ABSTRACT
It is apparent from the discussions in this chapter that there is no easy route to measuring the contribution of HRM, either at a domestic or particularly at an international level. Two distinct approaches were considered. The first examined attempts to prove a link between people management practices and organizational performance. From an international perspective, the need to take into account the impact of differing social, cultural, legal, political and economic contexts cautions against the acceptance of the universalist philosophy of both the best practice and configurational schools of thought. This chapter calls for a clear delineation of the impact of internal and external variables in studies of the impact of HRM on organizational performance. The second approach focused on methods of evaluation of the contribution of the HR function itself. The contextual nature of most of the methods to assess performance in this area helps prevent the problems associated with the universalistic approach but, once again, the criticality of taking into account the perspective of different stakeholders within an international context is highlighted. Despite the complexity inherent in this area, it is clear that organizations are requiring ever more explicit statements of the exact nature of the contribution of the global HRM function – a requirement that will push both the research agenda and practical organizational initiatives forward.
