Abstract
The evolution from the notion of Manpower Management to the concept of Strategic Human Resources Management has made it fashionable to say in organisations that people are the greatest asset. But it can be hypocrite to make such a hollow statement, given the lack of tool to measure accurately the value added to an organisation by its employees. Among the few existing tools, fordism was during the first half of the XX century the dominant form of Manpower Management to reach high productivity. In the decades after the World War II, critics arose against this dominant organisational paradigm, which led to High Performance Management being presented in the literature as a new ‘one best way' destined to replace Fordism. This has been supported by a growing body of evidence from the literature which apparently demonstrates a positive correlation between the use of high performance work practices and organisational performance.
