Strategic Human Resource Management Theory

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has become a “plethora of concepts, arguments and theories” (Colbert, 2004). Numerous theories, criticisms and concepts have been deliberated in the academic discourse of finding a solution to the growth of overall human resource management of an organization (HRM). Some theorist believed that adopting a universal set of human resource (HR) practice would contribute to betterment of human resource management of an organization while some proposed that HR practices should cater to the existing context and circumstance of the organization (Huselia, 1995). However, according to Dunford, Snell&Wright (2001), the best practice apprach to SHRM would not be applicable across different firms owing to the

Another school of thought on SHRM called the Bundling theorist proposed that planning and implementation of various interrelated HR practices which mutually reinforces each other would result into higher levels of performance ( (Anderson, 2010). However, Huselia (1995) argued that bundling theory fails to capture the extent of the configurations of different variables that reflects the complexity of the real-wolrd organizational systems. Another perspective to SHRM is the resource based view of HRM. RBV believes resources that add value to the organization, are inimitable, rare and non-substitutable are integral to maintaining competitive advantage for an organization (Boxall & Purcell, 2000). This essay will establish RBV as a better alternative to SHRM and the later part of this essay will discuss the managerial implications of the

Here, competitive advantage through development of human resource in an organization is the key driver of RBV. Not every resource available within an organization results into competitive advantage. According to Barney (2002), a resource would generate competitive advante only if a resource add value to the organization, is rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. Moreover, a competitor would be able to easily imitate physical resources and organizational capital resources, yet it would be costly and time-consuming to imitate human capital resource adding to the competitive advantage for a firm (Koch & McGrath, 1996) . These arguments purports that RBV is a better alternative to the SHRM because the best practice model does not cater to different management styles while contigent and bundling theorists fail to capture the complexity of organizational structures and fails to managing people to achieve the strategic goals of organization as expected by