Changing Roles of Human Resources in the

21st Century
Bhatti Venkatesh t

The concept of modern management is primarily concerned with the

planning and development of human resources. The man behind the
machine has rightly become the focus of attention with a Sense of
responsibility to make the most of the skills, experience and initiative to its
employees.

In the fast paced world of the 21" century, business as the management
of business portfolios, leads to mergers, splits, redesigning, restructuring,
finding synergies and achieving targeted values hinge on an effective
executive. In such a climate, optimizing human and intellectual capital is the
biggest challenge the organization faces.

The article focuses on the issues and concerns faced by the HR department
of the organization nationally and globally, which is being triggered off by
the changing scenario of the business environment. It also talks about how
the organization is grappling with the concerns of hiring the best talent in
order to sustain its hold in the competitive level of the organizational race.

Introduction have been changing with time and what

was a fine solution yesterday may no
\Ve have heard that "time moves on longer be valid tomorrow. It can now be
steadily and relentlessly". Then how is that said that we have moved to the era of
with the new millennium we need to not just change, but an accelerated rate of
review the challenges for the Human change. As compared to the past, the 21"
Resource (HR) function in an century organizations are getting to be
organization? Has it take a dramatic turn, globally market-driven ones with "invest
or is it because the start of the century is anywhere and share everywhere" concept.
a very convenient milestone to take The impact of e-cornrnerce with rapidly
stock? The threats facing the organization changing InfoTech (IT) will similarly

t Bharti Venkatesh is a faculty member in the Maulana .vzad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

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 Changing Roles of HHmal1 ResoHrces in the 21st CentHry

transform traditional business structures life giving element' in every organization

dramatically even smaller organizations which, as he asserts, plays a critical role in
will not be immune. the desired transformation of 'the resources
ofprodudion'into 'real produaion'.
However, developing an effective human
resource ptan is not as simple as HRM has a pivotal role in developing the
developing a number of charts or capabilities and capacity of the
spreadsheets. This exercise needs a broad organization, therefore, the importance of
range of activities including image HR in an organization cannot be
building, recruiting, developing job overemphasized. The economis t Alfred
descriptions, goal setting, performance Marshal wrote in his book Principles of
management, etc. Such a plan needs to be Economics that most of valuable of all
formulated for a long-term vision. capital is vested in the human resources.
However, in all cases it is advisable that Therefore, the caliber and quality of the
strategy needs to be developed with the workforce in general, and .the higher level
managers in particular, determine the
current business scenario and with "best
quality and caliber of the organization
practices".
itself. If those men who run the
HR has a significant role to play in organization are incapable, inefficient,
establishing and maintaining a healthy and unsuitable, the organization will never be
productive work culture. All activities able to get off the ground.
from staffing to superannuation are The success of an organization largely
carried out by the human resource depends on how its human resources
department. Therefore, HR means have been developed over a period of
improving effectiveness in terms of time and it is necessary that an
better productivity, reduction of cost, organization makes its own assessment
generating of internal resources, profits through which one can evaluate the
and better customer services to achieve progress made on the human side over a
the objectives of the organization. period of time. The term human
resources, from the organizational point
Impertance of Human Resource of view can be defined as the total
The concept of modern management is knowledge, skills, creativeness, effective
primarily concerned with the planning and and efficient decision making abilities,
development of HR. The man behind the talents, values, beliefs, attitudes and
commitment of individuals and groups
machine has rightly become the focus of
involved in and concerned with an
attention with a sense of responsibility to
organization.
make the most of the skills, experience
and initiative of its employees. Manager - Management of human resources includes
good or bad - is unthinkable without guiding human resources into a dynamic
personnel. Peter Drucker is right when he organization that attains its objectives.
calls 'personnel' as the only 'efynamiu and the However, there is a common view that

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 Changing Roles of Human Resources in the 21st Century

management has the process of getting and evaluation the results are based on
things done through other people. Infact, human capabilities, comprise team
it is said that all management is personnel building, team management, motivating
management as it deals with human the people and identifying them to utilize
beings. Thus, the attainment of objectives their potential. HR focuses on
of human resource management strengthening the process capabilities
significantly depends upon the including superior-subordinate
development of human resources. relationship at every level, team work,
(Drucker, 1994). in ter-departrnen tal and in ter-ream
What is Human Resource? collaboration and organizational culture.

Human Resource (HR) is continuous In short, we can say that the HR is a

development of employees that make dynamic process that involves the
them effective for refinement of the development of enabling capabilities of
employees in relation to different
organization for achieving excellence. In
organizational tasks, functions and roles.
the context of industrial organization the
HR relates only to the professional and Objectives and Scope of HR
career growth of the employees. In a
broader sense, the HR can be defined as As defined by Prof. Udai Pareek and T.V
'a planned adiviry Jor overall growth oj an Rao, HR works for the following
individual or a group of individuals by providing objectives:
them with relevant practical Ieaming experience. ' 1. To provide a comprehensive
HR performs functions such as framework and methods for the
development of human resources in
manpower, planning, recruitment,
an organization.
selection and compensation, performance
appraisal, training and career planning for 2. To facilitate systematic information
overall organizational development. If on human resources for the purpose
any organization wants to grow rapidly of manpower, planning, placement,
with necessary qualities to become more succession planning, etc.
effective, it is only possible by HR. HR
activities are capable of changing the 3. To increase the capabilities of an
situation in the organization by organization to recruit, retain and
developing employees through motivate talented employees and use
motivation, attitude, learning, perception, their capabilities to a fuller extent to
maximize the convergence of
thinking and performance of an
individual and organizational goals.
individual.
4. To create a climate that enables
Managerial capabilities which include the
every employee to discover,
ability to plan, organize resources,
develop and use his/her capabilities
coordinating efforts and then monitoring
to a fuller extent, in order to further

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 Changing Roles of Human Resources in the 21st Century

both individual and organizational 3. Helping in the congruence of

goals. individual aspirations and
organizational expectations.
In achieving these objectives, the
important components of human 4. Promoting collaboration and team
resource like performance appraisal, spirit by establishing a climate of
potential appraisal, career planning and trust, openness, mutually and inter-
development systems, feedback and dependence.
counseling, training, reinforcement,
manc11gement information systems, etc., The above mentioned policies and
are helpful. These components have been practices should cover the different
concerned with management of the aspects of the role of human resource in
organization's human resources in the strategic planning, performing,
following: developing, processes and change agent.

1. Personnel administration Planning Role

2. Smooth functioning of industrial Human resource plays a meaningful role

activities in human resource planning, career
planning, and succession planning and
3. Human relations management development in the strategic
planning exercise of a company.
4. Organizational culture
Organizations which plan their activities -
Role of HR both for short-term as well as long-term
goals - manage to be proactive and
HR plays a pivotal role in improving remain viable and alive. On the other
productivity and competitiveness of the hand, where there is no proper planning,
organization. It should have a meaningful the organization fritters away its energy
human resources management system as and resources in constantly fire-fighting
its base. However, most of the expert from a reactive mode.
analyzes the role of HR in organizations
as development of entire human Performing Role
resources available in the organization to
The performing role of HR covers
its full potential. By emphasizing the
selection and recruitment process by
human resources development which
developing the effective methods for the
needs to play an effective role in the
betterment of the organization. After the
following:
selection process is over, next
1. Optimizing the human resources. concentration is on induction. In induction
the right people are placed at the right
2. Enabling the employees to grow jobs to ensure effective human resource
with the organization. planning. Induction system should be

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 Changing Roles of Human Resources in the 21st Cmtury

maintained through proper training for Process Role

smooth functioning of the organization.
Thereafter, human resources system is to The human resource is an integrated
make sure that good people are recruited, function and is closely linked to all people
properly inducted, placed and retained in related issues. In order to maintain
the organization through attractive excellence, the process role of human
remuneration packages. resources should aim at creating a
conducive atmosphere in which people
For this purpose, performance appraisal can trust each other, discuss issues with
has been used as a control mechanism for openness, establish mutuality and develop
salary administration, rewards, team spirit and be innovative.
promotions and punitive actions. A good
human resources system must address Change Agent's Role
itself to evolving an appraisal system Human resource has a crucial role to play
where the developmental aspects should in determining the organization's strategy
be brought into sharper focus. The to manage the change as a proactive
appraisal system, while providing scope measure. As a change agent's role two
for a linkage with the reward system, major changes are expected:
should focus on:
(a) Behavioral change: Leonard
• Objective assessment of Nadler has defined that human
performance resource brings behavioral change of
• Potential assessment employees through improvement in
knowledge, skills and attitude.
• Training and development needs
(b) Structural Change: In structural
Developing Role
change we would include
Developing role motivates people for development of human resources,
sustaining excellence. The HR systems development of total organizational
must provide linkage of reward with health, improving decision making
performance which will encourage and skills, developing diagnos tic
maintain good performance. To maintain capabilities and developing a healthy
effectiveness for the long term human and open system to ensure
resource planning, the very important optimization of all resources
function of human resources (pareek, 1998, & Monappa, 1997).
development is to continuously develop
Strategic Trends in HR
people - as individuals and in their roles
in the organization. Fully developed Attracting, recruiting and retaining the
people initiate their abilities to maintain the most highly qualified people will enable an
competitive environment of the organization to respond to constantly
organization. changing customer needs and fiercely

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 Chtl1lging Robs of Human Resollrces in the 21st Centllry

competitive environment. Organization is organizational transformation, it brings

driven by to drivers of change viz., the about a whole gamut of change within
external environment and the internal the organization structure as well as in
environment. These drivers of changes managerial role. The following figure
create ripples of turbulence within the depicts the organizational transformation:
organization. Also when there is

Exhibit 1: Organization Transformation

Organization Growth

Size

Transformation in Transformation in
Organization structure in managerial roles

• The growth of an organization necessitates changes both in the organization

structure and managerial roles.

• The structure of the organization depends upon the strategies of the

organization, which in turn arises out of the organization's interface with the
business environment.

• The managerial roles are designed keeping in mind the designed structure and
management practices.

*Unpublished mnsultanry report

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 Changing Roles of Human Resosrces in the 21st Century

\Vhen the organization grows in terms of organizational structure as well as changes

size and turnover, it may acquire new in the managerial and corporate roles. In
technology and the people in the short, the entire organizational hierarchy
organization also grow along with the and matrix undergo drastic changes. Such
organization. During such a period of changes are showed in the following
time, there are also changes in the figure:

Exhibit 2: Changes in Organizational Structure

I Organization Growth
I
I Size
I
Transformation in Transformation in
organization structure in managerial roles
..I.. I I
Global
I I
-:
Institutional

<,
Matrix
organizational

Mammoth
I I
-:
Organizational
Divisional
<, Large
Corporate

I I Policy formulation
Functional
<,
I
l\Iedi~m
I
-: Strategy
implementation

Departmental .> I Small I <, Job, Task,

I I performance

• Organization grows from small, medium, mammoth to global.

• With growth, the organization changes from departmental, functional, and divisional to
matrix.
• At the managerial level, new dimensions of roles get added from a job and task
performance, to participation in policy formulation and strategy implementation to
corporate to organizational and institutional.
* Unpublished t'onsultanq report
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 Chtl1lging Robs of HlIman Resollrces in the 21st Centllry

For such changes which happen due to from its potential to leverage knowledge
transition in the external as well as internal from within (unpublished consultancy
environment and also due to growth in report).
size of the organization, new levels and
hierarchy are inducted, then effectively In our globalized economy, this
managing the relationship with the people knowledge, which lies in the expertise of
in the organization will become the key individuals, is becoming increasingly
to any organization's success. Today's dispersed. This raises the challenge of
leading organizations are rethinking and how to implement integrated HR and
changing their approach to people who knowledge management systems in
are the most valuable resources in an Intranet Technology and user-friendly
organization. For such a reason, HR software applications that can be assessed
management is moving form a centrally by anyone, anywhere.
driven approach to one where dialogue Changes Faced by HR in the New
with individuals is taking place. Research Millennium
has shown there is a direct correlation
between employee empowerment, We have all along heard that 'time moves on
customer satisfaction and bottomline steadify and relentlessfy ~ Then how is it that
benefits. Only through the people in the in new millennium we need to review the
organization contribution and keeping challenges for the HR functions in
them aware of what they need to know organizations? Has it taken a dramatic
the organization will be able to leverage turn, or is it because the start of the
the power of business to gain a century is a very convenient milestone to
competitive edge. take stock? However, such milestones not
only show how far and in what direction
However, HRM is no longer about we are progressing, but it also give the
mapping staff - related processes in distance to our destination, are often
complex organization. Today, it is about excellent anchors to take time off to re-
building new models in which people can examine the future course of action.
be managed and can manage themselves
- to meet future challenges. Concepts The threats facing the organization have
such as knowledge management, been changing with time and what was a
employability, intellectual capital and fine solution today may no longer be valid
employee self-service are the basic by tomorrow; It can now be said that the
foundation for building a strong, thriving organizations have moved to the era of
organization. In the past, sizeable not just change, but an accelerated rate of
investments in software and infrastructure change. As compared to the past, the
have enabled organizations to streamline 21st century organization are getting to be
organization processes. Today, an globally market driven ones with invest
organization's ability to create value does anywhere and share everywhere concept.
not come from its tangible assets, but The impact of e-cornmerce with rapidly

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 Changing RoleJ of Human Resources in the 21,.t Century

changing information technology will acquiring new competencies in the face of

similarly transform conventional business increasingly complex work (\Vebsite).
structures dramatically - even smaller
organizations will not be immune. These However, HR professionals are called
will demand a totally different type of upon to assume four key roles:
HR strategy and intervention, which in 1. Strategic: Aligning human resources,
turn arises the need of HR renewal strategies and practices with
(parikh, 2002). organization strategy.
Why Do We Need HR Renewal? 2. Functional: Designing and delivering
such organizational processes as
The need for renewal of the HR has
staffing, classification, compensation,
been evident for some time. There is a
performance managemen t and
shortage of skilled HR professionals as a
training.
result of downsizing and little recruitment
over the last few years. HR professionals 3. Relations with people: Striving to
have been key players in the understand and fulfill organization
implementation of downsizing and needs.
restructuring initiatives, and the last few
years have taken their toll on the well- 4. Agent of Change: Serving as a
being of the people in the organization as catalyst and identifying and
expectations and workload demands have implementing processes for change.
(Venkatesh, 2006).
increased. The role of the HR
professionals is also changing and the HR HR management has become a priority
professionals require support to help and is being recognized as a key element
them adapt to those transitions. to business success. The role of HR
Transition in the Role of HR professionals has evolved significantly -
Professional from a traditional and transactional role as
administrators and guardian of policies -
Having discussed the role of HR earlier to a more strategic and result-oriented
(see Role of HR) it has now become role as partners with line managers.
increasingly important for the HR However, HR is expected to take on
professional to bring about change in more business-like and service-oriented
their role. With the entrance into the approach to discharge traditional HR
knowledge era, HR work has become responsibilities as well as a more
much more important and complex than proactive and informed role in the
it has been in the past. HR has to evolve business of the organization with more
in order to meet new challenges. emphases on planning, change
However, HR has made significant management, strategic advice and
progress in repositioning, in enhancing participation in organization decisions
professionalism in the organization and (parikh, 2002).

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 Changing Roles of Hyman Resources in tbe 21st CentH,:r

To Sum Up therefore, will have to compete for the

key people who will determine their
The role of HR is becoming increasingly future success. In view of this, the HR
more pivotal in the 21" century. As department must lead in aligning the
organizations face stiff market and other organizations staff with rapidly changing
external pulls and pushes, the HR will corporate goals, while proactively finding
become the most crucial source for the right people for the right job in order
managing future challenges. With the to deliver the right objectives.
demand for quality, HR is expanding the
supply will decline. Organizations,

Sources

• Drucker, Peter F. "The Practice of

Management", London:
• Parikh, Indira, "War for Talent -
HR Challenges of our Times",
Mackmillan, 1994. Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, 2002.
• Monappa, A. "Managing Human
Resources", Delhi: Macmillan India, • Unpublished consultancy report.
1997.
• Venkatesh, Bharti,."The Passion for
• Pareek, Udai, "Pioneering Human
Resources Development,"
Excellence - An HR Perspective"
Reader's Shelf Magazine, 2006.
Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad Academy
of Human Resources Development, • Website
1998.

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Items Description of Module
Subject Name Management
Paper Name HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Module Title CHANGING ROLE OF HRM IN INDIA
Module ID Module
Pre-Requisites Understanding the role of HRM in India
Objectives To study the changing role of HRM in India
Keywords Talent Crunch, Employee referrals, Employee welfare
 QUADRANT –III

1. Module : 8; CHANGING ROLE OF HRM IN INDIA

2. Web links
3. Suggested readings
4. Did you know?

Did you know?

1. Module 8: Changing role of HRM in India

2. Web links
https://www.projectguru.in/publications/the-changing-role-of-human-resources-
management/
http://www.whatishumanresource.com/changing-role-of-hrm
http://gbr.sagepub.com/content/3/1/139.abstract
http://www.beyondtalent.co.in/pdf/96-99-Human-Resource-Barkat-Charania-Nov-
13.pdf

3. Suggested readings
 Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, Samir R.Chaterjee
 Human Resource Development and Management, Biswanath Ghosh
 Human Resource Management, S.P.Singh
 Human Resource Management, Pravin Durai
 Strategic Human Resource Management, Rajib R.Lochan

4. Did you know?

 Chanakya’s Arthãshastra had three key areas of exploration, 1) public policy, 2)
administration and utilization of people, and 3) taxation and accounting
principles.
 Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he had to
fight. To motivate him the Krishna told him to do his duty.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW
2020, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 1–5
https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1645876

EDITORIAL

Changing role of HRM in the public sector

HRM refers to how employees are managed and one of the main functions of this
discipline is the role of ‘employee champion’ (Ulrich 1997), however, this role has changed
significantly in the public sector over the past two decades, especially for professionals.
Professionals differ from other types of employees because of their expertise knowledge
and skills, and consequently have more discretionary power in the workplace. The
implementation of New Public Management (NPM) reforms was not uniform, although
some similar changes have emerged in relation to the impact on professionals generally.
The aim of the special issue was to document our understanding of professionalism ‘under
crisis’ and to build on a platform of established research that highlighted some of the
emerging challenges facing public sector professionals as we move towards the 2020s. Prior
to exploring the impact of the changes in HRM on public service professionals it is
important to consider the environment/s in which they are compelled to engage with.
Therefore before introducing the papers contained within this special issue it is appro-
priate to set the scene in which the policies, practices and events discussed are put into
context. This editorial briefly explores the evolution of public policy, public management
and HRM in public services, particularly those changes impacting on public service
professionals given it is 15 years since the last special issue of Public Management Review
focusing on HR issues in the public sector was published (Beattie and Osborne 2004, 2007).
The past 15 years have seen considerable change across public policy, public manage-
ment practice and HRM. In terms of public policy, particularly at the national level we have
witnessed a global drift to the political right. Such political philosophies tend to promulgate
a smaller state with less state ‘interference’ in the everyday lives of their citizens and
businesses. Therefore, we tend to see a retrenchment in the public sector workforce,
particularly with civil servants at national level. Whilst in many cases this has been
evolutionary there have been seismic changes in the public policy arena across a number
of countries. There is perhaps limited surprise at recent events in Turkey, where public
servants, including academia, the police and judiciary have been accused and in some cases
even imprisoned on the basis of being suspected of challenging the Erdogan regime.
Likewise, in Latin America the disputed election in Venezuela has brought much state
activity to a standstill affecting services to its citizens and the employment of its public
servants. Whilst acknowledging the severity of the consequences for the people and public
servants of these countries, they have had a long history of political instability, however
there were two political events of seismic proportions in 2016 which we would not have
predicted in 2004.
The first of these was the unexpected and narrow decision of the people of the UK to vote
to leave the European Union; not even the proposers of the leave campaign expected to win.
The then Cameron Government, which had supported the Remain campaign, were also

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 EDITORIAL

unprepared for this result to such an extent that little if any scenario planning had been
undertaken in the event of such an outcome. Consequently, the UK civil service, which had
been significantly reduced in terms of capacity and capability, as a result of previous and
ongoing government austerity measures, was put very much as a disadvantage when
negotiating with the highly skilled and well resourced EU negotiators. In terms of impact
on HRM, whilst there has been much discussion in the media and in political circumstances
about the overall effect BREXIT may have on employment there has been little discussion
on the impact on UK staff, most of whom are in professional roles, who currently work for
the European Commission (the EU’s civil service). However, one can assume that some of
their experiences are similar to UK MEPs who have been living with the uncertainty of the
actual departure date from the EU, which impacts on their daily lives e.g. some politicians
have moved, at great expense, into hotels as it is difficult to renew leases on property when
there is no fixed date. A key question is what outplacement support is going to be in place
for UK European public servants.
The second event which would have been deemed unlikely in 2004 was the election of
Donald Trump, a Republican, following the Democratic presidency of Barack Obama
which had seen liberalisation in policy areas such as healthcare and significant engagement
with foreign affairs. The Republicans, in recent times, have been seen as the small state
party aiming to reduce the influence of the federal government on citizens’ lives. Alongside
this has been Trump’s rallying call ‘to make America great again’ which has signalled
a more inward-looking USA compared to the Obama administration. A key strand of
Trump’s policy, which we also see in other centre-right governments, is to reduce
immigration, particularly from bordering Mexico. It is here where there has been
a significant clash between public policy and HRM as a result of Trump’s desire to build
a wall between the USA and Mexico. As a result of a stand-off with Congress over the
funding for the wall in late 2018 President Trump took the decision to temporarily close
down much of the Federal Government, including the Department of Homeland Security
potentially leaving the USA vulnerable to attacks. As a consequence many federal employ-
ees went unpaid over the festive season, and some had to resort to use food banks to feed
their families. Yet despite this there were reports of federal employees, including the TSA,
reporting for duty despite not receiving pay thus exemplifying their ‘professionalism’.
Although the above two cases are not explored in depth in this special issue they have
been highlighted here to show the vulnerability and precariousness of public service
employment, which traditionally had been perceived as a job for life, can be significantly
affected by political changes, particularly where this is a change in government. It will be
interesting to see if Denmark’s newly elected centre-left minority government led by
Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen will spark a move away from the centre-right.
Her government has emphasised traditional values of the centre-left e.g. increased
support for social welfare. However, to be electable she has continued with similar
tough immigration policies as her centre-right predecessors and other centre-right
governments elsewhere, which could have a significant negative impact on the labour
market supply, as being witnessed in the UK as a consequence of BREXIT. The role of
immigration, public policy and HRM could in itself be a future special issue of this
journal.
In terms of public management the shift to centre-right government proved to be fertile
territory for governments to enact New Public Management (NPM) to varying degrees,
particularly during periods of genuine economic austerity following the Global Financial
Crisis of 2008 (e.g. UK, Greece) or imposed political austerity (e.g. Australia). NPM also
 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW 3

promulgated the reduction of the public sector e.g. in the UK we have witnessed the
transfer of many social care services, e.g. care of the elderly, to the private and third sectors.
However, in recent years there has been an increasing recognition that some aspects of
NPM have been too harsh and have not taken sufficient account of the needs of individual
citizens and communities. Even as early as 2006 PMR (Osborne 2006) published articles
relating to ‘New Public Governance’ which amongst other partnership working involves
end users in some of or all of the co-creation, co-production and co-delivery of services in
areas such as health, social care, housing and community planning. In HRM terms this
requires an additional skills set for public servants, such as social workers, housing
managers, healthcare workers and planners to enable them to work as partners with
local communities rather than acting as a detached ‘expert’. This requires ‘street level
bureaucrats’ to not only learn about their specialist skills area, but also to learn more
generic skills around diversity, inclusion, negotiation and influencing. Examples of this
have been seen recently in the Scottish Health Service where patients and carers’ groups
have worked alongside clinicians and architects/designers to create several new hospital
buildings. However, it should be noted that NPG is still in its early days and many
remnants of NPM remain, particularly around performance management.
With regards to HRM in public services the first critical point to note is that HRM is
significantly under-researched compared to corporate HRM, whilst in practice centre-
right politicians thought ‘business’ models of HRM would ‘fix’ the public sector without
taking account of the different cultures and public service ethos of many public servants.
This special issue is an attempt to address this gap as is a forthcoming book by Beattie and
Waterhouse (forthcoming) to be published by Routledge. Another key difference is that
public service organisations tend to be more pluralistic than corporate organisations with
a wider range of stakeholders to satisfy including: national government, elected or
nominated members, professional organisations, trade unions, key client groups and
the wider public. Such a range of stakeholders is challenging for public sector leaders to
manage as power is not equal between stakeholders, power is also dynamic in particular
shifting as different coalitions emerge depending on issues. At the start of the 21st century
‘empowerment’ was one of the key HRM buzzwords, however it has been superseded by
employee engagement, a more substantial and widespread policy, although actual prac-
tice varies. The role of employee engagement is particularly pertinent to professionals as
their ‘loyalties’ may be split between their organisation, profession and end-users, and
has been extensively explored by Brunetto et al. (2015, 2018) in health and policing
(Brunetto et al. 2017), such variations in engagement can have a profound impact on
organisational commitment, job satisfaction and employee health and wellbeing. The
employee engagement agenda requires much in terms of the leadership qualities of those
responsible for leading professionals who themselves may have varied agendas.
When PMR last had a special issue on HRM the topics and countries involved were
fairly mainstream. NPM countries and topics including: a comparative analysis of
corporate and public further education in France; a comparative analysis of Strategic
HRM in Australian corporate and public sector healthcare services; NPM and the UK
Police Service; the relationship between communication and change in a large Australian
public organisation; work-life balance in Scottish public and third sector organisations;
and, partnership working in the UK health and social care sector as part of the ‘Third
Way’ policy. These articles represented the topical issues of 2004 and had a significant
focus on professional staff, however the papers were limited to a small number of
western-centric countries. A challenge to our readers is whether or not this new special
4 EDITORIAL

issue demonstrates an evolution or revolution of public service HRM, although of even

greater importance is whether it does reflect the reality of challenges facing HRM in the
public sector, and do the respective authors offer a way forward. We know turn to the
specific challenges facing today’s public sector professionals. A significant theme over the
past two decades is that when professionals become managers they face the ambiguous
problem of having two masters – the organization and the profession, resulting in often
competing agendas at play (Noordegraaf 2015). This is because the implementation of
NPM was often underpinned by an austerity agenda which shaped the type of reforms
implemented and in some cases led to HRM being complicit in the rise of excessive
workloads, work intensification, work harassment and bullying across countries – the
exact opposite of the role of ‘employee champion’. In this special issue, Nguyen et al.
examines the issues of workplace negative acts on Vietnamese public sector professionals
and identified the negative implications of the lack of support given to professionals.
Similarly, Grima et al. examines the impact of coping measures used by French physi-
cians in response to excessive workloads. Additionally, Wankhade et al. examined the
impact of the issue of work intensification of English Ambulance Services. These types of
papers are increasing and suggests that HRM managers have become nothing more than
the ‘long arm’ of managers chasing financial targets. It also suggests that HRM scholars
have failed to influence management practices in a positive way and instead have allowed
the drive towards austerity-led government provision of services to flourish without
adequately challenging it.
On the other hand, there have been some positive changes in HRM over the past
decade. There has been a movement away from ‘hard’ to ‘soft’ HRM, although, this
transition has been slow in relation to the management of professionals. An example
of a slow, but positive change is examined by Kravariti and Johnston who undertook
an extensive analysis of the talent management literature to identify the issues
involved in transferring such practices to the public sector. Whilst the evidence of
such practices was limited, it does suggest that positive frameworks for identifying
new talent are emerging. Another positive change in HRM is the focus on managers
being effective leaders, at least in terms of research. Løkke and Krøtel used
a longitudinal study of 335 Danish municipal leaders, 94 supervisors and 4,449,
employees to evaluate leadership quality and found that those leaders who over
estimate their value, also had the highest level of absenteeism. Such robust tools
could give governments more control over poor management practices. Similarly,
Kruyen et al. identified new competencies required by public servants that span not
only skills required to negotiate the public sector of the past; but also the public
sector of the future.
The final paper – Trinchero et al., based on Italian research, introduces a new
factor that may improve the wellbeing and safety of public sector employees.
Psychological Capital, whilst in itself not a new construct, it is a new variable
identified in Positive Organizational Behaviour that provides a buffer for profes-
sionals in coping with the negative consequences of stress. After two decades of
reform, the evidence is mounting that when austerity has shaped NPM changes, the
outcome has been the erosion of organizational support for professionals and
a growing acceptance of chronic levels of work intensity that are simply unsustainable
long term. On the other hand, the role of HRM could be to increase training in
personal resources such as Psychological Capital so that employees can cope with
 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REVIEW 5

stress without compromising their wellbeing, engagement and safety, and would
complement the growth of New Public Governance.
The papers suggest a need for HRM researchers and practitioners to ‘gain their voice’
and find new ways of becoming the ‘employee’s champion, rather than the ‘rubber stamp’
of the board room. The papers also have a wider geographical spread than the previous
special issue in PMR, whilst France and the UK still feature, there is representation also
from Southern and Nordic Europe, in the cases of Italy and Denmark. The editors
particularly welcome the inclusion of a paper from Vietnam, giving some representation
to the developing world. We may also be witnessing, albeit tentatively, the beginning of
the public sector pendulum swinging from hard to soft(er) HRM, particularly in the
context of New Public Governance. Whilst pleased with the quality and range of papers
submitted for this edition and despite the inclusion of the paper from Vietnam, the
editors regret the ongoing under-representation of developing countries, particularly
those from BRICS and MINT categories, in public management and HRM research. We
make a plea to public management/HRM academics to address this gap, as many of these
countries e.g. Bangladesh, have young and rapidly growing populations. This we suggest
could be the subject of another special issue.

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Yvonne Brunetto
School of Business & Tourism, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Australia
[email protected]
Rona Beattie
Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK