Comments on: Human resources http://idiozeitgeist.com/2010/10/25/human-resources/ The blog of St. Chris. Tue, 05 Jun 2018 02:04:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: St. Chris http://idiozeitgeist.com/2010/10/25/human-resources/#comment-903 St. Chris Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:54:36 +0000 http://idiozeitgeist.com/?p=539#comment-903 <p>That would be "Personnel Records," then.</p> <p>The Orwell essay is vital, a classic; thank you for returning it to my attention. "In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible." QED, I think.</p> That would be “Personnel Records,” then.

The Orwell essay is vital, a classic; thank you for returning it to my attention. “In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.” QED, I think.

]]> By: Perry http://idiozeitgeist.com/2010/10/25/human-resources/#comment-902 Perry Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:14:33 +0000 http://idiozeitgeist.com/?p=539#comment-902 <p>You don't seem to get what the HR department is for. It is not there to provide help to employees or to recruit them. It exists to deal with covering the company's ass in the face of hundreds of federal and state employment regulations. It does things like preparing sufficient records that any employee can be fired if needed, assuring that all employees are told to talk to management in case of sexual harassment (as required under supreme court precedents) etc., managing the paperwork associated with internal complaints that could lead to lawsuits, etc.</p> <p>HR is not about employees in the positive sense at all. No real organization uses HR for recruitment any longer, no real organization uses HR as an adjunct to recognizing good work, etc. It exists entirely to make sure that paperwork which could destroy the company if screwed up has been properly managed.</p> <p>The name is therefore quite reasonable.</p> <p>As for the other terms you mention, I suggest a reading of Orwell's "Politics and the English Language", available online.</p> You don’t seem to get what the HR department is for. It is not there to provide help to employees or to recruit them. It exists to deal with covering the company’s ass in the face of hundreds of federal and state employment regulations. It does things like preparing sufficient records that any employee can be fired if needed, assuring that all employees are told to talk to management in case of sexual harassment (as required under supreme court precedents) etc., managing the paperwork associated with internal complaints that could lead to lawsuits, etc.

HR is not about employees in the positive sense at all. No real organization uses HR for recruitment any longer, no real organization uses HR as an adjunct to recognizing good work, etc. It exists entirely to make sure that paperwork which could destroy the company if screwed up has been properly managed.

The name is therefore quite reasonable.

As for the other terms you mention, I suggest a reading of Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”, available online.

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