Abstract
The article comments on findings about human resource (HR) practices on Sri Lankan tea plantations for the degree to which these fit into the extant notion of High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS). Findings suggested that both the nature of practices within each sub-system (people flow, performance and rewards, and employment relations), and partly the sub-systems themselves, are substantially different from those presumed in the HPWS literature. To illustrate, sophisticated recruitment and selection, internal promotional opportunities and broad career paths, systematic training and development, broad job descriptions, open communication and employee autonomy were in essence absent. It also emerged that the entire employment relations sub-system relied on company paternalism. Nonetheless, the HR systems on the plantations have enabled bottom-line performance along with employee well-being and stability to the local communities over many decades. The findings suggest that we may need to expand our existing views of HPWS.