European Human Resource Management

European Perspectives on Human Resource Management is designed to provide students with an understanding of HRM in Europe.

Written by experts from Britain, Denmark, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, the book explores whether there is a single, shared conception of HRM which transcends national boundaries. It shows how such factors as cultural values, the industrial relations system, the leagl system and systems of education influence the ways in which the employment relationship is structured and concieved.

Figures and Tables.

List of Tables.

List of Contributors.

Preface.

1. The Cultural Relativity of Human Resource Management: Is There a Universal Theory?
Timothy Clark and Geoff Mallory

2. Human Resource Management under Collective Bargaining: The Sociological Perspective
Steen Scheuer

3. Hesitant Innovation: The Recent Evolution of Human Resources Management in France
Alan Jenkins and Gilles van Wijk

4. Spain in the context of European Human Resource Management
Joseph Baruel

5. Human Resource Management in Germany
Christian Scholz

6. The Dutch Business System and Human Resource Management
Marielle Heijlties, Arjen van Witteloostuijn and Sebastiaan van Diepen

7. Denmark: Human Resource Management under Collective Bargaining: The Sociological Perspective
Steen Scheuer

8. Sweden: The Fate of Human Resource Management in a "Folkish" Society
Johan Berglund and Jan Lowstedt

9. HRM: A Unified Understanding or Multiplicity of Meanings?
Timothy Clark

Index

Timothy Clark is Research Fellow in International Management at the Open Business School, The Open University, UK.

European Human Resource Management is an introductory text for students of human resource management. The book examines HRM from a cross-cultural perspective in order to determine whether there is one universal model of HRM or many nationally specific models that reflect a variety of cultural and institutional contexts. It is suggested that the answer to the question 'What is HRM?' is dependent upon the national context within which it is asked. What may be termed HRM in one nation may take on a very different form in another nation despite similarity in terminology. Eurpoean Human Resource Management shows how such factors as a nation's culture, industrial relations system, education system and legal system influence the ways in which the employment relationship is structured and conceived in seven European nations:

• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• The Netherlands
• Spain
• Sweden

In addition, European Human Resources Management considers the extent to which notions of HRM in these nations are converging or diverging. It suggests that whilst there is evidence of a trend towards convergence, differences in cultural and institutional contexts between nations continue to have a major impact on the nature of the employment relationship.