) Human Resources Management (HRM) is the system of philosophies, policies, programmes, practices, and decisions that affect the attitudes, behaviour, and performance of the people of an organisation so that people are satisfied, perform and contribute to the organisation, achieving its strategic objectives (Amos, Ristow, Ristow, and Pearse, 2013:8). According to this definition by Amos et.al (2013), we can note that HRM has been defined in terms of its strategic functions as well as its objectives or impact within the organisation. More importantly however, is the notion that HRM is concerned with the management of people to ensure that they are well motivated to perform so as to meet or exceed organisational objectives. Thus, HRM covers the human side of people in that it aims to foster the right attitudes and behaviour and ensure that performance is aligned towards the achievement of organisational goals.
Previously, the HRM function was known as personnel management because it referred to the management of people. However, this term did not fully describe how HRM has evolved to become more than just an administrative expert within the organisation. Rather than viewing the HRM function as purely regulatory and administrative as implied by ‘personnel management’, Amos et.al (2013:9) noted how HRM seeks to optimise the use of human resources. They argued that the focus of HRM should be on the investment in and management of the talent of employees, through viewing them as