COMPREHENSION NEEDS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTITIONERS AS RELATED TO MAJOR CONCEPTS PRESENTED IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TEXTBOOKS (PERSONNEL, ADMINISTRATION)

The Problem. Human resource management has always been an important aspect of any organization. It is the responsibility of the individual who has or who aspires to have a position in human resource management to develop the competency necessary to perform the job effectively. Because large organizations require a variety of people in the work force, no single approach to human resources will work. Most organizations recognize the critical need for human resource management. Every manager must be reasonably familiar with its major concepts in order to succeed.;Method. The design of the study involved the collection of descriptive opinion data. The research design incorporated structured interviews with 45 human resource practitioners who were employed in human resource management positions in companies within the County of San Diego, California. The interview questions related to the major concepts identified in recent human resources management textbooks and perceived comprehension needs.;Findings. The analysis of the data revealed that there was agreement among practitioners on the concepts of manpower acquisition and manpower maintenance with the same textbook concepts. The data also revealed that there was a lack of agreement on the concept of environmental improvement with the same textbook concept. There was an inconsistent relationship between the concepts presented in recent human resource management textbooks and the perceived comprehension needs of practitioners.;This study was designed to determine if major concepts presented in recent human resource management textbooks satisfy perceived comprehension needs of practitioners in the field.