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Evolution and Development of Human Resource Management
Human resource management or HRM is the field that deals with effective management of the employees in an organization with the objective of helping the organization gain competitive advantage in the market. The human resource function is a must in any organization and is designed to maximise employee performance by taking care of various workforce related activities efficiently. The professionals who are interested in a career in human resources, generally go for a degree in human resource management. There are various HR courses online as well as offline, available to interested students.
The beginning of human resource management dates back to the 1850s with the onset of the industrial revolution in Europe and USA. Today, human resources function is an integral part of any organization. However, the evolution of human resources has taken decades of work. Some of the key highlights of human resource management are listed below –
Onset of Industrial Revolution
During the industrial revolution, factory workers were working in extremely poor conditions. The first world war worsened this scenario. It was at this point that it was felt necessary by the governments in USA and Europe to intervene and protect the interests of the workers.
In India, the industrial revolution reached in the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1911, under the leadership of Mr. JJ Whitley, the royal commission of labour in India recommended some steps to protect the workers in the factories. These steps included appointment of labour officers in industrial enterprises to perform recruitment and settle the workers’ grievances, amongst others.
Formation of Trade Unions
Soon after the recommendations from Mr. Whitley, the workers started forming associations known as trade unions, to represent themselves and their rights as employees. The trade union act was finally passed in India in 1926. The trade unions gave rise to practices such as grievance handling, collective bargaining or negotiation, arbitration, disciplinary practices, employee benefits and proper wage structures.
Social Responsibility
Some owners like Robert Owen, a British industrialist, started championing the cause of humanistic approach towards factory workers. They were of the view that good working environment will lead to a better productivity for the workers in a factory. Therefore, it was necessary to provide better living and working conditions to the workers. Robert Owen implemented the practice in his own cotton mill in Scotland by introduction of facilities like toilets and showers in the factory, model villages for the workers and raising the minimum age of child employment to 11 years while reducing their work hours to 10 hours.
Evolution of the Human Relations Era
Between 1925 and 1935, many experts started expressing their opinions on the humanistic aspect of organizational activities. Psychologists like Hugo Munsterberg suggested the use of psychology in selection, placement, testing and training of employees in any organization. Further researches confirmed that workers cannot be motivated solely by economic rewards and need other critical motivators such as job security, recognition for good work, right to express their opinions on issues of relevance to the employees. It was during this time that the theory was confirmed that employees need social and psychological satisfaction and that the purpose of a human resource function in any organization is to make employees productive by ensuring that employees are satisfied.
Human Resource Management in India
Specific to India, human resource management has been evolving ever since after the independence when in 1948, the Factories Act laid down the regulations regarding appointment and duties of Welfare officers in organizations. In the 1960s, the job of personnel function increased beyond welfare. Areas like labour welfare, industrial relations and personnel administration were added to it and the function came to be known as personnel management. Over the years, the approach of this function evolved to include human values and achieve productivity through human resource management instead of just people management.
Human Resource Management in Today’s World
As professionalism increased in organization the human resource functions also evolved to include employee engagement, employee satisfaction, recruitment and hiring, learning and development as well as employer branding. Now organizations require their human resource to not just manage the issues related to workforce but also create a connect with existing employees. It also urges them to communicate with both existing and potential employees and create a positive brand image of the company in the minds of these target groups.
In short, the purpose of human resources management is to achieve competitive advantage and success in the market through the people. The human resource professionals manage employees as human capital of an organization as well as implement policies and processes, all of which are targeted towards creating opportunities for employees to be productive and satisfied. Human resources function hence plays an integral role in the success of an organization.
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