Changing Workplace Relations in the Chinese Economy

JOHN BENSON University of Melbourne, Philippe Debroux and Masae Yausa (Hiroshima City University) INGMAR BJORKMAN Swedish School of Economics and Business, Helsinki NAILIN BU Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario ANITA CHAN Australian National University, Canberra JOHN CHILD University of Hong Kong and University of Cambridge SARAH COOK Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex PHILIPPE DENROUX Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University ATHAR HUSSAIN Senior Research Fellow, Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics NIKLAS LINDHOLM Swedish School of Economics and Business, Helsinki YUAN LU Associate Professor of Management, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kowloon SEK HONG NG Reader in Management Studies, University of Hong Kong SUZANNE OGDEN NorthEastern University, Massachusettes, USA JACKIE SHEEHAN Lecturer, Department of History, Keele University BRENDA SUN Department of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics JI-LIANG XU Professor Emeritus, Institute of Human Resource Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai MASAE YAUSA Associate Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University YING ZHU Senior Lecturer, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

Changing Workplace Relations in the Chinese Economy attempts to deal with how China's economic reforms have undermined the 'iron rice-bowl' system which since the 1950s has provided both 'lifetime-employment' and 'cradle-to-the-grave' welfare for many workers, particularly those in state-owned enterprises.Changing Workplace Relations in the Chinese Economy attempts to deal with how China's economic reforms have undermined the 'iron rice-bowl' system which since the 1950s has provided both 'lifetime-employment' and 'cradle-to-the-grave' welfare for many workers, particularly those in state-owned enterprises. It starts by examining the background of these reforms and how they have changed workplace relations in the Chinese economy; it will also look at key themes relating to the role of trade unions and the management of human resources in both state-owned and joint-venture firms; finally, a number of illustrative case-studies involving industrial relations and human resource management are set out. A set of contributors, drawn from a wide range of disciplines and nationalities who are expert in these fields, have contributed chapters to the volume.