Human Resources

Work plays a major part in most people’s lives. People of all sorts work in business, and the terms businessman and businesswoman reflect this, referring to a wide range of individuals, from the rich and famous to small company owners, from people in large organizations to those who work for themselves.

Many people choose to be self-employed (to have their own business) or to work freelance for several employers. As the labour market becomes more flexible, many employers respond by increasing the number of fixed-term contracts and part-time workers.

The people within an organization are its human resource. Human resources is a term with which many organizations describe the combination of traditionally administrative personnel functions with performance, employee relations and resource planning.

“Human Resources” has at least two related interpretations depending on context.

The original usage derives from political economy and economics, where it was traditionally called labour, one of four factors of production.

The more common usage within corporations and businesses refers: 1) to the individuals within the firm, and 2) to the portion of the firm’s organization that deals with hiring, firing, training, and other personnel issues.

The objective of human resources is to maximize the return on investment from the organization’s human capital and minimize financial risk. Thus, “Human Resources” means people, plus the skills and experience they bring to an organization.

It is the responsibility of Human Resources Managers (HRM) to conduct these activities in an effective, legal, fair, and consistent manner.

Most corporate organizations that compete in the modern global economy have adopted a view of human capital that mirrors the modern trend of regarding people the most valuable asset of a company. Some of these, in turn, deprecate the term “human resources” as useless.

The debate regarding “human resources” versus “human capital” in many ways echoes the debate regarding natural resources versus natural capital. Modern analysis emphasizes that human beings are not “commodities” or “resources”, but are creative and social beings in a productive enterprise.

The Human Resources Department (HRD) of a company is responsible for planning, recruitment of new people, staff training and development, staff appraisal, welfare, pensions administration and industrial relations.

At the same time, considering the activities of the Human Resources Department in their traditional but extremely narrow context of hiring, firing, and job description is widely seen as 20^th century anachronism.

HRD works to ensure that the right people are available to meet the company’s needs. One of the ways to achieve the goal is development of human resources.

Human resources development is a framework for the expansion of human capital within an organization. Human resources development is a combination of training and education that ensures the continual improvement and growth of both the individual and the organisation.