Human Resources
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Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources). This function title is often abbreviated to the initials “HR”.
Human resources is a relatively modern management term, coined as late as the 1960s. [1] The origins of the function arose in organizations that introduced welfare management practices and also in those that adopted the principles of scientific management. From these terms emerged a largely administrative management activity, coordinating a range of worker related processes and becoming known, in time, as the personnel function. Human resources progressively became the more usual name for this function, in the first instance in the United States as well as multinational or international corporations, reflecting the adoption of a more quantitative as well as strategic approach to workforce management, demanded by corporate management to gain a competitive advantage, utilizing limited skilled and highly skilled workers.
In simple terms, an organizations human resource management strategy should maximize return on investment in the organizations human capital and minimize financial risk.
Human resource managers seek to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilled and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with the organizations ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return on investment and secure future survival and success.
In ensuring such objectives are achieved, the human resource function is to implement an organizations human resource requirements effectively, taking into account federal, state and local labor laws and regulations; ethical business practices; and net cost, in a manner that maximizes, as far as possible, employee motivation, commitment and productivity.
[edit]Key functions
Human Resources may set strategies and develop policies, standards, systems, and processes that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas. The following are typical of a wide range of organizations:
Maintaining awareness of and compliance with local, state and federal labor laws
Recruitment, selection, and on boarding (resourcing)
Employee record-keeping and confidentiality
Organizational design and development
Business transformation and change management
Performance,