The Development of the Personnel Function in Transition Countries: Slovenian and Estonian Experience

Abstract

In international comparative studies of personnel management/HRM, one of the central issues is to identify similarities and differences in approaches to this specific function in organisations. The driving forces in a market economy lead HRM practices in different countries down more or less a similar path. In this case it is assumed that the best methods and practices that have proven themselves indeed exist, and these have therefore been found in use whereever a market economy works. The same trend is noticeable when talking about the influence of institutional forces in European Union that result in HRM practices becoming increasingly similar in different countries. At the same time, developments in HRM in different countries are influenced by deeply rooted value systems and cultural traditions that act as forces creating and maintaining divergence. The comparison of Slovenia and Estonia offers specific insights into how and why the HRM function has changed in organisations in two new European Union member countries.