chapter 3
....................................................................................................................................................THE GOALS
OF HRM
....................................................................................................................................peter boxall
3.1 Introduction
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Humanresource management covers a vast array of activities and shows a huge
range of variations across occupations, organizational levels, business units,Wrms,
industries, and societies. This confusing detail and profound diversity naturally
begs a fundamental question: what are employers seeking through engaging in
HRM and how do their goals for HRM relate to their broader business goals? The
question that drives this chapter is not about the reasons for individual HR policies
and practices, important though they may be, but about the underpinning object-
ives of employers. In terms of the ‘level of analysis’ involved, the focus is on goals
that characterize whole employing units: that is,Wrms or, where these are diver-
siWed and devolved in labor management, business units, or establishments within
them. This unit of analysis should not, however, be seen as implying thatWrms are
somehow isolated islands. The chapter will lay emphasis on the fact that employer
goals are inevitably aVected by the sectoral and societal contexts within whichWrms
operate.
The task is a diYcult one: at this level of analysis, research shows that the goals of
HRM are often implicit (Gratton et al. 1999 ; Purcell and Ahlstrand 1994 ). Only the
largestWrms tend to have formal or explicit goal statements for their overall HR
strategy. Even when they do, we need to be careful in taking them at face value. In
HRM, aspirational rhetoric may mask a more opportunistic and pragmatic reality