The first example the authors note is what they call the paradox of democracy on p. 3, that citizens have many civil rights in the conduct of public affairs, but employees experience precious few such rights in organizations. The note the irony in how of American culture stresses individualism, diversity, equality, and participation, while HRM emphasizes conformity, uniformity, inequality, and submission to authority.
For discussion this week, give it some thought and offer your own paradox in HRM and explain why is it paradoxical. An example that comes to mine would be the famous "you have to spend money to make money"- and the example would be costs associated with employee assistance programs, in-house childcare or other benefits actually create revenue for the organization by increasing productivity and decreasing employee turnover. Essentially, the money spent to keep employees and keep employees focused on their jobs is a money-maker if without these expenditures, the organization would lose more money in vacancies, recruitment and training.