Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Human resource management (HRM) is the practice of recruiting, hiring, deploying and
managing an organization's employees. HRM is often referred to simply as human resources
(HR). A company or organization's HR department is usually responsible for creating, putting
into effect and overseeing policies governing workers and the relationship of the organization
with its employees. The term human resources was first used in the early 1900s, and then more
widely in the 1960s, to describe the people who work for the organization, in aggregate.
The modern HR technology term human capital management (HCM) has been used more
frequently compared to the term HRM. The term HCM has had widespread adoption by large
and midsize companies and other organizations of software to manage many HR functions.
The role of HRM practices are to manage the people within a workplace to achieve the
organization's mission and reinforce the culture. When done effectively, HR managers can help
recruit new professionals who have skills necessary to further the company's goals as well as
aid with the training and development of current employees to meet objectives.
A company is only as good as its employees, making HRM a crucial part of maintaining or
improving the health of the business. Additionally, HR managers can monitor the state of the job
market to help the organization stay competitive. This could include making sure compensation
and benefits are fair, events are planned to keep employees from burning out and job roles are
adapted based on the market.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is relatively a very recent term considered for managing
human resources in an organization. HRM is still evolving to become an amalgam of
organizational behavior, personnel management, industrial relations and labour legislation.
The term “human resource management” is of recent origin. In its modern connotation, it came
to be used mainly from the 1980s onwards. During ancient times and for a long period in the
medieval era, production of goods was done mainly by skilled artisans and craftsmen. They
themselves owned the tools and instruments, produced articles and sold these in the market.
As such, the question of employer-employee or master-servant relationship did not arise in their
cases.
They managed their affairs themselves and with the help of the family members. However,
many effluent craftsmen also employed apprentices and certain categories of hired labourers.
There existed a very close relationship between the master craftsmen and the apprentices, and
they themselves took care of the problems facing the apprentices and their family members.
A sort of human approach was involved in their relationship. After a prolonged period of training,
many apprentices established their own enterprises, and many others remained attached with
their master craftsmen on lucrative terms. During the medieval period, the skilled craftsmen also
formed their guilds primarily with a view to protecting the interests of their respective trades.
A brief description of the manner in which they were treated and managed will be relevant for a
proper understanding of human resource management in a historical perspective.
1. Managing Slaves:
Slaves comprised an important source of manpower in almost all ancient civilizations. They
could be sold and purchased like commodities. Their main purchasers were the wealthy rulers,
landlords, tribal chiefs and effluent businessmen. The purchasers of slaves had a rather
complete control over their slaves.
The masters of the slaves took a variety of arduous work from them such as carrying heavy
loads, rowing ships and boats, construction of buildings and forts, digging canals, cattle-rearing
and tillage of soil. The remuneration or compensation for their efforts comprised mainly food,
shelter and clothing. The slaves were dealt with iron hands. They were subjected to strict
supervision, and non-compliance of the orders of their masters or supervisors was generally
punishable with physical tortures, and occasionally with mutilation of their limbs and even death
sentence for grave offences
.
2. Managing Serfs:
Serfdom was widely prevalent in the feudal societies of the pre-and early medieval era. Serfs
were engaged by landlords mainly in agricultural operations and allied activities. The landlords
would usually, give them a piece of land for their habitat and often, some land for their own
cultivation. In many cases, a paltry sum of money was advanced to them in order that they
could remain attached to their masters.
In lieu of these facilities, the serfs and their family members were required to serve their
masters. The work assigned to serfs mainly comprised – tillage of soil, cattle-rearing, domestic
work and similar other activities. Many landlords would also give them a meagre amount as
wages, whether in cash or in kind.
Usually, serfs could become free after returning to their masters the habitat, the piece of land
and advances with interest. They could also be transferred to some other landlord on payment.
Under serfdom, some measure of personal relationship existed between the landlords and the
serfs.
Many landlords often tried to solve their genuine grievances and extended some help to those
who were in distress. The feudal lords also occasionally gave some economic inducements to
their serfs in the form of additional supply of food-grains and some money for their increased
productivity and good behaviour.
Although the management of serfs was based on the principle of authoritarianism, the element
of human treatment was often found in their relationship. With the abolition of the feudal system,
serfdom also came to an end. However, some remnants of the past can still be found even
today, especially in rural areas. The bonded labour system in India is comparable to the system
of serfdom prevalent in European countries during the medieval period.
The system of indentured labour emerged primarily with the flourishing of mercantilism and
advent of industrial revolution. The discovery of new lands through sea and land routes led to a
substantial increase in the demand of European goods abroad, and at the same time, gave a
fillip to the establishment of industries in the continent.
As a consequence, trade flourished leaps and bounds, and the mercantilists, taking advantage
of the expanding markets, tried to accumulate as much wealth as possible. In their quest for
maximizing wealth, the mercantilists would offer attractive inducements to the artisans and
skilled craftsmen for accelerating production of goods in demand. The artisans and craftsmen
responded and they started engaging an increasing number of apprentices and hired labourers
to cope with the demand of the products.
Even during the periods when slavery and serfdom were rampant, there were various
categories of workers who enjoyed a certain amount of freedom in the relationships with their
employers. They were mainly skilled craftsmen and artisans and experienced apprentices.
However, the composition of free workers materially changed with the spread of industrialization
and establishment of factories and other kinds of industrial and business establishments.
Industrialization led to the congregation of a large number of workers at the same establishment
owned by an individual employer or a company. The employers were generally interested in
maximizing their profits, and callously disregarded human aspects in managing the affairs of
their enterprises.
The state also remained a mute spectator to the miseries and sufferings of the toiling masses of
workers, primarily because of the widespread prevalence of the doctrine of individualism and
laissez faire. These situations led to further deterioration in the conditions of industrial workers
who had to face numerous problems in their employment.
Notable among these problems were low wages, excessive hours of work, hazardous and
strenuous physical working conditions, instability of employment, and arbitrary treatment by
supervisors and managers.
The industrial workers, sooner or later, came to realize that individually they might be
dispensable to the employer, but collectively, they were indispensable as the running of the
enterprise was in the interests of both. This realization induced them to organize and pressurize
the employers and the state to take positive steps to improve their conditions.
2.) What do you understand by Forecasting Human Resource
requirements? Explain
Find out what growth-oriented businesses need to know about HR forecasting and practical
steps you can take to ensure your business is ready to scale the size of its workforce to meet
changing market conditions.
Just as a business plans for financial growth, it’s also important to plan for the growth of a
workforce. HR forecasting is the process of predicting demand and supply—whether it’s the
number of employees or types of skills that are needed and available to get the job done. Basic
forecasting techniques include:
Existing businesses that have been operating for several years can also conduct a trend
analysis to create a staffing plan for the future. A trend analysis allows business leaders to
examine the relationship between past and future staffing needs using an operational index
metric. Newer businesses are advised to use a ratio analysis to forecast staffing needs. Using
this technique, business leaders examine causal factors such as sales volume to predict staffing
needs.
The most successful businesses utilize human resource forecasting to minimize risk. It’s
especially important for growth-oriented businesses to “limit exposure to surpluses or shortages
in labor.” Entrepreneurs, owners, and business leaders can use strategic human resource
forecasting and planning to better understand workforce needs. As you evaluate labor demand,
your workforce may already have skills you can tap into as the business grows or you may find
a need to augment or renew technology skills. Your business can meet labor demand from
within, or use outside labor supply sources. As you build your HR forecast, it’s important to
thoroughly review talent supply and factors impacting the availability of that talent. As
Investopedia points out, it’s often more costly to recruit new hires than to upskill or train existing
employees to increase productivity.
Some businesses need or want to invest all of its time and energy on growth. That’s why many
businesses rely on HR services to help forecast labor demand and supply. HR services can
create organization and replacement charts that help identify important roles and functional
needs across your business. Supply forecasting includes a review of the current labor market
and employment law to ensure your business is both competitive and compliant.
To drive business growth and success, you need the right talent behind you. HR forecasting
enables your business to determine skill requirements, evaluate demand, assess labor supply,
understand workforce needs, and develop a strategy to meet your goals and growth objectives.
In addition to effectively balancing labor demand and supply, HR forecasting emboldens your
business to:
Develop effective budgets - By determining your workforce requirements, you also put your
business in a better position to forecast costs. To meet your business goals, you may need to
hire seasonal workers or increase salary levels to retain top talent. Benefits costs may increase
as well. HR forecasting provides insight into those predicted workforce expenses so you can
accurately plan for overall human capital costs.
Make more detailed workforce predictions - Beyond helping your business meet evolving
needs for new skills, production, and productivity, HR forecasting also emboldens you to gain
deeper insight into your workforce. HR forecasting and analysis helps you predict turnover
related to retirement or market competition. It can also help you analyze how business strategy
changes will impact your workforce including production of a new product, change in target
audience, or the introduction of new employment or manufacturing regulations.
Forecast HR needs regularly - Business conditions are constantly changing, which means
your workforce is too. To effectively meet your HR needs, it’s important to review talent
requirements on an ongoing basis. For example:
If your business manufactures a product, labor needs will change as sales rise and fall. Your
business may see seasonal demand for that product, or other changes in consumer demand. In
this case, HR and sales forecasting should work together to identify sales spikes or declines
that will affect production and labor needs. Analyzing these forecasts regularly can minimize the
risk your business might fall behind on production and order fulfillment, produce too much
inventory, or pay a bloated workforce.
There are four general, broad steps involved in the human resource planning process. Each
step needs to be taken in sequence in order to arrive at the end goal, which is to develop a
strategy that enables the company to successfully find and retain enough qualified employees to
meet the company's needs.
The first step of human resource planning is to identify the company's current human resources
supply. In this step, the HR department studies the strength of the organization based on the
number of employees, their skills, qualifications, positions, benefits, and performance levels.
The second step requires the company to outline the future of its workforce. Here, the HR
department can consider certain issues like promotions, retirements, layoffs, and transfers—
anything that factors into the future needs of a company. The HR department can also look at
external conditions impacting labor demand, such as new technology that might increase or
decrease the need for workers.
The third step in the HRP process is forecasting the employment demand. HR creates a gap
analysis that lays out specific needs to narrow the supply of the company's labor versus future
demand. This analysis will often generate a series of questions, such as:
This would involve upgrading their knowledge, looking at things from a refreshing fresh angle or
simply increasing their skill sets so that they can slip into complex and more demanding roles
effortlessly. Development aims at building the competencies of people, of preparing them for
planned career growth and is always future-focused.
Executive Development Programme (EDP) is a planned and organized process of learning and
growth designed to improve managerial behavior and performance of executives by cultivating
their mental abilities and inherent qualities through the acquisition and application of advanced
knowledge insights and skills.
“Executive development is eventually something that the executive has to attain himself. But he
will do this much better if he is given encouragement, guidance and opportunity by his
company”.
An Executive Development Program (EDP) incorporates both short- and long-term training
methods through a systemized, continuous process where employees learn advanced
knowledge and skills to prepare them for leadership.
Once you’ve made the commitment to improve leadership skills within your organization,
implementing an EDP is the best place to start. It plots the plan your organization will follow in
terms of nurturing leadership skills in all employees, at all levels. This program should cover
goals that align with strategic business and interpersonal needs.
1. Formal training
Formal training comprises classroom-based and online courses, seminars, formal mentorship
programs, and certification programs.
Classroom-based training for leaders includes a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and
an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), arguably the best executive training
options out there. A formal mentorship component is usually included alongside classroom-
based learning to support participants with ongoing and practical feedback as they learn.
2. Informal training
Informal training includes anything that isn’t covered under formal training. Examples of informal
training methods include:
Rotational assignments
Action learning, where small groups tackle problems together to learn as a unit
Task forces
Supplemental readings
Speaker forums and conferences
Peer coaching
i. Change and competition are continuous features which require continuous adaptation by the
organizations. For this, continuous upgradation of skills and competencies at all levels,
specifically at the management levels, is necessary.
ii. There is a need to hone the leadership skills of managers. Today’s organizations need
leaders, not managers. The executive development program (EDF) aims to address this
particular need.
iii. Continuous learning and knowledge development inform and mold managers, which also
helps them gain the respect of their subordinates. Motivating the management towards learning
executive development is a systematized approach.
iv. Information technology (IT) has become an all pervasive phenomenon and a majority of the
present-day organizational processes are seamlessly integrated with IT. The decision making
process has also been made easy with the help of IT support. It is thus necessary for the
managers to become IT savvy to use IT for enhancing the performance of their departments.
v. People management skills, along with technical skills, play a crucial role in the growth and
evolution of managers. The EDF addresses the need for developing the human competencies
of managers.
Morale and job satisfaction are affected by compensation. Often there is a balance (equity) that must be reached between the
monetary value the employer is willing to pay and the sentiments of worth felt be the employee. In an attempt to save money,
employers may opt to freeze salaries or salary levels at the expense of satisfaction and morale. Conversely, an employer wishing
to reduce employee turnover may seek to increase salaries and salary levels .
Compensation may also be used as a reward for exceptional job performance. Examples of such plans include:
bonuses, commissions, stock, profit sharing, gain sharing.
Different types of compensation include:
Base Pay
Commissions
Overtime Pay
Bonuses, Profit Sharing, Merit Pay
Stock Options
Travel/Meal/Housing Allowance
Benefits including: dental, insurance, medical, vacation, leaves, retirement, taxes
Compensation Plans :-
Evaluate jobs.
Rank the jobs within each senior vice president's and manager's department, and then
rank jobs between and among departments.
Verify ranking by comparing it to industry market data concerning the ranking, and adjust
if necessary.
Prepare a matrix organizational review.
On the basis of required tasks and forecasted business plans, develop a matrix of jobs
crossing lines and departments.
Compare the matrix with data from both the company structure and the industrywide
market.
Prepare flow charts of all ranks for each department for ease of interpretation and
assessment.
Present data and charts to the compensation committee for review and adjustment.
Determine grades.
Establish the number of levels - senior, junior, intermediate, and beginner - for each job
family and assign a grade to each level.
Determine the number of pay grades, or monetary range of a position at a particular
level, within each department.
Present the plan to the compensation committee for feedback, adjustments, review, and
approval.
Make a presentation to executive staff managers for approval or change, and
incorporate necessary changes.
Develop a plan for communicating the new program to employees, using slide shows or
movies, literature, handouts, etc.
Make presentations to managers and employees. Implement the program.
Design and develop detailed systems, procedures, and forms.
Work with HR information systems staff to establish effective implementation
procedures, to develop appropriate data input forms, and to create effective monitoring
reports for senior managers.
Have the necessary forms printed.
Develop and determine format specifications for all reports.
Execute test runs on the human resources information system.
Execute the program.
Controlling is the process of assessing and modifying performance to ensure that the
company's objectives and plans for achieving them are met.
Control is the final role of management. The controlling function will become obsolete if other
management functions are properly carried out. If there are any problems in the planning or
actual performance, control will be required.
Controlling ensures that the proper actions are taken at the appropriate times. Control can be
thought of as a process through which management ensures that the actual operations follow
the plans.
The company's managers check the progress and compare it to the intended system through
managing. If the planned and real processes do not follow the same path, the necessary
corrective action can be implemented.
The control process is the careful collection of information about a system, process, person, or
group of people which is required to make necessary decisions about each of the departments
in the process. Managers in the company set up the control systems which consist of the four
prior key steps which we will discuss in the later section.
The performance of the management control function is important for the success of an
organization. Management is required to execute a series of steps to ensure that the plans are
carried out accordingly. The steps that are executed in the control process can be followed for
almost any application, also for improving the product quality, reduction of wastage, and
increasing sales.
The Controlling process assures the management that the performance rate does not deviate
from its standards.
4. Determining the reasons for any such deviations which is required to be paid heed to.
5. Take corrective action as required. Correction can be made in regards to changing the
standards by setting them higher or lower or identifying new or additional standards in
the department.
Standards are, by definition, nothing more than performance criteria. They are the
predetermined moments in a planning program where performance is measured so that
managers may receive indications about how things are doing and so avoid having to
monitor every stage of the plan's execution.
This simply means setting up the target which needs to be achieved to meet the
organizational goals. These standards set the criteria for checking performance. The
control standards are required in this case.
Standard elements are especially useful for control since they help develop properly
defined, measurable objectives.
In the control process, determining if performance meets the standard is a simple but
crucial step. It entails comparing the measured results to previously established norms.
Managers may assume that "all is under control" if performance meets the benchmark.
Comparing the degree of difference between the actual performance and the set
standard.
This phase becomes essential if performance falls short of expectations and the analysis
reveals that corrective action is required. The remedial measure could include a change
in one or more of the organization's functions.
This is being initiated by the manager who corrects any sorts of defects in the actual
performance.
Types of Control :-
Features of Controlling:-
The features of controlling are discussed point-wise to give a clear insight into the concept. The
features are as follows:
The controlling process motivates the employees and boosts the employee morale,
eventually, they strive and work hard in the organization.
Advantages Of Controlling:-
The organization inculcates the process of controlling due to its undying advantages. The
advantages of control are as follows:
This allows the managers to concentrate on important tasks, and also allows better
utilization of the managerial resource.
In contrast to this, controlling suffers from the disadvantage that the organization has no control
over the external factors that also affect the organization. The controlling Process becomes a
costly affair, especially for small companies.