be to ‘create firms which are more intelligent and flexible than their
competitors’ (Boxall, 1996) by hiring and developing more talented staff and
by extending their skills base.
Schuler (1992) states that:
Strategic human resource management is largely about integration and adap-
tation. Its concern is to ensure that: (1) human resources (HR) management is
fully integrated with the strategy and strategic needs of the firm; (2) HR policies
cohere both across policy areas and across hierarchies; and (3) HR practices are
adjusted, accepted and used by line managers and employees as part of their
everyday work.As Dyer and Holder (1988) remark, strategic HRM provides ‘unifying frame-
works which are at once broad, contingency based and integrative’. The
rationale for strategic HRM is the perceived advantage of having an agreed
and understood basis for developing and implementing approaches to
people management that take into account the changing context in which the
firm operates and its longer-term requirements. It has been suggested by
Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall (1988, 1990) that underlying this rationale
in a business is the concept of achieving competitive advantage through
HRM.
When considering the aims of strategic HRM it is necessary to address the
issue of the extent to which HR strategy should take into account ethical
considerations – the interests of all the stakeholders in the organization and
employees in general, as well as owners and management and the responsi-
bilities of the organization to the wider community.
In Storey’s (1989) terms ‘soft strategic HRM’ will place greater emphasis
on the human-relations aspect of people management, stressing continuous
development, communication, involvement, security of employment, the
quality of working life and work–life balance. ‘Hard strategic HRM’ on the
other hand will emphasize the yield to be obtained by investing in human
resources in the interests of the business. Strategic HRM should attempt to
achieve a proper balance between the hard and soft elements. All organiza-
tions exist to achieve a purpose, and they must ensure that they have the
resources required to do so and that they use them effectively. But they
should also take into account the human factors contained in the concept of
soft strategic HRM. In the words of Quinn Mills (1983) they should plan with
people in mind, taking into account the needs and aspirations of all the
members of the organization. The problem is that hard considerations in
many businesses will come first, leaving soft ones some way behind.
Organizations must also consider their responsibilities to society in
general on the grounds that because they draw resources from society they
must give back to society. The exercise of corporate social responsibility,
36 l The conceptual framework of strategic HRM