Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization's workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union).

HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and inclusion.

In startup companies, HR's duties may be performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by non-HR personnel. In larger companies, an entire functional group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications.

History[link]

Antecedent theoretical developments[link]

HR spawned from the human relations movement, which began in the early 20th century due to work by Frederick Taylor in lean manufacturing. Taylor explored what he termed "scientific management" (later referred to by others as "Taylorism"), striving to improve economic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He eventually keyed in on one of the principal inputs into the manufacturing process—labor—sparking inquiry into workforce productivity.^[1]

The movement was formalized following the research of Elton Mayo, whose Hawthorne studies serendipitously documented how stimuli unrelated to financial compensation and working conditions—attention and engagement—yielded more productive workers.^[2] Contemporaneous work by Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin, Max Weber, Frederick Herzberg, and David McClelland formed the basis for studies in organizational behavior and organizational theory, giving room for an applied discipline.

Birth and evolution of the discipline[link]

By the time enough theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce management, changes in the business landscape (a là Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller) and in public policy (a là Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal) had transformed the employer-employee relationship, and the discipline was formalized as "industrial and labor relations". In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR associations—the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development—was founded in England as the Welfare Workers' Association, then changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of Labour Management before settling upon its current name.^[3] Likewise in the United States, the world's first institution of higher education dedicated to workplace studies—the School of Industrial and Labor Relations—was formed at Cornell University in 1945.^[4]

During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations. "Industrial and labor relations" began being used to refer specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as "personnel administration". In 1948, what would later become the largest professional HR association—the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)—was founded as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA).^[5]

Nearing the 21st century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in machine. "Human resources management", consequently, became the dominant term for the function—the ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998.^[5] "Human capital management" is sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include "organizational management", "manpower management", "talent management", "personnel management", and simply "people management".

In popular media[link]

HR has been depicted in several popular media. On the U.S. television series of The Office, HR representative Toby Flenderson is sometimes seen as a nag because he constantly reminds coworkers of company policies and government regulations.^[6] Long-running American comic strip Dilbert also frequently portrays sadistic HR policies through character Catbert, the "evil director of human resources".^[7] Additionally, an HR manager is the title character in the 2010 Israeli film The Human Resources Manager, while an HR intern is the protagonist in 1999 French film Ressources humaines

Practice[link]

Business function[link]

HR's overarching mission has been compartmentalized by industry expert Dave Ulrich as four-fold: (1) aligning HR and business strategy (strategic partner), (2) re-engineering organization processes (administration expert), (3) listening and responding to employees (employee champion), and (4) managing transformation and change (change agent).^[8]

In practice, HR is responsible for employee experience during the entire employment lifecycle. It is first charged with attracting the right employees through employer branding. It then must select the right employees through the recruitment process. HR then onboards new hires and oversees their training and development during their tenure with the organization. HR assesses talent through use of performance appraisals and then rewards them accordingly. In fulfillment of the latter, HR may sometimes administer payroll and employee benefits, although such activities are more and more being outsourced, with HR playing a more strategic role.

At the macro-level, HR is in charge of overseeing organizational leadership and culture. HR also ensures compliance with employment and labor laws, which differ by geography, and often oversees health, safety, and security. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union). Consequently, HR, usually through industry representatives, engages in lobbying efforts with governmental agencies (e.g., in the United States, the United States Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board) to further its priorities.

The discipline may also engage in mobility management, especially pertaining to expatriates; and it is frequently involved in the merger and acquisition process. HR is generally viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs and reduce risk.^[9]

Careers[link]

There are almost half a million HR practitioners in the United States and thousands more worldwide.^[10] The Chief HR Officer is the highest ranking HR executive in most companies and typically reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and works with the Board of Directors on CEO succession.^[11][12]

Within companies, HR positions generally fall into one of two categories: generalist and specialist. Generalists support employees directly with their questions, grievances, and projects. They "may handle all aspects of human resources work, and thus require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human resources generalists can vary widely, depending on their employer's needs."^[13] Specialists, conversely, work in a specific HR function. Some practitioners will spend an entire career as either a generalist or a specialist while others will obtain experiences from each and choose a path later. Being an HR manager consistently ranks as one of the best jobs, with a #4 ranking by CNN Money in 2006 and a #20 ranking by the same organization in 2009, due to its pay, personal satisfaction, job security, future growth, and benefit to society.^[14][15]

Human resource consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as advisers to companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies. In 2007, there were 950 HR consultancies globally, constituting a USD $18.4 billion market. The top five revenue generating firms were Mercer, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Watson Wyatt (now part of Towers Watson), Aon (now merged with Hewitt), and PwC consulting.^[16] For 2010, HR consulting was ranked the #43 best job in America by CNN Money.^[17]

Education[link]

Higher education[link]

The School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University was the world's first school for college-level study in HR.

Several universities offer programs of study pertaining to HR and related fields. The School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University was the world's first school for college-level study in HR.^[18] It continues to offer education at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels; and it operates a joint degree program with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, which HR Patriot termed the "crown jewel for aspiring HR professionals".^[19]

Other universities with entire colleges dedicated to the study of HR include Michigan State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Renmin University of China. Dozens of other universities house departments and institutes related to the field, either within a business school or in another college.

Professional associations[link]

HR education also comes by way of professional associations, which offer training and certification. The Society for Human Resource Management, which is based in the United States, is the largest professional association dedicated to HR,^[10] with over 250,000 members in 140 countries.^[20] It offers a suite of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certifications through its HR Certification Institute. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, based in England, is the oldest professional HR association, with its predecessor institution being founded in 1919.

Several associations also serve niches within HR. WorldatWork focuses on "total rewards" (i.e., compensation, benefits, work life, performance, recognition, and career development), offering several certifications and training programs dealing with remuneration and work-life balance. Other niche associations include the American Society for Training & Development and Recognition Professionals International.

Publications[link]

Academic and practitioner publications dealing exclusively with HR:

• Cornell HR Review
• HR Magazine (SHRM)
• Human Resource Management (John Wiley & Sons)
• Human Resource Management Review (Elsevier)
• International Journal of Human Resource Management (Taylor & Francis)
• Perspectives on Work (LERA)

Related publications:

• Academy of Management Journal
• Academy of Management Review
• Administrative Science Quarterly (Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management)
• Organization Science (INFORMS)

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Human resources management

• Organizational behavior
• Organizational theory

References[link]