Researching Human Resource Management: Methodology of the Price Waterhouse Cranfield Project on European Trends

Outlines methodology for the Price Waterhouse Cranfield Project – an important new source of data on human resource management (HRM) in Europe. Places project in context of comparable sources and in relation to European framework. National data are collected by an annual survey of employing organisations to monitor over time the impact of the Single European Market (SEM) and to establish how far there is a shift towards “Strategic HRM”. Uses a functional definition of HRM. A postal questionnaire covers: HR departments and strategy; recruitment policies; pay and benefits policies; training policies and evaluation; contract and working hours flexibility; industrial relations; response to the SEM. Deals with problems of compatability of data across countries and languages, translation, industrial classification, sample size and distribution responses.