Why has the adaptation of HRM policies had more limited impact in Continental Europe than it has in Britain?

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Kaoruko Yamazaki

New Hall College

3. Why has the adaptation of HRM policies had more limited impact in Continental Europe than it has in Britain?

Human Resource Management (HRM) is “a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques.” (Storey 2001, p.6) HRM originated from the USA, and gained recognition in other parts of the world, including Continental Europe. Although HRM is slowly being incorporated into European models of employment management, the impact of HRM is more limited in Continental Europe than that in Britain. This essay will discuss about the reasons for the limitation of impact of HRM in Continental Europe. Before moving on to the main theme of this essay, the brief history of origin and development of the European Union will be covered. This will assist the understanding of the factors that influence European human resource issues.

For centuries, Europe was the scene of frequent wars. After the disastrous events of World War II, Europe was in an economic chaos. A number of European leaders became convinced that the only way to secure a lasting peace and stability between their countries was to unite them economically and politically. To help rebuild Europe and to prevent another European war, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, West Germany, France and Italy signed the Treaty of Paris and formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951. This aimed to unite the market for iron, steel and coal by dismantle tariff barriers between these nations. The ECSC was such a success that with in a few years, these six founding members signed the Treaty of Rome and formed the European Economic Community (EEC) to integrate other sectors of their economies. The member states set about removing trade barriers between them and forming a “common market” (Beardwell and Holden 2001). The positive progress of EEC influenced other European states to join. ECC was later renamed the European Community (EC). The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992, creating the European Union (EU). The emergence of a genuine single market from a “common market” enabled freer movement of goods, services, people and capitals which enhanced the competitiveness of European businesses in the global market. Also it stops “social dumping” and migration of jobs to Economic and political integration between the member states of EU has led to the development of common policies in a very wide range of field, including policies in employment relations. In terms of HRM, the European Social Model (ESM) influenced many decisions made by the EU “in its attempt to improve the living and working conditions of many within the EU” (Philip 2004, p.456). The Social Chapter, in 1989, which is a combination of all the articles incorporated in the various treaties, is adopted to guarantee that certain social rights are respected in the EU counties. These primarily relate to the labour market, vocational training, equal opportunities and the working environment. In addition to providing the rights to education, health care, social security, pension and employment, the greater right of participation in the strategical decisions and right to be informed about decisions of enterprise by workers are achieved (social partnership). These lead to a high level of job security and commitment by employees. Employees’ voices are expressed by the representatives in trade unions. Although the number of trade union members is declining in recent years, trade union density is generally high compared to the UK. The Treaty of Amsterdam incorporates the Social Chapter into four pillars of employment policies which are employability, entrepreneurship, adaptability and equality of opportunity.

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ESM and HRM seem to share similar aspects, in the way that they both seek to provide the right of expression of employees and the right of workers’ involvement in strategical decisions of business. As we can see from many worker-friendly regulations passed by the EU, the emergence of great variety of HR practices in European organisations doesn’t come as a big surprise. In ESM, there seems to be an increased role of ‘social partners’ in the employment relationship. However, unlike ESM, HRM, especially the hard version which is more commonly found in the UK, doesn’t provide employees with ...

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