Human Resources Management Perspective at the Turn of the Century

Abstract

The future of human resources management and the role of HR managers are presented in this paper. The paper presents the results of nine large reports that have been undertaken around the world. The market, demographic, social, and management changes taking place are addressed.Taking into account these trends, a precise role of HR managers in the future is outlined.A t the turn of the century, human resources managers will have to face new challenges. World economy and markets are different from those of a decade ago. As paradigms have changed, the characteristics affecting human resources management must be also revised. The focus on changes in human resources doesn't seem to be taken up frequently. Until the 90s, very little research on HRM was undertaken. The most important research from this decade is collected in Table 1 (next page; Bournois and Brooklyn, 1994;Losey 1996).The research mentioned points out the trends that will continue in human resources management over the turn of the century. Let's take a closer look and ana lyze what's happening and what will affect the future of HRM. Human Resources TrendsIn a paper of Forster and Whipp (1995), we read about changing market paradigms that will affect HRM: Business InternationalCorporation, in a study of 25 companies from a number of countries, highlights clear changes in diversity management, recruitment and retention strategies, the development of new interna tional management skills and the management of work/family conflicts in response to challenges of internationalization (p. 435).

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