《Human resource strategies in post-WTO ChinaE》.pdf

Human Resource Strategies in Post- WTO China David Ahlstrom Sharon Foley Michael N. Young Eunice S. Chan Executive Summary China’s rapid economic growth has presented numerous opportunities and challenges for foreign firms there. As firms have increased their presence in China, their concerns are increasingly focused on implementing successful human resource management (HRM) practices. To shed light on effective HRM for foreign firms in China, we con- ducted interviews with senior managers, private equity specialists, and management consultants there. Using a framework of human resources deliverables, we propose sev- eral keys to successful HRM in China. HRM is crucial for firms’ success in post-WTO China, and managing human resources there poses distinctive challenges to common- ly held “Western” assumptions about effective HRM. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. INTRODUCTION ow do firms maintain their competitive and operational edge when doing business and hiring workers in the challenging environment of a transition economy? More and more managers of foreign firms and joint ventures are facing this test as com- panies increasingly globalize their operations (Ahlstrom, Bruton, Chan, 2001; Peng, 2000; Shleifer Treisman, 2001). China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) has sparked additional interest in this question as well. The H set of challenges faced by foreign firms entering China today differs from those faced by the first wave of foreign firms entering China in the late 1970s (Ahlstrom et al., 2001; Peng, Lu, Shenkar, Wang, 2001; Wong Maher, 1997). Whereas David Ahlstrom is a professor of management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He teaches organizational behavior and international