Unit I - GENERAL CONCEPTS OF MANAGEMENT

Objectives:

Upon completing this Module, you should be able to:

1. Define Human Resource Management.

2. Discuss the management functions and the central functions of HRM.

3. Understand the importance of the human resource management.

4. Recognize the benefits and the different kinds of HRIS.

Module 1

The Nature of Management

INTRODUCTION

Human resource may be defined as the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities,

talents and aptitudes of an organization’s workforce, as well as the values, attitudes,
approaches and beliefs of the individuals involved in the affairs of the organization. It is
the sum total or aggregate of inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills
represented by the talents and aptitudes of the persons employed in the organization.

Human resources are multi-dimensional in nature. From the national point of

view, human resource may be defined as the knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents
and aptitudes obtained in the population; whereas, from the view point of the individual
enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and
skills as exemplified in the talents and aptitudes of its employees.

Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations

together so that the goals of each are met. The following are the various features
of Human Resource Management (HRM):
  It is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises.
 Its focus is on results rather than on rules.
 It tries to help employees develop their potential fully.
 It encourages employees to give their best to the organization.
 It is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups.
 It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results.
 It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent
and well-motivated employees.
 It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various
levels in the organization.
 It is a multi-disciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from
psychology, economics, etc.

MANAGEMENT

Human resource management is a managerial process of acquiring and

engaging the required workforce, appropriate for the job and concerned with
developing, maintenance and utilization of work force.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is that part of management process which

develops and manages the human element of the enterprise considering their
resourcefulness in terms of total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents, aptitudes
and potentialities for effectively contributing to the organizational objectives.

The following are the four basic functions of Human Resource Management:

1. Planning involves determining the personnel programs that can contribute to

achieving the organization’s goals.

2. Organizing is the process of designing and developing the organization’s

structure to carry out the different operations. Developing the organization’s
structure includes:

 Grouping of personnel activity into functions or positions

 Assigning different groups of activities to different individuals
 Delegating authority according to the tasks assigned and
responsibilities involved
 Coordinating activities of different employees

3. Leading is the process of directing subordinates to accomplish their duties

and activities for an entire organization. The directing functions of HRM
involve encouraging people to work willingly and efficiently to achieve the
goals of the organization. In simpler words, the directing functions of HRM
entail guiding and motivating people to accomplish the personnel programs.
 4. Controlling is all about regulating activities in accordance with the plans
formulated based on the objectives of the organization. This is the fourth
function of the HRM and completes the cycle. In this, the manager observes
and subsequently compares the results with the set standards.

Further, he corrects any deviations that might occur. Controlling is one of the
important functions of HRM as it helps him evaluate and control the
performance of the department with respect to different operative functions. It
also involves appraisals, audit, statistics, etc.

CENTRAL FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human resource (HR) professionals conduct a wide variety of tasks within an

organizational structure. A brief review of the core functions of human resource
departments will be useful in framing the more common activities a human resource
professional will conduct.

The core functions of HRM include: 1) staffing; 2) training and development; 3)

maintenance; and 4) motivation.

Staffing

This includes the activities of hiring new full-time or part-time employees, hiring
contractors, and terminating employee contracts. Basic activities of staffing correspond
to human resource planning, recruitment and selection.

Training and Development

The purpose of training and development is to increase employees’ skills,

knowledge, and abilities to contribute to organizational objectives.

On-boarding new employees and providing resources for continued development

is a key investment for organizations, and HR is in-charge with maintaining a
developmental approach to existing human resources.

Development activities include: 1) training and preparing new employees for

their role; 2) providing training opportunities (internal training, educational programs,
conferences, etc.) to keep employees up to date in their respective fields; 3) preparing
management prospects and providing feedback to employees and managers.
Maintenance

Maintenance encompasses activities of human resource officer to insure

employee retention and to keep them motivated to achieve the goals of the
organization. Maintenance function often includes safety and health of the employees.

Communication is also important in maintaining manpower of the organization. It

is a way to convey understanding and information from one person to another.

Motivation

Motivation is a drive to pursue employees to achieve their goals in the

organization. The main activities in motivation involve: 1) job design, 2) performance
evaluation, 3) compensation and incentives, and 4) benefits.

HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM (HRIS)

In the past years, organizations begin to apply information systems to adapt to its
significant changes due to the increasing effect of advances in technology. HRM
nowadays mostly use Management Information System (MIS) in maintaining records of
employees.

HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System. The HRIS is a system
that is used to collect and store data on an organization’s employees. In most cases,
an HRIS encompasses the basic functionalities needed for end-to-end Human
Resource Management. It has a system for recruitment, performance management,
learning & development, and more.

An HRIS is also known as HRIS software. This is a bit confusing as it implies that
different systems can have different software running on them. However, this is not the
case. The HRIS is, in essence, a software package. The HRIS can either run on the
company’s own technical infrastructure, or, what’s more common nowadays, be cloud-
based. This means that the software is running outside of the company’s premises,
making it much easier to update.

Benefits of an HRIS

Using an HRIS has a number of clear benefits.

1. Record-keeping.  An HRIS is a record-keeping system that keeps track of changes

to anything related to employees. The HRIS can be seen as the one source of truth
when it comes to personnel data.
2. Compliance.  Some data is collected and stored for compliance reasons. This
includes material for the identification for employees in case of theft, fraud, or other
misbehaviors, first contact information in case of accidents, citizens’ identification
information for the tax office, and expiration dates for mandatory certification. All this
information can be stored in the HRIS.

3. Efficiency.  Having all this information in one place not only benefits accuracy but
also saves time.

4. HR strategy.  The HRIS enables the tracking of data required to advance the HR
and business strategy. Depending on the priorities of the organization, different data
will be essential to track. This is where the HRIS comes in.

5. Self-Service HR.  A final benefit is the ability to offer self-service HR to employees

and managers. This enables employees to manage their own affairs. When done
right, the HRIS can offer a good employee experience.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF HRIS SYSTEMS

There are different kinds of HRIS systems and software. Because an HRIS
encompasses all the functionalities for HR, all separate functionalities are part of the
system. These functionalities include:

1. Applicant Tracking System (ATS).  This software handles all the company’s
recruiting needs. It tracks candidate information and resumes, enables recruiters to
match job openings to suitable candidates from the company’s application pool, and
helps in guiding the hiring process.

2. Payroll.   Payroll automates the pay process of employees. Contractual data is

often entered into this system – sometimes combined with time & attendance data –
and at the end of the month, payments orders are created.

3. Benefits.  Another functionality of the HRIS is benefits management. Employee

benefits are an important aspect of compensation and are also managed in this
system. More advanced systems offer an employee self-service model for
employee benefits. In this case, employees can select the benefits they are looking
for themselves. One may want more paternity leave, the other one a more
expensive company car.

4. Time and Attendance.  This module gathers time and attendance data from
employees. These are especially relevant for blue-collar work where employees
clock in and out. Back in the day when I worked in a supermarket, we wrote the
time worked down on a piece of paper, which was then manually entered into the
time tracking system by the manager. Based on this data, payment orders were
generated and paid to all employees.
5. Training.  Learning and development is a key element when it comes to employee
management. This module allows HR to track qualification, certification, and skills
of the employees, as well as an outline of available courses for company
employees. This module is often referred to as an LMS, or Learning Management
System, when it’s a stand-alone. An LMS usually includes available e-learning and
other courses to be followed by employees.

6. Performance management.  Performance management is a key part of managing

people. Performance ratings are generated once or twice a year by the direct
manager or peers of the employee.

7. Succession planning. Creating a talent pipeline and having replacements available

for key roles in the organization is another key component of an HRIS.

8. Employee self-service.  Organizations are focusing increasingly on having

employees and their direct supervisors manage their own data. Requests like
holidays can be asked for by the employee him/herself. After approval, these are
then immediately saved into the system (and registered to track for payroll and
benefits purposes).

9. Reporting & Analytics.  A much rarer module in HRIS systems is reporting and
analytics. Modern systems enable the creation of automated HR reports on various
topics like employee turnover, absence, performance, and more. Analytics involves
the analysis of this data for better-informed decision making.

SAQ 1

1. Define Human Resource Management.

2. Identify the four basic functions and the central functions of human resource
management.

3. Discuss the benefits of HRIS in an organization.

ASAQ 1

1. Define Human Resource Management.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is that part of management process which

develops and manages the human element of the enterprise considering their
resourcefulness in terms of total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents,
aptitudes and potentialities for effectively contributing to the organizational
objectives.
2. Identify the four basic functions and the central functions of human resource
management.

The following are the four basic functions of Human Resource Management:

a. Planning involves determining the personnel programs that can contribute to

achieving the organization’s goals.

b. Organizing is the process of designing and developing the organization’s

structure to carry out the different operations. Developing the organization’s
structure includes:

 Grouping of personnel activity into functions or positions

 Assigning different groups of activities to different individuals
 Delegating authority according to the tasks assigned and
responsibilities involved
 Coordinating activities of different employees

c. Leading is the process of directing subordinates to accomplish their duties

and activities for an entire organization. The directing functions of HRM
involve encouraging people to work willingly and efficiently to achieve the
goals of the organization. In simpler words, the directing functions of HRM
entail guiding and motivating people to accomplish the personnel programs.

d. Controlling is all about regulating activities in accordance with the plans

formulated based on the objectives of the organization. This is the fourth
function of the HRM and completes the cycle. In this, the manager observes
and subsequently compares the results with the set standards.

Further, he corrects any deviations that might occur. Controlling is one of

the important functions of HRM as it helps him evaluate and control the
performance of the department with respect to different operative functions.
It also involves appraisals, audit, statistics, etc.

3. Discuss the benefits of HRIS in an organization.

Benefits of HRIS in an organization are the following:

a. Record-keeping.  An HRIS is a record-keeping system that keeps track of

changes to anything related to employees. The HRIS can be seen as the one
source of truth when it comes to personnel data.
 b. Compliance.  Some data is collected and stored for compliance reasons. This
includes material for the identification for employees in case of theft, fraud, or
other misbehaviors, first contact information in case of accidents, citizens’
identification information for the tax office, and expiration dates for mandatory
certification. All this information can be stored in the HRIS.

c. Efficiency.  Having all this information in one place not only benefits accuracy but
also saves time.

d. HR strategy.  The HRIS enables the tracking of data required to advance the HR
and business strategy. Depending on the priorities of the organization, different
data will be essential to track. This is where the HRIS comes in.

e. Self-Service HR.  A final benefit is the ability to offer self-service HR to

employees and managers. This enables employees to manage their own affairs.
When done right, the HRIS can offer a good employee experience.

REFERENCES:

1. Medina, R. G. (2010) Personnel and human resources management, Rex Bookstore.

2. Corpuz, C. R. (2013) Human resource management, Rex Bookstore.

3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-business/chapter/the-functions-and-
goals-of-hr/

4. https://www.hrpayrollsystems.net/hris/

5. https://www.analyticsinhr.com/blog/human-resources-information-system-hris/

6. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net

7. https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-management-and-entrepreneurship/...