Potential use of human resource information systemsOur interest is in advanced IT personnel applications, particularly the use of a human resource information system (HRIS), which has been defined as "the composite of databases, computer applications and hardware and software that are used to collect/record, store, manage, deliver, present and manipulate data for human resources" [3, p. 17]. The related, but separate, issue of the role of personnel in the introduction of IT more generally has been considered by others including McLoughlin and Clark[6], Clark[7], Legge[1], Daniel[8] and Clegg and Kemp [9].Research into the use of IT by personnel specialists has sought to develop typologies based on the application of the new technology or to identify the potential contribution these systems might make to the aims of the business. An early attempt[10] identified four stages in the use of IT by personnel moving from routine processing, to the production of information, to a comprehensive management information system to the direct input into the processing of business decisions. A later typology, based on 35 interviews, sought to classify managers on the basis of their use of IT[2]: "stars" (of which there were three) were "making full and imaginative use of the computer's potential to enhance the role and effectiveness of the personnel function"; "radicals" (8) had "high aspirations, but many had over-reached themselves"; "plodders" (12) were "making some use of the electronic filing cabinet, but the nature of personnel work remained unchanged" and "beginners" (12) where "leading-edge uses of the computer were little developed but there was evidence that such progress was beginning and was in early stages".An alternative line of inquiry has investigated the potential contribution of a HRIS to the objectives of the business. Schuller[11, p. 700] argued IT has the potential to redefine the role of personnel, while Fombrun et al. [12] suggested that "the critical managerial task is to … align the human resources systems so that they drive the strategic objectives of the business." The most common way this might be achieved is by linking business planning and human resource planning. More specifically, Broderick and Boudreau have examined how a HRIS might contribute to three human resources competitive objectives: cost reduction, service improvement and innovation [3, p. 9].• Cost reduction can be achieved through automation of routine activities and the subsequent economies of scale. Consequently, "HR thus becomes the low cost provider for critical administrative work, as well as a more accurate and timely provider of HR information"[3, p. 9]. Similarly, Kossek et al. argued that a HRIS enables "HR to cost and demonstrate the
