Human Resource Management Notes

A FEW EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE EVOLUTION OF HRM

Discuss the main events that took place leading up to the emergence of Human Resource
Management.

Many workers were employed in the manufacturing sectors at the end of the nineteenth
century, where they had to endure long hours under poor conditions. There was no welfare
state, and not working could lead to destitution. Even in such irrational times, some employers
valued their employees and took on a moralistic role for them. The 1900s also saw the
emergence of personnel management as a professional body, with the development of the
Welfare Workers’ Association, a forerunner to the CIPD.
With reference to scientific management, Human resource management in modern times
has evolved from a number of theories developed by sociologists, psychologists, management
and organizational behaviorists. In the early 1900's, the 'one best way' of performing a task
would be defined by the development of 'time and motion' studies. Frederick Taylor was among
the first to emphasize behavioral patterns and to advocate for the use of training and other
management techniques to influence work outcomes. Employees were compensated through a
"differential piece rate" pay system that rewarded work output. Many managers adopted
Taylor's ideas, often without pay incentives.
With car manufacturers like Henry Ford, the United States was also at the forefront of large-
scale industrialization. Ford kept the scientific management approach and built an assembly
line. Employees who were unable to adapt were fired, resulting in high absenteeism and high
employment turnover. To combat high staff turnover, Ford instituted the "five-dollar day"
bonus, which doubled workers' wages. With the advent of mass production, people
management became a science, and managers were expected to possess not only technical
expertise but also managerial ability. Nevertheless, technical knowledge was deemed far less
important than dependability and the ability to impose discipline.
The human relations movement began to evolve in the 1920s. This changed the perspective of
people management away from the mechanistic principles of scientific management and
towards a behavioral approach of benefiting the social needs of workers.
The war years of 1914–18 saw major evolution in personnel management. The Munitions of
War Act 1915 passed to ensure a sufficient supply of labor to munitions’ factories made the
provision of welfare services compulsory. This led to an increase in the number of welfare
officers, many of whom were men as it was considered more appropriate from them to oversee
the welfare of boys. However, women were also being recruited in large numbers to replace
the men sent to the trenches. This led to some bitter disputes with trades unions. Another
development was the role of ‘labor officers’, needed to assist in things such as recruitment,
selection, and industrial relations on the shop floor of unionized workers.
The inter-war years also saw the emergence of the title ‘personnel manager’. The personnel
manager endured many functions of the human resource that are present today. Worker’s
Welfare Association, after evolving through several name changes, finally became the Institute
of Labor management in 1931, and eventually the Institute of Personnel Management in 1945.