King, N; Price, A D F and Dainty, A R J (2004) Strategic approaches to managing human relations within construction SMEs. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 20th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Organisational success is dependent upon the effective management of people. At the heart of this process is an organisation's HRM strategy, which should seek to align HRM practices with the wider organisational objectives. This paper investigates employee relations as one key area of Strategic Human resource management (SHRM) within construction SMEs. The aim of this part of the research is to examine the multi facetted nature of the SHRM function and particularly the perspectives of employee relations. These issues were explored via semi-structured interviews with the strategy makers and HR or middle mangers of construction SMEs. It provides an insight into the way in which employee relations are implemented as part of the SHRM function. A wide range of techniques were utilised within a small number of organisations, the larger organisations within the group exhibited highly structured objectives and procedures. It forms part of a wider study which aims to explore further the components and types of SHRM strategies used by construction SMEs in order to improve organisational performance. The ultimate outcome of the research is to develop a model of SME SHRM practice that helps firms to reconcile their HRM needs with the problematic operating context provided by the industry.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | employee relations; organisational performance; SMEs; strategic human resource management |
| Index terms: | human relation, interview, human resource management, strategy, organizational performance, employee relation, heart |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, psychology, medical science and clinical practice, management, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Human Resources, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here