WOW HDR Student: Jane Kerr
THESIS TITLE: Developing the Careers of China's Managers of
Tomorrow
ABSTRACT: Organisational Career Management (OCM) systems have been
developed and evaluated within organisations in North America and Europe
but there are major questions about the applicability of these systems in
China. This research specifically explores OCM practices for managers in
China, and focuses on the cohort of the ‘Little Emperors’. Born between 1979
and 2000, the Little Emperors are China’s first generation born since China’s
Economic Reforms of 1979 and under the One Child Policy. Surrounded by
new prosperity, Western Values and socioeconomic stability, this cohort is
strikingly different to previous generations becoming more individualistic,
aggressively seeking development and growth within their careers. Due to the
uniqueness of this generation, current HRM and OCM practices in China are
argued to be outdated and introduced Western practices widely maintained to
be inappropriate due to cultural differences. However, there is little research
which examines policies and practices in Chinese organisations. Addressing
this, the research proposes to answer the research question: ‘What is an
effective model of OCM with Chinese characteristics and how can it be
applied for the ‘Little Emperors’ cohort of managers?' through employing a
exploratory, qualitative, collective case study design.