ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the development from a Universalist approach of Human Resource Management (HRM) to an increasingly contextualized understanding of HRM. The Universalist approach, also known as the best practice school, is interested in defining best HRM practices that will ultimately lead to better performance of the company. In contrast to the Universalist approach, the contingency approach, also labelled best fit school argues that in order to create value for the organization, the HRM system needs to fit its context. Society, country, industry and the organization are considered as a suitable context for the HRM system. Social context is represented by social environments in the language of system theory or, in the language of stakeholder theory, stakeholders. The chapter outlines the developments of a more comprehensive understanding of the goals of HRM. HR strategy content is concerned with the actual strategies that the organization adopts, while HR strategy process refers to the process by which the strategy is developed.
