PAN AFRICAN INSTITUTE

TRAINING MANUAL

ON

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1

 OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
After studying this course HRM, you will be able to:

• Understand the basic concepts of human resource management (HRM).

• Explain what human resource management is and how it relates to the

management process.

• Provide an overview of functions of HRM.

• Describe how the major roles of HR management are being transformed.

• Explain the role of HRM in the present millennium.

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 INTRODUCTION
• The whole context of Human Resource Management revolves around this
core matter of managing relations at work place.

• Since mid-1980’s Human Resource Management (HRM) has gained

acceptance in both academic and commercial circle.

• HRM is a multidisciplinary organizational function that draws theories and

ideas from various fields such as management, psychology, sociology,
economics etc.

• There is no best way to manage people and no manager has formulated

how people can be managed effectively, because people are complex
beings with complex needs.

• Any Organization has three basic components, People, Purpose, and

Structure. 3
 What is Human Resource Management?
DEFINITIONS
• HRM is concerned with the most effective use of people to achieve
organizational and individual goals. It is the way of managing people at
work, so that they give their best to the organization (Invancevich and
Glueck)
• Therefore, personnel management is the planning, organizing,
directing, and controlling of the performance of those operative
functions (Edward B. Philippo).
• The policies and practices involved in carrying out the “people” or human
resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening,
training, rewarding, and appraising (Dessler).
• Generally, it comprises of the activities, policies, and practices involved in
obtaining, developing, utilizing, evaluating, maintaining, and retaining the
appropriate number and skill mix of employees to accomplish the
organization’s objectives. 4
 NATURE OF HRM
• HRM involves the application of management functions and
principles.
The functions and principles are applied to acquiring, developing,
maintaining and providing remuneration to employees in an
organization.
• Decisions relating to employees must be integrated.
Decisions on different aspects of employees must be consistent with
other human resource (HR) decisions.
• Decisions made influence the effectiveness of an organization.
Effectiveness of an organization will result in betterment of services to
customers in the form of high quality products supplied at reasonable
costs.
• HRM functions are not confined to business establishments only.
It is also applicable to nonbusiness organizations such as education,
health care, recreation and like.
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 SCOPE OF HRM
• American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) conducted fairly an exhaustive
study in this field and identified nine broad areas of activities of HRM.
Human Resource Planning: Getting Right person, at right time and right place
Design of the Organization and Job: This is the task of laying down organization structure,
authority, relationship and responsibilities.
Selection and Staffing: This is the process of recruitment and selection of staff
Training and Development: Finding the training need of the organization
Organizational Development: This is an important aspect whereby “Synergetic effect” is
generated in an organization i.e. healthy interpersonal and inter-group relationship within the
organization for integration.
Compensation and Benefits: This is the area of wages and salaries administration where wages
and compensations are fixed.
Employee Assistance: Each employee is unique in character, personality, expectation and
temperament.
Union/Labour Relations: Healthy Industrial and Labour relations are very important for
enhancing peace and productivity in an organization.
Personnel Research and Information System: Throws better insight into the workers
expectations, aspirations and behaviour. 6
 OBJECTIVES OF HRM
The specific objectives HRM include the following, to:

• Hire and manage human capital

• Develop organizational climate

• Maintain performance standards and increase productivity.

• Establish and maintain a harmonious employer/employee relationship.

• Create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment

• Develop programs to meet the economic, psychological, and social needs

of the employees and helping the organization to retain the productive
employees.
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 OBJECTIVES OF HRM (Cont’d)
• Ensure that the organization is in compliance with international and
federal laws affecting the workplace

• Provide organization with well-trained and well-motivated work

force.

• Increase the employees satisfaction and self-actualization.

• Develop and maintain the quality of work life.

• Communicate HR policies to all employees.

• Help maintain ethical polices and behavior. 8

 BROAD OBJECTIVES OF HRM
• The above stated HRM objectives can be summarized under four broad
objectives namely:
Societal Objectives: To ensure that the organization becomes socially responsible to
the needs and challenges of the society through Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) programmes, while minimizing the negative impact of such demands upon the
organization.

Organizational Objectives: To make sure that HRM is not a standalone department,

rather a means to assist the organization with its primary objectives. The HR
department exists to serve the rest of the organization.

Functional Objectives: To maintain the department’s contribution at a level

appropriate to the organization’s needs.

Personnel Objectives: To assist employees in achieving their personal goals, at least

as far as these goals enhance the individual’s contribution to the organization.
Personal objectives of employees must be met if they are to be maintained, retained
and motivated. 9
 FUNCTIONS OF HRM
• Human Resources management has an important role to play in equipping
organizations to meet the challenges of an expanding and increasingly
competitive sector.
• Strategic HR Management
As a part of maintaining organizational competitiveness, strategic
planning for HR effectiveness can be increased through the use of HR
metrics and HR technology.
Human resource planning (HRP) function determine the number and type
of employees needed to accomplish organizational goals.

• Equal Employment Opportunity

Compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and
regulations affects all other HR activities.
Two schools of thought in EEO:
Blind to differences
Affirmative Action
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 FUNCTIONS OF HRM
• Staffing
The aim of staffing is to provide a sufficient supply of qualified individuals
to fill job vacancies in an organization.
Job analysis, recruitment and selection are the main functions under which
staffing is achieved.
Job analysis is the process of describing the nature of a job and specifying
the human requirements such as knowledge, skills, experience and other
details needed to perform the job.

• Talent Management and Development

Beginning with the orientation of new employees, talent management and
development includes different types of training.
It is a method to acquaint new employees with particular aspects of their
new job, including pay and benefit programmes, working hours and
company rules and expectations.
HR development and succession planning of employees and managers is
necessary to prepare for future challenges.
Career planning activities include assessing an individual employee’s
potential for growth and advancement in the organization. 11
 FUNCTIONS OF HRM
• Total Rewards
This function uses rewards to motivate personnel to achieve an organization’s goals of
productivity, innovation and profitability.
Good salaries, incentives and benefits are the rewards given to the employees for
performing organizational work.
Reward management is the method for determining how much employees should be
paid for performing certain jobs.
• Risk Management and Worker Protection
HRM addresses various workplace risks to ensure protection of workers by
meeting legal requirements and being more responsive to concerns for
workplace health and safety along with disaster and recovery planning (HSE).
• Employee and Labor Relations
The relationship between managers and their employees must be handled legally and
effectively.
Employer and employee rights must be addressed. It is important to develop, communicate,
and update HR policies and procedures so that managers and employees alike know what is
expected.
In some organizations, union/management relations must be addressed as well.
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 ROLE OF HR MANAGER
• To develop a thorough knowledge of corporate culture, plans and policies.
• To act as an internal change agent and consultant
• To initiate change and act as an expert and facilitator
• To actively involve in company’s strategy formulation
• To keep communication line open between the HRD function and 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. 13
 OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING
• Outsourcing means turning over all or part of an organization’s information systems
operation to outside contractors or service providers within the country.
• Offshoring refers to outsourcing in another country.
• Conceptually, outsourcing and off-shoring can be viewed together, since both involve
employing individuals outside of the organization to handle operational work.
• Main benefits to outsourcing the HR department:
Cost savings which will be associated with such a move.
Allows a company to regain its primary focus.
• Major drawbacks to sending operations overseas:
Loss of domestic talent,
Loss of intellectual assets,
Decreased levels of customer satisfaction resulting from diminished organizational
values that do not translate across cultures, and
Threats to organizational performance
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 STRATEGIC ROLE FOR HRM
• The administrative role traditionally has been the dominant role for HRM.

• 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.

• 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.

• However, even though this strategic role of HR is recognized, many

organizations still need to make significant progress toward fulfilling it. 15
 STRATEGIC ROLE FOR HRM (CONT’D)
• Some examples of areas where strategic contributions can be made by HR are:
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.

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 HRM IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
• Human Resources have never been more indispensable than today.

• The competitive forces that we face today will continue to face in the future demanding
organizational excellence.

• The following are recommended as the factors that would improve HRM in the new
millennium for any organization to realize its objectives:

Can Help in Dispensing Organizational Excellence

Should be a Strategy Partner

 Accountability Should be fixed to Ensure Employee Commitment

The New HR Manager Must Become a Change Agent

Improving the Quality of HR

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HRM IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM (CONT’D)

Change in Employment Practices

Benchmarking Tool Must be mastered by HR Professionals

Aligning Human Resources to Better Meet Strategic Objectives

Promote From Within and Invest in Employees

Review the Recruitment and Selection Process

Communicate Mission and Vision

Use Teams to Achieve Synergy

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 CHALLENGES BEFORE HRM
• Managing the Vision: Vision of the organization provides the direction to business
strategy and helps managers to evaluate management practices and make decisions.

• Internal Environment: Creating an environment which is responsive to external

changes, providing satisfaction to the employees and sustaining through culture and
systems is a challenging task.

• Changing Industrial Relations: Both the workers and managers have to be managed by
the same HRM Philosophy and this is going to be a difficult task for the managers of
tomorrow.

• Building Organizational Capability: Even in the adverse circumstances the employees

have to be made to live in psychological state of readiness to continually change.

• Job Design and Organization Structure: Instead of depending on foreign concepts we

need to focus on understanding the job, technology and the people involved in carrying
out the tasks.
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 CHALLENGES BEFORE HRM
• Managing the Large Work Force: Management of large workforce poses
the biggest problem as the workers are conscious of their rights.

• Employee Satisfaction: Managers should be aware of techniques to

motivate their employees so that their higher level needs can be satisfied.

• Modern Technology: There will be unemployment due to modern

technology and this could be corrected by assessing manpower needs and
finding alternate employment.

• Computerized Information System: This is revolutionary in managerial

decision making and is having impact on coordination in the organization.

• Managing Human Resource Relations: As the workforce comprises of

educated and uneducated, managing the relations will be of great challenge.

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 THE END

THANKS FOR LISTENING

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