ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses these twin drives, towards decentralisation and devolvement, particularly in the context of the responsibility for human resource management (HRM) and issues within HRM and the resultant changes in the relationship of personnel specialists and line managers. The concentration of much research in industrial sociology, industrial relations and human resource management on the manufacturing sector which is the most decentralised may go some way towards explaining why our data shows that the decentralisation of human resource management policies is not as widespread as some commentators believe. The chapter shows that if the measure of devolvement had been restricted to the 'line management only' criteria, Spain would be with Turkey and Portugal. The former organisation might find HRM too important to be dealt with by a central staff function, whereas the latter might find it a waste of resources in the first place to invest in human resources.
