Japanese Production Strategies and Competitive Success: Mazda's Quiet Revolution

This contribution discusses the degree to which changes in human resource management (HRM) have taken place in the China since the Special Issue on HRM in the Asia Pacific Region came out in 1997. At that time, we spoke of ‘relative convergence’ as being the main feature of Chinese HRM; this remains largely the case. As the non-state owned sectors in the Chinese economy expand and state-owned enterprises shrink correspondingly, the impact of World Trade Organization entry will lead to more competition and a greater role for market forces. The greater the impact of these changes on Chinese firms, the more Personnel Management will be replaced by HRM year by year. How rapidly this pragmatic, step-wise path proceeds will depend on how far the new norms become institutionalized and how far managers' as well as workers' mind-sets absorb and integrate them.     

Key account management: Theory,practice and challenges

Key account management is a natural development of customer focus and relationship marketing in business‐to‐business markets. It offers critical benefits and opportunities for profit enhancement to both sides of the seller/buyer dyad.

This paper describes a framework for understanding the development of key account relationships. It has also incorporated a comprehensive guide to the current practice of key account management and comments on the challenges for the future of key account management practice. The paper is based on research involving in‐depth interviews with key account managers, their managers and their main contacts in the customer organisation.

The scope of key account management is widening and becoming more complex. The skills of professionab involved in it at strategic and operational levels need to be constantly updated and developed. This paper demonstrates how key account management can be implemented and points decision‐makers in the right direction for better practice in the long term.     

RESTRICTING FISHING: A SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF ARTISANAL SHARK AND RAY FISHING IN CILACAP

Catches of shark and ray are considered important in Indonesian fisheries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these fisheries may be over-exploited, but catches of shark and ray may be critical to their economic viability and the welfare of fishing communities dependent on them. Through a case study in Cilacap, Central Java, this paper assesses the potential economic and social impact on fishers and their households of restrictions on shark and ray catch. It reveals that shark and ray rep resent a minor component of this fishery's total catch, so the likely impact on the cash profitability of individual boats and the cash flow of fishing households would be minimal. However, inclusion of non-monetary costs in the analysis reveals that net returns to boat owners are negative. Shark and ray catch reductions will add further losses, and downstream activities such as processing of shark and ray products could imply an amplified aggregate impact.     

Guest editors' introduction growth and globalization: Evolution of human resource management practices in Asia

In this introductory note, we offer an overview of how human resource management in Asian countries and corporations is evolving in the face of rapid business growth and integration into the global economy and we describe how the articles in this Special Issue contribute to new knowledge and insights regarding key issues, challenges, and evolution in the field of HRM in Asia. Driven by the combined forces of rapid gross domestic product growth in many Asian economies and their further integration into the global business arena, firms in Asia are in constant flux, no matter whether they are developed economies like Japan, Korea, andTaiwan; developing economies like Malaysia andThailand; or transitional economies like China and Vietnam. How will HRM systems in these countries evolve and transform under the combined forces of growth and globalization? We argue that HRM systems in these Asian firms most likely will evolve toward “bounded convergence.” The demands and expectations of the HR function to take on strategic roles (versus administrative roles) and address critical HR issues like attracting and retaining key talent, building talent pipelines, and creating high‐performing cultures are greater than ever. We conclude with a high‐level summary of the key contribution of the eight articles covered in this Special Issue. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Human resource management in China revisited: introduction

This introduction attempts to provide an overview of the Special Issue of the IJHRM on ‘Human Resource Management in China Revisited’. It deals first with the economic background of the recent changes in the PRC from 1978 to the present day, exploring the change from a command economy to a more market-led one, as well as the demise of ‘iron rice bowl’ policy dominated by a model to Soviet-inspired personnel management in favour of one gradually being characterized by possibly Japanese-/Western-influenced human resource management (HRM), albeit with ‘Chinese characteristics’. It then introduces the main debates in the field before summing up, at some length, the empirical contributions based on ‘state of the art’ field research contained in the papers submitted. Last, it deals with the comparative setting of the contributions on China vis-à-vis the national HRM systems of Japan and South Korea.     

Benjamin Greygoose & Sons: survival in the death industry

This case study concerns a company, operating within a highly sensitive industry, which needs to adopt new planning and control procedures along with performance measures in order to ensure its long term survival. The case explores the characteristics of the UK funeral industry, and the impact of the incursion of large overseas companies on the operation of small family businesses. Porter's (1980) Competitive Strategy framework provides a vehicle for the analysis of generic strategies to secure competitive advantage when cost leadership is not a practical possibility. Product diversification and niche marketing are explored in a Teaching Note to a rewarding case, but one which may raise the emotional sensitivity of subjects.     

The NAIRU,Aggregate Demand and Investment

The nature of the non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) is analysed. The focus of our analysis is the role of aggregate demand and capacity in the context of the NAIRU. Two aspects of the relationship between the level of aggregate demand and the NAIRU are of particular significance. First, it is argued that the real wage–employment relationship based on enterprise decisions cannot be fully articulated without reference to the level of aggregate demand. Second, a model which allows for variable returns to labour and the notion of full capacity is used to explore the effects of shifts in the capital stock on the real wage–employment relationship. The model is specifically used to explore whether a sufficiently expansionary environment can generate sufficient investment to shift that relationship until the NAIRU is compatible with full employment. A number of limitations on the conclusions reached are considered, and the policy implications are briefly considered.     

Supply and demand estimates for feed grains in China

In the past two decades, the use of grain to feed livestock in China has increased rapidly. A number of studies have examined demand and supply of grain for animal feed in China. Forecasts have been made. Generally, these projections have turned out to be well wide of the actual supply and demand. Further, forecasts of supply and demand for feed grains for the same time periods have differed greatly. Accurate forecasts of variables affecting supply and demand benefit both producers and consumers. Past forecasts of supply and demand of feed grain for livestock production in China are reviewed and reasons for discrepancies between projections are explored. Ways to improve projections of demand for and supply of grain for livestock feed in China are identified.     

Multinationals as Arbitrageurs: The Effect of Stock Market Valuations on Foreign Direct Investment

Empirical evidence of imperfect integration across world capitalmarkets suggests a role for cross-border arbitrage by multinationals.Consistent with multinational arbitrage as a determinant offoreign direct investment (FDI) patterns, we find that FDI flowsincrease sharply with source-country stock market valuations—particularlythe component of valuations that is predicted to revert thenext year, and particularly in the presence of capital accountrestrictions that limit other mechanisms of cross-country arbitrage.The results suggest the existence of a cheap financial capitalchannel in which FDI flows reflect, in part, the use of relativelylow-cost capital available to overvalued parents in the sourcecountry.