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‘Internal Marketing’ As an Approach to Human Resource Management: A New Perspective Or A Metaphor Too Far?
Author(s) -
Hales Colin
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
human resource management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.44
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1748-8583
pISSN - 0954-5395
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-8583.1994.tb00359.x
Subject(s) - metaphor , rhetorical question , normative , perspective (graphical) , human resource management , set (abstract data type) , statement (logic) , sociology , epistemology , process (computing) , business , marketing , knowledge management , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , programming language , operating system
Colin Hales, who is a Lecturer in Management Studies at the University of Surrey, reviews the different meanings of the term ‘internal marketing’ and develops a critique of its application to the management of human resources. He argues that, while the concept has certain merits, it also has significant limitations. As a re‐statement of normative HRM, it merely re‐labels a questionable concept, while as a concept in its own right, it is ambiguous and highly rhetorical. As a metaphor, it seriously distorts the process of HRM and, as a broad approach and set of techniques, it is essentially manipulative, spuriously ‘scientific’ and riven with contradictions.