Structure of the Human Resource Management Functions in Europe
The structure of the HR functions of almost all multinational organisations interviewed is primarily organised alongside business rather than country lines. In general, three distinct structural layers can be differentiated:
Business Line
All organisations are (primarily) organised by business lines. In most cases the HR function is divided according to business lines too. As a result, HR policies and practices might vary from business line to business line, due to different needs of each business area. Therefore, although the overall philosophy/strategy of the organisation of the way in which they manage their human resources might be identical, a single business might use different HR approaches. This means, although HR policies and practices may be consistent within each business line and might also be consistent across various countries within these lines, they nevertheless might vary from business line to business line, in order to serve the needs of the business.