HRM and Personnel Management

The „soft‟ models of HRM and the normative models of personnel management appear very similar, some shifts in emphasis (Legge, 1995).¹ This has led authors to call HRM a case of „emperor‟s new clothes‟ (Armstrong, 1987)² or of „all that is solid melts into air‟ (Legge, 1995). A close comparison shows that both models emphasize the importance of integrating personnel/HRM goals with organizational goals; both models vest personnel/HRM firmly in line (with) management; both models emphasize the importance of individuals fully developing their abilities for their own personal satisfaction to make their „best contribution‟ to organizational success. Human Resource Management gives us emphasis on policy making and implementation where as personnel management concentrates on the implementation of the decisions only.

The difference between the models is that HRM is aimed at managers and „core‟ workers, rather than at managerial and the non-managerial workforce as a collective; it is vested in line management not as „people managers‟, but as business managers responsible for co-coordinating and directing all resources in the business unit in pursuit of bottom line results; most HRM models emphasize the management of the organization‟s culture as a central activity for senior management (Legge, 1989).³ These three differences emphasis all points to HRM, in theory, being essentially a more central strategic management task than personnel management. It is experienced by managers, as the most valued company resources are to be managed; it concerns them in the achievement of business goals and it expresses senior management‟s preferred organizational values. From this perspective, it is not surprising that Fowler (1987)⁴ identifies the real difference between HRM and personnel management in terms of language use: “Not what it is, but who is saying it. In a nutshell, HRM represents the discovery of personnel management by Chief Executives”.

For Citing this article use:

• Rao, V. Y. (2015). Human resources development practices.

References:

1. Legge, K, (1995), “Human Resource Management”, Rhetorics, Hampshire.
2. Armstrong M, (1987), „Human Resources Management a case of the Emperor‟s New Clothes? Personnel Management, 19(8), pp.30-35.
3. Legge, K, (1989), “Human Resources Management: A Critical Analysis” in J. Storey (ed), New Perspectives of Human Resources Management, Routledge, London, pp.19-40.
4. Fowler, A. (1987), „When Chief Executives Discover HRM,‟ Personnel Management, 19(1): p.3.