Asia

A recent trend shows an increase in Asian executives earning higher salaries than their Western counterparts. In 2010, the average salaries of Asian executives were higher than that of those in Europe.

On June 15, 2011, a two-year agreement was signed between the Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in an effort to strengthen workplace and labor practices in the ASEAN region.

In late May 2010, labor ministers from the ten ASEAN nations met in Hanoi, Vietnam to develop an action plan to improve labor cooperation and labor law standardization throughout the region.

In the past, expatriate packages in Asia have typically included a wide range of benefits such as housing allowances, education reimbursement, tax equalization and car allowances.

A recent survey conducted by Dezan Shira & Associates compared various human capital indicators between Asian countries.

In October 2009, the World Economic Forum released its latest Global Gender Index, ranking 134 countries on gender equality.

Recent economic data from across Asia has indicated that the region as a whole is on a rapid path to recovery from the global recession.

As the global financial crisis continues, the financial sector job market in the US and Europe has grown very weak. In this environment, Asia is finding itself with more access to finance professionals from the US and Europe.

The recent notice from the Treasury Department includes a list of 15 new locations worldwide where Americans will be given at least some level of housing-expense exclusions. These include Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Jakarta, Mumbai and New Delhi.

In May 2006, the US Congress passed a law which significantly increased the level of US income tax payable by many American expatriates.

On May 17, 2006, the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation approved a provision that would raise the taxes of Americans living abroad.

Salaries of Indian workers increased by nearly 15% in the last year, the highest in Asia. Behind India were China and the Philippines, which both saw salary increases of about 8%. Other high growth countries were Korea (7%) and Thailand (6.5%).

A number of companies in Asia are now adopting Web logs, or blogs for short, as a means of communicating between employees.

A recent 2003 survey on expatriate packages in the Asia region found that expatriates in Hong Kong working for multinational firms received the highest perks among their counterparts in the region.

In order to encourage the development of knowledge workers in their countries, Southeast Asian governments are providing greater internet access to its people.

Multinational companies in Asia have responded to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in different ways depending upon the individual companys perceived threat of the illness.

As a result of corporate scandals, a huge debate is ensuing in the United States and many other countries around the world regarding the need to expense stock options issued by corporations as compensation to top executives.

Many companies in Asia are looking for alternative means to spark productivity and economic performance. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of corporations eager to experiment with out-of-classroom training.

The customary 13th month bonus that companies in many Asian countries typically pay to employees was markedly smaller or missing at the end of 2001. Companies found the 13th month bonus a tempting target.

The global economic slowdown has meant tough times for companies everywhere. Determining appropriate severance pay (if any) for departing employees can be daunting, as regulations and requirements may differ according to custom or law.

Optimism is perhaps highest in China, where over 57% of those companies surveyed indicated hiring increases this quarter. In Japan, over 46% of those companies surveyed indicated plans to increase hiring this quarter

Countries throughout Asia face record unemployment in 2002, as the global economic slowdown takes its toll on many already struggling economies. Overall the employment outlook for these countries is clouded at best.

When trying to find top employees, its important to understand how candidates go about their job searches. In Asia, job hunters use many of the traditional strategies found worldwide.

Due to the booming IT economy and worker shortage of the late 1990s, in 1998 Congress based a law authorizing an enormous increase in the number of H-1B Visas awarded to foreign nationals, from 65,000 in 1998 to 115,000 in 1999.

The number of Asian MBAs is booming, with students from across Asia traveling to the West to obtain a solid grounding in Western business ideals. There has been a 61% increase in the number of Chinese students studying for MBAs in the US.

The especially high cost of posting expatriates in Asia makes returnees even more attractive

Cross cultural sensitivity and understanding is important not only for Western expatriates going to Asia, but also between Asians from differing countries and backgrounds.

Issues of work/life balance have become more important in the Asia Pacific region in recent years, with governments and employers paying more attention to quality of life issues

Although the award of stock options in the West is fairly straight forward, in Asia, different laws and regulations can make it difficult to offer Western-style stock options

Asia faces a crucial shortage of IT talent -- a shortage that threatens to cripple Asias growth.

More Asian women taking business higher education

Many HR managers and executives throughout Asia are slowly reformulating their compensation strategies to shift from seniority-based compensation systems toward incentive and performance-based pay.