7.1 Introduction
Human resource management deals with issues related to the management of people in an organization.
7.2 Meaning of Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the strategic and operational management of activities to enhance the performance of human beings in an organization.
A human resource manager deals with motivating people, in which costs, numbers, control and systems interact and play a part, while in manpower planning, the manager deals with the numerical elements of forecasting, supply-demand matching and control in which people are a part.
The need for human resources management has been generating a lot of interest and will continue to do so in the 21st century, because of the dynamic nature of organizations.
Personnel departments are now often referred to as human resource departments.
Not only has the name changed, but the responsibilities of these departments have also shifted.
Organizations are social systems, composed of roles, interactions and relationships among people occupying various positions in its structure.
The human beings in the organization constitute the most important resource in any organization.
Whereas competitors can easily adapt the technological, product and other strategic maneuvers of an organization, employee motivation capabilities and climate of human endeavor are the things one organization cannot copy from another.
Human assets of an organization, unlike physical assets, continuously appreciate in value, as knowledge, abilities and skills all grow with training and experience.
It is important for management at all levels to understand the human assets in the organization, and be able to respond to their needs.
In many organizations, the work of dealing with employees in handled by the personnel department and the skill is called personnel management.
The management of people at work is one of the primary keys to organizational success.
A good management of employees (Human resources can enhance productivity, quality and service).
7.3 The Role of Human Resource Management
Human Resource (Personnel) Management is the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are accomplished.
Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordination are management functions, while procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and separation are personnel operative functions.
Management Functions
1. Planning - Effective managers must spent some time in planning, that is, determining in advance of a personnel programme that will contribute to goals established for the enterprise.
2. Organizing – An organization is a means to an end. The manager must form an organization by designing the structure of relationships among jobs, personnel and physical factors.
3. Staffing – Obtaining qualified staff for the organization, through the process of recruitment, selection and placement.
4. Directing – Once there is a plan and organization to execute that plan, the next step is to direct i.e. getting people to go to work willingly and effectively.
5. Coordinating – Putting together all the activities and tasks in a coordinated manner,.
6. Controlling - Concerned with regulating activities in accordance with the personnel plan, which in turn was formulated on the basis of an analysis of fundamental organization goals.
Personnel Operation Functions
1. Procurement - Obtaining the proper kind and number of personnel necessary to accomplish organizational goals.
This deals with the determination of human requirements and their recruitment, selection and placement.
2. Development – Deals with the increase of skill, through training that is necessary for proper job performance.
This must continue to grow because of changes in technology, the realignment of jobs and the increasing complexity of the managerial.
3. Compensation – The adequate and equitable remuneration of personnel for their contributions to organization objectives.
4. Integration – This is one of the most difficult and frustrating challenges of management.
It is concerned with the attempt to effect a reasonable reconciliation of individual, societal and organizational interests.
5. Maintenance - Once you have a willing and able workforce, the next stage is maintenance which deals with maintenance of physical conditions of the employees – health, safety etc.
6. Separation - Ensures that the citizen is returning to the society in as good form as possible.
The organization must have good retirement benefits, pension schemes etc.
7.5 Human Resource Management Activities
- Human resource planning and analysis
This comprises of communication, information and assessment systems that are vital to the coordination of HR activities.
The manager attempts to anticipate the forces that will influence the future supply and demand for employees.
Planning deals with a careful assessment of the organizational staffing needs in order for the organization to attain its objectives.
It involves forecasting the future needs of the firm.
- Equal employment opportunity compliance
Human resource management seeks to ensure that jobs seekers are given equal employment opportunities and that there is no discrimination.
People should be given an equal opportunity and be employed on merit.
In some countries, for example in the United States, clear legislation exists to guard against discrimination on the basis of sex, religion and disabilities.
- Recruitment and selection
Recruitment is the process of appealing to potential employees willing to apply for a job in an organization.
Generally, organizations can source for potential employees from internal or external sources.
Internal sources include transfers, job rotation, promotions, or recall from retirement.
The main advantages of this include improved morale, reduced cost of induction and better evaluation of the workers by the employer.
However, internal sources may lead to in breading (discourages new blood from coming in) and the sources may dry up (get exhausted).
External sources include new entrants into the labor market. Unemployed but trained, jobless persons and retired experienced persons.
These may be sourced from:
· Public employment agencies
· Colleges and professional associations
· Friends and relatives
· Private employment agencies
· Advertisements.
Advantages of external sources are that it prevents in breeding, and offers an opportunity to choose from a wider market, disadvantages include cost of training and induction, and time for training.
Selection
Selection is the second step in personnel procurement, and is the process of choosing the individuals who possess the necessary skills, abilities and personality to successfully fill specific jobs in an organization.
It involves screening the applicants in order to select the most promising applicants and rejecting the others.
Short – listed applicants are then subjected to interviews, either oral, written or both so that the most successful applicant is selected for hiring.
Placement
After the selection process, the successful applicant is given an offer to take up the job.
The offer should clearly state the terms of employment, and should form a contract agreement between the employer and the applicants.
Thus, it must be signed by both the employer and the applicant as a way of acceptance of the contract.
Induction
The process of induction deals with introducing or giving orientations to the new employee in the organization.
It involves giving the employee general history of the firm, its culture and operations, and employee benefits such as leave, medical, insurance, pensions, and so on.
It should also deal with hours of work, treatment of overtime and lunch breaks.
- Staffing
This ensures that there is adequate supply of appropriately qualified individuals to fill vacancies in an organization.
It requires a clearly defined job analysis, description and specifications.
Job analysis is the systematic gathering and analyzing of information about the content of jobs, human requirements and the context in which jobs are performed.
Jobs description indicates the tasks, duties and responsibilities of a job. It identifies what is to be done, why it is to done, where it will be done, when it will done, and by whom.
Job specification lists the knowledge, skills and abilities an individual needs to perform the job satisfactorily.
Once the job analysis, description and specification have been done, it becomes easy to carry out the recruitment and selection process.
- Training and Development (T & D)
Training is a specific aspect of human resource development which aims at improving performance.
It is achieved by helping employees to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes useful in performing their current duties as well as preparing them for more challenging or higher responsibilities.
The basic concepts of training and development efforts include:
i. The objective of training and development must tie directly into the organizations objective, such as profits, customer service, expansion and so on.
ii. Training and Development must take into account the individuals interests, abilities and ambitions for the future and career plans in general.
iii. Most of what employee learns in the work situation should be learned in the job environment of superior – subordinate relationship.
iv. The body of principles of learning and teaching has been validated as effective in the training and development process.
v. Criteria for measuring the process of Training and Development efforts must relate directly to the achievement of organizations objectives as were predetermined.
Benefits of training are many, and include:-
§ Reduction of learning time and cost, people learn the job quickly and perform better, with minimum wastage on time and materials.
§ Less supervision - through reduction of problems such as absenteeism, lateness and accidents.
§ Improved job performance – increased output, improved quality, work right type of employees.
§ Better recruitment and selection – training opportunities help attract right type of employees.
§ Reduced labor turn over – by developing employee’s potential and increasing their job satisfaction.
§ Reduced costs: resulting from the above benefits.
Activity 7.1
1. Explain why it is necessary for firms to have a clear training and development program for their staff.
2. In view of the benefits of training, identified, is it justified to spend money on training? Explain
- Human Resource Development
This involves training and development of the employees in order to prepare employees for technological changes and prepare organizations for future challenges.
Career planning identifies paths and activities for individual employees as they develop within an organization.
Training is a learning process whereby people acquire skills or knowledge to aid in the achievement of goals.
Development is a broader term, and focuses on individuals gaining new knowledge and skills for both the present and the future.
- Compensation and benefits
This deals with rewarding or remunerating the staff for their work.
Organizations should have clear guidelines in terms of their wages and salary structures.
There should be clear policies to govern the pay system.
The purpose of wage and salary administration is to provide pay that is both competitive and equitable.
Other benefits such as housing, healthcare, allowances and bonus schemes should also be clearly specified.
NB. A human resource department deals with all aspects of staff in an organization.
It is responsible for the sourcing of sufficiently qualified staff to work in the organization, their compensation and welfare issues, as well as their retirement.
It is the department that handles all the disciplinary issues in the organization, as well as the grievances that staff may have.
It is therefore important that the department is handled by people with the necessary relevant qualifications
7.6 Staff Welfare
Generally, staff welfare has to do with their well being in an organization.
These include health, safety, sports, social welfare activities like funeral arrangement, tea breaks, and transport arrangement.
Activity 7.2
Prepare a schedule of activities that you would be involved in on a typical day. As a human resource manager of Bidii Enterprises, a medium manufacturing firm
Activity 7.3
- Imagine that you are the human resource manager of a large manufacturing company that has employed nearly 200 employees. Can you identify some of the things you could do to raise staff morale?
- Discuss the various personnel operations functions
- Explain the need for training of personnel
