EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGING WITH PEOPLE IN THE ANCIENT EGYPT

• IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUE: Building trust during work engagement 

• APPLIED THEORY: Scientific Management Theory

• PRACTICAL THEORY:  Understand the best practices in the workplace

• LINKED THEORIES: Scientific management theory and increased collaboration

• SOLUTION: Encourage Leaders to Collaborate 

To be an effective manager, prioritize your own workload and set aside a daily block for self-care. This will help you focus on your team and avoid burnout.Understanding your team is crucial for effective management. Different leadership styles require different approaches, and strong leaders can adjust their techniques accordingly. By learning about your team's strengths, weaknesses, experiences, and skills, you can assign tasks effectively and address issues productively without decreasing morale(Freeman 1984)

Lastly, set clear goals as a team and individually to guide management efforts. This helps keep everyone focused on how their behavior impacts the project's success(Kaplan 1984)

Delegating tasks allows you to focus on high-level management duties without micromanaging each responsibility. By setting clear expectations and demonstrating trust in their abilities, you can help them feel invested in the project's outcomeTake initiative when communicating with your team, ensuring open communication and understanding the main channels for communication. Identify clear workflows for each team member and create a reasonable timeline for employees to follow(Grundy et al. 2005).

In contemporary terms, as Wren notes the methodology used in ancient Egypt was “managing through forecasting, planning work, dividing the work among the people and departments and establishing a Professional full time administrator to coordinated control the state enterprise”(Mørck et al., 1988)

   (Ancient Egypt Management - Google Search n.d.)

HRM, being a part of the management discipline, has followed the pattern of development of management because of the interrelationship of the problems of both fields(Freeman 1984).

The term “human resource management” is of recent origin. In its modern connotation, it came to be used mainly from the 1980s onwards. During ancient times and for a long period in the medieval era, the production of goods was done mainly by skilled artisans and craftsmen. They owned the tools and instruments, produced articles, and sold these in the market.
A sort of human approach was involved in their relationship. After a prolonged period of training, many apprentices established their own enterprises, and many others remained attached to their master craftsmen on lucrative terms. During the medieval period, skilled craftsmen also formed their guilds primarily to protect the interests of their respective trades.(Grundy et al. 2005)

Managing Slaves: Slaves comprised an important source of manpower in almost all ancient civilizations. They could be sold and purchased like commodities. Their main purchasers were wealthy rulers, landlords, tribal chiefs, and affluent businessmen. The purchasers of slaves had rather complete control over their slaves.(Freeman 1984) 

The masters of the slaves took a variety of arduous work from them such as carrying heavy loads, rowing ships and boats, construction of buildings and forts, digging canals, cattle-rearing, and tillage of soil. The remuneration or compensation for their efforts comprised mainly food, shelter, and clothing. The slaves were dealt with iron hands. They were subjected to strict supervision, and non-compliance of the orders of their masters or supervisors was generally punishable with physical tortures, and occasionally with mutilation of their limbs and even death sentences for grave offenses(Grundy et al. 2005).

Craig B. Smith, chief operating officer of DMJM H&N, has written a book entitled "How the Great Pyramid Was Built" which details the program management of the Great Pyramid 4,500 years ago. Smith will present a forensic analysis of the Great Pyramid's construction and planning during the AIA National Convention in Las Vegas. This details the program management of the Great Pyramid, its culture and lifestyle, and the mathematics of engineering. Smith, who was responsible for solving program management issues for an ongoing Northern California transit project, compared the Great Pyramid to the ancient Egyptians. He found that studying the Great Pyramid from a project-management perspective would offer new insights into how it was built and provide a case study on the construction process, design, and engineering that led to building such a large structure. Smith believes that studying the Great Pyramid would show that it could not have been built without some form of organized program management(Fama & Jensen, 1983).  

Scientific management & its heart four core principles that apply to organizations 

• job or task scientifically to determine the “one best way” to perform the job.  change from  “rule of thumb”where workers devised their ways to do the job.
• Hire the right workers for each job, and train them to work at maximum efficiency.
• Monitor worker performance, and provide instruction and training when needed.
• Divide the work between management and labor so that management can plan and train, and workers can execute the task efficiently.

QUICK REVIEW 

Ancient Egypt's government relied on the people for support and reciprocation, with no cash economy until the Persians arrived in 525 BCE. Farmers were the backbone of the economy, enjoying relaxation time at festivals while working hard daily.Egypt's economy was based on agriculture and barter systems until the Persian invasion of 525 BCE. The monetary unit was the deben, which functioned like the dollar in North America. Debens were approximately 90 grams of copper or silver.The Satire of the Trades, a famous Middle Kingdom Egyptian literary work, describes the daily tasks of those at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Common items like brushes, bowls, and cups were made by hand, while papyrus plants were harvested, processed, and distributed. Laundry washed by the Nile River, and reed cutters faced daily hazards. Although the piece is satirical, it accurately describes the challenges and rewards of these jobs(Colletta et al., 1988).

The upper class, ruled by a vizier, held various jobs, including bureaucrats, architects, engineers, and artists, military leaders, priests, doctors, dentists, astrologers, and exorcists, who dealt directly with clients and their needs through their skills in magic.Egyptians held pride in their work, regardless of occupation, as everyone contributed to the community, with no skills considered non-essential.Taylor, a mechanical engineer, focused on improving factory work and promoting cooperation between management and labor. He believed in fair pay for workers and the importance of planning and training. Taylorism involved time studies, which involved breaking down jobs into components, timing each element, and rearranging them for efficiency. He proposed a "neat, understandable world" in the factory, where acts were planned, coordinated, and controlled under expert direction. In 1909, Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management, suggesting that productivity would increase by optimizing and simplifying jobs and matching workers to specific jobs(Chandler, 1978). 

REFLECTION 

HRM, a part of management, has evolved over time due to the interrelationship between management and human resource management. The term "human resource management" emerged in the 1980s, referring to the management of skilled artisans and craftsmen in ancient civilizations. Slaves were a significant source of manpower, often sold and purchased like commodities. They were subjected to strict supervision and punishments for non-compliance. Craig B. Smith's book, "How the Great Pyramid Was Built," details the program management of the Great Pyramid 4,500 years ago. Studying the Great Pyramid from a project-management perspective offers insights into its construction process, design, and engineering, demonstrating the importance of organized program management.
Scientific management has four core principles: scientifically determining the best way to perform a task, changing from a "rule of thumb," hiring the right workers, monitoring performance, and dividing work between management and labor for efficient execution.

Reference list entry

Chandler, A. D. (1978). The visible hand: The managerial revolution in American business. ˜the œAmerican Historical Review, 83(3), 816. https://doi.org/10.2307/1862020  

Colletta, B., Quellec, P. L., Letouzey, J., & Moretti, I. (1988). Longitudinal evolution of the Suez rift structure (Egypt). Tectonophysics, 153(1–4), 221–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(88)90017-0

Ferasso, M., Pinheiro, I. A., & Da Silva Schröeder, C. (2017). Strategies of innovation in an ancient business: cases of the fountain pen industry. International Journal of Economics and Business Research (Print), 14(1), 73. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijebr.2017.085555  

McNatt, D. B. (2000). Ancient Pygmalion joins contemporary management: A meta-analysis of the result. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(2), 314–322. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.2.314 

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2005). Developing management skills. In Routledge eBooks (pp. 33–53). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203983119-13 

Xiao, G. (2003). Inherent Historical Logic of the Return of Management Thoughts from the Angle of Human Nature Assumption. Policy-making Reference. https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-JCJJ200304005.htm