This assignment traces the history of Human Resource Management from the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century to present times.

“…every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it.” (Smith, 1776)

Adam Smith, considered by many to be the father of Capitalism, also discussed the Invisible Hand or Laissez Faire approach (this term is not used in the book but argues the case). “According to the hidden hand approach, the only responsibility of business is to maximise profits according to the market principle and within the constraints of the law. If government interference in business is restricted to a minimum, society will benefit automatically from the activities of the business sector.” (Rossouw, 1994, pg18).

According to Rossouw (1994) the hidden hand approach lost value when societies did not benefit automatically from business activity. It was clear that business could not be relied upon to act in the best interests of is staff, consumers and the society within which it was operating.  

In 1832, Charles Babbage examined and expanded upon the division of labour in his work, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufacturers. In this book Babbage offered, as an advantage to the division of labour, that the amount of skill needed to undertake a specialised task was only the skill the necessary to complete the task. Babbage analysed and documented the manufacture of a pin and broke the process down into seven elements to illustrate his point. This study became important to employers in that they only had to pay for the amount of skill required to complete a task (, 2004).

Trade Unions.

During the late 1700’s and early 1800’s governments began to feel pressure from the working class masses who started to question and defy the power of the aristocracy. The working class began to form workplace combinations and trade organisations to provide a collective voice for their rights. Governments tried to fight this using legislation such as the Combination Acts of 1799/1800 in the UK, which banned everything from meetings to combinations.

“There were also attempts to form general unions of all workers irrespective of trade. William Benbow (a Lancashire shoemaker), Robert Owen and many others looked upon trade unionism not just as a means for protecting and improving workers' living standards, but also as a vehicle for changing the entire political and economic order of society. Owen experimented with co-operative ventures and 'labour exchanges'; both attempts to bypass the existing order of wage slavery.” (Trade Unions Congress, 2004)

Trade Unions were and are still an influential force, working for continued economic and social development of workers and societies in many countries around the world.

Frederick Winslow Taylor.

F.W. Taylor is considered to be the father of Scientific Management. In 1911, his seminal work, The Principles of Scientific Management was published. This book contains four overriding principles of scientific management:

- Each part of an individuals work is analysed ‘scientifically’.

- The most suitable person to undertake the job is ‘scientifically chosen’ and is taught the exact way to do the job.

- Managers must co-operate with workers to ensure the job is done in a scientific way.

- There is a clear division of work and responsibility between management and workers. (Bloomsbury, 2002)

“Taylor’s impact has been so great because he developed a concept of work design, work measurement, production control and other functions, that completely changed the nature of industry. Before scientific management, such departments as work study, personnel, maintenance and quality control did not exist.” (, 2004)

The Hawthorne Studies

The Hawthorne Studies were a groundbreaking set of experiments conducted at the Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Chicago by Elton Mayo. The studies were conducted from 1927 to 1932 and measured the relationship between productivity and working environment. The studies were based on preliminary experiments conducted in 1924 that measured the effect of lighting on productivity. (Bloomsbury, 2002)

The results of the experiments showed that changes in the environment did affect productivity, but this was not the sole factor. The workers considered management to be showing an interest in them and this improved motivation.

Mayo’s studies and the subsequent results were a significant break from the theories of F.W. Taylor in that the workers were not solely motivated by self interest. Mayo’s research has led to the understanding that workplaces are more than machine like environments in that there are social environments and human emotions that require consideration. Mayo’s studies led to the rise of the Human Relations Movement

The Human Relations Movement

The Human Relations movement “…argues that people are not just logical decision makers but have needs for creativity support, recognition and self-affirmation.” (Theworkingmanager.com, 2004).

The movement presents an alternative and opposite approach to scientific management as it focuses on the individual and not the task.

The Human Relations movement boasts some of the world’s foremost management thinkers and theories in its ranks:

• Abraham Maslow. The Hierarchy of Needs. Presented in the US Psychology Review in 1943
• Douglas McGregor. Theory X and Theory Y. Published in the book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise” in 1960.
• Frederick Herzberg. The Hygiene-Motivation Theory. Published in the book “The Motivation to Work” in 1959. (, 2004)

Contemporary Human Resource Management.

In modern business the Human Resources Management function is complex and as such has resulted in the formation of Human resource departments/divisions in companies to handle this function. The Human resource function has become a wholly integrated part of the total corporate strategy.

The function is diverse and covers many facets 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.

CONCLUSION

The history of Human Resource Management has progressed through the ages from times 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.

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 we may see employees being measured on the value they contribute to a business and not their cost to the business.

REFERENCES

Accel Team. (2004): “Historical Perspective – Growth of Scientific Management” , 03 April 2004.

Accel Team. (2004): “Historical Perspective – Growth of Scientific Management” , 03 April 2004.

Accel Team. (2004): “Considering Human Factors – The Human Relations Approach” , 04 April 2004.

Bloomsbury. (2002): Business, The Ultimate Resource, London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

DeNisi, A.S., Griffin R.W. (2004): Human Resource Management, Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Rossouw, D. (1994): Business Ethics. A Southern African Perspective, Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers.

Smith, A. (1776): An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London; Penguin Books, 1982.

The Working Manager Ltd. (2004): “Human Relations Movement” , 04 April 2004.

Trade Unions Congress. (2004): “Timeline” , 04 April 2004.