People management challenges to multinational companies in Asia

This book discusses the contextual factors such as cultural and institutional settings that impact on effective people management practices in Asia. The challenges of multinational companies (MNCs) in the particular areas of attraction and retention, training and career development of the local skilled labour workforce are analyzed using the data of 529 MNCs in six Asian countries (namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand). The degree of challenges varies by country and sector. This book draws conclusions from the empirical research stating that cultural and institutional theories, as well as the convergence and divergence theses can explain at best, partially, reasons behind the different outcomes of people management or human resource management (HRM) practices across MNCs in different operations in the region.

International human resource management strategies of Chinese multinationals operating abroad

Strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) is crucial for the effective leveraging of human resources in organizations to achieve the desired business strategies. There is a rich collection of studies on western multinational corporations (MNCs) in China, but few studies that explore the SIHRM of Chinese MNCs operating overseas. This study utilizes cross-level, in-depth interviews to analyse SIHRM of three large Chinese multinationals. The paper contributes to literature by addressing two contextual SIHRM issues, namely the characteristics of the SIHRM for Chinese multinationals and how their SIHRM orientation facilitates their international investment and operation. The findings indicate that organizational transformation is the starting point for latecomers matching their international HRM strategies. Their SIHRM approaches, such as forming learning organizations, reliance on host-country nationals, reconciling both home and host-country effects and promoting ‘best practices’, facilitate their international operations.