‘ Up - or - out ’ versus ' fun - and - profit ' : a study of personnel concepts and HR themes in two IT / management consulting firms

This paper develops some ideas about personnel concepts, defined as basic conceptualizations of the idealtypical employees and the linkage between these and companies. Personnel concepts provide starting and anchoring points for the recruitment, development and retainment of employees and for the regulation of exchange relationships. The paper highlights its significance as well as variation, in particular in knowledge-intensive businesses. The paper compares two IT/management consultancy companies with highly different management principles, organizational structures, cultures and personnel/human resource practices, grounded in different personnel concepts. The two companies appeal to, but also constitute different identities and structures of motivation. The interplay between organization as totality and the personnel concepts are investigated. This interplay is related to the exceptional significance of the personnel and its skills and motivation in this type of business.