Professionalization of Human Resource Management in
China
Lingling Zhao and Paul Higgins, both at Department of Public Policy, City
University of Hong Kong
Abstract
This paper identifies the process of professionalization of HRM in a Chinese
context. It provides a way to explain how the professionalization of HR
practitioners is occurring in China combined with an overview of Chinese
professions in general, and with particular illustrative reference to the more
established occupations of law and accountancy. The main purpose of the paper,
however, is to identify the unique challenges and opportunities China is facing
with respect to the professionalization of HRM. Through analyzing
professionalization of HRM in a Chinese context, the paper provides a much
needed understanding of the characteristics of the HR profession and of the
strategies and policies being pursued by the state to facilitate this process.
The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant from the ESRC / RGC Joint
Research Scheme sponsored by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and the Economic & Social
Research Council of the United Kingdom (Project reference no. 9057004 RGC ref ES/J017299/1)
Introduction
In the past three decades, the nature of work has experienced striking changes
and transformations. The dramatic alterations in new technology, government
initiatives, products, human capital and labor markets have led to a reshaping of
organizational structures and tasks and new labor relations. As increasing
numbers of women join the labor force and efforts to improve work-life balance
and flexible employment arrangements continue (Howard, 1995), novel career
formats and approaches to matching individuals and work have been created.
Such changes have led to dramatic innovations in social science, human
resource management, public policy and governance. As these changes occur,
the expertise and skills required for performing work alter as well. To keep
abreast of these changes, many executives and specialized organizations have
initiated professionalization programs (Curnow and McGonigle, 2006). The
professional programs include the development of skill standards and
professional development and certification programs in order to maintain and
enhance employees' skills (Thomas, 1996; Christina, 2006). Besides,
professionalization has extended over the past 200 years (Tobias, 2003), so it
may be unsurprising to learn that professionalization has been studied for at
least half of this time (Flexner, 1915; Curnow and McGonigle, 2006). The drive
toward professionalization brings changes with regard to the evolution of
human resource management (HRM) practices (McCandless Baluch, 2012): the
formalization of procedures, the development of employee and employer
training, transformation of the HR function, the emergence of various
professional associations, a global vision of HRM and the development of
specific competencies (Hartono, 2010). At the same time, the evolution of the
strategic HRM discourse has led to a progressive switch from an external
representation of competitive advantage to an internal examination of the skills,
capacities and competencies and, more generally, of resources not easily being
replaced (Bailey, 2011).
All of these trends indicate the importance of the professionalization of Human
Resource Management. Therefore, some questions naturally arise. For instance,
where does China stand in regard to professionalization and what approaches
can be used to analyze the practices and situation of HR professionalization?
With China’s increased engagement in international trade and large numbers of
people studying abroad as well as the fast growth of China-based multinational
enterprises (MNEs), more scholarly research has been centered on the notion of
HRM with Chinese characteristics (Sheldon, Sun, & Sanders, 2014). So what
professionalization strategy exists in the HR authority in China and how is this
different from or similar to the strategies the HR profession elsewhere and/or
other professions in China? What is distinctive about the HR profession in
China and what can this tell us about professionalization in general and
professionalization in HR, in particular?
The aim of this paper is attempt to identify the process of professionalization of
HRM in Chinese context. The paper provides a way to explain how the
professionalization of HR practitioners is occurring in China combined with an
overview of the Chinese situation of profession in general. At the same time, the
paper identifies the unique challenges and opportunities China is facing with
respect to the professionalization of HRM.
Definition of Professionalization
That concept of professionalization has been applied in many areas including
not only social science but also in other fields such as engineering, medicine,
law, and accounting. In the 1950s, sociologists paid much attention to the
character of professionalism (Rueschemeyer & Freidson, 1987). The main
approach at this point focused on establishing the necessary features that an
occupation should have in order to be recognized as a profession. If the features
became too loosely specified, Wilensky (1964) suggested that modern society
could entail the ‘professionalization of everyone?’ But what does
professionalization mean now and what is the significance of it? In this paper,
the authors adopt Millerson’s (1964) definition which views professionalization
as the process by which an occupation undergoes transformation to become a
profession. Alternatively, many writers have devoted time to examining the
various perceptions and interpretations of professionalization. For instance,
Sockett (1985) suggested that: ‘A profession is said to be an occupation with a
crucial social function, requiring a high degree of skill and drawing on a
systematic body of knowledge.’ Meanwhile, Wittorski (2008) refers to
professionalization from three positions: one from the profession perspective –
the constitution of a group of people sharing the same activities; another from a
training perspective - the development of competences of a professional by its
education; the third from an efficiency perspective - the fact of ‘putting in
movement’ individuals within work contexts. More recently, in 2012, Hodson
and Sullivan argued that professionalization can be understood as the efforts by
a job-related group to raise its collaborative standing by taking on the
characteristics of a profession. Such an approach was adopted by the Society of
Human Resources Management (SHRM) in USA, which in 2003 conducted a
survey ‘to gauge the situation of the HR profession worldwide’ (Claus &
Collison, 2005). It utilized Eliot Freidson’s (2001) framework to assess six
dimensions of professionalism. Moreover, Eliot formalizes professionalism by
treating it as an ideal type grounded in the political economy which offers a
third logic, taken to mean a more viable alternative to consumerism and
bureaucracy. The dimensions are made up of a theoretical and conceptual body
of knowledge and skills; identification as a profession; professional autonomy
and internal control; training certification for entry and occupational mobility;
service awareness and restricted external controls. Eliot (2001) encourages us to
consider a world in which employees with specialized knowledge and the
ability to offer society, with especially essential services, control of their work,
without directives from management or the influence of free markets. Claus &
Collison (2005, p.19) conclude that ‘there is still a lot of room left for the
maturing of HR in terms of the various dimensions of professionalism.’ Of
course, the HR profession does not operate in vacuum, HR professionalization
should be considered in specific contexts. The tendencies to professionalize
have been studied and the comparative means of so doing remain diverse.
Nonetheless, one of the main approaches to the study of professionalization
derives from an assessment of the characteristic of the profession.
The Professionalization of HR Management
According to research conducted by Human Resources Professionals
Association (HRPA) in Canada, the professionalization of HRM is seen to be an
important objective of the discipline. In 2013, one study identified that 89.4% of
respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the professionalization of HR was
of significance to them (Claude Balthazard, 2014). Although the process of
professionalization of HR can be long-winded and complex, HRM has
advanced quickly (Fanning, 2011). In many jurisdictions it has created a body
of knowledge that can be used as education and training for skills; a certification
system through which courses and examinations can be designed; a code of
professional ethics to guide certified members’ behavior and, perhaps most
significantly a powerful professional association (Hoyle, 1974) to promote the
occupation.
Drawing on a trait theory of professions, Fanning (2011) identified nine
characteristics that define a profession and positioned HR in relation to them.
The nine characteristics identified as defining a profession comprise the
presence of a governing body; certification; education and training; a body of
knowledge; code of ethics and discipline; legal status; a research base;
independence; contribution to society; and recognition. Using a combination of
low professional status indicators and high professional status indicators
Fanning (2011) concluded that HR should be described as ‘semi-professional’
since it scored highly on some indicators but lowly on others. In other words,
while some progress had been made it was not sufficient to label HR a full
profession. The bigger question, however, is whether such an evolutionary step
is possible or whether there are certain inherent characteristics of HR that
preclude its entry into what can ultimately be demarcated as a licensed
profession. This is an important consideration because the labelling of HR as a
semi-professional could depict either its evolution to some full professional
status later or the structural constraints of an occupational status unlikely to
ever gain licensure and social closure. At the same time, “although
practitioners might be keen to be recognized as a profession the accompanying
responsibilities and duties of licensure that go with it might not be so welcomed”
(interview with former President of the Hong Kong Institute of HRM).
The definition of professionalization of Human Resources is the process by
which Human Resource professionals collaboratively aspire to accomplish the
recognition and status that is consistent to the established professions by
matching or embracing the defining characteristics of the established
professions (Claude, 2014).
However, in the case of China, the concept of human resource management
(HRM) is relatively new with the professionalization of HRM only at an
embryonic stage at best though rapid subsequent development cannot be ruled
out, especially if it gains political backing. In China, before opening up to the
Western world (Sheldon et al., 2014), there was no concept of HRM and its
subsequent adoption has been far from universal. In fact, most government
agencies and state-owned-enterprises (SOEs) continue to use the term personnel
compared to HRM, though greater adoption is reported in newly established
organizations such as privately owned enterprises, joint ventures, and foreign
investment firms. This represents an interesting contraposition in that while
HRM has been imported into China via foreign companies it has not been
adopted in sectors where such exposure is lacking. One reason for this could be
that the adoption of market rather than bureaucratic organization is deemed to
be dangerous in situations where national interests are at hand. There is no need,
as such, for government and SOE’s to embrace market mechanisms when
strategic interests are at hand. HRM, in contrast, is adopted when the
independent interests of the organization are at stake and where the rules of
engagement are determined on more commercial lines. This is entirely in
keeping with the notion of managerialism , which is deployed when external
competitive pressures are present. However, whether such marketization fosters
some inherently more professional connotations or is simply presented as such
to pursue the professionalization objective of the association depends on
whether one values the internal or external connotations of professionalism.
Professions in China
Compared to other western countries, China is very different in many aspects. It
has not only a unique social and cultural environment, but also a dominant
Chinese government role in society(Yee, 2009). Moreover, approaches used in
the process of professionalization in China share a number of similarities and
differences in various industries. Currently, such classic professions as
accounting, law, medicine, engineering and teaching have experienced
professionalized life for more than thirty years (Brien, 2006; Warner, 2011; Yee,
2009, 2012).
Yee (2009) points out that the professionalization process in China does not
follow any common pattern, the success of this process (at least from the
perspective of the occupation) depends on a number of conditions, in particular,
the relationship of the profession with powerful actors such as the state. Any
professional occupation is linked to the kind of society in which it operates—to
its political and economic environments, its social structure, as well as its
cultural norms (Yee, 2009). To make readers’ understanding of
professionalization in China easier to understand the established cases of
accounting and law will be used as initial examples. Attention will then turn to
the case of HRM more specifically, whose remit, incidentally, often overlaps
with the accounting (i.e. HR budgeting) and legal (i.e. industrial relations and
employment law) domains.
Accounting profession
Unlike western accountants who took the initiative and opportunity to organize
themselves into professional associations, Chinese accountants were initially
not proactive in organizing themselves (Yee, 2012). Instead, the development of
the Chinese accounting profession can be analyzed using the principles of
market, state and community. The state has been the predominant force in the
professionalization process and the forces of market and community remain
under the umbrella of the state (Yee, 2009). Regarding the former, a number of
important promulgations came out in 1980. In September, the Standing
Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the Income Tax Law for
Sino-foreign Joint Ventures. On 14 December 1980, the Ministry of Finance
promulgated the Detailed Rules for Implementation of Income Tax Law for
Sino-foreign Joint Ventures. This later promulgation had a significant impact on
the public accounting profession in China. For the first time in the history of the
accounting profession, it was stipulated that an auditor’s report required for a
tax return must be signed by a Chinese Certified public accountant (CPA) (Hao,
1999, p. 292;Yee, 2012).
Following on from this, the Chinese government announced in January 1985 the
promulgation of the Accounting Law of the People’s Republic of China. The
aim of this legislation was to ‘standardize accounting behavior, ensure that
accounting documentation is authentic and complete, strengthen economic and
financial management, improve economic results and safeguard the order of
socialist market economy’ (Article 1). The Regulations of the People’s Republic
of China on Certified Public Accountants (RCPA) was finally promulgated in
July 1986. The issuance of RCPA was an important event for the public
accounting profession in China. For the first time in the history of the
development of the accounting profession, the status of the Chinese CPAs was
legalized. The regulations also delegated the authority to CPAs to form their
own professional body—the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(CICPA) (State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 1986, Article 5).
Furthermore, it established consistent academic requirements for CPAs across
the country (Gao, 1992, p. 15). The RCPA stipulated that only candidates with
higher education degrees and at least three years practical experience after
passing the uniform examination could obtain a CPA practice certificate (Wei
and Eddie, 1996, p. 25).
The state-accounting profession dynamic in China during the 1990s is best
understood to be one of cooperation and ‘harmony’(Baker, Biondi, & Zhang,
2010). It was a period when the state – and especially Zhu Rongji – took an
active interest in the development of the accounting profession, emphasizing, in
particular, the requirement for a high standard of professionalism(Yee, 2012).
On the economic front, the state endeavored to loosen its administrative grip
over SOEs and resorted to bridge the gap in control through the use of
corporatist mechanism. In this regard, the CICPA has all the hallmarks of a state
professional association. It was to assist the state in managing Certified
Professional Accountants (CPAs) and public accounting firms, both of which
were perceived by the state (and state officials for that matter) to have an
important role in monitoring the activities of SOEs(Baker et al., 2010). More
importantly, the CICPA had the task of communicating policy lines of the state
to its membership and, in the process, mobilizing and steering Chinese public
accountants into aligning their functions with the economic agenda of the
state(Yee, 2012). China’s public accounting profession serves as a foundation
for a socialist market economy and concerns the future and fortune of the nation;
the development of the profession is a great undertaking of lasting importance
(CICPA., 1999, p. 27).
The Chinese accountants responded positively to the state’s leadership, and
were prepared to work with the state in facilitating its economic reforms agenda.
The father and son relationship between the state and the Chinese public
accounting profession means that the future development of the profession will
continue under the ‘authoritative’ guiding hand of the state.
Law profession
The law profession in China has been under political control since its
resumption in the post-Mao era when the 1980 Provisional Regulation on
Lawyers defined lawyers as “workers of the state”(Brien, 2006). There has been
some progress in the development of the law profession, but the profession is
still characterized by a lack of independence from the state, lawyers’ inferior
status in the judicial process, heavy administrative interference in legal practice
and insufficient protection of lawyers’ rights (Lo &Snape, 2005). In 1996,
Lawyers Law of the PRC fundamentally changed the nature of the profession
from public service to private practice, redefining a lawyer as “a legal
practitioner who holds a certificate to practice law and who provides legal
services to society”. The Ministry of Justice retains a high degree of control; it
does provide a more favorable environment for the development of the
profession (Lo &Snape, 2005). The quality of lawyers has improved, their role
in the legal system has been expanded, they have become better able to pursue
the interests of clients, and their income from legal practice has increased
greatly. Law firms operates in the form of partnerships to promote the
professional identity of lawyers, and the number of lawyers has increased from
close to 70,000 in 1993 to over 150,000 in 2001 (Lo &Snape, 2005).
The past 25 years have witnessed phenomenal growth in the legal professions in
China. At present there are more than 100,000 lawyers. Five hundred and fifty
thousand entrants sat for the 2002 and 2003 unified examinations conducted by
the Ministry of Justice for entry to the professions of judges, procurators, and
lawyers, and about 44,000 of these passed (Lo &Snape, 2005). In 2002, the
number of entrants was 300,000 but the number has reduced because the entry
level for the examination has been raised(Brien, 2006). In 1980, the Standing
Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted the Regulations for
Lawyers (Provisional), before these regulations were replaced in 1996 by the
Lawyers’ Law. Legal professionals are playing an increasingly important part in
China’s society.
The professionalization of the legal profession from 1996 to the present is
particularly marked by a switch from the development of the All-China
Lawyer’ Association to self-regulation. In fact, professionalization can be
indicated by the growing independence of the national association in managing
the legal profession and the increasing autonomy of lawyers in their practice
(Lo &Snape, 2005). Local lawyers’ associations have gradually set up in urban
cities across the country such as the Chief of the Beijing Justice Bureau, Sun
Changli, served as the Chairman of the Beijing Lawyers’’ Association. In the
aspect of qualifying examination, Ministry of Justice controlled the qualification
of legal professionals. There were also a set of code of ethics lawyers should
follow. “Lawyers’ Ten Wanted and Ten Not Allowed” was issued in 1990 while
the first formal document “The Norms on Professional Ethics and the Discipline
of Practice of Lawyers” appeared in 1993(Lo &Snape, 2005). Related penal
regulations issued later to discipline lawyers who are found guilty of
misconduct.
Many researchers (Gao, 2002; Lo &Snape, 2005; Brien, 2006; Clark, 2008)
suggest that developments in the state’s support for the rule of law, professional
standards, and the role of the lawyers’ associations are needed if the legal
system and the law profession are to play their necessary role in China’s
modernization.
What HRM professionalization strategies exist in China?
In China, the authoritarianism associated with the Communist Party regime,
together with the promotion of socialist democracy and the influence of
traditional culture, have combined to shape a very different system of power
distinctive from the kind of interest group dynamics experienced in the west
(Yee, 2012). The competing demands made upon the state and how the state
influences the outcome of the professionalization process is particularly
highlighted in studies that look at inter- and intra-professional rivalries (Yee,
2012). Drawing on the themes of state power influence, normative education
programs in HRM, HRM certification mechanism and the establishment of HR
professional associations, this section examines the HRM professionalization
strategies that currently exist in China.
The state power influence
In the process of building human resource management policies and practices,
countries often adopt two main approaches: hard ways - directly through HRM
laws and regulations - and soft ways - through government-piloted initiatives
and campaigns aimed to promote certain desirable HRM practices and
management behavior (Godard 2000 2; Martinez Lucio and Stuart 2004;
Mellahi 2007,Cooke, 2011). Both of these forms have different effects but
should not be overrated, especially in a Chinese context because of the absence
of enforcement powers (Collings & Mellahi, 2009; Cooke, 2011). China is a
one-party-led state which has a comparatively more stable political power than
other democratic states (Cooke, 2011). The central government and its extended
sectors control almost all aspects of management in all industries. However,
although the central government also exerts power on local governments and its
agencies the relative autonomy of these distinct sectors means that they can
possess their own agenda and interests that may undermine the state’s HRM
strategic initiatives (Cooke, 2011). As such, many HRM strategies and policies
that exist in China contain local characteristics that reflect the ‘harmonious’
diversity of many different places.
China’s rapid modernization since 1979 has involved the transmission and
transfer of ideas and techniques that have enhanced the transition to a market
economy. In some, particularly foreign imported cases, these have included the
embedding of particular notions of HRM as the dominant prescriptive,
particularly for advanced organizational policies and practices related to the
management of employment. In theory and practice then, HRM is gradually
replacing the term ‘personnel management’ that administered employment
relations in the centralized, planned and state-owned Maoist political economy
(Ding and Warner 2001), though legacies remain strong in government and
state-owned sectors.
Otherwise, foreign direct investment has been a major carrier of new
approaches, first, via joint ventures and subsequently and, more completely, by
the opening to wholly foreign-owned enterprises (Sheldon, Sun, Sanders, 2014).
For the foreign-funded Multinational Corporations (MNC), in order to increase
capital and managerial competence for domestic organizations, they are
permitted to join the Chinese market as wholly owned foreign firms after 1998
(Bjo¨rkman and Lu 2001; Child 2001,Cooke, 2011). Such prestigiously viewed
corporations as IBM and Wal-Mart were able to bring advanced management
ideas and practices into the China market, which were promoted and
encouraged as outstanding models by local government, deviating perhaps from
a more conservative central government stance. Nonetheless, many HR
professional practices, such as job analysis, performance management and
quality management, were spread and shared by these groundbreaking MNCs
(Cooke,2004 & 2011).
Various HRM practices emerged with the development of foreign-owned
recruitment, headhunting agencies and HR consultancy firms due to the opening
labor market. For instance, the ‘Regulation on Talent (Employment) Market
Management’ was issued in 2002 in order to increase advanced services from
foreign-owned employment agency firms. The entrance of well-established
foreign owned HR operators has created the HR outsourcing and consulting
market, which together with MNCs in other industries, have played an
important role in raising the HR standard to conform to the institutional
requirements of the market. Moreover, this has occurred in a relatively short
period of time, given the low starting point of the profession (Cooke, 2011).
Although HRM remains largely a private-sector/foreign implanted concept, the
government still exerts an influence both directly and indirectly. For example,
in 2008, the government issued the ‘Thousand Talents Plan’ in order to attract
talents from overseas. This has an indirect influence on HRM prevalence given
its likely foreign acquaintance with such processes. Likewise, the government
could also indirectly influence HRM prevalence by implementing HRM
initiatives through State-owned Enterprise (SOEs). Alternatively, as a more
direct measure of the government’s influence, it has issued a range of HRrelated policies and regulations that impact all organizations and established a
number of qualified bodies as well as research centers/ institutes. From the
legislative view, it has passed the Labor Law, the Vocational Education Law,
and the Enterprise Law. These regulations provide a source of
professionalization potential by giving HR practitioners a mandate to determine
the actions of others (i.e. the organization must abide by the law) and, therefore,
by exerting coercive power. Regarding research, the China Professional
Managers Research Centre, the China Institute for Internationalizing
Professional Managers and the Leadership Assessment Centre has all been
established. In addition, the authorities have sanctioned the provision of
imported and homegrown MBA programs which entail MNCs training
collaboration. Hence, in all of these ways, and as noted for accountancy and law
above, state power is able to provide large-scale intervention in the process of
professionalization of HRM in China. This occurs both by setting strategic
agendas at the top level and then rolling them out through various state agencies
and actors at lower levels (Cooke, 2011). For example, China Human Resource
and Social Security Ministry guides the whole HRM relevant policies and
initiatives at national level. Other local governments have their own institutes
and Human Resource Associations at the lower level to implement HRM
strategies according to national policies and strategies.
Normative education programs in HRM
DiMaggio and Powell (1982) claim that two aspects of professionalization are
important. One is formal education programs and bodies of knowledge
produced by university specialists; the second is the growth and elaboration of
professional networks that span organizations and across which new models
diffuse rapidly. Universities and professional training institutions are important
centers for the development of organizational norms among professional
managers and their staff. MBA/EMBA programs fill ‘the management
education gap at all levels and in all sectors’ and contribute to the development
of powerful management networks nationwide (Southworth 1999, p. 330). The
main reasons why participants undergo MBA/EMBA training programs are to
explore new knowledge and to develop connections and network for future
career advancement. ‘Guanxi (personal connections)’is very important in
Chinese environment as a crucial substitute for formal institutional support.
Another source has been the emergence in China of Western-style business
schools and the teaching of Western-style business curricula at Chinese
universities (Warner and Goodall 2009; Sheldon, Sun, Sanders, 2014).
Nonetheless, these popular programs do provide various management
knowledge including HRM related courses. There are more than 2000
universities in China, one-seventh of them offering HRM degree programs at
different levels (Sheldon et al., 2014). Almost all the graduates who hold HRM
relevant degrees are engaged in HR industry and add more professional
employees in different organizations. There are more faculty members in
China’s business schools who are doing research in HR or related fields, and the
quality of HRM research is improving all the time (Sheldon, Sun, Sanders,
2014).
Meanwhile, the central government’s HRM strategies include increasing
nationwide training programs for different labor force and funding management
training and education of HRM through various institutes and business schools.
The first stage in the state’s attempt to professionalize SOE managers and state
cadres was from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s (Cooke, 2011).There is an
increasing demand for professional managers with expertise in HRM. Therefore,
training Chinese HR managers became an urgent requirement for all enterprises
concerned. Thousands of SOE managers and government officials were sent to
the state-funded and purpose-built institutes or schools of economics and
management located in top tier universities for education. This was typically
full-time for 2–3 years, leading to a diploma or bachelor degree qualification in
economics and management. In addition, part-time university/ college
qualification education programs were available for professionals and
managerial candidates who sought career advancement, as educational
qualification became a prerequisite for promotion in the state sector(Cooke,
2011).
The second stage entailed the fast development of business schools and
MBA/EMBA and short-term executive management training programs
nationwide. The demand for up-to-date western management theories and
applications surged and resulted in the rapid growth of business schools and
MBA/EMBA programs. According to Southworth (1999), when the China
European International Business School was established in late 1994, there were
about 500 MBA graduates in China, half of them having been educated as
management elites at the China Europe Management Institute in Beijing
between 1984 and 1994. A more recent phenomenon is that the government is
taking advantage of foreign MNCs’ corporate universities in China by sending
senior managers from key SOEs for training and development (Wang and Wang
2006). Even though there has been fast growth in the provision of HRM courses
and training programs in China, their effect and benefits have not been taken
full advantage. This is because there is lack of post-training evaluation
insufficient organizational mechanisms to provide opportunities for candidates
to apply what they have learned into advancing organization effectiveness
(Cooke, 2011). So the next step of HRM education is to make it more applicable
and practical for various learners. HR professionals graduating from universities
and institutes with HR relevant degrees will constitute the main part of the HR
practitioners market.
HRM certification mechanism
At present, most of personnel departments in private Chinese enterprises have
transferred to Human Resource departments. However, HR practitioners who
master professional HRM knowledge and have professional qualifications are
extremely rare. According to a research conducted by Ministry of Human
Resource and Social Security in 2009, the HR talent gap has reached 50 million
people in China and, as a conservative estimate; this represents around 40,000
people in Shanghai, 30,000 people in Dalian - a city in Liaoning Province.
One of state-led initiatives to professionalize HRM entailed the Ministry of
Labor and Social Security introduction of the HR professional qualification
accreditation system in 2005 (Development and Management of Human
Resources 2006). It became the largest occupational assessment event at the
time, and a total of 200,000 people had taken the examination by 2006. In 2006,
major changes took place to improve the examination system for the HR
professional qualifications. The revised system emphasizes knowledge renewal
and the development of competence. It marks a departure from the existing
emphasis on degree qualifications in the profession. According to the
Development and Management of Human Resources (2006a), the popularity of
the HR professional qualification accreditation system will help develop the HR
competence of the country. Though there is still a long way to go, over a period
of time, this system will provide employers with a pool of HR talent and raise
the standard of the profession (ibid.). Since 2003, HRM professional
certification has been carried out through the whole country. So far, HR
profession has become one of employment permit system professions that
require employees to be certified when obtaining this career in China. Now, HR
professional qualification plays a more important role for those who want to
engage in HR fields because of its strict process of certification for HR
practitioners who have different work experiences and education backgrounds
(Warner, 2011). Currently more and more people attended this certification and
HR professionals have become objectives of contention due to shortage of
qualified HR talents who hold the certification.
Besides the HR professional qualification accreditation, there are other
certifications assessed by HR professional associations in China. For instance,
Human Resource Association for Chinese & Foreign Enterprises, Beijing (HRA)
provides three different certifications: Practical Reward Certification, HR
Business Partner Certification, Human Resource Assessor Certification, for HR
practitioners at various levels. Each of the certifications in HRA has its detailed
training description and course introduction. For members at different levels in
HRA, they are able to choose the most appropriate certification. As such,
improvement and healthy development of relevant mechanism as well as HR
professional associations are crucial for the professionalization of HRM in
China.
Establishment of HR professional associations
For the past two decades, employment agencies led by the central government
and local governments represent a new institutional actor for labor relations in
China. In 1995, the stated issued the Employment Agency Regulation to guide
the establishment of employment agencies. The main role of these agencies is
the labor dispatch even though they are criticized for their lack of
professionalization, outdated market information and inability to reflect the real
demand and supply in the labor market. However, too much government
intervention for professional agencies might not only constrain the quality of
HR services, but also hinder the professionalization of the industry. It is urgent
for HRM market to establish professional associations that can relatively
independently facilitate the process of professionalization of HRM in the
Chinese context. Unlike developed areas such as Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development (CIPD) founded in 1913 in the UK, the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) founded in 1948 in US and the Hong
Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM), professional HR
associations in China are generally much less well established or independent.
So far, Human Resource Association for Chinese & Foreign Enterprises,
Beijing (HRA) is the only one that can be considered to be a HR professional
association in the international perspective in China, which is currently an
Affiliate Member of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource
Management (APFHRM). Facilitating the development of a harmonious
relationship between the members and service providers as well as providing
professional HRM training and certifications are on the listed responsibilities of
HRA (HRA website, accessed on 2014). In the past two decades, HRA has
experienced constant adjustment and advancement to the changing market in
China and became a relatively mature HR professional association for HR
practitioners. Nonetheless, compared to more advanced HR associations in
Western developed countries; HRA in China is on the journey to becoming
more formally recognized. For instance, HRA provides systematic information
about the standards of HR practitioners, training guidance and specific courses,
codes of ethics, membership requirements and certification system. As it
continues to grow, the members of the association are able to form pressure
groups to exert pressure on the government as it raises its public profile in a
manger consistent with a professionalizing domain.
Conclusion
There is now clear evidence from the discussion above and findings of other
studies (Law, Tse and Zhou 2003; Wei and Lau 2005; Wang, Bruning and Peng
2007), that there has been a steady rise in the level of HRM exposure and in the
adoption of western imported HRM practices amongst Chinese firms (Cooke,
2011). Even though China learned a lot from Western countries about HR
practices, it still developed in its own way to professionalize HR practitioners.
This is especially noticeable in the demarcation in employment and HR practice
that pervades the public and private sectors with exposure to foreign companies
being an important mediating factor.
Based on the Chinese case, this paper has reviewed the concepts of
professionalization in general and HRM in particular as well as emphasizing the
significance of professionalization in HR industry. This article has examined the
development of professionalization of HR in China and the strategic role of the
Chinese state and other actors in influencing and shaping HRM practices. It has
also explored HRM professionalization policies and strategies in China and
considered the means by which HR practitioners in China can be
professionalized. Through analyzing professionalization of HRM in Chinese
context, one gains a better understanding of the characteristics of the HR
profession and certain strategies and policies issued by the state. It provides a
basis for those in the research community to do further, more detailed analysis,
of the dynamic interactions in the process of HRM professionalization in China.
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