Human resource management

There are three main organizational resources: human resources, financial resources and technological resources. Organizations not only have to match the organizational needs, but also the values of their employees. Today managers are not only responsible for getting the job done but also for finding the right people for the right job.

Managing people is not a straightforward thing. People are complex beings that have complex needs. Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization’s workforce, or human resources.HRM is a set of policies and procedures that govern the nature of work and regulate the relationship between the employee and the organization. The purpose of HRM is to ensure that the employees of an organization are used in such a way that the employers obtain the greatest possible benefit from their abilities and the employees obtain both material and psychological rewards from their work.

One of the most important distinctions between personnel management and HRM lies within their aims. Personnel management regards employees as cost and aims to minimize cost and increase productivity. HRM, however, sees employees as human resources and its main aim is to improve, develop and retain its resources.

The second distinction is their function. Personnel managers play a third-party role, seeking agreement between management and employees, where the emphasis is on managing a consensus. Personnel management follows a set of rules and regulations that state what to do when an employee has a problem. It deals with immediate concerns and has a more administrative function.

HRM has a long-term agenda. Its focus is on employee development which includes the management of managers. It is a strategic function where recruitment, selection, the welfare of employees, their training, development and retention are planned and the most effective ways of putting these ideas into practice are designed in alignment with the organization’s strategic goals.

Organizational flexibility is vital for survival in competitive markets and through the rapidly changing consumer trends. As a result there is a greater need for skilled workforce with multiple competences.

There are four main points that HR managers have to analyze in order to establish a healthy and effective strategic HR function:

- current state of the workforce;

- internal strengths and weaknesses;

- external opportunities and threats;

- the path (how do we know that we are on the right path).

Organizations gain competitive advantage by adapting faster to changes that occur in their environment. This requires long-term organizational flexibility and innovation which come from the people who work in that organization, i.e. its human resources.

(From: https://en.wikipedia.org; Human Resource Management)

Text comprehension

1. What three main organizational resources can you name?

2. What is human resource management?

3. Are HR managers responsible for finding the right people for the right job?

4. Is it easy or difficult to manage people? Why?

5. What is the purpose of HRM?

6. What are the main distinctions between personnel management and HRM?

7. Explain how you understand the phrase “the management of managers.”

8. Why is organizational flexibility vital?

9. What kind of workforce is needed today?

10. What four main points do HR managers have to analyze?

11. How can an organization gain competitive advantage?

Vocabulary and grammar acquisition

Read the words paying attention to the pronunciation of the bold-typed letters. Consult a dictionary if necessary.

H u man, res our ces, f i nan c ial, te ch nological, m a t ch, v a l ue s, d o ne, r igh t, str aigh tf or w ar d, b ei ngs, w or kf or ce, g o v er n, en sure, b oth, mat eria l, rew ar ds, reg ar ds, minim ize, incr ea se, impr o ve, f u nction, consens u s, d ea ls, imm e d ia te, con cer ns, administr a tive, lo ng -t er m, a g enda, f o c u s, strat eg ic, recr ui tment, welf are, m o st, i d ea s, des ign ed, al ign ment, g oa ls, fle x ibility, v i tal, s ur v i val, c o ns u mer, res u lt, c o mp e tences, c u rrent, int er nal, ext er nal, th r ea ts, adv a nt age, occ ur, env ir onment, re quir es.

2. Divide the following words into three columns according to the way of pronunciation of the letter “ p ”. Practice reading the words.

Policies, physical, procedures, purpose, phone, personnel, productivity, psychoanalyst, emphasis, practice, pseudo, competitive, philosophy, multiple, adapting, employees, psychedelic, complex, third-party, development, putting, rapidly, psychiatry, points, phobia.