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How managers use culture and controls to impose a ‘996’ work regime in China that constitutes modern slavery

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  • Jenny Jing Wang

Abstract

The paper investigates how unrestricted global capitalism and a Confucian culture of hierarchy and obedience combine to create a form of modern slavery in China. The cases cited involve semi‐structured interviews with 11 managers and 19 workers working in the hospitality and manufacturing sectors. The interviews are analysed to determine how managers use controls to exploit power/distance, high levels of insecurity, and unenforced labour rights to impose harsh working conditions. Prior research has examined what mechanisms are imposed in a society that retains a Confucian legacy of obedience but not ‘how’ they are imposed in a way that constitutes a form of modern slavery.

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  • Jenny Jing Wang, 2020. "How managers use culture and controls to impose a ‘996’ work regime in China that constitutes modern slavery," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 4331-4359, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:60:y:2020:i:4:p:4331-4359
    DOI: 10.1111/acfi.12682
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    2. Xixiong Xu & Maochuan Wang, 2024. "Confucianism and employee treatment: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 2649-2669, July.
    3. Xuelin Chen & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Abdullah Al Mamun & Jingzu Gao & Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul, 2023. "Modeling the significance of work culture on burnout, satisfaction, and psychological distress among the Gen-Z workforce in an emerging country," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Zheng, Hongyun & Vatsa, Puneet & Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshou, 2023. "Working hours and job satisfaction in China: A threshold analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Lu Bostanli & Andre Habisch, 2023. "Narratives as a Tool for Practically Wise Leadership," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 113-142, April.
    6. Walaa Wahid ElKelish*, 2023. "Accounting for Corporate Human Rights: Literature Review and Future Insights," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(2), pages 203-226, June.
    7. Xiaohuan Xie & Hanzhi Zhou & Zhonghua Gou & Ming Yi, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Use of Green Space by White-Collar Workers in Chinese Cities: A Study in Shenzhen," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-25, September.

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