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Paying the piper: choice and constraint in changing HR functional roles
Author(s) -
Truss Catherine,
Gratton Lynda,
HopeHailey Veronica,
Stiles Philip,
Zaleska Joanna
Publication year - 2002
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.1748-8583.2002.tb00063.x
Subject(s) - constraint (computer aided design) , set (abstract data type) , function (biology) , order (exchange) , period (music) , business , public relations , sociology , management , political science , economics , computer science , engineering , finance , aesthetics , mechanical engineering , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language , philosophy
HR directors are often exhorted to play a more ‘strategic’ role in their organisations. However, it is not necessarily clear what is meant by this, or whether it is possible for departments to change their role at a whim. In this article we examine the changing role of the HR function within two contrasting organisations – an NHS trust and a bank – over a period of seven years. Drawing on role‐set theory and concepts of negotiated order, we illustrate how HR functional roles are located within a complex and dynamic social setting, and present a model that seeks to map these interrelationships.