Difference Between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management

he term Personnel Management originated before the term Human Resource Management (HRM). Human Resource Development (HRD) is another term used in management studies and it covers a wider view of HRM. HRM and Personnel Management have more similarities than differences. One of the obvious similarities between them is that, they both share the same field of activity and have the same objective of 'managing the employees'. Before understanding the differences between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management, it is necessary to have a clear idea about both the concepts.

What is Human Resource Management?

The all-importance and requisiteness of HRM is stated by Henry Ford (a pioneer in the field of management) as ~ "take out my building, take out my machines, and all capital but leave my men with me, I will become Henry Ford again." These lines say a lot about the importance of human resources for any organization. The human resources refer to the qualities possessed by the workforce or employees in an organization. These qualities include knowledge, values, skills, abilities, cognition, beliefs, commitment, etc., possessed by the employees, without which any organization cannot grow or achieve their objectives. In short, the efficiency and success of any administrative system depends upon the cooperation of the human resources. HRM directly deals with the human resources in a system. Human Resource Management is defined by Gray Dessler as ~ "The policies and practices involved in carrying out the ‘people’ or human resources aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening, training and appraising