MEANING OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Human resources represent the people at work. In other words, human

resources are the sum total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge, skills &
talents of employees. Human resources have different needs, attitudes, values &
they behave differently. At the same time, human resources are dynamic & have
greatest potential to develop & grow. Performance of an organisation is directly
related to the quality of its human resources. Therefore, human resources are to
be utilised fully in order to achieve organisational goals.

Meaning of human resource management

Human resource management is concerned with managing human resources. It

focuses on the effective use of human resources in an organisation. It is
concerned with the development of a highly motivated & smoothly functioning
work force. It acquires, develops, utilizes & maintains human resources in the
achievement of organisational goals. - Non-human resources (e.g., materials,
machines, money, etc.) remain idle without the proper use of human resources.
Human resource management is essential to activate non-human resources & in
utilising the workforce to achieve organisational goals efficiently. Human
resource management is essential, as most of the problems in an organisational
set up are human-based rather ‘than technical or economical. Employees in an
organisation show different needs, goals & experiences. Human resource
management tries to understand properly the psychology & the different needs
of the personnel of an organisation. It establishes a suitable organisational
structure for maintaining a desirable working relationship among all the members
of an organisation.

Definitions given by eminent management experts :

Human resource management plans, organises, directs & controls the functions
of procuring, developing, maintaining & utilizing the workforce of an
organisation.”
[RF.L.Breach]
Human resource management is the planning, organising, directing & controlling
of the procurement, development, compensation & maintenance of human
resources for achieving desired organisational goals.”
[Edwin B. Flippo]
“Human resource management is concerned with the development of
potentialities of employees so that they get maximum satisfaction from their
work & give their best efforts to the organisation.”

Objectives of human resource management

Human resource management aims to integrate employees’ interest as well as

management’s interest through justice to employees & improving productivity.
Integration of employees ‘interest & management’s interest is done for ensuring
the satisfactory accomplishment of organisational objectives. The main objective
of the human resource department is to ensure optimum utilisation of human
resources by providing maximum satisfaction to employees. In general, the
objectives of human resource management can be enumerated as follows :

(i) Maximum individual development: Efficient employees can make quality

products. Human resource management provides opportunities for advancement
of employees through training & job education. It encourages every employee to
realize his full potential. Each Employee enjoys job satisfaction through job
enlargement.
(ii) Healthy industrial relation: Relations between the employer and
employees and among the employees themselves should be very cordial for
ensuring team spirit, co-operation & coordination.
Healthy industrial relations leads to industrial peace. It maintains harmonious
relations between management & the workers by solving their problems through
the process of collective bargaining.
(iii) Optimum utilisation of human resources: An efficient management
should emphasize the effective & efficient utilisation of available human
resources so that maximum production is possible at the minimum cost. It makes
rational use of qualities, knowledge & potentialities of the existing work force. It
utilises employees’ efforts, talents & skills effectively by creating the proper
atmosphere for work.
(iv) Integration of individual & organisational goals : The diversity in
individual goals & organisational goals should be reconciled. Human resource
management aims to secure integration of individual & group goals with
organizational goals. Thus, employees feel a sense of involvement, commitment
& loyalty towards the organisation.
(v) Desirable working relationships : Human resource management aims to
establish & maintain productive, satisfying & self-respecting working relationships
among members of the organisation. It divides the organisational tasks into
functions, positions & jobs to achieve these objectives. It defines the
responsibility & authority for each job.
(vi) Development of team spirit : Human resource management develops a
team spirit among the employees. It maintains a sound industrial & human
relations so as to secure the willing co-operation of all employees. It develops a
sense of belongingness & co-operative attitude among the employees.
(vii) Satisfying employees’ interests: An employee spends the major part of
his life with the employer & the organisation. It is the social & even moral duty
of an employer to provide highly comfortable working conditions so that
employees perform their jobs efficiently & effectively. Employees should also be
provided with proper monetary & fringe benefits. They should be provided with
adequate safety, healthy working conditions & enough recreational facilities.
(viii) Satisfying management’s interests: The human resource department
assists the management in the following ways —
(a) Securing maximum productivity of employees;
(b) Reducing labour cost per unit;
(c) Ensuring loyalty of employees;
(d) Developing high morale of employees ;
(e) Developing team spirit & co-operative attitude of employees;
(f) Intelligent initiative on the part of employees.
(ix) Improving organisational effectiveness : Human resource
management contributes to organisational effectiveness by building up
employees’ motivation & commitment. Employees & management share
information regarding mutual rights, obligations & the philosophy underlying
personnel policies, procedures & practices. It maintains a high morale & better
human relations inside an organisation by improving the conditions of work.
(x) Creating a disciplined atmosphere : Discipline creates obedience &
ensures rational behaviour among employees. It helps to maintain ethical
behaviour inside the organisation.
Human resource management helps to develop a sense of discipline among the
work force engaged in the organisation.

Functions of human resource management

Human resource management covers number of activities as follows :

(i) Human resource planning : Human resource is regarded as an important
asset of an organisation. Human resource planning is the process of determining
man power requirements of an organisation for achieving the organisational
goals effectively.
This helps in predicting the number of employees (skilled as well as
unskilled)required in the business at different points of time. It also predicts
problems of manpower in future projects.
(ii) Staff recruitment: Recruitment is a process of identifying sources of
human forces & motivating them to apply for a particular job (or jobs) in an
organisation. It is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the
requirements of the staffing schedule. It facilitates effective selection of an
efficient work force in an organisation.
A well-planned recruiting effort will result in high quality applicants.
(iii) Staff selection : Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable
candidates from among the applicants for the jobs. It involves careful screening
& testing of candidates with reference to job specifications. The aim of selection
is to pick the right person for the right job. It begins with an initial screening
interview & ends with the final employment decision.
(iv) Staff placement: Placement refers to induction of individuals and
assigning of responsibility with reference to particular job. Proper placement of
individuals enhances their potentiality and develops overall effectiveness on the
job. An individual is considered to be properly placed if he adjusts himself to the
job & continues to perform as per expectations. Placement may create problem
due to wrong selection or improper placement or both.
(v) Staff training: Training is an act of updating (or improving) the knowledge
& skill of employees in order to perform a particular job in an effective manner. It
aims at increasing the ability of employees so that they can perform the job in an
effective& efficient manner. Training can convert raw human resources into
developed human resources. It improves the performance of employees on the
present job & prepares them for taking up new assignments in the future.
(vi) Staff remuneration: Remuneration consists of wages, salaries,
commissions & bonuses paid to employees as compensation for their service.
Remuneration should include both monetary compensation & non-monetary
benefits to workers.
Satisfactory remuneration attracts an efficient labour force. This helps in
increasing output & lowering labour cost per unit. The method of remuneration
should be such that it encourages efficiency & promotes satisfaction of workers.
(vii) Staff promotion: Promotion means uplift of an employee to a senior
position with better pay, better service condition, higher power, greater status &
prestige. It implies upgrading of an employee to a higher post involving increase
in rank &responsibility. Promotion provides motivation & job satisfaction to
employees. Promotion influences the attitude & conduct of the employee’s
behaviour,
(viii) Staff motivation : Motivation is an inner psychological force that
activates &compels employees to behave in a particular manner. Motivation is an
act of stimulating employees to accomplish a desired course of action. Motivation
inspires employees to contribute to the best of their capability for the
achievement of organisational goal.
(ix) Staff transfer : Transfer is the movement of an employee
from one job to another (or from one office to other) without any increase in
pay, responsibility & status. Usually, transfer takes place between jobs (or
offices) paying approximately the same salary to employees. A transfer may take
place either at the intention of the employer or at the request of the employee
concerned.
(x) Staff appraisal: Performance appraisal is a systematic way of judging the
ability/talent of an employee in performing his tasks. It is a process of evaluating
the performance of an employee on a given job & his potential for future
development. It helps the employees in improving their job performance. It is
helpful in promoting employees to higher positions.
(xi) Staff dismissal: Dismissal refers to the termination of service of an
employee by way of punishment for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance.
Termination of service of an employee may take place in any one of three forms,
namely,
(a)Suspension (i.e., disciplinary action against an employee);
(b) Discharge (i.e., permanent loss of job of an employee);
(c) Lay-off (i.e., termination of service of an employee when there is no work in
an organisation).
(xii) Staff leadership: Staff leadership is the process of influencing the
behaviour of employees to work willingly towards the achievement of specified
organizational goals. Leadership is the ability to build up confidence & zeal
among subordinates& influencing the task-related activities of group members.
The success of an organisation depends to a large extent on the quality of
leadership, particularly on the part of the personnel manager.
(xiii) Labour safety & welfare: A better work environment is to be provided
to the workers in the following ways: (a) Making arrangements for ventilation of
fresh air; (b) Making provision for adequate light & drinking water ; (c) Rooms,
staircases
& passages should be kept clean; (d) Provision for sufficient latrine ; (e)
Provision for extinguishing fire ; (f) prevention of accidents, etc.
Workers should also be provided with adequate welfare facilities, such as, (a)
Medical facilities, (b) Employees State Insurance, (c) Pension, gratuity & other
post retirement benefits, (d) Canteen facilities, (e) Recreational facilities, etc.
(xiv) Industrial relation :

It covers all sorts of relationship that an organisation must maintain for its
smooth functioning. It is an active relation among the workers, management,
trade unions & the State. It gives emphasis on adjustment & cooperation
between the employer & its employees. Industrial relation aims at industrial
peace & democracy.
(xv) Staff maintenance : The human resource manager is also responsible for
maintaining an effective work force. He develops programs covering various
aspects of existing personnel as follows :
(a) Safety aspect (i.e. providing safe working conditions to prevent physical
injuries of employees);
(b) Health aspect (i.e. providing healthy working environment for mental
freshness of employees & improving their productivity);
(xv) Welfare aspect (i.e. providing proper amenities to employees such as
housing, canteen, recreational facilities, etc.).