The definitions on personnel management reveal the following characteristics:
(i) Personnel management is a specialised branch of management and hence all the principles of general management (as well as functions of management) are applicable to personnel management.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(ii) Personnel management is basically concerned with human resources. Personnel management advocates the ways to get best possible results by managing the scarcely available human resources effectively and efficiently.
(iii) Personnel management is concerned with relationship between employer and employee; between employee and employee; and among employees. By the term employee we mean to include blue-collar as well as white-collar workers.
(iv) Personnel management concentrates on the development of individual and group in an organisation for achieving better results.
(v) Personnel management focuses on employment planning.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(vi) Personnel management gives adequate direction to the developmental activities—of lower-level employees as well as executives.
(vii) Personnel management aims at providing the necessary guidance for improving performance (through performance appraisal of employees) of employees.
(viii) Personnel management aims at maintaining good human relations.
(ix) Above all, personnel management is concerned with recruitment, selection, training and placement of employees within work organisations.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(x) Personnel management provides for fair and reasonable compensation to employees.
Thus, personnel management is an approach (an approach to deal with human beings in organisation), a point of view (regarding the personnel policies and wage administration), and a technique of thinking (as to how to motivate employees towards higher productivity) and a philosophy of management (of getting things done through people effectively and efficiently).