Will the Real HRM Please Stand Up, or the Problem with Hard Unitarism

Overview

• Discusses the concept of low-road or hard human resource management (HRM), characterized by low wages, long hours, and authoritarian management.
• Questions the legitimacy of low-road HRM as true HRM and argues for differentiating it from other HRM approaches.

Frames of Reference

• Alan Fox introduced the unitarist and pluralist frames in industrial relations, later adding a radical frame.
• John Budd adds a fourth: an individualistic, egoist frame focusing on self-interest.
• These frames help understand different HRM strategies.

Unitarist Frame of Reference

• Unitarism assumes a unity of interest between employers and employees.
• Hard Unitarism: Management commands and controls the organization, conflicting with the idea of shared interests.
• Soft Unitarism: Focuses on high-commitment policies benefiting both employees and organizations.

Critique of Hard Unitarism

• Hard unitarism as contradictory to unitarism due to its unilateral control by management.
• Often better categorized under a radical frame where relationships are conflictual and hierarchical.

Economic Perspective on Hard Unitarism

• Grounded in economics, where financial incentives align employee and employer interests.
• Criticized as it creates self-interest rather than true shared interests.

Individualistic Egoist Frame

• Proposed by Budd as a better alternative to describe hard unitarism.
• Focuses on mutual self-interest in economic transactions between employers and employees.
• Aligns with neoliberalism but distinct from unitarism, allowing for market-based HRM strategies.

Neoliberalism vs. Unitarism

• Neoliberal strategies, like wage cuts during high unemployment, align more with egoist than unitarist principles.

Implications for HRM

• Suggests redefining HRM strategies to better reflect underlying principles rather than lumping all under unitarism.
• Calls for distinguishing true HRM, aiming for shared interest alignment, from self-interested unilateral approaches.

Conclusion

• Debate on HRM strategy definitions impacts how organizations manage employees.
• Emphasizes the importance of aligning management practices with their philosophical assumptions.