Dear Lyd,
The answer, in short, is "to a large extent". The HRM strategies rely,
as a set of programmes and policies, on various (internal and
external) elements.
HR strategies and management is very much dependent upon the situation
in the external employment market. For example, writes an Indian site
on the issue:
"HRM requires overcoming one of its weaknesses, namely, to recognize
that the choices available to managements are governed not only by
internal but also by external considerations.?Ironically ...students
of HRM often begin with the weakening of external labour market
institutions and the liberalization of management in the firm as
necessary pre-conditions for the adoption of HRM.... The more HRM is
seen to be the preserve of each individual firm acting in isolation,
the least likely it is that HRM practices will grow and flourish in
the wider economy." (Source: Managing Change in Organizations-The HR
Way, <http://www.indiainfoline.com/bisc/hrco.html>).
Several major historical examples might be in order. The first is the
employment situation during the World War Two years (1939-1945), and
in the Post-War period. The second is the "dot.com boom" and its
effect on the market.
When an industry is in need of hiring, and there is a shortage in
qualified personnel, non-qualified or less-qualified personnel might
be hired, and non-traditional HR strategies might be applied, also in
order to keep the already-recruited personnel in the organisation.
During the WWII period, women were hired, which changed the whole
work-force. During the dot.com boom, programmers without a university
degree were hired; outsourcing and head-hunting strategies were
developed.
On the other hand, when there is a surplus in the external employment
market that could affect recruitment strategies (workers seek the
company, not otherwise), benefits offered, and much more.
Also in less turbulent periods, the external job-market has an impact
on HR strategies. Notes from a 1995 Conference on Industrial Relations
in Japan, demonstrate how all external market conditions affect the HR
strategies: "Professor Hiroyuki Chuma of Hitotsubashi University,
expounded on the merits of long-term employment practices from the
standpoint of economics. On the other hand, Professor Naohiro Yashiro
of Sophia University maintained that slower economic growth and future
tighter labour demand - supply situation will make employment more
flexible, while acknowledging the merits of long employment tenure.
Noting that the allocation mechanism of the "internal labour market"
complements the incompleteness of the external labour market, Mr.
Chuma cited, as reasons for failure of the external labour market to
function properly, difficulty in precisely measuring productivity and
work performance of workers engaged in "non-uniform" upper-level
duties and workers' not wanting major changes in wages. He thus
questioned whether a full shift of the nation's employment practices
away from the internal labour market toward the external labour market
will take place. To this, Mr.Yashiro said he "quite agrees" with
Mr.Chuma on the merits of Japanese long-term employment practices. Yet
he pointed out the fact that with a declining labour force and slower
economic growth in future years when the nation experiences a
full-fledged greying of society, enterprises will find it difficult to
maintain traditional long-term employment practices. Also, he added
that enterprises will have a hard time paying wages for two adult
persons of a single-income family and that the wage system, in step
with women's advancement into the job market, will move away from a
family-based structure toward an individual-based one."
(Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
Human Resources Management
<http://www.jil.go.jp/bulletin/year/1995/vol34-06/03.htm>).
The impact is not only, as it has already been demonstrated, in the
realm of recruitment. Decisions regarding benefits and salary are also
dependent upon internal and external market data on jobs, which is
required before the HRM makes job offers or promotes employees.
In the globalised environment this is even more intensified, as HR
strategies are "influenced and determined by a mix of internal and
external factors, including the socio-cultural characteristics of the
location in which it is situated, its organizational culture, business
and technological imperatives..." (Source: Burton, Fred, International
Business Organization: Subsidiary Management, Entry Strategies and
Emerging Markets <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312223714/qid=1069861752/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1623766-8268028?v=glance&s=books>).
This adds to the need in forecasting availability, which is intended
to enable potential sources of supply, both internal and external, to
be identified. The external environment might change your whole
assessment methods (See: Iles, p. 2). Thus, in general, there is a
great impact to the external labour market in HRM strategic
resourcing.
Further Reading
===============
Burton, Fred, 1989. International Business Organization: Subsidiary
Management, Entry Strategies and Emerging Markets
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312223714/qid=1069861752/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1623766-8268028?v=glance&s=books
Managing Staff Selection and Assessment (Managing Work and Organizations Series)
by Paul Iles
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0335190375/qid=1069861323/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1623766-8268028?v=glance&s=books>
Essentials of HRM
by Shaun Tyson (2000)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0750647159/qid=1069861752/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-1623766-8268028?v=glance&s=books>.
Human Resource Strategy : Formulation, Implementation, and Impact
by Peter A. Bamberger
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761914250/qid=1069861752/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-1623766-8268028?v=glance&s=books
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