March 17, 2006 :: No. 170

China has become an economic giant, fulfilling expectations by becoming the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Its economic ascendancy is spurring market conditions and staffing challenges that are changing the face of how that Asian country’s companies hire and retain employees.

Those changes are being explored by B. Thomas Mayes, a Cal State Fullerton professor of management who is heading to China to study how workers there are coping with competition within their own companies and from workers abroad.

“I’ll be looking at the physical and mental symptoms they might be experiencing,” said Mayes, who previously studied workers and stress-related health conditions with funding from a National Institute of Mental Health grant. “Are they suffering stress as American workers and managers do? Are they experiencing the same type of stress-related feelings or health symptoms?

“Workers and managers in China don’t have as much security as they had as recently as 20 years ago,” said the researcher who specializes in organizational behavior and human resource management.

Mayes noted that, until recently, his acquaintances in China felt secure about their jobs and that they always would have food, clothing and housing to meet their needs. Not anymore.

“Today, there is more pressure to get a good job and perform it well, in order to be financially secure.”

Reports of changes in Chinese business operations have surfaced in management and human resources journals, but little has been published on how these changes affect managers and workers, noted Mayes.

The Cal State Fullerton professor will be traveling to Shanghai, where he expects to connect with his academic counterparts. One aspect of his research will be to gather data on the changes in China’s human resources management practices, including how job performance is evaluated and whether pay is pegged to performance.

“I also want to find out about employee training,” said Mayes. “Are companies paying for advanced training, or are employees on their own?”

In addition, the professor will be conducting surveys asking employees and managers how they feel mentally and physically. The questions he’s been formulating have been translated into Chinese.

“It’s amazing how modern China has become,” said Mayes, whose first ventured there in 1988. “When I first visited Shanghai, there were no skyscrapers. When you walked around at night, the streets were dimly lit and people would come up to you just to practice their English. Others would gather around just to hear the conversation.

“Today, many of the streets are very brightly lit; the skyline is filled with tall buildings,  and foreigners attract little attention,” he added.

The Long Beach resident has taught at Cal State Fullerton since 1984 and is a past president of the Western Academy of Management. He holds a doctorate from UC Irvine.

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