Historical Development of the Role of Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

Running head: Historical development of the Role of Human Resource Management Historical development of the Role of Human Resource Management Course Tutor Date Human resource management Definition Human resource management (HRM) is the process of evaluating and planning to satisfy the human resource requirements in an organization. Human resource management involves setting policies and values that are important in the processes of recruiting employees, training them in their individual fields of practice, and evaluating their overall performance in the organization. The process of human resource management adopts a model of personnel management whereby each individual is addressed individually. Human resource management is in charge of compelling the recruited employees to be committed to their work. It evaluates the performance of the employees and it advocates for the best human assets integration to ensure the maximum efficiency in an organization. Human resource management transforms the personnel in an organization into human resources, placing emphasis on their efficiency (Heathfield, 2012). Human resource management is the function in an organization that deals with all the relations of the human assets that enhance their wellbeing in the working area. It focuses on the recruitment and evaluation of the human assets. It does a follow-up on the performance of the employees and it ensures that the relations between the human assets provide an atmosphere that motivates them. It is a strategic management plan that looks into people’s issues and solves them through the integration of various organizational policies. Human resource management is a vital function for any company looking to enhance its performance in the production of quality goods and services. HRM adds value to the organization through analyzing the performance of the employees when subjected to various programs (Marler, 2012). HRM enables the employees to contribute their ideas, which are addressed individually for the sole purpose of ensuring that all the employees in the organization achieve their highest level of efficiency. HRM is in charge of driving the employees towards achieving the common goals in the organization. HRM is a positive response to the fact that the human assets in an organization are the most important assets. Historical background of Human Resource Management Human resource management has been in existence for a very long time and it has evolved from a simple to a very complex and strategic function. The principles of human resource management were set in use since the prehistoric days when the people would use certain values to select their leaders. After the successful selection of a leader in the social or political scene, the leader would then pass on the knowledge he gathered to his successor and so forth. This was a form of human training. The leaders had to have outstanding knowledge in certain areas, and the heirs would be trained before they took power. This was the most basic form of human resource management, which was aimed at ensuring that the leaders were efficient and committed to their work before they could be allowed to rule (Khilawala, 2012). Historical records indicate that the first people to screen their employees were the Chinese and the Greeks. This was done by a separate function in the early organizations – the most qualified people who have obtained jobs would be constantly evaluated and provided with training for their work. Human resource management has been given several names during its evolution. It was first recognized under the name “personnel management”. Personnel management gained popularity in the late years of the 19th century. During this period, the organizations would organize welfare officers’ teams whose main responsibility was to address the requirements of laborers. The welfare officers were solely females. Later on, in the early 20th century, the task of the welfare officers became too demanding, and organizations developed a new function named “labor managers”. The main purpose of the function was to ensure that the laborers’ increasing needs were met and that they gave their maximum efficiency in goods and services production (Kaizenlog, 2006). By the end of the both world wars, most of the world nations experienced fast growth in their industrialization process. Most of the developed nations shifted from the agriculture-based economy to industrialization. There was a huge inflow of immigrants in the developed nations, who were looking for employment in the manufacturing industries. The management of these industries found it hard to deal with the vast number of job seekers; therefore, they were compelled to develop a function within their organizations that would be in charge of recruiting and training the new employees, as well as making sure that they were efficient. This function was named the “industrial relation”. It had the responsibility of ensuring that the industry performance was enhanced through the recruitment and training of the employees. The industrial relation function used the human resource management principles to ensure that there was equilibrium between their wellness and performance in the industries (Vani, 2011). Following the increase in the number of employees in the industries, the human resource management function that had been developed was in charge of training the employees and providing them with housing and medical care insurance. The HRM at the time would also determine whether an employee had the required level of competence to get a promotion. Whenever the organization’s performance was below the required standard, the industrial relation team would be summoned and they would respond by retraining the employees in their specific fields of practice. The industrial relation later evolved and the new HRM function regained the name ‘personnel management’ as a result of the formation of many corporations. The corporations shifted the main purpose of the personnel management from focusing on the efficiency of the employees closer to satisfaction-based efficiency of the employees. The personnel managers would ensure that the human assets in their organizations were fully satisfied with the working environment. This was done through their follow-up on employees’ wages increment, passing relation acts that would work in favor of the workers and forwarding the employees grievances to the management (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). By the early 1960s, human resource management had grown to a sophisticated function that was vital for all organizations. Almost all the organizations at the time had developed a human resource management department. The human resource management function was boosted by the signing of different acts that supported it in different countries. In the US, for instance, the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 empowered the HRM and the employees in the US. The employees were entitled to more services from their employers, which improved their wellbeing. The HRM departments in various organizations were responsible for ensuring that the provided benefits were granted to the human assets. HRM became the most effective management strategy and was adopted by companies worldwide (Vani, 2011). In the early 80s, the human resource management was popularized by organizations worldwide. This was followed by a shift of responsibilities to the HRM departments in various organizations. The task of personnel management was forwarded to the HRM and the roles of the function kept increasing over the years. The function was burdened with recruiting, training, salary record keeping, laying off some employees, and integrating the human resources into efficient teams among other roles. HRM has evolved over the years from being a purely administrative and assisting function to being strategic, and currently it has a critical role in organizations. These roles are an addition of the previous roles which have been influenced by the fast growth in technology and the expansion of the corporate sector in the business world. Nowadays, the HRM department is one of the most important departments within any given organization. HRM has taken over the running of most organizations, and through strategic paradigm shifts in the function the growth is achieved (Yeung, Warner, & Rowley, 2008). Development of the role of human resource management Human resource management in the business world was pioneered in the form of industrial welfare. During the 19th century, trade unions had been formed; they were strongly advocating for the employees’ rights. This compelled the administrations in the industrial sector to mobilize industrial welfare teams which would look into the issues of the employees and forward them to the overall management. The main focus was on the productivity of the employees at this time and not their wellbeing. The industrial welfare teams later formed personnel management functions that focused on the wellbeing of the employees. In the early 20th century, governments had become advocates for maximum utilization of employees, and this granted the personnel management function in factories the task of evaluating recruits (Razouk & Bayad, 2010). This was done through various competence tests determining the most suitable people to be employed. After the Second World War, the personnel management was given an extra role of training the recruits and employees. Training would give the employees the working experience and this enhanced their work delivery, which would subsequently influence production positively. Organizations became aware of methods of enticing the employees to give their best performance. The personnel management was in charge of determining the most appropriate incentives for the human assets. It was in the end of the Second World War that the management in industries opened up communication channels with the workforce. This was done through the industrial relations function, which acted as a human resource management function. The employees were concerned with their health and safety in the industries and they would air their views through the industrial relations function. This was a very good administrative role of HRM (Yeung, 2011). The HRM function later evolved to be a legislative function that dealt with disputes between the employees and the overall management. In the early 90s, HRM became actively involved in the scheduling of working hours for the employees. Companies began working round the clock and the employees started working on part-time basis (Ogunyomi, Shadare, & Chidi, 2011). The HRM was in charge of keeping work time records that would be used in paying the employees. Following the fast development in the use of the internet and the technological growth, the HRM function in most organizations has shifted to be an efficient employee data management function as it carries on with other roles. Different organizations have used varying strategies to improve their performance through their efficient HRM function. The internet and technological devices have made the work of human resource managers easier, and they can now handle more responsibilities (Haines & Lafleur, 2008). Their routine tasks are now done faster, so they can discharge more responsibilities. How HRM practices motivate employees Human resource management aims at ensuring that the employees attain the highest competence level in their work. This is normally done through giving them incentives and ensuring that their individual needs are met by the organization. Once employees have attained their wellbeing in the working area, they are motivated to give their best performance. The HRM also deals with the entire employee-to-employee or employee-to-management grievances. In most cases, the HRM focuses on what is best for the human assets while giving solution proposals to the overall organization management. The HRM is also responsible for influencing the organizational culture. Following the right HRM, the employees are given values that are easy to live by, and this gives them a sense of belonging in the organization (Durovic, 2012). The HRM also provides a communication channel between the workforce and the management. HRM is in charge of proposing the best ways to integrate the human assets in order to achieve the highest level of performance. When the employees are placed in the right teams, they are motivated to work harder to achieve the goals of the organization. References Durovic, M. (2012).Human resources management – strategic aspect. Management, 1(62), 83-88. Haines, V.Y., & Lafleur, G. (2008). Information technology usage and human resource roles and effectiveness. Human Resource Management, 47(3), 525-540. Heathfield, S.M. (2012). What is human resource management? Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm Kaizenlog (2006). The historical background of human resource management. Web pro news. Retrieved from http://www.webpronews.com/the-historical-background-of- human-resource-management-2006-09 Khilawala, R. (2012). History of human resource management. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-human-resource-management.html Marler, J.H. (2012).Strategic human resource management in context: A historical and global perspective. Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(2), 6-11. Mathis, R.L., & Jackson, J.H. (2010). Human resource management (13th ed.). Stamford: South-Western Cengage Learning. Ogunyomi, O.P., Shadare, A.O., & Chidi, O.C. (2011).Current trends and future directions of human resource management practices: A review of literature. European Journal of Economics, Finance & Administrative Sciences, 1(29), 19-25. Razouk, A.A., & Bayad, M. (2010). Evolution of the practices of human resource management in France towards a strategic model: Rhetoric or reality? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8), 1207-1227. Vani, G. (2011). Evolution of human resource management. Review of Management, 1(2), 127-133. Yeung, A. (2011). Celebrating 50 years: How robust and relevant is our HR knowledge? Human Resource Management, 50(4), 451-453. Yeung, A., Warner, M., & Rowley, C. (2008). Guest editors introduction growth and globalization: Evolution of human resource management practices in Asia. Human Resource Management, 47(1), 1-13. Read More