China has already become the world's second largest economic power, and it currently presents enormous business opportunities. Yet there is still a dearth of information in the West about how Chinese firms are run. In this invaluable 1994 book, Professor Child addresses this lack, examining management in China in all its different aspects. He covers the development of Chinese management during the period of economic reform in a number of areas including enterprise leadership, decision making, the management of marketing and purchasing transactions, the work roles of senior managers, personnel practices and reward systems. The experience of foreign firms entering joint ventures with Chinese enterprises is also reviewed in detail. The book provides a comprehensive survey of the subject, written on the basis of field work and direct contacts which the author has with Chinese enterprises.

Lost Managers

by John Child and Bruce Partridge

Published 1 June 1982

This book is concerned with the management of organisational change. It focuses on Cadbury Ltd and provides an in-depth study of change within this famous British company. Cadbury Ltd is famous for its pioneering personnel management. One of the purposes of this study is to assess how this established company ethos facilitated change by examining the development and implementation of a capital investment programme that radically changed working practices at the company's Bournville plant in Birmingham. At a more general level the authors develop a theory of organisational change that emphasises the interaction between external market forces and internal management action. This approach unites an emphasis on the structural parameters that limit a firm's capacity for independent change, with a recognition of the vital role performed by influential members of an organisation in initiating and managing change. This book will be of interest to teachers and students of business history, organisational behaviour, industrial relations and industrial sociology.