Adjusting organisations to change can only be achieved through evaluation and an understanding of the appropriateness of interventions and change strategies. All these activities are aspects of the 'fit' of HR strategy to organisational strategy. Among the fields for future research, there is a strong argument for returning to an examination of management ideologies, since they inform philosophies of management and, hence, what comes to be regarded as valued people management knowledge in organisations. Researchers might also find a rich vein in discovering the ways HRM knowledge comes to change. This implies that the capability to analyse and quickly understand what is significant for the organisation is likely to continue to be of most value.
More research is needed to show how the power position of those with HR responsibilities affects the extent to which a separate knowledge base of HRM is possible. The absorption of HR into line management in the operational sphere, and the integration of HR into the strategy-making activities of senior management, may reduce the possibility for a separate occupational identity. The role of 'loyal opposition', for example, may now be impossible for HR staff to adopt. Without separate values or a different knowledge base to that of other managers an independent agenda will be difficult to construct and to sustain.
However, this article argues that the most valued knowledge for HR management is likely to come from learning how to apply HRM theories and techniques in particular organisational contexts, with emphasis on organisational analysis and process skills, and on the general management competencies used to manage resources and to integrate the HR strategies into the business.