Managing People: Psychological versus Sociological Approaches

An important premise of HRD approaches to performance improvement is the psychological rather than the broader sociological foundation upon which HRD interventions are based.   Human resource management in the United States is rooted in psychology and focuses on the improvement of individual worker motivation and needs (Hofstede, Bond, & Luk, 1993).  Accordingly, HRD approaches focus on the analysis of individual employee needs, reward systems, and job enrichment as means of improving individual worker performance (Fisher, 1989).  In Europe, however, the management of people in organizations has evolved from a sociological perspective that focuses on the social system, the economic and political context, and the nature of the relationships among government, unions, and management.  A primary concern in many European countries is who has the power to decide which issues, such that industrial democracy falls into the domain of workers and industrial policy corresponds to government (Schneider & Barsoux, 1997).  This is seen in laws that determine how worker organizations are represented on German company boards, the authority of quality of work-life councils in Sweden, and the power of strict labor codes in France, Spain, and Latin American countries.  The nature of the employment relationship between employee and employer differs, both legally and psychologically, in different countries. While law dictates what is regulated and to what degree, the social paradigm establishes mutual expectations between workers and companies.

It should be noted that some human performance technologies encourage are moving towards working with whole systems of employees who will change their own work environments and systems.  Typically, however, most HRD managers practice from a psychological premise and focus on the development of the individual.