PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to outline and analyse the limitations and opportunities of decentralised human resource management (HRM) in the public sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a case study of the Estonian Central Government.FindingsIt is demonstrated that the absence of a central human resource strategy, combined with fragmentation, insufficient coordination and a lack of common values throughout the public service as well as with other limitations related to the country's post‐communist legacy has hindered a systematic approach to public service HRM. However, the paper also reveals that a decentralised setup of HRM has enabled Estonia to flexibly conduct major reforms on the organisational level during the transition of the 1990s and in the following Europeanisation period.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the case study method limits the extent to which findings of the study may be generalised to other countries and settings, there are still several lessons to be learned from the Estonian case of no central HR strategy.Practical implicationsThe practical recommendations are related to the applicability of the strategic HRM model, path dependency of the development of HRM and the strategic fit between a country's HRM model and the wider context in which it is applied.Originality/valueThe paper provides a new look to the macro‐level HR policies and to the institutional setup of central HR coordination in the context of fast reforms.
Purpose -To explore, through a case study, some of the key career-related HRD issues that senior managers are currently facing in the Estonian civil service. Design/methodology/approach -Presents primary empirical research into career management in the Estonian civil service since 1991, that is, in the post-Soviet era. The research involved in-depth interviews with a group of 12 senior staff employed by the Estonian civil service. Findings -The interview data reveal the ways in which downsizing and de-layering in the Estonian public sector have led to shortened career paths, increased functional flexibility, increased spans of control and shifts towards open job systems.Research limitations/implications -The research explored career-related issues solely within the Estonian civil service. Further research would be needed in a wider range of organisations and countries before the transferability of the findings could be established to transitional economies more generally. Practical implications -Provides practical insights into the difficulties of career management in transitional economies situations from an HR perspective. Originality/value -Offers a valuable contribution by demonstrating that, within certain parameters, Western-based career management strategies and techniques may be adapted to fit transitional public services in Estonia but only as one element of a comprehensive HR modernisation programme.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.