Does HR add value? : diverse perspectives on human capital management

The human resources (HR) function has evolved significantly over the past several decades. It has grown in maturity and influence while simultaneously enduring great criticism from employees and managers. Meanwhile, environmental pressures have forced business leaders and academics to call for the elevation of HR to a level of strategic primacy. This thesis examines the relationship between organizational human capital and the professional HR function, looking at the history and current state of HR, perceptions of HR's efficacy, trends in innovative organizational design and leadership, and the future of human capital management. I explore these issues in the academic and popular literature, survey managers and experts in the field, and present an intra-industry study across several biotechnology firms.

Department dc:contributor.department

Sloan School of Management.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Eckman, Jeffrey M

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John van Maanen.

• Sloan School of Management.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36907

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36907