Using soft systems methodology to identify competence requirements in HRM

Uses a case study to show how Checkland′s soft systems methodology(SSM) may be used as a vehicle for developing competence profiles in human resource management. The benefits of SSM are based on its underlying interpretive assumptions, the distinctive way in which conceptual models are used to create learning and insight, and other aspects of systems thinking, notably the guidance embodied in its technology, and its use of the systems concepts of hierarchy and holism. Argues that much of the data which provide the basis for many HRM decisions is meaningless because they are abstracted from the broader social context from which they emerged. Presents SSM as an approach for developing HR‐related information which has the potential to overcome this difficulty.