Managing Others

Human Resources Management

Management of the persons employed in a business or organization; personnel employees.

The difference between the roles of an employee and a human resources manager can be likened to the contrasts between the roles of actor and director. The performer's focus is on his or her individual performance, whereas the director must be concerned with coaxing the most from each actor and actress to achieve the collective goals of the movie or play. We argues that successful managers must excel at three roles.

First, as our classroom assignment demonstrated, they must be good teachers. Effective human resources managers expand the knowledge, skills, vistas and problem-solving abilities of their employees.

Second, human resources management must be sensitive counselors, because employees don't just come into companies with skills and attributes, they come in as human beings.

And third, managers must be what Grossman and Parkinson call "master gardeners," whose flowers and plants are the people who work under them. The primary objective of master gardeners is to create a fertile culture where people can grow and thrive. Above all, the authors assert that for an organization to be truly effective, it must have a problem-solving culture. "It has to promote that and cultivate that and perpetuate that," Grossman said. "It's [employees] who say, 'How do we get from point A to point B?' rather than 'What do I get out of it?' The 'I' is irrelevant in a problem-solving culture."

To learn more about human resources management click here.

Visit us today at ManagingOthers.com