Who Do You Think Is the Father of Human Resources: Owen, Mayo, or Someone Else?

Hi All,

Kindly tell me who is called the Father of Human Resources:
- Robert Owen
- Elton Mayo
- Peterson
or any other..

Warm Regards,
Preeti

Human Resource Management actually has a history dating back to the times when artisans and craftsmen would enlist the aid of one another to discuss ways to manage their laborers. However, modern HRM has its roots in the National Cash Register Company. John Patterson, the president of the company, formed a personnel department to manage the grievances of workers after a bitter union strike in 1901.

There is no father or mother in HRM. Managing Human Resources was an art in ancient human civilization, from organizing the military force and war skills, then comes the growth of human civilization through managing HR at Pyramid to Taj Mahal constructions, which also required a skilled workforce to build huge structures. In the era of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, many contributed to the growth of HRM practices.

Even today, no one has mastered the art of HRM, but modern management scientific management principles are the creation of F. W. Taylor:

Frederick Winslow Taylor (20 March 1856 – 21 March 1915), widely known as F. W. Taylor, was an American mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency. Taylor is regarded as the father of scientific management and was one of the first management consultants. He was one of the intellectual leaders of the Efficiency movement, and his ideas, broadly conceived, were highly influential in the Progressive Era.

In Peter Drucker's description,
Frederick W. Taylor was the first man in recorded history who deemed work deserving of systematic observation and study. On Taylor's 'scientific management' rests, above all, the tremendous surge of affluence in the last seventy-five years, which has lifted the working masses in the developed countries well above any level recorded before, even for the well-to-do. Taylor, though the Isaac Newton (or perhaps the Archimedes) of the science of work, laid only the first foundations, however. Not much has been added to them since - even though he has been dead for all of sixty years.

I believe we have to build a case for justification to credit all who worked for the progression of HRM as a specialized management function over the years. It's difficult to single out one legend because it will be injustice to many other legends who influence HRM. You may find many opinions, and the issue is debatable.

Regards,

Sawant

Exactly, there is no such father of HR in my knowledge. However, there is the Father of Management, i.e., Peter Drucker. Nevertheless, there are some intellectual leaders like F.W. Taylor, Henry Fayol, etc.

I feel that Elton Mayo was the father of Human Resources because I believe he was the first human relationist.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies. Actually, this question was asked to my student in his interview. The answer given by the interviewer was Peterson. However, I disagree with this answer, which is why I am posting this question here. I also agree with Sawant that HR evolved gradually, with various contributors offering different management and HR concepts. I strongly believe that we should acknowledge and credit all the great contributors in building a case that justifies their contributions.

So, can we start here? Can we share our knowledge about the contributors of HR and the concepts or principles they have introduced? Let me start:

Robert Owen
Period: 1771-1858
Contribution: Proposed legislative reforms to improve working conditions for labor.

I invite all of you to contribute your knowledge because, as HR professionals, we should collectively build a strong case around this topic.

Warm regards,
Preeti P. Solanki

Thank you very much, Rajat and all members here.

Can we identify and put the names of recent HR contributors whose names we usually don't find in books, but their contributions are really significant in the context of HR?

Regards,
Preeti P. Solanki

Hi Preeti,

That's a good idea. I also think it would be interesting to start with the basics, and here's an example:

Name: Henri Fayol
Contribution: 14 Principles of Management
Summary: He introduced principles that we now use every day in each aspect of a job or task. These principles include Division of Work (specialization which allows more experience), Authority (the right to issue orders), Discipline (obeying instructions), etc.

Regards,
Aditi

Hi Preeti,

There are many current HR professionals who have immensely contributed to current HR practices, trends, and ideas. However, according to me, only one stands out exceptionally as he has written extensively on HR issues in a very relevant manner.

Dr. John Sullivan

Profile of Dr. John Sullivan

Job Title:
Professor, Author, and Advisor to Management

Employer:
SF State U & DJS & Associates

Employer Industry:
Education

Employer Size:
Fewer than 25 employees

Professional Field:
Internal (corporate) recruiting/HR

Years of Experience in Recruiting/HR:
34 years

About Dr. John:

My specialty is recruiting strategy and designing world-class recruiting systems and tools for Fortune 200 firms. I have worked with over 175 different businesses and organizations worldwide in my career as a speaker/advisor. I have written a weekly column for ERE for over 5 years and a monthly column for the IHRIM Journal for 3 years. Overall, I have written 8 books and white papers and over 500 articles. I was the Chief Talent Officer for Agilent (the 40,000+ employee HP spin-off). I have appeared on CBS and ABC national nightly news, CNN, and in various publications including Fortune, the Economist, CIO, BusinessWeek, the WSJ, the Washington Post, Money, Time, and every major HR magazine. Fast Company called me the Michael Jordan of hiring. Areas of expertise I consider myself the global leader in employment branding. Others have acknowledged my leading-edge expertise in various areas including: Metrics and the dollar value of HR results, Retention, Workforce planning, Referral programs, College recruiting, Recruiting strategies, Recruiting structures, Onboarding, Strategic HR, Increasing workforce productivity. I design strategies and give presentations to HR and recruiting teams throughout the world. My website has over 600 articles (Official Site: Dr. John Sullivan (Author, Speaker, Corporate Advisor, Educator) - Home).

About Dr. John's Job:

I am currently a Professor of Management in San Francisco University's College of Business. I am also the CEO of Dr. John Sullivan and Associates, an HR consulting firm that specializes in designing world-class HR and recruiting strategies and tools.

Regards,

Rajat

Thank you, Aditi, and really thankful to Rajat for giving us the information about Dr. John. I request all HR people here to add more names of great recent HR contributors so we can compile a study on the 'father of HR'.

Regards,
Preeti

If HR has somebody as a father, then it must have had some grandfather and then... Who is the great-grandfather of HR? I think Mr. Rajsawster has rightly said... Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, etc. may be great-grandfather followed by a list of illicit fathers... as suggested by most of the respondents. Ha ha ha. This is a comic question.

Hi Parthasarthi,

I was looking for an answer to the same question and came across this link. This cannot be a comic question, right? The reason is that in last year's NTPC All India Test for Executive Trainee (HR), this was the first question that was asked, and I am sure a Navratana Company would not ask any such question that does not have any answer or, for that matter, more than one answer. John Patterson is the answer.

I think you people have forgotten about the great "Chanakya". Why do we Indians not think beyond the west and contemporary times? Go back and peek. There is a lot that the west has learned from ancient India.

The Hindu civilization is almost 5000 years old. The Holy Vedas and Upanishads contain all the wisdom required to organize human activity. There is nothing older than this on earth. However, it is "we" who have forgotten the path shown to us by our forefathers.

I firmly believe that "Sanskrit" must be taught at the school and college level if we want to achieve the ancient wisdom of organizing human activity.

All that is written above is true and undisputed.

During the late Smt. Indira Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister, she introduced a cabinet rank for Human Resources with Late P. V. Narasimha Rao being the first cabinet Minister. When we consider the practical aspect, until the mid-1990s, most of the corporates had a PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT and not an HR department. Correct me if I am wrong. Then, corporates discarded the tag "Personnel Department" and started having HR Managers and departments, which is when the concept of worker participation in management also began to take root in decision-making.

Sriram B

All that is written above is true and undisputed.

During the late tenure of Smt. Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister, she introduced a cabinet rank for Human Resources with Late P. V. Narasimha Rao being the first cabinet Minister. When we consider the practice aspect, until the mid-1990s, most corporations had a Personnel Department rather than an HR department. Please correct me if I am wrong. Subsequently, corporations abandoned the Personnel Department label and began employing HR Managers and departments, which is when the concept of worker participation in management also began taking root in decision-making.

Sriram B