The Industrial revolution creates the personnel department
Human resources management has been there from ancient times. Several ancient tribes, the Chinese and the Greeks have been known to have used human resource concepts like selection and training. But the HR department in the modern times has its roots in the industrial revolution. It is in the industrial revolution that companies with larger numbers of employees emerged. These companies employed several people in several locations to do various tasks. The concepts of division of labor and specialization emerged where each employee specialized in profession or task and collectively they formed the organisation. Special care had to be taken in recruiting employees, and the structure of the organisation had to be well maintained.
It is at this moment when a special department had to be set up to manage people and recruit those needed. This department, the personnel department, played an administrative role in people management. They roles included the recruitment and selection of employees and payroll. They were not yet a part of strategic decision making, but rather implemented these decisions.
Labor Unions and Reforms
Overtime the employees in the industrial age companies formed labor unions which strengthen their negotiation powers with the management. They began to demand better benefits and other employee rights from the management. The personnel department found themselves in between the management and the workers and played the role of mediating the conflict. The Personnel Department had to have a strategic focus here and also act with diplomacy. They were beginning to evolve in to the “human resource department”.
Reforms were also underway in the treatment of employees. Several legal statutes made way for this by having a minimum wage, a minimum work-time and better work conditions. Companies also found out that they could considerably improve the efficiency of their workers by having employees satisfied with their work.
The acts gave the Human Resource department further importance so that they would avoid potential law suits from employees. The Human Resource department slowly started taking a consultant role in strategic decision making. The management would consult the HR department when making strategic decisions.
Multi-National Organisation s and HR strategy
When companies grow across borders and expand to locations with different cultures, the role played by HR expands. Making cross-border assignments puts a lot of strategic decision making to the HR department. The importance of employees to the organisation has also put a lot of pressure on the management to not only consult HR but to also promote them as strategic decision makers.
HR also becomes a strategic decision maker when areas like succession planning and talent management are concerned. These Human Resource functions have also come in recent times and have helps HR transform into a strategic decision making unit.
Over time the importance of the Human Resource Department has increased over time and now they are given equal, if not more importance than given to other departments. The perception that the HR department is functional and isn’t worthy of making strategic decisions is still there and it is only a matter of time till it changes.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-human-resource-management.html
