Objectives of human resource management are influenced by organisational objectives and individual and social goals. Objectives at various levels are interrelated. It implies that achievement of one objective may lead to achievement of another objective or set of objectives also. For example, human resource development leads to achievement of personal objectives as well as organizational objectives simultaneously.
The objectives and goals of an HR department must be derived from the objectives of the entire organisation.
Some of the objectives of human resource management: 1. Planning 2. Job Evaluation 3. Recruiting, Selection and Retention 4. Compensation Plan 5. Training and Development.
Objectives of human resource management are achieving desired results by performing various functions which are relevant at four levels. They are: 1. Societal Objectives 2. Organizational Objectives 3. Functional Objectives 4. Personal Objectives.
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The other objectives of HRM are to meet the needs, aspirations, values and dignity of individual employees and having due concern for the socio-economic problems of the community and the country.
Objectives of Human Resource Management
7 Main Objectives of Human Resource Management
HRM involves formulating structured policies and practices in carrying out “people” or human resource aspects of a management position including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding and appraising. Under the HRM framework, the HR department exerts implies authority on human resources by directing relevant activities in their respective departments and in related service departments.
For example- the HR directs the finance/accounts department to confirm payroll packages of the employees, directs the administration department to issue identity cards or security access cards to move around the department or directs respective supervisors in the department regarding the arrival of their new recruit. HR thus takes responsibility for clearly defining how management should be treating employees, have relevant mechanisms in place to contest unfair practices and represent the interests of employees within the framework of its primary obligation towards senior management.
The principles of HRM are invariably incorporated within the staffing function and is a necessity for an organisation to attain their long-term goals. Staffing is a significant part of HRM and the processes involved in staffing are influenced by the principles of HRM.
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The main objectives of HRM are discussed below:
1. Employing skills and abilities of workforce efficiently – HRM aims at making people’s strengths productive and benefiting customers, stockholders, and employees.
2. Providing organisation with well-trained and well-motivated employees – HRM requires that employees to be motivated and give their maximum efforts in the direction of organisations, So that their performance can be evaluated properly for results and that they be remunerated on the basis of their contributions to the organisation.
3. Developing and maintain a quality of work life – HRM makes employment in the organisation not cumbersome dreary and impersonal but a desirable, personal and social, situation. Without improvement in the quality of work life, it is difficult to improve organisational performance.
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4. Ethically and socially responsible towards the needs of society – HRM must ensure that organisations manage human resource in an ethical and socially responsible manner through ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards.
5. Helping the organisation in achievement of organisational goals – HR department, like other departments in an organisation, aims at achieving the goals of the organisation first and if it does not meet this purpose effectively, HR department (or for that matter any other unit) will wither and die.
6. Increasing employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualisation – It tries to prompt and stimulate every employee to realise his potential and not feel themselves neglected to achieve this end suitable programmes have to be designed aimed at improving the Quality of Work Life (QWL).
7. Communicating HR policies to all employees – HRM holds the responsibility of communicating in the fullest possible sense; tapping ideas, opinions and feelings of customers, non-customers, regulators and other external public as well as understanding the views of internal human resources.
Predetermined and Key Objectives of Human Resource Management
Objectives are predetermined goals to which an individual or a group activity in an organisation is directed. Objectives of HRM are influenced by social objectives, organisational objectives, functional objectives and individual objectives. Institutions are instituted to attain certain specific objectives.
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The objectives of the economic institutions are mostly to earn profits, and that of educational institutions are mostly to impart education and/or conduct research so on and so forth. However, the fundamental objective of any organisation is survival. Organisations are not just satisfied with this goal. Further, the goal of most of the organisations is growth and/or profits.
The predetermined objectives of HRM may be as follows:
(i) To create and utilise an able and motivated workforce and to accomplish the basic organisational goals.
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(ii) To establish and maintain a sound organisational structure and desirable working relationships among all the members of the organisation.
(iii) To secure the integration of an individual and groups within the organisation by co-ordination of the individual and group goals with those of the organisation.
(iv) To create facilities and opportunities for an individual or group development so as to match it with the growth of the organisation.
(v) To attain an effective utilisation of human resources in the achievement of organisational goals.
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The key objectives of HRM may be listed below:
1. Achieve goals – The principal task of an HR manager is to achieve goals and deliver results by putting talents of employees to best use.
2. Motivate people – To get the best out of people, HR managers must motivate people through appropriate HR policies, programmes and practices.
3. Attract and retain talent – To survive and flourish in a competitive world, HR managers must be able to attract and retain talent. To this end, they must design programmes aimed at employee growth and development. Training opportunities must be thrown open to all deserving candidates from time to time.
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4. Adapt HR policies and practices in sync with corporate strategy- HR managers’ basic job is to align individual HR practices with corporate goals and strategies.
5. Gain competitive advantage – By making use of talent in the best possible way and by improving productive contributions of people at work, HR should help a firm gain competitive advantage. When talent is put to good use, a firm can get past competition easily.
6. Improve quality of working life – Good HR aims at improving the quality of life of employees. Resources are put to good use. Information is shared openly. Working relationships are based on mutual trust and respect. Rewards are distributed equitably. Welfare amenities, safety and security measures are put in place—paving the way for a better working environment.
7. Communicate HR policies and programmes – It is the responsibility of the HR department to communicate the HR policies to the employees in the fullest possible sense. Moreover, they should tap ideas, opinions and feelings of the employees so that the HR policies evolve with the changing needs of the organization and its employees.
8. Ensure ethical and socially responsible behaviour and actions – While trying to meet enterprise goals, HRM must ensure that organizations manage human resources in an ethical and socially responsible manner by ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards.
Viewed broadly, HRM seeks to improve the contributions of employees and thereby improve organizational effectiveness. When organizations deliver results, it helps the society to enjoy a better quality of life.
10 Important Objectives of Human Resource Management
Objectives of human resource management are influenced by organisational objectives and individual and social goals. The other objectives of HRM are to meet the needs, aspirations, values and dignity of individual employees and having due concern for the socio-economic problems of the community and the country.
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The objectives of HRM may be as follows:
(i) To create and utilise an able and motivated workforce, to accomplish the basic organisational goals.
(ii) To establish and maintain sound organisational structure and desirable working relationships among all the members of the organisation.
(iii) To secure the integration of individual and groups within the organisation by co-ordination of the individual and group goals with those of the organisation.
(iv) To create facilities and opportunities for individual or group development so as to match it with the growth of the organisation.
(v) To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by providing adequate and equitable wages, incentives, employee benefits and social security and measures for challenging work, prestige, recognition, security, status, etc.
(vi) To maintain high employee morale and sound human relations by sustaining and improving the various conditions and facilities.
(vii) To strengthen and appreciate the human assets continuously by providing training and developmental programmes.
(viii) To consider and contribute to the minimisation of socio-economic evils such as unemployment, under-employment, inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth and to improve the welfare of the society by providing employment opportunities to women and disadvantaged sections of the society, etc.
(ix) To provide an opportunity for expression and voice in management.
(x) To provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership.
(xi) To provide facilities and conditions of work and creation of favourable atmosphere for maintaining stability of employment.
Management has to create conducive environment and provide necessary prerequisites for the attainment of the human resource management objectives after formulating them.
Objectives of Human Resource Management – Planning, Job Evaluation, Recruiting, Selection and Retention, Compensation Plan and Training and Development
Objective # 1. Planning:
In todays’ world becoming an increasing trend wherein the companies are focusing on linking the human resources planning system with the strategic plan of the overall business. In most cases these are long term plans where the companies observe the trend of the working population (the average age and educational level) and then on the basis of that develop a plan for future recruitment from the region.
In many cases like the Texas Instrument and New York Telephone, the companies are going one step further and promoting education so that in future they can get a well-educated workforce from the region. These kind of actions on behalf of the company management can be observed as a process by which they ensure the overall development of the working class population so that in return their future remains secure.
There is also another aspect of this planning function. Depending on the strategic view of the firm at that particular moment of time the recruitment and development plan has to be altered. A company cannot freeze its human resource planning and cannot consider it to be constant over the years. But, rather much like any other function this also have to be changed from time to time.
Objective # 2. Job Evaluation:
Including the human resource policy into strategic management group and changing the management structure does not finish the job. The human resource management has to make it sure that before any work is being assigned to any employee, a proper job evaluation is required.
Job Evaluation often requires a benchmark to assess the work done by a particular employee in an organization. A systematic and logical pay structure cannot be implemented without a proper assessment of the job done by the employee.
Mostly its can be regarded as a process by which relative worth or size of a job can be measured, mostly with a view of structuring the payment and compensation of the employees.
There are several prevalent analytical approaches for job evaluation and among them “point-factor scheme” is more commonly used, where there are levels which are defined and for each level there are scores attached.
Objective # 3. Recruiting, Selection and Retention:
The main selection methods which are applicable for any industry are interviewing, assessment centers and tests. In most of the cases interviews will be definitely needed as a part of the emotional evaluation process.
While designing the selection process the companies must closely evaluate the internal and emotional factors of the employee. It is not always that the best resources are selected but the selected employee should ideally be best for the job.
For that reason more important selection process in this particular scenario is assessment center. This is because along with emotional quotients, the companies also have to judge the in-hand technical abilities of the employees. This can be judged only in an assessment center. In this process of selection, the important dimensions of the work are evaluated and tested against the standards.
Along with the group and individual exercises the interviews and tests are also being conducted. For implementing this particular selection procedure, the company has to firstly identify the basic competencies that are being required to perform the particular job.
The human resource management of the company must make it sure that they select and recruit the right kind of employees who will serve the firm for a long term.
Objective # 4. Compensation Plan:
The way in which employees are rewarded in an organization often determines the level of employee relationship in the organization. Without a proper compensation structure the employees of the organization would not be able to relate to the work they are performing.
As a result of these facts organizations are now more focusing on providing more lucrative reward system to the employees, so as the critical employees are being retained by the company.
This reward system holds a central role in the human resource management system, but designing this system often is complex without proper job evaluation method. Linking the amount of work done by the employee to the amount he or she will receive as compensation is often a difficult proposition. The selection of payment system depends on the management’s perception and realizations of the organizational goals.
These goals often include both traditional and modern views of compensation system. A well structure reward and compensation system often creates a better employee relationship. But while implementing the reward system the company must be careful as the compensation structure should reflect fully the industry benchmarks as well as the amount of effort the individual has put in.
Thus compensation systems often creates dilemma while determining the exact amount of compensation that is needed to be paid to any particular employee.
Objective # 5. Training and Development:
For successfully implementing training function as a strategic element proper planning and assessment about the improvement parameters of the employees are required. Though the process of performance monitoring the training requirements should be evaluated for each group of employees and then should be timely implemented so that the effect of the program is optimum. Designing and implementation of a training program should be done in tandem as per the strategic requirement of the organization.
Objectives of Human Resource Management – Societal, Organizational, Functional and Personal Objectives
Objectives of human resource management are achieving desired results by performing various functions which are relevant at four levels — society, organization, organizational functions, and personal. Thus, objectives of human resource management are to achieve societal, organizational, functional, and personal objectives.
Objectives at various levels are interrelated. It implies that achievement of one objective may lead to achievement of another objective or set of objectives also. For example, human resource development leads to achievement of personal objectives as well as organizational objectives simultaneously.
Let us go through these objectives-
1. Societal Objectives:
Societal objectives of human resource management are in the form of keeping in view social needs while performing human resource management functions. Thus, societal objectives are achieved by an organization when it adopts ethical and socially responsible human resource management practices.
Proper emphasis on societal objectives ensures effective development and utilization of precious human resources of the society. Achievement of societal objectives leads to social betterment.
2. Organizational Objectives:
Organizational objectives of human resource management are in the form of achieving overall organizational objectives (survival objective, profit objective, and growth objective) through proper human resource management practices. Different organizations put differing emphasis on various organizational objectives. Depending on the type of emphasis that is placed on different types of organizational objectives, human resource management practices should be adopted.
3. Functional Objectives:
Functional objectives of human resource management are in the form of contribution of human resource management to various organizational functions — production, marketing, and finance. Human resource management contributes to performing these organizational functions by ensuring availability of right personnel at right time to these functions.
4. Personal Objectives:
Personal objectives of human resource management are in the form of providing maximum possible satisfaction to employees of the organization. Employees join an organization to satisfy their own needs along with contributing to achievement of organizational objectives.
Therefore, human resource management practices should aim at providing maximum possible satisfaction to employees by tailoring these practices according to employee needs.
Basic Objectives of Human Resource Management
Objectives of human resource management are derived from the basic objectives of the organisation.
The basic objectives of human resource management can be summarised as:
(i) To help the organisation to achieve its objectives by providing well-trained and highly-motivated employees.
(ii) To effectively utilise the skill and knowledge of the employees in the interest of the organisation.
(iii) To enhance job-satisfaction and self-actualisation need of the employees by encouraging them.
(iv) To provide best training and advancement facility to employees for the individual development of the employees of the organisation.
(v) To develop and maintain a quality of work life in the employees.
(vi) To secure the integration of all the individuals and groups with the organisation by reconciling individual, group goals with those of an organisation.
(vii) To maintain high morale and good human relations within the organisation.
(viii) To help in maintaining ethical policies and behaviour inside and outside organisation.
(ix) To recognise and satisfy individual needs and group goals by offering appropriate monetary and non-monetary incentives.
(x) The HRM should also communicate HR policies to all the employees. It helps the HRM in tapping the ideas, opinions, feelings and the views of the employees.
(xi) To minimise the negative impact of social demands upon the organisation.
(xii) To use the people’s strengths productively and to the benefits of the organisation.
So at the end it can be stated that the objectives of HRM is to ensure a satisfactory accomplishment of the objectives of an organisation and of its employees. While framing the HR objectives of the organisation, care is taken to consider the interest and needs of the employees and of employees’ goals.
This can be done by integrating the interest of the employees and the interests of the management with a view to achieve the objectives of the entire organisation. In simple words, HR department should aim at serving the organisation in its best way.
Objectives of Human Resource Management (With Definition)
During & after 1970 term ‘HRM’ (Human Resources Management) took place of traditional term ‘Personnel Management due to several changes like technological changes, growing competition, globalization of economies etc.
Human Resource Management may be defined as a set of policies, practices of programmes designed to maximise both personal & organisational goals. Human Resource Management is the organisational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organisational development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration & training.
The objectives of HRM are manifold as shown below:
(i) Utilize the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently and effectively.
(ii) Provide well-trained and highly motivated employees.
(iii) Fulfill the employees’ job satisfaction and self actualization.
(iv) Develop and maintain a conducive quality of work life.
(v) Communicate HR policies to all the employees.
(vi) Help organisation reach its goals.
(vii) Create a functional Human Resource Information System.
(viii) Make the organization globally competitive.
(ix) Get the organization ready to face future challenges.
(x) Give equal opportunity to all.
(xi) Be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of the society.
Specific Objectives of Human Resource Management
The objectives of human resources management include the utilisation of human resources effectively, establishment & maintenance of productive & self-respecting working relationships among the participants & attainment of maximum individual development of the members in the organisation.
However, the specific objectives of human resource management may be listed as follows:
(i) To procure right types of personnel for right jobs at the right time.
(ii) To bring about maximum individual development of employees of the organisation by providing them right kind of training and advancement.
(iii) To ensure satisfaction of various needs of individuals of by providing adequate wages, fringe benefits, incentives, social security etc.
(iv) To provide facilities & conditions of work & creation of favourable atmosphere for maintaining the stability of employment.
(v) To achieve and maintain good human relationships within the organisation.
(vi) To ensure effective utilisation of human resources. All other organisational resources will be efficiently utilised by the human resources.
(vii) To develop & maintain quality of work life (QWL) in the organisation.
(viii) To maintain ethical personnel policies in the organisation.
(ix) To manage change to the mutual advantage of individuals, groups, the organisation & the society.
(x) To increase employees commitment views like that “People work with us rather than people work for us.”
Objectives and Aims of Human Resource Management According to Michael Jucius
According to Michael Jucius, the primary aims and objectives of the Human Resource Management are as follows:
i. According the organisational goals economically and effectively.
ii. Serving to the highest possible degree the individual goals.
iii. Preserving and advancing the general welfare of the community.
Management has been assigned the task of not only helping the organisation and its employees but also the society as a whole to attain the ‘best’, by winning and maintaining the wholehearted cooperation and collaboration of the people in the organisation as well as in the society at large.
The following are the important objectives of the Human Resource Management:
1. Enterprise Objectives:
i. To attain, enterprise objectives by winning and maintaining the wholehearted co-operation from all employees in the organisation.
ii. To ensure that the enterprise gets the right type of employees, in the right quantity, at the right time and at the right place.
iii. To motivate its employees to contribute their maximum to the organisational goals.
iv. To optimise the utilisation of the man-power resources of the enterprise.
v. To set up desirable and cordial relationship among the employees of the enterprise.
vi. To maintain high morale among the workers.
2. Personnel Objectives:
i. To aim at achieving material and mental satisfaction of each employee in the organisation.
ii. To provide proper and satisfactory working conditions conducive to the development of its employees.
iii. To keep work-place neat and clean and properly ventilated.
iv. To ensure that the workers get job-satisfaction, good remuneration, job security, avenues for promotion, financial and other incentives for improving their performance
v. To undertake measures for promoting labour-welfare.
3. Social Objectives:
i. To aim at achieving and advancing general welfare of the community.
ii. To provide employment opportunities to the people.
iii. To avoid waste and produce goods at minimum cost.
iv. To produce quality goods and sell them at fair prices.
v. To prevent environmental pollution and take measures for environmental purification, if necessary.
15 Common Objectives of Human Resource Management
The objectives of human resource management are as follows:
(i) To help the organization to attain its goals by providing well-trained and well-motivated employees.
(ii) To utilize the human resource effectively by employing skilled and knowledgeable people in proper manner.
(iii) To secure the integration of all the individuals and groups with the organization by reconciling individual/group goals with those of an organization.
(iv) To develop a team spirit among the workers.
(v) To have division of work and task properly with proper authority, responsibility and relationship of one position with another.
(vi) To develop people on continuous basis to meet the challenges of their jobs.
(vii) To employ the skills and knowledge of employees efficiently and effectively.
(viii) To develop a sense of discipline among the human force engaged in any organization.
(ix) To raise employees’ morale simultaneously so that they should work enthusiastically and in an energetic manner.
(x) To bring about maximum individual development of members of the organization by providing them proper training and advancement.
(xi) To maintain sound industrial and human relations so as to secure the willing cooperation of all the people.
(xii) To develop and maintain a quality of work life which makes employment in the organization a desirable personal and social situation.
(xiii) To enhance job satisfaction of employees by encouraging and assisting every employee to realize the full potential.
(xiv) To recognize and satisfy individual needs and groups goals by giving them financial and non-financial incentives.
(xv) By ensuring to recruit and retain personnel in the organization so that right people are available at right time at right place.
Top 4 Primary Objectives of Human Resource Management – Societal, Organisational, Functional and Personal Objectives
The primary objectives of human resource management is basically deals with workforce of employees in an organisation.
The objectives of HRM can be classified into four categories, which are analysed as follows for a better understanding:
Objective # 1. Societal:
The modern society deals with human resource decisions through the laws of the Constitution. For example, reservation and other laws that address social discrimination, health and safety of workers, morale, ideological bias and other such issues of social concern.
Therefore, the aim of the society is to give equal rights to all the workers in an organisation without social discrimination. Health care and safety of workers is most essential for each and every workers. It is the duty of an organisation to take care of all workers and provide this types of facilities and also reward, so that, they are more interested for their work.
Objective # 2. Organisational:
Organisations are not mere structural entities, but social units. It has been observed by scholars that an organisation is not a complex of matter but rather a complex of humanity. An organisation must make appropriate use of human capital for achievement of both collective organisational and individual goals.
The organisational objective is organisational strategy, coordinating and harmonizing organisation wide efforts and stressing on the role of human resource management in contributing towards organisational effectiveness. Human resource management’s aim is to balance the equation and bring about required synergy to reinforce mutuality of effort towards the common purpose. HRM is not an end in itself. It is a means to the end of increasing organisational capability. Primary objectives of individual are fulfilled by an organisation.
Objective # 3. Functional:
On the functional role of HRM, resources are wasted when human resource is neither in excess or too scarce. The department function is to gain organisational fit with respect to human resource requirements.
Empowerment is a core concept of the new management model. In this way, empowerment is preferred to delegation, ownership to responsibility. It is contended that authority and responsibility are formal aspects of organising. So that, they are based on organisational properties and not on individual capabilities. Empowerment and ownership are social aspects of organizing. They are based on efficacy and initiative, and not just on roles and requirements.
According to theorists, two main concerns regarding competitive philosophy are (a) people- centered philosophy, and (b) unity and focus. Wider philosophy is needed for success of any organisation and that also for the success of the free market. Philosophy internally provides a focus to collective effort and helps competitors anticipate future moves of a company.
Therefore, sound human resource management should determines the level of innovation or creativity in an organisational processes. It is no doubt that, organisational capability is a dynamic concept. It depends on the premium attached to the HR function by the management. In the opinion of Bob Garratt, theory of organisations as “learning systems” in which success depends on the ability of managers to become “direction-givers” and on the organisation’s capacity for learning continuously.
Objective # 4. Personal:
It is basically related to employees in achieving their personal goals and these goals depend on an individual’s contribution to the organisation. Personal objectives of employees must be met if workers are to be motivated towards better performance. In this way, employee performance and satisfaction are likely to decline and employees could even contemplate leaving the organisation.
Managing approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies is an important aspect of human resource management.
In the study of public administration divergent views has been attract in the objectives of human resource management. Infact, due to changing environment and dynamics of relationship among management, employees and trade unions human resource management objective have new vistas added to its defining purpose.
V.S.P. Rao (2000) explains some changes in the set of emerging objectives:
i. Research and development is a new facet to human resource management. Its need to change the legal, political, and social environment
ii. The primary purpose of HRM is to realise people’s strengths, which basically deals with productive assets and customer’s benefit.
iii. HRM requires that employees be motivated to make them their maximum efforts, in the organisation.
iv. HRM helps employees grow to their fullest potential, with reference to job satisfaction and self-actualisation.
v. To develop and maintain quality of work life, good working conditions and good standard of life for the worker makes employment in the organisation a desirable personal and social condition.
vi. It is the responsibility of HRM to establish and maintain communication. For understanding the views of internal human resources.
vii. HR function helps to maintain ethical policies and behaviour in the organisation.
viii. The aim of HRM is to improve the quality of work life.
Objectives and Functions of Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management has the following objectives and functions, namely:
(i) To ensure that it acts as the “Strategic fit (integration)” so as to effectively integrate the business and HR strategies in the organization.
(ii) To ensure that the organization adopts a coherent approach to the provision of mutually supporting and integrated HR practices so as to enable the organization successfully accomplish its goals and objectives.
(iii) To ensure the importance of achieving a holistic commitment of the people to the culture, values, mission and vision of the organization.
(iv) To ensure the employees are treated as assets or “human capital” in the organization.
(v) To employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently.
(vi) To provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees.
(vii) To increase to the fullest, the employee’s Job Satisfaction and Self-actualization.
(viii) To develop and maintain a Quality of Work Life (QWL).
(ix) To communicate HR policies to all employees effectively.
(x) To help maintain ethical policies and behaviour at the work place.
(xi) To maintain discipline and address employee grievance and dissatisfaction more promptly and effectively.
(xii) To maintain a cordial relationship in between the employees at various levels with the management of the organization.
Functions:
It is necessary to perform a variety of functions to realize the objectives of HRM. These functions are performed by the human resource department of an organization, and can be categorized into two groups, managerial and operative. Managerial functions include the basic management functions, such as planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Operative functions include the activities that are specifically confided to human resource department. The operative functions usually deal with the employment, growth, maintenance, and compensation of employees.
The managerial functions of HRM can be listed as follows:
i. Planning – Determines a course of action to achieve the organizational objectives. For a human resource manager, planning involves activities such as deciding the quantum of workforce required, formulating plans to fill job vacancies and fulfill job requirements, and preparing job descriptions and specifications.
ii. Organizing – Refers to developing an organizational structure, allocating duties and responsibilities, and delegating authority to individuals as and when required.
iii. Staffing – Refers to filling up the existing and anticipated vacancies with the right quality of people in right number and at the right time.
iv. Directing – Refers to implementing the plans that have already been formulated. A human resource manager supervises, directs, guides, and motivates the employees of the organization to work effectively towards the achievement of organizational objectives.
v. Controlling – Refers to keeping a check on whether the plans have been materialized as stated or not. If the plans are not materialized, the human resource department needs to identify the deviations and take corrective measures to remove them. Controlling helps a human resource manager to evaluate and control the performance of his/her department.
Operative functions are specifically related to the human resource department.
These functions are mentioned in the following points:
i. HRP – Maintains an adequate pool of talented workforce at all times with the skills relevant to the business needs. An organization should neither be overstaffed nor understaffed.
ii. Recruitment and Selection – Searches suitable candidates and invites applications for the anticipated vacancies. Methods and sources of recruitment should be carefully selected. Selection involves opting for the best candidate out of those who have applied for the job.
iii. Placement and Induction – Refers to placing candidates in the right type of jobs by matching their skill requirements with the requirements of the jobs. Induction is a formal orientation of employees on their jobs to familiarize them with the work culture, colleagues, and overall work environment of the organization.
iv. Training and Development – Refers to providing employees with relevant training as per their job requirements. It bridges the gap between the knowledge, skills, and attitude an employee has with respect to what the job demands.
v. Compensation – Refers to remunerating the employees for their services. It includes both the base compensation; that is wages and salaries, and supplementary compensation, that is, perquisites. The human resource department should take proper care while formulating the wage and salary structure as it helps in motivating the employees.
vi. Performance Appraisal – Evaluates the employees based on their performance on the job. The results of performance appraisal are used for identifying training and development needs and taking decisions regarding promotions, transfers, and demotions of employees.
vii. Health and Safety – Refers to providing clean and safe working conditions to the employees so that they like their workplace and maintain their efficiency. The human resource department also provides various welfare services, such as provision of cafeteria, group insurance, and recreational facilities.
viii. Motivation of Workforce – Refers to inspiring employees to contribute productively towards the goals of the organization. Therefore, a human resource manager should identify the needs and desires of employees and motivate them accordingly.
ix. Redressal of Grievances – Refers to addressing the problems and grievances of employees. It helps in maintaining peace and harmony in the organization.
x. Separation – Refers to conducting the exit interviews with the employees leaving an organization. This helps in identifying the reasons for which the employees leave the organization. It further helps the organization to take corrective measures, if required, to decrease the turnover ratio. A human resource manager should also ensure that the employees leaving or retiring from the organization get their relieving benefits on time.
Objectives and Goals of Human Resource Management Classified by Ralph C. Davis
HRM must aim at making employees effective contributors to the success of the enterprise. In case the enterprise is not successful, it can neither continue to exist nor can be useful for either employees or management. Thus, the primary objective of the HRM is to seek willing and effective cooperation of the workers towards the accomplishment of the organisational objectives.
According to M. W. Cuming, personnel management aims at achieving both efficiency and justice, neither of which can be pursued successfully without the other. It seeks to bring together and develop into an effective organisation the men and women who make up an enterprise enabling each to make his/her own best contribution to its success both as an individual and as a member of a working group. It seeks to provide fair terms and conditions of employment and satisfying work for those employed.
HRM aims at creating, maintaining and utilising a competent and motivated workforce, securing integration of individual and organisational goals, satisfying employee needs, enriching human capital, involving workers in decision-making, maintaining good human and industrial relations, providing a conducive work environment, providing effective leadership, reducing employees grievances and, above all, seeking willing and effective cooperation of the workforce.
In order to seek willing and effective cooperation of the employees, the HRM aims at attracting and securing right kind and right number of people at the right time by offering adequate compensation and services. It also aims at maximum development of the personnel engaged in the enterprise and utilising them most effectively.
The HRM aims at the fulfilment of both financial and non-financial needs of the personnel because it is only then that the willing and active cooperation of the employees can be obtained.
The HRM aims at recruiting the most suitable and effective candidates, inducting them properly in the organisation, arranging for their training and development, paying them adequate remuneration and incentives, arranging for adequate social security and welfare measures, and ultimately conducting HR research so that more and more facts may be revealed.
The HR manager should also aim at ensuring moral, social and ethical standards of the employees. He/ she should review the impact of his/her HR programmes on the personality of the employees. He/she should lay emphasis on those human values which carry social and economic significance in the long run.
He/she should aim at generating a feeling among the employees that they are co-partners in the organisation. All these factors will lead to the upliftment of their mental and moral standards.
The HR manager also aims at generating mutual goodwill and cooperation between the employees and the management. This is possible only when the HR manager has got the confidence, cooperation and support of both the parties, namely labour and management.
The employees should regard the HR manager as their well-wisher, whereas the management should consider them an important link between the labour and itself. The HR manager should make the management realise that labour is not a commodity but a living thing, bubbling with certain ambitions, aspirations and feelings and, therefore, in order to accomplish the objectives of the organisation, it is necessary that it should be attached due importance and its personality recognised.
Similarly, the labour should also be made to realise that the interests of both the labour and the management are common and, therefore, the labour should contribute its maximum towards higher production at the greatest economy. Thus, the HR manager should aim at integration of objectives of both the labour and the management.
The HRM also aims at contributing adequately towards social needs and norms, because an enterprise is not only an economic institution but also an inseparable part of social complex. Therefore, an enterprise must like and behave according to the best interests of its regional and national location and act like a good neighbour in its immediate locality. If possible and wherever applicable, it should not lag behind in discharging its international obligations.
The aforesaid objectives may seem somewhat idealistic, and most management, especially in countries like India, may not be paying adequate heed to these objectives. However, the fact remains that an organisation cannot be successful unless it has certain ideals before it. This statement can be further corroborated by the fact that most successful enterprises in the world have had the HR programmes closely in line with the objectives.
The objectives and goals of an HR department must be derived from the objectives of the entire organisation.
Ralph C. Davis has classified the objectives of a business organisation as discussed further:
i. Primary Objectives:
The primary objectives of HRM include creating and distributing a product or service, satisfying personal objectives of the members of the organisation and meeting community and social obligations.
ii. Secondary Objectives:
The secondary objectives of HRM include:
1. Economy of operation in meeting the primary objectives
2. Effectiveness of operation in meeting the primary objectives.
In order to accomplish ‘product or service objectives’, it is necessary that personal objectives of the employees should be accomplished because it is the personnel who produce or create service.
Thus, the HR department always aims at fulfilling the personnel objectives because if the personal objectives of all individuals or all groups are not realised, the basic objectives of the enterprise will also suffer because in that case there may be greater labour turnover, higher rate of absenteeism, low morale, indifferent attitude and so on. Thus, there lies a great responsibility on the shoulder of the HRM because it aims at fulfilling not only monetary but also non-monetary personal objectives.
The objectives of the HRM can also be studied in terms of the management process, namely planning, organising, staffing, motivating and controlling aspects. Thus, under the head ‘Planning of HR Requirements’, the objectives of the HRM can be to assess the future requirement of personnel and attract potential candidates to meet the manpower requirement of the organisation as and when necessary.
Similarly, under the head ‘Organisation of Human Resources’, the objective of the HRM can be establishment of relationships among – (a) various personnel engaged in the industry, (b) men and their job, (c) men and machinery, and so on, that is, to determine the structure of the organisation.
The HRM also aims at screening the qualifications and capability of candidates to ascertain their suitability for the jobs concerned and ultimately placing them at right jobs, clearly specifying their duties and responsibilities.
Then, under the head ‘Staffing’, the HRM’s objectives may be to arrange for ‘workers’ training programmes, supervisors’ training programmes and executive development programmes’ so that all these personnel could effectively contribute towards the accomplishment of the overall objectives of the organisation.
Under this head, another objective of the HRM can be to ‘improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel through promotions, transfers, individual development programmes and so on’.
Next comes the head ‘Directing’ or ‘Motivating’. Under this head, the HRM’s objective can be to work out fair and equitable wage rates through job evaluation and so on, to improve communication system, to encourage healthy trade-unionism, to provide recreational facilities and to improve human relations and industrial peace.
Coming to the head ‘Controlling’, the objectives of the HRM can be to ensure that everything is going on as per plan, and if not, then taking corrective steps.
Objectives of Human Resource Management for Achieving Organizational Goals
HRM is not separate from the management functions. It is a part and parcel of the management process of the organization. Hence, principal objective of HRM is to achieve organizational goals through managing and developing human resources.
For achieving organizational goals HRM sets its own objectives which include the following:
1. Providing right people to the organization in terms of needs:
HRM, through Human Resource Planning technique, identifies requirement of personnel for different departments/sections and supplies the right number and kind of people selected carefully by the experts, to the indenters of the organization.
2. Ensuring quality products/service:
Because of LPG, there has been aggressive competition amongst companies in the market resulting in creation of such situation that makes available of quality goods and services at reasonably cheaper rate. It is possible for the organization to produce quality product or provide excellent customer service only when people at work are dynamic and committed to work and organization. HRM makes the people dynamic and committed through its HR policies programmes, practices etc.
3. Creating a new workers’ community to face the challenges:
Organizations pass through stiff competition which needs workers’ community with a totally changed mind-sets to confront any sort of challenges. HRM acts as a change agent and develops mind-sets of the workers appropriately so that they can face challenges and deliver goods and services to the customers as per their requirement.
4. Helping organization to meet up social obligations:
Organization, as a part of society, has ethical obligation to contribute in the process of ameliorating conditions of the societal members so that they can have necessary infrastructure and support to live on. HRM helps the organization to formulate policies and design programmes to provide support, assistance and welfare facilities to the people in the society.
5. Improving quality of work life to achieve individual and group goal:
HRM policies are designed with an aim to improve quality of working life of the employees so as to develop a sense of belongingness, increase satisfaction in work, enhance empowerment, responsibility, and in the process employees feel that the climate existing in the organization inspires them to achieve their individual goals as also group goals.
6. Ensuring equity, justice to create conducive climate of the organization:
HRM policies are framed to provide compensation benefits, incentives, fringe benefits, after making thorough job description, job analysis, job evaluation, analysis of incentive perspectives etc. and also to settle disputes as per grievance procedure, collective bargaining agreement, awards, laws, practices etc. Workers are treated fairly and justly, are not deprived of their legitimate and due benefits, get promotion, transfer according to promotion / transfer policy and also after review of performance through performance appraisal system.
All these measures ensure equity and justice in respect of the concerned issues and create confidence amongst employees, resulting in prevalence of conducive and congenial climate in the organization.
7. Helping organization to retain its best lot of workforce:
HRM through its compensation package, security and welfare programme, manifestation of dynamic approach and action of the top management towards treatment of employees and settlement of disputes, grievances, creation of an environment of ‘we-ness’, ‘togetherness’, ‘everybody wins’ and a culture of flexibility stimulates the employees not to switch over the organization. The services of the best lot of the people are therefore available to help organization to run its activities effectively and efficiently.
8. Ensuring establishment of a state of mutuality in organization:
HRM helps bringing working people to come closer to the supervisors / management, involve in the work activity, apply creative and innovative ideas, thoughts and give suggestions to superiors for better way of operation and functioning of the organization’s activities.
Under such a system, employees get opportunities to interact frequently with the superiors and develop a state of mutuality — mutual understanding, mutual faith, mutual confidence, mutual respect, mutual influence and mutual responsibility between them; and in this process, a healthy human relationship is established to achieve organizational goal.
9. Developing talent/ potential skill, abilities of employees to make them achievers, performers and deliverers:
HRM makes the organization, a learning organization, where systematic and continuous training programmes are conducted to develop, talent / potential skill, abilities of the employees so that, they can show their worth as achievers, performers and deliverers.
10. Creating a balance situation in respect of needs of different stake holders:
HRM policies and programmes look to the interests of stake-holders-employees, employers, suppliers, customers and societal members and control the needs, expectations and demands of the stake holders in terms of overall perspectives so that no maladjustment state is created.
11. Developing psychological strength of the employees to change organization climate:
People can develop their psychological base to work as best performers if their psychological needs (social need, esteem need and need for self-actualization), in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, are satiated through company’s policies, philosophy, management approach, and style of functioning. HRM has a role to develop psychological strength of the people.
12. Making the people aware of their rights, duties and responsibilities through communication process:
HRM initiates open communication channel to make the people transparent in their activities, rights as well as also their responsibilities so that, they can perform their assigned task effectively and efficiently.
13. Placing human value as assets to the organization:
HRM treats the employees as resource / assets and accepts its value as the one which cannot be compared with any other resource. The HRM perception about the people at work as resource / assets, encourages the whole workers’ community to work in a team, group to achieve team / group goals.
14. Utilizing the workforce effectively and efficiently to reduce wastage and increase savings:
HRM through its mechanisms redeploys the exact number and quality of people and in the process organization reduces wastages and increases savings.
Objectives of Human Resource Management Defined by Dirks
Objectives mean a set of end results that one wishes to achieve in future. In an organizational context, objectives are a set of predefined results that can be achieved with the efficient utilization of available pool of human resource. The basic objective of HRM is to ensure that employees work positively towards the realization of organizational objectives. The ultimate success of an organization depends on the accomplishment of its basic objective.
We know that every employee has a different set of professional and personal objectives that can be divergent from the organizational objectives. HRM aims to synchronize or converge employees’ objectives with the organizational objectives. In doing so, it seeks to develop harmonious relationship between employees and the organization.
In the words of Dirks, “The objectives of personnel management include the utilization of human resources effectively, establishment and maintenance of productive and self-respecting working relationships among the participants and attainment of maximum individual development of the members in the organization”.
In addition to this, other major objectives of HRM are as follows:
i. Helping the organization to achieve its objectives by ensuring the availability of adequate number of employees
ii. Making optimal utilization of the skills and knowledge of the available employees
iii. Establishing and maintaining sound organizational structure and desirable working relationship among all the employees of the organization
iv. Forecasting the future requisition of human resource and ensuring that there is no gap between their demand and supply
v. Creating facilities and opportunities for the individual and group development
vi. Identifying and satisfying employees’ needs to motivate them through financial or non-financial motivators for enhancing their productivity
vii. Maintaining high employee morale and sound human relations
viii. Ensuring proper training and development of employees on a regular basis to keep them updated with the rapidly changing business environment
ix. Providing efficient leadership, guidance, and supervision to employees
x. Providing favorable work conditions and supportive facilities for reducing turnover rate
xi. Providing adequate and appropriate environment to ensure relevant freedom of expression in the professional context
xii. Developing and maintaining quality of work life in the organization
xiii. Employing the right person for the right job based on his/her expertise.
It is the responsibility of the top management to provide a conducive work environment and essential pre-requisites for the attainment.