HRM- INTRODUCTION

It is a challenging and dynamic field and this because of changing economic conditions,
competition, and changing resource positions. Four important factors must be addressed and
they include:

1. Personnel outcomes – achieving organizational effectiveness, employee effectiveness and

meeting employee needs.

2. Organic environment – ie the job, the work group, work supervisor and employee.

3. Personnel activities – techniques, programmes and approaches.

4. External environment – Influences and restricts a firm’s activities, objectives, strategies and
personnel actions. It is influenced by :

i) Government requirements – this is represented by laws and regulations as they affect the
management human resources.

ii) Union expectations – as manifested by leadership and members. Restricts and influences the
firm's operations.

iii) Economic conditions – changing always. Hiring and payment of employees is itself a
reflection of how economic conditions influence the companies’ operations.

iv) Labour market conditions- always changing and affect availability of skilled manpower and
expectations of people.

Definition

Human Resources Management – Is the set of activities that are intended to influence the
effectiveness of human resources and organizations.

HRM Activities

a) Human Resource Planning

b) Employment Planning

c) Equal opportunity employment

d) Job design and analysis

 e) Recruitment

f) Selection

g) Career development

h) Performance Management

i) Compensation

j) Health and Safety

k) Evaluation of Personnel

Human Resources Planning

- This is a future and Action oriented process and looks at each individual as unique.

- It is a process by which management determines how the organization should move from its
current (H.R.) position to a new desired position in future.

- HRP integrates internal and external environments and focuses personnel decisions towards
human resources and organizational goals.

It answers four basic questions.

i) Where do we want to be? – HRM goals must be consistent with the mission and objectives of
the firm as well as conditions prevailing in the external environment, interests and attitudes of
employees.

ii) Where are we now? - Analysing current behaviour of employees, their skills, attitudes and
work behaviour, interests e.t.c. and the job to be performed, its design and matching between the
employee and the work to be done.

iii) How do we get from where we are to where we want to be? - this deals with alternative
strategies that can be used in achieve organizational goals.

iv) How effective were our actions? - evaluation of Human resource activities that were carried
out pursuant of objectives of the organization. Today, a variety of mechanisms are available in
 achieving this end among which includes the Balanced Score – Card (BSC).
HRP can also be defined as “The process through which organizational goals, as put forth in the
mission statement and business plans, are translated into human resource objectives… HRP helps to
assure that organizations are neither understaffed nor over staffed, that the right employees are
placed in the right jobs, at the right times, as the organization and environmental change is
anticipated and integrated into a set of personnel policies and activities.”

Phases in HRP

a) Establishing HR objectives – Specification of objectives for human resources and these are
derived from the strategic plan of the organisation. Objectives fall into two classes:

i) Organisational and employee effectiveness.

ii) Improving Productivity, controlling labour costs, and ensuring compliance.

HR objectives are derived from the external environment, strategic and operational employee work
behaviours as well as the design of work. Dyer says objectives serve two basic purposes i.e.
directing personnel activities towards goals and as standards against which results of human
resources are evaluated.

b) Assessing Current HR Conditions.

- The stage has three aspects to it and these include:

i) Individuals currently employed and their work related skills, experiences, attitudes, interests
and personality.

ii) Nature of work to be performed must be analysed to determine qualification requirements

and rewards, duties, tasks and activities of the work.

iii) Matching between the individual employee and the work to be performed- has an important
influence on employee work behavior and performance.

c) Generating and Evaluating HR programs and Activities.

- To achieve HR objectives, programs must meet each of the established goals.

- Anticipated costs, losses in resources, likelihood of success or failure and a technical

feasibility of the action and its possible consequences must be considered. Programs must be
judged effectively to achieve objectives.
d) Monitoring and Evaluating Results.

- Identify problems and opportunities.

- Quality of work relationships with managers.

- Extent to which forecasts, plans and recommendations are needed by organizational decision
makers.

IMPORTANCE OF HRP

1 Identifies future HR needs of an organization

2 Identifies future shortages and potential Surpluses

3 Facilitates the Recruitment and Selection process

4 Makes it possible for the organization to map out future skills needs and so allow the
organization to undertake the necessary training and development programs

5 It allows for a smooth Succession planning

6 HRP allows the organization to design an appropriate Rewards

7 It anticipates future Health and Safety needs of the organization and so allowing it to prepare in
advance

In short HRP is the foundation to all HR activities