American and Japanese management practices in their Singapore subsidiaries

Multinational corporations have made significant contributions to the economic growth of Singapore; American and Japanese companies are among those in the forefront. This study is aimed at finding the extent to which US and Japanese companies have transferred and implemented the management practices in their subsidiaries operating in Singapore. Extensive and intensive interviews of a small sample of companies in the electronic/electrical industry reveal that the Japanese are not practising what they do in Japan while the Americans have demonstrated that the transferability of their management practices is feasible and they are workable in Singapore.Joseph M. Putti is an Associate Professor at the School of Management, National University of Singapore. Thomas Chong F.H. is a Production Manager in Union Carbide, Singapore.     

Human resource management in Japanese enterprises in the Philippines: Issues and problems

Since the latter half of the 1970s, interest in Japanese management and industrial relations increased in developing countries aiming to emulate the success of Japan. The entry of foreign investment to the Philippines also involves tensions related to human resource utilisation. This paper, using primary data, surveys the issues related to human resource utilisation among Japanese firms operating in the Philippines. The paper focuses upon labour market internalisation policies: hiring and recruitment, skills formation through on-the-job training, job assignments, job rotation and wage determination.This paper was written while the author was on study leave as a PhD Candidate (Mombusho Fellow) at the Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University in Tokyo. Acknowledgements are due to Prof Yoko Sano, Prof Hideo Ishida, Prof Haruo Shimada, Prof Ryohei Magota, Mr Hiro Nagai, and Mr Masahiro Abe, and colleagues from the U.P. SOLAIR for their advice and suggestions. The Japan Foundation supported part of the research, and is gratefully acknowledged.     

International human resource management: An Australian perspective

International human resource management (IHRM) is slowly emerging as a field of academic enquiry. There is, however, a dearth of case study material which documents IHRM strategies and experiences of companies-particularly companies which do not have their home base in the United States. This paper reviews current IHRM literature and reports the results of a recent study of four companies operating internationally from Australia: two are Australian-owned; one is an Australian subsidiary of a multinational oil company and the fourth is a regional division of a multinational automobile manufacturer. For the collection of data, a case study approach was used, with structured interviews of each company's personnel director, expatriate line managers (including returned managers and foreign nationals currently in Australia) and spouses. These case studies are analysed and the extent to which they contribute to the international human resource management literature is examined.The authors would like to thank the companies which participated in the study, and Mary Anderson, Hugh Davies, and Helen De Cieri for comments on earlier versions of the paper.     

Development of human resource management in Vietnam: A semantic analysis

The present study offers a logical understanding of the development of human resource management (HRM) in Vietnam over the past 30 years. While previous studies have examined the adoption of HR practices, there remains a need to understand the current state of HRM development in Vietnam. Using a semantic analysis approach, we systematically analyzed the themes and concepts from 100 journal articles related to HRM in Vietnam, selected from academic databases between 1984 and 2013. The main study findings show that the development of HRM is associated with the key stages of economic development in Vietnam.     

Quality management practices and competitive performance: Empirical evidence from Japanese manufacturing companies

This paper presents the results of an empirical study on the relationship between quality management practices and competitive performance in Japanese manufacturing companies. The data was gathered from two surveys including the common sample of twenty-seven Japanese manufacturing companies in the 1990s and the 2000s. Statistical techniques are used to compare the degree of implementation of the eleven quality management practices and their impact on different dimensions of competitive performance between two periods. Findings of this study highlight the stability and consistency of the Japanese quality management, which can be used as one of the strategic weapons for maintaining competitive advantage of Japanese manufacturing companies.     

Convergence and regulation of multi-screen television: The Singapore experience

This article addresses complicated convergent and regulatory issues arising from cross-platform audiovisual services and analyzes Singapore's multi-screen television experience. A “platform neutrality” multi-screen TV regulatory scheme is proposed to concentrate on content classification in order to respond to the fast-changing audiovisual industry and competition. Under the scheme, different content and license regulations are applied to four types of TV-like services which are categorized by “socio-cultural impact” (i.e., broadcasting and mass market vs. VOD and niche market)” and “content production/aggregation model” (i.e., gatekeeping vs. participatory mechanism). In addition, competition, content regulation, and digital copyright are identified as key issues involved in the fast-growing cross-platform audiovisual media industry. Finally, this study analyzes market development, regulatory issues, and national plans for multi-screen TV services in Singapore and examines them under the proposed regulatory scheme. Market and policy recommendations are discussed.     

Future research on human resource management systems in Asia

Re-emphasizing the need to examine human resource management (HRM) in context, this article builds around four themes. First, it analyses the main issues discussed in the existing literature regarding HRM in the Asian context. Second, it highlights the critical challenges facing HRM function in the region. Third, along with the analysis, it presents an agenda for future research. Fourth, it presents a framework useful for highlighting the context specific nature of Asian HRM functions and the main determinants of HRM policies and practices from a cross-national comparative perspective.

Green human resource management research in emergence: A review and future directions

The growing awareness of and regulations related to environmental sustainability have invoked the concept of green human resource management (GHRM) in the search for effective environmental management (EM) within organizations. GHRM research raises new, increasingly salient questions not yet studied in the broader human resource management (HRM) literature. Despite an expansion in the research linking GHRM with various aspects of EM and overall environmental performance, GHRM’s theoretical foundations, measurement, and the factors that give rise to GHRM (including when and how it influences outcomes) are still under-specified. This paper, seeking to better understand research opportunities and advance theoretical and empirical development, evaluates the emergent academic field of GHRM with a narrative review. This review highlights an urgent need for refined conceptualization and measurement of GHRM and develops an integrated model of the antecedents, consequences and contingencies related to GHRM. Going beyond a function-based perspective that focuses on specific HRM practices and building on advances in the strategic HRM literature, we discuss possible multi-level applications, the importance of employee perceptions and experiences related to GHRM, contextual and cultural implications, and alternative theoretical approaches. The detailed and focused review provides a roadmap to stimulate the development of the GHRM field for scholars and practicing managers.     

R&D networking in a pharmaceutical company: Some implications for human resource management

A case-study of the R&D networking activities of Glaxo Group Research was carried out between June and November 1993. Different types of networking situation were identified using a simple 2times2 matrix –- the ‘networking uncertainty map’. This paper describes the background to Glaxo's R&D networking activities, introduces and illustrates the uncertainty map and then suggests the implications of each type of network. There are implications in general for R&D management and more specifically for the management of human resources in R&D. Managers might easily apply the uncertainty map to their own R&D networking situations.     

Spectrum management reform: Rethinking practices

Unparalleled growth in wireless communications has increased the pressure for more spectrum to support more users, more uses and more capacity. To alleviate that pressure, major regulatory changes were introduced in several countries in two key areas of spectrum management, namely spectrum assignment and allocation. This paper analyzes those changes and discusses strategies and tactics for deregulating the use of radio spectrum. Spectrum management reforms are considered within the theoretical framework of transition economics, which is concerned with optimal reform speed and sequencing. The paper shows how Anglo-Saxon and European countries have been implementing gradual reforms. Meanwhile, Central American reformers have chosen a fast transition from command-and-control regulation to market mechanisms. Transition economics is used to evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of different spectrum reform strategies.     

国有建筑企业中的人力资源开发与管理

在现代管理中人力资源开发与管理日益成为企业的一项战略性工作，赢得了人才就赢得了企业的持续发展的后劲。本通过选择一个传统的建筑行业为出发点，结合笔较长时期在该行业从事人力资源管理工作的实际，从建筑企业自身具具的特殊工作性质来概述人力资源开发与管理工作的现状、面临的难题，分析其原因、并着重从具体的人员培训、绩效考核、薪酬管理以及企业化建设几个方面来提出如何建立、实行高效的人力资源开发与管理体制，从而为企业的发展提供强大的人才保障。     

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.     

Strategic human resource management,institutionalization, and employment modes: an empirical study in China

This study compares the predictions of institutional theory with those of the contingency perspective of strategic human resource management (SHRM) on the selection of an employment mode. Empirical data were collected from multinational enterprises, including the electronics and garment industries, that operate in China to test the relative importance of the determinants of the selection of an employment mode. The results provide greater support for the SHRM predictions than for the institutional theory predictions. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅析油气管道企业人力资源的开发与管理

随着中国油气管道建设进入快速发展的高峰期,油气管道企业既面临前所未有的发展机遇,也面临人才短缺的严峻挑战。对于管道企业来说,要鼓励富有竞争意识和创新精神的各类人才的脱颖而出,首先必须破除“官本位”、“论资排辈”等不利于人才开发和成长的障碍,树立“竞争出人才”的理念;其次,应采取人才潜质判断与人才知识结构相结合的方针,积极推行“能上能下”的选人用人机制,既注重人才的知识结构,更重视人才的潜能挖掘;第三,应把员工培训作为一个系统工程,提升到企业战略层面,建立多层次、多渠道的员工培训教育网络,明确培养目标,确定重点培养对象,创造良好的再教育环境。中国石油管道公司锦州输油气分公司在人力资源开发与管理方面进行的有益探索和取得的良好效果说明,企业只有尊重人才,充分挖掘人才的潜能,深化人力资源开发,才能在日益激烈的竞争中奠定长青基业,实现可持续发展。     

Incorporating human resource management initiatives into customer services: Empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

The existing operations management literature has extensively investigated the associations between customer satisfaction and firm performance. However, how to improve customer satisfaction through employee empowerment, service reward, and service training has rarely been investigated. In this research, we tied human resource and service operations management to each other and examined the relationships among employee empowerment, service reward, service training, employee satisfaction, customer service and customer satisfaction based on empirical study of 214 Chinese manufacturing companies. Using structural equation modeling, we found that both employee empowerment and service training have significant impacts on employee satisfaction and customer service, while service reward only has significant impact on customer service. We also found that both employee satisfaction and customer service have significant impact on customer satisfaction. However, the impact of employee satisfaction on customer service is insignificant. The findings suggest that employee empowerment, service reward and service training are important considerations for operations managers to boost employee satisfaction and customer service, which in turn improve customer satisfaction. We provide empirical evidence that employee empowerment, service reward and service training play significant roles in increasing customer satisfaction in the context of manufacturing businesses.     

Linear programming for bank portfolio management in Singapore

James Tobin's portfolio theory can be applied to bank portfolio management in that a bank would maximise the rates of return of its portfolio of assets, subject to the expected degree of risk and liquidity. Chambers and Charnes (1961), Cohen and Hammer (1967), Booth and Dash (1979) and others apply the linear programming model to the management of bank funds. This paper carries out a linear programming analysis on the consolidated balance sheets of commercial banks in Singapore for the period 1978–1983. The results show that by and large banks do try to maximise the returns of their portfolio, subject to legal, policy, bounding and total asset constraints, which denote riskiness and liquidity of the portfolio of assets. In a direct way, banks conform to the portfolio choice theory; they have to balance yield and liquidity against security. Although the computer cannot replace a manager, linear programming can serve as a useful guide.Dr Lee Sheng-Yi is an Associate Professor (retired) in the National University of Singapore and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research, Taipei; and Dr Yeong Wee Yong is a Senior Lecturer, School of Management Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore.     

煤炭企业人力资源管理问题及对策

企业的可持续发展和核心竞争力,人才是关键的决定因素。同煤集团四老沟矿是老煤炭企业,由于井下工作环境较艰苦,劳动强度较大,加上世俗偏见,造成人才引进困难。而工资待遇偏低,使人才引进更是难上加难,在人才竞争中处于弱势。怎样引进人才、留住人才,使人才特别是同煤集团四老沟矿主体专业人才呈现正增长,对目前四老沟矿来说尤为重要和迫切。     

Cultural influence on management aspects: The experience of the Chinese in Singapore

A random sample of 306 Singaporean Chinese were interviewed using a structured interview schedule which contained twenty true-to-life situations. The situations were associated with four predetermined value areas: Relational, Temporal, Mannature and Activity. The general value structure of the Chinese in Singapore appears to be as follows: In the Relational area, the values are in the order of collaterality above individualism which in turn is above lineality. In the Temporal area, it is present and/or future above past. Mastery over nature, and harmony with nature subjugation to nature is shown to be the hierarchy in the area of Man-nature. In the Activity area, the value is for doing rather than being. The implications of these value orientations of the Chinese are discussed in relation to organizational behaviour.The research reported here is a part of a broader study into the core value system of the Chinese in Singapore, and the presentation should be seen in that context. The main research was supported by a grant from the National University of Singapore.