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Term Paper Evolution of Modern Human Resource Management Theories: An

Ancient Philosophy

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 UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

Term Paper

Evolution of Modern Human Resource Management Theories:

An Ancient Philosophy

Submitted by:
Nikulus L. Gines
Program: Ph.D. Major in HRM
Course: Philosophy of Human Person

Professor: Michael Anthony C. Vasco, Ph.D.

 Abstract

The understanding of the evolution of human resource management (HRM) theory is

essential for HRM practitioners in every organization that exists and will exist in the course

of history. The roots of the modern views on human resource management are not new

at all. They were in the mind of ancient philosophers. The two well-known HRM theories

are the division of labor and the goal setting. The theory of the “Division of Labor” by

Adam Smith in 1776 and the “Goal-Setting” by Edwin Locke in 1968 already existed as

early as 1500 BCE in the ancient philosophy of man. From the very beginning of human

existence, humanity is always striving for a better society from the smallest prehistoric

tribes to the most prominent multinational companies of our days. The result of this study

revealed that the ancient philosophy about human resources had been the foundation of

management theories applied today, proving that this ancient wisdom can withstand the

test of time. Therefore, this serves as a challenge to all HRM researchers and

practitioners to further explore the ancient philosophy, and out of it formulates new

theories that fit in the current business environment. A business philosophy that can

reflect the very soul of employees in their organization through cultural norms, policies,

and procedures that bring delight to its customers and win the market share.

Keywords: Human resource management, Modern theories, Ancient Philosophy, Division

of labor, Goal setting, Organizational Soul.
Introduction

The understanding of the evolution of human resource management (HRM) theory is

essential for HRM practitioners in every organization that exists and will exist in the course

of history. It is the nature of humanity to innovate; the genus homo always strives for a

chance to make things better from ancient to contemporary society.

According to Paul Leyhausen in his book Human Nature and Modern Society, “At man’s

very beginning, there was unconditional radicalism. As far back we can trace, at any rate,

the genus Homo has always striven to find radical means for anything it attempted and,

above all, radical curves for anything that inconvenienced it. Wilhelm Busch’s - "If this or

that displeases me, Away with it! Is my decree” must, in essence, have been the

humanity’s first creed and still its creed today” (Leyhausen, 1969). So, the evolution of

change is continuously occurring in society, politics, philosophy, education, and

technology from ancient to modern times to make things convenient, pleasing, and

beneficial to humanity.

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, probably written around 930 BCE (Zavada, 2020), the author

said, “The thing that has been-it is what will be again, and that which has been done is

that which will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun ” (Ecclesiastes, 930

BCE). If nothing under the sun is truly new, does it mean the modern theories and

practices of HRM already existed in ancient philosophy?

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this term paper is to determine if there is a link between the concept of

modern HRM theories and the ancient philosophy about human resources to encourage

the HRM practitioners and academicians to explore ancient wisdom.

Secondly, to apply the old philosophy in human resources management resulting in

organizational resilience that will stand the test of time.

HRM Theories

Human resource management has various theories. These theories evolve from other

disciplines like philosophy, psychology, education, sociology, and natural sciences.

Before we go to the ideas and practices of human resource management, it is essential

to have a standard definition of what human resource management means.

"Human Resource Management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach to the

management of an organization’s most valued assets – the people working there who

individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives "(Armstrong,

2006). In a simple definition, “HRM is a function in organizations designed to maximize

employee performance in service of their employer’s strategic objectives" (Johnason,

2009). From these definitions, we can say that people performing to the best of their ability

are the most valuable asset of an organization.

The essence of HR theory is to manage the people for better organization. Since HRM

function is so vast and composed of various approaches, this paper limits its scope on

two views, usually applied in our modern business organization. These are the Theory of

Division of Labor” and the Theory of Goal-Setting.

Theory of the Division of Labor Theory to increase Productivity by Adam Smith

In 1776 Adam Smith was the first person to identify specialization and the division of labor

as the main drivers of productivity. His most influential paper, “An Inquiry into the Nature

and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” (1776), remains the definitive text in economic

science even some 200 years after its publication ( Crowley and Russel, 2010). Adam

Smith explained the advantages of the division of labor, where the job must be broken

down into a sequence of small tasks, and each performed by a different worker best fitted

to that function.

“Division of labor is a specialization of the labor force, essentially the breaking down of

large jobs into many tiny components. Under this regime, each worker becomes an expert

in one isolated area of production, thus increasing his efficiency” (Smith, 1776). The basic

concept of the division of labor is appropriating the production process into series steps

to enable the workers to focus on specific tasks resulting in increases of overall efficiency

– so long as there are high volume and quantity produced (Pettinger, 2013).

Division of Labor by Ancient Philosophers

The Republic by Plato (375 BCE)

“Plato’s conception of Production is in close connection with this view of the Wealth of

Nations by Adam Smith. It is important not that men should have as many wants as

possible, and satisfy them all, but that they should find out what their exceptional work is

in the world and do it. ... Thus arise the separate trades of farming, building, weaving, and

shoemaking; and this division of labor is best for the following reasons: Men and women

are not all born alike, but with special powers fitting them for unique work.
Second, attention to one occupation alone, men will do much better work than when

attempting several. Third, because time is saved, and opportunities (of season, etc.) are

more promptly utilized. In this way, articles are made in greater number, of better quality,

and with greater ease, than when each man is a Jack-of-all-trades “ as cited by (Walker,

Plato Division of Labor, 2016).

Cyropaedia by Xenophon (370 BCE)

Xenophon of Athens was a contemporary of Plato and a fellow student of Socrates.

Xenophon applied the principle of division of labor when he suggested to King Cyrus how

to organize the workforce in cooking. Below is the extract of Xenophon's advice to the

king, as cited by Walker (2009).

“ . . . but where there is employment enough for one man to boil meat, for another to roast

it, for one to boil fish, for another to broil it, and for another to make bread, (and that not

of every sort either, but it is enough for him to furnish one sort of good,) each man, in my

opinion, must of necessity to bring the things that are thus made to very great perfection.

Cyrus therefore, by such means, greatly exceeded all other people in making presents of

dishes from his table” (Xenophon, 370).

Ancient Indian Sacred Hymn- The Rig-Veda (1500 BCE)

The concept of division of labor also existed in ancient India's sacred text- The Rig-Veda.

Satish Deodhar, author of ‘Indian Antecedents to Modern Economic Thought, explains

how the division of labor is mentioned in Rig-Vedas.

“The recognition of division of labor and specialization seems to have emerged towards

the last phase of Rig-Veda. What we know as a ‘caste’ system today emerged in its
original form as the Varna system (Nadkarni, 2012). The sacred text Gita referred to in

the earlier subsection, has a specific reference to what varna means. In Hymns 4.13 and

18.41 to 18.44, one finds the following description, where Krishna, the speaker, says: “I

created the four divisions of human society based on aptitude and vocation. The division

of human labor is based on the qualities inherent in peoples’ nature or their make-up

(Deodhar S. Y., 2018) .”

Table 1 shows the comparative view of the Division of Labor that evolves from Ancient

Philosophy (1500 BCE) to Adam Smith in 1776.

Table 1 The Division of Labor Theories: An Evolution from Ancient Philosophy

The Rig-Vedas Plato -The Xenophon – The Adam Smith – The

(1500 BCE) Republic Cyropaedia Wealth of Nations
(380 BCE) (370 BCE) (1776)

“The division of “… division of labor “… there is “Division of labor

human labor is is best for the employment enough where the production
based on the following reasons: for one man to boil process was broken
qualities inherent in Men and women are meat, for another to down into a series of
peoples’ nature or not all born alike, roast it, for one to small tasks and each
their make-up.” but with special boil fish, for another performed by a
powers fitting them to broil it, and for different worker.”
for special work.” another to make
bread…”

Paul Stephen Walker said, “The concept of the division of labor can be traced back to

ancient India, the ancient Greeks and the ancient Chinese. But it took two thousand years

before it was used to create a theory of the firm. It was only in the 20th century that such

a theory started to be developed” (Walker, 2019).

Goal-Setting Theory of Motivation by Edwin Locke

A well-motivated workforce is needed to maximize organizational performance and finally

achieve organizational goals. Edwin Locke's theory on goal-setting in 1968 ignited the

employees' motivation which is still practiced in human resource management today to

motivate employees.

Edwin A. Locke published his revolutionary “Goal Setting Theory” to boost employees’

motivation. According to his theory, employees are motivated by specific, well-defined

goals and feedback” (Young, 2017).

“Specific goals, accompanied by challenging performance targets, are likely to improve

performance compared to simple and ambiguous goals. The setting of goal by itself gives

some kind of emotional urgency and capable of provoking energy and attention” (Locke,

2006).

Locke and Latham (2006) stated the five characteristics of Goal Setting to spark

employees' motivation to increase productivity.

Clarity

Clarity is one of the characteristics of goal-setting. “When a goal is clear, it’s easy to

understand what you need to achieve accurately. It’s not open to debate or interpretation.

A clear goal needs to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound”

(Expert Program Management, 2018).

Challenge

The degree of challenge is another component of goal-setting. The greater the challenge

to reach the goal, the greater the performance output of the workforce. Performance

steadily increases as goal difficulty increases.

On the other hand, performance suddenly declines if goal difficulty is unreasonable. The

goal, which is easy to achieve, does nor spark challenges. Therefore, there is no effort

exerted on the part of employees to excel in work. “Goals that are unattainable will ruin

commitment or lead to undesirable behaviors to achieve the goal” (Bennett, 2009).

Commitment

If an employee sets a personal goal, there is a sense of ownership resulting in individual

responsibility to commit oneself to achieve the goal. Locke & Layham (1990) said, “..that

commitment increases when a person makes a written and public goal.” (Wisegoal, n.d.)

Feedback

Feedback is needed if the strategy is appropriate to the prevailing circumstances.

Improper handling of feedback shows immaturity and refusing to change for the better.

So, it's essential to be flexible when receiving feedback.

Tasks complexity

A task that is too complex is an obstacle to achieve organizational goals. Unreasonable

multi-tasking may result in underperformance of an individual due to divided attention. If

the project is too complicated, the plan must be divided into manageable steps (Locke &

Layham,1990).
What the ancient philosophers have something to say regarding the goal-setting theory

of Edwin Locke to boost the employees' motivation?

Goal Clarity by Aristotle (551-479 BCE)

“A person with the excellence of practical rationality is characteristically able to plan well

about what is good or useful for living well or being happy (VI, 5, 1140a25-28). It is his

function to plan well concerning goods attainable by humans” As cited by (Amundsen,

2018).

Aristotle was able to explain that a good plan is done with practical rationality (it denotes

specific plan & time-bound) aiming for good living or being happy (measurable and

relevant goal) and attainable by humans (achievable). Aristotle's wisdom went beyond

the acronym of the SMART goal. Aristotle added happiness and useful for living. For

Aristotle, the goal should be SMART-ER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,

Time-bound, Enjoyable, Re-visit its usefulness).

Challenging Goal by Confucius (551-479 BCE)

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the

action steps” (Confucius 550BCE).

Goals should be attainable, yet it must create a degree challenge to attain it. When the

goal is challenging to achieve, but doable, A person will have a strong determination to

look for alternative ways or steps to reach that goal for self-accomplishment.
Person’s Commitment mentioned in Rig-Vedas (1500 BCE)

The ancient Rig-Vedas text speaks of unity among workforce singleness of purpose to

spark the undying commitment to attain their intention (Goal).

"Come together, talk together; let our minds be in harmony.

Common be our prayer, common be our end,

Common be our purpose, common be our deliberations,

Common be our desire, united be our desires,

United be our hearts, united be our intentions.

Perfect be our union among us.” (Rig Veda 10 – 191:2) cited in

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/34262/11/11_chapter%204.pdf.

Accepting Feedback written in Digha Nikaya (About 500 BCE)

Digha Nikaya is an ancient Buddhist scripture (“Long Collection”; Sanskrit Dirghagama),

34 long suttas including doctrinal expositions, legends, and moral rules (The Editors of

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2003). Where it is written:

“… O monks, if others blame me or blame the Doctrine or blame the Community, and if

on that account you should be angry or offended, that would be for you an obstacle… O

monks, if others praise me or praise the Doctrine or praise the Community, and if on that

account you should be filled with joy or you should be filled with happiness or you should

be exultant, that would be for you an obstacle. O monks, if others praise me or praise the

Doctrine or praise the Community, then you should acknowledge what is true as true in

this way: ‘That is true, that is not false, that , in us, that exists in us’ ” Digha Nikaya I, 1

(Brahmana Sutta) as cited by Tola, F & Dragonetti (2007).

It is evident in this ancient text how we ought to handle feedbacks, whether it is positive

or negative. We need to take feedback objectively without leaving an obstacle for our

improvement. “ So, it's important to be flexible in our approach” (Locke & Layham,1990).

Task complexity by Sun Tzu (500 BCE)

“The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely

a question of dividing up their numbers” (Sun Tzu, the art of war 500 BCE).

If the goal indeed consists of interconnected parts, think about realistic timescales, and

break down the process into sub-goals with regular reviews (Young, 2017). Sun Tzu

principle is the same, to control a large force of men (complexity of goals), what is needed

is to divide up the troops (breakdown the process) into controllable numbers (sub-goals

with regular review).

Conclusion

The modern theories and practices in human resource management are not new

concepts. From the very beginning of human existence, humanity is always striving for a

better society from the smallest prehistoric tribes to the most prominent modern

companies of our days.

The life of the organization can be compared to a human soul. The soul is the very life of

the human body - the principle of all operations performed by the body through its various

organs ( (Aquinas, 1485). In the same way, people create an organization for its

employees, customers, stakeholders, and shareholders. So, employees reflect their soul
through cultural norms, social systems, and structures like policies and procedures

(Organizational Soul, 2018); this has been true from the very existence of humanity. The

concept of modern theories in human resource management exists in ancient times. As

the author of the book of Ecclesiastes is right in his saying, “…Nothing under the sun is

truly new” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 New Living Translation).

As we looked back into the ancient wisdom that has been tested by time and still applies

today, it serves as a challenge to all HRM researchers to further explore the ancient

philosophy and out of it formulates new theories founded on the ancient philosophy that

fits our business environment. The Art of War by Sun Tzu is a classic example used by

small and large companies in our society today as the foundation of their business

strategic planning to go ahead of their competitors and win the market share.

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