Organizations have many operational functions. HRD is one of the functions that is engaging with the tasks of an organization.

In early 70 s there was no division called as Human Resource Department or Division. By that time there was only a division called "Personnel" engaged with the labor related in the organization. Personnel Management was introduced by the end of 19th century. At that time, this was focused on the welfare of labors in the organizations. According to the tasks they have done, the officers at Personnel Department

was called as "We lfare Officers". The special thing was, the employee welfare tasks were done by women at that time. During the period of 1914-1939, many organizations has showed a quick growth and quick changes in needs and wants of the operations. Therefore the tasks done by women shifted to the men's, because of the complexity of tasks. These officers has called as "Labor managers" at that time. After Second World War, during the period 1945 - 1979, this has grown up and changed to "Personnel Management", and Personnel Management was focus basically on employee administration and the legislation.

At late 70 s the economic of the world changed gradually and organizations started to consider labors work as an important resource. At the decade of 80 the concept of "Human Resource Management" was started and then it has shown growth gradually in decade of 1990. Finally the tasks and operations of personnel management was

shifted to the Human Resource Management and it is functioning now in broad way in the organizations than Personnel Management.

Human resource management has changed in name various times throughout history. The name change was mainly due to the change in social and economic activities throughout history. Industrial Welfare Industrial welfare was the first form of human resource management (HRM). In 1833 the factories act stated that there should be male factory inspectors. In 1878 legislation was passed to regulate the hours of work for children and women by having a 60 hour week. During this time trade unions started to be formed. In 1868 the 1st trade union conference was held. This was the start of collective bargaining. In 1913 the number of industrial welfare workers had grown so a conference organized by Seebohm Rowntree was held. The welfare workers association was formed later changed to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Recruitment and Selection It all started when Mary Wood was asked to start engaging girls during the 1st world war. In the 1st world war personnel development increased due to government initiatives to encourage the best use of people. In 1916 it became compulsory to have a welfare worker in explosive factories and was encouraged in munitions factories. A lot of work was done in this field by the army forces.

The armed forces focused on how to test abilities and IQ along with other research in human factors at work. In 1921 the national institute of psychologists established and published results of studies on selection tests, interviewing techniques and training methods. Acquisition of other Personnel Activities During the 2nd world war the focus was on recruitment and selection and later on training; improving morale and motivation; discipline; health and safety; joint consultation and wage policies. This meant that a personnel department had to be established with trained staff. Industrial Relations Consultation between management and the workforce spread during the war. This meant that personnel departments became responsible for its organization and administration. Health and safety and the need for specialists became the focus. The need for specialists to deal with industrial relations was recognized so that the personnel manager became as spokesman for the organization when discussions where held with trade unions/shop stewards. In the 1970s industrial relations was very important. The heated climate during this period reinforced the importance of a specialist role in industrial relations negotiation. The personnel manager had the authority to negotiate deals about pay and other collective issues. Legislation In the 1970s employment legislation increased and the personnel function took the role of the specialist advisor ensuring that managers do not violate the law and that cases did not end up in industrial tribunals. Flexibility and Diversity In the 1990s a major trend emerged where employers were seeking increasing flexible arrangements in the hours worked by employees due to an increase in number of parttime and temporary contracts and the invention of distance working.

The workforce and patterns of work are becoming diverse in which traditional recruitment practices are useless. In the year 2000, growth in the use of internet meant a move to a 24/7 society. This created new jobs in e-commerce while jobs were lost in traditional areas like shops. This meant an increased potential for employees to work from home. Organizations need to think strategically about the issues these developments raise. HRM managers role will change as changes occur. Information Technology Some systems where IT helps HRM are: - Systems for e-recruitment; - On-line short-listing of applicants; - Developing training strategies on-line; - Psychometric training; - Payroll systems; - Employment data; - Recruitment administration; - References; - Pre-employment checks. IT helps HR managers offload routine tasks which will give them more time in solving complex tasks. IT also ensures that a greater amount of information is available to make decisions. A Brief History of Human Resource Management Pre-historic Times Some of the vital principles of HRM were used in prehistoric times, like mechanisms being developed for selecting tribal leaders. Knowledge was recorded and passed on to the next generation about safety, health, hunting, and gathering food.

2000 BC to 1000 BC saw the development of more advanced HR functions. The Chinese are known to be the first to use employee screening techniques, way back in 1115 BC, while the Greeks started using the apprentice system in 2000 BC. These practices showed the importance of selecting and training the right individuals for related jobs. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, which started in England during the late 1700s AD, brought a lot of transformation in the practices of production. Handmade goods were replaced by machine-made goods, cottage industries were replaced by large factories, and small-scale production gave way to largescale production. Under the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the US economy also converted itself from agri-based to industry-based. The new system required an extremely well-organized structure, and led to recruitment of a large number of people. Moreover, the Industrial Revolution brought in a huge number of immigrants. To create employment for all the immigrants, recruitment and management of individuals gained vitality. The period saw the rise of a special class of managers who were considered higher than the less privileged employees. This newly developed system created a gap between the labor force and the bureaucrat or management. With the passage of time, the gap grew wider and the condition of the lower class deteriorated. As such, there was a blaring need for human resource management. Early human resource management, in general, followed a social welfare approach. It aimed at helping immigrants in the process of adjusting to their jobs and to an 'American' way of life. The main aim behind these programs was to assist immigrants in learning English and acquiring housing and medical care. Also, techniques were used to promote supervisory training that ensured an increase in productivity. Labor Unions The plight of the laborers and workers brought 'Labor Unions' into the scene. With the advent of these unions in the 1790s, power in the hands of the employees multiplied considerably, and increased at a rapid pace in the 1800s and 1900s. This led to the HR department having to become more capable in politics and diplomacy. Two feats that were quintessential to the

importance of human resources were that it was the HR department that got the management and the labor unions to come on common grounds, and Frederick W. Taylor's (1856-1915) theory of 'Scientific Management'. While the first worked on getting the management to see things from the labor perspective and grant them medical and educational benefits, the other had tremendous impact on attaining better productivity from low-level production workers. The B.F. Goodrich Company were pioneers in designing a corporate employee department to address the concerns of the employees under a Human Resource Department. National Cash Register followed suit in 1902, forming a separate department to handle employee grievances, record keeping, wage management and other employee-related functions. In 1913, the US Department of Labor was framed to promote the welfare of employees. In the 1920s and 30s, Hawthorne studies had a deep impact on the productivity of organizations which advocated bettering the physical work conditions for the employees. Due to this, there was a shift in focus from workers' efficiency to efficiency through work satisfaction. The Age of Reforms Personnel managers started seeing more sunshine since the Wagner Act of 1935, also known as the National Labor Relations Act. 1935 also witnessed the Social Security Act which insured old age people after retirement. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act accounted for minimum wages for laborers. These enacted laws provided security and also helped in increasing the standard of the employees. Since then, there has been no stopping in promoting the welfare of workers, and new and efficient laws have been framed time and again. Thus, with the lapse of time, human relations became a prominent feature of organizational behavior. The New Era Between the 1960s and 1970s, HRM gained momentum after the passing of several acts like the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The framed laws ensured the safety and protected the rights of employees. It was seen that no

discrimination in any form was committed against the workers or laborers. Laws related to disabled people were enacted to prevent discrimination of disabled workers under the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990. With the advent of all these acts, corporates placed a lot of importance on human resource management to avoid plausible law suits. By the end of the 1970s, HRM had taken over the world! Almost all big and medium-scale industries had a department to manage their recruitment, employee relations, record-keeping, salaries, wages, etc. Towards the 1980s, the importance of HR continued to intumesce due to several reasons like an increase in skilled labor, training, regulation compliance, dismissal, etc. HR managers were tasked with the challenges of hiring and the firing employees. Human Resource Management has been given various names throughout its long history. Since being recognized as a separate and important function, it has been called 'Personnel Relations', which evolved to 'Industrial Relations', then 'Employee Relations', and finally to 'Human Resources'. Today, Human Resource Management has the same importance as other departments in most companies. In some companies, the HRD, or Human Resource Department, is even considered more important than other departments. With the constant increase in education and technology, and frequent fluctuations in economic status and structures, HR remains the oldest, most mature, and most efficient of all management styles. It quintessentially underlines the importance of human beings working in any organization.