Research on the Chinese Work Unit Society

The book concentrates on the problem of the phenomena of the Chinese work unit. In this book we try to answer the question why the Chinese society can be treated as a work unit society. How do the work unit organizations influence the every day life of Chinese people? What are their social functions? Where do they come from? How does the work unit organization affect the social integration and social control in the Chinese society? Part one is a general literature review about the work unit organization which is concerned with the problem of how it motivates people. Part two is a cognitive description of the current work unit organization: its characteristics, its historical roots, and its development. Part three is a historical study about the Chinese traditional clan system. It argues that striking similarities exist between the Dan Wei organization and the clan system. Part four and five are case studies about this work unit society from a different point of view, based on the surveys in 1987 and 1993.