Human Resource Management Overview (From Tyson, Chapter 4)

Personnel Management to Human Resource Management

• Human Resource Management (HRM) involves the goals of specialists and how they assist organizational goals.
• Early 20th century writers like Fayol, Urwick, and Brech classified managerial activities as planning, coordinating, controlling, and motivating.
• This classification shows awareness of work management, adaptation to environmental changes, and overcoming obstacles; helpful for analyzing resource deployment.
• HRM is better described as part of continuous social processes within organizational life.

Manager Actions

• Managerial actions focus on achieving results through other people, emphasizing interpersonal skills.
• Communication, trust, fairness, enthusiasm, and a sense of humanity are more crucial than techniques like discounted cash flow or critical path analysis.
• Effective managers exercise authority legitimately, maintain subordinate commitment to organizational goals, and build effective teams.

Transition from Personnel Management

• "Personnel Management" was the common term in the 1960s-1980s, "Human Resource Management", an import from the US, became prevalent from 1980s onward.
• A debate exists on whether this shift signals a change in work performed or if it's merely a label change.

Definition of HRM

• HRM's strategic role is underscored through a 25-item checklist contrasting HRM from personnel and industrial relations.
• This checklist focuses on individual contracts, managing by values, a strong business orientation, and a distinctive fit between HRM and business strategy.

HRM Models

• HRM traditions show variation in emphasis on aspects like planning, selection, industrial relations, and management development.
• Various 'personnel' and 'HRM' models differentiate roles of senior managers and staff and how tasks can be accomplished.
• HRM roles range from administrative, to business manager, consultant, and more complex strategic roles.
• Different managerial models depend on factors including organization size, departmental structures, and the decision-making processes.

Early History of Personnel Management (up to 1914)

• Industrial revolution saw rapid application of power sources, causing population growth, new markets, technology, and vertical integration.
• Critics emerged of unchecked exploitation of workers by their employers, through the 19th century.
• Measures regarding workers' health and rights emerged from the 19th century onwards, leading to early welfare policies.
• Early welfare work focused on women in factories and was initially seen as a concern only regarding women.

World War I and Personnel Management

• World War I led to a surge in welfare officers and significant state regulation of employment.
• Wartime necessitated changes in manning and required control of labor supply.
• Welfare efforts expanded and were seen to be valuable.

Early Personnel Departments (1920-1939)

• Employment managers like "Labour Officer" and "Men's Employment Officer" became common.
• There was a push towards complexity and differentiation in management.

The Role of Personnel Management During World War II (1939-1945)

• Personnel management expanded to cover nearly all factories during WWII due to stricter controls,
• Welfare and personnel work expanded as full-time efforts, with concerns about productivity.
• Large-scale production and military needs changed the workforce drastically and management was needed to adapt.

Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (1945-1968)

• Understanding of personnel management is not complete without exploring industrial relations and the roles of managers and trade unions.
• Issues including wage control, negotiations, workforce relationships, were of high importance during this period.
• Personnel managers played a role in negotiation procedures during this period.
• Personnel work was seen as important for organizational strategy.

National Economic Policy, Legislation, and Personnel Techniques (1968-1979)

• State intervention influenced wage policies and employment regulations.
• A period of low unemployment for decades following WWII.
• National policy, legislation, and methods for workforce management were significant in this time period.

Personnel Management in the 1979-1997

• A Conservative government introduced changes and legislation toward limiting trade unions.
• Advancements in technology saw greater use of computers and recording in personnel management.
• HR work moved to a more strategic role, in some organizations.

Personnel Management in the 1997 Onwards

• Growing role of HRM in management; in response to increased competitiveness.
• Changes in business and societal needs changed HR models and the work that HR workers do.
• The expanded use of technology in administrative functions and HR record keeping, increased from the 70's onward.