ABSTRACT
Our starting point is that the management of human resources (HRM) is essentially an Anglo-Saxon construct. It has been ‘grafted on’ rather than ‘taken root’ in Continental Europe, where the classic HRM functions-recruitment, socialisation, training, development-are rather more determined by different conceptions of management, underpinned by related values. These same underlying beliefs and assumptions also colour the varied approaches which are taken to the making of managers in these countries. The purpose of this article is to throw the different European approaches to management development into sharp relief first by making the contrast with the American situation clear and then by drawing out the differences within Europe-most notably France and Germany.
