PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

By miss. Gladys cherono.

Definitions

• Administrative discipline of hiring and developing employees so that they become more
valuable to the organization. It includes conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs,
and recruitment, selecting the right people for the job, orienting and training, determining and
managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, appraising performance,
resolving disputes, communicating with all employees at all levels.
• Can be defined as obtaining, using and maintaining a satisfied workforce. It is a
significant part of management concerned with employees at work and with their
relationship within the organization.
• According to Flippo, “Personnel management is the planning, organizing,
compensation, integration and maintainance of people for the purpose of
contributing to organizational, individual and societal goals.”
• According to Brech, “Personnel Management is that part which is primarily
concerned with human resource of organization.”

Nature of Personnel Management

1. Personnel management includes the function of employment, development and

compensation- These functions are performed primarily by the personnel
management in consultation with other departments.
2. Personnel management is an extension to general management. It is concerned
with promoting and stimulating competent work force to make their fullest
contribution to the concern.
3. Personnel management exists to advice and assist the line managers in personnel
matters. Therefore, personnel department is a staff department of an organization.
 4. Personnel management lays emphasize on action rather than making lengthy
schedules, plans, and work methods. The problems and grievances of people at
work can be solved more effectively through rationale personnel policies.
5. It is based on human orientation. It tries to help the workers to develop their
potential fully to the concern.
6. It also motivates the employees through it’s effective incentive plans so that the
employees provide fullest co-operation.
7. Personnel management deals with human resources of a concern. In context to
human resources, it manages both individual as well as blue- collar workers.

Role of Personnel Manager

Personnel manager is the head of personnel department. He performs both managerial

and operative functions of management. His role can be summarized as :

1. Personnel manager provides assistance to top management- The top management

are the people who decide and frame the primary policies of the concern. All
kinds of policies related to personnel or workforce can be framed out effectively
by the personnel manager.
2. He advices the line manager as a staff specialist- Personnel manager acts like a
staff advisor and assists the line managers in dealing with various personnel
matters.
3. As a counsellor,- As a counsellor, personnel manager attends problems and
grievances of employees and guides them. He tries to solve them in best of his
capacity.
4. Personnel manager acts as a mediator- He is a linking pin between management
and workers.
5. He acts as a spokesman- Since he is in direct contact with the employees, he is
required to act as representative of organization in committees appointed by
government. He represents company in training programmes.
Functions of Personnel Management

Following are the four functions of Personnel Management:

1. Manpower Planning
2. Recruitment
3. Selection
4. Training and Development

Role of personnel department

1. The recruitment and selection of new employees, e.g. helping to prepare job
advertisements and job descriptions for new posts, and helping to organize the interview
process.

2. The induction of new employees where they are introduced to the company, and
aspects of the job they will be doing as well as essential requirements such as health and
safety training.

3. Training and development. Training focuses on the needs of the organization whereas
development is more concerned with identifying and meeting the needs of individual
employees.

4. Organizing the appraisal process to identify development needs of employees.

5. Representing the organization as a go between on disciplinary issues e.g. when a

worker has continuously been late for work. Dismissing and making workers redundant
where necessary.
6. Managing payment systems, although this will probably be the responsibility of a
separate payroll section.

7. Taking responsibility for the motivation of employees by outlining motivational work

practices.
8. Organizing the termination of work and retirement of employees, as well as job
redundancies where appropriate.

Differences between personnel management and human resource management

Some experts assert that there is no difference between human resources and personnel
management. They state that the two terms can be used interchangeably, with no
difference in meaning. In fact, the terms are often used interchangeably in help-wanted
ads and job descriptions.

For those who recognize a difference between personnel management and human
resources, the difference can be described as philosophical. Personnel management is
more administrative in nature, dealing with payroll, complying with employment law,
and handling related tasks. Human resources, on the other hand, is responsible for
managing a workforce as one of the primary resources that contributes to the success of
an organization.

When a difference between personnel management and human resources is recognized,

human resources is described as much broader in scope than personnel management.
Human resources is said to incorporate and develop personnel management tasks, while
seeking to create and develop teams of workers for the benefit of the organization. A
primary goal of human resources is to enable employees to work to a maximum level of
efficiency.

Personnel management can include administrative tasks that are both traditional and
routine. It can be described as reactive, providing a response to demands and concerns as
they are presented. By contrast, human resources involve ongoing strategies to manage
and develop an organization's workforce. It is proactive, as it involves the continuous
development of functions and policies for the purposes of improving a company’s
workforce.

Personnel management is often considered an independent function of an organization.

Human resource management, on the other hand, tends to be an integral part of overall
company function. Personnel management is typically the sole responsibility of an
organization’s personnel department. With human resources, all of an organization’s
managers are often involved in some manner, and a chief goal may be to have managers
of various departments develop the skills necessary to handle personnel-related tasks.

As far as motivators are concerned, personnel management typically seeks to motivate

employees with such things as compensation, bonuses, rewards, and the simplification of
work responsibilities. From the personnel management point of view, employee
satisfaction provides the motivation necessary to improve job performance. The opposite
is true of human resources. Human resource management holds that improved
performance leads to employee satisfaction. With human resources, work groups,
effective strategies for meeting challenges, and job creativity are seen as the primary
motivators.

When looking for a job in personnel management or human resources, it is important to

realize that many companies use the terms interchangeably. If you are offered a job as a
personnel manager, you may be required to perform the same duties as a human resource
manager, and vice versa. In some companies, a distinction is made, but the difference is
very subtle.

Question

Humans are resource to be used, exploited and discarded for the benefit of stockholders.
Personnel are more concerned with the appearance of decency and slight touch of
humanity that Human Resources does not consider. Discuss