LAS461 Work and Organisation in East Asia

Autumn Semester 2025/26

15 credits

Module Organiser: Dr. Fumihito Gotoh (f.gotoh@sheffield.ac.uk )

Overview

This module tackles the following questions.

• What are the major characteristics of cultures and social relations in East Asia (mainly China and Japan), and how do they contribute to these societies’ views of work, corporate governance and capital-labour relations?

• How did the different timings of the East Asian countries’ integration into the global economy shape the characteristics of their economic institutions?

• How did a nexus of globalisation, financialisation and digitalisation affect East Asian business, employment and social welfare? Are we seeing ‘de-globalisation’ now?

• What are the distinctive characteristics of precarious labour and workplace gender, age and race discrimination in East Asia and the backgrounds behind these problems?

The module examines both similarities and differences between the East Asian countries in the influence of domestic socio-historical factors and international factors (e.g. global economic governance and international conflicts) on work and economic institutions.

Topics Covered 

• Culture and work 

• Corporate governance and human resources management 

• Globalisation and global value chains 

• Financialisation, then ‘de-globalisation’?

• Corporate bailouts, bankruptcies and employment 

• Digitalisation and AI revolution

• Informal employment 

• Discrimination in workplaces 

• Social welfare in transition 

Skills Development

• On successful completion of this module, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Critical Thinking

• Academic Writing

• Cultural Agility and Global Awareness

• Independent learning

• Communication Skills

Study Hours

The University recommends that you spend 150 hours working on a 15-credit module. This will include:

• Lecture: 10 hours

• Seminar: 10 hours

• Independent study hours: 130 hrs