What is Human Resource Management?
According to Flippo, HRM is “planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the
procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance, and separation of human
resources to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are accomplished”.
Robbins and Decenzo define ” HRM is a process of acquiring, retaining, developing, terminating
and properly using the human resources in an organization”.
Dessler defines “HRM as a process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating
employees, and attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns”.
Mathis and Jackson define “HRM deals with the design of formal systems in an organization to
ensure the effective and efficient use of human talents to accomplish organizational goals”.
John Storey, states that “HRM is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks
to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and
capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personal techniques”.
Human Resource Management definition by Pigors and Myers “It is basically a method of
developing potentialities of employees so that they feel maximum satisfaction of their work and
give their best efforts to the organization”.
HRM Definition by M. J. Jucious: “The field of HRM involves planning, organization, directing
and controlling functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and utilizing a labor force.”
HRM Definition by Ricky W. Griffin: “Human Resource Management is the set of
organizational activities directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective
workforce.”
Human Resource Management definition by Dale Yoder: “HRM is the provision of leadership
and direction of people in their working or employment relationship.”
HRM definition by Milkovich & Boudreau: “Human Resource Management is a series of
decisions that affect the relationship between employee and employer: it affects many
constituencies and is intended to influences the effectiveness of employee and employer
Functions of HRM:
1. Job design and job analysis
2. Employee hiring and selection
3. Employee training & development
4. Compensation and Benefits
5. Employee performance management
6. Managerial relations
7. Labour relations
8. Employee engagement & communication
9. Health and safety regulations
10. Personal support for employees
11. Succession Planning
12. Industrial Relations
1. Job design and job analysis
One of the foremost functions of HRM is job design and job analysis. Job design involves the
process of describing duties, responsibilities and operations of the job. To hire the right employees
based on rationality and research, it is imperative to identify the traits of an ideal candidate who
would be suitable for the job. This can be accomplished by describing the skills and character traits
of your top-performing employee. Doing so will help you determine the kind of candidate you
want for the job. You will be able to identify your key minimum requirements in the candidate to
qualify for the job.
Job analysis involves describing the job requirements, such as skills, qualification and work
experience. The vital day-to-day functions need to be identified and described in detail, as they
will decide the future course of action while recruiting.
2. Employee hiring and selection
Recruitment is one of the primary functions of human resource management. HRM aims to obtain
and retain qualified and efficient employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the company.
All this starts with hiring the right employees out of the list of applicants and favourable
candidates.
3. Employee training & development
Imparting proper training and ensuring the right development of the selected candidates is a crucial
function of HR. After all, the success of the organisation depends on how well the employees are
trained for the job and what are their growth and development opportunities within the
organisation.
4. Compensation and Benefits
Benefits and compensation form the major crux of the total cost expenditure of an organisation. It
is a must to plug the expenses, and at the same time, it is also necessary to pay the employees well.
Therefore, the role of human resource management is to formulate attractive yet efficient benefits
and compensation packages to attract more employees into the workplace without disturbing the
finances of the company
5. Employee performance management
The next activity on HR functions list is effective employee performance management. Effective
performance management ensures that the output of the employees meets the goals and objective
of the organisation. Performance management doesn’t just focus on the performance of the
employee. It also focuses on the performance of the team, the department, and the organisation as
a whole.
6. Managerial relations
Relationships in employment are normally divided into two parts — managerial relations and
labour relations. While labour relations is mainly about the relationship between the workforce
and the company, managerial relations deals with the relationship between the various processes
in an organisation
7. Labour relations
Cordial labour relations are essential to maintain harmonious relationships between employees at
the workplace. At the workplace, many employees work together towards a single objective.
However, individually, everyone is different from the other in characteristics. Hence, it is natural
to observe a communication gap between two employees. If left unattended, such behaviours can
spoil labour relations in the company.
8. Employee engagement and communication
Employee engagement is a crucial part of every organization. Higher levels of engagement
guarantee better productivity and greater employee satisfaction. Efficiently managing employee
engagement activities will help in improving the employee retention rates too. HRM is the right
agent who can manage the employee engagement seamlessly. Proper communication and
engagement will do wonders for the employees as well as the organization. The more engaged the
employees are, more committed and motivated they will be.
9. Health and safety regulations
Every employer should mandatorily follow the health and safety regulations laid out by the
authorities. Our labour laws insist every employer to provide whatever training, supplies, PPE, and
essential information to ensure the safety and health of the employees. Integrating the health and
safety regulations with company procedures or culture is the right way to ensure the safety of the
employees. Making these safety regulations part of the company activities is one of the important
functions of HRM.
10. Personal support for employees
HRM assists employees when they run into personal problems which may interfere with the
workflow. Along with discharging administrative responsibilities, HR departments also help
employees in need. Since the pandemic, the need for employee support and assistance has
substantially increased. For example, many employees needed extra time off and medical
assistance during the peak period of the pandemic. For those who reached out for help, whether it
may be in the form of insurance assistance or extra leaves, companies provided help through HR
teams.
11. Succession Planning
Succession planning is a core function of HRMs. It aims at planning, monitoring, and managing
the growth path of the employees from within the organizations
12. Industrial Relations
It’s usually the production lines and manufacturing units where this HR function is mostly used.
You see, Unions exist in factories and manufacturing units. And their responsibility is towards the
goodwill about the workers — in fact, they’re always vocal and upfront about.
WHY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT(HRM) IS IMPORTANT TO ALL
MANAGERS?
Human resource management (HRM) is important to all managers because it involves the effective
management of an organization's workforce, which is the most valuable asset of any organization.
Here are some specific reasons why HRM is important to all managers:
1. Recruitment and selection: Managers rely on HRM to recruit and select the most qualified
and suitable candidates for job openings. This is important because hiring the wrong person
can result in costly mistakes, decreased productivity, and low employee morale.
2. Training and development: HRM is responsible for providing employees with the
necessary training and development opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge.
This is important because a well-trained and developed workforce can increase
productivity, reduce turnover, and improve employee satisfaction.
3. Performance management: HRM is responsible for developing and implementing
performance management systems that enable managers to evaluate employee
performance and provide feedback. This is important because it helps managers identify
areas for improvement, motivate employees, and reward high-performing employees.
4. Employee relations: HRM is responsible for maintaining positive employee relations and
managing conflicts that may arise in the workplace. This is important because it helps
managers create a harmonious work environment, minimize turnover, and maximize
employee satisfaction.
5. Compliance with laws and regulations: HRM is responsible for ensuring that the
organization complies with all applicable laws and regulations related to employment, such
as equal opportunity and labor laws. This is important because non-compliance can result
in legal consequences, damage to the organization's reputation, and costly fines.
LINE AND STAFF ASPECTS OF HRM
HR managers probably involve in different activities of a business like recruiting, interviewing,
selecting, training, promotion, staff compensation, etc. These all activities comes under the
umbrella of line and staff aspects of HRM. Let’s check below one by one all these activities in
detail that deals with the line and staff aspects of Human Resource Management.
1.Authority :
The right to make decisions is the authority or it is to give orders and to direct the work of others.
The managerial position has the inherent rights to give order and expect the order to be fulfilled.
Following are the two forms of authority have differentiated by early management
writers.
• Line Authority
• Staff Authority
• Functional Authority
Line Authority: Work of an employee is directed by manager and is entitled as line authority.
From top to bottom the employer-employee authority relationship is extended in the form of line
authority. Works of employees are directed by line manager who makes particular decisions
without confer with anyone. Line managers are differentiated from managers sometimes by the
term “line”. Line stresses managers whose organizational function give directly to the
accomplishment of organizational goals.
Staff Managers and Staff Authority: Staff authority is owned by staff managers. On the basis of
goals of organization, a manager’s function is classified as line or staff.As the organization
becomes bigger and more complicated, line managers ascertain that they do not have expertise,
time and resources to perform their duties effectively.They make staff authority functions to assist,
support, advice and usually minimize some of informational burdens they have
Functional Control: As a coordinator of personnel activities, the authority exercise by personnel
manager is refer to as functional control. In this case the manager behaves as the “main arm of top
executive”.
2.Line VS. Staff Authority
Line managers are authorized to manage the tasks of their assistants. Staff managers are authorized
to advise and help line managers in achieving their fundamental objectives.
3. Cooperative Line and Staff HR Management
In hiring & recruiting, it’s usually the responsibility of line managers to stipulate the qualifications
employees require to fill particular positions.After that HR staff assumes. They conduct initial
screening interviews and build sources of qualified applicants. The appropriate tests are
administered by them. Then the best applicant is referred by them to the supervisor, who interview
and chooses the one he/she desires.
4.Line Manager
They are always someone’s boss because they are authorized the work of their assistants. In
addition, line managers are responsible for achieving the organization’s fundamental objectives.
Following are the responsibilities of line managers’ human resource management.
• Placement
• Training
• Orientation
• Improving job performance
• Interpreting policies and procedures
• Gaining creative cooperation
• Controlling labor costs
• Creating and maintaining departmental morale
• Developing employee abilities
• Protecting employees’ health and physical condition
5.Staff Managers
Staff managers are authorized to advise and assist line managers in fulfilling their basic objectives.
HR managers work as staff managers.Staff managers’ advice and aid line managers in execution
of their basic objectives. In order to be successful, they are required to work in partnership with
each other.Some examples of HR responsibilities of staff managers contain help in hiring,
evaluating, training, counselling, rewarding, promoting & firing of employees and the
administering of different advantageous programs.
6.Human Resource Manager
A person who generally behaves in a staff capacity or advisory, working with other managers to
assist them deal with human resource affairs known as Human Resource Manager .
Responsibilities of Human Resource Management (Line Manager)
However, line managers still have many human resource duties. This is because the direct handling
of people has always been part of every line managers duties, from president down to first-line
supervisors. For example, one major company outlines its line supervisors ‘responsibilities for
effective human resource management under these general headings:
1. Placing the right person in the right job
2. Starting new employees in the organization (orientation)
3. Training employees for jobs that are new to them
4. Improving the job performance of each person
5. Gaining cooperation and developing smooth working relationships
6. Interpreting the company s policies and procedures
7. Controlling labor costs
8. Developing the abilities of each person
9. Creating and maintaining department morale
10. Protecting employees health and physical condition In small organizations, line managers may
carry out all these personnel tasks unassisted. But as the organization grows, they need the
assistance, specialized knowledge, and advice of a separate human resource staff. The human
resource department provides this specialized assistance.
Human Resource Managers Duties
In providing this specialized assistance, the human resource manager carries out three distinct
functions:
1. 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).
2. A coordinative function. The human resource manager also coordinates personnel activities, a
duty often referred to as functional authority or functional control.
3. Staff (assist and advise) functions. Assisting and advising line managers is the heart of the
human resource manager s job
Competencies of HR Managers
Adding value, strategizing, and using technology all require that human resource managers have
new competencies. They still need proficiencies in human resource management functional areas
such as selection, training, and compensation. But they also require broader business
competencies.
For example, human resource managers must speak the CFOs language by proposing and
explaining human resource plans in measurable terms (such as return on investment),and be able
to measure HRs impact.73 To assist top management in formulating strategies, the human resource
manager must understand strategic planning, marketing, production, and finance.74 With
companies grappling to adjust to competition, the human resource manager must be skilled at
formulating and implementing large-scale organizational changes, designing organizational
structures and work processes, and at understanding what it takes for the company to compete in
and succeed in the marketplace.
THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS COMPETENCIES:
* Talent Managers/Organization Designers, with a mastery of traditional human resource
management tasks such as acquiring, training, and compensating employees.
* Culture and Change Stewards, able to create human resource practices that support the firm
cultural values.
* Strategy Architects, with the skills to help establish the company s overall strategic plan, and
to put in place the human resource practices required to support accomplishing that plan.
* Operational Executors, able to anticipate, draft, and implement the human resource practices
(for instance in testing and appraising) the company needs to implement its strategy.
* Business Allies, competent to apply business knowledge (for instance in finance, sales, and
production) that enable them to help functional and general managers to achieve their departmental
goals.
* Credible Activists, with the leadership and other competencies that make them both credible
(respected, admired, listened to) and active (offers a point of view, takes a position, challenges
assumptions.)
Important trends that influencing HRM
Globalization trends :
Globalization refers to the tendency of firms to extend their sales, ownership, and/or manufacturing
to new markets abroad. Examples surround us. Toyota produces the Camry in Kentucky, while
Dell produces PCs in China.
For businesspeople, globalization means more competition, and more competition means more
pressure to be world-class to lower costs, to make employees more productive, and to do things
better and less expensively.
Technological Trends
Everyone knows that technology changed almost everything we do. We use smartphones and iPads
to communicate with the office, and to plan trips, manage money, and look for local eateries. We
also increasingly use technology for many human resource management type applications, such as
looking for jobs.
Facebook recruiting is one example.21 According to Facebook Facebook recruiting site,
employers start the process by installing the Careers Tab on their Facebook page. Once installed,
companies have a seamless way to recruit and promote job listings from directly within Facebook.
22 Then, after creating a job listing, the employer can advertise its job link using Facebook
Advertisements
Trends in the Nature of Work
Technology has also had a huge impact on how people work, and therefore on the skills
and training today s workers need.
HIGH-TECH JOBS For example, skilled machinist Chad Toulouse illustrates the modern blue
collar worker. After an 18-week training course, this former college student works as a team leader
in a plant where about 40% of the machines are automated. In older plants, machinists would
manually control machines that cut chunks of metal into things like engine part.
SERVICE JOBS Technology is not the only trend driving the change from brawn to brains. Today
over two-thirds of the U.S. workforce is producing and delivering services, not products. Between
2004 and 2014, almost all of the 19 million new jobs added in the United States will be in services,
not in goods producing industries.
KNOWLEDGE WORK AND HUMAN CAPITAL In general, the best jobs that remain require
more education and more skills. For example, we saw that automation and just-in-time
manufacturing mean that even manufacturing jobs require more reading, math, and communication
skills.
Workforce and Demographic Trends
All of this is occurring along with big changes in workforce and demographic trends.
DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS Most importantly, the U.S. workforce is becoming older and more
multiethnic.34 Table 1-1 provides a bird s-eye view. For example, between 1998 and 2018, the
percent of the workforce that it classifies as white, non-Hispanic will drop from 83.8% to 79.4%.
At the same time, the percent of the workforce that is black will rise from 11.6% to 12.1%, those
classified Asian will rise from 4.6% to 5.6%, and those of Hispanic origin will rise from 10.4% to
17.6%. The percentages of younger workers will fall, while those over 55 of age will leap from
12.4% of the workforce in 1998 to 23.9% in 2018.
GENERATION Y
Also called Millennials, Gen Y employees are roughly those born 1977 2002. They take the place
of the labor force s previous new entrants,
Generation X, those born roughly 1965 1976 (and who themselves were the children of, and
followed into the labor force, the Baby Boomers, born just after the Second World War, roughly
1944 1960).
RETIREES Many human resource professionals call the aging workforce the biggest
demographic trend affecting employers. The basic problem is that there aren’t enough younger
workers to replace the projected number of baby boom era older-worker retirees.
WORKERS FROM ABROAD With retirements triggering projected workforce shortfalls, many
employers are hiring foreign workers for U.S. jobs. The country s H-1B visa program allows U.S.
employers to recruit skilled foreign professionals to work in the United States when they can t find
qualified U.S. workers
Economic Challenges and Trends
Economic trends will undoubtedly turn positive again, perhaps even as you read these pages.
However, they have certainly grabbed employers attention. After what the world went through
starting in 2007 2008, it s doubtful that the deregulation, leveraging, and globalization that drove
economic growth for the previous 50 years.