Over recent decades there has been phenomenal growth in foreign direct
investment in the countries of East Asia. This investment has come from coun
tries both within the region and outside the region. The implications for HRM
have been twofold: first, corporations have often found themselves managing
workforces in countries with very different political and economic systems and
cultures; and, second, at least in the early stages of their investment, those
firms have had the task of placing expatriate managers in countries that were
outside those persons' experience. In both matters there have been difficulties.
This paper endeavours to provide an understanding of the origin of some of
those difficulties by examining the cultural context within which HRM is
undertaken in East Asia. It takes a broad-brush approach in looking for dif
ferences and similarities both between East Asia and other geographic regions
and between countries within the region.
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