KIBABII UNIVERSITY

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION TO HRM

Dr. Ruth Atidah Mitalo,

Lecturer HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Where: At Kibabii University

Introduction
• Name
• Educational Background
• Country of Origin
• Work experience (if any)
• Family
• Expectations

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Introduction to HRM

• Introduction to HRM
• Meaning of HRM & its evolution
• Elements, goals & objectives of HRM
• Activities of HRM
• Differences between HRM & Personnel Management
• Functions of HRM

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:
Introduction to HRM
• Human Resource Management means
management of organization’s manpower
or workforce or human resources or staff.
• HRM refers to a collection of policies used
to organize work in the employment
relationship and centres on the
management of work and management of
people who undertake this work (Beardwell
and Clayton, 2010).

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Introduction to HRM
• HRM refers to all those activities associated
with the management of the employment
relationships in a firm (Boxall and
Purcell,2008)
• HRM is the process of acquiring, training,
appraising and compensating employees
and of attending to their labor relations,
health and safety, and fairness concerns
(Dessler,2015)

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 Introduction to HRM

• HRM refers to a distinctive approach to

employment management which seeks to achieve
competitive advantage through the strategic
deployment of a highly committed and capable
workforce, using an array of cultural, structural
and personnel techniques, (Storey,2007)

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 ‘Hard and Soft’ HRM

• ‘Soft HRM’ is used to describe approaches aimed

at enhancing commitment, quality and flexibility
of employees (Guest,1987;Storey,1992) – (most
important asset, where a manager tries to make
employees understand his value and takes a more
encouraging route to improve performance)

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 ‘Hard and Soft’ HRM

• ‘Hard HRM’ describes the emphasis on strategy

where Human Resources are deployed to achieve
business goals in the same way as any other
resource. It has a harsh interpretation associated
with strategies of cost reduction (e.g. sub –
contracting, out – sourcing, lower wages, minimal
training and tighter monitoring and performance
management) and lean production (downsizing,
work intensification) associated with these
strategies (Manager treats employees like
ordinary resource, more traditional).
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 ‘Hard and Soft’ HRM

• ‘As the debate continues, further terms have been

introduced, for example, ’High Commitment
Management, (HCM) and ‘High Involvement
Management’ (HIM) have eclipsed ‘Soft’ HRM
while ‘Strategic HRM’ appears to have replaced
‘Hard’ HRM.

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 HRM POLICY GOALS

• Strategic integration: the ability of the

organization to integrate HRM issues into this its
strategic plans, ensure that the various aspects of
HRM cohere and provide for line managers to
incorporate an HRM perspective into their
decision making.
• High commitment: behavioral commitment to
pursue agreed goals and attitudinal commitment
reflected in a strong identification with the
enterprise.

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 HRM POLICY GOALS

• High quality: this refers to all aspects of

managerial behavior that bear directly on the
quality of goods and services provided including
the management of employees and investment in
high quality employees
• Flexibility: functional flexibility and the existence
of an adaptable organization structure with the
capacity to manage innovation.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• The evolution of the concept of Human Resource
Management is presented below:
• 1.3.1 Period before industrial revolution – The
society was primarily an agriculture economy with
limited production. Number of specialized crafts
was limited and was usually carried out within a
village or community with apprentices assisting
the master craftsmen. Communication channel
were limited.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• 1.3.2 Period of industrial revolution (1750 to 1850) –
Industrial revolution marked the conversion of
economy from agriculture based to industry based.
Modernization and increased means of
communication gave way to industrial setup. A
department was set up to look into workers wages,
welfare and other related issues. This led to
emergence of personnel management with the major
task as:
•– Worker’s wages and salaries
•– Worker’s record maintenance
•– Worker’s housing facilities and health care

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• An important event in industrial revolution was
growth of Labour Union (1790) – The workers
working in the industries or factories were
subjected to long working hours and very little
wages. With growing unrest, workers across the
world started to protest and this led to the
establishment of Labour unions. To deal with
labour issues at one end and management at the
other Personnel Management department had to
be capable of politics and diplomacy , thus the
industrial relation department emerged.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• 1.3.3 Post Industrial revolution – The term
Human resource Management saw a major
evolution after 1850. Various studies were
released and many experiments were conducted
during this period which gave HRM altogether a
new meaning and importance.
• A brief overview of major theories released during
this period is presented below:

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• Frederick W. Taylor gave principles of scientific
management (1857 to 1911) led to the evolution
of scientific human resource management
approach which was involved in
•– Worker’s training
•– Maintaining wage uniformity
•– Focus on attaining better productivity.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• Hawthorne studies, conducted by Elton Mayo &
Fritz Roethlisberger (1927 to 1940). –
Observations and findings of Hawthorne
experiment shifted the focus of Human resource
from increasing worker’s productivity to
increasing worker’s efficiency through greater
work satisfaction.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• Douglas McGregor - Theory X and Theory Y (1960) –
(theory x of human management and motivation.
Assumes people dislike work, have little ambition and
unwilling to take responsibility. Explains importance
of supervision, external rewards and penalties,
theory y highlights the motivating role of job
satisfaction, workers approaching tasks without
supervision, people motivated by work itself,
autonomy). These studies and observations led to the
transition from the administrative and passive
Personnel Management approach to a more dynamic
Human Resource Management approach
which considered workers as a valuable resource.

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 1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
• AMO Theory (Appelbaum et al.,2000)
• Which states that individual performance is a function of employee
ability, motivation and opportunity,
• Contingency Theory
• Theorists here argue that there is no single best way; rather, people
management practices need to be tailored to an organization’s
specific circumstances.
• Different combination of HRM practices may be effective and
practices may change in response to specific external or internal
influences.
• Resource Based Theory (Barney,1991)
• States that a firm’s Human Resources can be a source of sustained
competitive advantage, particularly if they are ‘inimitable’ and ‘non –
substitutable’, (Barney, 1991).

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 Major Activities of HR Department
• As a result of these principles and studies, Human
resource management became increasingly line
management function , linked to core business operations.
Some of the major activities of HR department are listed
as-
• Recruitment and selection of skilled workforce.
• Motivation and employee benefits
• Training and development of workforce
• Performance related salaries and appraisals.
• Staff Separation

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 Major Activities of HR Department
• As a result of these principles and studies, Human
resource management became increasingly line
management function , linked to core business operations.
Some of the major activities of HR department are listed
as-
• Recruitment and selection of skilled workforce.
• Motivation and employee benefits
• Training and development of workforce
• Performance related salaries and appraisals.
• Staff Separation

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 Strategic Human Resource Management
Approach
• With increase in technology and knowledge base
industries and as a result of global competition,
Human Resource Management is assuming more
critical role today. Its major accomplishment is
aligning individual goals and objectives with
corporate goals and objectives. Strategic HRM
focuses on actions that differentiate the
organization from its competitors and aims to
make long term impact on the success of
organization.

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 MODELS OF HRM

• Two broad models have become influential in the

academic circles from the different definitions of
HRM;
• Contingency – Based Approaches –suggest that HRM
must match with business strategy
• Universalism – developed around ideas of mutuality
and stake holding at organizational level. Identifies
various stakeholders and their interests. How mutually
reinforcing HR Practices can have synergetic effect on
organizational performance.

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 1.6 CHARACTERISTICS OF HRM
• Storey (1989) regarded HRM as a set of interrelated
policies with an ideological and philosophical
underpinning. He listed four aspects that constitute the
meaningful version of HRM:
• A strategic thrust informing decisions about people
management
• The central involvement of line managers, and
• Reliance upon a set of ‘levers’ to shape the employment
relationship

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 THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS
• It is the people that make an organization. The role of
human resource management in organizations is to
organize people so that they can effectively work.
This includes managing recruiting and hiring
employees, coordinating employee benefits and
suggesting employee training and development
strategies. In this way, HR professionals are
consultants, not workers in an isolated business
function; they advise managers on many issues
related to employees and how they help the
organization achieve its goals.

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 THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS
• Working Together
• At all levels of the organization, managers and HR professionals work
together to develop employees' skills. HR professionals advise
managers and supervisors how to assign employees to different roles
in the organization.
• Commitment Building
• HR professionals also suggest strategies for increasing employee
commitment to the organization. This begins with using the recruiting
process or matching employees with the right positions according to
their qualifications.
• Building Capacity
• An HRM team helps a business develop a competitive advantage,
which involves building the capacity of the company so it can offer a
unique set of goods or services to its customers.

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 THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS
• Human Resource Management deals with issues related
to compensation,
performance management, organisation development,
safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, training
and others. HRM plays a strategic role in managing people
and the workplace culture and environment.

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Office of the Registrar (Administration & HR)
Kibabii University
P. O. Box 1699-50200
BUNGOMA, Kenya.
Website: www.kibu.ac.ke

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