Introduction
In a rapidly and continuously changing work environment, organisations are becoming more volatile giving rise to renewed concerns for human resource management (HRM). To survive in an intense competitive environment and subsequently achieve their objectives, organisations require human resources (HR) and capabilities that are exceptional and create value in an inimitable way (Barney & Clark, 2007; Pfeffer, 1994). Boxall and Purcell (2003) reinforced that the unique talents among employees provide a critical ingredient in developing an organisation’s competitive position. But how employees are managed as vital HR to provide a competitive edge from an organisation’s perspective requires an understanding of the strategic
Tatsuro Toyoda, the president of NUMMI, advocated that “If you want to make a process change, you have to go through HR because they actually administer the plant” (Krafcik, 1986, p. 4). This example explicitly identifies the high value-added contribution of HRM within organisations. Through an efficient HRM system, employees can become strategic assets of an organisation because a well-developed HRM system can be difficult to imitate due to its social complexity and causal ambiguity (Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Maital, 1994; Ulrich, 1997). Hence, there is immense need to invest in the administrative function of HRM in organisations.

The second function, HR strategic function, focuses on integrating HR with the business strategy to enhance an organisation’s ability to better achieve its objectives (Niehaus, 1995). It is particularly concern with all organisational activities which affect the behaviour of employees in their effort to formulate and implement planned strategies that will help an organisation achieve its business objectives. According to Hartel and Fujimoto (2010), organisational activities include determining the quantity and quality of employees required to meet organisational objectives, determining how to deploy each individual’s unique qualities to support organisational strategy and identifying strategies to motivate employees to attain productivity targets while maintaining a positive work