Human resource management (HRM)

The terms ‘human resource management’ (HRM) and ‘human resources’ (HR) have largely replaced the term ‘personnel management’ as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations. The concept of HRM underpins all the activities described in this book, and the aim of this topics is to provide a framework for what follows by defining the concepts of HRM and an HR system, describing the various models of HRM and discussing its aims and characteristics. The topics continues with a review of reservations about HRM and the relationship between HRM and personnel management and concludes with a discussion of the impact HRM can make on organizational performance.

Definition of Human Resource Management (HRM)

Human resource management is defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Storey (1989) believes that HRM can be regarded as a ‘set of interrelated policies with an ideological and philosophical underpinning’. He suggests four aspects that constitute the meaningful version of HRM:

1. a particular constellation of beliefs and assumptions;
2. a strategic thrust informing decisions about people management;
3. the central involvement of line managers; and
4. reliance upon a set of ‘levers’ to shape the employment relationship.


Be continued ------