To locate the role of personnel management it is necessary to start remembering some concepts. Thus, it is necessary to bring to mind the concept of general administration. Although there are multiple definitions, more or less concordant, for the purpose of this essay we will say that it is:
The discipline that pursues the satisfaction of organizational objectives counting for it a structure and through coordinated human effort.
As can easily be seen, human effort is vital for the operation of any organization; if the human element is willing to provide its effort, the organization will march; otherwise it will stop. Hence, every organization must pay primary attention to its personnel (human resources).
In practice, administration is carried out through the administrative process: planning, executing and controlling.
It should be remembered that this work has been carried out in the form of an essay, as previously mentioned.
Means
The organization, to achieve its objectives requires a series of resources, these are elements that, properly managed, will allow or facilitate you to achieve your objectives. There are three types of resources:
Material resources
This includes money, physical facilities, machinery, furniture, raw materials, etc.
Technical resources
Systems, procedures, organizational charts, instructions, etc. are listed under this heading.
Human Resources
Not only human effort or activity is included in this group, but also other factors that give different modalities to that activity: knowledge, experiences, motivation, vocational interests, aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, potentialities, health, etc.
Human resources have been left to the last not because they are the least important, but because, being the subject of this essay, they require a more extensive explanation. Human resources are more important than the other two, they can improve and improve the use and design of material and technical resources, which is not the opposite.
Staff characteristics
- They cannot be owned by the organization, unlike other resources. Knowledge, experience, skills, etc.; they are part of personal assets. The activities of people in organizations are, as I pointed out, voluntary; but, not for the fact of having a work contract, the organization will count on the best efforts of its members; on the contrary, they will only count on it if they perceive that this attitude is going to be profitable in some way. The experiences, knowledge, skills, etc., intangible; they manifest themselves only through the behavior of people in organizations. Their members provide a service in exchange for economic and emotional remuneration. The total human resources of a country or organization at any given time may be increased.Basically there are two ways for this purpose: discovery and improvement. Human resources are scarce; not everyone has the same skills, knowledge, etc. For example, not everyone is a good singer, a good administrator, or a good mathematician.
What is Personnel Administration?
Thus, the administration of human resources (personnel) is the administrative process applied to the increase and conservation of the effort, experiences, health, knowledge, skills, etc., of the members of the organization, for the benefit of the individual, of the organization itself and the country in general.
Because other terms are frequently used, and to differentiate them from the concept noted in the previous lines, they are noted below:
- Any interaction of two or more people constitutes a human relationship. Relationships do not occur exclusively between members of an organization but everywhere: the guest at an anniversary meeting enters into relationships with other individuals. In terms of industry, we obviously mean banking, government, educational, charitable, etc.., where human resources are also required. In addition, relationships are established between suppliers and the factory and between the factory and its customers. In labor matters, the legal aspects of human resources administration have been reserved out of habit; it is frequently associated with collective labor relations as a synonym for worker-employer relations.
What are its origins?
We could not speak separately of the origin of human resources administration, as it is currently known, without mentioning labor law and scientific administration, as well as other disciplines. We refer to labor law because apparently this as a consequence of the demands of the working class, in order to regulate work, it was thought that it would be enough to apply the legal precepts in a cold way to obtain good results, but it was found that the relationships that were required needed study, understanding and the elaboration of a good series of principles for the good practice of the same, since there was talk of concepts related to salaries, benefits, hiring, etc., which needed more than a mere improvisation.
Likewise, the principles of Taylor and Fayol laid the foundations of the administration, through the coordination, direction and, therefore, the best use of the human resources that intervene in the work. Taylor himself, seeing the importance of the area, created the selection offices.
The functional organization brought the appearance of specialists in the areas of markets, finance, production and in the same way the industrial relations departments began to appear in the United States, as a result of the need to put such an important function in the hands of experts and to leave to improvise in such an area.
In our country, the arrival of foreign books, in which this new concept was discussed, raised concern about it. It was perceived, as in other parts, that this function did not consist only in the preparation of payrolls and Social Security payments, but that day by day they became more complicated and that the chief of staff who claimed to be a friend of all was not enough.
A lot of knowledge was made to be able to carry out this function correctly. That is why this very important space has been included as a fundamental part of the degree in administration and accounting. It can be said that human resources management is multidisciplinary since it requires the collaboration of multiple sources of knowledge.
Its duties?
The following functions will be described below, described with their main objective and sub-functions corresponding to each of them.
Job function
Its main objective is to ensure that all positions are filled by qualified personnel, according to human resources planning. Sub-functions:
Recruitment.- Search and attract capable applicants to fill the vacancies that arise.
Selection.- Analyze the abilities and capacities of the applicants in order to decide, on objective bases, which ones have the greatest potential for the performance of a position and possibilities of future development, both personal and organizational.
Induction.- give all the necessary information to the new worker and carry out all the pertinent activities to achieve their rapid incorporation to the social groups that exist in their work environment, in order to achieve an identification between the new member and the organization and vice versa.
Integration.- assign workers to the positions in which they best use their characteristics. Seek its integral development and be aware of those movements that allow it a better position for its development, that of the organization and that of the community.
Expiration of employment contracts.- In the case of employment contracts, this must be done in the most convenient way for both the organization and the worker, according to the law.
Administration function to wages
Ensure that all workers are fairly and equitably compensated through rational work remuneration systems and according to the effort, efficiency, responsibility and working conditions of each job. Sub-functions:
Assignment of duties.- Officially assign to each worker a clearly and precisely defined position regarding their responsibilities, obligations, operations and working conditions.
Determination of salaries.- Assign monetary values to the positions, in such a way that they are fair and equitable in relation to other positions in the organization and to similar positions in the labor market.
Merit rating.- evaluate, through the most objective means, the performance of each worker in the face of the obligations and responsibilities of their position.
Incentives and awards.- Provide monetary incentives to basic salaries to motivate the initiative and the best achievement of the objectives.
Attendance control.- establish work schedules and periods of absence with and without payment of salary, which are fair for both employees and organization, as well as efficient systems that allow their control.
Internal relations
Ensure that both the relationships established between management and staff, as well as job satisfaction and opportunities for worker progress, are developed and maintained, reconciling the interests of both parties.
Communication.- provide the appropriate systems, media and climate to develop ideas and exchange information throughout the entire organization.
Collective hiring.- reach agreements with officially recognized and legally established organizations that satisfy in the best possible way the interests of the workers and the organization.
Discipline.- develop and maintain effective work regulations and create and promote harmonious working relationships with staff.
Motivation of staff.- develop ways to improve staff activities, working conditions, worker-employer relations and the quality of staff.
Staff development.- provide opportunities for the integral development of workers, so that they can satisfy types of needs, and so that in relation to work they can occupy higher positions.
Training.- give the worker opportunities to develop their capacity, in order to achieve the established performance standards, as well as to achieve that they develop all their potential, for the good of themselves and the organization.
Staff services
Meet the needs of workers who work in the organization and try to help them with problems related to their safety and professional well-being.
Recreational activities.- Study and resolve the requests made by workers regarding programs and / or facilities for their leisure.
Safety.- develop and maintain facilities and procedures to prevent work accidents and professional illnesses.
Protection and surveillance.- have adequate precautionary methods to safeguard the organization, its staff and their belongings from theft, fire and similar risks.
