A reaction to an article in a previous issue of the journal about the dangers of Human Resource Management (HRM). HRM was described as amoral, anti‐social, uneconomic and ecologically destructive. Whilst accepting that HRM is flawed, argues that its acceptance is partly attributable to the...

Analyses change in industrial relations using Lash and Urry′s “disorganized” paradigm. Argues that the transformation from “organized” to “disorganized” capitalism is currently reflected in an analogous shift towards “disorganized” industrial relations, particularly at the...

Examines how Toyota′s worldwide HRM practice has been developed to sustain the Toyota Production System. Explains how, in setting up the European assembly plant in the UK, Toyota has been faced with both strong forces for international consistency in HRM practices and strong local cultural...

The 1980s has been viewed as a period of considerable change in industrial relations. The transformation of the global market and new style management practices have raised important questions regarding the extent and character of continuities and discontinuities. Much emphasis has been placed...

During 1990, one of the largest service sector companies in the UK was in the process of implementing major change. Top management believed that total quality management (TQM) was an appropriate vehicle for such change. However, the research suggested that the quality objectives of the...

Poses the question whether, on an academic level, human resource management (HRM) is a scientific discipline of management. To arrive at an answer, brings together findings of a survey concerning the foundations of HRM then links them by four central hypotheses. The first (rather speculative)...

Argues that the discipline of Industrial Relations has become marginalized, as discussion about business, work and employment has been increasingly dominated by the popular nostrums of “Enterprise Culture”, “Excellence” and “Human Resources Management”. Attempts to restate the...

Looks at human resource management (HRM) and in particular how it is used in Mexican literature. Also examines the Thatcherite approach, with regard to declining international competitiveness, in seeking labour market reforms to try and realign competitiveness from Asian economies. Labour market...

Recent interest in constituency theory, coupled with the concern of the quality movement for meeting the needs of the internal and external “customers” of organizations leads HR managers to think about their jobs in terms of the stakeholders or constituents who have influence or impact on HR...