HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS^[1]

Abstract

Human resource management (HRM) is a term which is now widely used but very loosely defined. In this paper it is argued that if the concept is to have any social scientific value, it should be defined in such a way as to differentiate it from traditional personnel management and to allow the development of testable hypotheses about its impact. Based on theoretical work in the field of organizational behaviour it is proposed that H R M comprises a set of policies designed to maximize organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of work. Within this model, collective industrial relations have, at best, only a minor role. Despite the apparent attractions of H R M to managements, there is very little evidence of any quality about its impact.Furthermore very few UK organizations appear to practise a distinctive form of H R M , although many are moving slowly in that direction through, for example, policies of employee involvement.

An analysis of the Human Resource practices in the mining industry in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province: A relook at the Resource Based View of managing Human Resources.

“…The mining industry in Zimbabwe would harness the rewards associated with the committed human resources they have at their disposal by deploying them in ways that maximise returns on the firm guarantee that the employees are committed to the organisations. This high-commitment model of responsiveness toward employees is similar to Guest's (1987) well-known ‗soft' model of HRM, which sees employees as valued assets because of their commitment, adaptability and high quality (of skills, performance and so on). The watchwords in such a model are investment and value added, rather than exploitation and cost minimization (Legge, 1998) …”

“…This approach involves treating employees as partners in the management and leadership of organisationswhose interests are respected by top management. The aim is tocreate a climate in which a continuing dialogue between managers and themembers of their teams takes place in order to define expectations and shareinformation on the organization's mission, values and objectives (Armstrong, 2005;Boxall, 1996;Guest, 1987). This establishes a common understanding of what isto be achieved and a framework formanaging and developing people to ensure that it willbe achieved.…”

“…In other words, the HRM planning process should involve forecasting HR needs and developing programs to ensure that the right numbers and types of individuals are available at the right time and place. (Bratton & Gold, 2003;Guest, 1987;Steen, 2009). As such, mining companies in the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe need to keep their HR strategic plans in line with the overall organisational strategies.…”

The Structure of Human Resources Assessment Process: Conditions for Criteria Formation

“…The process of human resources assessment is analysed by Lithuanian (Leoniene, 2001;Sakalas, 2003;Stankeviciene, Lobanova, 2006;Vaskeliene, 2007;Bakanauskiene, 2008;Liukineviciene, Garoliene, 2009;Uziene, 2010;etc. ) authors and foreign (Fombrun, et al, 1984;Guest, 1987Guest, , 1989Dowling, Schuler, 1990;Schuler, et al, 1993;Marquardt, et al, 1994;Wright, et al, 1994;Welch, 1994;Schneider, 1994;Tyson, 1995;Wood, 1995;Marquardt, 1998;Mabey, et al, 1998;Boxall, 1999;DeCieri, Dowling, 1999;Grote, 2002;Marquardt, Berger, 2003;Bratton, Gold, 2003;Thom, Ritz, 2004;Venkateswara, 2004;Torrington, et al, 2005;Dowling, Welch, 2005;Cascio, 2006;Horton, 2006;Falcone, Sachs, 2007;Graf, 2007;Dowling, et al, 2007;Kaimakova, 2008;Arthur, 2008;Dessler, 2008;Yee, Chen, 2009;etc. ) scientists.…”

Strategic Human Resource Practices and its Impact on Performance towards Achieving Organizational Goals

“…When the debate take place on HRM and Strategic HRM, Strategic HRM has a clear focus on implementing strategic change and growing the skill base of the organization to ensure that the organization can compete effectively in the future (Holbeche, 2004). SHRM facilitates the development of a human capital that meets the requirements of business competitive strategy, so that organizational goals and mission will be achieved (Guest, 1987).…”