Htwe Htwe Thein

The impact of cultural context on the perception of work/ family balance by professional women in Singapore and Hong Kong

‘Work/family balance’ has recently come to the fore in public policy debate and academic inquiry across the industrialized world. However, this issue has been relatively under-explored in the context of Asian business and society. This paper reports the results of a qualitative, exploratory investigation of the perceptions and experiences of predominantly professional women, aged 25—45 years living in Singapore and Hong Kong. Data from focus groups were used to explore how women in these countries perceive work/family balance and the role of family, government and other support structures in managing this aspect of their lives. This study confirms that cultural context is a significant factor in how women perceive and respond to the issue of work/family balance. L’impact du contexte culturel sur la perception de l’équilibre travail/famille par des femmes exerçant des professions libérales à Singapour et Hong Kong. Hwte Hwte Thein, Siobhan Austen, Janice Currie & Erica Lewin L’équilibre “travail/famille” est depuis quelque temps au cœur du débat politique et de la recherche universitaire dans le monde industrialisé. Cependant, cette question n’a pas fait l’objet de beaucoup de recherche dans le contexte de la société et du monde des affaires asiatiques. Cet article rend compte des conclusions d’une enquête qualitative sur les perceptions et expériences de femmes d’affaires ou exerçant des professions libérales, âgées entre 24 et 45 ans, et vivant à Singapour ou à Hong Kong. Des données émanant de groupes de réflexion ont été utilisées afin d’explorer comment les femmes de ces pays perçoivent l’équilibre travail/famille, ainsi que le rôle de la famille, du gouvernement et autres structures de soutien afin de gérer cet aspect de leurs vies. Cette étude confirme que le contexte culturel est un facteur significatif de la façon dont les femmes perçoivent et répondent à cette question de l’équilibre travail/famille.

Development failure and the resource curse: the case of Myanmar

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine development failure in Myanmar and explore alternative ways forward.Design/methodology/approach – This research uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative data drawn from sources including newspaper and media accounts from inside and outside Myanmar, reports from NGOs and field observations. The data are analysed using a framework developed by combining the theoretical perspectives of the resource curse and governmentality.Findings – Evidence of developmental failure in Myanmar is found. The nation is in an economic, social and political mess due to the actions of an incompetent and corrupt robber regime that has misused and misappropriated much of the wealth being produced from the nations large mineral and energy reserves. Action by the international community has so far proved ineffective in improving the situation.Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this paper is the difficulty in obtaining accurate and reliable official economi...

From Cronyism to Oligarchy? Privatisation and Business Elites in Myanmar

Abstract Privatisation is often contentious yet in Myanmar it has not so much been its merits or drawbacks that have attracted attention as questions around implementation. In Myanmar, the implementation of privatisation has broad significance for the political economy. A first phase of privatisation was focused on small and medium-sized enterprises and did not have a significant economic impact. A second phase, commenced in 2008, consolidated the interests of a business elite with personal connections to the military regime. The impact of this second phase of privatisation was such that some elements of this elite strengthened to the extent that they no longer relied entirely on patronage, creating opportunities for diversification in their strategies of wealth creation and defence. For this reason, it is argued, the wealthiest strata of Myanmar’s business elite is now best conceived as not simply consisting of cronies but rather as a nascent form of oligarchy. In theoretical terms, this suggests that greater attention to the qualitative difference between cronyism and oligarchy is warranted, as is close study of processes – like privatisation and political reform – that enable or require a wider range of strategies of wealth defence.

International Trade and Business Investment in Myanmar: Scope, Strategic Development, and Social Implications

International businesses trading with, and operating in, Myanmar have attracted frequent criticism. As a result, political considerations related to external institutional actors, sanctions measures, and non-government organisations (NGOs), are, typically, considered to have determined the scope and the strategic development of international investment and trade with Myanmar. Due to its poor human rights record, international state actors have differed with regard to the deci-sion to engage, or not to engage, with the repressive regime govern-ment of Myanmar. The US and the European Union (EU), have, to a large extent, adopted a policy of ‘isolation’, while Asian governments and business groups have adopted an alternate policy of ‘constructive’ institutional and economic engagement with Myanmar.

The International Labour Organization as a Development Actor in Southeast Asia

Typically, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is discussed in narrow terms with specific reference to its role in setting labor standards and the success or otherwise of its attempts to convince governments and employers to respect them. Yet over several decades it has also sought to engage in other aspects of the world of work including knowledge production and employment generation through projects more readily associated with international development organizations or even grassroots non-governmental organizations. Although there is by no means a consensus among either scholars or practitioners about the efficacy of these interventions, it is clear that the ILO has managed to embed its concept of ‘decent work’ not only into contemporary discourse concerning the rights of workers and the duties of employers and states to respect them, but also that around economic development.