Chapter 1 – The Role of Human Resources in an Organization

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

After reading this chapter, the students should be able to:

1. Define Human Resource Management, its nature and scope;

2. Describe the importance of studying human resources management;
3. Identify the different features and characteristics of Human Resources Management;
and
4. Compare and contrast the differences between personnel management and human
resources management.

The Human Resources Department or Unit handles many necessary functions of an

organizations. These functions are critical because without those functions being completed,
the organization would not be able to meet the essential needs of management and staff.

The activities under the Department falls under Human Resource Management or
People Management. In this manual, the term “Human Resources Management” will be used
throughout discussion of some of the theories, principles and concepts underlying it.

A. DEFINITION OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM)

Human Resources refer to the workers and employees who create an organization.
They are the people who take charge in the planning, organizing, directing, controlling and
implementing the over-all strategies of the organization. Hence, the success of the workplace
depends on them based on how they efficiently and effectively work, how they deliver quality
service to their clients/customers, and on how they accomplish the company’s short-term and
long-term objectives.

Human Resources also refers to the people and the staff that operates an organization, it
also refers to human capital. (Cabulay & Carpio, 2009) -

Human Resources Management is defined by a lot of gurus and experts. Below is a

summary based from different broad definitions.

1. HRM is management of people. It is the art and science of acquiring, motivating,

maintaining, and developing people in their jobs in light of their personal, professional
and technical knowledge, skills, potentialities, needs and values and in synchronization
with the achievement of individual, organization and society’s goals. (Martirez, 2015)
2. It deals with people so that they can manage the other resources within the domain of
responsibility efficiently and effectively.
 3. 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
contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Storey (1989) believes that HRM can be
regarded as a ‘set of interrelated policies with an ideological and philosophical
underpinning’. He suggests four aspects that constitute the meaningful version of HRM:
o a particular constellation of beliefs and assumptions;
o a strategic thrust informing decisions about people management;
o the central involvement of line managers; and
o reliance upon a set of ‘levers’ to shape the employment relationship.

Human Resource System

Human resource management operates through human resource systems that bring
together in a coherent way:

● HR philosophies describing the primary values and guiding principles adopted in

managing people.
● HR strategies defining the direction in which HRM intends to go.
● HR policies, which are the guidelines defining how these values, principles and the
strategies should be applied and implemented in specific areas of HRM.
●HR processes consisting of the formal procedures and methods used to put HR
strategic plans and policies into effect.
● HR practices comprising the informal approaches used in managing people.
●HR programmes, which enable HR strategies, policies and practices to be implemented
according to plan.
 Philosophies

Strategies Policies

Human Resource
Systems

Processes Practices

Programmes

HRM is the efficient and effective utilization of employees in order to achieve goals of
the organization. It is about managing people at work, being the human side of organizational
management having philosophies, policies, procedure, processes, practices and programmers
influencing employees of the organization.