20-10-2012, 11:33 AM
Introduction to Human Resource Management
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Introduction
Human resource management (HRM) is a relatively modern label for the range of themes and practices involved in managing people. It is defined and described in a variety of (sometimes contradictory) ways.
Many people find HRM to be a vague and elusive concept - not least because it seems to have a variety of meanings. Pinning down an acceptable definition can seem like trying to hit a moving target in a fog. This confusion reflects the different interpretations found in articles and books about human resource management. HRM is an elastic term (...). It covers a range of applications that vary from book to book and organization to organization. (...)
Pages 32-35 of Human Resource Management in a Business Context 2/e discuss the use and meaning of the term 'human resource management', consider a number of textbook definitions and provide a working definition for the book:
'A philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important in sustained business success. An organization gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. HRM is aimed at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and developing key competencies.'
Maps and models of HRM
This section begins with a discussion of various approaches to HRM, including Keenoy's hologram comparison and Sisson's 4 main features of HRM models. A key concept is that of Hard and Soft HRM:
'Storey (1989) has distinguished between hard and soft forms of HRM, typified by the Michigan and Harvard models respectively. ‘Hard’ HRM focuses on the resource side of human resources. It emphasizes costs in the form of ‘headcounts’ and places control firmly in the hands of management. Their role is to manage numbers effectively, keeping the workforce closely matched with requirements in terms of both bodies and behaviour. ‘Soft’ HRM, on the other hand, stresses the ‘human’ aspects of HRM. Its concerns are with communication and motivation. People are led rather than managed. They are involved in determining and realizing strategic objectives.'
The section goes on to consider the views of Guest and Legge and then discusses the classification of HRM models.
People management
Arguably, HRM has become the dominant approach to people management in English-speaking countries. But it is important to stress that HRM has not 'come out of nowhere'. There is a long history of attempts to achieve an understanding of human behaviour in the workplace. Throughout the 20th century and earlier, practitioners and academics deweloped theories and practices to explain and influence human behaviour at work. HRM has absorbed ideas and techniques from a wide range of these theories and practical tools. In effect, HRM is a synthesis of themes and concepts drawn from a long history of work, more recent management theories and social science research. (...)
Background and origins of people management
The roots of people management (and, therefore, of HRM) lie deep in the past. Just as the tasks that have to be carried out in modern organizations are allocated to different jobs and the people who perform those jobs, humans in ancient societies divided work between themselves (...)
Pages 4-8 of Human Resource Management in a Business Context 2/e discuss the division of labour, the evolution of a managerial class, the Industrial Revolution and the concept of alienation.
Professional managers
(...) By 1900 the USA had undergone several decades of rapid, large-scale industrialization. Large American companies such as Heinz and Singer Sewing Machines had the characteristics of modern, highly structured organizations. They produced standardized consumer durables for the mass market. These organizations required a supply of trained managers. Notionally selected on the basis of ability and expertise - rather than family connections - they needed to know how to organize, reward and motivate their staff. In the USA, state and private universities were opened to cater for this new professional need.
The first companies of equivalent size and organization did not arise in Britain and the Commonwealth until the 1920s and management education was similarly late in developing. Like most European or Asian companies they still tended to employ relatives or to promote long-standing workers to management roles. (...)
The human factor
The 'science' in scientific management was doubtful. (...) Initially the work of occupational psychologists bordered on physiology as they investigated fatigue and monotony. (...)
Their work directly countered the myth that working longer hours produced greater output. In their research on monotony they took a deliberate anti-Taylorist perspective. They confirmed Taylor's views on the value of rest-pauses but argued against the notion of 'one best way by a first-class man'. The simple truth was that individual tasks could be done equally effectively in a variety of ways by a diverse range of people. (...)
Human Relations
The US human relations movement dominated management thinking until the 1950s and was a significant influence on the development of modern HRM. The movement gained most of its inspiration from the famous Hawthorne studies at the Western Electric Company plant of that name in Chicago from the 1920s to the early 1940s. The plant employed 40,000 people and was regarded as progressive. The studies were organized by the company, with some assistance from the Harvard Business School. The intention was to find out how productivity might be affected if working conditions such as lighting, heating and rest-pauses were varied. Elton Mayo, an Australian professor at Harvard, picked up these studies and publicized a new approach in American management philosophy that spread to many other countries.
Managing Employee Resources
Human Resources Management (HRM) is that branch of management that deals with managing one of the resources of the organisation-Human Resources. It is also called as Personnel Management. However the term Personnel Management is being replaced in most spheres by the term Human Resource Management or Human Resource Development (HRD) or simply Human Resources (HR). In our text we shall be using these terms interchangeably.
Most organisations have a full-fledged Human Resource Management department. The function of Human Resource Management is to acquire, train, develop and retain the human resources of the organisation so that with the help of these human resources, the organisation is able to achieve its goal.
Relation between Human Resources and management:
Human Resource Management is an integral part of management. It helps the management in taking a strategic view of a very important resource i.e. Human Resource. It helps management in identifying key skill sets, knowledge, values required in the employee and the rewards that are needed to be given to the employees so that the organisation goals are fulfilled. Also like other management functions, it has to ensure that these resources are available at an optimal cost. It has to look into various training and development activities to ensure this. This is a key area for Human Resource Management as it shows their contribution in terms of money. The money here would be the opportunity cost incurred due to appointing of new employees instead of developing current employees for the task in hand.
The HR manager has a dual role in the organisation. He performs the role of an executive as well as a consultant. Managing people is not only a HR area but also part of the job of line managers. These managers are managers heading various activities like accounts, audit, production, marketing, sales etc. They have people working under them and have to manage them too. There are times when line managers have problems handling employees and are unable to resolve the issue. This is where the HR person steps in as a consultant. The HR person can provide advice to the line manager to tackle the situation. This is in addition to the executive role he performs. The executive role of the HR person is his role in carrying out the routine activities of his area. There are occasions when they have to on both the hats of an executive as well as that of a consultant. A typical example is the role of the HR person when recruiting people for line functions, where line managers decide as they have the expertise, they help the line managers with advice while simultaneously carrying out their executive role of recruiting.
Functional overview and strategy for HRM
These issues motivate a well thought out human resource management strategy, with the precision and detail of say a marketing strategy. Failure in not having a carefully crafted human resources management strategy, can and probably will lead to failures in the business process itself.
This set of resources are offered to promote thought, stimulate discussion, diagnose the organizational environment and develop a sound human resource management strategy for your organization. We begin by looking at the seven distinguishable function human resource management provide to secure the achievement of the objective defined above.
Following on from this overview we look at defining a human resource strategy.
Finally, some questions are posed in the form of a diagnostic checklist for you to consider, which may prove helpful for you to think about when planning your development programs for the human resources in your organization, if they are truely "your most valuable asset."