Enlist the functions of Human Resource Management.

Enlist the functions of Human Resource Management. In the current
scenario explain the HR department’s functions in your organization or an
organization you are familiar with. Describe the organization you are
referring to.


Answer. Human resource management involves all management decisions and
practices that directly affect or influence the people, or human resources, who
work for the organization. In other words, Human resource management is
concerned with ‘people centric issues’ in management.
The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of
activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and
whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs,
recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers,
dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management
practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your
approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and
personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry
out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help.
However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of --
personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often
in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.
Some functions that come under the purview of HRM are:
i) Human Resource Planning: It is a process for determination and assuring that
the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at
proper times, performing jobs which would meet the needs of the organization and
which would provide satisfaction for the individuals involved. It involves
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 Estimation of present and future requirement and supply of human resources
basing on objectives and long range plans of the organization.
 Calculation of net human resources requirement based on present inventory of
human resources.
 Taking steps to mould, change, and develop the strength of existing employees
in the organization so as to meet the future human resources requirements.
 Preparation of action programs to get the rest of human resources from outside
the organization and to develop the human resources of existing employees.
ii) Recruitment and Selection: Recruitment is concerned with developing a pool of -
candidates in line with the human resources plan.
The main sources of recruitment are:
 Internal promotion and internal introductions (at times desirable for morale
purposes)
 Careers officers (and careers masters at schools)
 University appointment boards
 Agencies for the unemployed
 Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local
media (e.g. commercial radio)
Selection is the process of matching people and their career needs and
capabilities with the jobs and career paths. It ends with the ultimate hiring of a
candidate.
iii) Training and Development: This involves identification of individual potentialities
and helping in the development of key competencies through planned learning
process. The competencies are to be developed to enable individuals to perform
current as well as future jobs.
iv) Employee motivation: To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of
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their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and
even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.
Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week)
are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage
legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of
manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which
particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important
than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be
used at local levels.
v) Organizational Development: This element assures healthy inter and intra-unit
relationships. It helps work groups in initiating and managing change.
vi) Career Development: It is assuring an alignment of the management. It is a
process of achieving an optional match of individual and organizational needs.
vii) HR Research and Information Systems and Audit: This element ensures a
reliable and proof HR information base. It is not only evaluates personnel policies
and programmes but also highlights the need and areas of change.
viii) Provision of employee services: Attention to the mental and physical wellbeing
of employees is normal in many organizations as a means of keeping good
staff and attracting others. The forms this welfare can take are many and varied,
from loans to the needy to counseling in respect of personal problems. Among the
activities regarded as normal are:
 Schemes for occupational sick pay, extended sick leave and access to the
firm's medical adviser;
 Schemes for bereavement or other special leave;
 The rehabilitation of injured/unfit/ disabled employees and temporary or
permanent move to lighter work;
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 The maintenance of disablement statistics and registers (there are complicated
legal requirements in respect of quotas of disabled workers and a need for
'certificates' where quota are not fulfilled and recruitment must take place);
 Provision of financial and other support for sports, social, hobbies, activities of
many kinds which are work related;
 Provision of canteens and other catering facilities;
 Possibly assistance with financial and other aid to employees in difficulty
(supervision, maybe, of an employee managed benevolent fund or scheme);
 Provision of information handbooks,
 Running of pre-retirement courses and similar fringe activities;
 Care for the welfare aspects of health and safety legislation and provision of
first-aid training
The location of the health and safety function within the organization varies.
Commonly a split of responsibilities exists under which 'production' or 'engineering'
management cares for the provision of safe systems of work and safe places and
machines etc., but HRM is responsible for administration, training and education in
awareness and understanding of the law, and for the alerting of all levels to new
requirements.
EXAMPLE CASE- HR DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONS AT PTU
Introduction
Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar was established in January 1997 for
advancement of technical education & development. The University has under its
affiliation 40 Engineering colleges,56 Management, 17 Pharmacy colleges ,6
Architecture 2 Hotel Management and 13 colleges imparting courses in Medical
Lab Technolgy& IT disciplines. The University has an intake of more than 12700
and total strength of more than 60,000 approx. University has established 12
Regional Centres for M-Tech courses and has established school of
Enterprennership.
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About the Department of Human Resources
The Human Resources Department is responsible for the employment staff at the
University and provides advice and guidance on recruitment, probation, promotion,
terms and conditions and contracts of employment, appraisal, reward
management, equal opportunities, grievance and discipline and retirement. The
Department incorporates:
 HR Operations
 Staff Development
 Health & Safety
 Childcare Services.
Human Resources Operations
Human Resources Operations is responsible for ensuring that employees and
associated personnel of the University have ready access to a range of quality HR
services which are relevant, reliable, responsive and cost effective.
Our main activities cover:
 HR Strategy, Policy & Planning
 Recruitment & Selection
 Employment contract administration
 HR Information & Records
 Employee Relations
 Equalities & Diversity
 Each University department or service has an HR Manager & HR Administrator
as designated points of contact which helps us to better understand their needs
and work towards offering a more personalized service.