Maps and models of HRM
This guide is based on Human Resource Management in a Business Context,
and includes links to extra articles, notes, tips and exercises.
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. Three American perspectives on HRM are provided from the work
of Fitz-Enz, Ulrich and Pfeffer on pages 39-40.
Tips for students using the book
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?
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.
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