12th Standard Commerce — Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Online Test

About Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

Medium ~45 min study

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management is Chapter 9, the opening lesson of Unit IV, Human Resource Management, in the Tamil Nadu State Board Class 12 Commerce book. It begins with Thirukkural couplet 578 and the idea that human resource is the most important element in any organisation, because only through people are all other resources actively used.

The lesson explains who counts as human resource, lists its characteristics and significance, defines HRM, and then sets out its features, its importance and its functions, split into managerial and operative groups.

This page gives the five book-back one mark questions with the book's answer key checked against the lesson, plus additional MCQs on definitions, features, significance and the six operative functions, each with a short explanation.

What you'll learn

• Explain the meaning of human resource and quote Peter F. Drucker's view.
• List the characteristics and significance of human resource.
• Define human resource management using E.F.L. Brech's definition.
• Describe the features of HRM and why it is both a science and an art.
• State the reasons for the significance of HRM.
• Classify HRM functions into managerial and operative functions and give the content of each.

Before you start

• The meaning of management and its functions from Unit I of Class 12 Commerce.
• The factors of production: land, labour, capital and organisation.
• A basic idea of employees, wages and trade unions.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management explained

What this lesson covers

Human resource

Globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation raised the demand for a quality workforce. Peter F. Drucker said that man, of all resources available to him, can grow and develop. Only people who have the required skills, talents, knowledge and competencies count as human resource. The lesson lists eleven characteristics, such as being the only living factor of production, emotional, unpredictable, movable and appreciating in value over the years, and eight reasons for its significance.

Human resource management

HRM is the branch of management that deals with hiring, motivating and maintaining people. E.F.L. Brech called it the part of the management process primarily concerned with the human constituents of an organisation. Its eleven features include universal relevance, goal orientation, a systematic approach, being all pervasive, continuous, dynamic, integrative, development focused, both science and art, interdisciplinary and intangible.

Significance of HRM

Twelve reasons are given, from identifying manpower needs and incorporating change to selecting the right man for the right job, appraising performance, determining employee commitment, socialisation and collective bargaining.

Functions of HRM

Managerial functions are planning, organising, directing and controlling. Operative functions are procurement, development, compensation, retention, integration and maintenance.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating every human being as human resource. Only those with the required skills, knowledge and competencies count.
• Saying the employee himself is hired. The book says only the labour of employees is hired.
• Thinking human resources depreciate like machines. Over the years they gain value and appreciate.
• Listing procurement as a managerial function. It is operative; the managerial functions are planning, organising, directing and controlling.
• Placing job evaluation under development. It belongs to compensation, with wage and salary administration and fringe benefits.

Test yourself on these with the practice test, then check the worked reasoning in the solved MCQs.

Frequently asked questions

What is human resource management?

Human resource management is the branch of management that deals with managing human resource. It is concerned with hiring, motivating and maintaining people in an organisation so that personal and organisational objectives are achieved, and it covers the overall progress of both the employee and the enterprise.

How did E.F.L. Brech define HRM?

In the words of E.F.L. Brech, HRM is that part of the management process which is primarily concerned with the human constituents of an organisation. The definition shows that HRM focuses on people rather than on materials, machines or money.

Why is HRM said to be both a science and an art?

HRM relies on experiments and observations, which makes it a science, and it also needs the effective, skilful handling of manpower, which makes it an art. The book therefore treats human resource management as both science and art.

What are the managerial functions of HRM?

The managerial functions are planning, organising, directing and controlling. Planning decides in advance what, how and who; organising divides work and delegates authority; directing issues orders with guidance and motivation; controlling compares actual results with standards and corrects deviations.

What are the operative functions of HRM?

The operative functions are procurement (job analysis, recruitment, selection, placement), development (appraisal, training, career planning), compensation (job evaluation, wages, incentives, fringe benefits), retention (health, safety, welfare), integration (reconciling personal and organisational interest) and maintenance (job satisfaction, lower labour turnover, audit and research).

Why is human resource significant?

Only through human resource are all other resources effectively used. Sustainable growth, industrial relations and human relations depend on it; it manages all other factors of production, its skills improve through training, it can be used at all levels of management and it is protected by legislative frameworks.

How does HRM help in collective bargaining?

HRM encourages the workforce to form a union to represent their grievances, so that problems are solved early through collective representation. This is listed as the twelfth reason for the significance of HRM in the lesson.