Strategic HRM as a budgetary control mechanism in the large corporation: a case study from engineering contracting

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Clark, I. ORCID: 0000-0001-7698-2715, 2001. Strategic HRM as a budgetary control mechanism in the large corporation: a case study from engineering contracting. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 12 (6), pp. 797-815. ISSN 1045-2354

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1006/cpac.2000.0487

Abstract

This paper presents case study evidence of a rare attempt to make the corporate human resource function strategic. More significantly, the paper's theoretical approach and the research questions it addresses examine the material beyond the confines of HRM discourse that emphasizes "strategic choice", integration or fit as received management strategies. Alternatively, the empirical, yet theoretically informed research questions suggest that strategic HRM necessarily de-skills the autonomy and discretion of many workers. Further, to be effective HRM must be diluted to reflect what is often (un)spoken budget and financial performance criteria that constitute an internal audit system. The theoretical arguments and empirical material presented in this paper appears relevant to a critically informed accountancy audience for two reasons. First, the case demonstrates how the language of financial management is diffused within other management fields such as HRM. Second, although the centralized system of performance management for project management appeared as a human resource innovation it intensified the significance of financial constraints on human resource staff whose labour process was previously relatively autonomous.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Critical Perspectives on Accounting

Creators:

Clark, I.

Publisher:

Elsevier

Date:

December 2001

Volume:

Number: