A.2 Meaning of Human Resource Management Human resource management is defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Human resource management is defined as the totality of management decisions and actions that affect the relationship between the organisation and employees. Human resource management refers to activities, policies and the general function that relate to employees or the personnel department. A.3 Components of Human Resource Management In most organisations human resource management is grouped into several functions i) Human Resource Planning. ii) Recruitment iii) Selection iv) Placement v) Induction. vi) Training and Development. vii) Performance Appraisal. viii) Employee Compensation. ix) Welfare Services and Benefits. x) Industrial Relation A.4 Functions of Human Resource Management/Department The functions of Human Resource Management (HRM) or Department include the following ab Manpower Planning This involves the planning for the future and finding out how many employees will be needed in the future by the business and what types of skills should they possess. b) Job analysis and Job descriptionHRM is also involved in designing the Job analysis and Job description for the prospective vacancies. A job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. Job descriptions are written statements that describe the duties, responsibilities, required qualifications of candidates, and reporting relationship and coworkers of a particular job. c) Determining wages and salariesHRM is also involved in conducting market surveys and determining the wages and salaries for different position in an organization. These decisions maybe taken in consultation with top management and the Finance department. db Recruitment and Selection One of the most important functions of the HRM is to recruit the best people for the organization. This is of crucial importance as the success of any organization depends on the quality of its workforce.