High-Performance Work Systems

The systems perspective.

The notion of HPWS is embedded in the systems perspective of managing human resource management (HRM). According to Brian E. Becker and colleagues, this perspective

views HR practices as working together to support organizational goals and objectives. Here, the unit of analysis is the entire system rather than the individual HR practices and policies. The various HR practices synergistically complement each other to form unique configurations or bundles that can result in increased performance, both at the individual level (e.g., employee) and the organizational level. For example, research by HR scholars, such as Mark Huselid, has shown that the unique configuration of the HPWS produces high-performance employee behaviors and competencies (individual level) which in turn improve revenue, profits, and ultimately market value (organizational level).

Alignment, or fit.

At the heart of HPWS is the concept of alignment, or fit. There are two types of alignment: horizontal and vertical. Vertical fit occurs when the entire HRM system fits with all other components of the organization such as business strategy, organizational structure, and organizational culture. An important form of vertical fit is between an organization’s business strategy and HRM systems. Over the past two decades, researchers such as Randall Schuler, Susan Jackson, and John MacDuffie have examined (theoretically and empirically) how various configurations of HRM systems relate to different types of business strategies. This stream of research has examined how organizations differ in the configuration of their HR systems and how different bundles of HR policies and practices support their business goals and objectives.

Horizontal fit refers to how various HR policies and practices synergistically support each and enhance one another’s effectiveness. As described by John Delery, there are two forms of synergistic relationships among HR practices. First, there can be a positive synergistic relationship among HR practices whereby the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When HR practices work together (e.g., extensive training practices supporting staffing practices that recruit and select individuals with raw talent), their impact on performance is much greater than the individual practices that made up the system. The second type of relationship occurs when two practices actually work against one another. Becker and colleagues refer to this as a “deadly combination” that produces negative synergy. When HR practices work in deadly combination (e.g., career development programs designed for most valuable [Page 337]employees offered to all types of employees), their impact on performance is much less than the individual practices that make up the system.

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