Government and supranational authorities
Government and supranational authorities such as the European Union influence
human resource strategies through a variety of mechanisms.
The perspectives taken by different governments reflect underlying attitudes towards the role of the
individual versus the corporation within those countries. For example, Brewster has pointed out that in the USA
there is an implicit belief that business corporations can and should devise their HR strategies without
much regard for the state or wider social implications. Guest puts this down to the historical concept of
the US as a land of opportunity where anyone can achieve sucess through their own hard work and
entrepreneurship.
Paradoxically, however, US employment legislation is some of the most stringent in the world with regard to
individual rights. But (by European standards) state control and social protection are fairly
minimal. This goes along with a much stronger belief in the rights of managers to manage (in the US)
and a relatively widespread attitude of hostility towards trades unionism.
Within unionized companies in the US the 1930's New Deal model of employee relations lingers on
with a frequently excessive emphasis on the separation of managerial and workers' rights and the control of who does what
and how. This can place unionized companies at a disadvantage in economic circumstances that demand
flexibility in order to compete. Such corporations need to particluar attention to the development
of advanced employee involvement programmes to harness the goodwill, creativity and enthusiasm
of their workers.
Correspondingly, in mainland Europe Brewster finds constraints deriving from:
* restriction of autonomy by European Union directives
* conditioning from national-level culture and legislation
* distinctive national patterns of business organizations
* considerably higher levels of trade union organization and consultative arrangements (e.g.
works councils.
Countries in the Anglo-Celtic tradition (UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) adopt intermediate
positions between the US and mainland Europe. Developing countries such as Malaysia and South Africa have
the opportunity to set the pattern for their national-level strategies by observing (cherry-picking?)
the successes and mistakes of the developed countries.
Visit the main site of the
The has an extensive site detailing US Federal Government activities.
The events of September 11 2001 led to massive layoffs in some US industries.
describes US Government measures to help the workforce.
Similarly. the South African site describes Government programmes.
Market forces
Since the late 1970s the free market has been dominant in the predominantly
English-speaking countries. The concept was raised to the status of a near-religion
by governments and economists of the Thatcherite persuasion - the New Right.
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HRM Guide Network