Flexible labour markets and individualized employment: the beginnings of a new Japanese HRM system?

In an earlier study we reported that human resource management (HRM) in Japan was best characterized by continuity with some changes to assessment and pay practices. It is now over five years since we mapped out the changes taking place in Japanese HRM. This contribution reviews some of the changes over this period and considers the future directions of HRM. The essay commences with a discussion of the important contextual factors and issues underpinning HRM including employer proposals for reform. The next section then explores changes taking place in employment, remuneration and evaluation. This is supplemented by a more general assessment of the key changes occurring in Japanese HRM. The essay concludes with a discussion on why such changes are occurring, whether the changes constitute a convergence towards the Western model and the implications for HRM and theory development.     

The Development of HRM Practices in Taiwan

Small and medium-sized, mostly family-owned, enterprises employ more than 60 per cent of paid employees in Taiwan; however, these enterprises traditionally do not have distinct human resource management functions. In contrast, state-owned and large-sized private enterprises have gradually established their human resource systems and learned HRM techniques from foreign-owned companies. The article first examines employment structure and labour market development in Taiwan, then evaluates employment legislation and the development of HRM functions, and finally identifies several major future challenges, such as employee participation and employment security.     

HRM in Hong Kong since 1997

A diverse set of human resource management (HRM) practices became institutionalized during Hong Kong's industrialization from the 1950s through the 1970s within the context of an open economy, a government disinclined to intervene in business decisions or the labour market and a weak trade union movement. Economic restructuring, labour market changes and rising labour costs during the 1980s and 1990s pressured employers to find more effective ways of using their human resources. We focus on how the economic downturn following the Asian Financial Crisis has impacted on employment practices including employment security, compensation, skill formation, work reorganization and employment relations. We discuss changes in the public as well as private sector and argue that reforms in the former are loosening the rigidities of its highly structured internal labour market system. Public sector employment practices are thus likely to converge increasingly with the ‘best practices’ of private sector and overseas government HRM systems.     

Strategic Choice and Organisational Context in HRM in the UK Hotel Sector

Human resource management in the UK hotel industry is typically held to be informal, instrumental and associated with poor employment relations. Some studies, however, have identified incidences of more formal, high-commitment HRM indicating greater diversity in employment practices. Using original research undertaken in south-west England, this article examines this diversity and the influence of organisational context in the formation of HRM strategy. By identifying patterns of employee relations practice it is possible to examine the influence of market factors and establishment size and the extent to which there is scope for strategic choice in HRM. The research indicates that whilst larger hotels operating in stable product markets might be more likely to display formal or strategic approaches to employee relations compared to the industry as a whole, this sub-sector still appears significantly divided in the extent to which managers feel able, willing or compelled to invest in associated practices.     

HRM in Thailand: Eroding Traditions

This study explores the changing HRM practices in Thailand, especially over the past decade, during which the country has undergone substantial economic growth. It begins by examining the employment practices of traditional family-owned enterprises, which differ substantially from what have become thought of as ‘best practice’ in Western firms. It then analyzes the professionalization of employment practices in large-scale, publicly held Thai corporations. The final sections of the consider the nature of employment practices in the subsidiaries of multinational firms, which play a major role in the Thai economy.     

Does organisational support promote citizenship? The moderating role of market-focused HRM

This paper describes how employment relationships and human-resource management (HRM) functions can influence employees’ citizenship role definitions in service settings. Integrating social exchange and role theory, the paper suggests that contact employees will reciprocate felt obligations of high-quality employee–organisation relationships (i.e. perceived organisational support (POS)) by expanding their role in ways consistent with contextual behavioural expectations. The longitudinal survey of 1387 contact employees and 108 managers in a large supermarket chain shows that POS and several market-focused HRM practices influence employees’ service-oriented citizenship role definitions. In particular, high-quality employment relationships contribute to expanded service-oriented citizenship role definitions when market-focused HRM practices were implemented.     

HRM in Singapore: change and continuity

This essay traces the development of human resource management (HRM) in Singapore from the mid 1990s until the present day, with particular reference to the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In particular, it explores the changes in employment relations since the publication of Yuen (1997). National HRM concerns and strategies to maximize human capital as Singapore transforms itself and the knowledge economy is highlighted. The issue of convergence versus divergence in the management of human resources (HRs) will be touched upon. Current and future HR challenges that are most likely to impact on the country's competitiveness and economic performance are also explored.     

Against paternalism in Human Resource Management

The paper presents an evaluation of the paternalistic model of HRM. The analysis reveals that this conception of the employment relationship is deeply flawed and does not provide a morally acceptable approach towards responsible citizens in a democratic society. Moreover, where the employment relationship is based upon managerial hegemony and secrecy, the danger is that this can become institutionalized as a corporate morality that brings about the unintended consequences of moral indifference and unjust conduct towards employees and other stakeholders. The conclusion of this evaluation is that a wise management will try to open up its decision‐making processes and seek the participation of a wide range of stakeholders in the determination of the economic and social purpose of the company. There is another option: the employment relationship can be informed by a communitarian perspective, which aims to strike a balance between the economic interests of employers and employees, and the need for justice to foster mutual cooperation in the pursuit of a common purpose. This conception of the employment relationship will be outlined here as HRM in the 'community of purpose'.     

The impact of globalization on HRM: the case of South Korea

Globalization can have far reaching implications for human resource management (HRM) and management practice in general. For some, globalization creates pressures for a common, often taken as ‘best’, transferable set of HRM practices that can spread around the world. These best practices are considered powerful enough to override existing systems. In contrast, others see national based HRM systems as more resilient, partly because of the systemic underpinnings of particular cultural and institutional milieu. Both views contain important implications and lessons. We outline these, a framework for viewing them and the case of HRM in South Korea to demonstrate the issues, contradictions and dilemmas and ways of thinking so that practitioners can make informed choices concerning HRM practices to develop competency enhancing HRM systems.     

Organization Context and Human Resource Management in the Small Firm

This paper examines the relationship between organization contextual variables and human resource management (HRM) practices in small firms. The proposed model is based on an integration of theoretical perspectives, including the resource-based approach, institutional theory, transaction cost economics (TCE), and concepts from strategic management. The model is explored empirically, with qualitative and quantitative analyses of data collected from a sample of sixteen small Dutch firms. Specific contextual variables examined include company size, the presence of a collective labor agreement, having a large firm associate, either as supplier, purchasing group or franchiser, and the company's strategic orientation toward growth (growth strategy). An important finding is the significance of having a large firm associate. Companies with a large firm associate are more likely to report having employer-based training programs. As predicted, company size is associated with more formal HRM practices, including greater regularity of performance appraisal and greater likelihood of employer-based training. A weak relationship is found between a more growth-oriented strategy and greater formality of these two HRM practices. Predictions based on collective labor agreements are not supported. The paper concludes that the findings warrant further research on the relationship between organization contextual variables and the formalization of HRM practices, although a clearer definition of the latter variable is needed in future research.     

新的竞争环境中的人力资源管理变革

本文分析了全球化和新技术革命对企业人力资源管理的影响,认为人力资源管理变革是企业在新的竞争环境下获得持续竞争优势的基本需求,其目标是增强企业的内部动态能力和应用IT的能力。文章指出,企业人力资源管理首先要把员工视为专家,企业是通过他们的人力资本而获得利润;其次要形成学习型组织,鼓励一种分享认知的文化,形成共同的价值观;其三要形成一种促进集体创造力发展的企业文化。文章还提出了人力资源管理变革的三个主要措施即从人力资源管理到。人力资本管理,从协调到整合和共享认识,从只重视少数人发明到鼓励每个人都能够创新等。     

Rhetorics and realities of management practices in Pakistan: Colonial,post-colonial and post-9/11 influences

This study explores how colonial laws and administrative practices shaped the evolution of employment management in Pakistan. It identifies important mechanisms used by the British Raj (the period of British rule of the subcontinent) to institutionalise legal and administrative frameworks: the legacies of these structures continue to influence contemporary management practices in government sector organisations. This article investigates the legacy of the Raj's ‘quota system’ in the civil services and the doctrine of the ‘martial race’ in military services, both of which offered enduring structural advantages in the labour market to designated groups. It further considers the implications of the study's findings for international HRM in particular, but also management theory, comparative HRM and comparative management in post-colonial societies.     

基于虚拟视角的零售业人力资源管理职能转变研究

目前我国零售业的人力资源管理面临较大的困境,如对企业人力资源管理的战略地位认识不足;缺乏人力资源规划;员工流失比例高;员工缺乏培训等。从人力资源管理理论演变的过程说明,其原因是人力资源管理的职能没有转变。零售业人力资源部门应逐渐从行政性管理工作中解放出来,开始更多地从事战略性人力资源管理工作,对于那些行政性的事务应进行虚拟化运作,制定员工管理虚拟、招聘虚拟、培训虚拟等对策。     

The effect of human resource management policies on organizational performance in Greek manufacturing firms

This article investigates if human resource management (HRM) policies have an impact on organizational performance in the Greek manufacturing context. The research is based on a sample of 178 firms. The “universalistic model” of HRM is adopted to conduct the investigation. The results show strong support for the model, indicating that the HRM policies of recruitment, training, promotion, incentives, benefits, involvement, and health and safety are positively related with organizational performance. The study both contributes to HRM theory and has important implications for practitioners. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Employee as ‘Dish of the Day’: The Ethics of the Consuming/Consumed Self in Human Resource Management

This article examines the ethical implications of the growing integration of consumption into the heart of the employment relationship. Human resource management (HRM) practices increasingly draw upon the values and practices of consumption, constructing employees as the ??consumers?? of ??cafeteria-style?? benefits and development opportunities. However, at the same time employees are expected to market themselves as items to be consumed on a corporate menu. In relation to this simultaneous position of consumer/consumed, the employee is expected to actively engage in the commodification of themselves, performing an appropriate organizational identity as a necessary part of being a successful employee. This article argues that the relationship between HRM and the simultaneously consuming/consumed employee affects the conditions of possibility for ethical relations within organizational life. It is argued that the underlying ??ethos?? for the integration of consumption values into HRM practices encourages a self-reflecting, self-absorbed subject, drawing upon a narrow view of individualised autonomy and choice. Referring to Levinas?? perspective that the primary ethical relation is that of responsibility and openness to the Other, it is concluded that these HRM practices affect the possibility for ethical being.     

Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework

This article proposes the lens of moral economy as a useful ethical framework through which to assess HRM practice, with a particular focus on the strategic use of contingent work (??non-standard?? employment practices including temporary, agency and outsourced work). While contingent work practices have a variety of impetuses we focus here on their strategic use in the pursuit of economic and flexibility goals. A review of the contingent work literature conveys mixed messages about its outcomes for individuals, and more opaquely, for organisations: on the one hand transferring risks yet on the other, creating opportunities. A moral economy lens views employment as a relationship rooted in a web of social dependencies, and considers that ??thick?? relations produce valuable ethical surpluses that represent mutuality and human flourishing. Applying such an approach to the analysis of contingent work enables a fresh interpretation of contradictory individual and collective outcomes observed in the research literature. We suggest that evaluations informed by moral economy offer a more holistic appraisal of HRM practices such as contingent work, where both economic and social opportunities and costs can be more fully seen. In this way we not only highlight the ethical inadequacies of neglecting the human in HRM but also the conceptual pitfalls of analytically separating the economic from the social.     

Determinants of the adoption of HRM practices in tourism SMEs in Spain: an exploratory study

This paper explores the relationship between the adoption of HRM practices in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the characteristics of the firm and the person responsible for HRM. We propose a conceptual model based on the resource-based view, which is tested with quantitative data from 164 tourism’s SMEs in Catalonia (Spain). As predicted, the adoption of HRM practices is positively associated with the presence of an HRM department. Also, SMEs in which the person responsible for HRM has previous experience in similar positions are greater adopters of HRM practices. Finally, SMEs which cooperate with other organizations are more likely to implement HRM practices.     

Human Resource Management Practices in a Transitional Economy: A Comparative Study of Enterprise Ownership Forms in Vietnam

This exploratory study compared human resource management (HRM) practices in four types of companies in Vietnam. It found, from a sample of 169 companies, that the adoption of HRM practices reflects the company's ownership traits. Overall, foreign-invested companies (FICs) are somewhat more developed in HRM practices than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Conversely, local private companies, albeit more entrepreneurial, are often less receptive to adopting HRM practices than SOEs. It also revealed that transforming SOEs into equitized companies has brought about no significant changes in this regard. Together with an examination of the impact of management's perceived value of human resources (HR), union status, and company size, the study provides more insight into the variations in HRM practices and suggests some implications for initiating change in this area.