Human resources may be defined as the total nowledge, s ills, creative abilitie s, talents and aptitudes of an organization's wor

force, as well as the values, attitudes, approaches and beliefs of the individuals involved in the affairs of the organization. It is the sum total or aggregate of inherent abilities, acquir ed nowledge and s ills represented by the talents and aptitudes of the persons employed in the organization. The human resources are multidimensional in nature. From the national point of v iew, human resources may be defined as the nowledge, s ills, creative abilities , talents and aptitudes obtained in the population; whereas from the viewpoint o f the individual enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities, acquired nowledge and s ills as exemplified in the talents and aptitudes of it s employees. Human Resource Management: Defined Human Resource Management has come to be recognized as an inherent part of manag ement, which is concerned with the human resources of an organization. Its objec tive is the maintenance of better human relations in the organization by the dev elopment, application and evaluation of policies, procedures and programmes rela ting to human resources to optimize their contribution towards the realization o f organizational objectives. In other words, HRM is concerned with getting better results with the collaborat ion of people. It is an integral but distinctive part of management, concerned w ith people at wor and their relationships within the enterprise. HRM helps in a ttaining maximum individual development, desirable wor ing relationship between employees and employers, employees and employees, and effective modeling of huma n resources as contrasted with physical resources. It is the recruitment, select ion, development, utilization, compensation and motivation of human resources by the organization. Human Resource Management: Evolution The early part of the century saw a concern for improved efficiency through care ful design of wor . During the middle part of the century emphasis shifted to th e employee's productivity. Recent decades have focused on increased concern for the quality of wor ing life, total quality management and wor er's participation in management. These three phases may be termed as welfare, development and emp owerment. Human Resource Management: Nature Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations toge ther so that the goals of each are met. The various features of HRM include: It is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises. Its focus is on results rather than on rules. It tries to help employees develop their potential fully. It encourages employees to give their best to the organization. It is all about people at wor , both as individuals and groups. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results. It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well-motivated employees. It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people wor ing at vario us levels in the organization. It is a multidisciplinary activity, utilizing nowledge and inputs drawn from ps ychology, economics, etc. Human Resource Management: Scope

The scope of HRM is very wide: 1. Personnel aspect-This is concerned with manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, transfer, promotion, training and development, layoff and retrenchment, remuneration, incentives, productivity etc. 2. Welfare aspect-It deals with wor ing conditions and amenities such as ca nteens, creches, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, e ducation, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc. 3. Industrial relations aspect-This covers union-management relations, join t consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary procedures, se ttlement of disputes, etc. Human Resource Management: Beliefs The Human Resource Management philosophy is based on the following beliefs: Human resource is the most important asset in the organization and can be develo ped and increased to an unlimited extent. A healthy climate with values of openness, enthusiasm, trust, mutuality and coll aboration is essential for developing human resource. HRM can be planned and monitored in ways that are beneficial both to the individ uals and the organization. Employees feel committed to their wor and the organization, if the organization perpetuates a feeling of belongingness. Employees feel highly motivated if the organization provides for satisfaction of their basic and higher level needs. Employee commitment is increased with the opportunity to discover and use one's c apabilities and potential in one's wor . It is every manager's responsibility to ensure the development and utilisation o f the capabilities of subordinates. Human Resource Management: Objectives To help the organization reach its goals. To ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resources. To ensure respect for human beings. To identify and satisfy the needs of individ uals. To To To To n. To To To To To To ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization. achieve and maintain high morale among employees. provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees. increase to the fullest the employee's job satisfaction and self-actualizatio develop and maintain a quality of wor life. be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society. develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect. enhance employee's capabilities to perform the present job. equip the employees with precision and clarity in transaction of business. inculcate the sense of team spirit, team wor and inter-team collaboration.

Human Resource Management: Functions In order to achieve the above objectives, Human Resource Management underta es t he following activities: 1. Human resource or manpower planning. 2. Recruitment, selection and placement of personnel. 3. Training and development of employees. 4. Appraisal of performance of employees. 5. Ta ing corrective steps such as transfer from one job to another. 6. Remuneration of employees. 7. Social security and welfare of employees. 8. Setting general and specific management policy for organizational relati onship. 9. Collective bargaining, contract negotiation and grievance handling. 10. Staffing the organization.

Reviewing and auditing manpower management in the organization Potential Appraisal. Feedbac Counseling. Role Analysis for job occupants. Job Rotation. Quality Circle, Organization development and Quality of Wor ing Life.

Human Resource Management: Futuristic Vision On the basis of the various issues and challenges the following suggestions will be of much help to the philosophy of HRM with regard to its futuristic vision: 1. There should be a properly defined recruitment policy in the organizatio n that should give its focus on professional aspect and merit based selection. 2. In every decision-ma ing process there should be given proper weightage to the aspect that employees are involved wherever possible. It will ultimately lead to sense of team spirit, team-wor and inter-team collaboration. 3. Opportunity and comprehensive framewor should be provided for full expr ession of employees' talents and manifest potentialities. 4. Networ ing s ills of the organizations should be developed internally an d externally as well as horizontally and vertically. 5. For performance appraisal of the employee s emphasis should be given to 36 0 degree feedbac which is based on the review by superiors, peers, subordinates as well as self-review. 6. 360 degree feedbac will further lead to increased focus on customer ser vices, creating of highly involved wor force, decreased hierarchies, avoiding di scrimination and biases and identifying performance threshold. 7. More emphasis should be given to Total Quality Management. TQM will cove r all employees at all levels; it will conform to customer's needs and expectati ons; it will ensure effective utilization of resources and will lead towards con tinuous improvement in all spheres and activities of the organization. 8. There should be focus on job rotation so that vision and nowledge of th e employees are broadened as well as potentialities of the employees are increas ed for future job prospects. 9. For proper utilization of manpower in the organization the concept of si x sigma of improving productivity should be intermingled in the HRM strategy. 10. The capacities of the employees should be assessed through potential app raisal for performing new roles and responsibilities. It should not be confined to organizational aspects only but the environmental changes of political, econo mic and social considerations should also be ta en into account. 11. The career of the employees should be planned in such a way that individ ualizing process and socializing process come together for fusion process and ca reer planning should constitute the part of human resource planning. To conclude Human Resource Management should be lin ed with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational c ultures that foster innovation and flexibility. All the above futuristic visions

Human Resource Management: Major Influencing Factors In the 21st century HRM will be influenced by following factors, which will wor as various issues affecting its strategy: Size of the wor force. Rising employees' expectations Drastic changes in the technology as well as Life-style changes. Composition of wor force. New s ills required. Environmental challenges. Lean and mean organizations. Impact of new economic policy. Political ideology of the Government. Downsizing and rightsizing of the organizations. Culture prevailing in the organization etc.

11. 12. s. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Aiding in the self-development of employees at all levels. Developing and maintaining motivation for wor ers by providing incentive

coupled with strategic goals and objectives should be based on 3 H's of Heart, Head and Hand i.e., we should feel by Heart, thin by Head and implement by Hand . Share: Faceboo Twitter Google Buzz Myspace MSN Live Yahoo Lin edIn Or ut Digg