Managing Human Resources Through a Keyhole

Abstract

The variety and complexity of activities within the personnel management function differ from one organisation to another and unfortunately, many of them remain narrow and limited in their scope. Using the metaphor of a keyhole and a doorway, the article describes some of the more common causes of personnel management's inability to keep up with organisational growth and development and thus fail to maintain a viable role in organisational management. The three main causes of this condition are:—

• Specialisation without a generalist overview of personnel

• Lack of professional qualifications

• Concentration on procedures instead of human resources