ABSTRACT
Examination of the insecurity hypothesis would be quite inadequate without studying the role played by the new Human Resource Management (HRM) rhetoric and practice at the firm level. This chapter presents the principles and principal tools of HRM and its critique and the relationship with industrial relations and personnel management. The new HRM is described as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of a firm’s most valued resource, the people working in the firm who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its goal. The evidence for HRM comes from its two leading practitioners, the United States of America and Britain. The chapter also presents the HRM scenario in India and the changes in the legislative framework for labour and summarizes the report of the Second Nation Labour Commission. Soft HRM is reflected in investments in skill training, safety measures, training-linked promotions, design of career paths, quality circles, suggestion schemes, and worker participation.
