I. Introduction
The aim of this project is to show that human resource management is replacing traditional industrial relations in organisations. Armstrong (2006: 3) defined human resource management as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisation's most valued asests- the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achivement of its objectives.
According to Storey (1989, cited in Armstrong 2006), HRM can be regarded as a 'set of inter related policies with an ideological and philopsophical underpinning'.
There are critical HRM activities that are shared by all types of organisations (Gunnigle et al. 2006):
1.Strategy and organisation
Involves: contributing to organisational strategy, influencing culture and alues, developing HR strategies and policies.
2.Employee Resourcing
Includes human resources planning, recrutiment and selection, development and termination of employment.
3.Employee Development
Incorporates training and development; management development, performance management.
4.Reward Management
Inolves the selection of reward strategies; administration of payment and benefits systems.
5.Employee Relations
Includes industrial relations, employee involvement, communication and employee services.
6.Employment and HR Administration
Incorporates employment policies and practices; working conditions; and HR information systems.
The Annual Report (2007) of Labour Relations Commission shows that 54% of multinational companies in Ireland have a HR information system and foreign firms alre more likely to have such a system than Irish-owned comapnies.
One the other hand, we have industrial relations tradition. Tyson (2006) suggested that 'industrial relations' term is used in a general sense to desribe the formal relationships between employers and collective groupings of employees, together with the institutional arrangements that arise from these relationships. There are...