Michael Webber – författare

The transformation of China’s economy from a centrally planned to a market-oriented system has had a profound impact on management systems and practices at the firm level, particularly changes to the organization of work. One of the consequences of this is increasing social disparity reflected through inequality of employees’ income and employment conditions. This book, based on extensive original research including interviews and questionnaire surveys in different regions of China, explores the exact nature of these changes and their effects. It examines state-owned enterprises, foreign-owned enterprises and domestic private enterprises, discusses the extent to which employees are satisfied with their employment conditions and whether they think their employment conditions are fair and outlines how managers and employees in China expect conditions to change in future.

During the past 30 years, China has undergone extensive economic reform, replacing the government’s administration of enterprises with increasing levels of market-oriented enterprise autonomy. At the heart of the reform are changes in the employment relationship, where state control has been superceded by market relationships. These reforms have had far-reaching implications for many aspects of everyday life in Chinese society. This book appraises the impact of the economic reforms on the employment relationship and, in turn, examines the effects on individual workers and their families, including salaries, working conditions and satisfaction, job security and disparities based on location, gender, age, skill, position and migrant status. In particular, it focuses on how changes in the employment relationship have affected the livelihood strategies of households. It explores the changing human resource management practices and employment relations in different types of enterprises: including State-Owned Enterprises, Foreign-Owned Enterprises and Domestic Private Enterprises; throughout different industries, focusing especially on textiles, clothing and footwear and the electronics industry; and in different regions and cities within China (Beijing, Haerbin, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Kunming). Overall, this book provides a detailed account of the everyday implications of economic reform for individuals and families in China.

During the past 30 years, China has undergone extensive economic reform, replacing the government’s administration of enterprises with increasing levels of market-oriented enterprise autonomy. At the heart of the reform are changes in the employment relationship, where state control has been superceded by market relationships. These reforms have had far-reaching implications for many aspects of everyday life in Chinese society. This book appraises the impact of the economic reforms on the employment relationship and, in turn, examines the effects on individual workers and their families, including salaries, working conditions and satisfaction, job security and disparities based on location, gender, age, skill, position and migrant status. In particular, it focuses on how changes in the employment relationship have affected the livelihood strategies of households. It explores the changing human resource management practices and employment relations in different types of enterprises: including State-Owned Enterprises, Foreign-Owned Enterprises and Domestic Private Enterprises; throughout different industries, focusing especially on textiles, clothing and footwear and the electronics industry; and in different regions and cities within China (Beijing, Haerbin, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Kunming). Overall, this book provides a detailed account of the everyday implications of economic reform for individuals and families in China.

In New Deal Fat Cats, Michael Webber offers a fresh perspective on the New Deal. The author analyzes the role of various segments of society in party politics during the political change brought on by the Great Depression. Webber uses analysis of campaign contribution as a major method of evaluating the 1936 presidential election. Today's readers may be surprised at the statistical breakdown of the group that reelected FDR. These groups ranged from southern Democrats and organized labor, to Catholics, Jews, and small businesses. A considerable portion of the author's analysis rests on interpretive literature about the politics of the New Deal and specifically about the role of business in the construction of those politics. The emphasis of this work is on the coalition of what seem to be disparate elements in society suggesting that large and monolithic power blocks are not necessarily the road to major political change in U.S. society. The reader will begin to sense the seemingly divisive pressures from different groups that made the New Deal not only a paradox, but an effective social reality.

In New Deal Fat Cats, Michael Webber offers a fresh perspective on the New Deal. The author analyzes the role of various segments of society in party politics during the political change brought on by the Great Depression. Webber uses analysis of campaign contribution as a major method of evaluating the 1936 presidential election. Today's readers may be surprised at the statistical breakdown of the group that reelected FDR. These groups ranged from southern Democrats and organized labor, to Catholics, Jews, and small businesses. A considerable portion of the author's analysis rests on interpretive literature about the politics of the New Deal and specifically about the role of business in the construction of those politics. The emphasis of this work is on the coalition of what seem to be disparate elements in society suggesting that large and monolithic power blocks are not necessarily the road to major political change in U.S. society. The reader will begin to sense the seemingly divisive pressures from different groups that made the New Deal not only a paradox, but an effective social reality.

This stimulating and challenging book explores the duplicitous nature of development in China. On the positive side, it brings longer and healthier lives; fewer children dead before they are five years old; more comfort and security from famine and disaster; more education; more communication; more travel; less war. But from another, darker perspective, development brings violence to some people - those who are in the way of the new things, those who cannot adapt to the new ways - and it threatens old knowledges, habits and societies as it disrupts old power structures. Michael Webber presents fascinating case studies that demonstrate what these forms of development mean for people who are relatively weak or powerless - those who post-colonial theorists call the subalterns. The cases illustrate how development can change the manner in which people relate to each other and threatens their entire environment. Through this detailed consideration of the impacts of development on the people who live in those places, he examines whether these changes represent the emergence of capitalism or a transition, develops a theory of relationships between economy and daily life and questions the very nature of Chinese capitalism. This multidisciplinary study encompasses the social sciences to provide a coherent view of the forms that development takes in various places within rural China. As such, it will prove a fascinating and thought-provoking read for undergraduates, postgraduate students and researchers within economics, Asian studies, development studies and geography.

The transformation of China’s economy from a centrally planned to a market-oriented system has had a profound impact on management systems and practices at the firm level, particularly changes to the organization of work. One of the consequences of this is increasing social disparity reflected through inequality of employees’ income and employment conditions. This book, based on extensive original research including interviews and questionnaire surveys in different regions of China, explores the exact nature of these changes and their effects. It examines state-owned enterprises, foreign-owned enterprises and domestic private enterprises, discusses the extent to which employees are satisfied with their employment conditions and whether they think their employment conditions are fair and outlines how managers and employees in China expect conditions to change in future.

How has China approached the global economy? China's approach has been experimental, stressing the liberalization of trade and investment flows and the development of a market economy. Integrating Western social science and Chinese research, this book assesses the nature and effect of globalization in China and its implications.

How has China approached the global economy? Webber, Wang and Zhu attempt to answer this question through analysis of the concepts of globalization, transition and regionalization. China's approach has been experimental, stressing the liberalization of trade and investment flows and the development of a market economy. By these indexes, globalization in China has been gradual and uneven. Integrating Western social science and Chinese research, this book assesses the nature and effect of globalization in China and its implications.