Knowledge as a sociological phenomenon
If organisations are playing an important role in determining the knowledge base of HRM, we should establish whether there are any factors which condition the production of organisation knowledge. Mannheim (1952) saw the production of knowledge as a sociological phenomenon, from an historicist perspective. From this viewpoint, knowledge is a product of both ideology, which serves to promote social aspirations, and of the beliefs we obtain from our social experiences- 'philosophical systems change if the vital system in which one lives undergoes a shift'. For Mannheim, in studying the ideological basis of what is regarded as knowledge, we should therefore leave aside the question of whether or not a particular idea is true or false in any absolute sense; instead, we should look at the extra theoretical function it serves, as this helps us to disintegrate the idea from the social context in which it is believed to be true. According to this approach, for example, what is regarded as knowledge of HRM is a social construct, and one which is subject to different interpretations over time. This perspective on HRM is in tune with the notion of HRM as a control device, aiming to serve the need for control over employees through rhetorical devices, designed to convince employees, for example, of the benefits of flexibility and compliance (Legge, 1998). As already suggested, this is well illustrated by the pervasiveness of company competence systems, which combine lists of what a person must know and do with associated performance standards.
'HRM as discourse' is revealed increasingly as a form of rhetoric in the light of post modernist concerns (Legge, 1995), following the revolutionary changes to organisations and to work - what Flood, Gannon, and Paauwe (1996) described as managing without traditional methods. Pressures from a variety of sources may have 'destabilised' HRM through takeovers, mergers, acquisitions, downsizing and restructuring. Line managers are taking more control; technological and labour market changes have produced new HR scenarios; and there is economic, political and sociaL uncertainty. This is reflected in the ever shortening planning horizons used by organisations, a consequence of shorter product life-cycles and uncertainty over manpower forecasts and the deployment of strategies (Rothwell, 1995). To what extent, therefore, is the knowledge base of FIR a product of the rhetoric of particular forms of capitalism? For example, what could be described as HRM knowledge may be different in a Thatcherite/Reaganite era of free market capitalism from that of a 1970s institutional pluralism or a 1990s New Labour partnership epoch.