Building State-of-the-Art Human

Resource Strategies

John A. Fossum and Donald F. Parker

There has been a recent increase in awareness among both practitioners

and academics that the state of the art in human resource planning (HRP)
significantly lags the sophistication of current management planning in
other spheres of activity. This became especially evident to the two of
us during the last two years as we participated in four field studies and
a number of human-resource-related seminars. We believe that this con-
dition has occurred for at least three reasons. First, the respective roles
and responsibilities of line managers, staff human resource (HR) man-
agers, and operating HR managers are often unclear. Second, many staff
and operating HR managers are unaware of or are ignoring state-of-the-
art concepts and knowledge that could sigruficantly improve the use-
fulness of the HRP function to the firm. Finally, there is a need for closer
cooperation between the academic community and practitioners to de-
velop new knowledge and skills that may provide leverage through the
use of HRF in carrying out organizational strategies. In this paper we
discuss these issues and provide a metaphor intended to help clanfy
current thinking about the appropriate role for human resource man-
agement and planning in strategy formulation and implementation.

THE CONSTRUCTION METAPHOR

The ideas presented here crystallized when we designed an executive

development program for the senior managers of a large, decentralized,
multiproduct corporation. One of the major modules in this program
dealt with human resource management (HRM). Obviously, all of the
high-level line managers who attended had previously dealt with HR
managers and had perceptions regarding the HR role, but our preliminary
needs analysis indicated that many were quite unaware of the activities

f h m n Resource Management, Spring/Summer 1983, Vol. 22, Numbers 1/2, Pp. 97-110
~ 0 1983 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CG9~/83/010097-14$04.00
involved in professional HRh4, and they had little or no concept of the
need for HRP.To teach what we believe is the proper role of HR man-
agement and planning for the accomplishment of the organization’s ob-
jectives, we developed a metaphor drawn from the construction industry
to portray the most effective assignment of roles for the key partidpants
in HRM: staff HR managers, operating HR managers, and line managers.
We suggested that the apt role comparisons for each would be, respec-
tively, that of an architect, a construction manager, and the purchaser
of a building.
The management of firms needing additional plant or office space sel-
dom design the buildings themselves. Instead, they go to architects.Top
management describes in general terms what they want to accomplish
with the proposed building, how much they can afford, and (perhaps)
the site they have available. The architect, having considerable general
expertise in the design of buildings, listens, asks speafic questions about
features or problems that the operating manager may not have considered,
and then designs a plan.
When the plan is complete, the architect returns to management and
describes the characteristics of the new building and what it can accom-
plish. Management, seeing the blueprints and sketches for the building,
may ask that some inappropriate frills be removed, requests enhancement
or emphasis of certain features that have worked well in other buildings
occupied by the organization, or asks for other changes to enhance the
ease with which the organization can begin using the building. The ar-
chitect, in turn,is likely to point out to management some of the features
required by law (fire exits, sprinkler systems, etc.), and to explain why
some design features are required and how they will operate. The architect
will be especially attentive to ensure that nothing is done to compromise
the structural integrity of the building.
Then the bids are let and construetion begins. At this point the con-
struction manager becomes an important partidpant in the endeavor.
The initial design of the building is well-understood by construction
managers because they have had some of the same training as the architect
and have worked with many before. The architect and the construction
manager work closely together during the beginning of the project, ironing
out details, considering what sequence of activities will be most effective
for completing the construction, and refining the actual costs of the project.
However, at no point do these professionals lose sight of the fact that
the building is being designed not for themselves but for another user.
Both the construction manager and the architect need also to coordinate
their work closely with the building‘s purchaser so that maximum utility
and ease of use will obtain. Later the construction manager may even
assume a role similar to a facilities or property manager, doing routine
maintenance and solving building problem that occur as a result of minor
design errors or changing use requirements.
We see the design, implementation, and maintenance of a HRP system

98 / Human Resource Management, SpringISummer 1983

as analogous to the tasks involved in designing, building, and maintaining
an organization’s facilities. Above all, the system must have utility for
the ultimate user-line management. It is not created as an edifice to
display the technical repertoire of the architect. It is instead the application
of architectural skills to the solution of a business problem. As shown
in Table I, we believe that a parallel situation should exist for the HR
staff (architect), operating HR executivdmanager (construction manager),
and line manager, who in our view should retain ultimate responsibility
for people management in a firm. Accordingly, the remainder of the
paper examines (1) the development and implementation of strategic
HRP from the perspective of the operating personnel managedexecutive
(construction manager), (2) state-of-the-art “architectural” issues, and
(3) the contingenaes that are associated with managemenfs goals, design,
and strategy for the organization.
Keeping in mind the metaphor’s explicit delineation of the buyer, de-
signer, and implementor/advisor roles, we will tum next to a discussion
of its implications for the development and implementation of HR strat-
egies and plans. Before doing this,however, we need to be explicit about
the meaning of our terms. First, the reader should understand that each
of the three roles described in the building metaphor are typically found
at each level of an organization. At the corporate level the line manager
is typically the CEO or COO,and the operating HR manager (construction
manager) will typically by the Vice President for HRM. There are usually
several “architects” or HR staff managers. We refer here to those profes-
sionals who are directly responsible for the design of poliaes and systems
such as HRP systems, compensation systems, training and development
systems, and the like who assist the HR executive by designing state-

Table I. The construction metaphor.

Construction Role HRP Role Major Function
Line Management Line Management Ultimate responsibil-
(CEO/COO) ity, strategy formula-
tion, system goals
Architect Staff HR professional Design system to
(HRPdirector, com- meet management
pensation director, need using most ef-
etc.) fective state-of-the-art
techniques and ideas

Construction Manager Operating manager Help line management

(VP for HRM) implement the plan in
a way that will control
various costs and op-
timize the design to
achieve organizational
goals and objectives

c
Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-Art HR Strategies / 99
of-the-art planning systems and techniques that support the overall HR
strategy, It should be remembered, moreover, that each of the three
basic roles in the metaphor are found at each lower echelon of the firm:
sector, business, division, plant, etc. The only difference is that at the
lowest levels, the t w o HR roles may at some point reside in a single
person.

POSSIBLE ROLES FOR THE OPERATING PERSONNEL

MANAGER

A buyer might take one of three different approaches to building, only

one of which would be effective. First, the architect could develop the
entire design without receiving detailed information and insights from
the purchaser about the expected uses of the building. Second, the buyer
could s p e w the design for the architect without gaining the insights
of the construction manager as they relate to costs and construction dif-
ficulties. Third, the construction manager could act as a consultant to
the buyer, tailoring the architect‘s design to the customer’s needs, while
at the same time suggesting changes in the buyefs preferences or requests
consistent with a knowledge of the state of the art in architecture. The
construction manager might, for example, suggest a combination of pas-
sive solar heating, captured heat from lighting fixtures, and insulation
that will reduce or eliminate heating charges, ail without affecting the
basic design or structural integrity of the building. We strongly favor
the third alternative because it takes advantage of the strengths of each
participant.
Moving now to our discussion of HR system development, it is the
operating HR manager (construction manager), in daily contact with line
management and aware of the needs of the organization he/she repre-
sents, who should consequently be responsible for the overall design of
the HR strategy. The HR professional staff, by contrast, is best suited
to be responsible for a knowledge of the state of the art in HRM and for
developing systems and tedmiques. The operating HR manager can then
test these systems and techniques and, where appropriate, recommend
to line management applications of those that wilI clearly assist in the
implementation of the organization’s strategies.
These roles exist at each level. Thus, it follows that the operating HR
manager at the business unit or division level is equivalently responsible
for strategy implementation at hisher level as is the corporate level HR
manager.

PROBLEMS IN THE OPERATING PERSONNEL MANAGERS

ROLE
There are two primary problems the operating HR manager must deal
with in maintaining the proper support for organizational strategy. First,

100 / Human Resource Management, SpringISummer 1983

this HR manager must consider the state-of-the-art techniques provided
by the HR professional staff (the architects), select those most likely to
be effective for supporting strategy, and reject the others. Those selected
must then be tailored to meet the specific needs of the situation. Second,
the operation of the systems and techniques must be continuously eval-
uated to insure that they are still accomplishing the desired outcomes
and whether they are still consistent with the direction of the strategy.
The HR manager must be espeaally alert for well intentioned but dys-
functional programs or practices. One top level HR executive of our ac-
quaintance maintains, for example, that each personnel practice which
is designed to influence behavior or accomplish some specific end "con-
tains the seeds of its own destruction." Thus, a compensation policy
intended to urge employees toward excellence by sharply differentiating
pay increases on the basis of performance may, over time, create bizarre
and risky behavior among employees who desire to achieve the high
increases that are obviously available to only one or a few in their work
group.

Antique Designs

None of us would consider building a new home without recent im-

provements such as insulation and grounded wiring, but our experience
indicates that HR practices often persist long after they have been su-
perceded by new or more sophisticated "architecture." Too often, for
example, HR people fail to consider some of the basic findings from the
study of motivation. We have clear evidence that people differ in the
types of outcomes they prefer, and we know that the linking of preferred
outcomes to performance is an important part of successful HR practice
implementation. But, in practice, we ignore the long run consequences
of these linkages and their relationship to human motivation.
A variety of experiments in motivation have demonstrated that people
become acclimated to a certain stimulus level and that the continuation
of a reward at a fixed level adds no incremental contribution to behavior.
This explains, perhaps, the reason that HR operating managers and l i e
managers have encountered difficulties in getting people to accept lower
"money" wage increases during a period where the real rate of price
increases has fallen. These findings, combined with evidence suggesting
that people crave variety, indicate that reward systems need occasional
change to continue to attract the attention management desires.
There are also potential difficulties when the reward system is uni-
laterally applied throughout the organization and appropriate behaviors
are not linked with valued rewards. We recently worked with an or-
ganization which applies a bonus to a single performance measure in
all divisions of the corporation. Obviously, performance against this
measure varies among divisions. The bonus seems to work well where

Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-Art HR Strategies / 101

existing products are the major source of a division’s revenue, but it
works poorly where new products are being developed, since it focuses
on the gross margins of the division. Consequently, few people are willing
to transfer out of high-gross-margin divisions into ones creating new
products, even though the future survival of the company depends on
creating new products and moving into new markets. The system also
interferes with the development of internal supplies for the end product
manufactured within its divisions because an interdivision sale made at
a price lower than an external customer would pay leads to lower gross
margins for the selling division.

Changes in Rules and Supplies

Construction rules change occasionally. Local building codes may

s p e w copper plumbing, grounded wiring, and the elimination of as-
bestos in habitable areas. Zoning ordinances require certain setbacks,
maximum heights, and the like. Material prices may change, and sub-
stitutes are often developed. Looking back over time, wallboard has re-
placed lath and plaster, plastic pipe stands in for cast iron, particle board
has replaced planking, and fiberglass insulation has replaced old news-
papers. Some of these are improvements while others entail the use of
less costly products which equal the performance of the materials they
replaced.
Railway firemen no longer exist. Plasterers are hard to find. The demand
no longer exists for either occupation to the degree it did forty to fifty
years ago. When the first diesel-electric locomotive joined the nation’s
rolling stock, firemen should have recognized that they would need to
adapt or lose their jobs. HR staff personnel (architects) and operating
HR managers (construction managers) need to view themselves and ask
whether there are any similarities in the roles they now occupy as com-
pared with those firemen and plasterers have occupied in the past. Some
of these changes suggest an examination of several areas human resource
managers should continue directing their attention toward.

Laws, Regulations, and Adversarial Issues

We have moved through a number of periods in which employers

have resisted major societal changes in which the results were inevitable.
Collective bargaining and equal employment opportunity are two major
areas. While some employers deny the present legitimacy of collective
bargaining, very few would argue to themselves that equal employment
opportunity is contrary to their best interests.
To any operating HR manager who is acquainted with what is presently
happening in the courts or in thoughtful research and opinion papers,

102 / Human Resource Management, Spring/Summer 1983

it is clear that two major changes in compensation and staffing practices
are likely to occur during the final two decades of this century. The first
relates to wage differentials between occupations commonly held by high
proportions of women and those of occupations mostIy peopled by men.
Consequently, job evaluation systems and internal labor markets will
require major reexaminations and modifications to reduce the possibility
that wage differentials are based on sex rather than worth.
The second change relates to the term of employment. "At will" em-
ployment where the employer is free to employ for an indefinite time
period absent a contract or the violation of a restrictive law, is being
strongly challenged in both the courts and in proposals to legislators.
Were "at will" employment practices to be sharply curtailed or prohibited,
much more attention would have to be paid to training and development
or to the creation of a quasi "free agency" approach to employment. On
the other hand, an implicit or explicit dropping of "at will" approaches
may lead to a concomitant increase in employee commitment and an
adoption of the view by employers that employees are essentially futed
assets.

Demography

We can already project with fair accuracy the total size and age com-
position of the potential U.S. labor force in the year 2001. Virtually all
of that year's employees have already been born. We don't know exactly
what proportion of the labor force will be men or women, what the
participation rate will be, or when people will intend to retire, but we
do know that our ability to make net additions of new employees from
first-time entries to the labor force will decline markedly during the 1985
to 1995 period and that the pressures of the Age Discrimination in Em-
ployment Act and impending changes to Social Security are likely to
increase the variability of retirement decisions by those approaching
customary retirement ages.
Despite this readily available knowledge, most firms do not appear
to be giving sigruficant attention to the ramifications of changes in the
demographic makeup of the population, potential changes in local labor
market conditions, or changes in the preferences people have for oc-
cupations. It is our experience that most organizations closely approximate
the classical economic model regarding the detennination of wages and
employment levels; that is, they assume that any employer will be able
to hire as many members of a given occupation with given characteristics
as it wants at the market rate. Employers actually do fill positions at the
market rate and can obtain (in national labor markets) as many new
hires as are desired, but the wage level necessary to fill the positions
may be much greater than earlier anticipated. If earlier forecasts of hiring
costs would have been made, the employer might have decided not to

Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-Art HR Strategies / 103

enter a certain market or to produce certain products. In organizations
with which we are acquainted, even those whose future profitability is
tied to a rapidly growing aged population, most HR and line managers
seem unconcerned with the shifting makeup of the labor force, and even
those few who have considered the issue expect that it will not be a
problem in the future for them.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

We believe that opportunities currently exist for HR planners (architects)
to provide siNicantly improved and more workable HRP designs to
their organizations. However, these opportunities require an extremely
close look at the whole environment within which the design will be
implemented as well as at the characteristics of the design itself. Solar
heating, while energy-saving, may not work we0 in Seattle. Similarly,
some parts of a state-of-the-art planning system may be inappropriate
or need modification for implementation in certain environments. In the
following sections we discuss some areas where such changes are needed.

Insufficiency of Forecasting

Udorhmately, forecasting most often is concerned with the quantitative

factors of HRs rather than the qualitative characteristics that HRs will
need. Forecasts of gross numbers of employees needed in certain job
classifications say little about the human capital needs, specific perfor-
mance levels, or compensation costs that are likely to be encountered.
We would argue, for example, that knowledge of the characteristics of
the employees likely to turnover is at least as important as the numbers
of people leaving.
Turnover is usually higher during a strong economy and during periods
in which new operations are being staffed. Additions and replacements
turn over faster than does the cadre of employees with stable work records.
GeneralIy speaking, the loss of a cadre member is more disruptive and
costly than a relatively junior employee because the investment in specific
human capital is higher.
Forecasting also seldom takes into account the effects of HR manage-
ment practices within the organization. These are generally designed to
influence staffing outcomes through attraction, retention, improved per-
formance and productivity; they all m o w potential forecasts. We suggest
that some of the following issues need to be considered if the HR strategy
is to benefit from the forecast and that the actions required will need
more input from both the “architect” and ”construction manager.”

104 / Human Resouice Management, Spring/Summer 1983

 Need for Strategic H R Plans

Organizations frequently adopt a compensation policy that is not clearly

thought through in terms of its likely effect on the accomplishment of
an organizational strategy. Often mobility is encouraged by the policy
(at least into the organization), but seldom is intra-organizational mobility
a primary emphasis of the program. HRP might also profit from an ex-
amination of the effectiveness of differentiating salaries by merit within
job levels for the purpose of motivating performance. Where performance
is likely to be difficult to operationalize, for example, improvements in
job skills (investments in human capital by the individual) may serve as
a more rational basis for granting salary increases. Thus, balancing in-
dividual needs and job specific requirements may be an important out-
come of a compensation policy for particular jobs. In sum, compensation
systems should be designed to support the movement in HR and the
changes in behavior that will be required to accomplish future strategy,
and the Compensation system should be a leading indicator to employees
regarding what the organization wilI consider to be important in the
future. Moreover, we believe that there should exist in each organization
a strategic compensation plan (as well as a staffing plan, a training and
development plan, etc.) which sets forth in detail the intended purposes
of the compensation system and how it is linked to the achievement of
organizational strategy.
Training and development needs should be examined at the same time
that forecasts of numbers and types of employees are made. The areas
in which growth is anticipated and the turnover of present employees
need to be factored into estimates of the types of employees who might
need retraining or further development. Again, the objectives to be
achieved should be clearly specified in a training and development plan.

Proactive in Strategy

The absence of a long-term perspective with clear projections about

future requirements tends to lead HR managers to regard human resources
only as a constraint, i.e., do we have enough people to fill our short
term requirements? Thus, planning tends to proceed from consideration
of products, to product markets, to technologies, and finally to people
required, but almost never are these variables considered in reverse order.
As a result, many HR managers spend a great deal more of their time
avoiding problems and correcting currentIy unacceptable situations than
in looking for new business opportunities that might be suggested by
the current or projected state of the work force and external labor market.
When HR excesses occur due to changes in the nature of the business
or economic downturns, there is a tendency to lay people off as a cost
avoidance measpre instead of thinking about how they might be employed

Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-& HR Strategies / 105

profitably. Moreover, we suspect that few HR managers have analytic
data capable of showing the relative costs of idling rather than retaining
workers. The issue of costs associated with skill deterioration and lost
training investment due to layoffs and forced retirements have been es-
pecially neglected.

Expanded T i e Horizons

Many HR managers do not have dependable projections of either their

future job structure nor of the required positions within their job structures
for more than one or two years into the future. Even where new facilities
are planned, little attention is typically devoted to the required skills and
other variables affecting HR management until shortly before the positions
must be filled. Consequently, the HR function tends to be highly reactive
rather than proactive in issues such as staffing and development. We
suspect that this often leads to the expenditure of excessive amounts of
money in compensation to play "catch up" because the firm finds itself
paying more in the labor market for less capable employees than they
couId have deveIoped internally, had they started in time.

Recognition of Contingencies which Create Cultures

Policies on promotion and internal transfers as compared to external

recruitment tend to be determined largely by organizational custom and
culture rather than as a result of clearly articulated HR strategies based ,
upon valid data. As a consequence, organizations that pay very close
attention to highly operational performance measures such as return on
investment (ROI), seem to deal with expenditures for HRs as costs that
can be viewed within a short run perspective rather than as assets on
which the organization will receive returns in the future.

Systems Nature of HRM Contingencies

Staffing tends to be the driving force of HR systems. In HRP, an ex-

amination of how the other functional areas of HR can support staffing
should be examined. Given the staffing needs of the organization, what
kinds of compensation, training and development, job design, appraisal,
and benefit systems will best help to accommodate the needs of the
organization?
While staffing is the primary activity toward which HRP is directed,
little attention is paid to the interrelatedness of the functions involved

106 f Human Resource Management, SpringjSummer 1983

with it. Opportunities are available for new areas of study which can
lead to the enhancement of HRP. The next section will suggest preliminary
directions for these.

NEEDS FOR NEW KNOWLEDGE

In our recent reflections on HRP systems and the information they

use, we have identified five areas in which new knowledge or improved
understanding is needed to support intelligent long and short run HR
strategy decisions. This final section will discuss these areas.

Internal Organizational Demographics

A host of variables have been related to the propensity to turnover

from organizations. While recent work has focused on the attitudinal
and behavioral variables that are related to demographic variables (e.g.,
age, sex, race, etc.), these demographic variables often provide the best
gross correlates of turnover available to the organization. We know that
older, more senior employees leave at lower rates than new or younger
employees. As a result, the age distribution of the internal labor force,
and the rate at which new employees are added should help to tell us
the rate at which future additions will be necessary to maintain the or-
ganization at its present size. We also should know that net additions
to size will require greater staffing expenditures than maintenance. For
example, if turnover is 20% during the first year of employment and 5%
in subsequent years, and we replace 50 "quits" in a 500 person operation,
then we can reasonably expect to lose 10 of the new hires and 22 among
more senior employees, for an overall rate of 6.4%. But, if we add 150
people to reach a size of 500, we can expect to lose 30 of these new hires,
along with 18 of the existing senior employees for a total of 48, or 9.6%
turnover.
This is a simple example. We need to become more sophisticated in
our analysis of demographic relationships and movement through internal
labor forces. The identification of sigruficant bottlenecks in progression
ladders, the tagging of age-position relationships and the likely sub-
sequent influences on upwardly mobile junior employees should be ex-
amined. Simulation studies (similar to those used in projecting results
from Affmative Action Programs) could be used to project the age-
position composition of the future labor force and the effects this would
likely have on the ability to reward employees for desired performance,
assuming that promotions are highly desired. We suggest also that con-
sideration be given to the creation of ungraded systems where heavy
concentrations of senior employees exist.

Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-Art HR Strategies / 107

 Flows within Internal Labor Markets

Most Iarge organizations are decentraIized to some extent. They provide

products or services in several markets or geographical areas. Besides
the internal job progression ladders that exist, there is also a Ball<anization
of movement within the organization with concentrations of movements
within divisions, groups, sectors, or strategic business units. As time
goes by, the demand for products and services within markets waxes
and wanes with cyclical and secular trends. Choices must be made re-
garding the movement of HR across organizational boundaries. Some
of this may be done impliatly through organizational restructuring, while
others are done through acquisitions, spinoffs, or individual transfers
across units.
More data are needed from the "architects" on the magnitude and
direction of flows within organizations. Some may occur as a result of
the maturation of certain areas of business with resulting excesses of
resources to be moved to the development of new areas. Organizations
should also be examined to determine the degree to which entrepreneurial
activities can take place within existing units rather than requiring the
creation of new divisions. Finally, some units may simply invest more
in the development of human capital and are thus able to export talent
to the rest of the organization. Mechanisms for rewarding this devel-
opment need to be identified, as well as the potential outcome of possible
Machiavellian motives of divisional managers in flooding the organization
with talent generated within their divisions, thus creating a constituency
that can be relied upon to respond to calls for loyalty in future succession
struggles.

Organizational Job Ecology

A great deal of recent work on the development and maintenance of

organizations has focused on an expansion of the population ecology
model from biology to organizational theory. We propose an appropriate
extension to the more micro level of job creation. Over time organizations
create and extinguish jobs as technologies, participation in product mar-
kets, and changes in demand occur. We need to examine the rate at
which distinguishable new jobs are created and the sources from which
HR come to staff these jobs. Do they come from redundant occupations
or from those which are already in short supply? What overlaps exist
between the job duties required by these new jobs and generic duties
which the organization has identified? What conditions forecast that new
jobs will be created and what can the organization do to reduce the dif-
ficulties connected with staffing new jobs?

108 / Human Resource Management, Springhmrner 1983

 Linkage between Plant Life and Human Capital Investment

A host of decisions are made regarding the location and investment

in new plants. Frequently, these plants are located in particular geo-
graphical areas because of tax and/or labor market advantages. When
plants are started, labor forces are recruited to staff the plants. High
turnover is frequently encountered until a stable cadre of employees is
established. Then, since preference is usually given to hiring younger
people, little attrition occurs as a result of age-related disabilities or de-
cisions. If decisions could be made to design plant andor technology
lives to match the working life of the majority of the work force, then
fewer problems with development or severance problems would occur
at a future time.

"The Tragedy of the Common"

An economic parable relates difficulties that villagers encounter re-
garding the common grazing ground for their community. Each village
family grazes cattle on the common. Since there are a large number of
families, an individual household head sees little impact from the addition
of a cow. And, in fact, that decision does nothing detrimental to the
common and enriches the household. But if all of the households do
the same, the common becomes overgrazed and barren, and all families
suffer.
The same may hold for organizations locating in a given area. On the
one hand there is a synergy in common industrial bases for the devel-
opment of a technology. But on the other, there is a competition for
labor supplies which ultimately drives up the price of labor to force out
laborers who have middle-level skills. Research is necessary to idenbfy
when and under what conditions this problem begins to occur.

SUMMARY

There is considerable evidence indicating that the field of HRM has

become much more important in recent years and that top management
is beginning to expect HR managers to assist in resolving strategic business
issues. This seems to be less related to a perception of increasing ca-
pabilities of HR managers than because it has been realized that some
of the most difficult strategic issues involve human resources. Thus, if
HR managers hope to retain their new-found importance, they must
become more adept and sophisticated at identdymg and dealing with
strategic opportunities and constraints involving human resources.

Fossum and Parker: State-of-the-Art HR Strategies / 109

 This article suggests that before HR managers as a group can achieve
a deserved niche in strategy formulation and implementation they must
clanfy their roles within the organization; become more sophisticated in
their use of state-of-the-art concepts, knowledge, and techniques; and
develop additional knowledge-based tools to enhance their competence
to deal with strategic HR issues.

fohn A . Fossum is an associate professor of Industrial Relations in the Industrial

Relations Center, School of Management and Economics, University of Minnesota.
He teaches courses in personnellhuman resource management, compensation,
collective bargaining and labor relations, and organizational behavior. His current
research interests involve human resource forecasting, internal labor markets ’

and organizational change, employee turnover and job change, and union-
management cooperation and productivity. He has consulted with a variety of
public and private sector organizations in management development, organiza-
tional development, management-by-objectives, compensation systems, and per-
sonnel management information systems.

Donald F. Parker is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in The

University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business Administration and a
Faculty Associate at The Institute for Social Research at The University of Mich-
igan. Dr. Parker came to Michigan after 23 years as a naval officer, retiring as
a Captain. Since then he has embarked on private sector research relating to
human resources planning, training, compensation and career decisions. At The
Institute for Social Research, Professor Parker participated as a research site
director in a fhree-year assessment of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. He
has authored a number of cases, articles, and research reports. He has also served
as a consultant for private and public sector organizations.

110 / Human Resource Management, Spring/Summer 1983