Introduction
There are various conceptions existing in the aspects of definition, academic boundaries and major functions of the fields of human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR). The essay critically discusses the comparison and contrast on the key features of Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations in academic fields. On the base of review of the origins and transition of the tow subjects the paper will explore the general accepted definitions of the HRM and IR respectively. It will then go on to lay out theoretical dimensions of the two subjects, and looks at significant characteristics of HRM and IR. The last part assesses comparison and contrast between the two fields in the light of historical perspectives and literature review.
Definition Transition of Human Resource Management
The HRM terminology stems from the USA subsequences of human relations movement. In the counterpart, since the first British book on HRM published in the late 1980s, which was notably known as New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Storey 1989), there have been a large volume of published studies investigating the definition of HRM in diverse standing and approaches.
Ackers (2003) provided a general term on the definition of HRM, ‘HRM refers to all those activities associated with the management of work and people in firms and in other formal orgaisations. Although it is conceptualised by involving the entire breadth of HRM studies, it should be embodied to specific nature and pattern of the subject. Sisson (1990) sees HRM of four aspects of employment practice: an integration of HR policies with business planning; a shift in responsibility for HR issues form personnel specialists to line managers; a shift from the collectivism of management and, finally, an emphasis on commitment has further understanding of HRM. According to the classic work edited by