Line & HR Conflict: Some Empirical Insights

Line Management & HRM Regardless of their functional area, position in the hierarchy, and the size of the firm for which they work, all managers deal with HR issues relating to their employees. The human resource department helps, guides and extends all support to line managers in addressing the HR issues. Thus HRM is carried out in the organisation with the partnership of line managers and HR professionals. Jackson and Schuler (2000) treat managing human resources as a responsibility shared by line managers, HR professionals and employees. They propose partnership roles and responsibilities among these stakeholders for managing human resources. Phillips (1999) observes that effective HR departments with supportive partnership arrangements with line managers exist in many organisations. According to Brewster and Larsen (2000) there are five overlapping reasons for the assignment of HR issues to the line managers. They include managing organisations through the development of cost-centre or profit-centre based approaches; the need for a comprehensive approach to people management; growing influence of service industries; increasing real time decision making; and changes in philosophy and organisational structure. Brewster and Larsen (1992), Hoogndoorn and Brewster (1992), Brewster and Soderstrom (1994) present evidence that HR role is increasingly assigned to line managers and that the extent of such assignment varies from country to country. As mentioned by McGovern et.al (1997), at a minimum, line managers conduct performance reviews, promotion decisions, and communicate terminations. Brewster and Larsen (2003) present data on the variations of line management responsibility for HRM in Europe. Based on the information collected from 176 line managers working in different types of organisations in India, Srimannarayana (2010) finds line managers have relatively higher responsibility in HR activities such as performance management, and training and development and relatively lower responsibility in the employee compensation systems. He identifies significant differences in the role of line managers based on the nature of business undertaken by their organisations and the ownership of the organisations. The involvement of line managers in HRM has positive as well as negative consequences. Stuart (1992) observes that significant management involvement in HR function leads to high levels of HR programmes ownership that helps in crease HR programmes effectiveness. Perry and Kulik (2008) find a positive impact of devolution of HR to line managers on people management effectiveness. Renwick (2003) reports significant organisational benefits and costs from involving the line in HR work. The participation of both line and HR managers in HRM needs to be re-assessed, as line involvement in HRM is a problematic initiative for organisations to adopt. While identifying the increased responsibility of first-line managers in implementation of HRM, Nehles et al (2006) assert that the first-line managers' desire to undertake HR activities, their capacity to perform HR activities, their competencies, the support they receive from HR managers and clear overall HR policy and procedure influence the implementation of HRM successfully. Based on the research carried out on the role of line managers as human resource agents in fostering organisational change in public services, McGuire, Stoner and Mylona (2008) also conclude that adequate support needs to be provided to line managers to enable them to effectively take on new HR responsibilities. Line & HR Conflict According to a study conducted in 1969, Belasco and Alutto have indicated that staff-line conflicts may be less severe and essentially different in nature than had been previously assumed. They observe that moderate disagreement has been reported only in over the amount of increased future decisional participation. Over a period of time, line managers' involvement in HRM activities has increased. …