HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
B.COM YEAR 3 1

INTRODUCTION
Overview of HRM
Importance of HRM
Relationship/pertnership between Line managers and HR
manager
Challenges encountered by line managers in HRM
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OVERVIEW OF HRM
The most important resources of any organization are the human
resources.
These are people who supply the organization with their
knowledge; skills, experience and effort to enable the organization
achieve its strategy.
For the successful and effective functioning of an organization;
management of the organization must have a committed and
motivated workforce.
It is the people who can use other resources of the organization to
achieve company goals.
Generally, HRM refers to the process of identifying, deploying,
deploying, appraising, training and rewarding human resources in
resources in an organization
It refers to collection or combination of practices put in place by the
by the management to manage and get the best out of the
employees.
3

HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
4

THE HRM FUNCTIONS:
The unit taking care of the people in the organization.
provides significant support and advice to line management.
examines the various HR processes that are concerned with
attracting, managing, motivating and developing employees for the
benefit of the organization.
- The student should be able to explain the human resource
management processes in organizations. For example; HR
Planning, Recruitment and selection, Training and Development,
Health and safety management, performance management,
reward and compensation management, employee commitment
management, among others.
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IMPORTANCE OF HRM
To ensure effective utilization of HR; This can be through
training, right placement, performance management etc.
To attract and maintain talented or competent staff; This may
be through good recruitment or person organization fit, through
effective rewards and other good HRM practices.
Managing employee commitment; Commitment looks at the
willingness of employee to identify with the goals and
objectives of the organization and remain loyal to the
organization. A committed employee serves the organization all
heartedly. Managers can build employee commitment through
open communication systems, participatory performance
systems and implementing programs designed to increase the
company’s mission and values
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IMPORTANCE OF HRM
To develop human resources; This involves training and developing
employees at all levels while relating the development programs to the
needs of the organization and individuals so as to improve company
performance.
To enhance Employee motivation
To sustain organization culture; The human resource specialist
formulates strategies and helps to get the values of the organization
defined, understood and accepted by workers.
Managing changes in form of new strategies, processes and procedures
; The HR practices influence the changing of employees’ attitudes towards
accepting organizational change, and manage resistance to change.
Ensuring good working environment
Performance management; This involves introducing systems that clarify
objectives at all levels in an organization as well as setting systems of
measuring performance at all levels in the organization.
7

RELATIONSHIP BTW
LINE MANAGERS & HR
MANAGER
 They are not HR specialists but are heads of departments,
supervisor or team leaders in other departments.
Department staffing
Workforce strategy
Performance management
Conflict resolution
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DEPARTMENT STAFFING
The human resource department’s main function is to support
the workforce needs of the organization. HR and line
managers should communicate regularly and frequently to
determine the skills and qualifications required for seamless
operation of department functions. Whenever there’s a
vacancy in a line manager’s department, an HR recruiter or
employment specialist and the line manager review the job
description for accuracy and completeness. During the
recruitment and selection process, HR advises line managers
on how to identify qualified candidates and existing department
staff capabilities.
9

WORKFORCE STRATEGY
Strategic planning between HR and line managers involves
reviewing projections concerning future business demands to
determine whether to train current employees to prepare them
for promotion or to recruit candidates with higher level skills to
augment the current employee knowledge base. By working
together on immediate and future staffing needs, HR and line
management benefit from reduced cost per hire and turnover.
In addition, the organization benefits from appropriate
succession planning and adequate staffing.
10

PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
Training and development is an HR function that prepares line
managers for a number of leadership tasks. One such task is
conducting employee performance appraisals. Human
resources trainers develop learning objectives based on line
managers’ understanding of the organization’s coaching
philosophy. Leadership training topics include how to provide
employees with constructive feedback and how to conduct fair
and unbiased assessments of employee performance. HR and
line managers should therefore work together to ensure the
organization maintains a consistent approach to performance
management. Inconsistencies within an organization’s
performance management system negatively impact employee
job satisfaction, which is another reason HR and line managers
should work collaboratively.
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CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Workplace conflict is inevitable whenever department
employees represent different cultures, work styles and
personalities. When conflicts arise, line managers typically
seek the advice of HR in resolving issues between employees
or issues between employees and their managers. If there is
already dissention between HR and line management, it can
be difficult for human resources to determine what underlies
the conflict and how to resolve it. A positive working
relationship between HR and line management facilitates
easier handling of workplace investigations and mediating
differences between staff. When HR and line management
work together, it’s easier for HR to investigate workplace issues
because the human resource staff may have greater
confidence that line managers document their employment
actions and decisions appropriately and according to company
policy. 12

CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
BY LINE MANAGERS IN HRM
Lack of employees commitment; Extent to which employees serve the
organization all heartedly, identify with it and and willing to continue
serving its interests. People want to get rich quick, and their aim therefore
may not be to contribute to the organization but to gain from it. The
challenge therefore is how to harmonize the individual interests with the
overall organizational objectives.
Workforce diversity; a variety of differences between people in an
organization e.g an increasing number of women, disadvantaged and
minors joining the workforce posing a challenge on management to
accommodate such individual differences
Wide spread of unemployment; There are less white collar jobs
considering the number of people that qualify for them hence causing
scarcity of workers with the needed experience.
Influence of trade unions and associations; there is increasing pressure of
trade unions on the management concerning the various interests of
workers such as salary increments that may not be anticipated by the
management
Rights to privacy e.g. someone with AIDS should not be discriminated on
those grounds, even questions asked on interviews should be non
discriminatory.
Globalization; the process of interaction and intergration among people,
companies of different nations. Many countries have opened their
boarders and therefore organizations continue to face challenges of
expatriate labour, cultural shock, e-workers etc.
Changes in technology; This necessitates management to ensure their
employees are abreast with the recent trends which may be costly. 13
B.COM YEAR 3