-run. Its long-run movement can, however, be predicted by the activities of the capital market.This paper benefited greatly from the comments of anonymous referees. All remaining errors are ours alone.     

2010年上半年主要玩具展览会

国内部分 2010香港玩具展 时间：1月11日-14日 地点：香港会议展览中心 组织单位：香港贸发局。亚洲第一、全球第二大的香港玩具展已踏入第36届。2009年举行的第35届展会吸引了超过2000家来自19个国家的参展商。本届展会新添全新元素,“品牌廊”以及两个新产品展区将首度登场。香港文具展一如既往地同期举行,同时香港国际专利授权展及首届香港贸发局香港婴儿用品展亦同时同地举行。     

CEPA对香港制造业的影响

CEPA是中国大陆与香港在WTO和“一国两制”的原则和框架下做出的制度安排,对香港的经济发展和结构转型具有重要意义和深远影响。本文在分析香港制造业面临的问题基础之上着眼于分析CEPA对香港制造业的影响。CEPA的签定将会为重振香港制造业提供契机,为其产业结构转型提供有利的条件。     

Strategies of upward influence: A cross-national comparison of Hong Kong and American managers

This study compares American and Hong Kong Chinese strategies for advancing in organisations. Evaluated are the likelihood of using a particular strategy, the perceived risk associated with each strategy, and the ethical appropriateness of the strategy. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine overall differences. Univariate analysis of variance identified the particular strategies that differentiated the American and Hong Kong respondents. For example, the Hong Kong Chinese were more likely to use informal information networks. The Americans were more likely to employ more individual strategies, such as image management, in order to differentiate themselves from the competition in their organisation.     

Managerial Values Across Cultures: Australia, Hong Kong and the United States

The relationship between personal managerial values and a range of important organisational variables has increasingly been recognised. Personal values are shaped by the wider cultural milieu in which the individual is socialised. Managers from different cultural contexts may therefore be expected to possess different work and business-related values. However, exposure to a more universalistic managerial ethos may also generate a degree of similarity in managerial values across cultural contexts. In order to examine these issues, the values and expectations of managers in Hong Kong (N = 653), Australia (N = 505) and the United States (N = 1,060) were compared. Both differences and similarities were revealed, leading to speculations about the relative impact of culture versus roles on managerial values.     

Causality of interest rate,exchange rate and stock prices at stock market open and close in Hong Kong

By an ARIMA approach and verified by the Granger causality tests, the causality of daily interest rate, exchange rate and stock prices in Hong Kong were explored for the period 1986 to 1991. Depending on the subperiods being considered, sporadic unidirectional causality from closing stock prices to interest rate, and weak bi-directional causality between stock prices and the exchange rate were found. The overall evidence, however, appears to show that the Hong Kong market efficiently incorporated much of the interest rate and exchange rate information in its price changes both at daily market close and open.The author would like to acknowledge helpful comments from two anonymous referees, helpful suggestions by Dr Daniel Cheung and research assistance from Theresa Tam. This project is supported by a research grant from the Institute of Social Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.     

Organisation development practices in Hong Kong: Current state and future challenges

This paper examines the current state of OD practices in Hong Kong. The results of two recent studies among major firms and among the managers of large firms are reported. It is found that Hong Kong firms put more emphasis on the human processual type of interventions, followed by strategic planning. Some firms are practising state-of-the-art OD activities, though the majority are still using traditional OD interventions. The current state of OD practice is then reviewed and implications for the future are discussed.The author is from the Department of Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The author would like to acknowledge the financial support of UPGC Direct Grant of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for this project.     

Adjustment of Western Business Expatriates in Hong Kong Versus the Chinese Mainland

Business expatriates assigned to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, mostly from Western Europe and North America, responded to a survey assessing the extent of sociocultural and psychological adjustment. As expected, results showed that the expatriates were better socioculturally adjusted to Hong Kong than the Chinese mainland, whereas no difference was found for psychological adjustment between the two samples. Examining the adjustment of different nationalities it was found that French business expatriates were less well socioculturally adjusted both in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland than their British and U.S. counterparts. Practical implications of these findings for business expatriates as well as for their firms are discussed and future avenues for extending research of this nature is explored.     

The development of information infrastructure in Hong Kong

Given its geographical advantage and economic integration with mainland China, Hong Kong has naturally become a major communications centre in the Asia-Pacific region. A growing number of international telecommunications and broadcasting companies are establishing business relations with Hong Kong. Hong Kong has also become the first place in the world to launch video-on-demand service. Although these companies are equipped with new technology, their developments have been impeded by the policy inertia of the Hong Kong Government. The objectives of this paper are to highlight some of the regulatory issues posed by the new technology and to make policy recommendations for the removal of the structural barriers impeding Hong Kong’s information infrastructure development.     

When mind, heart, and hands meet: communication design and designers

Hong Kong’s transformation from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy has prompted the local government to promote the city as a regional design center. The 2008 Policy Address delivered by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive calls for the creation of a large pool of creative and knowledgeable talent. The government recognizes that, in addition to disciplinary knowledge and skills, the high-quality workforce demanded by the economic transition requires creativity and broader competences. The University Grants Committee of Hong Kong considers outcome-based education (OBE) the best approach to developing a workforce qualified to meet the demands of the professional marketplace and, accordingly, is strongly encouraging its deployment in all higher education institutions. This article investigates the effects of the OBE approach on the curriculum revision, implementation, and evaluation of a two-semester undergraduate-level communication design course that was selected for an OBE pilot study at the author’s university. To establish stronger linkage between the academic and professional contexts, it was deemed necessary to seek the opinions of experienced design practitioners about the attributes they expect of graduates and the methods they employ in training junior designers. The author conducted in-depth interviews with 13 art/creative directors from 11 design agencies in Hong Kong in 2007. Their opinions were incorporated into the formulation of intended learning outcomes (ILOs), teaching and learning activities (TLAs), and assessment tasks (ATs) for the revised outcome-based course curriculum, which was then implemented in the 2008–2009 academic year. This article reports the findings of the aforementioned interviews and discusses the design of the revised curriculum with illustration from samples of students’ creative projects. It also provides a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the course design and student learning, as revealed in quantitative and qualitative feedback from students and in the course designer’s self-reflection.     

Competition Policy under Laissez-Faireism: Market Power and its Treatment in Hong Kong

The paper describes the current competition policy framework in Hong Kong: how it came into existence, what business practices are prohibited, and how the enforcement system works. Recent cases in the telecommunications industry are used to illustrate the sectoral approach, a unique feature of Hong Kong's competition policy. We argue that a sectoral approach faces two fundamental drawbacks. First, due to having different ``rules of the game' for different sectors, the allocation of resources may be distorted in the long run. Second, since the relevant regulatory agencies perform dual roles both as competition policy enforcer and as traditional regulator of natural monopolies, the impartiality of their competition decisions may not be credibly conveyed to the public. We also address other specific problems associated with the sectoral approach, such as the exclusion of structural issues, narrow coverage of sectors, and the lack of public enforcement. We conclude that an overall competition law can better promote competition and economic efficiency in Hong Kong.     

Subcultures in Greater China: A Comparison of Managerial Values in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Managerial values in the three regions that form Greater China — Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) — were compared. It is posited that in addition to Confucian philosophy, political and economic systems also have significant effects on the values of Chinese managers. Results show that despite the economic integration in Greater China, managerial values have yet to be unified. Managers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the PRC are convergent in collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. On the other hand, managers in the PRC demonstrated higher power distance and less concern about deadlines and plans than in managers Hong Kong and Taiwan. Materialism is also greater in the PRC and Hong Kong than in Taiwan.     

A Management Capacity Constraint? Obstacles to the Development of the Overseas Chinese Family Business

Overseas Chinese family business (OCFBs) have gained a reputation for cost efficiency, responsiveness, and flexibility as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and as pioneers of the mainland's industrialization. This success is based upon a relatively simple ‘personally managed’ organization operating within a network of kin and ethnic relations. To what extent are mid-sized OCFBs now able to develop the capacity to compete in new strategic domains and manage more complex value chains? The paper examines competing views of the OCFBs organizational and competitive capabilities. The strategies of 50 mid-sized Hong Kong based manufacturing firms are used to provide insight into the questions of capabilities upgrading and long-term competitiveness in personally managed enterprises. In contrast to prevailing cultural and institutional accounts of OCFB behavior, the paper suggests that current (western) theory of the family firm and of organizational networks provides an alternative explanation of observed investment strategies and organizational structure.     

A multivariate statistical analysis of the characteristics of problem firms in Hong Kong

This paper presents a two-group discriminant analysis of the characteristics of problem firms in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the common financial characteristics which distinguish problem firms from nonproblem firms.Benjamin Y.K. Tai is a Professor at the Department of Accountancy, California State University, Fresno. Lawrence S.T. Tai is a Lecturer at the Department of Accounting & Finance, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.     

香港新一轮经济转型及其对深圳经济的影响

1997年香港回归后，由于亚洲金融风暴的冲击，香港经济面临严峻挑战，开始逐渐加快了经济转型步伐和新一轮的产业结构调整，并在以下方面取得了大的突破：一是以积极发展创新科技产业为经济培育新的增长点，二是一些传统服务业逐步衰退或逐步向外转移，专业服务业，高科技服务业以及社区服务业等迅速发展，由于香港经济的发展及其不断辐射可推动深圳经济持续的发展和壮大，因此香港经济的复苏及转型将为深圳经济带来新的商机。     

Capital investment practices: A survey of large corporations in Malaysia,Singapore and Hong Kong

This paper presents the results of a survey on the capital investment practices of large corporations in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Our findings are fairly consistent with those from similar U.S. surveys. However, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong companies seem to use multiple techniques, both simple and sophisticated, in evaluating investment projects, while U.S. companies appear to make great use of discounted cash-flow rate of return. Although Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong companies often make annual cash-flow forecasts over the life of a project, they do not undertake much analysis of risk involved in the project. Moreover, there is room for improving the practice of project implementation, the post-audit of implemented projects, and the use of post-audit data.Dr Wong Kie Ann is with the School of Management, National University of Singapore; Dr Edward J Farragner is with the Department of Finance, DePaul University, U.S.A.; and Mr Rupert K.C. Leung is with the Department of Business Management, Hong Kong Baptist College.     

Whither Hong Kong's Unions: Autonomous Trade Unionism or Classic Dualism?

This paper presents an evaluation of the ideologies and behaviour of the main union groupings in Hong Kong. The CTU's 'adversarial' line and 'inclusive' approach has threatened to break with the traditional industrial pacifism of Hong Kong's unions, while the FTU's recognition of its 'dual functioning' role has been balanced by the need to maintain credibility as an effective representative of workers' interests. The TUC has been passive in recent years, and the independent unions tend to be rather inward-looking. Unions remain weak, particularly at the workplace, and it is uncertain to what extent union autonomy can be sustained.