What Is Meant by the Term Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Running header: HRM Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Introduction Human resource management has been in use since the 1980s. Before this, it was known as personnel administration. Personnel administration emerged in 1920s and mainly involved such technical aspects as hiring, evaluating, training as well as compensation of employees and was mainly a staff function. It however failed to focus on the influence of good employment practices on the overall performance of the organization. As a result of the above weakness and in response to the increasing competitive pressures in American business organizations in 1970s, HRM developed. This move was also as a result of the globalization as well as the dynamic changes in technology. The firms therefore had to practice strategic planning in order to remain competitive in the industry. These firms had to align their activities with their employees in order to effectively run the organization. (Dessler, 2004) Human resource management is comprised of the overall activities which a firm undertakes in order to effectively utilize the employee’s in order to achieve the individual as well as well as organizational goals. HRM focuses on managing the employees. An organization has various phases such as pre-hire, staffing, employment cycle as well as the post hire. HRM helps the employer to effectively deal with its employees This paper critically considers what is implied by the term Human Resources Management and explores its emergence as a strategy for managing human resources in the 1980s. The paper introduces the development of HRM from a historical perspective and explains its development from the previous personnel management. As such, the paper explains the historical development s and the impact this has had on human resources management. The paper also outlines the various HRM models that developed in the 1980s. Finally, the paper compares human resources management before and the Human resources management being practiced today. Meaning and historical development of HRM (Pre 1980) Meaning Human resources management can be simply defined as the management of a firm’s or organization’s employees or its human resources. As such, human resources management is concerned with attracting, selecting, training, assessing as well as rewarding of an organization’s workforce while ensuring that the organization maintains its organizational leadership and culture while ensuring compliance with the set employment and labor laws. It is also the function of Human resources management to serve as the organization’s primary liaison tool with the representatives of the workforce where they have labor unions. Human resources management can be traced back to Human resources movement of the early 20th century when firms began coming up with ways of business value creation through strategic workforce management. The initial function of HRM however mainly transactional involving such work as payroll and benefits administration. However, owing to globalization, company consolidation, increased research as well as technological advancement HRM has today emerged to focus on strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisition, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, diversity and inclusion as well as talent management. Historical development of HRM (Pre 1980s) As stated above, Human resources evolved from the previous personnel management which was occasioned by changes in social and economic activities at different times in history. The various phases that Human resources management has evolved through include; a) industrial welfare This was the initial structure of human resources management. The factory Act required that there be male factory inspectors as early as 1833. In the year 1878, a law regulating the hours for which children as well as the women worked to 60 hours in a week came into being. At the same time, trade unions started emerging with the first trade unions conference being held in 1868 marking the initiation of joint bargaining. In 1913 with the number of business welfare employees having greatly increased, Rowntree organized a conference that resulted in the formation of welfare workers association that was to later change its name to Chattered institute of personnel and development. b) Enrollment and Selection Recruitment and selection as a function of HRM started during 1st world war when Mary Wood started engaging girls during the war. Personnel development increased owing to governments initiatives geared towards encouragement of optimum use of personnel by firms. In the year 1916, the Act made it compulsory for firms to have a welfare employee in volatile factories as well as munitions factories. Furthermore, armed forces started focusing on testing abilities and IQ alongside increased research in human factors at work. Further, outcome of studies on collection tests, interviewing methods as well as training techniques by national; institute of psychologists were published in 1921. (Shark, 2010) c) Acquisition of personnel and other activities The focus on employment, selection, training, improvement of morale, inspiration; discipline, health and security, remuneration policy as well as joint consultation activities greatly increased during the 2nd world war. This saw the establishment of personnel departments with trained employees. (Sarah, 2008) d) Industrial relations With the increased discussion stuck between management and the workers during 2nd world war, employees departments became for in charge for its institute’s and development. Firms also felt the requirement for specialists to deal with industrial dealings with personnel manager becoming the firms’ spokesman as far as industrial relations were concerned. The increased role of industrial relations greatly increased in 1970s with employees’ manager having the influence to bargain deals regarding pay as well as other joint concerns. e) Legislation There was increased employment legislation in 1970s which saw the staff task to take the role of the specialist counselor in a bid to ensure that managers do not violate the law as well as ensuring that industrial disputes do not end up in industrial courts. The civil rights act The passage of the civil rights act and other anti-discrimination legislations in the 1960s greatly revolutionized HRM. The acts required firms to take action to remedy past discriminatory practices. Equal employment opportunities and affirmative action mandated the HRM function and enhanced its importance in modern organizations. HRM act of 1978 Another act that was critical in transforming HRM into its modern form is the employment protection consolidation act enacted in 1978. The act incorporated and expanded former HRMN acts and came up with a comprehensive set of laws pertaining the management of human resources. The act served to address major aspects of employer- employee relationship. Specifically, the act required written particulars of employment, leave from work for medical reasons, itemized payrolls, membership to trade unions, health and safety provisions, time off work, maternity leave, non discrimination on gender basis, condition for termination of employment as well as protection from unfair dismissal. (Houston, 2010) Changes that Happened to HRM in 1980s As seen above, HRM evolved gradually through various stages. However, by the start of 1980s, HRM had overtaken the business world such that every big and medium organization established departments charged with the management of recruitment, employee relations, salaries and wages, record keeping among other human resource functions. The increase in the importance of HRM in the 1980s can be greatly attributed to several reasons including increased use of skilled labor, regulation compliance, training, dismissal, and trade unions among others. However, the major factors occurring in 1980s and which helped shape HRM into what it is today include the diversity of the labor force in terms of age, race, gender as well as ethnicity. HRM functions have therefore evolved from those of ensuring equal employment opportunities and affirmative action to managing of diversity at the work place. The 1980s also saw increased globalization of business as well as increased technological revolution; factors which led to major changes in the labor markets. Finally there was the shift of focus on HRM as a strategic function where firms started integrating HRM into their overall strategic planning with an aim of coping with rapid change, intense competition as well as pressure for increased efficiency.( Daniel, 2010) Furthermore, there was increased legislation concerning the management of human resources in the 1980s which greatly changed HRM. In fact, the changes that took place in this field are what changed human resources management from the previous personnel administration into the present day’s HRM. Some of the 1980s legal changes which have had an impact on HRM include; i) 1982-1984 The employment act of 1982 sought to protect workers from being dismissed as a result of the closed shop. It further restricted the immunities enjoyed by trade unions. In other words, workers rights as an individual were protected regardless of whether he/she belonged to a trade union. No one would be discriminated on the basis of not belonging to a trade union. ii) 1984- 1986 In the year 1986, the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADCE) was formed. This Act sought to prevent employers from terminating their employees on the basis of age unless the said age was a factor preventing the employee from performing to the expected standards. An act was also made to require some certain employees to promote equal opportunity for women. iii) 1988 The Employment, Education and Training Act 1988, the National Board of Employment, Education and Training reported on all the employment, education as well as the training issues to the Minister of Employment, Education and Training. These reports included the analysis of employment, education and the training issues regarding the employees. The report was based on the government’s guideline. The Act established the schools council, employment and skills formation and the skills formation council. There are two models that explain the evolution of Human Resource Management. These are the soft model and the hard model. Dessler (2004) defines human resource as the process of acquiring, preserving and improving the organization’s personnel/human resource. The personnel welfare largely affects the performance of the general organization. The soft model relies on the notion that employees will perform better then the firm recognizes their individual needs which are addressed before the firm can focus on the business objectives. Maslow’s in his work argued that individuals have needs which they need to satisfy. He argues that Organizations which address these needs will have happier employees who are more fulfilled, (Peter Harry,200) productive and loyal to the firm. Such employees will in turn work hard to achieve the organizations goals as well. Noe in his work claimed that success is obtained through deep empathy for others as it helps the parties “connect”. This creates an avenue for motivating and inspiring such workers. This model is therefore very important as such time when personnel management was moving towards the human resource management. Before the 80’s, employees were basically supposed to take orders and instructions. During the 80’s and after this period, the needs of the employees were being taken into consideration. Firms were now viewing their human resource as a revenue centre and their contribution as well as suggestions mattered in the organization. The hard Human Resource Management on the other hand views the employees as human resource. They are therefore viewed just like any other business resource that the firm has. As such, it must be obtained as cheaply as possible, exploited and developed in order to obtain maximum benefit while spending the least company resources for compensation. This model emphasizes on the performance management and appraisal as well as strict control over the employees. The sole aim of this model is to put the firm on a better competitive edge as compared to the employee. (Stanley, 2005.) This model basically tends to align the needs of the business with those of the business in order to reap maximum benefits from them. Before the 1980’s, this model seemed ideal as most firms’ objective was to gain as much as possible from the employees at the expense of their interest. The firms did not prioritize the needs of the employees as those of the firm came first. However, this notion was slowly dying in the 1980’s as well as after this period as organizations started viewing employees from a different perspective. (James, 2010) The Harvard model sees the personnel as resource. Managers are expected to make decisions regarding the organization as well as the employee relation. This model provides a basis for comparative analysis which was useful during this period as it was crucial in employee development. (Maxwell, 2007)The four HRM policy models as covered by the Harvard model show the importance of reward system, human resource flow, employee influence as well as work system whose application is crucial even in the modern Human Resource Management. Their use facilitates individual as well as societal well-being and the overall organizational effectiveness. Conclusion There has been massive development in the Human Resource Management over the years. This is so in order to continuously improve individual as well as organizational performance. The modern business environment is very dynamic and managers could pay dearly for poor staffing. Employees should seek to enhance the effective use, contribution as well as involvement of employees throughout the organization. HRM has been developing gradually since 1900 and firms should be a high note to embrace such changes in order to improve their performance. Over the years, HRM seems to be taking a higher notch as more attention and freedom is given to the employees. This is in order to satisfy their needs which firms believe will lead to more effectiveness to the employees in achieving company goals and objectives. Human Resource Management is therefore a dynamic field which is bound to improve more over time through scientific research and other contributions in the field. REFERENCES Dessler, Gary, Human Resource Management. /Prentice-Hall, 2004. Peter Harry Modern Human Resource Management,2009 Shark, T. 2010. Employee compensation. African human resource journal, 25 (3), 179-182. Judy, M .2009.Human Resource and Performance appraisal. World economic review, 5(5), 15-21. John, S. 2007. Managing employee performance and reward (concept, practices, and strategies). Cambridge University Press: London. James, K.2010. Personnel management. Longman publishers: New York. Ann, N. 2009. Evolving of Human Resource Management. American Human resources Management, 22(3), 18-25. Sarah, P. 2008. Emergence of Personnel Management Macmillan: Sydney. Houston, M.2010. Employee motivation: performance based compensation. Rutledge: London. Daniel, M.2010. Human resource management: Improving employees’ performance. Prentice Hall: London. Maxwell, O.2007. Win- Win Performance management /appraisal: A problem solving approach. Wiley: New York. Stanley, C.2005. Managing employees in the work place. Cambridge University Press: London. Read More