What is the Difference Between Personal Management and Human Resource Management?

The main difference between personal management and human resource management lies in their scope and approach. Here are the key differences between the two:

1. Scope: Personal management focuses on hiring and managing employees, equipping them to effectively perform specific tasks for the company. Human resource management (HRM), on the other hand, has a wider focus that includes employee development, wellbeing, and overall management to help retain employees and monitor progress or concerns.
2. Approach: Personal management is a traditional approach that views workers as tools or machines, focusing on administrative tasks such as hiring, payroll, and ensuring a harmonious work environment. HRM is a more modern, strategic approach that considers employees as assets to the organization and promotes mutuality in terms of goals, responsibility, and rewards.
3. Treatment of Manpower: In personal management, workers are treated as machines or tools. In HRM, employees are viewed as valuable assets to the organization, with a focus on employee development and wellbeing.
4. Focus Areas: Personal management is mainly concerned with basic administrative tasks like hiring, paying, teaching, and maintaining a harmonious work environment. HRM covers a broader spectrum of activities, including employment, recruitment and selection, training and development, employee services, salary and wages, industrial relations, health and safety, education, working conditions, and appraisal and assessment.

In summary, while personal management focuses on the administrative aspects of managing employees, HRM takes a more strategic approach that emphasizes employee development, wellbeing, and overall management to help achieve organizational goals. HRM is an extended version of personal management, adapted to meet the evolving needs of employees and organizations in the modern era.

Comparative Table: Personal Management vs Human Resource Management

Here is a table comparing the differences between Personal Management (PM) and Human Resource Management (HRM):

In summary, Personal Management focuses on administrative tasks, employee welfare, and compliance, while Human Resource Management is more strategic, taking a holistic view of the organization's human capital and considering the long-term implications of HR decisions and practices.