HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN ANGOLA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

THIS CHAPTER PRESENTS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM) AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS (ER) IN ANGOLA TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED. TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, THIS CHAPTER CHARACTERISES RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN THE COUNTRY, INVESTIGATES ITS MAIN FINDINGS, AND PROPOSES SOME DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE. BASED ON A BIBLIOGRAPHIC SEARCH IN THE EBSCO DISCOVERY DATABASE OF EMPIRICAL ARTICLES ABOUT HRM AND ER IN ANGOLA, WE COLLECTED A SAMPLE OF 28 STUDIES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 2009 AND 2022. MOST STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF HUMAN RESOURCES. OTHER TOPICS INCLUDED DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT, WORKPLACE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS, SCALE VALIDATIONS, LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING, PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, QUALITY ASSESSMENT, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND EXPATRIATES. WE IDENTIFIED THREE MAIN CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN HRM AND ER IN ANGOLA. FIRST, THE POLICIES AND THE PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING PROCESSES OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES SHOULD BE IMPROVED. SECOND, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION SHOULD BE PROMOTED WHILE NAVIGATING THE TENSIONS BETWEEN AUTOCRATIC AND PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP STYLES. FINALLY, POSITIVE ER AND EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING SHOULD BE PROMOTED. UNDERSTANDING THESE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN ANGOLA AND, ULTIMATELY, THE COUNTRY’S SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.