The impact of changes to the human resources ...

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 10:3 June 1999 501± 514

The impact of changes to the human resources function in Australia

Cathy Fisher, Peter J. Dowling and Jim Garnham Abstract Results from a national survey of membership of the professional body, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), provide clear support that senior HR managers perceive that HR needs to be linked much more closely to organizational strategy and there should be consistency between HR policy areas. This is coupled with an expectation that HR must signi® cantly add value and make an improved contribution to organizational effectiveness. There is also evidence of movement towards a framework that supports a unitarist approach to employee relations. Within an environment which expects high levels of employee performance and commitment the HR function has the potential to make a valuable contribution. In aligning itself with management, however, it may also risk distancing itself from a workforce that may not be able or willing to make the same transition. Keywords

Board of directors representation; commitment to strategy; employees.

Introduction The shift away from the traditional administrative role of the personnel function to the more dynamic notion of human resources incorporates a new focus for those involved in the human resources (HR) function. The revised role is characterized by an involvement in strategic planning and the development of underlying unitarist values (Guest, 1987; Legge, 1995; Collins, 1987; Storey, 1995; Dowling and Boxall, 1994). Speci® cally there are a number of features that serve to differentiate HR from personnel. First, a key feature of HR is an expected involvement in strategic processes. Beer et al. (1984), Tichy et al. (1982) and Dyer and Holder (1988) have pointed out that HR needs to be part of both the formulation and the implementation of long-term plans. Boxall and Dowling (1990) have used the notion of `® t’ to explain how a ® rm’ s human resource strategy should be integrated with the business strategy and be in line with stakeholder interests and environmental factors. A second, related feature of HR is that the major HR policy areas should be consistent and reinforce the human resource strategy (Boxall and Dowling, 1990: 198). In short, the strategic character of HR should ensure that it is in line with business strategy and that it is presented as a uni® ed, coherent package. Guest (1987) has similarly identi® ed distinctions between personnel and an HR approach and has reiterated the differences outlined above. Another element identi® ed by Guest is the unitarist assumption underlying employee relations within an HR perspective. Farnham and Pimlott have explained that within unitary theory `there is no con¯ ict of interest between those supplying ® nancial capital to the enterprise and their Address for correspondence: Cathy Fisher, Department of Management, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252±16, Hobart, Australia 7001 (fax: 1 61 3 6226 2808; e-mail: cathy.® [email protected]). Copyright Routledge 1999 0958±5192

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The International Journal of Human Resource Management

managerial representatives, and those contributing their labour skills’ (1986: 4). The unitarist view suggests then that the employer/employee relationship is a partnership. It is assumed that employees identify unreservedly with the aims of the enterprise. Beer et al. (1984), in their early mapping of HRM, had proposed a re-shaping of the employee/employer relationship that re¯ ected this shared commitment. The authors had suggested that this would be achieved through appropriate HR policy development and resultant HR outcomes would include employee commitment, competence, goal congruence and cost effectiveness (1994: 16). Legge (1995), in a comprehensive analysis of what HR involves, has also described this unitarist notion. She has pointed out that HRM tries to develop the entire group of managers and employees in an effort to create a management team. Accordingly, everyone is united in a concern with the bottom line and the quality of the product and service. Overall these writers have suggested that, ideally, HR holds a much more central, strategic position than personnel because it is experienced by all levels of management, policy areas are consistent, it connects strongly with strategic business goals and it relies on underlying unitarist assumptions. For those involved in the HR function the new focus implies major re-positioning within the organization. Dowling and Schuler (1990) have argued that the function has moved away from an administrative, `housekeeping’ role to one that makes a major contribution to strategic planning and design of the organization. Sisson (1995) has reported that many have welcomed the move away from what Tyson and Fell (1986) had called `clerks of the works’ to the role of àrchitect’ where the former was largely involved in routine administration and record keeping and the latter is involved in policy formulation and management matters. Shipton and McAuley (1993) have explained that the new role would allow the HR function to stake a more substantial claim on status, personal, resource and legitimate power. Other writers suggest that this role change has not yet occurred. On the basis of interviews with senior personnel directors, Gennard and Kelly (1994) concluded that, overall, the same processes and activities are being given different labels by different groups of personnel directors. Sisson (1995) has revealed that some of the labels have not even changed. Within the United Kingdom he referred to the hesitancy to include `human resources’ in job titles. Marginson et al. (1993) reviewed large UK companies, with more than a thousand employees, and reported that, among the senior managers responsible for human resources/personnel and industrial relations, only 9 per cent had the phrase `human resources’ in their title. Brewster (1995) has reviewed the presence of HR representation on boards of directors and senior committees. Such involvement provides a clear signal that the HR function has a role to play in the central decision-making and planning areas of organizations. Brewster has reported, however, that such representation varies across countries. In Spain and France, for example, there is board of directors representation in seven or eight out of ten organizations whereas this is two or three out of ten in Italy and Germany. Historical factors have largely determined these differences. In Spain and France the in¯ uence of the senior HR specialists ® ts with stereotypes of these countries as being rigidly hierarchical (Brewster, 1994). The seemingly low representation of HR directors on the board of directors in Germany, on the other hand, is driven by the greater involvement of employees in the management structure. Mitbestimmung or worker co-determination ensures close employee involvement in corporate decision making. The Co-determination Act passed in 1976 ensures that, in organizations employing over 2,000 persons, there must be a supervisory board composed of share-

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holders’ and workers’ representatives in equal numbers. Most companies report that worker representatives on the supervisory board make a positive contribution to the decision-making process (Randlesome, 1993). Accordingly, personnel issues are brought into corporate thinking through this employee representation rather than via a personnel director (Brewster, 1995). In a description of the important role given to employee representatives, Lawrence (1995) has explained that the role of the German personnel of® cer becomes one of reactor, implementer and law enforcer rather than one of proactive strategist. The low HR representation on boards of directors in Italy can be explained by the emphasis given to industrial relations issues (Brewster, 1995). In the early 1980s over 45 per cent of wage earners were members of trade unions. At that time the trade unions were identi® ed as one of the major contributing factors to the chaotic state of the Italian economy. As the 1980s progressed the trade union movement became fragmented and managers and workers became focused on a new culture of industrial relations (Cooper and Giacomello, 1992). As a result, HR departments are more focused on trade union relationships and employment legislation than strategic planning (Brewster, 1995). As well as national differences, Deery and Purcell (1989) and Marginson et al. (1993) point out that ownership of large organizations can make a difference to HR representation on the board of directors. Within the latter research a total of 51 per cent of overseas-owned ® rms had a personnel director compared to 39 per cent of UK ® rms. The difference was also apparent when looking at the existence of a personnel policy committee. A total of 54 per cent of overseas-owned organizations had a personnel policy committee compared to 22 per cent of domestic ® rms. To date, there has been little research in Australia to report on the move away from the administrative role of the personnel function to the more strategic role of human resources management. Within the region, New Zealand research, conducted by the Institute of Personnel Management, has found that `the importance of strategic and effective human resource management to organisational success is widely recognised’ (1994: 1). In their overview of the New Zealand enterprise, however, Campbell-Hunt and Corbett (1996) report that human resource management is an area of management that performs poorly. They suggest that there is a lack of attention to longer-term issues such as labour planning and a poor linkage between training policy and strategic planning. This is the view also expressed in a survey conducted jointly by Wevers International Ltd, the New Zealand Institute of Management (NZIM) and the Centre for Corporate Strategy (1996). Speci® cally, a widening gap is reported between expectations and performance in several areas that were seen to be characteristic of an ideal state for organizational success. For example, there was a major reported gap in management’ s understanding of the impact of recruitment and selection on the future of the organization and its performance. The research concludes that, counter to the principles espoused by HRM, there is weak inclusion of stakeholders in decision making and communication of organizational priorities is not occurring. Collectively the NZ research indicates that, even though there is recognition of the central notion of strategic adaptation, there is an absence of real commitment to human resource principles. Within the Australian setting the discussion of the role of the personnel, and later the HR function, has traced the involvement of the function in welfare, administration and more recently strategic planning (see Wall, 1971; Collins, 1987; Dunphy, 1987; Wright, 1991, 1995; Smart and Pontifex, 1993). Overall, Kramar (1992) has suggested that there has been a slow uptake of the HR philosophy in Australia. The strength of past policies,

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informal networks and value systems supports a previous mindset. Kramar (1992) and Collins (1987) have remained optimistic, however, arguing that such a transition for the function will occur over time with appropriate patience and skill. The aim of this research is to report on recent changes within the HR function in Australian organizations and identify whether an HR philosophy is being embraced. The following issues are addressed: has there been an uptake of the human resources title; what is the level of HR representation on the boards of directors; does overseas ownership and organizational size make a difference to the uptake of HR title or board of directors representation: what is the perceived level of strategic involvement of HR; are HR policy areas perceived to be consistent; does HR have a perceived business orientation; and is there evidence of movement towards unitarist values? Research methodology This research was conducted in conjunction with the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) as an of® cially approved, AHRI-funded project. A mail survey was sent to the current members of the Institute. Respondents were not requested to identify themselves and they were assured that their response would form part of cumulative data. The questionnaire was based on the items used in Dowling and Deery’ s (1985) study. In consultation with members of the AHRI board and a number of academics and practitioners, changes were made to accommodate developments in the last ten years. Questions included a mix of closed and open-ended items. The questionnaire was clearly divided into two sections. The ® rst section was designed to include all AHRI members and covered a wide range of items related to Institute matters and general HR trends. The second section was designed to capture more detailed HR information. Speci® cally, the researchers wanted responses from HR managers who have a clear idea of HR’ s strategic role and involvement in policy planning. The second section was printed on paper of a different colour and was preceded by a cover page with the explanation that the section was to be answered only by those persons who were the most senior managers in charge of the human resource function in the organization for which they work. Though their titles may vary, such persons would be ultimately responsible for specialist human resource activity in their organization. The resultant group of 322 respondents chosen for this research were senior HR managers, with a base salary of more than $70,000, 1 who were in charge of the HR function within their organization. Sample characteristics As can be seen in Table 1, 71 per cent of the sample is over 40 years of age. This ® ts with the senior pro® le of this group. 2 There is also greater representation of males (73 per cent) in the group and respondents are well educated with 69 per cent holding a tertiary degree. Within that group, 29 per cent have completed a graduate degree. In line with the criterion that respondents earn a minimum of $70,000, salary levels begin at $70,000 and extend beyond $116,000 (see Table 2). Respondents are spread over the salary ranges with a total of 25 per cent of respondents reporting a salary of $116,000 or more. Further, more than 52 per cent of the group reported that the value of the fringe bene® ts associated with their position was greater than $26,000. These substantial salaries suggest that the respondents can reasonably be assumed to be in senior positions.


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Table 1 Sample characteristics: age, gender and education n

%

Age 20±9 30±9 40±9 50±9 60 and over

6 86 160 61 7

1.9 26.7 49.7 18.9 2.2

Gender Female Male

86 236

26.7 73.3

Highest level of education attained High school quali® cation Some tertiary but refrained from completing Tertiary diploma or certi® cate Tertiary degree (BA, BCom, BEc) Graduate studies but refrained from completing Graduate degree(s) completed (MBA, MA, PhD) Other

8 15 54 110 18 93 24

2.5 4.7 16.8 34.2 5.6 28.9 7.5

n

%

116 83 44 79

36.0 25.8 13.7 24.5

Notes n 5 322 Missing data account for totals less than 322

Table 2 Base salary ranges

$71,000±85,000 $86,000±100,000 $101,000±115,000 $116,000 or more Note n 5 322

The majority of respondents (59 per cent), had been with their current employer for four years or more. A total of 35 per cent had been in their current position for four years or more. This level of tenure would imply that respondents have a good knowledge of the policies and processes in their enterprises. Table 3 provides representation of industry category as compared with the national pro® le provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1995b). There is reasonable alignment with the national pro® le, although the mining and manufacturing industries are clearly more strongly present in the current sample and the wholesale and retail trade is largely under-represented. There is, however, representation from all the industry groupings. The breakdown of respondents from the private and public sector is also approximately aligned with the national delineation (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1995c) with the majority of respondents coming from the private sector. In general, the personal, industry and sector characteristics of the sample indicate that respondents are in HR management positions, 3 they are well educated and suitably

506


Table 3 Representation of industry categories %

National data %

3 32 78 13 6 17 20 60 10 12 6 7 13 8 8 10 29

0.9 9.9 24.2 4.0 1.9 5.3 6.2 18.6 3.1 3.0 1.9 2.3 4.0 2.5 2.5 3.1 9.0

4.9 1.0 13.6 1.0 7.2 20.6 1.8 13.6 4.6 2.3 4.6 9.2 not speci® ed not speci® ed 7.2 not speci® ed 8.3

53 266

16.5 82.6

26.0 73.0

n Representation of industry categories Agriculture, forestry, ® shing Mining Manufacturing Electricity, gas & water Construction Wholesale & retail trade Communications Finance, property & business services Public administration & defence Recreation Transport & storage Health and community service Consulting Information technology Education Hospitality Other Type of employing organization Public sector Private sector

Sources: ABS (1995b) Labour Force Statistics for industry categories; ABS (1995c) Employed Wage & Salary Earners, for type of employing organization. Notes n 5 322 Missing data account for totals less than 322

experienced and come from an appropriate cross-section of industry and sector. This lends considerable credibility to the responses and overall validity of this data set. Results and discussion Uptake of HR title An important part of the HR transformation process has been a nomenclature change. Marginson et al. (1993) have suggested that, within large companies with more than a thousand employees, only 9 per cent of senior managers in the human resources, personnel and industrial relations area in the UK use HR in their title. Our study supports a much stronger trend with 54 per cent of respondents reporting `human resources’ as opposed to 10 per cent reporting `personnel’ and ìndustrial relations’ in their title. When organizational size was taken into account, there was no signi® cant difference in the title uptake between organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees, 1,001±3,000 employees and more than 3,000 employees. Further, there was also no signi® cant difference in the title uptake between Australian-owned and overseas-owned organizations. It would appear then that Australian organizations have been supportive of a name change regardless of company size or ownership.


507

Level of representation on senior committees A change in title, however, is not enough to suggest that there has been a signi® cant change in role. Writers such as Lawler (1995), Shipton and McAuley (1993), Dowling and Boxall (1994), and Sisson (1995) have proposed that, if HR is to be a strategic planning partner, there must be representation on the boards of management. HR specialists need to be present when key decisions are being made; they need to be part of the central planning mechanism. Results show that 18 per cent of organizations reported full HR representation on their board of directors. Another 25 per cent reported a representative who has partial responsibility for HR matters. This level of representation does not compare well to levels reported by Brewster (1994) in a review of European board representation. Brewster’ s research has revealed that there were signi® cant differences across Europe, with countries such as Sweden, France, Spain and Norway reporting representation on the board of directors by the head of the HR function as 84 per cent, 84 per cent, 73 per cent and 71 per cent respectively. Other countries such as West Germany and Italy were reported as having poorer representation with 30 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. It is clear that Australian enterprises would be classed with this latter division. Deery and Purcell (1989) and Marginson et al. (1993) reported that ownership of the organization can make a difference to the representation on the board of directors. Results reported in this study similarly show a difference in domestic and overseas company board representation (see Table 4). Overseas enterprises were twice as likely to have a director whose primary responsibility was HR. When organizational size was taken into account, there was no signi® cant difference in board membership between organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees, 1,001±3,000 employees and more than 3,000 employees. The overall low representation at board level may not be as problematic as it ® rst appears. The research does show that 58 per cent of respondents reported that there was a committee of senior executives that met regularly to consider HR matters at the enterprise level. Consequently, the reported poor representation on boards of directors may not be totally representative of involvement in strategic planning. The reported level of senior committee concern for HR matters at the enterprise level suggests management interest in HR directions. There were no signi® cant differences between overseas and domestic organizations as to senior committee involvement but organizational size did have an effect. Organizations with more than 3,000 employees were signi® cantly more likely to report senior level interest in HR matters [x 2 (2, n5 285) 5 5.91, p, .05]. Overall then, HR representation on the board of directors was low, with overseas enterprises being more likely to have full corporate HR representation. A large percentage of respondents, however, reported HR discussions at the senior executive Table 4 Board representation: Australian and overseas organizations

No Yes, it is representative’s main responsibility Yes, it is part of their responsibility Note x 2 (4, n 5

246) 5

13.21, p ,

0.05

Australia

Overseas

n

%

n

%

80 20 42

56.2 14.1 29.6

49 29 18

51.0 30.2 18.8

508


committee level. This was not connected with overseas ownership but it was more likely to be the case in larger organizations. Strategic involvement of HR Coupled with this change in title and the increasing representation at the senior committee level is the expectation that those involved with HR start to think more like general managers. Tichy et al. (1982), Dyer and Holder (1988) and Boxall and Dowling (1990), have all concluded that HR needs to become more involved in strategic planning. The study at hand provides considerable evidence that senior HR Australian professionals have embraced this strategic focus. When asked for level of agreement on a range of statements, 73 per cent of senior HR respondents strongly agreed that HR policy should be linked with organizational strategy and 67 per cent strongly agreed that HR policy areas need to be more carefully integrated (see Table 5). In an open-ended question that asked respondents to identify the most signi® cant changes in HR in the last ® ve years, integration and strategic focus of HR policies was ranked as the most signi® cant issue (see Table 6). When asked about signi® cant changes in HR in the next 5 years, HR’s role in change and strategic planning was again identi® ed as a key area (see Table 7). Coupled with this concern to be involved in strategic matters and ensure HR policy consistency, Dyer and Kochan (1995) have argued that HR must opt for a full shift to the business partner role. This means that HR must contribute directly to organizational effectiveness. Again, there is support for this move in both the closed and open-ended questions. A total of 65 per cent strongly agreed that HR is expected to make an improved contribution to organizational effectiveness and 63 per cent strongly agreed that HR programmes need to add value to the organization (see Table 5). In the openended questions, contribution of HR to company performance was ranked as the third most important change in the last ® ve years (see Table 6) and it will continue to be important in the next ® ve years (see Table 7). Guest (1987) and Legge (1995) have maintained that, together with this emphasis on strategic focus, HR incorporates underlying unitarist values and the alignment of employer/employee goals. Results indicate that within the current group of respondents there is a focus on employee relations. For example, when indicating level of agreement on provided statements, 53 per cent of respondents strongly agreed that a more Table 5 Agreement with developments in the HR ® eld Strong agreement

1 HR policy should be linked with organizational strategy 2 HR policy areas should be more carefully integrated 3 HR is expected to make an improved contribution to organizational effectiveness 4 Need to justify how new HR programmes will add value to the organization 5 There is a more collaborative style of employee relations 6 Growth in policies to build strong direct communications between management and employees Note n 5 322

n

%

235 216 209

73.2 67.1 64.9

204

63.4

170 94

52.8 29.2


509

Table 6 Rank order of most signi® cant changes in HR in last ® ve years

Integration & strategic focus of HR policies Employee relations Contribution of HR to company performance Worker participation and team work Quality issues Training Flexible work patterns Devolution of function Legislative changes Economic rationalism

n

%

120 118 77 62 53 41 41 40 34 33

37.3 36.7 24.0 19.3 16.5 12.7 12.7 12.4 10.6 10.3

Notes n 5 322 Respondents may have provided more than one suggestion

Table 7 Rank order of most signi® cant changes in HR in next ® ve years

HR’ s role in change and strategic planning Employee relations Contribution of HR to company performance Flexible work patterns Legislative changes Quality Internationalization Training Worker participation and team work Technology

n

%

90 64 62 39 30 28 27 25 24 21

28.0 20.0 19.3 12.1 9.3 8.7 8.4 7.8 7.5 6.5

Notes n 5 322 Respondents may have provided more than one suggestion

collaborative style of employee relations is emerging (see Table 5). In the open-ended questions, employee relations was ranked as the most signi® cant issue after strategic focus (see Table 6). Further, it is predicted that in the next ® ve years employee relations will continue to be a pressing issue (see Table 7). Beer et al. (1984) have emphasized that an important part of this new HR approach, that tries to address the employer/employee relationship, will attend to the levels of employee in¯ uence within organizations. Results of the survey indicate levels of communication between management and employees. A total of 84 per cent of respondents acknowledged strengthened direct management/employee communication with 29 per cent of respondents strongly agreeing that there had been a growth in policies that attempt to build direct communications between management and employees (see Table 5). Another 55 per cent agreed with the statement. With respect to the open-ended questions, results in Table 6 indicate that worker participation and team work were ranked fourth in the signi® cant changes in the last ® ve years but did not appear to be a high priority in the next ® ve years. These results seem to indicate that there is a reevaluation of the employer/employee relationship and that attempts are being made to set up more direct communication channels between the two groups.

510


Implications for employees The results of this study indicate that there is general support among those involved in HR for a more strategic focus and there is evidence of a review of the employer/ employee relationship. Lawler has suggested, however, that, as those involved in the HR function move towards a strategic partner role, they still need to be involved with custodial and staff-support activities even if these have been outsourced. This could create à challenging set of dualities that every human resource manager must be aware of’ (1995: 59). The shift presents a dual set of responsibilities that are not necessarily complementary. There are times when the human resource function will still need to be the conscience of the organization and an advocate for employees. These writers suggest that the role will demand that the HR professional be reactive as well as proactive, administrator as well as strategist, employee advocate as well as manager. HR professionals will still be expected to be involved in custodial and staff-support activities while having a much more active role in the management function. Beer (1997) also comments on the inherent tension between the two roles. He has argued that the roles actually require people with very different outlooks and skills. Further, where HR professionals have been able to attend to both roles there has not been enough time to deal with the resultant demands. Torrington and Hall (1987), writing on the United Kingdom experience, have warned that the HR managerial perspective may not necessarily be in the best interests of the employee. They see the direction of HRM to be aligned closely with management’ s interests and this may be relatively distant from the workforce as a whole. Iles et al. (1990), for example, have suggested that proponents of HRM are claiming that commitment is a positive initiative and, further, that HRM can in¯ uence commitment. The idea of commitment to an organization, however, may actually be impossible as employees have different loyalties to different stakeholders within the organization, such as their own work group, section, department, union, professional associations and top management. These differential commitments may often be in con¯ ict. The concept of multiple, even con¯ icting, commitments is more plausible than the concept of a single commitment to the organization. In the United States, Kochan and Dyer (1995) re¯ ect that the whole premise of mutual commitment is based on mutual trust and employment security ensures this. Osterman (1995), however, has reviewed evidence to show that US companies that are actually in the throes of restructuring and downsizing have managed to maintain productivity and employee commitment. This indeed looks promising and supportive of a unitarist approach. Nevertheless, Osterman points out that it is possible that the level of fear is so high that employees are prepared to accept considerable uncertainty and still co-operate with work reform. In other words, the increase in worker commitment is not due to faith in high-performance work organizations but rather it is connected to an underlying fear that they too may lose their jobs. Iles et al. (1990) also warn that individuals may express commitment to their organization because they can see few alternatives to their current situation, or because they perceive considerable costs and sacri® ces if they leave. Legge (1995: 206) similarly argues that fears of unemployment may have encouraged `resigned behavioural compliance’ rather than `commitment’ . It is clear then that employees are having some dif® culties with the HR principles outlined by Beer et al. (1984). This may involve some role con¯ ict for HR in the position of strategic partner. As well as making an active contribution to management by supporting the ideal of a committed workforce and fostering faith in the high-


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performance work organization, there is still the anticipation that HR will understand and respond to employees who are coming to terms with these expectations. Within the Australian setting, the decentralization of industrial relations has increased the potential for HR to make a meaningful contribution within organizations. Rimmer and Zappala (1988) have explained that concern about Australia’ s economic performance and international competitiveness prompted the dismantling of the centralized framework for industrial regulation. In March 1987 the centralized policy of wage ® xation was abandoned and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) introduced a new two-tiered wage-® xing system that incorporated a general wage increase plus a second possible increase of up to 4 per cent that was contingent on workplace changes that resulted in ef® ciency improvements. A system of formal union± management agreements ensured substantive award restructuring. In October 1991, despite the AIRC’ s reluctance, a framework for enterprise bargaining was introduced that was later supported in 1992 with amendments to the Industrial Relations Act (Deery, 1995). These amendments made allowance for non-unionized Enterprise Flexibility agreements to be registered but the union movement still had the right to oppose these agreements at the time of their registration and this severely curtailed the use of this form of agreement, seen by many merely as a means of de-unionizing the workplace (Coulthard, 1996). The Workplace Relations Act 1996, introduced by the incoming conservative coalition government, has made further signi® cant changes that aim to create a more direct relationship between employers and employees. A new system of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) allows employers and workers to negotiate directly. Further, the Industrial Relations Commission will have no part in policing AWAs and there is to be no uninvited union involvement (Clark, 1996: 33). This change to the structure of the system now makes a unitarist approach to the employment relationship a more viable alternative. This is evidenced by the consideration being given to the human resource management approach in recent literature on the Australian employment relationship (Alexander and Lewer, 1996; Deery et al., 1997; Gardner and Palmer, 1997). These changes provide both an opportunity and a challenge for those involved in the HR function; the function will be more actively involved in the setting of wages and conditions of employment but it will also be faced with employees who are experiencing considerable dif® culties in coming to terms with the decentralized system. The Department of Industrial Relations, for example, surveyed Australian workplaces to review the direct impact of enterprise bargaining on workers. The survey found that there had been improvements in productivity, pro® ts and quality (1996: 130±2). On the other hand, half of the employees reported greater stress on the job over the last twelve months (1996: 153). Further, satisfaction with the work/family balance has decreased, with 14 per cent reporting higher satisfaction but 26 per cent reporting lower satisfaction with the balance (1996: 151). These new changes to the employer/ employee relationship may pose some challenges for employees and HR has an important role to play in monitoring the process. Conclusions Results reported in the current research indicate that there is a move away from the traditional personnel role towards an HR perspective. Australian organizations, for example, have renamed relevant departments as human resource departments. Representation on boards of directors is relatively weak but the majority of respondents reported that there was a committee of senior executives that met regularly to discuss HR matters at the enterprise level. It is also clear that those senior managers who are responsible for

512


HR matters perceive a role change. There is strong agreement within this group that HR policies need to be integrated and strategically focused. Their concern to add value to the organization, contribute to the bottom line and support a collaborative style of employee relations is characteristic of underlying unitarist values. Coupled with the shift towards an HR perspective has been the substantial restructuring of the industrial relations system in Australia towards decentralized bargaining. Changes brought about to support enterprise agreements have had repercussions for the quality of employees’ work lives. The reported stress and poorer work/family balance associated with enterprise bargaining needs to be monitored (DIR, 1996). Within the old-style personnel framework, it was accepted that employees and management held different values and perspectives. The recent shift to HR and a legislative framework that supports a unitarist perspective may no longer accommodate a view of workers as a group with needs separate from management. Within an environment that expects high levels of employee performance and commitment, the HR function has the potential to make a valuable contribution. In aligning itself with management, however, it may also risk distancing itself from a workforce that may not be able or willing to make the same transition. Notes 1 Average full-time total earnings in 1995, reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1995a), were A$36,452 p.a. The chosen level of $70,000 as a minimum base salary is almost double the average wage in 1995 (1 3 192 per cent). This clearly meets the criterion set by the researchers that respondents must be in well-remunerated positions that can reasonably be assumed to be management positions. 2 A more detailed investigation of the characteristics of the six respondents who were in the 20±9 age group revealed that they were all in their late twenties and held senior positions in their organizations. 3 Pratt (1998) has criticized earlier research (Dowling and Fisher, 1997) that has similarly focused on the role of HR professionals working within organizations and not speci® cally addressed the contribution made by HR consultants. The researchers agree that HR consultants are an important group. Within the present study, however, the focus is on those who, regardless of their title, are ultimately responsible for specialist human resources activity within their organization. This wording allows line managers, as well as senior HR managers, to provide insights into HR developments. The researchers are con® dent then that they have faithfully represented the views of relevant stakeholders. The role played by consultants in organizational HR is an area that is worth pursuing but will not be addressed in this paper. For further discussion of this point see Dowling and Fisher (1998).

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