Dr Karen Tian of the Newcastle Business School has received a collaborative Chinese National Science Grant

Newcastle Business School Lecturer, Dr Karen Tian, has received a Chinese National Science Grant to complete work with her collaborator, Associate Professor Yan Liu from Shu Zhou University in China. The National Science Grant is the most prestigious research grant in China, similar to an ARC Grant in Australia.

The grant funds of RMB 540,000 (roughly 92,000 AUD) will be used to investigate the increasingly common phenomenon of whistle blowing in Chinese businesses. The high power distance and collectivist culture of China makes businesses vulnerable to unethical practices. In recent times victims of these practices complain about their issues, which organisations fail to solve internally, via the public media. These complaints have caused severe damage to organisations, resulting in decreased stock value and in some cases, employee suicide.

Dr Tian and her colleague hope to improve employee loyalty and satisfaction within Chinese organisations by finding better ways to resolve issues more positively and efficiently. Thus far, the team have received over 700 questionnaires from 400 organisations. They hope to develop a series of recommendations organisations can implement to improve the situation of their employees.

Karen and Yan Liu first connected when the Associate Professor came to the University of Newcastle as a Visiting Professor in 2010. Their mutual interest in ethical issues in Chinese organisations led them to apply for the grant funding together and now they aim to publish three papers in journals such as the International Journal of Human Resource Management, Human Relations and Journal of Business Ethics.

Karen hopes her work from the Chinese National Science Grant will generate opportunities for further research; possibly funded by an ARC Grant.

Learn more about Karen Tian here.

Contact: Dr Karen Tian

Phone: (02) 4921 5981

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