human resources management

human resources management

a term introduced in the latter part of the 20th century, which replaced the previous term personnel management, to refer to the branch of management that deals with the appointment, remuneration and training of employees. The import of the new term is double-edged in that while it was intended to encourage greater concern with ‘staff development’ and a culture of ‘enhancement’, it is also associated with a new flexibility, and arguably intensified exploitation, of labour. This dualism is evident, for example, in a UK government-backed initiative, ‘Investors in People’, which kite-marks organisations able to demonstrate ‘exemplary’ human resources and customer relations policies and practice.