Changing Labour Policies and Organization of Work in China : Impact on Firms and Workers

The transformation of China’s economy from a centrally planned to a market-oriented system has had a profound impact on management systems and practices at the firm level, particularly changes to the organization of work. One of the consequences of this is increasing social disparity reflected through inequality of employees’ income and employment conditions. This book, based on extensive original research including interviews and questionnaire surveys in different regions of China, explores the exact nature of these changes and their effects. It examines state-owned enterprises, foreign-owned enterprises and domestic private enterprises, discusses the extent to which employees are satisfied with their employment conditions and whether they think their employment conditions are fair and outlines how managers and employees in China expect conditions to change in future. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Authors Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. Economic and social reform in China Introduction Changes to the management of labour Research methodology Research design Sample and procedures Data analysis Design and structure of the book 2. Policy reforms, employment relations and labour management Introduction Policy and regulatory initiatives for managing labour disputes and labour unrests The first three decades of economic reform Challenges of ongoing labour disputes and labour unrest Governments' policy on preventing and handling labour disputes and unrest Confronting new challenges of labour disputes and unrest Shortages in labour supply Balancing productivity and workers' well-being Managing social insurances The implications for employers and employees Conclusion 3. Management initiatives on work and labour management Introduction Influence of government policy on the enterprise Recruitment of new types of employees Pay, conditions of work and other benefits Collective agreements and labour disputes Management of different types of employees Major management changes Conclusion 4. Employees' experiences and responses to labour management reform Introduction Economic reform and key changes to labour management Changes to pay, working time and other benefits Changes to employment contract Career development, training and promotion Relationships with management Conclusion 5. Regular workers and perceptions of fairness Introduction Fairness and justice at the workplace Data Perceptions of fairness and employee satisfaction Procedural fairness Distributive fairness Interactional fairness Employee satisfaction Conclusion 6. Well-being and satisfaction among workers Introduction Physical and psychological aspects of work Data Worker well-being and satisfaction with work Employees' health Satisfaction with work Employees' workload and opportunities Supervisor and co-worker support Employee commitment and willingness to quit Conclusion 7. Future expectations among workers Introduction Employment in the current job over the next five years Job security Pay Work effort Working conditions Training Employment prospects in the external labour market Employability Pay Working conditions Employee labour market optimism Internal labour market External labour market Implications for macro-level policymakers and enterprise management Macro-level policymakers Enterprise management Conclusion 8. Conceptualizing the economy of labour beyond markets Introduction Setting conditions of work: labour market theories Complexity, embedding and forms of allocating labour Chaotic conditions Demonstration and implications Conclusion 9. The ongoing challenges of labour management reform in China Introduction Macro-economic reform and impact on the management of labour Management and workers' responses to the reforms Effect on pay and conditions of work Employee well-being, work satisfaction, equity and future expectations Conceptualization of labour management and markets in China Conclusion Bibliography Index