How long has human resource management or HRM been around? We need to be specific about which of these three aspects of the question we want to know.
- How long has the term HRM been used?
- For how long have the functions typically covered by HRM today been studied and managed?
- How long has a unit, department, or system dedicated to human resource management functions existed?
Human Resource Management Definition
Let’s first define HRM. Basically, HRM deals with the policies, practices, and systems that influence the behavior, attitudes, and performance of employees in the workplace. HRM is a process of managing talents/human skills to achieve the objectives of the organization. Central to HRM is the central objective of all management, to increase predictability and achieve better control of events related to people in the organization.
Examples of processes typically handled by HRM are
- Compensation & Benefits
- industrial relationships
- Performance and Evaluation
- Occupational safety, protection and health management
- Staffing: job analysis, recruitment, selection and retention
How long has the term HRM been used?
- The term HRM evolved in the US from the earlier Personnel Management or PM in the early 1960s.
- The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that the first recorded use of the term Human Resources dates from 1961.
- In the mid-1980s, the term HRM or Human Resource Management began to appear and quickly replaced Personnel Management.
For how long have the functions typically covered by HRM today been studied and managed?
The functions typically covered by HRM today have a much longer history than is generally believed. Many writers claim that the term Performance Management or PM in organizations was first created in the US to deal with the paperwork required to hire employees and handle payroll.
Although they did not use modern terms, there are many recorded instances of current HRM functions being named in ancient texts.
- The ancient Babylonian Code of Hammurabi in 1750 B.C. C. establishes minimum wages, obligations for skilled craftsmen to transfer their skills to apprentices, quality standards for builders, and health care obligations for slave owners.
- The Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder, in the first century AD. C., warned about the health risks of handling zinc and sulfur and prescribed the use of protective masks made from animal bladder.
- In 1556, the German scientist Georgius Agricola in his De Re Metallica describes occupational hazards and methods to improve occupational health.
But modern usage stems from the US, especially after WWII, when personnel management professionals wanted a different PM from other managerial functions.
How long has a unit, department, or system dedicated to human resource management functions existed?
The first recorded modern dedication of a separate unit or department to HRM is from 1901 in the US The National Cash Register Co. faced a disruptive strike but won the battle with the unions. Following this, company president John H. Patterson organized a personnel department dedicated to improving labor relations by handling employee complaints, firings, safety, and other matters.
Although not called that, people dedicated to HRM functions began appearing in the US in the 1920s as mass production began to spread. Personnel administrators were often called social welfare secretaries in the 1920s. Much of the modern theoretical work on HRM began around this period. Studies conducted by George Elton Mayo (1880-1949), especially the Hawthorne Studies, are credited as the foundation of the Human Relations Movement in management.
Only after the Second World War can we find specially designated units that take care of typical HRM functions. In many Western countries, collective bargaining defined labor relations and HRM gained importance.
Since the 1960s, Japan’s rise as a trading power also required Japanese corporations to adopt efficient human resource systems.
Globally, the HRM profile began to be widely recognized in the 1980s. Universities and business schools began teaching different aspects of HRM in the 1990s. Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations it was the first business school in the world for university level studies in HRM.
In the first decade of the 2000s, there was a strong movement to consider RR. H H. as a strategic business partner rather than a system of support functions. The most recent areas in which HR has become involved are corporate social responsibility and sustainable growth, as well as environmental concerns.