Strategic HRM: A Balanced Approach, now in its second edition, has been thoroughly updated and reworked to look at the most recent developments in both theory and practise. Putting HRM in its organisational context and developing a more balanced approach to managing people, or "HR sensitivity," are central to its concept. This article takes a critical stance rather than offering best-practice solutions to show how context understanding is essential to effective strategic HRM. HRM is based on industrial relations, psychology, sociology, and economics. It is a multilayer strategy that takes into account each employee individually as well as teams, business units, companies, sectors/populations, and nations.