Various Articles

We may safely say that in the recent past, no other area of an organization has changed so much as human resource management. Until recently, companies and organizations had a department or division for personnel or labor relations or industrial relations. Its functions normally centered around ensuring smooth production and operations, discouraging strikes and labor activism, appraisal and compensation issues and complying with the government's mandates and rules.

There is a shift from controlling to managing these resources due to changes and improvements in industry and economy in addition to the realisation that employees are its most resourceful asset. It's the people not the capital, technology that is the most vital asset in any organisation. Since people are emotional, ever changing and susceptible to ups and downs and they need careful handling.

Various activities find a place in human resource management, such as recruiting the right kind of employees, training them to enhance themselves and enrich the organization at the same time, keep them motivated and enthusiastic and encourage high performance. Other areas include hrm and psychology, benefits and compensation, equal opportunity to minorities, women and physically challenged, and compliance with regulations.

The human resource manager has come to play an increasingly important role in an organization's success. He has the unenviable task of searching for and recruiting people having not only the qualifications required by the organization but also the right attitude and emotional balance. He has to then apply hrm and psychology to ensure that they all work towards the same direction set by the organization and at the same time, not stifle individuality and creativity.

Some of the simplest features that an effective human resource management possesses are a system to invite suggestions and complaints and to implement/address them quickly and effectively. A genuine feedback mechanism and a responsive appraisal system that includes provision of counseling to each employee in his or her career and personality development and are other features of a good human resource management.

Any organization, whether it is a large corporation, a non-profit or a small business unit, has to take care of its people if it has to grow and prosper. It has to identify and nurture those who are high performers and groom them for leadership roles. At the same time, it has to identify and help average performers to improve themselves and their productivity. Without a well-developed human resource management, it cannot hope to achieve these objectives. In essence, it has to keep its people happy. After all, a happy person is a productive person.