Human Resource Management in Asia

Project Director

Associate Professor Ying Zhu

Aim

Events over the past decade, including the Asian financial crisis, the reactions to 1997 and the current economic crisis and the economic and political changes that have taken place in Asia, means much of what we know about Asia is outdated and may well be irrelevant. The aim of the project is to explore and analyse what has happened to HRM in a number of Asian countries over this period, to map the responses to these changes and to examine the effects on companies, trade unions, workers and their families.

Activities

Since the beginning of 2008, there have been several projects and activities are being conducted in the area of HRM in Asia. A/Prof. Zhu and Dr. Barsky developed a project on the supervisors role in Chinese organization. Both investigators carried out the research field work in China and now they are completing the research outcome.

In addition, there have been continuing cooperating activities between A/Prof. Zhu and former centres member Prof. Benson on projects related to HRM in Asia. For instance, they published a new book entitled Trade Unions in Asia: An Economic and Sociological Analysis by Routledge in 2008. Another new book entitled Management Change, Enterprise Performance and Working Life: Micro Perspectives on Economic Reform in China(co-authors of Zhu, Benson and Webber) was completed in August 2009 and will be published by Routledge soon. A new book contract was signed with Routledge for a new book entitled Labour Markets in Asia in the beginning of 2009 and the first draft of each chapter became available in the beginning of October 2009 and this book will be published in 2010.

Other activities include the presentation at the World Bank by A/Prof. Zhu on unemployment in Asia in October 2008. An international workshop was held in Feb. 2009 on the issue of Chinese labour rights jointly organized with Labour Law Centre at the University of Melbourne. Participants from China, Hong Kong, the US and Australia attended this workshop and eventually a book will be published based on the discussion in 2010.

Other outcomes of this stream of research include several books: Unemployment in Asia, Asian Business: Women and Management, Trade Unions in Asia, Management Change, Enterprise Performance and Working Life: Micro Perspectives on Economic Reform in China and Labour Markets in Asia