<P> In the Soviet Union, meanwhile, Stalin's use of patronage exercised through the "HR Department" equivalent in the Bolshevik Party, its Orgburo, demonstrated the effectiveness and influence of human - resource policies and practices, and Stalin himself acknowledged the importance of the human resource, such as in his mass deployment of it in the Gulag system . </P> <P> During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations . In the USA, the phrase "industrial and labor relations" came into use to refer specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the proto - HR profession as "personnel administration". Many current HR practices originated with the needs of companies in the 1950s to develop and retain talent . </P> <P> In the late 20th century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration . Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in a machine . "Human resources management" consequently, became the dominant term for the function--the ASPA even changing its name to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in 1998 . </P> <P> "Human capital management" (HCM) is sometimes used synonymously with "HR", although "human capital" typically refers to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization . Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include "organizational management", "manpower management", "talent management", "personnel management", and simply "people management". </P>

What management functions must be considered in the practice of hrm