Introduction to human resource management

Meyer M, Krüger-Pretorius

• Publisher: Van Schaik Publishers
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780627034602
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Higher Education

An examination of the essential aspects of the practice of HRM in the modern workplace. Supplements essential theory with practical guidelines for managing employees as well as other general functions in an organisation. Aimed at undergraduate students at further and higher education institutions within South Africa as well as managers and human resource practitioners.

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Introduction

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Define the term “human resource (HR) management”.
• Indicate the objectives of HR management.
• Identify the top global trends in human capital management.
• Differentiate between the main clusters of HR unit standards.
• List and explain the 13 National HR Standards.
• Illustrate the National HR System Standards model.
• Demonstrate a typical HR process or systems model.

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1.1 The development of HR management in South Africa

The field of HR management has grown significantly over the last 50 years, so much so that Kaufman (2014) published a book on its history and trends, covering 17 leading countries in which the field is in transition from a developmental phase towards maturity. Although South Africa has been included in the publication (Kaufman, 2014), HR management is still a relatively new field in the South African business environment. Many companies started employing personnel managers during the 1980s to head up personnel departments, which dealt with people issues in their organisations. Their primary role was helping employers deal with the industrial action of trade unions. These managers have been known as HR managers since the beginning of the 1990s. This means they have an important role in ensuring that companies utilise their human resources to achieve their goals.

The profession of HR management and its associated practices discussed in this book is evolving and growing in South Africa. On the one hand, organisations face significant human capital risk, such as skills shortages, which make it difficult for management to achieve business objectives (IRMSA, 2016). Rising turmoil and uncertainty in the labour, business and broader environment (Bennett, 2017; Viljoen, 2017) may contribute to increased levels of anxiety and stress (Bakkes, 2017) which, in worst-case scenarios, may lead to the death of an employee due to an accident or even suicide (Yiga, 2017). On the other hand, organisations should be designed for innovation and optimum effectiveness (Belleby, 2017). Management teams should realise that they must put people first if they want to drive profits (Partridge, 2015).

While HR professionals facilitate the HR management process, line managers are responsible for implementing HR practices on a daily basis. The HR function is a staff or support function to the rest of the organisation in most organisations. However, in countries where HR management has matured, it is a fully-fledged business partner contributing directly to driving business strategy together with all other senior managers and functional heads.

Supervisors and other line managers are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the company and contribute directly to the bottom line of the business. Line managers face the challenge of creating a work environment where HR processes can be integrated with other business processes so people contribute their optimum to enhance organisational effectiveness. Supervisors and managers must be able to implement HR activities regarding their specific group of employees. Every manager’s HR actions can have major consequences for his or her company.

But what exactly is HR management?

Human resource management encompasses all the processes, methods, systems and procedures employed to attract, acquire, develop and manage human resources to achieve the goals of an organisation.

3To simplify this definition, HR management refers to the process of getting people into the organisation and then developing and keeping them satisfied so that they want to stay with the organisation and contribute to productivity.

The objectives of HR management are as follows:

• To optimise people’s productivity capacity in an organisation
• To create an environment where people are motivated to perform to the best of their ability
• To ensure compliance with all labour laws
• To identify and address obstacles to employee performance
• To build people’s capacity so they can perform according to the expectations of management
• To integrate the needs of employees and employers
• To ensure fair people management practices
• To improve teamwork and sound human relations at work

While the general field of HR management showed remarkable growth in the 1990s, the field has evolved to such an extent that a great deal of specialisation can also occur in the various HR functions. For example, an HR practitioner may decide to specialise in one or more of the following areas: recruitment and selection, performance management, training and development, employment relations, HR administration, remuneration, organisation development, or employee wellness. In fact, the HR management outcomes registered with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) are grouped into four broad role clusters: HR strategy and planning; acquisition and people development; labour and employee relations, and administration and compensation (SAQA, 2002).

However, while we will cover many of the typical HR problems in this book, the reality is that HR management is growing as a profession in status, credibility and impact. For instance, the Minister of Justice recently approved HR professionals as ex-officio commissioners of oaths (Mawande, 2017). In addition, the development of national HR standards has also improved the credibility of HR professionals and their departments, especially in cases where they meet and exceed the HR standards.

1.2 Global HR trends

The science and practice of HR management is influenced by trends in the external market. These trends then enter HR practice and over time become the norm. The consulting firm Deloitte produces an annual HR trends update for the business market and other stakeholders. Deloitte (2017) identifies the top global HR trends important to South Africa as follows:

1. The organisation of the future – globally organisations are actively building new organisations and organisational models to ensure they remain high-performing organisations in the future.
2. Career and learning: real time all the time – new learning models challenging the idea that people remain static in their careers, reflect the declining half-life of skills critical to the 21st-century organisation. As such, organisations are helping employees grow 4and thrive with the use of more on-time, on-the-go, web-based, digital learning opportunities to devel...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Imprint Page
• Preface
• Foreword
• About the editors
• About the authors
• Contents
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Macro-environmental factors that influence human resource management
• Chapter 3: Workforce planning and talent management
• Chapter 4: Recruitment and selection
• Chapter 5: Induction, orientation and onboarding
• Chapter 6: Performance management and appraisal
• Chapter 7: Human resource development
• Chapter 8: Career management
• Chapter 9: Management, leadership and motivation
• Chapter 10: Organisation development
• Chapter 11: Remuneration
• Chapter 12: Employee wellness, health and safety
• Chapter 13: Laws regulating the human resource management function
• Chapter 14: Labour relations management – policies, procedures and practices at organisational level
• Chapter 15: Human resource information systems
• Chapter 16: International human resource management
• Index