HRM and HRP Basic issues

HRM: what is?

HRM is the field of management involves planning, organizing, directing, and controlling
the functions of acquisition, developing, motivating and maintaining the labor force
within the organization.
Ricky W. Griffin, HRM is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting,
developing, and maintaining on effective workforce.
Gray Dessler, HRM refers to practice and policies you need to carry out people or
personnel aspects of your organization.
It is the process of acquiring, retaining, terminating, developing and properly using the
HR in an organization.
Basic Functions of HRM:
Acquisition functions: it is the way to acquire the HR for the organization which
includes- HRP, Recruitment, Selection, and Socialization
Training and Development: Training for newly appointed people and development for
existing employees
Motivational Functions: exerting employees willingness, encouraging employees toward
the organizational goals, keeping them happy, offer them competitive advantages
Maintenance functions: control the HR through job evaluation, maintaining good LMR,
working environment, QWL, Career growth and development, Performance Appraisal
and Compensation management to get the optimum output.
Principles of HRM:
Putting the right people in the right time and right place
Treat people with dignity and respect
Treat all employees with justice
Make people feel that they are important
Do not underestimate the potentials of people
Supply people with all relevant information
Informed them reward should be earned not given
Provide opportunities for growth and development
Providing participation in all decision making
Gaining Competitive advantages through HR: How?
Employee security
Selectivity in recruiting
High and lucrative pay
Incentive pay
Employee empowerment and participation
Information sharing
Employee ownership
Treat people with dignity and respect
Training and career advancement
Promotion from within.

Approaches of HRM:
Strategic approach, Commodity approach, Proactive approach, Reactive approach, System approach

1. HR Planning: Definition
Planning is guideline to action. Human resource Planning is the vital element of corporate policy
since it guides recruitment, selection, orientation, training and placement of personnel. Apparently,
Human resource Planning is concerned with proper use of human resources required for undertaking
activities to achieve corporate goals and objectives.
Simply we can define Human resources policy (HRP) as projecting the future requirements
of human resources
Robbins (1998) defines HRP as the process by which an organization ensures that it has the
right number and kinds of people at the right places, at the right time who are capable of
performing their assigned tasks effectively and efficiently.
According to Vetter, HRP is the process by which management determines how the
organization should move from current manpower position to its desired manpower
position.
According to Walker, HRP is the process of analyzing an organizations HR needs under
changing conditions and developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs.
The ongoing process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's
most valuable asset - its human resources. The objective of human resource (HR) planning is
to ensure the best fit between employees and jobs, while avoiding manpower shortages or
surpluses. The three key elements of the HR planning process are forecasting labor demand,
analyzing present labor supply, and balancing projected labor demand and supply.

2. Essential features of HRP:

To be written: Human resource policy must be written in clear and unambiguous language
so that it is positively understood by everybody in the organization.
Should be flexible: Due to the rapid changes of technology, business environment the HR
policy must be flexible.
Has to be Balanced: It should be balanced with the kind of image the company wants to
develop having reference to social and human needs and goals of a market company.
Desire of work group to be honoured: Policy should recognize desires of work group
members, group dynamics having impact on job performance.
Community interest to be served: Human resource policy should give due interests of the
community along with the interest of the employers and employees since the firm is viewed
as citizen of locality.
To be well communicated: Policy should be communicated to the employees who have to
accept it as fair and reasonable and agree to commit themselves for implementation.
Trade unions to be recognized: Trade unions have emerged realities which have to be
recognized and consulted in the formalities of human resource policies. This requires
prudence.
To be consistent with local condition: Human resource policies should be consistent with
the variations being permitted in the light of local conditions particularly in the matter of
compensations, benefits and services.
Policy impact to be measurable: Human resource policy should be framed having regarded
to measurability of impact so that it can be evaluated for the guidance of the concerned
people particularly in the area of recruitment, training and retirement.

 To be progressive: Finally, human resources policy should be progressive, enlightened and

consistent with the rising progressive philosophy in the light of emerging values and
expectations of the changing world.

3. Need for/ Importance of Human Resource Policy:

Consistency of action: establishment of policy promotes consistency of action for the
handling of specific issues, thereby reducing for nepotism, favouritism, regionalism and
discrimination.
Continuity of action: Written policy statement ensures the continuity of action so that
the change of tenure of office in top management does not affect operatives.
Specific goal achievement: Policies act as standard in reaching specific and selected
goals after performance measurement.
Promotion of enthusiasm: Sound policy promotes enthusiasm and loyalty among
corporate personnel which is needed for concerted action.
Development of confidence: Policy document sets patterns of behavior and permits
developments of confidence.
Minimization of Cost: HR costs may be lower because management can anticipate
imbalances before they become unmanageable and expensive.
Opportunity to locate talents: As needs are anticipated and identified before the actual
staffing is required; the organizations get more time to locate the right man at right time
and right place.
Opportunity to hire skilled person: Good HRP help organization to recruit/ select and
retain the skillful employees.
Eliminating all types of wastages: Proper manpower planning will reduce wastage rate.
There are two types of wastages- voluntary (marriage, immigration, and early retirement)
and involuntary (death, retirement, removal from office).
Improving the utilization of HR: Good HRP can ensure the proper use of human skill,
abilities, and knowledge.
Coordinating different personnel programs: without coordination of manpower
planning with each and every decision of the organization it is difficult to achieve the
corporate objectives.
4. Objectives of HRP:
The objectives of HRP can be listed as follows To ensure optimum use of HR
To forecast future skills
To determine recruitment level
To determine training level
To arrange management development level
To asses future accommodation
To anticipate problems of manpower
To meet manpower requirements
5. Factors affecting HRP: (Book: Aswathapa P. 79)
Organizational growth cycle and planning
Environmental uncertainties

Level/ natures of outsourcing

Time horizons
Nature of jobs being filled
Types and quality of forecasting information
Time and strategy of organization

6. Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS): (Book- Aswathapa p. 89-91)

HRIS is a systematic process for collecting, storing, maintaining, retrieving and validating data
needed by an organization about its human resources. Its usually a part of the larger
management information systems (MIS). The uses of HRIS are as follows1. HR planning and Analysis
5. Compensation and benefits
2. Equal employment
6. Health, safety and security
3. Staffing
7. Employee and labor relations
4. HR development
7. The steps in implementing an HRIS are as follows: (Book- Aswathapa p. 90)
1. Inception of idea
8. Tailoring the system
2. Feasibility study
9. Collecting the data
3. Defining the requirements
10. Testing the system
4. Selecting project team
11. Starting up
5. Vendor analysis
12. Running parallel
6. Package contract negotiation
13. Maintenance
7. Training
14. Evaluation and Correction (if needed)
Characteristics/ Elements of HRP:
HRP consists of the following elements:
Establishing and recognizing the future job requirements,
Identifying deficiency in terms of quantity,
Identifying deficiency in terms of quality and specification,
Identifying the sources of right type of man,
Developing the available manpower,
Ensuring the effective utilization of work force.
Activities required for HRP
HRP consists of a series of activities
Forecasting future manpower requirements. This is done either in terms of
mathematical projections or judgmental estimates. Mathematical projections are done
extrapolating factors like economic environment, development trends in industry, etc.
judgmental estimates are done depending on specific future plans of accompany by
managerial discretion, which is based on past experience.
Preparing at inventory of present human resource. Such inventory contains data about
each employees skills, abilities, work preference and other items of information.

 Anticipating problems of manpower. This can be done by projecting present resources

into future and comparing the same with the forecast of manpower requirements. This
helps in determining quantitative and qualitative adequacy of manpower.
Meeting manpower requirements. This can be achieved through planning; recruitment,
selection, training, and development, induction and placement, promotion, transfer and
motivation, and compensation to ensure that future manpower requirement are correctly
met.
Stages or steps of HRP: HRP process
Integrate HRP with corporate planning: HR planning process begins with considering
organizational objectives and strategies. The first stage of HRP is to integrate it with
corporate planning
Assess the environment: the second step of HRP is to forecast or asses internal and
external environmental; factors that affect demand and supply of labor.
Assess current status of the organizations resources: assessment of internal strengths
and weaknesses as a part of HR planning requires that current jobs and employees
capabilities are inventoried.
Forecasting HR supply and demand: the information gathered from external
environmental scanning and assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses is used to
predict or forecast HR supply and demand in light of organizational objectives and
strategies.
Assess and forecast of internal and external supply of sources: once the demand for HR
has been forecasted then their availability must be identified. The source may be internal
and external.
Matching the forecasts of future demand and supply: this will highlight shortages and
overstaff or surplus positions.
Allocation of human resources: the final stage of HRP is concerned with allocation of
human resource within an organization over time.

Definition of 'Human Resource Planning - HRP'

The ongoing process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's most
valuable asset - its human resources. The objective of human resource (HR) planning is to ensure
the best fit between employees and jobs, while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. The
three key elements of the HR planning process are forecasting labor demand, analyzing present
labor supply, and balancing projected labor demand and supply.