People Management and Human Resource Management

‘All the management decisions and actions that directly affect, or influence, people as members of the organization rather than as job holders.’ (Henderson, 2017)

A person who leads a team is a People Manager.  He is in charge of leading a team and is also responsible for the team growth, development and success.  While engaged in these tasks he is also responsible for the setting of targets for the team which are aligned to the company`s long term objectives.  He also sees to it that the  teams are motivated and well engaged.  He provides constructive criticism and feedback if and when required.

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Currently many do not talk about People Management but the common term is Human Resource Management. 

What is Human Resource Management?

According to Michael Armstrong (2006), Human resource management is defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contributes to the achievement of its objectives.

hrmpractice.com provides many definitions of Human Resource Management.

1. M. J. Jucious: “The field of HRM involves planning, organization, directing and controlling functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and utilizing a labor force.”

2. Dale Yoder: “HRM is the provision of leadership and direction of people in their working or employment relationship.”

3. Mathis and Jackson: “HRM is the effective use of Human resources and organization through the management of people related activities.”

4. Ricky W. Griffin: “Human Resource Management is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce.”

5. Gray Dessler: “The policies and practices one needs to carry out the people or human resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding, and appraising.”

6. Milkovich & Boudreau: “Human Resource Management is a series of decision that affect the relationship between employee and employer: it affects many constituencies and is intended to influences the effectiveness of employee and employer.

7. David A Decenzo and Stephen p. Robbins: “Human is made of four activities:

a)Staffing,
b)Training and development,
c) Motivation and
d) Maintenance. 

It is crucial for an organization to possess efficient and effective individuals.

‘people need to be viewed as an asset rather than merely a variable cost.’ (Beer et al, 1984)

The responsibilities of a human resource manager fall into three major areas: staffing, employee compensation and benefits, and defining/designing work. Essentially, the purpose of HRM is to maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees.

As cited in www.inc.com › encyclopedia › human-resource-management

 Is  human resource management an integral part  in an organization?

The components of Human Resources functions comprise of Recruitment, Employee Relations, Employee Law Compliance, Health and Safety, Training and Development. 

·         Recruitment

In Human Resource Management the HR department  should  understand the different roles in the organization.

Figure 01

Portrays the different levels in an organization which HRD should essentially be aware of.

The correct number of employees should be maintained at all these levels.  The challenge is to discover the precise person to fit into the role.  The qualifications possessed by these people will also have to be taken into account in order to provide with the best fit for the role.  The challenge becomes  intensive as the organization expands and the demand increases to hunt for the right people.

·         Employee relations

People are essentially the live wire of any organization.  The bottom line of a business would be solid with employees who are actively involved in the company. The HRD is directly responsible to keep employees on track with proper communication, providing job descriptions and monitoring.  An  environment should be set to keep employees involved and fully engaged in their job roles.

 Employment law compliance

It is a necessity for a company to obey the relevant employment regulations.  The working conditions should be employee friendly and a proper work life balance should exist. Work practices should be just and fair.  This becomes tougher for a company as trends are changing rapidly and new challenging novel situations arise. 

·         Health and safety

While focusing on profitability, the safe workplace concepts might fall backstage.  HRD has a prime role of checking if the necessary guidelines are adhered to in relation to safety and maintaining good health.  Providing staff insurances policy is key in health measures.  In the banking organizations,  obtaining Annual leave is a must in order to maintain proper mental health and recreation. Safety training – how to react in an emergency holdup or fire situation, enlightening staff on emergency exists are evident in company HRDs.

·         Staff training and development

The training departments coming under HRDs are involved in providing on the job and in house training to employees.  Staff will be trained on their day to day roles and improvement and also on improving their soft skills like communications, leadership etc. In a successful company the training sessions take place frequently involving operator level and middle level management. 

Apart from the above responsibilities it is seen at present that HRD plays a key role in the strategic management of an organization. This is most importantly due to the fact that they are equipped with The awareness on the most supreme asset of the company – it`s employees.