HRM and Commitment

Based on Human Resource Management in a Business Context by Alan Price - published by Cengage Learning

Contents

Objectives

The purpose of this chapter is to:
- Define the concept of employee commitment.
- Introduce employer branding as a form of commitment management
- Relate commitment to culture.
- Evaluate the true nature of commitment.

Commitment and brand values

Employer branding

Commitment and culture

Commitment strategies

Justifying commitment

Committed to what?

Managing professionals

Summary

In this chapter we examined the concept of commitment, particularly in relation to the concept of employer branding. Commitment has been a particular feature of human resource literature since the 1980s as a result of its inclusion in the influential Harvard map of HRM and the apparent advantage it gave Japanese firms over their western counterparts. In recent years, internal brand management has been subsumed by the process of 'employer branding' - an attempt to build organizations that embody brand values by attracting, keeping and developing employees who 'live the brand' through the alignment of marketing communications and HR practices. We reconsidered the link between commitment and culture and questioned its true justification and meaning and addressed the issue of commitment in the management of professionals.

Further reading

Karen Legge provides a powerful analysis of commitment in Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities (1995), published by MacMillan Business. Michael O'Malley's Creating Commitment: How to Attract and Retain Talented Employees by Building Relationships That Last (2000), published by John Wiley is a highly readable practitioner account on developing commitment and identifying employees who 'fit'. There are hundreds of brand management books in print, but few go into employer branding in detail. Integrated Branding: Becoming Brand-Driven Through Companywide Action, by F. Joseph LePla and Lynn M. Parker (1999), published by Quorum Books, takes a holistic approach to branding, including its impact on employees. Brand Manners: How to Create the Self Confident Organization to Live the Brand, by Hamish Pringle and William Gordon (2001), published by John Wiley and The Brand Mindset: Five Essential Strategies for Building Brand Advantage Throughout Your Company by Duane E. Knapp and Christopher W. Hart (1999), published by McGraw-Hill, also contain some material on employees and branding.

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