Many management scholars and practitioners believe that people and the ways in which they are managed are key factors in the economic survival and relative performance of organisations. The field of Human Resource Management (HRM) focuses on the ‘people management’ issues in formal organisations. It is important to note that HRM is not the prerogative of the HRM department, where one might exist; rather it is an important aspect of all managers’ jobs. At the outset, the aim of this unit is to familiarise you with the fundamental goals and the classical sub-functions of HRM - job design, recruitment, selection, training and development, compensation and so forth. We then move on to examine key questions in the HRM literature, such as: How should HRM be tied to organisational strategy? What effects, if any, does HRM have on organisational performance? To help answer these questions we explore models that link HRM to organisational performance. In this unit, HRM is broadly conceived as encompassing all those activities associated with the management of work and people in formal organisations. Consequently, we also examine how choices in work systems are connected to an organisation’s chances of economic survival and relative performance. We conclude the unit by investigating the roles that HRM can play in managing both the organisational culture and strategic change.