RUSSIA AND CHINA IN TRANSITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR HRD RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Abstract

In recent years, both Russia and China have attempted to move toward a market economy from a centralized, tightly controlled economic and political system that had held sway for many decades. In Russia, the attempt foundered largely because Russia moved too quickly without giving sufficient attention to its history and tradition. China, on the other hand, has retained elements of a centralized system while moving gradually toward a market economy. Both countries had had numbers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that became the key element of and central to the economic transition. Lewin's model of force-field analysis is used as a means to analyze the forces that both drive and restrain the economic restructuring. Entry into World Trade Organization (WTO) challenges both countries' SOEs. Training SOEs leaders to obtain core competencies is a crucial first step for SOEs to survive and develop in a global marketplace.