Human Resource Management as an Important Requirement in the Operation of Any Business Organization - Essay Example

Development of Human Resource Management Introduction According to Armstrong , Human Resource Management(HRM) is concerned with the employment and managing of employees in an organization. It deals with management of employees who are an important resource in any organization. HRM entails activities such as strategic HRM, performance management, reward management, maintaining employee relations, ensuring learning and development of employees, ensuring employee well being, knowledge management, promoting organization development and employee capital management. It is an integrated, strategic and coherent approach to employment, development of employees well being in an organization. Conceptual basis of HRM are drawn from strategic management, industrial relation theory and human capital. The purpose of HRM is to ensure that an organization is able to achieve its goals from making the best and efficient utilization of people. It also ensures that the satisfaction for the needs of these people is attained to keep them motivated (Storey 1999). Development of human resource management Various influences led to the origin of human resource management. Evolution of HRM occurred during the time of the industrial revolution when firms recognized the need for a department that would be concerned with the workers’ wages and welfare. The department evolved as a personnel management department. The workers of this time faced many vices such as long working hours and unhealthy working conditions. This led to many labor riots and as a result, the government of England came up with rules and regulations that firms and factories would follow for the benefit of workers. This is when the personnel management function evolved and became a profession (Mathis & Jackson 2009).This approach remained in operation for much of the 20th century. It was concerned with record keeping of employees’ information, adherence to policies, performing functions of recruitment, training and administering wages to employees, taking measures related to the welfare of employees, motivating employees to increase their productivity by undertaking measures such as increasing their wages. The approach was also concerned with solving disputes using the intervention of trade unions and other approaches of industrial relations, undertaking employees’ performance appraisals to determine their appropriate pay and promotional basis. The approach was concerned with increasing productivity by giving monetary rewards to the employees (Sim 2007). The personnel management approach was later rebuked by Elton Mayo in the latter decades of the century, who found that the drives to motivation and productivity of workers was non monetary. This was evidenced from his Hawthorne studies. Theories that emerged in support of these are such as Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McGregor’s theory X and theory Y that recognized the fulfillment of human needs to the self actualization levels as being a form of motivation. These changes led to the transition from a personnel management approach that was passive and administrative to an approach of human resources management that was more dynamic. This new approach recognized workers as being a valuable resource in the organization (Mathis & Jackson 2009). It became a more managerial function that was more interlinked to the core operations of the business, differentiating it from the personnel management which was merely a staff function. The major changes that occurred from the former are that the recruitment function of employees became more enhanced, with the realization that enhancement of skills in the workforce had a positive contribution to profitability of organizations. Efforts were then made to increase the commitment and loyalty of the workers. Another change was experienced in the motivation of workers whereby it took a new face rather than just involving the monetary benefits to inclusion of other benefits such as fringe benefits. Training as well took a new dimension with the inclusion of training on behavior to facilitate change of attitude and development of skills rather than just being limited to learning of basically the required skills for a specific job. Payment of salaries also became more advanced following the introduction of aspects like payment in relation to performance, new methods of performance appraisal evolved such as the management by objectives and finally, there emerged emphasis on leadership instead of just managing (Sim 2007). At the end of the century, evolution of HRM took the next step to the strategic human resource approach. Human resource function became the most important and critical function in organizations following a rise in the need for human resources which was as a result competition increase in the global market and improvement of technology and knowledge of industries. Employees became more valued not just as resources in the organizations but as organizational assets. They started to be viewed as a basic requirement to the attaining of a competitive advantage by organizations. These changes therefore impacted on the human resources management and resulted to increase in reliance on short term contracts that were based on performance, recognition of a direct link between employees’ contribution, compensation and organizational profitability. There was also the discovery of new training and development methods for employees to facilitate their creativity and innovation, managing performance and appraisals using performance appraisal Mathis &Jackson 2009). In the current time, the priority for the human resource management is the human capital. For the attainment of strategic and long term goals of the organization. Employees are considered as a basic asset to achievement of organizational goals and objectives. The modern form is the strategic human resource approach. It has its focus on concerns of the organization in regard to values, culture, quality, and matching the resources available to attainment of goals. It aids in building an appropriate organizational structure that leads to attainment of strategic advantage, proposition for employee value and efficient strategy for communication. The current HRM is faced with both internal and external factors including globalization, workforce diversity, changes in employee skills requirement, corporate downsizing, contingent workforce, decentralized locations of work, involvement of employees, re-engineering of processes of work to improve productivity (Armstrong 2010). As a result of these, it has gained other practices to deal with these situations. These practices are in addition to the already developed functions of recruitment of employees, training and development, professional development, offering benefits and compensation and complying with the legal requirements. With globalization, there is a rise in the number of multinational companies and thus the HRM function have diversified to ensure development of mechanisms that allow the working together of individuals from different cultures. This therefore has called for flexibility in dealing with differences in different employees. Diversity in the workforce as the next factor exposes the HRM to the heterogeneity of the workforce comprising different genders social classes, religions, ideologies and beliefs. Following this, new practices have evolved to ensure the maintenance of work environment that treats all employees with fairness and designing appropriate training strategies for all to increase their creativity and innovativeness (Harzing & Pinnington 2011). With rapid change in skill requirements, another practice has evolved that involves development of training and development programs that are short-term in nature to fill the emerging gaps and deficiencies. In addition, HRM has taken a role in corporate downsizing and undertaking the discussions involved. It ensures that the appropriate communication takes place, minimizing the negative effects that are caused by rumor and ensuring the providence of the actual and correct information. It also has a role of dealing with the actual layoffs and making the right decisions concerning who is to be laid off. Another current practice is the implementation of continuous improvement programs that are meant to bring the organizational changes desired. The HRM prepares employees for these changes by offering the right communication to effect these changes. Human resource management also has a role in leading the employees in re-engineering of work processes (Armstrong 2010). It lays the appropriate mechanism to be followed by employees during this process, and offers the appropriate skills and direction required for this process. It also takes part in making decisions concerning the transitions to contingent workforce. In this case, it has the responsibility of adapting these temporary employees to the organization. Another practice that has emerged for the human resource management is dealing with issues of decentralized working sites. These issues are such as ensuring timeliness and quality of work of the decentralized employees. Human resource management also has a role in employee involvement. This is achieved by offering to them a supportive management and demonstrative leadership. In this effect, it also offers training to improve interpersonal skills in addition to learning the skills required for the job (Harzing & Pinnington 2011). Conclusion In conclusion, human resource management is an important and basic requirement in the operation of any business organization. Its development started during the industrial revolution when factories started operation. The need for its development was an effort to uphold the needs of employees and it started as a personnel management function, moved to human resources management and finally to the strategic human resource management. This is the current stage that is in operation in organizations. It values the contribution of employees in the performance and attainment of the goals of the organization. It recognizes them as important assets to the organization and not just as an organization’s resource and recognizes the need for provision of a good working condition for them and provision of appropriate rewards. Reference list Armstrong, M. (2010). Armstrongs essential human resource management practice: A guide to people management. London: Kogan Page. Sims, R. R. (2007). Human resource management: Contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities. Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publ. Harzing, A.-W., & Pinnington, A. (2011). International human resource management. London: SAGE. Storey, J. (1999). New perspectives on human resource management. London: International Thomson Business Press. Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2009). Human resource management essential perspectives. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Read More