1 INTRODUCTION

Strategic human resource management (HRM) is crucial in public organizations in order

to adapt to the changing role of the government and of those who work in the public
service. Comprehensive HR strategies are needed to exploit new opportunities and to
ensure that all public service functions are carried out according to the highest
professional standards. The skills and knowledge needed in the public service – in
policy development, in the management of organizations, in public service delivery, and
last but not least, in tackling the worldwide economic crisis – place greater demands on
public servants than ever before. Public service leaders around the world are looking for
new approaches to inspire integrity, accountability and motivation in the public service,
to secure coherence and coordination among government policies and various
interests. A changing environment and the changing expectations of public servants
have made enhancing HRM a central issue in both academic and applied organizational
settings (Storey 2001; Tompkins 2003). The main purpose of the paper is to discuss the
supportive statement that says “the strategic approach to managing human resources in
the public sector has emerged as one of the most topical issues”.

2 A new role for human resource management in the Public Service

The concept of strategic HRM in the public sector became especially important with the
rise of new public management (NPM) in the 1980s. Even after the heyday of NPM
reforms, HRM has not lost its appeal because the approach draws attention to strategic
HR issues both at the micro and macro levels. For SHRM to happen, the cooperation of
the line managers is critical (Ulrich, 1998). HRM is more of a line managers’
responsibility with the increasing strategic importance of HR (Brewster and Smith, 1990;
Mello, 2001; Truss and Gratton, 1994) and this requires a closer relationship between
HR and line managers (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). Martell and Caroll (1995) look at the
inclusion of line managers in the HR policymaking process as a critical element of
SHRM. Line managers could be in a better position to respond to issues concerning the
employees enabling HR managers to find more time to perform strategic functions
related to HRM (Budhwar and Sparrow, 2002).
Strategic human resource management dictates a strengthening of the link between
human resource management and organizational performance. For the Public Service,
it implies that a strong synergy between two seemingly competing priorities, namely a
necessity for organizational performance and service delivery vis-à-vis fair employment
practices and workplace justice, be established and maintained. Until recently, in the
South African context, these two dynamics appeared to be in dissonance with each
other. More emphasis has in the past been placed on labor relations and fair labor
practices than on organizational efficiency through human capital. Understandably,
there is a historical context to the matter as labor relations were paramount in achieving
human rights at the work place. This phase included the institutionalization of these
rights and practices in law and in policy. Human resource management has now
entered a phase that focuses on establishing the synergy referred to above.

Strategic human resource management serves as a catalyst for service delivery

improvement and organizational performance. It translates the broader goals of
Government and the operational objectives of departments into human resource
management implications with a reciprocal response in the form of a human resource
value proposition. However, effective participation may be constrained by factors like
the lack of HR competence of the line managers, lack of training for taking up devolved
HR responsibilities, inadequate time for people management issues, and emphasis on
short term performance measures that causes lack of focus on achieving results
through managing people (McGovern, Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles and Truss, 1997).

3 FACTORS THAT MIGHT INFLUENCE THE ADOPTION OF A FULL-FLEDGED

STRATEGIC HRM APPROACH IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

First, strategic management in the public sector is specific in character (Allison, 1992;
Stewart 2004). The multiplicity and diversity of its objectives, the complexity of
measuring performance and a tendency to conflicts between its different goals and
stakeholders make strategic management and thus, achievement of both a vertical and
a horizontal integration, more difficult. Second, public managers are subject to close
scrutiny under various schemes or oversight bodies established by the legislature in
ways that are quite uncommon in the private sector. Such scrutiny often constrains
executive and administrative autonomy to act in pursuit of the strategic approach. There
are more constraints on procedures and spheres of operation, a greater tendency to
proliferation of formal specifications and controls, and less decision-making autonomy
and flexibility of managers than in private sector. The complexity and detail of the
statutory framework prescribing the working conditions of public servants may make HR
managers passive and reactive followers of the rules rather than proactive developers
of HRM tools and improvers of their implementation.

Third, political environment may influence the implementation of strategic HRM since
successful HRM in the public sector requires not only support from top managers but
also political support (Storey, 1989). Thus, in countries, which can be characterized by
relatively high political instability and frequent political changes, the limited time horizon
of political leaders may cause them to fail to address strategic HR policies seriously
(Alas and Sepper 2008).