10. Human Resources

Human resources are a term with which many organizations describe the combination of traditionally administrative personnel functions with performance, Employee Relations and resource planning. The field draws upon concepts developed in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Human resources has at least two related interpretations depending on context. The original usage derives from political economy and economics, where it was traditionally called labor, one of four factors of production. The more common usage within corporations and businesses refers to the individuals within the firm, and to the portion of the firm's organization that deals with hiring, firing, training, and other personnel issues. This article addresses both definitions.

A large part of this growth is the Human Resources department of these companies, who are responsible for hiring the people with the knowledge to bring new technology into a company. To be successful in the automotive market, these companies need a highly skilled, flexible and committed work force, a flexible and innovative management, the ability to retain developed talent, and a strong partnership between management and labor.

To achieve these goals, the company needs a talented HR department. Besides hiring the right people to manage and perform specific jobs, HR managers have to build up commitment and loyalty among the workforce by keeping them up to date about company plans, and laying out the implications for job security and working conditions. Such was the case when I worked at Velco. The objective of human resources is to maximize the return on investment from the organization's human capital and minimize financial risk. It is the responsibility of human resource managers to conduct these activities in an effective, legal, fair, and consistent manner.

This is a difficult challenge, considering that the HR department must also improve efficiency and reduce operational costs while administering a vast amount of record keeping. Human Resource departments are responsible for: Staff recruitment and retention, Staff training and development, Employee record, Time keeping and attendance, Evaluating, creating and administering compensation and benefits, Compliance to regulations, Employee incentives, Employee performance appraisal and evaluation, Labor relations, Ethics, Health and safety, Staffing of contract and temporary employees, Payroll and tax record keeping.