MSG Team's other articles

9571 What is Blind Hiring and How it Promotes Diversity and Inclusivity Efforts in Corporates

How a Typical Hiring Process Works and Why the Hidden Identity Markers Matter Typically, the hiring and recruitment process in corporates entails receiving resumes for the advertised openings, short listing some of them for the next round of tests and interviews, the actual interview process, and then, the decision to hire or reject. In this […]

9243 Executive Compensation – Gap between CEO and Workers Pay

When one writes about executive compensation, the thought of jet setting CEO’s who enjoy luxurious lifestyles and live in gardened villas at the company’s expense comes to mind. While the stereotypical image of a CEO enjoying such extravagance is indeed true to a certain extent, there is more to the topic of executive compensation. For […]

12718 Changing Jobs Mid-Career or After a Few Years into the First Job

Lateral career moves are common in the corporate world and there are some specific strategies that one can follow when making a mid career move. First, one needs to remember that changing jobs a few years into the career is not like getting the first job and hence, the expectations as well as the ambitions […]

8933 Some Perspectives on Differing Reward Systems for Entrepreneurs/Owners and Employees

Differing Reward Systems and their Consequences The debate over whether entrepreneurs/owners should be rewarded at multiples that exceed those for the rank and file employees has been raging for some time now. What has added fuel to the fire in recent years has been the issue of executive compensation and shareholder rewards when compared to […]

11633 Triggers or Signs of Work-Life Imbalance

An imbalance between the personal life and work life can have serious or adverse effects on the health and well-being. This imbalance usually occurs when the boudaries between the professional life and personal life are not clearly demarcated and followed with a discipline. Work-life imbalance leads to emotional stress, depression and anxiety. Extensive studies and […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

This module covers the HRD function in organizations from a wide variety of perspectives. At the outset, after the introduction to the module in the previous article, it is time to look at some theoretical perspectives about the HRD function.

When the field of management science and organizational behavior was in its infancy, the HRD function was envisaged as a department whose sole role was to look after payroll and wage negotiation. This was in the era of the assembly line and manufacturing where the HRD function’s purpose was to check the attendance of the employees, process their pay and benefits and act as a mediator in disputes between the management and the workers. Concomitant with the rise of the services sector and the proliferation of technology and financial services companies, the role of the HRD function changed correspondingly.

For instance, the RBV or the Resource Based View of organizations was conceptualized to place the HRD function as a department that would leverage the human resources from the perspective of them being sources of strategic advantage.

The shift in the way the human resources were viewed as yet another factor of production to being viewed as sources of competitive advantage and the chief determinant of profits was mainly due to the changing perceptions of the workforce being central to the organization’s strategy. For instance, many software and tech companies as well as other companies in the service sector routinely identify their employees as the chief assets and something that can give them competitive advantage over their rivals. Hence, the HRD function in these sectors has evolved from basic duties and is now looked upon as a critical support function.

With the advent of globalization and the opening up of the economies of several nations, there was again a shift in the way the HRD function was conceptualized. In line with the RBV and the view of the resources as being international and ethnically diverse, the HRD function was thought of to be the bridge between the different employees in multiple locations and the management.

The present conceptualization also means that employees have to be not only motivated but also empowered and enabled to help them actualize their potential.

The point here is that no longer were employees being treated like any other asset. On the contrary, they were the center of attraction and attention in the changed paradigm. This called for the HRD function to be envisaged as fulfilling a role that was aimed at enabling and empowering employees instead of being just mediators and negotiators.

Finally, the theory of HRD also morphed with the times and in recent years, there has been a perceptible shift in the way the HRD function has come to encompass the gamut of activities ranging from routine tasks like hiring and training and payroll to actually being the function that plays a critical and crucial role in the employee development.

The theory has also transformed the function from being bystanders to the organizational processes to one where the HRD function is the layer between the management and employees to ensure that the decisions made at the top are communicated to the employees and the feedback from the employees is likewise communicated to the top.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

The Best Ways to Deal with C Level Performers

MSG Team

When Dismissal is the Best Course! How Corporates Decide to Fire Employees

MSG Team