Block 1: the Foundations and Challenges of Hrm
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FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 BLOCK 1: THE FOUNDATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF HRM Uttarakhand Open University 1 FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 UNIT 1: DEFINITION OF HRM, ROLE, IMPORTANCE AND CHALLENGES OF HRM Structure: 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Human Resource Management: concept 1.3.1. People who manage 1.3.2. People at work 1.3.3. Definitions of Human Resource Management 1.3.4. Management of Men is a challenging job 1.3.5. Features of Human Resource Management 1.4 Role of Human Resource Management 1.5 Importance of Human Resource Management 1.6 Challenges of Human Resource Management 1.7 Summary 1.8 Glossary 1.9 Answer to check your progress/Possible Answers to SAQ 1.10 References/Bibliography 1.11 Terminal Questions 1.1. INTRODUCTION As one author has rightly said 1+1 makes an organization, i.e., where there are two or more persons there is in effect and organization. Some individuals prefer to work independently in isolated circumstances. But the vast majority of all work in today’s environment takes place within the context of a structured organization- a grouping of individuals into a unified and common effort. To look after the various functions set for the organization adequate resources in men and materials have to be arranged by individuals who serve as managers or supervisors within organizations. Thus there emerged the term ‘Human Resource Management’. Uttarakhand Open University 2 FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 1.2. OBJECTIVE After reading this unit, you will be able to understand: Concept of HRM The role and importance of HRM The challenges of HRM 1.3. CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Of all the factors of production namely M’s of Management i.e Materials, Machinery, Money, Methods and Men, Man occupies an important place. The other 4 M’s by themselves will not help the organization to achieve its goals unless there is an effective coordination and utilization of human resources. Rensis Libert says, all the activities of any enterprise are initiated and determined by the persons who make up the institution, plant or office and all else that make a modern form are unproductive except for human effort and direction of all the tasks of the management. In the past, people migrated from villages to towns seeking employment. They found themselves in totally different and new situations to which they were not used to. So whenever they feel frustrated, they return to their villages and this resulted in loss of trained labour. These people had no proper leader to guide them and even no proper masters to manage them. The necessity of proper personnel management was then felt. It was realized that a good personnel management will go a long way in making efficient the overall management of the organization. The importance of human factor in any type of co-operative endeavor cannot be over emphasized. It is a matter of common knowledge that every business organization depends for its effective functioning not so much on its material or financial resources as on its pool of able and willing human resources. The over whelming importance of human factor is due to its unique characteristics. This is only resource which is able to produce an output greater than its input. Man alone can produce through motivated creativity- an output greater than the sum of his inputs. No other resource can do this. Human resource appreciates in value with the passage of time. As time passes people become experienced and skilled.it is not so with other resources which generally depreciate as time goes on. Human resource is most complex and unpredictable in its behavior. There is no cook book formula of guide a manager how to motivate his Uttarakhand Open University 3 FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 workers. A manager can buy his worker’s time, he can buy his physical presence at a given place, he can buy a measured number of skilled muscular motions per hour or day, but he cannot buy worker’s enthusiasm, he cannot buy his initiative, he cannot buy his loyalty, he cannot buy his devotion. Each individual has his own distinct background. This makes each individual unique in his psychological frameworks. Hence they cannot be interchanged, much less standardized. This implies that all individuals in an organization cannot be treated alike. In employing and supervising people and in endeavoring to reach their motivation, a manager must follow tailor- made approach based on his understanding of the actions, attitudes, needs and urges of the worker concerned. This is a very formidable and challenging task. 1.3.1 People who manage To look after the various functions set for the organization adequate resources in men and materials have to be arranged by individuals who serve as managers or supervisors within organizations. Such people have to make things happen to aid in the achievement of the organizational objectives, to co-ordinate the resources of the organization- 4 important Ms. Viz., money, material (raw or semi-manufactured), machinery (or fixed assets and plants), and men (or human resources). It is an effective combination and dovetailing of these factors on which the success or failure of the organization depends. The resources by themselves will not help the organization to accomplish the objective, unless there is an effective co-ordination and utilization of these human and non-human resources. While the human resources available to management in an organization are only one part of resources which must be co-ordinated, it is through the combined efforts of the people that monetary and material resources are utilized for organizational objectives. Without human efforts, organizations cannot accomplish their objectives. Rensis Likert rightly observes, “All the activities of any enterprise are initiated and determined by the persons who make up that institution, plants, offices, computers, automated equipment, and all else that make a modern firm uses are unproductive except for human effort and direction of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task, because all else depends on how well it is done.” Consequently, the managers have a central responsibility not only for the behavior and performance of other people but also of their own Uttarakhand Open University 4 FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 behavior. Managers are appointed at various levels to organize and co- ordinate the activities of the team members or fellow work associated. This constitutes a hierarchy of management, where individuals perform different roles: some are at the top level management; others are at the intermediate and lower levels of the management group. Those at the lower levels are responsible to persons at a higher organizational level. The greater the commitment of the members to organizational objectives, the greater is the degree of effectiveness with which the organization works. 1.3.2. People at Work The principal component of an organization is its ‘human resources’ of ‘people at work’. Human resources have been defined as “from the national point of view, the knowledge skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes obtained in the population; whereas from the viewpoint of the individual enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills as exemplified in the talents and aptitudes of its employees.” Jucius calls these resources, ‘human factors’, which refer to “a whole consisting of inter-related, inter-dependent and inter- acting physiological, psychological, sociological and ethical components.” It is the human resource which is of paramount importance in the success of any organization, because most of the problems in organizational settings are human and social rather than physical, technical or economic. Failure to reorganize this fact causes immense loss to the nation, enterprise and the individual. In the words of Oliver Sheldon, “No industry can be rendered efficient so long as the basic fact remains unrecognized that it is principally human. It is not a mass of machines and technical processes, but a body of men. It is not a complex of matter, but a complex of humanity. It fulfills its function not by virtue of some interpersonal force, but a human energy. Its body is not an intricate maze of mechanical devices but a magnified nervous system.” ‘People at work’ comprise a large number of individuals of different sex, age, socio-religious group and different educational or literacy standards. These individuals in the work place exhibit not only similar behavior patterns and characteristics to a certain degree, but they also show much dissimilarity. Each individual who works has his own set of needs, drives, goals, and experiences. Each has his own physical and psychological traits. Each human being is not only a product of his biological inheritance but also a result of interactions with his environment. Uttarakhand Open University 5 FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR BTTM 501 Family relationships, religious influences, racial or caste backgrounds, educational accomplishment, the application of technological innovations, and many other environmental influences affect the individual as he works. Among the environmental factors that influence work behavior are various organizational elements (authority relationships, organizational goals, procedures, rules and policies: informal group relationship, the type and manner of supervision received by the employee, etc.). People come to work with certain specific motives to earn money, to get employment, to have better prospect in future, to be treated as a human being while at the place of work. They sell their labour for reasonable wage/ salary and other benefits. It is these people who provide the knowledge and much of the energy through which organizational objectives are accomplished.