One must first understand the base of evolution of HRM in order to understand the evolution of HRM completely. The putting out system was displaced by the industrial revolution that led to the establishment of factories. Long hours of work under extremely unhygienic conditions were faced by the workers in early factories. Several labor riots were resulted out of it, for instance, the Ludds riots of 1811 in England. To provide protection and basic rights for workers, the government soon intervened. To set up a formal mechanism that look into workers welfare and wages, the factory owners were forced to comply with some statutory regulations and due to it, the personnel management emerged as a distinct profession.
The personnel management approach was concerned with keeping report card of past performance or conducting performance appraisals to determine promotions and pay. Through industrial relations approaches and collective bargaining, it tried to solve industrial disputes and dealt with trade unions. Through increasing training and wage, it attempted to increase productivity. It took welfare oriented measures, like, housing facilities, vaccinations and medical care. It implemented functions, like, wage administrations, training and recruitment. Convincing management of workers social obligations and interest and convincing workers of the business interests were the main aims of personnel management approach.
It purely remained as a staff function, it was not involved in operations aspects and rarely had a direct say in the company’s strategy. The set of activities concerning to the workforce and involving administrative tasks, contractual obligations, payroll, and staffing was used to refer as personnel management traditionally. The range of activities concerned with management of the workforce instead of resources was encompassed by personnel management. In terms of nature, the personnel management was more