The Role of Line Managers and Practice of Strategic Human Resource Management: A Study Based on Sri Lankan Listed Companies

Every manager in an organization is responsible for achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. Similarly, managing human resource function is also a responsibility of every manager in an organization. Organizations exist for a variety of purposes. Some produce goods for local or overseas consumption while others provide necessary services for profit or community benefit. In pursuit of their objectives, all organizations rely on the availability and effectiveness of several kinds of resources, which can be divided into finance, technology, and people. Some organizations emphasize their financial resources others rely on the quality of their employees, their human resources. Regardless of the particular resource emphasis in industry, human resource is usually the key ingredient for organizational success. The purpose of this research is to study the devolvement of line managers in Human Resource Management (HRM) activities in the Sri Lankan context. To achieve the objectives of this research the researcher adopted the quantitative approach. The research strategy of the study was the survey method. For the empirical study, all the elements of the population were considered. The research findings of the study fill the empirical knowledge gap in the Sri Lankan context concerning the practice of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). The findings of this study revealed that there is a significant relationship between the line manager’s involvement in HRM activities and the practice of SHRM. This can be a guide for Sri Lankan organizations to increase the effectiveness of the Practice of SHRM to achieve organizational effectiveness.