Human resource management was previously known as personnel management which was concerned with the activities of a single department. It was typically concerned with the administration of human. The functions carried out by the department were recruitment and selection, reward, appraisal, development, grievance handling, retirement,registration and so forth. It was introduced and developed in the bureaucratic set up in which importance was given on organization and administration of manpower.
Now, human resource management may be defined as a process in which human resources are recruited and mobilized in such a way that it helps in achieving the objective of the organization. HRM is concerned with the people dimension in management under which the consideration is given towards recruitment and selection, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources in an organization. It is one of the main functions of management, which is related with the management of human energies and competencies. Human resource management helps to ensure the right man,for the right position and at the right time in a changing environment. The organizational performance depends on the efficiency of human resource working in the organization. Hence, a proper set up should be taken for manpower planning, recruitment, motivation, training and development, performance evaluation, remuneration management and industrial relation.
Moreover, human resource management is concerned with the development of human skill, knowledge and ability to perform the organizational tasks effectively and efficiently. It is a field of study consisting of four functions- acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources. The acquisition is related with getting people,development is with preparing them for work, motivation refers to activating them and finally maintenance refers to keeping them retained in the organization.
Therefore, human resource management is an art of managing and mobilizing people in the organization. It is done through the application of different practices and policies which ultimately values human resources as major asset of an organization. It integrates personnel function into strategic management.
