High Performance Management: A Literature Review

In recent years there has been widespread discussion
concerning the purported shift away from Taylorism towards a
new production paradigm premised upon techniques of highperformance
management (HPM). This paper argues that in
seeking to capture the essence of the phenomenon
commentators typically privilege different aspects of the
management function. For example, some emphasise the
importance of task formulation while others focus heavily on
the management of human resources. Drawing on recent work
by Bélanger et al. (2002) it is argued that any construct needs
to be to be understood as a composite covering three discrete
but related spheres: production management, work
organisation and employee relations. The paper then moves on
to consider the principal theoretical debates surrounding the
emergent model; namely, the compatibility of HPM with neoliberal
orthodoxy; the impact of HPM on productivity; and,
finally, the implications of HPM vis-à-vis employees. The
paper concludes that there is a need for the development of
more refined analytical tools and similarly the excavation of
data more sensitive to potential sectoral dynamics.