The belief that the people working for a firm are one of its main assets and one of the decisive factors in determining its results is one that leaves little room for argument. There is no question regarding the fact that workers' qualities, attitudes and behavior in the workplace go a long way to accounting for a company's success or lack of it. While this type of resource is one over which companies do not have complete control, there do exist certain instruments to enable them to exert their influence on the quality and performance of the human capital on which they rely. The human resource information systems (HRIS) practices that they adopt will have a vital influence in this area and thereby on the results obtained by the firm. Driven by significant internal and external forces, HRIS has evolved from largely a maintenance function, to what many scholars and practitioners regard as a source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. HRIS has become a key vehicle for developing and improving organizational effectiveness

In the information era, organizations are progressively incorporating ICT into their processes, using different tools and solutions. These tools are applied in a wide variety of ways (i.e., manufacturing resource planning, office automation, computer-supported cooperative work, distributed teams, supply-chain, enterprise-wide resource planning, or virtual integration). ICT is transforming organizations and the way that people work, interact and, feel in knowledge-based organizations. To cope with these new human resources challenges, it is necessary to review and to transform organizational HRM practices. Those in the world of human resources management are often accused of living in an ivory tower, managing the human side of their organizations in ways that lack relevance in the new information era. The impetus for the HRM change comes from recognition of recent developments in the HRM profession and a realization that the current practices do not reflect those changes, especially those changes related with ITC strategies.

In the information society, HR/HRIS managers need to rethink how to deploy and mobilize the more valuable corporate resource: the human capital. HR management professionals are becoming strategic business partners in their organizations, capable of contributing to the improvement of the organization's competitive advantage. Whether human resources contribute to competitive advantage in the new business world depends critically on the chosen strategies. Given this strategic focus, practices needed to be revised in order to help HR professionals in their new role. Recognizing the need for substantive revision and greater emphasis on relevant human resources management, any HR manager should begin the process of policies change and adjustment. Towards that end, this Encyclopedia will focus on describing a collaborative effort between human resource management practitioners, HR faculty, and HR researchers. The effort will be focused on the revision of the human resource management practices in the knowledge era. In this process, a brief review of both personal and managerial competencies and abilities is also needed.

This Encyclopedia is a holistic but rigorous analysis about key critical HR variables. Our goal is to become a helpful reference for both practitioners and academics. There are undiscovered issues in HR field. This Encyclopedia can be used to search for key concepts and further information about any dimension related to managing people in the information society. So, the general aims of this Encyclopedia are to describe the current state of HRIS in the ICT era and to provide new knowledge on effective e-HRM practices.