Line management's involvement in people management : a comparison between South Africa and Australia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain empirical data on expected shifts of people management activities from human resources managers to line managers. The research was done by means of a cross-cultural survey in South Africa (n=381) and Australia (n=653). The research results clearly indicate that there was a perceived shift of traditional people management functions to line management in both countries. This shift was more prominent in South Africa than in Australia. The main shift in South Africa seemed to be that line managers are increasingly involved in training and development. Equal employment opportunity was seen as the second most important area of change, followed by the use of human resources information systems, industrial relations, and occupational health and safety. Recruitment and selection were seen as the least important areas of change.