Managers, markets and the globalized economy in China: epilogue

Abstract

In this Epilogue to the Symposium, we look at the conclusions we can draw from our tour d'horizon of managers, markets and the globalized economy in the People's Republic of China. We have seen that, since the late 1970s, industrial ownership has significantly opened-up and become more fragmented, that the state-owned enterprises are arguably no longer the dominant mode in the economy and indeed neither is their management model. Managing, we also noted, has become more complex and diversified, as well as more professional. This edited collection has thus shown how China's managers now have to operate in a more market-driven context if somewhat bounded by the parameters of the ‘harmonious society’.

Keywords:

• China
• Confucianism
• economic reform
• globalization
• harmonious society
• human resource management (HRM)
• labour
• management
• state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
• trade unions