The Future of Human Resource Management

Citation

Chan, C.C.A. (2007), "The Future of Human Resource Management", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 94-96. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730710731592

The Future of Human Resource Management is a heavyweight book that explores the contributions made by human resource (HR) practices to an organization's competitiveness. An important feature of this book is that 64 notable leaders (including academics, HR professionals and consultants) in the field of HR have come together to reflect on the current state of the profession and the shape that HR will take in the future. Hence, readers will not only get an insider's view of HR but also start contemplating whether their organizations' HR policies and practices are providing value.

This book is organized into nine sections and 45 chapters. The first section touches on a number of functional areas. For example, various strategies to address the labor shortage were provided. Next, the pitfalls of setting extremely high as well as low goals to achieve were highlighted. Executives and managers are challenged to explore ways to energize the workforce through unleashing the power of intrinsic motivation. Effective recruitment, retention and development practices were mentioned and the readers are provided an insight to Walmart's HR philosophy of “getting, keeping and growing.” Then, this section concludes with a brief discussion of the new employment relationship where job security and loyalty are being traded for challenging job, pay, learning opportunities and job performance.

The second section deals with the future of the HR profession. In particular, the need for HR practitioners to remain current with organizational issues and engage in continuous learning is discussed. Interesting insights about General Motor's general HR practices and AT&T's use of HR outsourcing are disclosed. HR practitioners are called to demonstrate competencies, curiosity, courage and empathy in their jobs. The final chapter in this section touches on the issue of human capital and the need to integrate HR with other functional areas in an organization.

The third section covers the roles HR should play. For example, there are several calls for HR to be more integrated with other areas in an organization. As such, the importance of HR leadership to focus on integrated business thinking is focused and the characteristics of a good HR leader are discussed. HR is also called to stretch people's capabilities and a good example of how SYSCO did this is provided. Furthermore, HR leaders are challenged to tackle the difficult issue of diversity and various diversity programs at IBM are showcased.

The fourth section deals with how HR can shape the culture of an organization. One such way is for HR to play a strategic role in an organization. Another task is for HR to change the organizational mindset so that people readily embrace HR. In addition, HR can partner with marketing to create a market‐focus culture. A case‐in‐point of how Washington Mutual creates an “employment brand” that embraces market orientation is covered. The relevance is employees' attitudes, behaviors and outputs in the creation of an organization's brand is proposed and inspiring examples from SouthWest and Yahoo are provided to elucidate the importance of culture in shaping an organization's competitiveness. Examples of how UPS creates a culture of excellence are provided.

The fifth section covers the linkage between HR strategies and business strategies. Organizations will need to focus on linking strategies at various levels. Major building blocks of building a successful organization are covered. This section also calls for HR practitioners to understand the connection between HR practices and organizational outcomes. In addition, HR practitioners are encouraged to harness an organization's resources and capabilities to achieve competitive advantage. Finally, the pressures for HR to deliver value to and encourage ethical dealings with an organization's stakeholders are covered.

The sixth section provides the readers with an appreciation of the internal forces that have the potential to affect the overall organizational competitiveness. For instance, the importance of work attitudes in shaping the work climate is presented. Next, HR accounting (a significant area in HR) is discussed. Perhaps, as more studies in HR accounting emerge, we might see more non‐HR executives who will appreciate the value provided by HR. In this section, there is a recount of the Moneyball story, which was originally a book written by Michael M. Lewis. This book refers to the way the Oakland Athletics, a major league baseball team, is managed and important lessons for HR are drawn. Sustainability issues are touched upon in this section, which include the bottom line, corporate responsibility and business ethics.

The seventh section considers the importance of effective teamwork and accountability at various levels in an organization. Examples of team building in Nokia, BP, OgilvyOne and Royal Bank of Scotland were provided to highlight the importance of teamwork and the benefits of effective teamwork. Finally, the multiple functions of power in an organization and how this power can be harnessed for the benefit of the organization are discussed.

The eighth section considers some of the major challenges faced by HR and strategies for HR practitioners to overcome those challenges. Dealing with ethical issues was a major consideration and responsibility that HR needs to take seriously.

The ninth section provides a little international flavor of human resource management. In particular, there is recognition that HR needs to be able to operate locally but think globally. As such, some of the major international HR best practices (and exceptions to those best practices) are reported. Finally, a discussion of the challenges and opportunities faced by HR in Chinese organizations is provided.

As an educator in HR, I find this book tremendously refreshing. Educators will find what they teach to be relevant. HR practitioners may be able to benefit from the experiences and research evidence presented in this book. While the evidence and propositions in this book are inspiring and encouraging, an important issue that seems to be missing is how do we get people to subscribe to those ideas? How do we get over resistance in certain areas of an organization and win people over? Also, given the intensification of international business activities, I find the lack of attention on international human resource management quite surprising. Nevertheless, this book is an important contribution to knowledge and practice in that the editors and authors are inviting all HR practitioners to lift their game and make a positive impact in their organizations.