En la investigación empírica realizada por el autor sobre once empresas se constata la presencia, entre sus directivos, de discursos que apuntan la necesidad de contar con una plantilla formada, motivada e implicada con las expectativas empresariales y con su propio trabajo. Esta línea discursiva es acorde con la literatura managerial sobre la importancia estratégica de la gestión de los recursos humanos. Sin embargo, las políticas efectivas de motivación, formación, o implicación que se impulsan suelen adoptar otras direcciones; alejándose, en la practica, de concepciones dirigidas al mayor uso del potencial humano en el trabajo. Apoyándose en los resultados de dicha investigación, se aporta la idea de que las "nuevas formas de gestión de los recursos humanos" presentan menor relieve del subrayado por la literatura especializada. Suponen así, en muchos casos, un barniz con el que enmascarar la pervivencia de criterios de gestión en absoluto novedosos.

An empirical investigation on eleven firme, carried out by author, reveals that the speeches made by the directors of these, point out the necessity of a trained executive staff formed, motivated and committed to the achievement of their firm's goals and objectives as well as to the performance of their own work. Such speeches are in line with management publications regarding the strategic importance of managing human resources. Nevertheless, the training, motivational and commitment engendering policies that are in fact implemented, are usually aimed in other directions; directions which in practice are far removed from concepts directed toward making greater use of human potential on the job. Based on the results of the afore-said research, the idea is suggested that the "new methods of management of human resources" are in fact given less importance than that which is emphasized in the specialized publications. And thus are, in many cases, a mere veneer with which to disguise the persistence of management criteria which are by no means "new".