Examining Human Resource Department as a Tool in Influencing Employee Performance and Organisational Change in Small and Medium Size Enterprises in Cameroon

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2018 in the subject Leadership and Human Resource Management - Miscellaneous, grade: -, ( Atlantic International University ), course: HUMAN RESOURSES, language: English, abstract: The objective of this study is to show the role Human Resource Departments plays in influencing employee performance and organizational change in small and medium size enterprises and to create awareness on the importance and role of this department to small enterprises who think this department is a waste of resources. People are the most important resources and the most challenging to manage in every business. In order to successfully manage people, you need to understand that they are not machines; they do not respond or react in a predictable or consistent manner. Human resource management was formally called 'personnel administration. It is said that personnel administration exist since the 1920's and it had as technical aspect hiring, evaluating, training and compensation of employees. HRM developed as a result of the substantial increase in competitive pressures American business organizations began experiencing by the late 1970's. These pressures occurred because of factors such as globalization, deregulation and rapid technological charge. Human resource management (HRM) also called personnel management consisted of all the activities undertaken by an enterprise to ensure the effective utilization of employees towards the attainment of individuals, groups, administrative and organization goals. Historical background of personnel management before arrival at the name HRM has experienced various change of names and forms due to social economic, technological evolution. The first form of HRM was known as industrial welfare in the 1860's when the 1st trade union held its 1st conference, it discovered that industrial welfare workers had grown and there was a need for a leader to take care of their working conditions.