Vivienne Luk

A Cross-Cultural Test of a Model of the Work-Family Interface

Recent efforts to more fully understand the mechanisms through which work and family experiences and their cross-over effects influence well-being have stimulated the development of integrative models of the work-family interface. This line of research is represented by the model which Frone, Russell, and Cooper (1992) tested with a sample of U.S. employees. In the current study, we examine the cross-cultural generalizability of this model among married Hong Kong employees. Results of the analyses suggest that many of the relationships among work and family constructs are similar across the two cultures, but that the nature and effects of the cross-over between family and work domains on overall employee well-being may differ. That is, life satisfaction of Hong Kong employees is influenced primarily by work-family conflict, while that of American employees is influenced primarily by family-work conflict. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings for assisting employees integrate their work and family responsibilities as a source of competitive advantage are discussed.

Retaining and motivating employees

This paper reports two studies involving data collected from 583 participants in Hong Kong and 121 participants in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and examines the most popular compensation components offered by organizations to employees and participants’ perceptions regarding the five most important compensation components to retain and motivate people in Hong Kong and PRC, respectively. Results suggested that in Hong Kong, base salary, merit pay, year‐end bonus, annual leave, mortgage loan, and profit sharing were the most important factors to retain and motivate employees. In China, base salary, merit pay, year‐end bonus, housing provision, cash allowance, overtime allowance, and individual bonus were the most important factors to retain and motivate employees. Results are discussed in light of economic, geographic, and culture‐related factors.

Family-Responsive Variables and Retention-Relevant Outcomes Among Employed Parents

This study examined the influence of family-responsive variables and the moderating influence of gender on the retention-relevant outcomes of organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Data were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaires from employed parents (N = 228) in a human service authority in Hong Kong. Results of regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with work schedule flexibility and supervisor work-family support were related to both retention-relevant outcomes. Contrary to our prediction, gender did not moderate the influence of any of the family-responsive variables on the retention-relevant outcomes. Limitations of the study, directions for future research and implications of the findings for enhancing the effectiveness of family-responsive human resource policies are discussed.

Balancing lwo Major Parts of Adult Life Experience: Work and Family Identity Among Dual-Earner Couples

As sources of meaning and identity, it has been suggested that research on work and family roles should focus on understanding the processes by which commitment to these roles is built and sustained (Bielby, 1992). Informed by this view, data obtained through structured questionnaires from dual-earner couples (N = 207) in Hong Kong were used to constructively replicate the work of Bielby and Bielby (1989). The thesis of this paper is that as individuals become involved in a role, they develop an identity attached to that role. Results of the regression analysis revealed support for the thesis but generally, in ways consistent with the prescribed roles of men and women in a gender-stratified social system. In addition, the results revealed that women balance their work and family identity by trading-off one for the other. In contrast, men are able to simultaneously identify with work and family roles. Limitations of the study, directions for future research, and implications of the findings for a balanced life are discussed.

Hong Kong and China: The Cash Mentality Revisited

The research for this article surveyed 583 professional employees in Hong Kong and 121 managers of overseas companies operating in People’s Republic of China and identified the five most popular compensation components to attract and motivate employees. People in Hong Kong identified base salary, merit pay, year-end bonus, annual leave, mortgage loans and profit sharing as the most important components for attracting and motivating employees. Employees in People’s Republic of China cited base salary, year-end bonus, merit pay, housing provisions, annual leave and individual bonus as the most important components to attract and motivate employees. Because of a number of cultural and socioeconomic factors, the cash mentality is still a very important factor in attracting and motivating employees in Hong Kong and People’s Republic of China.

The Life Cycle Model as a Framework for Understanding Barriers to SME Growth in Hong Kong

Researchers have not yet arrived at a consensus on the impediments to growth of small and medium-size enterprises (SME). A lack of empirical and statistical research, coupled with mixed or loosely supported findings on SME growth and the major problems to be overcome at different stages has prompted the authors to investigate this topic which is important in terms of the growth and survival of companies. ‘One in every five new ventures fails in the first five years of business’ is among one of the most frequently quoted statements in the area of research into small and medium enterprises. Since obstacles to growth are often not effectively identified and solved (Cowan, 1988), the systematic study of problems which firms experience as they move from one stage to another would provide a basis for linking those obstacles to strategic solutions that can eventually lead to organizational growth. The main objective of the present study is therefore to assess empirically the dominant obstacles associated with distinct stages of SME development, and to share the strategies used by some SME owners to overcome their problems. Findings will contribute both to management practices and entrepreneurship literature.

Management in the 1990s

Examines the managerial attitude of women managers in China and Hong Kong. Measures particularly their preference of managerial practices and identifies the key job motivators, vital management skills, and reasons for job promotion. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey method and the results reveal that the general practices of managers in China are not as mature as those in Hong Kong. In job motivation, findings show that Hong Kong women managers view their jobs in terms of career development, whereas the Chinese respondents seek immediate monetary reward. The mutually exclusive findings regarding management skills between these two groups are that Hong Kong managers concentrate on planning and Chinese managers concentrate on directing. However, results disclose that the reasons for job promotion for both groups are similar. In management practices, Hong Kong managers are more assertive than their Chinese counterparts.

Pay Differentials in the People’s Republic of China: An Examination of Internal Equity and External Competitiveness

interested in three types of equity: internal equity, external equity, and individual equity (merit). A pay differential based on internal equity is the salary at one level divided by the salary at the next lower level, irrespective of job content or function. Pay differentials reflect the relative worth of these positions to the organization and are not related to the individual’s or job incumbent’s knowledge, skills and abilities. Pay differentials can be compared across organizations to reveal external competitiveness. The pay differential of the average U.S. CEO/average worker has changed from 41 in 1960, to 79 in 1970, 42 in 1980, 157 in 1992, 152 in 1993, 109 in 1994, 141 in 1995, 209 in 1996, and about 326 in 1997. The pay differential of the highest-paid CEO/average worker also has changed from 3,190 in 1991, to 5,203 in 1992, 8,019 in 1993, 983 in 1994, 2,461 in 1995, 3,704 in 1996, and about 8,130 in 1997.1 The highest-paid CEO earned

Conflict and Innovation in International Joint Ventures: Toward a New Sinified Corporate Culture or ‘Alternative Globalization’ in China

230,750,000, whereas the average worker earned

Environment, Executive Information Search Activities, and Firm Performance A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and Nigerian Decision-makers

28,381 in 1997. In 1998, Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney Company, made