‘It is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.’ (Susan M. Heathfield, 2000)
HRM is vital to an organization, because it improves the overall performance by improving employees’ performances as well as training and giving them opportunities to be more effective and productive. It tries to satisfy the needs of the employees, so in turn; they are better equipped to be more productive in achieving the objectives of the organization.
Gary Dessler and Tan Hwee Chiat (2009, p. 4) states that, ‘Without HRM, organizations may find themselves in different kinds of unwanted situations, such as hiring the wrong people, getting fined by government ministries for unsafe practices, finding out that people are not giving their best, or even over/under-paying their employees.’
In any organization, the most important resource is its employees. It is through each and every one of them that its objectives are achieved. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that everyone is motivated by needs. Organizations must satisfy their employees’ need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. When the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied, they can begin to be concerned with the higher order needs of the employees’ influence and personal development. The five levels of needs are psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. When employees are happy with enough food and sleep, organizations can then move on
Bibliography: Gary Dessler and Tan Chwee Huat (2009): Human Resource Management, An Asian Pespective, Second edition, Singapore: Pearson. Government of South Australia (2008): Human Resource Management, http://www.familiesandcommunities.sa.gov.au/Default.aspx?tabid=2358. [26 October 2008] Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, Father of Modern Management, http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp. [01 November 2008] Susan M. Heathfield. 2000. What is Human Resource Management, http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm. [05 November 2008]