Chapter 1 

Overview on human resource management 

I. Definition and role of HRM 

II. HRM factions 

III. HRM school of thought  

IV. Delegation of responsibility in HRM in organization 

V. Role and authority of each functional department on HR. 

I. Definition and role of HRM

1. Definition 

• Human resource (HR): the ability of each person including knowledge and health. 

• HR of an organization is all individuals of the organization having different role, coordinated together to pursuit organizational objectives. 

• HRM is a synthesis management activities related to creation, maintenance, development and effective use of HR within organization to obtain organizational objective. 

• The concept of "human resource management" implies that employees are resources of the employer. 

• HRM is a subset of management. It has five main goals: 

- Attract employees 

- Hire employees 

- Train employees 

- Motivate employees 

- Retain employees 

Strong employees= competitive advantage

Thus: 

• HRM is one field of management 

• HRM is implemented in close relation with other fields of management  

• All managers are responsible for HRM 

• HRM requires act oriented characteristics: need HRM schools of thought, policies; and methods. 

HRM: A system of philosophies, policies and functional activities on attracting, training & development, and maintenance of people in an organization in order to achieve the best results for both organization and individuals. 

Thus, the objectives of HRM are: 

- Effective use of HR to increase organization's efficiency.  

- Meet increasingly demand of all individuals; create the good conditions for all individuals to develop their ability; motivate the contribution and creation; hard working, create loyalty. 

- Attract employees that can meet job requirements.

2. Role of HRM 

- HRM has role of determining the success or failure of organizations.  

o People are subject of all activities.  

o People are the most important resources of organizations.  

o Can contribute their best if appropriately use. 

o ....... 

- HRM is central mission, the base for other management activities. All management activities depend on HRM. 

- Today, HRM becomes more important due to the high competition and the development of high technology. 

II. Contents/function of HRM 

1. Attracting HR group 

Ensure organization has enough labor both in number and quality, including activities: 

- HR planning 

- Job design and analyze 

- Recruiting and employment 

2. Employee training and development 

Improve employee ability to fulfill design tasks, create good condition for employee development.  

3. Maintenance HR: 

To maintain and effective use of HR: 

- Performance evaluation 

- Compensation 

- Employee relation 

- Promotion 

- Good working conditions 

- .... 

- Must work for organization at least 10 years.

III. HRM philosophy 

1. Definition 

HRM philosophy are ideas, points of view of top level managers on the way of human management in organization. It depends on points of view on human in working processes.  

2. HR schools of thought 

• Theory X è The scientific schools of thought 

• Theory Y è Socio - Psychological schools of thought 

• Theory Z è Modern schools of thought

a. The way to see and evaluate people  

• Theory X: 

o People are lazy in nature 

o What they do is not important as what they earn 

o Few people want to do creative works, self manage 

• Theory Y: 

o People want to be considered useful and important  

o People want to participate in organization's works. 

o Have potential ability that needs to exploit  

• Theory Z: 

o People happy is key factor to increase productivity 

o The trust, kid - glove, and close relation are success of manager.  

b. Management methods 

• Theory X: 

o The manager must monitor and supervise their subordinate closely (M&E). 

o Divide the work/activity into small parts repeatedly. 

o Clear rewards and punishment  

• Theory Y: 

o Decentralize some works for subordinate 

o Create good relationship between managers at all levels. 

• Theory Z: 

o The manager take care their staff like parents take care their children.  

o Create good conditions for employee further education and tanning, equally distribution of benefits, create opportunity for promotion. 

c. Intervention methods on employee 

• Theory X: 

o Make employees worry, afraid 

o Accept every things if it is fair 

o Overuse labor, lack of creative works 

• Theory Y: 

o Make employee feel useful and more important and therefore have more responsibility. 

o Carry out tasks voluntary to exploit their capacity. 

• Theory Z: 

o Trust, loyalty, make efforts on works 

o Sometimes lazy, passive 

3. HRM schools of thought 

• The scientific school of thought (cclassical) - Frederick Wilson Taylor, H. Fayol 

• Scio-psychological school of thought: Maslow, Elton Mayo... 

• Human potential school of thought (Modern ) - Drucker

a. The scientific school of thought (classical) 

Principles: 

• Uniform monitor and leader  

• Distribute work and functional specification 

• Divide labor force into engineer and worker 

• Build up organization chart and laws and regulations 

• Concentrate power to top managers 

• Find all solutions to reduce "self" in organization's works 

• Standardization and unity of procedures 

Build up order and discipline in production 

• Individual benefit must depend on organization's  

• Fair and unbiased 

• Appropriate and scientific analysis of all works 

• The manager and engineer are responsible for finding out and guideline the best way to carry out the tasks. 

• Expert based principle 

Advantages: 

- Scientific and detail analysis all works 

- Design and distribute work to labor, do training to labor, apply scientific methods in production è high productivity 

- Clearly define standards for all works 

- Payment based on work results 

- Build up laws and disciplines in production  

Disadvantages: 

- Do not trust, under-evaluate people 

- Make labor has to work hard under strictly monitor 

- Labor have no chances to participate in management  

- Create contradiction/appose between workers and managers  

b. Scio-psychological school of thought 

Principles: 

- Delegate power and responsibility to subordinates. 

- Look for participation of subordinates in organization's works 

- Building trust rather than based on power and cooperation 

- Develop works/task based on collective, build up collective/teamwork. 

- Develop responsibility and self inspect. 

- Keep employees well-informed, create close-knit, understanding. 

- Give priority to human relation: the manager must be firstly psychologist, encourager and correspondent. 

Advantages 

- Employees are respected 

- Friendly working atmosphere. 

- Match new articles on labor  

Disadvantages: 

- Simplication on definition of human behave in organization. 

- Can not evaluate work requirements, do not pay attention on procedures, standards to obtain organizational objectives. 

- Human relation can not replay other factors.

c. Human potential school of thought 

Principles: 

- Firm is open system, always adapt to its environment: Market, laws and rules, technical progresses,...  

- Departments/units in organization must operate systematically. 

- Flexible management: develop new forms of labor organization. 

- Try to improve employee living standards 

- Solve economic problems in relation to social problems. 

- The manager must be strategist, organizer, psychologist, encourager, human potential exploiter.

Advantages: 

- Make change in idea from labor saving to invest more on human resource è increase competitive advantages, increase benefits 

- Consider people are open and complex system that need highly evaluation and respectation. 

- Fully take care  

Disadvantages: 

- Difficult to apply: The manager need to have strategic point of view, organizing and public attractive capacity 

- In order to success everyone, need many other conditions.

4. HRM in Vietnam 

a. Central planning period 

Apply theory and management experiences of socialist countries: 

- Employment: Tanning & development; salary/wage and rewards; promotion; labor relation... are based on government policies at nation wide. 

- Whole-life employment associated with social benefits. 

- Compensation system based on egalitarianism and working experiences "Working and sharing benefits together" & "social equity" 

- Employees own enterprise; labor relation is equity; awareness of collective is emphasized, voluntary working. 

- Apply Talor management method and spirit of socialism, high labor productivity. 

- Idea expect to and rely on government supports. 

- Reduce creative, self management and self responsibility of enterprises. 

- Idea of working and sharing benefits together" & "social equity" mainly based on egalitarianism can not develop the creative spirit and therefore reduce the advantages of socialism. 

- Caused many problems need to solve: 

• Full time employment system is cumbersome, and heavy. 

• Inappropriate compensation system 

• Social problems for retires. 

• ...

b. Renovation period 

• Apply HRM models that appropriate to market oriented mechanism and multiple economic classes. 

• Transfer from whole-life employment to contract employment. 

• Replay form of education from public investment to individuals'. 

• Transfer compensation/payment from govt fund mostly based on working experience to enterprise's payment system that depends on result of business. 

• Increase self control right for enterprises, power and responsibility of director. 

• Reduce in differences in HRM between state own and non state own enterprises.

• The managers at all management levels are responsible for HRM within organization. 

• Personnel department is responsible for assistance leaders, managers to carry out HRM in organization.  

• Personnel department assists organization to obtain business objectives through designing HR programs and the manager are the ones carrying out these programs.  

Each manager is a HR manager. 

V. Role, authority of functional division on HRM 

1. Roles 

• Consultancy:  

Collect information, analyze problem; find out solutions, assist and guide other managers solving HR problems in organization.  

• Service:  

Directly service line managers and other fictional divisions.  

• Inspection:  

Built up policies, procedures and monitor the performance.

2. Power/authority 

• Vertical power 

The HR managers have right to make decisions and instruct subordinates in this field. 

• Consultancy  

- Participate in organizational meeting related to HR. 

- Make speech, explanation, convincingness, consulting problems that relate to HR. 

• Functional 

- Collect information from other divisions 

- Coordinate with staff and other divisions 

- Inspect HRM activities from other divisions