Human Resource Management

Definitions of Human Resource Management:

 1. “A series of integrated decisions that govern employer-employee relations. Their quality contributes to the ability of organisations and employees to achieve their objectives.” (Milkovich & Boudreau, 1997).

2. “Concerned with the people dimension to management. Since every organisation comprises people, acquiring their services, developing their skills, motivating them to higher levels of performance and ensuring that they continue at the same level of commitment to the organisation are essential to achieving organisational goal. This is true, regardless of the type of organisation: viz. government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action.” (Decenzo & Robbins, 1989).

3.”The planning, organising directing and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, and maintenance of human resource to the end those individual, organisational, and social objectives are accomplished.” (Flippo, 1984).

4. “The organisation function that focuses on the effective management, direction, and utilisation of people; both the people who manage produce and market and sell the products and services of an organisation and those who support organisational activities.

It deals with the human element in the organisation, people as individuals and groups, their recruitment, selection, assignment, motivation, empowerment, compensation, utilisation, services, training, development, promotion, termination and retirement.”(Tracey,1994 )

Knowledge Workers

Human resource management is therefore understood as the all significant art and science of managing people in an organisation.

Increasing research output in behavioral sciences, new trends in managing ‘knowledge workers’ and advances in training methodology and practices have led to substantial expansion of the scope of human resource management function in recent years.

HRM is not just an arena of personnel administration anymore but rather a central and pervasive general management function involving specialised staff as assistants to main line managers.

Managing employee relationships is the role of the Human Resource department

Human Resource Management is a process of valuing and developing people at work, this includes:

• Recruitment and selection
• Employee communication and engagement (participation) to increase employee retention
• Training and development
•  Leadership

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS

Labour turnover & staff retention

Labour turnover refers to the proportion of a workforce that leave during a period of time (usually one year)

Labour turnover =  number of staff leaving during the period x 100

average number of staff

Staff retention refers to the ability of a firm to keep its workers.

The disadvantages of having a large proportion of staff leaving each year include:

• The cost of recruiting replacement workers
• The cost of training the new workers
•  Loss of productivity whilst replacements are found
•  Loss of experienced workers
•  Negative impact on reputation

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH

Methods to control turnover:

1. Financial methods of motivation

• Bonuses
• Profit share
• Fringe benefits

2. Non financial methods of motivation

• Employee engagement and empowerment
• Training and development
• Promotion opportunities

3. Improved Human Resource Management procedures

 Four Fundamental Principles of HRM:

• Human Resource is the organisation’s most important asset;
• Personnel policies should be directed towards achievement of ENTERPRISE goals and strategic plans;
• Corporate culture exerts a major influence on achievement of excellence and must therefore be    strengthened with consideration of employee welfare.
• Whilst integration of corporate resources is an important aim of HRM, it must also be recognised that all organisations are ‘pluralist societies’ in which people have differing interests and concerns, which they defend and at the same time function collectively as a cohesive group.

→Evolution of HRM