Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

participation in decision-making;

 

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continuous learning.

The hard and soft HRM models

Storey  (1989:  8)  distinguished  between  the ‘hard’ 

and ‘soft’  versions  of  HRM.  He  wrote  that: ‘The 

hard  one  emphasises  the  quantitative,  calculative 

and business-strategic aspects of managing human 

resources  in  as “rational”  a  way  as  for  any  other 

economic factor. By contrast, the soft version traces 

its roots to the human-relations school; it empha-

sizes communication, motivation and leadership.’

However, it was pointed out by Keenoy (1997: 

838) that ‘hard and soft HRM are complementary 

rather than mutually exclusive practices’. Research 

in eight UK organizations by Truss et al (1997) indi-

cated  that  the  distinction  between  hard  and  soft 

HRM  was  not  as  precise  as  some  commentators 

have implied. Their conclusions were as follows.

Conclusions on hard and soft models of 

HRM – Truss et al (1997: 70)

Even if the rhetoric of HRM is ‘soft’, the reality is 

almost always ‘hard’, with the interests of the 

organization prevailing over those of the individual. 

In all the organizations, we found a mixture of both 

hard and soft approaches. The precise ingredients 

of this mixture were unique to each organization, 

which implies that factors such as the external and 

internal environment of the organization, its 

strategy, culture and structure all have a vital role 

to play in the way in which HRM operates.

Source review

HRM today

As  a  description  of  people  management  activities  

in  organizations  the  term  HRM  is  here  to  stay,  

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