INDUSTRIAL
PSYCHOLOGY 144
NOTES
NOTES BY ZOE FRANTZ
, CHAPTER 1: FOUNDATION AND CHALLENGES OF HUMAN RESOURCE
Human resource management (HRM): The process of finding, attracting, developing and
retaining qualified employees to realise and achieve the organisation's goals.
People Practices in South Africa
It's crucial to manage HR practices as one integrated whole to maintain competitive advantage
and ensure optimal organizational effectiveness.
All HR practices need to be in sync.
Important Statistics to take note of: (This will probably change )
• WEF Global Competitiveness Index: Suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, impacting
socioeconomic and health status globally.
• 2019 Global Competitiveness Report: South Africa ranked 60th out of 141 countries,
improving from 67th out of 140 in 2018.
• ICT Adoption: South Africa received a rating of 89 overall, with cell phone subscriptions
ranked 10th out of 141 countries.
Human Resources: Past and Present
To fully understand modern HRM, it's important to recognize its evolution. In the last 80 years of
the twentieth century, the scientific management approach and the human relations approach
both emerged and declined, leading to the more recent and popular human resource approach.
➢ The Scientific Management Approach
➢ The Human Relations Approach
➢ The Human Resource Approach
Scientific Management Approach (Fredrick Taylor)
• A method introduced in the early 1900s that used scientific
and objective analysis to improve work efficiency, moving
away from constant supervision and job threats.
• Frederick Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt
were key figures who promoted this approach.
• Fredrick Taylor’s Approach: Focused on analysing job
motions, tools, and time to set fair performance standards
based on data, rather than subjective opinions of managers.
• Employees who exceeded performance standards were
rewarded with higher pay, unlike the previous practice of
equal wages for all.
• The principles of scientific management spread worldwide,
including to South Africa, and were generally successful in
improving efficiency.
• The approach treated employees as primarily motivated by
money, which led to dissatisfaction because it did not
address job satisfaction.
,• Introduced time-and-motion studies to determine the 'one best way' to perform tasks,
often resulting in highly specialized, repetitive jobs with little mental effort.
• Assumed that employees were mainly driven by financial incentives, leading to practices
like the differential piece-rate pay system.
• Implemented scientific management methods, conducted job analyses, and created
incentive programs, while also handling traditional tasks like recruitment and training.
Human Relations Approach
• In the 1930s and 1940s, management's focus moved from scientific management to
human relations, influenced by the Hawthorne studies.
• Hawthorne Studies: Conducted in the USA, these studies showed that employee
productivity was affected not just by job design and economic rewards, but also by social
and psychological factors.
• Researchers: Elton Mayo and F.J. Roethlisberger found that employees' feelings and
emotions—shaped by group relationships, leadership styles, and management support—
could significantly impact productivity.
• This approach emphasized treating employees with dignity to improve job satisfaction
and productivity.
• The research led to the adoption of techniques such as supervisory training programs that
focused on supporting and caring for employees.
• The rise of unions globally and in South Africa during this period, partly due to foreign
workers in mines, also contributed to the shift towards human relations.
• This approach improved working conditions, but only had minimal success in increasing
employee output and satisfaction.
Limitations of Human Relations Approach:
➢ Oversimplified Concept: The idea that "a happy employee is a hard-working employee"
was not always valid and only applied to some workers.
➢ Individual Differences: It ignored the unique needs and motivations of each employee;
happiness didn't always translate to increased productivity.
➢ Lack of Structure: Neglected the need for job structure, procedures, standards, and work
rules.
➢ Limited Scope: Good human relations were only one part of what’s needed for high
motivation; other factors like performance appraisals and job enrichment were also
important.
The Human Resource Approach
• The emerging trend in HR management is clearly towards the adoption of the HR
approach, through which organisations benefit in two significant ways: an increase in
organisational effectiveness and the satisfaction of each employee's needs.
• The HR approach views organizational goals and human needs as mutual and
compatible, rather than separate.
, • Became popular in the 1970s as research in behavioural sciences showed that managing
people as resources (not just as factors of production) could benefit both the organization
and the employee.
Principles of the HR Approach:
➢ Employees are seen as investments that, if effectively managed and developed, provide
long-term rewards for productivity.
➢ Policies, programs, and practices must satisfy both the economic and emotional needs of
employees.
➢ A working environment should be created where employees are encouraged to develop
and use their skills to the maximum extent.
➢ HR programs and practices should balance and meet the needs and goals of both the
organization and the employee, including work-life balance.
Challenges:
Organizations face challenges such as changes in the environment, the introduction of
technology, balancing work and personal life, and workforce diversity, which impact the HR
process.
A Diagram of the HR Approach
PSYCHOLOGY 144
NOTES
NOTES BY ZOE FRANTZ
, CHAPTER 1: FOUNDATION AND CHALLENGES OF HUMAN RESOURCE
Human resource management (HRM): The process of finding, attracting, developing and
retaining qualified employees to realise and achieve the organisation's goals.
People Practices in South Africa
It's crucial to manage HR practices as one integrated whole to maintain competitive advantage
and ensure optimal organizational effectiveness.
All HR practices need to be in sync.
Important Statistics to take note of: (This will probably change )
• WEF Global Competitiveness Index: Suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, impacting
socioeconomic and health status globally.
• 2019 Global Competitiveness Report: South Africa ranked 60th out of 141 countries,
improving from 67th out of 140 in 2018.
• ICT Adoption: South Africa received a rating of 89 overall, with cell phone subscriptions
ranked 10th out of 141 countries.
Human Resources: Past and Present
To fully understand modern HRM, it's important to recognize its evolution. In the last 80 years of
the twentieth century, the scientific management approach and the human relations approach
both emerged and declined, leading to the more recent and popular human resource approach.
➢ The Scientific Management Approach
➢ The Human Relations Approach
➢ The Human Resource Approach
Scientific Management Approach (Fredrick Taylor)
• A method introduced in the early 1900s that used scientific
and objective analysis to improve work efficiency, moving
away from constant supervision and job threats.
• Frederick Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt
were key figures who promoted this approach.
• Fredrick Taylor’s Approach: Focused on analysing job
motions, tools, and time to set fair performance standards
based on data, rather than subjective opinions of managers.
• Employees who exceeded performance standards were
rewarded with higher pay, unlike the previous practice of
equal wages for all.
• The principles of scientific management spread worldwide,
including to South Africa, and were generally successful in
improving efficiency.
• The approach treated employees as primarily motivated by
money, which led to dissatisfaction because it did not
address job satisfaction.
,• Introduced time-and-motion studies to determine the 'one best way' to perform tasks,
often resulting in highly specialized, repetitive jobs with little mental effort.
• Assumed that employees were mainly driven by financial incentives, leading to practices
like the differential piece-rate pay system.
• Implemented scientific management methods, conducted job analyses, and created
incentive programs, while also handling traditional tasks like recruitment and training.
Human Relations Approach
• In the 1930s and 1940s, management's focus moved from scientific management to
human relations, influenced by the Hawthorne studies.
• Hawthorne Studies: Conducted in the USA, these studies showed that employee
productivity was affected not just by job design and economic rewards, but also by social
and psychological factors.
• Researchers: Elton Mayo and F.J. Roethlisberger found that employees' feelings and
emotions—shaped by group relationships, leadership styles, and management support—
could significantly impact productivity.
• This approach emphasized treating employees with dignity to improve job satisfaction
and productivity.
• The research led to the adoption of techniques such as supervisory training programs that
focused on supporting and caring for employees.
• The rise of unions globally and in South Africa during this period, partly due to foreign
workers in mines, also contributed to the shift towards human relations.
• This approach improved working conditions, but only had minimal success in increasing
employee output and satisfaction.
Limitations of Human Relations Approach:
➢ Oversimplified Concept: The idea that "a happy employee is a hard-working employee"
was not always valid and only applied to some workers.
➢ Individual Differences: It ignored the unique needs and motivations of each employee;
happiness didn't always translate to increased productivity.
➢ Lack of Structure: Neglected the need for job structure, procedures, standards, and work
rules.
➢ Limited Scope: Good human relations were only one part of what’s needed for high
motivation; other factors like performance appraisals and job enrichment were also
important.
The Human Resource Approach
• The emerging trend in HR management is clearly towards the adoption of the HR
approach, through which organisations benefit in two significant ways: an increase in
organisational effectiveness and the satisfaction of each employee's needs.
• The HR approach views organizational goals and human needs as mutual and
compatible, rather than separate.
, • Became popular in the 1970s as research in behavioural sciences showed that managing
people as resources (not just as factors of production) could benefit both the organization
and the employee.
Principles of the HR Approach:
➢ Employees are seen as investments that, if effectively managed and developed, provide
long-term rewards for productivity.
➢ Policies, programs, and practices must satisfy both the economic and emotional needs of
employees.
➢ A working environment should be created where employees are encouraged to develop
and use their skills to the maximum extent.
➢ HR programs and practices should balance and meet the needs and goals of both the
organization and the employee, including work-life balance.
Challenges:
Organizations face challenges such as changes in the environment, the introduction of
technology, balancing work and personal life, and workforce diversity, which impact the HR
process.
A Diagram of the HR Approach
