Professional Documents
Culture Documents
They perform mainly three different types of roles, while meeting the
requirements of employees and customers, namely administrative, operational
and strategic.
1) Administrative Roles:
The administrative roles of human resource management include
policy formulation and implementation, housekeeping, records
maintenance, welfare administration, legal compliance, etc.
i. Policy maker:
The human resource manager helps management in the formation
of policies governing talent acquisition and retention, wage and salary
administration, welfare activities, personnel records, working
conditions, etc. He also helps in interpreting personnel policies in an
appropriate manner.
iii. Advisor:
The personnel manager performs his functions by advising,
suggesting, counseling and helping the line managers in discharging
their responsibilities relating to grievance redressal, conflict resolution,
employee selection and training.
iv. Housekeeper:
The administrative roles of a personnel manager in managing the
show include recruiting, per-employment testing, reference checking,
employee surveys, time keeping, wage and salary administration,
benefits and pension administration, wellness programmes maintenance
of records, etc.
v. Counselor:
The HR manager discusses various problems of the employees
relating to work, career, their supervisors, colleagues, health, and
family, financial, social, etc. and advises them on minimizing and
overcoming problems, if any.
2) Operational Roles:
i. Recruiter:
HR managers have to use their experience to good effect while
laying down lucrative career paths to new recruits without, increasing
the financial burden to the company.
iv. Mediator:
The HR manager acts as a mediator in case of friction between
two employees, groups of employees, superiors and subordinates and
employees and management with the sole objective of maintaining
industrial harmony.
v. Employee champion:
In order to deliver effective results HR managers have to treat
their employees as valuable assets. Such an approach helps to ensure
that HR practices and principles are in sync with the organisation’s
overall strategy.
3) Strategic Roles:
i. Change agent:
HR’s role as a change is to replace resistance with resolve,
planning with results and fear of change with excitement about its
possibilities. HR helps and organisation identifies the key success
factors for change and asses the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses
regarding each factor.
Personnel Policies:
The early part of the 20th century saw a concern for improved efficiency
through careful design of work. During the middle part of the century emphasis
shifted to the availability of managerial personnel and employee productivity.
Recent decades have focused on the demand for technical personnel, responses
to new legislation and governmental regulations, increased concern ofr the
quality of working life, total quality management and a renewed emphasis on
productivity.
From earlier concept of treating employees as mere commodity to
acknowledgement of employees as stakeholders in the business, HRM has well
and truly evolved in a long way. The different phases of evolution can depicted
as follows:
• Early Phase:
Though it is said that HRM discipline is of recent growth, it has
its origin dating back to 1800 B.C. The Chinese, as early as 1650 B.C.
had originated the principle of division of labour and they understood
labour turnover even in 400 B.C. The span of management and elated
concepts of organisation were well understood by Moses around 1250
B.C. and the Chaldeans had incentive wage plans around 400 B.C.
• Legal Phase:
The early roots of HRM in India could be traced back to the
period after 1920. In view of legal compulsions and the enumerations of
duties the entire approach of organisations towards their personnel was
to comply with the laws and keep the welfare officers busy with routine
functions.
• Welfare Phase:
During the 1960’s the scope of personnel function has expanded
a bit, covering labour welfare, participative management, industrial
harmony, etc. “In this period, the human relations movement of the
West had also had its impact on Indian organisations”. The legalistic
preoccupations slowly gave way to harmonious industrial relations and
good HR practices.
• Development Phase:
In 1960s and 70s the HR professionals focused more on
developmental aspects of human resources. The emphasis was on
striking a harmonious balance between employee demands and
organizational requirements. HRD has come to occupy a centre stage
and a focal point of discussion in seminars, conferences and academic
meets. The two professional bodies, IIPM and NILM, were merged to
form the National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) at
Kolkata.