Personnel Management: The End of Orthodoxy?

Within the broad field of British industrial relations, personnel/human resource management grew significantly as a focus of conceptual and empirical analysis during the 1980s. This paper reviews the central features of this development and considers the prospects and priorities for future research. It argues that human resource management now represents a new orthodoxy within the general subject area, partly replacing the traditional Donovan framework. Research exploring the application of human resource management is reviewed. This reveals that only modest innovation has occurred, often with little evidence of positive outcomes. Seeking an explanation for this limited impact, attention is focused on the nature and effectiveness of personnel management. The reasons why there might be a ‘problem’ of personnel management are considered. Finally, the sustainability of the new orthodoxy is called into question.

[1]  David Guest,et al.  Human Resource Management And The American Dream , 1990 .

[2]  Chris Hendry,et al.  Human Resource Management: An Agenda for the 1990's , 1990 .

[3]  R. E. Miles,et al.  Designing strategic human resources systems , 1984 .

[4]  S. Jackson,et al.  Linking Competitive Strategies with Human Resource Management Practices , 1987 .

[5]  J. Kelly,et al.  Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations , 1991 .

[6]  Sue Newell,et al.  Management selection: A comparative survey of methods used in top British and French companies , 1991 .

[7]  Randall S. Schuler,et al.  Strategic Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations , 1989 .

[8]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  Organizational Psychology and the Pursuit of the Happy/Productive Worker , 1986 .

[9]  T. Keenoy.  HRM: A Case of the Wolf in Sheep′s Clothing? , 1990 .

[10]  D. Metcalf.  Water Notes Dry Up: The Impact of the Donovan Reform Proposals and Thatcherism At Work on Labour Productivity in British Manufacturing Industry , 1989 .

[11]  John Storey,et al.  Limits to transformation: human resource management in the British context , 1990 .

[12]  W. Skinner.  Big hat, no cattle: managing human resources. , 1981, Harvard business review.

[13]  T. Wall,et al.  Outcomes of Autonomous Workgroups: A Long-Term Field Experiment , 1986 .

[14]  J. Perry,et al.  Dual Commitment and Labor-Management Relationship Climates , 1986 .

[15]  Chris Hendry,et al.  The Practice of Strategic Human Resource Management , 1986 .

[16]  R. E. Miles,et al.  The human resources approach to management: Second-generation issues , 1982 .

[17]  Peter Wickens,et al.  The Road to Nissan , 1987 .

[18]  J. Purcell,et al.  CORPORATE PERSONNEL DEPARTMENTS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: TWO CASE STUDIES IN AMBIGUITY , 1986 .

[19]  Richard C. Hoffman,et al.  Who influences strategic decisions , 1987 .

[20]  P. Nolan.  Walking on water? performance and industrial relations under Thatcher , 1989 .

[21]  F. Schmidt,et al.  Individual differences in productivity: An empirical test of estimates derived from studies of selection procedure utility. , 1983 .

[22]  Ricky W. Griffin,et al.  Consequences of Quality Circles in an Industrial Setting: A Longitudinal Assessment , 1988 .

[23]  P. Miller.  STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ‐ DISTINCTION, DEFINITION AND RECOGNITION , 1987 .

[24]  J. Muellbauer,et al.  The Assessment: Productivity and Competitiveness in British Manufacturing , 1986 .

[25]  Marc Thompson,et al.  Flexibility Agreements and their Significance in the Increase in Productivity in British Manufacturing Since 1980 , 1990 .

[26]  Ivan T. Robertson,et al.  Management selection in Britain: A survey and critique , 1986 .

[27]  Anna Pollert,et al.  The `Flexible Firm': Fixation or Fact? , 1988 .

[28]  P. Marginson.  Employment flexibility in large companies: change and continuity , 1989 .

[29]  V. Murray,et al.  Why the Human Resources Management Function Fails , 1984 .

[30]  C. Hakim.  Trends in the flexible workforce , 1987 .

[31]  J. F. Pickering,et al.  DIVISIONALIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION AND PERFORMANCE OF LARGE UNITED KINGDOM COMPANIES 1 , 1986 .

[32]  P. Dewe,et al.  Company or Trade Union: Which Wins Workers' Allegiance? A Study of Commitment in the UK Electronics Industry , 1991 .

[33]  K. Legge.  Personnel Management in Recession and Recovery: A Comparative Analysis of What the Surveys Say , 1988 .

[34]  A. Tsui.  Defining the Activities and Effectiveness of the Human Resource Department: A Multiple Constituency Approach , 1987 .

[35]  D. Guest.  HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS[1] , 1987 .

[36]  Keith Bradley,et al.  Quality Circles and Managerial Interests , 1987 .

[37]  Amitai Etzioni,et al.  A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organizations. , 1962 .

[38]  Karin Wagner,et al.  A Second Look At Productivity, Machinery and Skills in Britain and Germany , 1987, National Institute Economic Review.