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Human resources
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Human resources is the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector or an economy. "Human capital" is sometimes used synonymously with human resources, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used include "manpower", "talent", "labor", or simply "people". The professional discipline and business function that oversees an organization's human resources is called human resource management (HRM, or simply HR).
Contents
1 Overview 1.1 The term in practice 1.2 Concerns about the terminology 2 See also 3 References
Overview
The term in practice
From the corporate vision, employees are viewed as assets to the enterprise, whose value is enhanced by development. [1] Hence, companies will engage in a barrage of human resource management practices to capitalize on those assets. In governing human resources, three major trends are typically considered: 1. Demographics: the characteristics of a population/workforce, for example, age, gender or social class. This type of trend may have an effect in relation to pension offerings, insurance packages etc. 2. Diversity: the variation within the population/workplace. Changes in society now mean that a larger proportion of organizations are made up of "baby-boomers" or older employees in comparison to thirty years ago. Advocates of "workplace diversity" advocate an employee base that is a mirror reflection of the make-up of society insofar as race, gender, sexual orientation etc. 3. Skills and qualifications: as industries move from manual to more managerial professions so does the need for more highly skilled graduates. If the market is "tight" (i.e. not enough staff for the jobs), employers must compete for employees by offering financial rewards, community investment, etc. In regard to how individuals respond to the changes in a labor market, the following must be understood: Geographical spread: how far is the job from the individual? The distance to travel to work should be in line with the pay offered, and the transportation and infrastructure of the area also influence who applies for a post. Occupational structure: the norms and values of the different careers within an organization. Mahoney 1989 developed 3 different types of occupational structure, namely, craft (loyalty to the profession),
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organization career (promotion through the firm) and unstructured (lower/unskilled workers who work when needed). Generational difference: different age categories of employees have certain characteristics, for example, their behavior and their expectations of the organization.
See also
Human resource management Chief human resources officer
References
1. ^ Elwood F. Holton II, James W. Trott, Jr., 1996, Trends Toward a Closer Integration of Vocational Education and Human Resources Development, Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, Vol. 12, No. 2, p7 2. ^ http://www-ilo-mirror.cornell.edu/public/english/employment/skills/recomm/quest/qr_1b.htm Broken link, needs repair 3. ^ [a broad inter-sectoral approach to developing human resourcefulness see United Nations Expert Meeting on Human Resources Development. `Changing Perspectives on Human Resources Development
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