Based on Human Resource Management in a Business Context

This new edition provides an international and up-to-date perspective of human resource management. Expanded and revised to include a range of new HR topics, real-life examples and case studies from around the world.

Brief excerpts from Chapter 2 of Human Resource Management in a Business Context (2nd Edition, 2004) by Alan Price - published by Thomson Learning

Many people find HRM to be a vague and elusive concept - not least because it seems to have a variety of meanings. Pinning down an acceptable definition can seem like trying to hit a moving target in a fog. This confusion reflects the different interpretations found in articles and books about human resource management. HRM is an elastic term (...). It covers a range of applications that vary from book to book and organization to organization. (...)

Pages 32-35 of Human Resource Management in a Business Context 2/e discuss the use and meaning of the term 'human resource management', consider a number of textbook definitions and provide a working definition for the book:

'A philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important in sustained business success. An organization gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. HRM is aimed at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and developing key competencies.'

Activity 2:1. To answer the activity question in this section you should look at the nine textbook definitions of HRM and compare them with the working definitions provided by the Steering Committee for HRM Standards and Qualifications in South Africa. You will see that the textbook definitions are shorter and more theoretical than the practitioner definitions. But the textbook definitions do not correspond exactly with each other and do not attempt to be as descriptively comprehensive as the South African example.

You should think about the purposes of the definitions and the different aims of academics and practitioners. Academics are interested in the theoretical basis and intellectual validity of the concept. Practitioners have a job to get on with and are likely to be more interested in a practical description of the management discipline for which they are responsible.

Maps and models of HRM

This section begins with a discussion of various approaches to HRM, including Keenoy's hologram comparison and Sisson's 4 main features of HRM models. A key concept is that of Hard and Soft HRM:

'Storey (1989) has distinguished between hard and soft forms of HRM, typified by the Michigan and Harvard models respectively. ‘Hard’ HRM focuses on the resource side of human resources. It emphasizes costs in the form of ‘headcounts’ and places control firmly in the hands of management. Their role is to manage numbers effectively, keeping the workforce closely matched with requirements in terms of both bodies and behaviour. ‘Soft’ HRM, on the other hand, stresses the ‘human’ aspects of HRM. Its concerns are with communication and motivation. People are led rather than managed. They are involved in determining and realizing strategic objectives.'

The section goes on to consider the views of Guest and Legge and then discusses the classification of HRM models.

Activity 2:2. To answer this activity question you should be aware that a fundamental element of most rhetorical accounts of HRM is that one of the distinctive features of human resource management (as opposed to personnel management) is that it is 'holistic'. In other words it is concerned with the 'big picture' and the way that different aspects of people management fit together.

Activity 2:3. Comparing the different typologies can be difficult because they do not use the same underlying logic. But does that mean that individual typologies are not of value?

Three American perspectives on HRM are provided from the work of Fitz-Enz, Ulrich and Pfeffer on pages 39-40.

Activity 2:4. Each of these commentators is a 'management guru' to some extent. They have been particularly influential in the USA in the last decade. Fitz-Enz is, perhaps, the least well-known but has been instrumental in developing the notion that HR initiatives and their results can (should?) be measured.