138 HR Strategies Achieving vertical fit ­ integrating business and HR strategies Wright and Snell (1998) suggested that seeking fit required knowledge of the skills and behaviours necessary to implement the strategy, knowledge of the HRM practices needed to elicit those skills and behaviours, and the ability to quickly implement the desired system of HRM practices. When considering how to integrate business and HR strategies, it should be remembered that business and HR issues influence each other and in turn influence corporate and business unit strategies. It is also necessary to note that in establishing these links, account must be taken of the fact that strategies for change have also to be integrated with changes in the external and internal environments. Fit may exist at a point in time but circum- stances will change and then fit no longer exists. An excessive pursuit of `fit' with the status quo will inhibit the flexibility of approach that is essential in turbulent conditions. This is the `temporal' factor in achieving fit identified by Gratton et al (1999). An additional factor that will make the achievement of good vertical fit difficult is that the business strategy may not be clearly defined ­ it could be in an emergent or evolutionary state. This would mean that there could be nothing with which to fit the HR strategy. Achieving horizontal fit (bundling)