"Human Resource Management in Spain: Is There a Latin Model?"

[From the Introduction]. The invitation to speak on whether there is a latin model underlying the way human resources are managed in Spanish firms evoked in me a positive, albeit complex, reaction. Por one thing, the word "model" suggested a specific way of approaching and visualizing a complex situation before tackling it. The project of building up the European Community seems to qualify as a situation complex enough to call for different models and styles of going about it. Leaving aside other aspects of the problem, not all the EEC countries enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing. In addition there are considerable differences in the rate of industrialization achieved by EEC countries. England in the U.K. and the whole of central Europe are the EEC industrial belt that is far ahead of the Mediterranean member states. The imminent application of the "Acta Unica" has further aggravated the situation. On the one hand, there will be an open, common ground on which all member states will have to compete. On the other, not all member states are equally prepared to respond to this challenge. How are they facing up to it?