Traditional Personnel Management and Human Resources Management Essay Example for Free

Traditional Personnel Management and Human Resources Management Essay Personnel management was the previous trend in the nineteenth century before it evolved into human resources management. Personnel managers during that time were called â€Å"welfare officers.† Welfare officers became active in the work environment due to the harsh conditions that employees are experiencing. Primarily, labor unions and organizational movements influenced the emergence of welfare officers who were mostly female. Their goal was to defend the rights of the female population from injustices brought about by organizations and companies. (CIPD) After World War I, the role of welfare officers as personnel managers evolved, as the responsibility of handling absenteeism, recruitment and hiring, talks about bonuses and wages, etc. The most important role of personnel management in the 1920’s was to handle negotiations between the management and the staff over wage disputes. At this point in time, business organizations and companies have begun listening to the concerns of staff members. Since companies are suffering from losses due to absenteeism and lack of work force, they also started addressing the concerns of their staff by developing benefit programs that are proven to entice applicants, and retain staff members. (CIPD) In the latter part of the 1970’s, several changes brought about by post-World War II and the prevalence of unions, influenced the added roles of personnel management. Personnel management was tasked to take on five roles such as collective bargaining, legislation, bureaucracy, social conscience and business, and growing performance improvement. In collective bargaining, personnel management handles communication and negotiations between the business organization or company and the staff. Personnel management focuses most on unions, and has studied several strategies and practices in establishing communication lines with them. Legislation involves the understanding of current situation of the working environment and implementing legislations that follows moral and ethical principles in the workplace and setting limits in the responsibilities of personnel management. The bureaucratic role of personnel management looks to handle specific needs and problems in the workplace such as setting rules and guidelines that staff should follow. Social conscience is all about establishing mores and norms within the working environment. Lastly, the role of personnel management for growing performance improvement promotes professional development and strategies in career improvements. (CIDG) Personnel management, born out of need to protect the rights of the workers, seemed to be unimportant during the early years of the nineteenth century. Business organizations and companies often disregarded the need for personnel management, which caused them the loss in work force and labor. Moreover, the roles of personnel management were ambiguous until the latter part of the 1970’s when roles were assigned to them. The structure of personnel management at that time was also disorganized, such that there were no set rules or standards for them. This was about to change, however, when, due to changes in trends, personnel management shifted to human resources management. The term human resources management was coined in 1980. The increase in labor unions all over the country forced business organization and companies to value human resources management. Due to the changes in business strategies and the valued role of personnel management, human resources management became involved in the accomplishment of company goals and objectives. Business organizations and companies established a clear goal and objective for human resources management and began consulting them for advice regarding employee concerns. The implementation of human resources management was also a way for business organizations and companies to motivate staff members into cooperating and committing their time and effort for company missions and goals. (CIDG) Human resources management was also organized, such that it follows a cycle or a process, members of the human resources management team are assigned clear goals and objectives and the roles and responsibilities are laid out for their understanding. For instance, the work of the human resources management team starts off with planning, handles recruitment and selection, socialization, appraisal of performance, the administration of rewards or demerits system, and the implementation of several programs for career development. Human resources management became a valuable aspect in business management, and decisions were primarily based on human resources practices. (MDF) The roles and responsibilities of the human resources management were also complex and crucial. Clearly, the personnel management industry has grown intellectually. With the shift to human resources management, strategies became equally important in improving human resources management skills. Moreover, specific roles and responsibilities were particular with its alignment to company goals and objectives. For instance, staffing and hiring requires consultation with moral and ethical guidelines, assessment tools and techniques, performance appraisals, willingness to undergo training, etc. (Answers) Logically speaking, the role of human resources management since its evolution from personnel management became a complex and particular process. What used to be a form of protecting the rights of staff, became a collaborative department which balances the accomplishment of goals and objectives of the company, as well as to protect the interest of employees. Roles and responsibilities are clearly stated, as compared to the ambiguous role of personnel management in the past. Business organizations and companies now depend on the human resources department for company success, therefore, improving the standards and quality judgment of human resources department staff. Advancements in intellectual management has increased awareness and relevance of strategies and techniques in improving human resources management and the administration of professional development programs and the acquisition of best practices in the particular industry. Works Cited Answers. â€Å"Human Resources Management (HRM).† 2008. Retrieved from Answers Corporation. 05 May 2008 http://www.answers.com/topic/human-resource-management?cat=biz-fin. CIPD. â€Å"Personnel Management: A Short History.† HR Trends. 2008. Retrieved from CIPD. 05 May 2008. http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/hrpract/hrtrends/pmhist.htm. MDF. â€Å"International Human Resources Management.† 2008. Retrieved from MDF. 05 May 2008 http://www.mdf.nl/index.php/page/80/international-human-resources-management?mod[MDFCourseCalendarModule][item]=120.