published_or_final_version / Modern Languages and Cultures / Master / Master of Philosophy

by Lee Wing Choi, Ernest, So Man Kai, Waynie. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.ii / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Objectives Of This Study --- p.2 / Foreign Investment In Hong Kong --- p.2 / Japan's Economic Ties With Hong Kong --- p.4 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH OF STUDY --- p.7 / Approaches Of This Study --- p.7 / Research Problems Definition --- p.7 / Data Collection Methods --- p.8 / Data Analysis And Interpretation --- p.8 / Limitations And Obstacles --- p.9 / Chapter III. --- INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN HONG KONG --- p.11 / Transition From Uncertainty To Stability --- p.12 / Impacts Of China's Political And Economic Policies --- p.13 / Hong Kong Government's Attitude Towards Foreign Investment --- p.14 / Chapter IV. --- JAPAN'S ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND DIRECT INVESTMENT --- p.16 / Japan's Globalization Economic Policy --- p.16 / Increasing Trade Volume --- p.18 / Growth Of Overseas Direct Investment --- p.22 / Diversifications In Investment --- p.26 / Chapter V. --- JAPANESE INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG --- p.30 / Japan - Largest Investor In Manufacturing --- p.30 / Prospects Of Hong Kong's Manufacturing Industry --- p.34 / Rising Importance Of Non-Manufacturing Industry --- p.37 / Chapter VI. --- JAPAN'S INVESTMENT IN HK'S REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES --- p.41 / Focus On Commercial Buildings --- p.41 / Rationales For The Japanese Investment In Real Estate --- p.44 / Commitment From The Japanese Construction Companies … --- p.47 / Directions For Future Japanese Investment --- p.50 / Chapter VII. --- JAPAN'S INTERESTS IN Hong Kong's FINANCIAL MARKETS --- p.51 / Nature Of Hong Kong's Financial Industry --- p.51 / Role Of Japanese Banks In Hong Kong --- p.52 / Vitality Of Japanese Financial Investment --- p.56 / Chapter VIII. --- PENETRATION OF JAPANESE DEPARTMENT STORE --- p.61 / Retail/Department Store Industry In Hong Kong --- p.61 / The Success Of Japanese Retailers --- p.62 / Investment Decisions And Strategies --- p.64 / High Growth Potential And Direction For The Future --- p.70 / Chapter IX. --- CONCLUSION --- p.75 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.80

As the global economy has evolved, many companies have expanded their operations overseas in a constant search for potential markets in which to sell their products and services. As these companies seek to establish themselves abroad, it becomes imperative to train and to retain local employees. Despite this pressing need, Japanese companies have been widely criticized for failing to retain the services of experienced local employees. The retail industry, in particular, experiences a high degree of employee mobility and requires instant solutions for adjusting to the fast changing environment in which its firms operate. However, many companies believe in the rationality of their corporate systems without questioning suitability to the local circumstance. This thesis uses an anthropological approach to evaluate the company building process of a leading Japanese fashion enterprise (referred to by the pseudonym “Ichi”) in Hong Kong. In adopting this approach, I seek to explain the formation and expression of Ichi’s corporate ideology, and its interpretation by the firm’s employees. This analysis focuses on two primary themes: Ichi’s managerial control and the way employees attempted to satisfy company expectations in a purely superficial manner. Specifically, I adopt a participant-observation approach over fifteen months to provide a comprehensive illustration of the activity within Ichi’s Hong Kong stores. The first part of this thesis suggests that Ichi uses its corporate ideology, Ichi DNA, to control employees through its corporate system including training, ranking, remuneration, and promotion. Ichi’s implementation of its corporate system in Hong Kong seeks to apply its ideology to local employees to promote a “shared” set of values and its own institutional culture, thus unifying important principles across the company. This suggests that industrial familialism, which many scholars have identified as unique to Japanese corporate culture, only superficially illustrates the nature of Japanese companies. This thesis further demonstrates that during the implementation of Ichi’s corporate ideology, store employees individually or collectively distorted reports of their performance to attain personal career goals. This challenges the widespread perception that “harmony” is a genuine characteristic of the Japanese company. By examining the actions of different nationalities, the thesis also shows that Store Managers manage human relations within their stores primarily on the basis of different interpretations of the corporate ideology rather than their ethnic backgrounds. This similarly refutes the presumption that Japanese companies are ethnocentric in nature. Evidence from this study demonstrates that the general assumption of the efficacy of scientific management must be reexamined, as the company’s managerial practices and relationships with its employees are more heavily influenced by worker politics than the firm’s rational structure. By exploring the company building process and the effect of dynamic human relations on it, this study seeks to address the gap between corporate ideology and those practices that exemplify it, contrasting starkly with studies that claim that Japanese firms are uniquely culture- or ethnocentric. / published_or_final_version / Japanese Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Modern Languages and Cultures / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Management Studies / Master / Master of Business Administration