Professional Documents
Culture Documents
13 April 2014
Introduction
Human Resource has evolved from many terms and functions such as human capital, laborers,
personnel and currently human resources. The few changes in these terms also mean changes in
the way human resource managers plan their strategies in managing employees. The evolution of
Human Resource Management has progressed through the ages from times when people were
abused in slavery working conditions to the modern environment where people are valued and
understand the definition of human resources and human resource management. Human
resources is a term with which many organizations describe as the combination of traditionally
administrative personnel functions with performance, employee relations and resource planning
Sharma (2009, p 17). Human Resource Management (HRM) are the policies and practices
involved in carrying out the “people” of human resource aspects of managing position, including
The shorter meaning of HRM is the act of managing the process of recruitment and selection,
compensation and benefits as well as employees safety and health in an organization. Haslinda
(2009 pg 1).
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Therefore, from the stated meanings above, it is clear that changes in management practices
come about as organizations seek new ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
The origins of HRM can be dated back to the 18th century in Western Europe and United States
of America when the Industrial Revolution laid the basis for a new and complex industrial
society. This period saw the USA shifting from Agricultural economy to an industrial economy.
In the historical context of HRM, the first two to be noted for classical management perspective,
began by Robert Owen, a British Industrial reformer and Charles Babbage an English
Mathematician; they noted that workers were important resources in an organization and
expressed concern for their personal welfare. Griffin Ricky (2007, pg 12). Being a
mathematician, Babbage emphasized the division of labour because this would bring about
specialization of employees which would result in perfect work. The division of labour aspect
had a drawback that if an employee is down, then the station of work would also be down.
In the early 19th century, productivity grew in businesses and as businesses were expanding,
there was a short fall of sufficient labor. Factory owners forced employees to work long hours
under difficult conditions with little pay. Employees were treated as production machines whose
main priority was to meet profit targets. The industrial revolution began with the substation of
stem power and machinery for time consuming manual labour. In response to this need, experts
began to focus on ways to improve the performance of individual workers. This work led to the
development of Scientific Management advocated by Frederick Taylor and others. ibid (2007, pg
13).
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Scientific management looked at how the performance of individual workers can be measured
scientifically and not by the judgment of a supervisor. Taylor stated that scientific observation of
employees would reveal one best way to do any task. In this study, skills needed for a particular
job were identified and workers were hired and trained to perform that particular job and were
rewarded with a piece rate system. Taylor supervised by a method he he called soldiering
employees’ deliberately working at a pace slower than they were capable of because they were
paid for what the piece of job that was measured for them. Scientific management dealt with jobs
of individual employees and as a result this caused the working conditions, social patterns and
the division of labour to diminish because these changes of work patterns led to widening the gap
between workers and factory owners and there was no work relationship.
Around the late 18th century a branch of classical management perspective that focused on
managing the total organization, called administrative management was contributed by Henri
Fayol and others. Using his own management experience he tried to systematize the practice of
management to provide guidance and directions to other mangers. Fayol was the first to identify
the common managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Griffin
(2009, pg 13). Faylor’s contribution created bureaucracy in organizations and a barrier to open
communication between employees and management and as a result barred efficiency in the
work system.
The Hawthorne studies of around the late 19th century merged the Hawthorne researchers near
Chicago, USA led by Elton Mayo who demonstrated that employee productivity was affected
not only by the way the job was designed and the manner in which employees were rewarded
economically but also by certain social and psychological factors. Carrell Michael, Elbert
Norbert, Van der Schyf Surette (1996 pg 8-9). Therefore the Hawthorne study concluded that
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payments for work was not the best incentive to motivate employees to work but that social
acceptance played a major role in employee performance. From the Hawthorne studies, grew the
Human relations movement proposed that workers performed better if their social conditions are
satisfied. The study was later improved by other popular theories that went along with Mayo’s
theory, McGregor’s theory X and Theory Y, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Victor
The approach of human relations was the opposite of Taylors and seemed to work best for
employees. Maslow proposed that people are motivated by a hierarchy of needs, including
monetary incentives and social acceptance and McGregor’s theory X and Theory Y model best
represents the essence of human relations movement. Mayo, Maslow and McGregor’s research
have shown that employees’ feelings, emotions and sentiments were strongly affected by such
work conditions as group relationships, leadership styles and support from management.
Personnel Management
Along with government interventions these theories led to the enactment of new legislations that
guaranteed workers’ more rights. It was at this point that the personnel management department
was created to deal with employee caretaker functions. Personnel management was not very
involved with the company’s strategy and operations, instead it tried to convince workers of the
business interest. At this point, personnel management was limited in its functions as it was still
not encompassing all the diversified needs of employees. There was still need for a department in
management
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Many different writers, such as Cornelius N (2001), Haslinda A (2009), Reed S and Gusdof M
(2010) and others, have written that Human resource management is not a completely new
phenomena but a renaming of personnel management which changed because of change in social
and economic activities. The term or label ‘personnel management’ as stated above indicate that
it performed narrow and limited duties that primarily took the task of looking after employee
welfare and not that of the firm. Hence, since the 1980s the nature of Personnel management is
undergoing change and personnel functions shifting the focus in the term to that of Human
The term Human resource management has to a larger extent replaced the term personnel
management from around the late 20th century emerging from the development and
different writers, HRM is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing,
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a modern term for what has traditionally been referred
HRM transformed from personnel management with the goals of carrying out the overall
strategy of seeking to provide Human resource management policies and practices that
This meaning is based on the understanding that human resources are uniquely important in
sustained business success. An organization gains competitive advantage by using its people
effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. Stephen
Bach (2005:3). Therefore, HRM is aimed at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people,
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managing and rewarding their performance and developing key competencies. The current role
of human resource management encompasses more than just taking care of employees. It is also
a strategic partner with the organization carrying out the functions of management with greater
emphasis on planning, monitoring and control rather than on problem solving and mediation.
Organizations now realize that the effectiveness of their HR functions has an important impact
Today’s dynamic work environment has also enacted dynamic responsibilities for Human
Resource managers. The human resource manager’s job is not longer that of hiring, paying and
firing, it includes more broader and more strategic responsibilities. As the world becomes a
global village, it means the human resource manager also has become a global manager and
more globalizations means more competition and more completion means more pressure to be
‘world class’. Dessler (2004, pg 10-11). Therefore to Achieve this, the HR manager is now
expected to be a productive and an alert person in the affairs of employees and that of the
organization. The HR manager also has to be conversant with the country’s labour laws in which
she or he operates from and this means to be able to formulate regulations and guidelines for the
organization that are competitive. The HR manager has to be sensitive to the needs of the
diversified group of employees and understand their social culture backgrounds while at the
organizations are involved in technology in the way they transact business such as the training
processes. The HR manager must embark on improving in technology everyday in the daily tasks
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of the organization such as preparing manuals and specifications for work schedules and
expectations. These can range from the hiring process, the interview process and the training
process. The nature of work for the HR manager is changing everyday because jobs are more
technologically demanding from production to the sale point. Therefore, employees need
professional computer training skills to achieve these demanding and changing jobs.
The 21st Century approach is that of Strategic Human Resource which aligns employee
individual goals and objectives with corporate goals and objectives rather than enforce rules or
dictates terms, acts as a facilitator and promotes a participative approach. Dessler (2007, pg 73)
states that strategic management is the process of identifying and executing the organization’s
mission by matching its capabilities with the demands of its environment. Therefore main
differences between strategic human resource management (SHRM) approach and HRM
approach is increased reliance of performance based on short term contracts instead of long term
The origins of strategic human resource management are evidenced from the late 20th century.
Lewis Philip, Millmore Mike and Morrow Trevor (2007, pg 10). As a result the 21st century
era demands that the human resource manager should think strategically in the way functions
are executed in the organization’s business. Strategic Human Resource management requires
that the manager uses strategic plans of an organisation’s resources to achieve the
organizational goasl. Previously employees just needed to know that there was a
personnel/human resources manager in the department and they would focus their attention to
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that department for problem solving. This is not longer the case because employees now have
diversified needs that require the HR manager to manage more strategically. As a result this has
given rise to the parallel development of HRM theories and practices which require planning
and making decision that pertain to the mission of the organisation’s purpose of existence.
management that teamed with strategic imperatives facing organizations in the late 20th and early
Distinguishing features have been pointed that differentiate HRM from personnel management
such as devolvement of HR activities to line managers so that they can become more accountable
for the performance of those that they manage. Corporations have partnered with HR specialists
so that they can aim at achieving greater understanding of business needs. This will create
employee relations between owners, managers and employees and discourage collective thinking
like those of Trade Unions. Establishing these relationships will also establish a route to
Fred David (2001, p 77) has established an overview of a Strategic Management Process for the
HR manager to understand the evolving roles of HRM. The overview begins with the process of
translating the business, developing the vision and mission statement and ends with measuring
and evaluating employee performance that match with strategic goals of the organization.
Understanding this process will help the HR Manager to implement strategies that will in turn
solve human resource issues and increase the competitive advantage of the organisation.
Conclusion
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As noted, the term Human Resource management has progressively evolved through the
centuries mainly replacing personnel management. The few changes in these terms have brought
about changes in the way human resource managers function. Personnel management was
viewed as a department that carried out rules and regulations of the employee welfare. Today
Human resource management is viewed more than that, it looks at working conditions to the
modern environment where people are viewed as strategic partners to business and are valued
The human resource management approach remains integrated to the organization’s core strategy
and vision, and seek to optimize the use of human resource for the fulfillment of organizational
goals. This strategic and philosophical context of human resource management makes it more
purposeful, relevant, and more effective compared to the personnel management approach.
REFERENCES
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Bach Stephen (2005:3) In Managing Human Resources: Personnel Management in Transition,
http://www.citeman.com/11874-history-of-personnel-human-resources-management-
phrm.html#ixzz2UPzxDYCp
Byars l, Rue, Leslie (2000), Human Resource Management 6th ed. Irwin McGrwa-Hill, St Lous,
USA
Dessler, Garry(2005), Human Resource Management, 10th ed. Pearson – Prentice Hall, USA
Fred David (2001, p 77), Strategic Management, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, USA
Griffin Ricky (2007), Principles of Management, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA
Lewis Philip, Millmore Mike and Morrow Trevor (2007), Strategic Human Resource Management,
Contemporary issues. Prentice Hall, financial times, an imprint of Pearson Education
Thite Mohan, Kavanagh Michael, Johson Richard, (2009) Evolution of Human Resource
Management and Information /systems
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