Journal of Management Research
Volume 1, Number 3 (May–August 2001)
ISSN: 0972-5814 Online ISSN: 0974-455X
Differening Approaches to Strategic Human Resource Management
Azhar Kazmi and Faruk Ahmad
| Abstract |
Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has emerged as a significant issue in tandem with the increasing attention being given by the companies to strategy. Faced with an accelerating turbulence in its environment, the response of the corporation has been to attempt to build up a sound internal configuration that includes human resource management (HRM) systems. The key to
providing an effective response is to have an HRM system attuned to strategic requirements. The
philosophical and academic bases for SHRM, proposed during the past three decades, have
followed differing paths. This article attempts to bring together the differing approaches to SHRM
and presents a consolidation and evaluation of these viewpoints. The differing views are
consolidated under four groups wherein SHRM is seen to be either strategy-focussed, decision-
focussed, content-focussed, or implementation-focussed. A discussion highlights the problem of
semantics and pinpoints the controversies and contradictions implicit in the different viewpoints.
This article underscores the emerging area of agreement viz. the increasing emphasis on the
strategic nature of HRM and considering human resource as a strategic resource to be used to
create and sustain a competitive edge for organisations.
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