Advanced Search

Human Resource Management

Contact Details

Biography

John Storey is Professor of Human Resource Management at the Open University Business School. He is Editor of the Human Resource Management Journal and a Fellow of the British Academy of Management. He is also a member of the ESRC Management, Psychology, Linguistics and Education Research College and an academic adviser to the Institute for Personnel and Development (IPD). He was formerly the Assistant Director (Research Quality) and Professor of Human Resource Management at Loughborough University Business School and, prior to that, Principal Research Fellow at the University of Warwick. He is currently heavily engaged in two ESRC research projects on the management of innovation.

He has published some 100 articles and books. His recent publications include: Blackwell Cases in Human Resource and Change Management (Blackwell, 1996); Human Resource Management: A Critical Text (Routledge, 1995); New Wave Manufacturing Strategies: Organisational and Human Resource Dimensions (Paul Chapman, 1994); Developments in the Management of Human Resources (Blackwell, 1992); Managing Human Resources and Industrial Relations (with Keith Sisson, Open University Press, 1993); and Strategic Human Resource Management (with Mabey and Salaman, Sage 1998).

Why Use the Web to Study HRM?

The central role of HRM is now recognised by practitioners and business commentators alike. From the theoretical perspective its contribution flows naturally from the kind of emphasis now given in mainstream business strategy courses to concepts such as core competences, intangible assets, intellectual capital, organisational capability and knowledge management. The whole idea of the resource based view of the firm inevitably accords a primacy to the role of people who, fundamentally, are the ultimate source of unique and hard-to-imitate capabilities. Likewise, the competitive advantage to be derived from learning also places HRM at centre stage. While business courses on corporate strategy now routinely cover such ideas in general terms, HR courses are needed in order to explore their fuller meanings, their dimensions and their complexities. The development of the Web provides students with a powerful source of information to support the study of HRM.

From a practitioner perspective, there is now plenty of hard evidence pointing to the importance of HRM interventions. For example, a survey of the UK membership of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) which asked about their priorities for skill development general management came top with 67 per cent, people management skills second at 49 per cent and then financial skills with 37 per cent. This suggests that, irrespective of function or specialism, the development of HR skills is prized highly by graduates of MBA programmes. There are many useful Web sites which will help develop these skills and others. Nearly all the significant organisations in this area have extensive Web sites, hosting information relevant to HRM and strategy, HR planning, personnel issues, training and development, health and safety and performance management.

Because of its impact on performance outcomes, HRM has a strategic role to play in business management and merits careful attention by practically all types of manager, irrespective of functional responsibilities: line managers, general managers, and many others. The concepts and frameworks which HRM can bring to the study of an MBA equip students with invaluable tools to tackle business problems with greater confidence. This chapter introduces some key areas of HRM that are particularly well served by the Web.

Human Resource Management Home | Previous | Next

MBA Home | Accounting & Finance | Business Economics | HRM | Marketing | Operations Management | Strategy