Title: CI in the work place: does involving the HRM function make any difference?

Authors: Paul Hyland, Karen Becker, Terry Sloan, Frances Jorgensen

Addresses: School of Natural and Rural Systems Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. ' School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4001, Australia. ' School of Management, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797 Penrith South DC, New South Wales 1797, Australia. ' Department of Management, Aarhus School of Business, CORE – Centre for Organizational Renewal and Evolution, University of Aarhus, Haslegaardsvej 10, Aarhus V DK-8210, Denmark

Abstract: People are central to successful Continuous Improvement (CI), and in larger organisations a Human Resource Management (HRM) function is responsible for people related issues. Central to CI is learning and a culture that supports CI. Learning needs to be both individual and organisational, and must benefit the organisation|s performance. The HRM function is often given the task of championing cultural change and managing aspects of training and learning, and it would appear that involvement of HRM professionals would enhance CI efforts and assist in the timely solution of issues within the CI process. This paper aims to determine the influence of involving HRM professionals in CI, and if their involvement has any impact on support and tools used in CI and the contribution of CI to business performance.

Keywords: HRM; human resource management; continuous innovation; organisational culture; cultural change; business performance; training; learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2008.021048

International Journal of Technology Management, 2008 Vol.44 No.3/4, pp.427 - 440

Published online: 31 Oct 2008 *

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