The historical development of human resource management in Israel

The chapter presents a historical perspective on the development/evolution of HRM (broadly defined as ‘people management’) in Israel, from the late 19th century to 2012. It describes five major periods or stages in the history of Israel and how each shaped management, HRM and employment relations. These periods are the pre-state era, the birth of the state and its formative years, the expansion of its security industries and the emergence of an informal management style, the transformation of Israel’s society, economy, and labor market, and the current state of HRM and employment relations. The chapter shows the evolution of the concept from ‘Workers’ Management Machinery’ to its present state of ‘Human Resource Management’. It also portrays and discusses employment relations, including the role of the Histadrut Federation of Labor and its relations with employers and government. The chapter closes with conclusions and implications, and presents some problems and prospects for HRM as we look ahead.