Given below are two statements on the evolution of human resource management:
Statement I: The concept of labour welfare officer came into being when, with the factory system, thousands of persons began to be employed under one roof.
Statement II: The labour welfare officer was looked down upon by both the workers and the owners.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct.
Statement I: The concept of labour welfare officer came into being when, with the factory system, thousands of persons began to be employed under one roof. — Incorrect. The labour welfare officer came from the trade union movement. A person was needed as a link between the owners and the workers. The factory system led to a different post, the personnel officer.
Statement II: The labour welfare officer was looked down upon by both the workers and the owners. — Correct. His role was limited to the bare minimum welfare activities of employees. In fact, both the workers and the owners looked down on him.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Evolution of Human Resource Management Human resource management has replaced the traditional concept of labour welfare and personnel management. Human Resource Management (HRM) in its present form has evolved from a number of significant inter-related developments, which date back to the era of industrial revolution. Emergence of trade union movement led to the need of a person who could act as an effective link between the owners and workers. Thus, the concept of labour welfare officer came into being. His role was limited to the bare minimum welfare activities of employees. In fact, he was looked down by both the workers and the owners. With the introduction of factory system, thousands of persons began to be employed under one roof. The job of hiring people for the organisation was given to one man, who later on was assigned the responsibility of recruitment, selection and placement of personnel. This led to the emergence of personnel officer in the first place and personnel manager, later on. …” |