Interpretation and Assessment of Human Resource Management Systems

Abstract

Despite its strategic importance, the  literature has failed to clearly define practical flexibility.  Empirical studies have led to varied and often  contradictory results based on various conceptualizations  and measurement techniques. In the field of human  resource management this paper proposes a structure to  define and measure functional flexibility. Researchers  tried to explain the word by categorizing past meanings  and adding an integrative design to the process. Scholars  discuss and justify the need for a certain degree of  practical flexibility in human resource management  procedures in the first part of this essay to support the  ability of organizations to respond to a changing  environment. From this perspective this capability is seen  as a relevant source of competitive advantage. Scholars  propose a new framework for functional flexibility and a  measurement model based on our theoretical analysis that  could help generate further studies on this topic. This  structure should be used as a starting point for creating a  realistic flexibility rating scale. In the last part of the  article potential lines of research to be gained from this  assessment are discussed. Scholars focus on the need to  study how human resource discovery and exploitation can  be flexibly incorporated into human resource  management approaches.