evolution of human resource management...chapter 1: evolution of human resource management 3...

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Chapter 1

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

1 defi ne the purposes and scope of human resource

management (HRM) in Australia

2 trace the development of HRM in Australia (and the Asia

Pacifi c region), including its infl uences, issues and theories

3 explain the concept of strategic human resource

management (SHRM)

4 understand the relationship between SHRM, business

strategies and HRM functions

5 discuss the links between SHRM and organisational

strategy, structure, culture and policy

6 describe the principal roles, functions and outcomes of

Australian human resource management

7 defi ne the professional and ethical principles which guide

HRM.

It’s time for HR managers to step

up and be counted . . . strong

skills, effective leadership and a

deep understanding of market

conditions are required for HR

to be taken seriously by senior

management and the board.

Professor John Boudreau, University of Southern California, 2009

The most important change in the

human resource management

arena is the increased emphasis

being given to developing a much

more strategic perspective for the

various HRM activities and doing

this against the backdrop of the

organisation’s values, vision and

strategic goals and objectives.

Rose Holdsworth, Senior Consultant in professional development,

AHRI, 2009

Aside from the need to survive,

one of the biggest challenges

organisations will face is managing

competing workforce pressures –

the need to contain employment

costs versus the ability to maintain

levels of engagement and

productivity.

Ken Gilbert, Head, Mercer Human Capital, 2009

Evolution of human resource management

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Chapter 1: Evolution of human resource management 3

Introduction Organisations exist for a variety of purposes. Some produce goods for local or overseas consumption while others provide necessary services for profi t or community benefi t. In pursuit of their objectives, all organisations rely on the availability and effectiveness of several kinds of resources, which (for the sake of simplifi cation) can be divided into fi nances, technology and people. Some organisations emphasise their fi nancial resources (banks, credit unions, stockbroking companies), others rely on the sophistication of their technology (telecommunications, manufacturing, information technology), while the growing services sector throughout the world depends heavily on the quality of its employees – its human resources.

Regardless of the particular resource emphasis in an industry, the human resource is almost always the key ingredient for organisational success. People design, operate and repair the technology, people control the fi nancial resources, and people manage other people in all organisations. Compared with technological or fi nancial resources, human resources are the most unpredictable (because of their complex blend of rational and emotional characteristics) and often the largest ongoing cost factor in any organisation, and they may also be regarded as its most valuable assets. It is therefore crucial that they are managed effectively, equitably and ethically, and that their personal and work needs are satisfi ed, if organisational objectives are to be achieved.

A number of developments have begun to transform the nature of jobs and the workplaces in which they are performed. These developments include the infl uences of globalisation and technological development, signifi cant changes in demographic and workforce features, as well as political, economic and social changes associated with signifi cant amendments to industrial relations systems and processes. On the positive side, globalisation has broadened the markets for Australian and regional businesses, reshaped labour markets and, with the aid of enhanced information technology and telecommunications systems, begun to fashion new kinds of jobs, new forms of workplaces and, increasingly, more innovative approaches to all human resource management (HRM) processes. Less positively, the economic interconnectedness of countries (possibly the major hallmark of globalisation), coupled with the unethical behaviour of some senior managers (primarily) in the fi nance industry, have arguably contributed signifi cantly to the recent worldwide fi nancial crisis that resulted in the demise of many businesses; more active intervention of governments in company ‘bail outs’ and the re-regulation of industries; and associated changes in HRM strategies, including mass retrenchments and major revisions to staffi ng, performance management, executive pay systems, human resource development, rewards and career development programs. These are discussed in detail throughout this book.

McNally 1 summarises the implications of global pressures on contemporary organisations as the need for international strategic alliances supported by managers with new mindsets; international staff deployment as a common HR strategy; the identifi cation and nurturing of global talent; and increasingly sophisticated management of HRM systems. These imperatives, and the diffi culties in implementing them in a dynamic world environment, are discussed in detail later in this chapter and throughout the text. In particular, the changes to industrial relations processes, including increased fl exibility and cooperation between employers, employees and unions, has enabled many organisations

Critical issue 1 Globalisation



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4 Part 1: HRM in context

to adapt their systems to the demands of the 21st century and beyond. Thus, while the former Australian Government’s Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the Workplace Relations Amendment (WorkChoices) 2005 legislation favoured fl exibility, cooperation, and productivity in relationships between employers and their employees through individual contracts, the present Rudd Federal Government has introduced new industrial relations legislation – Fair Work Australia (2009) – which seeks to re-regulate employment relationships at the enterprise level, as a reaction to domestic workplace changes. Similar legislation has been enacted in many other countries in recent years. Dawson (2003) suggests that the major external pressures for organisational change include such new government regulation and legislation, global markets, technological developments and major social political changes; while internal pressures include technology, organisational restructuring, and changing employee expectations 2 (see for example, the demographic and intergenerational effects of these outlined in Chapter 2).

The implications of these changes to the theories, nature and functions of HRM are discussed later, but at this stage it is important to consider the origins and historical development of the fi eld of study and the profession in order to understand its current and future roles.

Origins of, and infl uences on, HRM Early employee specialists were called personnel managers (or personnel administrators), and this term is still in use. ‘Personnel management’ refers to a set of functions or activities (e.g. recruitment, selection, training, salary administration, industrial relations) often performed effectively but with little relationship between the various activities or with overall organisational objectives.

Personnel management in the United Kingdom and the United States developed earlier than in Australia and Asia Pacifi c countries in response to their earlier and more widespread adoption of mass production work processes. Power-driven equipment and improved production systems enabled products to be manufactured more cheaply than before. This process also created many jobs that were monotonous, unhealthy or even hazardous, and led to divisions between management and a ‘working class’. The concentration of workers in factories served to focus public attention upon conditions of employment, and forced workers to act collectively to achieve better conditions. The Humanitarian, Cooperative and Marxist theories of the early 1900s (see later in this chapter) highlighted the potential confl icts between employee and employer interests in modern industry – situations that laid the foundations for the growth of trade unionism and industrial relations systems.

Governments in both the United Kingdom and the United States became involved in these issues and passed a series of laws to regulate the hours of work for women and children, to establish minimum wages for male labour and to protect workers from unhealthy or hazardous working conditions. Australian governments, both state and national, gradually began to follow suit from the early 1900s, although Australia and New Zealand adopted a different system based on conciliation and arbitration rather than mandated conditions (see Chapter 3).

During this period, management theorists in the United States and United Kingdom began to examine the nature of work and work systems, and to develop models based upon



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emerging psychological and sociological research. The ways in which these theories have developed, and have been applied by both general management and HR professionals, refl ect changing attitudes to jobs, work processes and organisational structures. The Classical school (or ‘Scientifi c Management’, founded by Frederick Taylor, and best exemplifi ed by Henry Ford in his vehicle manufacturing plants) puts its emphasis on the job itself and the effi cient adaptation of workers to work processes. The Behavioural school (for example, Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Studies) focuses on workers themselves, and the satisfaction of their needs, to achieve greater organisational productivity. Subsequent management theories (e.g. systems theory, contingency approaches) attempt to build on earlier ideas to benefi t both employees and their organisations.

Contingency, Excellence and Total Quality Management (TQM) theorists have applied these ideas to particular industries and organisations, or to different economic and social situations. The relevance of these theories to HRM is twofold. First, personnel management has historically developed into human resource management by incorporating management theories (notably strategic management); second, a sound knowledge of these theories can assist HR managers to more effectively adapt their practices to organisational requirements and realities.

Stages in the development of HRM Human resource management in Australia and the Asia Pacifi c region 3 has progressed along similar lines to its United States and United Kingdom counterparts, but with differences in the stages of development, and in the relative infl uence of social, economic, political and industrial relations factors. The two main features of the US development of HRM are its initial emphasis on largely administrative activities, directed by senior management, and then the move to a more confi dent, business-oriented and professional approach in the 1980s and 1990s. Similar processes occurred in the United Kingdom, with more early emphasis on the ‘welfare’ roles of personnel practitioners because of the excesses of early capitalist industry, a strong humanitarian movement and developing trade unionism. In Asian countries, there has been a blend of administrative, paternalistic and cooperative, and business-focused HRM that varies between countries depending on their cultures, stages of development, extent of government intervention in the economy, and industrial relations systems.

In Australia, HRM has developed through the following stages. • Stage one (1900–1940s): welfare and administration • Stage two (1940s–mid-1970s): welfare, administration, staffi ng and training – personnel

management and industrial relations • Stage three (mid-1970s–late 1990s): human resource management and strategic human

resource management (SHRM) • Stage four (2000+): SHRM into the future

We will now describe some of the major features of each developmental stage.

Stage one (1900–1940s): Welfare and administration During this period personnel functions were performed by supervisors, line managers and early specialists (e.g. recruitment offi cers, trainers, welfare offi cers) long before the establishment of a national association representing a ‘profession’ of personnel or human resource management. The early management theorists contributed ideas that would later



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be incorporated into personnel management theory and practice. Through job design, structured reward systems and ‘scientifi c’ selection techniques, scientifi c management (e.g. Frederick Taylor, Frank Gilbreth, Alfred Sloan) helped to refi ne personnel management practice in the recruitment and placement of skilled employees. Behavioural science (or industrial psychology) added psychological testing and motivational systems (e.g. Elton Mayo), while management science contributed to performance management programs.

In Australia, however, these overseas infl uences were of only marginal importance until the 1940s. Prior to World War II, personnel management functions were largely fragmented, and often conducted by line managers as part of their overall management responsibilities.

At the time, Australia had a relatively stable economy, with certain markets for its agricultural and (limited) manufacturing products in the United Kingdom and Europe. Society was generally stable, though disrupted by World War I and the Great Depression (1930s). Unemployment was low until the 1930s, when labour became readily available for employers. Trade unions were active, largely focusing on issues of pay and working conditions. Personnel functions during this period were mainly restricted to administrative areas (e.g. wage/salary records, minor disciplinary procedures and employee welfare activities). In 1927, A. H. Martin established the Australian Institute of Industrial Psychology at Sydney University to promote the ideas of behavioural scientists and industrial psychologists in Australia.

Stage two (1940s–mid-1970s): welfare, administration, staffi ng and training

This second stage marks the beginning of a specialist and more professional approach to personnel management in Australia. World War II had signifi cant repercussions for both those who went overseas and those who stayed behind, and particularly for business, the economy and the labour market.

During World War II, not only was there a scarcity of labour for essential industries such as munitions and food, but there was also a corresponding increase in the problems and performance of existing employees. Many more women had become involved in all areas of Australian industry, to replace their husbands and brothers who were in military service. Financial, social and family pressures began to hinder the productivity and output of such employees, and they became increasingly harder to recruit. When the war ended, returning soldiers fl ooded the labour market, often with few work skills. Thus, employers – spurred on by government initiatives and their own post-war requirements for skilled employees in a developing economy – began to focus on the importance of a wider range of personnel functions.

Increased provision of welfare services for employees was seen by some employers (notably government departments such as the Postmaster-General) as a means of attracting and maintaining employees and ensuring their continued productivity. The Commonwealth Department of Labour and National Service established an Industrial Welfare Division in the 1940s to promote the welfare function, offering emergency training courses to equip practitioners with the necessary skills. These activities were supported by the new human relations theories that were fi ltering into Australia from the United States.

In addition, scientifi c management, the quantitative school and behavioural science contributed employee and management assessment and development techniques such as productivity measures, management planning and control mechanisms (e.g. Drucker,



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McGregor, Chandler), psychological testing and applications of the emerging employee motivation theories (e.g. Mazlow, Hertzberg, McGregor). Many more organisations began to employ specialists to conduct recruitment, training and welfare activities, taking these functions away from line managers.

In 1943, the fi rst personnel offi cer was appointed to the St Mary’s Explosives Factory in New South Wales, and in the same year a Personnel and Industrial Welfare Offi cers’ Association was established in both Victoria and New South Wales. These state associations combined to form the national Personnel Offi cers’ Association in 1949, renamed the Institute of Personnel Management Australia (IPMA) in 1954. 4 Subsequently, the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) was set up to help employers obtain suitable employees, and both Sydney Technical College and Melbourne University developed personnel management courses.

Business schools with personnel management strands were established in most Australian states during the 1950s, encouraged by the development of the national professional association, IPMA, with members in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.

This stage can be characterised by the expansion of necessary personnel functions for the post-war Australian economy (welfare, recruitment, selection, training); a gradual move from specialist to more general approaches; the adoption of overseas theories, including scientifi c management, behavioural science and human relations; and the emergence of professional associations and courses. The resurgence of unionism during these decades cannot, of course, be overlooked. Unions in a buoyant economy focused on issues of pay and work conditions, forcing further expansion of personnel activities to include industrial relations considerations. The complex industrial relations structure at the national level was originally established by the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 , with similar developments at each of the state levels. They were further developed during the post-war period (see Chapter 3).

While the range of functions performed by the growing number of personnel specialists expanded greatly during this period, they were often conducted in isolation from one another and generally without any consideration of their impact on overall organisational effectiveness. Personnel management activities were largely separated from those concerned with industrial relations, and a clear professional philosophy did not exist.

Stage three (mid-1970s–late 1990s): HRM and SHRM During the 1970s, the majority of Australian organisations found themselves in turbulent business and economic environments, with severe competition from US and European organisations and emerging Asian markets. The infl uences of the ‘Excellence’ theories (e.g. Peters and Waterman) were beginning to affect the management of employees, together with increasing cost–benefi t pressures (see Chapter 2).

At the same time, the professional association (IPMA) and training institutions (TAFE and the universities) were becoming more sophisticated in their approaches, incorporating the ideas of the ‘Excellence’, leadership and Total Quality Management theories, with more recent developments such as Kaplan and Norton’s (2005) ‘Balanced Scorecard’ (see Chapter 13). During this period, the IPMA held a number of international conferences, initiated relationships with the Asia Pacifi c region, developed minimum criteria for practitioner accreditation (the 1987 rule) and a journal for academic and practitioner



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discussion ( Human Resource Management Australia , later retitled Asia Pacifi c HRM , and still later the Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources ).

Personnel management was becoming human resource management, representing a change towards the integration of personnel functions, strategically focused on overall organisational effectiveness. Signifi cantly, the use of the term ‘human resource management’ was fi rst noted in Australia in these years, 5 refl ected in the formation of the Australian Human Resources Institute to replace the IPMA. 6 It was enhanced by industrial relations changes, including award restructuring and enterprise agreements, increasing employment legislation, and economic realities such as declining trade with Britain and Europe and increasing opportunities in the Asia Pacifi c region. Table 1.1 illustrates the essential differences between personnel management and HRM.

In essence, human resource management recasts ‘employees’ as ‘human resources’ who are vital organisational ‘assets’, possessing knowledge, skills, aptitudes and future potential; and who therefore require integrated and complementary management strategies (through, for example, human resource planning, job design, effective attraction and retention techniques, performance management and rewards programs, occupational health and safety systems) in order to assure their individual and collective contributions to the achievement of organisational goals and objectives.

Building upon previous developments, this stage represents the integration of personnel management and industrial relations and HRM into a coordinated and strategic approach to the management of an organisation’s people – strategic human resource management (SHRM). SHRM can be perceived as a ‘macro’ perspective (e.g. strategies and policies), whereas HRM represents more of a ‘micro’ approach (e.g. activities, functions and processes). SHRM adds the extra dimension of the alignment of the goals and outcomes of all HRM processes with those of their organisations as a whole, but both are intertwined, as described later in this chapter. SHRM also provides practitioners with renewed confi dence to perform their activities as an integral component of organisational success.

Table 1.1 Differences between personnel management and HRM

Personnel management Human resources management

Time and planning perspective Short term, reactive, ad hoc , marginal

Long term, proactive, strategic, integrated

Psychological contract Compliance Commitment

Control systems External controls Self-control

Employee relations perspective Pluralist, collective, low trust Unitarist, individual, high trust

Preferred structure/system Bureaucratic/mechanistic, centralised, formal/defi ned roles

Organic, devolved, fl exible roles

Roles Specialised/professional Largely integrated into line management

Evaluation criteria Cost minimisation Maximum utilisation (human asset accounting)

Source: Adaptation from ‘Human Resource and Industrial Relations’, Journal of Management Studies, 24 May, p. 507. By permission of Blackwell Publishing.



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Stage four (2000+): SHRM into the future While it is diffi cult to predict the nature of SHRM in the future, there are strong indications that its theory and practice will be continually transformed as a consequence of globalism, new technology and associated fundamental changes in the nature of work and jobs. The external and internal pressures on all workplaces are discussed in detail throughout the text, as are the likely impacts on organisations, their employees and overall employment conditions. It is suffi cient, at this stage, to suggest that earlier concepts of HRM and the roles of HR professionals will need to change signifi cantly in order to remain relevant.

Some observers of HRM theory and practice (e.g. Patrickson and Hartmann 2001; Weisner and Millett 2003; Bartlett and Ghoshal 2003; Zanko 2003; Lansbury, Kitay and Wailes 2003; Losey, Meisinger and Ulrich [eds] 2006; Boudreau and Ramstad 2009) 7 suggest that the implications of global economic forces such as the shift to low infl ation economies, widespread tariff reductions, and the growth in multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (e.g. Australia–Singapore, New Zealand–Singapore, Australia–New Zealand, Australia–US, APEC) demand more attention towards international HRM models. In addition, the globalisation of business means that HR professionals will need to be more proactive in relation to such issues as business ethics, corporate governance and the management of employees’ work–life balance. Communication and information technology changes such as the digital revolution, satellite links, cellular telephone networks and high speed fi bre optic cables 8 will require the adoption of strategic international or global HRM models (see later in this chapter) implemented through radical new approaches to HRM strategies, structures, organisational cultures, HRM practices and employment relationships as a whole. As Erwee explains,

. . . in the competitive process of globalisation and complexity, it is becoming

critical to manage sustainable multinational organisations more effectively by

using SHRM, and to link this with strategic needs in the larger organisational

context. . . . (However, they) must also work within the confi nes of (their)

local environment as well as a range of laws, politics, culture, economies and

practices between societies. 9

These issues are discussed in more detail later in this chapter, and throughout the text. Human resource thought-leaders such as Ulrich, Huselid, Lepak & Snell, and Collins

imply that the ‘new’ HRM will either specialise in HRM ‘value management’, ‘strategic partnering’ and establishing the HR ‘architecture’ for organisational success, or will combine such ‘macro connections’ 10 with the devolvement or outsourcing of traditional HR processes respectively to line managers and external HR consultants. Professor Ulrich has suggested that the survival of HRM demands that HR professionals are perceived to add value to four key stakeholders in organisations, namely:1 employees who want competence and commitment 2 line managers who want to make strategy happen 3 key customers who want to buy more products/services; and 4 investors who want the stock price to go up. 11

This will involve the formulation of HR strategies for the business, the workforce and the HR function itself. The theme of ‘partnership’ between senior managers and HRM specialists

Critical issue 1 Globalisation



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is echoed by HR professionals and by their general managers. Chris Georgiou, HR Director, AGC and Westpac Financial Services, suggests that ‘to be effective, you need to partner with the business very closely and that means not necessarily just understanding the business but really participating at the business level’. 12 John Cooper, a partner at Freehills consultancy, goes further, emphasising that ‘HR needs to make sure it is a critical part of the decision-making processes that go with the new technology and the strategies to globalise’. 13 Professor John Boudreau reinforces this notion, asserting that ‘HR must extend its focus from the services it provides to the decisions that it supports’, as ‘like fi nance and marketing, the HR function helps the fi rm operate within a critical market . . . the market for talent’. 14 In similar vein, Dowling and Roots suggest that SHRM should now become concerned with ‘fi nding the pivotal areas where optimisation and increased performance may be attained . . . the new science of human capital’. 15

Associated imperatives include requirements for HR professionals to demonstrate a deep understanding of their organisation’s business environment, the industry challenges and opportunities, and the ways in which HR programs deliver human capability for the business to compete; 16 the nurturing of more creative organisational cultures and the development of appropriate HR metrics; 17 and the formulation of organisational ethical codes. 18 These imperatives for transparency and accountability have only been strengthened following the recent global fi nancial crisis. Some, if not all, of these are central to the changing nature of the employment contract, as discussed below.

The changing employment contract – legal, social and psychological

There is considerable agreement that a focus on the business outcomes of SHRM must be coupled with increased attention to employee satisfaction, for both productivity and retention purposes. This is exemplifi ed in recent emphases on the importance of the ‘psychological contract’ between organisations and their employees; associated employee ‘engagement’ strategies; and ‘emotional intelligence’. While this is not a new idea, more fl exible industrial relations systems, changing employee expectations, and the imperative to compete for scarce talent have compelled employers to pay more attention to all facets of the employment contract. As Baird (2009) explains, the employment relationship comprises a set of overlapping contracts: the legal contract , the social contract and the psychological contract . 19 The legal contract sets out the terms and conditions of work, and is based on enforceable legal rights and obligations (see Chapter 3), whereas the social contract underpins a mutual relationship between the state and its citizens – ‘the mutual expectations and obligations that employers, employees and society at large have for work and employment relationships . . . a set of norms that hold us all accountable for adding value at work and for providing work that is a productive, meaningful life experience’. 20

The psychological contract refers to the ‘reciprocal expectations of individual employees and their individual managers, and includes the whole pattern of rights, privileges and obligations between employees and their organisations . . . beliefs about fairness, trust and the delivery of worthwhile employment relationships’ 21 which together are deemed to lead

Critical issue 2 The psychological contract



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to greater commitment, productivity and retention. Recent research on the applications of the psychological contract in Vietnam suggests that ‘the psychological contract is a universal concept. Vietnamese fi rms, like their counterparts in the West, should be aware of and actively manage the psychological contract with their employees if they want to retain a capable and committed workforce’. 22

When the psychological contract (on both sides) is positive, then employees are seen to be ‘engaged’ with their work, their colleagues and the organisation as a whole, a result brought about by organisations that encourage their managers and employees to display emotional intelligence in their dealings with their colleagues and customers. Emotional intelligence has been defi ned as ‘the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion in oneself and others’ 23 and generally includes non-cognitive capabilities and competencies. (For more information on emotional intelligence, consult www.eiconsortium.org , www.resilienceinstitute.com.au .)

Thus, whereas human capital management theories (see Chapter 4) are based upon rational economic bases (‘hard’ HRM – see later in this chapter), these latter notions draw heavily on the Behavioural school and Human Relations theory and focus on the satisfaction of employers’ and employees’ emotional needs (‘soft’ HRM – see later in this chapter). As one observer suggests, the global fi nancial crisis has revealed that organisations have become ‘too dependent on rational economic models and (we’ve) forgotten to look at how people actually behave’. 24

The implications of these shifts in perceptions of the employment relationship for HRM professionals are likely to be signifi cant in relation to human resource planning; organisational structure and culture; and strategies for job design, recruitment and selection, human resource development, performance management, remuneration and the management of employee retention. It may also signal the reinvention, or at least the transformation, of the HRM concepts, roles and functions explained in the following sections of this chapter, towards new, dynamic models of practice.

HRM and SHRM – evolving concepts and models

Human resource management In essence, HRM differs from earlier personnel management models in relation to its focus, its principles and its applications. HRM can be simply defi ned as the convergence of three factors – human beings, resources and management – where human beings have the actual and potential resources (knowledge, skills and capabilities) that can be harnessed through effective management techniques to achieve short- and long-term organisational goals as well as personal needs. Thus, the focus of HRM today is on the effective overall management of an organisation’s workforce in order to contribute to the achievement of desired objectives and goals. All HR processes (e.g. recruitment, human resource development, performance appraisal, remuneration) are seen to be integrated components of overall HRM strategies.



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Figure 1.1 The ‘Harvard’ model of HRM

Stakeholder interestShareholdersManagement

Employee groupsGovernmentCommunity

UnionsHRM policy choiceEmployee influence

Human resource flowReward systemsWork systems

HR outcomeCommitmentCompetence Congruence

Cost-effectiveness

Long-termconsequences

Individual wellbeingOrganisationaleffectiveness

Societal wellbeing

Situational factorsWorkforce characteristics

Business strategy andconditions

Management philosophyLabour market

UnionsTask technology

Laws and societal values

Source: Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P., Mills, D. & Walton, R. (1995) Human resource management: A general manager’s perspective , New York, Free Press

Figure 1.1, known as the ‘Harvard’ model of HRM, shows HRM as a set of broad strategic ‘choices’ in response to the demands of organisational characteristics (e.g. stakeholders, business strategy and conditions, management philosophy, technology) within the context of the external labour market and social, economic and political conditions. ‘Strategic choices’ of HRM policies and practices encompass the nature of all HR processes (e.g. work design, recruitment and selection, performance management and reward systems), and hopefully lead to desirable HR outcomes and long-term consequences for the organisation.

The Harvard model suggests that SHRM strategies, policies and processes fall into four broad areas. 25 • Employee infl uence and involvement: The extent to which employees are encouraged

to share their ideas and participate in organisational consultation and decision-making procedures

• Human resource fl ow: All HRM functions involved in employee management (e.g. HR planning, job design, recruitment and selection, performance review, termination)

• Rewards systems: The monetary and non-monetary ways by which staff are recognised • Work systems: Includes consideration of the ‘fi t’ between employees and their

workplaces (e.g. technology, workplace design, teams) The model further suggests that a strategic approach to HRM strategy, policy and

processes fundamentally refl ects management choice about how employees are managed – a choice about the nature of the employment relationship, including the ‘psychological contract’ between employees and their employers.

As this model indicates, the principles on which HRM theories are based are generally broader and more managerial in their emphasis than personnel management. The central principle is, of course, the effective utilisation of employees in order to enable the achievement of organisational objectives. Thus, the entire ‘resource’ of the employee should

Critical issue 3 Strategic HRM



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be tapped (i.e. physical, creative, emotional, productive and interpersonal components) in order to achieve this goal. In contemporary organisations, the emphasis may be more on the ‘intellectual capital’, ‘knowledge worker’, or on ‘emotional intelligence’ than on manual or physical skills. These issues are discussed in more detail later in this chapter.

However, HRM theories also recognise that the human resource, unlike fi nancial or technological ‘resources’, cannot be manipulated or ‘exploited’, and that it requires complex and sensitive management in order to fully realise its potential. Variations of HRM theory emphasise different aspects of management of the employment relationship, refl ective of diverse national or industry environments. These are discussed later as ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ HRM, or unitarist or pluralist perspectives, and include such principles as merit selection, equity, ethical conduct and natural justice.

All HRM theories are, however, essentially managerialist in their emphasis on the management of the workforce and accountability to ensure the achievement of desired objectives and goals. Thus, HRM practitioners are seldom perceived as employee ‘advocates’ except when such activities are necessary to assist the achievement of the organisation’s goals. As Ken Gilbert, Head of Mercer Consulting’s human capital business explains:

Aside from the need to survive, one of the biggest challenges organisations

face . . . is managing competing workforce pressures – the need to contain employment

costs versus the ability to maintain levels of engagement and productivity for when the

market upswings. . . . Doing both simultaneously is the new challenge. 26

The imperatives of contemporary HRM theory include such principles as effi ciency, effectiveness, productivity, labour fl exibility and competitive organisational advantage. Baird and McGrath-Champ (1999) suggest that HRM concepts represent the strengthening of managerial prerogatives, 27 and Patrickson and Hartmann (2001) summarise its dominant strategic emphases as ‘productivity enhancement, cost minimisation, work intensifi cation (and) to seek markets abroad’. 28

Some other HRM observers note that recent trends in the nature of employment (such as casualisation, more fl exible conditions and changes to industrial relations systems), and the various impacts of technology and globalisation, together with innovative HR practices such as rightsizing, outsourcing and ‘offshoring’ (discussed later in the text), present serious challenges and opportunities to the future of HRM.

HRM theories have been classifi ed into three main approaches – ‘best practice’, ‘best fi t’ (or the ideal ‘fi t’ between HR and business strategies) or the ‘resource-based’ view (see later in this chapter) – and therefore differ from personnel management’s emphasis on only ‘one best way’ models of practice. Diverse national, cultural and industrial relations environments demand different HRM applications. Thus, an HRM theory derived from US experience will be diffused and adapted differently in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia or New Zealand, according to their different social, political and industrial relations histories and circumstances. It may, however, apply in more ‘unitarist’ industrial relations environments, such as those in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand.

Different theories of HRM and different principles and applications will be more (or less) relevant within the contexts of particular countries or esoteric industry environments, sometimes referred to as a ‘contingency’ perspective. These issues are now discussed in more detail in relation to the ‘unitarist’ and ‘pluralist’, and ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ perspectives of various HRM theories.



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HRM – a unitarist or pluralist approach to the employment relationship?

All HRM models are based upon assumptions, values and beliefs about the nature of relationships between employers, their employees and unions, and all HR processes take place within the national, industry and industrial relations contexts which shape them. Accordingly, a single model of HRM will not be appropriate for all environments.

Considerable debate takes place over whether HRM is essentially ‘ unitarist ’ or ‘ pluralist ’ in its perception of the employment relationship. A unitarist approach, often refl ected in American models of HRM and the practices of countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, assumes common interests between employers and employees, and attempts to encourage commitment by both inclusive (e.g. communication, consultation, rewards systems) and exclusive (e.g. discouragement of union membership, ‘greenfi eld’ sites) means.

While this perspective may prove effective in countries or industries with low rates of union membership, authoritarian management traditions or high unemployment levels, it is not appropriate in all industries or countries. A pluralist approach, on the other hand, recognises that employers and their employees will inevitably experience confl icts of interest, which HRM will need to negotiate and resolve in order to meet organisational goals (see Chapter 3).

Given the contemporary changes in industrial relations systems and associated legislation (for example, Fair Work Australia 2009 ) and a signifi cant decline in union membership in many countries (notably New Zealand and Australia), HRM approaches may be infl uenced by elements of both perspectives.

‘Hard’ or ‘soft’ HRM? Depending on the assumptions about the nature of the employment relationship, different HRM approaches have been developed to accommodate the diverse industry and workplace contexts in which they operate. Both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ HRM approaches refl ect their underlying management theories as well as different national or industry environments. Strategic human resource management as a concept incorporates both perspectives – the ‘hard’ management aspects of strategy formulation, human resource planning and program evaluation; and the ‘soft’ features of communication and consultation with employees, motivation and leadership.

‘Hard’ HRM has a strategic and managerial focus, emphasising the effective utilisation of human ‘resources’ towards broad organisational objectives and goals, whereas ‘soft’ HRM infers the involvement of employees through such means as consultation, empowerment, commitment and communication.

Some authors warn that ‘hard’ HRM, without corresponding ‘soft’ approaches, can result in undesirable consequences. Kaye, for example, notes:

Rather than putting people fi rst and drawing from the external research which

confi rms that organisations do gain enduring competitive advantage through

the way they manage people, organisations continue to seek solutions to their

competitive challenges by downsizing, outsourcing and weakening their

organisational culture. 29

Obviously, both approaches have validity in particular industry and organisational contexts, and both can contribute to overall organisational goals. Consequently, HRM models



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and practices need to be suffi ciently fl exible to accommodate the particular paradigms of the environments in which they operate.

Human resource management and industrial relations An issue for subsequent discussion (Chapter 3) is that of the relationship between HRM and industrial relations (IR). Some writers suggest that industrial relations systems and traditions interfere with (or even prevent) the application of HRM theories. Others observe that the management of human resources includes the management of the industrial (or employment) relations systems and practices of each organisation. Yet others see industrial relations systems and practices as merely a part of the overall environment within which HRM functions.

Kelly (2003), for example, suggests that, while industrial relations has ‘. . . an institutional focus with most interest in trade unions, employer associations, and the state, and state agencies such as the conciliation and arbitration systems’, human resource management has a managerialist focus, which is concerned with ‘. . . the control and administration of the employment relationship’. 30 Some of the issues raised in the relationship between HRM and IR include the following perceived challenges that HRM models pose to IR.• ‘Soft’ HRM models appear to bypass the ‘collectivist’ nature of IR representation and

negotiation. • The need for unions in the employment relationship is accordingly reduced, and unions

become ‘marginalised’. • If HRM really delivers on employee ‘commitment’, why will organisations need to

negotiate with a third party (unions)? 31 Of necessity, the ways in which HRM and IR operate are heavily dependent on national,

industry and workplace contexts. Thus, in US corporations, unions may be neutralised or excluded, as within some of our regional neighbours, while in Australia and New Zealand unions may be fully included in the formalisation of enterprise agreements, or provide active opposition to the implementation of HRM programs. This merely reinforces the need for HRM models to be suffi ciently fl exible to accommodate the differing requirements of the environments in which organisations operate.

Business strategy and HRM The term ‘strategy’ has its origins in the military campaigns of ancient Greece and has subsequently been adopted by many national governments, industries and individual organisations as a way of describing their progress towards desired long-term objectives. The links between military and business strategies have recently been given greater impetus through reinterpretations of the Chinese general Sun Tzu’s book entitled The Art of War . ‘Business strategy’ is determined at national government, industry and organisational levels, and is used to explain both the processes (e.g. organisational restructuring, rightsizing, multi-skilling, product development) and the outcomes (e.g. market position, profi tability, competitiveness) of chosen long-term directions. It can be either a conscious, planned activity or a series of events that lead to a desirable objective.

‘Strategy’ is a neutral term, so business strategies can result in both successes and failures. As examples, many organisations have consciously chosen to extend their operations, or even relocate, to other countries to take advantage of less expensive labour



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markets or to create new market opportunities (e.g. Cathay Pacifi c, Air Asia, HSBC, BHP Billiton, Optus, Country Road, Virgin Records, Singapore Airlines). As a typical example of a truly global HR strategy, the international publisher Palgrave Macmillan outsources its copy-editing and proofreading operations to countries such as India, and its printing functions to China, while retaining coordination from the United Kingdom. Other organisations have ‘ off-shored ’ parts of their operations, lured by host government incentives, industry promotions or the promise of lucrative markets. Some of these companies are currently reviewing these business strategies, due to customer complaints, union concerns about the adverse effects on home country jobs, or the variable quality of the provided off-shore services.

Porter (1985) divides all business strategies into three categories – cost leadership, product differentiation and market segments 32 – while Storey and Sisson (1990) refi ne these as innovation, quality improvement and cost reduction strategies. 33 Table 1.2 illustrates the ‘alignment’ between these three kinds of organisational strategies and associated HRM strategies and functions.

Table 1.2 Linking HRM and business strategy

Organisation strategy focus

Recommended HRM strategies

Innovation 1 Jobs that require close interaction and coordination among groups of individuals

2 Performance appraisals that are more likely to refl ect long-term and group-based achievements

3 Jobs that allow employees to develop skills that can be used in other positions in the fi rm

4 Compensation systems that emphasise internal equity rather than external or market-based equity

5 Pay rates that tend to be low, but that allow employees to be stockholders and have more freedom to choose the mix of components that make up their pay package

6 Broad career paths to reinforce the development of a broad range of skills

Quality improvement

1 Relatively fi xed and explicit job descriptions

2 High levels of employee participation in decisions relevant to immediate work conditions and the job itself

3 A mix of individual and group criteria for interdependent behaviour

4 Performance appraisal that is mostly short-term and results-orientated

5 A relatively egalitarian treatment of employees and some guarantees of employment security

6 Extensive and continuous training and development of employees

Cost reduction 1 Relatively fi xed and explicit job descriptions that allow little room for ambiguity

2 Narrowly designed jobs and narrowly defi ned career paths that encourage specialisation, expertise and effi ciency

3 Short-term, results-orientated performance appraisals

4 Close monitoring of market pay levels for use in making compensation decisions

5 Minimal levels of employee training and development

Source: Caro Gill (2002) A fi tting strategy. HR Monthly, November, p. 30



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Some organisations may wish to pursue either ‘innovation’ and ‘quality enhancement’, or ‘quality enhancement’ and ‘cost reduction’ strategies, and some may wish to pursue all three business strategies. In those cases, HRM specialists will need to devise strategies that incorporate comprehensive HRM approaches aligned with desired overall goals and objectives. These may involve macro approaches, such as culture change, or substantial organisational restructuring and/or micro HR techniques, such as job redesign, selective recruitment and career management.

HRM strategies (like business strategies) will need to take account of changes in both the external and internal environments of their organisations, and consequently to provide for contingencies that may arise during the planning period. As Rose Holdsworth, senior consultant in education and professional development at the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) explains, HR professionals need to understand:

• the business environment in which (the organisation) is operating • the industry forces that impact on the ability of the (organisation) to succeed • how their initiatives will deliver the human capability for the (organisation) to compete

in its nominated markets. 34

In order to be a ‘strategic partner’, HRM specialists need to develop close links with all levels of management, and to form relationships that promote the ‘bottom line’ value of the strategic management of an organisation’s employees (see Chapter 13). Partnership may involve devolving the majority of practical HR processes (e.g. job design, recruitment and selection, human resource development, performance management) to line managers, or the outsourcing of specialist activities such as payroll administration and employee benefi ts. Other HRM specialists will focus on the development of close relationships with senior management in order to effectively contribute to the formulation and revision of strategic plans.

Several types of linkages between HR and organisational strategies have been identifi ed, as follows.

• Accommodative : HR strategies simply follow organisational strategies, ‘accommodating’ the staffi ng needs of already-chosen business strategies.

• Interactive : This is a two-way communication process between HRM and corporate planning in which HRM contributes to, and then reacts to, overall strategies.

• Fully integrated : The HR specialist is intimately involved in the overall strategic process in both formal and informal interactions – a real refl ection of strategic human resource management in practice. 35

The ideal linkage is, of course, where HR and organisation strategies are ‘fully integrated’ with each other, and where the HR specialist has direct reporting and communication relationships with the highest levels of management in the organisation. Some US research suggests that the link between senior managers, HR specialists and line managers is best achieved when the practitioners adopt new roles – ‘a partner in strategy execution . . . an administrative expert . . . an employee champion . . . [and] . . . a change agent’. 36

HRM in practice 1.1 illustrates an attempt to establish a fully integrated linkage at the national level between government business and economic imperatives and associated HRM strategies in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). It is being assisted in its task by the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).



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Since the establishment of the United Arab

Emirates (UAE) in 1971, Dubai has developed

a distinct identity as a modern and dynamic

emirate. Under the leadership of His Highness

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai

seeks to continue its growth as an economic

hub through the continued attraction of global

investment. The 10-year Dubai Strategic Plan

(2006–2015) encompasses five components:

economic development; social development;

infrastructure, land and environment; security,

justice and safety; and government excellence.

The aim of the Dubai Strategic Plan is to

establish a universal understanding of Dubai’s

vision among the various government entities

and to ensure a common framework for the

operations of these entities. The plan serves

as a framework under which all government-

related initiatives converge to consistently

meet the vision and aims set by Dubai’s

Government. Within the stated mission of the

10-year plan is the aspiration of ‘. . . achieving

comprehensive development and building

human resources’ (Dubai Strategic Plan 2015,

p. 12).

Traditionally an oil-fuelled economy, Dubai

has grown a signifi cantly diversifi ed economic

base to the extent that, by 2007, oil represented

only three percent (3%) of gross domestic product

(GDP), down from 10 per cent in 2000 and 46 per

cent in 1976. Since 2000, real GDP has outgrown

neighbouring emirates with a compounded,

annual growth rate of 13 per cent (Dubai Strategic

Plan 2015, p. 16). The high activity services sector

– encompassing trade, construction, transport,

trade and communications – has been a key driver

of economic growth, representing 75 per cent

of GDP in 2005. The Dubai Strategic Plan 2015

seeks to develop a knowledge-driven economy

that is well-positioned to share prosperity with

its population of ‘nationals’ (indigenous people)

and foreign workers. Workforce expansion is

anticipated in response to planned economic

growth, with the labour market expected to grow

by an additional 848 000 in 2005 to 1.73 million

by 2015, largely through the growth in number of

foreign workers.

Central to the strategic plan is the role that

government departments play in improving the

business and investment environment, thereby

placing the spotlight on the performance of

Dubai’s public sector. Department leaders are

responsible for developing operational plans and

programs that focus on effi cient and effective

services that stimulate the strategic vision and

growth strategy. Underpinning human resource

management practices in government circles

is the Dubai Government Human Resources

Management Law No. (27) 2006, which applies to

all civilian employees of the Dubai government,

whether they are nationals or expatriates. The

law covers 15 areas including code of conduct;

work training and development; leave; business

and training travel; employment relations; health,

safety and environment; disciplinary actions;

grievance and complaints; termination of service;

and government human resources. Organisational

units in each department have the responsibility

to comprehend the HR policies, and apply them

fairly and consistently among employees in order

to create a performance-driven and progressive

culture.

Central to implementing department plans

is a workforce that is dynamic, motivated and

responsive to achieving the strategic vision for

Dubai. A productivity improvement of 4 per cent

per annum is part of the vision, and optimising

Dubai’s human capital will be crucial, placing

HR professionals at the forefront of change.

Specifi c goals identifi ed in the plan include

enhancing people-management skills, targeting

HRM in practice 1.1

The Dubai Strategic Plan



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Source: Peter Bryar, Wendy Lundgaard and Lyn Goodear, facilitators in AHRI’s international program delivery of the Professional Diploma in Human Resources

the HR specialist, attracting talent and building

capability through international standards of

HR best practice. Commencing in 2007, the

Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI)

has been contracted to facilitate the training

of senior Dubai Government HR directors and

offi cers, while at the same time operating a ‘train

the trainer’ program aimed at building their local

skills base under the continued auspices and

quality assurance of AHRI.

Strategic human resource management Strategic human resource management (SHRM) emphasises the need for HR plans and strategies to be formulated within the context of overall organisational strategies and objectives, and to be responsive to the changing nature of the organisation’s external ‘environment’ (i.e. its competitors, the national and international arenas). A strong implication of SHRM theory is that HR plans and strategies should be developed on a long-term basis, taking into account likely changes in the society, industrial relations systems, economic conditions, legislation, and global and technological issues, as well as new directions in business operations. As Martin-Alcazar et al . (2005) explain, SHRM is ‘the integrated set of practices, policies and strategies through which organisations manage their human capital, that infl uences and is infl uenced by the business strategy, the organisational context and the socio-economic context’. 37

Its origins are in what has been called the resource-based model of organisational competitiveness and sustainability, which proposes that ‘each organisation is a collection of unique resources and capabilities that provides the basis for its strategy and that is the primary source of its (fi nancial) returns’. 38 In this model, organisational resources are classifi ed as ‘physical, human and organisational capital’ 39 and the internal environment (strategies, cultures, structures) of the organisation is perceived to be of equal (or greater) importance than its external industry or country contexts. From a HRM perspective, the resource-based model includes three major foci – employees’ knowledge, capabilities and dynamic capabilities. 40

SHRM is a model for practice, which, like all models, requires interpretation and adaptation by HR practitioners to ensure the most suitable alignment or ‘fi t’ between HR and business strategies and plans.

Table 1.3 summarises the characteristics of SHRM and the roles of HR, senior and line managers.

Some authors suggest that HRM systems need to focus not on ‘standardised job systems’ but rather on the skills and knowledge acquired by individuals, while others argue that such systems should develop ‘workplace cultures that are more self-sustaining and allow individuals to have more choice in how and when they learn, while also ensuring that agreed business priorities and expectations are met’. 41 Thus, the overall themes of SHRM – the integration of all HRM functions, adherence to broad organisational goals and responsiveness to the external environment – remain, but the ways in which this integration may be achieved will differ from organisation to organisation. Our model of SHRM, and the framework for this book appear at the end of the chapter.





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HRM in practice 1.2 illustrates the ways in which two different medium-sized Australian organisations – one in the public sector and the other in the private sector – are attempting to align their business and HRM imperatives. In particular, they demonstrate the integration of business goals and organisational change with a human capital model and its applications on the one hand, and the contributions of HRM processes to business growth on the other.

Source: Adapted from Martell, K. and Carroll, S. (1995) How strategic is HRM? Human Resource Management, Summer, 4(2), pp. 253–67. By permission of Blackwell Publishing

HR model drives changeComcare, the Federal Government agency

responsible for administering workplace health

and safety legislation was delighted to win

the national HR Impact Award after being the

ACT fi nalist the previous year. ‘Turning that

into being a national winner this year means a

lot to us,’ says Shona Moloney, director of HR.

They were proud to be the only public sector

organisation to win.

The company designed a human capital

model to enable its HR department to effectively

drive organisational change. Strategies were

put in place encouraging managers to close

the gap between a present and desired state of

organisational culture. ‘Comcare has invested a lot

HRM in practice 1.2

AHRI Award Winners 2009

Table 1.3 Characteristics of strategic HRM (SHRM)

Characteristic Roles of HR, senior and line managers

A longer-term focus An inclusion of multiple-year strategic plans for human resource use is often considered the fi rst step in the evolution of a strategically oriented HRM function.

New linkages between HRM and strategic planning

These have emerged as a critical element in many models of SRHM. One-way linkages focus on the role of HRM activities in assisting strategy implementation, while a two-way linkage describes a more proactive approach where HRM exerts infl uence on strategy formulation as well.

Proposed linkages between HRM and organisational performance

Most models of SHRM include the proposition that HRM plays a key role in the achievement of strategic goals. Since the expected outcome of company strategies is an improvement in the fi rm’s economic value, HRM must thus directly contribute to the fi rm’s ‘bottom line’ in order to be judged effective.

Inclusion of line managers in the HRM policy-making process

The recognition of HRM’s strategic importance may make it more of a line management responsibility, particularly in areas involving the selection and compensation of managers. A CEO of a large trucking company echoed this sentiment to us when he told us that ‘HRM is too important to be left to the HRM department’.



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of time and energy into building up our workforce

planning capability,’ says Moloney.

As the executors of health and safety in the

workplace, Comcare knew that it had to ‘walk

the talk’. Building strong relationships with all

stakeholders meant that the HR department could

achieve signifi cant results through a wide range

of initiatives. Comcare has done a lot of work to

prevent injury in the workplace. Moloney says that

this couldn’t have been done without the strong

support of the executives who have invested

in resources and capabilities within Comcare’s

HR team. The executive and line managers in

Comcare work closely with the HR team and

understand that people are paramount to business

success.

Comcare has been commended for its strong

performance measurement practices and focus on

workforce planning.

Changing to grow the businessIn 2006, leading law fi rm Corrs Chambers

Westgarth reviewed a number of areas within its

business and identifi ed the changes required to

improve the way the business could grow, manage

client relationships and attract and retain quality

partners and employees. The primary aim of the

organisation-wide transformation program was to

create an inspiring workplace that engaged and

retained high quality people.

In the past four years the HR team has helped

to reduce attrition by one third, signifi cantly

increase employee satisfaction, attract four

employer of choice awards, redesign partner

and staff compensation and career development

processes, launch diversity and pro bono

programs, and triple the investment in learning

and development. During the economic downturn,

the team has also managed capacity reduction

while successfully maintaining staff satisfaction

and engagement.

National human resources manager, Alexis

Navie, and executive director human resources

and marketing, Cindy Carpenter, say that the fi rm

is thrilled with the AHRI award. ‘HR in law fi rms

is challenging, as it is in many other organisations.

The external recognition has signifi cant internal

impact and further cements our credibility in the

business,’ says Navie. With the war for talent ever

present, the result of a more satisfi ed workforce

and lower attrition is a considerable performance

improvement for the fi rm.

Source: Millen, V. (2010) HR model drives change (p. 20) and Millen, V. (2010) Changing to grow the business, (p. 21). HR Monthly, December 2009–January 2010

The field of international human resource

management (IHRM) has been in existence for more

than 20 years, particularly in the United States,

and to a lesser extent in Europe and Australia.42

Its emphasis has begun to change from a focus

on the management of expatriate managers and

employees in multinational organisations towards

a broader and more integrated perspective that

incorporates the study of strategic HRM in the

global context. This is often referred to as strategic

international human resource management

International perspective

Strategic international human resource management

(SIHRM), or strategic global human resource

management (SGHRM).

This expansion of the SHRM model recognises

the growth in international operations of many

kinds of organisations – not only those that can be

classifi ed as multinational corporations (e.g. IBM, BHP

Billiton, Virgin, HSBC, Citibank, Shell, Deutsche Bank,

Intercontinental and Hilton hotel chains) – and includes

the multitude of Internet-based companies (e.g.

Amazon.com, Webjet.com., facebook, expedia.com,

Google, Microsoft) that trade online throughout the



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world. SIHRM now encompasses three major aspects

of SHRM.

• Strategic HRM in multinationals (i.e. the impact of

context and culture on SHRM)

• Comparative HRM (i.e. comparisons of HRM theories

and practices in different countries or regions)

• The management of expatriates in different countries

or regions

In essence, SIHRM is concerned with the

management of global workforces, including features

such as the choice and development of global leaders

and global ‘mindsets’, ‘global employees’ and ‘global

HRM systems’.43 Brewster et al. (2005) suggest that:

the added value of the HR function in an international

organisation lies in its ability to manage the delicate balance

between overall co-ordinated systems and sensitivity to local

needs, including cultural differences, in a way that aligns with

both business needs and senior management philosophy.

There is a distinction between international HRM and global

HRM. Traditionally, IHRM has been about managing an

international workforce . . . higher-level organisational people

. . . Global HRM is not simply about these staff. It concerns

managing all HRM activities, wherever they are, through the

application of global rule sets.44

The latter aspects of this statement reinforce

the importance of cross-cultural issues in SIHRM.45

SIHRM encompasses not only traditional processes of

expatriation (i.e. sending home-country managers and

employees to foreign locations), but also non-traditional

international approaches such as global teamwork,

short-term international travel, short-term projects,

international commuting, frequent fl ying46 and even

‘virtual assignments’ (routine international job rotation

schemes, ‘commuter’ projects).47 While these kinds of

jobs and work regimens require some of the same HRM

activities as those in domestic operations, they also

present more complex problems, including the need

for more sophisticated employee skills (e.g. language,

cross-cultural); additional human resource development

and career plans; complicated international

remuneration and performance management schemes;

and a broader range of occupational health and safety

issues (e.g. stress, fatigue, terrorism and security

threats, deep vein thrombosis) and associated family

issues such as ‘intermittent spouse syndrome’.48

Critics of SHRM As discussed earlier, many authors question the underlying philosophies and practical applications of HRM models. Similar concerns are raised about SHRM. Its managerial focus, strategic perspectives and the ‘realities’ of HR practice have been questioned by several writers (e.g. Boxall 1992, Legge 1995, Storey 1995, Guest 1997, Martin-Alcazar et al . 2005, Boudreau & Ramstad 2009). SHRM is certainly concerned primarily with contributing to the ‘bottom line’ success of organisations, which may sometimes involve a unitarist approach to the management of employees. On other occasions, the nature of the industrial relations system within and outside the organisation will require a guiding pluralist framework. As Tyson explains, ‘all the major models of HRM suggest that the strategic activity of HRM stands in a symbiotic relationship to the organisation’s stakeholders . . . and manages an inner context in relation to an “outer context”.’ 49

SHRM may also infer a ‘hard’ (rather than a ‘soft’) HRM focus, which does not sit comfortably with some authors. However, as Legge points out, ‘If HRM, in either its “hard” or “soft” guises, involves the reassertion of managerial prerogative over the labour process, the strategies of fl exibility refl ect and constitute a path to this, . . . employees as both resourceful humans . . . and human resources . . .’. 50

In other words, the essence of SHRM is to adopt a fl exible but strategic perspective that accurately analyses both the internal and external environments of organisations to assure ‘fi t’ between HR strategies and practices, and between these and business strategies.

SHRM theory assumes the capacity and commitment of senior managers and HR specialists to broad- and long-term perspectives of organisational planning. However, some



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may lack the appropriate managerial capacity or commitment, and others may not possess the status, self-confi dence or business acumen to implement the SHRM agenda.

SHRM – research evidence Some research (although by no means conclusive) has been conducted into the application of SHRM theory to organisational HR practice in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and, more recently, in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Most studies have been relatively small and, arguably, unrepresentative of industry as a whole in these regions. Schuler, and Martell and Carroll, among others, have researched SHRM in the United States; Purcell, Storey, Legge, Tang et al ., Dowling and Fisher have conducted surveys in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia (notably among Chinese organisations) to determine whether organisations have actually converted the ‘rhetoric’ of SHRM into operational practice. Overall, the results are not greatly encouraging.

The American studies provide most support for the practice of SHRM. Martell and Carroll, for example, reporting on a small survey, suggest that two-thirds of their sample linked HRM and strategic planning processes and that HRM ‘executives’ were considered by their companies as ‘valuable members of the top management team’. 51 However, they also concluded that while considered important, HRM was not seen as important as other business functions (e.g. marketing and fi nance) in its contribution to overall organisational success. In the United Kingdom, again based upon relatively small samples of organisations, Storey (1995) found some evidence for SHRM in practice, especially in large companies.

In Australia, evidence is scant, but growing. Dowling’s 1995 survey of HR practitioners in Australia found that only 17 per cent of respondents had full HR representation at board-of-director level, although 28 per cent had partial representation. Encouragingly, 56 per cent of the sample of companies had a ‘committee of senior executives that meet regularly to consider HR matters,’ and more than 59 per cent were located at the corporate headquarters. 52 A later study by Sheehan, Holland and De Cieri (2006) found that HR representation on organisational boards had grown from 17 per cent (1995) to 25 per cent (2005), and on senior management committees from 56 per cent to 68 per cent during the same period. Their interpretation of the fi ndings is that ‘. . . the HR function continues to accept and adjust to the role of strategic partner’, but that this development ‘. . . involves further challenges that include the development of business breadth in the HR career base, the need for improved HR metrics and a broader commitment to attraction and retention initiatives’. 53

Both Australian and international studies suggest that the link between SHRM theory and practice is still somewhat tenuous. The State of the Art/Practice study, 54 the Cranfi eld Network’s International Strategic Human Resource Management project 55 and the HRM Consulting study 56 all concluded that, while advances have been made towards the vertical (i.e. alignment of HR and business plans) and horizontal (i.e. alignment of all HRM processes) integration of HRM within organisations, HR managers ‘. . . still have to demonstrate their credibility and the contribution they can make to the business’. 57

A survey of 228 HRM professionals in the UK, Europe and Australia undertaken during 2008 concluded that while there is a high degree of awareness and agreement on the pressures and challenges facing their businesses and a high level of understanding of the measures and initiatives available, the key talent management issues include leadership gaps, retention levers, inadequate corporate accountability and measurement techniques.




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AHRI’s 2009 remuneration study reports encouragingly that HR is the main source of advice (64%) to the CEO on many of these issues. 58

The research evidence thus suggests that SHRM has been constrained by factors such as the status of HR practitioners, the lack of acceptance of HRM by senior organisational managers and the limited ability of HR practitioners to exercise a more ‘strategic’ approach to the management of their human resource responsibilities. As some writers caution, ‘. . . despite the early promises, (SHRM) results have been mixed and inconclusive’. 59

Relationships between culture, strategy, structure and SHRM

Just as there is considerable debate about the relationship between business and HR strategy, there is also disagreement about the connection between HR strategies and organisational (and national) culture, in both domestic and global operations. Is culture effectively modifi ed by HR strategy, or does culture drive strategy? There is, of course, no single answer to this question; rather, there are many answers, depending on factors such as the size, nature, history and business context of the organisation, and these answers have become more complex within a dynamic global environment. Questions such as, ‘Do we require different business and HR strategies?’, ‘Do we require different cultures and organisational structures in different regional locations?’ or ‘Should we replicate headquarters’ culture and structure globally?’, will be determined on a case by case basis. The relationships between organisational culture and structure (management levels, sectional arrangements and responsibilities) are similarly problematic. Are the ways in which organisations arrange themselves a signifi cant infl uence on culture, or does existing culture determine the nature of such arrangements? If, for example, a company regards itself as a ‘family’ organisation, will it naturally divide into small semi-autonomous work groups with little formal structure? On the other hand, will the same company develop an informal, friendly culture as the result of a ‘fl at’ structure with few management levels?

A similar dilemma exists in the relationship between business strategy and structure. 60 Does the nature of an organisation’s structure hinder or assist proposed business strategies, or do the strategies themselves determine the appropriate structure of the organisation? Enterprise bargaining and individual agreements, organisational reviews and the imperative for more effective and effi cient production methods seem to suggest that strategies are in fact changing the nature of organisational structure. As examples of this, the drive towards improved productivity and effi ciency in many organisations (strategy) has involved the removal of middle-management levels, the formation of semi-autonomous work groups and increases in management spans of control (structures).

The emergence of the ‘new’ (or e-commerce) economy based on information technology, and on fl uid and changing notions of work and conditions of employment, is already challenging more conventional forms of organisational structure and culture, and thus provides a signifi cant dilemma for HR strategists. This issue is discussed in detail in Chapter 2, but it is worth noting here that the management of the ‘virtual workplace’ will require far more complex and contingent approaches to the structuring of organisations and to the development of appropriate work cultures than have been formerly used. The establishment of structures that will both facilitate and control the performance of smaller numbers of employees who may work ‘. . . anywhere, any time . . . [the] car, [the] home, [the]




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offi ce, even the client’s offi ce . . . alone, coupled, teamed . . . in real space or in cyberspace’, 61 and then to nurture a supportive and productive culture to enable the achievement of organisational goals, is a major challenge for HRM professionals.

In many cases, especially in e-commerce companies or where skilled employees are scarce, organisations may need to demonstrate their relative attractiveness to applicants, becoming the ‘employer of choice’ (see Chapter 6) by virtue of their more competitive cultures and conditions (e.g. share purchase schemes, autonomous work teams, exciting projects). In these cases the culture of these organisations will be determined as a compromise between the employer’s needs and the employees’ expectations within a competitive industry environment that may be local, national or global. Goh and Fairhurst (2006) describe such companies as having ‘. . . a shared understanding of company direction and brand promise; shared values and pride in the company; integrity; leadership, and a strong belief in product and service quality’. 62

HR specialists have a major role to play in ensuring that an organisational culture conducive to the achievement of overall strategic objectives is developed and maintained. Lepak and Snell (1999) suggest that the roles of HR professionals in the management of culture change towards the achievement of desirable organisational objectives are broad and all-inclusive, involving the development of an ‘HR architecture that aligns different employment modes, employment relationships, HR confi gurations and criteria for competitive advantage’. 63 Their analysis suggests that the task of the HR professional is both complex and contingent. The HR professional must ensure that the appropriate HR policies and systems are in place, that they are aligned with both organisational and employee goals, and that suffi cient fl exibility is built in to accommodate the changing needs of organisations and their employees.

HRM: Roles, functions and competencies The roles, functions and strategies of HRM are many and varied, and depend heavily on the nature of organisations, the vision and skills of both HR professionals and line managers (who generally carry out operational and functional HR functions), and changes in the external environments of organisations. These aspects will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters, but such features as organisational size, history and ownership, government legislation and political factors have a signifi cant impact on the ways in which those responsible for HR functions perform their roles. Their vision and skills allow these infl uences to be seen as pressures and constraints or opportunities and challenges.

The principal responsibility of HRM is to ensure that organisations have the right number, types and skill mixes of employees at an appropriate time and cost to meet present and future requirements. Thus, practitioners need to be aware of where organisations are going, the nature of the external and internal labour markets, and of the most effective strategies for matching labour demand and supply.

Practitioners and line managers separately or together operate at three distinct levels. • Strategic • Operational • Functional

At the strategic level, practitioners are involved in corporate and human resource planning. At the operational level, together with line managers, they develop action plans to meet present labour needs. At the functional level, line managers primarily carry out the

Critical issue 4 HR roles



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many activities that ensure employees are in the right place at the right time and for the right cost. All these roles will be examined in detail in subsequent chapters. As Dunphy suggests:

HR management is about planning the optimum kind of workforce, hiring the

best people, skilling them appropriately and shifting the mix of talent according

to the demands of the marketplace. It is also about building a satisfi ed,

productive and fl exible workforce so that people like coming to work, are

committed to their jobs and are prepared to innovate and change. 64

As Soo (2003) explains, SHRM ‘. . . has expanded to include issues that directly impact on an organisation’s bottom line. These include improving productivity, quality of work life, workforce fl exibility, enhancing legal compliance and, most important of all, gaining competitive advantage . . .’. 65

The HRM ‘community’ and the role of HR professional associations

Due to changes in the workplace, in society, and among human specialists, human resource managers and their associations (e.g. the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations, Asia Pacifi c Federation of HRM, the Singapore Human Resources Institute, the Australian Human Resources Institute [AHRI], New Zealand Institute of HRM, Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management) have begun to see themselves as part of a unique profession.

One of the characteristics of a profession is the development through research and experimentation of an organised body of knowledge. This knowledge is usually exchanged through conferences, seminars and workshops sponsored by professional associations. The latest information in the fi eld is communicated through the literature published by professional associations, industry organisations and educational institutions (e.g. Research and Practice in Human Resource Management and Asia Pacifi c Journal of HRM ). Other features of a profession include the establishment of a code of ethics (see the following section) and of accreditation requirements for its members. HRM can thus be seen as a credible and rapidly developing profession, although some observers suggest that its practitioners and professional associations will need to become more politically active in the future if it is to raise its public profi le and that HR Institutes will need to police their codes of conduct more strictly.

Figure 1.2 represents the ‘AHRI Model of Excellence’ and its contribution to the achievement of an organisation’s overall goals and objectives, as envisaged by the Australian Human Resources Institute. It sets out how skilled HR professionals can lead a business through a relevant body of knowledge to achieve human resource management solutions. In the model, HR roles and competencies include those of Strategic Architect, Stakeholder Manager, Workforce Designer, Credible Activist, Expert Practitioner and Culture and Change Agent. The aspects of the model are defi ned as follows, and together constitute SHRM. • Business driven : Aligns HR management strategies with business objectives and the

external environment* • Strategic Architect : Sets and drives the HR vision for the organisation • Stakeholder Manager : Identifi es and responds to stakeholder demands and manages

relationships • Workforce Designer : Builds organisational capability through high performing people • Credible Activist : Exercises infl uence and provides HR advice to achieve objectives



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• Expert Practitioner : Applies expert HR knowledge to deliver value to the business • Culture and Change Agent : Facilitates change in response to internal and external environments

* AHRI suggests that the most important of these roles or competencies is ‘business driven’

These roles are used as the basis for the accreditation of HR professionals (Table 1.4) and of all Australian higher education and professional HRM programs. A similar approach is employed by the Singapore Human Resources Institute.

Figure 1.2 AHRI Model of HR Excellence

Objectives

people leading business

Contributeto a profitable

andsustainableorganisation

StrategicArchitect

StakeholderManager Workforcedesigner

Credibleactivist

Expert

Practitioner

Culture

and Change

Agent

Increaseworkforcecompetencyandengagement

Develop

excellence

in people

management

Create

a

dynam

ic and

productiv

e

work

environment

Business Driven

AHRI Model of Excellence

Capabilities

AHRI © 2007 All rights reserved

Source: AHRI Ltd 2007, www.ahri.com.au

Table 1.4 AHRI Professional Membership accreditation criteria

Capabilities

Member levels

MAHRI CAHRI FAHRI

Business Driven Understand the alignment of people management strategies with business objectives and the external environment

Helps to develop management strategies with business objectives and the external environment

Aligns people management strategies with business objectives and the external environment

Strategic Architect Contributes to and implements the HR vision for the organisation

Identifi es and establishes the HR vision for the organisation

Set and drives the HR vision for the organisation



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In the past it was usual for dedicated HRM professionals to assume the responsibility for all of these roles, with differing degrees of effectiveness. However, modern organisations recognise that HRM specialists neither possess all the required competencies to perform such broad roles, nor do they necessarily have the intimate knowledge of, or relationships with, employees in order to effi ciently perform functions such as job design, recruitment and selection, human resource development, performance management, industrial relations and remuneration, especially at the workplace level. Thus, human resource management has become an organisational responsibility, shared between HRM professionals, middle and line managers, and sometimes external service providers, in the form of an ‘ HRM community ’ (Ulrich 1998), as illustrated in Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3 The HRM community

HR professionals

External serviceproviders

Linemanagers

Source: Nankervis A. (2001) Restructuring the HR function: Strategic partnership or deconstruction?

Human Resources Management Bulletin , CCH, Sydney, p. 10.

While it is likely that organisations will differ in the ways that they allocate their strategic, operational and functional HRM responsibilities, depending on their history, ownership, industry type and relative expertise in these areas, the predominant HRM structures of many will conform with the above model, involving considerable communication and linkages between HRM professionals, middle and line managers, and external consultants. Professor Dexter Dunphy predicts that HRM professionals will

Capabilities

Member levels

MAHRI CAHRI FAHRI

Stakeholder Manager Responds to stakeholder demands and supports relationships

Manages stakeholder demands and relationships

Identifi es and responds to stakeholder demands and manages relationships

Workforce Designer Supports the development of organisational capability through high performing people

Manages the development of organisational capability through high performing people

Drives the development of organisational capability through high performing people

Credible Activist Exercises infl uence and provides HR advice to achieve objectives

Expert Practitioner Applies expert HR knowledge to deliver value to the business

Change and Culture Agent

Helps facilitate and support change in response to internal and external operating environments

Facilitates change in response to internal and external operating environments

Drives change in response to internal and external operating environments

(M)AHRI – Member; (C)AHRI – Certifi ed Professional; (F)AHRI – Fellow; (LF)AHRI – Life Fellow

Source: AHRI Ltd 2009, www.ahri.com.au



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become both a ‘strategic partner’ at senior executive level and ‘. . . an internal fl ying squad of change operatives’ 66 while Elizabeth Gordon, Talent Director at Boeing, envisages that HR departments ‘. . . are likely to consist of a small strategic core supported by both internal HR generalists located close to the business, and outsourced HR specialists’. 67

In this scenario, the roles and competencies of HRM specialists will include strategic planning, talent supply, ‘vendor management’ (i.e. the choice and control of external HR service providers), middle and line management training and support, management of the broad ‘employment relationship’, 68 and comprehensive HR auditing. Middle and line managers, on the other hand, will conduct their own job design, recruitment and selection; manage their employees’ performance (including appraisals, job counselling and discipline); and monitor relevant remuneration and career plans, guided by overall HRM policies and supported by HRM professionals.

External HRM consultants will then provide specialised services such as executive or talent sourcing, some kinds of human resource development, HR information management systems (HRIMS – see Chapter 4), specifi c industrial relations advice and payroll administration. Already, some large Australian banks and government departments have outsourced some, or all, of these HR functions, and BP has outsourced almost all of its HRM activities (payroll, recruitment, expatriation administration, records management, vendor management and employee relocation services) in the US and UK to Exult. 69 The HR external service providers ‘industry’ is estimated to be worth more than A$55 billion globally, including such large consultancies as Kelly Services, Manpower, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, Adecco, SHL, JobStreet.com, SyNet and Hudson. 70

There is clearly, then, a sharing of HRM responsibilities between line managers, HRM professionals, and outsourced specialists in this new ‘HRM community’. A signifi cant number of HRM processes (performance management, staff ownership of the organisation’s strategy, knowledge management, team development, the facilitation of change management, leadership development and workforce planning) have been, or are likely to be, shared with line managers in particular, and the principal roles of HRM professionals will become HR measurement reporting, managing HR compliance, OHS standards, human capability profi ling, HRD, strategic planning and induction. Some new research suggests that, contrary to previous assumptions, some line managers are ‘. . . keen to take on (HR) activities that relate explicitly to the development of their team’. 71

Professional tip

Managing up, down and across

Given the sharing of overall HR responsibilities between professionals, senior and line managers,

and outsourced service providers in many contemporary organisations, one of the most important

skills that HR specialists need is the ability to ‘manage’ up, down and across – in other words, to

simultaneously develop HR plans that will meet business requirements and to persuade senior

managers of their effectiveness; to empower line managers with the knowledge and authority to

carry out effi cient HR processes such as job design, selection, learning and development, performance

review and industrial relations; and to ensure that outsourced service providers perform according to

contract expectations. Such responsibilities require high-level data collection, analysis and reporting

capabilities, combined with training and support skills, and project management capacities.



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HRM functions HRM is concerned to resolve the following key issues. • What quantity and quality of employees will be required now and in the foreseeable

future to satisfy or exceed corporate objectives? • Which strategies will be most effective in attracting, choosing and effi ciently

incorporating employees into the organisation? • How can well-chosen employees be kept productive, satisfi ed and motivated to

contribute to organisational growth and development? • What methods are appropriate to maintain effective relationships between employees,

jobs, work environments and management? • Which strategies are required to ensure that all HR activities are linked and accountable? • What systems are suitable for administering and evaluating the overall HR function?

The functional areas that constitute an HR program and contribute to the resolution of these issues include:• human resource policy • human resource planning • human resource information management systems • knowledge management • ethics, governance and (sometimes) corporate social responsibility • work and job analysis, design and evaluation • recruitment and selection • diversity management • career management • employee and management training and development • counselling, discipline and termination/separation • performance and quality management • remuneration and benefi ts • industrial relations management • fi nancial management of employee schemes and overall accountability and evaluation • occupational health and safety.

These functions will be analysed in considerable detail in subsequent chapters, and will constitute the structure of this book. It is important to note that proactive/strategic human resource practitioners see their functions as parts of a whole or integrated approach. Each function should be clearly linked with all other functions in ways that are cost-effective, refl ect organisational objectives, and are both equitably and ethically applied. The following section considers the application of HRM ethics , and the roles of HR professionals in ensuring ethical behaviour in organisations.

Ethics and HRM A series of spectacular corporate collapses in Australia and around the world over the past several years, reflected dramatically in the recent global financial crisis, have raised serious questions about the viability and relevance of the traditional roles of HRM. The unethical managerial practices that led to the collapses of Enron, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae and Chrysler in the United States; HIH insurance and One-Tel

Critical issue 4 HR roles



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in Australia; and Satyam Computer Services in India (see the Ethical challenge at the end of this chapter) have – amongst many others – signalled an urgent need for more integrity in corporate governance, not only for moral reasons but also for their adverse effects on organisations’ financial sustainability. An Aon Australia survey found that ‘the Australian Stock Exchange best-practice recommendations on corporate governance . . . and the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards, as well as a myriad of other regulatory and compliance obligations, are top of the mind for Australian executives’. 72

Discussion of ethical issues in human resource management presupposes that organisations have moral responsibilities towards all their stakeholders (for example, governments, owners, shareholders, managers, employees, suppliers and customers). The prominence of ‘stakeholder theory’, which emphasises the responsibilities that organisations have towards all associated stakeholders, refl ects a shift away from past emphases on shareholders’ interests, and demands a more complex organisational approach. Given the relative newness of HRM models, and the increasing ‘re-moralisation’ of business following recent events, the development of broad HRM ethical systems is also comparatively recent. Such concerns have generally focused on:• normative evaluations of HRM practices (ie. whether they are acceptable in moral terms) • perceptions of these practices by employees and managers • overall evaluation of the effects of HRM policies and processes. 73

While corporate governance is usually the responsibility of senior fi nancial managers in organisations, HRM is often seen as the most appropriate place for the ‘ethical conscience’ of an organisation to be located. 74 The centrality of ethics in corporate governance makes HR the natural territory for ensuring integrity and ethics in the emerging strategies, behaviours and organisational processes. In many organisations, HR managers are being called upon to draw up blueprint ethical codes and standards of employee behaviour as well as implementing their compliance, and disciplinary and communication programs.

Most HRM activities have an ethical dimension and therefore HRM should be the area where ethical culture is developed and cultivated. The contemporary issues of privatisation, re-engineering, mergers and diversity management present potential challenges for HRM managers that were not originally their responsibility. The main ethical concern in HRM is the way in which people are managed for the achievement of organisational goals and objectives. Thus, ‘hard’ HRM requires maximum return on the investment in employees, while ‘soft’ HRM is used to achieve ‘commitment, adaptability and high quality’. 75

The twin theories of moral philosophy – deontology and teleology – underpin the evaluation of HRM ethical systems and processes. Deontology is ethics of duty, and regards ethical behaviour as the result of acting in accordance with ethical principles – ‘the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions’. 76 Stakeholder theory is an offshoot of deontology, but specifi cally applies to management ethics. Thus, an employee selection process based on consistent and measurable job criteria and applicant merit would be considered ethical, while a biased performance review system would not.

Teleology (sometimes simplifi ed as ‘utilitarianism’), on the other hand, considers a process, an action, or a system as ethical if it creates the maximum benefi t when compared to other

Critical issue 5 HR ethics



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alternatives. 77 The ‘net benefi t’ that utilitarianism uses as a measure of the ethicality of HRM practices is the benefi t to all stakeholders and not just the benefi t to the organisation. In this view, it would be ethical to retrench a number of redundant employees if the choice was based upon appropriate criteria, used transparent processes, and treated the retrenched employees fairly, but it would be unethical if random selection was chosen simply to reduce operational costs.

Human resource roles such as recruitment and selection, staff development, enterprise bargaining, performance management, rewards and remuneration, and workplace productivity improvements need an implicit and explicit underpinning of trust and ethics. Loss of this trusting culture leads to loss of reputation to attract the best people, markets and shareholder value. The importance of people as a source of competitive advantage becomes more evident as service-oriented and knowledge-based corporations dominate the economy.

In a study of HR professionals by Wiley (2000), the ethical codes of fi ve US HR-related organisations were examined against six key ‘stakeholder obligations’. The fi ve organisations were the American Compensation Association (ACA), the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), the International Association of Human Resource Information Management (IAHRIM), the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The six ‘stakeholder obligations’ were to employers, clients, colleagues, society, the profession and the professional societies. The study concluded by emphasising the need for a high level of integrity, respect for employees’ rights and legal compliance, enhancing their professional competence, supporting the profession and not misusing professional affi liations, and guarding the confi dentiality of privileged information. This is illustrated in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 Five professional ethics items governing professional conduct in HRM

LegalityRespecting individual rights

and obeying all laws

ProficiencyMaintaining and improvingprofessional competence

Professional loyaltySupporting the profession and not misusing

professional affiliations for personal or business gain

ConfidentialityRespecting the confidentiality of

privileged information

IntegrityPractising the profession with high levels of

honesty, integrity and fairness

HRMprofessional’scode of ethics

Source: Professor Samir Chatterjee, Curtin University of Technology



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It is now widely accepted that specifi c micro-level HRM practices are of limited value unless they are aligned to the macro-level ‘big picture’ frames of ethical reference. In issues such as downsizing, discrimination, harassment, bullying, confi dentiality, anti-union practices, intellectual property rights, product safety, commercial dealings, negotiating techniques, and outsourcing, both macro-level and micro-level ethical principles need to be the guiding frameworks.

Some relevant examples of HRM ethical principles and issues are included in the Professional tip below.

Professional tip

Examples of HRM ethics

1 International and national human, civil and employment rights

2 Ensuring organisational and procedural justice for all employees

3 Compliance with legal and social responsibilities

4 Generation of social capital for common good through ethical conduct

5 Working conditions and occupational safety

6 Child labour, gender equity, sexual harassment etc.

7 Differential pay and conditions of local expatriate staff

8 Dealing with ‘whistle blowing’

Source: Professor Samir Chatterjee, Curtin University of Technology

The establishment and promulgation of codes of ethical behaviour and standards of governance have been a popular response to the corporate scandals of recent years. But most codes are voluntary and unenforceable unless they are strongly aligned to the corporate culture. For example, Shell Oil Company uses performance management to integrate ethics and HRM (see Chapter 4). In the fi nal analysis, the principles of ethics may be similar around the world, but ethical practices are often culturally specifi c to a given society (sometimes called ‘cultural relativism’). For example, HRM practices in China are dominated by the social guanxi (or reciprocity in business relationships) and may appear unethical to many foreigners.

The ethics section was contributed by Professor Samir Chatterjee, Curtin University of Technology, and Dr Eva Tsahuridu, RMIT University.

SHRM – our model and this text Figure 1.5 illustrates our notion of SHRM, derived both from consideration of the theory and from our collective practical experience in human resource management. It is used as the guiding framework for the book.



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Figure 1.5 A strategic human resource management model

Attraction and retentionstrategies and processes

Industrial relationssystems and processes

Learning, education anddevelopment strategies

and processes

Performance managementstrategies and processes

Remuneration strategiesand processes

Occupational health andsafety strategies

and processes

HRM evaluation strategiesand processes

Negotiation and conflictresolution strategies

and processes

Strategicorganisational

outcomesPerformanceProductivityFlexibility

EffectivenessCost effectiveness

Profitability

Achievementof businessoutcomes

Humanresource

managementstrategies

and policies

Job design strategies and processes

Vision

Strategicbusiness plan

Keystakeholders

Dynamicenvironment

(global, regional, national

and local)

Dynamicenvironment(economic,

political, social, legal and

industrial relations)

This model incorporates the major themes of SHRM.

• There is awareness of, and responsiveness to, the characteristics of the dynamic external environments (e.g. global, national, industrial) of organisations.

• Business acumen and knowledge of the HR specialist feeds into the strategic business plan of the company.

• Human resource strategy is directly responsive to identifi ed business requirements, which then inform specifi c HR plans and policies.

• In their turn, the HR plans and policies guide the development and refi nement of all HR practices and systems, which are shown as clearly integrated with each other, and with the HR strategies and plans.

• The effectiveness or outcomes of the HR processes are refl ected in desired strategic organisational outcomes (e.g. performance, productivity, effectiveness, cost effectiveness, profi tability) and the achievement of overall business strategies.

• The process is long-term and cyclical, with suffi cient fl exibility to permit directional changes in human resource strategy according to changes in organisational strategies and/or the ‘dynamic’ external environments. Like all such models, ours is represented as a linear process, when in reality SHRM is

multidimensional. This is due to the limitation of text-based representation rather than a constraint on the creativity of innovative HR practice.



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This SHRM model is used as the overall structure of the text. Thus, this chapter has described the essential features of SHRM, its origins, and the relationships between SHRM and organisational strategy, structure, culture and policy. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 extend discussion to the nature of the environments in which HR operates, the industrial relations systems and human resource planning. The model also incorporates the infl uence of diversity management on overall HR plans and on the various HR processes. Links are made between HR plans and HR strategies and between HR plans and specifi c HR processes.

Chapters 5 to 12 explore the broad range of HR processes (e.g. job design, staffi ng, human resource development, performance management, remuneration systems and the management of occupational health and safety, negotiation and confl ict resolution). While many of these processes will be performed by line managers in decentralised organisations, each chapter examines the specifi c techniques and systems used, within the context of their ‘strategic’ relationships with each of the other functions and with overall HR plans and strategies. The text incorporates the notion of an HR ‘community,’ within which both these functional and strategic operations of SHRM are encompassed and integrated.

The fi nal chapter (‘Evaluating human resource management: toward the future’) discusses the ways in which HR specialists and senior managers can assess whether HR strategies and functions have been successful in contributing to the ‘bottom line’ expectations of their business strategies, and contains some concluding discussion on the likely future of HRM; that is, strategic organisational outcomes and business outcomes. That chapter then attempts to predict the likely future of HRM.



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Summary Human resource management is a complex and rapidly changing fi eld of practice in industry. Despite

its comparatively recent origins, and drawing upon both overseas and local infl uences, HRM is a crucial

factor in the success of all organisations.

Beginning in the 1940s as a series of functions, often neither integrated nor based upon solid

conceptual foundations, modern SHRM is a dynamic specialisation in the process of refi ning its

philosophies, practices and overall contributions to organisational effectiveness. In response to external

infl uences, including economic, demographic, legislative and social changes, as well as its own history,

HRM is adopting a strategic approach to the management of human resources for corporate benefi t.

As with other professions, HRM confronts a number of diffi cult issues and dilemmas concerning ethics,

roles, practices and the nature of its professional association. Further development of SHRM will

eventually resolve these issues in creative and effective ways.

Key terms employment relationship 10

expatriate 21

globalisation 3

‘hard’ HRM 14

human resource management (HRM) 3

HRM community 28

HRM ethics 30

legal (employment) contract 10

off-shore/off-shoring 16

pluralist 14

psychological (employment) contract 10

resource-based model 19

social (employment) contract 10

‘soft’ HRM 14

strategic human resource management (SHRM) 5

strategic international HRM 21

unitarist 14

Critical issues

1 Globalisation Globalisation of business has become a reality, with the economic interconnectedness of nations and

their organisations facilitated by new technologies and an increasing number of trade agreements

between countries and regions.

a What are the major implications of globalisation for HRM strategies and functions?

2 The psychological contract The psychological contract refers to the mutual expectations of employers and their employees with

respect to rights, privileges and obligations within the employment relationship. It includes such notions

as employee engagement, emotional intelligence, equity and trust.



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a ‘The psychological contract between employers and employees has changed irrevocably in

response to labour market and generational issues.’ Argue both sides of the statement.

3 Strategic HRM Strategic HRM models and theories suggest that all HR strategies, plans and processes should be

formulated within the context of broad organisational strategies, and should be responsive to the

changing nature of organisations’ external environment.

a Discuss the reasons why the theories of strategic HRM are not always easy to implement in

practice. What can HR professionals do to overcome these problems?

4 HR roles While HR professionals perform many different kinds of functions (some of which are shared

with senior, middle and line managers), there are three primary roles: strategic, operational and

administrative. According to the AHRI’s new framework, there are also six major capabilities

(see pp. 27–8).

a Discuss the nature of these roles and capabilities. Which skills are appropriate for each role and

capability?

5 HR ethics Ethics and values are important in all aspects of management, but especially crucial in the design and

implementation of HR strategies, plans and processes. Equity, fairness, professionalism and respect for

employees ensure employee satisfaction and contribute to business success.

a Should HR professionals be corporate ethicists or the guardian of an organisation’s ethical codes?

Argue the case for and against.

Tutorial activities 1 In small groups, draw up two separate lists of the features that you consider would together lead

to the ‘ideal workplace’ for ( a ) management and ( b ) employees. Discuss your choices with the other

tutorial group members and consider the areas where confl ict might arise between management

and employees. How might these differences be reconciled?

2 Consider any ethical issues you have encountered in your workplace. They might include

favouritism, a lack of confi dentiality about personal information, cheating about hours worked,

minor pilfering (for example, pens, paper), bullying, or more serious issues. As a group, discuss

the nature and effects of these activities on the work team and the organisation as a whole.

Should these issues be addressed, and, if so, who is responsible for addressing them? Does the HR

professional have a part to play here?

Ethical challenge

Golden Peacock plummets from grace Scarcely four months before Satyam Computer Services founder Ramalinga Raju, 54, confessed

to India’s biggest corporate fraud in history, he was being feted at a lavish London ceremony for

excellence in corporate governance. The Golden Peacock Award bestowed by the World Council for

Corporate Governance was merely the latest in a string of accolades for Mr Raju, the founder and





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chairman of India’s fourth-largest software developer and a champion of the country’s rural poor. But

Mr Raju’s confession to the Mumbai Stock Exchange that he falsifi ed results and overstated assets,

including a fi ctitious cash balance of more than $US 1 billion, brought his career to an inglorious

close.

The scandal, being likened to the massive Enron fraud in the USA, has raised serious questions

over the quality of corporate governance in India and doubts about the credibility of independent

directors on Satyam’s board, auditors Price Waterhouse and credit rating agencies. With their Western-

style cafeterias and manicured campuses, companies such as Infosys, Wipro and Satyam had come to

represent the new, modern face of India. But many market analysts predict the Satyam scandal will cast

a pall over all players. ‘Satyam was always seen as one of the top Indian IT companies and was often

represented as a shining example of Indian liberalisation and entrepreneurship’, Indian parliamentarian

and president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Rajeev Chandrasekhar,

said.

But it did not come as a surprise at all. A day before Mr Raju made his extraordinary confession,

US bank Merrill Lynch quietly severed its ties with Satyam. What Price Waterhouse failed to detect in

more than seven years of auditing, Merrill Lynch took just days to spot – blatant violations of accounting

principles. Shortly afterwards, the World Bank banned Satyam from bidding for contracts, accusing it of

installing spy software on the bank’s computers and bribing its offi cials. Geoffrey Coll, co-head of law

fi rm Dewey and LeBoeuf’s Indian practice explained that ‘when you are dealing with riskier regulatory

environments like India there are real risks that the companies are being held to lower standards by

their own internal regulators than companies in the West’.

With a workforce of 53 000 in 66 countries, including Australia, providing IT and back-offi ce services

to more than 150 blue-chip clients including Sony, Nissan, Nestlé, General Electric, Qantas, Telstra and

NAB, Satyam (Sanskrit for ‘truth’) is scrambling to stay afl oat. Satyam interim chief executive, Ram

Mynampati, said that Satyam would continue to seek a merger partner and was unaware of the fi nancial

deception for which Mr Raju has claimed sole responsibility, explaining that the board had access to

audited results only. Mr Raju explained that ‘every attempt was made to keep the wheel moving and to

ensure prompt payment of salaries to associates . . . It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off

without being eaten’.

Mr Raju was among the fi rst to recognise India’s outsourcing potential and in recent years began

extending that vision to use IT to help develop rural India. He set up several foundations in which he

invested $20 million a year of his own money. He also talked of bringing best practices of the technology

industry to ‘address the needs of the downtrodden’. Observers questioned Mr Raju’s level of control

over the company: ‘Even though it is a company with strong professional management and a fairly

strong independent board, it has always been run as a family-run company and personal fi efdom of

Raju’, said Partha Iyengar, distinguished analyst at research and IT advisory company Gartner Inc. He

added, ‘the real issue is whether (he) was just incompetent, or was there actual collusion?’

Overall, although the IT industry directly employs only 2 million of India’s 1.1 billion population, a

thriving services sector feeds off it in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, apart from its client

companies throughout the world.

Source: Adapted from Hodge, A. (2009) ‘Golden Peacock plummets from grace’, The Weekend Australian , 10–11 January, p. 32

1 What are the major ethical issues in this case?

2 Evaluate the above issues from both deontological and teleological (p. 31) perspectives.

3 How might a HR specialist have been involved either before or after this situation occurred?



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Case study

1.1: Raffl es International Limited As the owner and operator of fi ne hotels and resorts, Raffl es International delivers its promise of not

only meeting but also regularly exceeding expectations. This plays a key role in fulfi lling its credo of a

hotel being more than its location, decor and amenities – a place where guests are treated so well that

they want to come back. With its established brand name and excellent reputation, Raffl es International

is well recognised for providing the highest quality products and services.

Business strategy Raffl es International Limited is the hotel management subsidiary of publicly listed Raffl es Holdings

Limited. Its vision is to be the world-class Singapore-based company in the investment, operation and

management of hotels and resorts, supported by a strong customer base and developing strong brand

architecture under the Raffl es International master brand.

In support of this vision, Raffl es International Limited began to develop an international expansion

strategy focused on obtaining a presence in capital and gateway cities in regions of Asia. To this end, it

decided to acquire Swissotel Holdings AG at the cost of S$420.1 million. Through this acquisition, Raffl es

International gained ownership of the Swissotel brand and its trademarks and management contracts

for 22 hotels including those of six majority- or wholly-owned hotel properties and minority interests in

three hotels. The acquisition fi ts the group’s strategic vision of obtaining a global ‘footprint’ through an

enlarged portfolio of 38 hotels in 33 destinations that are business capitals, cultural centres and major

leisure destinations. The acquisition of Swissotel achieves several of Raffl es Holding’s strategic thrusts –

namely, increased global reach, enhanced brand equity, economies of scale and ‘value added’ human

capital.

Implementation of the acquisition process Armed with a clear business expansion plan, Raffl es Holdings set out to identify potential hotel

operators for acquisition to complement its existing business. Once the target hotel operator was

identifi ed, Raffl es Holdings immediately set up two task forces to conduct due diligence on the target

hotel operator. The task forces were assigned according to specifi c tasks required in a due diligence

exercise to ensure effective results.

One task force was specially assigned to look into the legal issues of each of the functional areas

for their implication on the overall acquisition. This team, made up of key personnel from business

development, fi nance, human resources, legal and sales and marketing locked themselves away

with a myriad of fi les, documents, contracts, agreements, correspondence and notes to conduct

detailed paper searches for any material evidence that would have an impact on or implication for the

acquisition, whether fi nancially, operationally or legally. As this was a very daunting and challenging

task, only the best people were deployed to this team.

The other task force was divided into project teams to gather as much information as possible

on Swissotel in the respective functional and operational areas to aid the acquisition process. The

project team comprising technical specialists in human resources, operations, marketing, fi nance and

hospitality law were despatched to the various Swissotel operations spread across the USA, Europe/

Middle East and Asia Pacifi c. These project teams were further complemented by Swissotel’s Senior

Regional Vice-President and the local general manager of the hotel in question.



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Human resource management strategy and processes In the case of the HR function, the following areas were carefully analysed and studied.

• Employees’ employment contracts and terms (e.g. notice of termination, severance pay, duration of

contracts)

• Employees’ demographics, qualifi cations, skills, experience and competencies

• Employees’ remuneration details, costs of benefi ts and related costs

• Pension and retirement plans and company’s contractual agreements

• Employer’s liability – both written and implied

• Agreements with unions and work councils

Once the deal was concluded, management moved swiftly to integrate Swissotel’s business,

philosophies, people, policies, practices, systems and processes with that of Raffl es International.

Communication Tommy Ng, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, said, ‘We used emails, posters, dialogue and

feedback sessions, committees and task forces, video tapes, telephone conferencing, state of hotel

presentations and many informal settings to communicate our message but nothing beats face-to-face

delivery.’ To this end, the corporate HR team organised regular site visits, weekly teleconferences and

quarterly video conferences to gather feedback and roll out systems, processes and initiatives. More

importantly, corporate HR used these visits and conferences to strengthen relationships and create

employee bonding. To further facilitate the communication process, messages were structured with

consideration to sensitive issues such as culture, religion, anxiety, apprehension, language differences,

different time zones and union and employee expectations.

Systems and processes From a business standpoint, the group consolidated its global sales, distribution and marketing network

and implemented uniform hotel operating standards and procedures. The integration of Swissotel

allowed the group to realise synergies and create opportunities for shared services. The integration

process further acted as a catalyst for the establishment and implementation of various systems and

processes such as the customer relationship management (CRM) system, human capital management

system (HCMS) and fi nancial management information system (FMIS). These systems are the vital

infrastructure to support the group’s medium- to long-term business growth objectives.

People The acquisition was that of an operating hotel and as such the employees in each operation were

much needed to keep the operations functional. However, there was duplication of jobs in some areas

such as Human Resources, where a team existed in both organisations. Raffl es International was

keen to promote a system of meritocracy and drove this philosophy by not making jobs redundant

immediately. Job holders in duplicate jobs were reassigned and a period of six months was allowed for

the incumbents to demonstrate their competence level, skills and know-how. Being a Singaporean was

not a criterion for retention and the fi nal selection was based purely on merit.

Compensation and benefi ts As much as the company would like to streamline and harmonise policies and practices on

compensation and benefi ts across the group, this was not always practical or feasible due to the

difference in laws, cultures and norms. It was accepted that there would be differences across the




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group, but efforts were made to streamline practices within each strategic business unit for control

purposes. In one such streamlining exercise, it was discovered that some senior managers were paid

above the market rate. This was subsequently streamlined to the standard of the company.

Other policies and practices While it was preferred to keep HR policies and practices standard, the reality prevented such

standardisation. Tommy Ng clearly understood this and issued a working strategy across the group to

‘think global but act local’. This sensible approach helped make the integration process more seamless

and lessened the resistance to change among employees.

Key success factors And what are the three key success factors of a merger or acquisition? ‘Strong leadership,

communication and consistency on deliverables,’ replies Tommy.

Source: Adapted from Case Studies Series 1/2003-11-13, The Role of HR in mergers and acquisitions , The Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, 4 September 2003, www.mom.gov.sg

Questions 1 Outline the major business issues involved in this acquisition strategy.

2 Defi ne the relevant HRM issues in the case.

3 Evaluate the effectiveness of the merger process, in both business and HRM terms.

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Endnotes 1 In Wiesner, R. and Millett, B. (2003) Human resource management: Challenges and future directions , Brisbane, John Wiley and Sons, pp. 293–4.

2 Dawson, P., in Wiesner and Millett, ibid., p. 306.

3 Nankervis, A., Chatterjee, S. and Coffey, J. (2007) Perspectives of Human Resource Management in the Asia Pacifi c , Sydney, Pearson Education Australia.

4 Ogier, J. (2003) Advancing the profession. HR Monthly , February, pp. 30–2.

5 Ibid., p. 31; Kelly D. (2003) A shock to the system? The impact of HRM on academic IR in Australia in comparison with the USA and UK, 1980–1995. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 41(2) , pp. 149–71.

6 Ogier, J. (2003) op. cit., p. 32.

7 See: Patrickson, M. and Hartmann, L. (2001) HRM in Australia – Prospects for the twenty-fi rst century. International Journal of Manpower, 22(3) , pp. 198–204; Weisner, R. and Millett, B. (2003) op. cit. Bartlett, C. and Ghoshal, S. (2003) Reinventing yesterday’s managers. HR Monthly , April, pp. 12–18; Zanko, M. (2003) Change and diversity: HRM issues and trends in the Asia Pacifi c region. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 41(1) , pp. 75–87; Lansbury, R., Kitay, J. and Wailes, N. (2003) The impact of globalisation on employment relations: Some research propositions. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 41(1) , pp. 62–73; Losey, M., Meisinger, S. and Ulrich, D. (eds) (2006) The future of human resource management , Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia); Boudreau, J. and Ramstad, P. (2009) Beyond HR: The new science of human capital , US: HBS.

8 Hunt, J. (2003) ‘The anatomy of organisational change in the twenty fi rst century’, in Wiesner, R. and Millett, B. (2003) op. cit., pp. 3–4.

9 Erwee, R. (2003) ‘Integrating diversity management initiatives with strategic human resource

management,’ in Wiesner, R. and Millett, B. (2003) op. cit., p. 59.

10 Kramar, R. 2003. ‘Changes in HR policies and practices: Management’s dream come true?’, in Wiesner and Millett, op. cit., pp. 10–13.

11 Ulrich, D. (2006) Human Capital , June, p. 3.

12 Rance, C. (2000) ‘Human resources – branching out to face the future,’ The Age , 12 October, p. 1.

13 Willcoxson, L. (2003) ‘Creating the HRM context for knowledge management’, in Wiesner and Millett, op. cit., p. 72.

14 Boudreau, J. and Ramstad, P. (2009) HR’s evolution. HR Monthly , April, p. 34.

15 Dowling, P. and Roots, A. (2009) ‘Review of Boudreau, P. and Ramstad, A. (2009) Beyond HR: The new science of human capital, US, HBS Press’, in Research and Practice in Human Resource Management , July, p. 268.

16 Holdsworth, R. and Lundgaard, W. (2009) An HR intervention. HR Monthly , May, p. 32.

17 Wilson, P. (2009) True north. HR Monthly , May, pp. 16–18.

18 Wilson, P. (2009) No direction. HR Monthly , May, pp. 20–3.

19 Baird, M. (2001) ‘Reconceptualising the Contract of Work in the 21 st century’, World of Work Discussion Paper #1 , August, Sydney University, p. 2.

20 Kochan, T. (2004) Restoring trust in the human resource management profession. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 42(2) , pp. 132–46; See also Ellem, B. (2005) Putting work in its place: The making of ideal workers and social contracts. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 43(2) , pp. 238–51.

21 Baird, M. (2001) op. cit.

22 Truong, D. X. and Quang, T. (2007) The psychological contract in employment in Vietnam: Preliminary empirical evidence

from an economy in transition. Asia Pacifi c Business Review , 13(1) , pp. 113–31.

23 McShane, S. and Travaglione, A. (2007) Organisational behaviour on the Pacifi c rim, 2 nd edn, Sydney, McGraw-Hill.

24 Sardo, S. (2009) Adjust your spirit levels. HR Monthly , May, p. 16.

25 Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P., Mills, D. and Walton ,R. (1985) Human resource management: A general manager’s perspective , New York, Free Press.

26 Quoted in Gettler, L. (2009) When the only way is up. HR Monthly , May, p.12.

27 Baird, M. and McGrath-Champ, S. in Kaye, L. (1999) Strategic human resource management in Australia: The human cost. International Journal of Manpower , 20(8) , pp. 577–81.

28 Patrickson, M. and Hartmann, L. (2001) HRM in Australia – Prospects for the twenty-fi rst century. International Journal of Manpower , 22(3) , pp. 198–204.

29 Kaye, L. (1999) op. cit., p. 579.

30 Kelly, D. (2003) A shock to the system? The impact of HRM on academic IR in Australia in comparison with the USA and UK, 1980–1995. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources , 41(2) , pp. 149–71.

31 Legge, K. (1995) Human resource management: Rhetorics and realities , London, Macmillan.

32 Porter, M. (1985) Competitive Advantage , New York, Free Press.

33 Storey, J. and Sisson, K. (1990) Limits to transformation: HRM in the British context. Industrial Relations Journal, 21(1) , pp. 61–72.

34 Holdsworth, R. and Lundgaard, W. (2009) An HR intervention. HR Monthly , May, p. 32.

35 Butler, J., Ferris, G. and Napier, N. (1991) Strategy and human resource management , Cincinnati, Ohio, South-Western, p. 18.



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36 Ulrich, D. (1998) A new mandate for human resources. Harvard Business Review , January–February, pp. 128–30.

37 Martin-Alcazar, F.,Romero-Fernandez, P. M. and Sanchez-Gardey, G. (2005) Strategic human resource management: Integrating universalistic, contingent, confi gurational and contextual perspectives. International Journal of Human Resource Management , 16(5) , pp. 633–59.

38 Hanson, D., Dowling, P., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D. and Hoskisson, R.E. (2008) Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalisation , Pacifi c Rim Third Edition , Melbourne, Thomson, p. 23.

39 Ibid.

40 Lockett, A., Thompson, S. and Morgenstern, U. (2009) The development of the resource-based view of the fi rm: A critical appraisal. International Journal of Management Reviews , 11(1) , pp. 9–28.

41 Rylatt, A. (1999) Workplace learning: A new box and dice. Training and Development in Australia , 26(3 ), June, p. 15.

42 For example: Stroh, L. and Caliguiri, P. (1998) Strategic human resources: A new source for competitive advantage. International Journal of Human Resources , 9(1) , pp. 1–17; Black, S. (1999) Global explorers: The new generation of leaders , US, Routledge; Adler, N. (2008) International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior , 5 th edn., USA, Thomson.

43 Welch, D. and Fenwick, M. (2003) in Wiesner and Millett, op. cit., p. 36.

44 Brewster, C., Sparrow, P. and Harris, H. (2005) Towards a new model of globalizing HRM. International Journal of Human Resource Management , 16(6) , p. 966.

45 For further discussion of these issues, see for example: Nankervis, A., Chatterjee, S. and Coffey, J. (2007) Perspectives of human resource management in Asia

Pacifi c , Sydney, Pearson Education Australia, p. 5; Zhu, Y., Warner, M. and Rowley, C. (2007) Human resource management with ‘Asian’ characteristics: A hybrid people management system in East Asia, Working Paper 02/2007 , Cambridge, Judge Institute.

46 Welch, D. and Fenwick, M. (2003) op. cit., p. 37.

47 Ibid.

48 Ibid.

49 Tyson, S. (1995) Human resource strategy , London: Macmillan.

50 Legge, K. (1995) op. cit., p. 172.

51 Martell, K. and Carroll, S. (1995) How strategic is HRM? Human Resource Management , Summer, 4(2), p. 266; See also: Akhtar, S., Ding, D. and Ge, G. L. (2008) Strategic HRM practices and their impact on company performance in Chinese enterprises. Human Resource Management , 47(1) , pp. 15–32; Chow. I., Huang, J-C. and Liu, S. (2008) Strategic HRM in China: Confi gurations and competitive advantage. Human Resource Management , 47(4) , pp. 687–706.

52 Fisher, C. and Dowling, P. (1999) Support for an HR approach in Australia: The perspective of senior HR managers. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 37(1) , pp. 1–17.

53 Sheehan, C., Holland, P. and DeCieri, H. (2006) Current developments in HRM in Australia. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 44(2) , p. 141.

54 Tebbel, C. (2000) HR just makes the grade. HR Monthly , February, pp. 16–21.

55 Kramar, R. (2000) Policies for managing people in Australia. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 37(2) , p. 52.

56 Howes, P. (1999) Leveraging human resources effectively. HR Monthly , November, p. 54.

57 Kramar, R. (2000) op. cit.

58 InfoHRM (2009) Global research

fi ndings: Talent management in challenging times – A report on the fi ndings from InfoHRM’s global survey , Brisbane, pp. 1–2; Sardo, S. and Begley, P. (2009) HR Pulse –Executive Remuneration Research Report , Melbourne, AHRI, p. 2.

59 Editors (2009) Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance: Progress and Prospects. Journal of Management Studies, 46(1) , pp. 127.

60 Chandler, A. D. (1962) Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the American industrial enterprise , Cambridge, MIT Press.

61 Department of Industrial Relations (1999) Work anywhere, any time. New Workplace, 5(2) , p. 1.

62 Goh, T. and Fairhurst, D. (2006) External image stands from internal drivers. 11th World Congress on HRM – Show Daily , 31 May, p. 5.

63 Lepak, D. and Snell, S. (1999) The HR architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, 24(1) , p. 32.

64 Dunphy, D. (1994) People wanted to manage people. Sydney Morning Herald , 26 November, p. 27A.

65 Soo, W. (2003) Strategic HR practices are here and now. Human Capital , Singapore, SHRI, p. 14.

66 Dunphy, D. (1994) op. cit.

67 Anonymous (2003) Tomorrow’s people. HR Monthly , June, p. 10.

68 Michelson, G. and Kramar, R. (2003) The state of HRM in Australia: Progress and prospects. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 41(2) , p. 144.

69 Caudron, S. (2003) HR is dead: Long live HR. Workforce , January, p. 28.

70 Ibid.

71 Whittaker, S. and Marchington, M. (2003) Devolving HR responsibility to the line: Threat, opportunity or partnership? Employee Relations, 25(3) , p. 245.

72 Aon Australia (2006) Governance the biggest worry. HR Monthly , June, p. 7.



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73 Shultz, T. and Brender-Ilan, Y. (2004) Beyond justice: Introducing personal moral philosophies to ethical evaluations of human resource practices. A European Review, 13(4) , pp. 302–16.

74 Lowry, D. (2006) HR managers as ethical decision-makers; Mapping the terrain. Asia Pacifi c Journal of Human Resources, 44(2) , pp. 171–83.

75 Legge, K. (1995) op. cit., p. 151.

76 Dessler, G., Griffi ths, J. and Lloyd-Walker, B (2007) Human

Resource Management , 3rd edn, Australia, Pearson, p. 567.

77 Tsahuridu, E. (2009) Unpublished paper. For further information please contact the author directly: [email protected].



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