Quantifying Human Resources

2Quantification and Decision-making

Chapter 1 highlighted the links between quantification and HR decision-making. Thus, quantification is used not only to inform and illuminate decision-making ex ante, but also to justify ex post decisions taken. However, this dyad of information/justification is suspended in what Desrosières (2008a) calls the “myth of objectivity”, i.e. the idea that quantification is a neutral reflection of reality. This myth has its origin in the positivist stance of the natural sciences. Although it has been strongly challenged by many studies, both in epistemology and sociology, the myth of objective quantification is still valid. It is all the more important in HR because this function needs arguments to support decisions that are often crucial for employees (section 2.1).

More recently, as has been seen, the emergence of Big Data and algorithms has brought a new dimension to HR, based on the notion of personalization, which refers to decision-making linked to individuals. This notion creates a change both for quantification and statistical science, historically positioned as a science of large numbers far from individuals, and for the HR function, historically positioned as a function managing collectives of individuals and not individualities (section 2.2). Finally, the rise of predictive models is further reformulating the links between quantification and decision-making, focusing on decisions related to the future. Once again, this creates a break ...