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Journal of Management Studies 34:1 January 1997
0022-2380
SOFT AND HARD MODELS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
A REAPPRAISAL*
CATHERINE TRUSS
Kingston Business School
LYNDA GRATION
London Business School
VERONICA HOPE-HAILEY
Crarford School of Management
PATRICK MCGOVERN
London School of Economics
PHIUP STILES
London Business School

ABSTRACT
Two of the most widely adopted models of human resource management are the hard and soft versions. These are based on opposing views of human nature and managerial control strategies. The hard model is based on notions of tight strategic control, and an economic model of man according to
Theory X, while the soft model is based on control through commitment and
Theory Y. We argue that because these assumptions are so divergent, they cannot both properly be incorporated within a single model of human resource management. Human resource management (HRM) has frequently been described as a concept with two distinct forms: soft and hard. These are diametrically opposed along a number of dimensions, and they have been used by many commentators as devices to categorize approaches to managing people according to developmental- humanist or utilitarian-instrumentalist principles (Legge, 1995b).
The terms have gained some currency although, from a theoretical point of view, the underlying conflicts and tensions contained within the models have not been sufficiently explored and, from a practical perspective, available empirical evidence would suggest that neither model accurately represents what is happening within organizations (Storey, 1992; Wood, 1995). This leads us to question the value of these dimensions for defining normative forms of HRM. In this paper, we analyse the conflicts and tensions both between and within the soft and hard models,.

CONFLICTS AND TENSIONS BETWEEN SOFT AND HARD MODELS

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