change and diversity: hrm issues and trends in the asia-pacific region

from the SAGE Social Science Collections. All Rights Reserved.

Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 2003141(1)

Change and diversity: HRM issues and trends in the AsiaPacific region

Michael Zanko* University ofWollongong, NSW

This paper reports on key human resource management (HRM) trends and issues in 21 economies that are part of a project to study contextually embedded HRM policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a major international regional organization. After a brief description of the Global Advantage Through People project, the identified HRM trends and issues are analysed in terms of time, the World Bank classification of developed and developing economies, regional regime membership, culture and the aggregate APEC level. This analysis is undertaken in order to ascertain any similarities, dijforences or patterns that enhance our understanding of HRM. The results provide a useful basis for future comparative HRM research in the Asia-Pacific region that is pitched at finer grained analysis at organization/industry levels.

Keywords: HRM, Asia-Pacific, APEC, change

The growing interest in comparative and international human resource management (HRM) during the last 15 years or so can be explained as part of the increased attention given to economic and industrial globalization, and as part of HRM's emergence as a new disciplinary approach in employment relations. This interest has been based on the growing recognition that HRM is reciprocally interdependent with the environments in which it is embedded. Thus HRM researchers have been increasingly concerned with understanding HRM and the particular context(s} in which it is practiced, and their inter-

.. This paper is based in part on M. Zanko. 2003. HRM issues, trends and policy implications for APEC. In Handbook of human resource management policies and practices in Asia-

Pacific economies, vol. 2, eds M. Zanko and M. N gui, 596-613. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Correspondence to: Michael Zanko, School of Management, Marketing and Employment Relations, University ofWollongong, NSW 2522; fax: +6124227.2785; e-mail: [email protected]

Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Published by Sage Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi; www.sagepublications.com) on behalf of the Australian Human Resources Institute. Copyright © 2003 Australian Human Resources Institute. Volume 41(1): 75-87. [1038-4111(200304)41:1;75-87;033024]

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76 Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 2003141(1)

relationships (Bamber, Park, Lee, Ross and Broadbent 2000; Brewster 2001; Katz and Darbishire 2001; Tayeb 1995). A substantial literature on HRM in Europe has developed in this comparative 'contextualist' vein (e.g. Brewster and Harris 1999; Brewster and Hegewisch 1994; Brewster and Larsen 2000; Sparrow and Hiltrop 1994).

In the Asia-Pacific region there is also a growing body of contextually embedded research on HRM-related issues (e.g. Moore and Jennings 1995; Rowley 1998). For the most part, the HRM focus in the Asia-Pacific is on North and certain Southeast Asian countries, aside from Australia and New Zealand. Far less attention has been directed to HRM in other parts of the region, for example, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Pacific island states and those countries in Central and South America that sit on the Pacific Rim. This is due in part to the fluidity of the definition of what constitutes the Asia-Pacific region, and which parts of the world HRM researchers consider worth looking at. This paper reports on HRM in some of the abovenamed countries, as well as others not normally considered in Asia-Pacific treatments.

The paper presents and compares the main HRM issues and trends in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), a supra-national regional entity of 21 members, originally formed in the late 1980s to promote nondiscriminatory trade and investment liberalization within the Asia-Pacific. The research findings discussed in the paper are derived from an APECfunded project designed to produce systematically codified and contextually embedded profiles of HRM policies and practices in all APEC's member economies (Zanko 2002; Zanko and Ngui, 2003). This project, titled 'Global Advantage Through People: Human Resource Management Policies and Practices in APEC Economies', is described. Following this, the main current HRM issues and trends identified by the project contributors in the participating economies are presented and analysed. Next, any patterns of note that enhance our understanding ofHRM are discussed. Finally, the paper suggests future research directions for comparative HRM research in economies in the Asia-Pacific region that are pitched at finer grained analysis at organization/industry levels.

The Global Advantage Through People Project

The APEC forum's 21-economy membership represents the most diverse regional international regime on earth. Its members include the most populous (China), economically the most developed and technologically advanced (USA, Japan), the largest in area (Russia, Canada), among the smallest in area (Singapore, Hong Kong), and among the least economically developed (Papua New Guinea, Vietnam). In its aim for regional economic integration and cooperation based on free and open non-preferential trade, APEC has espoused from the outset a high priority for human resources development (HRD).

HRM issues and trends in the Asia-Pacific region 77

HRD is the domain designated by APEC that embraces HRM issues most closely. A Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) was established in 1990 to address and provide policy advice and guidance on issues arising from the diverse requirements and demands for education, training and development of human resources of the Forum.

Late in 1996, following a prolonged project approval process, the HRDWG agreed to fund the Global Advantage Through People project. The project's purpose is threefold:

• to provide a systematic descriptive analysis of key HRM policies and practices at a macro-level in APEC economies;

• using the data presented in that analysis, to undertake a preliminary comparative analysis identifying key similarities and differences at the macro-level and their implications for APEC development and cooperation in the employment relations domain;

• to provide the basis for a series of micro-level studies on HRM policies and practices that focus on key areas of organizationallindustry performance in the APEC region.

The second and third purposes are the primary foci of the remainder of this paper. The economies covered in the first phase of the project, completed at the end of 1998, included: Australia; Chinese Taipei (Taiwan); Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; People's Republic of China; Thailand; United States of America. The economies covered in the second phase are: Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore and Vietnam.

As part of the project's co-ordination, the author (and a co-editor for the second phase) recruited 35 researchers from institutions, primarily universities, in each of the above economies. These researchers come from a diversity of disciplinary backgrounds, such as human resource management, economics, law, industrial relations, management, sociology, science and technology policy, and education. These backgrounds are reflected to some extent in the profiles they produced. Nevertheless, the contributors' individual and small-team proclivities were somewhat constrained by the necessity for them to produce descriptive analytic economy profiles in accordance with a list of criteria. These are: economy context, labour market, employment law, recruitment and selection, training and development, pay and benefits, employee relations, current HRM issues and trends, key organization addresses, and references. Each economy profile (15 000-25 000 words) is primarily a description of macro HR contextual policies and practices. Each economy's profile contributor(s} was required to appoint two senior industry-based persons to act as editorial advisors on the draft profiles. The industry representatives, drawn from the public and private sectors and from the labour movement, served as an external validity check on the contributions as well as assuring their


practical relevance. For example, in Australia, a senior HR manager from BHP (a major manufacturing and resources firm) and an ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions, the peak union organization) executive were used.

Key HRM issues and trends

Following their content analysis, tables 1 and 2 set out a heavily abbreviated summary of the main issues and trends identified by the contributors in phase 1 and 2 of the project respectively. The trends and issues have been conflated in each economy cell, since some contributors did not distinguish between the two. What do these tables show? Clearly, there are a wide range of HRM issues at both macro- and micro-levels reflecting each economy's particular interests. At first glance, there appears to be little evidence of any clear pattern. Therefore, in order to discern any important similarities, differences or patterns, the data were submitted to the comparative analyses outlined below.

Temporal analysis In this approach trends and issues from the different phases of the project were compared: 1998 and 2002. At different points in time, it is considered reasonable to expect there will be different events, concerns and forces (social, political, economic, etc.) that prevail, and that have a bearing on the HRM, and that are considered significant.

Developed vs developing economy analysis Using the World Bank (2001) classification of economies, HRM trends and issues are compared according to their economically richer (developed)/ poorer (developing) status. It is expected that the HR and therefore the HRM interests of economies (as a basic factor of production) within each classification are more likely to be akin than those of the other. Developed APEC economies according to this schema include: Australia, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong (China), Japan, United States of America, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore. Developing economies are: Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Thailand, Chile, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia and Vietnam.

Regional regime analysis Most APEC members (bar one) are also members of other, smaller regional international regimes that have their own aims for economic and possibly political integration. Unlike the broad church that is APEC, these smaller groupings might be expected to be more homogeneous in socio-economic-political terms than APEC, with tighter, more coherent policies that bring their members more closely together in factor market issues such as HRM. The regional international regimes that include APEC members are: ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam (70% of total


Table 1 HRM issues and trends in APEC economies, 1998

Australia Intensification of competitive pressure on

workplaces Continuous organizational change Devolvement of centralized industrial relations

and wages system Pervasive decline in union membership

Chinese Taipei Valuing HR Development of employee potential Recognition of individual needs Team work Sustainable management Managing expatriates

Hong Kong, China Growing unemployment Flexible employment practices Handling retrenchments Organization and performance improvement

Indonesia Role of labour unions undergoing considerable change Increasing importance of professionalism in

management

Japan Personal responsibility for career development Selection for special development programs guided by

business/corporate strategy

Republic of Korea Labour market reform accelerated by IMF Rise in unemployment and consequences Decline in high school graduates entering labour market Increasing participation of women in workforce

Malaysia Prominent focus on HRD Skills shortages particularly in technical fields

People's Republic of China Foster labour management system adapted to socialist

market economy labour surplus of 100million over market demand Low level. inefficient and narrow social security system

vs. demands for higher compensation Need for high quality skilled workers v current low

technical and educational levels Prevalence of traditional statel enterprise responsibility

for lifetime job

Thailand HR practice in small. family-owned firms is weak and

needs to develop

United States of America To meet challenges of: Technology through planned learning and focus on

outcomes Globalization through increased education and

sensitivity Cost-containment

Shift to non-standard employment and flexible working hours

Increased structuring of employment relations Decentralization and outsourcing of HRM Training and development. and building flexibility to be

key activities

Humanistic management Development of bench marked HR systems Shift to democratic leadership Development of diversity Focus on international HRM

Human resource development Employee involvement. information disclosure and

dialogue

Worsening problem of unemployment

Labour-market policy for non-regular aged and female workers in retraining. working conditions and social security

Growing proportion of aged workers Job losses in low-techllow-wage industries Job gains in high-techlhigh-wage sectors

Aligning HRM with corporate goals Key role for Ministry of Human Resources

Rapid growth white-collar workforce Small is beautiful is popular in high-tech industries Increasing disputation over technical know-how and

intellectual property Further growth in international co-operation and

exchange in HRM

SMEs have need for both technical and managerial skill development

Speed in market change through more flexible organizations and better decision-making

Knowledge capital development through innovation Change

80 Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources

Table 2 HAM issues and trends in APEC economies, 2002

Brunei Darussalam Enhancing role of private sector in entrepreneurial

development

Canada Increasing globalization Acceleration of knowledge discovery and rapid expansion

of advanced technologies HR function to add significant value to the organization Many firms adopt 'high involvement' Better expatriate management needed

Chile Fluid and flexible labor market Good unemployment insurance system Further expansion of educational reform in terms of

access and quality Labor unions increasingly less influential Labor relations increasingly carried out directly between

employer and worker Chile well placed to adopt increasing labour-market

flexibility, where the older, less educated and women worker groups are at highest risk

Mexico Problems with design of employment relations regulation New labor culture entering the public sector based on a

'Ten Commandment' document Government agencies are making more drastic changes

in HRM with shift to results-based administration

New Zealand Improving HR planning, including measurement activities Continuing to build knowledge and skill in terms of quality

and spread

Papua New Guinea HRM still in infancy Need to develop a workforce (mostly first generation

workers) with capacity and willingness to be effective

Peru Access to quality training and development is problematic

due to cost

Philippines Weak and uneven capital accumulation led to endemic

unemployment and underemployment Increased informalization of formal sector, and expanding

informal sector contribute to rise of labor flexibility

Russia Provide people as a whole with normal working terms and

conditions of employment supported by new RF Labour Code

Implementation of new pension system is a priority that will aid legalization of incomes

Singapore HRM clearly government led Shortage of requisite skills for knowledge-based economy Role of National Trades Union Congress may need

rethinking

Vietnam Seek to improve ranking on Human Development Index Human poverty reduction is overarching challenge

Encouraging development of service industries Enhance efficiency and productivity through HRD

Skilled labour shortages, managing aging workforce, benefits programs and eldercare due to 'baby-boom' retirement

Increasing judicial/legal involvement in employment relations and associated compliance

Organizations need to generate genuine employee commitment

Performance-based remuneration gradually extending beyond executive levels

Legislative challenges for state: flexibilization of employment contacts; strengthening support for unemployed workers; promoting direct access to worker training

Improving labor-market flexibility through reconfiguring statutory benefits

Large informal sector is generally outside scope of state policy initiatives

Building greater levels of cooperation in the 'knowledge economy'

Lack of skills, especially technical and professional Numerous disincentives to work for wages

Firms and workers need to be more flexible

Relative weakness of trade union movement No longer competitive at low end of labor market Through improved HRD and employee relations, focus

on high end of labor market

Education warrants significant attention with a shift to lifelong learning

Need to legislate for an insurance-based system of health services

Tripartism is a source of strength Some self-financing of training may be necessary Rationalization requires Singaporeans to move out of

home environment

Skill levels low by international standards Rapid growth in off-farm sector is needed


ASEAN membership); CER (Closer Economic Relations) - Australia and New Zealand (100%); FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) - Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and the USA (15% of total FTAA membership); NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) - Canada, Mexico and USA (100% ofNAFTA).

Cultural analysis In a similar vein to Hofstede (1984), Sparrow, Schuler and Jackson (1994) found clusters of countries that were more similar than others, but rather than values they focused on human resource policies and practices according to respondents' answers in an IBM-Towers Perrin 12-country study. The strongest cluster in terms of similarity was the Anglo-American, made up of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States. The next strongest groupings found that are of relevance to this analysis were the Latin American cluster - Mexico, Argentina and Brazil- as cultural allies, followed by Japan and Korea as cultural islands. Based on these distinctions, it would appear reasonable to expect that some groups of economies will be more culturally homogeneous than others and that these will display more similar sets of interests in HRM. The cultural groupings used in this comparative analysis, based on the above authors, Rowley (1998), Schneider and Barsoux (1997) are:

Anglo-American Australia Canada New Zealand United States of America

Latin American Chile Mexico Peru

Other (not grouped) Japan Korea Papua New Guinea Russia

Chinese Chinese Taipei Hong Kong, China People's Republic of China Singapore

Southeast Asian Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam

Over arching analysis Analysis at the aggregate APEC level is undertaken to ascertain any important HRM patterns and issues, while taking account of the lower order analyses.

82 Aria Pacific Journal of Human Resources 2003141(1)

Findings

Temporal analysis

The main difference between the 1998 and 2002 HRM trends and issues was the concern expressed by six of the ten economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand) in the first phase about coping with the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997. All six told of retrenchments, redundancies, failing businesses and rising unemployment, with varying degrees of impact. While there was a general concern about the crisis and the consequent economic slowdown, the HRM responses of each of these individual economies varied to suit local needs. Thus, Malaysia and Thailand inter alia sought to promote employment growth through refocusing on their agricultural base. The Korean government, by comparison, sought to increase labour-market flexibility through the amendment of labour law on layoffs by conceding strengthened basic labour rights and unemployment benefits to the unions. The Philippines and Vietnam were the only economies in phase two of the project that expressed similar concerns about the impact of the Asian financial cnS1S.

The most widely identified HRM issue/trend in both phases concerns human resource development (HRD). Nineteen of the 21 economies analysed placed a strong emphasis on HRD. It was found to be important in terms of, for example: skills shortage for the knowledge-based economy (Singapore); lack of professional and technical skills (Papua New Guinea); focus on HRD in shifting to high end of the labour market (Philippines); dealing with technology and globalization through planned learning, increased education and sensitivity (USA); the need for lifelong learning (Russia); personal responsibility for career development (Japan). As with the HRM responses to the Asian financial crisis, a discerned pattern breaks down into a diversity of local responses and concerns.

Another important area of similarity between economies in both phases of the project was the orientation towards the enterprise as a key level to which macro HRM policy should be directed. Ten economies identified HR flexibility at the enterprise level as a key issue/trend (although not all subscribed to its advantages). For example, the People's Republic of China is progressively devolving responsibility and autonomy over operational matters including HRM to its enterprises. Chile, the Philippines and Mexico point respectively to trends in increased labour-market flexibility in terms oflegally broadened scope of employment contracts, informalization of the formal sector, and the reconfiguration of statutory benefits. Once more, we see evidence of an HRM pattern that is variously applied in different economy settings.


Developed vs developing economy analysis

By submitting the HRM trends/issues to developed vs. developing economy analysis, where the distinction between groups of economies is based on gross national income (GNI) per capita, the main differences identified were in terms ofHRM activity and concern about unemployment.

On HRM activity, the developed economies provided more reports on issues/trends that are commonly associated with fashionable strategic approaches to HRM; for example: high involvement organizational structures (Canada), HR planning and measurement (New Zealand), corporate strategyled staffing based on merit rather than on seniority systems (Japan), knowledge capital development through innovation (USA). The difference here may reflect a reality for these economies, but it is possible that developed economies tend to report trends/issues at the micro, organizational level, while the developing economies focus more on macro, economy level issues, and that therefore there are no real major differences at equivalent levels. Or, it may be that the authors from the developed economies are more conversant with the language of strategic HRM than their developing economy counterparts (50% of the developed group are Anglo-American, commonly considered the home of strategic HRM at the organizational level). Or, perhaps HRM is a different entity in different settings in the Asia-Pacific region, which is consistent with the findings by Moore and Jennings (1995) and Rowley (1998) in their analyses of HRM in the region.

Concern about unemployment was greater in developing economies, which largely reflects the discussion about the impact of the Asian financial crisis in the previous section: it most directly affected Asian economies. It is also worthwhile comparing human resource development, the most widely cited HRM issue/trend. In a similar vein to the HRM activity analysis above, the developed economies tend to focus on organization level initiatives and the developing economies on macro-level, labour-market issues.

Regional regime analysis

When the economies were clustered according to their membership of various regional international regimes, there was no evidence of similarity or coherence among the members' HRM trends/issues at this level, except for the ASEAN group from which four of the member economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand) had expressed concerns about the Asian financial crisis - understandable given this part of the world was its source. The absence of a common perspective among ingroup members of these regimes on HRM issues/trends may be because these organizations do not impact on their members' HRM, but on issues such as trade and investment.


Cultural analysis

Overall, there was no strong cultural contiguity in terms of HRM issues and trends. However, the Anglo-American group articulated a greater sense of externalities and their impact on HRM than the other groups - for example, intensification of competitive pressure (Australia), challenge of globalization and its implications for increased education and sensitivity (USA), rapid expansion of advanced technologies (Canada). As mentioned before, the Anglo-American group reported HRM trends/issues commonly associated with strategic approaches to HRM more than the others. On the other hand, the Chinese cluster showed wide variation, particularly between the People's Republic of China (a developing economy) and the other three (developed), where the former is concerned primarily with adaptation of the labour market to a socialist market economy, while the latter are focused on introducing 'soft' HRM (Chinese Taipei), greater employee participation and involvement (Hong Kong) and procuring skills for a knowledge based economy (Singapore).

Overarching analysis

What can be said at the overall APEC level? Two major patterns emerge: diversity, and second, many valued strategies in HRM. While it is a selfevident truth there is enormous diversity among APEC member economies' HRM policies and practices, trends and issues, this pattern is one of the most striking, and a contribution of the project was to codify and analyse some of this diversity in the employment relations domain. This diversity in HRM resides in the various societies (within and without national boundaries) with their various geographic, historical, socio-cultural, political and economic conditions. HRM issues and trends are both a part of and shaped by these contextual factors, which reinforces the point that it is only possible to properly understand HRM in its context.

The second major pattern to emerge from the analysis is the notion that there is a variety of judgments about what is the 'best' way of managing human resources for success. There was no evidence of a universalistic 'one best way' of HRM being followed or espoused by economies in APEC. Each economy and its constituents have their own recipes for dealing with HRM issues, some considered more effective than others. For example, in Hong Kong the overall preferred context for managing human resources is its institutionally permissive, free enterprise system. In contrast, China's (of which Hong Kong is now a part) ongoing planned shift to a socialist market economy is characterised by continuing significant state involvement in employment matters, albeit increasingly less than before. The HRM issues and trends that


are adopted as appropriate for an economy, an industry or an enterprise are to be seen as largely contingent upon the circumstances in which the decisionmakers find themselves. This invokes the principle of equifinality: there are many HRM paths that can lead to successful achievement of economic and social goals. For example, while most economies in the study place significant store in HRD as a means of securing a productive and appropriately skilled workforce, the configuration of policies, programs, institutions and practices has been shaped to suit the local economy environment (with varying degrees of fit).

A number of economies also indicate a strong interest in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI is seen not only as an employment and income generator but also as an opportunity to learn and acquire technological and managerial know-how; know-how to be adopted and inevitably adapted to local circumstances.

An additional HRM issue to come out of the overall analysis is the lack of HRM know-how shown by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This finding is obscured by the abbreviated presentation of current HRM issues/trends, but in some of the economies studied there was a consistent problem in finding and keeping talent, an inability to pay competitive salaries and benefits, and an inability to provide systematic training. Given the prevalence of SMEs as employers in APEC economies (and elsewhere for that matter) and their perceived pivotal role as employment growth engines, HRM in these organizations deserves closer study.

Finally, an underlying theme embedded within the HRM trends/issues is that of change. Researchers reported that economies were concerned to use HRD to acquire the human capability to do certain things now and in the future, and they reported an enterprise/organizational level focus and desire for HRM flexibility to improve responsiveness and discretion over employment-related decisions and actions. All the descriptors in tables 1 and 2 are concerned with changing states of affairs: current matters that are being addressed and managed by the various actors (employers, workers, governments, unions) in a diversity of ways, and trends that project a wide range of possible HRM futures. This is not surprising, given the frequent observation that the world is a fast, often turbulent, changing place along almost any dimension studied.

The question of any evidence of convergence or divergence, converging divergences or diverging convergences in HRM issues and trends in the AsiaPacific remains unanswered in this study. Certainly, there are similarities and differences between economies, as examined above. To determine whether there is convergence or divergence among economies in HRM requires a longitudinal study to discern the dynamics and patterns of change in their similarities and differences.

86 Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 2003i41{l)

Future research directions

To summarise briefly, the main HRM patterns and issues/trends identified through the above analysis are: diversity in APEC at many levels, many visions of the 'best' ways of HRM for success, a general concern for human resource development, a growing focus on HRM at the enterprise/organizational level, securing HRM flexibility, a lack of HRM know-how by SMEs, the HRM consequences of environmental jolts (Asian financial crisis), and the pervasiveness of change. These findings will serve as a useful basis for fruitful future research in comparative HRM in the Asia-Pacific at an industry or organizationallevel. Take, for example, the study of human resource management and the management of change in organizations in the Asia-Pacific region. There appears to be great scope to extend our understanding here beyond the dominant US and UK literatures by ascertaining their forms, processes and organizational preoccupations in different national, industrial and organizational contexts. To do this, more work is necessary. New comparative work could frame HRM to include criteria in addition to those used in the Global Advantage project, for example, performance management, occupational health and safety, HR strategy and planning. On the other hand, rather than looking at HRM overall, should the next focus be on a particular aspect of HRM in organizations, such as HRD or flexible work? Can HRM be operationalized without unduly imposing Anglo-Saxon constructs on non-AngloSaxon settings? Is there an appropriate conceptual model of change management that would make sense of the patterns of change management and HRM in different economies? What organizational setting(s) should be studied? Future research should engage with national diversity and its implications for HRM and change management by explicating the different forms and extent of control in organizations and how people are managed in these different countries. A comparative exploration of such factors would help examine activities that are more or less effective in these different contexts.

Conclusion

This paper has provided insights into the key HRM trends and issues as reported by contributors at the economy level in the Asia-Pacific region. The trends and issues examined are not intended to be representative of micro functional HRM concerns (nor could they be within the scope of the project); their focus is on the broader picture. Nevertheless, they serve as useful leads to guide and direct researchers in shaping industry and/or organization level studies of HRM that are considered important and relevant at the wider national and international regional contextual levels.


Michael Zanko (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the School of Management, Marketing and

Employment Relations at the University of Wollongong. His current research interests include

comparative HRM, comparative organizational change and HRM, and occupational health and safety

management and change.

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change and diversity: hrm issues and trends in the asia-pacific region

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