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Define:

Human Resource Management (HRM): Human resource management is the management of an


organization's workforce, or human resources.

Human Resource Planning: Human resources are the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an
organization, business sector, or economy.

Occupational mobility of labour: Refers to the ease with which workers can switch career fields to find
gainful employment or meet labour r needs.

Geographical mobility of labour: This refers to the level of freedom that workers have to relocate in order
to find gainful employment that reflects their training and occupational interests.

Demographic: relating to the structure of populations. Demographic change: Worldwide, the number of people 65 or older is increasing faster than ever before.

What is workforce planning and why is it important? It is important because with Workforce planning you are able to see the skills that are required for your employees to have in order to achieve the companys objectives, and after you know which skills are needed, you can begin to hire.

The China Bubble: Demographics: Old/Young, Rich/Poor, Urban/Rural


The China Bubble 3. Demographics: Old/Young, Rich/Poor, Urban/Rural Beijings one-child policy, introduced in 1979, was largely effectivethough it had the abhorrent side effect of encouraging a disdain for female infants, a prejudice that has led to abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide. Applying mainly to urban couples of Han descent, the policy reduced population growth in the country of 1.3 billion by as much as 300 million people. This meant that by the 1980s and 90s, young workers had fewer dependents to supportand Chinas manufacturing boom drew strength from young people moving from country to city to work in factories. For the nation as a whole, having a few hundred million fewer mouths to feed has acted as a social

safety valve so far, and will reduce misery in the decades ahead as world resources deplete and human carrying capacity disappears. However, there is a demographic price to pay. Beginning in 2015, China will see a growing number of older citizens relying on a shrinking pool of young workers. Most of the nations factories are located in its coastal cities, of which some, like Shenzen, were built from scratch as industrial centers. Shenzen hosts the Foxconn Technology Group, an electronics manufacturer that makes components for Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Apple; nearly all its workers are under 25. Chinas older workers have largely been left behind in rural villages, or pushed from their urban homes into apartment blocks on cities outskirts to make way for new apartments and office buildings occupied by younger urbanites and the companies hiring them. Age discrimination is a fact of life. All of this will gradually change as Chinas work force ages. Within a generation, the average age of a Chinese worker will be higher than that of an American worker.One of Chinas leaders biggest fears, expressed repeatedly in public pronouncements, is that the nation will grow old before it grows rich (Japan, in contrast, got rich before it grew old). To avoid this fate, China is trying to grow its economy as fast as possible now, while it still can. One way it does this is to offer paltry pensions and poor-quality health care to older citizens. This makes China an attractive place for foreign corporations to do business. In the U.S., health care costs for older workers are often double the costs for workers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. By keeping its workforce young and denying them benefits, Chinas leaders keep costs down. American or European companies that move production to China or buy Chinese goods gain leverage to rewrite terms of employment with their older workers at homeor they can simply shut down domestic factories. Chinas youthful labor force attracts foreign investment. But as the countrys work force ages, its competitive advantage may evaporate. Moreover, the lack of adequate pensions and health care for Chinese workers will eventually result in worsening social stresses and strains. It is the financial sacrifices of its people that have given China the opportunity to attract capital investment to its industries, and that generate subsequent profits that are then loaned back to the United States and other industrialized nations. To understand the significance of those sacrifices, one must understand a little of the countrys recent history. At the end of the Communist revolution in 1949, China was impoverished and war-ravaged; the overwhelming majority of its people were rural peasants. Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong set a goal of bringing prosperity to the populous, resource-rich nation. A period of economic growth and infrastructure development ensued, lasting until the mid-1960s. At this point, Mao appears to have had second thoughts: concerned that further industrialization would create or deepen class divisions, he

unleashed the Cultural Revolution, lasting from 1966 to the mid-1970s, when industrial and agricultural output fell. As Maos health declined, a vicious power struggle ensued, leading to the reforms of Deng Xiaoping. Economic growth became a higher priority than ever before, and it followed in spectacular fashion from widespread privatization and the application of market principles. To get rich is glorious, Communist officials now proclaimed. During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, the Chinese people had worked hard and endured grinding poverty for the good of the nation. But in the 1990s a small segment of the populacemostly in the coastal cities began to enjoy a middle-class existence. Some Chinese were indeed becoming gloriously rich, while most remained mired in extreme poverty. The resulting wealth disparity is only bearable as long as the middle class continues to expand in numbers, offering the promise of economic opportunity to hundreds of millions of destitute peasants in the rural interior. Chinas central government has unleashed a firestorm of entrepreneurial, profit-driven economic activity that is both unsustainable and difficult to control. Meanwhile, as we have seen, the uncontrollably dynamic economy is export-dependent and ill suited to meeting domestic needs. China has encouraged rapid export-led, coal-fired economic growth, perhaps as a way of putting off dealing with its internal political, demographic, and social problems. If that is indeed Beijings strategy, it has worked spectacularly well for a short while. But it is built on contradictions and false hopes. Over the course of the current decade, the Chinese demographic-economic strategy will likely begin to unravel. What happens next is anybodys guess.

Summaries the key points from this article: It talks about the One-Child policy in China It is an incentive for abortion Demographic Pyramid will change There is no balance between ages in China People are migrating from rural to urban zones There are too many old people Young people have to work double to sustain themselves and the old people in their families

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