DISCUSS THE FUNCTIONS OF A HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER.

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical
and effective planning and regulation of operation of an enterprise or business in the fulfilment
of given purposes and goals. It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and
activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, and
purchasing. Rather these activities are common to each and every manager irrespective of his
level or status. A manager is a person responsible for planning and directing the work of a
group of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary. He
can all so be described as person who controls and manipulates resources and expenditures, as
of a household. Mary Parker Follett (18681933), allegedly defined management as "the art of
getting things done through people". Management is often included as a factor of production
along with machines, materials, and money. This paper will discuss the functions of a human
resources manager and analyse how he or she can make a positive contribution to the
organisation and add value to the process in the 21st century .
Henry Fayol the father of management said, "to manage is to forecast and to plan, organize, to
command, to coordinate and to control. A managers functions can be considered a circle of
actions in which each component leads to the next. Although the functions can be identified as
separate sets of actions for purposes of analysis, the Human Resources Manager in actual
practice carries out these activities in a complex, unified manner within the total process of
managing. Role is a position that one gets by its virtue whereas function is the performance
that a role entails. Other individuals in the organisation carry out some of these activities, either
periodically or routinely, but the manager is assigned these specific activities in their entirety,
as a continuing set of functions. When these processes become routine, the role of manager
emerges. Human resources managers plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions
of an organization. They oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff; consult
with top executives on strategic planning; and serve as a link between an organizations
management and its employees.
Functions of Human Resources Manager are a predetermined course of action. The difference
between a manager and management is that manger is responsible for directing and helping the
organisation to achieve their specific goals while management is a group of people who work
together to achieve the goals of company or organisation. Different experts have classified
functions of managers/management. According to George and Jerry, There are four

fundamental functions of management which are planning, organising, actuating and

controlling. But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by Harold
Koontz and Cyril ODonnell, in their book, Principles of Management which are Planning,
Organising, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. All managers at all levels of every
organisation perform these functions, but the amount of time a manager spends on each one
depends on both the level of management and the specific organisation. Nevertheless, the most
commonly cited functions of Human Resources managers are planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling, although some identify additional functions to be discuss in this paper.
According to Koontz, Planning is deciding in advance, what to do, when to do and how to
do. Planning is the function of a Human Resources Manager which involves setting objectives
and determining a course of action for achieving these objectives. Planning requires that
managers be aware of environmental conditions facing their organisation and forecast future
conditions. It also requires that human resources managers to be good decision-makers.
Planning is a process consisting of several steps. The process begins with environmental
scanning, which simply means that planners must be aware of the critical contingencies facing
their organisation in terms of economic conditions, their competitors, and their customers.
Planners must then attempt to forecast future conditions. These forecasts form the basis for
planning.
Human Resources Manager must establish objectives, which are statements of what needs to
be achieved and when. It is the responsibility of HR Manager to be in a position to identify
alternative courses of action for achieving objectives. After evaluating the various alternatives,
they make decisions about the best courses of action for achieving objectives. They formulate
necessary steps and ensure effective implementation of plans. There are many different types
of planning which include, strategic planning, tactical and operational planning under the
human resources manager.
Strategic planning involves Human Resource Managers analysing competitive opportunities
and threats, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation, and then determining
how to position the organisation to compete effectively in their environment with limited
critical human resources. Strategic planning has a long time frame, often three years or more.
Strategic planning generally includes the entire organisation and includes formulation of
objectives. It is often based on the organisation's mission, which is its fundamental reason for
existence. An organisation's top managers most often conduct strategic planning and human
resources manager implement. Tactical planning is intermediate-range planning that is
designed to develop relatively concrete and specific means to implement the strategic plan.

Middle-level managers often engage in tactical planning. Tactical planning often has a one- to
three-year time horizon. Operational planning generally assumes the existence of objectives
and specifies ways to achieve them. Operational planning is short-range planning that is
designed to develop specific action steps that support the strategic and tactical plans.
According to Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its
functioning for example, raw material, tools, capital and personnels .Organising is the
function of manager that involves developing an organisational structure and allocating human
resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. The structure of the organisation is the
framework within which effort is coordinated. The structure is usually represented by an
organisation chart, which provides a graphic representation of the chain of command within an
organization. Decisions made about the structure of an organisation are generally referred to as
"organisational design" decisions. Organising also involves the design of individual jobs within
the organisation. Decisions must be made about the duties and responsibilities of individual
jobs as well as the manner in which the duties should be carried out. Decisions made about the
nature of jobs within the organisation are generally called "job design" decisions. Generally
these roles are played under the function of the human resources manager.
Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management show a vision that Human Resources
Managers have also a function of leading which involves influencing others toward the
attainment of organisational objectives. Effective leading requires the manager to motivate
subordinates, communicate effectively, and effectively use power. If human resources
managers are effective leaders, their subordinates will be enthusiastic about exerting effort
toward the attainment of organisational objectives. For Managers to become effective at
leading, they first have to understand their subordinates' personalities, values, attitudes, and
emotions. Therefore, the behavioural sciences have made many contributions to the
understanding of this function of management.
Frederick Herzberg and his associates during research into motivation during the 1950's,
examining the models and assumptions of Maslow and others, provide important information
about the ways in which workers can be energised to put forth productive effort. There studies
of communication provide direction as to how managers can effectively and persuasively
communicate. Human resources manager in controlling take angle that involve ensuring the
performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling consists of three steps, which
include establishing performance standards, comparing actual performance against standards,
and taking corrective action when necessary. Managers at all levels engage in the managerial

function of controlling to some degree. The managerial function of controlling should not be
confused with control in the behavioural or manipulative sense. This function does not imply
that managers should attempt to control or manipulate the personalities, values, attitudes, or
emotions of their subordinates. Instead, this function of management concerns the manager's
role in taking necessary actions to ensure that the work-related activities of subordinates are
consistent with and contributing toward the accomplishment of organisational and
departmental objectives.
The Human Resource Manager functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are
widely considered to be the best means of describing the manager's job as well as the best way
to classify accumulated knowledge about the study of management. Although there have been
tremendous changes in the environment faced by Human Resources managers and the tools
used by managers to perform their roles, managers still perform these essential functions.
There traditional functions of a human resources manager which were identified by Gulick and
Urwick based on the earlier work of Henri Fayol. Human resource managers have strategic and
functional responsibilities for all of the human resources disciplines. A human resource
manager has the expertise of human resources generalist combined with general business and
management skills. In large organisations, a human resource manager reports to the human
resource director or a C-level human resource executive. In smaller companies, some human
resources managers perform all of the department's functions or work with a Human resources
assistant or generalist that handles administrative matters. Regardless of the size of department
or the company, a human resource manager should have the skills to perform every Human
resources function, if necessary. For example, active listening in appropriate times, critical
thinking using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative
solutions, reading, speaking, writing, management of personnel resources, coordination and
time management.
Chester Barnard brought together the significant underlying premises about the function of the
manager in his classic work human resource managers provide guidance and direction to
compensation and benefits specialists. Within this discipline, human resources managers
develop strategic compensation plans, align performance management systems with
compensation structure and monitor negotiations and benefits. Examples of human resource
manager responsibilities include monitoring Medical Leave Act, Labour act, for compliance
and adherence to confidentiality provisions for employee medical files.

Furthermore, human resource managers contribute to overall business processes in certain

respects by disseminating guidelines for and monitoring employee behaviour, for example,
ensuring that the organisation is obeying worker-related regulatory guidelines. Now, increasing
numbers of businesses are incorporating human resource managers into other business
processes as well. In the past, human resource managers were cast in a support role in which
their thoughts on cost/benefit justifications and other operational aspects of the business were
rarely solicited. But as Johnston noted, the changing character of business structures and the
marketplace are making it increasingly necessary for business owners and executives to pay
greater attention to the human resource aspects of operation: Tasks that were once neatly
slotted into well-defined and narrow job descriptions have given way to broad job descriptions
or role definitions. In some cases, completely new work relationships have developed;
telecommuting, permanent part-time roles and outsourcing major non-strategic functions are
becoming more frequent." All of these changes, which human resource managers are heavily
involved in, are important factors in shaping business performance.
In the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition, it gave primary functions of Human
resources manager as responsible for employee training and development which includes new
hire orientation, leadership training and professional development seminars and workshops.
This manager oversees needs assessments to determine when training is necessary and the type
of training necessary to improve performance and productivity. Human resource managers
responsible for conducting needs assessment have a hands-on role in evaluating overall
employee performance to decide if the workforce would benefit from additional training and
orientation. They examine employee performance records to identify areas where employees
could improve through job skills training or employee development, such as seminars or
workshops on leadership techniques. They also play an integral function in implementing
employee development strategy and succession planning based on training and professional
development. Human resource managers responsible for succession planning, use their
knowledge of employee development, training and future business needs to devise career
tracks for employees who demonstrate the aptitude and desire for upward mobility.
Miller (1987) suggests that HRM relates to: ".......those decisions and actions which concern
the management of employees at all levels in the business and which are related to the
implementation of strategies directed towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage"
Although the employee relations specialist is responsible for investigating and resolving
workplace issues, the human resource manager has ultimate responsibility for preserving the
employer-employee relationship through designing an effective employee relations strategy. An

effective employee relations strategy contains specific steps for ensuring the overall well-being
of employees. It also ensures that employees have a safe working environment, free from
discrimination and harassment. Human resource managers for small businesses conduct
workplace investigations and resolve employee complaints. Human resource managers may
also be the primary contact for legal counsel in risk mitigation activities and litigation
pertaining to employee relations matters. An example of risk mitigation handled by a human
resource manager includes examining current workplace policies and providing training to
employees and managers on those policies to minimise the frequency of employee complaints
due to misinterpretation or misunderstanding of company policies.
Human resource managers develop strategic solutions to meet workforce demands and labour
force trends. An employment manager actually oversees the recruitment and selection
processes however, an human resource manager is primarily responsible for decisions related
to corporate branding as it relates to recruiting and retaining talented employees. For example,
a human resource manager in a health care firm might use her knowledge about nursing
shortages to develop a strategy for employee retention, or for maintaining the current staffing
levels. The strategy might include developing an incentive program for nurses or providing
nurses with cross-training so they can become certified in different specialties to become more
valuable to the organisation. Corporate branding as it relates to recruitment and retention
means promoting the company as an employer of choice. Human resource managers
responsible for this usually look at the recruitment and selection process, as well as
compensation and benefits to find ways to appeal to highly qualified applicants.
Human resources managers also consult with top executives regarding the organisations
strategic planning. They identify ways to maximise the value of the organisations employees
and ensure that they are used as efficiently as possible. For example, they might assess worker
productivity and recommend changes to the organisations structure to help it meet budgetary
goals.
The following are examples of types of human resources managers, labour relations directors,
also called employee relations managers, oversee employment policies in union and non-union
settings. They draw up, negotiate, and administer labour contracts that cover issues such as
grievances, wages, benefits, and union and management practices. They also handle labour
complaints between employees and management and coordinate grievance procedures. Payroll
managers supervise the operations of an organisations payroll department. They ensure that all
aspects of payroll are processed correctly and on time. They administer payroll procedures,

prepare reports for the accounting department, and resolve any payroll problems or
discrepancies. Recruiting managers, sometimes called staffing managers, oversee the
recruiting and hiring responsibilities of the human resources department. They often supervise
a team of recruiters, and some take on recruiting duties when trying to fill high-level positions.
They must develop a recruiting strategy that helps them meet the staffing needs of their
organization and effectively compete for the best employees. For theoretical purposes, it may
be convenient to separate the function of management but practically these functions are
overlapping in nature for example they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the
other & each affects the performance of others.
Although the employee relations specialist is responsible for investigating and resolving
workplace issues, the human resource manager has ultimate function for preserving the
employer-employee relationship through designing an effective employee relations strategy. An
effective employee relations strategy contains specific steps for ensuring the overall well-being
of employees. It also ensures that employees have a safe working environment, free from
discrimination and harassment.
In addition, Human resources managers must continually establish and
maintain internal and external organizational relationships to achieve an
effective working rapport. They monitor the organizations environment to
anticipate change and bring about the adaptive responses required for the
institutions survival. Managers may direct workers directly or they may
direct several supervisors who direct the workers. However, a manager
must be familiar with the work of all the groups he/she supervises, but does
not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. The last activity that the
Human resources manager is involved in is conducting the exit interviews
when employees leave the organisations. This is usually done on the last
day of the employees stay in the organisation and this process consist of a
free and frank discussion on what the employee feels about the
organisation and why he or she is leaving the organisation. The exit
interviews offer valuable sources of insights into organisational behaviour
as the employees can vent their feelings on what works and what does not
work in organisations.
The goal of a human resource manager is to strengthen the employer-employee relationship.
This goal is supported by a variety of functions within the human resources department and

throughout the organization. In a small business, the human resource manager may have a great
degree of latitude, as well as the time to devote to employee interaction with a small
workforce. Both of these are key elements of an effective human resources manager, although
she must accomplish a number of functions to achieve this goal.

It is more important for the Human resources manager to know how to manage the workers
than to know how to do their work well. A manager may have the power to hire or fire
employees or to promote them. In larger companies, a manager may only recommend such
action to the next level of management. The manager has the authority to change the work
assignments of team members. There are many management functions in business and,
therefore, many manager titles. Regardless of title, managerial functions of Human resources
management involve planning, organising, directing and controlling and other primary
functions as discussed above. All these functions influence the operative functions.
The functions of management uniquely describe managers' jobs. Managerial behaviour implies
the existence of a manager managed relationship. This relationship arises with in organisational
context. A human resources manager has command over all allocation and distributions of
sanctions. For Example, human resources managers has control over the positive sanctions
such as promotion and awards for his task performance and the contribution to organisational
objectives. Human Resources Manager also has a position to exercises the negative sanctions
such as withholding promotions, or mistakes. Thus, the general conclusion seems to be that
while Mintzberg offered a genuine insight into the daily activities of practicing managers, the
functions of management still provides a very useful way of classifying the activities managers
engage in as they attempt to achieve organisational goals.
After these activities, the human resources manager is also involved in
conducting the last stage of appraisals or evaluating the appraisals. In
recent years, the trend is more towards the latter where the human
resources manager in charge of the business unit evaluates the appraisals
instead of participating in the process directly. This is done in a manner to
determine the quantum of pay hike or bonuses keeping in mind the same
principles that were discussed in the hiring activity. In such cases Human
resources manager has to work closely with the line managers to get this
done. In many organisations, employees can take their grievances to the
human resources managers in case they are not satisfied with their pay

hikes or the quantum of benefits. They can also complain against their
managers in a confidential and private manner.

Managers at different levels have different function to perform. In any organisation we there
are mainly 3 level of management and at all these levels there are different managers working
with their respective powers and authority. Technical: This skill requires the ability to use a
special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks. Human: This skill demonstrates
the ability to work well in cooperation with others. Human skills emerge in the workplace as a
spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships.
Conceptual: This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable
managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the relations among the parts, and
to recognize the implications of any one problem for others

In conclusion, organisational philosophies have undergone change. Many companies have

scrapped or adjusted their traditional, hierarchical organizational structures in favour of flatter
management structures. Human Resource Managers plan, direct, and coordinate human resource
management activities of an organization to maximize the strategic use of human resources and
maintain functions such as employee compensation, recruitment, personnel policies, and regulatory
compliance.

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