book Review

50 P E R S P E C T I V E S O N W O R K / 2 0 1 5

The Development of Human Resource Management Across Nations

by Bruce E. Kaufman

by J o h n W. B u d d

Congratulations to prominent LERA member and Georgia State University economics professor Bruce Kaufman for producing yet another stimulating and

important book. It is easy to think that good human resource management (HRM) practices are univer-sal. Shouldn’t all workers be carefully selected into jobs that are a good fit, provided with feedback and opportunities for development, treated with respect, and rewarded for performance?

But too much emphasis on universal best prac-tices can lead to an ethnocentric mindset in which the historical, cultural, and institution-specific aspects of HRM are underval-ued and overlooked, if not dismissed and rejected. Indeed, un-like many volumes of labor history and a variety of books com-paring industrial relations systems across countries, very little has been written about the history of HRM and its comparative patterns. Into this void steps Kaufman with an ambitious effort to bring together experts to trace the development of HRM up to the present in seventeen diverse countries.

The Development of Human Resource Man-agement Across Nations follows a one-country-per-chapter structure along with a comprehensive introduction by Kaufman that sets an appetizing table by presenting the multiple contributions of this unique edited volume. I strongly applaud the diverse set of countries included. The roster goes beyond the usual Anglo and European suspects to also include Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Israel,

Japan, Korea, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. Moreover, Kaufman intentionally relied on natives

of each country to lessen American ethnocentric perspectives and ensure access to materials written in original languages. The result is impressive, including some chapters that represent the first time that a country’s development of HRM has been published, not only in English but also in any language.

North American readers not familiar with Kaufman’s presen-tation of the history of HRM through his book Managing the Human Factor: The Early Years of Human Resource Manage-ment in American Industry (Cornell University Press, 2008) and the companion volume of case studies, Hired Hands or Human Resources? Case Studies of HRM Practices and Programs in Early American Industry (Cornell University Press, 2008), might be tempted to start with the last chapter in this volume in which Kaufman sketches the development of HRM in the United States. As in his fuller treatments, Kaufman reveals how HRM was practiced during the formative years of large-scale

The Development of Human Resource Management Across Nations: Unity and Diversity. Bruce E. Kaufman, editor. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014. 520 pp.

Bruce E. Kaufman

51P E R S P E C T I V E S O N W O R K / 2 0 1 5

American industry and also traces the trajectory of American HRM up to the present. In this way, Kaufman uncovers not only the birth of the modern HRM model, but also the origins of the central issues of the field that professionals and academics still wrestle with today.

But if you start there, certainly don’t stop there. You don’t want to miss influential incidents or phenomena like the Revolta das Panelas, the human capital stock system, “Pali! Pali!,” the Marcia dei quarantamilia, or the Stakhanov movement. More substantively, you shouldn’t miss the commonalities (all organi-zations manage people in one way or another), but even more so, the unique political, cultural, and historical factors involved in the evolution of HRM across this stimulating discussion of a group of countries. In none of these countries is HRM a new phenomenon—again, all organizations manage people in one way or another—and nowhere is HRM immune to larger trends such as globalization, world wars, and technological change. And LERA members will undoubtedly appreci-ate the extent to which the chapters show that the development of HRM everywhere is inex-tricably linked to industrial relations and labor movements; HRM is not something distinct and unrelated.

But unique trajectories within the countries really force one to stop and think about the influences on HRM. And while all of this is undoubtedly interesting for those who like his-tory, the importance goes much deeper, because all of today’s HRM systems are a product of their own development. The successes, failures, and constraints revealed by each historical record have a great deal to tell us about today’s strategies and tomorrow’s possibilities and chal-lenges. This should be very stimulating for researchers and pro-fessionals alike. And on a narrower basis, for scholars interested in comparative research or professionals facing assignments in a specific country, this volume can also be tremendously beneficial in providing the institutional background for deeper excursions and successful ventures in specific countries.

Kaufman’s introductory chapter to the volume sets the stage for a theme of convergence versus divergence that runs throughout the country-specific chapters. This is important. What’s not made as clear is that the country experiences also all reflect the changing influence of different frames of reference on the employment relationship that translates into different preferred approaches for managing human resources. Neoliber-alism, pluralism, unitarism, and in some countries, even Marxist revolutionary thought, all dominate at different times and yield specific HRM patterns and practices.

Moreover, a related-yet-unstated theme is that the evolution of different HRM patterns and practices can be understood as

the struggle of employment-relationship actors to achieve the key objectives of the employment relationship—especially ef-ficiency, equity, and voice—against a backdrop of a particular set of cultural, historical, institutional, political, and competi-tive factors that prioritize certain objectives while also pointing toward specific strategies for their achievement. In other words, not only do all organizations throughout time have to manage employees one way or another, but they do so, implicitly or ex-plicitly, with certain goals and assumptions in mind and in the face of various constraints. This volume provides a fascinating breadth of contexts in which we can see these challenges evolve.

In closing, this is an important and interesting book that should be of value to HRM professionals and researchers from diverse fields. The motivation for the volume is compelling, and the execution is well-done. Today’s debates over best practices, strategic HRM, and the determinants of HR practices have fi-nally been given their historical foundations in a diverse set of

countries, and scholars and managers should embrace this opportunity to understand the evolution of HRM practices and the implica-tions for today’s research and practice.

I would like to see two things, however. First, the publisher should price the book lower to make the volume more accessible, especially to students and to readers worldwide. Two, it would be fascinating to see a second volume that further diversifies the coverage of this volume, especially into Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, and Africa beyond

South Africa. But this isn’t meant to take anything away from what Kaufman and his team of authors have produced. I highly recommend The Development of Human Resource Manage-ment Across Nations, as you will be stimulated by the unity and diversity of the development of HRM—broadly defined to include employment relations and public policy—from many corners of the globe.

John W. Budd

John W. Budd is a professor of work and organizations in the

University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, where

he holds the Industrial Relations Land Grant Chair and is the

director of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies.

He is a graduate of Colgate University and Princeton University.

Budd is the author of Employment with a Human Face: Balancing

Efficiency, Equity, and Voice; Invisible Hands, Invisible Objec-

tives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy into Focus; The

Thought of Work; and a textbook, Labor Relations: Striking a

Balance. He writes a monthly blog called “Whither Work?”

Neoliberalism, pluralism,

unitarism, and in some

countries, even Marxist

revolutionary thought, all

dominate at different times

and yield specific HRM

patterns and practices.