Human Resource Management in Northern Europe Trends, Dilemmas and Strategy

by Brewster, Chris; Larsen, Henrik Holt

• ISBN13: 9780631217770
• ISBN10: 0631217770
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-07-26
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This book identifies and discusses the key features of human resource management at the turn of the century from a northern European perspective (particularly referring to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK). The authors' approach reflects the fact that these countries have become increasingly critical of the universalist model of SHRM common in the USA. The early chapters of the book address differences in concepts and practices in HRM in the region; these are followed by chapters that explore topics seen as particularly relevant in northern Europe. The conclusion looks at the usefulness and future of the notion of HRM as a result of these discussions. Based on the authors' own research and studies in Denmark and the UK, the book also draws particularly on empirical data from surveys by the Cranfield Network for the Study of Human Resource Management in Europe and on contributions from researchers in Sweden, Ireland, and Austria. Researchers and students will find here a useful summary of the challenge posed by northern Europe to universalist concepts of HRM.

Author Biography

Chris Brewster is Professor of International Human Resource management at Cranfield School of Management in the UK. He is also Director of the School's Centre for European HRM and has substantial experience in trade unions, Government, specialist journals, personnel management and consultancy prior to joining Cranfield. In addition to his teaching role, Professor Brewster has acted as a consultant to UK and international organisations mainly in the areas of personnel policies (the subject of his PhD) and management training. He has consulted and taught on managment programmes through the world and is a frequent international conference speaker.

Henrik Holt Larsen is associate Dean and Professor, dr. merc. of Human Resource Management at the Institute of Organization and Industrial Sociology, Copenhagen Business School. His major research interests are careers, organization and management development, training and performance appraisal systems. He is the coordinator of the HRM Master's Degree Program at the Copenhagen Business School. He is also the Danish memeber of the executive board of CEMS (Community of European Management Schools) and the CBS coordinator of EHRM (a Master Program of European HRM, established by leading business schools in England, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Greece and Denmark).

Table of Contents

List of contributors	viii
Preface	ix
Human Resource Management in Northern Europe	1	(23)
Trends, Dilemmas and Strategies
Henrik Holt Larsen
Chris Brewster
Human resource management: yet another look?	1	(1)
Defining HRM	2	(2)
Consequences of the definition of the HRM concept	4	(2)
Problems related to the HRM concept	6	(4)
The three letters: H, R and M	10	(1)
Human resource management in time and place: the northern European scene	11	(5)
So: how important is HRM?	16	(1)
Contributors to the book	17	(2)
Outline of the book	19	(1)
Acknowledgements	20	(4)
The Northern European Dimension	24	(15)
A Distinctive Environment for HRM
Chris Brewster
Henrik Holt Larsen
Is HRM different in northern Europe?	24	(1)
What differentiates European HRM?	25	(4)
What differentiates HRM in northern Europe?	29	(6)
HR challenges and HR practice	35	(4)
Human Resource Management	39	(27)
A Strategic Approach?
Chris Brewster
Henrik Holt Larsen
Wolfgang Mayrhofer
Introduction: managing HR--or just managing?	39	(2)
The notion of strategy	41	(4)
SHRM as a concept	45	(3)
Research evidence	48	(9)
Discussion: HRM in northern Europe--how strategic is it?	57	(1)
Implications for the concept of SHRM	58	(8)
Making Sense of the Drive for Competence	66	(23)
Bridging Individual and Organizational Learning
Pia Bramming
Henrik Holt Larsen
Competence--a northern European challenge	66	(2)
The concept of competence--a moving target	68	(3)
Competence development in the HRM tradition	71	(5)
Towards a new understanding of competence	76	(3)
Competence--social and relational	79	(6)
Conclusion	85	(4)
Careers in Organizations	89	(36)
Theoretical Developments and Empirical Findings
Henrik Holt Larsen
Camilla Funck Ellehave
Introduction	89	(1)
The traditional conception of career	90	(6)
Critique of the traditional career concept	96	(5)
The ideological basis for career	101	(2)
A new career concept	103	(1)
Our definition of the career concept	104	(1)
Theoretical features of the career definition	105	(14)
Conclusion	119	(6)
Flexibility in HRM	125	(22)
Contradictions in Organizational Survival
Chris Brewster
Henrik Holt Larsen
Reasons for the use of flexibility	126	(4)
The extent of flexible working practices	130	(10)
Flexibility: a strategic approach?	140	(1)
Flexibility: the wider implications	141	(2)
Conclusion	143	(4)
Communication in Organizations	147	(23)
Dialogue and Impact
Michael Morley
Wolfgang Mayrhofer
Chris Brewster
Introduction	147	(3)
The many varieties of communication and consultation	150	(3)
Role and embeddedness of unions in Europe	153	(2)
Trade unions and collective communication	155	(1)
Individualized communication	156	(6)
Discussion: emerging patterns for the twenty-first century	162	(8)
Human Resource Costing and Accounting	170	(25)
Putting a Price on Human Resource Investments
Ulf Johanson
Henrik Holt Larsen
Human resource costing and accounting: what and why?	170	(2)
The roots of human resource costing and accounting	172	(2)
Costing human resources	174	(9)
Personnel costs in the profit and loss account	183	(1)
Employees on the balance sheet	184	(1)
The value of human resource costing and accounting	185	(10)
Responsibility in Human Resource Management	195	(24)
The Role of the Line
Chris Brewster
Henrik Holt Larsen
HRM and line management: inevitable linkages or inevitable tensions?	195	(1)
Reasons for an increasing allocation of HR responsibilities to the line manager	196	(2)
Evidence of the trends	198	(5)
Country variation: ranking and cases	203	(1)
Practical problems	204	(7)
Critical issues for the future: handling the paradoxes	211	(4)
Conclusion	215	(4)
On the Road Again	219	(9)
Henrik Holt Larsen and Chris Brewster
Six current trends	219	(5)
The HRM concept in the future	224	(2)
Final words	226	(2)
Further Reading	228	(4)
Index	232