Personnel/human resource departments and uncertainty: A test of Thompson's model of boundary spanning units

Efforts to understand how an organization monitors its environment often focus on boundary spanning individuals or units. The concept of boundary spanning was one introduced by Thompson in 1967 in a book that has since become the classic statement of the open systems model of organizations. This dissertation uses Thompson's model of boundary spanning units to generate hypotheses which are then tested in a sample of personnel/human resource departments. A theory driven argument is presented which suggests that the P/HR function in an organization meets Thompson's criteria for a boundary spanning unit. An historical review of the roots of personnel administration suggests that its emergence as a field fits Thompson's conceptualization of the development of boundary spanning units. This dissertation suggests that from its origin through this most recent period of transition, the development of the personnel function (now generally referred to as human resource management) has been due to a recognition by organizations that an increasing complexity and concomitant uncertainty in the human resource arena caused by such factors as labor unions, the expansion of due process in organizations, and intervention by government agencies, needed to be addressed.;The dissertation tests hypotheses generated from Thompson's theory of boundary spanning units using a sample of personnel/human resource departments (N = 124) in the eighteen county Atlanta Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The data analyzed are from face to face interviews and mailback questionnaires completed by the highest level personnel/human resource person at each site. The first hypothesis tested concerns the prevalence of uncertainty in areas nearest the organization's core technology. The second hypothesis describes the relationship between external linkages maintained by the personnel/human resource department and uncertainty and cannot be tested directly, but is examined. The relationship of the two stages of boundary spanning--external and internal linkages--are considered in the third hypothesis. The fourth hypothesis, which examines the relationship between uncertainty, boundary spanning, and resources committed by the organization to address uncertainty is supported. The results are discussed with regard to both the hypotheses that did not receive support, as well as future research.