INSTITUTE OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT MALAWI (IPMM) IS A DISGRACE TO THE HR PROFESSION IN MALAWI

Every profession has a body or association where its members meet from time to time to discuss how they can improve skills in their area of specialty. Membership of these associations strictly tend to be members of that profession only. For example, Malawi Law Society whose members are strictly lawyers, Economics Society of Malawi whose members are strictly economists, Association of Bankers in Malawi for bankers, Nurses and Midwifery Council of Malawi strictly for nurses e.t.c. These associations facilitate training and development of its members as well as engaging in collective bargaining when need be.

Institute of People Management Malawi (IPMM) was created with the aim, they say, of promoting Human Resource Management in Malawi (according to their website). To my surprise as a would be HR practitioner, the composition of this association lives a lot to be desired. It has a membership that includes accountants, nurses, engineers, bankers, lawyers, medical doctors and to add more to the "mockery", it includes football coaches!! God forbid! How can an association created for HR managers have an unholy membership like this?

Human resources are an organization's most valuable resource. To make matters worse, they call it Institute of People Management in Malawi! We do not call them 'people' in modern Human Resource Management! They are Human Resources!! Institute of People Management Malawi (IPMM) was unholy communion that happened too fast, too soon and for the wrong reasons!!

To this far, I would like to call upon all Human Resource Management practitioners and students who love the HR profession to quit or refrain from this grouping because it is a mockery to the HR profession and does not represent the ideals of modern day Human Resource Management! Lets come together and create a body that truly reflect and represent ideals of uncompromisable contemporary Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management is a beautiful profession that requires its own dignified respect and recognition. As it is right now, we are far from achieving that!!

It is Human Resource Management and not people management. So HR practitioners lets go!!