Question

Line managers are now playing a major role in developing & implementing HRM practices? What do you think non HR managers are becoming more involved in developing & implementing HRM practices? What would be the repercussions if HRM practices are confined within HR community only? Elaborate?

Answer 1

There are two different definitions. The first definition of HRM is that “It is the process ofmanaging people in organizations in a structured and thorough manner.”(4) 5This covers the fields of staffing (hiring people), retention of people, pay and perks setting and management, performance management, change management and taking care of exits from the company to round off the activities. This is the traditional definition of HRM which leads some experts to define it as a modem version of the Personnel Management function that was used earlier. The second definition of HRM encompasses “The management of people in organizations from a macro perspective, i.e. managing people in the form of a collective relationship between management and employees.”*^ This approach focuses on the objectives and outcomes of the HRM functions. It means that the HR function in contemporary organizations is concerned with the notions of people enabling, people development and a focus on making the “employment relationship” fulfilling for both the management and employees.

As the relationship between various HRM practices and the productivity and performance of employees has been recognized, line managers have strong reasons to become involved in the development and implementation of HRM practices. The information from line managers is critical to determining needed

and appropriate policies and practices that will reinforce the strategic and operational needs of the organization. For instance, if quality needs improvement, then it is critical that incentive/compensation practices be developed to reward quality improvement, rather than volume production.

Human Resource Practices are correlated with the performance and output of employees in all departments. For example, the managers and line managers role is to provide vital information to set proper policies and practices that will support the strategy and operations of the organizations. For instance, a proper reward system will enhance quality of the work done by employees. This will encourage the employees to perform better and the employee that produces better results will be rewarded based on the HRM policies.