Global Information Technology Company, Ltd

This case presents a scenario that pertains to the effective management of human resources in a Chinese cultural context where guanxi and face are of considerable importance. It depicts actual situations in detail, but the names of the organization and participants have been disguised at the request of the interviewees. The scenarios deal with issues of managerial appointments, promotion, husband-wife team in an organization, threat of resignation, effective leadership and achievement of subordinate respect and performance. Human resource management in China often requires a different approach from that espoused in the Western literature that currently dominates orthodox management theory. With China's growing economic power and the numerous foreign joint ventures in China, examining the cultural differences provides important insights for understanding the ways in which the norms and informal rules in general, and face and harmony in particular, function in Chinese organizations.