HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: KEY TO ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

esource policies implementation and as a result there is very limited information to review. The available literature focuses more on the broader aspects of human resource management. Despite the consistency with which the theoretical and normative connection between Human resource and management practices and firm-level performance outcomes are made, empirical studies that link the two are sparse notes (Koch, 1996).

Management of people is increasingly gaining importance because of many competing factors. Recognizing that the basis for competitive advantage is essential to develop a different frame of reference for considering human resource management and strategy issues. Clarke (2006), cites that an appropriate human resource policy infrastructure to support workplace learning has been advocated both within the literature on workplace learning and in official British Government guidance for healthcare organizations. Yet minimal empirical evidence exists to support the view that HR policies can promote greater use of workplace learning methods within organizations.

This proposition was tested by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from staff in British hospices. The findings demonstrated the limited effects of HR policies in this respect, and five key factors that appeared to influence HR policy implementation in this instance were identified. These findings have wider significance for our understanding of the complex interrelationships that potentially exist between HR policies, their outcomes and the mediating factors associated with policy implementation.

It may, therefore be necessary to adopt or adapt and integrate some common human resource management approaches, systems, policies and procedures from different international and even national contexts (Aguilera, 2004: 1359). It is often difficult to manage various human resource management practices in individual agencies, let alone on a multi-national basis, if adaptation and integration is not sufficient.

While globalization imposes a considerable movement towards standardization of management systems in multinational corporations, including aspects of human resource management, the influence of local culture, institutional arrangements and labor market forces continue to add pressure for divergence (McGraw & Harley, 2003: 8), and this can be problematic. (International Review of Business Research Papers, 2008). This article builds on previous work in international human resource management by drawing on concepts from the resource-based view of the firm and resource dependence to develop a theoretical model of the determinants of strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) systems in multinational corporations.

As multinational corporations (MNCs) and their overseas affiliates have become increasingly important players in the global economy, interest in and research of the strategies and management practices of these firms have also grown (e.g., Hamel & Prahalad, 1985; Ohmae, 1990; Porter. 1986; Prahalad & Doz. 1987; Rosenzweig & Singh. 1991). Although researchers have explored numerous issues internal and external to the MNC, there is a growing consensus that a key differentiator between the corporate winners and losers in the 21st century will be the effectiveness of the human organization (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1994, 1995; Pfeffer, 1994; Pucik, 1992; Tichy et al., 1992; Ulrich & Lake, 1990). In an effort to effectively leverage human resources to implement the intended strategies of organizations, researchers and practitioners alike have begun to explore the theoretical and empirical linkages between human resource management (HRM) and strategy both in the domestic and the international context.