The People Link: Human Resource Linkages Across the Pacific

People Make Economies Grow. "The People Link" Focuses On The Characteristics of people, and their respective organizations, that contribute to integration and growth among the economies of the Asia-Pacific region. Particular attention is paid to three people links that have spanned the Pacific: the ethnic Chinese networks; the contributions made to Canada by Asian immigrants; and the role of Asian immigrants, as 'trade intermediaries' in promoting trade between North America and Asia. All western managers must be familiar with the role of people organizations, especially the values and practices in family-owned businesses. To identify future business partners, Canadian firms must understand the strategies of people and organizations from other cultures and figure out how to work with them.

A.E. Safarian is Professor of Business Economics at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Wendy Dobson is Professor and Director of the Centre for International Business in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.