ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s many political, economic and social changes have brought about rapid shifts in management concepts and practices in Thailand, particularly for businesses operating in urban areas like the Bangkok metropolis. Thailand was hit hard by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which was attributed to four main factors: mismanagement and lack of transparency in the financial sector; declines in export growth and hence decreases in foreign reserves; the current account deficit; and the government’s adoption of a floating exchange rate. Since then changes in both external and internal environments of the country have led to reforms and restructuring in both public and private sector organisations. Many changes, such as business process re-engineering, are more evident in the private sector and are taking place with the availability of advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs). Organisations experiencing rapid changes are induced to be more customer-oriented in order to survive and grow in this competitive environment. Thus, it becomes necessary for organisations to learn faster and to keep being innovative
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and productive in order to cope with change and maintain their competitiveness. Part of the changes are in the area of HRM, which has experienced shifts as the country developed and opened up to globalisation, with impacts from MNCs.
