The development of personnel management into human resource management - Essay Example

? Running head: THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT INTO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The development of Personnel Management into Human Resource Management Insert Name Insert Course Title Insert Instructor’s Name 28th April 2011 The Development of Personnel Management into Human Resource Management is Sign Posted by a Few Models and Approaches Introduction Personnel management emerged earlier in the days when people used to work in factories. It deals with the welfare of employees in an organization, it seeks to obtain, develop, and sustain motivated and satisfied employees within an organization. Personnel management also deals with the employment, promotion, development, and compensation of employees, as well as acting as an advisor to managers in relation to personnel issues. It is also inclusive of incentive issues such as rewards to motivate employees. Hence, a personnel department mainly deals with the issues concerning employees. Personnel management is therefore involved in four functions, namely, recruitment, selection, training and development and manpower planning. Nevertheless, a personnel manager is a mediator, thus acting as a link between the top management and the employees. He is also an advisor of line managers in matters relating to employees. Therefore, personnel management can be said to be a continuing process that is concerned with employees and their welfare in an organization (Reddy 2004, pp 2). According to Koster (2007 pp 4), Human Resource Management emerged in 1980’s; it can be referred to as a new approach to personnel management. It is a process that assists managers in recruiting, selection, training and developing employees. According to Aswathappa (2007, pp 5), “human resource management refers to a set of programmes, functions and activities designed and carried out in order to maximize both employee as well as organizational effectiveness.” Nevertheless, human resource management is involved in appraisals, placement, assessment, selection, training, and development of employees. A human resource manager should be fair, tactful, considerate, and familiar with labor laws. Nevertheless, human resource management and personnel management are similar in the following ways; their strategies are aligned with business strategies. Secondly, they both recognize the presence of line managers and they role of managing employees in an organization. Thirdly, they both believe in developing employees so that the employees can achieve satisfaction and hence attain the organization’s goals and objectives. Fourthly, both managements believe in placing the right people for the right jobs. Lastly, the same techniques are used in both HRM and personnel management, when it comes to selection, recruiting, and training (Armstrong, 2006, pp 19). The development of Personnel Management into Human Resource Management is sign posted by a few models and approaches. In this case, some of the models that are involved in human resource management include Michigan, Harvard, and Choice Models. According to Kandula (2004, pp2), the Harvard model is also known as the soft model of human resource management. This model implies that human resource policies can be influenced by situational factors and the stakeholder’s interest factors. The situational factors include internal and external environmental factors, which include society values, business strategies, market conditions, and technology and labor market conditions. However, the stakeholders’ interest factors include human resource short-term policies like the unions, employees, and government agencies. The Harvard model also classifies human resource management policies into themes; human resource flows, which include the selection, recruitment, placement, promotions, and termination processes; and reward systems, which include the pay and non-monetary rewards such as certificate of excellence. Others are employee influence, which bears the responsibility of each member of staff, and delegation of authority; and the work systems that define the each employee’s work and duty (Kandula, 2004 pp 3). The human resource models; Harvard, Michigan (matching model) and the choice model Nevertheless, the Harvard model is a soft HRM model that describes human resource practice in four C’s; they include commitment, whereby human resource policies should yield and contribute to the staff’s commitment in an organization. Commitment of an employee bears the fruits of loyalty and a standard performance, as well as boosting an employee’s worthiness. Competence human resource polices should be capable of attracting, developing, and sustaining an employee who is competent in relation to his skills and abilities. Cost effectiveness represents the human resource policies that are evaluated in terms of salaries, benefits, absenteeism, and turnover. Finally, congruence must exist among the human resource policies. This model contributes to the relationship between organizational environment and human resource policies. Human resource polices should also be capable of achieving employees’ commitment, enhance cost effective methods, and develop competence among the employees. Nevertheless, this model has its critique such as, it lists feedback between the model elements, but it does not offer a theoretical understanding of the relationship involved. Secondly, it is clear that the Harvard model provides a balance between concern for employees and the attainment of organizational goals. According to ISHRM (n.d, pp11), “due to the absence of clear line of authority, managers are also able to adapt, shift, and rationalize.” Nevertheless, it has a positive element of its bargaining nature in an organization (Kandula, 2004 pp 3). The Harvard model mainly aims at attracting and motivating employees, since it believes that employees’ commitment can lead to improved performance in their jobs. According to Kandula (2004, pp 3), the Michigan model is normally a hard approach of human resource management, which is considered to be less humanistic. This matching model defines employees as resources, comparing them to business resources. Kandula argues that this theory implies that employees can be obtained cheaply, used anyhow and later on they can be developed to exploit them later. However, there are several important human resource issues in this model. One, in election process, the most appropriate person is chosen for a position. Two, performances should be focused in attaining the business objectives. Three, appraisals feedback and performance monitoring are involved in the organization operations. Four, rewards are highly encouraged for the hardworking employees. Five, after an employee is developed skill-wise, and in knowledge too, he is expected to perform well. However, this model mainly focuses on the performance of an organization and of an employee. Its focus is exploiting of human beings to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives and contributes to human resource performance. Hence, due to its ignorance of the environments leads to market failures. This model also considers selection, performance appraisals, and rewards. According to Kandula (2004, pp 4), Michigan model focuses on business results unlike other models that focus on employee commitment and relationship. Nevertheless, it highlights the importance of internal coherence and attempts to match the internal strategies to the external requirements. However, this model suggests little on the stakeholder’s interests. It lays emphasis on the performance of a market and the growth of an organization. According to Bratton (2001, p. 49), “the Michigan model reveals that the relationship between human resource strategy and business strategy is subservient to product market logic and the corporate strategy.” This model also aims at employee efficiency, but in an exploitive manner. ISHRM (n.d, pp 17) is on the view that “the strategic choice model, involves the process of formulating of policies and frameworks and functional and work systems.” Its drivers for formulating the human resource management policies include the organization, personal and external sources. However, according to Redman (2002 pp 235), the manager’s choices may be constrained by their external environment, of which they have no control over. Nevertheless, the organizational sources are inclusive of the company’s mission statement, its policies, the management culture, and the technology that is embraced by the organization. The personal sources also include an individual’s ideology, perception, and awareness. Moreover, external sources constitute of political, environmental, socio-economic, and cultural factors, and it is inclusive of stakeholders, unions, and associations. These policies are implemented at a line management level, where they are influenced directly and indirectly, thus capable of affecting the society, organization, and an individual via enhancing effectiveness, quality, commitment, quality of work life of employees and improved performance. However, the choice model is associated with several benefits such that, it involves an understanding of the environmental, organizational and personal factors in the process of formulating of the human resource policies. In addition, it combines the best human resource bundles to attain improved performance. It involves a careful planning in its initial stages, thus considering an individual perception, the organizational culture, and the stakeholders. Unlike in Michigan model where employees are viewed as a resource, this model views worker as an investment and not a cost, employees are also viewed as political agents. The choice model also has a tendency of meeting the expectations and fulfilling the demands of stakeholders. Nevertheless, this model is faced with criticism since it views employees as an investment than viewing them as a commodity; hence, it is seen as expensive. However, when the HRM resources policies are used effectively, they yield to better performance with quality work, hence a better life for the employees. When a policy is more effective, the better it becomes. Human resource is however, a reinstatement of personnel management, since personnel management has evolved into values of human resource management. HRM is a suitable tool for attaining commitment, quality work, and flexibility from employees. The Harvard, Michigan, and choice models revolve around the hard and soft human resource management. Therefore, hard human resource management emphasizes on quantitative output, compliance of employees and organization development, while the soft HRM involves the employees concerns and rights, thus encourages negotiations. It also encourages flexibility and the quality of performance at the work place, thus proving to be a long-term type of management. Therefore, the soft human resource management is proved to work in most circumstances. Nevertheless, personnel management and HRM share the same values of management. For instance, each of their management strategies originates from a business perspective. Both managements acknowledge that line managers should be responsible in the management of employees in an organization, hence providing advice on how managers can be effective when tackling their duties. Personnel management values are similar to the HRM in regards to respecting individuals, by balancing the organizational needs with the individual needs. Their values are aimed in encouraging the employees by motivating them so as to achieve competence and loyalty, thus yielding to improved performance and quality work, achieving an organization goals as well as developing a motivated and loyal workforce. This leads to satisfaction of management and employees as well. Both personnel and human resource management processes in selecting and placement involve placing the right people for the right job. The same reward, training, and developments methods are used by both processes. In addition, the Harvard HRM model, which is a soft model, has the same values as personnel management in emphasizing on communication and participation of the management and the staff in an organization, thus boosting the work relationship between the two workforce. However, some of the differences that arise between personnel management and HRM are such as personnel management emphasizes on collectivity, while HRM emphasizes more on individuals. Personnel management has a tendency of impossibility, while HRM is positive in its processes, hence being able to achieve a lot. According to Banfield (2008, p.40), “personnel management maintains a status quo and stability, while HRM is associated with maintaining stability and driving through changes is structures, practices and capabilities.” Conclusion It is evident that though there exist differences between personnel management and human resource management, personnel management values have been improved to yield to an effective human resource management. Hence, effective human resource management can only be achieved when the management implements the right policies effectively. Moreover, an effective HRM should view people as the key to an organization’s success. It should enhance a good communication channel between the top management and the junior staffs; this way, employees are able to air their views or grievances, in which management listens to them and works to better the organization. Effective HRM should aim at improving on the quality of work and wages and compensation systems. Finally, the main aim of an effective HRM should be to stabilize the employees in an organization; the right number of quality staff should be achieved. Therefore, it is important for management to maintain the loyal and quality staff; this can be fulfilled by using rewards in form of monetary form like promotions or non-monetary, which can include training and issuing of certificates, as a form of recognition. When employees feel motivated, they give outstanding results in form of their performance and the quality of work. References Armstrong, M., 2006. A handbook of human resource management practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Aswathappa, K., 2007. Human Resource and Personnel Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education publishers. Banfield, P. Kay, R., 2008. Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press publishers. Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2001. Human resource management: theory and practice. Second edition. NY: Routledge publisher. Kandula, S., 2004. Human Resource Management in Practice: With 300 Models, Techniques and Tools. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd publishers. Koster, M., 2007. Human Resource Management versus Personnel Management. Berlin: GRIN Verlag Publishers. SHRM. (N.d). Perspective in people and business management: major approaches to SHRM. (Attached notes) Reddy, R., 2004. Personnel Management. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Redman, T. and Wilkinson, A., 2002. The informed student guide to human resource management. OH: Cengage Learning EMEA Publisher. Read More