Available online at www.pakpub.com Pakistan Research Journal of Management Sciences J Pak Res Man Sci 2017;1(1):20-27 www.pakpub.com/index.php/JIRMS/ HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND CORPORATE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMPANIES IN NIGERIA Elumah, Lucas O 1 , Shobayo Peter B 2 , Adeleke G. S 3 luvility@yahoo.com 1 , shobayopeterbabatunde@gmail.com 2 , get2gbemi@yahoo.com 3 1-2 Olabisi Onabanjo UniversityAgo-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria 3 Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan, Nigeria Received 12 May 2017; Accepted 16 May 2017; Published 30 June 2017 Abstract The paper studies the connection between Human Resources Management (HRM) practices and the performance of firm in Nigeria, focusing on firms owned by the government which are public companies and that of private firms owned by private individual across Nigeria. A multi respondent study of 285 firms both public and private across Nigeria was undertaken; collected data was analysed using correlation analysis as well as descriptive statistics in accordance with the aim of finding a fit between organizational performance and human resource management (HRM) practice. The result indicates that HRM practices are reasonably practiced by companies operating in Nigeria in public and private companies. It is also held that the type of firm whether public or private has an effect on the level of HRM practices. Keywords: HRM Practice, Training and Development, Profit Sharing, Compensation, Employee Security, Internal Promotion, Firm‟s Performance. 1. Introduction Human Resources Management (HRM) practices became widespread in the 1980s‟ and ever since then, there has been an increased interest in the notion as well as in area of research. Pioneer works carried out on HRM were mostly theoretical and not based on significant practical evidence for their soundness (Beer et al., 1984; Forburn, et al., 1989). An extensive sum of empirical study was carried out in the 1990s‟ to find proof of the relationship between HRM practices and firm productivity. In this dispensation, Human resource plays a very essential role in an organization. In spite of evidence, organizations still find it difficult adopting HRM practices that were found to add to firm‟s success, this situation can be experienced in the manufacturing sector and not only limited to plantation sector (Bawa, 2000). Human Resources Management in this paper is thus seen as the development, application and evaluation of relevant policies, procedures, methods and programs relating to the workers