CC BY
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106
Труды БГТУ, 2018, серия 5, № 2, с. 106-110
УДК 330.341
Ali Al Atrash
Belarusian State Technological University
THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR THE LEBANESE ORGANIZATION
Human resources (HR) are an economic category which is now very important in Lebanon. Based on realized theoretical research, we have confirmed the hypothesis that there are at least four different scientific approaches to understanding the nature and importance of human resources. The research results are a summary of definitions in the human management, description of the concept for better understanding the situation with employees in Lebanon.
There are some the definition of human resources and approaches to the human resources according to some economists and economic theory schools. In microeconomic view, there are two basic approaches. In terms of business economics, the human resources are considered as the production factor. According to the managerial view, the human resources are a business resource or asset which forms part of the market value of the company and investment in HR gives additional benefits for organizations. The macroeconomic approach sees human resources as one of the production factors, respectively sources of economic growth.
There is the concept of human resources management for Lebanese organizations the main idea of which is a forming a new strategy of HRM due to indicators of an effective system of human resources management and evaluation of the level of HRM in Lebanon (attraction, selection, training, assessment).
Key words: concept, human resources management, productivity, human capital.
Introduction. In the modern world huge attention is paid to a question of human resources management (HRM) and formation of the human capital as one of competition factors. The phenomenon of a human resource became the reason of all this changes. Now we observe a tendency of complication of economic, social, cultural, political life. In the field of economy it has led to emergence of a human capital concept. Up to the middle of the 20th century the major role in production was played by the physical capital, parameters of labor assessment were simple and came down generally to ability to carry out specific objectives, and from the economic point of view were expressed in calculation of labor costs and ect.
Further, the process of complication in technologies led to increase the requirements to the worker, such qualities of the worker as his professional training, psychological properties. Such approach has found the development in the works of economists T. Schultz and G. Becker which have laid understanding of an essence for a new kind of the capital and have developed techniques of its calculation. They have allocated two main forms of the human capital connected with existence of the general and specific skills and also the question of rents which the workers can have because of the certain skills connected with features of their knowledge. It has set a new view on education as on investment, but not just familiarizing with cultural experience.
The most interesting program for HRM is the World Report "About human development"
(UNDP, 1990) where the key indicators of human development (welfare, life expectancy and education level) have been formulated. It gave the impulse to HRM. Further discussion of a problem of human potential in various contexts has shown importance and depth of this subject, diverse exit opportunities to the most various areas and on different levels of social and philosophical knowledge.
Main part. People form an element in the company which is able to learn, to innovate, to stimulate, and to make changes as well as to think creatively. This all is important for long-term successful operation of a company on the market.
To the main global trends in human resources management is possible to carry:
- competence-based approach;
- marketing technologies with personnel;
- work internationalization with personnel;
- ekonomization in work of personnel's services;
- decentralization of personnel's services.
Before discussing the concepts of human management in the process of economy informatization we will give definitions to the basic determinations in this field.
The research of the literature shows there is different opinion on the basic definitions in human management: in English versions attention pays to human capital and the problem of its evaluation; in Russian - to each stage of evaluation in human management (from labor as a factor of production to human capital). There is a summary of ideas and in this way they are universal (Table).
The links between main definitions in human management
Determination Symbol Definition Logical formula
Labor Force LF Set of physical and mental capacities of the person which he uses for production of material benefits and services -
Staff S The main list of skilled employees of the organization S = ^employees
Personnel P A set of hired employees, the working owners and co-owners P = S + working owners and co-owners
Human Resources HR Physical, psychological, spiritual stocks, namely professional training and qualification, know-how, a set of the personal qualities allowing to estimate person's possible production return which can be used if necessary HR = P + ^social and cultural characteristics of person's and psychological features
Human Capital HC Physical, psychological, spiritual capitalized resource which has its value and meaning HC = HR + + investment in HR
At first sight the definition of "staff' and "personnel" are identical, however these categories are various though theoretically "staff' have to be slightly less "personnel". The determination "staff' covers the persons having special training and belonging to constantly registered in the organization. Here, for example, the temporary and affiliated employees, pupils don't belong. But these categories belong to "personnel".
On the verge of the 20th and 21st centuries the new category "human resources (or resource) of production" has appeared in the United States of America. The main researchers in this field are Ch. Handy, Ts. Fombrun, N. Tichi, M. Devanna, M. Amstrong, M. Beer, R. Walton, P. Lawrence, etc. The name "human resource" has appeared from the resource theory of production while at other approaches employees were defined as "a production element" and "a human factor". However the last definitions, apparently, didn't give rather clear picture in this connection similar approach has found.
The science went further and the concept of human capital has appeared (G. Becker is the author). Acceptance of G. Becker's model can be important as there is the emphasis on capital investment in the human capital. This model confirms inequality of incomes not only from work (in essence from the human capital), but also from property (from a gift or inheritance other assets). It is possible to agree that the rate from investment in the person is on average much higher, than from investment in physical capital. In case of the human capital it decreases with growth of investment volume, whereas in case of other assets (the real estate, bank deposits, etc.) decreases a little, or at all doesn't change.
Now in the theory of management it is accepted to allocate the following main concepts of relationship between the employees and owner of business.
The concept of "labor management" (the end of 19th - the middle of the 20th centuries) which es-
sence consisted in implementation of workers accounting and record keeping on personnel questions. The main aspects of this concept have found the reflection in F. Taylor, G. Ford, A. Fayol's works, etc. Within this concept instead of the person in production only his function - the work measured by expenses of working hours and the corresponding salary was considered. At the same time the person was considered as an appendage of the equipment and the most insignificant, unlike material and financial resource of the enterprises. Therefore only accounting of the workers was required for the enterprises of that period of time just as also other resources of production were considered.
The concept "personnel administration" which has received the beginning from 1930th represents activities for selection, preparation, arrangement and dismissal of personnel. From the functional point of view this activity, besides the traditional system of personnel's work, differed in the fact that it also included the solution of the motivation and assessment of personnel's work. Besides, it is necessary to notice that emergence of this concept has coincided with the tendency of complication of work and technical and technological production development. Various aspects of this group of concepts were considered by Max Weber, Elton Mayo (one of founders of the "the human relations" doctrine, the head of the Hawthorne experiment) and many others.
It is necessary to refer to number of the main differences between the concept of "labor management" and the concept of "personnel administration", in particular:
a) the typical style of the management within this approach is focused on the person to a large extent;
b) the principles of collectivism in work gain development;
c) the employees are involved in decision-making process;
d) in the organization of work group approach is widely used.
The concept "human resources management" (HR - human resource) ascends by 1970th and it is connected, first of all, with A. Maslou, F. Gertsberg, D. McGregor's names and others. The origin of the human resources concept can be traced back to the work of Adam Smith in the 18th century. Smith underlined the importance of "the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society"; while an individual will incur costs to obtain such abilities, once acquired they stand as "a capital fixed and realised, as it were, in his person" (Smith, 1776) [1]. The more general term ''human resources'' was already employed to connote the idea that the nation's labor input is embodied in human beings and represents a form of capital good that can be augmented through various forms of private and public investment, such as education, training, and public health programs (Commons, 1919) [2].
This concept has turned out to be consequence of the scientific and technological revolution occurring in the world caused by technological innovations and growth of intellectualization of production. According to this concept person is the main subject of the organization and special object of management. Therefore, proceeding from motives and abilities of the person, strategy and an enterprise management system have to be based.
The main distinctive features the concept HR management are as follows:
- procuring of close interrelation of business strategy and strategy of human resources management;
- recognition that employee is one of the major production resources, special object of management - an element of the social organization;
- increase of attention to social needs of the person, to enrichment of jobs, activization of the employees involvement into business;
- wide use of flexible forms in the work organization, strengthening of decentralization and "washing out" of hierarchical structure;
- development of organizational culture, orientation to flexible work in groups;
- introduction compensations and social guarantees into the motivational mechanism.
The new view on human resources of the organization has been connected with the G. Becker's theory - "the human capital" which has proclaimed one more resource of growth in the company - human which at certain investment brings the dividends significantly exceeding investment.
In the late fifties - the beginning of the 60th of the 20th century the theory of the human capital was selected in the independent section of the social and economic analysis and is connected with G. Becker, T. Schultz, Ya. Mintser's names. They have turned for that role which knowledge and abilities of employees play in the course of produc-
tion, and have developed a technique of assessment of investment efficiency for the enterprise assets into education and training of employees.
G. Becker's work "The human capital" [3] became classics of a modern economic thought. Though the main contribution to promoting of the human capital idea was made by other american economist T. Schultz, development of the microe-conomic bases of this theory has been given in Becker's fundamental work.
The model formulated in it became a basis for all subsequent researches in this area. Supporters of this theory understand the stock (reserve) of knowledge, abilities, skills and motivations embodied in the person which promote growth of productive strength of the person. At the same time the human capital can be considered as set of the human abilities giving the chance to the carrier to gain income. It is formed on the basis of inherited qualities of the person by means of purposeful investment into his development. Education, accumulation of know-how, health protection, geographical mobility, information search can be investment into him. Depending on volume and the sequence of these investment return from this factor of production grows, being shown, as at the individual, and public levels. Thus, the ability to bring income puts the human capital on one level with other forms of capital functioning in social production.
Human resources considered as the holders of human capital. In this viewing angle, it often happens that people equate human capital and human potential. Human potential is defined as the sum of available human and assumptions based on the production of goods and services (Vodák, Kucha-rcíková, 2011) [4].
Therefore, the human capital - not a certain phantom, not a metaphor, it becomes a reality. In public consciousness absolutely new approach in the attitude towards the person - management of the human capital unlike the former concept - accounting of a human factor is made out today. The human capital - a multilevel concept. First of all, it is attribute of the personality, inseparable from person. It can collect and be implemented only through development of the person and his activity.
Structuring activity of people by means of the enterprises, corporations, associations gives to the human capital the organizational forms and structures.
The most dynamic and effective component of the human capital - education and culture, extent of possession of scientific knowledge and information, i. e. is the intellectual capital.
Now all English version literature discusses the problem of a human capital creation, and evaluation of it. But for Lebanon it is very important to make a first step to "human capital" concept across the human resources management. We base on
describing above and formulate the concept of HRM in Lebanese organization (Figure).
Managing human resources in Lebanon is quite challenging and requires more than the managers' official duty, calling for the need to treat all people, including employees and stakeholders as important resources to the organization. This can be achieved by minimizing personal conflicts between
people, initiating best conflict resolution measures, applying methods of inducements to employees and directing the workforce to focus on the achievement of organization's goals among others. Hence, the common problems for Lebanese organization that are not yet solved include recruitment, mismanagement, training and compliance, retention, and employee concerns.
Concept of Human Resources Management in the Lebanese organization
First of all we need to describe human resources in the Lebanese firms and evaluate the level of HRM using indicators of an effective system of human resources management, this gives us opportunity to choose special tools to create instruments of a creation of effective system of human resources management. Following the concept we can increase the productivity and business effectiveness by creating appropriate of HRM strategy.
Conclusion. There are a number of partially synonymous definitions such, as the human capital, human potential, human factor, human resource but all of them have special features. During the 1920s certain of these terms gained ascendancy and others largely disappeared and, at the same time, a consensus slowly emerged about their meaning and content. All of these terms somehow dealt with work, employment, and relations between employers and employees. The umbrella term used to describe the entire area of study and practice in Lebanon is human resources. We count
that human resources are physical, psychological, spiritual stocks, namely professional training and qualification, know-how, a set of the personal qualities allowing to estimate person's possible production return which can be used if necessary. From a position of philosophical views on management of "human resources", employees are assets of the enterprise, the human capital that defines more strengthening of a role of motivation and stimulation to work and smaller control over employees. The human capital is understood as a complex of the qualities, skills, abilities and knowledge of the person used by him at implementation of economic activity for the benefit of receiving income. The satisfaction of requirements becomes result of personal interest of the worker.
For Lebanon is very important to improve HRM at firm's level and understand more deeply the nature of human work, a role and the status of human resources in process of transformations in production, economic, social spheres.
References
1. Smith A. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Edited by S. M. Soares. MetaLibri Digital Library, 2007. 754 p.
2. Commons J. Industrial goodwill. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1919. 213 p.
3. Becker G. S. Human Capital - A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education. 3rd Edition. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1993. 412 p.
4. Kucharcikova A. Human Capital - Definitions and Approaches. Human Resources Management & Ergonomics, 2011, vol. V, no. 2, pp. 60-70.
5. Kaufman Bruce E. Human resources and industrial relations. Commonalities and differences. Human Resource Management Review, 2001, no. 11, pp. 339-374.
Information about the author
Ali Al Atrash - PhD student, the Department of Management, Business Technologies and Sustainable Development. Belarusian State Technological University (13a, Sverdlova str., 220006, Minsk, Republic of Belarus); field officer in NGO's organization funded by UNICF (1, Street Rais el ain, Bekaa, Baalback, Lebanon). E-mail: atrash.ali@hotmail.com
Received 08.09.2018
