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Evolution of Human Resource Management

Submitted to : Ubaid Ali

Through the looking glass of history: a view of paradigm shifts in

course of human resource management.

HRM Policies and Practices

COMSATS IIT, Abbottabad.

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Table of Contents
introduction 3
Historical Review of HRM 3
Pre and Post industrial age 3

Adam Smith and Roberto Owen 3

Personnel Management (Early 20th Century) 4
Frederick Winslow Taylor. 5
The Hawthorne Studies 5
The Human Relations Movement 5

Abraham Maslow. The Hierarchy of Needs. (1943) 5

Douglas McGregor. Theory X and Theory Y (1960) 5

Frederick Herzberg. The Hygiene-Motivation Theory (1959) 5

Human resource movement 5

Strategic Human Resource Management (21st Century) 5

Summary 6

References 6
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Introduction
Human Resource Management can be described as "The comprehensive set of managerial
activities and tasks concerned with developing and maintaining a qualified workforce -
human resources - in ways that contribute to organizational effectiveness." (DeNisi and
Griffin, 2004)

This assignment explores changes in Human Resource Management thoughts from the
evolution era to present age. The assignment involved of the description of the key periods
and improvements in this field.

Historical Review of HRM

When we study of HRM history we identify many stages that show many development and
shifts in thinking that have conspired to bring about the evolution of the HRM.

Pre and Post industrial age

The earliest forms of human resource management were the working arrangements struck
between craftsmen and their apprentices during the pre-Industrial cottage-based guild
system. The apprentice lived in the workshop or home of his master, and the master took
care of his health and welfare.

After the industrial revolution in 18th century the small cottage-based guild manufacturing
converted into large factories and more people employed to produce through machines.
The unhygienic and arduous work in factories led to many labor riots, and the government
stepped in to provide basic rights and protections for workers. The need to comply with
such statutory regulations forced factory owners to set up a formal mechanism to redress
issues concerning labor.

Adam Smith and Roberto Owen

In 1776 Adam smith in his book “The Wealth of Nations” introduced the concept of Division
of Labor. He proposed that work could be made more efficient thorough division of labor
and suggested that work should be broken down into simple tasks. This division led the
three advantages. This was a development towards, the development of skills, time saving -
the possibility of using specialized tools.

Smith's suggestions led to many changes in manufacturing processes. Ford applied it in his
factory to increase productivity.

Robert Owen the pioneer of HRM was a zealous supporter of the factory legislation resulting
in the Factory Act of 1819. He emphasized on performance appraisal and pay for
performance (fair treatment of employees)
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Personnel Management (Early 20th Century)

By the early 1900s, increased competition and pressing demands to fulfill orders made
factory owners take serious note of productivity, and issues such as employee absenteeism
and high turnover came into focus.

Frederick Winslow Taylor.

The dominant philosophy during this time was that employees would accept rigid
standards and work faster if provided training and more wages. This approach led to
Frederick W. Taylor’s scientific management theory that involved time studies in an
attempt to establish the most productive way to undertake a process. This was a
step towards Job analysis, selection, training, and rewards.

Personnel management gained a more professional role in the aftermath of World War I
and the Great Depression of the early 1930s. The demands of wartime production had led to
enactment of several provisions to ensure that issues related to wages or working
conditions did not hinder production. Among the social security measures initiated in the
aftermath of the Great Depression were the Norris-LaGuardia Act that made "yellow-dog"
contracts unenforceable and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act (1935)
that gave employees the right to form unions and bargain collectively, and listed unfair labor
practices.

The Human Relations Movement

The movement presents an alternative and opposite approach to scientific management as

it focuses on the individual and not the task. During this moment different theories came
into being regarding motivating employees.

The Hawthorne Studies

Elton Mayo, the father of human relations, had conducted his famous Hawthorne
Studies (1924 -1932) and concluded that human factors or non-monetary rewards
were more important than physical factors or monetary rewards in motivating
employees. Trade unions now began to challenge the fairness of Taylor’s scientific
management theories, forcing employers to take a more behavioral-oriented
approach.

Other Behavioral studies

1. Abraham Maslow. The Hierarchy of Needs. (1943)

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who proposed that within every person is
hierarchy of five needs (Physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem
needs and self actualization needs). Maslow argued that each level in the needs
hierarchy must be substantially satisfied before the next is activated.
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2. Douglas McGregor. Theory X and Theory Y (1960)

Douglas McGregor is best known for proposing two set of assumption about human
nature: Theory X and Y. Theory X is a negative view of people that workers have little
ambitions, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility, and need to be closely
controlled to work efficiently. Theory Y is a positive view that assumes workers can
exercise self-direction, accept and actually seek out responsibility and consider work
to be a natural activity. McGregor believed that theory Y assumptions best captured
true nature of workers and should guide management practice.

3. Frederick Herzberg. The Hygiene-Motivation Theory (1959)

Frederick Herzberg’s two factor theory suggest intrinsic factors are associated with
job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with job dissatisfaction.

Human resource movement

After the Korean War, a new class of college-educated managers emerged with a greater
sense of social responsibility than their predecessors. Throughout the second half of the
20th century, social well-being coupled with social upheaval -- best exemplified by the
struggle for desegregation -- changed the thinking of employees in the United States.

Take care of your human resource like other resources.

As the 1960s and 1970s unfolded, a more personable group of managers emerged, and their
interests in people and feelings influenced all facets of business, including the growth of
market research, communications and public relations. This group of managers emphasized
the relationship between employers and employees, rather than scientific management.
Programs to increase wages and fringe benefits continued to be developed. New studies
linked greater productivity to management philosophies that encouraged worker ideas and
initiatives.

Changes in labor legislations such as the Equal Pay Act (1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964),
Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970), and the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act (1974) manifested. The need to comply with such legislation increased the importance
of the human resource function.

In 1981 Harvard Business School first introduced HRM course and then these course spread
to Europe and other part of the world.

Strategic Human Resource Management (21st Century)

The new business environment in the post Cold-War age, combined with the technological
revolution which changed the business ways, and workforce management was not immune
to the change. The increase in service industries, the infusion of more and more women into
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the workforce, and other changes all made obsolete the traditional paradigms of people
management.

Employees become the major source of competitive advantage for firms. The human
resource department tries to retain such knowledgeable workers by facilitating a conducive
work environment, enriching the work, communicating objectives clearly, encouraging
innovation, and many other behavioral interventions.

In modern business the Human Resources Management function is complex and as such has
resulted in the formation of Human resource departments/divisions in companies to handle
this unction. The Human resource function has become a wholly integrated part of the total
corporate strategy.

The function is diverse and covers many facets including Manpower planning, recruitment
and selection, employee motivation, performance monitoring and appraisal, industrial
relations, provision management of employee benefits and employee education training
and development.

Summary

By doing complete analysis of the history of Human Resource Management we can conclude
that HRM has progressed through the stages of history when people were abused in slave
like working conditions to the modern environment where people are viewed as assets to
business and are treated accordingly. During these stages there occurred many shifts like
personnel management to HRM and HRM to SHRM. The Human Resource function will have
to adapt with the times as staff become more dynamic and less limited in their roles and
bound by a job description. In future being HRM a social science there will be other shifts in
this area.

REFERENCES
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1. "The History of Human Resource Management." 123HelpMe.com. 24 Sep 2010

    <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=122991>.

2. “A History of Human Resource Management by: N. Nayab:

(http://www.brighthub.com/members/nayab.aspx)

4. Michael Losey "HR comes of age - history of human resource management". HR Magazine.
FindArticles.com. 24 Sep, 2010.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n3_v43/ai_20514399/

Books
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5. “Management: by S.P Robins”

6. “Introduction to Human Resource Management and the Environment:
7. “The History and Evolution of HRM”. By, James H. Dulebohn , Gerald R. Ferris and James T. Stodd