THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF HRM IN ORGANIZATIONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN THREE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Keywords:
human resource management, human resource department, transition countries, CRANETAbstract
Human resource management as a business function, but also as a specific management philosophy, can
significantly contribute to the creation of competitive advantage, growth and development of the organization. Due
to the above, the role of human resource management departments has been increased through the past decades. The
main characteristic of 21st century is dynamic environment which imposes many challenges to business
organisations. Regarding human resource management field, organizations must develop an adequate approach to
the emerging challenges associated with globalization, technology development, digitalisation, demographic
changes, different values of new generations of the workforce, ethical issues, as well as environmental issues.
Contemporary organizations are intensifying their efforts in order to find an appropriate human resource
management model, which will enable them to successfully deal with those challenges through the efficient use of
available human resources. Unfortunately, in transition countries, these processes take place at a slow pace. Many
organizations still, out of ignorance or fear of change, practice the philosophy of personnel management, even
though this concept was rejected in theory and practice as inadequate for modern business conditions. Therefore, in
transition countries, human resource management, as one of the key business functions, usually has a reactive,
passive, approach and adapts to the changes that have already occurred in the environment. The main aim of this
paper is to determine the role and importance of the human resource management in companies operating on the
territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in comparison with companies from Serbia and Slovenia. These European
countries share a common socialist heritage, but the transition processes in them took place with different intensities.
The research is based on data collected through the international CRANET network, which is large academic
research network in the field of human resource management, and which conducts periodic research regarding the
development of human resource management practices such as recruitment, selection, training and development of
employees, performance management, compensation management etc., using the same methodology in more than 40
countries around the world. Additionally, the theoretical part of this paper aims to elaborate and highlight
importance of human resource management in changing environment of 21st century.
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