Human Resource Management (HRM) is an operation in companies designed to

maximize employee performance in order to meet the employer's strategic goals

and objectives. More precisely, HRM focuses on management of people within
companies, emphasizing on policies and systems.
In short, HRM is the process of recruiting, selecting employees, providing proper
orientation and induction, imparting proper training and developing skills.
HRM also includes employee assessment like performance appraisal, facilitating
proper compensation and benefits, encouragement, maintaining proper relations
with labor and with trade unions, and taking care of employee safety, welfare and
health by complying with labor laws of the state or country concerned.

The Scope of HRM

The scope of HRM is very wide. It consists of all the functions that come under the
banner of human resource management. The different functions are as follows −

Human Resources Planning

It is the process by which a company identifies how many positions are vacant and
whether the company has excess staff or shortage of staff and subsequently deals
with this need of excess or shortage.

Job Analysis Design

Job analysis can be defined as the process of noticing and regulating in detail the
particular job duties and requirements and the relative importance of these duties
for a given job.
Job analysis design is a process of designing jobs where evaluations are made
regarding the data collected on a job. It gives an elaborate description about each
and every job in the company.

Recruitment and Selection

With respect to the information collected from job analysis, the company prepares
advertisements and publishes them on various social media platforms. This is
known as recruitment.
A number of applications are received after the advertisement is presented,
interviews are conducted and the deserving employees are selected. Thus,
recruitment and selection is yet another essential area of HRM.

Orientation and Induction

After the employees are selected, an induction or orientation program is

organized. The employees are updated about the background of the company as
well as culture, values, and work ethics of the company and they are also
introduced to the other employees.
Training and Development

Employees have to undergo a training program, which assists them to put up a

better performance on the job. Sometimes, training is also conducted for currently
working experienced staff so as to help them improve their skills further. This is
known as refresher training.

Performance Appraisal

After the employees have put in around 1 year of service, performance appraisal is
organized in order to check their performance. On the basis of these appraisals,
future promotions, incentives, and increments in salary are decided.

Compensation Planning and Remuneration

Under compensation planning and remuneration, various rules and regulations

regarding compensation and related aspects are taken care of. It is the duty of the
HR department to look into remuneration and compensation planning.

Features of HRM
Human Resource Management as a discipline includes the following features −
 It is pervasive in nature, as it is present in all industries.
 It focuses on outcomes and not on rules.
 It helps employees develop and groom their potential completely.
 It motivates employees to give their best to the company.
 It is all about people at work, as individuals as well as in groups.
 It tries to put people on assigned tasks in order to have good production or results.
 It helps a company achieve its goals in the future by facilitating work for competent and
well-motivated employees.
 It approaches to build and maintain cordial relationship among people working at various
levels in the company.
Basically, we can say that HRM is a multi-disciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge
and inputs drawn from psychology, economics, etc.

Human resource management (HRM or HR) is the strategic approach to the effective

management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain
a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize employee performance in service of an
employer's strategic objectives.] Human resource management is primarily concerned with
the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.] HR
departments are responsible for overseeing employee-benefits design,
employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and reward
management, such as managing pay and benefit systems.[3] HR also concerns itself
with organizational change and industrial relations, or the balancing of organizational
practices with requirements arising from collective bargaining and governmental laws.
The overall purpose of human resources (HR) is to ensure that the organization is able to
achieve success through people. HR professionals manage the human capital of an
organization and focus on implementing policies and processes. They can specialize in
finding, recruiting, training, and developing employees, as well as maintaining employee
relations or benefits. Training and development professionals ensure that employees are
trained and have continuous development. This is done through training programs,
performance evaluations, and reward programs. Employee relations deals with the concerns
of employees when policies are broken, such as cases involving harassment or discrimination.
Managing employee benefits includes developing compensation structures, parental
leave programs, discounts, and other benefits for employees. On the other side of the field are
HR generalists or business partners. These HR professionals could work in all areas or
be labor relations representatives working with unionized employees.
HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th Century, when
researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic
management of the workforce. It was initially dominated by transactional work, such
as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation,
technological advances, and further research, HR as of 2015 focuses on strategic initiatives
like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor
relations, and diversity and inclusion. In the current global work environment, most
companies focus on lowering employee turnover and on retaining the talent and knowledge
held by their workforce. New hiring not only entails a high cost but also increases the risk of
a new employee not being able to adequately replace the position of the previous employee.
HR departments strive to offer benefits that will appeal to workers, thus reducing the risk of
losing employee commitment and psychological ownership.
HISTORY OF HRM :
The Human Resources field began to take shape in 18th century Europe. It built on a simple idea
by Robert Owen (1771-1858) and Charles Babbage (1791-1871) during the industrial revolution.
These men concluded that people were crucial to the success of an organization. They
expressed the thought that the well-being of employees led to perfect work; without healthy
workers, the organization would not survive.[6][need quotation to verify]
HR emerged as a specific field in the early 20th century, influenced by Frederick Winslow
Taylor (1856–1915). Taylor explored what he termed "scientific management" (sometimes
referred to as "Taylorism"), striving to improve economic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He
eventually focused on one of the principal inputs into the manufacturing process—labor—
sparking inquiry[by whom?] into workforce productivity.[7]
Meanwhile, in England, C S Myers, inspired by unexpected problems among soldiers which had
alarmed generals and politicians in the First World War of 1914-1918, co-founded the National
Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP) in 1921. [8] In doing so, he set seeds for the human
relations movement. This movement, on both sides of the Atlantic, built on the research of Elton
Mayo (1880-1949) and others to document through the Hawthorne studies (1924–1932) and
other studies how stimuli, unrelated to financial compensation and working conditions, could yield
more productive workers.[9] Work by Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), Kurt Lewin (1890–
1947), Max Weber (1864–1920), Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000), and David McClelland (1917–
1998), forming the basis for studies in industrial and organizational psychology, organizational
behavior and organizational theory, was interpreted[by whom?] in such a way as to further claims[when?] of
legitimacy for an applied discipline.

Everything you need to know about the various definitions of

human resource management. Human resource management is a
systematic process of managing people working in the
organization.
Human resource management is a managerial process of
acquiring and engaging the required workforce, appropriate for
the job and concerned with developing, maintenance and
utilization of work force.
According to Decenzo and Robbins, “HRM is concerned with the
people dimension” in management.
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Since every organization is made up of people, acquiring their

services, developing their skills, motivating them to higher levels of
performance and ensuring that they continue to maintain their
commitment to the organization is essential to achieve
organisational objectives. This is true, regardless of the type of
organization – government, business, education, health or social
action.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is that part of management
process which develops and manages the human element of the
enterprise considering their resourcefulness in terms of total
knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents, aptitudes and
potentialities for effectively contributing to the organisational
objectives.
The most important asset of the organization is its employees, so
the prime responsibility of management is to manage human
resource in effective manner.
The basic function of management is to bring employees and
organization on the same platform in order to meet the individual
goals as well as organizational goals at the same time.
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The management of human resources is an art because the

sequences of growth and changes that occurs in life.
Learn about the definitions of human resource management
propounded by various authors, management thinkers and
institutions.
Human Resource Management Definitions by
Different Authors, Management Thinkers and
Various Institutions
Human Resource Management Definitions – Given
by Eminent Authors Like: Pigors and Myers, Byars
and Rue, Ivancevich and Glueck
People at work at different levels and departments of the
organisation plus their inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and
skills as exemplified in their talents and aptitudes.

Human resources are also identified by other terms like ‘personnel’,

‘people at work’ ‘human assets’ and ‘human capital’. Human assets
are intangible as they exist within the human resources. Sumantra
Ghoshal has used the term ‘human capital’ to represent human
resources. Human capital consists of intellectual capital, social
capital and emotional capital.
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Managing people at work in various settings. In general, human

resource means people. Human Resource Management refers to,
Michael J. Jucius has defined human resources as “a whole
consisting of inter-related, interdependent and interacting
physiological, psychological, sociological and ethical components”.
Definitions:
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”.
Byars and Rue – “Human resource management encompasses those
activities designed to provide for and coordinate the human
resources of an organization Human resource functions refer to
those tasks and duties performed in organizations to provide for
and coordinate human resources”.
Ivancevich and Glueck – “Human resource management is the
function performed in organizations’ that facilitate the most
effective use of people (employees) to achieve organizational and
individual goals”.
Human Resource Management
Definitions – Explained!
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the governance of an
organization’s employees. HRM is sometimes referred to simply as
Human Resources (HR).

The first definition of human resource management is that it is a

process that will manage people in a company in a defined and
structured way.

The HR is supposed to do the following tasks- staffing, hiring

people, retention of employees, managing pays and perks and
setting them, performance management, managing the changes and
many more. This definition is a traditional one and is a modern
version of personnel management.

Another definition for human resource management states that

managing the people or employees in an organization can be done
in a macro perspective which means that managing employees will
be in the form of a relationship between management and
employees.

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Human resources are the people who work for the organization;
human resource management is really employee management with
an emphasis on those employees as assets of the business. In this
article, employees are sometimes referred to as human capital.

HR professionals recruit, manage and provide direction for people

who work in an organization to maximize profitability and
employee satisfaction. They typically develop and administer
policies related to hiring, performance management, compensation,
safety and wellness, employee benefits, communication and
training.

Human resource management is often referred as personnel

management.
Edwin Flippo defines HRM as- “planning, organizing, directing,
controlling of procurement, development, compensation,
integration, maintenance and separation of human resources to the
end that individual, organizational and social objectives are
accomplished”

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According to French Wendell- “Personnel management is a major

component of the broader managerial function and has roots and
branches extending throughout and beyond each organization. It is
a major sub-system of all organizations.”

The human resources approach is based on a number of

principles, some of which are as follows:
(i) Human resource as an asset – Employees are assets to an
organization. The time and resources employed in managing and
developing them are an investment that the organization makes for
better returns in the present and in future.
(ii) Proper catering of program and policies – Policies, programs
and practices must cater to the needs of employees and should help
them in their work and also in their personnel development.
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(iii) Proper conductive work environment – It is necessary to create

and maintain a conducive work environment, to encourage the
employees to develop and harness their knowledge and skills for the
benefit of the organization.
Human resource policies and practice should be in alignment with
the goal of balancing individual and organizational needs. This can
be achieved through a mutual process where the organization and
employees help each other to achieve their goals.

Human Resource Management Definitions –

According to Famous Management Thinkers like
French Wendell, Gary Dessler, Story and Bratton
and Gold
According to French Wendell – “Human Resource Management is
the recruitment, selection, development, utilisation of and
accommodation to human resources by organisations.”
The human resources of an organisation consist of all employees
working at different levels in the organisation. Management of
human resources is concerned with procurement, development,
utilisation and maintenance of human resources for the
accomplishment of organisational objectives.
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According to Gary Dessler – “Human Resource Management is the

process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating
employees, and attending to their labour relations, health, safety
and fairness concerns.”
According to Story (1995), 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 array of cultural, structural and
personnel techniques.
Bratton and Gold (2007), defined HRM as a strategic approach to
manage employment relations, which emphasizes that leveraging
people’s capabilities is critical to achieve competitive advantages,
this is being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated
employment policies, programmes and practices.
This definition of Human Resource Management (HRM) is quite
comprehensive. It not only talks of functions like acquisition,
training, appraisal and compensation but also of ‘human
orientation’ by giving emphasis to human relations and health and
safety of human resources.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is that part of management
process which develops and manages the human element of the
enterprise considering their resourcefulness in terms of total
knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents, aptitudes and
potentialities for effectively contributing to the organisational
objectives.
In other words, HRM involves all management decisions and
practices that directly influence the people who work for the
organisation.
Since organisation is run by people, HRM is an integral part of
management. It involves taking decisions and their execution for
the effective management of people for the accomplishment of
organisational objectives and also for the satisfaction of the needs
and aspirations of people.
Effective performance of each of the HR function like procurement,
training, compensation appraisal and maintenance requires sounds
decisions like number and quality of people required to fill the jobs,
contents of training program, compensation system, incentive
plans, criteria of appraisal, transfer and promotion, employees’
welfare schemes, etc.
All such decisions are put into practice for the mutual benefit of
both the organisation and the people working for the organisation.

Human Resource Management Definitions –

Propounded by Edwin B. Flippo, Decenzo and
Robbins, Pulapa Subba Rao and National Institute of
Personal Management of India
Human resource management is a systematic process of managing
people working in the organization. Human resource management
is a managerial process of acquiring and engaging the required
workforce, appropriate for the job and concerned with developing,
maintenance and utilization of work force.
Edwin B. Flippo defined HRM as “planning, organizing, directing,
controlling of procurement, development, compensation,
integration, maintenance and separation of human resources to the
end that individual, organizational and social objectives are
achieved.”
The National Institute of Personal Management (NIPM) of India
defined human resources – personal management as “that part of
management which is concerned with people at work and with their
relationship within an enterprise. Its aim is to bring together and
develop into an effective organization of the men and women who
make up enterprise and having regard for the well – being of the
individuals and of working groups, to enable them to make their
best contribution to its success”.
According to Decenzo and Robbins, “HRM is concerned with the
people dimension” in management. Since every organization is
made up of people, acquiring their services, developing their skills,
motivating them to higher levels of performance and ensuring that
they continue to maintain their commitment to the organization is
essential to achieve organisational objectives. This is true,
regardless of the type of organization – government, business,
education, health or social action.
Human resource management means management of all employees
from top level to lower level and all employers the managing
director, board of directors and all people who contribute their
services towards attainment of organisational goals.
According to Pulapa Subba Rao, “human resources management
(HRM) is managing (planning, organising, directing and
controlling) the functions of employing, developing, compensating
and utilising human resources, resulting in the creation and
development of human and industrial relations which would shape
the future policies and practices of human resource management,
with a view to contribute proportionately (due to them) to the
organisational, individual and social goals”.
Human resource management deals with identification of required
workforce and placement of personnel, appraisal of performance of
staff, training and development of employees, setting the salary and
compensation payable to employees, employee’s welfare and
establishing a cordial and harmonious relationship amongst all
working within the organisation.
Identification of the required work force involves identifying the
quantitative requirement i.e., number of people required to be
employed as well the quality of the workforce i.e., the talent,
knowledge, skill and ability of the workforce. Employing the
appropriate person for the job is a major concern of the
management.
Human resource management aims at maximising the performance
of the employees and attaining organizational success through
developing, utilising and maintaining the resource and establishing
a favourable working relationship between the employees and the
employer and amongst the employees working in the organization.
Management of human resources is not an easy task as it faces
challenges relating to corporate reorganisation, changing
demographics of workforce, rules and regulations of government
relating to the human resources and so on. HRM considers all
internal and external environmental factors affecting utilization of
human resources, at the time of planning and execution of human
resource management functions.
Human resource management is the process of bringing people and
organization together so that the goals of each are met. It tries to
secure the best from people by winning their whole-hearted
cooperation. HRM is concerned with the development and
integration of strategies which are integrated with corporate
strategies and ensure that the culture, values, and structure of the
organizations and the quality, motivation and commitment of its
members contribute to the achievement of its goals.
Over the past few years, with the rapidly changes in the business
environment, human resource have taken the centre stage.
Consider the following example:
1. Adi Godrej- It is really important for me to spend more time with
my people. We have had a number of HRD consultants, but HRD
initiatives are time-consuming and one has to be patient for cultural
and mindset changes.
2. Philips- According to Rama Chandra, MD, Philips India, “Human
resource department is the centre of competency”.
3. HLL – “At Hindustan Lever, the accent is on hiring people who
are even better than the ones at HLL. HLL is now is a people and
strategy company.”
HRM has come to be recognized as an inherent part of
management. Its objective is the maintenance of better human
relations in the organization by the development, application and
evaluation of policies, procedures and programmes relating to HR
to optimize their contribution towards the realization of
organizational objectives.
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. HRM deals with issues related
to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management,
organizational development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee
motivation, communication, administration and training. HRM is
emerged with getting better results with collaboration of people at
work and relationship within an enterprise.

Human Resource Management Definitions – What is

Human Resource Management?
Human Resource Management is a multidisciplinary organizational
function, dealing with effective management of people at work.
Today raw materials and technology are available to every
organization in every country in the world. The only thing that
separates the winners from the losers is the quality, character,
sincerity, commitment and training of the workforce. People are the
main resource in any organization.
They have the power to make or break the organization. Various
studies confirm that most successful managers are not necessarily
those with the most business skills, rather they are those with the
most finely honed people skills those who have been able to get
ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Managers must believe
the power and potential of the people.
The human resource is much more valuable than the capital
resource. Hence corporations must start capitalizing on the hearts
and brains of their people, not just their backs and hands. All these
are possible through proper human resource management.
HRM is a combination of people oriented management practices
that views employees as assets and not as cost. The main objective
of HRM is to create and maintain a pool of skilled and committed
workforce to gain competitive advantage.
The differences in the interpretation of HRM have created two
different schools of thought- soft and hard variants of HRM, Storey
(1992). The Soft school of thought focuses on employee training,
development, commitment and participation. This school defines
HR functions aimed at developing and enhancing motivation,
commitment, and quality of employees.
The hard school of thought deals with strategy where human
resources are used to achieve organizational goals. It concentrates
on cost control and head count strategies, especially in business
processes like downsizing, lowering the wages, reducing comfort
breaks etc.
The personnel, manpower, human resources or people at work of an
organisation consist of all individuals engaged in the various
organisational activities, regardless of levels. Human resources have
been defined as “from the national point of view, the knowledge,
skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes obtained in the
population; whereas from the viewpoint of the individual
enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities,
acquired knowledge and skills as exemplified in the talents and
aptitudes of its employees.”
Jucius Michael calls human resources, as ‘human factors’, which
refer to “a whole consisting of inter-related inter-dependent and
inter-acting, physiological, psychological, sociological and ethical
components.” Thus, human resources are multi-dimensional in
nature. People working in the organisation have different needs at
different times. These needs may be physiological, social and
psychological.
Objectives of HR Manager are:
1. To create and maintain good relations amongst all those working
in the organisation.
2. To bring about efficient utilisation of the available human
resources in the organisation.
3. To provide justice to the employees in the form of good working
conditions and attractive pays along with good promotional
avenues.
4. To perform the necessary managerial or line functions relating to
human resources.

Human Resource Management Definitions –

According to Flippo, French Wendell and Michael J.
Jucious
Human resource management (HRM), is nothing but the
management of human resources. The true strength of any
organization is its manpower and a good manpower is the result of a
good HR team.
HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within
organizations, focusing on policies. HR departments and units in
organizations typically undertake a number of activities, including
employee benefits design, employee recruitment, training and
development, performance appraisal, and rewarding. HR also
concerns itself with organizational change and industrial relations,
that is, the balancing of organizational practices with requirements
arising from collective bargaining and from governmental laws.
Human resource management or simply HR, can also be called as
the management process 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.
Human Resources is a business field focused on maximizing
employee productivity. Human Resources professionals manage the
human capital of an organization and focus on implementing
policies and processes. They can be specialists focusing in on
recruiting, training, employee relations or benefits.
Recruiting specialists are in charge of finding and hiring top talent.
Training and development professionals ensure that employees are
trained and have continuous development. This is done through
training programs, performance evaluations and reward programs.
Employee relations deal with concerns of employees when policies
are broken, such as harassment or discrimination.
According to Edwin B. Flippo, “Human resource management is the
planning; organising, directing and controlling of procurement,
development, compensation, integration, maintenance and
separation of human resource to the end that individual and societal
objectives are accomplished.”
French Wendell states, “Personnel or human resource management
is the recruitment, selection, development, utilisation,
compensation and movement of the human resources by the
organisation.”
According to Michael J. Jucious, Human resource management is
that field of management which has to do with planning, organising
and controlling the functions of procuring, developing, maintaining
and utilising a labour force such that the-
(a) Objectives for which the company is established are effectively
achieved.
(b) Objectives of all levels of personnel are served to the highest
possible degree.
(c) Objectives of society are duly considered and served.
Human resource management is a crucial part of managerial
process which involves recruitment and selection of right persons
for right jobs, training, developing, motivating human resource and
utilising the human resource in achieving the organisational goals.
Activities included in HRM are:
1. Human resource planning.
2. Recruitment and selection.
3. Placement and induction.
4. Training and development.
5. Compensation/wage plans.
6. Designing incentive wage plans.

Human Resource Management Definitions

There are various definitions of HRM.
Some of them are given here:
It deals with the staffing functions of the organization such as
human resources planning, recruitment, training, career planning,
compensation package, and performance appraisal.
It deals with all aspects of human resources that enable effective use
of the same to improve organizational effectiveness.
It supports activities such as training, recruitment, orientation,
motivation of employees, and compensation-related issues.
It refers to the practices and policies related to management of
people.
It consists of various activities required to enhance the effectiveness
of an organization’s people to achieve organizational goals and
objectives.
Thus, the HRM function deals with various activities ranging from
staffing needs of an organization such as deployment of required
staff through contractors, recruitment, and training of staff to create
an efficient working environment.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a new concept. Personnel
management is a traditional concept of management followed all
these years. When we study HRM, it is necessary to know its
relation with traditional management.
When we consider the development of HRM in a time perspective,
there are many stages the management has passed through till it
reached the present Human Resource Management stage. A period
of two decades (1930 -1950) in management history saw human
relation movement. Many human relation scientists contributed to
management principles.
These principles paved the way for a change in the traditional
concepts of personnel management. On perusal of the personnel
philosophy and human resource philosophy, one can conclude that
the Human Resource Management is the outcome of Personnel
Management.
Personnel Management, as it is seen today, holds many concepts
regarding the nature of labour and what should be the attitude of
management towards employees and so on. These attitudes have
been a matter of controversy. The attitude of management towards
labour has been called as personnel philosophy. This philosophy
was inadequate to have an integrated approach between
management and workers.
The behaviour pattern and attitude of management towards the
employees have always affected their way of thinking about
management and also their work culture. The attitude of
management and corresponding approaches like commodity
approach, protective approach or social approach were not effective
enough to integrate the work force and management of an
enterprise to achieve the desired goals.
The main factors responsible for the growth of human resource
management are industrial revolution, use of science and
technology in an industry, awakening amongst workers, cultural
and social changes (social values of labour, etc.), the size of business
organizations, and change in the Government’s attitude towards
labour management and business.
Over and above, we are facing a change in the system of economic
policy of our country from the old monopolistic, non-competitive to
a new system of liberalization. Liberalization has made the country
to stand in the midst of the global system from its traditionally self-
reliant stand.
This scenario relates to market forces, large corporations with broad
equity and different strategies of human resource. In fact, the
practice of management consists of aspects of development, skills
for achieving productivity and globalisation; than ever before.
Understanding the dynamic aspects of human resource
management and development of individual skills became the core
functions of organizational development. It is not out of place to
mention here that in the words of Oliver Sheldon, “No Industry can
be efficient so long as the basic factor of human remains
unrecognised.” So the human resource is the principal component
of any organisation.

Human Resource Management Definition

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the most happening
function. This is so because people offer competitive advantage to a
firm and managing people is the domain of HRM. An organization
enjoys competitive advantage when it is the only one which can
offer a product at a price and quality while its competitors cannot
do so.
People offer skills, capabilities, systems, practices, speed, language,
bonding and behaviours, which help execute firm’s strategies
successfully. Strategy implementation cannot be done by physical
resources such as – technology, buildings, machines, and materials.
It is the people who can craft strategies and execute then effectively.
Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM once commented, “You can
get capital and erect buildings, but it takes people to build a
business”.
With this backdrop, HRM may be defined as:
We can say that HRM is concerned with policies and practices that
ensure the best use of the human resources for fulfilling the
organizational and individual goals.
Organizations have been becoming complex over the past few years
due to the fast-changing business environment and growing
uncertainty. Human resource management (HRM) is essential to
the management of an organization to effectively respond to the
demands of this complex environment.
The difference in the performance of two organizations having the
same physical resources can only be traced to the difference that
they have in their human resource base and the management
practices followed to manage human resources.
The most important asset of the organization is its employees, so
the prime responsibility of management is to manage human
resource in effective manner. The basic function of management is
to bring employees and organization on the same platform in order
to meet the individual goals as well as organizational goals at the
same time. The management of human resources is an art because
the sequences of growth and changes that occurs in life.
These changes occurs in all domain of development of physical,
emotional, social, and cognitive. It is human capacities which
transform the passive natural resources to achieve agents of
production. Human’s productive capacity depends upon his ability
to acquire knowledge and put it into economic use. The
management of human resources philosophies is the basis on which
policies and practices guiding an organization’s behavior can be
developed and implemented.
These are:
1. Accumulation – This philosophy translates in to policies and
practices designing to attract many good candidates very carefully
and consistently.
2. Utilization – In this philosophy, individuals are generally selected
with attention to technical skills although personal characteristics
are still important.
3. Facilitation – The third philosophy for treating and managing
employee in the organisation is called facilitation. This holds that
individuals must have technical skills, it is important that they are
able to work together in close reciprocal interaction. Employee
development and enhancement are valued, but the organization
facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and abilities because in
current scenario, the growth of organization is directly related to its
knowledge base employees.
In the nut shell, we can say that the accumulation is based on
maximum involvement and creativity, whereas the utilization is
based on commitment and high control, and facilitation is based on
new knowledge and creation of knowledge. The proper management
of human resources is a strategic approach in which the managers
can signify, identify, develop, manage and utilize the inherent
capabilities of every human.
Principles of Human Resource
Management
Human Resource Management is an organizational function which

concentrates on staffing/recruiting, managing and directing the people

who work for a company. Human Resource (HR) Department deals with

issues related to employee benefits, compensation, performance and

reward management, wellness, safety, organizational development,

employee relations, and motivation, etc. HRD plays a significant and

strategic role in managing people as well as workplace culture. It can

hugely contribute to a company’s growth and stability if implemented

effectively.  It is said to be a process of bringing organizations and people

altogether in order to meet the goals of both. In this topic, we are going to

learn about the Principles of Human Resource Management.

Human Resource Management is an umbrella term which is being used to

describe the management as well as the development of the employees in

an organization. It designs various management systems in order to ensure

that employee talent is used efficiently and effectively to accomplish the

organizational goals.
The most important resource of a company has is the manpower (people

who work for the company). The biggest task is to manage people

effectively. This is considered to be the key to organizational success.

Human Resource Development is the backbone of the organization as it

deals with each and every aspect of the employees. It is multidisciplinary i.e.

it applies most of the disciplines of Law, Psychology, Sociology, and

Economics.

 
Nature of HRM
 Human Resource Management is pervasive in nature because it is

there in all enterprises.

 It focuses on the results rather focusing on the rules and regulations.

 It helps the employees in order to develop them in a full-fledged way.

 It makes sure that the employees work hard towards their goals.

Though there are many principles of Human Resources, few of them are

described here to understand and tips to actively apply the same in an

appropriate way.
These principles are very much useful for HR practitioners and professionals

to determine how strategic Human Resource Management affects three

stakeholders: individual employees, the society and the organization itself.

EVOLUTION OF HRM :

Everything you need to learn about the evolution of HRM (human

resource management.) Evolution of HRM over the period of time
is important for understanding the philosophy, functions, and
practices of HRM that are followed in different situations so that
relevant HRM practices are evolved in the present situation.
HRM, being a part of management discipline, has followed the
pattern of development of management because of the
interrelationship of the problems of both the fields.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is relatively a very recent
term considered for managing human resources in an
organisation. HRM is still evolving to become an amalgam of
organisational behaviour, personnel management, industrial
relations and labour legislation.
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In this article we will discuss about the evolution of human resource

management. Learn about:- 1. Managing Slaves 2. Managing Serfs
3. Managing Indentured Labour 4. Industrial Revolution Era;

5. Trade Union Movement Era 6. Social Responsibility Era 7.

Scientific Management Era 8. Human Relations Era 9. Behavioural
Science Era 10. Systems and Contingency Approach Era and 11.
Human Resource Management Era.

Also, learn about the history of modern HRM:- 1. Early Philosophy

(Before 1900) 2. Efficiency and Productivity Movement (1900-
1920) 3. Period of Welfarism and Industrial Psychology (1920-
1930) 4. Period of Human Relations (1930-1950) and 5. Modern
Times (After 1950).
Summing up, with the three important stages for growth of HRM
are:- 1. Labour Welfare Stage 2. Personnel Management Stage
and 3. HRM Stage.

Evolution of Human
Resource Management (with Phases)
Evolution of Human Resource Management –
Historical Perspective of Human Resource
Management
The term “human resource management” is of recent origin. In its
modern connotation, it came to be used mainly from the 1980s
onwards. During ancient times and for a long period in the medieval
era, production of goods was done mainly by skilled artisans and
craftsmen. They themselves owned the tools and instruments,
produced articles and sold these in the market.
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As such, the question of employer-employee or master-servant

relationship did not arise in their cases. They managed their affairs
themselves and with the help of the family members. However,
many effluent craftsmen also employed apprentices and certain
categories of hired labourers. There existed a very close relationship
between the master craftsmen and the apprentices, and they
themselves took care of the problems facing the apprentices and
their family members.
A sort of human approach was involved in their relationship. After a
prolonged period of training, many apprentices established their
own enterprises, and many others remained attached with their
master craftsmen on lucrative terms. During the medieval period,
the skilled craftsmen also formed their guilds primarily with a view
to protecting the interests of their respective trades.
These guilds also determined the price of their products, the wages
of the journeymen and hired labourers, and regulated the terms and
conditions of their employment. The ancient and a major part of the
medieval period also witnessed prevalence of certain other distinct
types of labourers. These comprised slaves, serfs and indentured
labourers.
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A brief description of the manner in which they were treated and

managed will be relevant for a proper understanding of human
resource management in a historical perspective.
1. Managing Slaves:
Slaves comprised an important source of manpower in almost all
ancient civilisations. They could be sold and purchased like
commodities. Their main purchasers were the wealthy rulers,
landlords, tribal chiefs and effluent businessmen. The purchasers of
slaves had a rather complete control over their slaves.
The masters of the slaves took a variety of arduous work from them
such as carrying heavy loads, rowing ships and boats, construction
of buildings and forts, digging canals, cattle-rearing and tillage of
soil. The remuneration or compensation for their efforts comprised
mainly food, shelter and clothing. The slaves were dealt with iron
hands.
They were subjected to strict supervision, and non-compliance of
the orders of their masters or supervisors was generally punishable
with physical tortures, and occasionally with mutilation of their
limbs and even death sentence for grave offences.
2. Managing Serfs:
Serfdom was widely prevalent in the feudal societies of the pre-and
early medieval era. Serfs were engaged by landlords mainly in
agricultural operations and allied activities. The landlords would
usually give them a piece of land for their habitat and often, some
land for their own cultivation. In many cases, a paltry sum of money
was advanced to them in order that they could remain attached to
their masters.
In lieu of these facilities, the serfs and their family members were
required to serve their masters. The work assigned to serfs mainly
comprised – tillage of soil, cattle-rearing, domestic work and
similar other activities. Many landlords would also give them a
meagre amount as wages, whether in cash or in kind. Usually, serfs
could become free after returning to their masters the habitat, the
piece of land and advances with interest. They could also be
transferred to some other landlord on payment.
Under serfdom, some measure of personal relationship existed
between the landlords and the serfs. Many landlords often tried to
solve their genuine grievances and extended some help to those who
were in distress. The feudal lords also occasionally gave some
economic inducements to their serfs in the form of additional
supply of food-grains and some money for their increased
productivity and good behaviour.
Although the management of serfs was based on the principle of
authoritarianism, the element of human treatment was often found
in their relationship. With the abolition of the feudal system,
serfdom also came to an end. However, some remnants of the past
can still be found even today, especially in rural areas. The bonded
labour system in India is comparable to the system of serfdom
prevalent in European countries during the medieval period.
3. Managing Indentured Labour:
The system of indentured labour emerged primarily with the
flourishing of mercantilism and advent of industrial revolution. The
discovery of new lands through sea and land routes led to a
substantial increase in the demand of European goods abroad, and
at the same time, gave a fillip to the establishment of industries in
the continent.
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As a consequence, trade flourished leaps and bounds, and the

mercantilists, taking advantage of the expanding markets, tried to
accumulate as much wealth as possible. In their quest for
maximising wealth, the mercantilists would offer attractive
inducements to the artisans and skilled craftsmen for accelerating
production of goods in demand. The artisans and craftsmen
responded and they started engaging an increasing number of
apprentices and hired labourers to cope with the demand of the
products.
Advent of Industrial Revolution and its Aftermath:
The advent of industrial revolution proved a boon to the
mercantilists. The industrial revolution resulted in a rapid growth of
factories, large-scale production, improvement in technology and
reduction in time involved in producing goods. The mercantilists
increasingly became owners of factories and other establishments.
These developments resulted in an unprecedented demand for
various categories of labour both within the country and abroad.
Although a major portion of the demand for labour was met by the
large-scale migration of people from rural areas to industrial
centres and towns, the supply proved inadequate to meet the
increasing demand for various categories of labour.
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In view of insufficiency of normal supply of labour, the employers

resorted to the practice of advancing a lucrative amount of money to
the workers and of entering into agreements with them to the effect
that they would work with their employers for a stipulated period of
time and on terms agreed upon, and after completion of the period
and complying with agreed terms, they would be set free.
The European employers engaged indentured labourers on a large
scale. During the British rule in India, the British employers
contracted agreements with a large number on indentured
labourers and sent many of them in their colonies abroad such as
South Africa, Mauritius and South-east Asian countries.
Management of Indentured Labour:
Management of indentured labour was substantially different from
that of slaves and serfs. So long as these indentured labourers
remained with their employers, they had to abide by the terms and
conditions mutually agreed upon, and also those unilaterally laid
down by their employers.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF HUMAN RESOURSE

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the term used to describe formal

systems devised for the management of people within an organization. The
responsibilities of a human resource manager fall into three major areas:
staffing, employee compensation and benefits, and defining/designing
work. Essentially, the purpose of HRM is to maximize the productivity of an
organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. This
mandate is unlikely to change in any fundamental way, despite the ever-
increasing pace of change in the business world. As Edward L. Gubman
observed in the Journal of Business Strategy, "the basic mission
of human resources will always be to acquire, develop, and retain talent;
align the workforce with the business; and be an excellent contributor to the
business. Those three challenges will never change."
Until fairly recently, an organization's human resources department was
often consigned to lower rungs of the corporate hierarchy, despite the fact
that its mandate is to replenish and nourish what is often
cited-;legitimately-;as an organization's greatest resource, it's work force.
But in recent years recognition of the importance of human resources
management to a company's overall health has grown dramatically. This
recognition of the importance of HRM extends to small businesses, for
while they do not generally have the same volume of human resources
requirements as do larger organizations, they too face personnel
management issues that can have a decisive impact on business health.
As Irving Burstiner commented in The Small Business Handbook,
"Hiring the right people-;and training them well-;can often mean the
difference between scratching out the barest of livelihoods and steady
business growth'¦. Personnel problems do not discriminate between small
and big business. You find them in all businesses, regardless of size."
STAFFING

After an organization's structural design is in place, it needs people with

the right skills, knowledge, and abilities to fill in that structure. People are
an organization's most important resource, because people either create
or undermine an organization's reputation for quality in both products and
service.

In addition, an organization must respond to change effectively in

order to remain competitive. The right staff can carry an
organization through a period of change and ensure its future
success. Because of the importance of hiring and maintaining a
committed and competent staff, effective human resource
management is crucial to the success of all organizations.

Human resource management (HRM), or staffing, is the

management function devoted to acquiring, training, appraising, and
compensating employees. In effect, all managers are human
resource managers, although human resource specialists may
perform some of these activities in large organizations. Solid HRM
practices can mold a company's workforce into a motivated and
committed team capable of managing change effectively and
achieving the organizational objectives.

Understanding the fundamentals of HRM can help any manager lead

more effectively. Every manager should understand the following
three principles:

 All managers are human resource managers.

 Employees are much more important assets than buildings or
equipment; good employees give a company the competitive edge.
 Human resource management is a matching process; it must match
the needs of the organization with the needs of the employee.

RETENTION

Employee Retention is a process in which the employees are encouraged to remain with the
organization for the maximum period of time or until the completion of the project. Employee
retention is beneficial for the organization as well as the employee.

Retention of employees is part of Human Resource management and planning efforts. Turnover, as
the opposite of retention, often has been seen as a routine HR matter requiring records and reports.
Indeed, retention of employee is not the matter that can be dealt by the reports or records, it is
purely depends on how we understand  individual concerns especially in case of woman employees
who are planning for pregnancy. the only simple logic employers must understand from the
employee point of view is, organisation must be like a helping hand for the genuine concerns. Thus,
organizations are being forced to study why employees leave and why they stay. Sometimes an
individual in the HR area is assigned to specifically focus on retention to ensure that it receives high
priority.

Why do Employees Leave ?

Research says that most of the employees leave an organization out of frustration and constant
friction with their superiors or other team members. In some cases low salary, lack of growth
prospects and motivation compel an employee to look for a change. The management must try its
level best to retain those employees who are really important for the system and are known to be
effective contributors.

There is other side of the coin when it comes to women employees. According to the survey
conducted, the major reason for woman employees leaving organisation is not about remuneration
or compensation,dissatisfaction, constant friction with their superiors or with their peer or lack of
growth prospects, lack of career development and no motivation by their employer. The major
reason behind is at the time of pregnancy. For any person when it comes to family or job, there is no
second thought, it is family. Therefore every organisation need to give special focus on the high
priority  issues of their employees and should be like a helping hand. Maternity benefits one of the
key motivating and retention strategies  for woman employees. Countries like India, enacted a
special Act called Maternity Benefit Act,1961 for the ensuring of maternity benefit to women
employees by their employer who are covered under the said Act. The said Act mandates
compulsory maternity leave  with salary  and  flexi- work in post maternity leave.

DEVELOPMENT

Employee development is defined as a process where the employee with the support
of his/her employer undergoes various training programs to enhance his/her skills
and acquire new knowledge and skills.

Benefits of Employee Development

In today’s work environment, employee development is the number #1 factor for

employee retention, especially among Millennials. Top employee
development methods used by organizations most frequently include training
programs and leadership development programs. Investments in employee learning
and development directly impact employee engagement and productivity, improving
overall business success metrics.

ADJUSTMENT

In general, a pay adjustment is any change that affects the pay rate of an

employee, whether it is an increase or a decrease, that does not involve the duties
associated with a given position.

Theories about how organizations change draw on many disciplines, from

psychology and behavioral science, through to engineering and systems
thinking. The underlying principle is that change does not happen in
isolation – it impacts the whole organization (system) around it, and all the
people touched by it.

In order to manage change successfully, it is, therefore, necessary to

attend to the wider impacts of the changes. As well as considering the
tangible impacts of change, it's important to consider the personal impact
on those affected, and their journey towards working and behaving in new
ways to support the change. The Change Curve  is a useful model that
describes the personal and organizational process of change in more
detail.

CHALLENGES IN HR