STRATEGIC HRM

Strategic Human Resource Management

Strategic Human Resource Management

Introduction

The Human Resource Management formally appeared as a discipline in the year 1913. In England, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development started its work in this year. It is the oldest HR association, and it was initially an association of welfare workers of just 34 people. Today, it is one of the leading HR professionals' organisations. Its main locations of operations are in the UK and Ireland (CIPD, 2013, p. n.d).

The First World War started in the year 1914 and ended in the year 1918. In the time of war, men were sent to fight at borders that left many positions vacant in many organizations. There was a growing trend to recruit women in these positions. This required diluting the rules and regulations of the organization so that unskilled women could be employed and given on-the-job training to achieve the overall objectives of the organization. This was the first time that organizations felt the need of not only managing their financial and material resources but also their 'human resources'. During the 1920s, job titles such as 'labour manager' or 'employment manager' added to the list of jobs in many organizations. The purpose was to create a specific and dedicated department to handle recruitment & selection, compensation management, training & development, and policies and procedures (CIPD, 2013, p. n.d).

During the 1930s, the world economy was again picking up the pace. Big corporations realized the benefits of human resource management. But older industries such as textiles, mining and shipbuilding did not adopt new techniques because they had no difficulty in recruiting labour. During the latter half of the 20th century, the concept of employee union was declining, but the concept of workforce management was gaining importance. "Industrial and labour relations" was the term that was being used for the legal compliance functions of the organizations. In 1948, another major HR association started its work. This association is known as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). It started its work with just 28 members. Currently, it is the largest professional HR association (SHRM, 2013, p. n.d). In the current scenario, advances in transportation and communication have increased mobility and collaboration. Employees are now viewed as the most important asset of the organization. "Human Resources Management" is the term that is used instead of Personnel Administration or Personnel Management.

From this history of HR, it can be seen that this discipline is a not a phenomenon of a distant past. Even today, many people think that HR department is only to meet legal requirements of the organization and process leaves and issue letters. The function of HR is legal compliance and ensuring that line managers do not violate organization policies and government labour laws. Many people see HR as a hindrance to their work that applies too much formalization and affects their productivity and response time. Another frequently held view is that HR is a cost centre that does not add value to the ...