Is HR More About Labor or Knowledge? Let's Discuss What This Means for Us

Dear all,

What do you think of the above-mentioned issue? Are we doing a labor-based job, or are we in a knowledge-based profile? I was asked this in an interview, and I saw stars rolling.

Let's discuss it so that nobody else sees any stars.

Regards,
Vishal 8)

Hi Vishal,

I am going to prepare a book named "Handbook of Questions by Vishal." It will make for great reading. Just joking! 😄 No offense.

Well, of course, the answer is "Knowledge-Based."

Labour-Based is a term used for some industries, while HR work is a role for a person. They need to have sufficient knowledge for their work and may not require a labor force to perform HR functions efficiently.

Labour-based when you are doing your boss's work 😊 and knowledge-based when you are doing your own work. 😊

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This correction maintains the original message while correcting spelling and grammar mistakes and ensuring proper paragraph formatting.

Dear Ajmal 😂😂,

Good one... somehow I have lots of questions in me. Until everything is answered, I will keep asking and keep learning. Once that is done, I will start asking more questions and cause a total brain drain at citehr. 😂😂😂

On a serious note, core HR could be called knowledge-based, but on recruitments, I have my doubts. What say???

Regards,
Vishal 😎

Hi Vishal,

Well, my consent goes for knowledge-based. I've been involved in core recruitment functions and I found that you need to have information about the required profile, including knowledge and understanding, because you need to match the requirements with the candidate's profile. For all of this, a good understanding of HR is necessary, and it has nothing to do with labor.

Dips

Hi Deepali Singh,

For all this, a good understanding of HR is necessary, and it has nothing to do with labor.

Hi Dips,

Someone told me, "I don't work hard" :shock: I asked him, "Are you lazy?" :) He replied, "I work smart" :) Bye!

Hi again Dips dude... I welcome your views. Try posting some examples that substantiate your views. What say?
Regards,
Vishal

Hi Scary,

So, an example to illustrate is: I have a few friends in sales. They have been told to recruit sales executives under them but are finding it hard to grasp it because recruitment is a core HR function. One who knows even the smallest ins and outs of recruitment can handle it efficiently. Therefore, those friends have asked me to do it for them. In this case, they have the manpower (themselves) but due to a lack of knowledge, they are finding it hard. I hope this example satisfies my point. I'll wait for your response, even though the post is quite old.

Dips

Dear Dipz,

100 marks to your point. I agree with it completely. I had posted this post since I do recruitment only in the ITES Domain (volume staffing). I don't have much of value addition there.

Regards,
Vishal

Hi all,

This is Sonia, Executive HR at a renowned IT company. I am writing a white paper on strategic HR initiatives and trends followed today in the IT domain. For this, I require in-depth knowledge to make it a value-added piece of information.

Please help!

Kind regards,
Sonia

Hi,

The question was good. However, I think that over the past 1.5 decades, HR has experienced significant changes, transitioning from being perceived as a cost center to a profit center. This shift has led to HR becoming more knowledge-based work. Previously, HR was predominantly seen as an administrative job, labor-intensive in nature. Now, it is recognized that knowledge plays a crucial role in HR functions. Reflecting on this, entry-level roles in recruitment consultancies appear to be more labor-intensive rather than knowledge-based. Nevertheless, in general, HR is moving towards being primarily knowledge-based.

Thank you.

Hi Sreenivasan,

As the economy moves towards a "knowledge-based economy," HR also moves towards "knowledge-based." Even in brick-and-mortar companies, HR moves from a labor control portfolio to a knowledge-based strategic portfolio, which contributes towards value-add in the company.

Thanks

Hi Bala,

I just want to add one more thing from an economic point of view. When HR started to change in India, it was much more focused on new concepts rather than just administration. With the onset of globalization, companies were facing heavy competition. During that time, marketing was helping them, but the marketing concept alone couldn't sustain the companies very well. This led to the need to focus on other factors, with HR emerging as a strategic advantage and an edge in the business compared to other top people looking at HR. This sparked further changes in HR.

In developed nations, there was a need to reduce fixed costs as the market had become saturated. Companies had to implement new strategies to compete, which led them to focus on employees, who represent a significant cost in a company. This shift also resulted in outsourcing.

Many factors have come into play.

Thank you.

Hi All,

HR is definitely labor-based and not knowledge-based, as HR controls and coordinates "labor." As long as salaries are shown as expenditure by the organization and not as investment, all employees will fall under the term "labor" concerning calculating profit and costing.

To be precise, the term HRD is knowledge-based as long as it sticks to the development part only through training and other methods. If recruitment is knowledge-based, then every process, right from operating a lathe machine to flying a plane, should be termed as knowledge-based.

What do you all think?

Regards,
SC

Hi Swastik,

I think you might be confused. The question here is whether HR is knowledge-based or labor-based. HR operates on the basis of knowledge, not just labor. You can find labor anywhere for HR activities, but it's only effective if the knowledge is present. Isn't that right?

Dips

Hi Swastik,

I agree with what Dips has said. I think in today's world, it is not right to say that HR "controls" labor. We should get away from this notion of "control". HR guides the labor in the right path in line with organization vision, values, goals, etc. HR provides all assistance to the labor to put in their best efforts and thus get the best results. HR provides inspiration (not motivation) to everyone. Of course, the various methods for achieving all these are training, career development, etc. The fact that Management is "helping ordinary people to produce extraordinary results" is true for HR Manager also.

Thanks,
Bala

Dear Bala and Dipali,

Please correct me if I am wrong. Every profession, in that sense, is knowledge-based, not only HR, but Finance, IT, Marketing, Operations, Medicine, Engineering, Law, Fitter, Plumbing, Welding, Painting (Industrial), Driving, Sanitation, and Plumbing, isn't it? So, why raise the question? Please clarify.

Warm Regards,
SC

Dear Bala,

All I wanted to know is why you have raised a question like this when all professions are knowledge-based?

Warm Regards,
SC

Hi Swastik,

You really brought up a point that we may not have considered during the discussions on this particular post. Well, you are correct in stating that every profession is knowledge-based. It's true, but the key here is having comprehensive knowledge, being "to the point" in your understanding. In many fields, knowledge alone is not sufficient; it also requires labor, in fact, in most cases, a lot of labor is needed.

There are specific areas where having the right knowledge is crucial, and there are areas where having an understanding of the field is also beneficial. In HR, having the right knowledge is essential. Just consider, wouldn't it be more advisable to hire an MBA in HR rather than recruiting four simple graduates with some experience?

On the other hand, don't companies tend to prefer hiring five graduates with some marketing experience rather than one or two MBA graduates in marketing?

I hope you understand the point I am trying to make. Am I close to your perspective, Bala?

Dips

Hi Scary,

Please go through the previous page of your post and the query asked by Swastik. I want to know if I am near to what you thought while writing this post. Please reply back.

Dips

Deepali,

Yes, you are absolutely right. Most of the organizations would do this, and aren't they right?

Sacry, please advise whether we are in sync on your thoughts when you posted the query.

Thanks
Bala

Hi Vishal,

It is purely a knowledge base. If you have good knowledge in that field, you can handle any issue. If you do not have the job knowledge, then it can be considered as labor-based. You need to put a lot of effort into your work; it will take a long time to learn the process. If you have job knowledge, you cannot see stars, but you can show light on his face.

Thanks,
Bala

Hi Vishal,

HR is purely knowledge-based. I would like to share my thoughts. If we all think we are working for a company just to implement policies, procedures, and practice labor laws, it would be a monotonous, labor-based HR. However, we have been given an opportunity to introduce, implement, and practice whatever we have decided in the meeting with our superiors. We are not working for an individual company; we are working for the industry we belong to. If we introduce good policies and practices, it would have an impact on our industry. So, it is purely knowledge-based. Friends, keep yourselves updated.

Thank you,
D.K. Goppy

Yes, Gopik, you are right in stating "FRIENDS KEEP UPDATE YOURSELVES".

Veering away from the topic, updating ourselves with current technology, developments, theories, ideas in our own selected field is absolutely important for our own career, self-development, and well-being. Hence, let us have more and more exchange of information relevant to our fields on the site.

Thanks,
Bala

Dear Dips,

Your post mentioning graduates and MBAs reminded me of some incidents, stories, and instances out of which three I am sharing with you:

1) A simple graduate with some experience started a business from scratch which finally became an empire - Reliance Industries. His two sons, both management graduates, divided the empire.

2) There was this banana seller who used to sell bananas outside the front gate of a famous MNC. The chairman of the company used to see him every day, and as time passed, they started exchanging smiles.

One day the chairman was to go abroad for some business work. He left the office early, and as he was going out, he saw the banana seller packing up for the day. The chairman called the banana seller, and the conversation was as follows:

Chairman: "How are you?"

Banana Seller: "Everything is fine by the grace of God, sir."

Chairman: "How many baskets do you sell per day?"

Seller: "4 times 2 baskets each time."

Chairman: "What??? You mean to tell me that you rotate your working capital 4 times a day!!!!!"

Seller: "Yes, sir."

Chairman: "Can you please tell me why is it that with all my expertise and resources I find it very difficult to rotate my working capital once in every year and you with such limited resources can do it 4 times a day???"

Seller: "Sir, I do not employ MBAs."

3) One of the leading industrialists who is into FMCG once stated that MBAs from top management schools are great at giving colorful strategies but if you tell them to physically sell a product, they fail 9 out of 10 times.

Actually, all I wanted to say was that a person who has knowledge in any profession is always sought after, and it is common to all professions. For example, in a garage, you will always prefer a particular mechanic over others because he is more knowledgeable in executing his job. So every profession is knowledge-based; why single out HR? Once you categorize this, let me tell you some more facts. There are a lot of companies that have unqualified, underqualified, or non-qualified personnel in HR, but can you ever dream of anybody other than a medical graduate doing a bypass surgery? The law does not allow it. There is no such law in India regarding HR; hence, will you agree that medicine is more knowledge-based than HR?

Finally, if you really want to know why MBAs are given value, you can ask me through my email: swastik73@lycos.com.

Warm Regards,

SC