The evolution of human resource management as a distinct profession dates back to the

industrial revolution when factories established personnel departments to look into wages and welfare of
workers.
To understand the evolution of Human Resource Management, one must first understand its
basis. The origins of workforce management lies in the arrangements made for the welfare of apprentices
working with the master craftsmen in the putting out system that prevailed during the medieval ages. The
industrial revolution that led to the establishment of factories displaced the putting out system.
The workers in the early factories faced long hours of works under extremely unhygienic
conditions, and mostly lived in slums. This soon resulted in several labor riots, the most famous being
Ludds riots of 1811 in Nottingham, England, precipitated by reduced wages. The government soon
intervened to provide basic rights and protections for workers, and the need to comply with such statutory
regulations forced factory owners to set up a formal mechanism to look into workers wages and welfare,
and redress other issues concerning labor. This led to the emergence of Personnel Management as a
distinct profession. The Personnel Management Approach
The Personnel Management approach that remained in vogue for much of the 20th Century
remained administrative in nature. Arising out of the need to enforce statutory compliance, it concerned
itself primarily with

employee record keeping

adherence to the stated policies while implementing functions such as recruitment, training and
wage administration

taking welfare oriented measures such as providing medical care, vaccinations, housing facilities
and the like

attempting to increase productivity through wage increases and training, and

enforcement of standards derived from work studies influenced by the scientific management approach
promulgated by Frederick Taylor and the like

Dealing with trade unions and trying to solve industrial disputes through collective
bargaining and other industrial relations approaches.

conducting performance appraisals or report card of past performance to determine pay

and promotions
The Personnel Management approach tried to convince workers of the business interests, and convince
management of workers interest and social obligations. It rarely had a direct say in the companys
strategy and did not involve itself with operations aspects, remaining a purely staff function.

The Traditional Human Resource Approach

The latter decades of the twentieth century saw the winds of change starting to affect the personnel
management profession. Elton Mayos Hawthorne Studies had debunked Taylors Scientific Management

approach toward productivity increase, and established that the major drivers of productivity and
motivation were non-monetary factors. A host of new theories emerged based on this new behavioral
perspective. Some of the popular theories that struck ground was Douglas McGregors Theory X and
Theory Y, Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs theory that recognized the concept of individuals aspiring
to reach a state of self-actualization, Victor Vrooms Expectation Theory, Alderfers ERG Theory, and
more. Government interventions led to the enactment of new legislations that guaranteed workers more
rights.
All these changed soon led to the transition from the administrative and passive Personnel
Management approach to a more dynamic Human Resource Management approach. This new approach
considered workers as valuable resources, a marked improvement from the earlier approach of
considering them as mere cogs.
While Personnel Management was a strictly staff function, Human Resource management began
to become an increasingly line management function, directly interlinked to the core business operations.

The major changes in approach from Personnel Management vs Human Resource Management
manifested in many ways.

The recruitment and skill enhancement of the workforce having a direct bearing on
organizational profitability, efforts began to increase workers commitment and loyalty.

Motivation took the shape of challenging work environment, free holidays, creating an
active social community within the workforce, fringe benefits and the like, besides monetary incentives.

Training acquired a new Training and Development dimension with the focus on
behavioral training to change attitudes and develop basic skills rather than remaining limited to inculcating
work-related skills.

Wage and Salary Administration became more complex with the introduction of
performance related pay, employee stock options and the like

The report-card based performance appraisal systems become more proactive with new
techniques such as Management by Objectives, 360 degree appraisals and the like

emphasis on leadership instead of managing

The Strategic Human Resource Approach
The evolution of Human Resource Management took a new turn at the end of the century.
Increased free market competition at global level and the proliferation of technology and knowledge
based industries raised the importance of human resources, and from an obscure role a century ago,
human resource management rose to become the most critical function of an enterprise.
The workforce, hitherto considered as resources now became assets and a valuable source of
competitive advantage. The thrust of human resource management now lies in trying to align individual
goals and objectives with corporate goals and objectives, and rather than enforce rules or dictate terms,
act as a facilitator and promotes a participative approach.
These changes influenced Human Resources functions in many ways.

Increased reliance on performance based short term contracts instead of long term
employment

Direct linkage of compensation to the profitability of the enterprise and the employees
contribution towards such profitability

New dimensions for training and development function by encouraging and facilitating
innovation and creativity

Motivation through enriching the work experience

Performance and Talent Management displacing performance appraisals

Strategic Human Resource Management blurs the distinction between a specialized Human
Resource Management function and core operational activity, and very often, Human Resource
Management drives interventions such as Total Quality Management and the like.

Evolution of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management in its simplest definition means management of organizations manpower
or workforce or human resources.
Evolution of HRM
The evolution of the concept of Human Resource Management is presented below
Period before industrial revolution The society was primarily an agriculture economy with limited
production. Number of specialized crafts was limited and was usually carried out within a village or
community with apprentices assisting the master craftsmen. Communication channel were limited.
Period of industrial revolution (1750 to 1850) Industrial revolution marked the conversion of economy
from agriculture based to industry based. Modernization and increased means if communication gave way
to industrial setup. A department was set up to look into workers wages, welfare and other related issues.
This led to emergence of personnel management with the major task as

Workers wages and salaries

Workers record maintenance

Workers housing facilities and health care

An important event in industrial revolution was growth of Labour Union (1790) The works working in the
industries or factories were subjected to long working hours and very less wages. With growing unrest,
workers across the world started protest and this led to the establishment of Labour unions. To deal with
labour issues at one end and management at the other Personnel Management department had to
be capable of politics and diplomacy, thus the industrial relation department emerged.
Post Industrial revolution The term Human resource Management saw a major evolution after 1850.
Various studies were released and many experiments were conducted during this period which gave
HRM altogether a new meaning and importance.
A brief overview of major theories release during this period is presented below

Frederick W. Taylor gave principles of scientific management (1857 o 1911) led to the evolution of
scientific human resource management approach which was involved in

Workers training

Maintaining wage uniformity

Focus on attaining better productivity.

Hawthorne studies, conducted by Elton Mayo & Fritz Roethlisberger (1927 to 1940).
Observations and findings of Hawthrone experiment shifted the focus of Human resource from increasing
workers productivity to increasing workers efficiency through greater work satisfaction.

Douglas McGregor Theory X and Theory Y (1960) and Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of needs
( 1954) These studies and observations led to the transition from the administrative and
passive Personnel Management approach to a more dynamic Human Resource Management
approach which considered workers as a valuable resource.
As a result of these principles and studies, Human resource management became increasingly line
management function, linked to core business operations. Some of the major activities of HR department
are listed as-

1.

Recruitment and selection of skilled workforce.

2.

Motivation and employee benefits

3.

Training and development of workforce

4.

Performance related salaries and appraisals.

Strategic Human Resource Management Approach

With increase in technology and knowledge base industries and as a result of global competition, Human
Resource Management is assuming more critical role today. Its major accomplishment is aligning
individual goals and objectives with corporate goals and objectives. Strategic HRM focuses on actions
that differentiate the organization from its competitors and aims to make long term impact on the success
of organization.

Human Resources is a business function, which manages, leads, facilitates and provides tools for
the human capital management in the organization. HR sets strategic processes and procedures, runs
difficult and complex communication campaigns as the organization attracts the best talents from the job
market, retains them with the attractive compensation packages or it develops them in talent development
programs. HR runs many processes, which are crucial for the modern organization. We cannot believe
that the successful business could exist without the Recruitment and Staffing, Compensation and
Benefits, Training and Development or the Leadership Development. However, in the past the companies
did not use any of the HR value added processes. The story of Human Resources started as evidence of
all employees. It dealt with issues and requests. Nothing more was expected to be delivered. The HR
Management history is fascinating. The wars usually change the path of Human Resources in
organizations and society.
The history of Human Resources starts to be interesting with the evolution of the large factories. It
was in the 18th century. The rapid development of new industrial approach to work changed the world
dramatically. The quick and cheap production became a priority for many industries. The factories hired
thousands of workers, who worked up to 16 hours a day. Soon, many entrepreneurs discovered that
satisfied employees are more effective and can produce more than depressed employees. Many factories
started to introduce voluntary programs for employees to increase their comfort and satisfaction. On the
other hand, the government started to intervene to introduce some basic human rights and the work
safety legislation.
The second rapid development of Human Resources started in the beginning of 20th century.
Most organizations introduced the Personnel Management. The personnel department had large
responsibilities. It was dealing with issues, introducing the new law requirements. It had the responsibility
for the implementation of different social and work place safety programs. Everything was focused on the
productivity of employees. The regular productivity increments were the key measure for the management
of employees. The significant change was introduced after the 2nd World War because the military

developed many training programs for new soldiers. After the war, the training became a respected
process in personnel department.
During this period, the trade unions evolved. The trade unions changed the rules of the game.
The employer got a strong partner to discuss with. Trade unions introduced many improvements at no
significant costs for the employer. Today, trade unions are not as strong as they were used to be, but
many organizations still benefit or suffer from a strong presence of trade unions in their factories.
The real HR Revolution began in 70s of the 20th century (see Early HR Management). The technology
and the globalization have changed the rules of the game. Most HR Functions are running complex HRIS
solutions, which make information about employees available anywhere and anytime to managers and
HR Professionals.
The economy of the wealthy western countries shifted towards the services economy. The quality
of services became the crucial competitive advantage. HR became necessary because the structure of
the workforce changed. The leadership development was the right answer.
Managers and leaders have to think global today; they have to understand to different cultural
backgrounds. The corporate culture cannot be country specific; it has to reflect many nations working for
the organization. This is a fantastic opportunity for Human Resources. Human Resources Management is
global today. The global HR policies drive processes in different countries, but the processes produce
comparable results. The employees relocate from country to country.
The future of Human Resources is bright. The globalization cannot be stopped because nations
collaborate. The organizations become less country specific, and they cannot identify themselves with
one country.New technologies will bring other revolutions to offices. The commute working is standard
today, but it will become a norm. The technology will connect employees as they would sit in the next
cubicle. IPads will allow quick and instant access to information about employees and managers will be
able to make all decisions and approvals online.
However, the future of Human Resources will be about new networking methods and how to make
employees know each other.