Human Resource Management (HRM)

 1. Understanding the Nature and Scope of Human Resource Management

           Learning objective                                                                               

• The nature , scope and objectives of human resource management.
• Function and objectives .
• The evolution of human resource management.
• Jobs and careers in HRM.   

Introduction     

Tata Consulting Services (TCS) is truly global company.It has 28,000  software engineers drawn from 32 countries. TCS adopts a unique system of hiring people.It starts its human resource sourcing right at the college level. The software leader sends more then 50 senior executives to interact with academic institutions. At these institution , TCS may funds many events like conferences, seminars, gets involved in improving curricula, establishes fellowships and exchanges expertise through visiting faculty programs .To top all these is the annual retreat with over a hundred top academics in Thiruvananthapuram , the training hub of TCS.    

NATURE OF HRM      

Simply put, Human Resource Management (HRM)  is a Management function that helps managers recruit , select, train,and develop members for an organisation .obviously , HRM  is concerned with the people's dimensions in organisations.

         Specifically, the following constitute the core of HRM :

1.  Organisations are not mere bricks , mortar , machineries  or inventories. They are people. It is the people who staff and manage organisations .
2. HRM involves the application of management functions and principles. The functions and principles are applied to acquisitioning , developing , maintaining and remunerating employees in organisations.
3. Decisions relating to employees must be integrated . 
4. Decisions on different aspects of employees must be consistent with other human resource (HR) decisions.
5. Decisions made must influence the effectiveness of an organisation .Effectiveness of an organisation must result in betterment of services to customers in the form of high-quality products supplied at reasonable costs.
6. HRM functions are not confined to business establishment only .They are applicable to non-business organisations , too, such as education, health care , recreation and the like.

     Obviously , HRM refers to a set of programmes , functions and activities designed and carried out in order to maximise both employees as well as organisational effectiveness.

Human Resource Management  is also a management function concerned with hiring , motivating and maintaining people in an organisation.It focuses on people in organisations.

SCOPE OF HRM

The scope of HRM is indeed vast . All major activities in the working life of a worker--from the time of his or her entry into organisation until he or she leaves --come under the purview of HRM . 

Specifically, the activities included are :

1. HR planning .
2. Job analysis and design.
3. Recruitment and selection
4. Orientation and placement.
5. training and development.
6. performance appraisal and job evaluation.
7. Employee and executive remuneration.
8. Motivation and communication.
9. Welfare.
10. Safety and health.
11. Industrial relations 
    
    
    

.        HRM : FUNCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES  

Objectives   

The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of a component and willing work force to an organisation.Beyond this,there are other objectives, too.Specifically , are four fold---societal,organisational,functional and personal.

Societal objectives  : 

To be ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the society while minimising the negative impact of such demands upon the organisation.The failure of organisations to use their resources for the society 's benefit in ethical ways may lead to restriction.

Organisational Objectives :

To recognise the role of HRM in bringing about organisational effectiveness. HRM is not an end in itself .It is only a means to assists the organisation with its primary objectives.

The Societal Objectives of HRM seek to ensure that the organisation becomes socially responsive while the Organisational Objectives make sure that HRM is not standalone department but rather a means to assists the organisation reach its primary objectives

Functional Objectives :

To maintain the department's contribution at a level appropriate to the organisation's need.Resources are wasted when HRM is either more or less sophisticated to suit the organisation's demands.

Personal Objectives :

To  assists employees in achieving their personal goals, at least insofar as these goals enhance the individual's contribution to the organisations.Personal objectives of employees must be met if worker are to be maintained , retained and motivated.

Functional Objectives remind the HRM that it has only functional value and should not became too expensive at the cost of the organisation it serves , while Personal Objectives assist employees in achieving their personal goals.

Function

In order to realise the objectives stated above, HRM must perform certain functions .These functions have been stated while outlining the scope of HRM .

EVOLUTION OF HRM

As a part of introduction to the subject , it is useful to study the evolution of HRM .HRM , a relatively new term emerged during the 1970s.Many people continued to refer the discipline by its older, more traditional titles , such as personnel management or a personnel administration.

    The trend  is changing . The term nowadays used in industry circles is HRM . Kautilya's Arthashastra states that there existed a sound base for systematic management of resources during as early as 4th century BC.The government then took an active interest in the operation of public and private sector enterprises and provided systematic procedures for regulating employer-employee relationships.

     Elsewhere, human resources in organisations received the management' attention much earlier.a s early in 1800 BC itself, 'minimum wages rate ' and 'incentive wages plan' were included in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi.

     In course of time , two professional bodies ,the indian institute of personnel management ( IIPM) and the national institute of labour management (NILM) , were set up IIPM has its headquarters at Kolkata and NILM at mumbai .These two places were premier centers of traditional industry (jute and cotton )in pre independent area.

      In the 1980s, professionals began to talk about new technologies ,HRM challenges and HRD . The professional bodies , IIPM and NILM, merged in 1980 to form the National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM).

JOBS AND CAREER IN HRM

HR Specialist

The HR specialist jobs are usually the entry- level positions for an HRM career. Included would be such roles as interviewer , compensation analyst ,benefits coordinators , job analyst and trainer .In large firms there may be promotional opportunities within the specialist functions For example,a new specialist may begin as an interviewer , move up to coordinating campus recruitment in a region,and progress to superving all campus recruitment.

Alternatively , an entry-level specialist may work in consulting  firm that provides HR services . In this case , the specialist may do a little of everything .For example, in any given day the specialist might run an orientation programme for new employee, interview applicants develop information for contract negotiations, or look for information on wages structures in other firm in the area.

HR Manager

The HR manager is a generalist who administers and coordinates programmes cutting across functional areas. The HR manager is usually a top-ranking person at a plant or facility and ,as such , is expected to know about all areas of HRM .This is because the HR manager has to oversee the implementation of the HR policies at facility and advise line manager on HR issues.

Yet another role for the HR manager is to head a functional personnel activity at the corporate level. Many large firms are organised into relatively more autonomous division . Typically , such firm have functional specialist at the corporate level who translate the firm's corporate strategy into HR policy and transmit this policy to all the division.

HR Executive

The top level executive , usually the vice-president of an organisation , has the responsibility of linking the firm's corporate policy and strategy with HRM. The HR executive is also expected to feed inputs into the organisational goals , especially if these goals affect or are affected by personnel activities .It is important to consider HR opportunities and limitations in establishing overall organisational directions.