Barriers to effective managerial practices in China

This article investigates barriers to effective managerial practices in China in the 1990s. Strategic and enactment theories were adopted to explain how change is managed. The evidence is drawn from 129 questionnaires, which were administered to indigenous Chinese managers involving four case studies. The findings indicate that there are five major barriers to effective managerial practice, namely swift market change, governmental influence, inefficient market intelligence systems, a lack of appropriate human resource skills, and the inadequacy of the production system. It is suggested that, in order to alleviate the barriers, enterprises need to be committed to quality enhancement, and effective training and development, as well as developing sophisticated market intelligence systems.