Human Resource Management

A Presentation by Atul Chanodkar

Human Resource Management An Introduction
Human resource management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and
compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health and safety,
and fairness concerns.

The practice of human resource management (HRM) is concerned with all aspects of
how people are employed and managed in organizations. It covers activities such as
strategic HRM, human capital management, corporate social responsibility, knowledge
management, organization development, resourcing (human resource planning,
recruitment and selection, and talent management), performance management, learning
and development, reward management, employee relations, employee well-being and
health and safety and the provision of employee services.
Human Resource Management An Introduction
Human resource management (HRM) is a subset of the study of management that
focuses on how to attract, hire, train, motivate, and maintain employees. Strong
employees become a source of competitive advantage in a global environment facing
change in complex ways at a rapid pace.
Human Resource Management Definitions
Human resource management involves all management decisions and action that affect
the nature of the relationship between the organization and its employees – its human
resources. (Beer et al, 1984)

HRM is: ‘The management of work and people towards desired ends.’ (Boxall et al,
2007)
Human Resource Management Objectives
The overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure that the organization
is able to achieve success through people.

HRM aims to increase organizational effectiveness and capability – the capacity of an

organization to achieve its goals by making the best use of the resources available to it.

HRM systems can be the source of organizational capabilities that allow firms to learn
and capitalize on new opportunities.

HRM has an ethical dimension which means that it must also be concerned with the
rights and needs of people in organizations through the exercise of social responsibility.
Human Resource Management Objectives (In Short)
To ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people.

To increase organizational effectiveness and capability.

To be concerned with the rights and needs of people in organizations through the
exercise of social responsibility.
Human Resource Management Functions
HRM is the part of the organization concerned with the “people” dimension. HRM can
be viewed in one of two ways. First, HRM is a staff or support function in the
organization. Its role is to provide assistance in HRM matters to line employees, or
those directly involved in producing the organization’s goods and services. Second,
HRM is a function of every manager’s job. Whether or not one works in a formal HRM
department, the fact remains that to effectively manage employees, all managers must
handle the activities.

HRM consists of four basic functions:

(1) staffing,
(2) training and development,
(3) motivation, and
(4) maintenance.
Human Resource Management Functions
Human Resource Management Functions
Staffing Function

Activities in HRM concerned with seeking and hiring qualified employees.

Organizations must have a well-defined reason for needing individuals who possess
specific skills, knowledge, and abilities directly linked to specific jobs.

The goal of recruiting is to give enough information about the job to attract a large
number of qualified applicants and simultaneously discourage the unqualified from
applying.
Human Resource Management Functions
Training and Development Function

Activities in HRM concerned with assisting employees to develop up-to date skills,
knowledge, and abilities. The training and development function tends to be a
continuous process. The goal of training and development is to have competent, adapted
employees who possess the up-to-date skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to perform
their current jobs more successfully. If that is attained, HRM turns its attention to
finding ways to motivate these individuals to exert high energy levels.
Human Resource Management Functions
Motivation Function
Activities in HRM concerned with helping employees exert at high energy levels. The
motivation function is one of the most important yet probably the least understood
aspects of the HRM process.
Maintenance Function
The last phase of the HRM process is called the maintenance function. As the name
implies, this phase puts into place activities that will help retain productive employees.
When one considers how employee job loyalty has declined in the past decade, it’s not
difficult to see the importance of maintaining employee commitment.
HRM must ensure a safe and healthy working environment; caring for employees’ well-
being has a major effect on their commitment. HRM must also realize that any problem
an employee faces in his or her personal life will ultimately be brought into the
workplace. This calls for employee assistance programs that help individuals deal with
stressful life situations such as substance abuse, child care, elder care, depression, and
relationship problems.
Human Resource Management Functions
Compensation Function

compensation and benefits is concerned with paying employees and administering their
benefits package. These tasks are by no means easy ones. Human resource managers
develop strategic compensation plans, align performance management systems with
compensation structure and monitor negotiations for group health care benefits.

Employee Relations
Although the employee relations specialist is responsible for investigating and resolving
workplace issues, the human resource manager has ultimate responsibility for
preserving the employer-employee relationship through effective employee relations
strategies. An effective employee relations strategy contains specific steps for ensuring
the overall well-being of employees. It also ensures that employees have a safe working
environment, free from discrimination and harassment. Human resource managers for
small businesses conduct workplace investigations and resolve employee complaints.
Human Resource Management Characteristics
HRM was regarded by Storey (1989) as a ‘set of interrelated policies with an
ideological and philosophical underpinning’. He listed four aspects that constitute the
meaningful version of HRM:

1. a particular constellation of beliefs and assumptions;

2. a strategic thrust informing decisions about people management;
3. the central involvement of line managers; and
4. reliance upon a set of ‘levers’ to shape the employment relationship.
Human Resource Management Characteristics
The diversity of HRM

There are no universal characteristics of HRM. Many models exist, and practices within
different organizations are diverse, often only corresponding to the conceptual version
of HRM in a few respects. Boxall et al (2007) remarked that: ‘Human resource
management covers a vast array of activities and shows a huge range of variations
across occupations, organizational levels, business units, firms, industries and
societies.’
A distinction was made by Storey (1989) between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ versions of HRM.
The hard version emphasizes that people are important resources through which
organizations achieve competitive advantage. These resources have therefore to be
acquired, developed and deployed in ways that will benefit the organization.
The soft version of HRM has its roots in humanism – an approach devoted to human
interests that views people as responsible and progressive beings.
Human Resource Management Characteristics
The Strategic Nature of HRM

The concept locates HRM policy formulation firmly at the strategic level and insists that
a characteristic of HRM is its internally coherent approach. Human resource policies
should be integrated with strategic business planning.

The commitment-oriented nature of HRM

One of the aims of HRM is to promote commitment – the strength of an individual’s

identification with, and involvement in, a particular organization.

Human resources may be tapped most effectively by mutually consistent policies that
promote commitment and which, as a consequence, foster a willingness in employees to
act flexibly in the interests of the “adaptive organization’s” pursuit of excellence.
Human Resource Management Characteristics
Focus on Mutuality

The new HRM model is composed of policies that promote mutuality – mutual goals,
mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, mutual responsibility. The theory is
that policies of mutuality will elicit commitment which in turn will yield both better
economic performance and greater human development.

Unitary and pluralist employee relations

HRM is characterized by a unitarist rather than a pluralist view of employee relations

with the emphasis on individual contracts, not collective agreements. A unitarist view
expresses the belief that people in organizations share the same goals and work as
members of one team. The pluralist view recognizes that the interests of employees will
not necessarily coincide with their employers and suggests that the unitary view is
naïve, unrealistic and against the interest of employees.
Human Resource Management Characteristics
Treating people as assets or human capital

People and their collective skills, abilities and experience, coupled with their ability to
deploy these in the interests of the employing organization, are now recognized as
making a significant contribution to organizational success and as constituting a major
source of competitive advantage.

HRM as a system

An open systems view of HRM has been developed by Wright and Snell (1998). An open
system is dependent on the environment for inputs, which are transformed during
throughput to produce outputs that are exchanged in the environment. Wright and Snell
defined an open HRM system as a competence model of organizations. Skills and
abilities are treated as inputs from the environment; employee behaviours are treated as
throughput; and employee satisfaction and performance are treated as outputs.
Human Resource Management Duties
In providing this specialized assistance, the human resource manager carries out three
distinct functions:

A line function
The human resource manager directs the activities of the people in his or her own
department, and perhaps in related areas (like the plant cafeteria).

A coordinative function
The human resource manager also coordinates personnel activities, a duty often
referred to as functional authority (or functional control). Here he or she ensures that
line managers are implementing the firms human resource policies and practices (for
example, adhering to various policies).
Human Resource Management Duties
Staff (assist and advise) functions
Assisting and advising line managers is the heart of the human resource manager s job.
He or she advises the CEO so the CEO can better understand the personnel aspects of
the company’s strategic options. HR assists in hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding,
counseling, promoting, and firing employees. It administers the various benefit
programs (health and accident insurance, retirement, vacation, and so on). It helps line
managers comply with equal employment and occupational safety laws, and plays an
important role in handling grievances and labor relations.
Human Resource Management Changing Environment of HRM
As the way HR is managed in organizations changes, some challenges are affecting all
employers. Responding effectively requires a competent HR presence to deal with the
challenges. A wide range of factors are putting more planning, administrative, and cost
pressures on organizations globally.

Organizational Cost Pressures and Restructuring

An overriding theme facing managers and organizations is to operate in a “costless”
mode, which means continually looking for ways to reduce costs of all types - financial,
operations, equipment, and labor. Pressures from global competitors have forced many
firms to close facilities, use international outsourcing, adapt their management
practices, increase productivity, and decrease labor costs in order to become more
competitive. The growth of information technology, particularly that linked to the
Internet, has influenced HR management as it handles the number, location, and
required activities of employees.
Human Resource Management Changing Environment of HRM
Economics and Job Changes
The shifts in global economy in the past years have changed the number and types of
jobs present globally. The recession in 2007–2009 affected many industries such as
automotive and financial firms.

The highest growth of jobs by percentage is in occupations that generally require more
education and expertise training, whereas the numerical growth of several jobs is in
occupations requiring less education and jobs that are lower-skilled.

Another aspect of the shifting economy is revealed in the types of jobs that have the
greatest decline in numbers. They include stock clerks, cashiers, packers, file clerks,
and farmers/ranchers. These declines reflect shifts in economic factors and how those
jobs are being combined with others or eliminated due to business changes.
Human Resource Management Changing Environment of HRM
Talent Management and Development
A broad focus of HR professionals is on talent management and development to address
the workforce and job changes. Despite the economic pressures, the emphasis on talent
management has appeared on the HR scene in organizations of all sizes and in all
industries.

Some forces behind the emphasis on talent management have included:

- The impending retirement of baby boomers worldwide
- Shortages of skilled workers of certain types and at certain levels
- Increasing global competition for human resource talent
- Growth in technology capable of automating talent management processes

These and other factors have forced organizations to develop a more strategic,
integrated, and automated approach to talent management.
Human Resource Management Changing Environment of HRM
Growth in Contingency Workforce
Many employers operate with a core group of regular employees who have critical
skills, and then expand and shrink the workforce by using contingent workers.

The number of contingent workers has grown for many reasons. One reason is the
economic factor. Temporary workers are used to replace full-time employees, and many
contingent workers are paid less and/or receive fewer benefits than regular employees.
Human Resource Management

A Presentation by Atul Chanodkar