Human resource management in a quality context: some Irish evidence
| Date | 01 June 1997 |
| Pages | 193-207 |
| Published date | 01 June 1997 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425459710176945 |
| Author | Kathy Monks,Finian Buckley,Anne Sinnott |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
HRM in a
quality context
193
Human resource management
in a quality context: some
Irish evidence
Kathy Monks, Finian Buckley and Anne Sinnott
Dublin City Univeristy Business School, Dublin, Ireland
Introduction
This article considers the implications for both the human resource (HR)
function and for human resource practices of the changes wrought within
companies involved in the implementation of quality initiatives. Quality has
become a key issue for companies seeking competitive advantage and recent
research indicates that a focus on the HR implications of these quality
initiatives, although frequently a neglected dimension, may be critical to their
long-term success (Powell, 1995). The article begins by first considering some of
the international literature on the impact of quality programmes on the HR
function in particular and on HR practices in general. The evidence available on
changes taking place in Ireland is then considered and the findings of the
research are reported.
Quality and HR: some international evidence
The contribution of the human resource function
Involvement in quality initiatives has been seen as offering the HR department
the potential to become either a high-ranking, well-regarded player in strategic
decision making or an out-moded outcast, with responsibilities taken over by
line management. For example, a 1993 report by the Institute of Personnel
Management (IPM) provides the results of a study which considered the role of
HR practitioners in the successful implementation and maintenance of quality
management programmes. The research identified four roles that practitioners
may play. These range from strategic, high profile, “change agent” to
operational, low profile, “facilitator” activities and can encompass a large
number of very different types of contributions to all stages of the quality
programme. The report argues that “HR participation is not optional – it is an
essential component if quality management is to reach its full potential” (p. 66),
but also suggests that “quality management can result in a change in the way in
which the human resource management (HRM) function operates and possibly
in a redefinition of the role of the function” (pp. 66-7). There is the possibility of
the HR function gaining a more strategic role as a result of involvement in
quality initiatives (Wilkinson and Marchington, 1995), and a strongly held view
that “the implementation of a TQM strategy cannot happen without HR’s
leadership” (Hart and Schlesinger, 1991, p. 434). But Cowling and Newman (1995)
in a study of two banks found that their HR departments did not emerge with Employee Relations,
Vol. 19 No. 3, 1997, pp. 193-207.
© MCB University Press, 0142-5455
Received October 1996
Revised December 1996
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