The origin of manpower planning, the predecessor of modern HR planning,
predates the beginnings of twentieth-century management theory. Among
the first to raise the manpower-planning issue was the Frenchman Henri Fayol
(1841–1925). His famous fourteen points of management are still considered
valid today. One point had to do with what Fayol called stability of tenure of
personnel. For Fayol, administrators bear responsibility to plan for human
resources, ensuring that “human and material organization is consistent with
the objectives, resources, and requirements of the business concern” (Fayol,
1930, p. 53). This point resembles some modern definitions of HRP.
A deep recession in the late 1950s sparkled the need for a new way of thinking
about management. People were increasingly viewed as assets—human
resources—that could be either developed or wasted. This way of thinking became
even more pronounced during the 1960s and 1970s, when the focus was on
finding ways to design organizations and jobs to permit individuals greater latitudes
of self-expression. Human creativity and job satisfaction are still two of
the most important concerns of management.