HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

PRECONCEPTIONS

1. A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS

A. Business: Concept
Business is an economic activity intended to earning profit.

Business is the development and processing of economic values in the society.

B. Classification of Business
1. Trade: The buying and selling activities of business.

2. Commerce: The activities to overcome the hindrances in the way of doing business.

3. Industry: Industry is the means of creating utility.

C. Industry
Industry is as old as mankind. Man is industrial because man is intelligent (Homo sapiens
means intelligent man). Man is the first being that makes/creates tools and uses tools for
obtaining material ends. The very word ‘industry’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Industria’
which means skill and resourcefulness. And in this sense, we still speak of an industrious
man connoting a diligent, shrewd worker. So, industry means the invention and use of tools
in order to achieve a material thing. In this sense, man is the first industry in our civilization.
Today, industry is treated as a means of creating utility. Modern industry is defined as the
application of complex and sophisticated methods to the production of economic goods and
services. We know, production is a conversion process. So, industry is always viewed as a
transformation process or system that converts inputs into output for the use of mankind.

2. CONCEPT OF SYSTEM

A. System: Concept and characteristics

The term system represents a group of things or parts working together in a regular relation
(Oxford Dictionary).
A system is a set of interrelated elements functioning as a whole.-Moorhead and Griffin
(1999).

A system, therefore, is any collection of interrelated parts, objects, things or organisms

that works or functions as an integrated whole.

These parts are known as subsystems. It means t hat a system is composed of interrelated and
interdependent subsystems working as a whole. Thus, it implies that any change in any
subsystem or the system would have effect on all other subsystems and the whole system.

B. Characteristics of a System

A system denotes the following factors or characteristics:

1. A system indicates an orderly arrangement of parts.
 2. A system has its own boundary.
3. A system has subsystems or parts which are interrelated and interdependent.
4. A system may be a subsystem of another system.
5. A system is an abstract or an analytical way of looking at concrete things of reality.
6. The concept of system is applicable to the study of organic as well as inorganic
realities. Human nervous system, circulatory system etc is the organic systems and
political system, industrial system, industrial relations system, social system etc. is the
inorganic systems.

C. Social System: Concept and Characteristics

Human society is a network of human interaction and interrelations. This relationship
between and among individuals assume a definite pattern which is called social system.
A social system is two or more social actors engaged in more or less stable interaction within
a bounded environment.

W..F.Ogburn defines,” A social system is a plurality of individuals interacting with each

other according to shared cultural norms and meanings”.

According to Duncan Mitchell, “A social system basically consists of two or more

individuals interacting directly or indirectly in a bounded situation”.

Therefore, a social system is a series of interrelated roles and personalities clustering around
a process of production in definite patterns.

D. Characteristics of a Social System

The concept of social system consists of the following features:
1. Social system consists of two or more individuals among whom we find an
established pattern of interaction. A definite role for each actor of the social
system.
2. Individuals in the system behave in accordance with their shared cultural
norms and values.
3. A social system has its own boundary with the help of which it can be
distinguished from other social systems.
4. Individuals in the system act together in pursuit of common goals or
rewards.
5. Social system may represent the entire society or a number of subsystems.

E. Elements of Social System

A social system has three elements: The social act or action, the actor and the status-role.

1. The Act: Social act or action is a process in the social system that motivates the
individuals in the case of a group. The orientation of action has a close relation with the
attainment of satisfaction of the actor. Social action or act must have both the gratification
aspect and the orientation aspect of the need-arrangement system of the individual actor.

1. The Actor: The actor is an individual who holds a status and performs a role. A
social system must have a sufficient proportion of its actors. These actors must be
sufficiently motivated to act according to the requirements of its role system. The actors
 learn their roles through the process of socialisation. The social system limits and
regulates the needs and actions of the actors through social control.

3. The Status-Role: The role is expected behaviour of a person in a position or status by

others. Role denotes the functional significance of the actor for the social system. Status
denotes the place of the actor in the social system. An actor has a high or low status in a
social system and he ahs a definite role to play in the system.

F. Industrial Social System

Industry is a social system (Hawthorne study finding). A social system is a series of
interrelated roles and personalities clustering around a process of production in definite
patterns. Industrial social system is a functional cluster of individuals with definite role
relationships among the actors/ people who are engaged in producing goods or services.
Thus, industrial social system should have:
(1) An order to avoid conflict.
(2) A security from encroachment from the outside or from threats from the intended
or unintended consequences of the actions of members of the organization.
(3) Motivation of human actors within the organization.
(4) Adequate communication among its members.
(5) Certain common beliefs, definitions, and values.
(6) An authority structure i.e. roles are differentiated in terms of
the amount of power or authority assigned to social actors.
(7) A prestige or status structure which takes the form of scales
along which the roles are distributed.
(8) A reward or satisfaction distribution system upon which motivation of individuals
to accept the aims and values of the organization, to fill roles properly and to
protect the organization against encroachment, all depend.

G. Industrial Social Organisation

Industry is a social organisation (Hawthorne study).

What is organisation?

Organization is the assemblage of role-related people with a common goal.-Edger

Schein.

Organization is a group of people working together in a structured and coordinated

fashion to achieve a set of goals -Ricky W. Griffin .

Organization is a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more

persons.-Chester I Barnard.

Basic Elements of Organization

Therefore, an organization consists of the following elements:

1. A Group of Role-related people.

2. A Common Goal i.e. mutually agreed purpose.
3. A Continuing System
 4. A Consciously Rational activity.
5. A Pattern of Behaviour/ action.
6. Differentiation i.e. A Highly Differentiated System of Operation.
7. A Coordinated Activity.
8. A Conversion System.
9. An interactional operation.

Industrial social organisation is the pattern of relations deliberately established among the
people who have a definite role to play and status to assume and to work in a coordinated
manner to achieve a common end. The members are motivated to accept and play their given
roles through creating and maintaining a congenial human relations and social climate. The
industrial organisation can get the best from a satisfying workforce which is an outcome of
social organisation.

H. Organisation Types

An organisation is of Two types- Organic and Mechanistic organisation.

Characteristics Mechanistic Org. organic Org.

1. Structure Hierarchical Nerwork based on
interests.

2. Interactions, Primarily Vertical Lateral throughout

Communication

1. Work
Direction/instructio From Supervisor Through advices ,
ns information

2. Knowledge, Concentrated at top Throughout

Information

3. Membership, Requires loyalty, Obedience Commitment to task,

Relationship with progress, expansion.
organization.

3. MANAGEMENT : OVERVIEW
A. Concept

Management is getting things done by and through others.

Ricky W. Griffin defines,

 “Management is set of activities (including planning and decision making,
organizing, leading and controlling) directed at an organization’s resources
( human, financial, physical and information) with the aim of achieving
organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner”.

Heinz Weihrich and Harold Koontz say,

“Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which

individuals, working in a group, efficiently accomplish selected aims”.

Human is the pivotal essential resource that activates all other resources of the organization.
Management gets the work done by and through other people. It is done through a network of
communication that develops and maintains human relations between and among people
working in an organization.

B. Features of Management

1. Management is a functional process consisting of Planning, Organizing,

Leading and Controlling.
2. Management is a universal knowledge. It applies to any kind of
organization and activity.
1. It applies to managers at all levels of organization.
2. The aim of management is to create a surplus.
3. It is concerned with productivity, which implies effectiveness and efficiency.
4. Management is a guiding or supervisory task.
5. Management is a dynamic process.

C. Functions of Management
1. Planning (and Decision –making)

2. Organizing
a) Departmentation / Departmentalization.
b) Organization Structure and Chart.
c) Span of Supervision
d) Centralization and Decentralization of authority.
e) Delegation of Authority.
f) Staffing

2. Leading
a) Communication
b) Motivation
c) Leadership

3. Controlling