Progressive management of an organization's
human resources has long been considered crucial
to its effectiveness and, increasingly, a means by
which an organization can secure strategic advantage
(Lawler 1986; Pfefifer 1994, 1998; Schuler and
Jackson 1987). Few researchers have examined the
impact that human resource management (HRM)
practices associated with higher levels of organizational
performance have on an organization experiencing
decline or retrenchment. However, this area
of research is one of the field's most promising in
recent years (Cook and Ferris 1986; Ferris, Schellenberg,
and Zammuto 1984). We are only now
beginning to understand how such practices afFect
performance (Huselid 1995; Sheppeckand Militello
2000; Youndt et al. 1996), yet we know almost
nothing about their ability to do so when the organization
is undergoing significant change—including
labor force displacements