HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTas coherent and strategic management - Essay Example

The term 'human resource,' first emerged in 1950's, coined by Peter Druker in one of his seminars and traces back to organisational development and human capital theory. HRM is controversial and debatable surrounded by great academic diversity. Confusion is caused because of the 'ambiguous pedigree' of the concept (Noon, 1992). There is a lack of clarity, the term can be viewed as being broad. HRM is a concept regarded as being enigmatic / obscure due to ideological, empirical and theoretical reasons and in many cases because of micro politics (Storey, 1992).

Difficulties in defining HRM and the lack of a universally accepted definition implies that HRM is an innovation that takes on the meaning of whatever the person speaking at the time wants it to be (Torrington, 1989). Questions arise over the existence of HRM (Armstrong, 2000), over its meaning and status; is HRM a 'map,' 'model' or 'theory' (Noon, 1992) and of whether it is distinct from the traditional rhetoric of personnel and industrial relations management. . However, there must also be something extra if HRM is to be considered as a new innovative approach.

Distinction by integration similarly leads to debate as integration is viewed differently. Again, lack of clarity leads back to the thought of HRM being whatever an organisation wants it to be. There is an apparent scale in operation which takes into account hard and soft HRM.Hard versions of HRM place emphasis on: "Strategic interventions to secure full utilisation of labour resources" (Worsfold, 1999, 340).This type of people management may be expected within the manufacturing industry, on the production line which is product and profit driven rather than service.

Whereas soft versions of HRM emphasise: "Strategic interventions for commitment and development" (Worsfold, 1999, 340).Soft HRM would appear to be more synonymous with service industries, where the product is generally intangible, customers often receive an experience provided by the 'human resource,' thus commitment is sought. The human resource is perhaps more valuable, their impact greater and they may not be as easily replaced as perhaps a production operative in the manufacturing industry.

Hard HRM relates back to the human relations movement from where personnel management can claim some of its origins and presents workers as a commodity, a resource to be exploited: "to be used dispassionately and in a formal rational manner" (Storey, 1992, 26).Hard HRM reflects the capitalist tradition, operating against workers' interests with no significance regarded to their well being, exploitation being paternalist and benevolent (Guest, 1999). "Essentially workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business