Over a period of time three concepts have been debated at length with regard to their definitions, meanings and applicability. These concepts are personnel management, human resource management and human resource development. The oldest concept of the three being personnel management. It is needless to emphasize about the definition and description of management here in the context of the present issue, therefore, let us concentrate on management and development of human resources.

Understanding a human being as a defined depletable resource.

Initially when the theories relating to management in general were developed for the organizations the alphabet ‘m’ came in prominence because it was giving rise to the relevant words such as money, machine, market, material and these were considered as basic resources for managing the show. Though, the man was also important but it was not considered as resource until after a considerable lapse of time it was realized that there was always a man behind the machine and when there is discontentment or problems with a man the other resources also get affected e.g. if there is a strike or lock out because of industrial unrest arising out of the problem of human being, the entire organization suffers and inspite of availability of other resources the work is stopped. It was also realized that the performance and output coming from other resources is solely dependent on the man and the term used for man became manpower. Although, this additional ‘m’ for manpower was added but it never got the status of resource.

It was in early 70s that human or man was considered as resource. This was the beginning which later made it as the most important resource for performance management. The other components money, material, market, machine became secondary. A need was felt to develop this most important resource which gave rise to concept of human resource development by way of training etc.

In order to enhance the performance level of the human resource, the human resource development came under the ambit of human resource management because training and development is also a part of management of human resource.

We are required to relate the issue with performance management which is the ultimate goal of any organization for achieving its objectives with the help of the tools such as communication, motivation, job evaluation, eliminating the evils of emotional bias conflict etc.. Therefore, it becomes necessary to have for having sufficient knowledge of personnel concepts by the non-personnel executives also.

Personnel Management Is The Main Key

Coming back to the issue of personnel management, human resource management and human resource development the core issue remains personnel management. The dictionary meaning of personnel signifies people where as the human word inspite of having the same connotation is being used only in relation to the resource meaning thereby that the management of human who are considered as resource only come under the ambit of human resource management. Similarly, for development purposes also the term is used human resource management meaning thereby the development of human who are considered as resource.

Let us see how personnel management is a bigger term as compared to the other two. The personnel means people. Now, it makes us to manage the people who may be the resources or may not be but a manager is required to manage them to justify the term personnel management. Now, the question comes who are these people to be managed though they are not the resource to the organization. These people may be identified as outside agencies and other persons who come in contact with the organization though they are not resource. Or in some cases, they are the persons of other organizations coming in contact with a particular organization. The Government and private agencies, the personnel of regulatory agencies even the customers, distributors and retailers are the personnel who are to be managed though they may not be directly the resource to the organization for covering them with the title of human resource. We cannot ignore that all these personnel are to be managed for smooth functioning of organizational activities. When we talk about the performance management of the organization it also comes under personnel management because the performance level is not only dependent on human resource but other factors are also involved.

From the above description it is very clear that the personnel management still remains the bigger term to manage human resource and to develop them.

It may be recalled that a few years back there was a strong proposal before the General Body Meeting of Indian Institute of Personnel Management to change the name of the institute as Indian Institute of Human Resource Management. I was one among the corporate member of Indian Institute of Personnel Management to oppose the proposal on the basis of justification as envisaged above. The general body agreed with the majority view and on merits the original name remained.

There was another reason which supported the stand of retaining the original name and that was the definition of personnel management given by the Institute to all concerned. The definition of Personnel management given by the Institute says “Personnel management is that part of management function which is primarily concerned with human relationships within an organization. Its objective is the maintenance of those relationships on a basis which by consideration of well-being of the individual enables all those engaged to make their maximum personal contribution in the effective working of the organization.”

Performance Management in the ambit of Personnel Management

For any organization the core issue is Performance management and for that purpose the important issue is how to appraise the performance in an effective and objective manner. Various tools such as job enrichment, job enlargement, effective communication, motivation, elimination of emotional bias are discussed for supporting the performance management. But the most important aspect is Personnel Management as a whole which speaks about human as resource and its management and development.

It is said that “Manpower management is the most crucial job because managing people is the heart and essence of being a manager. Personnel management is concerned with any activity relating to the human element or relations in the organisation.”

Various experts studied the concept of managing personnel and carefully drafted the definitions. Management is a science which is quite different from other sciences because it is based on practices. When a concept is time tested and management experts feel satisfied about applicability of the theories devised by them then only they promulgated the same.

Before coming to the definitions of personnel management given by the experts we must appreciate that the spirit behind every definition is the management mantra which says “Optimum utilization of human resource with best of the capabilities available in order to achieve organizational objective”.

Normally there are three levels of management, top, middle and supervisory and it has been observed that at top level the technical and professional skill requirement is only 5% whereas the managerial and administrative skill requirement is higher to the extent of 35%. At the middle level the requirement of technical and professional skill is 20% and it is the same for managerial and administrative skill also that is 20% . The ratio of skills needed at the supervisory level is opposite to top level management i.e. technical and professional skill requirement at 35% and managerial and administrative skill at 5%.

It is quite interesting to note that the balance 60% requirement is inter-personal skills which is the same for all the above three levels and proves the importance of personnel management to the maximum.

Let us see what the management experts says :

“The personnel function is concerned with the procurement development, compensation, integration and maintenance of the personnel of an organisation for the purpose of contributing toward the accomplishment of that organisation’s major goals or objectives therefore personnel management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the performance of those operative functions.”……… EDWIN B. FLIPPO

Manpower management effectively describes “The process of planning and directing the application, development, and utilization of human resources inemployment. ………… DALE YODDER

Personnel administration is a method of developing the potentialities of employees so that they get maximum satisfaction out of their work and given their best efforts to the organization. …………..PIGROS & MYRES

Personnel management is that part of management process which is primarily concerned with the human constituents of an organization. ………E.F.L. BRECH

Personnel Management is the function of guiding human resources into a dynamic organization that attains its objectives with a high degree of morals and to the satisfaction of those concerned. It is concerned with getting results through people.

All management is personnel management as it deals with human beings, its development can best discussed in terms of human development, philosophical, psychological, spiritual and physical. The development and utilization of human resources is not by any means and ancillary activity but a central element in the operation of a business. ……………….LAWRENCE APPLEY

The nearest analogy for the personal management is in the human body. It is in fact the brain, the controller, not only just a limb, and a member not yet the blood streams, the energizing force. The personnel management is the nervous system, it is a line channel, not just a duct and in some respects has automotive force. It issued in enemy action if it is applied for partial paralyses results. It gets out of balance then it causes instability, chaotic action, di-equilibrium that can be found in all stages of advancement in close parallel with neurosis.

But above all personnel management is inherent in the whole body and intimately connection with its every movement. The nervous system can never be thought of as an adjunct of the body – any more than personnel management is an extraneous or superimposed element on the structure of the organization. The personnel lie embedded in the structure and are inherent in the dynamism of that structure. It is integral part of the process of management itself. ……………..ALDRICH

All the activities of any organization are initiated and determined by the persons who make up that institution, plants, officers, computers, automated equipment and all else that a modern organization uses. These are unproductive except for human efforts and direction. Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component if the central and most important task because all else depends on how well it is done, that is why the personnel management has in modern times become a highly specialized job. …………..RENSIS LIKERT

No organization 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 process but it is a body of man. It is not a complex of matter but the complex of humanity. It fulfils its functions not by virtue of impersonal force but by the human energy. Its body is not an intricate maze of mechanical devices but a magnified nervous system. ……………..OLIVER SHELDON

The organization can be thought as an interweaving of human elements and material elements. With the human elements as the warp, while interlocking and interweaving with this element are the material elements the woof of the fabric. The warp of the fabric is the human element appearing and re-appearing, the strength-giving element holding the entire fabric together and giving it live and character of continuity. The organization cannot succeed if this human element is neglected. …………..J.M. DIETZ

Human factor is the core issue

We have seen that in all the definitions the human factor has been given the great emphasis and it has been justified beyond doubt that managing personnel is the core issue before every practicing manager. If we look towards the performance management which is the prime responsibility of every manager the personnel functions come as offshoot of the process of appraising performance. It goes for human resource planning, career development, compensation, promotions, transfers, training and development, selection validity, layoff decisions and finally the performance feedback. The tools in the form of professional skills are the same for all managers because basically every manager is a personnel manager for his own team thereafter he comes for his actual designation depending upon the nature of job. This is what we can observe in the definitions given by eminent experts from world over as envisaged above.

We have quoted the above definitions from the books of these experts but the definitions never end there. We come across many other definitions where the authors are not known. But keeping in view of their relevancy and importance it is necessary to remember the following definitions clarifying the concept of personnel management further.

• Personnel Management is that phase of management which deals with effective control, and use of manpower as distinguished from other sources of power.
• Personnel Management is a method of developing potentialities of employees so that they get maximum satisfaction out of their work and give their best efforts to the organization.
• Personnel management is an extension of general management that of prompting and stimulating every employee to make his fullest contribution to the purpose of business.
• Personnel management is a function concerned with developing and utilizing the manpower resources of the business to optimum extent in achieving the objectives of business.
• Personnel management is concerned with planning, organizing, directing, controlling of the procurement, developing, integration of the people for the purpose of contributing to organization, individual and social goals.
  Personnel Management is the part of management which is concerned with the people at work and with their relationship within the organization.
  Personnel Management is the recruitment, selection, development, utilization and accommodation of human resources by the organization.
• Personnel Management is concerned with attaining maximum individual development, desirable working relationship between employers and employees and employees with employees and effective molding of human resources as contrasted with physical resources.
• Personnel administration is concerned basically with manpower or people, organizational resources or output. It involves the task of handling human problem of an organization and is devoted for acquiring, developing, utilizing and maintaining an efficient work force.
• Personnel management is a code of ways for organizing and treating individual at work so that they will each get the greatest possible realization of their intrinsic ability thus attaining maximum efficient for themselves and their group and thereby giving to the organization of which they are a part for determining competitive advantage and for giving optimum results.

Personnel Management is that field of management which has to do with planning, organizing and controlling various operative functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and utilizing a labour force so that :

• objective for which the organization is established are attained economically and effectively
• objectives of all levels of personnel are served to the highest degree
• objectives of the community are duly considered and served.

Every manager is a personnel manager

The definition of personnel management given by various experts have made threadbare analysis of various dimensions of managing personnel.

The role and responsibility of personnel managers makes it a core department of the organization but there is still need to have a bird’s eye view about various functions of personnel department because every manager in the organization is wedded with the department of personnel in one way or the other. For having proper coordination and smooth functioning it is necessary that all managers should have not only the concept of personnel management but they should be aware about various activities.

Let us see what are the various task of the organization which are primarily undertaken by the personnel department.

Organizational Planning and Development

• Determining organizational needs
• Planning and designing organizational structure
• Development of inter-personnel relations
• Staffing and employment

Manpower Planning

• Recruitment
• Selection
• Placement
• Orientation on Induction
• Transfers
• Promotions
• Separations i.e. Discharge, Dismissal, Retirement, Resignation, Retrenchment, Removal, Death etc

Training and Development

• Operative Training
• Executive Development
• Wage & Salary Administration

Job Evaluation

• Wage & Salary
• Maintenance of Pay Roll
• Incentive Compensation
• Performance Appraisal
• Motivation

Non-financial incentive

• Satisfaction of social and Psychological needs
• Employee Services & Benefits
• Safety & Security
• Employee counseling
• Medical Services
• Recreation and Welfare
• Leave, Pension, Gratuity, Provident Fund and Other supplementary benefits

Industrial Relations

• Discipline
• Grievance handling
• Labour laws implementation
• Collective bargaining
• Personnel Records, Audit & Research

Data Collection and analysis

• Moral surveys
• Record keeping
• Evaluation of personnel programmes
• Identification of needs
• Development of more appropriate programmes

If we carefully consider the above functions it will be revealed that it is not only the personnel manager alone who can undertake the whole task but these are the functions which can be performed by him as institutional manager. It is not possible to undertake these task in isolation without the support of concerned departments therefore, it becomes imperative for other managers to have sufficient knowledge of above functions.

Human relations are important for every manager

Time and again it is said that, every manager is a personnel manager for his own department when it comes to the question of line manager because he comes in direct contact with the employees working under him and needs to tackle the manpower utilizing specialized managerial skills, may it be in the area of effective communication, leadership qualities, motivation and so on.

When the question comes of dealing with human relations the quote of noted expert Keith Davis becomes relevant which says “human relation is the study and application of knowledge about human behaviour in organizations as it relates to other system elements; key elements are : people, structure, technology and the external social system. It seeks to improve people – organization relationships in such a way that people are motivated to develop team work that effectively fulfill their needs and achieve organizational objectives.”

The concept of human relations relate to people individually & collectively. Human Relation is a process of directing their efforts, motivating them, controlling their actions and modifying their behaviour to fit the need of the organization.

We often sum it up by saying that Management consists of ‘Getting things done through other people’. So Human Resource is a very important resource and this resource can be either Harnessed to the best possible extent by the management or let partially tapped.

Now, it comes to our mind as to what should be the approach for harnessing this resource to the maximum extent? this becomes more controversial, especially because …………..

The average man is by nature indolent ——— he works as little as possible.
He lacks ambition, dislikes responsibility, prefers to be led.
HE is inherently self-centred, indifferent to organizational needs.
HE is by nature resistant to change
He is gullible ——- not very bright.

It may be appreciated that effective solution for the above problem lies in human relations, the relations between Management and the workers. So Management can persuade the workers directing his behaviour towards the set goals.

From the above, though it seems very easy that the problem can be solved, but it is difficult question what relation Management should keep and what should be the approach for it ? For this the Management can take two extremes hard approach or soft approach. Let us describe what are these approaches.

At one extreme, management can be hard or strong. Here methods for directing behaviour involves coercion and threat, close supervision, tight controls over behaviour.
There are also difficulties in the hard approach which force breeds counterforces, restriction of output, antagonism. This approach is especially difficult during times of full employment.

The other extreme for directing behaviour is the soft Approach. The methods for directing involve are being permissive, satisfying people’s demands, achieving harmony.
Even here some difficulties are there. These difficulties frequently leads to the abdication of management ——– to harmony, perhaps but to indifferent performance. The result is that, people take advantage of the Soft Approach. They continuously expect more, but they give less and less.

Author:
Dewakar Goel
Jt. General Manager (Pers), AAI