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This book contains an empirical examination in the Human Resource Management (HRM) field of HR and line managerial opinion to changes in their work relationships which occur in the context of HR attempting to seek strategic integration at Board level, and the devolution of some HR work to line managers. It details interview and survey data from HR and the line which chart their views on the nature, means and rationales of their work relations via case study analysis of three British work organisations: a private sector utility group, a public sector local authority, and a foreign-owned manufacturing company. This data is used to assess the utility of existing explanations in this topic area (namely of partnerships and power struggles), and finds a dualism where such explanations have resonance with HR and line management views, both across and within the private and public sector organisations studied, within the limitations described.

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Dr. Douglas Renwick is Lecturer in Human Resource Management (HRM) at the Management School, University of Sheffield, U.K.

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