INTRODUCTION TO
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
What is Human Resource Management?
Human resource (HR) management
refers to the practices and policies one needs to carry
out to deal with the personnel aspects of the
management job
Human resource management (HRM) is the effective
management of people at work
The goal: make workers more satisfied and
productive
When an organization is concerned about people, its
total philosophy, culture, and orientation reflect it
Every manager must be concerned with people,
whether or not there is a human resources department
Scope of HRM
Importance of HRM
attract and retain talent
train people for challenging roles
develop skills and competencies
promote team spirit
Good HR Practices help
develop loyalty and commitment
increase productivity and profits
improve job satisfaction
enhance standard of living
generate employment opportunities
Image and Quality of
HR/Personnel Manager
Fairness and firmness
Tact and resourcefulness
Sympathy and consideration
Knowledge of labor and other terms
Broad social outlook
Others and Academic qualifications
Functions of HRM
P/HRM
Managerial Operative Functions
functions:
Procurement Development: Motivation and Maintenance: Emerging
– Planning Integration:
Compensation: Issues:
Job Analysis Training Grievances
Job design Health Personnel
HR planning Executive records
Work scheduling Discipline
– Organizing Recruitment development
Safety Personnel
Motivation Teams and
Selection Career teamwork audit
planning Job evaluation Personnel
Placement Welfare Collective
Succession Performance and research
– Directing bargaining
Induction potential HR
appraisal Social security Participation accounting
Internal planning
mobility Compensation Empowerment HRIS
– Controlling Human administration
resources Trade unions Job stress
development Incentives
benefits and Employers’ Mentoring
strategies
services associations International
HRM
Industrial
relations
HRM as a central subsystem in an
organization
Product
Subsystem
HR Subsystem
Procurement
Finance Training Marketing
Subsystem Compensation Subsystem
Appraisal
Rewards
Technical
Subsystem
A Brief History of HRM
HRM can be traced to England, where craftspeople
organized guilds
They used unity to improve working conditions
The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century laid the
basis for a new, complex industrial society
Changing work conditions, social patterns, and labor
created a gap between workers and owners
During the world wars era, scientific management,
welfare work, and industrial psychology merged
A Brief History of HRM
Frederick W. Taylor, the father of scientific
management, summarized scientific management as:
Science
Harmony
Cooperation
Maximum output
Industrial psychology, initiated in 1913, focused on:
The worker
Individual differences
The maximum well being of the worker
A Brief History of HRM
Personnel departments were created to deal with:
Drastic changes in technology
Organizational growth
The rise of unions
Government intervention
concerning working people
Around the 1920s, more organizations
noticed and acted on employee-management conflict
A Brief History of HRM
The Hawthorne studies (1924 to 1933):
Were to determine the effects of
illumination on workers and their output
Rather, it pointed out the importance of
social interaction on output and satisfaction
Until the 1960s, the personnel function was concerned
only with blue-collar employees
File clerk, house-keeper, social worker, firefighter, and
union trouble defuser
Evolution of the Personnel Function
Concept What is it all about?
The Commodity Labour was regarded as a commodity to be bought and sold.
concept Wages were based on demand and supply. Government did
very little to protect workers.
The Factor of Labour is like any other factor of production, viz, money,
Production concept materials, land, etc. Workers are like machine tools.
The Goodwill concept Welfare measures like safety, first aid, lunch room, rest room
will have a positive impact on workers’ productivity
The Paternalistic Management must assume a fatherly and protective attitude
concept/ Paternalism towards employees. Paternalism does not mean merely
providing benefits but it means satisfying various needs of the
employees as parents meet the requirements of the children.
Cont…
Evolution of the Personnel Function
The Humanitarian To improve productivity, physical, social and psychological
concept needs of workers must be met. As Mayo and others stated,
money is less a factor in determining output, than group
standards, group incentives and security. The organization is a
social system that has both economic and social dimensions.
The Human Resource Employees are the most valuable assets of an organization.
concept There should be a conscious effort to realize organizational goals
by satisfying needs and aspirations of employees.
The Emerging concept Employees should be accepted as partners in the progress of a
company. They should have a feeling that the organization is
their own. To this end, managers must offer better quality of
working life and offer opportunities to people to exploit their
potential fully. The focus should be on Human Resource
Development.
Personnel Function in India;
Changing Scenario
Period Emphasis Status Roles
1920 – 30 Welfare management Clerical Welfare
Paternalistic practices administrator
1940 – 60 Expanding the role to cover Administrative Appraiser
Labour, Welfare, Industrial Advisor
Relations and Personnel Mediator
Administration Legal advisor
Fire fighting
1970 – 80 Efficiency, effectiveness Developmental Change agent
dimensions added Integrator
Emphasis on human Trainer
values, aspirations, Educator
1990s – Incremental productivity Proactive, Developer
onwards gains through human growth-oriented Counsellor
assets Coach
Mentor
Problem solver
Objectives of HRM
Objectives of the HRM Function
HRM contributions to organizational effectiveness:
Helping the organization reach its goals
Employing workforce skills and abilities efficiently
Increasing job satisfaction, self-actualization, and
quality of work life
Communicating HRM policies to all employees
Maintaining ethical policies and socially responsible
behavior
Managing change to the mutual advantage of
individuals, groups, the enterprise, and the public
Objectives of the HRM Function
Increasing employees’ job satisfaction and self-
actualization
Employees must feel that the job is right for their
abilities and that they are being treated equitably
Satisfied employees are not automatically more
productive
However, unsatisfied employees tend to be absent
and quit more often and produce lower-quality work
Both satisfied and dissatisfied employees can perform
equally in quantitative terms
Objectives of the HRM Function
Quality of work life (QWL) is a general concept that
refers to several aspects of the job, including:
Management and supervisory style
Freedom and autonomy to make decisions on the job
Satisfactory physical surroundings
Job safety
Satisfactory working hours
Meaningful tasks
The job and work environment should be structured to
meet as many workers’ needs as possible
Objectives of the HRM Function
Communicating HRM policies to
all employees:
HRM policies, programs, and procedures must be
communicated fully and effectively
They must be represented to outsiders
Top-level managers must understand what HRM can
offer
Objectives of the HRM Function
Maintaining ethical policies and socially responsible
behavior:
HRM managers must show by example that HRM
activities are fair, truthful, and honorable
People must not be discriminated against
Their basic rights must be protected
These principles should apply to all activities in the
HRM area
Objectives of the HRM Function
Managing increased urgency and faster cycle times:
Firms are placing a growing emphasis on:
Increasing customer service
Developing new products and services
Training and educating technicians, managers,
and decision makers
Shorter cycle times mean less time to:
Train, educate, and assign managers
Recruit and select talented people
Improve the firm’s image
Learning provides a framework for decreasing
cycle time
HRM’s Place in Management
The HR department must be a proactive, integral part
of management and strategic planning
Ascertain specific organizational needs for the
use of its competence
Evaluate the use and satisfaction among other
departments
Educate management and employees about the
availability and use of HRM services
HRM strategic plans must build on the firm's strengths
