The development of personnel management into human resource management Essay

The development of personnel management into human resource management - Essay Example Personnel management emerged earlier in the days when people used to work in factories. It deals with the welfare of employees in an organization, it seeks to obtain, develop, and sustain motivated and satisfied employees within an organization. Personnel management also deals with the employment, promotion, development, and compensation of employees, as well as acting as an advisor to managers in relation to personnel issues. It is also inclusive of incentive issues such as rewards to motivate employees. Hence, a personnel department mainly deals with the issues concerning employees. Personnel management is therefore involved in four functions, namely, recruitment, selection, training and development and manpower planning. Nevertheless, a personnel manager is a mediator, thus acting as a link between the top management and the employees. He is also an advisor of line managers in matters relating to employees. Therefore, personnel management can be said to be a continuing process tha t is concerned with employees and their welfare in an organization (Reddy 2004, pp 2). According to Koster (2007 pp 4), Human Resource Management emerged in 1980’s; it can be referred to as a new approach to personnel management. It is a process that assists managers in recruiting, selection, training and developing employees.According to Aswathappa (2007, pp 5), â€Å"human resource management refers to a set of programmes, functions and activities designed and carried out in order to maximize both employee as well as organizational effectiveness.† ... Secondly, they both recognize the presence of line managers and they role of managing employees in an organization. Thirdly, they both believe in developing employees so that the employees can achieve satisfaction and hence attain the organization’s goals and objectives. Fourthly, both managements believe in placing the right people for the right jobs. Lastly, the same techniques are used in both HRM and personnel management, when it comes to selection, recruiting, and training (Armstrong, 2006, pp 19). The development of Personnel Management into Human Resource Management is sign posted by a few models and approaches. In this case, some of the models that are involved in human resource management include Michigan, Harvard, and Choice Models. According to Kandula (2004, pp2), the Harvard model is also known as the soft model of human resource management. This model implies that human resource policies can be influenced by situational factors and the stakeholder’s intere st factors. The situational factors include internal and external environmental factors, which include society values, business strategies, market conditions, and technology and labor market conditions. However, the stakeholders’ interest factors include human resource short-term policies like the unions, employees, and government agencies. The Harvard model also classifies human resource management policies into themes; human resource flows, which include the selection, recruitment, placement, promotions, and termination processes; and reward systems, which include the pay and non-monetary rewards such as certificate of excellence. Others are employee influence, which bears the responsibility of each member of staff, and delegation of authority; and the work systems