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Human Resource Management

Notes Standards of efficiency: Policies can also serve as standards in the execution of work. They
enable the management to see if they have been translated into action by various groups
in the organisation or not. In the light of actual performance, existing policies may be
subjected to amendment/refinement.

Confidence: Policies make the employees aware of where they stand in the organisation
and create confidence in them while confronting routine and recurring problems. They
reduce chances of misinterpretation, misrepresentation and friction.
Speedy decisions: Policies can speed up decision making by providing a blanket framework
within which personnel decisions can be made. They summarise past experience.

Coordinating devices: Personnel policies help in achieving coordination. If organisational
members are guided by the same policies, they can predict more accurately the actions
and decisions of others. They ensure a steady course of action and prevent unwarranted
deviations from planned operations.
In the absence of a policy, similar questions must be considered time after time. Lack of a
policy means that the organisation has established no continuing position. Despite their
usefulness, personnel policies are not always easy to formulate and implement.

1.6 Principles of HRM

The word principle means, the fundamental truth or law as basis of reasoning or actions. Human
resource management is a very extensive area of operation, there should be certain principles or
laws through which they can be governed. These principles are laid down with an objective that
it proves as a guide for all types of organizations.

Characteristics of Principles

The characteristics of these principles should be that they are universally applicable and are easy
to be followed in any type of organization. The HR principles are:
1. A fundamental or universal truth.
2. Generally applicable to originations.
3. It guides managers in formulating policies, programs and procedures. For example,
principles of fair remuneration, principles of scientific selection of workers.
4. It is applicable at all levels of the organization.
5. It is dynamic in nature and leads to employee motivation and satisfaction.

Notes Strategic Human Resource Management
If a firm's competitiveness depends on its employees, then the business function responsible
for acquiring, training, appraising and compensating those employees has to play a bigger
role in the firm's success. The notion of employees as competitive advantage has therefore
led to new field of study known as strategic human resource management, "the linking of
HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and
develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility." Ideally, HR and
top management together craft the company's business strategy. That strategy then
provides the framework that guides the design of specific HR activities such as recruiting
Contd...

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