Functions of

UNIT 2 FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN Human

Resource
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Management

Objectives
After completion of this unit you should be able to:

 Provide an overview of functions of HRM;

 Describe the roles and responsibilities of HR Managers;
 Explain the functions of HR managers; and
 Identify the challenges faced by HR Managers

Structure
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Functions of HRM
2.3 Roles and responsibilities HR Managers
2.4 Functions of HR Managers
2.5 Emerging aspects of HRM function
2.6 Challenges faced by HR Managers
2.7 Summary
2.8 Self Assessment Questions
2.9 Further Readings and References

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The previous unit has laid the foundation of the concept of HRM, its
meaning, nature and evolution. Realising the importance of managing the
human resource of an organisation, managers devote considerable attention
and expertise to attain, maintain and retain human resources. Number of
functions is performed by human resource management department for
utilizing the human resource efficiently. These functions are interrelated and
hold utmost importance not only in managing employees but also in
developing them. This unit is a step ahead on the concept of human resource
management and will provide details on the HRM functions. The unit will
also focus on the roles of HRM which have undergone changes in line with
the changing business environment.

2.2 FUNCTIONS OF HRM

HRM plays the centre stage role in an organisation to meet the challenges of
a dynamic and competitive environment. Due to the changes in the business
environment, the work, workplaces and demographics HR managers need to
reconfigure their roles. However, in general the HRM functions are broadly
of two categories: Managerial and Operational.
23
Introduction HRM Functions
to Human
Resource
Management

I. Managerial Functions II. Operative Functions

A B C D
Planning Organizing Directing Controlling

A B C D E

HR Sourcing Performance and Compensation Integration Employee

Development Management Relations

a) Job Analysis a) Performance a) Job Evaluation a) Employee a) Grievance

b) Human Resource Appraisal b) Wage and Salary Engagement redressal

Planning b) Training Administration b) Employee b) Disciplinary

c) Recruitment c) Management c) Incentives morale Management

d) Selection Development d) Bonus c) Counseling c) Union

e) Placement d) Career Planning e) Fringe Benefits d) Employee Management

and Welfare
f) Induction and f) Social Security
Development e) Ethics and
Orientation Measures
e) Internal HRM
Mobility

f) Transfer

g) Promotion

h) Demotion

i) Retention and
Retrenchment
Management

j) Change and
Organisation
Development

Figure 1: HRM Functions

The figure 1 broadly indicates the HRM functions.

I. Managerial Functions
Managerial functions of human resource management involve planning,
organising, directing and controlling.All these functions influence the
operative functions.

24
 A) Planning: It is a predetermined course of action. Planning pertains Functions of
to formulating strategies of programmes and changes in advance that Human
Resource
will contribute to the organisational goals. In other words, it Management
involves planning of human resources, requirements, recruitment,
selection, training etc. It also involves forecasting of HR needs,
changing values, attitudes and behaviour of employees and their
impact on the organisation.
B) Organising: Organising is essential to carry out the determined
course of action. In the words of J.C. Massie, an organisation is a
“structure and a process by which a co-operative group of human
beings allocates its task among its members, identifies relationships
and integrates its activities towards a common objective.” Thus, an
organisation establishes relationships among the employees so that
they can collectively contribute to the attainment of company goals.
C) Directing: The next logical function after completing planning and
organising is the execution of the plan. The willing and effective co-
operation of employees for the attainment of organisational goals is
possible through proper direction. Tapping the maximum
potentialities of the people is possible through motivation and
command. Co-ordination deals with the task of blending efforts in
order to ensure successful attainment of an objective.
D) Controlling: Controlling involves checking, verifying and
comparing of the actuals with the plans, identification of deviations
if any and correcting of identified deviations. Thus, action and
operation are adjusted to pre-determined plans and standards
through control. Auditing training programmes, analysing labour
turnover records, directing morale surveys, conducting separate
interviews are some of the means for controlling the HRM function
and making it effective.

Activity A: Browse through web resources and prepare an activity report

indicating managerial functions.

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II. Operative Functions
The operative functions of human resources management are related to
specific activities of managing employees, viz., employment,
development, compensation and relations. All these functions are
interacted with managerial functions. There are five major operative
functions that HR managers carry out.
A. HR Sourcing
B. Performance and development 25
Introduction C. Compensation management
to Human
Resource D. Integration
Management
E. Employee relations

With the changing business scenario these are emerging functions which HR
managers carry out. All these functions will be dealt in detail in the
subsequent blocks of the course, however an essence is presented in the
following paragraphs.

1. HR Resourcing: It is the first operative function of Human Resources

Management (HRM). It is concerned with employing the people
possessing the required kind and level of human resources necessary to
achieve the organisational objectives. It covers functions such as job
analysis, human resources planning, recruitment, selection, placement,
induction and orientation.
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:
 Collection of data, information, facts and ideas relating to
various aspects of jobs including men, machines and materials.
 Preparation of job description, job specifications, job
requirements and employee specifications which will help in
identifying the nature, levels and quantum of human resources.
 Providing the guides, plans and basis for job design and for all
operative functions of HRM.
ii) Human Resources Planning: It is a process for determination and
assuring that the organisation will have an adequate number of
qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which
would meet the needs of the organisation and which would provide
satisfaction for the individuals involved. It involves:
 Estimation of present and future requirements and supply of
human resources based on objectives and long range plans of
the organisation.
 Calculation of net human resources requirements based on
present inventory of human resources.
 Taking steps to mould, change and develop the strength of
existing employees in the organisation so as to meet the future
human resources requirements.
 Preparation of action programmes to get the rest of human
resources from outside the organisation and to develop the
human resources in terms of existing employees.
iii) Recruitment: It is the process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organisation.
It deals with:

26
  Identification of existing sources of applicants and developing Functions of
them. Human
Resource
 Creation/identification of new sources of applicants. Management

 Stimulating the candidates to apply for jobs in the organisation.

 Striking a balance between internal and external sources.
iv) Selection: It is the process of ascertaining the qualifications,
experiences, skills, knowledge etc., of an applicant with a view to
appraising his/her suitability to a job. This function includes:
Framing and developing application blanks.
 Creating and developing valid and reliable testing techniques.
 Formulating interviewing techniques.
 Checking of references.
 Setting up a medical examination policy and procedure.
 Line manager‟s decision.
 Sending letters of appointment and rejection.
 Employing the selected candidates who report for duty.
v) Placement: It is the process of assigning the selected candidate with
the most suitable job in terms of job requirements. It is matching of
employee specifications with job requirements. This function
includes:
 Counselling the functional managers regarding placement.
 Conducting follow-up study, appraising employee performance
in order to determine employee adjustment with the job.
 Correcting misplacements, if any.
vi) Induction and Orientation: Induction and orientation are the
techniques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in the changed
surrounding and introduced to the practices, policies, purposes and
people etc., of the organisation.
 Acquaint the employee with the company philosophy,
objectives, policies, career planning and development,
opportunities, product, market share, social and community
standing, company history, culture etc.
 Introduce the employee to the people with whom he has to work
such as peers, supervisors and subordinates.
 Mould the employes attitude by orienting him to the new
working and social environment.
2. Performance and Development: It is the process of improving,
moulding and changing the skills, knowledge, creative ability, aptitude,
attitude, values, commitment etc., based on present and future job and
organisational requirements.
27
Introduction i) Performance Appraisal: It is the systematic evaluation of
to Human individuals with respect to their performance on the job and their
Resource
Management potential for development. It includes:
 Developing policies, procedures and techniques.
 Helping the functional managers.
 Reviewing of reports and consolidation of reports.
 Evaluating the effectiveness of various programmes.
ii) Training: It is the process of imparting to the employees technical
and operating skills and knowledge.
It includes:
 Identification of training needs of the individuals and the
company.
 Developing suitable training programmes.
 Helping and advising line management in the conduct of
training programmes.
 Imparting of requisite job skills and knowledge to employees.
 Evaluating the effectiveness of training programmes.
iii) Management Development: It is the process of designing and
conducting suitable executive development programmes so as to
develop the managerial and human relations skill of employees. It
includes:
 Identification of the areas in which management development is
needed.
 Conducting development programmes.
 Motivating the executives.
 Designing special development programmes for promotions.
 Using the services of specialists, and/or utilising of the
institutional executive development programmes.
 Evaluating the effectiveness of executive development
programmes.
iv) Career Planning and Development: It is the planning of one‟s
career and implementation of career plans by means of education,
training, job search and acquisition of work experiences. It includes
internal and external mobility.
v) Internal Mobility: It includes vertical and horizontal movement of
an employee within an organisation.
It consists of transfer, promotion and demotion.
vi) Transfer: It is the process of placing employees in the same level
jobs where they can be utilised more effectively in consistence with

28
 their potentialities and needs of the employees and the organisation. Functions of
It also deals with: Human
Resource
 Developing transfer policies and procedures. Management

 Guiding employees and line management on transfers.

 Evaluating the execution of transfer policies and procedures.
vii) Promotion: It deals with upward reassignment given to an employee
in the organisation to occupy higher position which commands
better status and/or pay keeping in view the human resources of the
employees and the job requirements. This function covers.
 Formulating of equitable, fair and consistent promotion policies
and procedures.
 Advising line management and employees on matters relating to
promotions.
 Evaluating the execution of promotion policies and procedures.
viii) Demotion: It deals with downward reassignment to an employee in
the organisation.
 Develop equitable, fair and consistent demotion policies and
procedures.
 Advising line managers on matters relating to demotions.
 Oversee the implementations of demotion policies and
procedures.
ix) Retention and Retrenchment Management: Employers prefer to
retain more talented employees while they retrench less talented
employees. Employers modify existing human resource strategies
and craft new strategies in order to pay more salaries, provide more
benefits and create high quality of work life to retain the best
employees. And managements pay less to the less talented
employees and plan to retrench the misfits as well as unwanted
employees depending upon the negetive business trends.
x) Change and Organisation Development: Change implies the
creation of imbalances in the existing pattern or situation.
Organisation development is a planned process designed to improve
organisational effectiveness and health through modifications in
individual and group behaviour, culture and systems of the
organisation using knowledge and technology of applied behavioural
sciences.
C. Compensation Management: It is the process of providing adequate,
equitable and fair remuneration to the employees. It includes job
evaluation, wage and salary administration, incentives, bonus, fringe
benefits, social security measures etc.
i) Job Evaluation: It is the process of determining relative worth of
jobs.
 Select suitable job evaluation techniques. 29
Introduction  Classify jobs into various categories.
to Human
Resource  Determining relative value of jobs in various categories.
Management
ii) Wage and Salary Administration: This is the process of developing
and operating a suitable wage and salary programme. It covers:
 Conducting wage and salary survey.
 Determining wage and salary rates based on various factors.
 Administering wage and salary programmes.
 Evaluating its effectiveness.
iii) Incentives: It is the process of formulating, administering and
reviewing the schemes of financial incentives in addition to regular
payment of wages and salary. It includes:
 Formulating incentive payment schemes.
 Helping functional managers on the operation.
 Review them periodically to evaluate effectiveness.
iv) Bonus: It includes payment of statutory bonus according to the
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and its latest amendments.
v) Fringe Benefits: These are the various benefits at the fringe of the
wage. Management provides these benefits to motivate the
employees and to meet their life‟s contingencies. These benefits
include:
Disablement benefit.
 Housing facilities.
 Educational facilities to employees and children.
 Canteen facilities.
 Recreational facilities.
 Conveyance facilities.
 Credit facilities.
 Legal clinics.
 Medical, maternity and welfare facilities.
 Company stores.
vi) Social Security Measures: Managements provide social security to
their employees in addition to the fringe benefits. These measures
include:
 Workmen‟s compensation to those workers (or their
dependents) who involve in accidents.
 Maternity benefits to women employees.
 Sickness benefits and medical benefits.
 Disablement benefits/allowance.
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  Dependent benefits. Functions of
Human
 Retirement benefits like provident fund, pension, gratuity etc. Resource
Management
D. Integration: Practicing various human resources policies and
programmes like employment, development, compensation and
interaction among employees create a sense of relationship between the
individual worker and management, among workers and trade unions
and the management.
It is the process of interaction among human beings. Human relations is
an area of management in integrating people into work situations in a
way that motivates them to work together productively, co-operatively
and with economic, psychological and social satisfaction. It includes:
 Employee engagement
 Understanding and applying the models of perception, personality,
learning, intra- and inter-personal relations, intra- and inter-group
relations.
 Motivating the employees.
 Boosting employee morale.
 Developing the communication skills.
 Developing the leadership skills.
 Grievance redressal
 Handling disciplinary cases by means of an established disciplinary
procedure.
 Counseling the employees in solving their personal, family and work
problems and releasing their stress, strain and tensions.
 Providing a comfortable work environment by reducing fatigue,
monotony, boredom and industrial accidents.
 Improving quality of work life of employees through participation
and other means.
E. Employee Relations: The term „industrial relations‟ refers to the study
of relations among employees, employers, government and trade unions.
Industrial relations include:
 Trade unionism
 Collective bargaining
 Industrial conflicts
 Workers‟ participation in management
Emerging Functions in HRM: Apart from the above mentioned
functions of HRM, these are some emerging functions. Human
Resources Management has been advancing at a fast rate. The recent
trends in HRM include:

31
Introduction
to Human
Resource  Strategic HRM
Management
 Ethics and HRM
 HR accounting, audit and research and
 International HRM
 HR outsourcing

Activity B: Prepare a handbook containing the HR functions which can be

used by HR managers.

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2.3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HR

MANAGERS
The role of HRM is to plan, develop and administer policies and programs
designed to make optimum use of an organization‟s human resources. It is
that part of management which is concerned with the people at work and with
their relationship within organisation. Its objectives are:

(a) effective utilization of human resources, (b) desirable working relationships

among all members of the organizations, and (c) maximum individual
development.
Human resources functions as primarily administrative and professional.
With the changing scenario they are involved in company‟s overall strategic
management also.

HR professionals have an all encompassing role. They are required to have a

thorough knowledge of the organization and its intricacies and complexities.
The ultimate goal of every HR manager should be to develop a linkage
between the employee and organization because employee‟s commitment to
the organization is crucial. The first and foremost role of HR manager is to
impart continuous education to the employees about the changes and
challenges facing the country in general and their organization in particular.
The employees should know about the balance sheet of the company, sales
progress, and diversification of plans, share price movements, turnover and
other details about the company. The HR professionals should impart such
knowledge to all employees through small booklets, video films and lectures.

The primary responsibilities of Human Resource Managers are:

 To develop a thorough knowledge of corporate culture, plans and
policies;
 To act as an internal change agent and consultant;
32
  To initiate change and act as an expert and facilitator; Functions of
Human
 To actively involve in company„s strategy formulation; Resource
 To keep communication line open between the HRD function and Management

individuals and groups both within and outside the organization;

 To identify and evolve HRD strategies in consonance with overall
business strategy;
 To facilitate the development of various organizational teams and
their working relationship with other teams and individuals;
 To try and relate people and work so that the organization objectives
are achieved efficiently and effectively;
 To diagnose problems and determine appropriate solution
particularly in the human resource areas;
 To provide co-ordination and support services for the delivery of
HRD programmes and services; and
 To evaluate the impact of an HRD intervention or to conduct
research so as to identify, develop or test how HRD in general has
improved individual and organizational performance.
Different management gurus have deliberated different roles for the HR
managers based on the major responsibilities that they full fill in the
organization. Few of the commonly accepted models are enumerated below.
Pat McLagan has suggested nine roles that are played by HR professionals,
which are presented in the Box 1.
Box 1: Roles played by the HR
Professionals.

33
Introduction 1. To bring the issues and trends concerning an organization’s external and
to Human
Resource internal people to the attention of strategic decision makers and to
Management recommend long term strategies to support organizational excellence and
endurance.
2. To design and prepare HR systems and actions for implementation so that they
can produce maximum impact on organizational performance and
development.
3. To facilitate the development and implementation of strategies for
transforming one’s own organization by pursuing values and visions.
4. To create a positive relationship with the customer’s by providing them with
the best services; to utilize the resources to the maximum and to create
commitment among the people who help the organization to meet the
customers needs whether directly connected or indirectly connected to the
organization.
5. To identify the learning needs hence to design and develop structured learning
programmes and materials to help accelerate learning for individuals and
groups.
6. To enable the individuals and groups to work in new situations and to expend
and change their views so that people in power move from authoritarian to
participative models of leadership.
7. To help employees to assess their competencies, values and goals so that they
can identify, plan and implement development plans.
8. He also assists the individual employee to add values in the workplace and to
focus on the interventions and interpersonal skills for helping people change
and sustain change.
9. He assesses the HRD practices and programmes and their impact and to
communicate results so that the organization and its people accelerate their
change and development.

Emerging Roles of HR Managers

According to R.L Mathis and J. H. Jackson (2010) several roles can be
fulfilled by HR management. The nature and extent of these roles depend on
both what upper management wants HR management to do and what
competencies the HR staff have demonstrated. Three roles are typically
identified for HR. The focus of each of them, as shown in Figure 2 is
elaborated below:

Figure 2: Emerging Roles of HR Managers

Administrative Operational Actions Strategic HR

HR practices; Managing employees, Organizational/busines
Legal compliance forms relationship issues, strategies,
and paperwork Employee advocate. HR strategic or planning,
Evaluation of HR effectiveness.

34
1. Administrative Role of HR Functions of
Human
The administrative role of HR management has been heavily oriented to Resource
Management
administration and recordkeeping including essential legal paperwork
and policy implementation. Major changes have happened in the
administrative role of HR during the recent years. Two major shifts
driving the transformation of the administrative role are: Greater use of
technology and Outsourcing.
Technology has been widely used to improve the administrative
efficiency of HR and the responsiveness of HR to employees and
managers, more HR functions are becoming available electronically or
are being done on the Internet using Web-based technology. Technology
is being used in most HR activities, from employment applications and
employee benefits enrollments to e-learning using Internet-based
resources.
Increasingly, many HR administrative functions are being outsourced to
vendors. This outsourcing of HR administrative activities has grown
dramatically in HR areas such as employee assistance (counseling),
retirement planning, benefits administration, payroll services, and
outplacement services.
2. Operational and Employee Advocate Role for HR
HR managers manage most HR activities in line with the strategies and
operations that have been identified by management and serves as
employee ―champion for employee issues and concerns.
HR often has been viewed as the employee advocate in organizations.
They act as the voice for employee concerns, and spend considerable
time on HR crisis management, dealing with employee problems that are
both work-related and not work-related. Employee advocacy helps to
ensure fair and equitable treatment for employees regardless of personal
background or circumstances.
Sometimes the HR‟s advocate role may create conflict with operating
managers. However, without the HR advocate role, employers could face
even more lawsuits and regulatory complaints than they do now.
The operational role requires HR professionals to cooperate with various
departmental and operating managers and supervisors in order to identify
and implement needed programs and policies in the organization.
Operational activities are tactical in nature. Compliance with equal
employment opportunity and other laws is ensured, employment
applications are processed, current openings are filled through
interviews, supervisors are trained, safety problems are resolved, and
wage and benefit questions are answered. For carrying out these
activities HR manager matches HR activities with the strategies of the
organization.
3. Strategic Role for HR
The administrative role traditionally has been the dominant role for HR.
However, it is observed that a broader transformation in HR is needed so
35
Introduction that significantly less HR time and fewer HR staffs are used just for
to Human clerical work.
Resource
Management
Differences between the operational and strategic roles exist in a number
of HR areas. The strategic HR role means that HR professionals are
proactive in addressing business realities and focusing on future business
needs, such as strategic planning, compensation strategies, the
performance of HR, and measuring its results. However, in some
organizations, HR often does not play a key role in formulating the
strategies for the organization as a whole; instead it merely carries them
out through HR activities.
Many executives, managers, and HR professionals are increasingly
seeing the need for HR management to become a greater strategic
contributor to the ―business success of organizations. HR should be
responsible for knowing what the true cost of human capital is for an
employer. For example, it may cost two times key employees„ annual
salaries to replace them if they leave. Turnover can be controlled though
HR activities, and if it is successful in saving the company money with
good retention and talent management strategies, those may be important
contributions to the bottom line of organizational performance.
The role of HR as a strategic business partner is often described as
―having a seat at the board level and contributing to the strategic
directions and success of the organization. That means HR is involved
in devising strategy in addition to implementing strategy. Part of HR„s
contribution is to have financial expertise and to produce financial
results, not just to boost employee morale or administrative efficiencies.
Therefore, a significant concern for chief financial officers (CFOs) is
whether HR executives are equipped to help them to plan and meet
financial requirements.
However, even though this strategic role of HR is recognized, many
organizations still need to make significant progress toward fulfilling it.
Some examples of areas where strategic contributions can be made by
HR Managers are presented in the box 2:
Box 2: Strategic Contributions by HR Managers
 Evaluating mergers and acquisitions for organizational compatibility,
structural changes, and staffing needs
 Conducting workforce planning to anticipate the retirement of
employees at all levels and identify
 workforce expansion in organizational strategic plans
 Leading site selection efforts for new facilities or transferring operations
to international outsourcing locations based on workforce needs
 Instituting HR management systems to reduce administrative time,
equipment, and staff by using HR technology
 Working with executives to develop a revised sales compensation and
incentives plan as new products
 It is the era when for the competitive triumph of the organization there is
a need to involve HRM significantly in an integrated manner, which
36 demands such capabilities from the HR specialists.
The role of HR shifted from a facilitator to a functional peer with Functions of
competencies in other functions, and is acknowledged as an equal partner by Human
Resource
others. The HR is motivated to contribute to organizational objectives of Management
profitability and customer satisfaction, and is seen as a vehicle for realization
of quality development. The department has a responsibility for monitoring
employee satisfaction, since it is seen as substitute to customer satisfaction.

Corporate Vision

HR Soft Ss HR Hard Ss
1. Style 1. Strategy
2. Staff 2. Structure
3. Skills 3. Systems
4. Superordinate goals

Business Strategy

Organisational Effectiveness

Figure 3: Seven Ss Model

According to McKinsey„s 7-S framework model HR plays the role of a

catalyst for the organization. According to this framework (Figure 3),
effective organizational change is a complex relationship between seven Ss.
HRM is a total matching process between the three Hard Ss (Strategy,
Structure and Systems) and the four Soft Ss (Style, Staff, Skills and Super-
ordinate Goals). Clearly, all the Ss have to complement each other and have
to be aligned towards a single corporate vision for the organization to be
effective. It has to be realized that most of the Ss are determined directly or
indirectly by the way Human Resources are managed, and therefore, HRM
must be a part of the total business strategy.

New Roles of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management in the 'New Millennium' has undergone a
great revolution by questioning the accepted practices and re-inventing the
organizations as well as structures. Many traditional practices have been
thrown out. As an example, it can be seen that hierarchies are vanishing and
there is greater emphasis on flat organizations. It means a great deal of
specialisation and skills. It also means upgrading the norms and standards of
work as well as performance.
37
Introduction The new role of human resource management is much more strategic than
to Human before. Some of the new directions of the role of HRM can be summed up as
Resource
Management follows:

1. A Facilitator of Change: To carry people through upheaval requires the

true management of human resources.
2. An Integrated Approach to Management: Rather than being an
isolated function, human resource is regarded as a core activity, one
which shapes a company„s values. In particular, this can have an impact
on customer service.
3. A Mediator: Establishing and balancing the new and emerging
aspirations and requirements of the company and the individual.

These changes, which are taking place, involve more commitment of the
organization to the development of people by improving performance and
cutting costs. As a result of this, the duration of tenure, which was
traditionally long standing, is now limited, future is becoming less certain,
management opportunities are self determined and motivational factors are
more concerned with enhancing future employability rather than loyalty to
the company and, at the same time, the rewards are going up in terms of
higher salaries. The future creative careers, will require more involved
approach to career development, which will include:

i) Share employees with strategic partner organizations (customers of

suppliers) in lieu of internal moves.
ii) Encourage independence : Employees may go elsewhere for career
development, possibly to return in a few years.
iii) Fund-groups of employees to set-up as suppliers outside the
organization.
iv) Encourage employees to think of themselves as a business and of the
organization„s various departments as customers.
v) Encourage employees to develop customers outside the organization.
vi) Help employees develop self-marketing, networking and consultancy
skills to enable them to search out, recognize or create new
opportunities for both themselves and the organization.
vii) Identify skilled individuals in other organizations who can contribute
on a temporary project basis or part-time.
viii) Regularly expose employees to new people and ideas to stimulate
innovation.
ix) Balance external recruitment at all levels against internal promotion to
encourage open competition, competitive tendering for jobs to
discourage seeing positions as someone„s territory which causes self-
protective conformity.
x) Foster more cross-functional teamwork for self-development.

38
xi) Eliminate the culture of valuing positions as career goals in favour of Functions of
portraying a career as a succession of bigger projects, achievements and Human
Resource
new skills learned. The concept of position is part of the outside static Management
concept of the organization. Positions are out. Processes and projects
are in.
xii) Abandon top-down performance appraisal in favour of self-appraisal
based on internal customer satisfaction surveys and assessing people as
you would suppliers.
xiii) Replace top-down assessment processes with self-assessment
techniques and measure performance in term of results.

Activity C: Present a caselet indicating the traditional HR roles and the

changing roles.

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2.4 FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGERS
A human resource manager charged with fulfilling the objectives of an
organization, should be a leader with high intellectual powers, a visionary
and a philosopher who provides the initiative to shape the future in terms of
leading the human beings in an organization towards more prosperous and
progressive policies. Following are some of the functions of HR managers.

1. Human Resource Manager as an Intellectual : The basic skill in the

human resource field as compared to technologists or financial experts is
the skill to communicate, articulate, understand and above all, to be an
expert when it comes to putting policies and agreements in black and
white. The HR manager‟s man„s skill lies in his command over the
language. HR has to deal with employees and he must possess the skills
of conducting fruitful and systematic discussions and of communicating
effectively. He should also be in a position to formulate principles and
foresee the problems of the organization. This means that he would
require the mental ability to deal with his people in an intelligent manner
as well as to understand what they are trying to say.
2. Human Resource Manager as an Educator : It is not enough that a
human resource man has command-over the language, which, however,
remains his primary tool. He should be deeply interested in learning and
also in achieving growth. Basically, human beings like to grow and
realise their full potential. In order to harmonise the growth of
individuals with that of the organization, a personnel administrator must
not only provide opportunities for his employees to learn, get the
39
Introduction required training and assimilate new ideas but also he himself should be
to Human a teacher.
Resource
Management
3. Human Resource Manager as a Discriminator : A human resource
administrator must have the capacity to discriminate between right and
wrong, between that which is just and unjust and merit and nonmerit. In
other words, he should be a good judge when he sits on a selection
board, a fair person when he advises on disciplinary matters and a good
observer of right conduct in an organization.
4. Human Resource Manager as an Executive : The human resource
manager must execute the decisions of the management and its policies
with speed, accuracy and objectivity. He has to streamline the office,
tone up the administration and set standards of performance. He has to
coordinate the control functions in relation to the various other divisions
and, in doing so he should be in a position to bring unity of purpose and
direction in the activities of the HR department. He must ask relevant
questions and not be merely involved in the office routine whereby the
status quo is maintained. He should have the inquisitiveness to find out
causes of delay, tardy work and wasteful practices, and should be keen to
eliminate those activities from the personnel functions which have either
outlived their utility or are not consistent with the objectives and
purposes of the organization.
5. Human Resource Manager as a Leader: Being basically concerned
with people or groups of people, and being placed in the group dynamics
of various political and social functions of an organization, a Human
resource man must not shirk the role of leadership in an organization.
He, by setting his own example and by working towards the objectives of
sound HR management practices, must inspire his people and motivate
them towards better performance. He should resolve the conflicts of
different groups and build up teamwork in the organization.
6. Human Resource Manager as a Humanist: Deep faith in human
values and empathy with human problems, especially in less developed
countries, are the sine qua non for a Human resource manager. He has to
deal with people who toil at various levels and partake of their joys and
sorrows. He must perform his functions with sensitivity and feeling.
7. Human Resource Manager as a Visionary: While every leading
function of an organization must evolve its vision of the future, the
primary responsibility for developing the social organization towards
purposive and progressive action fall on the personnel man. He should be
a thinker who sets the pace for policy-making in an organization in the
area of human relations and should gradually work out new patterns of
human relations management consistent with the needs of the
organization and the society. He must ponder on the social obligations of
the enterprise, especially if it is in the public sector, where one has to
work within the framework of social accountability. He should be in
close touch with socio-economic changes in the country. He should be
able to reasonably forecast future events and should constantly strive to
meet the coming challenges.
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2.5 EMERGING ASPECTS OF HRM FUNCTION Functions of
Human
Resource
Along side the changing functions of HRM and changing roles of HR Management

managers there is also evidence of emerging new aspects of HRM function

such as strategy and HRM ethics and HRM, and HRM outsourcing. Some of
them are discussed below.

Strategy and HRM

The primary goal of every organization is to remain and relevant in business.
To achieve this goal, organizations should be effective and efficient in their
operations within the limitations of their resources. Therefore, management
think of strategy, which is referred to as a set of coordinated and monitored
choices and actions within the framework of the organizations. A strategy is
regarded to be more than decisions, also is putting choices into practice.
However, regarding HR management in organizations, there are two basic
types of strategy. (i) competitive business strategy, which involves choice
making and how to serve their customers better; and (ii) human resource
strategy that involve choice making regarding the management of people
within the organization. Further, there is need to harmonize the two strategies
in order to ensure high organizational performance as significant attention
has been given to HR becoming a strategic partner. This concept has led to
the formation of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), which is
an integration of the strategic management and human resource management.
SHRM points to the contribution of HRM to the performance of
organizations, evidently, organizations adopting a particular strategy require
HR practices that may differ from those required by organizations adopting
alternative strategies (Delery and Doty, 1996), meaning that there is an
important link between organizational strategy and HR practices that are
implemented in that organization.

Ethics & HRM

HR practitioners play major role in keeping, disseminating and enforcing
organizational ethics. Some areas of ethical misconduct involving HR
activities are depicted in Table 1. Essentially, these ethical issues generate
fundamental questions about fairness, justice, and truthfulness, therefore
making the study of ethics wide and complex.

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Introduction Table 1: Examples of Ethical Misconduct in HR Activities
to Human
Resource
Management Types of Misconduct Examples of Employee, Supervisor, and
Managerial Behavior

Compensation  Falsifying expense reports

 Inappropriate overtime classifications
 Misrepresenting hours and time
worked
 Personal bias in performance
appraisals and pay increases

Employee Relation  Personal gains/gifts from vendors

 Intentionally violating safety/health
regulations
 Misusing/stealing organizational assets
and supplies
 Employees lying to supervisors
 Executive/managers providing false
information to public, customers and
ventors

Staffing & Equal Employment  Sexual harassment

 Sex, race, and age discrimination in
hiring, discipline, and termination
 Favouritism an hiring and promotion

Source: Adapted from Mathis & Jackson (2006)

HR Outsourcing
The concept of outsourcing is familiar to us with the term „BPO‟ i.e.
Business process outsourcing. Outsourcing simply refers to the use of another
party or third party to carry out various or specific business operations or
functions. A similar kind of concept newly emerges for the HR functions as
well where the variety of specific HR functions of an organization is
delegated to another outside party who are expert to carry out HR functions.

Challenges that an organization deals with while opting for outsourcing is

which function should be outsourced, to whom it can be outsourced, for how
long the function can be outsourced and how the relationship with the
outsourced company can be managed for getting the functions done
effectively. The mixed thoughts and emotions associated with HR
outsourcing is available in the literature. Many have supported that provides
potential gains in HR functions but desired cost-saving rarely materialized
(Cooke et al., 2005). Although many organizations still opt for outsourcing
their various business activities and in fact decisions to outsource functions
have increased, albeit perhaps cautiously (CIPD, 2011). CIPD(2011) has
explained the potential benefits of HR outsourcing along with the associated
42
challenges. The benefit of „reduced cost‟ comes with the challenge of Functions of
determining which function can be outsourced. If the manager is not aware of Human
Resource
the particular HR functions completely it will lead to the unnecessary Management
increased cost of outsourcing. The benefit of „increased efficiency and speed
of response‟ comes with the loss of tacit knowledge of the organization.
With outsourcing, an organization takes the benefit of a sophisticated e-HR
system of provider but at the cost of losing control over the HR process and
decision making. Along with these benefits, an organization takes the
advantage of HR expertise and knowledge of a third party but have to
dissociate itself with the day-to-day operations of HR decision making. Only
the strategic HR decision making remains with the organization.

2.6 CHALLENGES FACED BY HR MANAGERS

HR activities in organizations are facing some challenges in practice, such as
occupational shifts; quality of available workforce; growth in casual workers;
technological shifts; gender diversity; racial/ethnic diversity; age limit;
gloabalization and organizational restructuring. However, challenges facing
HR managers are seen from two perspectives; internal and external and could
be classified into three: (i) organizational challenges these are internal in
nature and often results from environmental forces that are external by
nature. Some of the issues emanating from the organizations include
organizational restructuring, organizational culture, outsourcing, downsizing
and decentralization; (ii) environmental challenges they are issues emanating
from the external context where the company operates, which has great
influence on performances of organizations. These include; legislation,
globalization, labour demand and supply, an work diversity; and (iii)
individual challenges are the issues regarding employees, how they are being
treated, matching individuals with organizations, employee development,
insecurity, and reward systems, which affects organizational performance.

2.7 SUMMARY
This unit extends the understanding of human resource management with the
functions performed under HRM as a management function. It also described
the roles and responsibilities of HR managers including the emerging
functions.

2.8 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the functions of human resource management with the help of
examples.
2. What are the roles and responsibilities of HR managers?
3. Describe the challenges faced by HR managers citing examples.

43
Introduction
to Human
Resource
Management 2.9 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
 Jyothi, P. and Venkatesh, D.N. (2006), Human Resource Management,
Oxford
 Gupta, C.B. (1997), Human Resource Management, Sultan Chand
 Armstrong, Michael (2020), A Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice, Kogan Page
 P Subba Rao, 5th edition, 2014, Personnel and Human Resource
Management, Himalaya Publishing House

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