The term ‘personnel management’ (pm) is often contrasted with the contemporary notion of hrm because

Quizzes are available to test your understanding of the key concepts covered in each chapter.

1. The approach to HRM which is associated with the instrumental use of employees to achieve organisational objectives is referred to as

  1. assertive
  2. coercive
  3. hard
  4. conflictual

Ans: C

2. Guest (1987) suggests which four elements are central to HRM

  1. commitment, flexibility, quality, strategy
  2. communication, flexibility, quantity, strategy
  3. collaboration, functionality, quality, standardisation
  4. communication, functionality, quality, strategy

Ans: A

3. Firms that have no formal individual or collective  structures and practices for the purposes of employee management are referred to by Guest and Conway (1999) as

  1. black hole
  2. partnership
  3. red dwarf
  4. bleak house

Ans: A

4. The area of HR activity associated with HR planning, recruitment and selection is referred to as

  1. reward
  2. resourcing
  3. development
  4. employer branding

Ans: B

5. The term ‘personnel management’ (PM) is often contrasted with the contemporary notion of HRM because

  1. PM refers to the management of blue-collar workers only
  2. PM refers exclusively to union–management relations
  3. PM represents a predominantly administrative function which contrasts with the strategic intent of HRM
  4. PM is associated with smaller organisations whereas HRM is only practised in large blue-chip firms

Ans: C

How does personnel management differ from HRM?

Personnel management focuses on the maintenance of all personnel and administrative systems, whereas human resource management has a more strategic approach, forecasting the organisation's needs and continuously monitoring and adjusting all systems.

What is the relationship between PM and HRM?

Personnel management primarily focuses on ordinary activities, such as employee hiring, remunerating, training, and harmony. On the contrary, human resource management focuses on treating employees as valued assets, which are to be valued, used and preserved.

What are the similarities between personnel management pm and HRM?

One significant similarity between personnel management and HRM is that both work in order to recruit the right people for the right job considering organizational objectives. Plus, both approaches use the same functions from recruitment and selection to remuneration and performance management.

Why did the name change from personnel management to human resource management?

The name change was mainly due to the change in social and economic activities throughout history. Industrial welfare was the first form of human resource management (HRM).