How Has the Management of People Evolved In Recent Years - Essay Example

In response, welfare officers performed the paternal role of caring for injured employees and advocating for better treatment among women and children. Further research into the management of labour discovered abuse of managerial power and resources at the height of bureaucracy, which showed no concern for the welfare of workers (Haston n.d. p.3). For this reasons, a humanistic perspective demonstrated the need to understand human behaviour and recognise control among workers as opposed to managers.

This approach demonstrated increased productivity in institutions that treated their employees better. Trade unions were formed to serve as a bridge between workers and the management where representatives negotiated terms of services in the organisation. Unionism revolutionised interactions between industrial organisations and their employees by providing a united front against poor working conditions by negotiating for improvements (Edwards 2009, p.227). Similarly, trade unions advocated for policy adherence and a standard compensation model for workers.

In 1970s, the existence of a consistent set of regulations governing organisations’ relations to their employees provide an essential framework termed as personnel management (Aswathappa 2005, p.18). This aspect of management is charged with the responsibility of selecting and recruiting workers, training, offering compensation and rewards, employee welfare, and facilitating employee transition. However, personnel management was not without criticism where critics refer to the ambiguous nature that based on emphasis on workers’ welfare with little gain to the organisation (Watson n.d, p.1).

Critics argue that personnel management should be reverted line managers who are familiar with. This report stresses that following globalisation, there has been marked increase in competitiveness across business organisations, which demands a strategic approach to the management of human resources. Strategic planning is illustrative of a methodical and structural process through which an organisation identifies direction, and develops an approach to allocate resources. This process is geared towards identifying and prioritising short-term as well as long-term goals in order to maximise efficiency and profitability.

Presently, management of human resources adopts a strategic perspective in order to be aligned with the goals of the organization and to be integrated into the organization’s needs. This paper makes a conclusion that while personnel management and human resource management appear similar, there exists differences that are of significance to the success of an organisation. Personnel management is based on short-termed goals and addresses immediate concerns while on the other hand, HRM involves strategic planning of the institution’s workforce in a long-term perspective.

Also, the personnel management approach illustrates the psychological contract as compliance and adherence of workers to the demands made by the employer. On the other hand, HRM subscribes to the idea that employees indicate commitment and willingness to participate in fulfilling the mandate of the organisation without authoritarian specifications.