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History of Human Resource ManagementSummary

Please review the articles provided . You may also review articles you research/select, as well.

Approximately 2 pages, Ariel 11, double spaced.

Write a summary of the history (origin, concepts, and evolution) of human resource management. You may use any or all of the articles provided; you may research and select additional/other articles; you may refer to a combination of those provided and those you research/select.

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History of Human Resource Management

Summary

Approximately 2 pages, Ariel 11, double spaced

Please review the articles provided In D2L: HB 489 – Content – Module: History of Human Resource Management. You may also review articles you research/select, as well.

Your paper should synthesize information in the articles you review and address such questions as: What are the similarities or discrepancies among your informational sources? What are your key takeaways and why (i.e., justify the relevance of your key takeaways)? Also, you should approach this assignment with a critical eye toward timelines; internal/external change agents and resulting changes in HRM practices/functions, and the implications of those changes toward strategic human resource management.

DO CITE YOUR SOURCES IN YOUR TEXT AND INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY

DO COME TO CLASS MONDAY, JANUARY 13th, PREPARED TO DISCUSS AND/OR PRESNT YOUR SUMMARY, KEY POINTS; IMPLICATIONS FOR STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES, ETC.

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Human resource management, historical perspectives, evolution and

professional development

Article in Journal of Management Development · July 2017

DOI: 10.1108/JMD-12-2016-0267

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Journal of Management Development
Human resource management, historical perspectives, evolution and professional
development
Vincent Obedgiu,

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“Human resource management, historical perspectives, evolution and
professional development”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 36 Issue: 8, pp.986-990,
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https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-12-2016-0267

Human resource management,
historical perspectives, evolution
and professional development

Vincent Obedgiu
Department of Business Administration, Arua Regional Campus,

Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to trace the historical perspectives in the development and evolution
of human resource management as a field of study and profession.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a desk research to conduct a general review of
literatures that are fundamental in tracing the historical routes, evolution, and professional development in
the field of human resource management.
Findings – The literature reviewed reveals that human resource management is a product of the human
relations movement of the early twentieth century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating
business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by
transactional work such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company
consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, human resource now focuses on strategic
initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor
relations, and diversity and inclusion. In start-up companies, human resource’s duties are performed either by
a handful of trained professionals or even by non-human resource personnel. In larger companies, an entire
functional group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various human resource
tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train
practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies
themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and
practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of human resource, as evidenced by
several field-specific publications.
Originality/value – The study contributes to the body of knowledge in human resource management and
practices, professional development, history of human resource management and the future of human
resource functions. Further attempt is made in the study to present historical perspective of the evolution of
the field to prepare professional managers in managing the human resource function and disseminate the
human resource development philosophy and values to improve human resource practice and recognition
within the management agenda.
Keywords Human resource management, Historical perspectives, Evolution and professional development
Paper type General review

Introduction
Human resource spawned from the human relations movement, which began in the early
twentieth century due to work by Frederick Taylor in lean manufacturing. Taylor explored
what he termed scientific management referred to as Taylorism, striving to improve
economic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He eventually keyed on one of the principal
inputs into the manufacturing process labor sparking inquiry into workforce productivity
(Merkle, 2012).

The movement was formalized following the research of Elton Mayo, whose
Hawthorne studies serendipitously documented how stimuli unrelated to financial
compensation and working conditions attention and engagement yielded more workers
that are productive Contemporaneous works by Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin,
Max Weber, Frederick Herzberg, and David McClelland formed the basis for the studies in
organizational behavior and organizational theory, giving room for an applied discipline.
The theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce
management, changes in the business landscape and in public policy had transformed

Journal of Management
Development
Vol. 36 No. 8, 2017
pp. 986-

990

Received 1 December 2016
Accepted 2 December 2016

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0262-1711.htm

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the employer-employee relationship, and the discipline was formalized as industrial
and labor relations.

In 1913, one of the oldest known professional human resource associations the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development was founded in England as the Welfare Workers’
Association, then changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare
Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of Labor Management before settling upon
its current name (CIPD, 2011). Likewise in the USA, the world’s first institution of higher
education dedicated to workplace studies the School of Industrial and Labor Relations was
formed at Cornell University in 1945 (Cornell, 2010).

In the latter half of the twentieth century, union membership declined significantly, while
workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations. Industrial
and labor relations began being used to refer specifically to issues concerning collective
representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as personnel
administration. In 1948, what later became the largest professional human resource
association the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) was founded as the
American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA) (SHRM, 2011).

The twenty-first century saw advances in transport and communications that greatly
facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as
assets rather than as cogs in a machine. Human resources management, consequently,
became the dominant term for the function the ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in
1998 (SHRM, 2011). Human capital management is sometimes used synonymously with
Human Resource, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view of human
resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization.
Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include organizational
management, manpower management, talent management, personnel management, and
people management.

Human resource has been depicted in several popular media. On the US television series
of The Office, Human Resource Representative Toby Flenderson is sometimes seen as a nag
because he constantly reminds coworkers of company policies and government regulations
(O’Brien, 2009). Long-running American comic strip Dilbert also frequently portrays sadistic
human resource policies through character Catbert, the evil Director of Human Resources
(Personnel Today, 2007). Additionally, a human resource manager is the title character in
the 2010 Israeli film The Human Resources Manager, while a human resource intern is the
protagonist in 1999 French film Resources humaines. Additionally, the BBC sitcom
Dinnerladies main character Philippa is a Human Resource Manager.

The human resource practice and business function
Dave Ulrich lists the functions of human resource as: aligning human resource and business
strategy, re-engineering organization processes, listening and responding to employees, and
managing transformation and change (Ulrich, 1996). In practice, human resource is
responsible for employee experience during the entire employment lifecycle. It is first
charged with attracting the right employees through employer branding. It then must select
the right employees through the recruitment process. Human resource manager brings on
board new hires and oversees their training and development during their tenure with the
organization. Human resource assesses talent through use of performance appraisals and
then rewards them accordingly.

In fulfillment of human resource functional role, human resource manager may
sometimes administer payroll and employee benefits, although such activities are more and
more being outsourced, with human resource manager playing instrumental strategic role.
Human resource managers are involved in employee terminations including resignations,
performance related dismissals, and redundancies. At the macro level, human resource is in

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charge of overseeing organizational leadership and culture. Human resource also ensures
compliance with employment and labor laws, which differ by geography, and often oversees
health, safety, and security. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally
authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, human resource function serve as the
company’s primary liaison with the employee’s representatives. Consequently, human
resource manager engages in lobbying efforts with governmental agencies to further
its priorities.

The discipline may also engage in mobility management, especially pertaining to
expatriates; and it is frequently involved in the merger and acquisition process. Human
resource is generally viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs
and reduce risk (Towers, 2010). There are almost half a million human resource practitioners
in the worldwide (Jonathan, 2010). The chief human resource officer is the highest ranking
human resource executive in most companies and typically reports directly to the chief
executive officer and works with the board of directors on CEO succession (Wright, 2011;
Conaty and Ram, 2011).

Human resource positions within organizations fall into one of two categories,
i.e. generalist and specialist. Generalists support employees directly with their questions,
grievances, and projects. They may handle all aspects of human resources work, and
thus require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human resources
generalists can vary widely, depending on their employer’s needs (US Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2011). Specialists, conversely, work in a specific human resource function.
Some practitioners will spend an entire career as either a generalist or a specialist while
others will obtain experiences from each and choose a career path later. Being a human
resource manager consistently ranks as one of the best jobs, due to its pay, personal
satisfaction, job security, future growth, and benefit to society (CNN Money, 2006, 2009).

Human resource consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as
advisers to companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies. In 2007, there were
950 human resource consultancies globally, constituting a USD18.4 billion market. The top
five revenue generating firms were Mercer, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Watson Wyatt, Aon,
and PwC consulting (Towers, 2010). CNN Money (2011) ranked human resource consulting
the best jobs in America.

Educational institution and human resource professions
The School of Industrial and Labor Relations at the Cornell University was the world’s first
school for college-level study in human resource. Several universities offer programs of
study pertaining to human resource and related fields. The School of Industrial and Labor
Relations at Cornell University was the world’s first school for college-level study in human
resource (Cornell, 2009). It continues to offer education at the undergraduate, graduate, and
professional levels; and it operates a joint degree program with the Samuel Curtis Johnson
Graduate School of Management, which human resource patriot termed the crown jewel for
aspiring professionals (Human Resource Patriot, 2009). Other universities with entire
colleges dedicated to the study of human resource include the Michigan State University,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Renmin University of China. Dozens of
other universities house departments and institutes related to the field, either within a
business school or in another college.

Human resource professional associations
Human Resource education also comes by way of professional associations, which
offer training and certification. The SHRM, which is based in the USA, is the largest
professional association dedicated to Patriot (Jonathan, 2010) with over 250,000 members
in 140 countries (SHRM, 2011). It offers a suite of Professional in Human Resources

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certifications through its Human Resource Certification Institute. The Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development, based in England, is the oldest professional human resource
association, with its predecessor institution founded in 1918.

Several associations also serve niches within Human Resource. The Institute of
Recruiters is a recruitment professional association, offering members education, support
and training (IOR, 2011). WorldatWork focuses on total rewards (i.e. compensation, benefits,
work-life, performance, recognition, and career development) offering several certifications
and training programs dealing with remuneration and work-life balance. Other niche
associations include the American Society for Training & Development and Recognition
Professionals International.

References

CIPD (2011), “Chartered institute of personnel and development”, available at: www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-
profession/about-us/ (accessed December 22, 2011).

CNN Money (2006), “Human resources manager”, available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/
moneymag/bestjobs/2006/snapshots/4.html (accessed December 23, 2011).

CNN Money (2009), “Human resources manager”, available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/
moneymag/bestjobs/2009/snapshots/20.html (accessed December 23, 2011).

CNN Money (2011), “HR consultant”, available at: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/
bestjobs/2010/snapshots/43.html (accessed December 23, 2011).

Conaty, B. and Ram, C. (2011), The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers,
ISBN 978-0-307-46026-4, Crown Publishing Group, available at: www.amazon.com/dp/0307460266
(accessed May 6, 2011).

Cornell ILR (2009), “Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations”, available at: www.ilr.
cornell.edu/about/ (accessed August 23, 2009).

Cornell ILR (2010), “Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations”, available at: www.ilr.
cornell.edu/about/ (accessed January 29, 2010).

HR Patriot (2009), “HR graduate program rankings”, April 26, available at: http://hrpatriot.blogspot.
com/2009/04/hr-graduate-program-rankings.html (accessed July 5, 2010).

IOR (2011), “Institute of Recruiters (IOR)”, available at: www.theior.org.uk/ (accessed December 22, 2011).

Jonathan, E.D. (2010), “The changing environment of professional HR associations”, Cornell HR Review,
February 21, available at: http://cornellhrreview.org/2010/02/21/the-changing-environment-of-
professional-hr-associations/ (accessed December 21, 2011).

Merkle, J.A. (2012), Management and Ideology, ISBN 0-520-037375, University of California Press,
available at: http://books.google.com/books? (accessed January 13, 2010).

O’Brien, M. (2009), “HR’s take on The Office”, Human Resource Executive Online, October 8, Archived
from: www.hrexecutive.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId ¼ 266686219, the original, 18 December 18,
available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sNpW3rbapH0J:www.
hrexecutive.com/HRE/story.jsp%3FstoryId%3D266686219+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&
client=firefox-a (accessed December 28, 2011).

Personnel Today (2007), “Catbert shows tougher side to human resources”, August 30, available at:
www.personneltoday.com/blogs/human-resources-guru/2007/08/catbert-shows-tougher-side-to-
human-resources.html (accessed December 28, 2011).

SHRM (2011), “Society for human resource management”, available at: www.shrm.org/about/
(accessed December 22, 2011).

Towers, W. (2010), “Executives see growth ahead for merged firms”, Workforce Management,
pp. 681-689, available at: www.workforce.com/assets/tools/hot_list/070312_HotList
(accessed January 13, 2010).

US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011), “Human resources, training, and labor relations managers and
specialists”, available at: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm (accessed December 23, 2011).

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www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/about-us/

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2006/snapshots/4.html

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2009/snapshots/20.html

www.amazon.com/dp/0307460266

www.ilr.cornell.edu/about/

http://hrpatriot.blogspot.com/2009/04/hr-graduate-program-rankings.html

www.theior.org.uk/

http://cornellhrreview.org/2010/02/21/the-changing-environment-of-professional-hr-associations/

http://books.google.com/books?

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sNpW3rbapH0J:www.hrexecutive.com/HRE/story.jsp%3FstoryId%3D266686219+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

www.personneltoday.com/blogs/human-resources-guru/2007/08/catbert-shows-tougher-side-to-human-resources.html

www.shrm.org/about/

www.workforce.com/assets/tools/hot_list/070312_HotList

www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm

Ulrich, D. (1996), Human Resource Champions. The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering
Results, ISBN 0-87584-719-6, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Wright, P. (2011), “The 2011 CHRO challenge: building organizational, functional, and personal talent”,
Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS), available at: www.ilr.cornell.
edu/cahrs/upload/2011-CHRO-Survey-Report (accessed September 3, 2011).

Further reading

Mayo, E. (1945), Hawthorne and the Western Electric Company, Harvard University, Boston, available
at: http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/30802428/1886432542/name/elton+mayo+%2B+studiu+
de+caz (accessed December 28, 2011).

SHRM (2001), “An important decision that must be made when recruiting knowledge workers”,
available at: www.shrm.org/page/article.html

Towers, D. (2016), “Human resource management essays”, available at: www.towers.fr/essays/hrm.
html (accessed October 17, 2007).

Corresponding author
Vincent Obedgiu can be contacted at: vobedgiu@mubs.ac.ug

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
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http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/30802428/1886432542/name/elton+mayo+%2B+studiu+de+caz

www.shrm.org/page/article.html

www.towers.fr/essays/hrm.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318709265

The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource
Management

Human Resources Management: A Historical
Perspective

Contributors: Howard Gospel

Edited by: Adrian Wilkinson, Nicolas Bacon, Tom Redman & Scott Snell

Book Title:

The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management

Chapter Title: “Human Resources Management: A Historical Perspective”

Pub. Date: 2010

Access Date: August 29, 2019

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd

City: London

Print ISBN: 9781412928298

Online ISBN: 9780857021496

DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857021496.n2

Print pages: 12-30

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online

version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

javascript:void(0);

http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857021496.n2

Human Resources Management: A Historical Perspective

Introduction

In this chapter, the management of human resources is broadly defined to cover three broad interconnected
areas – work relations, employment relations, and industrial relations. Work relations are taken to cover the
way work is organised and the deployment of workers around technologies and production systems. Employ-
ment relations deal with the arrangements governing such aspects of employment as recruitment, training,
job tenure, and reward systems. Industrial relations are taken to cover the voiced aspirations of workers and
institutional arrangements which may arise to address them, such as joint consultation, works councils, trade
unions, and collective bargaining. The focus is therefore on human resources management (lower case),
which has been an eternal phenomenon in all organisations over time, and not on Human Resources Man-
agement (upper case), which is a term which has developed over the last two decades. In addition, in this
chapter, the term the management of human resources and the management of labour are used generically
and interchangeably.

The focus throughout this chapter is on major patterns in these three areas as they have emerged over time,
especially in large private-sector firms, over a long period from the nineteenth century onwards. It draws main-
ly on the core economies of the twentieth century, especially the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Japan.
The focus is primarily on the management of lower and intermediate classes of labour, which have constituted
the majority of employees and which are best covered in the literature.

The next section provides a broad overview of the contexts within which labour has been managed, including
market, technological, political, and business contexts. There then follow sections which present broad
‘stages’ in the history of human resource management, taking examples from leading sectors of the economy.
However, throughout, the aim is to stress continuities over time between stages, the coexistence of systems,
and how older sectors adapt over time. The final section raises some caveats and areas for further research
and draws broad conclusions.

The Historical Contexts of Human Resource Management

A number of major contexts are outlined schematically here and used further in each section. These include
the changing technological, market, political/legal, social, and business environments. Though these contexts
shape the activities of employers, managers, and workers, the chapter also shows how the actors themselves
have shaped the situations within which they operate (Dunlop, 1958).

The technological context has historically shaped basic aspects of labour management. Some writers have
suggested a broad movement over time from artisan or craft production (with skilled workers having signifi-
cant control over work), to mass production (often associated with Ford-type assembly-line systems in indus-
tries such as automobiles), and to more flexible production systems (sometimes referred to as post-Fordist)
(Tolliday, 1998). In practice, changes have been complex, with overlaps in types of production regimes over
time and with older sectors adopting aspects of new arrangements. Thus, skilled, small-batch production was
never superseded in many areas often typified as mass production, such as metalworking and light assem-
bly industries. Similarly, many aspects of work in modern retail stores, fast-food restaurants, and call centres
are very much of a mass-production kind. A constant theme in the history of labour management has been
employers’ introduction of new technologies, workers’ counter-attempts to exert some control over these, and
managers’ further attempts to develop and refine management systems (Nelson, 1975; Hounshell, 1984; Pi-
ore and Sabel, 1984; Lazonick, 1990; Tolliday 1998; Scranton, 1997).

The market context comprises labour, product, and financial markets. In the labour market, there are both

SAGE
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longer- and shorter-term influences. For example, longer-term factors include demographic change, the broad
balance of labour supply and demand, and the changing composition of the labour force. Thus, in various peri-
ods in different countries, labour shortages have induced firms to substitute capital for labour and to introduce
new production systems, as was the case in the United States in the early/mid-nineteenth century (Lewis,
1952; Habbakuk, 1962). Shortages also induced firms to introduce systems to attract and retain labour and
these have often become embedded and left continuing inheritances, as for example with skilled labour short-
ages in Japan in the early twentieth century (Jacoby, 1979; Gordon, 1985, 1998). Shorter-term labour market
influences include the fluctuating level of unemployment which has immediate direct effects on the balance of
power between management and labour. In this respect, for example, sharp rises in unemployment in the UK
in the early 1920s and early 1980s significantly affected the bargaining power of management and unions,
strengthened managerial prerogatives, and led to major changes in labour management and industrial rela-
tions (Gospel, 1992).

In the case of product markets, the boundaries of markets and the degree of competition in them have an
effect on labour management, both directly and indirectly. For example, Smith (1776), in his celebrated ex-
amination of a pin factory, pointed out that the extent of the market shaped the division of labour. Similarly,
Commons (1909) used the extension of markets to explain the organisation of production, the emergence
of distinct classes of masters and men, and the subsequent growth and organisation of trade unions. In like
manner, a large and relatively homogeneous market in the US facilitated mass production in that country com-
pared to the smaller and more fragmented markets of Europe (Habbakuk, 1962; Rosenberg, 1969; Hounshell,
1984). The degree of competition within the product market also influences the constraints on management.
Thus, over a long period from the interwar years onwards, high levels of product market protection and collu-
sive behaviour underpinned the position of trade unions and the development of internal labour market-type
arrangements in many countries. Subsequently, the progressive opening-up of markets and the growth of in-
ternational competition, especially since the 1970s, have reshaped the international division of labour and the
extent to which labour can extract rents from management (Gospel, 2005).

Financial markets, ownership, and corporate governance have also historically shaped human resource sys-
tems. Owner-financed and controlled firms historically often had a personal form of paternalism and such
firms tended to oppose dealings with trade unions. From the early twentieth century onwards, the growth of
equity financing and the separation of ownership and control in countries such as the US and the UK allowed
for a more bureaucratic approach to labour and lay behind the development of what some have described
as ‘welfare capitalism’, with strong internal labour market-type arrangements (Brandes, 1976; Jacoby, 1985,
1997). In recent years, new financial pressures from institutional owners and private equity capital have put
pressures on firms to adjust employment more directly to market forces. By contrast, up until recently, the
continuation of private and more concentrated ownership and greater reliance on insider finance has meant
that such pressures have been less strong in Germany and Japan (Gospel and Pendleton, 2004).

The history of labour management systems has been profoundly shaped by political and legal contexts. In
countries such as the US and the UK, liberal states have overall been less interventionist in labour man-
agement than in some other countries, with so-called ‘voluntarism’ being a strong tradition. Even in these
countries, however, there have been major exceptions, especially during two world wars, the New Deal in
the US, and in the 1980s under the Reagan and Thatcher administrations. By contrast, in more coordinat-
ed economies, such as Germany, Japan, and France, there has long been a tradition of state intervention
in labour matters (Crouch, 1993; Friedman, 1999; Hall and Soskice, 2001; Yamamura and Streeck, 2003).
Nevertheless, it is probably true to say that over time, in most countries, there has been a gradual build-up
in intervention in terms of rights off-the-job (state welfare and pension systems), rights on-the-job (workmen’s
compensation, health and safety, racial and sexual equality legislation), and regulation of collective employ-
ment matters (the law on trade unions, collective bargaining, and information and consultation at work). In
Europe, the European Union (EU) has in recent decades taken these tendencies further (Supiot, 2001).

The social context is in many ways the most difficult to categorise and summarise. Over the decades, the

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position of children and women at work has changed profoundly, at least in advanced market economies. The
starting age of employment has slowly risen, the proportion of women in paid employment has increased,
and the numbers of people who can retire from paid employment have risen. Major changes have also come
with rising living standards and a greater awareness of social and human rights. Over time, social identities
have also changed, with notions of ‘class’ playing a significant part in worker mentalities through much of
the twentieth century, but becoming less powerful in more recent decades. Other social identities at work
which have long existed, on the basis of gender, race, religion, and immigrant status have been successively
reshaped and added to with new identities in terms of age, sexual orientation, and disability (Noiriel, 1989;
Magraw, 1992; Piore and Safford, 2005). On the other hand, traditional divides between works and staff or
between hourly/weekly and monthly-paid, have slowly eroded. Managements have had to take account of
these changing social contexts. The so-called ‘management of diversity’ in the workplace is now stressed in
modern management discourse; however, history shows that this has always been a concern of management
(Kossek and Lobel, 1996).

A number of final points may be made about the business context of the organisation in historical perspective.
First, most firms have been small and medium-sized – though in practice least is known about human re-
source management in such firms. Over time, big firms have come to constitute a larger proportion of total
output and of total employment, though this is larger in the US and the UK than countries such as Germany,
Italy, and Japan, which have more employment in medium-sized firms. Second, there have been major com-
positional shifts. Generalising, the typical large employer in the early-to mid-nineteenth century was a textile
company; by the mid- to late-nineteenth century, the biggest single group of major firms in most economies
were railway companies; by the mid-twentieth century, the main groupings were manufacturers (steel, chem-
icals, automobiles, electrical); and by the end of the twentieth century, the biggest single group of large firms
was to be found in retailing and financial services (Gospel and Fiedler, 2008). This predominance of certain
industries played an important part in laying down patterns of labour management. Third, over time, big firms
in particular have developed more sophisticated hierarchies, not least in the labour area, with the growth
of ‘welfare’ or ‘labour’ managers, later ‘personnel’ managers, and now ‘human resource’ managers (Niven,
1967; Jacoby, 1985; Morikawa and Kobayashi, 1986; Kocha, 1991; Tsutsui, 1998; Fombonne, 2003). How-
ever, it should be remembered that in some countries, especially those of northern continental Europe, firms
still rely significantly on outside employers’ organisations and their staff for the management of industrial re-
lations. Also, in recent years, there has been some growth in the outsourcing of the human resource func-
tion (Gospel and Sako, 2008). Fourth, big firms have also changed in structure from being historically either
loosely organised holding companies or centralised, functionally organised firms at the beginning of the twen-
tieth century, to being more coordinated multidivisional structures and sometimes decentralised networks of
firms by the end of the century (Chandler, 1962, 1977; 1990; Cassis, 1997; Whittington and Mayer, 2000).
As will be shown below, this has also had implications for labour management. Finally, as already suggested,
ownership and governance has changed, though differentially between countries, with personal and family
ownership declining over the course of the twentieth century and outsider ownership increasing in the big firm
sector, especially in the US and the UK (Gospel and Pendleton, 2004).

The Emergence of Labour Management in the First Industrial Revolution

Here we provide a perspective on two key industries of the first industrial revolution, viz. over the period of
time roughly from the late-eighteenth century to the late-nineteenth century. The two industries are very dif-
ferent, textiles and railways, but they provide us with a set of insights into how labour was managed during a
key period of economic transformation.

Textile industries have been at the forefront of industrialisation in many countries. Classic problems for em-
ployers emerged in these industries – in terms of work relations (how to organise production and the division
of labour), employment relations (how to attract, retain, and motivate labour), and industrial relations (how
authority was to be maintained and whether or not to concede employees a voice at work).

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In practice, nineteenth century textile and allied industries in Europe and the US always had elements of both
older artisan and newer factory production. In artisanal sectors, production was on a small scale, work was
often organised on the basis of putting-out to households or small workshops, and family involvement was im-
portant. In these circumstances, masters relied on key (usually male) workers to organise their own work and
controlled and paid them by piece-work where this was possible. Problems for the masters were uncertainties
about the quality of production and the wage-effort relationship (Mendels, 1972; Berg, 1985). As technologies
developed and markets expanded, masters increasingly built their own factories and installed machinery. In
turn, this meant they had the problem of attracting larger labour forces, especially where factories were locat-
ed in less populated areas near water power sources. In cotton spinning, large numbers of women and chil-
dren were employed, usually under tight and often coercive systems of direct control and often paid by time.
However, even within the new factories, there persisted forms of inside contracting to key workers and the
possibility of drawing on pools of specialised craft labour from local industrial districts (Lazonick, 1990; Rose,
2000). The motivation to develop the factory system came from market and technological opportunities, but it
also gave employers a means for better control over their labour forces (Marglin, 1974; Landes, 1986).

The emergence of this system in the UK has been classically described by Pollard (1965), who emphasised
its heavy reliance on child and female labour, extensive use of piece-work, and devices such as factory hous-
ing. At the same time, there was, in most textile districts, a reliance on external economies of scale, for ex-
ample in terms of apprentice-type training and piece-work price lists. In the US, the more vertically integrated
cotton industry moved more quickly to introduce new technologies, to build larger factories, and to develop
a greater internal division of labour within the workplace under management control. Later, in Japan, during
industrialisation in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, some similar problems for management
and some similar responses are discernible. For example, in that country, factory and artisan production also
coexisted, though the latter was much smaller; in the large factory sector, employers used predominantly fe-
male workforces; they built factory dormitories and provided various forms of paternalistic benefits; and used
tight supervision and simple pay and benefit systems to control workers (Nakagawa, 1979; Hunter, 2003).
Today, many of these forms of work organisation and employment relations have later appeared and are still
to be found in textile industries in India, China, Brazil and other rapidly developing countries today.

Under early forms of labour management, industrial relations systems were diverse. As suggested, the man-
agement of labour was often a mixture of both hard, direct control and also of paternalistic oversight of a
personal ad hoc kind (Joyce, 1980). Nevertheless, some key male workers could exert control over their work
and employers depended on them to organise production. In the UK, by the final half of the twentieth century,
unions of male textile workers had grown to become the largest in the country, along with unions for other
artisan and craft trades, engineering workers, and coalminers. Those with skills or a strong position in the
production process were able to force recognition from employers of their trade societies and to establish re-
gional or national collective bargaining where firms joined together in employers’ organisations had to deal
with trade unions (Jowitt and McIvor, 1989; McIvor, 1996). In the United States and continental Europe, by the
First World War, collective bargaining had also developed in certain craft sectors, such as small metalworking,
printing, and footwear, but on the whole it was less extensive than in the UK (Mommsen and Husung, 1985;
Montgomery, 1987).

From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, the railways represented a further stage in the growth of the mod-
ern business enterprises in most countries (Chandler, 1977, 1990). In terms of labour management, railway
companies encountered both a traditional and a new set of problems. Traditional problems were in terms of
recruiting, training, and controlling staff, albeit on a much larger scale. New problems included the complexity
of scheduling, the safety of goods and passengers, and the geographical dispersion of work. Under manage-
ments from various backgrounds (technical, governmental, military, and accounting), the railway companies
were the first to put in place some of the first and largest bureaucratic systems of employment. These included
more systematic recruitment, the creation of job and promotion hierarchies, and related pay systems based
on fixed rates of pay. They also introduced welfare arrangements, of a less personal and more bureaucratic
kind, such as housing, basic sick care, and later pension benefits for some workers, usually dependent on

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length of service with the firm.

Talking industrial relations, the large railway companies of the US, UK, and continental Europe were run ac-
cording to a ‘unitarist’ rather than a ‘pluralist’ model of management (Fox, 1985). Management was the sole
source of authority, issued commands, and expected workers to obey. A plurality of sources of authority, with
legitimate worker voice and checks and balances, was not permitted. Discipline was based on the notion of a
‘uniformed’ service. In keeping with this and in contrast with the sectors described above, trade unions were
not recognised and collective bargaining was rare, until just before or after the First World War.

This pattern of bureaucratic management later grew in other sectors, such as the gas, electricity, and water
utilities (Melling, 1979; Berlanstein, 1991). It also provided something of a model for areas of industry such
as steel, chemicals, and, later, oil refining. Developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the
model has in many respects persisted up to the present day in both state and private railways and utility sys-
tems, albeit since the Second World War, with extensive unionisation and collective bargaining.

This account of bureaucratic employment on the railways prompts three further points. First, the railways
were some of the first companies to develop extensive hierarchies of managerial and white-collar staff. These
were necessary to organise and coordinate diverse and dispersed operations. Such employees were offered
something like ‘careers’ within the company and moved up wage and benefit hierarchies. Though they learnt
on-the-job, there were books, magazines, and courses which they could attend. Second, and by contrast, the
railways were constructed and to some extent maintained in more traditional ways, by gangs of labourers,
who were apart from this bureaucratic system and did not partake of the benefits of others who worked on
the railways. Third, the workshops owned by the railway companies, where engines and rolling stock were
built and maintained, were also different. Here workers had more control over production, belonged to occu-
pational craft communities, were paid wages which related more to those in craft labour markets, and were
more likely to belong to trade unions. Within them, craft forms of production and management existed and
unions were more likely to be recognised. However, it should also be noted that the railway workshops includ-
ed some of the more sophisticated engineering shops of their days, especially in terms of work organisation
(Coleman, 1981; Drummond, 1995).

The Development of Personnel Management in the Second Industrial Revolu-
tion: The New Heavy Process and Assembly-Line Industries

In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, major industries were transformed or created entirely
anew with the advent of the new general purpose technology of electricity and with new production processes
(steel, chemicals, and later electrical products and automobiles). Employers in these sectors used some old
methods and developed other newer forms of what came to be called personnel management.

For example, in steel and chemicals, systems of internal contracting under skilled workers and gang masters
continued to exist, at least for a time. Much of the work involved these arrangements and some more skilled
and strategically placed workers had considerable control over work organisation. Employment was often
short-term and wage and benefit systems simple. Slowly, however, different arrangements developed. Large
firms, such as Carnegie and US Steel in the United States, Krupp in Germany, and Schneider in France,
substituted their own foremen for internal contractors, began to recruit more systematically, trained workers
internally on the job and not usually through apprenticeship systems, and developed employment hierarchies
and some of the welfare arrangements described above (notably housing, workmen’s compensation, sick pay
and pensions) (McCreary, 1968; Stone, 1975; Jacoby, 1985; Fitzgerald, 1988; Vishniac, 1990; Gospel, 1992;
Welskopp, 1994).

In these sectors and in large-scale metalworking, there was a desire on the part of employers to gain in-
formation on worker effort and to organise work more systematically under managerial control. This devel-

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oped rapidly in the US, where fast-growing and large national markets and a shortage of skilled labour gave
managers an incentive to invest in the development of skill-displacing technologies. In metalworking and en-
gineering, as early as the mid- to late-nineteenth century, there emerged a distinctive ‘American system of
manufactures’, based on standardised and interchangeable parts. This in turn came more and more to use
semi-skilled or unskilled workers, who tended high throughput machinery or worked on what came to be as-
sembly lines (Rosenberg, 1969; Hounshell, 1984).

By the early twentieth century onwards, in various forms, this led to the development of so-called ‘systematic’
and ‘scientific’ management (Litterer, 1963; Nelson, 1975; Littler, 1982; Merkle, 1980; Fridenson, 1986; Tsut-
sui, 1998). The latter is usually associated with Frederick Taylor (Taylor, 1911; Nelson, 1980), but there were
other writers and practitioners at the time advocating new systems of labour management. Usually some com-
bination of the following were used: a study of the organisation of work by specialist ‘time’ and ‘work’ study
experts; the reorganisation of work, often leading to a greater subdivision of jobs; and the fixing of wages by
new types of bonus systems related to performance. In practice, such arrangements developed only slowly,
but with some acceleration after the First World War, especially in lighter areas of manufacturing (Nelson,
1992). The most significant technological and organisational development was the spread of the assembly
line and mass production from the early-twentieth century onwards (Ford, 1926; Fridenson, 1978; Hounshell,
1984; Nelson, 1975; Meyer, 1981; Schatz, 1983; Lewchuk, 1987).

Especially where unions had a presence, these developments often met with worker resistance. In part to
counter unions, there was some development of new welfare and personnel policies, though these grew as
much in sectors of light industry such as food and light assembly work. There was also some interest in
so-called ‘human relations’ techniques as a less collectivist approach to the management of labour (Nelson,
1970; Nelson and Campbell, 1972; Jacoby, 1985; Gillespie, 1991; Gospel, 1992).

The Management of Industrial Relations: The Classic Case of the Automobile
Industry

Up to the First World War, in all countries, employer recognition of trade unions and collective bargaining was
a minority phenomenon (Bain and Price, 1980). Union membership and recognition by employers was most
extensive in the UK, followed by Germany and the US. Membership was much lower in countries such as
France, Italy, and Japan, in part reflecting larger agricultural sectors and smaller scale industry in those coun-
tries. Even where unions were recognised in the UK in craft industries such as metalworking and printing,
in parts of cotton spinning, and in coalmining, collective bargaining was underdeveloped and often informal,
spasmodic, and subject to recurrent employer counteroffensives.

The position of trade unions was significantly strengthened during the First World War: labour markets were
tight, product market competition was curtailed, and both employers and the state were dependent on workers
to achieve production. In these circumstances, employers were constrained to recognise unions, not least at
government prompting, and collective bargaining developed, in many cases on a multi-employer basis, cov-
ering a whole industry either regionally or nationally. After the war and especially where there was economic
depression in the 1920s, employers launched counter-offensives and curtailed the scope of, or withdrew en-
tirely from, collective bargaining. The depression which affected all countries from 1929 onwards further re-
duced union presence and collective bargaining declined in coverage and content (Brody, 1980; Clegg, 1985;
Schneider, 1991).

From the mid-1930s onwards, however, this situation changed, especially in the automobile, electrical, and
other growing industries. In the UK, unions slowly increased their membership and managements had in-
creasingly to deal with them (Tolliday and Zeitlin, 1986; Lewchuk, 1987). For the most part they chose to
do this on a multi-employer basis. In France, in the late 1930s, a combination of economic and political fac-
tors led French employers to enter into new dealings with unions, albeit temporarily (Vinen, 1991; Chapman,

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1991). Employer opposition was particularly strong in the United States. But, even there, the large automobile
firms recognised unions, in significant part in the context of a change in the stance of government and legal
requirements introduced in the New Deal from the mid- 1930s onwards and during the Second World War and
its aftermath (Dubofsky, 1994). Thus, General Motors recognised the United Auto Workers in 1937 and Ford
followed suit in 1941. In the United States, in contrast to Britain, employers chose to deal with unions more
at a company level and negotiated formal legally binding contracts which regulated wide aspects of wages,
employment, and work organisation. There were elements of pattern-setting and following within industries,
but, for the most part, dealings were at the level of the firm (Slichter et al., 1960; Brody, 1980; Harris, 1985;
Jefferys, 1986; Tolliday and Zeitlin, 1986). By contrast, in the UK, bargaining was often at multiple levels, in-
cluding informal bargaining with shop stewards at the workplace (Edwards and Terry, 1988).

In Germany, France, Italy, and Japan, the settlement with organised labour came after the war. Under Fascist
and military regimes and foreign occupation, independent unions were outlawed, state- and employer-domi-
nated labour bodies were imposed, and most aspects of work and employment were unilaterally determined
by management or government. After the war, in Germany, in a situation of turmoil, unions were recognised
by employers and a system of regional and industry-wide collective bargaining emerged which has largely
persisted up to the present day. Reverting to an earlier German tradition, with origins in the nineteenth centu-
ry mining industry and in legislation after the First World War, there was also established by law a system of
works councils at company and workplace level and worker representation on the boards of German compa-
nies. In part this was at the prompting of the British occupation authorities and met with some resistance from
German business. However, over time, German employers came to accept these arrangements and accom-
modated them into their systems of labour management (Teuteberg, 1961; Streeck, 1992; Dartmann, 1996).
It should be noted that works councils and board-level representation are to be found in other continental Eu-
ropean countries, but not usually on the scale or with the powers of those in Germany (Rogers and Streeck,
1995).

Also after the war, Japanese employers came to terms with unions, though along different lines. At first, they
confronted demands from militant general and industrial unions. With support from the American occupa-
tion authorities and the Japanese government, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, employers confronted and
defeated these unions in major lockouts and strikes and replaced them with a system of enterprise-based
unions. Collective bargaining was subsequently conducted mainly at enterprise level, with some industry co-
ordination by employers’ organisations and federations of unions. This settlement with enterprise unions in-
teracted with traditional and emerging Japanese management practices and led, during the subsequent years
of economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s, to key aspects of the Japanese employment system: the provi-
sion of job security for core male workers, the use of complex wage and benefit hierarchies often related to
seniority, systems of management-led consultation within the firm, and a strong ideological encouragement
of the notion of the company as a community. By the mid- to late- 1950s, such a system was in place in
firms such as Toyota, Nissan, Toshiba, Hitachi, and other large manufacturing companies. In the 1970s, this
came to be recognised as the ‘Japanese system of management’ and attracted considerable foreign atten-
tion (Dore, 1973; Taira, 1970; Gordon, 1985; 1998; Koike, 1988; Cusomano, 1985; Shiomi and Wada, 1995;
Hazama, 1997; Inagami and Whittaker, 2005). However, as will be seen below, in the slowdown in the 1990s,
the system has come under growing pressure, with some reduction of ‘lifetime employment’, an increase in
pay based more on merit and performance, and less of a role for enterprise unions, especially in bargaining
about work organisation and wage levels.

The post-war industrial relations settlements in France and Italy were rather less clear and in some ways
more akin to the British situation. After the war, employers increasingly had to recognise unions and enter into
collective bargaining. However, they were less able to contain a system of multi-unionism (including in these
two continental countries Communist-dominated unionism) and multi-level collective bargaining. Large firms
such as Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, and Fiat made varying compromises, depending on the economic and
political contexts at particular times (Fridenson, 1986; Durand and Hatzfeld, 2003; Musso, 2008). In some
respects, it was only in the 1980s and 1990s, when union power was on the wane, that French and Italian

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companies reached a settlement of their industrial relations more acceptable to management.

In big firms in most of these countries, over the first three decades after the war, with full employment and
union bargaining, there developed systems of relative job security, possibilities for internal promotion to high-
er paying jobs, and wages based on seniority and hierarchical grading systems. However, there were differ-
ences between countries. In Japan, the US, and Germany, management maintained more control over the
production system than, say, in the UK or Italy. In Germany and Japan, workers received more training than
in most of the other countries and were more involved in improvements in processes and products. This was
to lead to what in Germany has been called the ‘diversified quality production’ system and in Japan to what
came to be called the Toyota or ‘lean production’ system, with more consultation and discretion given to bet-
ter trained workers (Ohno, 1982; Dohse et al., 1985: Streeck, 1992; Shimokawa, 1993; Wada, 1995; Tolliday,
1998).

The union-based system of personnel and industrial relations management has declined differentially across
these countries. In the US, union membership fell from the mid- 1960s onwards, and the coverage of collec-
tive bargaining contracted (Kochan et al., 1986; Jacoby, 1997). It is now restricted to a few areas of the private
sector, such as parts of the steel, automobile, engineering, and transportation industries. In France, union
membership never attained very high levels; it has fallen since the 1970s, and collective bargaining is much
constrained (Howell, 1992). In the UK, a change in the economic and political climate in the 1980s led to a
hollowing out of the collective bargaining-based system of labour management and the development of new
forms of human resource management such as will be discussed below. Along with this, union membership
has fallen (Millward et al., 2000; Gospel, 2005). In Germany and Japan, changes have been slower, but in
recent years employers have come to have less recourse to collective bargaining with trade unions and more
to consultation with their workers, either via work councils in Germany or more informal joint committees in
Japan (Thelen, 2001; Inagami and Whittaker, 2005).

The Development of Human Resource Management: Challenges of Diversity
and Flexibility in the ‘Third’ Industrial Revolution

Alongside the developments described above, other trends may be distinguished from the 1970s onwards.
In the post-war years, sectors which grew rapidly included electrical goods, food and drink, and household
and personal consumer products. In the US and the UK, large firms, which had often grown by merger and
acquisition and which had increasingly diversified into new lines of business, developed multidivisional forms
of organisation to manage their diverse activities (Chandler, 1962, 1977, 1990; Whittington and Mayer, 2000).
Increasingly, such firms faced ‘new’ labour forces, enjoying higher standards of living, with less commitment
to trade unions, and more heterogeneous in terms of interests.

Increasingly firms had to develop new policies to deal with growing product market competition and changes
in labour market composition. Here we give the example of the fast-moving consumer goods sector where
firms came to adapt and transform a set of centralised and often paternalistic policies which they had first
developed in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Some of these approaches have since come
to be collectively described as Human Resource Management (Foulkes, 1980; Jacoby, 1997; Gospel, 1992).

In the US, for example, Procter & Gamble (P&G) had organised its labour management centrally, though with
some plants unionised and others remaining non-unionised. Employment systems were rather bureaucratic;
use was made of scientific management, and dealings with the labour force had elements of paternalism.
As the company grew, in part organically and in part through merger and acquisition and diversified into new
areas such as food and drink, paper goods, and personal care products, so it faced new problems and chal-
lenges. These it came to manage with central direction in some key areas (the development of manageri-
al staff and the non-recognition of unions in new plants). Through the 1970s, in most other areas, human
resource management was increasingly left to the level of the constituent divisions or companies, where a

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degree of differentiation and controlled experimentation was allowed. On the basis of this, the company in-
troduced new forms of job flexibility, management-directed team working, and pay for skills and performance,
wherever possible maintaining a non-union environment and often with the use of contingent labour.

A similar flexible and decentralised trajectory can also be seen in Unilever in the UK, though with a time lag
of a decade or more. Unilever had had a tradition of rather centralised, somewhat paternalistic employment
practices which it had developed in the interwar years. In the UK context, it was less able or inclined to es-
cape from a collective bargaining based system than P&G. Nevertheless, through the 1970s and 1980s, it
transformed its practices into a more differentiated and flexible set of arrangements, based on its divisions
and subsidiaries (Jones, 2005a). In France, a comparable example is Danone, that country’s largest food
company. Over the 1970s, BSND an one moved from being a glass producer to a glass bottle, drinks, and
diversified food producer and then later restructured around a range of food products. It developed a rhetoric
and practice of human resources and social partnership with its employees, including unions, but essentially
ran its various parts in a decentralised, flexible manner. This enabled experimentation and facilitated the ac-
quisition and disposal of companies. In many instances, these and similar firms increased their flexibility by
employing a core labour force, supplemented by part-time and temporary workers (Dyer et al., 2004).

Some contrast may be drawn with the German and Japanese equivalents of these companies. Henkel and
Kao both had a rather centralised and paternalistic system of labour management through to the 1970s. More
slowly than their counterparts referred to above, they nevertheless introduced different arrangements – less
reliance on union bargaining, more reliance on joint consultation and direct employee involvement, greater
use of flexible pay and conditions, and more resort to contingent employment for different parts of their com-
panies (Feldenkirchen and Hilger, 2001; Gospel, 1992). However, to date, they have not proceeded as far as
their US, UK, and French counterparts in terms of developing variegated and flexible human resource sys-
tems. In part this reflects the fact that they have grown organically and are less diversified and divisionalised
companies – a broader characteristic of both countries. In part, it also reflects the fact that they have been
subject to rather more legal and union constraints (in Germany) and ideological and customary constraints (in
Japan).

Up to this point we have described the development of decentralised and flexible systems of human resources
management which have spread across the large firm sector. However, we also stress continuities and diver-
sities. We have already noted national differences. In addition, some firms still remain relatively centralised
(automobiles) and bureaucratic (utilities). Also, in the medium and small firm sectors, firms have not had to
confront the issues of diversity of operations in the same way. Here human resource management is usual-
ly less purposely decentralized and less professionalised. In some localities, medium and small firms have
also maintained external economies of scale in terms of skills training and innovative working in industrial
districts such as have been identified, especially in Germany and Italy (Crouch et al., 2001). There is also a
considerable spread, with some firms pursuing ‘high road’ practices of good pay and conditions, high training,
and employee involvement, while others pursue ‘low road’ practices of minimal benefits and cost minimisation
(Foulkes, 1980; Guest and Hoque, 1996; Osterman, 1999).

The most marked change in employment composition in the final quarter of the twentieth century has been the
decline of manufacturing and blue collar jobs and the rise of services and white collar jobs. Service compa-
nies and service work cover a wide spread. They cover the financial sector, information and communications
services, hotels and catering, health and personal care, and retailing. They also cover a spread in terms of
company size, from small start-up firms to some of the largest companies in the world. They also cover a wide
spread of occupational levels from graduate managerial, technical, and professional employees to low-level
mundane work in call centres, fast food restaurants, and retail stores. Recent changes in this sector have
been very much driven by the application of new technologies of information and communications.

In financial services, there are some patterns which have long existed, as in banks and insurance companies
– relative job security, gendered and educationally segmented hierarchies, and salaries and benefits which

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rise with age. In recent years, some of these have been subject to change, especially the notion of lifetime
careers and incremental salary scales. There are also new aspects, within both old and new firms in these
sectors – the reliance on self-investment in training and development, greater mobility and more flexible ca-
reers, more project working, and, especially for higher-level employees, the spread of share- and stock-based
pay. However, in many telephone call centres, connected with the new service economy, work is organised
along different lines – with elements of mass production, tight computer monitoring, and limited pay and bene-
fit systems. In recent years, in these areas, there has been a growth in so-called ‘outsourcing’ and ‘off shoring’
of jobs (Marchington et al., 2005). By the end of the twentieth century the biggest single grouping of large em-
ployers were retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot in the United States, Carrefour and Auchan
in France, Tesco and Kingfisher in the UK, and Metro and Karstadt in Germany. Such firms have developed
further some aspects of systematic and scientific management. They make extensive use of information and
communication technology to match the flow of goods, customer demand, and the deployment of labour. In
turn, extensive use is made of part-time employment, often young, female, and immigrant workers, to facilitate
flexible scheduling. Jobs are narrowly defined, with little scope for training and development, but employees
may be expected to work flexibly across jobs, such as unloading, stacking, and checkout. Wage hierarchies
are short and non-wage benefits limited. In the United States, Wal-Mart and other large retailers make efforts
to promote individual identification with the company and are strongly anti-union (Lichtenstein, 2006). In Eu-
rope, unions have a limited presence and play little part in management calculations.

Human resource management systems such as operate in call centres and supermarkets, have elements of
mass production such as have existed from the early twentieth century onwards. However, there are a num-
ber of important differences with earlier systems. First, computer control facilitates a more exact synchroni-
sation of production and work. Second, there would seem to be more mixed identities on the part of workers
and less solidarity and opposition to management. Third, union membership shows little sign of developing
as it once did in earlier mass-production systems and more sophisticated managements seem more likely to
prevent its growth.

Some commentators have recently referred to a growing diversity within national systems; this may in turn
maintain diversities between national systems (Katz and Darbishire, 2000). A historical perspective suggests
there has always been diversity. Certainly many arrangements described above are to be found side by side
within national systems, such as the provision of discretion for more skilled and higher-level employees versus
mass-production-type systems for many workers as well as elements of bureaucratic forms of management
versus more differentiated and flexible systems. This same diversity may increasingly be found in manufac-
turing where, among other factors, unions are less able to impose uniformity. Hence, in manufacturing, some
firms are pursuing so-called ‘high-performance’ and ‘high-involvement’ policies while many others have not
developed sophisticated human resource strategies and provide little employee voice (Foulkes, 1980; Guest
and Hoque, 1996; Osterman, 1999).

Conclusions

This chapter has concentrated on major stages in the development of human resources management in ad-
vanced capitalist economies, while stressing continuities and diversities across stages. However, we register
a number of gaps. The chapter has concentrated on the history of labour management in the United States,
Western Europe, and Japan. It has left out other countries: smaller countries of the developed world; Rus-
sia and the Soviet Union, China, and other former Communist states; and labour management in developing
countries. In addition, the chapter has focused mainly on large firms at particular stages of history. There has
been some coverage of smaller firms, especially with reference to textiles at the beginning of the period and
startup high-tech companies at the end. On the whole, however, less is known about labour management in
the medium and small firm sector.

The chapter has largely left out the public sector, in central and local government and in organisations such

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as national post offices, utility companies, and public health service organisations. Such public sector organ-
isations are important, not only because of their size, but also because they were often considered to be
‘good’ employers and historically at times acted as trend-setters for the private sector. Studies of such firms
show the extensive use of bureaucratic management methods, the presence of a certain paternalism, and
the strength of trade unions and collective relations with the labour force, especially through the post-Sec-
ond World War period (Frost, 1983; Hannah, 1979; 1982; Berlanstein, 1991). More recently, in these sectors
there are new political and market pressures which are leading to management practices emphasising more
flexibility and decentralisation of operations, not least as parts of the public sector have been privatised and
opened to more outside market competition.

A further caveat might be that the chapter has tended to treat labour as a rather homogeneous entity. For
example, little has been said specifically about the management of female labour. However, there are some
excellent historical studies of women’s employment, in both manufacturing and service industries which might
be used to look at the management of female labour (Glucksmann, 1990; Fourcaut, 1982; Hunter, 2003; Milk-
man, 1987; Cobble, 1991; Omnes, 1997; Wightman, 1999). These pose questions as to whether historically
the management of female labour has been largely the same as that of men or to what extent there are dif-
ferent patterns of gender segregation. The chapter has concentrated mainly on lower- and middle-level, es-
pecially blue-collar-type, workers, on the basis that these have been the main group of employees over most
of the time period under consideration. However, in most national economies, these are now a declining part
of employment. We have touched on white-collar and managerial labour forces in several of the industry sec-
tors, for example in discussing railways in the nineteenth century and financial services in the late twentieth
century. A wide literature exists on white-collar, professional, technical, supervisory, and managerial workers
which might be used for studies of white collar labour management (Lockwood, 1958; Kocha, 1977; 1991;
Melling, 1980; Hyman and Price, 1983; Morikawa and Kobayashi, 1986; Morikawa, 1991; Prendergast, 1999).

The chapter has also dealt with employment within the firm largely within one country, namely the country of
origin. Since the early twentieth century, a growing number of large firms have had multinational activities and
this has accelerated in the post-Second World War period. Further work needs to be done on the historical
development of human resource management in such multinationals, where some of the essential decisions
concern whether firms take practices from their home country, adopt those of the host country, or develop
distinct global patterns of labour management (Perlmutter, 1969; Enderwick, 1985; Knox and McKinlay, 1999,
2002; Ferner and Varul, 2000; Rosenweig and Nohria, 1994: Kristensen and Zeitlin, 2005; Jones 2005b).

Bearing in mind the caveats referred to above and the emphasis throughout on both change and continuities,
a number of conclusions may be drawn from the above survey.

First, broad stages in the development of labour management can be discerned. Thus, from the early nine-
teenth century, there coexisted artisanal and factory models in sectors such as textiles. The railways, heavy
industry, and assembly-type industries brought the development of newer more bureaucratic systems of per-
sonnel management, especially from the late nineteenth century onwards. Subsequently, in the mid-twentieth
century, in the golden age of manufacturing, union-based systems of industrial relations management were
strong, especially in the big firm sector. More recently there has been a growth of more differentiated and flex-
ible systems of human resource management within firms, in both manufacturing and services. However, it
was also stressed that much work in the modern service sector and in retailing still has elements of mass-pro-
duction-type systems. Thus, different stages have coexisted side-by-side and older industries have adapted
to new developments. Overall, the tendency may be towards growing diversity within firms and within coun-
tries.

Second, some movement may be discerned over time from direct systems of management (based on person-
al supervision, simple piecework systems, and traditional paternalism), to technical or mechanical systems
of management (based on scientific management principles with an attempt to build control into production
processes), to bureaucratic forms of working and employment, with internal labour markets and complicated

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administrative hierarchies (Edwards, 1979). However, in recent years, there has been some reconfiguration
of bureaucratic employment systems and of internal labour markets and there have been complex backward
and forward movements between direct control and more autonomy and responsibility on the job. The ex-
amples of modern retailing and work in call centres show how direct systems of supervision and computer
control continue. Thus, motivation and control based on mixes of coercive, remunerative, and normative poli-
cies have always existed. There is no linear movement in the management of human resources.

Third, in terms of industrial relations, there have been significant shifts over time. In the nineteenth and early-
twentieth centuries, most employers were what might be termed ‘unitarist’ and believed that they had a right
unilaterally to dictate aspects of work and employment. The period after the Second World War saw a shift in
a more ‘pluralist’ direction and a greater preparedness to admit employee representation in the form of trade
unions and collective bargaining. Such systems grew and even predominated through the early post-Second
World War years in many industries, especially in manufacturing. However, beginning in the 1970s, there has
been a shift away from such managerial ideologies and their replacement by new forms of joint consulta-
tion, direct voice, and employee involvement of various kinds, such as participation in small groups and team
working. To date, these shifts have been greater in countries such as the United States, France, and the UK,
where union membership in the private sector is weakest, and least in countries such as Germany and the
Scandinavian countries, where union membership remains stronger.

Finally, some of the changes analysed above can be captured by the notion of externalising and internalising
decisions (Coase, 1937). Firms can externalise decisions in the following ways: they can make use of external
subcontracting forms of production; recruit as much as possible from the external labour market and lay off
workers into the market; fix wages and benefits according to market signals; and, where they have to recog-
nise trade unions, deal with them through outside employers’ organisations. By contrast, firms can internalise
decisions in various ways: they can bring production in-house and develop more elaborate internal divisions
of labour; rely less on the external labour market and institute stronger internal labour markets, with more
in-house training and greater job security; fix wages and benefits by internal administrative rules such as
seniority or job rank; and provide employee voice via company-based consultation and bargaining (Gospel,
1992). In practice, different firms in different countries have pursued mixed strategies. However, in a long-term
perspective, the following might be argued. In the nineteenth century much use was made of externalising
strategies, subject to paternal-istic constraints and with exceptions such as the railways where companies
internalised. Over the course of the twentieth century, there was some tendency towards greater internali-
sation of work and employment relations, with Fordist mass production and internal labour markets, but not
necessarily internalisation of industrial relations, since in Europe considerable reliance was placed on out-
side employers’ organisations. The tendency to internalise employment relations was particularly strong in
continental European countries and in Japan. Over the last quarter century, there may be some movement
towards an externalization of work and employment relations, but with a greater internalisation of industrial
relations within the firm. However, strategies depend not only on their relative cost, but also on the capacity
of the firm to pursue them and the micro- and macro-political context within which they are implemented.

HowardGospel

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GlobalJournal of Human Resource Management

Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015

Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

HISTORY, EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT: A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE

Kipkemboi Jacob Rotich1,

Moi University, School of Human Resource Development, Department of Development Studies,

P.o Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.

ABSTRACT: Various attempts have been made towards tracing the historical development of

the discipline of Human Resource Management (HRM). However, these initiatives have largely

been concentrated on certain specific periods of time and experiences of specific countries and

regions such as Australia, the USA, the UK and Asia (Nankervis et.al, 2011; Kelly, 2003; Ogier,

2003). This paper attempts to document the entire history of the discipline of Human Resource

Management from a holistic perspective. The evolution and development of HRM will be traced

right from the pre-historic times through to the postmodern world. Major characteristics in the

evolution and development of HRM will also be examined and documented.

KEYWORDS: Human Resource Management (HRM), evolution, history

INTRODUCTION

Defining Human Resource Management (HRM)

According to Armstrong (2006) Human Resource Management (HRM) is defined as a strategic

and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets – the people

working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its

objectives.

From this definition, we can deduce that HRM or simply HR is a function in organizations

designed to maximize employee performance in service of their employer’s strategic objectives

(Johanson, 2009). HR is primarily concerned with how people are managed within organizations,

focusing on policies and systems (Collings & Wood, 2009). HR departments and units in

organizations are typically responsible for a number of activities, including employee

recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewarding (e.g., managing

pay and benefit systems) (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). HR is also concerned with industrial relations,

that is, the balancing of organizational practices with regulations arising from collective

bargaining and governmental laws (Klerck, 2009)

HRM is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers

began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the

workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work, such as payroll and

benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological

advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and

acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, ethical

considerations, diversity and inclusion. These, among other initiatives contribute to the

understanding of Human Resource Management as a contemporary issue owing to their

sustained evolutionary nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_appraisal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_relations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_relations_movement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payroll

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_benefits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talent_management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_planning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_relations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_relations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_%28value_and_practice%29

Global Journal of Human Resource Management

Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

In this paper, I will discuss the historical development of Human Resource Management (HRM)

as a discipline. I will consider its various evolutionary phases outlining the specific

characteristics of each phase and the contributions of these characteristics in shaping the

development of Human Resource Management as a field of study as well as a profession. Lastly

I will provide a summary of key issues that justify Human Resource Management as a

contemporary subject.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)

Tracing the roots of HRM

During pre-historic times, there existed consistent methods for selection of tribal leaders (Jones

& Bartlett, 2014). The practice of safety and health while hunting was passed on from generation

to generation. From 2000BC to 1500BC, the Chinese used employee screening techniques and

while Greeks used an apprentice system (History of Human Resource Management, 2010).

These actions recognized the need to select and train individuals for jobs.

Early employee specialists were called personnel managers (or personnel administrators), and

this term is still in use in various discourses. ‘Personnel management’ refers to a set of functions

or activities (e.g. recruitment, selection, training, salary administration, industrial relations) often

performed effectively but with little relationship between the various activities or with overall

organizational objectives. Personnel management in the United Kingdom and the United States

developed earlier than in Australia and Asia Pacific countries in response to their earlier and

more widespread adoption of mass production work processes. Power-driven equipment and

improved production systems enabled products to be manufactured more cheaply than before.

This process also created many jobs that were monotonous, unhealthy or even hazardous, and led

to divisions between management and the ‘working class’. The concentration of workers in

factories served to focus public attention upon conditions of employment, and forced workers to

act collectively to achieve better conditions. The Humanitarian, Cooperative and Marxist

theories of the early 1900s highlighted the potential conflicts between employee and employer

interests in modern industry – situations that laid the foundations for the growth of trade

unionism and industrial relations systems which are important elements of contemporary HRM

(Nankervis et.al (2011)

Governments in both the United Kingdom and the United States became involved in these issues

and passed a series of laws to regulate the hours of work for women and children, to establish

minimum wages for male labour and to protect workers from unhealthy or hazardous working

conditions. Australian governments, both state and national, gradually began to follow suit from

the early 1900s, although Australia and New Zealand adopted a different system based on

conciliation and arbitration rather than mandated conditions.

During this period, management theorists in the United States and United Kingdom began to

examine the nature of work and work systems, and to develop models based upon emerging

psychological and sociological research. The ways in which these theories have developed, and

have been applied by both general management and HR professionals, reflect changing attitudes

to jobs, work processes and organizational structures. The Classical school (or ‘Scientific

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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Management’, founded by Frederick Taylor, and best exemplified by Henry Ford in his vehicle

manufacturing plants) puts its emphasis on the job itself and the efficient adaptation of workers

to work processes. The Behavioural school (for example, Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Studies)

focuses on workers themselves, and the satisfaction of their needs, to achieve greater

organizational productivity. Subsequent management theories (e.g. systems theory, contingency

approaches) attempt to build on earlier ideas to benefit both employees and their organizations.

Contingency, Excellence and Total Quality Management (TQM) theorists have applied these

ideas to particular industries and organizations, or to different economic and social situations.

The relevance of these theories to HRM is twofold. First, personnel management has historically

developed into human resource management by incorporating management theories (notably

strategic management); second, a sound knowledge of these theories can assist HR managers to

more effectively adapt their practices to organizational requirements and realities (Nankervis

et.al (2011)

Stages in the Development of HRM

Human resource management in Australia and the Asia Pacific region has progressed along

similar lines to its United States and United Kingdom counterparts, but with differences in the

stages of development, and in the relative influence of social, economic, political and industrial

relations factors. The two main features of the US development of HRM are its initial emphasis

on largely administrative activities, directed by senior management, and then the move to a more

confident, business-oriented and professional approach in the 1980s and 1990s. Similar

processes occurred in the United Kingdom, with more early emphasis on the ‘welfare’ roles of

personnel practitioners because of the excesses of early capitalist industry, a strong humanitarian

movement and developing trade unionism. In Asian countries, there has been a blend of

administrative, paternalistic, cooperative, and business-focused HRM that varies between

countries depending on their cultures, stages of development, extent of government intervention

in the economy and industrial relations systems (Nankervis, Chatterjee & Coffey, 2007)

In Australia, HRM has developed through the following general stages.

a) Stage one (1900–1940s): administration stage
b) Stage two (1940s–mid-1970s): welfare and administration stage
c) Stage three (mid-1970s–late 1990s): human resource management and strategic human
resource management (SHRM) stage

d) Stage four (Beyond 2000): SHRM into the future

These stages largely reflect the development of Human Resource Management in the rest of the

world notably, the UK and the USA. A critical discussion of these stages is presented below:

Stage one (1900–1940s)

Welfare Stage

During this period personnel functions were performed by supervisors, line managers and early

specialists (e.g. recruitment officers, trainers, welfare officers) long before the establishment of a

national association representing a ‘profession’ of personnel or human resource management.

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

The early management theorists contributed ideas that would later be incorporated into personnel

management theory and practice. Through job design, structured reward systems, ‘scientific’

selection techniques espoused by scientific management (see Frederick Taylor, Frank Gilbreth

and Alfred Sloan) personnel management practice were refined especially in the recruitment and

placement of skilled employees. Behavioural science (or industrial psychology) added

psychological testing and motivational systems (see Elton Mayo), while management science

contributed to performance management programs.

In Australia, however, these overseas influences were of only marginal importance until the

1940s. Prior to World War II, personnel management functions were largely fragmented, and

often conducted by line managers as part of their overall management responsibilities. At the

time, Australia had a relatively stable economy, with certain markets for its agricultural and

limited manufacturing products in the United Kingdom and Europe. Society was generally

stable, though disrupted by World War I and the Great Depression (1930s). Unemployment was

low until the 1930s, when labour became readily available for employers. Trade unions were

active, largely focusing on issues of pay and working conditions. Personnel functions during this

period were mainly restricted to administrative areas (e.g. wage/salary records, minor

disciplinary procedures and employee welfare activities). In 1927, A. H. Martin established the

Australian Institute of Industrial Psychology at Sydney University to promote the ideas of

Behavioural scientists and industrial psychologists in Australia.

Stage two (1940s–mid-1970s)

Welfare and administration Stage

This second stage marks the beginning of a specialist and more professional approach to

personnel management in Australia. World War II had significant repercussions for both those

who went overseas and those who stayed behind, and particularly for business, the economy and

the labour market. During World War II, not only was there a scarcity of labour for essential

industries such as munitions and food, but there was also a corresponding increase in the

problems and performance of existing employees. Many more women had become involved in

all areas of Australian industry, to replace their husbands and brothers who were in military

service. Financial, social and family pressures began to hinder the productivity and output of

such employees, and they became increasingly harder to recruit. When the war ended, returning

soldiers flooded the labour market, often with few work skills. Thus, employers – spurred on by

government initiatives and their own post-war requirements for skilled employees in a

developing economy – began to focus on the importance of a wider range of personnel functions.

Increased provision of welfare services for employees was seen by some employers (notably

government departments such as the Postmaster-General) as a means of attracting and

maintaining employees and ensuring their continued productivity. The Commonwealth

Department of Labour and National Service established an Industrial Welfare Division in the

1940s to promote the welfare function, offering emergency training courses to equip

practitioners with the necessary skills. These activities were supported by the new human

relations theories that were filtering into Australia from the United States. In addition, scientific

management, the quantitative school and behavioural science contributed employee and

management assessment and development techniques such as productivity measures,

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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management planning and control mechanisms (e.g. Drucker, McGregor, Chandler),

psychological testing and applications of the emerging employee motivation theories (e.g.

Maslow, Hertzberg, McGregor). Many more organizations began to employ specialists to

conduct recruitment, training and welfare activities, taking these functions away from line

managers.

In 1943, the first personnel officer was appointed to the St Mary’s Explosives Factory in New

South Wales, and in the same year a Personnel and Industrial Welfare Officers’ Association was

established in both Victoria and New South Wales. These state associations combined to form

the national Personnel Officers’ Association in 1949, renamed the Institute of Personnel

Management Australia (IPMA) in 1954 (Nankervis, Chatterjee & Coffey, 2007). Subsequently,

the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) was set up to help employers obtain suitable

employees, and both Sydney Technical College and Melbourne University developed personnel

management courses. Business schools with personnel management strands were established in

most Australian states during the 1950s, encouraged by the development of the national

professional association, IPMA, with members in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia,

Western Australia and Queensland.

This stage is also characterised by the expansion of necessary personnel functions for the post-

war Australian economy (welfare, recruitment, selection, training); a gradual move from

specialist to more general approaches; the adoption of overseas theories, including scientific

management, behavioural science and human relations; and the emergence of professional

associations and courses. The resurgence of unionism during these decades cannot, of course, be

overlooked. Unions in a buoyant economy focused on issues of pay and work conditions, forcing

further expansion of personnel activities to include industrial relations considerations. The

complex industrial relations structure at the national level was originally established by the

Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904, with similar developments at each of the state levels.

They were further developed during the post-war period. While the range of functions performed

by the growing number of personnel specialists expanded greatly during this period, they were

often conducted in isolation from one another and generally without any consideration of their

impact on overall organizational effectiveness. Personnel management activities were largely

separated from those concerned with industrial relations, and a clear professional philosophy did

not exist.

Stage Three (mid-1970s–late 1990s)

HRM and SHRM

During the 1970s, the majority of Australian organizations found themselves in turbulent

business and economic environments, with severe competition from US and European

organizations and emerging Asian markets. The influences of the ‘Excellence’ theories (e.g.

Peters and Waterman) were beginning to affect the management of employees, together with

increasing cost–benefit pressures.

At the same time, the professional association (IPMA) and training institutions (TAFE and the

universities) were becoming more sophisticated in their approaches, incorporating the ideas of

the ‘excellence’, leadership and Total Quality Management (TQM) theories, with more recent

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developments such as Kaplan and Norton’s (2005) ‘Balanced Scorecard.’ During this period, the

IPMA held a number of international conferences, initiated relationships with the Asia Pacific

region, developed minimum criteria for practitioner accreditation (the 1987 rule) and a journal

for academic and practitioner discussion ( Human Resource Management Australia , later re-

titled Asia Pacific HRM , and still later the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources ).

Personnel management was becoming human resource management, representing a change

towards the integration of personnel functions, strategically focused on overall organizational

effectiveness. Significantly, the use of the term ‘human resource management’ was first noted in

Australia in these years, (Kelly, 2003) reflected in the formation of the Australian Human

Resources Institute to replace the IPMA. It was enhanced by industrial relations changes,

including award restructuring and enterprise agreements, increasing employment legislation, and

economic realities such as declining trade with Britain and Europe and increasing opportunities

in the Asia Pacific region. (Ogier, 2003)

In essence, human resource management recasts ‘employees’ as ‘human resources’ who are vital

organizational ‘assets’, possessing knowledge, skills, aptitudes and future potential; and who

therefore require integrated and complementary management strategies (through, for example,

human resource planning, job design, effective attraction and retention techniques, performance

management and rewards programs, occupational health and safety systems) in order to assure

their individual and collective contributions to the achievement of organizational goals and

objectives.

According to Taylor (2011) this transition of personnel management to human resource

management signaled not just new rhetoric, but also significant new thinking on the part of

managers. Donkin (2001) neatly sums up the result as follows:

“…Like an improved soap powder with a biological ingredient, HRM, equipped with something

called strategy, promised a new set of tools and measures to reward, motivate and organize

employees in the re-engineered workplace…”

For a generation, managers had been seriously constrained in terms of how they approached the

people-related aspects of their activities (Taylor, 2011). Now they had an opportunity to take

control and create approaches that were appropriate for their own organizations’ particular

circumstances. HR strategies were developed, new individualized pay arrangements introduced,

formal performance appraisal systems established and competency frameworks defined.

Employers also seized the opportunity to employ people more flexibly, establishing more part-

time and temporary jobs, outsourcing ‘non-core’ activities to external providers and abolishing

long-established lines of demarcation which determined where one group of workers’ duties

ended and another’s began.

At the same time, new methods of relating to workers had to be established to replace union

consultation and negotiation arrangements, so there was the spread of a range of new

involvement and communication initiatives along with a preference for single-table or single-

union bargaining in circumstances where trade unions retained an influence. In short, HRM can

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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largely be explained as a response on the part of organizations to a newfound freedom to manage

their workforces in the way that they wanted to. Fewer compromises had to be made, allowing

decisions to be made and strategies to be established which operated exclusively in the long-term

interests of organizations.

Building upon previous developments, this stage represents the integration of personnel

management and industrial relations and HRM into a coordinated and strategic approach to the

management of an organization’s people, signaling the eventual birth of strategic human

resource management (SHRM) (Nankervis et.al (2011) . SHRM can be perceived as a ‘macro’

perspective (e.g. strategies and policies), whereas HRM represents more of a ‘micro’ approach

(e.g. activities, functions and processes). SHRM adds the extra dimension of the alignment of the

goals and outcomes of all HRM processes with those of their organizations as a whole though

both are intertwined. SHRM also provides practitioners with renewed confidence to perform

their activities as an integral component of organizational success (Cengage, 2010).

The current discipline of Human Resource Management (HRM) casts a radically different image

from its ancestor, Personnel Management (PM). The main differences between HRM and PM are

shown in the table below:

Differences between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management

Factor Personnel Management Human Resource Management

Time and planning

perspective

Short term, reactive, ad hoc ,

marginal

Long term, proactive, strategic,

integrated

Psychological contract Compliance Commitment

Employee relations

perspective

Pluralist, collective, low trust Unitarist, individual, high trust

Preferred

structure/system

Bureaucratic/mechanistic,

centralized, formal/defined

roles

Organic, devolved, flexible roles

Roles

Specialized/professional Largely integrated into line

management

Evaluation

Cost minimization Maximum utilization (human

asset

accounting)

Source: Adapted from ‘Human Resource and Industrial Relations’, Journal of

Management Studies, 24 May, p. 507

Stage Four (Beyond 2000)

The present and future of Human Resource Management (HRM)

While it is difficult to predict the nature of HRM in the future, there are strong indications that its

theory and practice will be continually transformed as a consequence of globalization, new

technology and associated fundamental changes in the nature of work and jobs. These external

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and internal pressures and their possible impacts on organizations, employees and overall

employment conditions is what informs the continuing evolution of HRM as a contemporary

discourse as well as the need for continuous innovation on the part of HRM professionals and

thinkers.

Some observers of HRM theory and practice (Patrickson and Hartmann 2001; Weisner and

Millett 2003; Bartlett and Ghoshal 2003; Zanko 2003; Lansbury, Kitay and Wailes 2003; Losey,

Meisinger and Ulrich , 2006; Boudreau and Ramstad 2009) suggest that the implications of

global economic forces such as the shift to low inflation economies, widespread tariff reductions,

and the growth in multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (e.g. Australia–Singapore, New

Zealand–Singapore, Australia–New Zealand, Australia–US, APEC) demand more attention

towards international HRM models.

In addition, the globalization of business means that HR professionals will need to be more

proactive in relation to such issues as business ethics, corporate governance and the management

of employees’ work–life balance. Communication and information technology changes such as

the digital revolution, satellite links, cellular telephone networks and high speed fibre optic

cables (Hunt, 2003) will require the adoption of strategic international or global HRM models

implemented through radical new approaches to HRM strategies, structures, organizational

cultures, HRM practices and employment relationships as a whole. As Erwee (2003) explains:

. . . in the competitive process of globalization and complexity, it is becoming critical to manage

sustainable multinational organizations more effectively by using Strategic Human Resource

Management (SHRM), and to link this with strategic needs in the larger organizational context. .

. . However, (they) must also work within the confines of (their) local environment as well as a

range of laws, politics, culture, economies and practices between societies.

Human resource thinkers such as Ulrich, Huselid, Lepak & Snell, and Collins imply that the

‘new’ HRM will either specialize in HRM ‘value management’, ‘strategic partnering’ and

establishing the HR ‘architecture’ for organizational success, or will combine such ‘macro

connections’ with the devolvement or outsourcing of traditional HR processes respectively to

line managers and external HR consultants (Kramar, 2003).

Ulrich (2006) has suggested that the survival of HRM demands that HR professionals are

perceived to add value to four key stakeholders in organizations, namely:

a) employees who want competence and commitment
b) line managers who want to make strategy happen
c) key customers who want to buy more products/services; and
d) investors who want the stock price to go up.

This will involve the formulation of HR strategies for the business, the workforce and the HR

function itself. The theme of ‘partnership’ between senior managers and HRM specialists is

echoed by HR professionals and by their general managers. Chris Georgiou, HR Director, AGC

and Westpac Financial Services, suggests that ‘to be effective, you need to partner with the

business very closely and that means not necessarily just understanding the business but really

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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participating at the business level’ (Rance, 2000). John Cooper, a partner at Freehills

consultancy, goes further, emphasizing that ‘HR needs to make sure it is a critical part of the

decision making processes that go with the new technology and the strategies to globalize’

(Willcoxson, 2003). Boudreau (2009) reinforces this notion, asserting that ‘HR must extend its

focus from the services it provides to the decisions that it supports’, as ‘like finance and

marketing, the HR function helps the firm operate within a critical market . . . the market for

talent’.

In similar vein, Dowling and Roots (2009) suggest that strategic HRM should now become

concerned with ‘finding the pivotal areas where optimization and increased performance may be

attained . . . the new science of human capital’. Associated imperatives include requirements for

HR professionals to demonstrate a deep understanding of their organization’s business

environment, the industry challenges and opportunities, and the ways in which HR programs

deliver human capability for the business to compete, the nurturing of more creative

organizational cultures and the development of appropriate HR metrics, and the formulation of

organizational ethical codes. These imperatives for transparency and accountability have only

been strengthened following the 2009 global financial crisis (Holdsworth & Lundgaard, 2009;

Wilson, 2009; Wilson, 2009).

Milestones in the History, Evolution and Development of Human Resource Management

Arising from the synthesis of literature available on this topic (Taylor, 2011; Nankervis et.al,

2011; History of Human Resource Management, 2010; Kelly, 2003; Ogier, 2003,), the history,

evolution and development of HRM can be summarized as presented in the table below:

Period Time HR Factors/Issues/Characteristics

Pre World War II

2000BC – 1000BC

1700 – 1900

Mechanisms for selecting tribal leaders;

recording and dissemination of knowledge

about safety; health, hunting and gathering of

food; use of employee screening techniques by

the Chinese; use of the apprentice system by the

Greek.

Emergence of Scientific Management Theory as

management philosophy of the time; start of

industrial revolution that led to replacement of

cottage industries by large factories; rise of

large workforce occasioned by immigrant

workers; introduction of personnel function

mainly for keeping workers records; rise of

middle level supervisors; maximum exploitation

of workers; increase in child labour; widened

gap between workers and supervisors; poor

working conditions; rise of labour unions to

agitate for workers rights; expansion of

personnel function to include welfare and

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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1920 – 1930

administration mainly in UK and USA.

Rise of motivation practices occasioned by the

Hawthone studies, various attempts at employee

satisfaction begin to be implemented such as

better wages and good working conditions.

Post World War II 1945 – 1960 The Human Relations Movement shaped the

management ethos of the time; emphasis on

employee productivity through various

motivation techniques; emphasis on welfare

issues; emergence of job description which

improved recruitment and selection; emergence

of compensation and evaluation strategies;

official recognition of trade unions in various

countries mainly in UK and USA; emergence of

collective bargaining for increased employee

welfare; enactment of a significant number of

employment laws; emergence of computer

technology and use in record keeping;

emergence of job analysis; expansion of the

personnel function to include recruitment,

labour relations, training, benefits and

government relations divisions; first HRM

software Comprehensive Occupational Data

Analysis Program (CODAP) developed in the

USA mainly for job descriptions and assigning

roles; advancement of computer technology to

include payroll, inventory and accounts.

Social Issues Era 1963 – 1980 The Civil Rights Movement shaped the

management thinking of the time; the civil

rights act (1964) brought in affirmative action,

abolished all forms of discrimination and

ushered in equal employment opportunity;

transition from personnel management to

human resources management; increased

computerization of the HR function for

accuracy, speed, storage and reporting of HR

data; development of Human Resource

Information System (HRIS); increased trade

unionism led to better working conditions and

terms of employment; adoption of various laws

on occupational health and safety, retirement

benefits and tax regulation; emergence of

employee participation in management decision

making, increased employee training and

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
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empowerment;

Cost–Effectiveness Era 1980-early 1990s Increased automation of the workplace to boost

production; shift from employee administration

to employee development and involvement;

emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness

through adoption of technology; emergence of

hard and soft HR approaches; emergence of

employee return on investment debate; is an

employee an unnecessary cost to be

minimized/eliminated or a vital resource to be

developed?

Technological

Advancement Era

1990 – present This era is shaped by increasing forces of

globalization, rapid change occasioned by

tremendous technological breakthroughs and

pressure for increased efficiency; cut throat

competition characterize all industries;

emergence of Strategic HRM; emergence of

business process reengineering strategies;

recognition of intellectual capital; increased

strategies for recognition, rewards, motivation,

greater awareness of the HR role as a strategic

business partner; emergence of improved

strategies for attracting, retaining, development

and engagement of talent; emergence of

workforce evaluation methods such as balanced

scorecard, performance appraisal techniques ;

emphasis on contribution of HRM to

competitive advantage; Human resource

planning techniques; diversity management;

talent management; emergence of e-HR; e-

training, e-recruitment, telecommuting, flexible

work arrangements, virtual teams; work life

balance; social media currently informs

transformation of HRM; improved networking;

influence of mass media; ethics; green

economy; new world order.

Human Resource Management as a Contemporary Issue

In essence, HRM differs from earlier personnel management models in relation to its focus, its

principles and its applications. HRM can be simply described as the convergence of three factors

– human beings, resources and management – where human beings have the actual and potential

resources (knowledge, skills and capabilities) that can be harnessed through effective

management techniques to achieve short- and long-term organizational goals as well as personal

needs. Thus, the focus of HRM today is on the effective overall management of an

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015
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organization’s workforce in order to contribute to the achievement of desired objectives and

goals. All HR processes (e.g. recruitment, human resource development, performance appraisal,

remuneration) are seen to be integrated components of overall HRM strategies hence the

strategic nature of contemporary HRM. According to Beer et.al (1985), the Harvard model

suggests that Strategic HRM strategies, policies and processes fall into four broad areas:

a) Employee influence and involvement. This is the extent to which employees are
encouraged to share their ideas and participate in organizational consultation and decision-

making procedures;

b) Human resource flow. All HRM functions are involved in employee management (e.g.
HR planning, job design, recruitment and selection, performance review, termination etc)

c) Rewards systems. The monetary and non-monetary ways by which staff are recognized;
d) Work systems. Includes consideration of the ‘fit’ between employees and their
workplaces (e.g. technology, workplace design, teams etc)

The model further suggests that a strategic approach to HRM strategy, policy and processes

fundamentally reflects management choice about how employees are managed – a choice about

the nature of the employment relationship, including the ‘psychological contract’ between

employees and their employers. As this model indicates, the principles on which HRM theories

are based are generally broader and more managerial in their emphasis than personnel

management. The central principle is, of course, the effective utilization of employees in order to

enable the achievement of organizational objectives. Thus, the entire ‘resource’ of the employee

should be tapped (i.e. physical, creative, emotional, productive and interpersonal components) in

order to achieve this goal. In contemporary organizations, the emphasis may be more on the

‘intellectual capital’, ‘knowledge worker’, or on ‘emotional intelligence’ than on manual or

physical skills. These issues are integral to the management of the contemporary ‘knowledge

worker’ and will keep shaping the theory and practice of Human Resource Management, moving

forward.

Contemporary HRM theories also recognize that the human resource, unlike financial or

technological ‘resources’, cannot be manipulated or ‘exploited’, and that it requires complex and

sensitive management in order to fully realize its potential. Variations of HRM theory emphasize

different aspects of management of the employment relationship, reflective of diverse national or

industry environments (Nankervis et.al (2011).

All HRM theories are, however, essentially managerialist in their emphasis on the management

of the workforce and accountability to ensure the achievement of desired objectives and goals.

Thus, HRM practitioners are seldom perceived as employee ‘advocates’ except when such

activities are necessary to assist the achievement of the organization’s goals. As Ken Gilbert,

Head of Mercer Consulting’s human capital business explains, “Aside from the need to survive,

one of the biggest challenges organizations face . . . is managing competing workforce pressures

– the need to contain employment costs versus the ability to maintain levels of engagement and

productivity for when the market upswings. . . . Doing both simultaneously is the new challenge

(Gettler, 2009)

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

The imperatives of contemporary HRM theory include such principles as efficiency,

effectiveness, productivity, labour flexibility and competitive organizational advantage. Baird

and McGrath-Champ (1999) suggest that HRM concepts represent the strengthening of

managerial prerogatives. Patrickson and Hartmann (2001) summarize its dominant strategic

emphasis as ‘productivity enhancement, cost minimization and work intensification. Some other

HRM observers note that recent trends in the nature of employment (such as casualisation, more

flexible conditions and changes to industrial relations systems), and the various impacts of

technology and globalization, together with innovative HR practices such as rightsizing,

outsourcing and ‘offshoring’, present serious challenges and opportunities to the future of HRM.

As Gandossy et al (2006) observe, the workforce is in the midst of an unstoppable and dramatic

transformation. In the coming years, organizations will confront challenges related to

demographic trends, global mobility, diversity, work/life issues, technology changes and a

virtual workforce. Competition will be global; capital will be abundant; leaders will be

developed swiftly; and talented people will be keen to change jobs frequently. These changes

will influence how work is performed, where it is performed and what skills are required. While

other resources will be abundant, the most important resource of all – talent – will become

increasingly scarce. Organizations must ask themselves: Are we prepared for this global

workforce revolution? Do we have the right strategies in place?

CONCLUSION

Beginning with a very humble start as ‘people management’ in the 1700s, (earlier developments

acknowledged) Human Resource Management has evolved to become an indispensable

academic field as well as an important function in the management of organizations. The

functional areas that constitute the current outlook of the Human Resource Management field

include:

a) human resource policy
b) human resource planning
c) human resource information management systems
d) knowledge management
e) ethics, governance and (sometimes) corporate social responsibility
f) work and job analysis, design and evaluation
g) recruitment and selection
h) diversity management
i) career management
j) employee and management training and development
k) counseling, discipline and termination/separation
l) performance and quality management
m) remuneration and benefits
n) industrial relations management
o) financial management of employee schemes and overall accountability and evaluation
p) occupational health and safety.

Global Journal of Human Resource Management
Vol.3, No.3, pp.58-73, May 2015
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

Indeed, Human Resource Management (HRM) is a complex and rapidly changing field of

practice in industry and academia. Despite its comparatively recent developments, and drawing

upon both overseas and local influences, HRM is a crucial factor in the success of all

organizations. Beginning in the 1700s as a series of functions, often neither integrated nor based

upon solid conceptual foundations, the modern Strategic HRM is a dynamic specialization in the

process of refining its philosophies, practices and overall contributions to organizational

effectiveness in response to external influences, including economic, demographic, legislative

and social changes, as well as its own history,

HRM is adopting a strategic approach to the management of human resources for corporate

benefit. As with other professions, HRM confronts a number of difficult issues and dilemmas

concerning ethics, roles, practices and the nature of its professional associations. Further

development of Strategic HRM will eventually resolve these issues in creative and effective

ways. This ever evolving nature of Strategic HRM is what informs its study as a contemporary

issue.

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Collings & G. Wood (Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach (pp. 1-16).

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August.

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HR: The new science of human capital, US, HBS Press’, in Research and Practice in Human

Resource Management , July, p. 268.

Erwee, R. (2003) ‘Integrating diversity management initiatives with strategic human resource

management,’ in Wiesner, R. and Millett, B. (2003) op. cit., p. 59.

Gandossy, R., Tucker, E. and Verma, N. (eds) (2006) Workforce wake-up call: your workforce is

changing, are you? Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

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(Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach (pp. 19-37). London:

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comparison with the USA and UK, 1980–1995. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources,

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Wood (Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach (pp. 238-259). London:

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Kramar, R. 2003. ‘Changes in HR policies and practices: Management’s dream come true?’, in

Wiesner and Millett, op. cit., pp. 10–13.

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Learning, Melbourne, Australia.

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Management in the Asia Pacific, Sydney, Pearson Education Australia.

Ogier, J. (2003) Advancing the profession. HR Monthly , February, pp. 30–2.

Paauwe, J., & Boon, C. (2009). Strategic HRM: A critical review. In D. G. Collings & G. Wood

(Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach (pp. 38-54). London: Routledge.

Patrickson, M. and Hartmann, L. (2001) HRM in Australia – Prospects for the twenty-first

century. International Journal of Manpower, 22(3), pp. 198–204.

Patrickson, M. and Hartmann, L. (2001) HRM in Australia – Prospects for the Twenty-First

Century. International Journal of Manpower , 22(3) , pp. 198–204.

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Taylor, S. (2011) Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management, CIPD, UK

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yesterday’s managers. HR Monthly, April, pp.12–18;

Willcoxson, L. (2003) ‘Creating the HRM context for knowledge management’, in Wiesner and

Millett, op. cit., p. 72.

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Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)

Human Resource Management

EVOLUATION HISTORY OF HRM

Human Resource Management can be described as the comprehensive set of managerial

activities and tasks concerned with developing and maintaining a qualified workforce- human

resource – in ways that contribute to organizational effectiveness.

This chapter explores changes in Human Resource Management thoughts from the evolution era

to present age.

Historical Review of HRM
When we study HRM history we may identify man stages that show many development and

shifts in thinking that have conspired to bring about the evolution of HRM.

Pre and post Industrial Age

The earliest forms Human Resource Management were the working arrangements struck

between craftsman and their apprentices during the pre-industrial cotton-base guild system. The

apprentice lived in the workplace or home of his master and the master took care of his health

and welfare.

After the industrial revolution in 18th century the small cotton-based guild manufacturing

converted into large factories and more people employed to produce through machines. The

unhygienic and arduous work in factories led to many labor riots and the government stepped in

to provide basic rights and protections for workers. The need comply with such statutory

regulations forced factory owners to set up a formal mechanism to redress issues concerning

labor.

Adam Smith and Robert Owen

In 1776 Adam Smith in his book “The Wealth of Nations” introduced the concept of Division of

Labor. He proposed that work could be made more efficient through division of labor and

suggested that work should be broken down into simple tasks. This division led the three

advantages. This was a development towards, the development of skills, time-saving – the

possibility of using specialized tools. Smith suggestion led many changes in manufacturing

processes. Ford applied it in his factory to increase productivity.

Robert Owen the pioneer of HRM was a zealous supporter of the factory legislation resulting in

the factory Act 1819. He emphasized o performance appraisal and pay for performance (fair

treatment for employees).

Lecture : 02 Evolution History of HRM / For Class Room use only

Human Resource Management

Personnel Management (early 20th Century)
By the early 1900s, increased competition and pressing demands to fulfill orders made factory

owner take serious note of productivity and issues such as employee absenteeism and high turn

over came into focus.

Frederic Winslow Taylor

The dominant philosophy during this time was that employees would accept rigid standards and

work faster if provided training and more wages. This approach led to Frederic Winslow
Taylor’s scientific management theory that involved time studies in an attempt to establish the
most productive way to undertake a process. This was a step towards job analysis, selection,

training and rewards.

Personnel management gained a more professional role in the aftermath of World War 01 and

the Great Depression of early 1930’s. The demands of wartime production had led to enactment

of several provisions to ensure that issues related to wages or working conditions did not hinder

production. Among the social security measures initiated in the aftermath of the Great

Depression was the Norris-La Guardia Act that made “yellow dog” contacts unenforceable and

the National Labor Relation Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act (1935) that gave employees the right to

form unions and bargain collectively and listed unfair labor practices.

The Human Relations Movement

The movement presents an alternative and opposite approach to scientific management as it

focuses on the individual and not the task. During this moment different theories came into being

regarding motivating employees.

The Hawthorne Studies

Elton Mayo, the father of human relation, had conducted his famous Hawthorne Studies (1924-

1932) and concluded that human factors or non-monetary rewards were more important than

physical factors or monetary rewards in motivating employees. Trade unions now began to

challenge the fairness of Tailors scientific management theories, forcing employers to take a

more behavioral-oriented approach.

Lecture : 02 Evolution History of HRM / For Class Room use only

Human Resource Management

Other behavioral approach

1. Abraham Maslow. The Hierarchy of Needs (1943)
Abraham Maslow was a Psychologist who proposed that within every person is hierarchy of five

needs (psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualization

needs). Maslow argued that each level in the needs hierarchy must be substantially satisfied

before the next is activated.

2. Douglas McGregor. Theory X and Theory Y (1960)
Douglas McGregor is best known for proposing two set of assumption about human nature:

Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X is a negative view of people that workers have little ambitions,

dislike works, want to avoid responsibility and need to be closely controlled to work efficiently.

Theory Y is positive that assumes workers can exercise self-direction, accept and actually seek

out responsibility and consider work to be a natural activity. McGregor believed that theory Y

assumptions best captured true nature of workers and should guide management practice.

3. Frederick Herzberg. The Hygiene-motivation Theory (1959)
Frederick Herzberg’s two factor theory suggest intrinsic factors are associated with job

satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with job satisfaction.

Human Resource Movement
After the Korean War, a new class of college-educated managers emerged with a greater sense

of social responsibility than their predecessors. Throughout the second half of the 20th century,

social well-being coupled with upheaval-best exemplified by the struggle for desegregation-

changed the thinking of employees in the United States.

Take care of your human resources like other resources.

As the 1960s and 1970s unfolded, a more personable group of managers emerged and their

interests in people and feeling influenced all facets of business, including the growth of market

research, communications and public relations. This group of mangers emphasized the

relationship between employers and employees rather than scientific management. Programs to

increase wages and fringe benefits continued to be developed. New studies linked greater

productivity to management philosophies that encouraged worker ideas and initiatives.

Change in labor legislations such as the Equal Pay Act (1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964),

Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Lecture : 02 Evolution History of HRM / For Class Room use only

Human Resource Management

(1974) manifested. The need to comply with such legislation increased the importance of the

human resource function.

In 1981 Harvard Business School first introduced HRM course and then spread Europe and

other part of the world.

Strategic Human Resource Management (21st Century)

The new business environment in the post cold- War age, combined with the technological

revolution which changed the business ways and workforce management was not immune to the

change. The increase in service industries, the infusion of more and more women into the

workforce and other changes all made obsolete the traditional paradigms of people management.

Employees become the major source of competitive advantage for firms. The human resource

department tries to retain such knowledgeable worker by facilitating conducive work environment,

enriching the work, communication objective clearly, encouraging innovation and many other

behavioral interventions.

In modern business the human resource management is complex and such has resulted in the

formation of human resource department/ division in companies to handle this function. The

human resource function has become wholly integrated part of the total corporate strategy.

The function is diverse and covers many facts including Manpower planning, recruitment and

selection, employee motivation, performance monitoring and appraisal, industrial relations

provision management of employee benefits and employee education, training and development.

By doing complete analysis of the history of we can conclude that HRM has progressed through

the stages of history when people were abused in slave like working conditions to the modern

environment where people are viewed as assets to business and are treated accordingly. During

these stages there occurred many shifts like personnel management to HRM and HRM to SHRM.

The human resource function will have to adapt with the times as staff become more dynamic

and less limited in their roles and bound by a job description. In future being HRM a social

science there will be other shifts in this area.

Lecture : 02 Evolution History of HRM / For Class Room use only

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