research-article

The Philosophical Underpinnings of Western HRM Theory

  • YUAN Li
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  • School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

Published date: 05 Jun 2012

Copyright

2014 Higher Education Press and Brill

Abstract

As a typical American Product, the Human resource management (HRM) system provides a strong sense of equity, of a trustworthy exchange relationship, and alleges that assessment and promotion mainly depend on an individual’s merits. The critical perspectives of HRM reveal that the “soft” HRM offers a smokescreen for “hard” HRM to cover its unchanged reality, which emphasizes rationality, individualism, control and short-term orientation. This article analyzes the underlying philosophy of HRM, which offers the fundamental theoretical support for it, from four aspects: individualism, meritocracy, rationality and short-termism.

Cite this article

YUAN Li . The Philosophical Underpinnings of Western HRM Theory[J]. Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2012 , 7(2) : 317 -346 . DOI: 10.3868/s030-001-012-0019-1

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