1. A View
From China
E
ight months ago Linda Watson
of Just Workforce had never
heard of Zhengzhou, couldn’t
understand a word of Mandarin,
or comprehend the enormity of China’s
role in shaping New Zealand’s economy.
She did, however, understand that China
is soon to be the largest global economy,
is New Zealand’s second largest trading
partner and partners with New Zealand
in developing the Asia Pacific. She also
knew that Human Resource Management
was already playing a significant role in
New Zealand companies based in China.
So when Linda was invited to apply for a
contract position at Henan University of
Technology lecturing in Human Resource
Management she embraced the challenge
with gusto.
With a past history of lecturing, as well
as an HR background spread across the
breath of human resources, and currently
running her own consulting practice,
Linda seemed like the perfect candidate
for the role.
“I went to China to teach Chinese
students about HR management, Training
and Development and Organisational
Behaviour. The investment in time that I
give to the students has been returned to
me 100 fold, I have learnt so much more
than I imagined I would,” says Linda.
Linda had never been to China. She had
dreamed about walking The Great Wall of
China, and reflects, “In hindsight, I would
have learnt nothing about China in taking
such a trip.
“China is in complete contrast to New
Zealand. We are a small landmass with
approximately 4.5 million people and
roughly 700 years of history from the
landing of the first Polynesians. China has
an estimated population of 1.357 billion
equivalent to 19.24 percent of the total
world population and is one of the world’s
oldest civilisations”.
The province of Zhengzhou where
Linda works has a population of 100
million, and is currently moving one
million people from the countryside into
the city every year.
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 201524 HUMAN RESOURCES
GLOBAL HR

2. “Can you imagine a population growth
of one million year on year?”
According to Linda, the city looks like
a war zone. Huge high-rise housing is
being built at a rapid pace. “My colleagues
and I muse when vacuous horizons
fill up over night. It’s almost a surreal
experience when you look around and see
modernity, then you are cast back when a
three-wheeled vehicle drives by stacked
high with willow. It’s a world where
old intercepts new. You can’t change a
population this big over night! It’s going to
take some time”.
From her studies Linda understood
communism as a theory or system of social
organisation and ownership ascribed
to the community or to the state. She
reflects on her shock at the expansive
wealth. China boasts 24 percent of the
world’s private wealth and has more
millionaires than any other country, and
an unknown number of billionaires. This
rapid escalation in wealth has predictively
increased social problems i.e. drink and
drug problems, class inequality, and
escalating corruption.
“My life working at the University
is simple. I am aware that whilst my
apartment boasts a frustratingly slow
Internet connection, a large percentage of
China is technologically advanced beyond
what you can imagine. The exponential
growth of ‘Big Bang Disruptive
Technologies’ is unbelievable. Year on year
they are disrupting with the likes of 3-D,
robotics, and of course online shopping;
changing the face of work in a way that
we have never seen. Companies such as
Huawei, Alibaba, and Xiaomi Corp are
literally taking the world by storm. I am
fortunate that my students study many
of these organisations, so I am left with
a wealth of knowledge on organisational
structure, leadership, culture, gender,
unionism, health and safety and
differences in business practices between
the west and east.”
In Linda’s view, to work effectively in
China you need to appreciate that the
Chinese are a proud and strong unified
culture where history, ideology and
politics influences decision-making.
Understanding historical concepts such
as ‘guanxi’ or relationships is imperative.
The Chinese want to learn from western
practices then lead independent of
western encumbrance. Paternalistic
approaches are ill advised.
Linda outlines some areas for Human
Resource professionals to understand.
Work practices
China has one of the highest
unemployment rates in the world. They
have a vastly competitive IT labour
market and a rapidly growing Gen Y
population. Unlike other generations,
Gen Y is adept at challenging the status
quo. The expectation of working in the
family business is fast dissipating for this
generation. They are instead, choosing
to study and work abroad adding to the
internal talent and skills deficit.
The concept of ‘saving face’ is pervasive
in Chinese culture. This concept can
be solidified in their preference for
working in groups, and impacts the
measurement of employee contribution
and performance. This removes the risk
of ‘standing out’ and of the manager
appearing to know less. Unfortunately,
such behaviour can depreciate an
individual’s performance and stifle
The concept of ‘saving face’
is pervasive in Chinese
culture.
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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2015 25HUMAN RESOURCES

3. companies to convert their workforces to
full unionisation and collective contracts.
While doing so at a national level, to
complicate matters, many provinces and
major cities have their own employment
contract regulations. Since 1993
employment disputes for both state-owned
enterprises and private organisations have
been heard through a three-tier system
involving (1) mediation (2) local level
arbitration (3) final resolution by court trial.
Unfortunately the filing of dispute is so high
that the system can’t keep up.
Organisational Structure
Organisational structures in Chinese
organisations are typically bureaucratic
in nature. This poses problems for the fast
growing Gen Ys who are frustrated with
such historical embedded mechanistic
structures and bureaucratic restrictions.
Very few companies are organistic in
nature. However, Alibaba and Huawei
buck the trend. Huawei, in particular, has
gone as far as giving employees shares
in the company so that they share the
responsibilities and share the benefits.
Leadership
Leaders in many Chinese organisations
are ‘command and control’ orientated.
They are to be respected and not
challenged. Workers pledge allegiance
to the leader and not the company. This
poses particular problems if the leader
leaves the organisation. Mass resignations
can occur at this time. This is, however, a
trend that is rapidly changing.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety risk and breaches
are high in China. Fuelled by employer
negligence and poor worker education,
this is particularly so in the coal mining
and construction industry.
“We have seen time again in China that
It is imperative that HR
grows an understanding of
Chinese culture, workplace
practices and nuisances.
innovations. While groups may appear
that they are functioning democratically,
they tend to appoint a leader who makes
the group’s decisions. The appointment of
the leader is based on status, gender and
age. It is expected that if a male is present,
all females will take a passive role and be
directed by the male. Such behaviour also
impacts data gathered from surveys.
“In New Zealand I use surveys to
understand climate and culture and the
impact on safety behaviour. Due to ‘group
think’ in my experience surveys have less
currency and relevance in China.”
Many Chinese organisations work five
days a week between the hours of 8.30
a.m.- 6.00 p.m. with a one to two hour
siesta in the middle of the day. Mothers
are expected to collect their children,
cook a meal and have a nap. However,
as the Chinese westernise, and work for
western organisations, they can’t attend
to these traditional activities. According
to the Chinese Sleep Research Society, as
practices change, Chinese workers are
becoming sleep deprived with a rising
concern for depression.
The Labour Market
“China’s labour market is evolving at
speed yet due to poor policing and low
employee education, is creating a wake
of objectionable problems,” says Linda.
Problems include violations of employee
rights, delays in paying wages, unsafe
working conditions, as well as bulk
company lay-offs.
Employment Contracts
The Employment Contract Law came into
effect in China in 2008. Despite this, many
Chinese companies fail to sign employment
contracts. The All-China Federation of
Trade Unions focuses on persuading foreign
accidents occur most in coal mines that
recklessly expand production or blatantly
flout safety regulations in a bid to make
a quick buck,” reports the China Labour
Bulletin (3 April, 2014).
The Chinese Government has issued
a pledge to decrease such incidents and
as a result have increased inspection of
workplaces. Such an approach has seen
organisations react with reluctance to
report incidents, as they fear closure.
Thus, increasing the possibility of unsafe
practices ‘going to ground’ and stymying
any potential developments in a ‘just
culture’. Furthermore, once an injury
occurs, the ‘hoops’ those workers have
to go through to prove their case for
compensation further impacts reporting.
This can result in some unscrupulous
behaviour towards the injured person
to prevent them taking a compensation
case. Procedures for settling work-related
injury and illness for compensation are
protracted and complicated and can last a
decade or more.
“I think that it would be accurate to say
that employee safety and worker rights
are not considered paramount by many
organisations in China. This is attitudinal
and embedded in the thinking of
management. The stats could be changed
if workplace cultures were developed to
value the worker,” says Linda.
Training and Development
Training and Development is not a
priority in Chinese organisations.
However, wages are on the increase, and
the emerging generations are becoming
aware of western work practices.
“I imagine that training and
development will eventually become a
trade off to wage inflation and a strategy
to retain talent.”
Linda reflects, “China is a leader in
shaping our economy and impacting our
labour markets. HR plays a key role in
this transition to partnering with Chinese
companies. It is imperative that HR grows
an understanding of Chinese culture,
workplace practices and nuisances.
We must proactively adapt our tools to
accommodate the cultural differences.
We cannot expect Chinese advisors alone
to do this as they too grapple with the
transition.” HR
Procedures for settling work-
related injury and illness for
compensation are protracted
and complicated and can last
a decade or more.
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 201526 HUMAN RESOURCES
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