Understanding the indigenous Chinese concept of suzhi (素质) from an HRM perspective

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the indigenous Chinese concept of suzhi (素质) with the aim of furthering the development of Chinese human resource management (HRM) research and practice. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the literature on suzhi, published in the West, as well as in China, is the basis for proffering an organizational-level conceptualization of suzhi in the Chinese context. Findings – Instead of understanding it as a free-floating signifier, we argue that suzhi can be considered as a criterion-based framework for HRM research and practice. Suzhi research is classified into two major sources – indigenous Chinese and indigenized Western constructs. We further make a distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic suzhi, and analyze a popular set of suzhi criteria, considering de (morality) and cai (talent), while focusing on de in HRM selection (德才兼备, 以德为先). As multilevel and multidimensional framework, suzhi criteria may form different gestalts in different organizations and industries. Research limitations/implications – From a social cultural and historical perspective, HRM research that incorporates a combination of indigenous and indigenized suzhi characteristics may receive better acceptance by individuals, organizations and the society in the Chinese context. Accordingly, the reconstruction of suzhi into manageable and measurable dimensions can be undertaken for more effective HRM practice in the Chinese context. Originality/value – The HRM literature is advanced by linking the indigenous suzhi discourse to Chinese indigenous HRM research and practice.

For public causes or personal interests? Examining public service motives in the Chinese context

“…First, the career motives revealed in this study are consistent with the general understanding of government employees in the literature, especially under the prevalence of corruption, inefficiency and the hierarchical authoritarian structure (Ko and Han ; Wu ) comingled with the ongoing widespread ‘morality sliding’ (Wang et al. ). Of the items in the alternative scale used in our study, two dimensions were similar to that of Perry's (1996) − managerial orientation in decision‐making as opposed to policy‐making, and service dedication to a cause versus the public interest.…”

“It’s the context all the way down!”

“…Indeed, it is the context all the way down when examining Chinese institutional and organizational phenomena. Combining the numerous non-Confucian cultural phenomena reported here and presented recently, for example in Wang et al (2013), Wang et al (2014aWang et al ( , 2014b and Wang et al (2014), an important future research direction for Chinese management research is to explore different configurations of Confucian and non-Confucian cultural and institutional contexts for developing Chinese theory of management to contribute to the overall knowledge base. On the basis of their review of cross-national and cross-cultural organizational behavior research from 1996 to 2005, Tsui et al (2007, p. 464) have also recommended a polycontextual approach beyond national culture, viz:…”

“…Recent literature in Chinese management research has widely recognized the importance of the local Chinese context for its influence on individuals and organizational behaviors and outcomes and, therefore, the importance of contextualizing local phenomena for developing a Chinese theory of management (Leung, 2012;Tang, 2012;Tsui, 2004Tsui, , 2009Wang, 2012;Wang et al, 2014aWang et al, , 2014b. A plethora of studies has revealed differences in the cultural contexts of Chinese organizations and employees on the one hand and their Western counterparts on the other (Chen et al, 2015;Farh et al, 2004;Ma and Tsui, 2015).…”

Suzhi, Guanxi, and the Abject Body: Nonhuman Agents of Paradox that Perform Identity Work Together With Chinese Women Political Leaders

“…Suzhi is an indigenous Chinese descriptor for the nature of things and the inborn and cultivated qualities of people (for how its dimensions evolved historically, see Wang et al, 2014). Suzhi matters to the current findings because it concerns qualification and is a central concept for all contexts of “human resources-related issues,” including the grouping of “people” as China’s “first resource” (Wang et al, 2014, p. 99). Individuals and groups can be of “high” or “low” suzhi and even lack specific suzhi .…”