Foreign Firms in China: Facing Human Resources Challenges in a Transitional Economy

摘要

While China officially encourages new management techniques, these are often difficult or impossible to implement without mastering numerous human resources challenges. Foreign firms must deal with legacies of the former "iron rice bowl" policy (guaranteed lifetime employment), with guanxi (using connections to facilitate business), and with myriad attitudes that seem antithetical to productivity and progress. However, a combination of pragmatic adaptation and innovative programs may overcome many of these challenges.