Question: Define the terms Personnel Management and Human Resource Management. How Personnel Management is different from Human Resource Management?
Answer
Introduction
The success of an organization depends not only on the effectiveness of utilizing financial and physical resources but also on human resources. The effectiveness of developing Human Resource is among the most vital issues in an organization. In any organization management of employees is a principal.
In an organization, a group of people work together with a common motive i.e. to achieve their organizational goal, which is only possible when efforts of all the people in the organization are efficiently managed. There are two basic approaches that employers adopt to manage people or employee in their organization. They are - Personnel Management and Human Resource Management.
The objective of this post is to make you understand the terms - Personnel Management and Human Resource Management. Also, to make you understand the differences between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management.
Definition of Personnel Management
According to Flippo, “Personnel management is the planning, organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance 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.”
Definition of Human Resource Management
Edwin Flippo defines- Human Resource Management as “planning, organizing, directing, controlling of procurement, development, compensation, integration , maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational and social objectives are achieved.”
According to Decenzo and Robbins, “Human Resource Management is concerned with the people dimension” in management. Since every organization is made up of people, acquiring their services, developing their skills, motivating them to higher levels of performance and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to the organization is essential to achieve organizational objectives. This is true, regardless of the type of organization – government, business, education, health or social action”.
Byars and Rue – “Human resource management encompasses those activities designed to provide for and coordinate the human resources of an organization. Human resource functions refer to those tasks and duties performed in organizations to provide for and coordinate human resources”.
Ivancevich and Glueck – “Human resource management is the function performed in organizations’ that facilitate the most effective use of people (employees) to achieve organizational and individual goals”.
Differences Between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management
Differences Between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management | ||
Basis of Difference | Personnel Management | Human Resource Management |
Meaning | PM is a traditional approach of managing people at workplace. Concerned with employees at work and with their relationship within an organization. | HRM is a modern approach of managing people at workplace and is concern of managers working in an organization from top to bottom level. |
Definition | “Personnel management is the planning, organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the purpose of contributing to organizational, individual and societal goals.” | “Human resource management is the function performed in organizations’ that facilitate the most effective use of people to achieve organizational and individual goals”. |
Nature | It is more routine in nature. | It is more strategic in nature. |
Focus | It focuses on personnel administration, employee welfare, and labour relation. | It focuses on human values, individual needs and development. |
Function | Personnel administration, labor relation and employee welfare are major functions of personnel management. | Acquisition, development, utilization and maintenance of human resource are major functions of human resource management. |
Objective | It manages people in accordance with organization’s goal. | It determines human resource needs and formulate policies by matching individual’s needs with organization’s needs. |
Interest | Priority is given to organizational interest. | Priority is given to mutual interest. |
Job Design | Job design is division of labour oriented | Job design is teamwork oriented. |
Communication | Indirect, limited, and restricted communication | Direct and open communication |
Orientation | It is discipline, direction and control oriented. | It is development oriented. It provides space for employee involvement, performance and growth. |
Emphasis | It emphasizes on adherence of rules and regulations and their implementation. | It emphasizes on combination of human energies and competencies. |
Benefits | Disciplined employees, Increased production | Committed human resource, Increased production & profit, Quality of work life, Readiness to change. |
