Introduction
Human resources are the main engine and the source of strength of the economic system. Personnel management includes the careful and gradual work with professionals or employees of the organization, and then, people management by combining the communication between the control and co-workers. In this wide sphere it is extremely difficult to manage human resources and the work scope.
The essence of human resources
Before considering the human resources of any company, it is necessary to define what an organization is, why it exists and how it is structured. “A business organization is an individual or group of people that collaborate to achieve certain commercial goals” (Kokemuller 2014). Organizations – enterprises, banks, and schools – are all around us, it is simply impossible to imagine the everyday life without them. Despite the differences and areas of work activity and the production process, all organizations have similar characteristics, such as availability of objectives and resources, dependence on the external environment, division of labor, hierarchy, management, and norms and rules of relationships.
However, only those who are among all of these resources can produce goods and services. A man is the main value of the company and the most important resource of the organization. All other resources that are listed are useless. They do not create and will not be able to create anything, until a person uses his/her full potential and makes these resources work.
The strategy of the operation and development of any company or organization is inconceivable without human resources. In order to ensure the effective operation of the company, a strong team capable of maintaining its high professional standing must be formed. “Human resources are the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector or an economy” (Condrey 2014).
They consist of quality skills and indicators. These qualities include the ability of people to work that makes them the labor resources. “Labor is one of the classic factors of production” (Grimsley). Labor resources are the set of total working population, both employed and unemployed in economic activities. Men aged 16 to 59 years and women aged 16 to 54 years are considered to be labor resources according to the legislation. Referring to the article Top Management and Key Personnel Positions in a Business “Personnel are staff people with many duties” (Hofstrand 2009). All these concepts are important and combined into one – staff for the convenience that is characterized by the number of employees and structure. The number is a total staffing that should be engaged in the enterprise or company. It is worth noting that it can be scheduled (normative) and list (actual). There are categories of list number of employees: permanent – an unlimited term of work; temporary – 2 months or 4 months for the replacement during the period of the absent employee; season – up to 6 months.
Classification of employees is as follows:
1. Leaders. They belong to the administration and are divided into enterprise managers (top tier), managers of department (middle tier), and managers working with the workforce (lower unit);
2. Specialists. They are actively engaged in developing instructions given by leaders (economists, accountants, engineers, lawyers, etc.).
3. Other workers. They are engaged in the preparation, processing, accounting, control and archiving of documents (secretaries, cashiers, etc.).
Personnel structure is also characterized by professional and qualification structure and competence. The value of human resources is the presence of indicators such as occupation, qualifications and competence.
Human resource management is a complex system that includes interconnected structures and subsystems of creation, use, and labor resource development. The objectives of the control subsystem in the formation of human resources are to:
1. provide an enterprise with appropriate human resources;
2. create conditions in order to reach maximum realization of workers’ capabilities.
The main tasks of the control subsystem in the formation of human resources are to:
1. forecast and plan the needs of employees;
2. analyze the supply and demand on the labor market;
3. attract, recruit and select the staff;
4. The rise of efficiency of work performed;
5. enhance the quality of employees and the organization as a whole;
6. increase the living standards of employees.
The working efficiency of the enterprise is not only the quantity of human resources, but also the appropriate qualification and abilities. In order to increase the efficiency of human resources especially in large enterprises, a special personnel department is directly engaged in the development of needs for workers, their recruitment and selection is created.
Shell Oil Company is a good example of a company where human resources play a major role in its development. “This company is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies” (Largest Employers 2009-2014). The main goal of this company is to meet the energy needs of society. Shell is the market leader. A good motivation is at the heart of their success. There is a direct dependence of the results and, consequently, the stability of the enterprise in the market on the quality of the personnel. To interest the employees in solving questions, such as the improvement of product quality, reduction of production costs and achievement of high production efficiency is extremely important for a company. Human resources play an important role in ensuring the efficient operation of the enterprise, as well as material, financial and information resources. Shell Oil Company proves it. However, this company is successful not only due to a good motivation of the staff, but also because of decent skills and knowledge of the employees.
Thus, a company that wants to reach success cannot exist as a fictitious company and ignore real human resources. Every company should have an agreed personnel policy that is engaged in recruitment, training, improvement and payment of personnel. Since a lot of difficulties can be arisen during the process of selection of appropriate person for a certain position. It is important to know that a great danger for the organization is lack of contact with human resource manager who is engaged in the selection of personnel and may not know what specifically specialist is required. This makes the selection process inefficient and leads to large losses.
Selection of an employee on a certain position is a multistep process that requires the extensive knowledge of the field of activity from service personnel employee. As with the implementation of any other type of activity, there is always the possibility of making mistakes – inefficient selection. The key of the effective selection is to determine the characteristics of the work, and choose the best suitable candidate.
Human resources as an integral part of every company
Investigation of the role of human factors in management, personnel policy analysis, as well as the management style and leadership roles in a particular company are quite important. Analyzing the structure of human resources, it is possible to appreciate the labor potential of the company, its ability to develop and upgrade, perform more complex tasks, prospects, and as a result, the competitiveness in the market. The basics of management is the human factor, employee’s knowledge of the subject, ability to organize his/her own work, interest in self-development and creative activities are the main aspects of a successful company.
Reference List
Condrey, S. (2014) Handbook of human resource management in government, 3d edn, Study guide, viewed 12 November, 2014,
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Grimsley, Sh, What are Economic Resources? - Definition, Types & Examples, Education portal, viewed 12 November, 2014,
<http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-are-economic-resources-definition-types-examples.html#lesson>.
Hofstrand, D. (2009) Top Management and Key Personnel Positions in a Business, viewed 12 November, 2014, viewed 12 November, 2014,
<http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c5-111.pdf>.
Kokemuller, N. (2014) What Is the Meaning of Business Organization?, Hearst Newspapers, viewed 12 November, 2014,
< http://smallbusiness.chron.com/meaning-business-organization-41925.html>.
Largest Employers 2009-2014, Shell oil Company, viewed 12 November, 2014,
<http://www.energycorridor.org/business/largest-employers/employer?title=shell-oil-company>.
