X began his engineering apprenticeship with CM8 manufacturing ten years ago before moving abroad to work for other companies. He has now returned to work for CM8 as Operations Manager of one of its factories. He is now reflecting with his mentor on his first week in post.

Much has changed since X last worked for the company. The company has grown significantly and now has many more factories. The mass production techniques he once remembered have now been replaced by lean operations and cellular manufacturing. The workplace itself is uncluttered and clean and has been redesigned so that machines are grouped according to what is being produced. Multi-skilled workers are formed into semi-autonomous modular work teams to manufacture complete products or complex components.

Discuss the respective roles that the Human Resource Department and line managers, such as X, can play in the management of CM8's workforce.

Exact human resource practices vary depending upon the size and culture of the organisation and the availability of specialist HR staff. CM8 now has a corporate Human Resource Department and the level of central charges suggests that it may be significant. The move away from the last hiring and firing' policies may be seen as a sign of organisational growth and maturity.

General approach

Clearly both the department itself and line managers have a part to play in the management of people in CM8. In terms of respective roles there will be a slightly dissimilar emphasis as follows.

• Human Resource department: Human Resource Management (HRM) includes 'a strategic approach to the acquisition, motivation, development and management of the organisation's human resources'. In terms of its general approach, the department will be strategic, longer term and corporate by nature based on the perspective of the requirements of CM8 as a whole.
• Line manager: in terms of general approach, line managers will be more operational and immediately focused on a specific area of responsibility locally (in the case of X, the factory where he has been appointed Operations Manager).