What is the difference between personnel managemetn and human resources management?
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Interesting question...despite a BBA and and MBA in HRM, I don't think I've ever thought of that question...I always thought they were the same except that HRM is the more modern term.
The way I understand it, the term "personnel management" was used historically to refer to the management of the labor force...recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating, and compensating employees. In the past, companies hired personnel managers to deal with their employees...the position was purely "staff-related" meaning that it was seen as something that provided specialized services to the core functional departments in an organization. Labor was basically treated like a supply managed by personnel managers (e.g., like paper, pencils, etc...).
HRM is a more recent development that reflects a different perspective on employees...instead of being essentially disposable "supplies", HRM elevates labor to the level of a capital asset...a "resource" that's as important in the production process than any other input. With this perspective, HRM becomes more than a service provider to other departments...instead of just managing the supply (inventory stocking) of employees, modern HRM also deals with issues related to productivity, employee welfare and satisfaction, and more...with the goal being to maximize the value of the company's labor assets!
If you posed this question in order to answer a question posed by an HR professor in a class, you should definitely ask the professor for clarification since, from what I found on the Internet, there isn't a lot of agreement on this issue among academics (I was confused too) and his/her opinion is more valuable than mine.
On the other hand, if you posed this question because you've seen the terms used by different organizations you're considering working for, then I'd suggest that the terms are most likely interchangeable. While using the term "Personnel Manager" may indicate a lower-level job or that the company doesn't have an enlightened view of employees, it is just as likely that some companies (especially older ones) never saw the need to update old job titles when "Human Resources" became the more modern term!
same thing
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