System Approach to HRM| Human Resource Management System| HRM System
A system is a group of interrelated parts acting together to accomplish organizational goals. HRM is a sub-system of an organizational system. HRM is viewed as a group of interrelated parts with a unified purpose. Like other systems, the HRM system is composed of three basic elements viz., input, process and output. It also has a feedback mechanism. HRM system operates and interacts with both internal and external environments.
1. Inputs of HRM System
a. Objectives and strategies of the organization: Every organization is goal oriented. They are established to attain goals. Strategies are developed to achieve the stated goals. Strategies provide a means for achieving some goals or producing some desired results. It also includes HR objectives and strategies.
b. Plans, policies and procedures: Other inputs for the HR system are plans, policies and procedures of the organization. Based on those inputs HR department sets its HR plans, policies and procedures.
c. Organization structure: It is a framework of the authority-responsibility relationships. It indicates the way in which the organization’s activities are divided, organized and coordinated. Based on it, the number and types of employees required are determined.
d. Communication and decision-making: Good communication is highly essential for HR effectiveness. HR functions viz., acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance all demand communication. Decision-making, on the other hand, is the process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of action. They also affect the HRM system.
e. Environmental and social obligations: In the last couple of decades, public attention has been focused on the issues of the environment and the social responsibility of business. They work on input factors for designing and implementing an HRM system. An organization gets its inputs from societies and its outputs are also consumed by societies.
2. Processes of HRM System
Those inputs received by the HRM system (discussed above) are processed together to bring the desired outputs. Inputs received by an HRM system are processed by (acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance) of four components of HRM.
a. Acquisition: This component of processing (HRM) is composed of human resource planning, recruiting (both internal and external) and employee socialization. HR planning is a process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number of people, at the right post, at the right time which is cost-effective. Recruitment is a process to discover the possible sources of manpower to meet the requirements of a staffing plan. It also ensures application of effective measures for attracting required applicants in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection. Employee socialization is a process of adaptation that takes place as individual attempts to learn the values and norms of work roles.
b. Development: This component of processing (HRM) is composed of employee training, management development, and career development. Employee training is a process of learning – a sequence of programmed behaviour/activity. It is a learning experience. It seeks a relatively permanent change in an individual that will improve his/her ability to perform on the job. Management development is a systematic process of learning and growth by which managerial levels employees gain and apply knowledge, skills and attitudes to manage work organization effectively. Career development provides a supply of talents and abilities demanded by the organization. The employees also gain from career development activities (i.e., higher and more challenging jobs and rewards).
c. Motivation: This component of processing (HRM) is composed of job design, performance evaluation, rewards, job evaluation, compensation/benefits, and discipline. Job design motivates employees in several ways. Performance evaluation tries to establish relationship/equity between employee effort (input) and rewards (output) employees get from doing the job. Job evaluation is the process of determining the relative worth/value of various jobs within the organization. Compensation refers to all the forms of pay/rewards going to employees arising from an individual’s employment in an organization. It can directly influence major elements like job satisfaction, acquisition, performance and labour relations. Discipline tries to prepare a work condition in the organization where employees conduct themselves in accordance with the firm’s rules and standards of acceptable behaviour.
d. Maintenance: This component of processing (HRM) is composed of employee safety and health, and employee/labour relations. Employee safety refers to the protection of employees/workers from the danger of accidents. Occupational health tries to prepare the workplace which is free from unnecessary risks. It insures that the conditions surrounding the workplace are safe for employees’ physical and mental health. Employee/labour relation incorporates many factors. They are freedom of establishing employees association, collective bargaining, grievance/dispute handling and cooperation between
employers and employees.
3. Outputs of HRM System
They are also called dependent variables of the HRM system. They are the end results/outcomes of the HRM system that an organization wants to achieve.
In fact, the major outputs of HRM system are productivity, quality of work life and readiness for change. The desired outputs of the HRM system are:
- Higher levels of productivity,
- Higher levels of quality of work life,
- Employees who are always ready to accept and boost organizational change (rather than resisting change),
- Reasonable/optimum level of profit generation, goal achievement,
- Attainment of goals by using lower inputs, and
- Relatively higher level of employee job satisfaction.
4. Environments of HRM System
HRM system is also influenced by both internal and external environment in which it operates.
- Internal environment: These forces are internal to the organization and influence HR activities. They are within the control of an organization. Important internal elements are a strategy of the organization, organizational structure, and culture, labour unions, organizational activities, etc. They offer strengths and weaknesses to the HRM system.
- External environment: It is outside the organization. So, it is not within the control of a single organization. It offers opportunities and threats to the HRM system. Some of the important components of the external environment of HRM are: physical environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, political/legal environment, technological environment, labour market/ environment, trade union environment, global business environment, etc.
5. Feedback of the HRM System
It is the key to system’s control. The feedback system measures outputs of HR process and feed into the system. It helps to correct deviations and to achieve the desired HR results.
Conclusion: Based on the above discussion it can be said that if HRM system is designed and implemented properly by managers in organization it brings higher levels of productivity, QWL, readiness for change, profits, goal achievement, and job satisfaction among the employees.
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