China Staff articles from October 2004

China Staff archives from October 2004

Balancing the unexpected costs of restructuring: more recently, companies in Hong Kong have scrambled to downsize or have been merged with, acquired or been acquired by other companies. In China, the influx of joint ventures and widespread restructuring of SOEs have brought their share of challenges. How can HR managers help to balance the inevitable costs of restructuring?(socially owned enterprises)
October 1, 2004... Restructuring comes in a wide range of forms. Depending on its form--whether it involves a M&A, downsizing, outsourcing, change of ownership, deregulation of an aspect of the business or a technological shift affecting the...

Another 200 people for Chengdu!
October 1, 2004... As the head of the Search and Recruitment section for China's FESCO organization, this is something heard almost every day. If only it were as easy as ordering a large cappuccino from the local Starbucks? So what can HR professionals working in...

Beyond the glass ceiling: are local companies the solution?(Equal Opportunity)
October 1, 2004... Many local talents have confronted glass ceiling barriers, from the shop floor to the executive door, at foreign multinational corporations. But is joining large local companies a default solution? Marlene Ye of Boehringer Ingelheim gives us...

Can SOEs find their business leadership soon enough?(SOE Leadership)(state-owned enterprise )
October 1, 2004... The SOE sector is a dominant employer in China. It consumes about 70% of the labour and capital employed in Chinese industry. However, it is also plagued by inefficiency, a lack of leadership talent and local leadership development to steer it...

Applying negative cost of living indices: falling costs of living and a rise in quality-of-living conditions in Chinese cities is making expatriation in China easier and less costly. How should expatriate compensation packages reflect these developments? According to Mercer Human Resources Consulting, it may be necessary to reduce cost of living allowances.
October 1, 2004... You are an HR manager in a company in Beijing, and in 2001 hired several expatriates from New York. In accordance with your company's policy, you provided a cost of living (COL) allowance to these expatriates to reflect the higher COL in...

Recruitment drive slows but still active.(Hong Kong News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The number of companies planning to hire new staff dropped to 45.7% from 49.7% in the third quarter, pointing to a slowdown in recruitment according to a survey released by Hudson Global Resources. Hudson's chief executive Gary Lazzarotto...

Time to return to pre-Sars pay levels.(Hong Kong News)(severe acute respiratory syndrome)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Federation of Trade Unions has urged employers to return salaries to pre-Sars levels following Hong Kong's economic rebound. Employers' groups were also criticised, according to the South China Morning Post, for advocating discretionary...

Hongkongers overworked and overstressed.(Hong Kong News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Hong Kong people work too long, too hard and for little enjoyment, concluded a recent "Work-life Balance in Hong Kong" survey released by the University of Hong Kong and the charity Community Business. Hongkongers work an average of 55 hours a...

Higher pay and perks for contract civil servants.(China News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The pay for contract employees will apparently be higher than that for public servants of the same rank. Pinggu District on the northeastern outskirts of Beijing plans to bring in "contract employees" to its government force, hoping an influx...

Mainland MBAs losing salary footing.(China News)
October 1, 2004... Rapidly slipping from salary ranks, a survey published in China Entrepreneur found that domestic employers are willing to pay a maximum of RMB 140,000 (nearly US$16,000) per annum for new MBA graduates from top business schools. This contrasts...

2004 total cash comparison by city.(Data Page)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... Manufacturing Sector Differential Ratio uses Shanghai (Non-European Firms) as 100 Manual General Supv./Sr. Workshop Staff Professional Professional Beijing...