HRM and ‘strategic’ integration with business policy

Abstract

The goal of integration lies at the heart of Guest’s (1987) model of HRM. For Guest, integration has three aspects: the integration or ‘fit’ of human resources policies with business strategy; the integration or complementarity and consistency of ‘mutuality’ employment policies aimed at generating employee commitment, flexibility and quality; the internalisation of the importance of human resources on the part of line managers. While this chapter will deal with all three aspects, it will concentrate on the first. What assumptions do we make when considering the feasibility of integrating HRM with business strategy? What evidence is there that senior managers in the UK have explicit, well formulated and consistent HRM policies, let alone that these are consciously integrated with business strategy? Before we can tackle these questions, it is necessary to consider what is meant by ‘business strategy’.

I am very grateful for the valuable comments of John Purcell, Templeton College, Oxford, on an earlier draft of this chapter.