Headquarters human resources departments of the Japanese firms are
generally not involved with the management of local employees at the subsidiaries.
The Japanese vice president or human resources general managers, and local
human resources managers at the subsidiaries manage the local employees. In
terms of local employees’ promotions, Japanese expatriates at the JS2 subsidiary in
Thailand determine the promotions of employees at the level of managers and
higher. Local managers determine the promotions of other local employees at the
JS2 subsidiary. The promotion rule at the JS2 subsidiary is more rigid and more
academic-based than the promotion rules at the parent firm. At the JS7
subsidiary in Taiwan, local managers first propose candidates and then the
Japanese vice president decides the final promotions for the local employees.