Human resourcemanagement (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization's
workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection,
training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing
organizational leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance with employment
and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally
authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also
serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives
(usually a labor union).
HR is a product of the
human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began
documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of
the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work such
as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company
consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, HR now focuses
on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management,
succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and
inclusion.
In startup companies,
HR's duties may be performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by
non-HR personnel. In larger companies, an entire functional group is typically
dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and
functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the
business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education,
professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of
study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and
practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR,
as evidenced by several field-specific publications.
Antecedent theoretical developments
HR spawned from the
human relations movement, which began in the early 20th century due to work by
Frederick Taylor in lean manufacturing. Taylor explored what he termed
"scientific management" (later referred to by others as
"Taylorism"), striving to improve economic efficiency in
manufacturing jobs. He eventually keyed in on one of the principal inputs into
the manufacturing process—labor—sparking inquiry into workforce productivity.
The movement was
formalized following the research of Elton Mayo, whose Hawthorne studies
serendipitously documented how stimuli unrelated to financial compensation and
working conditions—attention and engagement—yielded more productive workers. Contemporaneous
work by Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin, Max Weber, Frederick Herzberg, and David
McClelland formed the basis for studies in organizational behavior and
organizational theory, giving room for an applied discipline.
Birth and evolution of the discipline
By the time enough
theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce
management, changes in the business landscape (a là Andrew Carnegie, John
Rockefeller) and in public policy (a là Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Franklin D.
Roosevelt and the New Deal) had transformed the employer-employee relationship,
and the discipline was formalized as "industrial and labor
relations". In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR
associations—the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development—was founded
in England as the Welfare Workers' Association, then changed its name a decade
later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade
to Institute of Labour Management before settling upon its current name. Likewise in the United States, the world's
first institution of higher education dedicated to workplace studies—the School
of Industrial and Labor Relations—was formed at Cornell University in 1945.
During the latter half
of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce
management continued to expand its influence within organizations.
"Industrial and labor relations" began being used to refer specifically
to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began
referring to the profession as "personnel administration". In 1948,
what would later become the largest professional HR association—the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM)—was founded as the American Society for Personnel
Administration (ASPA).
Nearing the 21st
century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated
workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as
assets rather than as cogs in a machine. "Human resources
management", consequently, became the dominant term for the function—the
ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998. "Human capital management" is
sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers to
a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals
embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes
used to describe the field include "organizational management",
"manpower management", "talent management", "personnel
management", and simply "people management".
In popular media
HR has been depicted in
several popular media. On the U.S. television series of The Office, HR
representative Toby Flenderson is sometimes seen as a nag because he constantly
reminds coworkers of company policies and government regulations. Long-running
American comic strip Dilbert also frequently portrays sadistic HR policies
through character Catbert, the "evil director of human resources". Additionally, an HR manager is the title
character in the 2010 Israeli film The Human Resources Manager, while an HR
intern is the protagonist in 1999 French film Ressources humaines. Additionally,
the BBC sitcom dinnerladies main character Philippa is an HR manager.
Practice
Business function
Dave Ulrich lists the
functions of HR as: aligning HR and business strategy, re-engineering
organization processes, listening and responding to employees, and managing
transformation and change.
In practice, HR is
responsible for employee experience during the employment lifecycle. It is
first charged with attracting the right employees through employer branding. It
then must select the right employees through the recruitment process. HR then
onboards new hires and oversees their training and development during their
tenure with the organization. HR assesses talent through use of performance
appraisals and then rewards them accordingly. In fulfillment of the latter, HR
may sometimes administer payroll and employee benefits, although such
activities are more and more being outsourced, with HR playing a more strategic
role. Finally, HR is involved in employee terminations - including
resignations, performance-related dismissals, and redundancies.
At the macro-level, HR
is in charge of overseeing organizational leadership and culture. HR also
ensures compliance with employment and labor laws, which differ by geography,
and often oversees health, safety, and security. In circumstances where
employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining
agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with
the employee's representatives (usually a labor union). Consequently, HR,
usually through industry representatives, engages in lobbying efforts with
governmental agencies (e.g., in the United States, the United States Department
of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board) to further its priorities.
The discipline may also
engage in mobility management, especially pertaining to expatriates; and it is
frequently involved in the merger and acquisition process. HR is generally
viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs and
reduce risk.
During the 1990's and
2000's there was a growing movement of "outsourcing" of human
resources activities and promoting self sufficiency amongst line managers. The
growing use of E-technology supported such a move, with pioneering services
such as onlineHR.co.uk in the United Kingdom.
Careers
There are almost half a
million HR practitioners in the United States and thousands more worldwide. The
Chief HR Officer is the highest ranking HR executive in most companies and
typically reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and works with the
Board of Directors on CEO succession.
Within companies, HR
positions generally fall into one of two categories: generalist and specialist.
Generalists support employees directly with their questions, grievances, and
projects. They "may handle all aspects of human resources work, and thus
require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human
resources generalists can vary widely, depending on their employer's needs. " Specialists, conversely, work in a
specific HR function. Some practitioners will spend an entire career as either
a generalist or a specialist while others will obtain experiences from each and
choose a path later. Being an HR manager consistently ranks as one of the best
jobs, with a #4 ranking by CNN Money in 2006 and a #20 ranking by the same
organization in 2009, due to its pay, personal satisfaction, job security,
future growth, and benefit to society.
Human resource
consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as advisers to
companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies. In 2007, there were 950
HR consultancies globally, constituting a USD $18.4 billion market. The top
five revenue generating firms were Mercer, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Watson
Wyatt (now part of Towers Watson), Aon (now merged with Hewitt), and PwC consulting.
For 2010, HR consulting was ranked the
#43 best job in America by CNN Money.
Education
HR has been depicted in
several popular media. On the U.S. television series of The Office, HR
representative Toby Flenderson is sometimes seen as a nag because he constantly
reminds coworkers of company policies and government regulations. Long-running
American comic strip Dilbert also frequently portrays sadistic HR policies
through character Catbert, the "evil director of human resources". Additionally, an HR manager is the title
character in the 2010 Israeli film The Human Resources Manager, while an HR
intern is the protagonist in 1999 French film Ressources humaines.
Additionally, the BBC sitcom dinnerladies main character Philippa is an HR
manager.
Main article: List of human resource management associations
HR education also comes
by way of professional associations, which offer training and certification.
The Society for Human Resource Management, which is based in the United States,
is the largest professional association dedicated to HR, with over 250,000
members in 140 countries. It offers a
suite of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certifications through its HR
Certification Institute. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development,
based in England, is the oldest professional HR association,with its
predecessor institution being founded in 1919.
Several associations
also serve niches within HR. The Institute of Recruiters (IOR) is a recruitment
professional association, offering members education, support and training. WorldatWork focuses on "total
rewards" (i.e., compensation, benefits, work life, performance,
recognition, and career development), offering several certifications and
training programs dealing with remuneration and work-life balance. Other niche
associations include the American Society for Training & Development and Recognition
Professionals International.
Veerapagupathy,
Chothavilai Beach,
Thengamputhoor,
Kanyakumari.
04652-221337,
9500946903.
aveholidayhome@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment