Employee Motivation Mechanisms In Chinese Publishing Houses: A Historical Examination And Suggestions

Currently the reform of system and mechanism in publishing sector is moving forward in China. The core of the reform is to change business-oriented publishing houses, which account for the majority of publishing houses in china, from non-profit organizations to complete business companies. For those newly reformed publishing companies, one of the key management issues is to establish mechanisms of employee motivation, which shall not only adopt modern management practice but also take account of the special nature of publishing industry. This article, with a unique historical perspective, first makes an examination on the history of employee motivation mechanism of publishing houses in China ever since the year of 1949, and then makes an review of the classic motivation theories and practices of some western publishing companies, and ultimately puts forward applicable suggestions on how to establish employee motivation mechanism in newly reformed publishing companies.This article, embodying three logical parts, consists of five chapters in all.Part One (chapter 1) introduces the research object in question, including the need and significance of conducting this research, the scope and approaches of the research, and the up-to-date research status in the same area. Particularly in this part, the writer clarifies the definition of employee motivation mechanisms in publishing houses: as one of the mechanisms of publishing houses, employee motivation mechanism refers to an operating status and atmosphere which motivates employee by establishing systematic measures or non-systematic measures.Part Two (Chapter 2-4) makes an examination on the history of employee motivation mechanism of publishing houses in China from 1949 to present. With a new approach, the writer re-divided the history of publishing reforms into three periods, namely"Company in Non-Profit Organization System(1949-1983)","Non-Profit Organization in Company System(1983-2003)", and "Company in Company System(2003-Present)".Part Three (Chapter 5) makes suggestions on how to establish employee motivation mechanism in newly reformed publishing companies. With the conclusion made by examining the history in preceding parts as a premise, the writer, in this part, draws up six realistic measures as to building up employee motivation mechanisms by applying the classic western motivation theories and referring to the practices of two world publishing giants. These motivation measures are about job designing, organizational culture, career planning and development, performance and compensation, empowerment, and teamwork spirit.In a word, with examining the history, applying the classic theories, and referring to foreign practices, the writer attempts to make suggestions of building up appropriate mechanisms of employee motivation in newly reformed publishing houses in China.