Managing human resource strategies. A five-stage model of growth and development

To keep moving forward, a business needs the full support of its human resource department. Although the laboratory community depends heavily on technology and equipment, personnel remain crucial to the success of the operation. Therefore, practices and procedures for human resource management must be developed and implemented - in short, the organization must adopt a strategic perspective for human resource management. Models and theories that organizations can use have been limited. Tichy, Fombrun, and DeVanna have identified characteristics of human resource management on three levels: strategic, operational, and administrative. Davis applies competitive advantage and product life cycle to suggest how personnel activities should be managed to meet business needs. Others have provided a framework for integrating human resources into strategic planning. Each of these writers provides valuable models for conceptualizing how to develop human resource strategies. What is needed is an overall model for understanding how practices, procedures, and systems can be used to implement these strategies in managing human resources. Our model for human resource management (HRM) and its application are the result of research in 30 organizations, ranging in size from 2,000 to 300,000 employees, and in mission from financial services to consumer products. To demonstrate further the application of the theory, we present the results of four case studies.