Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHAPTER An Overview of
1 Human Resource
Management
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1 Explain the importance of human resource management;
2 Describe the growth of the human resource function from the mid-19th century until today;
3 Understand the impact of current social, business and economic changes on human resource
management;
4 Describe the structure of the human resource management function in organizations;
5 Clarify the requirements for a career in human resource management;
6 List the functions within the scope of human resource management;
7 Explain the role and structure of the Ministry of Human Resources, and
8 State briefly the purpose of each of the most important labour laws.
2.0 Growth of the human resource function from the 19th century until today
2.1 The Industrial Revolution (1850s–1920s)
The human resource management function developed as a result of the industrial revolution
which began in the United Kingdom and quickly spread to Europe and the United States of
America.
6.1 Human resource positions may be general or specific. General positions require the job-holder
to multi-task and be able to carry out a variety of human resource related functions. Specialized
jobs may allow the job-holder to focus on one human resource function at a time.
6.2 The personal qualities and skills required of human resource specialists include:
(i) Communication skills;
(ii) Ability to bring about change;
(iii) Information technology (IT) savvy;
(iv) Numeracy and the ability to analyse data;
(v) Ability to understand the business context, and
(vi) High ethical standards.
6.3 Many human resource specialists join and are active in professional associations. In the world of
human resource, the following associations are well-known. Their website addresses are shown
in brackets.
(i) The Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management
(www.mihrm.com);
(ii) The Society for Human Resource Management (USA)
(www.shrm.org);
(iii) The American Society for Training and Development (USA)
(www.astd.org);
(iv) The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK)
(www.cipd.co.uk), and
(v) The Australian Human Resource Institute
(www.ahri.com.au).
Instructor’s Manual
4
Human resource management specialists must be familiar with the latest knowledge relating
to human resource management, but they must also be comfortable talking the language of
business. Hence, they must make it their business to understand:
(i) Their employer’s mission and vision;
(ii) Their employer’s products and services;
(iii) The corporate culture where they work;
(iv) The technology used in the business;
(v) The impact the business has on society;
(vi) The profile of the employer’s customers;
(vii) How the business is affected by changes in the economic environment, and
(viii) The nation’s affirmative action programmes and how these affect the business decisions.
Employment
(i) Human resource planning;
(ii) Recruitment;
(iii) Establishing career movement policies, including transfers and promotions;
(iv) Setting policies and administering disciplinary action systems;
(v) Terminating employees;
(vi) Liaison with Immigration and Labour Department;
(vii) Record keeping.
An Overview of Human Resource Management
5
Payment/Reward Systems
(i) Developing a wage structure;
(ii) Establishing incentive schemes;
(iii) Preparing information for payroll preparation, and
(iv) Advising on benefits.
Employee Services/Welfare
(i) Overseeing canteen facilities;
(ii) Provision of transport for employees;
(iii) Provision of recreation facilities, and
(iv) Counselling.
Industrial Relations
(i) Grievance handling;
(ii) Relations with trade unions representatives;
(iii) Collective bargaining negotiations, and
(iv) Preparing contingency plans for strike actions.
8.1 The Ministry consists of a number of departments. Several statutory bodies and companies also
report directly to the Ministry. Table 1.1 lists these departments and bodies.
Table 1.1 Structure of the Ministry of Human Resources
Teaching Notes