The History of Human Resources Management Research Paper

The History of Human Resources Management - Research Paper Example Industrial relations and organizational behavior are much the same paving the way for HRM as the ideal management model responsive to the pressures of intensive competitive forces. By definition, HRM simply refers to a system of operational management designed to ensure effective and efficient use of human talents in accomplishing organizational objectives (Mathis & Jackson, 2007). The function of HRM in the business enterprise has a long history, with roots right in the rise of modern industry in the nineteenth century. This article endeavors to put into perspective the history and development of the subject matter at hand, providing in part its progressive nature into the modern status. The Genesis and Early Development of HRM A generic thought that involves the management of labor services in production, human resource management (HRM) has its origin in the establishment of formal enterprises during the course of human history. Though recent in its use within the academic circles and/or in industrial developments [barely two decades old], the ideas engendered in "human resource management" are old and goes back to the dawn of human history. It [human resource management] has, thus, only undergone social and economic makeovers from earlier forms of administration through history, necessitating name changes a couple of times to accommodate the various productivity optimization add-ons. HRM as practiced today has two distinct antecedents: the emergence of industrial welfare in the 1800s and the creation of separate recruitment and selection offices/departments in the 1900s. The 1800s, particularly in the 1830s onwards, quite a number of companies begun the provision of various workplace and family amenities that included medical cover, housing, libraries , recreational programs, among other free services deemed important for effective and efficient production (Gospel, 1992). The inclusion of these extra services, reportedly pioneered by the German industries, f requently called for the creation of temporary departments hitherto known as welfare departments out of humanitarian concerns. From temporary positions created out of necessity to handle immediate tasks regarding employees’ wellbeing, separate employment offices, often staffed by one or a limited number of lower-level clerks, emerged to centralize and standardize functions such as recruitments and the general record-keeping of employee-related issues. The enactment of civil service legislations across Europe solidified the importance of employment departments, contributing to phasing out of the temporary nature of these departments into permanent offices. Farnham (1921) report of a German steel company Krupp having had an established Personnelburo as an independent office handling staff related functions since the late 1800s. As similar bureaus became widespread, the term ‘employment management’ quickly became the accepted description of the new management functi on with wide cross border managerial support. Routing employment management to HRM as ordered today was the emergence of the doctrine of scientific management (SM) authored

The Role of Leadership in Building Successful Organizations Assignment

The Role of Leadership in Building Successful Organizations - Assignment Example With this ambitious agenda for expansion, Aramex has been facing challenges concerning employee loyalty and engagement with an increasingly diverse and international workforce. This paper will seek to analyze Aramex’s specific strengths and weaknesses in leadership, in light of their current expansion strategy, as well as areas that need improvement, through interviews with Hussein Hachem and Laith Tahboub. The paper will also outline specific actions to address these issues as identified. Interviews with Executives Hussein Hachem After working for 20 years, Mr. Hussein Hachem serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Aramex in the Middle East and Africa (MEN) region. With his extensive knowledge about the logistics and transportation industry, Mr. Hachem is a representative on several decision boards of the industry. Laith Tahboub Mr. Laith Tahboub has worked at Aramex for nine years as an operations supervisor and a Business Improvement and Efficiency manager, prior to his cu rrent position as Operations Manager. With experience in team management and process management, Mr. Tahboub has been managing and leading teams in successful service standards and procedure developments for business success and excellence. Leadership Challenges and Strengths at Aramex At Aramex, the current style of leadership is a hybrid between task-oriented and distributed leadership. In task-oriented leadership, the leader focuses on tasks that require to be performed to meet a specific goal, in which the leading and following acts interlock across three levels; organizational, relational, and task (Derue, 2011: p38). A task-oriented leader is more concerned with producing solutions at every step for a goal or specific problem, ensuring the team meets deadlines and achieves outcomes. This is important for Aramex as a logistic company since the services have to be offered on time to maintain their competitive advantage and success. However, task-oriented leadership neglects the welfare and engagement of the team-members, harming their productivity. Distributed leadership works hand-in-hand with task-oriented leadership at Aramex. This form of leadership removes hierarchy from the leadership structure with requisite functions distributed among various teams by dividing labor across time and space (Derue, 2011: p135). One actor serves as the basic originator of action and other team-members respond with subsequent following acts. These acts of leading and following move from group to group over time and space. According to Mr. Hachem, engaging new employees in new geographical operations has proved challenging for the organization, especially since they have to communicate outside of their comfort zone (Personal communication, 2013). The biggest challenge is enabling them to understand the culture and values that drive Aramex. Expanding into new markets has seen Aramex leave operations to local talent, which has necessitated the organization to bring them up to speed with regards to their cultures and values. With these challenges, Mr. Hachem contended that the senior leadership team has decided to assess employee engagement with the results being used to align their goals with what was important for the organization (Personal communi