A critical study on human resource management with special reference to China Palanivel R.V. Assistant Professor, M.A.M.B-School, Siruganur, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, Email id: palanivel.lpprv@gmail.com Online published on 7 February, 2020. Abstract This paper looks critically at how China's human resources (HR) may in future be managed, taking its wider Asia Pacific regional dimension. It argues that whilst the IR/HRM systems of the countries in the region are hardly homogeneous, there may be both commonality and diversity. In order to unravel the features of each of these, it posits the four logical cases of ‘hard convergence’, ‘soft convergence’, ‘soft divergence’ and ‘hard divergence’. These possible outcomes are explored in further detail. It argues that the most probable outcomes for the Chinese HR system are likely to be the middle options. ‘Soft convergence’ may occur as a result of broader factors such as responses to broad economic trends such as globalization; however, ‘soft divergence’ may still be a constraining factor, in effect creating a form of HR ‘with Chinese characteristics’, given that the devil is always ‘in the details’. Most foreign-funded, as well as Town and Village and privately owned enterprises had much more autonomy in their people management compared with their state owned equivalents. Today, even SOEs are evolving in this direction, but it will take some time, given their institutional and organizational inertia, before they are as ‘flexible’ as the others mentioned above. The economies of the region have on the other hand been economically and industrially dominated by another nation, namely Japan. The ‘little Dragon’ economies in turn also stand apart from many others in terms of the level of economic development they have achieved. Whether the Asian so-called ‘miracle’ will be able to be sustained into the twenty-first century is of course moot. Top Keywords ‘Soft Divergence’, Equivalents, . Top |