Chapter 1

The Nature of
Human Resource
Management

PowerPoint Program Prepared by Prepared by Joseph B. Mosca

Joseph Mosca, Monmouth University Monmouth University

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Learning Objectives

1. Describe contemporary human resource

management perspectives.
2. Trace the evolution of the human resource
function in organizations.
3. Identify and discuss
the fundamental goals of human resource
management.
4. Describe the job of human resource managers
from the perspectives of professionalism and
careers.
5. Discuss the setting for human resource
management.
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Human Resources (HR)

Human resources are the people an

organization employs to carry out various jobs,
tasks, and functions in exchange for wages,
salaries, and other rewards.

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What Is Human Resource Management
(HRM) ?
The comprehensive set of
managerial activities and
tasks concerned with
developing and
maintaining a qualified
workforce - human
resources in ways
at contribute to
organizational
effectiveness.

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Contemporary Human Resource
Management Perspectives
In most organizations today, the role of human
resource management has become quite
important. This results partly from a growing
realization of the importance of people as a
source of competitive advantage, but there are
more practical reasons, such as:
Passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
made it clear that organizations had to find ways
to hire, reward, and manage people effectively
within the limits of the law.
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Evolution of the Human Resource
Function
Scientific management,
one of the earliest approaches
to management, was concerned
with how to structure individual
jobs to maximize efficiency and
productivity.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act, as
well as other legal regulations,
made the process of hiring and
promoting employees more
complex, creating a need for
HR specialists
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The human relations era
was marked by an emphasis
on finding ways to keep
workers happy, since it was
assumed that happy
workers were productive
workers.
As organizations grew, they
created specialized units
personnel departments
to work with employees.
This new type of management
function was called
personnel management.
1- 6
Human Resource Management in the
Electronic Age
Electronic technology has not drastically
affected the basic approach to how we
manage human resources, but certainly
had an effect on how HRM systems are
delivered.

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Emerging Human Resource Challenges
HR managers face an array of new
challenges including:
financial crises
how stress is becoming a major factor in peoples
lives
Knowledge workers: employees whose jobs
are primarily concerned
with the acquisition of knowledge,
and HR managers play a role in
applying that knowledge.
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Promoting Individual Growth & Development

Another goal for HR managers is

promoting the personal growth and
development of its employees by offering:
Education

Skills
training
Career development

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HR Management as a Staff Versus
Line Function
Line managers: those directly responsible for
creating goods and services.
Staff managers: those responsible for
supporting line managements efforts to achieve
organizational roles and objectives.
Many organizations have blurred this distinction.

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Human Resource Management in
Smaller Organizations
Small organizations still use operating managers
to handle their basic human resource functions.

Small independent businesses are generally

operated in the same way as small
organizations.

Very small organizations are exempt from many

legal regulations.

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Human Resource Management in
Larger Organizations
As the organization grows a separate human
resource unit becomes a necessity.

When an organization reaches 200 to 250

employees, it generally establishes a self-
contained human resource department.

As the organization continues to grow the human

resource department grow as well into
specialized departments.

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A Systems-Based Perspective

The human resource management subsystem

both affects and is affected by other functional
subsystems throughout the organization.

Utility analysis is the attempt to measure, in more

objective terms, the impact and effectiveness of
human resource management practices in terms
of metrics such as a firms financial performance.

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Careers in Human Resource
Management
Careers in HR continue to grow and are
expected to do so.
How to enter the HR field:
Earna degree, seek and entry level job, and
becoming a line manager.
Some universities offer a master of science or
MBA in HR.

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reserved.