After reading this article you will learn about the meaning and nature of Human Resource Management (HRM).
Meaning of Human Resource Management:
Human resource management deals with management of human resource. It recognises people as the most important and productive assets of the organisation and therefore, develops and maintains their quality in the organisation.
While staffing deals with appointment of people, human resource management deals with placing the right person at the right job. It plans, organises, directs and controls the human resource to increase the effectiveness of organisational workforce.
Human resource management is the “process of ensuring that competent people are available, that they are able to achieve organisational objectives, and that their energy and abilities are used effectively.” It is “the management of various activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of an organisation’s work force in achieving organisation’s goals.”
HRM is, thus, wider than staffing. It emphasises upon acquisition, management and motivation of the work force. It involves work force in important decision-making processes and integrates individual goals with organisational goals. HRM plans, organises, directs and controls the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and motivation of workers.
People appointed through staffing function perform their tasks well if human resource manager makes optimum use of human resource, matches job description with job specification, coordinates individual goals with organisational goals, develops people through training and career development programmes, prepares procedures for settling labour- management grievances, provides a healthy environment of communication and motivation etc. Staffing is, therefore, a part of human resource management.
Human resource management is defined as follows:
Robinson and Pearce: “Human resource management is the process of ensuring that competent people are available, that they are able to achieve organisational objectives, and that their energy and abilities are used effectively.”
Fisher, Schoenfeldt and Shaw: “HRM is the set of organisational activities directed at attracting, developing, and maintaining an effective workforce.”
“HRM is the management of various activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of an organisation’s work force in achieving organisational goals.”
Nature of HRM:
HRM deals with the key resource of the organisation, that is, people.
The nature of HRM is explained as follows:
1. It is an integral part of strategic management and, therefore, organisational success. It has to be effectively carried out for organisational success.
2. It helps in optimum utilisation of resources; physical, financial and human.
3. It develops human potential of the organisation and prepares them for promotion to higher managerial posts.
4. HRM takes place in the ever-changing dynamic environment and, thus, is a complicated process. It coordinates and synthesizes individual goals with organisational goals.
5. It ensures certain skills and traits to be possessed by human resource managers such as, intelligence, integrity, sensitivity, self-development drive, decisiveness, flexibility, will power, etc. to effectively deal with people at work.
6. It is a pervasive function carried by every manager at every level though a separate functional department, human resource department, is created in every organisation. It is not the function of functional manager alone. Every manager is actively involved in performing the human resource functions. These functions are recruitment, selection, training, placement and appraisal of people working in his department and in doing so, he seeks the advice and guidance of human resource managers.
7. It is a continuous process performed by human resource managers because of the highly unpredictable nature of work force and high rate of turnover.
8. It is a psychological contract, that is, an unwritten contract between management and employees where management promises to offer challenging, lucrative and meaningful jobs to employees who promise to perform them with loyalty and commitment.
9. It is a ‘mutuality concept where HRM policies provide mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards and mutual responsibility to develop people along with organisational productivity.