Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results

Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results, by Dave Ulrich. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997.

Human Resource Champions may change the way we approach the human resource (HR) function in organizations. I say "may" because, as is far too often the case with pivotal volumes, there will most certainly be persons who are reluctant to hear Ulrich's message. This book is about change and a crucial movement away from the status quo in corporate approaches to HR management. If Ulrich is correct, the fundamental job of HR professionals (and, by extension, the approach employed by universities in training new HR practitioners) will be very different in the future.

In this work Ulrich develops an alternate (and very interesting) view of HR management. The key question he raises in the book is: What approach must organizations take regarding the relationship between line and HR managers so that they can truly add value to relevant corporate stakeholders (such as employees, customers, and investors)? The answer, in Ulrich's view, lies in a fundamental shift away from thinking about the area in terms focused on what HR people "do" (e.g., recruiting new employees, developing compensation programs, and so on) to examining what they can "deliver." Although this most certainly is not a totally new idea-James Walker, for example, has suggested some of the same ideas (Walker, 1992)-Ulrich does much more than previous authors to describe his vision for the future. In addition, he provides and develops a conceptual framework that should allow the transition to occur.

Ulrich structures the volume around his framework and includes eight chapters in the book. In the first two chapters Ulrich explains the need for the changed mindset being suggested (Chapter 1) and provides an overview of the framework (Chapter 2). These chapters are outstanding and should be read by every senior manager, HR professional and future professional (i.e., student), and faculty member teaching in the...