Human resource management (HRM), as a subdiscipline of management
science, is in its infancy. HRMpractices are often utopian in expectation and
fail to incorporate a realistic view of existing knowledge bases in the psycho
logical, social, and biological sciences. The HRM discipline relies upon theor
etical approaches (e.g., theories of motivation, satisfaction, and performance)
which are: 1) almost invariably linear in conceptualization and depend
largely upon correlational evidence, 2) frequently validated within non-
representative contexts that are overly constrained by researchers, and
3) overly simplistic in that the constraints and patterns imposed by our bio
logical, psychological, and social systems are frequently ignored or assumed
to constitute random error within the models. This frequently translates into
HRM practices which map reasonably well onto theory yet fall short of yielding
expected outcomes. The theories do not match the realties observed. We point
to non-linear dynamics and chaos theory as a way of conceptualizing how
common HRM practices may translate into observable outcomes. Such an
approach will force managers to pull back from simple reliance on linear
predictions and realize that truly effective HRM practices should be sensitive
to the unique, complex, and less systematically predictable patterns of human
behaviour.
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