Case study: the changing role of HRM

The human resource management (personnel) profession has evolved to encompass a wide range of activities that surround the management of people in organisations. Its relationship with the subject of organisational behaviour is similar to that between engineering and mathematics; the one is a necessary foundation for the practical activities which form the other. Most managers have to manage staff-related issues (along with budgets, processes, etc.) and the HR function should be there in some form to provide the necessary professional expertise to do so effectively (and ensure the organisation does not find itself on the wrong end of an employment tribunal case). HRM is thus an important support activity and as organisations grow, so, in most cases, does the HR department.