Evolution of Management of Human Resources: An Indian

Kautilya’s Period: Kautilya provides a systematic treatment of management of human resources as early as in the 4th Century B. C. in his treatise titled ‘Arthashastra’. There prevailed logical procedures and principles in respect of labour organizations such as ‘Shreni’ or Guild system and the cooperative sector.  The wages were paid strictly in terms of quantity and quality of work turned out, and punishments were imposed for unnecessary delaying the work or spoiling it. Kautilya provides an excellent discussion on staffing and personnel management embracing job descriptions, qualifications for job, selection procedure, and executive development, incentive systems (Carrot and Stick approach).

Varnasharm: There are several indications regarding the operations of principles of the divisions of labour. The concept of Varnashram or caste system was originally based on these principles: ? The individuals, who used to earn their livelihood by engaging themselves in activities such as teaching, sacrifice or state management, were designed as Brahmins. Individuals engaged in the areas of trade, business and agriculture were called ‘Vaishyas’ and those devoting themselves to manual work were known as ‘Shudras’. Later on, these professions emerged to be heredity which facilitated the transfer of skills and training from one generation to another.

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The Medieval: (As regard to Indian Economy in Medieval India): Although there were a lull because of numerous foreign aggressions for around 700 years, during the Mughal Rule, the Indian trade and commerce were reviewed.Several ‘Karkhanas’ were established at Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Ahmedabad and various other places. A majority of the artisans and the craftsmen had extremely poor conditions of existences and lived on starvation level.  The productivity of workers was very low, low wages, climatic conditions and poor physique were the major factors responsible for it.

British Period: There prevailed laissez-faire policy towards business.  As it is evidenced in the report of the Indigo Commission, the working conditions were appalling, living conditions were subhuman, and several abuses prevailed in Indigo plantations.Again, as regards tea plantation, several cases of inhuman cruelties caused to the workers are encountered. Even the Plantation Act of 1863 makes provisions that if the workers failed to complete their period of contract, they should be imprisoned for a period not exceeding three months.  The labourers who attempted to run away were subjected to imprisonment whipping and allied extreme punishments.

Accordingly, the workers were entirely helpless in the face of organized and powerful European Planters. The above conditions prevailed till the enactment of the Factory Act of 1881.According to the Act; the workers employed in the factories were allowed a weekly off day, and provisions were also made for inspection as well as limiting the hours of work for women workers to 11 per day. The Act further provided that the minimum age of children for employment should be seven years and that the maximum working hours for them should not exceed seven hours a day and that too in the day shift. In 1890, the first labour organization designated as ‘Bombay Mill Hands Association’ was established.Subsequently, in 1905, the Printers Union at Calcutta and in 1907, the Postal Union at Bombay were established. The Madras Labour Union was organized thereafter in 1918.

In 1920, the indentured labour system involving migration of Indian labour to other countries on contract basis, was abolished as a result of a strong national movement. In the same year, the Central Labour Board was established to federate the different unions in the Bombay city and the All India Trade Union Congress was organized.In 1923, for the first time in the organized sector, Tata Steel appointed K. A. Naoroji as a labour or welfare officer to look after labour issues in the various departments of the steel work.

The formal implementation of the Indian Trade Union Act, 1926 forms a landmark in the history of industrial relations in this country. The Royal Commission on Labour (1929–1931) recommended the appointment of labour officers or liaison officers to deal with recruitment as measures to prevent corrupt practices in Indian industry.

They were considered a recruitment officers directly reporting to general manager. As the commission observed, ‘No employee should be engaged except by the labour officer personally in consultation with the departmental head, and none should be dismissed without his consent except by the manager after hearing what the labour officer had to say’ accordingly, the Bombay Mill Owners Association and the Indian Jute Mills Association appointed labour officers in 1935 and 1938, respectively.

During World War II, the need for mobilizing labour support was felt and thus, several welfare officers were appointed to deal with working conditions, canteen, ration shops, recreations, medical facilities, worker’s housing and allied fringe benefits. Post-Independence Period: With the emergence of compulsory adjudication under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the welfare officers were made responsible for handling the disputes and adjudication pertaining to the conditions of services including wages, leaves, retirement benefits and bonus.Thus, they became industrial relations officers and started performing industrial relations functions such as collective bargaining, conciliation, and adjudication.

Employment Exchange (Compulsory notification of vacancies) Act, 1959 and the Apprentices Act, 1961 were passed to regulate recruitment and training of workers, respectively. In the view of growing labour legislation commencing with the right to hire and ending with right to fire, the employees tended to employ welfare or labour officers with a legal background.

21st session of standing Labour conference held in Dec. 963 recommended that the functions of welfare officer and personnel officers should be precisely demarcated and that the former should not be responsible for dealing with disciplinary cases against workers or appears in court on behalf of the management against the workers in labour dispute cases. Personnel Management during 1970s: In the early seventies, as Punekar observes, the personnel field covered under three major areas of professional disciplines:

• Labour welfare,
• Industrial relations,
• Personnel administration.

These three areas revealed the chronological order of the development of the personnel field. Immediately after industrialization, labour welfare, mainly social reformist in nature, came into the picture. The inevitable emergence of trade unions resistance organizations to employers opened the field of industrial (or Union-Management) relations. Lastly, with the development of scientific management of industry, personnel administration took root.

The three areas of labour welfare, industrial relations and personnel administration were being looked after the three professional functionaries:

• Welfare officer,
• Labour officer,
• Personnel officer.

However, in the early 80s, the area of labour officer largely merged with personnel administration and refers to as personnel management. Personnel Management during 1980s: In 1980s HRM was regarded as a specialized rofession such as that of other professional functions. In addition to industrial relations functions (although sometimes the industrial relations formed a separate branch), the personnel branch was responsible for varied functions i. e. , employment, safety training, wages and salary administration and research and development. Indeed, the activities involved in the personnel department were akin to those performed in this department in other western countries.

Specially, where the personnel, industrial relations and welfare functions were combined in one department, three categories of activities relating to these functions were obtained. The personnel department involves in technical and allied services. Thus, industrial relation activities including contract negotiations, grievance handling, preparation and presentation of arbitration cases and research in labour problems; for educational activities including employee training, supervisory training, organizational planning and management development, communication programs etc. for wage and salary administration, including preparation of job descriptions, job evaluations, incentive and profits sharing systems and executive compensation; for employment activities, such as recruiting, psychological testing, medical examination, interviewing, and employee record keeping; and technical services: health and welfare measures. The personnel manager’s role is to advice.

Usually, advise the line and top management in respect of legal matters regarding the termination of services and transfer, human relations problems confronting the line managers and technical procedures in areas, such as wages and salary administration.In some instances, the personnel manager was required to advise management regarding the improvement of human climate in the organization.

Human Resource Management during 1990s: During 1990s a new human resources management has emerged, especially as a result of the globalization and liberalization. The economy and the policy of India is fast changing in the wake of liberalization policies mooted in year 1990. Consequently the form and content of capitalist relations between the various factors of production are undergoing a change.

What has emerged a new era of HR Management? As a result of liberalization and globalization the human resources management and industrial relations have acquired strategic importance. The success of the new policies mostly depends on to a large extent, on the introduction of new industrial relations and human resources policies at the national and the organizational levels. The pressure of change is already visible in the economy and witnessed in the industrial relations and HRM areas.The world economic order is also changing rapidly.

Evolutionary changes are taking place at revolutionary pace, largely influenced by the external forces, arising out of a desire to increase competitiveness and efficiency. Centrally planned economics are opening up to have their tryst with counterpart of free market economy. Structural adjustments and reforms are holding sway establishing primary of economic imperatives over dogmatic political compulsions.

Organization today working in a commercially competitive global economic environment are struggling for their own survival and growth. The liberalizations and bold economic reforms by Government have thrown out many challenges and opportunities to the Indian industry. With explosion of the Information and communication technology, increased global competition, fast changing market conditions, the deregulations etc. organizations have to redesign their strategies and outlook to HRM.

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