is administrative. Its main focus is the day to day operations of the organisation with its main purpose being to ensure the smooth running of the business areas. Human resource management in this context facilitates the business areas to be productive and efficient in meeting the organisational goals.In Strategic Human Resource Management functions these functions are expanded to include the roles of the employees, their behaviour and management of organisational change in order to meet the longer-term needs. Schuler (1997) summarises Strategic Human Resource Management as expressing how people are to be treated and valued in the workforce as well human resource management’s responsibility for articulating the processes which encourage behaviour which is consistent with the organisation’s business. In this context strategic human resource management also includes the development of guidelines for the implementation of people-related programs and, the more complex area of co-ordinating and facilitating change. Why Strategic Human Resource Management ?Strategic Human Resource Management has been developed to give companies a competitive edge over other companies. Since widespread access to and the use of technology have resulted in tighter margins for maintaining a competitive edge, corporations are looking for new ways to beat their competitors. Employees are now seen as the resource to acquire and develop fully in order to have that competitive edge. One strategy that has developed in response to this is the effort to be seen as an employer of choice. The emphasis is on recruiting skilled personnel, providing ongoing development and fostering high-performance work practices to improve productivity (Robbins, Zbergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2000, p. 390. & Smith, B., 1994, p3.) . Key functionsLegge (in Kramer, McGraw & Schuler, 1997, p. 49) articulates Strategic Human Resource Management as a strategy that is deliberate,...
