Building a high impact HR department in a progressive Chinese company: learning through observation

Joanne C. Preston and Kenneth W. Wall

Chapter 15 in Cases in Organization Development and Change, 2026, pp 144-151 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Major Focus of the Case: HR departments can be the hero or the goat of their organizations. Progressive HR departments can provide valuable services that play an important role in helping their organizations compete, attract, and retain talented employees. However, many HR departments have dated paradigms and practices that have not adapted to a rapidly changing organization world. They, at best, play a maintenance rather than proactive role that does little to help their organizations succeed. This case is about a visionary HR director in a Chinese company who is committed to building a high-impact HR department. The case also focuses on the win/win value of having students evaluate, help, and learn from what goes on in organizations. In this case, nine doctoral students were involved with the HR department and evaluated four action research projects to compare the leadership practices in the company with the leadership practices and commitments proposed by Kouzes and Posner (2002).

Keywords: Improving teamwork; Building high performance teams; Organization development units; Talent development units; Performance consulting units (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035340965
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