Operations Management

Operations management refers to running the day-to-day operations of a given business. It can differ dramatically depending on the type of business being run and the operations undertaken. Such management can also be performed by in-house employees or can be outsourced, depending on the circumstances.

Generally, the most complex types of operations management exist in the manufacturing industry. When goods are manufactured, a lot of different steps go into the operation of the plant or company doing the manufacturing. For example, parts must be ordered and purchased and delivered to employees; employees must be hired, trained and supervised; and goods must be packaged and shipped or distributed to resellers or end users.

Within manufacturing, operations management involves taking care of all of these individual steps. The manager of operations may also take measures to institute cost control procedures or to improve system efficiency using systems analysis. Techniques such as total quality management, which involve focusing on ensuring quality at each step of the production process, are used in order to successfully manage such large and complex processes.

In other environments, operations management takes on a very different meaning. In a law office, for example, management may primarily relate to hiring and overseeing support personnel for attorneys. An office manager may be hired to ensure that paralegals, legal secretaries and clerks and other support staff are available. Other duties of an operations manager may include ordering office supplies and/or contracting with telephone service providers, Internet service providers, technicians for copy machines and other personnel and services necessary to keep an office running smoothly.

In still other cases, this process may be contracted out. For example, many surgeons run their own medical practices. These doctors may be busy caring for patients and unable or uninterested in dealing with the logistics of managing an office and hiring support staff. Yet, they may not want to hire an operations manager since the management role within the office is not extensive enough to employ a full-time operations manager.

Consulting services allow professionals to outsource operations management. Some services, referred to as turnkey services, will provide integrated operations management. This means the consulting group will take care of all logistical aspects of running the business, leaving the surgeon or other professional to work with clients and perform his professional role without worrying about the technical details of making the business run well.

 Skills Required for Operations Manager

There are strong parallels between the skills required for effective operations management and those needed in both logistics and supply chain management. Excellent organizational ability is crucial in successfully enhancing efficiency and driving productivity as an operations manager.

One must be able to understand the series of processes within a company to get them to flow seamlessly, and in this sense the role is directly related to supply chain management. Meanwhile, the coordination involved in setting up these processes in practice represents logistics; the combination of understanding and coordinating the work of a company are central to becoming a successful operations manager.  

Operations managers are involved in coordinating and developing new processes while reevaluating current structures. Organization and productivity are two key drivers of being an operations manager, and the work often requires versatility and innovation.

An MBA in operations management can give someone a global perspective on industry trends and an awareness of any financial regulations and political uncertainties that can affect an organization. It also gives someone a solid grasp of the inherent complexities and the tools needed to respond well to change.

 Key Elements of Operations Management

Operations management is the business function that responsible to planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling the resources needed to produce a company’s products and services. The operations function can be connected to other functional operations within organization such as marketing, finance, human resource and etc. so it can be described that all functional areas undertake operations activities because they all produce the services and goods. The operations manager is the person who supervised the production, make decision on operations processes and regarding to connecting into other functional areas. Thus, today every company realized that operations management is important and also agreed that is the main core function to organize their organization. The key elements of Operations Management are;

• Product selection and design: The right kind of products and good designs of the products are crucial for the success of an organization.   A wrong selection of the product and/or poor design of the products can render the company’s operation ineffective and non-competitive.   Products/services, therefore, must be chosen after detailed evaluation of the product/services alternatives in conformity with the organization’s objectives.   Techniques like value engineering may be employed in creating alternate designs, which are free from unnecessary features and meet the intended functions at the lowest cost.
• Process selection and planning: Selection of the optimal “conversion system” is as important as choice of products/services and their design.   Process selection decisions include decisions concerning choice of technology, equipment, machines, material handling systems, mechanization and automation.   Process planning involves detailing of processes if resource conversion required and their sequence.
• Facilities (Plant) location: Plant location decisions are strategic decisions and once plant is set up at a location, it is comparatively immobile and can be shifted later only at a considerable cost and interruption of production. Although problem of location choice does not fall within preview the production function and it occurs infrequently, yet it is of crucial importance because of its major effect on the performance of every department including production. Therefore, it is important to choose the right location, which will minimize total “delivered customer” cost (Production and distribution cost). Locational decisions involve evaluation of locational alternatives against multiplicity of relevant factors considering their relative importance to the organization and selecting those, which are operationally advantageous to the organization.

• Facilities (Plant) layout and materials handling: Plant layout is concerned with relative location of one department (Work center) with another in order to facilitate material flow and processing of a product in the most efficient manner through the shortest possible time.   A good layout reduces material handling cost, eliminates delays and congestion, improves co-ordination, provide good housekeeping etc. while a poor layout results in congestion, waste, frustration, inefficiency and loss of profit.
• Capacity Planning: Capacity planning concerns determination and acquisition of productive resource to ensure that their availability matches the demand. Capacity decisions have a direct influence on performance of production system in respect of both resource productivity and customer service (i.e. delivery performance).   Excess capacity results in low resource productivity while inadequate capacity leads to poor customer service.   Capacity planning decisions can be short-term decisions. Long-term capacity planning decisions concern expansion/contraction of major facilities required in the conversion process, economics of multiple shift operation, development of vendors for major components etc. Short-term capacity planning decisions concern issues like overtime working, sub-contracting, shift adjustments etc. Break-even analysis is a valuable tool for capacity planning.
• Production Planning and Control (PPC): Production planning is the system for specifying the production procedure to obtain the desired output in a given time at optimum cost in conformance with specified standard of quality, and control is essential to ensure that manufacturing takes place in the manner stated in the plan.
• Inventory control: Inventory control deals with determination of optimal inventory levels of raw materials, components, parts, tools; finished goods, spares and supplies to ensure their availability with minimum capital lock up.   Material requirement planning (MRP) and just in time (JIT) are the latest techniques that can help the firm to reduce inventory.
• Quality assurance and control: Quality is an important aspect of production system and it must ensure that services and products produced by the company conform to the declared quality standards at the minimum cost. A total quality assurance system includes such aspects as setting standards of quality, inspection of purchased and sub-contracted parts, control of quality during manufacture and inspection of finished product including performance testing etc.
• Work-study and job design: Work-study, also called time and motion study, is concerned with improvement of productivity in the existing jobs and the maximization of productivity in the design of new jobs.   Two principal component of work-study are: Method study and Work measurement.
• Maintenance and replacement: Maintenance and replacement involve selection of optimal maintenance (preventive and/or breakdown) policy to ensure higher equipment availability at minimum maintenance and repair cost. Preventive maintenance, which includes preventive inspection, planned lubrication, periodic cleaning and upkeep, planned replacement of parts, condition monitoring of the equipment and machines, etc.   is most appropriate for critical machines.
• Cost reduction and cost control: Effective production management must ensure minimum cost of production and in this context cost reduction and cost control acquires significant importance.   There are large number of tools and techniques available that can help to make a heavy dent on the production cost.

 Some Systems of OM

Modern operations management revolves around four theories: business process redesign (BPR), reconfigurable manufacturing systems, Six Sigma, and lean manufacturing. BPR is focused on analyzing and designing workflow and business processes within a company. The goal of BPR is to help companies dramatically restructure the organization by designing the business process from the ground up. Reconfigurable manufacturing systems are designed to incorporate accelerated change in structure, hardware, and software components.

This allows systems to adjust rapidly to the capacity to which they can continue production and how efficiently they function in response to market or intrinsic system changes. Six Sigma is an approach that focuses on quality. The word "six" references the control limits, which are placed at six standard deviations from the normal distribution mean. Tools used within the Six Sigma process include trending charts, potential defect calculations, and other ratios. Lean manufacturing is a systematic elimination of waste within the manufacturing process. This theory sees resource use for any reason other than value creation for customers as wasteful and seeks to eliminate wasteful resource expenditures as much as possible.

 Example of Operations Management

Operations management is prevalent in the healthcare sector. The current healthcare system overuses expensive, technological, and emergency-based treatment. High costs from care often remain uncompensated due to uninsured patients. A prevalence of services in expensive settings creates a burden on taxpayers, health insurance holders, and healthcare institutions themselves.

 

References

https://www.mbaknol.com/operations-management/operations-management-and-its-objectives/

https://www.topmba.com/mba-programs/what-operations-management

https://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-operations-management.htm

Strategic Management

Strategic management is a business approach that is utilized to make the most efficient use of available resources in the process of operating a company. The idea behind any strategic management process is to evaluate the current status of the operation and all its individual components, identify whether those components are being utilized to best effect, and to develop and implement changes when and as necessary. When utilized properly, this approach can improve the overall performance of the company, move the business closer toward reaching its stated goals, and keep the cost of raw materials and other resources in balance with the returns generated by the business effort.

The foundation of any strategic management approach is to define the basic reason for the existence of the operation. This means developing a workable mission statement for the company, defining objectives that are in line with that mission statement, and developing policies and procedures that move the company closer to achieving those objectives. As part of the process, companies must take into account the resources on hand and those that can be acquired when and as needed, and determine how to use those resources to best effect.

Once the structure is in place, strategic management calls for making sure the defined policies and procedures are being observed in every area of the operation. Here, managers, overseers, and supervisors must be well-versed in the essentials of strategic management, and learn how to use the resources placed into their care to best effect. This often translates into knowing how to communicate with employees effectively, understanding the production process thoroughly and being able to articulate why a given process is important to the overall success of the operation. When this is the case, the task of allocating tasks and resources to best advantage is easier to accomplish, and enhances the chances for the business to perform at optimum efficiency.

Strategic management is not a concept that applies only in large companies. Even small businesses that employ no more than one or two people can benefit from the basics of this approach. While the exact nature of the processes and tasks required for operation will be different between a mom-and-pop retailer and a multi-national corporation, the general idea behind this management process will still be valid. By applying the principals to the real-life situation of the business, it is often possible to maximize use of available resources, minimize waste in the workplace, and ultimately have a positive effect on the bottom line of the company.

Strategic Management Process

The strategic management process is a way for businesses to build strategies that help the company respond quickly to new challenges. This dynamic process helps organizations find new and more efficient ways to do business. The four key elements are situation analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation.

By addressing each element of the process in the order listed, companies can evaluate and re-evaluate situations as they develop, always checking to be sure the company has positioned itself optimally in the business environment. Situational analysis is the first and most vital part of business process management.

Situation analysis involves looking over the company’s external and internal environments and the context in which the company fits in those environments. It begins with observing the company’s internal environment, investigating how employees interact with each other at all levels. Often, organizations hold discussions, interviews and surveys to get a clearer picture of the current environment. To analyze the external environment, managers must look at the interactions between customers, suppliers, creditors, and competitors.

Managers should also consider which company needs are not being met. The types of challenges businesses face are numerous and varied, and they can involve processes like financial planning, staffing, employee performance, customer retention, sales projections and many others.

After a situational analysis is completed, it is time to formulate a strategy. This involves determining the company’s strengths to decide which strategies can be implemented. Strategies can be operational, competitive or corporate, depending on which part of the organization must implement them.

Operational strategies involve day-to-day operations, forming the processes and procedures by which the company does business. Competitive strategies involve finding ways to compete with a particular industry or business. Corporate strategies are long-term plans that govern the overall direction the company plans to take.

Strategy implementation is the third step in the strategic management process. It involves putting the formulated strategy into place. Management processes will focus on methods and procedures designed to execute their strategies and the order in which strategies should be implemented.

The final step in this process involves observing the results of an implemented strategy. In this strategy evaluation, the process comes full circle. This analysis is essentially the same as situational analysis, looking at the internal and external environments and the company’s context within them to determine if a plan should be reformulated.

 Stages of Strategic Management Process

There are many schools of thought on how to do strategic management, and academics and managers have developed numerous frameworks to guide the strategic management process. In general, the process typically includes five phases:

·         Assessing the organization's current strategic direction;

·         Identifying and analyzing internal and external strengths and weaknesses;

·         Formulating action plans;

·         Executing action plans; and

·         Evaluating to what degree action plans have been successful and making changes when desired results are not being produced.

Effective communication, data collection and organizational culture also play an important part in the strategic management process especially at large, complex companies. Lack of communication and a negative corporate culture can result in a misalignment of the organization's strategic management plan and the activities undertaken by its various business units and departments. Thus, strategy management includes analyzing cross-functional business decisions prior to implementing them to ensure they are aligned with strategic plans.

 Importance of Strategic Management in Business

Strategic management provides the framework for all the major business decisions of an enterprise such as decisions on businesses, products and markets, manufacturing facilities, investments and organizational structure. In a successful corporation, strategic planning works as the pathfinder to various business opportunities; simultaneously, it also serves as a corporate defense mechanism, helping the firm avoid costly mistakes in product market choices or investments.

Another reason for the importance of strategic management is that it provides a sense of direction so that organization members know where to expend their efforts. Without a strategic plan, managers throughout the organization may concentrate on day-to-day activities only to find that a competitor has maneuvered itself into a favorable competitive position by taking a more comprehensive, long-term view of strategic directions.

Yet another reason for the importance of strategic management is that it can help highlight the need for innovation and provide an organized approach for encouraging new ideas related to strategies. In addition, the process can be used to involve managers at various levels in planning, thus making it more likely that the managers will understand the resulting plans and be committed to their implementation.

Strategic management has the ultimate burden of providing a business organization with certain core competencies and competitive advantages in its fight for survival and growth. For example, Disney has been able to gain a competitive advantage in the family entertainment industry by creating amusement parks, movies, and products based on the renowned Disney characters.  It is not just a matter of projecting the future. It is not just a forecasting job; it is concerned with ensuring a good future for the firm. It seeks to prepare the corporation to face the future and even shape the future in its favor. Its ultimate burden is influencing the environmental forces in its favor, working into the environs and shaping it, instead of getting carried away by its turbulence or uncertainties. It is environmental uncertainty that makes strategy and strategic conduct essential in a business. The more intense the environmental uncertainty, more critical is the need for strategic management.

Finally, studies support the existence of a link between strategic management and organizational financial performance, although results have not always been consistent. According to Fred R. David, research studies indicate that organizations using strategic management concepts are more profitable and successful than those that do not. For example, a longitudinal study of 101 retail, service, and manufacturing firms over a 3-year period concluded that businesses using strategic management concepts showed significant improvement in sales, profitability, and productivity compared to firms without systematic planning activities; another study reported that up to 80 percent of the improvement possible in a firm’s profitability is achieved through changes in a company’s strategic direction; Cook and Ferris reported that the practices of high performing firms reflect a more strategic orientation and longer term-focus. High-performing firms tend to do systematic planning to prepare for future fluctuations in their external and internal environments. Firms with planning systems more closely resembling strategic management theory generally exhibit superior long-term financial performance relative to their industry.

Strategic planning and implementation have become a must for all organizations for their survival and growth in the present turbulent business environment. ‘Survival of fittest’ as propagated by Drawin is the only principle of survival for organization, where ‘fittest’ are not the ‘largest’ or ‘strongest’ organization but those who can change and adapt successfully to the changes in business environment. Just like the extinction of the dinosaurs who ruled the earth one time but failed to survive in change condition of earth natural environment many organizational giants have also followed the path of extinction failing to manage drastic changes in the business environment. Also business follows the war principle of ‘win or lose’, and not necessarily win-win situation arises in business world. Hence the organization has to build its competitive advantage over the competitors in the business warfare in order to win. This can be done only following strategic analysis, formulation and implementation.

References

https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-is-strategic-management.htm

https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/strategic-management

https://www.mbaknol.com/strategic-management/importance-of-strategic-management/

https://youtu.be/icqu2Kl1Imc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOFqekOF9ZI

https://youtu.be/_BajRnOCSKk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2GoZDOXzzw

Financial Management

Finance is the lifeline of any business. However, finances, like most other resources, are always limited. On the other hand, wants are always unlimited. Therefore, it is important for a business to manage its finances efficiently. As an introduction to financial management, in this article, we will look at the nature, scope, and significance of financial management, along with financial decisions andplanning.

Financial Management means planning, organizing, directing and controlling the financial activities such as procurement and utilization of funds of the enterprise. It means applying general management principles to financial resources of the enterprise.

Financial management is an organic function of any business. Any organization needs finances to obtain physical resources, carry out the production activities and other business operations, pay compensation to the suppliers, etc. There are many theories around financial management:

1. Some experts believe that financial management is all about providing funds needed by a business on terms that are most favorable, keeping its objectives in mind. Therefore, this approach concerns primarily with the procurement of funds which may include instruments, institutions, and practices to raise funds. It also takes care of the legal and accounting relationship between an enterprise and its source of funds.
2. Another set of experts believe that finance is all about cash. Since all business transactions involve cash, directly or indirectly, finance is concerned with everything done by the business.
3. The third and more widely accepted point of view is that financial management includes the procurement of funds and their effective utilization. For example, in the case of a manufacturing company, financial management must ensure that funds are available for installing the production plant and machinery. Further, it must also ensure that the profits adequately compensate the costs and risks borne by the business.

In a developed market, most businesses can raise capital easily. However, the real problem is the efficient utilization of the capital through effective financial planning and control.

 Scope/Elements

1. Investment decisions includes investment in fixed assets (called as capital budgeting). Investment in current assets are also a part of investment decisions called as working capital decisions.
2. Financial decisions - They relate to the raising of finance from various resources which will depend upon decision on type of source, period of financing, cost of financing and the returns thereby.
3. Dividend decision - The finance manager has to take decision with regards to the net profit distribution. Net profits are generally divided into two:
1. Dividend for shareholders- Dividend and the rate of it has to be decided.
2. Retained profits- Amount of retained profits has to be finalized which will depend upon expansion and diversification plans of the enterprise. 

Objectives of Financial Management

The financial management is generally concerned with procurement, allocation and control of financial resources of a concern. The objectives can be-

1. To ensure regular and adequate supply of funds to the concern.
2. To ensure adequate returns to the shareholders which will depend upon the earning capacity, market price of the share, expectations of the shareholders.
3. To ensure optimum funds utilization. Once the funds are procured, they should be utilized in maximum possible way at least cost.
4. To ensure safety on investment, i.e., funds should be invested in safe ventures so that adequate rate of return can be achieved.
5. To plan a sound capital structure-There should be sound and fair composition of capital so that a balance is maintained between debt and equity capital.

Functions of Financial Management

1. Estimation of capital requirements: A finance manager has to make estimation with regards to capital requirements of the company. This will depend upon expected costs and profits and future programs and policies of a concern. Estimations have to be made in an adequate manner which increases earning capacity of enterprise.
2. Determination of capital composition: Once the estimation have been made, the capital structure have to be decided. This involves short- term and long- term debt equity analysis. This will depend upon the proportion of equity capital a company is possessing and additional funds which have to be raised from outside parties.
3. Choice of sources of funds: For additional funds to be procured, a company has many choices like-
1. Issue of shares and debentures
2. Loans to be taken from banks and financial institutions
3. Public deposits to be drawn like in form of bonds.

Choice of factor will depend on relative merits and demerits of each source and period of financing.

4. Investment of funds: The finance manager has to decide to allocate funds into profitable ventures so that there is safety on investment and regular returns is possible.
5. Disposal of surplus: The net profits decision have to be made by the finance manager. This can be done in two ways:
1. Dividend declaration - It includes identifying the rate of dividends and other benefits like bonus.
2. Retained profits - The volume has to be decided which will depend upon expansional, innovational, diversification plans of the company.
6. Management of cash: Finance manager has to make decisions with regards to cash management. Cash is required for many purposes like payment of wages and salaries, payment of electricity and water bills, payment to creditors, meeting current liabilities, maintenance of enough stock, purchase of raw materials, etc.
7. Financial controls: The finance manager has not only to plan, procure and utilize the funds but he also has to exercise control over finances. This can be done through many techniques like ratio analysis, financial forecasting, cost and profit control, etc.

References

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/financial-management.htm

https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-environment/business-functions/financial-management/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxXCPmKkfUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrs3taWpuD8&list=RDQMj-qDWTv5qzw&start_radio=1

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) is branch of management that deals with people at work, it is concerned with the human dimensions of management of the organization. As organization consists of people, therefore acquiring those, developing their skills, providing them motivation in order to attain higher goal and ensuring that the level of commitment is maintained are the important activities. This covers the fields of staffing (hiring people), retention of people, pay and perks setting and management, performance management, change management and taking care of exits from the company to round off the activities.

Importance of HRM for Organizational Success

We have discussed the basic concept of HRM and the ways in which it helps the organization meet its goals. In this article, we discuss the reasons for organizations to have a HRM strategy as well as the business drivers that make the strategy imperative for organizational success. It is a fact that to thrive in the chaotic and turbulent business environment, firms need to constantly innovate and be “ahead of the curve” in terms of business practices and strategies. It is from this motivation to be at the top of the pack that HRM becomes a valuable tool for management to ensure success.

The Evolving Business Paradigm: One of the factors behind organizations giving a lot of attention to their people is the nature of the firms in the current business environment. Given the fact that there has been a steady movement towards an economy based on services, it becomes important for firms engaged in the service sector to keep their employees motivated and productive. Even in the manufacturing and the traditional sectors, the need to remain competitive has meant that firms in these sectors deploy strategies that make effective use of their resources. This changed business landscape has come about as a result of a paradigm shift in the way businesses and firms view their employees as more than just resources and instead adopt a “people first” approach.

Strategic Management and HRM: As discussed in the articles on modern day HRM practices, there is a need to align organizational goals with that of the HR strategy to ensure that there is alignment of the people policies with that of the management objectives. This means that the HR department can no longer be viewed as an appendage of the firm but instead is a vital organ in ensuring organizational success.

The aims of strategic management are to provide the organization with a sense of direction and a feeling of purpose. The days when the HR manager was concerned with administrative duties is over and the current HRM practices in many industries are taken as seriously as say, the marketing and production functions.

Importance of HRM for Organizational Success: The practice of HRM must be viewed through the prism of overall strategic goals for the organization instead of a standalone tint that takes a unit based or a micro approach. The idea here is to adopt a holistic perspective towards HRM that ensures that there are no piecemeal strategies and the HRM policy enmeshes itself fully with those of the organizational goals. For instance, if the training needs of the employees are simply met with perfunctory trainings on omnibus topics, the firm stands to lose not only from the time that the employees spend in training but also a loss of direction. Hence, the organization that takes its HRM policies seriously will ensure that training is based on focused and topical methods.

In conclusion, the practice of HRM needs to be integrated with the overall strategy to ensure effective use of people and provide better returns to the organizations in terms of ROI (Return on Investment) for every rupee or dollar spent on them. Unless the HRM practice is designed in this way, the firms stand to lose from not utilizing people fully. And this does not bode well for the success of the organization.

Scope of Human Resource Management

Human resources are undoubtedly the key resources in an organization, the easiest and the most difficult to manage! The objectives of the HRM span right from the manpower needs assessment to management and retention of the same. To this effect Human resource management is responsible for effective designing and implementation of various policies, procedures and programs. It is all about developing and managing knowledge, skills, creativity, aptitude and talent and using them optimally.

Human Resource Management is not just limited to manage and optimally exploit human intellect. It also focuses on managing physical and emotional capital of employees. Considering the intricacies involved, the scope of HRM is widening with every passing day. It covers but is not limited to HR planning, hiring (recruitment and selection), training and development, payroll management, rewards and recognitions, Industrial relations, grievance handling, legal procedures etc. In other words, we can say that it’s about developing and managing harmonious relationships at workplace and striking a balance between organizational goals and individual goals. The scope of HRM is extensive and far-reaching. Therefore, it is very difficult to define it concisely. However, we may classify the same under following heads:
HRM in Personnel Management: This is typically direct manpower management that involves manpower planning, hiring (recruitment and selection), training and development, induction and orientation, transfer, promotion, compensation, layoff and retrenchment, employee productivity. The overall objective here is to ascertain individual growth, development and effectiveness which indirectly contribute to organizational development.

It also includes performance appraisal, developing new skills, disbursement of wages, incentives, allowances, traveling policies and procedures and other related courses of actions.

HRM in Employee Welfare: This particular aspect of HRM deals with working conditions and amenities at workplace. This includes a wide array of responsibilities and services such as safety services, health services, welfare funds, social security and medical services. It also covers appointment of safety officers, making the environment worth working, eliminating workplace hazards, support by top management, job safety, safeguarding machinery, cleanliness, proper ventilation and lighting, sanitation, medical care, sickness benefits, employment injury benefits, personal injury benefits, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits and family benefits.

It also relates to supervision, employee counseling, establishing harmonious relationships with employees, education and training. Employee welfare is about determining employees’ real needs and fulfilling them with active participation of both management and employees. In addition to this, it also takes care of canteen facilities, crèches, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc.

HRM in Industrial Relations: Since it is a highly sensitive area, it needs careful interactions with labor or employee unions, addressing their grievances and settling the disputes effectively in order to maintain peace and harmony in the organization. It is the art and science of understanding the employment (union-management) relations, joint consultation, disciplinary procedures, solving problems with mutual efforts, understanding human behavior and maintaining work relations, collective bargaining and settlement of disputes.

The main aim is to safeguarding the interest of employees by securing the highest level of understanding to the extent that does not leave a negative impact on organization. It is about establishing, growing and promoting industrial democracy to safeguard the interests of both employees and management.

Objectives of Human Resource Management

The objectives of HRM can be broken down into four broad categories:

• Societal objectives: Measures put into place that responds to the ethical and social needs or challenges of the company and its employees. This includes legal issues such as equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work.
• Organizational objectives: Actions taken that help to ensure the efficiency of the organization. This includes providing training, hiring the right number of employees for a given task or maintaining high employee retention rates.
• Functional objectives: Guidelines used to keep HR functioning properly within the organization as a whole. This includes making sure that all of HR's resources are being allocated to their full potential.
• Personal objectives: Resources used to support the personal goals of each employee. This includes offering the opportunity for education or career development as well as maintaining employee satisfaction.

References

https://www.mbaknol.com/category/human-resource-management/

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/human-resource-management.htm

https://youtu.be/aPEUKLxxh_k

https://searchhrsoftware.techtarget.com/definition/human-resource-management-HRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2HFusWQIeE