FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

OF HR
INTRODUCTION
 Until fairly recently, an organization's human
resources department was often consigned to
lower rungs of the corporate hierarchy.
 Recognition of the importance of human
resources management to a company's overall
health has grown dramatically in recent .
 This recognition of the importance of HRM
extends to all businesses
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
 There is no single universally accepted definition for
the term. Here are some authors’ definitions:
 HRM is about managing people. It includes ‘all
management decisions and actions that affect the
relationship between the organization and employees-
its human resources’. (Beer et al 1984)
 A strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to
the management and development of the
organization’s human resources in which every aspect
of that process is wholly integrated within the overall
management of the organization. (Armstrong 1992)
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function

within an organization that focuses on recruitment of,
management of, and providing direction for the people
who work in the organization.
(humanresouces.about.com)
 HRM is the organizational function that deals with
issues related to people such as compensation, hiring,
performance management, organization development,
safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation,
communication, administration, and training. (
www.wisegeek .com)
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 HRM is also a strategic and comprehensive

approach to managing people and the workplace
culture and environment.
 Effective HRM enables employees to contribute
effectively and productively to the overall
company direction and the accomplishment of the
organization's goals and objectives. (quick
MBA.com)
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 In conclusion, HRM is the management of an

organization's workforce, or human resources.
 It is responsible for the attraction, selection,
training, assessment, and rewarding of
employees, while also overseeing organizational
leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance
with employment and labour laws.
2 VIEWS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MGT
 View 1: HR is a separate department
 - HR is one of the major organisational
subsystems.
 -This is a “staff perspective”
2 VIEWS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MGT CONT

 View 2: Every Supervisor or Manager is an HR

Manager.
 -Anyone who deals with subordinates plays an
HRM role.
 -The “Line” perspectives.
BRIEF HISTORY
 The history of human resource management
started with providing welfare measures to
apprentices of the putting-out system. The first
personnel department came in the early 20th
century. Human resource management has
evolved through the ages and gained importance
with each passing age.
BRIEF HISTORY
 The earliest forms of human
resource management were
the working arrangements
struck between craftsmen and
their apprentices during the
pre-Industrial cottage-based
guild system. The apprentice
lived in the workshop or
home of his master, and the
master took care of his health
and welfare.
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
 The technique of scientific management was the first
radical change in what most owners and managers of
the early 1900s generally considered the most
effective means of managing employees-constant
supervision and threat of loss of their jobs.
 The dominant philosophy during this time was that
employees would accept rigid standards and work
faster if provided training and more wages.
 This management theory involved time studies in
an attempt to establish the most productive way to
undertake a process.
HUMAN RELATIONS
 Elton Mayo, the father of human relations, had conducted
his famous Hawthorne Studies (1924 -1932) and
concluded that human factors or non-monetary rewards
were more important than physical factors or monetary
rewards in motivating employees.
 Trade unions now began to challenge the fairness of
Taylor’s scientific management theories, forcing
employers to take a more behavioural-oriented approach.
Personnel programs now expanded to include new
benefits such as sick benefits, vaccinations, holidays,
housing allowances, and similar measures, and to
implement the new behavioural-oriented theories.
TRADITIONAL HRM (PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT)
 The post-World War II era marked a distinct
change in human resource management history.
 This era witnessed well educated baby boomers
influenced by ideas such as human rights and
self-actualization, taking the various behavioural
oriented management philosophies to heart and
adopting management philosophies that
encouraged incorporation of worker ideas and
initiatives.
TRADITIONAL HRM (PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT)
 Personnel management is that part of
management that is concerned with the
management of people at work. The function of
personnel department is to assist with the
acquisition, development and retention of the
human resources necessary for the success of the
organization.
 Personnel mgt however addressed organizational
goals and employee needs as separate and
exclusive
SOFT/HARD HRM
 The Michigan Model or “Hard
HRM” proposed by Fombrun, Tichy,
and Devanna in 1984 encapsulated
the spirit of the age and become the
basis for a traditional human
resource approach. This model held
employees as a valuable resource, to
be obtained cost effectively, used
sparingly, and developed and
exploited to the maximum to further
corporate interests.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
(21ST CENTURY)
 The new business environment in the post Cold-
War age, combined with the widespread use of
computers and internet for commercial
applications, radically altered ways of doing
business, and workforce management was not
immune to the change.
 The increase of service-oriented firms, the
infusion of more and more women into the
workforce, and other changes all made obsolete
the traditional paradigms of people management.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (21ST CENTURY)

 In sharp contrast to the attitude of the early 1900s

when workers were cogs in the industrial machine, the
highly skilled knowledgeable workers of today control
the machines, and with technology freely available,
the skill of such workers becomes the major source of
competitive advantage for firms.
 The human resource department tries to retain such
knowledgeable workers by facilitating a conducive
work environment, enriching the work,
communicating objectives clearly, encouraging
innovation, and many other behavioural interventions.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (21ST CENTURY)

 The “Harvard Model” of Beer et. al. (1984), or

Soft HRM, advocates leading people through
communication and motivation rather than
managing them; it underlines the strategic human
resource management approach. This approach
considers employees as assets, far more valuable
than resources.
 The shift from traditional human resource
management to strategic human resource
management remains the current trend.
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT VS. HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
 Differences in scope
 The scope of personnel management include
functional activities such as manpower planning,
recruitment, job analysis, job evaluation, payroll
administration, performance appraisals, labour law
compliance, training administration, and related tasks.
 Human resources management includes all these
activities plus organizational developmental activities
such as leadership, motivation, developing
organizational culture, communication of shared
values, and the like.
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT VS. HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
 Differences in approach
 PM includes administrative tasks that are both traditional and
routine. It remains aloof from core organizational activities,
functions independently, and takes a reactive approach to
changes in corporate goals or strategy.
 By contrast, HRM remains integrated with corporate strategy
and takes a proactive approach to align the workforce toward
achievement of corporate goals. It involves ongoing strategies
to manage and develop an organization's workforce.
 PM approach tends to attach much importance to norms,
customs and established practices, whereas the HR approach
gives importance to values and mission.
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT VS. HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

 Differences in application
 PM is often considered an independent function of
an organization. HRM, on the other hand, tends to
be an integral part of overall company function.
 PM is typically the sole responsibility of an
organization’s personnel department. With HR, all
of an organization’s managers are often involved
in some manner, and a chief goal may be to have
managers of various departments develop the
skills necessary to handle personnel-related tasks.
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT VS. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

 In conclusion
 HRM could be described as an approach to rather
than as an alternative to traditional personnel
management. This is why, in spite of the
reservations expressed about HRM by some
people, the term ‘HR’ is increasingly being used
in organizations as an alternative to PM.
ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF HRM

 The HR function within each

organization is unique to that
organization, because of this
uniqueness; the activities
included in the HR
department will vary from
organization to organization.
However, the primary
responsibilities associated
with human resource
management are discussed
below.
ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF HRM

Activities Functions

1 Organisational design HR planning, job analysis, job design, information systems.

2 Staffing Recruiting, selecting, induction, promotion/transfer

3. Employee training and development Career planning, performance appraisal and management, productivity enhancement
programmes, skills training.

4. Compensation Job description, job evaluation, wage/salary administration, incentive pay plans.

5. Benefits and compliance Safety programs, health/medical services, insurance benefits administration,
pension/retirement plan administration, unemployment compensation, labour
relations/collective bargaining, vacation /leave policies and administration.
ROLE OF THE HRM DEPARTMENT
 The role of HRM in any organizations can be
summarised as follows:
 Helping the organization reach its goals by
implementing resource strategies to subsequently
create and sustain competitive advantage and by
managing staff effectively
 Employing the skills and abilities of the workforce
efficiently by developing positive interactions
between workers to ensure collated and constructive
enterprise productivity and development of a uniform
organizational culture.
ROLE OF THE HRM DEPARTMENT
 Providing the organization with well-trained and
well-motivated employees by identifying areas that
suffer lack of knowledge and insufficient training,
and accordingly providing remedial measures in the
form of workshops and seminars.
 Communicating HRM policies to all employees.
 Increasing to the fullest the employee’s job
satisfaction and self actualisation by understanding
and relating to employees as individuals thus
identifying individual needs and career goals.
ROLE OF THE HRM DEPARTMENT
 Developing and maintaining a quality of work life that
makes employment in the organization desirable by
generating a rostrum for all employees to express their
goals and providing the necessary resources to
accomplish professional and personal agendas, essentially
in that order.
 Helping to maintain ethical policies and socially
responsible behaviour through constant innovation of
new operating practices to minimize risk and generate an
overall sense of belonging and accountability.
 Maintaining change to the mutual advantage of
individuals, groups, the enterprise and the public.
WHAT DOES HRM INVOLVE?

The Acquisition The Development

of of
Human Resources Human Resources

The Rewarding The Maintenance

of of
Human Resources Human Resources
TASKS COMPLETED BY LINE MANAGERS
 Interview job applicants
 Provide orientation, coaching and on-the-job
training
 Provide and communicate job ratings
 Recommend salary increases
 Carry out disciplinary procedures
 Settle grievance issues
GOALS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MGT
Facilitating Enhancing
organizational productivity and
competitiveness quality

The human resource

function in contemporary
organizations

Complying with Promoting

legal and social individual growth
obligations and development
OBJECTIVES OF HRM
• Assist the organization to attract the right quality and
number of employees
• Orient new employees to the organization
and place them in their job positions
• Develop, disseminate and use job descriptions,
performance standards and evaluation criteria
OBJECTIVES OF HRM CONT
• Help maintain a harmonious working relationship with
employees and unions where present
• Foster a work environment which facilitates high
employee performance, and
• Establish disciplinary and counseling procedures
OBJECTIVES OF HRM CONT

• Help establish adequate compensation systems

and administer them in an efficient and timely
manner
• Foster a safe, healthy and productive work
environment
•Ensure compliance with all legal requirements in
so far as they relate to management of workforce
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 In recent years, several business trends have had a
significant impact on the broad field of HRM. Chief
among them are discussed below:
 Global economy: The market place is marked by
increased competition worldwide: expanding Asian
markets, developing South America, e.t.c. The new
global economies have brought about competitive
changes. Local companies must match foreign
competition if they are to take advantage of the
opportunities, such as joint ventures, but it also puts
increasing pressure on local firms and management to
meet the challenge presented by foreign competition.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES

 Cultural diversity: workforce diversity is a reality that

influences every HRM area and issue from strategic
planning to recruitment to training to health. The workplace
is made up of people from different tribe, race, background,
religion and so on. There is steadily growing body of
empirical evidence that managing diversity is becoming a
necessary part of the job responsibilities of managers.
 There is no one best way or best formula available with
regard to managing the increasing diversity of the
workforce. However, there is likely to be increased demand
to find fair, ethical and prompt ways to manage diversity.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 Work and family issues: with more single parents and
dual- career couples balancing the demands of home
and work has become the great challenge of the typical
worker and their employer. When there is conflict
between work and family, the family is three times more
likely to suffer than the employee’s job performance.
 Companies are discovering that family friendly work
environment more than pay for themselves and that
work place flexibility is not an accommodation to
employees but a competitive weapon. Absenteeism is
reduced, turnover is cut, efficiency is improved and the
bottom line is more attractive.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 Contingent workers: there are permanent or full time
employees and another category, referred to as contingent
workers.....Temporaries, part-time workers, contract or
leased workers (outsources), and other individuals who
are hired to handle extra job tasks or workloads.
 Organizations are relying more on part time workers in
order to save cost. Part-timers (as the term implies) put in
fewer hours than full time workers, they usually receive
fewer fringe benefits and often has a flexible work
schedule. The challenge is that you can’t instil
organization’s culture to people who just come and go
and this adversely affects productivity.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES

 Mergers and takeovers: companies all over the

world are constantly merging in a bid to gain
competitive advantage. Each organization has its
own culture. When companies merge there is a
dilution of organizations ways of doing things.
The question is : which culture remains and
which is removed?
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 Downsizing/delayering: as companies trim cost, they
are laying off employees. Companies cite many
reasons for cutting payrolls. It isn’t just low skill or
unskilled workers who are affected. Layoffs are
happening just as often to people once thought to
have marketable skills. It is now a trend in the world.
 It is predicted that companies will continue to let
people go because unlike earlier downsizing periods
in which employee just want to cut cost until business
picked up, today an operation that does not create
value is permanently squeezed out.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/
CHALLENGES

 Continuous quality improvement: Improved quality

means survival. Only companies with the best quality will
thrive and not because of quality alone. Two by-products
of making or doing things better are almost always lower
costs and higher productivity.
 Getting employees to support quality efforts can be a
major challenge. Too many workers and managers dismiss
quality efforts as inappropriate to their tasks until they are
convinced that such efforts produce important results.
 Critical success factors in quality improvement are
education and training, teamwork, employee involvement,
and so on.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 Advances in technology: New technologies, particularly
in the areas of electronic communication and
information dissemination and retrieval, have
dramatically altered the business landscape.
 Satellite communications, computers and networking
systems, fax machines, and other devices have all
facilitated change in the ways in which businesses
interact with each other and their workers.
 Telecommuting, for instance, has become a very popular
option for many workers, and HRM professionals have
had to develop new guidelines for this emerging subset
of employees.
THE CHANGING FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT/ CHALLENGES
 Changes in organizational culture: Continued erosion
in manufacturing industries, coupled with the rise in
service industries have changed the workplace, as has the
decline in union representation in many industries (these
two trends, in fact, are commonly viewed as
interrelated).
 In addition, many companies have scrapped or adjusted
their traditional, hierarchical organizations structures in
favour of flatter management structures.
 HRM experts note that this shift in responsibility
brought with it a need to reassess job descriptions,
appraisal systems, and other elements of personnel
CONCLUSION
 In conclusion, the practice
of HRM has and will
continue to evolve as the
years go by. Organisations
therefore need to be
constantly aware of these
changes and should change
their HR practices to be in
line with the changing
HRM environment.
REFERENCES
 Stone, R.J., Cox, A. and Gavin, M.,
2020. Human resource management. John
Wiley & Sons.
 Lopez-Cabrales, A. and Valle-Cabrera, R.,
2020. Sustainable HRM strategies and
employment relationships as drivers of the
triple bottom line. Human resource
management review, 30(3), p.100689.
REFS’ CONT
 Zamanan, M., Alkhaldi, M., Almajroub, A.,
Alajmi, A., Alshammari, J. & Aburumman, O.,
2020. The influence of HRM practices and
employees’ satisfaction on intention to
leave. Management Science Letters, 10(8),
pp.1887-1894.
THE END.