HRM AND PERFORMANCE: ETHICAL DILEMMAS 55asset, the human resources, without much consideration for their views and
without paying more than lip service to the possibility that workers are active
participants within a complex system. Questions about possible exploitation
of workers and concerns about providing them with an independent voice are
rarely considered to be a relevant part of the agenda. Herein lies the by-now-
familiar ethical dilemma of an approach that claims success by recognizing
that people are the most important asset and resource and then seeking to treat
them almost like any other inanimate resource. In a sense, therefore, human
resources are not treated as human. By neglecting the ‘good’ of the worker, it
is possible to question whether this approach can be considered ethical.
HRM exploits workers
To those unfamiliar with HRM, the preceding analysis might be viewed as
being concerned with the exploitation of workers; and of course in some
respects this is the case. However, the aim here is to draw a distinction between
arguments about ignoring workers and an approach that explicitly recognizes
the role of workers as active participants in organizational life and therefore
recognizes the challenge of managing with the consent of the managed. Rather
than being neglected, workers move centre stage with a vital part to play in the
relationship between HRM and performance.
The roots of this approach lie less in the strategic and economic perspective
of the business schools and more in the fields of organizational behaviour and
employment relations. The key early work is perhaps that of Walton (1985)
and Lawler (1987). The core point they make is that the best way to manage
workers is by involving and engaging them in the workplace. In short, what is
needed is ‘high involvement’ or high-commitment management. Where this
is implemented, it is argued, workers will respond positively by displaying the
flexibility, extra-role behaviour, and motivation that is seen as increasingly
important for the effective utilization of their knowledge and skills. This
will result in superior performance at both the individual and organizational
levels. While not denying the importance of the practices associated with high-
performance work systems, there is a rather different emphasis, for example
with respect to the practices likely to ensure motivation. This approach is also
likely to add a further set of HR practices designed to generate commitment
and involvement. These may include job security, fairness of treatment, and
extensive communication and consultation. By recognizing the importance of
workers and their reactions, it opens up the black box with a more complex
model of the relationship between HRM and performance. This has now been
widely recognized and various models incorporating this perspective have