Human Resource Management Practices In Estonian Private Enterprises

Human resource management has emerged as one of the most successfully developed functions in Estonian organizations since the end of the 1990s and during the current decade. Until the middle of the 1980s, the personnel function in organizations was irrelevant and primarily had an ideological and administrative character. With the restoration of independence in 1991 and the appearance of a market economy, the personnel function rapidly entered into the phase of personnel management. Economic decentralization and privatization quickly led to economic restructuring and changes on the labor market. Various and extensive direct foreign investment and the opening up of foreign markets provided a basis for economic and technological development. These factors also accelerated the development of the HR function. The personnel management function has consistently adopted the traits of human resource management. The role of HRM has increased noticeably in the past three years in connection with Estonia joining the European Union. The aim of the present article is to present some aspects characterizing HRM practices in Estonian private sector enterprises.