SOCIETY of BUSINESS PRACTITIONERS ADVANCE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

1. Describe in details what are the functions of Human Resources Management.

The functions of human resource management is to plan, develop, administer policies and programmes designed to make expeditious use of an organisations human resources. It is that part of management which is concerned with the people at work and with their relationship within an enterprise. The major functional areas in human resource management are manpower planning, staffing, employee training and development and employee maintenance.

Manpower planning function consists of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time, doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. The number and type of employees needed to accomplish organizational goals are determined. Research is an important part of this function because planning requires the collection and analysis of information in order to forecast human resources supplies and to predict future resource needs. Man power planning is indispensable for an organization to perform the activities efficiently as well as in a way that produces desired results. It involves analyzing total man power requirement and planning accordingly. Subsequently, there is a need of man power supply which is done in both ways, internally and externally. It is needed internally when the employees are transferred or promoted, while the need of external supply arises from the requirement of new workers when a business goes for expansion or changing technology or adopts new methods of production.

Staffing emphasises the recruitment and selection of the human resources for an organization. Recruitment and selection is the human resources function of identifying, attracting, screening and hiring the most qualified candidate for a job opening. Human resources planning and recruiting precede the actual selection of people for positions in an organization. Recruiting is the personnel function that attracts qualified applicants to fill job vacancies. In the selection function, the most qualified applicants are selected for hiring from among those attracted to the organization by the recruiting function. On selection, human resource functionaries are involved in developing and administering methods that enable managers to decide which applicants to select and which to reject for the given job. The training and development function gives employees the skills and knowledge to perform their jobs effectively. In addition to providing training for new or inexperienced employees, organizations often provide training programmes for

experienced employees whose jobs are undergoing change. Large organizations often have development programmes which prepare employees for higher level responsibilities within the organization. Training and development programmes provide useful means of assuring that employees are capable of performing their jobs at acceptable levels.

The last phase of the Human Resource Management process is called the maintenance function. This phase is to put into place activities that will help retain productive employees. Human Resource Management must work to ensure that the working environment is safe and healthy; caring for employees' well-being has a major effect on their commitment. In addition to protecting an employee's welfare, it is necessary to Human Resource Management to operate appropriate Communication Programs in the organization. Included in such programs is the ability for employees to know what is occurring around them and to vent frustrations.

In conclusion, function of Human Resource Managament is about the management of work and people in an organization.