AM Lecture 3

International Management > Asian Management > Converging management? > Chinese management > Weaknesses > Guanxi > Guanxi guanxi everywhere... > More on CFBs > Ding & Akhtar's Matrix > Transfer abroad

Transfer abroad

Zhang (2003) studied the HR practices in six UK subsidiaries of Chinese companies to observe if and how they adapted to the Western environment:

• He found that business is no longer centrally-planned by their parent firms, and subsidiary managers have some autonomy.
• Line managers are involved in some HR activities
• Market-led recruitment, employment contracts and remuneration systems are emerging
• The traditional job for life system is no longer dominant
• The six companies recruited largely from the local market
• The firms use a UK remuneration structure and criteria for the salary and benefits of the UK staff
• The variable adoption of UK practices has been a matter of choice
• None of the companies recognise trade unions, which implies that when Chinese firms can get away with ignoring Western practices, then will
• The culture of personal support and harmonious relations has not been discarded. Guanxi remains, if only a little
• Employee welfare and communication are emphasised, while Western style practices such as redundancy are reluctantly adopted
• The influence of the Chinese national business system is still apparent in all of the companies

It appears that the Chinese were willing to change areas of management practice that were appropriate for the culture in which they were working, which shows that Chinese management can be adapted if necessary. This also suggests that there is no need for convergence, as individual managers can adapt instead.

Expatriates in China

Littrell (2003) observed hotels in China, where he observed the expatriate managers, who were trained to adapt to the Chinese way of thinking:

• Successful managers demonstrate high relationship and task-orientation
• Subordinates in Chinese groups prefer a leadership style in which leaders maintain harmonious considerate relationships with fellows, and define clear-cut tasks for each member of the group
• Chinese prefer authoritarian leadership style in which a benevolent and respected leader is not only considerate of his fellows, but is able to take decisive and skilled action.

Organisational culture change