Globalisation and human resource management : an integrated framework for the African public service

Abstract

In the past decade we witnessed dramatic changes in public administration, mainly due to the challenges posed by globalisation. This article argues that these changes are spilling over into the public human resource management (PHRM) field worldwide. However, it is unfortunate that in many cases contemporary ideas and thoughts on how to manage people have gradually been transferred from the developed world (the West) to the developing world (in this case sub-Saharan Africa, further referred to as 'Africa') without any relevance to their particular circumstances. As a result, there is a paucity of research in Africa on PHRM problems, and these issues have not been addressed critically in the mainstream literature. This article attempts to reframe our understanding of the management of people in the African context, and suggests a combination of the best of the knowledge systems in both worlds. By combining the knowledge, we might broaden our understanding of the impact of globalisation on PHRM. On the basis of the globalisation literature, the author develops an integrative framework that advocates a synthesis between the modern PHRM perspectives of the developed world and the experience of managing people as it unfolds on the African continent.