Personnel management - The renewed emphasis on the importance of human resources in the 1980s and 90s drew attention to the way in which people management was organized. Specifically, this meant a critical review of the functions of personnel management.
Personnel management has been a recognized function in the USA since NCR opened a personnel office in the 1890s. In other countries the function arrived more slowly and came through a variety of routes. This excerpt from Human Resource Management in a Business Context looks at Personnel management from a historical perspective.
Further notes: Traditional Personnel Functions
? Recruitment - advertising for new employees and liaising with employment agencies.
? Selection - determining the best candidates from those who apply, arranging interviews, tests, references.
? Promotion - running similar selection procedures to determine progression within the organization.
? Pay - a minor or major role in pay negotiation, determination and administration.
? Performance assessment - co-ordinating staff appraisal and counselling systems to evaluate individual employee performance.
? Grading structures - as a basis for pay or development, comparing the relative difficulty and importance of functions.
? Training and development - co-ordinating or delivering programmes to fit people for the roles required by the organisation now and in the future.
? Welfare - providing or liaising with specialists in a staff care or counselling role for people with personal or domestic problems affecting their work.
? Communication - prov ...