The challenges of global capitalism : unemployment and state workers' reactions and responses in post-reform China

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

International Journal of Human Resource Management

Publication Date

5-1-2002

Volume

13

Issue

3

First Page

399

Last Page

415

Publisher

Routledge

Keywords

China, coping strategies, labour, state workers, state-owned enterprises, unemployment

Abstract

As China enters the twenty-first year of reform, the success of its economic policies has been widely recognized. But what is also true is that economic reforms initiated in the past decades, particularly the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, have inevitably marginalized state workers - the 'masters of socialist China'. Workers in private and non-state sectors might have benefited from the economic reforms but state workers of most state-owned enterprises feel bitterly left behind. The aim of this article is to examine the perception of state workers of the causes of organizational difficulties, their worries in face of redundancy and their coping strategies. Observations made in this study are based on field interviews and questionnaire survey of 649 state workers in Beijing, Shenyang and Zhejiang from 1996 to 1999.

DOI

10.1080/09585190110111440

Print ISSN

09585192

E-ISSN

14664399

Publisher Statement

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Mok, K.-h., Wong, L., & Lee, G. O. M. (2002). The challenges of global capitalism: Unemployment and state workers' reactions and responses in post-reform China. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(3), 399-415. doi: 10.1080/09585190110111440

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