ABSTRACT
Since the early 1980s there has been a growing debate regarding the importance of human resource management (HRM). Much of this debate has provided conceptual and analytical accounts that have sought to link the presence of HRM practices with improved company performance (MacDuffie; 1995; Delaney and Huselid, 1996; Tyson, 1997). The conventional wisdom holds that the firm investing in HRM possesses a route towards high performance in which improved employee effort can become a source of sustained competitive advantage (Barney, 1991). It is through the implementation of HRM that improved employee effort can be developed whereby improved performance and value added contribute towards organizational specific human capital that is difficult for competitors to emulate precisely (Becker, 1964). In its most developed form HRM is viewed as a strategic management approach that seeks to link employee policies to business strategies that pave the way towards enhanced organizational performance (Legge, 1995). Although HRM is in essence a managerial approach, it is principally through the organizational investments in training, employee recruitment and selection, in addition to performance evaluation and career development that effective employee commitment comes to contribute towards a high performance-employment relationship.
