Large companies increasingly dominate national and international economies as acquisition and mergers grow in volume, often now across national boundaries. As they grow and expand big firms often reorganize themselves along multi-divisional lines to face their diverse markets, and to maximize their capital allocation, rates of return, and shareholder values. Often overlooked and insufficiently studied is the way these developments impact upon decisions concerning strategies for industrial relations, employee relations, and, increasingly, human resource management. Based on ten years of research in nine large companies, this book traces the development of the multi-divisional company and, using a strategic choice perspective, explores the ways in which corporate decisions influence personnel management and human resource strategies Using current case material and the now well known management style matrix', the authors explore three issues in depth - the role of the corporate personnel department, the shaping of policy towards unions and collective bargaining, and the choice of management style.

A fascinating new study on human resource management in British multi-divisional companies...The book provides a useful and a relatively jargon-free account of how corporate decisions influence human resource management. --Financial Times