Decent Work is a key initiative launched by the International Labour Organization in 1999. The initiative is to promote decent and productive employment with decent conditions of freedom, equality, security and human dignity. In reviewing academic literature on 'decent work', existing studies have been conducted primarily from a legal and political economic perspective. It is also largely situated outside any national industrial relations framework, both theoretically and practically. Decent work is an advocacy initiative of ILO, but the promotion of universal values embodied in the notion (e.g. equality, fairness, justice and dignity) needs to be tailored to specific societal contexts. Drawing on existing academic literature, this review article examines ideological, institutional and cultural distances between decent work and the reality of employment in China. It argues that achieving decent work requires an ideological transition of 'traditional' Chinese work ethics and a cultural transition from collectivism and altruism towards individualism and an emphasis on individual rights. This study also examines and highlights regulatory enforcement deficits and the inadequate role of the trade union in facilitating the advancement of decent work at various levels. Finally, the article argues that the study of decent work should be mainstreamed as an integral part of decent industrial relations and ultimately, decent social relations. It calls for a multi-level and multidisciplinary approach to examining the historical, political, economic, ideological and cultural context of specific countries in fulfilling the 'Decent Work' agenda.

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The education sector is an important pillar of a nation's economic and social development. Yet, limited research has been conducted on the performance management of those in managerial positions in the Chinese higher education sector context. Given the Chinese government's recent espoused ambition, and resource commitment, to build world-class universities and world-class disciplines, this is a significant gap. Drawing on data collected from 18 semi-structured interviews and 693 survey responses, we examine the relationship between the extent to which performance evaluation is used for monitoring and decision-making purposes, and role conflict, organizational citizenship behavior and performance. Our study contributes to existing knowledge on the performance management system in the Chinese higher education sector by revealing its unique characteristics underpinned by competing rationalities and demands on academic leaders. It highlights the need for improvement in human resource management if China is serious in building first-class universities.

The boundaries of talent management (TM) are shifting. However, there remains insufficient understanding of the impact of context and stakeholders within the conceptualisation of TM. Considerable confusion remains about how TM is conceived and defined in the Chinese context. Even less is known about how to reconceptualise Chinese TM in a changing new context. This review adopts a new theoretical lens of talent value to reconsider the current definitions of Chinese TM and presents a framework for re-examining the relationships between the components of Chinese TM. Integrating the findings of the academic and practical literature, this article proposes a model to identify key contextual factors of the new context to observe and analyse the impacts of contextual changes on the concept of Chinese TM. By reviewing the English and Chinese literature on TM in the Chinese context, we bridge the knowledge gap and provide non-Chinese readers with insights into the Chinese TM phenomenon and ways of conceptualisation that will be relevant to multinational firms operating in China and cross-country comparative studies.

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