PHR®/SPHR® Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide, Third Edition

3.1. Organizations

Since ancient times, people have formed groups to achieve goals that they were unable to achieve on their own. Whether it was for protection, shelter, food, or profit, organizing gave people the means to achieve more than they could by acting alone. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century, organizations grew larger and more complex as the goals to be achieved became more complex. As the production of goods moved from a single worker creating an entire product to multiple workers completing pieces of a single product, the need for control over the production process became greater. The modern organization evolved to coordinate the many different activities that are needed to produce the goods ...