the role of human resource management essay

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 1: The Role of Human Resources

Human resource management day to day.

You have just been hired to work in the human resource department of a small company. You heard about the job through a conference you attended, put on by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Previously, the owner of the company, Jennifer, had been doing everything related to human resource management (HRM). You can tell she is a bit critical about paying a good salary for something she was able to juggle all on her own. On your first day, you meet the ten employees and spend several hours with the company owner, hoping to get a handle on which human resource processes are already set up.

Shortly after the meeting begins, you see she has a completely different perspective of what HRM is, and you realize it will be your job to educate her on the value of a human resource manager. You look at it as a personal challenge—both to educate her and also to show her the value of this role in the organization.

First, you tell her that HRM is a strategic process having to do with the staffing, compensation, retention, training, and employment law and policies side of the business. In other words, your job as human resources (HR) manager will be not only to write policy and procedures and to hire people (the administrative role) but also to use strategic plans to ensure the right people are hired and trained for the right job at the right time. For example, you ask her if she knows what the revenue will be in six months, and Jennifer answers, “Of course. We expect it to increase by 20 percent.” You ask, “Have you thought about how many people you will need due to this increase?” Jennifer looks a bit sheepish and says, “No, I guess I haven’t gotten that far.” Then you ask her about the training programs the company offers, the software used to allow employees to access pay information online, and the compensation policies. She responds, “It looks like we have some work to do. I didn’t know that human resources involved all of that.” You smile at her and start discussing some of the specifics of the business, so you can get started right away writing the strategic human resource management plan.

Human Resource Management Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Essay on Human Resource Management (HRM): Top 6 Essays

In this essay we will discuss about ‘Human Resource Management’. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Human Resource Management’ especially written for school and college students.

• Essay on Human Resource Management

Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Functions of Human Resource Management

Essay # 1. Introduction to Human Resource Management :

Men, materials, machines and money are considered as the main factors of production. Out of all these factors, men are considered as an important factor. It is very difficult to handle the other factors of production with­out the efficient use of human resources.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Several terms have been used by various management thinkers to represent human re­sources. These include ‘personnel’, ‘people at work’, ‘manpower’, ‘staff’ and ’employ­ees. Whatever may be the term used, human resource of any organization consists of all individuals engaged in any of the organiza­tional activities at all levels.

The importance of human factor can be judged from the point that some people consider management and personnel/human resource management as one and the same thing. Lawrence A. Appley observed that “Management and personnel administration are one and the same. They should never be separated. Management is personnel administration”. Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task, because all else depends on how well it is done.

With the increase in number of employees in an organization, greater emphasis is being placed on personnel management and also on the adoption of standardized procedures and compensation plans. The personnel department helps management in using and developing appropriate manpower to achieve organizational goals.

Human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the organization, helping them perform their work, compensating them for their labors, and solving problems that arise.

Essay # 2. Definition of Human Resource Management :

Human Resource Management (HRM) has come to be recognized as an inherent part of management, which is concerned with the human resources of an organization.

Some of the definitions of human resource management as given by various persons are:

Human Resource Management is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment, management, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization.

Human Resource Management is the understanding and application of the policy and procedures that directly affect the people working within the project team and working group. These policies include recruitment, retention, reward, personal development, training and career development.

Human Resource Management is the effective use of human resources in order to enhance organizational performance.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

Essay # 3. Scope of Human Resource Management :

The scope of HRM is very wide.

It covers the following aspects:

(i) Personnel Aspect :

This is concerned with manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, transfer, promotion, training and development, layoff and retrenchment, remuneration, incentives, productivity etc.

(ii) Welfare Aspect :

It deals with working conditions and amenities such as canteens, creches, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc.

(iii) Industrial Relations Aspect :

This covers union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary procedures, settlement of disputes, etc.

Essay # 4. Objectives of Human Resource Management :

Objectives are predetermined goals to which individual or group activity in an organization is directed. Objectives of human resource management are influ­enced by organizational objectives and individual goals.

Some of the objectives of HRM are:

a. To ensure effective utilization of human resources.

b. To ensure respect for human beings.

c. To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals.

d. To achieve and maintain high morale among employees.

e. To provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated em­ployees.

f. To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actual­ization.

g. To develop and maintain a quality of work life.

h. To provide better conditions of employment.

i. To develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect.

j. To enhance employee’s capabilities to perform the present job.

k. To provide fair wages to employees.

l. To inculcate the sense of team spirit, team work and inter-team collabo­ration.

Essay # 5. Nature of Human Resource Management :

Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organiza­tions together so that the goals of each are met.

The various features of HRM include:

a. It is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises.

b. Its focus is on results rather than on rules.

c. It tries to help employees develop their potential fully.

d. It encourages employees to give their best to the organization.

e. It is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups.

f. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results.

g. It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well- motivated employees.

h. It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various levels in the organization.

i. It is a multidisciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from psychology, economics, etc.

Essay # 6. Functions of Human Resource Management:

Every manager in an organization has to perform the personal functions in one form or the other in order to get the things done through others.

The functions of human resource management can be classified as:

(i) Managerial Functions.

(ii) Operative Functions.

(i) Managerial Functions :

The managerial functions are mainly concerned with planning, organizing, directing and controlling the various activities of personnel management.

These functions are explained below:

(a) Planning:

Planning is deciding in advance what to do; how to do; where to do; and who is to do it. For personnel manager, planning means the determination in advance of personnel programme. Planning is concerned about present manpower positions, what number and kind of people are required for the organization.

(b) Organization:

After the establishment of organizational goals and objectives, human resource manager must design and develop organization structure to carry out the various operations. Organization involves identification and grouping the activities to be performed and dividing them among the individuals and creating authority and responsibility relationships among them.

(c) Directing:

Directing as a managerial function involves building sound industrial and human relations among people working in the organization. The direction function of the personnel manager is meant to motivate and guide the people to achieve organization goals. The employees can be motivated through salary administration, career planning, provision of health and safety requirements etc.

(d) Controlling:

Controlling function is concerned with regulation of activities in accordance with the personnel plans. It includes checking, verifying and comparing actual with the plans, identifying deviations if any and correcting them. Auditing, training programmers, analysing, labor turnover records, conducting separate interviews are some of the means for controlling the personnel management function.

(ii) Operative Functions :

Operative functions are those functions which are usually delegated to the human resource department as these require specialized skills and knowledge in their performance. All these operative functions are interacted by managerial functions. Further these functions are to be performed in conjunction with management functions.

Some of the operative functions of human resource management are:

(a) Employment :

It is the first operative function of HRM. Employment is concerned with securing and employing the people possessing required kind and level of human resources necessary to achieve the organizational objectives. It covers the functions such as job analysis, human resources planning, recruitment, selection, placement and induction.

(i) Job Analysis:

It is the process of study and collection of information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job.

It includes:

i. Collection of data, information, facts and ideas relating to various aspects of jobs including men, machines and materials.

ii. Preparation of job description, job specification, job requirements and employee specification which help in identifying the nature, levels and quantum of human resources.

(ii) Human Resources Planning:

Human resource planning involves fore­casting the human resource requirements of an organization and the fu­ture supply of human resources. It is a process for determination and assuring that the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which would meet the needs of the organization.

(iii) Recruitment:

It is the process of seeking and attracting prospective candidates against a vacancy in an organization.

After having determined the number of persons required for different jobs and requirements of different jobs, the recruitment process will begin.

The term recruitment may be defined as the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. In other words, the term ‘recruitment’ stands for discovering the sources from where potential employees will be selected.

(iv) Selection:

Selection is the process of identifying and establishing the credentials of a candidate for a job to ensure success.

Recruitment vs. Selection :

Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. Recruitment comes first and is followed by Selection.

(v) Induction and Orientation:

Induction and orientation are the tech­niques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in the changed sur­roundings and introduced to the practices, policies, purposes and people etc., of the organization.

(b) Training and Development :

This process aims to train and develop employees to improve and update their knowledge and skills, so as to help them perform their jobs better. The process also includes developing the attitudes, beliefs and values of the employees to match the organizational needs. This comprises of performance appraisal, training, management/executive development, career planning and development.

(i) Performance Appraisal:

It is the process of evaluating the performance of an employee on the job and developing a plan for improvement.

(ii) Training:

Training is the systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to perform a job.

After the employee is selected, the most important part of human resource program is to impart training to the employee. Training plays a significant role in human resource development. Human resources are the life-blood of any organization. Only through trained and efficient employees, the organization can achieve its objectives.

Training is defined as “the art of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job”.

Since training involves time, effort and money by an organization, so an organization should carefully design its training program. The objectives and need for training should be clearly identified and the method or type of training should be chosen according to the needs and objectives established.

Need of Training:

Training is necessary both for existing and new employees. It increases the skill of the employees.

The need of training arises because of the following factors:

(a) Rapid Changes in Technology:

As the technology is changing at as fast pace, so employees must learn new techniques to make use of advanced technology.

(b) Frequent Accidents:

Due to increase in number of industrial accidents, an effective training program should be made for the safety of the employees.

(c) Quality Conscious Customers:

As the customers have become quality conscious, so there is need of training to employees for improving the quality of products.

(d) Increase in Productivity:

Effective training helps in increasing productivity and reduction in production costs of an organization.

(e) Supply of Trained Personnel:

Training ensures an efficient supply of trained employees at all levels of organization.

Benefits of Training :

Some of the benefits of training are:

a. Better performance of employees both in terms of quantity and quality of output.

b. Elimination of wastages which leads to reduction in cost of production.

c. Reduction in needs of supervision.

d. It helps in developing and improving the organizational culture.

e. Increase in morale of the employees.

f. Reduction in number of accidents.

g. Improvement in quality of work.

h. Reduction in machine breakdown and maintenance cost.

i. Increase in productivity which results in enhanced earnings for employees.

j. Increase in self-confidence.

k. More opportunity for growth/promotions.

(iii) Development:

It is the concept of developing the employees in an organization to meet future changes and challenges.

(iv) Career Planning and Development:

It refers to identifying one’s career goals and formulating plans of reaching them. It attempts to harmonize an individual’s career aspiration with organizational needs.

(c) Compensation :

Compensation function is concerned with securing adequate and equitable remuneration to persons for their contribution. Fixation of compensation or wage rates for different categories of employees is an important task of management. Function related to job evaluation, wage and salary administration, incentives, bonus and fringe benefits falls under this category.

Compensation is what employees receive in exchange for their contribution to the organization.

Generally, employees offer their service for three types of rewards:

b. Incentives.

c. Benefits.

Pay refers to the base wages and salaries employees normally receive. Incentives in the form of bonuses, commissions and profit sharing plans are incentives designed to encourage employees to produce results beyond normal expectations.

Benefits such as insurance, medical, recreational, retirement etc. represent a more indirect type of compensation.

So, the term compensation is a comprehensive one including pay, incentives, and benefits offered by employers for hiring the services of employees. In addi­tion to these, managers have to observe legal formalities for offering physical as well as financial security to employees. All these play an important role in any HR department efforts to obtain, maintain and retain an effective workforce.

(i) Job Evaluation:

It is the systematic determination of the value of each job in relation to other jobs in the organization.

(ii) Wage and Salary Administration:

The process of formulating and operating a suitable wage and salary program is known as wage and salary administration.

(iii) Incentives:

Incentives are the rewards an employee earns in addition to regular salary based on his performance or of the collective performance.

(iv) Bonus:

Bonus is primarily a share in the surpluses and is often directly related to the organization performance.

(v) Fringe Benefits:

Fringe benefits are monetary and non-monetary benefits including disablement benefits, housing facilities, canteen facilities, conveyance facilities, educational facilities, recreational facilities, medical and welfare facilities, post-retirement benefits, etc.

(d) Integration :

The basic objective of human resource management is to secure maximum performance from the employees in order to accomplish the objectives of an organization. This is possible through better integration between the organi­zation and its employees. The integration between the two can be achieved through three things-motivation, leadership and communication.

(e) Maintenance :

Maintenance function is basically concerned with the working conditions and welfare facilities provided to the employees. Morale and motivation of the employees is greatly influenced by these conditions. Working conditions include measures taken for health, safety and comfort of the employees. Welfare facilities include provisions of rest rooms, cafeteria, safe drinking water, education for children of employees etc.

(f) Industrial Relations :

It is the responsibility of human resource manager to maintain industrial peace in the organization. This can be done through collective bargaining, joint consultation and settlement of disputes, whenever they arise.

(g) Personnel Records :

Another function of human resource manager is to maintain the records of the employees. This is helpful in taking decisions relating to transfers and promotions, performance appraisal etc. These also help in identifying the weaknesses in the employees and the areas in which they need training.

Related Articles:

• Essay on Human Resource Management | HRM
• Essay on Merit Rating: Top 5 Essays | Human Resource Management
• Notes on Human Resource Management (HRM): Meaning and Nature

We use cookies

Privacy overview.

11.1 An Introduction to Human Resource Management

• What has been the evolution of human resource management (HRM) over the years, and what is the current value it provides to an organization?

Human resource management over the years has served many purposes within an organization. From its earliest inception as a primarily compliance-type function, it has further expanded and evolved into its current state as a key driver of human capital development. In the book HR From the Outside In (Ulrich, Younger, Brockbank, Younger, 2012), the authors describe the evolution of HR work in “waves”. 1 Wave 1 focused on the administrative work of HR personnel, such as the terms and conditions of work, delivery of HR services, and regulatory compliance. This administrative side still exists in HR today, but it is often accomplished differently via technology and outsourcing solutions. The quality of HR services and HR’s credibility came from the ability to run administrative processes and solve administrative issues effectively. Wave 2 focused on the design of innovative HR practice areas such as compensation, learning, communication, and sourcing. The HR professionals in these practice areas began to interact and share with each other to build a consistent approach to human resource management. The HR credibility in Wave 2 came from the delivery of best-practice HR solutions.

Wave 3 HR, over the last 15–20 years or so, has focused on the integration of HR strategy with the overall business strategy. Human resources appropriately began to look at the business strategy to determine what HR priorities to work on and how to best use resources. HR began to be a true partner to the business, and the credibility of HR was dependent upon HR having a seat at the table when the business was having strategic discussions. In Wave 4, HR continues to be a partner to the business, but has also become a competitive practice for responding to external business conditions. HR looks outside their organizations to customers, investors, and communities to define success—in the form of customer share, investor confidence, and community reputation. HR’s credibility is thus defined in terms of its ability to support and drive these external metrics. Although each “wave” of HR’s evolution is important and must be managed effectively, it is the “outside in” perspective that allows the human resource management function to shine via the external reputation and successes of the organization.

Catching the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Human resources outsourcing—entrepreneurial ventures.

Human resources is a key function within any company, but not all companies are able to afford or justify full-time HR staff. Over the last decade, HR outsourcing has become a good business decision for many small companies whose current staff doesn’t have the bandwidth or expertise to take on the risks of employee relations issues, benefits and payroll, or HR compliance responsibilities. This has led many HR practitioners to try out their entrepreneurial skills in the areas of HR outsourcing and “fractional HR.”

Human resources outsourcing is very commonly used by smaller companies (and often large companies too) to cover such tasks as benefits and payroll management. This is an area that has been outsourced to third parties for many years. More recent is the trend to have “fractional HR” resources to help with the daily/weekly/monthly HR compliance, employee relations, and talent management issues that companies need to address. Fractional HR is a growing industry, and it has become the service offering of many entrepreneurial HR ventures. Fractional HR is essentially as it sounds—it is the offering of HR services to a company on a part-time or intermittent basis when the company may not be able to justify the cost of a full-time HR resource. An HR professional can be available onsite for a specified number of hours or days weekly or monthly, depending on the company’s needs and budget. The HR professional handles everything from HR compliance issues and training to employee issues support. Also, for companies that are keen on development of employees, the HR resource can drive the talent management processes—such as performance management, succession planning, training, and development—for companies who require more than just basic HR compliance services.

How does a business leader decide whether HR outsourcing is needed? There are generally two factors that drive a leader to consider fractional HR or HR outsourcing—time and risk. If a leader is spending too much time on HR issues and employee relations, he may decide that it is a smart tradeoff to outsource these tasks to a professional. In addition, the risk inherent in some HR issues can be very great, so the threat of having a lawsuit or feeling that the company is exposed can lead the company to seek help from a fractional HR professional.

HR entrepreneurs have taken full advantage of this important trend, which many say will likely continue as small companies grow and large companies decide to off-load HR work to third parties. Some HR companies offer fractional HR as part of their stated HR services, in addition to payroll and benefits support, compensation, and other HR programmatic support. Having a fractional HR resource in place will often illuminate the need for other HR services and program builds, which are generally supported by those same companies. Whether you are an individual HR practitioner or have a small company of HR practitioners and consultants, fractional HR and HR outsourcing can be a very viable and financially rewarding business model. It can also be very personally rewarding, as the HR professional enables smaller companies to grow and thrive, knowing that its HR compliance and processes are covered.

• What do you believe is contributing to the growth of the fractional HR and HR outsourcing trend? Do you expect this trend to continue?
• At what point should a company consider bringing on a full-time HR resource instead of using a fractional HR resource? What questions should the company ask itself?

Human resource management provides value to an organization, to a large extent, via its management of the overall employee life cycle that employees follow—from hiring and onboarding, to performance management and talent development, all the way through to transitions such as job change and promotion, to retirement and exit. Human capital is a key competitive advantage to companies, and those who utilize their human resource partners effectively to drive their human capital strategy will reap the benefits.

Human resource management includes the leadership and facilitation of the following key life cycle process areas:

• Human resources compliance
• Employee selection, hiring, and onboarding
• Performance management
• Compensation rewards and benefits
• Talent development and succession planning

Human resources is responsible for driving the strategy and policies in these areas to be in accordance with and in support of the overall business strategy. Each of these areas provides a key benefit to the organization and impacts the organization’s value proposition to its employees.

Concept Check

• How has the function of human resource management evolved over the years?
• In what way do you usually interact with human resources?

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-management/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: David S. Bright, Anastasia H. Cortes
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Principles of Management
• Publication date: Mar 20, 2019
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-management/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-management/pages/11-1-an-introduction-to-human-resource-management

© Jan 9, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

• Undergraduate
• High School
• Architecture
• American History
• Asian History
• Antique Literature
• American Literature
• Asian Literature
• Classic English Literature
• World Literature
• Creative Writing
• Linguistics
• Criminal Justice
• Legal Issues
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Political Science
• World Affairs
• African-American Studies
• East European Studies
• Latin-American Studies
• Native-American Studies
• West European Studies
• Family and Consumer Science
• Social Issues
• Women and Gender Studies
• Social Work
• Natural Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Earth science
• Agriculture
• Agricultural Studies
• Computer Science
• IT Management
• Mathematics
• Investments
• Engineering and Technology
• Engineering
• Aeronautics
• Medicine and Health
• Alternative Medicine
• Communications and Media
• Advertising
• Communication Strategies
• Public Relations
• Educational Theories
• Teacher's Career
• Chicago/Turabian
• Company Analysis
• Education Theories
• Shakespeare
• Canadian Studies
• Food Safety
• Relation of Global Warming and Extreme Weather Condition
• Movie Review
• Admission Essay
• Annotated Bibliography
• Application Essay
• Article Critique
• Article Review
• Article Writing
• Book Review
• Business Plan
• Business Proposal
• Capstone Project
• Cover Letter
• Creative Essay

Dissertation

• Dissertation - Abstract
• Dissertation - Conclusion
• Dissertation - Discussion
• Dissertation - Hypothesis
• Dissertation - Introduction
• Dissertation - Literature
• Dissertation - Methodology
• Dissertation - Results
• GCSE Coursework
• Grant Proposal
• Marketing Plan
• Multiple Choice Quiz
• Personal Statement
• Power Point Presentation
• Power Point Presentation With Speaker Notes
• Questionnaire
• Reaction Paper
• Research Paper
• Research Proposal
• SWOT analysis
• Thesis Paper
• Online Quiz
• Literature Review
• Movie Analysis
• Statistics problem
• Math Problem
• All papers examples
• How It Works
• Money Back Policy
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• We Are Hiring

Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, Essay Example

Pages: 14

Words: 3957

Hire a Writer for Custom Essay

Use 10% Off Discount: "custom10" in 1 Click 👇

You are free to use it as an inspiration or a source for your own work.

Introduction

Human resources management (HRM) emerged together with the need to operate large numbers of workforce and fit the demands of the most valuable corporate assets, the employees, with the company objectives, and to ensure adequate conditions for workers of various kinds, types and categories. The HRM field reflects the major part of people management, i.e. coordination of all policies, processes and practices connected with managing people currently employed in a certain organization. The HRM has faced much criticism currently, and is even considered to be the barrier in building the flexible and supportive environment in an organization, acting as a restrictive tool for reducing payroll and contributing to the employee turnover (Mathis and Jackson 4).

Indeed, at times the activities of HRM executives seem to be more directed at activities than results; nonetheless, the importance of human resources and effective management thereof has long ago been recognized as a vital element of successful competition in the market. More than that, HRM is fairly considered to be one of the companies’ core competencies, under the condition of good coordination and organization (Mathis and Jackson 4). HRM also helps the company find the proper balance in the realm of legal requirements restraining  the work of organizations and protecting employees; it ensures compensation reconsiderations according to the employee performance, and serves as a driving force for employee motivation in performance increases.

The significance of HRM has been recognized as soon as the inner processes governing the activity of any organization have been detected. It is obvious that any organization has a set of assets it manages in the process of its activity: they include physical, financial, intangible, and human resources. Nonetheless, even being equal in row with other resources, the human resources really make the activity of any company work; they represent the ‘glue’ that combines and coordinates the resources, making them bring profit for the company. Logically, one should realize that there is no way to keep the company functioning without human resources, and even under the condition of poor functioning thereof (Mathis and Jackson 4). Proper HRM can help the company save considerable costs for recruiting and retraining, talent detection may help it educate its own leaders and managers etc. – there are numerous examples of the way HRM may benefit a company. They explain the current close attention to HRM and outline the main areas of research in the field of its improvement and successful implementation.

The modern focus on HRM and its implementation in business structures is explained by the wish to establish fast and responsive organizations that can quickly handle the changes in the external and internal environment. The HRM provides the company with the ability to recruit, train and retain employees, and to align their activities with corporate objectives. The traditional, isolated approach to HRM is no longer used, with the organization giving additional responsibilities and powers to HR managers in the overall struggle for better performance of the whole business unit.

Before defining the concept of ‘human resources management’, one has to track its evolution from the term ‘personnel management’ that emerged in the 20 th century to denote the response of employees to public policies and union activities and changed gradually under the pressure of the global change, socio-economic changes and tendencies etc. (Bratton and Gold 6). The full definition of the HRM concept looks as follows:

“That part of the management process that specializes in the management of people in work organizations. HRM emphasizes that employees are critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, that human resources practices need to be integrated with the corporate strategy, and that human resource specialists help organizational controllers to meet both efficiency and equity objectives” (Bratton and Gold 11).

However, even upon seeing the definition, one still may not have a clear idea of what management really stands for in the described situation, and what human resources mean in the given context. The human resources actually mean the human capital that represents one of the company’s assets (alongside with the physical, financial and intangible ones) (Mathis and Jackson 5). The human capital is viewed in the collection of all capabilities, knowledge, skills, life experience, motivation etc. that employees of a certain organization possess. Hence, management thereof refers to the proper distribution of positions, adequate rewards corresponding to the employee performance, training and staffing etc. Consequently, one may understand the definition as a way to manage the human capital in the most productive and efficient way so that the company could enhance its core competencies and ensure a firmer position in the marketplace.

Features and Characteristics of HRM

There is a set of features defining the nature of HRM and its place within the organizational framework. The first feature refers to knowledge management; it pertains to any aspect of creating, obtaining, sharing and utilizing knowledge of any kind (Armstrong 9). The key role of HRM concerning knowledge is to conduct activities to develop, generate, and preserve any knowledge specific for the needs of the company. It is also essential to note that knowledge in the focus of HRM derives from organizational learning processes (Armstrong 9).

The next feature is reward management; it results directly from the incentive of HRM professionals to increase motivation, job management, and commitment of employees towards their company. These practices can be achieved by introducing policies of showing that employees are valued and rewarded according to their performance (Armstrong 9). It is essential to implement various reward instruments and schemes so that they would suit the whole range of competencies and skills of the company’s staff. In addition, the successful HRM strategy should not focus on restrictive sanctions for employees who fall behind in their performance; instead, it should emphasize strengths and promote potentially creative and committed individuals.

Fostering constructive and supportive employee relations is another feature of HRM. Promoting the working climate with productive and harmonious relationships is made possible through positive partnership between management and workplace (Armstrong 9). Trade unions are also involved in the employee relations to ensure the comprehensive effect of HRM in building the coherent and mutually satisfied employee structure. The main challenge of this process is in the next feature of HRM: meeting diverse needs of all company stakeholders (Armstrong 10). Individual and group needs have to be taken into account to design equal opportunities for all employees disregarding the peculiarities of their working style, aspirations, and capabilities.

Finally, the HRM feature is bridging the gap between rhetoric and reality. The company’s mission and vision, HR strategy and corporate responsibility are laid down in all written codes and regulations of the company, annual reports and presentations for shareholders. However, as soon as the planned HR practices are implemented, a number of barriers (including limited support, inadequate infrastructure, lack of resources etc.) preclude those strategies from being successfully introduced. Hence, the ability of HRM nowadays is in identifying such gaps and allocating proper resources for making HR strategies a commonplace organizational reality (Armstrong 10).

Drawing certain conclusions from the discussed HRM features, one can come to understanding the key HRM characteristics shaping its modern image and structure. They are as follows:

diverse (it is essential to encourage diversity in HRM practices because of the integrated, comprehensive and over-grasping focus of HRM aimed at creating a harmonious, homogeneous, and at the same time individually tailored structure of employee relationships with management) (Armstrong 9):

• strategically focused, with emphasis on integration (there is no place for an isolated approach anymore; HRM is embedded in all aspects of corporate functioning, striving to the creation of a coherent, interlinked employee system) (Armstrong 9);
• oriented on commitment (only under the condition of employee trust and loyalty towards the company, HRM can achieve the stipulated corporate goals and make the human resources act as a unifying and enacting force for other company assets) (Armstrong 9);
• HRM is based on the belief that working individuals should be treated as assets, i.e. the human capital (in other way common HRM strategies and assessment tools would not work) (Armstrong 9);
• unitarist and individualistic approach towards employee relations (the workforce should act as a unified, congruent force, but at the same time individual needs, wants, aspirations and ambitions should be taken into account and encouraged to ensure corporate growth and accumulation of intelligence and knowledge) (Armstrong 9);
• management-driven (HRM is seen as a line management responsibility, changing the nature of HRM delivery) (Armstrong 10);
• focused on business values (human resources are nurtured, developed and managed, but always with the proper respect to the company objectives; the HRM should always be consistent with business objectives) (Armstrong 10).

There are a large number of specific and general goals pursued by modern HRM, but considerable research and review have allowed to focus on the twelve dominant policy goals proposed by Caldwell (2004) and cited in Armstrong:

• People constituting an organizational workforce should be treated as the asset crucial for the creation of the competitive advantage for the company in the marketplace. The essence of the goal is to gain the competitive level of performance for the company to become a strong contender with a firm position in the market; it is vital to realize that even under the condition of having plentiful resources of other kind, the company will never achieve success because of the inability to utilize the resources. Without the workforce, there will be no tools for operating and manipulating the company’s resources for the sake of economic profit. Hence, the human capital is the most essential asset possessed by the company, and it has to be treated accordingly (Armstrong 10).
• The HRM policies have to be aligned with the business policies and corporate strategy of every given company. This goal explains the very purpose of HRM existence – through the effective and thoughtful management of the company’s human capital, the HRM department assists the company in gaining the competitive advantage in the market and increasing the employee performance through commitment and encouragement of creativity (Armstrong 10).
• The HRM system is aimed at developing a close fit of HR policies, procedures and systems with one another. Only under the condition of the close connection and alignment of all HR elements within the organizational structure, the successful implementation of HRM principles becomes possible and potentially profitable for the company (Armstrong 10).
• The HRM is responsible for creating a flatter and more flexible organization. The ultimate goal of that effort is to make the company more responsive to the changes of the internal and external business environment. The modern business world is characterized by a high level of turbulence and uncertainty, crises in all spheres of human activity, hence only the affluent and flexible business entities can survive in the harsh atmosphere of making business. The HRM effort can make the company stronger from the inside and reinforce its outer strengths (Armstrong 10).
• The HRM should encourage teamwork and cooperation inside the organization. The specific advantage of such efforts can be seen in the strengthening of the employee interconnection, mutual support and emotional intelligence (Armstrong 10).
• The creation of a strong customer-first philosophy throughout the organization is another policy goal of HRM; the main focus of HRM is driven on the individually correct but still corporately shaped system of employee management, training and rewarding. The employees have to realize their value for the company to be able to provide their respect and commitment to the customer in turn (Armstrong 10).
• Employees have to be empowered for self-management, learning and development. HRM creates the basis for corporate leadership programs to educate the company’s leaders, professionals and inspirers instead of hiring them from outside (Armstrong 10).
• HRM should develop rewarding strategies directly tied to employee performance. Despite the commonly known criticism of the approach, financial incentives still remain a powerful driving force in the increase of performance and commitment (Armstrong 11).
• Internal communication improvement is the goal for HRM effort because of its importance for employee involvement in the company issues. The better the employees are informed about the internal matters of their company, the more trusting their relationships with the employer are, and the higher the commitment is (Armstrong 11).
• A more general HRM is in building the greater employee commitment; it can be achieved by additional means other than financial ones, including strengthening the corporate culture, involving employees in extra-work events and promoting various activities exploring the employees’ talents, ambitions and abilities (Armstrong 11).
• Increasing line management responsibility for the HR policies is another major goal of HRM; as it has been already mentioned, HRM is growing in its importance and grasps others areas of company functioning. Therefore, HRM is equal in responsibilities with line management, providing more ties and interconnections between the internal aspects of management (Armstrong 11).
• Finally, HRM should empower managers in the role of enablers. This refers both to the allocation of financial resources for solving some urgent business matters, and to the empowerment of capable employees offering their potential and creativity to the company (Armstrong 11).

Strategic HRM

Strategic HRM is substantially different from the RHM process itself because it focuses mainly on the activities affecting the behavior of individuals in an effort to formulate and introduce strategic needs of the business (Armstrong and Baron 41). Hence, one can understand that the strategic HRM reflects not the real-time, but the future intentions of the organization regarding the HRM organization, procedures and policies. It includes the long-term people issues, defining the HR strategies that have to be identified for the future effort of the HRM department. In addition, the strategic HRM peculiarity is that it concerns the macro-concerns at the organizational level, including the structure, values, culture, performance, rewards, motivation etc. The aim of strategic HRM deriving from its features consists in the creation of the strategic capability for the company to possess the highly committed, skilled and motivated employees to enhance the company’s competitive advantage in terms of human assets. In order to achieve that aim, the strategic HRM needs to fulfill the individual and collective needs of the employees to further on implement coherent and practical HR policies and programs (Armstrong and Baron 41-42).

Before proceeding to the practical discussion of existing HRM strategies, one has to identify the modern approaches to HRM strategy; they include the classical, processual and systemic ones, having many proponents and followers in the global theoretical HRM thought. The classical approach defends the ‘cold’ analysis of organizational environment and the company’s internal resources, with the further identification of strategic options and final implementation of the chosen strategy (Wilczek 2). It is vital to remember that there is a clear distinction between the authorities responsible for strategy generation and implementation thereof. According to the classical approach, strategies are created by top management and implemented by operational managers (Wilczek 2).

The processual approach promotes the strategic flexibility of the company; it argues that strategies are formulated and implemented in an integrated, non-disruptive manner at all levels of an organization. The approach is more viable for the company in a turbulent environment, with the clear need for expertise and creativity at all levels of the organizational structure (Wilczek 3). The third approach, however, includes the socio-cultural and economic context of the countries in which the strategy is formulated into the strategic HRM process. The proponents of the systemic approach argue that cultural and geographical differences seriously affect the process of strategy formation as well as its outcomes (Wilczek 3).

Consequently, proceeding to the models of strategic HRM, one has to identify its nature as a search of the ‘best fit’ within the organizational structure. The strategic fit is the central concept of strategic HRM, also called the matching model. The essence of the model is in making the HR strategy aligned with business strategies of the company (representing the vertical fit) (Armstrong and Baron 44). The vertical fit is the integral part contributing to the business planning process in an organization; it has to match the life cycle stages of the company and be individually tailored to the dynamics of its development (Armstrong and Baron 46).

The horizontal fit is nevertheless as important as the vertical one, as the HR strategies have to be aligned from the inside, i.e. there should be a high level of coherence between the different elements of people strategies (Armstrong and Baron 44). The logical interconnection among the mutually supportive practices of the HR strategy can ensure the success of the horizontal fit, making the HR strategy the ‘best fit’, the chief objective of the overall corporate strategy. The resource-based approach to HRM strategy also provides a sound foundation for the development and implementation of strategic HRM within the organization; it dictates the resource-based approach to all tangible and intangible assets possessed by the company, and utilization thereof with the purpose of being competitive in the market (Armstrong and Baron 53).

Functions Reflected in Business Practices

The success of any organization depends on the allocation of proper human resources in proper positions to ensure their full engagement, job satisfaction and adequate rewards for the performance; however, the current review of staffing practices has shown much incongruence with the ideal objectives stipulated in each HRM department. The wrongdoings include hoarding professionals at the expense of the organization, fostering promotions on biased principles without consideration of organization-wide options, limiting individual opportunities and depriving them from feedback, promoting decrease of confidence etc. (Fombrun, Tichy, and Devanna 58). All of them lead to employee turnover and loss of intelligence, knowledge and expertise.

Introducing the strategic HRM practices in staffing now plays the crucial role in the success of the organization in the accomplishment of its business objectives. The key processes are the specification of qualification, identification of people possessing those skills, and relocating the employees to the positions that fit them the most (Fombrun et al. 58). The staffing policies are affected by the dominant corporate culture and the stage of business development (the start-up business will conduct recruiting activities to form the staff, while the business at a stage of decline can relocate the existing staff or even involve professionals from external resources to revitalize the organization). Some constructive modern HRM practices regarding staffing within an organization include job posting, management development, and succession planning for the sake of HRM integration in all fields of organizational functioning (Fombrun et al. 65).

Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal is another central element of successful HRM because it provides the assessment and identification of critical job behaviors of the management, specifying the objectives of each manage, and agreeing on the steps and resources necessary for the achievement of those objectives (Fombrun et al. 87). There is a high risk of selective focusing in the performance appraisal, especially concerning the top management, because of lack of subjectivity and absence of anonymity. Hence, the innovative HRM practices in appraisal have to be introduced to ensure the successful accomplishment of business goals and strategies.

There are several categories of measures that can be used for performance appraisal; outcome measures are a strong indicator, but they fail to support the appraisal system in full because of the focus on results depriving managers of the opportunity to assess the process of achieving results. This approach may cause the deterioration of the system instead of its improvement, so the behavioral measures should complement the outcome ones (Fombrun et al. 91). Behavioral measures help identify the critical behavior that may aid employees in completing the objectives stipulated for their position, and the critical incident technique may be implemented for the assessment of the employee correspondence to their positions. Behavior measures are also highly helpful in selecting employees and establishing monetary rewards (Fombrun et al. 94).

The job behavioral analysis is utilized to identify the activities top managers have to conduct to implement the strategic plan. Here two types of training programs have proven to assist in objective achievement: accurate recording of what is seen, and giving feedback as well as setting the performance goals. These programs ensure objectivity and enhance the development of self-management capabilities to promote business strategies on the organization-wide level (Fombrun et al. 100).

Compensation and Benefit

The reward system in any organization may play both functional and dysfunctional roles because of the motivation or discouragement that it may bring to the employees. However, it is essential to note that the compensation system, in case it is properly designed, may become the key contributor to the effectiveness of the HR strategy and employee commitment increase. The strategic role of the reward system lies within the behavioral effect it may produce on employees, hence it has to be thoroughly considered in order to estimate the drives and incentives to be used in the effective HRM system design (Fombrun et al. 127).

The first outcome a successful reward system may offer to the company is the attraction and retention of employees. It is widely known that the companies offering the highest monetary rewards still attract the largest numbers of employees and retain them stronger and longer than other companies do. Hence, the monetary motivation turns out to be fairly strong nowadays (Fombrun et al. 128). In addition, the motivation outcome is also the direct consequence of the properly designed reward system – employees who earn more are more committed to their company, they possess a higher level of loyalty and resourcefulness towards their employer.

The organizational culture is also affected by the reward system; the way rewards are developed, administered and managed affect the culture and shape its type, e.g. participant, entrepreneurial or other ones (Fombrun et al. 128). Reinforcement and definition of the company structure are also affected by the reward system – as usual, the hierarchical structure of corresponding rewarding systems for different levels of management (Fombrun et al. 128). Finally, the compensation to employees affects the cost structure of the company. The salaries to employees traditionally constitute a large share of the company’s operating costs; hence, the thoughtful design of rewards and appraisals may save the company a considerable sum of money and help it allocate resources more productively.

HRM now plays an increasingly important role in building the business strategy and achieving the competitive advantage in the marketplace. With the emergence of the innovative approach to human resources as the strongest company asset, a variety of HRM approaches has been developed to assist the company in aligning people management with the business objectives and strategies. Therefore, it is totally possible to state that the modern organizational structure welcomes an integrated HRM system having equal opportunities and responsibilities with line management and operating in a wide range of areas to sustain the company’s consistence with its strategies.

The basis of the HRM processes is successful staffing, planning, management, identification of reward systems, identification of the company’s internal resources etc. All these activities are called to enhance the company’s competitive position and to reinforce its human capital potential. Strategic HRM is focused on the future perspectives pursued by the company, so it is directed at the macro-environment of the organization. The key processes and functions of strategic HRM constitute effective staffing (that is, proper allocation of employees according to their potential and skills), performance appraisal (both according to the behavioral patterns and outcome measures), and design of effective reward systems that would assist the company in accomplishing its business strategy.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Michael. A handbook of human resource management practice . 10 th ed. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2006. Print.

Armstrong, Michael, and Angela Baron. Strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance . London: CIPD Publishing, 2002. Print.

Bratton, John, and Jeffrey Gold. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice . 2 nd ed. New Jersey: Routledge, 2001. Print.

Fombrun, J. Charles, Tichy, M. Noel, and Mary Anne Devanna. Strategic human resource management. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons, 1984. Print.

Mathis, L. Robert, and John H. Jackson. Human resource management . 12 th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008.  Print.

Wilczek, Tim. The “Classical Model” for Practising Human Resource Management: …or is There a Need for an Integrated Approach Including Specialised Human Resource Strategies? Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag, 2008. Print.

Stuck with your Essay?

Get in touch with one of our experts for instant help!

Take All My Crap, Essay Example

Parental Involvement Scheme, Dissertation Example

Time is precious

don’t waste it!

Plagiarism-free guarantee

Privacy guarantee

Secure checkout

Money back guarantee

Related Essay Samples & Examples

Voting as a civic responsibility, essay example.

Pages: 1

Words: 287

Utilitarianism and Its Applications, Essay Example

Words: 356

The Age-Related Changes of the Older Person, Essay Example

Pages: 2

Words: 448

The Problems ESOL Teachers Face, Essay Example

Pages: 8

Words: 2293

Should English Be the Primary Language? Essay Example

Pages: 4

Words: 999

The Term “Social Construction of Reality”, Essay Example

Words: 371

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Human Resources — The Intricacies of on Human Resource Management

The Intricacies of on Human Resource Management

• Categories: Employee Engagement Human Resources

About this sample

Words: 529 |

Updated: 29 March, 2024

Words: 529 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Heisenberg

Verified writer

• Expert in: Business

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 487 words

3 pages / 1693 words

3 pages / 1326 words

1 pages / 369 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Human Resources

Compensation is a critical component of an organization's overall strategy for attracting, retaining, and motivating employees. Two primary forms of compensation are intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic compensation refers to the [...]

Human Resource (HR) is a critical aspect of organizational management, playing a pivotal role in shaping the culture, performance, and success of businesses. This essay aims to explore the definition, functions, and importance [...]

Employee self-ealuation is a process where employees assess their own performance and prode feedback to their supersors. The purpose of self-ealuation is to promote self-reflection, self-awareness, and professional growth. It is [...]

Human resources are a crucial component of the tourism industry. Without well-trained and motivated employees, businesses in the travel and hospitality sectors would fail to attract and retain customers, resulting in lost [...]

What is being called human resource management (HRM) today has had a long and checkered history. A number of key changes in the social and economic environment have affected the evolution of HRM, some of which we will highlight [...]

Development of human resources is very essential for any organisation that would like to be a dynamic and growth-oriented. Unlike other resources, human resources have unlimited potential capabilities. The potential can be used [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Human Resource Management (HRM) – Definition, Objectives, Roles & Responsibilities, Examples, and FAQs

Table of Contents

Definition of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) is all about handling the people who work for an organization. It involves recruiting new employees, training them, and making sure they’re happy and productive.

Essentially, HRM focuses on managing employees as valuable assets to get the best performance and return on investment (ROI) for the company. It is crucial for maintaining a productive and positive workplace, making sure employees are well-managed, trained, and satisfied with their jobs.

HRM includes creating and enforcing rules and policies that guide how employees interact with the organization and each other. It’s about making sure the workplace runs smoothly and efficiently. This means HR professionals handle tasks like hiring, setting up fair pay and benefits, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and resolving workplace conflicts.

The goal of HRM is to support the organization’s mission and create a positive work environment. This includes finding and keeping talented employees, helping them grow in their careers, and keeping the company competitive by offering good compensation and addressing any issues that might affect employees’ performance.

Objectives of HRM

Here is a short overview of the seven objectives of Human Resource Management :

• Strategic Planning : Align HR activities with the overall goals of the organization to support its strategic objectives and enhance business performance.
• Recruitment and Staffing : Attract, select, and hire the right talent to fill job vacancies and meet the organization’s needs efficiently.
• Training and Development : Provide employees with the skills and knowledge they need to perform their jobs effectively and prepare them for future roles within the organization.
• Compensation and Benefits : Develop and manage fair compensation structures and benefits packages to attract and retain talented employees.
• Policy Creation : Establish and enforce workplace policies and procedures to ensure consistent and fair treatment of employees and compliance with laws.
• Employee and Labor Relations : Manage relationships between employees and the organization, handle grievances, and foster a positive work environment.
• Risk Management : Identify and mitigate risks related to employee management, such as compliance issues, safety concerns, and potential legal liabilities.

Characteristics of Human Resource Management

Here are five key features of Human Resource Management (HRM):

Employee-Centric

HRM focuses on employees as valuable assets, aiming to enhance their performance, satisfaction, and overall well-being to align with organizational goals.

Strategic Integration

HRM integrates its practices with the organization’s strategic objectives, ensuring that HR activities support long-term business plans and enhance overall performance.

Dynamic and Evolving

HRM practices adapt to changing business environments, technological advancements, and evolving employee needs to stay relevant and effective.

Comprehensive Scope

HRM covers a broad range of activities, including recruitment, training, compensation, performance management, and employee relations, ensuring a holistic approach to managing human capital.

Regulatory Compliance

HRM ensures that all employment practices adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, such as labor laws and health and safety regulations, to protect the organization and its employees.

Read More: Holistic Marketing Approach

Key Components of Human Resource Management

Here are the key components of HRM:

• Recruitment and Staffing : Finding and hiring the right people for the job. This involves creating job descriptions, interviewing candidates, and selecting the best fit for the role.
• Training and Development : Helping employees learn new skills and grow in their careers. This includes onboarding new hires and offering ongoing training to keep skills up-to-date.
• Performance Management : Evaluating how well employees are doing their jobs. This involves setting performance goals, providing feedback, and making decisions about promotions or raises.
• Compensation and Benefits : Deciding how much to pay employees and what extra perks to offer. This covers salaries, bonuses, health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefits.
• Employee Relations : Managing the relationship between employees and the company. This includes resolving conflicts, addressing grievances, and creating a positive work environment.
• Compliance : Ensuring that all HR practices follow laws and regulations. This involves staying updated on labor laws and making sure the company meets all legal requirements.
• Health and Safety : Keeping the workplace safe and healthy for everyone. This includes creating policies to prevent accidents and ensuring the company meets health and safety standards.

Roles and Responsibilities of HR

Here are six key roles and responsibilities of Human Resources (HR):

Recruitment and Hiring

• Role : HR is responsible for attracting and selecting the best talent for the organization. This involves creating job descriptions, posting job ads, screening resumes, conducting interviews, and extending job offers.
• Responsibility : To ensure the company hires individuals who have the right skills and fit the company culture, HR must manage the recruitment process efficiently and fairly.

Onboarding and Training

• Role : Once new employees are hired, HR handles their introduction to the company through onboarding programs. This includes orientation sessions, training on company policies, and role-specific training.
• Responsibility : To help new hires integrate smoothly and quickly become productive members of the team, HR must provide comprehensive training and support during the initial period.

Read More: Staffing in Business

Performance Management

• Role : HR oversees the performance evaluation process, which includes setting performance standards, conducting reviews, and providing feedback to employees.
• Responsibility : To help employees meet their goals and improve their performance, HR must ensure that the evaluation process is fair, constructive, and aligned with the company’s objectives.

Compensation and Benefits

• Role : HR manages employee compensation, including salaries, bonuses, and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks.
• Responsibility : To attract and retain top talent, HR must design competitive compensation packages that align with industry standards and company budget.

Employee Relations

• Role : HR handles issues related to employee grievances, conflicts, and disputes. They work to maintain a positive work environment and resolve any issues that arise between employees or between employees and management.
• Responsibility : To ensure a harmonious workplace, HR must address concerns promptly and fairly, promoting open communication and fostering a supportive work culture.

Compliance and Legal

• Role : HR ensures that the organization adheres to labor laws and regulations. This includes managing issues related to workplace safety, discrimination, wage and hour laws, and other legal requirements.
• Responsibility : To protect the company from legal risks and ensure fair treatment of employees, HR must stay informed about current laws and ensure all HR practices comply with legal standards.

Read More: Organizational Behavior

Importance of Human Resource Management

HRM is vital for several reasons here are four to mention:

Talent Acquisition and Retention

HRM plays a crucial role in attracting and hiring skilled employees who are essential for organizational success. Effective recruitment and retention strategies ensure that the company secures top talent and keeps them engaged, which is key to maintaining a productive workforce.

Employee Development

HRM supports employee growth through training and professional development programs. By investing in employees’ skills and career advancement, HR helps improve job performance, fosters career progression and boosts employee satisfaction.

Organizational Efficiency

HRM streamlines various administrative functions such as payroll, benefits administration, and performance management. This efficiency reduces operational costs and ensures that HR processes align with the organization’s goals and strategies.

Compliance and Risk Management

HRM ensures that the organization adheres to labor laws and regulations, helping to mitigate legal risks. By managing compliance issues related to employment practices, safety standards, and anti-discrimination laws, HR protects the company from legal disputes and penalties.

Read More: Teams Vs. Groups

Examples of Best HRM Practices

Here are two examples of best HRM practices:

Comprehensive Employee Onboarding Programs

A well-structured onboarding program is crucial for integrating new hires into the organization effectively. For instance, Google’s onboarding process includes detailed orientation sessions, mentoring, and a robust introduction to company culture and values. This practice ensures that new employees understand their roles, feel welcomed, and quickly become productive members of the team. Comprehensive onboarding helps reduce turnover and enhances job satisfaction by setting clear expectations and providing necessary resources and support from the start.

Ongoing Employee Training and Development

Continuous learning opportunities are a hallmark of effective HRM. Companies like IBM invest in regular training programs that focus on both technical skills and leadership development. This practice not only keeps employees up-to-date with industry trends but also helps in career advancement. Offering various training options, such as workshops, online courses, and cross-functional projects, supports employee growth and increases engagement. Regular development opportunities demonstrate a company’s commitment to its employees, which can lead to higher retention rates and a more skilled and adaptable workforce.

Read Next: 6 Marketing Management Philosophies

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is human resource management (hrm).

HRM involves recruiting, hiring, and managing employees to align their efforts with the organization’s goals. It encompasses creating policies, overseeing employee relations, and ensuring compliance with labor laws.

What are the main functions of HRM?

The main functions of HRM include recruitment and staffing, employee training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and ensuring legal compliance.

Why is HRM important for a business?

HRM is crucial as it helps attract and retain talent, fosters a positive work environment, ensures compliance with laws, and aligns employee performance with the organization’s objectives.

What skills are essential for an HR manager?

Essential skills for HR managers include strong communication, recruitment, and talent acquisition, conflict resolution, compliance knowledge, performance management, and strategic thinking.

How does HRM contribute to employee satisfaction?

HRM contributes to employee satisfaction by creating fair compensation packages, offering career development opportunities, addressing grievances, and ensuring a supportive work environment.

What is the role of HRM in organizational change?

HRM plays a key role in managing organizational change by communicating new policies, supporting employees through transitions, and ensuring that changes align with company goals and employee needs.

Sujan Chaudhary is a BBA  graduate. He loves to share his business knowledge with the rest of the world. While not writing, he will be found reading and exploring the world.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

mbanote.org is a one-stop MBA knowledge base. We strive to provide insightful knowledge that will help you enhance your business knowledge.

Quick Links

• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy

Support Links

• Organizational Behavior
• Entrepreneurship
• Human Resource

ESSAY SAUCE

FOR STUDENTS : ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD ESSAY

Essay: The role of Human Resource Management

Essay details and download:.

• Subject area(s): Management essays
• Reading time: 6 minutes
• Price: Free download
• Published: 22 February 2022*
• Last Modified: 2 August 2024
• File format: Text
• Words: 1,628 (approx)
• Number of pages: 7 (approx)
• Tags: Human resource management essays

Text preview of this essay:

This page of the essay has 1,628 words. Download the full version above.

In this presentation I will be discussing why the Human Resource Function is important to everyone and why every manager has a specific role to play within the organization. Along with this, I will also go into detail regarding the impact of the Human Resource Function in terms of running an effective organization.

Main activities

To begin, we will discuss the main activities which form the Human Resource Management Department. These are Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Benefits and Employee Relations.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting a potential candidate for job vacancies in an organisation. There are various steps needed in order to complete the recruitment process, these are.

• Identifying the job vacancy
• Analysing the job requirements
• Reviewing the applications
• Shortlisting candidates
• Selecting the right candidate for the vacancy in question

The second part is Selection, this is basically identifying a small group of candidates who would be suitable for the vacancy and seeing them through the interview process to find the suitable candidate/candidates.

• Training and Development

We then have Training and Development; this allows employees the ability to enhance their skills and training to perform their jobs effectively. This is especially important as HR does not just provide training programmes for long-term employees who are already highly experienced in their positions but also for new, unskilled workers who are perhaps not as confident in their jobs. These training programmes are helpful as they make sure employees within the business are capable of performing their jobs at a high standard.

Benefits is another main area of HR. These are a form of compensation to employees out with their normal wage. Benefits can include any legally required benefits as well as any benefits offered by their employer. Benefits are normally related to the maintenance department within an organisation as they provide many basic employee needs.

Employee relations

Employee Relations are the interactions between trade unions and employees represented by the trade unions. Trade unions are organisations of employees who create a group to represent the voice of employees in decisions such as equal pay and working conditions Trade unions also step in to help with any disputes or problems employees may face with their employers.

As we can see, these areas are all incredibly important in forming an effective Human Resource Management team.

Input from managers

Often, Human Resources will have the input of managers from other areas such as.

• Training Managers
• Shop Managers
• Production Managers

It is particularly important to appreciate that there has always been a mutual dependence between the Human Resource Function and Management. This can be seen in various scenarios, for example the manager of the training department may specify the training required for employees and the Human Resources would work to provide this training.

Another situation which may arise between operational management and Human Resources. Operational Managers have firsthand knowledge if the organisation and due to this, they can help shape what is required. This then allows the HR team to create suitable policies as well as the procedures needed to carry out those policies.

Making sure the organisation is functioning successfully and effectively is an important factor for both HR and Operational Managers. Managers are given the responsibility to make sure that tasks area carried out as agreed, to help with this HR may be able to provide templates to keep record of everything that goes on within the business.

Impact of technology on HRM

Current technology has no doubt had a profound impact upon the effectiveness of the Human Resource Function.

This can be seen particularly in three main areas.

• Social Media
• Introducing and Maintaining Flexible Working
• Learning and Development

Social media has helped to develop the HR function in many ways it allows the organization the ability to create a relationship with the majority of employees, despite their location. It is also great for allowing informal communication to take place rather than formal meetings and emails, this is especially useful because important emails can regularly become lost within the large quantity of emails that employees may receive daily from different departments from all over the organisation.

Introducing and maintaining flexible working is another area we will discuss. This is one of the most important areas that HR could introduce. This is because it is a highly attractive factor in hiring new employees. This is because it enables an easier work-life balance which will then increase employee productivity as it reduces the stress employees are put under. There area many studies completed which show that employees who work the usual 9-5 jobs, without the flexibility, are under often under immense amounts of stress due to their working conditions.

Finally, learning and development. This is potentially one of the most important factors within developing the HR function. Its is highly beneficial to the organisation because it makes employees begin to feel more valued when they are provided with training programmes and workshops to help develop their skills. This is due to the supportive atmosphere which is created through these programmes/workshops. It allows employees to fell secure in their job and their capability.

Role of HRM in supporting organisational success

Human Resources is an especially important department in supporting organisational success. There are various areas of Human Resources which directly support the success of the organization, some of these may be;

• Budget Control

Budget control is used to develop techniques to cut down the costs associated with running the business, in doing so, unnecessary spending is limited and this assists in saving the organisation money in the long term. Budget control can also be used to establish the employees’ wages. This is done through the HR department analysing employment trends and salaries based on specific jobs within the organisation. By doing this, it ensures that the companies wages are realistic and competitive.

Another area is monitoring, this allows the HR function to monitor staff in a variety of areas. Attendance and timekeeping are potentially two of the most important areas which require monitoring. This ensures that employees who area not the best at these specific areas can be offered help or dismissed if they do not improve in time. It also allows employees who have a good track record can be rewarded for supporting the company’s goals.

Contribution of HRM to team performance and success

Human Resource Management activities contribute greatly to team performance and success. There are various activities which support the success of teamwork, they can be seen in the majority of organisations.

In any organisation, a teamwork environment is practically essential to a successful organisation. Without that important teamwork environment, many issues can arise which halt the achievement if the organisations goals and objectives.

Diversity is a particularly important issue within Human Resources . It is vital that both the employees and management staff realise that everyone in a particular department or on a specific team may not come from the same background as the rest and to make sure that everyone within the organisation is working together regardless of their race or background.

Then we have training and development, this area can conduct assessments for employees to determine the type of skills and training required for them to work efficiently and productively. This is essential to guarantee that all employees within an organisation are properly qualified and that they have all the skills needed to successfully perform their jobs.

How HRM affects employee behaviour

Human Resource activities undoubtedly have an effect throughout the entire organization. Although this can be seen even more so within employee behaviour.

Two areas in which I feel impact employee behaviour significantly are;

• Reward Schemes
• Mental Health

There are various areas of employee behaviour which are directly impacted through the activities of HR, these are Employee Satisfaction and Performance Improvement. Today, I will discuss two main activities of HR, these area Mental Health and Reward Schemes.

It is important for companies to take the mental health of their employees seriously. Employers are bound by law as they have a ‘Duty of Care’. This means that they need to do all that they can to support their employees’ health and wellbeing. Companies should create a supportive environment for their employees so as staff feel comfortable enough to openly talk and ask for help if necessary. This can be created by encouraging positive mental health or even by the organisation putting together workshops / mental health talks. Perhaps most importantly, managers should be approachable so as staff feel as though they can go to their managers with any problems they may have. Managers should also monitor employees’ workloads and work to tailor it to suit realistic targets. HR can play an especially important role in monitoring employee’s workloads by providing record keeping techniques. HR can also work to make managers approachable by ensuring that they have the training needed to recognize the key signs of mental illness and be able to help and intervene.

Reward Schemes are the implementation of policies to support rewarding employees for high standards of work. This helps employees feel more valued, this has been shown in numerous studies that employees who feel greatly valued and supported in their work space are more productive and, as expected, this assists the success of the organisation by completing its goals and objectives. Reward Schemes come in a variety if different ways, such as perks and bonuses. Perks are extra treats to make work seem more bearable to staff. Bonuses are usually money or holiday rewards, given when employees reach a specific target of sales or such like. Reward Schemes are beneficial as they contribute to the culture of the company, this heightens the company’s goals and values.

2020-11-12-1605200906

...(download the rest of the essay above)

Discover more:

• Human resource management essays

Recommended for you

• Relationship between training exposures, management support and facilities to job performance
• Challenges for responsible communication and threats to the communication process
• Resource and talent management strategies

About this essay:

If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows:

Essay Sauce, The role of Human Resource Management . Available from:<https://www.essaysauce.com/management-essays/the-role-of-human-resource-management/> [Accessed 17-08-24].

These Management essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies.

* This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date.

Essay Categories:

• Accounting essays
• Architecture essays
• Business essays
• Computer science essays
• Criminology essays
• Economics essays
• Education essays
• Engineering essays
• English language essays
• Environmental studies essays
• Essay examples
• Finance essays
• Geography essays
• Health essays
• History essays
• Hospitality and tourism essays
• Human rights essays
• Information technology essays
• International relations
• Leadership essays
• Linguistics essays
• Literature essays
• Management essays
• Marketing essays
• Mathematics essays
• Media essays
• Medicine essays
• Military essays
• Miscellaneous essays
• Music Essays
• Nursing essays
• Philosophy essays
• Photography and arts essays
• Politics essays
• Project management essays
• Psychology essays
• Religious studies and theology essays
• Sample essays
• Science essays
• Social work essays
• Sociology essays
• Sports essays
• Types of essay
• Zoology essays

Home / Essay Samples / Business / Human Resource Management / The Role of Human Resource Management in Organization

The Role of Human Resource Management in Organization

• Category: Business
• Topic: Employee Engagement , Human Resource Management , Organizational Culture

Pages: 2 (816 words)

• Downloads: -->

Staffing in HRM 

Training and development, employee orientation , motivation in hrm, health and safety, communication.

--> ⚠️ Remember: This essay was written and uploaded by an--> click here.

Found a great essay sample but want a unique one?

are ready to help you with your essay

You won’t be charged yet!

Warren Buffett Essays

Facebook Essays

Uber Essays

Nike Essays

Steve Jobs Essays

Related Essays

We are glad that you like it, but you cannot copy from our website. Just insert your email and this sample will be sent to you.

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service  and  Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Your essay sample has been sent.

In fact, there is a way to get an original essay! Turn to our writers and order a plagiarism-free paper.

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->