HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organization

together so that the goals of each are met. It is the part of the management
process which is concerned with the management of human resources in an
organization. It tries to secure best from the people by winning their whole
hearted co-operation. In short, it may be defines as the art of procurement,
developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an
organization in an effective and efficient manner.
Henry Fayol the pioneer in the field of management state “Take out my building
take out my machines and all capital but leave my men with me, I will become
Henry Fayol again”. He highlighted that human resources in an organization
play a crucial role. The human resource refers to the knowledge, skills, abilities,
values, aptitude and beliefs possessed by the workforce in organization.
DEFINITION
Human Resource Management is the process of recruitment, selection of
employee, providing proper orientation and induction, providing proper training
and the developing skills, assessment of employee (performance of appraisal),
providing proper compensation and benefits, motivating, maintaining proper
relations with labor and with trade unions, maintaining employee’s safety,
welfare and health by complying with labor laws of concern state or country.

OBJECTIVES OF HRM
The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of competent and
willing workforce to an organization. The specific objectives include the
following:
 Human capital: assisting the organization in obtaining the right number
and types of employees to fulfill its strategic and operational goals.
 To develop organizational climate: Helping to create a climate in which
employees are encouraged to develop and utilize their skills to the fullest
and to employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently.
 Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity
through effective job design; providing adequate orientation, training and
development, providing performance-related feedback; and ensuring
effective two-way communication.
 To Promote Harmony: Helping to establish and maintain a harmonious
relationship between employer/employee.
  Helping to create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment.
 Developing programs to meet the economic, psychological, and social
needs of the employees and helping the organization to retain the
productive employees.
 Ensuring that the organization is in compliance with provincial/territorial
and federal laws affecting the workplace (such as human rights,
employment equity, occupational health and safety, employment
standards, and labour relations legislation) to help the organization to
reach its goals.
 To provide organization with well-trained and well-motivated
employees.
 To increase the employee’s satisfaction and self-actualization.
 To develop and maintain the quality of work life.
 To communicate HR policies to all employees.
 To help maintain ethical polices and behaviour
CHARACTERISTICS OF HRM
 Pervasive Function: HRM is present in all the enterprises.
 Action-Oriented: Scope of HRM is not only limited to record keeping.
 People-Oriented: HRM is all about people at work, both as individuals
and groups
 Development-Oriented: HRM intends to develop the full potential of
employees.
 Integrated Function: Build relations between people working at various
levels in the organization. f. Comprehensive Function: It covers all the
type of personnel.
 Auxiliary service: It is a staff function (Advice).
 Inter-Disciplinary Function: Utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from
psychology, economics etc. i. Continuous Function: HRM is not a one
shot deal.
 Involves team sprit & team work.
 Management function.
 Helps in achieving goals i.e. individual, organizational & social
objectives.
 Involves procurement, development & maintenance of human resource.
FUNCTIONS OF HRM
Human Resource Management is a management function concerned with hiring,
motivating, and maintaining workforce in an organisation. Human resource
management deals with issues related to employees such as hiring, training,
development, compensation, motivation, communication, and administration.
Human resource management ensures satisfaction of employees and maximum
contribution of employees to the achievement of organisational objectives.
According to Armstrong (1997), Human Resource Management can be defined
as “a strategic approach to acquiring, developing, managing, motivating and
gaining the commitment of the organization’s key resource – the people who
work in and for it.”
Human Resource Management functions can be classified in following three
categories.
1. Managerial Functions
2. Operative Functions
3. Advisory Functions
Managerial Functions:
The Managerial Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:
1. Human Resource Planning In this function of HRM, the number and type of
employees needed to accomplish organisational goals is determined. Research is
an important part of this function, information is collected and analysed to
identify current and future human resource needs and to forecast changing
values, attitude, and behaviour of employees and their impact on organisation.
2. Organising In an organisation tasks are allocated among its members,
relationships are identified, and activities are integrated towards a common
objective. Relationships are established among the employees so that they can
collectively contribute to the attainment of organisation goal.
3. Directing Activating employees at different level and making them contribute
maximum to the organisation is possible through proper direction and
motivation. Taping the maximum potentialities of the employees is possible
through motivation and command.
4. Controlling After planning, organising, and directing, the actual performance
of employees is checked, verified, and compared with the plans. If the actual
performance is found deviated from the plan, control measures are required to
be taken.
Operative Functions:
The Operative Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:
Recruitment and Selection Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding
the selection, which brings the pool of prospective candidates for the
organisation so that the management can select the right candidate from this
pool.
Job Analysis and Design
Job analysis is the process of describing the nature of a job and specifying the
human requirements like qualification, skills, and work experience to perform
that job. Job design aims at outlining and organising tasks, duties, and
responsibilities into a single unit of work for the achievement of certain
objectives.
Performance Appraisal
Human resource professionals are required to perform this function to ensure
that the performance of employee is at acceptable level.
Training and Development
This function of human resource management helps the employees to acquire
skills and knowledge to perform their jobs effectively. Training an development
programs are organised for both new and existing employees. Employees are
prepared for higher level responsibilities through training and development.
Wage and Salary Administration
Human resource management determines what is to be paid for different type of
jobs. Human resource management decides employees compensation which
includes - wage administration, salary administration, incentives, bonuses,
fringe benefits, and etc.,
Employee Welfare
This function refers to various services, benefits, and facilities that are provided
to employees for their well being.

Maintenance
Human resource is considered as asset for the organisation. Employee turnover
is not considered good for the organisation. Human resource management
always tries to keep their best performing employees with the organisation.
Labour Relations
This function refers to the interaction of human resource management with
employees who are represented by a trade union. Employees comes together
and forms an union to obtain more voice in decisions affecting wage, benefits,
working condition, etc,.
Personnel Research
Personnel researches are done by human resource management to gather
employees' opinions on wages and salaries, promotions, working conditions,
welfare activities, leadership, etc,. Such researches helps in understanding
employees satisfaction, employees turnover, employee termination, etc,.
Personnel Record
This function involves recording, maintaining, and retrieving employee related
information like - application forms, employment history, working hours,
earnings, employee absents and presents, employee turnover and other data
related to employees

Advisory Functions:
The Advisory Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:
Human Resource Management is expert in managing human resources and so
can give advice on matters related to human resources of the organisation.
Human Resource Management can offer advice to:
1. To Top Management: Personnel manager advises the top management in
formulation and evaluation of personnel programs, policies, and procedures.
2. To Departmental Heads: Personnel manager advises the heads of various
departments on matters such as manpower planning, job analysis, job design,
recruitment, selection, placement, training, performance appraisal, etc.
Role of Human Resources Manager:
The primary task of the HR manager is to ensure that the organization’s human
resources are utilized and managed as effectively as possible. Human resource
administrators help design and implement policies and programmes that
enhance human abilities and improve the organization’s overall effectiveness.
Top executives have learned sometimes the hard way - that inattention to
personnel relations and neglect of HR programs are often the cause of poor
labour management relations, excessive absenteeism and turnover, lawsuits
charging discrimination, and substandard productivity. More and more leaders
of public and private organization recognize that people are the organization’s
primary resource and acknowledge the HR manager’s role in developing the
human resource

Functions of a Human Resource Manager:

A human resource manager, charged with fulfilling the objectives of an
organisation, should be a leader with high intellectual powers, a visionary and a
philosopher who provides the initiative to shape the future in terms of leading
the human beings in an organisation towards more prosperous and progressive
policies.
1.As an Intellectual:
The basic skill in the human resource field as compared to technologists or
financial experts is the skill to communicate, articulate, understand and above
all, to be an expert when it comes to putting policies and agreements in black
and white. The personnel man’s skill lies in his command over the language. A
personnel man has to deal with employees and he must possess the skills of
conducting fruitful and systematic discussions and of communicating
effectively. He should also be in a position to formulate principles and foresee
the problems of the organisation. This means that he would require the mental
ability to deal with his people in an intelligent manner as well as to understand
what they are trying to say.
2.As an Educator:
It is not enough that a human resource man has command-over the language,
which, however, remains his primary tool. He should be deeply interested in
learning and also in achieving growth. Basically, human beings like to grow and
realise their full potential. In order to harmonies the growth of individuals with
that of the organisation, a personnel administrator must not only provide
opportunities for his employees to learn, get the required training and assimilate
new ideas but also he himself should be a teacher. A personnel man who simply
pushes files and attends labour courts for conciliation purposes and other rituals
of legal procedure for the settlement of industrial disputes is not a personnel
administrator of the future
3.As a Discriminator:
A human resource administrator must have the capacity to discriminate between
right and wrong, between that which is just and unjust and merit and non-merit.
In other words, he should be a good judge when he sits on a selection board, a
fair person when he advises on disciplinary matters and a good observer of right
conduct in an organisation.
4.As an Executive:
The human resource man must execute the decisions of the management and its
policies with speed, accuracy and objectivity. He has to streamline the office,
tone up the administration and set standards of performance. He has to
coordinate the control functions in relation to the various other divisions and, in
doing so he should be in a position to bring unity of purpose and direction in the
activities of the personnel department. He must ask relevant questions and not
be merely involved in the office routine whereby the status quo is maintained.
He should have the inquisitiveness to find out causes of delay, tardy work and
wasteful practices, and should be keen to eliminate those activities from the
personnel functions which have either outlived their utility or are not consistent
with the objectives and purposes of the organisation.
5.As a Leader :
Being basically concerned with people or groups of people, and being placed in
the group dynamics of various political and social functions of an organisation,
a Human resource man must not shirk the role of leadership in an organisation.
He, by setting his own example and by working towards the objectives of sound
personnel management practices, must inspire his people and motivate them
towards better performance. He should resolve the conflicts of different groups
and build up teamwork in the organisation.
6.As a Humanist:
Deep faith in human values and empathy with human problems, especially in
less developed countries, are the sine qua non for a Human resource man. He
has to deal with people who toil at various levels and partake of their joys and
sorrows. He must perform his functions with sensitivity and feeling.
7.As a Visionary:
While every leading function of an organisation must evolve its vision of the
future, the primary responsibility for developing the social organisation towards
purposive and progressive action falls on the personnel man. He should be a
thinker who sets the pace for policy- making in an organisation in the area of
human relations and should gradually work out new patterns of human relations
management consistent with the needs of the organisation and the society. He
must ponder on the social obligations of the enterprise, especially if it is in the
public sector, where one has to work within the framework of social
accountability. He should be in close touch with socio-economic changes in the
country. He should be able to reasonably forecast future events and should
constantly strive to meet the coming challenges.