Starting the HR and change conversation with history

Abstract

Contemporary questions about human resources (HR) and organizational change reflect historical tensions around whose interests HR should represent and its role in the change process. HR's recent strategic focus has brought it greater legitimacy; at the same time, voices it represented earlier have been muted. This paper provides an historical context to today's conversation about HR and organizational change. We interpret the early footings of HR – scientific management, welfare work, and vocational guidance– focusing on issues of change for whom, on whom, and for what purpose. Three subsequent eras, important to the history of HR, are also discussed. Throughout, HR's approach to change has emphasized efficiency, stability, and fit. As an alternative to this conservative approach to change, we propose a negotiations perspective that would allow HR to build on its history by enacting a role where different interests can be explored, probed, and realized.