The Changing Face of Management in South East Asia

South East Asia has undergone important economic, social and political developments in the last decade. The emergence of China as Asia’s largest pool of cheap labour has resulted in remarkable changes in the volume of foreign direct investment it commands, while the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis has undoubtedly influenced managerial practices in the majority of the countries in the region. In response, South East Asian governments and businesses have sought ways of attracting new investors while intensifying their efforts to retain existing industries.

This important new volume overviews the development of South East Asian management practices, focusing on human resource management (HRM) as an indicator and measure of change. Written by prominent scholars of the region, the book focuses on reform in the human resource (HR) managerial domain, documenting recent changes and assessing current practices from both macro and micro perspectives. A consistent structure and content is used throughout, with each chapter incorporating ‘real-life’ local organizational and manager case studies, plus vignettes to give ‘voice’ to practitioners and developments.

This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in management, HR or the political, social, cultural and economic profiles of the countries of South East Asia.

Dr Chris Rowley, BA, MA (Warwick), DPhil (Oxford) is Professor of Human Resource Management, Editor of the leading journal Asia Pacific Business Review and book Series Editor for ‘Studies in Asia Pacific Business’ and ‘Asian Studies: Contemporary Issues and Trends’.

Professor Rowley has published very widely, with over 80 articles, over 60 book chapters and other contributions and 12 edited and sole authored books. He has recently co-edited Globalization and Labour in the Asia Pacific Region (2001), Managing Korean Business (2002), The Management of Human Resources in the Asia Pacific Region (2003) and Globalization and Competition: Big Business in Asia (2005). He has also written The Management of People: HRM in Context (2003) and regularly contributed to Mastering Management Online from the Financial Times.

Dr. Saaidah Abdul-Rahman, B.Sc, MSc (London), PhD (Bristol) is lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She specializes in the areas of Social Policy and Human Resource Management. She has had consultancy experience with several government agencies and private companies.