In 1996, there were about six hundred and fifty overseas‐trained medical doctors who had immigrated to New Zealand but were unable to practice their profession even though the New…
Abstract
In 1996, there were about six hundred and fifty overseas‐trained medical doctors who had immigrated to New Zealand but were unable to practice their profession even though the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) had assessed their medical qualifications as equivalent to similar qualifications in New Zea land. These immigrants were subjected to structural discriminator practices of the medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) by which qualified medical doctors from non BASIC (Britain, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and Canada) countries were not allowed to register as medical practitioners in New Zealand. The privilege conferred on the MCNZ by the 1968 Medical Practitioners Act allows it to be selective in re cognising medical qualifications. As a consequence of this discriminatory practice many of the foreign trained doctors were unemployed while others worked as process workers, taxi drivers, petrol pump dispensers and pizza deliverymen in the period covered in this article (Selvarajah, 1997). This article provides a case history between 1995 and 2000 on the concerns and conditions of a group of foreign‐trained medical professionals (doctors and specialists) whose application to settle in New Zealand was processed by the New Zealand government prior to June 1995.
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Gladys Cheah‐Liaw, Stanley Petzall and Chris Selvarajah
Examines human resource management (HRM) for successful Australian‐Malaysian joint ventures (JVs), on the basis of survey data and case studies. The findings suggest that each…
Abstract
Examines human resource management (HRM) for successful Australian‐Malaysian joint ventures (JVs), on the basis of survey data and case studies. The findings suggest that each phase of JV development had its own pattern of HR practices. Three phases of development were distinguished – initiation, transitional, and maturational. The first phase involved selecting, recruiting and training a skilled workforce and formulating rudimentary human resource policies. Cultural differences were most marked in this phase. The second phase, after three years of operation, involved evolution of human resource policies better suited to local conditions, and more polycentric management staffing. The final phase, after six years of operation, saw the development of a distinctive human resources system, and the minimisation of cultural differences as an operational issue. In this phase there was also a move to more geocentric management staffing. Other HR issues discussed are changing roles and relationships between JV partners in the different phases of development, and factors for JV success in the context of Australian‐Malaysian JVs.
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International population mobility has increased dramatically in the last ten years due to immigration policies, globalisation and skilled individual’s quest for better prospects…
Abstract
International population mobility has increased dramatically in the last ten years due to immigration policies, globalisation and skilled individual’s quest for better prospects. New Zealand has consciously invited migrants onto its shores and it is now a land of tremendous diversity. The basis for this paper is a qualitative study on first generation Indian immigrant women seeking employment in the host country New Zealand. The research examines in‐depth what it means to seek entry into the world of work as a migrant, from the perspective of legitimate peripheral participation in learning to function in the host country. The results suggest a many layered experience, and a complex terrain, with a landscape of initial hope, followed by feelings of being devalued, a downward spiral of weeping, regret letters and lowered self esteem. The paper sketches emergent cameos of these women and draws out some of the significant variables in their learning trajectories. In sights for creating conditions for legitimate peripheral participation are offered emphasising a worldview that embraces both the internal and external realities as stepping stones in the topography of work experiences for migrants in New Zealand.
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Christopher J. Rees and Hasanah Johari
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by the human resource management (HRM) function in strategic organizational change initiatives. The objectives of the paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by the human resource management (HRM) function in strategic organizational change initiatives. The objectives of the paper are to assess the extent to which the HRM function is perceived by senior managers to have contributed to the strategic organizational change agenda during a period of rapid change, and identify major challenges HRM professionals face as facilitators of strategic change management initiatives in contexts of this nature.
Design/methodology/approach
The research objectives were addressed using literature‐based evidence and primary interview data obtained from qualitative in‐depth interviews with the directors and deputy directors of a public sector banking institution in Malaysia.
Findings
In addition to identifying positive perceptions of the HRM function, the findings raise issues about the strategic focus, independence, credibility, and leadership strategies associated with the HR function's attempts to engage with strategic change initiatives. The findings also reveal the respondents' views about the extent to which HRM activities have or should have ethical, spiritual, and religious foci.
Practical implications
The implications of the research findings for HRM are discussed with reference to issues such as: the transfer of Western‐originating change management approaches to non‐Western settings; the need for organizational change outcomes (including wider societal objectives) to be delineated clearly with reference to organizational change initiatives; and the close association between ethics, spirituality, and HRM in certain Asian contexts.
Originality/value
The paper offers a valuable insight into the role of the HRM function in organizational change interventions with specific reference to the context of Malaysia.