FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The Perspective
This is an implied fact that when it comes to the achievement of organisational goals, the satisfaction of individual needs is also required to be fulfilled alongside the organisation ones. There are two types of structures present in any organisation i.e
- Formal
- Informal
When it comes to management of human resources, there are two types of thoughts prevalent:
- How the activities must be organised in a systematic and analytical way that the work processes and applications can be specifically defined.
- How can we understand an individuals’ relation with an activity which is afterwards recognised as ‘work’.
Famous Studies:
Robert Owen (1771-1858): He advocated that as vital machines in the organisation, humans should be given better working conditions.
Charles Babbage (1792-1871): He advocated that there should be a division of labour.
Frederick Taylor (1856-1915): Taylor provided a scientific management approach for the management of human resources. He also conducted studies on ‘Division of Labour’ and ‘Time and Motion’ studies
Elton Mayo: He conducted studies on ‘Hawthorne Studies’ on the working environment of workers in 1924-33. It revealed the various dimensions of human behaviour which were previously not considered significant. These studies were followed by the human relations movement which replaced the term rational economic man with social man.
Later on, some researchers like Chris Argyris, Douglas McGregor, Abraham Maslow, & Frederick Herzberg pointed out that there are other than monetary factors which motivate humans too.
DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
From the end of the 19th century, the development of people in the organisation has been considered a distinct managerial function.
There were few organisations that also had the post of welfare secretary (today referred to as social secretary)
There has been an experiment that has been conducted on the behaviour of a group by Prof A K Rice in 1952 in Ahmedabad Rice Mills.
In the 1960s, the term ‘personnel officer’ was first used in the industry of chemical and Pharmaceutical. It wasn’t until the late 1920s and in the early 1930s that the concern for the human element wasn’t even considered. The concern for human elements took root in the late 1930s.
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There have been two major trends or traditions in the human resource aspect:
- Hard-headed approach i.e profit-minded approach where human resources are utilized only for profits
- Social welfare viewpoint
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND THEIR STRUCTURES & FUNCTIONS
The following terms are interchangeably used to refer to one and the same thing:
- Labour & Welfare Department
- Personnel Department
- HR Department
CLASSIFICATION OF HRM ACTIVITIES
Administration and Maintenance (Personnel) Activities are classified as follows:
- People management (Conventional component)
- Administration of personnel
- Systems which are related to acquisition, promotion & evaluation, administration, salary and long-term benefits of the human resources
- Maintenance Systems
- Traditional labour management, grievances & activities related to discipline management
Human Resource Development
- It involves developmental systems. For example Induction and socialization of individuals, their development and growth, an appraisal on the basis of their performance, their counselling as well as career planning.
- It also includes organisation interventions that are required for climate development as well as employee and organisation development.
ROLE OF HR PROFESSIONALS
Supportive: Human resource professionals also deal with the development of systems that are there to deal with people, problems faced by the people as well as being the Dynamics of the organisation.
Systems Development & Research: They are also required to plan for the future manpower, recruitment processes, how to correctly place the recruited personnel, play with the factors of motivation and retention, integrate people, assess the potential and performance of the personnel as well as plan the growth of the individuals.
Managerial Role: He or she also has to look after the technical, and managerial aspects of the organisation.
Developing Competence: HR professional is also required to create the needed culture and values inside your organisation while trying to diagnose any problem which is faced at any organisational level and take corrective steps to resolve it.
Critical Attributes of HR Professional
Technical
HR professionals process technical knowledge in respect of:
- Appraisal systems of performance and how they function
- The potential appraisal and to develop a proper mechanism for the development of a system for one.
- Different tests in measurement techniques of behaviour
- Management of personnel
- Counselling of personnel
- Research techniques related to behaviour
- Processes and practices related to career planning
- Designing and coordinating training programs
- Understanding the organisational culture
- Skills related to counselling
Managerial
- Ability to organise
- Skills related to the Development of systems
Personality
- Have the confidence to take initiative
- Faith in the capability of human beings
- Positive attitude towards other
- Imaginative and creative
- Concern to achieve excellence
- Concern for the Welfare of people and their development
- Friendly and sociable
- Curious to learn new things
- Ability to work as a team leader
Competencies for HR Heads: The people who are leading the human resources much process the following attributes:
Behavioural
- Good communicators
- Initiators
- Driven
- Creative
- Able to team work
- Ability to influence
- Problem solving
- Interpersonal skills
- Self-confident
Functional
- Knowledge of business
- Service-oriented
- Excellence in execution
- Expertise building
- Have a financial perspective
- Able to manage relationships
- Strategic thinkers
- Diversity management
- Change makers
Strategic Role in the Future
- HR professionals are also required to play a strategic role for the future in the following ways:
- We have to partner with senior managers and line managers to help in the execution of strategies as well as to help them in implementing what has been planned from the conference room to the actual Marketplace.
- They must lead by example for the employees. They must also represent the concerns of employees to senior management and at the same time present the case of senior management to the Employees.
- They have to bring about continuous transformation, sheep processes and a culture which has the ability to learn organisational capacity to meet the changes.
Development of HR functions in India
Following are the laws and regulations which has happened over the years starting from the British Raj to what is happening now.
Labour Welfare Officers under the Factories Act
First, labour welfare officers were employed under the Factories Act.
By the 1950s, provisions of the Industrial disputes Act, 1947 were beginning to be housed in the minds of Indians.
By the 1960s, there was a demand for personal professionals who had specific knowledge about the people management as well as laws related to it.
Institutes for being set up to develop knowledge about human resource management:
- Indian Institute of Personnel Management (IIPM), 1947
- Indian Society for Training and Development, 1970
- MNCs National Institute of Labour Management
- National Institute of personnel Management (NIPM), 1982:
In India, it was TISCO who had taken proactive measures in the field and the Government had also connected different legislations relating to environment and welfare of employees.
- Article 16(1) of the Indian Constitution: Equal opportunity for employment
- Apprentices Act, 1961: Training which was linked to employment
- Child Labour Act, 1986
- Bonded Labour System Act, 1976
- Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
Major transformation transpired in 1980 when came the era of human resource development and a National Human Resource Development Network has been established in 1985.
