What the different between personnel management and HR management - Essay Example

Differences between HR management and personnel management affiliation Management There has been a prolonged debate aboutthe differences between human resource management and personnel management. This debate notwithstanding, businesses have very different ideas of what human resource management involves. Some businesses stick to the more traditional idea of personnel management, which is a function limited to recruiting, selecting, managing, developing, and rewarding staff. That being said, the difference between human resource management and personnel management is a subject of discussion amongst human resource management experts (Koster, 2007).

They do not hold identical views about the similarities and dissimilarities between human resource management and personnel management.Human resource management often regards employees as resources. This encourages investment in training and development as well as other activities, which increase the worth of the investments making them motivated to fulfill their job roles. On other hand, personnel management views the employees as costs of the business and has to be controlled and kept to a minimum.

Hence, employees are one of the largest costs of a business. Furthermore, human resource management is naturally practical. Its main area of concern is the existing conditions within an organization, but it anticipates future requirements and then it comes up with an action plan. On the other hand, personnel management is naturally reactive. It suits itself by making sure that peaceful relations as regards to management of labor exist in the present. Human resource management gives emphasis to unlimited contracts, which can be customized based on the existing business demands.

In this regard, management is tasked with the responsibility of motivating its staff and this is often a catalyst for improved performance. Personnel management gives emphasis to the strict observance of established contracts, procedures, and rules that oversee the relationship between the management and the employees (Chandramohan, 2008). Based on the differences outlined above, it is worth concluding that human resource management is most crucial in an organization. In addition, social significance of personnel management is evident since it enhances the dignity of people at work by satisfying their social need.

ReferencesChandramohan, A. (2008). Human Resource Management. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Koster, M. (2007). Human Resource Management versus Personnel Management. USA: GRIN Verlag.