HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management



Human Resource Management

Part A: Difference between human resource management and personal management

Introduction

Human resource management involves all management decision and practices that directly affects or influence the people, or human resources, who work for the organization. Human resources management is a significant strategic lever and the sources of sustained competitive advantage. Therefore, human resource management practices should be central to the organizational strategy (Barney, 1995).

Human resource management refers to the overall philosophy about the organization and how people should be managed and is not merely limited to certain specific functions. Human resource management focuses on congruence and commitment instead of compliance and control. In the present day turbulent reality, there is a need to develop industry specific human resource management policy and practices to remain competitive and to develop committed workforce. The role of the human resource manager is to act as a catalyst, focusing on facilitation and co-ordination.

[figure 1]

The matrix shown in figure 1 identifies four modes of human resource management, based on two key dimensions: how well human resource management is integrated with business strategy, and to what extend human resource management is devolved to line management. Therefore it can be said here that the human resource management is fully integrated with business strategy and extensively devolved to line management (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2003, pp. 96-230).

Human Resources Management vs. Personnel Management

Human resources management has come a long way. The traditional version of human resources management, personnel management is a concept that can be conveniently related to the old model of organization, is bureaucratic in nature, with less flexibility, and higher degree of centralization and formalization, for example, adherence to rules and regulation. Human resources management, on the other hand, is compatible with the organic design of new organization. Such organizations have cross-functional and cross hierarchical teams. They are decentralized and flexible, (Storey, 1992) with low formalization and somewhat looser control.

The new look human resources management focuses more on commitment than on mere compliance. With the high costs involved in employee selection and recruitment, companies are increasingly concerned with retaining employees. Generating employee commitment is an important consideration for large and small organizations. Commitment is one of the factors of human resources management policy for an effective organization. Some experts assert that there is no difference between human resources and personnel management. They state that the two terms can be used interchangeably, (Claudio, 2001, 131) with no difference in meaning. In fact, the terms are often used interchangeably in help-wanted advertisements and job descriptions.

For those who recognize a difference between personnel management and human resources, the difference can be described as philosophical. Personnel management is more administrative in nature, dealing with payroll, complying with employment law, and handling related tasks. Human resources management, on the other hand, is responsible for managing a workforce as one of the primary resources that contributes to the success of an organization. When a difference between personnel management and human resources management is recognized, human resources ...