Human resource management in China and India

The first decade of the twenty-first century has witnessed further growth in emerging markets, which is significantly influencing the global economic landscape. For the first time in almost two hundred years, it is in this decade that the emerging economies have caught up with, and raced ahead of, the developed ones in terms of gross domestic product. This is a trend that is likely to continue for some time as many of the developed economies struggle to recover from the global financial crisis. In particular, China and India as two fast growing economies are significantly contributing to the world economic growth and are the flag bearers of this transformation. Acknowledged as favourite destinations for global manufacturing (China) and services (India) related outsourcing, both nations offer huge growth opportunities in most products and services. However, in order to sustain their phenomenal economic growth of the past decades, both countries are facing a number of challenges to their human resource management (HRM). From a macro perspective, these issues tend to appear similar (e.g., attraction and retention of talent), but given the significant sociocultural, institutional, political, legal and other differences between the two nations, the logics underpinning the approaches to managing human resources issues appear somewhat different. This chapter therefore aims to highlight the key forces determining the nature of HRM in China and India. The chapter consists of three main sections, in addition to the Introduction and Conclusions.

Human resource management in foreign-owned subsidiaries:China versus India

This study examines the HRM practices and the role played by the HR department in foreign-owned units located in China and India. The study of 170 Western-owned subsidiaries analyses the extent to which the HRM practices associated with the local professionals and managerial-level employees resemble those of local firms versus those of the (main) Western parent organization, and investigates the degree to which the unit's HR department was perceived to play a strategic role. The results indicate clear differences between HRM characteristics in Western-owned units in China and India, and suggest that the use of expatriates and the background of the HR managers are important determinants of subsidiary HRM.

Earnings differences between Chinese and Indian wage earners, 1987-2004

This paper is one of the first comprehensive attempts to compare earnings in urban China and India over the recent period. While both economies have grown considerably, we illustrate significant cross-country differences in wage growth since the late 1980s. For this purpose, we make use of comparable datasets, estimate Mincer equations and perform Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions at the mean and at different points of the wage distribution. The initial wage differential in favor of Indian workers, observed in the middle and upper part of the distribution, partly disappears over time. While the 1980s Indian premium is mainly due to higher returns to education and experience, a combination of price and endowment effects explains why Chinese wages have caught up, especially since the mid-1990s. The price effect is only partly explained by the observed convergence in returns to education; the endowment effect is driven by faster increase in education levels in China and significantly accentuates the reversal of the wage gap in favor of this country for the first half of the wage distribution.

Lobe growth variation and the maintenance of symmetry in foliose lichen thalli

The aim of this study was to determine how thallus symmetry could be maintained in foliose lichens when variation in the growth of individual lobes may be high. Hence, the radial growth of a sample of lobes was studied monthly, over 22 months, in 7 thalli of Parmelia conspersa (Ehrh. Ex Ach.) Ach. And 5 thalli of P. glabratula ssp fuliginosa (fr. ex Duby) Laund. The degree of variation in the total radial growth of different lobes within a thallus over 22 months varied between thalli. Individual lobes showed a fluctuating pattern of radial growth from month to month with alternating periods of fast and slow growth. Monthly variations in radial growth of different lobes were synchronized in some but not in all thalli. Few significant correlations were found between the radial growth of individual lobes and total monthly rainfall or shortwave radiation. The levels of ribitol, arabitol and mannitol were measured in individual lobes. All three polyols varied significantly between lobes within a thallus suggesting that variations in algal phostosynthesis and in the partitioning of fungal polyols may contribute to lobe growth variation. The effect on thallus symmetry of lobes which grew radially either consistently faster or slower than average was studied. Slow growing lobes were overgrown, and gaps in the perimeter were eliminated by the growth of neighbouring lobes, in approximately 7 to 9 months. However, a rapidly growing lobe, with its neighbours removed on either side, continued to grow radially at the same rate as rapidly growing control lobes. The results suggested that lobe growth variation results from a combination of factors which may include the origin of the lobes, lobe morphology and the patterns of algal cell division and hyphal elongation in different lobes. No convincing evidence was found to suggest that exchange of carbohydrate occurred between lobes which would tend to equalize their radial growth. Hence, the fluctuating pattern of lobe growth observed may be sufficient to maintain a degree of symmetry in most thalli. In addition, slow growing lobes would tend to be overgrown by faster growing neighbours thus preventing the formation of indentations in the thallus perimeter.

Two-nation study of host country national categorization of female expatriates - United States and India

This study was designed to study the role of Host Country National categorizationof female expatriate co-workers, in two samples – U.S., and India. Using data from 54participants in the U.S. and 52 participants in India, we found that respondents from Indiacategorized potential expatriate co-workers from the U.S. into in-group or out-groupsignificantly more than respondents from the U.S. Further, we found that femaleexpatriates from the U.S. are preferred by Indian HCNs as co-workers significantly morethan male expatriates from the U.S. We discuss implications for organizations and offersuggestions for future research.

A comparative study of career management practices in Britain and India

This paper examines the developments in the field of career management in a cross-national comparative context. It investigates a wide range of career practices via two large-scale surveys in 108 Indian and 194 British organisations. The influence of a number of organisational characteristics on career practices is analysed. The study has identified a number of similarities as well as differences in the career management systems of firms operating in both India and Britain. Theoretical and managerial implications for the fields of careers and international HRM are discussed.

A comparative study of HR practices in Britain and India

This paper traces the major developments in the field of human resource management briefly and then highlights the need for more cross-national HRM studies. The results from two parallel surveys of matched Indian and British organizations are presented. The main aim of the surveys was to examine a wide range of HRM policies and practices in a cross-national comparative context. The surveys were run in six industries in the manufacturing sector. The study controlled for a number of variables such as size of the organization, product, industry sector and personnel participation. Influence of a number of contingent variables (such as age, size, nature and life-cycle stage of the organization, presence of unions and human resource strategies) on HRM policies and practices is analysed. The study finds significant differences in recruitment, compensation, training and development and employee communication practices between India and Britain.

Governance regimes, corruption and growth: theory and evidence

We study the role of political accountability as a determinant of corruption and economic growth. Our model identifies two governance regimes defined by the quality of political institutions and shows that the relationship between corruption and growth is regime specific. We use a threshold model to estimate the impact of corruption on growth where corruption is treated as an endogenous variable. We find two governance regimes, conditional on the quality of political institutions. In the regime with high quality political institutions, corruption has a substantial negative impact on growth. In the regime with low quality institutions, corruption has no impact on growth.

The growth, structure and properties of sputtered barium titanate thin films

The design and construction of a sputtering system for the deposition of barium titanate thin films is described. The growth and structure of barium titanate films deposited on a variety of substrates including amorphous carbon fi1ms, potassium bromide single crystals, and polycrystalline gold films has been studied. Films deposited on all substrates at room temperature were amorphous. Polycrystalline titanate films were formed on polycrystalline and amorphous substrates at temperatures above 450°C while films with a pronounced texture could be expitaxially deposited on single crystal potassium bromide above a temperature of only 200°C. Results of dielectric measurements made on the films are reported. Amorphous films were highly insulating (resistivities ~1014 ohm.cm with dielectric constants of between 10 and 20.

Growth, sporulation and spore properties of bacillus stearothemophilus produced in chemically defined media

The nutritional requirements for the vegetative growth of B. stearothermophilus strains NCIB 8919, NCTC lO,OO3 (wild) were found to be DL-methionine, biotin, nicotinic acid, thiamin, glucose and mineral salts. Strains NCIB 8920 required in addition L-tryptophan. B. stearothermophilus NCTC lO,OO3 (mutant) grew in a medium containing only glucose and mineral salts. Separate chemically defined media for the growth of Bacillus stearothermophilus strains NCIB 8919, 8920, NCTC lO,OO3 (wild) and NCTC lO,OO3 (mutant) were developed. Optimally aerated culture of B. stearothermonhilus NCTC lO,OO3(mutant) required 1.0 x 10-4 M. Mn2+ and 2.4 x 10-3 M. glutamic acid for optimal sporulation. Specific nutrient depletion of growth affected percentage sporulation. Spore suspensions of B. stearothermophilus NCTC 10,003 (mutant) were prepared from media in which sulphate (SO4-), nitrogen (N-),phosphate (Po4-), carbon (C-), magnesium-carbon simultaneously (Ng-C-) depleted growth. The heat resistance, dormancy and chemistry of these spores varied considerably. B. stearothermophilus NCTC 10,003 10,00310,00(mutant) spores prepared from carbon depleted cultures containing high and low concentrations of calcium, iron or manganese showed variations in heat resistance,dormancy and chemical composition. Progressive increase in the concentration of medium calciumfrom 1.0 X 10-5  M to 1.4 X 10-4 M. progressively increased theheat resistance of B. stearothermophilus NCTC 10,003 (mutant) spores prepared from nitrogen depleted cultures (N-). The thermodynamic functions for germination rate, magnesium and manganese release of N- and SO4- spores were within the range expected of enzymic reactions. The thermodynamic functions for the breaking of dormancy in SO4- spores and that for the release of D.P.A. were identical. Sublethal heating of SO4- spores (96.5°C and below) induced dormancy in these spores, whereas heating above 96.5°C gave rise to heat activation. Pooled results of the chemical analyses of all spore types studied showed that the concentration of D.P.A. and calcium were positively related to heat resistance whereas magnesium concentration and Mg/Ca molar ratio were inversely proportional to heat resistance.