LECTURE NOTES

ON

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MBA II semester

(IARE-R16)

K. Vijaya Sekhar Reddy

Assistant Professor

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
(Autonomous)
Dundigal, Hyderabad - 500 043

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 UNIT-1
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Unit 1: Objectives of human resource management, human resource objectives, human
resource activities, challenges of human resource management, job analysis and design, uses
of job analysis, methods of data collection, job description and specifications, job design, job
redesign, job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, strategic and human resource
planning, human resource planning process, human resource information systems,
assessment of human resource requirements, human resource functions and policies.

Introduction:

Human resource management (HRM or HR) is the management of human resources. It is

commonly referred to as the HR Department to maximize employee performance in service of
an employer's strategic objectives. Human Resource is primarily concerned with the
management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and on systems. HR
departments are responsible for overseeing employee-benefits design, employee recruitment,
training and development, performance appraisal, and rewarding (e.g., managing pay and
benefit systems). HR also concerns itself with organizational change and industrial relations,
that is, the balancing of organizational practices with requirements arising from collective
bargaining and from governmental laws.

HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers
began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the
workforce.[citation needed] It was initially dominated by transactional work, such as payroll
and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological
advances, and further research, HR as of 2015 focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and
acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and
diversity and inclusion.

Human resources focuses on maximizing employee productivity.[citation needed] HR

professionals manage the human capital of an organization and focus on implementing
policies and processes. They can specialise on recruiting, training, employee-relations or
benefits. Recruiting specialists find and hire top talent. Training and development
professionals ensure that employees are trained and have continuous development. This is
done through training programs, performance evaluations and reward programs. Employee
relations deals with concerns of employees when policies are broken, such as in cases
involving harassment or discrimination. Someone in benefits develops compensation
structures, family-leave programs, discounts and other benefits that employees can get. On the
other side of the field are Human Resources Generalists or business partners. These human-
resources professionals could work in all areas or be labor-relations representatives working
with unionized employees.

In startup companies, trained professionals may perform HR duties. In larger companies, an

entire functional group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in
various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision-making across the
business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education,
professional associations, and companies have established programs of study dedicated
explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations may produce
field-specific publications. HR is also a field of research study that is popular within the fields
of management and industrial/organizational psychology, with research articles appearing in a
number of academic journals, including those mentioned later in this article.

Some businesses globalize and form more diverse teams. HR departments have the role of
making sure that these teams can function and that people can communicate across cultures
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 and across borders. Due to changes in commerce, current topics in human resources include
diversity and inclusion as well as using technology to advance employee engagement. In the
current global work environment, most companies focus on lowering employee turnover and
on retaining the talent and knowledge held by their workforce.[citation needed] New hiring
not only entails a high cost but also increases the risk of a newcomer not being able to replace
the person who worked in a position before. HR departments strive to offer benefits that will
appeal to workers, thus reducing the risk of losing corporate knowledge.

Objectives / Functions:
The function of human resources management is to provide the employees with the capability
to manage: healthcare, record keeping, promotion and advancement, benefits, compensation,
etc. The function, in terms of the employers benefit, is to create a management system to
achieve long-term goals and plans. The management allows companies to study, target, and
execute long-term employment goals. For any company to have an efficient ability to grow
and advance human resource management is a key.

Human resources are designed to manage the following:

 Employee Benefits: include various types of non-wage compensation provided to
employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries.
 Employee health care: the identification of recognition of a disease by a physician/
physician's assistant/nurse practitioner.
 Compensation: something, typically money, awarded to someone as a recompense for
loss, injury, or suffering.
 Annual, sick, and personal leave: excused (and generally unpaid) leave for
unexpected (such as accident or sickness) or expected (anniversaries, birthdays,
marriage) events important to the individual.
 Sick banks: a fund accumulated to pay off a corporate or public debt
 Discipline: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using
punishment to correct disobedience.
 Records (tax information, personnel files, etc.):also known as records and information
management or RIM, is the professional practice of managing the records of an
organization throughout their life cycle, from the time they are created to their
eventual disposal.
 Recruitment and employee retention strategies:refers to the ability of an organization
to retain its employees
 Salary and Wages Administrations : process of compensating an organization's
employees in accordance with accepted policy and procedures

Human Resources Activities

A human resources manager has several functions in a company:

 Determine needs of the staff.
 Determine to use temporary staff or hire employees to fill these needs.
 Recruit and train the best employees.
 Supervise the work.
 Manage employee relations, unions and collective bargaining.
 Prepare employee records and personal policies.
 Ensure high performance.
 Manage employee payroll, benefits and compensation.
 Ensure equal opportunities.
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  Deal with discrimination.
 Deal with performance issues.
 Ensure that human resources practices conform to various regulations.
 Push the employees' motivation.
 Managers need to develop their interpersonal skills to be effective. Organisations
behaviour focuses on how to improve factors that make organisations more effective

Challenges of Human Resource Management

The rapidly transforming business landscape means that there are currently many human
resource management challenges which will continue to evolve for years to come. Tom
Marsden, Director of Professional Services at Alexander Mann Solutions said that HR
departments really need to be adding real business value to their organizations. "Although the
restrictions of the recession aren't over yet, companies are recognizing that they will need to
take steps to retain their workforce. This could be through an increased emphasis on training
and engagement programs or by investing in areas that will optimize expenditure, such as
integrated technology systems or improved candidate attraction schemes. The signs are that
HR departments are preparing to maximize their resources and staff as organizations look to
grow."

The Evolution of HR Professionals

Coach. Counselor. Employee advocate. Business strategist. As the business world changes, so
does the role of HR professionals. Since human resources is a business-driven function,
effectiveness depends on a thorough understanding of the strategic corporate direction, as
well as the ability to influence key policies and decisions. In addition, human resource
management challenges must be defined and solutions determined in order to succeed.

Today's Top 10 Human Resource Management Challenges

Due to the fluctuating economy as well as local and global advancements, there are many
changes occurring rapidly that affect HR in a wide range of issues. In the Survey of Global
HR Challenges: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers on
behalf of the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA), several
challenges for human resource management were revealed. This survey, which concluded that
"despite national and regional differences, there was remarkable unanimity," disclosed the
following top 10 human resource management challenges:

S No Challenges % of Companies
1 Change management 48%
2 Leadership development 35%
3 HR effectiveness measurement 27%
4 Organizational effectiveness 25%
5 Compensation 24%
6 Staffing: Recruitment and availability of skilled local labor 24%
7 Succession planning 20%
8 Learning and development 19%
9 Staffing: Retention 16%

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 10 Benefits costs: Health & welfare 13%

1. Change Management
Since this is generally not a focal point for HR professional training and development,
change management represents a particular challenge for personnel management. The
WFPMA finds that "This may also be the reason why it is cited as the foremost issue as
HR continues to attempt to help businesses move forward. An intensified focus on
training may be needed to develop added competencies to deal with change
management."

2. Leadership Development
As the second of the biggest challenges for human resource management, leadership
development needs to be a critical strategic initiative. HR professionals are faced with
being expected to provide the essential structures, processes, tools, and points of view
to make the best selection and develop the future leaders of the organization. The
WFPMA reports that, "Across the globe leadership development has been identified as
a critical strategic initiative in ensuring that the right employees are retained, that the
culture of the organization supports performance from within to gain market position,
and that managers are equipped to take on leadership roles of the future so that the
organization is viable in the long term."

3. HR Effectiveness Measurement
How can improvement happen without the right tools to measure HR effectiveness? As
with many other areas of business, this profession also needs to be able to measure
results in terms of transaction management, as well as in terms of the positive influence
on business. "Utilizing metrics to determine effectiveness is the beginning of a shift
from perceiving HR's role as purely an administrative function to viewing the HR team
as a true strategic partner within the organization," the WFPMA says. "In fact, the next
section reports that survey participants believe a critical future issue for HR will be
organizational effectiveness - again supporting HR's critical role as a strategic partner to
management."

This world federation also notes that, "Where HR departments have traditionally
focused on measuring their own effectiveness, there is an evolving recognition that they
can provide organizational value by measuring the effectiveness of the entire business
organization. The shift is significant as it represents movement from simply counting
the numbers hired to determining the ROI of collective and individual hires on a long-
term basis. Going beyond measuring turnover, this new approach considers 'bad'
turnover and 'good' turnover along with the overall cost of replacement hires."

The Numbers Speak Volumes

When you start looking at the numbers, you realize the significant impact of trends and
challenges in human resource management. There are many variables that influence
human resource management. To give you a glimpse at some of the upcoming changes,
the HR Leadership Council has released the following statistics:

One in four high potentials plans to leave their organization in the next year
 By effectively developing employees, managers can be better coaches and
improve performance by up to 25%
 Three out of five organizations have either restructured or plan to restructure
within the next six months
 Recent declines in employee engagement further decreased overall productivity
by 3 to 5%
 Leaders with strong people development skills are 50% more likely to
outperform revenue expectations
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  Delivering on critical onboarding activities boosts new hire performance by
11.3%
 77% of midsized companies use (or plan to use) wellness to reduce costs
 46% of midsized-company CFOs anticipate a merger or acquisition in less than
six months
Expand Your Skills and Enhance Your Expertise
 To meet or exceed all of these human resource management challenges, you'll
need proven tools and strategies. One of the best ways to gain the necessary
expertise is by earning your Master of Science in Human Resource
Development entirely online. In Villanova's online HR master's degree
program, you'll learn how to:
 Implement strategic organizational change for increased quality, productivity
and employee satisfaction
 Construct an effective training program
 Design a compensation system that motivates employees
 Structure benefit packages and measure their success
 Identify principles for developing, utilizing and conserving human resources
 Use data and statistics to make informed business decisions
 Leverage technology to enhance the contributions of the human resource
function to an organization
 Develop financial management and budgetary skills

As a student in Villanova University's HR master's degree program, you'll gain

advanced knowledge in core human resource competencies, with a focus on
developmental, strategic and global issues. Engaging online courses in a video-based
e-learning environment will empower you with the latest tools, proven processes and
best practices across a range of key topics, including organizational change, human
resource planning, compensation, international human resources, organizational
training and project management for HR professionals.

Job Analysis and Design

What Is a Job?
A group of homogeneous tasks related by similarity of functions.

When performed by an employee in an exchange for pay, a job consists of duties,

responsibilities, and tasks (performance elements) that are (1) defined and specific, and (2)
can be accomplished, quantified, measured, and rated. From a wider perspective, a job is
synonymous with a role and includes the physical and social aspects of a work environment.
Often, individuals identify themselves with their job or role (foreman, supervisor, engineer,
etc.) and derive motivation from its uniqueness or usefulness.

Job Analysis
Job analysis, contains a simple term called "analysis", which means detailed study or
examination of something (job) in order to understand more about it (job). therefore job
analysis is to understand more about a specific job in order to optimise it. Job analysis is a
systematic process of collecting complete information pertaining to a job. Job analysis is done
by job analyst who is an officer have been trained for it.

Job analysis is a procedure through which you determine the duties and responsibilities,
nature of the jobs and finally to decide qualifications, skills and knowledge to be required for
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 an employee to perform particular job. Job analysis helps to understand what tasks are
important and how they are carried on. Job analysis forms basis for later HR activities such as
developing effective training program, selection of employees, setting up of performance
standards and assessment of employees ( performance appraisal)and employee remuneration
system or compensation plan.

One of the first industrial-organizational psychologists to introduce job analysis was Morris
Viteles. In 1922, he used job analysis in order to select employees for a trolley car company
The intention behind job analysis is to answer questions such as:
1. What is the need of the job to exist?
2. What physical and mental activities does the worker undertake?
3. When is the job to be performed?
4. Where is the job to be performed?
5. How does the job performed by an employee?
6. What qualities and qualifications are required to perform the job?

Job analysis is a detailed examination of

(1) tasks that make up a job (employee role),
(2) conditions under which an employee performing his/her job, and
(3) what exactly a job requires in terms of aptitudes (potential for achievement), attitudes
(behavior characteristics), knowledge, skills, educational qualifications and the physical
working condition of the employee.

Its objectives include

(a) to determine most effective methods for performing a job.
(b) to increase employee job satisfaction.
(c) to identify core areas for giving training to employees and to find out best methods of
training.
(d) development of performance measurement systems, and
(e) to match job-specifications with employee specifications while selection of an employee.

Definitions of Job Analysis

Some important definitions of job-analysis are as under :

Harry L. Wylie. "Job analysis deals with the anatomy of the job.....This is the complete study
of the job embodying every known and determinable factor, including the duties and
responsibilities involved in its performance; the conditions under which performance is
carried on; the nature of the task; the qualifications required in the worker; and the conditions
of employment such as pay, hours, opportunities and privileges"

In the words of Dale Yoder. "A Job is a collection of duties, tasks and responsibilities which
are assigned to an individual and which is different from other assignment"

According to Michael J. Jucius, "Job analysis refers to the process of studying the operations,
duties and organisational aspects of jobs in order to derive specification or, as they are called
by some job description"

In the words of Edwin B. Flippo, "Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting
information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job "

According to Blum, "A job analysis is an accurate study of the various components of a job. It
is concerned not only with an analysis of the duties and conditions of work, but also with the
individual qualifications of the worker."

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 According to John A Shubin "Job analysis is the methodical compilation and study of work
data in order to define and characterise each occupation in such a manner as to distinguish it
from all others."

In the words of Scott, Clothier and Spriegel, "Job analysis is the process of critically
evaluating the operations, duties and relationship of the job."

In simple words Job analysis is a formal programme which examines the tasks, duties and
responsibilities contained in an individual unit of work.

Before the recruitment process, job analysis takes place

An ideal job analysis should include

Duties and Tasks: The basic unit of a job is the performance of specific tasks and duties.
This segment should include frequency, duration, effort, skill, complexity, equipment,
standards, etc.

Environment: This segment identifies the working environment of a particular job. This may
have a significant impact on the physical requirements to be able to perform a job.

Tools and Equipment: Some duties and tasks are performed using specific equipment and
tools. These items need to be specified in a Job Analysis.

Relationships: The hierarchy of the organization must be clearly laid out. The employees
should know who is under them and who they have to report to.

Requirements: The knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the job should be
clearly listed.

There are several ways to conduct a job analysis, including: interviews with incumbents and
supervisors, questionnaires (structured, open-ended, or both), observation, critical incident
investigations, and gathering background information such as duty statements or classification
specifications.

The following are the benefits of job analysis.

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 1. Organizational structure and design :- Job analysis helps the organization to make suitable
changes in the organizational structure, so that it matches the needs and requirements of the
organization. Duties are either added or deleted from the job.

2. Recruitment and selection :-Job analysis provides information about what the job entails
and what human characteristics are required to perform these activities. This information, in
the form of job descriptions and specifications, helps management decide what sort of people
to recruit and hire.

3. Performance appraisal and training/development :- Based on the job requirements

identified in the job analysis, the company decides a training program. Training is given in
those areas which will help to improve the performance on the job. Similarly when appraisal
is conducted we check whether the employee is able to work in a manner in which we require
him to do the job.

4. Job evaluation :- Job evaluation refers to studying in detail the job performance by all
individual. The difficulty level

5. Skills required and on that basis the salary is fixed. Information regarding qualities required,
skilled levels, difficulty levels are obtained from job analysis.

6. Promotions and transfer :- When we give a promotion to an employee we need to promote

him on the basis of the skill and talent required for the future job. Similarly when we transfer
an employee to another branch the job must be very similar to what he has done before. To
take these decisions we collect information from job analysis.

7. Career path planning :- Many companies have not taken up career planning for their
employees. This is done to prevent the employee from leaving the company. When we plan
the future career of the employee, information will be collected from job analysis. Hence job
analysis becomes important or advantageous.

8. Labour relations :- When companies plan to add extra duties or delete certain duties from a
job, they require the help of job analysis, when this activity is systematically done using job
analysis the number of problems with union members reduce and labour relations will
improve.

9. Health and safety :- Most companies prepare their own health and safety, plans and
programs based on job analysis. From the job analysis company identifies the risk factor on
the job and based on the risk factor safety equipments are provided.

10. Acceptance of job offer :- When a person is given an offer/appointment letter the duties to be
performed by him are clearly mentioned in it, this information is collected from job analysis,
which is why job analysis becomes important.
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Methods of Data Collection:

The information, about the duties, responsibilities and activities of a job, can be collected
through a number of techniques. According to the requirements, these techniques can be used
in isolation or the activities can be combined with one another. Performing job analysis is a
joint effort by the HR specialist, worker, supervisor, and managers. The work of observation,
analysis and developing job specification and description is performed by HR specialist,
while the questionnaires are filled by the workers and supervisors. The ultimate purpose of all
the job analysis methods is to develop job description and job specification. Interviews,
observations, diary logs and questionnaires are among the popular methods of collecting job
analysis information. However, all these methods provide realistic information about the
content and human requirement of the job. The various job analysis methods are enumerated
as below:

Figure 3: Methods of Collecting Data

Personal Observation:

Under this method, the job analyst watches and observes the person, performing the job, and
takes notes to describe the tasks and performed duties. During a complete work cycle, various
aspects, like, the tasks performed, the working conditions, the hazards involved, and the pace
at which the activities are carried out etc., are observed by the job analyst. For the jobs, that
involve manual/physical, standardized and short job cycle activities, this method is very much
suitable. Machine operator, bus driver, flight attendant, house keeper are examples of such
jobs. However, there are many aspects of a job that involve mental process and unforeseen
circumstances, cannot be directly observed by this method. This method also involves
personal biases, likes or dislikes, as every person has their own way of observing the things,
and different people think differently and interpret the findings differently. The efficiency and
effectiveness of this method depends on job analyst, whether the job analyst is skilled enough
to know what to observe and how to analyze what has been observed.

Advantages:

 This method provides firsthand knowledge and information about the job that is being
analyzed, as compare to other method of job analysis, in which the information is
obtained indirectly.
 By this method, job analyst is able to see the actual work environment, tools and
equipment used, inter relationship among workers and the complexity of the job.

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  This method is very simple.
 Verification of the data, collected through this method, can be done through other
sources.

Disadvantages:

 In the presence of an observer, the incumbent may alter their normal work behaviour,
if they know that they are being observed. All this reduces the effectiveness of this
method.
 For the jobs, that involves significant amount of mental efforts, this method is not
very suitable.
 Job analyst may not be skilled enough to know what to observe and how to analyze
what has been observed.
 This method is very time consuming.
 This method leads to personal biasness, likes or dislikes, as different people have
different ways of thinking

Interview:

This technique involves discussion between job analyst and job occupants. Through this
method, the occupants can come up with their own style of working, problems faced by them,
use of particular skills and techniques while performing their job, and insecurities and fear
about their career. This method enables the interviewer to know exactly what an employee
thinks about his or her job. This method actually involves analysis of the job by the employee
himself.

Interviews can be individual interview or group interview. Individual interviews are one to
one basis whereas interviews with two or more occupants in a group are group interview.
Interview with a small panel of experts such as, supervisors or long time employees are called
technical conferences. Technical conferences reflect a census of experts’ thinking.

Interviews can be unstructured or structured. In unstructured interviews, the questions and

the area of discussions are unspecified. In structured interview, each point for discussion is
clearly laid down. There is a possibility that all aspects of a job are covered in an interview by
using structured format. Generally, a standard format is used to collect the information from
different employees so that the information can be used to identify the common and critical
aspects of the job.

Advantages:

 This method is most commonly used.

 Through this method, qualitative aspects of the job can also be examined.
 This method works very well for jobs that have long job cycles.
 This method generates information that can never appear on written format.
 Jobholders are most familiar with the job, therefore, they can provide better analysis of
the job as compare to anyone else.

Disadvantages:

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  The efficiency of this method depends on the interviewer’s ability to take interview.
 This method of job analysis may become faulty if the interviewer puts ambiguous
questions to workers.
 With the purpose to add greater weightage to their position, the workers may
exaggerate their job duties.
 If a number of jobs are to be studied, then this method is very time and money
consuming.
 In order to show that their job is very complex, the workers may distort information.
 If the purpose of interview is not clear, employees may provide information to protect
their own interests.

Questionnaire:

In this method of collecting job analysis information, a questionnaire is developed and given
to the employees and supervisors / managers, to provide the answers. This questionnaire is
related to the nature of duties, tasks and responsibilities, related to the job. The questionnaire
can be of two types: structured questionnaire and unstructured questionnaire. Structured
questionnaire is like checklists. Each employee gets an inventory of perhaps hundreds of
specific duties or tasks. Employee is required to answer whether he or she performs each task
or not, and if performs, how much time is normally spent on each one. The unstructured
questionnaire is open – ended that simply asks the employees to describe the major duties of
their job. The best questionnaire generally falls between the two extremes. A questionnaire is
a quick and efficient method of collecting information from a large number of employees.
This method is less costly as compare to the interviewing method of collecting information.
But this method is expensive and time consuming.

Various organizations use standardized questionnaires that have been developed by some
agency. Most of these questionnaires are of two types: 1) Position analysis questionnaire 2)
Management position description questionnaire, which are discussed as follows:

Position Analysis Questionnaire:

It is a structured questionnaire that is designed to collect quantitative information, about the

different aspects of the job. In this method, the job and human characteristics are identified
individually, and then inter relationship between them is developed, for the purpose of
analysis. The PAQ covers 194 job elements that are divided into six major categories: 1)
Information input 2) Mental processes 3) Work output 4) Relationship with others 5) job
content 6) other job characteristics. The job descriptors, who explain the job based elements,
are rated on a scale of extent of use, importance, time, the possibility of occurrence,
applicability and a special code for certain jobs. The job analyst decides what role each item
plays, and to what extent. The analyst can do this online by using the site www.paq.com. The
PAQ results are used to compare one job with the other, and then to assign pay levels for each
job.

Management Position Description Questionnaire:

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 Managerial jobs differ in character, from other jobs, with clearly identifiable routines and
procedures. Therefore, some specialized methods have evolved for their analysis. One of
widely used methods, known as management position description questionnaire, was
developed by a computer company. This is a structured questionnaire, containing 208 items,
related to the responsibilities, restrictions, demands, and other miscellaneous position
characteristics of the managers. These 208 items have been grouped under 13 categories as:

1) Product, marketing and financial strategy planning

2) Coordination of other organizational units and personnel

3) Internal business control

4) Products and services responsibilities

5) Public and customer relations

6) Advanced consulting

7) Autonomy of actions

8) Approval of financial commitments

9) Staff service

10) Supervision

11) Complexity and stress

12) Advanced financial responsibilities

13) Broad personnel responsibilities

Diary or Log of Job Incumbent:

The daily listings, made by the workers, what they do during the day are called maintaining
the dairy or log. In this technique, the workers maintain the diary, on daily basis, by recording
the job duties, frequencies of the duty etc. This technique, when supplemented with
subsequent interviews with the workers and the supervisors, produces the complete picture of
the job.

In order to have good information about the job, the diary or log should be updated. An
examination of the routineness or non-routineness of the job, duties can be made by
comparing the daily, weekly or monthly figures of the dairy. Some jobs are very difficult to
observe, like that of engineers, scientists, and senior executives etc. In these types of jobs,
diary or log provides a useful basis for gathering information, related to the job. The problem,
with this method of collecting the job related information, is that the individuals are not
disciplined enough to keep such a dairy or log. But in order to avoid such pitfalls, some firms
take a high-tech approach to dairy or logs. Pocket dictating machines and pagers are given to
the employees. The employers page the workers at random times, during the day, who dictate
what they are doing at that time.

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 Checklists:

The appearance of questionnaire and checklists is similar but the checklist is more structured
than a questionnaire. A checklist contains fewer subjective judgments and tends to be either
yes or no variety but a questionnaire depends on the job holders to provide narrative
description of the tasks, skills, knowledge, abilities, working conditions etc., involved in the
performance of their job. A checklist includes a large number of activities and the job holder
is required to tick only those activities that are included in their jobs. The preparation of
checklists requires a lot of efforts by the specialists who prepares this list. While preparing
this list, all the relevant information about the job can be collected by asking the supervisors,
industrial engineers and other familiar with the work. After the preparation of the checklist it
is sent to the job holder. The responses of the job holder are clustered by applying some
statistical methods and then that will be the basis for tabulating job related data.

This method of collecting job related information is very useful in large firms that have a
large number of employees, assigned to one particular job. This technique is amenable to
tabulation and recording on electronic equipment. However, this technique is very costly and
not suitable for small firms.

Job Description and Job Specification

Job Analysis is a primary tool to collect job-related data. The process results in collecting and
recording two data sets including job description and job specification. Any job vacancy can
not be filled until and unless HR manager has these two sets of data. It is necessary to define
them accurately in order to fit the right person at the right place and at the right time. This
helps both employer and employee understand what exactly needs to be delivered and how.

Both job description and job specification are essential parts of job analysis information.
Writing them clearly and accurately helps organization and workers cope with many
challenges while onboard.

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 Comparison Chart

Job Description Job Specification

Taken From The job description is prepared The job specification is
from the job analysis. prepared from the job
description.
Definition The Job description is about the The job specification is about
nature of the job, including the the eligibility and skills
duties and tasks to be done. required for the vacancy.
Comprises of The job description comprises of Job specification gives the
information about the workplace, specific information about
duty-timing, salary, the age-limit, minimum
responsibilities and other general qualification, certificates, and
information. experience.
Main Function The job description tells about the The job specification is about
‘do’s of an individual he/she is the eligibility for that post.
selected for the post.

Though preparing job description and job specification are not legal requirements yet play a
vital role in getting the desired outcome. These data sets help in determining the necessity,
worth and scope of a specific job.

Job Description

Job description includes basic job-related data that is useful to advertise a specific job and
attract a pool of talent. It includes information such as job title, job location, reporting to and
of employees, job summary, nature and objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed,
working conditions, machines, tools and equipments to be used by a prospective worker and
hazards involved in it.

Purpose of Job Description

 The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise
for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right
candidate for the right job.
 It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what
employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
 It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular
department or division to perform a specific task or job.
 It also clarifies who will report to whom.

Job Specification

Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of

educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional,
technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a
job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health,
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 intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability,
flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

Purpose of Job Specification

 Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates analyze
whether are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
 It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of qualifications,
qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a candidate to make him or her
eligible for the job opening.
 Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job
responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and much
more.
 It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis. They define a job
fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of
recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit
between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and measuring the
worth of a particular job.

Job Rotation

Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more
assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an
organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and
competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the
monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights.

Job rotation is a well-planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job
everyday and explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose of
both the management and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent of
employees and determining what he or she is best at. On the other hand, it gives an individual
a chance to explore his or her own interests and gain experience in different fields or
operations.

Job Rotation Objectives

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 Reducing Monotony of the Job: The first and foremost objective of job rotation is to reduce
the monotony and repetitiveness involved in a job. It allows employees to experience
different type of jobs and motivates them to perform well at each stage of job replacement.

Succession Planning: The concept of succession planning is ‘Who will replace whom’. Its
main function of job rotation is to develop a pool of employees who can be placed at a senior
level when someone gets retired or leaves the organization. The idea is to create an immediate
replacement of a high-worth employee from within the organization.

Creating Right-Employee Job Fit: The success of an organization depends on the on-job
productivity of its employees. If they’re rightly placed, they will be able to give the maximum
output. In case, they are not assigned the job that they are good at, it creates a real big
problem for both employee as well as organization. Therefore, fitting a right person in right
vacancy is one of the main objectives of job rotation.

Exposing Workers to All Verticals of the Company: Another main function of job rotation
process is to exposing workers to all verticals or operations of the organization in order to
make them aware how company operates and how tasks are performed. It gives them a
chance to understand the working of the organization and different issues that crop up while
working.

Testing Employee Skills and Competencies: Testing and analyzing employee skills and
competencies and then assigning them the work that they excel at is one of the major
functions of job rotation process. It is done by moving them to different jobs and assignments
and determining their proficiency and aptitude. Placing them what they are best at increases
their on-job productivity.

Developing a Wider Range of Work Experience: Employees, usually don’t want to change
their area of operations. Once they start performing a specific task, they don’t want to shift
from their comfort zone. Through job rotation, managers prepare them in advance to have a
wider range of work experience and develop different skills and competencies. It is necessary
for an overall development of an individual. Along with this, they understand the problems of
various departments and try to adjust or adapt accordingly.

Benefits of Job Rotation

Job rotation is considered as an effective tool for successful implementation of HR strategy. It

is about settling employees at the right place where they can deliver the maximum results. In
today’s highly competitive world, this can be proved as the best strategy to find the
immediate replacement of a high-worth employee from within the organization. Finding the
most suitable people and shifting them to take on the responsibilities of a higher level is a
tough task. Job rotation helps HR managers determine who can be replaced by whom and
create a suitable and beneficial fit.

A properly planned and carried job rotation process plays an essential role in strengthening
the position of an organization and helps it deal with uncertain and tentative outer
environment. Let’s discuss the benefits of job rotation process at length in order to realize its
importance and the potential:

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 Benefits of Job Rotation

Helps Managers Explore the Hidden Talent: Job Rotation is designed to expose employees
to a wider range of operations in order to assist managers in exploring their hidden talent. In
the process, they are moved through a variety of assignments so that they can gain awareness
about the actual working style of the organization and understand the problems that crop up at
every stage. Through this process, managers identify what a particular employee is good at
and accordingly he or she is assigned a specific task.

Helps Individuals Explore Their Interests: Sometimes, employees are not aware of what
would like to do until they have their hands on some specific job. If their job is rotated or they
are exposed to different operations, they can identify what they are good at and what they
enjoy doing. They get a chance to explore their interests and hidden potential.

Identifies Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes: Job Rotation helps managers as well as
individuals identify their KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes). It can be used in
determining who needs to improve or upgrade his or skills in order to perform better. This
helps in analyzing training and development needs of employees so that they can produce
more output.

Motivates Employees to Deal with New Challenges: When employees are exposed to
different jobs or assigned new tasks, they try to give their best while effectively dealing with
the challenges coming their way. It encourages them to perform better at every stage and
prove that they are no less than others. This gives rise to a healthy competition within the
organization where everyone wants to perform better than others.

Increases Satisfaction and Decreases Attrition Rate: Exposing employees to different tasks
and functions increase their satisfaction level. Job variation reduces the boredom of doing
same task everyday. Moreover, it decreases attrition rate of the organization. Employees
develop a sense of belongingness towards the organization and stick to it till long.

Helps Align Competencies with Requirements: Alignment of competencies with

requirements means directing the resources when and where they are required. It assesses the
employees and places them at a place where their skills, competencies and caliber are used to
the highest possible extent.

Job Enlargement

Job enlargement means increasing the scope of a job through extending the range of its job
duties and responsibilities generally within the same level and periphery. Job enlargement

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 involves combining various activities at the same level in the organization and adding them to
the existing job. It is also called the horizontal expansion of job activities. This contradicts the
principles of specialisation and the division of labour whereby work is divided into small
units, each of which is performed repetitively by an individual worker and the responsibilities
are always clear. Some motivational theories suggest that the boredom and alienation caused
by the division of labour can actually cause efficiency to fall. Thus, job enlargement seeks to
motivate workers through reversing the process of specialisation. A typical approach might be
to replace assembly lines with modular work; instead of an employee repeating the same step
on each product, they perform several tasks on a single item. In order for employees to be
provided with Job Enlargement they will need to be retrained in new fields to understand how
each field works.

The objective of job enlargement is to motivate an employee by increasing his efforts and
exposure towards achieving the organizational objectives as set for the job. By doing this, an
employee can get a wider range of his or her objectives without his or her job in a repetitious
manner. Job enlargement requires the management of the organization to provide their
support in providing appropriate training to the employees to make them able to adapt to the
enlarged job scope.

Some advantages of job enlargement are a variety of skills, improves earning capacity, and
wide range of activities.

 Variety of skills – Job enlargement helps the organization to improve and increase the
skills of the employee due to organization as well as the individual benefit.
 Improves earning capacity – with all the new activities a person learns from job
enlargement, they are able to try to get a better salary when they apply for a new job.
 Wide range of activities – Employees are able to learn more activities which can help a
company save money by reducing the number of employees they have.

However results have shown that this process can see its effects diminish after a period of
time, as even the enlarged job role become the mundane, this in turn can lead to similar levels
of demotivation and job dissatisfaction at the expense of increased training levels and costs.
The continual enlargement of a job over time is also known as 'job creep', which can lead to
an unmanageable workload.

Job Enrichment

Job enrichment can be described as a medium through which management can motivate self-
driven employees by assigning them additional responsibility normally reserved for higher level
employees. By doing this, employees feel like their work has meaning and is important to the
company. This theory is based on the premise that employees have a natural tendency to want to
succeed and are eager to be trusted with a bigger role in the company. When these type of
workers aren't being challenged, they tend to slack off and not give their best effort because
they view their task to be below their skill set. Conversely when an employee is given
autonomy over his/her work, they tend to feel responsible for the outcome of the project and
will try to put forward the best end result possible. Overall Job Enrichment is essential to the
workplace because it helps prevent feelings of repetitiveness in the day-to-day operations from
hindering productivity.

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  A range of tasks and challenges of varying difficulties (Physical or Mental)
 A complete unit of work - a meaningful task
 Feedback, encouragement and communication

Definition: Job Enrichment is the addition to a job of tasks that increase the amount of
employee control or responsibility. It is a vertical expansion of the job as opposed to the
horizontal expansion of a job, which is called job enlargement.

Job Enrichment Options

The central focus of job enrichment is giving people more control over their work (lack of
control is a key cause of stress, and therefore of unhappiness.) Where possible, allow them to
take on tasks that are typically done by supervisors. This means that they have more influence
over planning, executing, and evaluating the jobs they do.

In enriched jobs, people complete activities with increased freedom, independence, and
responsibility. They also receive plenty of feedback, so that they can assess and correct their
own performance.

Here are some strategies you can use to enrich jobs in your workplace:

Rotate Jobs – Give people the opportunity to use a variety of skills, and perform different
kinds of work. The most common way to do this is through job rotation. Move your workers
through a variety of jobs that allow them to see different parts of the organization, learn
different skills and acquire different experiences. This can be very motivating, especially for
people in jobs that are very repetitive or that focus on only one or two skills.

Combine Tasks – Combine work activities to provide a more challenging and complex work
assignment. This can significantly increase "task identity" because people see a job through
from start to finish. This allows workers to use a wide variety of skills, which can make the
work seem more meaningful and important. For example, you can convert an assembly line
process, in which each person does one task, into a process in which one person assembles a
whole unit. You can apply this model wherever you have people or groups that typically
perform only one part of an overall process. Consider expanding their roles to give them
responsibility for the entire process, or for a bigger part of that process.

Identify Project-Focused Work Units – Break your typical functional lines and form project-
focused units. For example, rather than having all of your marketing people in one department,
with supervisors directing who works on which project, you could split the department into
specialized project units - specific storyboard creators, copywriters, and designers could all
work together for one client or one campaign. Allowing employees to build client relationships
is an excellent way to increase autonomy, task identity, and feedback.

Create Autonomous Work Teams – This is job enrichment at the group level. Set a goal for a
team, and make team members free to determine work assignments, schedules, rest breaks,
evaluation parameters, and the like. You may even give them influence over choosing their
own team members. With this method, you'll significantly cut back on supervisory positions,
and people will gain leadership and management skills.

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 Implement Participative Management – Allow team members to participate in decision
making and get involved in strategic planning. This is an excellent way to communicate to
members of your team that their input is important. It can work in any organization - from a
very small company, with an owner/boss who's used to dictating everything, to a large
company with a huge hierarchy. When people realize that what they say is valued and makes a
difference, they'll likely be motivated.

Redistribute Power and Authority – Redistribute control and grant more authority to
workers for making job-related decisions. As supervisors delegate more authority and
responsibility, team members' autonomy, accountability, and task identity will increase.

Increase Employee-Directed Feedback – Make sure that people know how well, or poorly,
they're performing their jobs. The more control you can give them for evaluating and
monitoring their own performance, the more enriched their jobs will be. Rather than have your
quality control department go around and point out mistakes, consider giving each team
responsibility for their own quality control. Workers will receive immediate feedback, and
they'll learn to solve problems, take initiative, and make decisions.

Strategic Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning is a process that identifies current and future human resources
needs for an organization to achieve its goals. Human resource planning should serve as a link
between human resource management and the overall strategic plan of an organization.
Ageing workers population in most western countries and growing demands for qualified
workers in developing economies have underscored the importance of effective human
resource planning.

As defined by Bulla and Scott, human resource planning is 'the process for ensuring that the
human resource requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for
satisfying those requirements'.[1] Reilly defined (workforce planning) as: 'A process in which
an organization attempts to estimate the demand for labour and evaluate the size, nature and
sources of supply which will be required to meet the demand. ' Human resource planning
includes creating an employer brand, retention strategy, absence management strategy,
flexibility strategy, (talent management) strategy, (recruitment) and selection strategy.

Implementation stages

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 1. Assessing the current HR capacity

Develop a skills catalog for your employees so that you have a clear understanding of
what your staff currently holds. This employee catalog should include everything
from volunteer activities to certifications, of all degrees not just topics pertaining to
their particular position. These catalogs can be assessed to deem whether or not an
employee is ready to add more responsibility, or to forecast the employee's future
development plans.

2. Forecasting HR requirements

This step includes projecting what the HR needs for the future will be based on the
strategic goals of the organization. Keep in mind you will need to also accommodate
for external challenges that can affect your organization.

 Some questions to ask during this stage include:

 Which jobs will need to be filled in the upcoming period?
 What skill sets will people need?
 How many staff will be required to meet the strategic goals of our
organization?
 Is the economy affecting our work and ability to appeal to new employees?
 How is our community evolving or expected to change in the upcopming
period?

3. Gap analysis

During this step you will observe where your organization is currently, and where
you want to be in the future. You will identify things such as, the employee count,
and the skills evaluation and compare it to what will be needed to achieve your future
goal. During this phase you should also review your current HR practices and identify
what you are doing that is useful and what you can add, that will help you achieve
your goal.
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  Questions to answer in this stage include:
 What new jobs will we need?
 What new skills will we need?
 Do our present employees have the necessary skills?
 Are employees currently aligned to their strengths?
 Are current HR practices adequate to meet our future goal?

4. Developing HR strategies to support the strategies of the organization.

There are 5 HR strategies that you can follow to meet your organizational goals.

Restructuring strategies

This includes reducing staff, regrouping tasks to create well-designed jobs,

and reorganizing work groups to perform more efficiently.

Training and development strategies

This includes providing the current staff with training and development opportunities
to encompass new roles in the organization

Recruitment strategies

This includes recruiting new hires that already have the skills the organization will
need in the future.

Outsourcing strategies

This includes outreaching to external individuals or organizations to complete certain

tasks.

Collaboration strategies

This includes collaborating with other organizations to learn from how others do
things, allow employees to gain skills and knowledge not previously available in their
own organization.

Tools and technologies

Human re-sources use var-i-ous tools and tech-nolo-gies to achieve its goals, es-pe-cially
when it comes to strate-gic plan-ning. These tech-nolo-gies in-clude but are not lim-ited to
so-cial media, poli-cies and man-age-ment in-for-ma-tion sys-tems.

Technologies

Social media

Social media is used as a tool in human re-sources and busi-ness in gen-eral. This dis-ci-pline
deals with se-lect-ing ap-pro-pri-ate so-cial media sites and for-mats from the myr-iad
op-tions avail-able and lever-ag-ing the same to cre-ate value for the or-ga-ni-za-tion. This
re-quires an in-depth un-der-stand-ing of the key ben-e-fits and pit-falls of so-cial media and
man-ag-ing these ef-fec-tively in the or-ga-ni-za-tion's con-text. This dis-ci-pline
em-pha-sizes har-ness-ing so-cial media for ef-fec-tive human re-source man-age-ment,
which in-cludes re-cruit-ment, col-lab-o-ra-tion and en-gage-ment. It also ex-plores the non-

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 fi-nan-cial im-pact as well as the ap-proaches for mea-sur-ing the re-turn on in-vest-ment in
so-cial media. Com-mon so-cial media out-lets used in the HR field are LinkedIn, Face-book
and Google Plus.

Management information systems (MIS)

MIS are com-put-er-ized in-for-ma-tion-pro-cess-ing sys-tems de-signed to sup-port the

ac-tiv-i-ties of com-pany or or-ga-ni-za-tional man-age-ment. They go by var-i-ous names all
with vary-ing func-tions, in the HR field these tools are com-monly re-ferred to as human
re-source man-age-ment sys-tems (HRIS).Some of these soft-ware in-clude Zen-e-fits, Beeye,
Halo-gen Tal-ent Space, Bam-boo HR, Clear Company HRM and many more. These
pro-grams as-sist pro-fes-sion-als in records man-age-ment, ben-e-fit ad-min-is-tra-tion and
in-quiries, hir-ing and team place-ment, coach-ing and train-ing, at-ten-dance and pay-roll
management.

Tools

Policy

Policies are set in place to as-sist in SHRP. These poli-cies are tar-geted not only for
se-lect-ing and train-ing em-ploy-ees but also how they should con-duct them-selves in and
out-side the work-place and var-i-ous other as-pects of being em-ployed at a work-place. For
ex-am-ple, within sev-eral com-pa-nies, there ex-ists a so-cial media pol-icy which out-lines
how an em-ployee should con-duct them-selves on per-sonal ac-counts as a rep-re-sen-ta-tive
of their workplace.

Common policies in HR

 Equal Employment Opportunity policies

 Employee classifications
 Workdays, paydays, and pay advances
 Overtime compensation
 Meal periods and break periods
 Payroll deductions
 Vacation policies
 Holidays
 Sick days and personal leave (for bereavement, jury duty, voting, etc.)
 Performance evaluations and salary increases
 Performance improvement
 Termination policies

Human Resources Information System (HRIS)

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software or online solution for the data
entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the Human Resources, payroll,
management, and accounting functions within a business. It is useful for all processes that
you want to track and from which you hope to gather data.

Normally packaged as a database, hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS and every
HRIS has different capabilities.

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 Key Considerations as You Look at Your HRIS Options

The selection of an HRIS is a stressful situation as so many options exist. Picking the options
that are best for your needs at your company is challenging. Wading through the information
provided by each system is challenging, too.

The sales people are often commissioned sales people who verbally may tell you that the
system will meet your needs. Make sure you check this out with multiple sourc es including
current customers, online discussion groups, LinkedIn, other SHRM members, and Google
reviews.

These are other factors to consider as you select your HRIS.

 Remember that even if your company is only a few people today, it may have twice that
many or even 10 times that many employees in the future, so pick a system that can
grow with your business.
 Another key factor that you must consider is that many HRIS are able to accomplish
only part of what you need automation to accomplish. In these cases, you will want to
make certain that the components of any add-ons or additional systems work together
flawlessly.
 Check also to see what kinds of training and ongoing support are available for your
staff. You should also ensure that the sales consultant's promises about training and
follow-up following the purchase are written right into your contract to purchase the
HRIS.

Functionality of Better HRIS Choices

Typically, the better Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) provide overall:

Management of all employee information. Data such as names, titles, addresses, and
salaries are a basic start. Salary and position history, reporting structures, performance
appraisal histories, and other critical employee information.

Company-related documents such as employee handbooks, emergency evacuation

procedures, and safety guidelines.

Benefits administration including enrollment, status changes, and personal information

updating. In an ideal system, you can allow employees to look up and review their own
information, including vacation tracking.

Complete integration with payroll and other company financial software and accounting
systems. When these are connected, you can ensure that paychecks are correct. There is never
a disconnect between what the official pay rate is and the information that payroll has. If the
systems don't integrate, it's easy to update a salary in one system and not in the other.

Applicant tracking and resume management: When your system is seamless, the recruiter
can click a hired button and all of the information from the applicant is transferred to the

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 employee side of things. This saves so much time because your data entry and paperwork
practically disappear.

If an applicant puts in his own information when applying, you can ensure accuracy. If the
offer letter is generated out of the same system as the payroll system, the salary will match
perfectly and there is no misunderstanding.

Performance development plans: It's not just enough to have plans, if they are recorded in a
central system, then they can easily follow the employee from position to position. Senior
leadership can run reports to see where people are and what their individual bosses are
planning for their futures.

Disciplinary Actions: It's important to keep track of who has been suspended, demoted, or
had other negative actions taken against them noted—even after the employee leaves your
organization. When a company calls and asks for a former employee reference, it's easy for an
admin in the HR department to look up and report back whether or not the person is eligible
for rehire.

Training records: This is especially critical in a company where certifications and licenses
are required. In other companies, training records may not have that level of importance, but
you may still find that having the information is useful.

In summary, the HRIS that most effectively serves companies tracks this information:

 attendance and PTO use,

 pay raises and history,
 pay grades and positions held,
 performance development plans,
 training received,
 disciplinary action received,
 personal employee information, and occasionally,
 management and key employee succession plans,
 high potential employee identification, and
 applicant tracking, interviewing, and selection.

Benefits of the Right HRIS

An effective HRIS provides information on just about anything the company needs to track
and analyze about employees, former employees, and applicants. Your company will need to
select a Human Resources Information System and customize it to meet your needs. If your
company is on a growth path, choose a system that can grow with you.

It's fairly inexpensive to implement a basic HRIS, but make sure whatever you implement
meets your company's actual needs. Do you want to be able to run turnover reports? Post
organizational charts?

Allow managers to electronically access previous performance appraisals? Do you want

everything to have to be done through the HR department or would you like managers to
access the information themselves?
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 With an appropriate HRIS, Human Resources staff enable employees to do their own benefits
updates and address changes, thus freeing HR staff for more strategic functions. Additionally,
data necessary for employee management, knowledge development, career growth and
development, and equal treatment is facilitated.

Finally, managers can access the information they need to legally, ethically, and effectively
support the success of their reporting employees. They can run their own reports and enter
plans into the system to help with succession.

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software or online solution for the data
entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the Human Resources, payroll,
management, and accounting functions within a business.

Normally packaged as a database, hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS and every
HRIS has different capabilities. Pick your HRIS carefully based on the capabilities you need
in your company.

Functions of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management functions can be classified in following three categories.

 Hiring
 Promotions
 Reassignments
 Position classification and grading
 Salary determination
 Performance appraisal review and processing
 Awards review and processing
 Personnel data entry and records maintenance
 Consultation and advisory services to management and employees
o Conduct problems
o Performance problems
 Policy development
 Technical policy interpretation
 Work Permitting Immigration Visa Program
 Benefits
o Health care insurance
o Life insurance
o Disability insurance
o Retirement
o Voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance
o Leave Transfer Program
o Tuition Assistance Plan
o Training opportunities
o Combined Federal Campaign
 Employee assistance referral
 Workers' compensation

The Managerial Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:

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 1. Human Resource Planning - In this function of HRM, the number and type of employees
needed to accomplish organisational goals is determined. Research is an important part of this
function, information is collected and analysed to identify current and future human resource
needs and to forecast changing values, attitude, and behaviour of employees and their impact
on organisation.

2. Organising - In an organisation tasks are allocated among its members, relationships are
identified, and activities are integrated towards a common objective. Relationships are
established among the employees so that they can collectively contribute to the attainment of
organisation goal.

3. Directing - Activating employees at different level and making them contribute maximum
to the organisation is possible through proper direction and motivation. Taping the maximum
potentialities of the employees is possible through motivation and command.

4. Controlling - After planning, organising, and directing, the actual performance of

employees is checked, verified, and compared with the plans. If the actual performance is
found deviated from the plan, control measures are required to be taken.

The Operative Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:

1. Recruitment and Selection - Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the

selection, which brings the pool of prospective candidates for the organisation so that the
management can select the right candidate from this pool.

2. Job Analysis and Design - Job analysis is the process of describing the nature of a job and
specifying the human requirements like qualification, skills, and work experience to perform
that job. Job design aims at outlining and organising tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a
single unit of work for the achievement of certain objectives.

3. Performance Appraisal - Human resource professionals are required to perform this

function to ensure that the performance of employee is at acceptable level.

4. Training and Development - This function of human resource management helps the
employees to acquire skills and knowledge to perform their jobs effectively. Training an
development programs are organised for both new and existing employees. Employees are
prepared for higher level responsibilities through training and development.

5. Wage and Salary Administration - Human resource management determines what is to

be paid for different type of jobs. Human resource management decides employees
compensation which includes - wage administration, salary administration, incentives,
bonuses, fringe benefits, and etc,.

6. Employee Welfare - This function refers to various services, benefits, and facilities that
are provided to employees for their well being.

7. Maintenance - Human resource is considered as asset for the organisation. Employee

turnover is not considered good for the organisation. Human resource management always try
to keep their best performing employees with the organisation.

8. Labour Relations - This function refers to the interaction of human resource management
with employees who are represented by a trade union. Employees comes together and forms
an union to obtain more voice in decisions affecting wage, benefits, working condition, etc,.
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 9. Personnel Research - Personnel researches are done by human resource management to
gather employees' opinions on wages and salaries, promotions, working conditions, welfare
activities, leadership, etc,. Such researches helps in understanding employees satisfaction,
employees turnover, employee termination, etc,.

10. Personnel Record - This function involves recording, maintaining, and retrieving
employee related information like - application forms, employment history, working hours,
earnings, employee absents and presents, employee turnover and other other data related to
employees.

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 UNIT-II
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Unit II: The recruitment process, methods of recruiting, realistic job preview, challenges of
recruiting, selection process, type of tests, basic features of interviews, types of interviews,
interview errors and bias, designing and conducting the effective interview, reference and
background verification, medical evaluation, job offer, induction and placement.

Recruitment

Recruitment (hiring) is a core function of human resource management. It is the first step of
appointment. Recruitment refers to the overall process of attracting, selecting and appointing suitable
candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment can also refer
to processes involved in choosing individuals for unpaid positions, such as voluntary roles or unpaid
trainee roles. Managers, human resource generalists and recruitment specialists may be tasked with
carrying out recruitment, but in some cases public-sector employment agencies, commercial
recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies are used to undertake parts of the process.
Internet-based technologies to support all aspects of recruitment have become widespread.

Basis Recruitment Selection

It is a process of picking up
It is an activity of establishing contact
Meaning more competent and suitable
between employers and applicants.
employees.

It encourages large number of It attempts at rejecting

Objective
Candidates for a job. unsuitable candidates.

Process It is a simple process. It is a complicated process.

The candidates have not to cross over Many hurdles have to be

Hurdles
many hurdles. crossed.

Approach It is a positive approach. It is a negative approach.

Sequence It proceeds selection. It follows recruitment.

Economy It is an economical method. It is an expensive method.

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 Time
Less time is required. More time is required.
Consuming

Methods of Recruitment & Selection

Sources of Recruitment of Employees: Internal and External Sources (with its Advantages
and Disadvantages)!

The searching of suitable candidates and informing them about the openings in the enterprise
is the most important aspect of recruitment process.

The candidates may be available inside or outside the organisation. Basically, there are two
sources of recruitment i.e., internal and external sources.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION:

Recruitment Selection
1. Selection is concerned with picking up the
1. Recruitment refers to the process of
right candidates from a pool of applicants.
identifying and encouraging prospective
employees to apply for jobs.
2. Selection on the other hand is negative in
its application in as much as it seeks to
2. Recruitment is said to be positive in its
eliminate as many unqualified applicants as
approach as it seeks to attract as many
possible in order to identify the right
candidates as possible.
candidates.

Recruitment is the process of selecting the qualified candidate for the company. It’s a
vital part for every business. Recruitment gives a team to every business those who
perform for common economic goals. There are different sources of recruitment but
some modern sources help companies to hire the best resource.

Some modern sources and techniques of recruitment companies are:

 Tie up with Recruitment consultancies

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  Job portals
 Campus placements
 Directly through company’s website
 Employee referrals
 Social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook

These are the modern recruitment sources that help every company to get the right
candidate on time. Companies are not need to waste their time with old newspaper
advertisement ideas. They can use any one of them to have cost effective and efficient
recruitment.

Sources of Recruitment:

There are different sources of recruitment which are classified under two main
categories;

Internal Sources: All the sources of recruitment within the company or organization.

External Sources: All the sources of recruitment outside the company or

organization.

Internal Sources of Recruitment

Internal sources of recruitment include:

Transfers: means a change in place of employment without any change in the

position, status, salary and responsibility of the employee. Thus, the situation can be
filled by transferring an appropriate candidate from the same organization.

Internal Advertisements: Now, the vacancy is promoted within the organization.

The current employees are requested to apply for the vacancy. Therefore, recruitment
is done from within the organization.

Promotions: means to give a higher position, status, salary and responsibility to

employee. Therefore, the post can be filled by promoting an appropriate candidate
from the same organization.

Recall from Long Leave: The organization might recall a manager who has gone on
a long leave. This is done when the company faces a problem which can only be
solved by that specific manager. After he resolves the problem, his leave is
extended.Retired Managers: Sometimes, retired supervisors may be reminded for a
short period. This is done when the company cannot find an appropriate candidate.

External Sources of Recruitment

External sources of recruitment are:

Management Consultants: are used for choosing higher-level staff. They act as
representative of the employer. They make all the essential arrangements for
recruitment and selection. In return for services, they take a commission or service
charge.

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 Public Advertisements: The Personnel branch of an organization advertises the
vacancy in the internet, newspapers, etc. This advertisement gives info about the
company, the job and the required qualities of the candidate. It offers applications
from suitable candidates. This source is the most common and popular source of
recruitment. This is because it provides a very wide choice. However, it is very
expensive and time consuming.

Recommendations: The company or organization may also recruit candidates based

on the recommendations received from present managers or from sister companies.

Deputation Personnel: The company may also recruit candidates who sent on
deputation by the Financial institutions or Government or by holding or subsidiary
companies.

Campus Recruitment: The organization conducts interviews in the campuses of

Engineering Colleges and Management institutes. Final year students, who're soon to
get graduate, are interviewed. Suitable candidates are selected by the association
based on their communication skills, academic record, intelligence, etc. This source is
used for recruiting qualified, trained but inexperienced candidates.

1. Employee Referrals: Present employees are well aware of the qualifications,

attitudes, experience and emotions of their friends and relatives. They are also aware
of the job requirements and organizational culture of their company. As such they can
make preliminary judgment regarding the match between the job and their friends and
relatives.

2. Campus Recruitment: These candidates are directly recruited by the Co; from
their college/educational institution. They are inexperienced as far as work experience
is concerned.

3 Private Employment Agencies/Consultants: Public employment agencies or

consultants like ABC Consultants inIndia perform recruitment functions on behalf of
a client company by charging fees. Line managers are relieved from recruitment
functions and can concentrate on operational activities.

4 Public Employment Exchanges: The Government set up Public Employment

Exchanges in the country to provide information about vacancies to the candidates
and to help the organization in finding out suitable candidates. As per the
Employment Exchange act 1959, makes it obligatory for public sector and private
sector enterprises inIndia to fill certain types of vacancies through public employment
exchanges.

5. Professional Organizations: Professional organizations or associations maintain

complete bio-data of their members and provide the same to various organizations on
requisition. They act as an exchange between their members and recruiting firm.

6 Data Banks: The management can collect the bio-data of the candidates from
different sources like Employment Exchange, Educational Training Institutes,
candidates etc and feed them in the computer. It will become another source and the
co can get the particulars as and when required.
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 7 Casual Applicants: Depending on the image of the organization its prompt
response participation of the organization in the local activities, level of
unemployment, candidates apply casually for jobs through mail or handover the
application in the Personnel dept. This would be a suitable source for temporary and
lower level jobs.

8 Similar Organizations: Generally experienced candidates are available in

organizations producing similar products or are engaged in similar business. The
Management can get potential candidates from this source.

9. Trade Unions: Generally unemployed or underemployed persons or employees

seeking change in employment put a word to the trade union leaders with a view to
getting suitable employment due to latter rapport with the management.

10.Walk In: The busy organization and rapid changing companies do not find time to
perform various functions of recruitment. Therefore they advise the potential
candidates to attend for an interview directly and without a prior application on a
specified date, time and at a specified place.

11.Consult In: the busy and dynamic companies encourage the potential job seekers
to approach them personally and consult them regarding the jobs. The companies
select the suitable candidates and advise the company regarding the filling up of the
positions. Head hunters are also called search consultants.

12.Body Shopping: Professional organizations and the hi-tech training develop the
pool of human resource for the possible employment. The prospective employers
contact these organizations to recruit the candidates. Otherwise the organizations
themselves approach the prospective employers to place their human resources. These
professional and training institutions are called body shoppers and these activities are
known as body shopping. The body shopping is used mostly for computer
professionals. Body shopping is also known as employee leasing activity.

13.Mergers and Acquisitions: Business alliances like acquisitions, mergers and take
over help in getting human resources. In addition the companies do also alliances in
sharing their human resource on adhoc basis.

14.E_recruitment: The technological revolution in telecommunications helped the

organizations to use internet as a source of recruitment. Organizations advertise the
job vacancies through the world wide wed (www). The job seekers send their
applications through e-mail using the internet.

15.Outsourcing: Some organizations recently started developing human resource

pool by employing the candidates for them. These organizations do not utilize the
human resources; instead they supply HRs to various companies based on their needs
on temporary or ad-hoc basis.

Techniques of Recruitment:

Recruitment techniques are the means or media by which management contacts

prospective employees or provide necessary information or exchanges ideas in order
to stimulate them to apply for jobs. Management uses different types of techniques to
stimulate internal and external candidates.
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 Techniques of Recruitment are divided into two viz Traditional and Modern:

Traditional Techniques Modern Techniques Promotions Scouting Transfers Salary &

Perks Advertising ESOP’s

Traditional Techniques of Recruitment:

Promotions: Most of the internal candidates would be stimulated to take up higher

responsibilities and express their willingness to be engaged in the higher level jobs if
the management gives them the assurance that they will be promoted to the next
higher level.

Transfers: employees will be stimulated to work in the new sections or places if the
management wishes to transfer them to the places of their choice.

Advertising: Advertising is a widely accepted technique of recruitment, though it

mostly provides one way communication. It provides the candidates in different
sources, the information about the job and company and stimulates them to apply for
jobs. It includes advertising through different media like newspapers, magazines of
all kind, television etc. The technique of advertising should aim at attracting attention
of the prospective candidates ii) creating and maintaining interest and stimulating
action by the candidates.

Management in order to achieve these objectives of advertising has to:

– Analyse job requirements

– Decide who does what
– Write the copy
– Design the advertisement
– Plan and select the media and
– Evaluate response.

Modern Techniques of Recruitment:

Scouting: Scouting means sending the representation of the organizations to various

sources of recruitment with a view to persuading or stimulating the candidates to
apply for jobs. The representatives provide information about the company and
exchange information and ideas and clarify the doubts of the candidates.

Salary and Perks: Companies stimulate the prospective candidates by offering

higher level salary, more perks, quick promotions etc.

ESOP’s: Companies recently started stimulating the employees by offering stock

ownership to the employees through their Employees Stock Ownership Programmes
(ESOPs)

Realistic Job Preview

Definition: Realistic Job Preview

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 Realistic job previews is a process during recruitment of an employee which clearly
highlights all the pros and cons related to the job profile, giving the candidate the most
accurate information about the job.

 Read Next
 JSA (Job Safety Analysis)
 Job
 Job Classification
 Job Specification
 Job Criteria
 Develop an Implementation Plan with Timelines: The plan will explain the need for a RJP
and the major steps required to develop the RJP. A pilot test should be included if
possible.
 Establish Work Team(s): Identify the implementation team, including current managers,
employees, and human resources staff.
 Assess Current Situation: Determine if the RJP will be used to resolve a current problem
(e.g., too much turnover among new hires) or to proactively avoid a future problem.
 Obtain Management Commitment: Communicate to management the strategic intent of
the RJP and the desired end results. Management support is necessary to ensure
successful development and implementation.
 Identify Issues to be Addressed: Identify relevant job duties and organizational
characteristics and the ways the typical employee reacts to both. This information will
help inform what should be covered in the RJP.
 Include "Judgmental Information": The RJP should include judgmental information (e.g.,
things that satisfy and dissatisfy employees) about the position to be filled. This
information may be obtained through interviews or employee surveys.
 Focus on a Few Targeted Issues: The RJP should ensure the most important job
characteristics are readily understood by job applicants and are not lost among other
information.
 Balance Negative and Positive Information: The RJP should match something positive for
every piece of negative information provided to the applicant.
 Select a Communication Medium: RJPs are most often presented through brochures
and/or audio-visual methods (A-V). Consider resource and time constraints in selecting a
medium.
 Identify the Message Source: Applicants identify with the message when it is conveyed
by incumbents to whom the applicant can relate.
 Determine Where the RJP Fits within the Application Process: An RJP may be used at
various points in the hiring process. Consider presenting an RJP early to enable some
applicants to self-select out of the process, minimizing organizational costs.
 Select an Implementation Approach: Determine whether the RJP will be used for all
positions, or for targeted positions.
 Create a Communication Plan: The plan should ensure widespread knowledge of the
goals of the RJP and implementation timelines.
 Provide Training: If applicable, identify and train employees who will participate in the
RJP.

Realistic Job Previews (RJP) are developed to provide the potential applicants a true picture
of the different features of the job. It highlights not only the positive aspects, but also the
associated hazards and problems.

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 A Realistic Job Preview provides the following:

• Pay
• Work hours
• Job related tasks
• Schedule flexibility
• Work culture
• Related pressure
• Degree of customer interaction
• Degree of physical risk
• Priority associated to job

Advantages of Realistic Job Previews:

For the employee:

• Reduced stress: The employee takes up the job knowing exactly what to expect. This
reduces job related grievances considerably and thus keeps the employee from getting
too stressed

• Taking an informed decision: When a Realistic Job Preview is shared, the candidates
apply only when they know that they will be able to cope up with the expectations

• Increase in job satisfaction: Unpleasant work details are not presented to employees post
joining. Their job tasks are exactly as described to them. This increases job satisfaction

For the employer:

• Reduced attrition: As the job preview describes the associated negative aspects of the job
clearly, the new hires do not face any unknown unpleasantness. E.g. X took up a job
knowing that he is expected to work on erratic shifts. So working on weekends or night
shifts does not stress him and he does not consider leaving the organization for the same.

• Better hiring decisions: On providing a Realistic Job Preview, the talent pool that applies
are well aware of the job and turnover is low. So, cost of bad hire is reduced

• Increase in corporate citizenship behaviour: The employee sees Realistic job Preview as
an act of honesty on the part of the organization. Thus the employer-employee trust
increases, thereby the organizational citizenship behaviour of the employee increases

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 Disadvantages of Realistic Job Preview:

• They may lead to negative attitude towards a job

• The nature of work changes with time. Updating the previews along with the changing
job may be time consuming as well as costly

They would be aware of what he organization will pay them, the duty hours, culture of the
organization, duty schedule. Also they would be knowing what is expected of them – late
hours, stress, customer interaction, urgency in work, some physical risk etc.

An organization where there is high turnover of new hires has some problems which should
be tackled quickly. The employees could be unpleasantly surprised by an aspect of their job.
For example, if the employees understand that they won’t have to work on weekends and
after joining are immediately asked to work on Saturdays then it undermines the trust that the
employee has for the organization.

RJPs can be in the form of a video, testimonials or short test. Whatever be the format, an
effective RJP shows the actual culture of the organization that the employee is about to enter.
Candor and openness are the 2 most critical components of a RJP. Ideally, information in a
RJP should focus on the things that matter most to the candidate demographic, parts of the job
or culture that correlate with engagement and turnover.

The 4 issues that challenge Realistic Job Preview are:

1. Realistic Job Previews are not shared by the recruiters during the interview.

2. The nature of information shared is unclear.

3. Right questions are not asked.

4. Applicants report desiring more specific information than they commonly receive.

CHALLENGES OF RECRUITMENT

After surveying a number of reputable resources on recruiting, we found some of the biggest
challenges for recruiting qualified employees listed below:

1. Finding a qualified employee in time:

Many companies need an employee right now. They’ve just laid someone off or had to fire
someone because of uncontrollable circumstances. They might also had to let a person go
because they voluntarily left for a better opportunity.

Either way, this employer likely has an immediate need. With an immediate need, you have to
fill that position promptly or also can cost the employer money.
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 2. Making sure a resume is legitimate:

As mentioned above, employees will oftentimes fake resumes. There will also fake referrals,
certifications, and even education. This is because most employers don’t have time to
research a potential employee’s resume.

In order make sure that an employee’s resume is legitimate, a recruiter or recruiting service
should look into every qualification that employ claims to have.

3. Finding a qualified employee:

Assuming the qualifications are accurate, many employees simply don’t have the right
qualifications they need in order to get the job. This can sometimes be as simple as looking at
the resume. Other times you ask and did a little deeper.

Given the fact that many job postings get hundreds of resumes, it is quite a bit of work to sort
through all that in order to find the qualified candidate.

4. Planning the interview process:

Most jobs of a very detailed interview process. You’ll start with a manager, then maybe move
your way up one or two levels higher for follow-up interview.

Someone has to plan the structure of the interview. They also have to be asking the right
questions. Having someone present to do an interview and plan out the interview process is a
lot of work especially when you have dozens of candidates.

5. Making the right choice:

At the end of the day, and employer still is a hard choice to make. Who to hire is never easy
choice. You can lose a lot of money. With so many different employees and varying
qualifications, it’s pretty overwhelming to even consider who you might hire.

A lot of times, it’s better to have someone handle this is situation full-time. If you have
someone in your company that meets all the necessary qualifications to recruit, that might be
a great choice. Another option would be a staffing company. These are companies that are
designed specifically to find you the employees you need. Either one is a great choice
depending on your particular situation.

Selection Process

Selection: Meaning and Steps Involved in Selection Procedure!

Finding the interested candidates who have submitted their profiles for a particular job is the
process of recruitment, and choosing the best and most suitable candidates among them is the
process of selection. It results in elimination of unsuitable candidates. It follows scientific
techniques for the appropriate choice of a person for the job.

The recruitment process has a wide coverage as it collects the applications of interested
candidates, whereas the selection process narrows down the scope and becomes specific when
it selects the suitable candidates.

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 ADVERTISEMENTS:

Stone defines, ‘Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to

identify (and hire) those with a greater likelihood of success in a job’.

Steps Involved in Selection Procedure:

A scientific and logical selection procedure leads to scientific selection of candidates. The
criterion finalized for selecting a candidate for a particular job varies from company to
company.

Therefore, the selection procedure followed by different organizations, many times, becomes
lengthy as it is a question of getting the most suitable candidates for which various tests are to
be done and interviews to be taken. The procedure for selection should be systematic so that it
does not leave any scope for confusions and doubts about the choice of the selected candidate
(Figure 5.6).

Steps Involved in Selection Procedure

Brief details of the various steps in selection procedure are given as follows:

1. Inviting applications:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The prospective candidates from within the organization or outside the organization are called
for applying for the post. Detailed job description and job specification are provided in the
advertisement for the job. It attracts a large number of candidates from vari-ous areas.

2. Receiving applications:

Detailed applications are collected from the candidates which provide the necessary
information about personal and professional details of a person. These applications facilitate
analysis and comparison of the candidates.

3. Scrutiny of applications:

As the limit of the period within which the company is supposed to receive applications ends,
the applications are sorted out. Incomplete applications get rejected; applicants with un-
matching job specifications are also rejected.

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 4. Written tests:

As the final list of candidates becomes ready after the scrutiny of applications, the written test
is conducted. This test is conducted for understanding the technical knowledge, atti-tude and
interest of the candidates. This process is useful when the number of applicants is large.

Many times, a second chance is given to candidates to prove themselves by conducting

another written test.

5. Psychological tests:

These tests are conducted individually and they help for finding out the indi-vidual quality
and skill of a person. The types of psychological tests are aptitude test, intelligence test,
synthetic test and personality test

6. Personal interview:

Candidates proving themselves successful through tests are interviewed per-sonally. The
interviewers may be individual or a panel. It generally involves officers from the top
management.

The candidates are asked several questions about their experience on another job, their family
background, their interests, etc. They are supposed to describe their expectations from the
said job. Their strengths and weaknesses are identified and noted by the interviewers which
help them to take the final decision of selection.

7. Reference check:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Generally, at least two references are asked for by the company from the can-didate.
Reference check is a type of crosscheck for the information provided by the candidate
through their application form and during the interviews.

8. Medical examination:

Physical strength and fitness of a candidate is must before they takes up the job. In-spite of
good performance in tests and interviews, candidates can be rejected on the basis of their ill
health.

9. Final selection:

At this step, the candidate is given the appointment letter to join the organization on a
particular date. The appointment letter specifies the post, title, salary and terms of
employment. Generally, initial appointment is on probation and after specific time period it
becomes permanent.

10. Placement:

This is a final step. A suitable job is allocated to the appointed candidate so that they can get
the whole idea about the nature of the job. They can get adjusted to the job and perform well
in future with all capacities and strengths.

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Types of tests for selection

Tests are classified into five types. They are:

i) Aptitude tests
ii) Achievement tests
(iii) Situational tests
(iv) Interest tests
(v) Personality test

Aptitude Tests: These tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or latent ability
to learn a given job if given adequate training. Aptitudes can be divided into general and
mental ability or intelligence and specific aptitude such as mechanical, clerical, manipulative
capacity etc.

Intelligence Tests: These tests in general measure intelligence quotient of a candidates. In

detail these tests measure capacity for comprehension, reasoning, word fluency, verbal
comprehension, numbers, memory and space .Other factors such as digit spans—both
forward and backward, information known, comprehension, vocabulary, picture arrangement
and object assembly.

Though these tests are accepted as useful ones, they are criticized against deprived sections of
the community. Further, it is also criticized that these tests may prove to be too dull as a
selection device.

Mechanical Aptitude Tests: These tests measure the capacities of spatial visualization,
perceptual speed and knowledge of mechanical matter. These tests are useful for selecting
apprentices, skilled, mechanical employees, technicians etc.

Psychomotor Tests: These tests measure abilities like manual dexterity, motor ability and
eye-hand coordination of candidates. These tests are useful to select semi-skilled workers and
workers for repetitive operations like packing, watch assembly.

Clerical Aptitude Tests: Measure specific capacities involved in office work. Items of this
test include spelling, computation, comprehension, copying, word measuring etc.

Achievement Tests: These tests are conducted when applicant claims to know something as
these tests are concerned with what one has accomplished These tests are more useful to
measure the value of specific achievement when an organization wishes to employ
experienced candidates. These tests are classified into:

Job Knowledge test; (b) Work sample test.

Job Knowledge Test: Under this test a candidate is tested in the knowledge of a particular
job. For example, if a junior lecturer applies for the job of a senior lecturer in commerce, he
may be tested in job knowledge where he is asked questions about Accountancy principle,
Banking, Law, Business Management etc.

Work Sample Test: Under this test a portion of the actual work is given to the candidates as
a test and the candidate is asked to do it. If a candidate applies for a post of lecturer in
Management he may be asked to deliver a lecture on Management Information System as
work sample test.

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 Thus, the candidates achievement in his career is tested regarding his knowledge about the job
and actual work experience.

Situational Test: This test evaluates a candidate in a similar real life situation. In this test the
candidates is asked either to cope with the situation or solve critical situations of the job.

(a)Group Discussion: This test administered through group discussion approach to solve a
problem under which candidates are observed in the areas of initiating, leading, proposing
valuable ideas, conciliating skills, oral communicating skills, coordinating and concluding
skills.

(b)In Basket: Situational test is administered through ‘in basket’ The candidate, in this
test, is supplied with actual letters, telephone and telegraphic message, reports and
requirements by various officers of the organization, adequate information about the job and
organization. The candidates is asked to take decisions on various items based on the in
basket information regarding requirements in the memoranda.

Interest Test: These tests are inventories of the likes and dislikes of candidates in relation to
work, job, occupations, hobbies and recreational activities. The purposes of this test is to find
out whether a candidate is interested or disinterested in the job for which he is a candidate and
to find out in which area of the job range/occupation the candidate is interested. The
assumption of this test is that there is a high correlation between the interest of a candidate in
a job and job success. Interest inventories are less faked and they may not fluctuate after the
age of 30.

Personality Tests: These tests prove deeply to discover clues to an individual’s value
system, his emotional reactions and maturity and characteristic mood. They are expressed in
such traits like self-confidence, tact, emotional control, optimism, decisiveness, sociability,
conformity, objectivity, patience, fear, distrust, initiative, judgment dominance or submission,
impulsiveness, sympathy, integrity, stability and self-confidence.

(a) Objective Tests: Most personality tests are objective tests as they are suitable for
group testing and can be scored objectively.

(b) Projective Tests: Candidates are asked to project their own interpretation of certain
standard stimulus situations basing on ambiguous pictures, figures etc, under these tests.

Personality tests have disadvantage in the sense that they can be faked by sophisticated
candidates and most candidates give socially acceptable answers. Further, personality
inventories may not successfully predict job success.

Basic features of interviews

Interview

An interview is a procedure designed to obtain information from a person through oral

responses to oral inquiries; a selection interview which we’ll focuson in this chapter is a
selection, procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of applications
oral responses to oral inquiries.

Types of interviews
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 Unstructured interview

An unstructured conversional style interview in which the interview persues points of

interests as they come up in response to questions

Structured interview

An interview following a of set of sequence of questions

Situational interview

A series of job related questions that focus on how the candidate would behave in a given
situation

Behavioral interview

A series of job related questions that focus on how candidate Reacted to actual situation in the
past

Job-related interview

A series of job related questions that focus on relevant past job related behaviors.

Administering the interview

Unstructured sequential interview

An interview in which each interviewer forms an independent opinion after asking different
questions

Structured sequential interview

An interview in which the applicant is interviewed sequentially by several persons

Types of Interviews

Interview processes can be time-consuming, so it makes sense to choose the right type of
interview(s) for the individual job. Some jobs, for example, may necessitate only one
interview, while another may necessitate a telephone interview and at least one or two
traditional interviews. Keep in mind, though, that there will likely be other methods with
which to evaluate a candidate’s potential, such as testing. Here are different types of
interviews:

Traditional interview: This type of interview normally takes place in the office. It consists
of the interviewer and the candidate, and a series of questions are asked and answered.

Telephone interview: A telephone interview is often used to narrow the list of people
receiving a traditional interview. It can be used to determine salary requirements or other data
that might automatically rule out giving someone a traditional interview. For example, if you
receive two hundred résumés and narrow these down to twenty-five, it is still unrealistic to
interview twenty-five people in person. At this point, you may decide to conduct phone
interviews of those twenty-five, which could narrow the in-person interviews to a more
manageable ten or so people.
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 Panel interview: A panel interview occurs when several people are interviewing one
candidate at the same time. While this type of interview can be nerve racking for the
candidate, it can also be a more effective use of time. Consider some companies who require
three to four people to interview candidates for a job. It would be unrealistic to ask the
candidate to come in for three or four interviews, so it makes sense for them to be interviewed
by everyone at once.

Information interview: Informational interviews are usually used when there is no specific
job opening, but the candidate is exploring possibilities in a given career field. The advantage
to conducting these types of interviews is the ability to find great people ahead of a job
opening.

Meal interviews: Many organizations offer to take the candidate to lunch or dinner for the
interview. This can allow for a more casual meeting where, as the interviewer, you might be
able to gather more information about the person, such as their manners and treatment of
waitstaff. This type of interview might be considered an unstructured interview, since it
would tend to be more of a conversation as opposed to a session consisting of specific
questions and answers.

Group interview: In a group interview, two or more candidates interview at the same time.
This type of interview can be an excellent source of information if you need to know how
they may relate to other people in their job.

Video interviews: Video interviews are the same as traditional interviews, except that video
technology is used. This can be cost saving if one or more of your candidates are from out of
town. Skype, for example, allows free video calls. An interview may not feel the same as a
traditional interview, but the same information can be gathered about the candidate.

Nondirective interview (sometimes called an unstructured interview): In a nondirective

interview, the candidate essentially leads the discussion. Some very general questions that are
planned ahead of time may be asked, but the candidate spends more time talking than the
interviewer. The questions may be more open ended; for example, instead of asking, “Do you
like working with customers?” you may ask, “What did you like best about your last job?”
The advantage of this type of interview is that it can give candidates a good chance to show
their abilities; however, the downside is that it may be hard to compare potential candidates,
since questions are not set in advance. It relies on more of a “gut feeling” approach.

It is likely you may use one or more of these types of interviews. For example, you may
conduct phone interviews, then do a meal interview, and follow up with a traditional
interview, depending on the type of job.

Interview Questions:
1. If you saw someone stealing from the company, what would you do?
2. One of your employees is performing poorly, but you know he has some personal
home issues he is dealing with. How would you handle complaints from his colleagues
about lack of performance?
3. A coworker has told you she called in sick three days last week because she actually
decided to take a vacation. What would you do?
4. You are rolling out a new sales plan on Tuesday, which is really important to ensure
success in your organization. When you present it, the team is lukewarm on the plan.
What would you do?
5. You disagree with your supervisor on her handling of a situation. What would you do?

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 6. Examples of behavior description interview questions might include the following:

7. Tell me about a time you had to make a hard decision. How did you handle this
process?
8. Give an example of how you handled an angry customer.
9. Do you show leadership in your current or past job? What would be an example of a
situation in which you did this?
10. What accomplishments have given you the most pride and why?
11. What plans have you made to achieve your career goals?

Interview Errors and Bias:

Almost all business owners become an interviewer at some point in their careers. While the
main goal of an interview is to evaluate the candidate, it’s also important to understand
common interviewer biases. These are preconceived ideas and beliefs that we assign to
candidates unknowingly and may ultimately sway our hiring decision.

Stereotyping Bias – Forming an opinion of someone based on gender, religion, race,

appearance, or any other type of characteristic.

First Impression Bias – Making judgements about an interviewee based on their first
impression being positive or negative.

“Similar to Me” Effect – Thinking highly of someone who has a similar mind set or
personality to the interviewer.

Negative Emphasis Bias – When the interviewer receives a small amount of negative
information and uses it to base their entire hiring decision off of it. We tend to weigh negative
information heavier than positive information.

Halo and Horn Effect – The Halo Effect is when the interviewer lets one positive fact about
the candidate overshadow everything else they say or do. The Horn Effect is the opposite and
allows a weak fact to influence everything else.

Cultural Noise – The interviewer’s ability to distinguish between a candidate’s socially

acceptable answer rather than revealing their true opinion.

Contrast Effect – When a stronger candidate interviews after a weaker candidate, they may
appear more qualified than they are because of the contrast between the two.

These are just a few of the many biases we are subjected to while interviewing. Our
recommendation to you is to ask open ended questions, take notes during interviews, ask each
candidate the same questions, and be self-aware of the judgments you place into others.

Hiring the right job candidate can be a tricky proposition. That’s why Group Management
Services offers interview coaching and recruiting services to business owners. Contact us
today to learn how we can help find the top talent and grow your team of dedicated staff.

Designing and conducting the effective of interview:

There are two basic ways to avoid the interview problems. One is obvious: Keep them in
mind and avoid them (don’t make snap judgments, for instance). The second is not quite so
obvious: be careful how you design and structure the interview.

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 Structured interview: Structured interviews can minimize many of the problems. Therefore
look next at structuring the interview and at some guidelines for effective interviews.

The structured situational interview:

There is little doubt that the structured situational interview – a series of job oriented
questions with predetermined answers that interviewers ask of all applicants for the job –
produces superior results. The basic idea is to write situational (what would you do) or
behavioral (what did you do), or job knowledge questions, and have job experts (like those
supervising the job) also write answers rated from good to poor. The raters typically use
descriptively anchored rating scale answer sheets to rate the interviewee answers. These use
short descriptions to illustrate good, average or poor performance.

Structured employment interviews using either situational questions or behavioral questions

tend to yield high validities. However, structured interviews with situational question formats
yield the higher ratings. This may be because interviewers get more consistent (reliable)
responses with situational questions (which force all applicants to apply the same scenario)
than they do with behavioral questions (which require each applicant to find applicable
experiences). In creating structured situational interviews, people familiar what the job
develop questions based on the job’s actual duties. They then reach consensus on what are
and are not acceptable answers. The procedure is as follows:

Step 1: Job analysis: Write a job description with a list of job duties, required knowledge,
skills, abilities, and other worker qualifications.

Step 2: rate the Job’s Main Duties: Identify the job’s main duties. To do so, rate each job
duty based on its importance to job success and on the time required to perform it compared
to other tasks.

Step 3: Create Interview Questions: Create Interview questions based on actual job duties
with more questions for the important duties.

Step 4: Create Benchmark Answers: Next, for each question, develop several descriptive
and five point rating scale for each, with ideal answers for good (a rating 5) marginal (a rating
3) and poor (a rating 1).

Step 5: Appoint the Interview Panel and Conduct Interviews: employers generally
conduct structured situational interviews using a panel, rather than one-on-one or
sequentially. The panel usually consists of three to six members, preferably the same ones
who wrote the questions and answers. It may also include the job’s supervisor and / or
incumbent and an HR representative. The same panel interviews all candidates for the job.

Reference Background Verification:

Policy Statement: A job candidate's offer of employment is contingent upon his or her proper
completion of Duke’s online application, satisfactory reference checks, and satisfactory pre-
employment qualifications - including background checks, governmental sanction checks and
required health and drug screens. The hiring supervisor is responsible for verification of the
applicant's work background, attendance, performance, credentials, and health and drug
screenings (where required). Duke Human Resources is responsible for conducting the
criminal history, government sanctions, and motor vehicle checks (when required) at the offer
stage for each finalist who has been recommended for hire.

Reference Checks:

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 Satisfactory reference checks are a condition of employment. The hiring supervisor is
responsible for verification of the applicant’s work background, attendance, performance, and
credentials. Prior to making an offer, the hiring supervisor must contact at least two (2) of the
applicant's references, one of which must be the current supervisor. This applies to both
current staff applying for transfer and to external applicants.

Completion of Duke's online application signifies Duke's right to obtain pertinent information
about the applicant. Applicants must complete the online application prior to having their
references checked. Therefore, applicants brought in for interviews should complete the
online application at that time if they have not yet done so.

All applicants, including those offered faculty positions, who have been recommended for
hire must complete a criminal conviction investigation check and government sanction check.
Based on a job classification's hiring requirements, some positions require further background
investigation (motor vehicle, academic, licensure, credit, etc.). Duke Human Resources - or
equivalent at Durham Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital - arranges for the
criminal history, government sanctions, and motor vehicle checks. The hiring department is
responsible for other background investigations.

Background Check – Criminal Conviction Information

All applicants who have been recommended for hire will undergo criminal conviction
investigation and government sanction checks. Duke Human Resources will conduct the
criminal record and government sanctions checks at the offer (contingent) stage for each
finalist who has been recommended for hire. As a condition of employment, the applicant is
required to complete a form that authorizes Duke to have a criminal conviction investigation
performed. If the applicant does not complete the form - or if the results of the investigation
are unsatisfactory - an official offer will not be extended.

The hiring process requires information concerning law violation convictions other than
minor traffic violations. Applicants are required to disclose all felony and misdemeanor
convictions - including those that have occurred under a name other than the name provided
on the application. Arrests, as opposed to convictions, should not be noted on the application.
Applicants who do not disclose all felony or misdemeanor convictions on the application may
not be offered employment based upon failure to disclose information on the application.

Misdemeanor conviction(s) disclosed on the application may not necessarily result in a bar to
employment. Misdemeanor convictions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, considering the
nature of the correction, time elapsed since the conviction, and the type of job in question.

In most cases, felony conviction(s) will render the applicant ineligible for hire. Felony
convictions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis – considering the nature and gravity of the
offense, the date of conviction, and the job relatedness. Exceptions may be made in unusual
cases where the conviction does not reflect upon the applicant’s suitability for employment.

Medical Evaluation:
Pre-placement medical examinations are required of all hires for select positions to protect the
new employee from possible work related health problems and to protect the University from
liability issues. It is the department's responsibility to ensure an assessment/review by
Occupational Health Services for pre-placement medical exam is completed prior to the start
date for a new hire. Please contact your Employment Consultant/Recruiter in HR if you have
questions about the classifications identified for pre-placement medical examination.

Department Responsibilities:
Identifies position requiring Pre-Placement Medical Examination statement based upon
specific payroll titles listed under policy. Statement appears under "Work Environment"
section of the position description in the People Admin system.: "This position is subject to

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 completion of a Pre-Placement Medical Examination provided by Occupational Health
Services, given at no charge to the applicant."

Upon selection, department schedules individual for Pre-Placement Medical Examination

with Occupational Health prior to initial start date. Offer of employment is contingent upon
successful completion of the Pre-Placement Medical Examination process before beginning
work for the University.
If the Pre-Placement Medical Examination process is successfully completed, the department
initiates the hire decision in the PeopleAdmin system following consultation as appropriate
with the department's Employment Consultant/Recruiter in HR.

Employment Consultant/Recruiter Responsibilities:

The Pre-Placement Medical Examination statement is reviewed by the Employment
Consultant/Recruiter for appropriateness of payroll title and pre-placement requirements.

Job Offer:
The following steps in making the offer to the candidate.
Oftentimes once the decision is made to hire a candidate, HR professionals feel their job is
finished. But making the offer to the chosen candidate can be equally as important as the
interview process. If the offer is not handled properly, you can lose the candidate, or if the
candidates takes the job, he or she could start off on the wrong foot.

“If we were to make a job offer today, when would you be in a position to accept or reject the
offer?” If the candidate answers “right now,” this indicates they do not have other job offers
on the table or if they do, you are their first choice.

“At what point, dollar wise, would you accept our job offer and at what point, dollar wise
would you reject the offer?” The advantage of using this strategy is that it gets to the point of
understanding the candidate’s expectations. If the interviewee does not respond right away,
you can clarify by asking, “I am asking this question because I would like to gauge your
interest level. Share with me the ideal salary offer versus at what point you would be willing
to walk away from this opportunity.”

Asking these questions can assist in qualifying candidates, based on salary expectations. For
example, if a candidate requests 20 percent more than you are able to pay for the job, this
discussion can be had before the offer is even made, perhaps making this candidate no longer
viable.

Once you have determined in the interview process that the salary expectation is in the range
of what you can offer, the first step is to make the offer as soon as the decision is made. In a
tight labor market, waiting a week or two may impact your ability to hire your first choice.
You probably already have a salary range in mind and can begin to narrow down the offer
based on the individual’s KSAOs. Based on the range of salary you can offer, consider the
following questions when making the offer to a candidate:

 What is the scarcity of the particular skills set?

 What are the “going” wages in your geographic area?
 What are the current economic conditions?
 What is the current pay for similar positions in your organization?
 What is your organizational compensation strategy?
 What is the fair market value of the job?
 What is the level of the job within the organization?
 What are your budget constraints?
 How soon will the employee be productive in the organization?

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  Are there other candidates equally qualified that might have lower salary
expectations?
 What are the national and regional unemployment rates?
 If you cannot pay more, can you offer other perks such as a signing bonus or flexible
work schedule?

Once the offer has been made, it is reasonable to give the candidate some time to decide, but
not too long, as this can result in losing other candidates should this candidate reject the job
offer. It is likely the candidate may come back and ask for higher salary or benefits. Some tips
to successfully negotiate are included below:

 Be prepared. Know exactly what you can and can’t offer.

 Explain the career growth the organization can provide.
 Address the benefits of the candidate’s joining the organization.
 Discuss the entire offer, including other benefits offered to the employee.
 View the negotiation as a win-win situation.
 Be able to provide salary research of similar positions and competitors for the same
job title.
 Use the trading technique. For example, “I cannot offer you the salary you are
requesting right now, but what if we were able to review salary at your six-month
performance review, assuming ____ objectives are met?”

Once the phone call is made and the candidate accepts the offer, an e-mail or formal letter
should follow, outlining details of the employment agreement. The employment agreement or
offer letter should include the following:

1. Job title
2. Salary
3. Other compensation, such as bonuses or stock options
4. Benefits, such as health-care coverage, 401(k)
5. Vacation time/paid holidays
6. Start date
7. Noncompete agreement expectations
8. Additional considerations such as relocation expenses

Once the pay and benefits package has been successfully negotiated and the offer letter (or e-
mail) sent, you should clarify acceptance details in writing and receive confirmation of the
start date. It is not unusual for people in higher-level positions to need a month or even two to
transition from their old jobs. During this period, make sure to stay in touch and even
complete the new hire paperwork in the meantime.

Induction and Placement:

Induction: Once an employee is selected and placed on an appropriate job, the process of
familiarizing him with the job and the organization is known as induction.

Induction is the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first joins the
company and giving him basic information he needs to settle down quickly and happily and
stars work.

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 To help the new comer to overcome his shyness and overcome his shyness nervousness in
meeting new people in a new environment.

* To give new comer necessary information such as location of a café, rest period etc.

* To build new employee confidence in the organization.

* It helps in reducing labor turnover and absenteeism.

* It reduces confusion and develops healthy relations in the organization.

* To ensure that the new comer do not form false impression and negative attitude towards
the organization.

* To develop among the new comer a sense of belonging and loyalty to the organization.

Placement :

Placement is a process of assigning a specific job to each of the selected candidates. It

involves assigning a specific rank and responsibility to an individual. It implies matching the
requirements of a job with the qualifications of the candidate.

Placement is the actual posting of an employee to a specific job. It involves assigning a

specific rank and responsibility to an employee. Placement is an important human resource
activity. If neglected, it may create employee adjustment problems leading to absenteeism,
turnover, accidents, poor performance, etc. The employee will also suffer seriously. He may
quit the organisation in frustration, complaining bitterly about everything. Proper placement
is, therefore, important to both the employee and the organisation.

Placement, it should the remembered, should be made with as little disruption to the
employee and organisation as possible. To this end, new recruits must be oriented properly so
that they become productive contributors. There should be a conscious and determined effort
to adapt the new recruit to the organisation’s culture (the rules, jargon, customs and other
traditions that clarify acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in an organisation) by conveying
to the employee how things are done and what matters. When new employees know what is
expected of them, they have better organisational performance and less frustration and
uncertainty.Image result for Employee Induction and Placement diagram

The HR department may initiate the following steps while organising the induction
programme:

1. Welcome to the organisation.

2. Explain about the company.
3. Show the location/department where the new recruit will work.
4. Give the company’s manual to the new recruit.
5. Provide details about various work groups and the extent of unionism within the
company.
6. Give details about pay, benefits, holidays, leave, etc. Emphasise the importance of
attendance or punctuality.
7. Explain about future training opportunities and career prospects.
8. Clarify doubts, by encouraging the employee to come out with questions.

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 9. Take the employee on a guided tour of buildings, facilities, etc. Hand him over to his
supervisor.

-ooooOoooo-

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 UNIT-III
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
UNIT-III Introduction to training, the training process, training methods, management
development, individual, group.

Organizational techniques, evaluation of training and development.

Introduction to Training:
“Training & Development is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance
by increasing an employee’s ability to perform through learning, usually by changing the
employee’s attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge.”

MEANING OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT: –

The need for Training and Development is determined by the employee’s performance
deficiency, computed as follows.

Training & Development Need = Standard Performance – Actual Performance

We can make a distinction among Training, Development and Education.

Distinction between Training and Education

Training Education
Application oriented Job experience Theoretical Orientation Classroom learning
Specific Task in mind Covers general concepts
Narrow Perspective Has Broad Perspective
Training is Job Specific Education is no bar

Training: Training refers to the process of imparting specific skills. An employee undergoing
training is presumed to have had some formal education. No training program is complete
without an element of education. Hence we can say that Training is offered to operatives.

Education: It is a theoretical learning in classrooms. The purpose of education is to teach

theoretical concepts and develop a sense of reasoning and judgment. That any training and
development program must contain an element of education is well understood by HR
Specialists. Any such program has university professors as resource persons to enlighten
participants about theoretical knowledge of the topics proposed to discuss. In fact
organizations depute or encourage employees to do courses on part time basis. CEOs are
known to attend refresher courses conducted by business schools. The education is more
important for managers and executives rather than low cadre workers. Anyways education is
common to all employees, their grades notwithstanding.

Development: Development means those learning opportunities designed to help employees

to grow. Development is not primarily skills oriented. Instead it provides the general
knowledge and attitudes, which will be helpful to employers in higher positions. Efforts
towards development often depend on personal drive and ambition. Development activities
such as those supplied by management development programs are generally voluntary in
nature. Development provides knowledge about business environment, management

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 principles and techniques, human relations, specific industry analysis and the like is useful for
better management of a company.

Difference between Training and Development

Training Development
Training is skills focused Development is creating learning
abilities
Training is presumed to have a formal Development is not education dependent
education
Training needs depend upon lack or Development depends on personal drive
deficiency in skills and ambition
Trainings are generally need based Development is voluntary
Training is a narrower concept focused on Development is a broader concept
job related skills focused on personality development
Training may not include development Development includes training wherever
necessary
Training is aimed at improving job related Development aims at overall personal
efficiency and performance effectiveness including job efficiencies

What are the Training Inputs?

 Skills
 Education
 Development
 Ethics
 Problem Solving Skills
 Decision Making
 Attitudinal Changes

Importance of Training & Development

 Helps remove performance deficiencies in employees
 Greater stability, flexibility and capacity for growth in an organization
 Accidents, scraps and damages to machinery can be avoided
 Serves as effective source of recruitment
 It is an investment in HR with a promise of better returns in future
 Reduces dissatisfaction, absenteeism, complaints and turnover of employees

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 Need of Training

Individual level
 Diagnosis of present problems and future challenges
 Improve individual performance or fix up performance deficiency
 Improve skills or knowledge or any other problem
 To anticipate future skill-needs and prepare employee to handle more
challenging tasks
 To prepare for possible job transfers

Group level
 To face any change in organization strategy at group levels
 When new products and services are launched
 To avoid scraps and accident rates

Identification of Training Needs (Methods)

Individual Training Needs Identification

1. Performance Appraisals
2. Interviews
3. Questionnaires
4. Attitude Surveys
5. Training Progress Feedback
6. Work Sampling
7. Rating Scales

Group Level Training Needs Identification

1. Organizational Goals and Objectives
2. Personnel / Skills Inventories
3. Organizational Climate Indices
4. Efficiency Indices
5. Exit Interviews
6. MBO / Work Planning Systems
7. Quality Circles
8. Customer Satisfaction Survey
9. Analysis of Current and Anticipated Changes

Benefits of Training Needs Identification

1. Trainers can be informed about the broader needs in advance

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 2. Trainers Perception Gaps can be reduced between employees and their
supervisorsTrainers can design course inputs closer to the specific needs of the
participants
3. Diagnosis of causes of performance deficiencies can be done

Methods of Training:

Advantages of On-the-Job Training Disadvantages of On-the-Job Training

It is directly in the context of job Trainer may not be experienced enough
to train
It is often informal
It is not systematically organized
It is most effective because it is learning by
experience Poorly conducted programs may create
safety hazards
It is least expensive

Trainees are highly motivated

It is free from artificial classroom situations

Training Process:
Training Process
Training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a
person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is ‘the growth of the
individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness’

Management of Training Function

 Training Needs Assessment
 Identification of Training Needs (Methods)
 Individual Training Needs Identification

1. Performance Appraisals
2. Interviews
3. Questionnaires
4. Attitude Surveys
5. Training Progress Feedback
6. Work Sampling
7. Rating Scales

Group Level Training Needs Identification

1. Organizational Goals and Objectives
2. Personnel / Skills Inventories
3. Organizational Climate Indices
4. Efficiency Indices
5. Exit Interviews
6. MBO / Work Planning Systems
7. Quality Circles
8. Customer Satisfaction Survey
9. Analysis of Current and Anticipated Changes

Benefits of Training Needs Identification

1. Trainers can be informed about the broader needs in advance

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 2. Trainers Perception Gaps can be reduced between employees and their
supervisors Trainers can design course inputs closer to the specific needs of the
participants
3. Diagnosis of causes of performance deficiencies can be done

Training Methods:

Management development is a systematic process of growth and development by

which the managers develop their abilities to man-age. It is concerned with not only
improving the performance of managers but also giving them opportunities for growth and
develop-ment.

There are two methods through which managers can improve their knowledge and
skills. One is through formal training and other is through on the job experiences. On the job
training is very important since real learning takes place only when one practices what they
have studied.

On-the-job training methods are as follows:

1. Job rotation:
This training method involves movement of trainee from one job to another
gain knowledge and experience from different job assignments. This method
helps the trainee under-stand the problems of other employees.

2. Coaching:
Under this method, the trainee is placed under a particular supervisor who
functions as a coach in training and provides feedback to the trainee.
Sometimes the trainee may not get an opportunity to express his ideas.

3. Job instructions:
Also known as step-by-step training in which the trainer explains the way of
doing the jobs to the trainee and in case of mistakes, corrects the trainee.

4. Committee assignments:
A group of trainees are asked to solve a given organizational problem by
discussing the problem. This helps to improve team work.

5. Internship training:
Under this method, instructions through theoretical and practical aspects are
provided to the trainees. Usually, students from the engineering and
commerce colleges receive this type of training for a small stipend.

2. Off-the-job Methods:

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 On the job training methods have their own limitations, and in order to have the
overall development of employee’s off-the-job training can also be imparted. The
methods of training which are adopted for the development of employees away from
the field of the job are known as off-the-job methods.

The following are some of the off-the-job techniques:

1. Case study method:

Usually case study deals with any problem confronted by a business which
can be solved by an employee. The trainee is given an opportunity to analyse
the case and come out with all possible solutions. This method can enhance
analytic and critical thinking of an employee.

2. Incident method:
Incidents are prepared on the basis of actual situations which happened in
different organizations and each employee in the training group is asked to
make decisions as if it is a real-life situation. Later on, the entire group
discusses the incident and takes decisions related to the incident on the basis
of individual and group decisions.

3. Role play:
In this case also a problem situation is simulated asking the employee to
assume the role of a particular person in the situation. The participant
interacts with other participants assuming different roles. The whole play will
be recorded and trainee gets an opportunity to examine their own
performance.

4. In-basket method:
The employees are given information about an imaginary company, its
activi-ties and products, HR employed and all data related to the firm. The
trainee (employee under training) has to make notes, delegate tasks and
prepare schedules within a specified time. This can develop situational
judgments and quick decision making skills of employees.

5. Business games:
According to this method the trainees are divided into groups and each group
has to discuss about various activities and functions of an imaginary
organization. They will discuss and decide about various subjects like
production, promotion, pricing etc. This gives result in co-operative decision
making process.

6. Grid training:
It is a continuous and phased programme lasting for six years. It includes
phases of planning development, implementation and evaluation. The grid
takes into consideration parameters like concern for people and concern for
people.

7. Lectures:
This will be a suitable method when the numbers of trainees are quite large.
Lectures can be very much helpful in explaining the concepts and principles
very clearly, and face to face interaction is very much possible.

8. Simulation:
Under this method an imaginary situation is created and trainees are asked to
act on it. For e.g., assuming the role of a marketing manager solving the
marketing problems or creating a new strategy etc.
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 9. Management education:
At present universities and management institutes gives great emphasis on
management education. For e.g., Mumbai University has started bachelors
and postgraduate degree in Management. Many management Institutes
provide not only degrees but also hands on experience having collaboration
with business concerns.

10. Conferences:
A meeting of several people to discuss any subject is called conference. Each
par-ticipant contributes by analyzing and discussing various issues related to
the topic. Everyone can express their own view point

Management Development:
Management development is the overall concept that describes the many ways in which
organizations help employees develop their personal and organizational skills, either as
managers in a management job or with an eventual management job in mind.

Organizations need a process for developing the skills of their managers as these employees
direct and organize the work of all of your other employees. Additionally, if you want to
retain your best managers and potential managers, most significant among their needs from
work is the opportunity to continue their personal and professional growth and the growth of
their careers.

When employees think of management development they are likely to think about university
classes and MBA programs, consultant-led external training, and attendance at conferences,
trade shows, workshops, and seminars. These are frequent ways in which employers invest
time and money in developing their managers.

Characteristics of Management Development in HRM

1. Growth Oriented:
Management development is growth oriented. It focuses its activities to enhance the
skills, knowledge and capabilities to meet for the higher level responsibilities. After
management development, employees get the opportunity of higher responsibility
which assists for personal growth.

2. Future oriented:
Management development is future oriented. Main objective of management
development is to develop the human competencies for the future job responsibilities.
On the basis of succession planning and market analysis, management development
aims to uplift the skills, knowledge and capabilities of managerial employees so that
future demand can be fulfilled.

3. Focus to managerial employees:

Management development focuses only to the managerial level employees. It
prepares the educational programs to enhance interpersonal skills, decision skills, and
technical skills to the managerial employees.

4. Educational process:
Beyond training, management development is an educational program which stands
in learning progress. It focuses on overall personality development for business
communication, environmental and industry analysis, business planning, maintaining
human and business relation, etc. This is possible only through educational programs.

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 5. Proactive:
Management development is advance thinking. This aims to prepare human resources
ready for any types of emergencies. It is not conducted only after realizing the need.

6. Self-motivation:
Since management development is basis of personal growth. So, each manager wants
to participate in such types of management development programs. External
motivation is not necessary for management development as in training.

7. Behavioral change:
Managerial development aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of managers.
Such programs include different new techniques of doing job, supervising and
motivating employees, and interpersonal communication. Such programs change the
attitude and behavior of managers. The way of events and jobs are expected to be
changed positively after the managerial development.

8. Continuous process:
Management development is not spontaneous learning process. It is long term
planned learning process. It starts with analysis of organizational objectives, future
scopes, strategies and succession planning. As managers require involving in many
managerial activities, they need to acquire different skills which are not possible in
single program. So, managerial development must be arranged as continuous learning
process.

Individual Group:
Individual and Group Behaviour / New Technologies
“Human behaviour is complex and every individual is different from another. The challenge
of an effective organization is in successfully matching the task, the manager and the
subordinate.”

People, through their individuality and uniqueness, bring unconsciously

something (either positive or negative) to others. It can be values,
emotions, but also skills, abilities, creativity, etc. When hiring a new
employee, companies expect that this individual will add a value to the
company through its characteristics. Therefore, the study of individual
behaviour is essential within an organisation as these characteristics
influence how a person will behave at work and interact with others.

Several factors impact how an individual behave:

– Hereditary and diversity factors which combined “primary dimensions” which are
unchangeable (e.g.: age/gender/physical attributes) and secondary dimensions which may
change throughout the life (e.g.: educational background, religion, belief, health)

– Abilities and skills including mental abilities (e.g.: emotional intelligence, tacit knowledge)
and physical abilities (e.g.: motor skills, body coordination)

– Perception is “the basic cognitive process that transforms sensory stimuli into meaningful
information.” In others words, it is the way something is seen and feel by an individual.
According to the attribution theory of Heider, perception can be influenced by two attributes:
external (the result of a situation) or internal (the result by something within a person).

– Attitude can be defined as a mental state of readiness: “a state of being prepared for
something”. It is closely link with the personality and the perception of the individual. For
instance, job satisfaction results from the employee’s perception regarding its job and may
seriously influence its attitude at work.

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 – Personality defined as the way a person feels, behaves and thinks, results from the heredity,
the cultural forces, the social class and the relationship of an individual.

Organizational Techniques:
Organizational Development’s main purpose is to improve a company’s performance by
promoting the individual progress of the employees. The process involves helping companies
to increase their productivity or value via change in leadership, power, policies, job redesign
or control. Organizational development will help companies of any size reach their strategic
goals within a pre-established time frame.

What is Organizational Development?

There are many definitions for Organization Development, which only goes on to prove the
discipline is very complex. One of the definitions describes it as a process that prepares
organizations to embrace change. Organizational Development intends to bring about a shift
in beliefs, attitudes and values in order to enable companies to keep up with the fast-paced
technologies and environments in which they activate.

Organizational Development is more than often mistaken by personal development, team

building, learning, and human resource development. While the process might include these,
it is not limited to them. OD aims to develop systems, structures and processes, not only the
staff or the organization.

Organizational Development Values

The underlying values of Organizational Development are humanistic:

 Enabling people to work as human beings instead of being treated as mere
resources in the huge productive process.
 Encouraging organization members to achieve their full potential. Organizations
have the opportunity to grow and live by their core values.
 Taking into consideration all the goals of the organization when the
Organizational Development consultant seeks to increase its effectiveness.
 Laying the foundations of a challenging work environment that keeps members
motivated and excited.
 Offering the chance for organization members to change how they relate to the
environment, the organization, and their individual work.
 Viewing each person as an organization member that has needs that are highly
significant to their life and work.

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 Organization Development Word Circle Concept with great terms such as relationship, structure,
purpose and more.

Organizational Development Objectives

The main objectives of the process are:

 Increasing trust among the members of the organization at an inter-personal
level.
 Boosting the members’ level of commitment and satisfaction.
 Promoting confrontation and fixing of problems instead of postponing and
neglecting them.
 Handling conflicts in an effective way.
 Increasing the collaboration and cooperation among employees within the
working environment.
 Promoting a problem-solving approach within the organization.
 Increasing awareness of the organization’s vision among its members.
Organizational Development aims to align the employees’ vision with the
firm’s.
 Smoothing the transition from formal authority to personal skills and
knowledge.
 Achieving a trustworthy working environment that enables new implementations

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Evaluation of Training and Development

Evaluation leads to control which means deciding whether or not the training was worth the
effort and what improvements are required to make it even more effective. Training
Evaluation is of vital importance because monitoring the training function and its activities is
necessary in order to establish its social and financial benefits and costs. Evaluation of
training within work settings can assist a trainer/organization in learning more about the
impact of training. It is important to understand the purpose of evaluation before planning it
and choosing methods to do it. Some advantages of using evaluations are difficult to directly
witness, but when done correctly they can impact organizations in positive ways.

Training Evaluation is the process of deep examination and analysis of:

• Selecting measures,
• Gathering information based on those measures,
• Comparing what participants learn to some standard, goal, or expectation.

Evaluation is a process to determine the relevance, effectiveness, and impact of activities in

light of their objectives. In evaluating a training and development programme, one needs to
consider that most training and development activities exist in a larger context of projects,
programmes, and plans.

Definition:
"Training Evaluation is a systematic process of collecting information for and about training
activity which can then be used for guiding decision making and for assessing the relevance
and effectiveness of various training components."

TYPES OF EVALUATION
On the basis of the time dimension, evaluation may be classified as
(1) formative evaluation and (2) summative evaluation.

Raab et al. (1987), however, classified evaluation into four major types:
(1) evaluation of planning, (2) process evaluation,
(3) terminal evaluation, and (4) impact evaluation.

Stakeholders of training evaluation involve participants, curriculum developers, trainers and

training organizer as depicted below:

Objectives of Evaluating Training and Development Programmes

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 The major objectives are:
• To validate training and development as a business tool
• To justify the costs incurred in training and development
• To help improve the design of training and development programme
• To help in selecting training and development methods

-ooooOoooo-

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 UNIT-IV
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Unit-IV The appraisal process, methods and potential problems in performance
evaluation, the appraisal interview, the feedback interview, the role of appraisal in managing
performance, career planning and development.

“It is a systematic evaluation of an individual with respect to performance on the job and individual’s
potential for development.”

Definition 2: Formal System, Reasons and Measures of future performance

“It is formal, structured system of measuring, evaluating job related behaviors and outcomes to
discover reasons of performance and how to perform effectively in future so that employee,
organization and society all benefits.”

Appraisal Process

Meaning of Performance Appraisals

Meaning of Performance Appraisals is the assessment of individual’s performance in a
systematic way. It is a developmental tool used for all round development of the employee
and the organization. The performance is measured against such factors as job knowledge,
quality and quantity of output, initiative, leadership abilities, supervision, dependability, co-
operation, judgment, versatility and health. Assessment should be confined to past as well as
potential performance also. The second definition is more focused on behaviors as a part of
assessment because behaviors do affect job results.

Performance Appraisals and Job Analysis Relationship

Job Analysis Performance Standards Performance Appraisals

Describe the work and Translate job requirements Describe the job relevant
personnel requirement of a into levels of acceptable or strengths and weaknesses of
particular job. unacceptable performance each individual.

Appraisal Process Methods

Use of Performance Appraisals

1. Promotions
2. Confirmations
3. Training and Development
4. Compensation reviews
5. Competency building
6. Improve communication
7. Evaluation of HR Programs
8. Feedback & Grievances

Goals of Performance Appraisals

General Goals Specific Goals
Developmental Use Individual needs
Performance feedback
Transfers and Placements
Strengths and Development needs

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 Administrative Decisions / Uses Salary
Promotion
Retention / Termination
Recognition
Lay offs
Poor Performers identification
Organizational Maintenance HR Planning
Training Needs
Organizational Goal achievements
Goal Identification
HR Systems Evaluation
Reinforcement of organizational needs
Documentation Validation Research
For HR Decisions
Legal Requirements

Performance Appraisal Process

1. Objectives definition of appraisal
2. Job expectations establishment
3. Design an appraisal program
4. Appraise the performance
5. Performance Interviews
6. Use data for appropriate purposes
7. Identify opportunities variables
8. Using social processes, physical processes, human and computer assistance

TECHNIQUES / METHODS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS

1. Rating Scales: Rating scales consists of several numerical scales representing job
related performance criterions such as dependability, initiative, output, attendance,
attitude etc. Each scales ranges from excellent to poor. The total numerical scores are
computed and final conclusions are derived. Advantages – Adaptability, easy to use,
low cost, every type of job can be evaluated, large number of employees covered, no
formal training required. Disadvantages – Rater’s biases

2. Checklist: Under this method, checklist of statements of traits of employee in the

form of Yes or No based questions is prepared. Here the rater only does the reporting
or checking and HR department does the actual evaluation. Advantages – economy,
ease of administration, limited training required, standardization. Disadvantages –
Raters biases, use of improper weighs by HR, does not allow rater to give relative
ratings

3. Forced Choice Method: The series of statements arranged in the blocks of two or
more are given and the rater indicates which statement is true or false. The rater is
forced to make a choice. HR department does actual assessment. Advantages –
Absence of personal biases because of forced choice. Disadvantages – Statements
may be wrongly framed.

4. Forced Distribution Method: here employees are clustered around a high point
on a rating scale. Rater is compelled to distribute the employees on all points on the
scale. It is assumed that the performance is conformed to normal distribution.
Advantages – Eliminates Disadvantages – Assumption of normal distribution,
unrealistic, errors of central tendency.

5. Critical Incidents Method: The approach is focused on certain critical behaviors

of employee that makes all the difference in the performance. Supervisors as and
when they occur record such incidents. Advantages – Evaluations are based on actual
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 job behaviors, ratings are supported by descriptions, feedback is easy, reduces
recency biases, chances of subordinate improvement are high. Disadvantages –
Negative incidents can be prioritized, forgetting incidents, overly close supervision;
feedback may be too much and may appear to be punishment.

6. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales: statements of effective and ineffective

behaviors determine the points. They are said to be behaviorally anchored. The rater
is supposed to say, which behavior describes the employee performance. Advantages
– helps overcome rating errors. Disadvantages – Suffers from distortions inherent in
most rating techniques.

7. Field Review Method: This is an appraisal done by someone outside employees’

own department usually from corporate or HR department. Advantages – Useful for
managerial level promotions, when comparable information is needed, Disadvantages
– Outsider is generally not familiar with employees work environment, Observation
of actual behaviors not possible.

8. Performance Tests & Observations: This is based on the test of knowledge or

skills. The tests may be written or an actual presentation of skills. Tests must be
reliable and validated to be useful. Advantage – Tests may be apt to measure potential
more than actual performance. Disadvantages – Tests may suffer if costs of test
development or administration are high.

9. Confidential Records: Mostly used by government departments, however its

application in industry is not ruled out. Here the report is given in the form of Annual
Confidentiality Report (ACR) and may record ratings with respect to following items;
attendance, self expression, team work, leadership, initiative, technical ability,
reasoning ability, originality and resourcefulness etc. The system is highly secretive
and confidential. Feedback to the assessee is given only in case of an adverse entry.
Disadvantage is that it is highly subjective and ratings can be manipulated because
the evaluations are linked to HR actions like promotions etc.

10. Essay Method: In this method the rater writes down the employee description in
detail within a number of broad categories like, overall impression of performance,
promoteability of employee, existing capabilities and qualifications of performing
jobs, strengths and weaknesses and training needs of the employee. Advantage – It is
extremely useful in filing information gaps about the employees that often occur in a
better-structured checklist. Disadvantages – It its highly dependent upon the writing
skills of rater and most of them are not good writers. They may get confused success
depends on the memory power of raters.

11. Cost Accounting Method: Here performance is evaluated from the monetary
returns yields to his or her organization. Cost to keep employee, and benefit the
organization derives is ascertained. Hence it is more dependent upon cost and benefit
analysis.

12. Comparative Evaluation Method (Ranking & Paired Comparisons): These

are collection of different methods that compare performance with that of other co-
workers. The usual techniques used may be ranking methods and paired comparison
method.

Potential problems in performance evaluation

Most Serious Performance Appraisal Problems
1. Don’t assess actual performance — most of the assessment that managers complete
focuses on “the person,” including characterizations of their personal “traits” (i.e.

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 commitment), knowledge (i.e. technical knowledge) or behaviors (i.e. attendance). While
these factors may contribute to performance, they are not measures of actual output. If you
want to assess the person, call it “person appraisal.” Performance is output quality, volume,
dollar value, and responsiveness.

2. Infrequent feedback – if the primary goal of the process is to identify and resolve
performance issues, executing the process annually is silly. A quality assessment/control
program anywhere else in the business would operate in real time. At the very mini mum,
formal feedback needs to be given quarterly, like the GE process.

3. Non-data-based assessment — most processes rely 100% on the memory of those

completing the assessment because pre-populating the forms with data to inform decisions
would be too difficult (cynicism). In addition, most assessment criteria are “fuzzy” and
subjective.

4. Lack of effectiveness metrics — many accept that the goals of the process are to
recognize results, provide feedback to address weaknesses, determine training needs, and to
identify poor performers. Unfortunately, rarely do process owners ever measure their
processes’ contribution to attaining any of these goals. Instead, the most common measure
relating to performance appraisal is the percentage completed.

5. Lack of accountability – managers are not measured or held accountable for providing
accurate feedback. While they may be chastised for completing them late, there is no penalty
for doing a half-assed job or making mistakes on them, which is incredibly common. One
firm attempting to remove a troublesome employee found that the manager had rated the
individual the highest within the department and awarded them employee of the year.

Process related problems

6. Disconnected from rewards — in too many organizations, getting a merit raise, bonus, or
promotion is completely disconnected from an employee’s performance appraisal scores.
When there is a weak link, employees and managers are not likely to take the process
seriously.

7. No integration — the process is not fully integrated with compensation, performance

management, development, or staffing (internal movement). A lack of integration and
coordination leads to duplication and missed opportunity.

8. Individual scores exceed team performance — without controls, quite often the average
score of team members exceeds the actual performance of the team (i.e. the team reached 80
percent of its goals but the average performance appraisal for its members was 95 percent).

9. Each year stands alone — each performance appraisal by definition covers a finite period
of time. However, if the goal is to assess potential and identify patterns, an employee’s
performance must be assessed over multiple years.

10. No comprehensive team assessment – although individuals on the team are assessed,
there is no simultaneous overall assessment of the team. Often contingent workers on the
team are not addressed at all.

11. A focus on the squeaky wheel — most performance appraisal systems focus on weak
performers. There is significantly less focus on top performers and thus there is no system to
capture their best practices and then to share them with others.

12. Little legal support — performance appraisals may be an executive’s worst enemy in
grievances and legal proceedings. Even though the process may be flawless, poor execution
by managers often results in performance appraisals that do not aid in a disciplinary action.

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 Errors may include “unfettered discretion,” improper handwritten notes, generalizations about
race, gender, or age, and appraisals that do not match the performance data. At my university,
a study demonstrated that while Asians got the highest performance score, they somehow
managed to get the lowest average pay raise. When the HR director was confronted, he was
furious that anyone would calculate and expose the obvious discrimination.

13. No second review — even though the process may have impacts on salary, job security,
and promotion, in many firms the assessment is done by a single manager. If there is a second
review, it may be cursory, and therefore not ensure accuracy or fairness.

14. Not reliable or valid — most process managers do not regularly demonstrate with
metrics that the process is consistently repeatable (reliable) and that it accurately assesses
performance (valid).

15. Cross-comparisons are not required — one of the goals of the process is often to
compare the performance of employees in the same job. Unfortunately, most appraisal
processes (with the exception of forced ranking) do not require managers to do a side-by-side
comparison, comparing each member of the team with one another.

16. Assessments are kept secret — although a salesperson’s performance ranking may be
posted on a wall, performance appraisals are often kept secret. An overemphasis on privacy
concerns might allow managers to play favorites, to discriminate, and to be extremely
subjective. Keeping ratings secret allows managers to avoid open conversations about equity.

17. Process manager is not powerful — often the process is managed by lower-level HR
administrators without a complete understanding of performance and productivity.

18. No process goals — the overall process operates without clear and measurable goals, and
as a result there is little focus.

19. Not global — most processes and forms are “headquarters centric,” failing to address
cultural, language, and legal differences.

20. Forced ranking issues — although forced ranking has some advantages, using it may
result in significant morale and PR issues.

21. No Return on Investment (ROI) calculation — HR fails to do a periodic business case

justifying the value added compared to the time and the cost of the process.

Instrument (form) problems

22. Doesn’t address diversity — all too often, the same appraisal form is applied to a large
but not homogeneous group of employees (i.e. all hourly, all exempts, all managers etc.). As a
result, the assessment form does not fit the job. Only management-by-objective-type
approaches address individual needs.

23. The process does not flex with the business – rarely does any portion of the appraisal
process flex to address changing business objectives.

24. The factors are all equal — most forms treat all assessment factors as if they are of equal
importance. Instead, they should be weighted based on their relative importance in a
particular job (i.e. a janitor’s customer service rating should be weighted lower than for a
salesperson.

25. Inconsistent ratings on the same form — it is not uncommon for managers to put one
level (high, average or low) of ratings in the Likert scale portion of the form, but another level

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 of rating in the “overall assessment” box. The final narrative portion of the assessment may
contain still another completely different level of assessment.

26. Disconnected from job descriptions – in many cases, the factors on the form are
completely different from the factors on an employee’s job description, bonus criteria, or
yearly goals. This can confuse employees and cause them to lose focus.

Manager/execution problems
27. Managers are not trained — in most organizations, managers are not trained on how to
assess and give honest feedback. If the process includes a career development component, it
is even more likely that managers will not know how to enhance the career path of their
employees.

28. Managers are “chickens” — some managers will do almost anything to avoid tough
decisions or confrontation. Some provide no differentiation and spread “peanut butter” (an
even distribution) to avoid it, while others give everyone “above average” ratings. Some
managers will provide feedback that is extremely vague in order not to offend anyone. Rarely
if ever is anyone immediately terminated as a result of the process.

29. Gaming the system — often managers artificially rate individual employees to save
money or to keep employees from becoming visible for promotion. Some selfishly give a
score just below that required for a pay increase, while others give scores just above the point
where they would be required to take disciplinary action.

30. Recency errors — managers, especially those who don’t consult employee files and data,
have a tendency to evaluate based primarily on events that occurred during the last few
months (rather than over the entire year).

31. Corporate culture issues — subjective appraisals can restrict cultural change in
organizations. In some organizations, there are cultural norms and values that influence
performance appraisals. For example, in one organization new hires were automatically given
an average rating for their first year, regardless of their actual performance. One top
performing hire I knew abruptly quit after receiving this cultural gift.

32. Inconsistency across managers — some managers are naturally “easy raters” while
others are not. As a result, employees working under easy managers have a better chance of
promotion due to their higher scores. In firms that rely heavily on the narrative portion of the
assessment, having a manager with poor writing skills may hamper an employee’s career.
Without “benchmark” numbers to set as a standard, inconsistency is guaranteed in large
organizations.

33. Managers don’t know the employee — managers of large and global organizations, as
well as newly hired and “transferred in” managers may be forced to do appraisals on
employees they barely know. Recently promoted managers may be forced to assess their
former friends and colleagues. Following a merger, managers are likely to be confused about
whether to focus on the whole year or just “post-merger” work.

34. Secret codes — I did some work with an army unit where by custom literally everyone
got a perfect numerical score. So assessments by higher-ups were made as a result of
interpreting “code words” in the small written narrative portion of the assessment.
Unfortunately, if your commander didn’t know the code words, your army career was limited.

35. Mirror assessments — most people, and managers are no exception, have a tendency to
rate people like themselves more positively. This can result in discrimination issues.

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 36. Managers are not rewarded — managers that go out of their way to provide honest
feedback and actually improve the performance of their workers are not rewarded or
recognized.

Article Continues Below

37. Managers don’t own it — managers often feel they don’t own the process, so they invest
little in it and proceed to blame HR for everything. Managers would embrace it instead of
grumbling if they were presented with a positive correlation proving that managers who did
excellent performance appraisals were among the highest performers with regards to business
result and bonus awards.

Employee/subject problems
38. High anxiety — because the process is so subjective and no benchmark performance
numbers are set in advance, uncertainty can cause many employees high levels of anxiety
weeks before the process. Managers may also be anxious because of the uncertainty related to
the an employee’s reaction. I know one employee who sincerely thought she was going to be
fired prior to her assessment but ended up being the highest rated employee on the team.
Employees should have an accurate idea of their assessment long before any meeting is
scheduled.

39. One-way communication — some managers simply give the employee the form to
quickly sign and they don’t even solicit feedback. Many employees are intimidated by
managers and the process, and as a result, they say nothing during or after the appraisal.

40. Self-assessment is not possible — if an ambitious employee wanted to self-assess their

performance midstream (in order to improve), most processes do not provide access to the
instrument. Providing each employee with a virtual assessment scoreboard and performance
management process would be an ideal solution.

41. No alerts — most processes do not allow an employee to be notified midstream should
their performance change to the point where it was suddenly dramatically below standards.

42. No choice of reviewers — although there are a few exceptions (Sun), in most cases,
unlike with 360 reviews, employees are not allowed input into who does their assessment.

43. One-way process — in most cases, employees also have no input into the factors that
they are assessed on, how often they are assessed, and what type of feedback they can receive.
It is unfortunately even rare for a process manager to routinely survey their users for
suggestions on how to improve it.

44. No appeal process — employees who disagree with her appraisal are seldom given the
opportunity to challenge the results with a neutral party.

45. Retention issues — the ultimate cost of an “unfair” assessment may be that it actually
drives your top employees away because, for example, there was no differential in recognition
and rewards for their superior performance.

46. Many possible emotional consequences — if performance appraisal is blotched, you can
expect a decrease in employee engagement, trust, employer brand strength, teamwork, and
innovation contribution. Employee referrals from disgruntled employees will probably also
drop.

Timing issues
47. A time-consuming process — most of the forms are incredibly long and time-
consuming. As a result, some managers routinely recycle “last year’s” evaluations. If HR is
required to sit in on the sessions, the amount of wasted time increases significantly.

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 48. It is historical — the process is focused on capturing feedback about last year rather than
on discussing necessary changes to job and skill requirements that must necessitated by the
business strategy.

49. Not coordinated with business cycles – some appraisal dates do not coincide with the
end of major business periods or seasons when all other business results are tabulated and
reported.

50. Not simultaneous — if appraisals are done on the employee’s anniversary date, the entire
team will not be assessed at the same time.

Appraisal Interview

An interview in which the supervisor and subordinate review the appraisal and make plans to
remedy deficiencies and reinforce strengths

An appraisal typically culminates in an appraisal interview. Here, supervisor and subordinate

review the appraisal and make plans to remedy deficiencies and reinforce strengths.
Interviews like these are often uncomfortable. Few people like to receive – or give – negative
feedback. Adequate preparation and effective implementation are therefore essential.

Types of Appraisal Interviews

There are four basic types of appraisal interviews each with its own objective:
Satisfactory – Promotable is the easiest interview: The person’s performance is satisfactory
and there is a promotion ahead. Our objective is to discuss the person’s career plans and to
develop a specific action plan for the educational and professional development the person
needs to move up.

Satisfactory — Not promotable is for employees whose performance is satisfactory but for
whom promotion is not possible. Perhaps there is no more room in the company. Perhaps he
or she is happy as is and doesn’t want a promotion. The objective here is to maintain
satisfactory performance. The best option is usually to find incentives that are important to the
person and enough to maintain satisfactory performance. These might include extra time off,
a small bonus, additional authority to handle a slightly enlarged job, and reinforcements
perhaps in the form of an occasional well done!

When the person’s performance is unsatisfactory but correctable the interview objective is to
lay out and plan for correcting the unsatisfactory performance.

If the employee is unsatisfactory and the situation is uncorrectable you can usually skip the
interview. You either tolerate the person’s poor performance for now, or dismiss the person.

How to conduct the appraisal interview

Preparation is essential. Review the person’s job description, compare performance to the
standards and review the employee’s previous appraisals. Give the employee at least a week’s
notice to review his or her work, analyze problems, and gather questions and comments.

Find a mutually agreeable tem for the interview and allow enough time for the entire
interview. Interviews with lower level personnel like clerical workers and maintenance staff
should take no more than an hour. Interviews with management employees often two or three
hours Be sure the interview is done in a private place where you won’t be interrupted.

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 Guidelines: There are four things to keep mind when actually conducting the
interviews:
1) Talk in terms of objective work data: Use examples such as absences, tardiness, quality
records, orders processed, productivity records, order processing time, accident reports,
and so on.

2) Don’t get personal: Don’t say, you’re too slow in producing those reports. Instead try to
compare the person’s performance to a standard (These reports should normally be done
within 10 days). Similarly, don’t compare the person’s performance that of other people.
(He s is quicker than you are).

3) Encourage the person to talk: Stop and listen to what the person is saying; ask open
ended questions such as What do you think we can do to improve the situation? Use a
command such as Go on restate the person’s last point as a question such as, you don’t
think you can get the job done?

4) Don’t tiptoe around: Don’t get personal, but do make sure the person leaves knowing
specifically what he or she is doing right and doing wrong. Make sure before he or she
leaves there is agreement on how things will be improved and by when. Write up an
action plan with targets and dates.

Feedback Interview

Employee Feedback in the Workplace

In the context of the workplace, easy-to-use employee feedback mechanisms can help
improve productivity and profitability. As a professional employer organization, Total HR
Management has seen how employee feedback mechanisms prove to be much more effective
if they work in both directions. Although the most important form of employee feedback is
from a manager to a worker, such a mechanism is much more effective if the worker also has
the ability to provide feedback to the manager. With anonymous online tools available, the
old-fashioned suggestion box has been eclipsed by modern technology that is much more
easier to manage and much more efficient.

In terms of the HR role in helping to optimize the employee feedback process, the institution
of mechanisms that deliver objective data, statistical information and metrics without specific
intent can be truly helpful. By having such an objective base, you can remove the prejudices
and fears brought on by the potential perception of favoritism or natural personality
differences. Such data can provide a baseline for managerial feedback to employees.

Along with objective metrics and statistics, employee feedback from managers in the form of
praise and constructive guidance is important as well. By showing an employee that their
efforts are being recognized and the work they produce is being valued, employee morale can
be raised and job performance boosted. Through focused performance management that
results in ongoing development of applicable skill sets, a company can improve both the value
of their employees on an individual basis while also improving the value of the business as a
whole.

Role of Employee Feedback

Another role of employee feedback by managers that cannot be ignored or forgotten is simple
criticism. If constructive, such criticism can bring about the correction of a course that has
gone off track. Based on current HR best practices, constructive guidance is the name of the
game. When such criticism is connected to objective metrics and statistics, it tends to be more

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 valuable by providing an employee with a valuable yardstick by which they can measure and
gauge what they need to accomplish in order to succeed.

As described in a Tribe HR article, successful companies understand employee feedback

channels function like a highly sensitive nervous system. The conduits of back-and-forth
communication provide crucial information pathways. Such pathways carry pain and pleasure
signals in the form of feedback to the nerve receptors in the form of employees, managers,
and executives. Pain signals are particularly important to recognize because – just like in the
human body – they provide a clear sign that something has gone amiss.

Employee Feedback & HR Outsourcing

As a professional employer organization, Total HR Management recommends that our client

companies institute an effective employee feedback mechanism, both to provide the reward of
praise and recognition while also being able to keep a close watch over any incoming or
outgoing pain signals. An employee feedback mechanism often helps you to catch a problem
before it becomes a problem, thus helping the employee on an individual basis and the
company as a whole. With the institution of two-way employee feedback mechanisms that
work, a workplace can be taken to the next level of communicative excellence.

Management
Feedback goes beyond managers. It extends to co-employees and even customers. Encourage
your employees to talk to management and report problems to resolve any issues. It is easier
to motivate workers in an open culture of communication than if they are afraid to speak up.

Structure
Good performance management is pro-active. Do not wait until a situation gets out of hand
before intervening. Make sure employees know that you are watching, and keep feedback
frequent. Do not leave it at “no news is good news” unless you are sure there are not any
problems. According to Business MP, “A responsible manager ought to be able to set up a
schedule…and provide [employees] with constructive assistance.”

Confidentiality
Employees expect their leaders and managers to keep information confidential. If you break
that trust, it is difficult to build it back up and your employees will stop coming to you with
problems. Avoid gossip or delegating, and confront any issues yourself, directly with the
employees involved. If you stand by your convictions and your employees know they can
trust you, they will have more respect for you.

Timing
Often, the best time for feedback happens during day-to-day business. It is important to be
prepared for the conversation: do your homework and know the person to whom you are
planning to speak. Practice what you are going to say, and use your knowledge to predict their
responses and questions. Be sure to choose a private location and keep the conversation
confidential. It is best to be prepared, so you might want to take notes with you. Do not be
afraid to act immediately in a true emergency, but do not act too quickly if there is time to
consider your response.

Successful Feedback

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 For feedback to have a positive outcome, it should be specific rather than general.
Generalizations might help you gather information about what the staff is feeling, but it will
not solve specific problems. It is important to focus on the behavior instead of the person and
make sure you give feedback geared to help and not hurt. You will need to limit the
information you give to what your employee can hear and process. If you overload a person,
they tend to block you out just to simplify things. Be aware of the effects of your feedback
and follow up on the situation to see what changes have been made.

Developing Feedback Skill

1. Feedback meetings that address people’s weaknesses can elicit anxiety and defensiveness,
so start the meeting by stating the following expectations:
 The meeting is developmental – not punitive. Everyone has strengths and
weaknesses, and should have the opportunity to continue to grow professionally.
 The meeting should lead to positive results and opportunities to further develop
strengths and address blind spots. Everyone has areas they can improve.
 There will be an opportunity to develop goals and an actionable developmental plan.
 There will be further instances of 360 feedback to give the leader an opportunity to
track leadership development over time.
 The leader should feel free to ask for feedback at any point; feedback conversations
need not be limited to once a year.
2. Address the individual’s strengths and point out areas they received positive feedback,
supporting these with examples of behaviors the leader has shown.

3. Address areas in which the individual received feedback that they need to improve,
supporting these with examples of behaviors the leader has shown. Time should be allowed
for discussion of the person’s feelings, possible disagreement, and understanding of the data.

4. Areas in which there were large differences in the way the leader perceived him/herself and
others perceived him/her should be discussed in order to increase self awareness.

5. Areas in which there were large differences in the way different rater groups (i.e.
subordinates, customers, peers) perceived the leader should be explored to increase self-
awareness.

6. Opportunities for development should be outlined as a final step in the meeting. This
should include an action plan, coaching or training opportunities that may be available for the
leader, and times for follow up meetings throughout the year.

The Role of appraisal in Managing Performance:

A performance evaluation system is an invaluable tool for small businesses. An annual

performance review places all employees on an equal playing field and allows the managers
of the business to see which employees are creating the most value for the company. Human
resources plays an important role in performance evaluations by ensuring that the process is
fair, accurate and managed appropriately.

The strategy, implementation and functional steps in any performance management system
rest squarely on a human resources leader and her department. HR managers and directors
generally determine everything from the level of performance standards the company can
expect its employees to achieve to what percent salary increase is reasonable for various
performance levels. HR plays an essential role in performance appraisal, but its role is more
centrally factored on the entire performance management system, instead of just the appraisal,
which is only one small part of the entire system.
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 Performance Management

An organization's performance management system often is the project that HR undertakes.

Performance management is the overall system that supervisors and managers use to measure
job performance, sustain productive work groups and recognize workers for meeting the
company's performance standards. An HR manager or director works collaboratively with the
organization's leadership to determine the type of coaching philosophy the company should
adopt. Many employers have step-intensive performance management systems that include
regular performance appraisals and progressive discipline policies. Other companies use less
formal methods and unconventional methods for measuring performance and providing
constructive feedback to employees.

Leadership Training

The HR department's training and development area generally provides leadership training for
supervisors and managers on how to properly evaluate employees using appraisal methods,
conduct appraisal meetings and give periodic feedback. In addition, they learn how to avoid
supervisor bias in the appraisal and disciplinary process, such as just looking at an employee's
recent accomplishments or letting one slip-up or misstep overshadow an employee's
numerous achievements. Many HR departments also teach supervisors how to provide
guidance to their employees throughout the performance appraisal. Guidance includes goal
setting, professional development and preparing workers for taking on additional
responsibilities or increasing bench strength in their departments.

Compensation and Performance

HR establishes a method for tying compensation to its performance appraisals through

assessing the organization's capability for rewarding employees through pay-for-performance
or merit pay systems. Conducting job analyses, reviewing compensation practices and
developing rewards programs for employees whose performance meets or exceeds the
company's expectations falls under the purview of the HR department, meaning the HR leader
and compensation specialists. Whether supervisors and managers have approval to determine
the extent to which they reward employee performance also is a function of the HR
department. Some organizations leave wage increases and decisions on bonuses and
incentives up to the managers, while other companies' HR departments are responsible for
that task after they complete their employee appraisals.

Performance Issues

Employees assume that HR wears the black hat when it addresses disciplinary issues. That's
partly true but only when unresolved performance issues such as poor performance appraisals
require suspension, demotion or termination. Otherwise, HR typically wants to restore
employees to their productive selves and re-engage them in their jobs. HR reviews
supervisors' and managers' performance-related employee relations issues and works together
to recommend ways to solve matters related to performance appraisals that employees might
believe contain unfair ratings. The HR department equally advocates for the company and the
employee to encourage strong performance records and job satisfaction, which are integral
parts of the overall performance management system.

Career Planning and Development

The employees are recently could join an organisation fully expecting to stay with it for their
entire career. Now, life-long careers are a thing of the past. Some naive employees still feel
that they are immune to the ongoing reductions because they are doing good work and adding
value to the organisation. However, increasing competition, rapid technological change,

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 relentless restructuring and downsizing mean that high performance no longer protects
employees from dismissal. People increasingly will move from opportunity to opportunity
without regard for traditional job boundaries. Some experts predict that soon full-time careers
will no longer be the norm.

Realistic career planning forces employees to be proactive and to anticipate problems and
opportunities. Itdoes this by making them establish and examine their career objectives.
Career planning and development involves two processes — career planning (employee
centred) and career management (organization centred). Career management is integral to HR
planning, but HR planning and/or career management do not exist or are not integrated in
some organisations.

HR planning and career planning and development

Employees and organisations are paying more attention to career planning and development
because:
o Employees are increasingly concerned about their quality of life
o Educational levels and employee aspirations are rising
o Workers are making the transition from vertical careers to lateral careers
o Organisations have an increasing sense of obligation to employees. ‘The most valuable
thing that a business can give its members,’ says Handy, ‘is no longer employment but
employability, the security of a saleable skill.’
o Shortages of skilled workers is producing a global talent war.

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 HR department’s responsibility
Proactive HR managers recognise the importance of career planning and development in
satisfying individual and organisational needs. If the HR department is fully aware of the
organisation’s future HR needs, career chances and training and development opportunities,
then it is well placed to promote career planning among employees.

Work-family conflict
Work family conflict is evidenced by the dual-income family and the single-parent family.
People today are faced with problems of redefining what is meant by success and how to
balance work and family. Particularly for women, the integration of work and family
responsibilities can be difficult because job demands compete with the traditional family
demands of being mother, wife and housekeeper. Men who place family first also face a
problem with companies and co-workers. Family-responsive policies such as provision of
child care or assistance with child-care expenses and the introduction of flexible work
schedules, part-time work, home work, job sharing and flexible leave provisions not onl y
help but result in increased employee commitment.

Careers in human resource management

Those contemplating a career in HRM need to think carefully about their career objectives
and how they plan to achieve them. HRM offers many exciting opportunities but also has its
limitations. Few HRM practitioners, for example, become managing directors or achieve the
same status and income as their counterparts in line management. To enhance personal
satisfaction and professional success, individuals should thoroughly assess their own needs
and expectations, and gather as much information as they can about HR work, career paths,
opportunities, rewards and so on.

Job variety - Job opportunities exist for both generalists and specialists in HRM.

Remuneration - Remuneration for HRM employees has lagged behind that paid to
employees in functions such as finance and marketing; Australian and US data suggest that
the median earnings of full-time HR professionals are in decline and that male HR
professionals, on average, still earn more than their female counterparts. However, as HRM
moves away from its traditional status of cost centre to that of profit contributor and
strategic business partner, the magnitude of the monetary differential is reducing(particularly
in banking and financial services and hi-tech companies).

Working conditions- HR departments are frequented by applicants, employees, union

officials, government inspectors and visitors, so they need to present a favourable image of
the organisation as a place of employment. Consequently, most HR offices tend to be clean
and pleasant places in which to work.

Career preparation — education - Some people work in HRM without academic

qualifications, but it is evident that the increasing demands by employers for professional
competence and know-how make tertiary education essential.

Career preparation — competencies - Ulrich argues that the HR manager of the future
should be a strategic business partner, an administrative expert, a champion for employees
and a change agent. This, says Ulrich, demands competence in knowledge of the business,
knowledge of HR, change management, and credibility.

-ooooOoooo-

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 UNIT-V
INTEGRATION

Unit-V Quality of work life, quality circles, industrial disputes ,causes and remedial
measures, collective bargaining, the management of conflicts, sources of grievances, the
grievance procedure, guidelines for handling grievances, welfare services, separation.

The process of combining all the systems to do with managing human resources (= people) in a
business so that they work effectively together for the best results:

Quality of Work Life:

According to J. Richard and J. Loy, “QWL is the degree to which members of a work
organisation are able to satisfy important personal needs through their experiences in the
organisation”.

While the task force set in 1979 by the American Society for Training and Development
[ASTD] defined QWL as a process of work organisation which enables its members at all
levels of to actively participate in shaping the organisation’s environments, methods and
outcomes. This value based process is aimed towards meeteing the twin goals of enhanced
effectiveness of organisation and improved quality of life at work for employees. Quality of
work life efforts are systematic efforts made by an organisation to give its employees a
greater opportunity to affect the way in which they do their jobs and the contributions they
make to the overall effectiveness of their organisation.

Richard E.Walton explains quality of work life in terms of eight broad conditions of
employment that constitute desirable quality of work life (QWL). He proposed the same
criteria for measuring QWL. Those conditions/criteria include :
o Adequate and fair compensation.
o Safe and healthy working condition.
o Opportunity to use and develop human capacities.
o Opportunity for career growth.
o Social integration in the work force.
o Constitutionalism in the work organisation.
o Work and quality of life and
o Special relevance of work.

Work is an integral part of our everyday life, as it is our livelihood or career or business. On
an average we spend around twelve hours daily in the work place, that is one third of our
entire life; it does influence the overall quality of our life.

It should yield job satisfaction, give peace of mind, a fulfillment of having done a task, as it is
expected, without any flaw and having spent the time fruitfully, constructively and
purposefully. Even if it is a small step towards our lifetime goal, at the end of the day it gives
satisfaction and eagerness to look forward to the next day.

The factors that influence and decide the Quality of work life are:
o Attitude
o Environment
o Opportunities
o Nature of Job
o People
o Stress Level
o Career Prospects
o Challenges

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 o Growth and Development
o Risk Involved and Reward

Attitude: The person who is entrusted with a particular job needs to have sufficient
knowledge, required skill and expertise, enough experience, enthusiasm, energy level,
willingness to learn new things, dynamism, sense of belongingness in the organization,
involvement in the job, inter personnel relations, adaptability to changes in the situation,
openness for innovative ideas, competitiveness, zeal, ability to work under pressure,
leadership qualities and team-spirit.

Environment: The job may involve dealing with customers who have varied tolerance level,
preferences, behavioral pattern, level of understanding; or it may involve working with
dangerous machines like drilling pipes, cranes, lathe machines, welding and soldering
machines, or even with animals where maximum safety precautions have to be observed
which needs lot of concentration, alertness, presence of mind, quick with involuntary actions,
synchronization of eyes, hands and body, sometimes high level of patience, tactfulness,
empathy and compassion and control over emotions.

Opportunities: Some jobs offer opportunities for learning, research, discovery, self-
development, enhancement of skills, room for innovation, public recognition, exploration,
celebrity-status and loads and loads of fame. Others are monotonous, repetitive, dull, routine,
no room for improvement and in every sense boring. Naturally the former ones are interesting
and very much rewarding also.

Nature of Job: For example, a driller in the oil drilling unit, a diver, a fire-fighter, traffic
policeman, tram engine driver, construction laborers, welder, miner, lathe mechanic have to
do dangerous jobs and have to be more alert in order to avoid any loss of limb, or loss of life
which is irreparable; whereas a pilot, doctor, judge, journalist have to be more prudent and
tactful in handling the situation; a CEO, a professor, a teacher have more responsibility and
accountability but safe working environment; a cashier or a security guard cannot afford to be
careless in his job as it involves loss of money, property and wealth; a politician or a public
figure cannot afford to be careless, for his reputation and goodwill is at stake. Some jobs need
soft skills, leadership qualities, intelligence, decision making abilities, abilities to tram and
extract work from others; other jobs need forethought, vision and yet other jobs need motor
skills, perfection and extreme carefulness.

People: Almost everyone has to deal with three set of people in the work place. Those are
namely boss, co-workers in the same level and subordinates. Apart from this, some
professions need interaction with people like patients, media persons, public, customers,
thieves, robbers, physically disabled people, mentally challenged, children, foreign delegates,
gangsters, politicians, public figures and celebrities. These situations demand high level of
prudence, cool temper, tactfulness, humor, kindness, diplomacy and sensitiveness.

Stress Level: All these above mentioned factors are inter-related and inter-dependant. Stress
level need not be directly proportional to the compensation. Stress is of different types -
mental stress/physical stress and psychological or emotional stress. A Managing Director of a
company will have mental stress, a laborer will have physical stress, a psychiatrist will have
emotional stress. Mental stress and Emotional stress cause more damage than physical stress.

Career Prospects: Every job should offer career development. That is an important factor
which decides the quality of work life. Status improvement, more recognition from the
Management, appreciations are the motivating factors for anyone to take keen interest in his
job. The work atmosphere should be conducive to achieve organizational goal as well as
individual development. It is a win-win situation for both the parties; an employee should be
rewarded appropriately for his good work, extra efforts, sincerity and at the same time a

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 lethargic and careless employee should be penalized suitably; this will motivate the former to
work with more zeal and deter the latter from being so, and strive for better performance.

Challenges: The job should offer some challenges at least to make it interesting; That enables
an employee to upgrade his knowledge and skill and capabilities; whereas the monotony of
the job makes a person dull, non-enthusiastic, dissatisfied, frustrating, complacent, initiative -
less and uninteresting. Challenge is the fire that keeps the innovation and thrill alive. A well-
accomplished challenging job yields greater satisfaction than a monetary perk; it boosts the
self-confidence also.

Growth and Development: If an organization does not give chance for growth and personal
development it is very difficult to retain the talented personnel and also to find new talent
with experience and skill.

Risk Involved and Reward: Generally reward or compensation is directly proportional to

the quantum of work, man-hours, nature and extent of responsibility, accountability,
delegated powers, authority of position in the organizational chart, risk involved, level of
expected commitment, deadlines and targets, industry, country, demand and supply of skilled
manpower and even political stability and economic policies of a nation. Although risk is
involved in every job its nature and degree varies in them; All said and done, reward is a key
criteria to lure a prospective worker to accept the offer.

Quality Circles:
Conceptually Quality Circles can be described as a small group of employees of the same
work area, doing similar work that meets voluntarily and regularly to iden-tify, analyse and
resolve work related problems.

This small group with every member of the circle participating to the full carries on the
activities, utilising problem solving techniques to achieve control or improvement in the work
area and also help self and mutual development in the process.

The concept of the Quality Circle is based on “respect for the human individual” as against
the traditional assumption based on suspicion and mistrust between management and its
employees.

Characteristics of Effective Quality Circles:

1. The atmosphere should be informal, comfortable and relaxed. The members should feel
involved and interested.
2. Everyone should participate.
3. The objectives should be clear to the members.
4. The members should listen to each other.
5. The group should feel comfortable even when there are disagreements.
6. The decisions should generally be taken by a kind of consensus and voting should be
minimum.
7. When an action is required to be taken, clear assignments should be made and ac-cepted by
all the members.
8. The leader should not dominate the group. The main idea should not be as to who controls
but how to get the job done.
9. Until a final solution is found and results are attained feedback is necessary.

Industrial Disputes:

The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, “Industrial dispute means any dispute or difference between
employers and employers or between employers and workmen or between workmen and

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 workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of
employment or with the conditions of labour of any person” Industrial disputes are of
symptoms of industrial unrest in the same way that boils are symptoms of a disordered body.

Whenever an industrial dispute occurs, both management and workers try to pressurize each
other. The management may resort to lock-out and the workers may resort to strike, gherao,
picketing, etc.

Strike:
Strike is a very powerful weapon used by a trade union to get its demands accepted. It means
quitting work by a group of workers for the purpose of bringing pressure on their employer to
accept their demands. According to Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, “Strike means a cessation
of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted
refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have
been so employed, to continue to work or to accept employment.”

There are many types of strikes. A few of them are discussed below:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) Economic Strike:

Under this type of strike, members of the trade union stop work to enforce their
economic demands such as wages, bonus, and other conditions of work.

(ii) Sympathetic Strike:

The members of a union collectively stop work to support or express their sympathy
with the members of other unions who are on strike in the other undertakings.

(iii) General Strike:

It means a strike by members of all or most of the unions in a region or an industry. It
may be a strike of all the workers in a particular region of industry to force demands
common to all the workers. It may also be an extension of the sympathetic strike to
express general protest by the workers.

(iv) Sit Down Strike:

When workers do not leave their place of work, but stop work, they are said to be on
sit down or stay in strike. It is also known as tools down or pen down strike. The
workers remain at their work-place and also keep their control over the work
facilities.

(v) Slow Down Strike:

Employees remain on their jobs under this type of strike. They do not stop work, but
restrict the rate of output in an organised manner. They adopt go- slow tactics to put
pressure on the employers.

Lock-out:
Lock-out is declared by the employers to put pressure on their workers. It is an act on
the part of the employers to close down the place of work until the workers agree to
resume the work on the terms and conditions specified by the employers.

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has defined lock-out as closing of a place of
employment or the suspension of work or the refusal by an employer to continue to
employ any number of persons employed by him. Lock-outs are declared to curb the
activities of militant workers. Generally, lock-out is declared 25 a trial of strength
between the management and its employees.

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 Causes of Industrial Disputes:
We can classify the causes of industrial disputes into two broad groups:

(i) Economic causes, and (ii) Non-economic causes.

Economic causes include:

(i) Wages,
(ii) Bonus,
(iii) Dearness allowance,
(iv) Conditions of work and employment,
(v) Working hours,
(vi) Leave and holidays with pay, and
(vii) Unjust dismissals or retrenchments.

Non-economic causes include:

(i) Recognition of trade unions,
(ii) Victimisation of workers,
(iii) Ill-treatment by supervisory staff,
(iv) Sympathetic strikes,
(v) Political causes, etc.

Causes and Remedial Measures:

Types, Causes and Methods to Reduce Fatigue

Human capacity to work is limited. Every work requires care, attention and concentration. A
person cannot work continuously for longer periods. The work output will be more in the
morning and it goes on decreasing with passage of time as a worker will feel tried, mentally
and physically, in the evening. The decrease in efficiency of working due to longer working
periods is known as fatigue.

It is one of the most significant problems before industrial engineers. Fatigue has been
defined as a negative appetite for work activity. According to vitals, “The tension, the
subjection to specialization of work and a rhythm uncontrolled by the individual, promote
fatigue characterized by decrease in the power to work, a decrease in pressure taken in work,
and a increase in the enjoyment of the hours spent away from work”.

Fatigue can precisely be explained as follows:

1. It leads to loss of efficiency.
2. It results in more or less complete loss of responsiveness of tissue.
3. It may be termed as the reduced capacity of work resulting from work itself.

Methods of Reducing Fatigue:

A fatigued worker will not be able to work with his original rhythm. Every industrial
enterprise is expected to devise ways and means of reducing fatigue so that production does
not suffer for longer periods.

Following methods may help in reducing fatigue and providing freshness to workers:

1. Rest pauses:
When workers continue to work for longer periods then they; feel tired and need some rest.
Rest pauses are of great importance in reducing fatigue as well as monotony. Rest pauses
should be provided in such a way that workers feel relieved after working for some hours. A
well planned rest pauses schedule will be of .great help in reducing fatigue.

2. Less hours of work:

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 Longer hours of work are the main cause of fatigue. The hours of work should be reduced to
that optimum level where workers are able to keep up their working speed. The factories act
in India allows only 48 hours a week for adult workers and it should be followed strictly.

3. Proper lighting:
Poor illumination is an important cause of disturbance and fatigue. The work place should be
properly lighted so that workers are able to work without burdening their eye sight and brain.

4. Improving environmental conditions:

The humidity, temperature and ventilation influence workers at work. A proper balance of
temperature, humidity should be maintained to make the work place comfortable and worth
working so that fatigue is reduced.

5. Reduction of noise:
Undesirable noise will cause fatigue. It may also cause muscular tension. Unnecessary noise
should be curbed to its, minimum level. Lower noise levels increase productivity of workers
by reducing fatigue, removing cause of irritation.

6. Proper selection of employees:

A wrong selection of employees and their placement may also be a reason for fatigue and
monotony. A job may require more physical input than worker has. In such situations the
worker will feel fatigued after short duration of work. A square peg in a square hole will help
in reducing fatigue and boredom so proper selection shall help in this regard.

7. Job rotations:
Sometimes workers start feeling bore and tired while working repeatedly on the same job. If
job rotation a is provided it will avoid boredom and fatigue.

8. Counseling of employees:
Anxieties and worries may be the main cause of fatigue with some workers. There may be job
dissatisfaction domestic problem etc. the officers of personnel department should counsel the
employees and help them in solving their problems.

Collective bargaining
Collective Bargaining is the process by which a group of employees negotiate with the
employer in order to bring about an agreement that regulates working conditions. The
interests of the employees are generally represented by the members of a trade union to which
the employees belong. This collective bargaining model rests on the worker's representatives
submitting proposals that they consider ideal, but show willingness to settle for less, and the
management willing to concede more than what they publicly acknowledge.

Collective Bargaining is generally carried out in six steps:

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 Importance:
The need for and importance of collective bargaining is felt due to the advantages it offers to
an organisation.

The chief ones are as follows:

1. Collective bargaining develops better understanding between the employer
and the employees:
It provides a platform to the management and the employees to be at par on
negotiation table. As such, while the management gains a better and deep insight into
the problems and the aspirations of die employees, on the one hand, die employees do
also become better informed about the organisational problems and limitations, on the
other. This, in turn, develops better understanding between the two parties.

2. It promotes industrial democracy:

ADVERTISEMENTS:
Both the employer and the employees who best know their problems, participate in
the negotiation process. Such participation breeds the democratic process in the
organisation.

3. It benefits the both-employer and employees:

The negotiation arrived at is acceptable to both parties—the employer and the
employees.

4. It is adjustable to the changing conditions:

A dynamic environment leads to changes in employment conditions. This requires
changes in organisational processes to match with the changed conditions. Among
other alternatives available, collective bargaining is found as a better approach to
bring changes more amicably.

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 5. It facilitates the speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective
negotiation:
The direct participation of both parties—the employer and the employees—in
collective decision making process provides an in-built mechanism for speedy
implementation of decisions arrived at collective bargaining.

The Management of Conflicts:

Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly,
fairly, and efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is
important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. This
is important in today's market more than ever. Everyone is striving to show how valuable they
are to the company they work for and at times, this can lead to disputes with other members
of the team.

Examples of situations that can cause conflict:

o Misunderstandings or lack of information
o Changes in the workplace
o Actions taken by a supervisor
o Evaluation of work performance
o Personal situations that affect work performance

Informal Conflict Management

Informal conflict management can be initiated at an early stage, in an open manner, by the
supervisor or employee or can be facilitated by Employee Relations.

Helpful Guidelines
Contact Employee Relations for further assistance in facilitating conflict management

Formal Conflict Management

If a conflict can’t be resolved informally, or if an employee chooses not to resolve it
informally, the employee can initiate a formal conflict management process by filing a
complaint or grievance. Steps in formal conflict management may include a fact-finding
investigation and a hearing or arbitration. This is facilitated by Labor Relations.

Sources of Grievances:
A grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice having connection with one’s
employment situ-ation which is brought to the attention of management. Speaking broadly, a
grievance is any dissatisfac-tion that adversely affects organizational relations and
productivity. To understand what a grievance is, it is necessary to distinguish between
dissatisfaction, complaint, and grievance.

1. Dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether or not the unrest is

expressed in words.
2. Complaint is a spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the supervisor
or the shop steward.
3. Grievance is a complaint that has been formally presented to a management
representative or to a union official.

According to Michael Jucious, ‘grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction whether

expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company
which an employee thinks, believes or even feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable’.

In short, grievance is a state of dissatisfaction, expressed or unexpressed, written or unwritten,

justified or unjustified, having connection with employment situation.

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 Features of Grievance:
1. A grievance refers to any form of discontent or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the
organization.
2. The dissatisfaction must arise out of employment and not due to personal or family
problems.
3. The discontent can arise out of real or imaginary reasons. When employees feel that
injustice has been done to them, they have a grievance. The reason for such a feeling may
be valid or invalid, legitimate or irrational, justifiable or ridiculous.
4. The discontent may be voiced or unvoiced, but it must find expression in some form.
However, discontent per se is not a grievance. Initially, the employee may complain
orally or in writing. If this is not looked into promptly, the employee feels a sense of lack
of justice. Now, the discontent grows and takes the shape of a grievance.
5. Broadly speaking, thus, a grievance is traceable to be perceived as non-fulfillment of
one’s expec­tations from the organization.

Grievance Procedures:
The purpose of performance management is to help the employee be successful and to draw
boundaries for appropriate behavior on the job. At times, there are problems that need to be
addressed.

Types of Performance Problems

Quantity of work (untimely completion, limited production)
 Poor prioritizing, timing, scheduling
 Lost time
o Lateness, absenteeism, leaving without permission.
o Excessive visiting, phone use, break time, use of the Internet.
o Misuse of sick leave.
o
 Slow response to work requests, untimely completion of assignments.
 Preventable accidents.

Quality of work (failure to meet quality standards)

 Inaccuracies, errors
 Failure to meet expectations for product quality, cost or service
 Customer/client dissatisfaction
 Spoilage and/or waste of materials
 Inappropriate or poor work methods

Work Behaviors Which Result in Performance Problems

Inappropriate behaviors (often referred to as poor attitude)

 Negativism, lack of cooperation, hostility
 Failure or refusal to follow instructions
 Unwillingness to take responsibility
 Insubordination
 Power games
 Resistance to change

Guidelines for Grievances

1. Steps in Grievance Handling Procedure:

At any stage of the grievance machinery, the dispute must be handled by some members of
the management. In grievance redressed, responsibility lies largely with the management.

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 And, grievances should be settled promptly at the first stage itself. The following steps will
provide a measure of guidance to the manager dealing with grievances.

i. Acknowledge Dissatisfaction:
Managerial/supervisory attitude to grievances is important. They should focus
attention on grievances, not turn away from them. Ignorance is not bliss, it is the bane
of industrial conflict. Condescending attitude on the part of supervisors and managers
would aggravate the problem.

Instead of trying to deal with a vague feeling of discontent, the problem should be
defined properly. Sometime the wrong complaint is given. By effective listening, one
can make sure that a true complaint is voiced.

iii. Get the Facts:

Facts should be separated from fiction. Though grievances result in hurt feelings, the
effort should be to get the facts behind the feelings. There is need for a proper record
of each grievance.

iv. Analyse and Decide:

Decisions on each of the grievances will have a precedent effect. While no time
should be lost in dealing with them, it is no excuse to be slip-shod about it. Grievance
settlements provide opportunities for managements to correct themselves, and thereby
come closer to the employees.

Horse-trading in grievance redressed due to union pressures may temporarily bring

union leadership closer to the management, but it will surely alienate the workforce
away from the management.

v. Follow up:
Decisions taken must be followed up earnestly. They should be promptly
communicated to the employee concerned. If a decision is favourable to the
employee, his immediate boss should have the privilege of communicating the same.

Welfare Services:
Employee welfare means “the efforts to make life worth living for workmen.” According to
Todd “employee welfare means anything done for the comfort and improvement, intellectual
or social, of the employees over and above the wages paid which is not a necessity of the
industry.”

1. Welfare Measures inside the Work Place

a) Conditions of the work Environment
>==> Safety and cleanliness: attention to approaches.
>==> Housekeeping
>==> Workshop sanitation and cleanliness.
>==> Control of effluents
>==> Convenience and comfort during work
>==> Distribution of work hours
>==> Workmen’s safety measures
>==> Supply of necessary beverages
>==> Notice Boards

b) Conveniences
>==> Provision of drinking water
>==> Urinals and bathrooms
>==> Provision for spittoons

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 >==> Canteen services
>==> Rest rooms and reading rooms

c) Worker’s Health Services

>==> Factory health center
>==> Dispensary
>==> Ambulance
>==> Emergency aid
>==> Health education

d) Women and Child Welfare

>==> Services Crèche and child care
>==> Separate services for woman workers
>==> Family planning

e) Workers’ recreation
>==> Indoor games; strenuous games to be avoided during intervals of work

f) Economic services
>==> Co operatives, loans, financial grants
>==> Thrift and savings schemes
>==> Un employment insurance
>==> Profit sharing and bonus schemes
>==> Gratuity and pension

g) Labour management participation

>==> Formation and working of various committees
>==> Workmen’s arbitration council
>==> Research bureau

h) Workers education
>==> Reading room
>==> Library
>==> Adults education
>==> Daily news review
>==> Factory news bulletin

Separation:

Employee separation is a sensitive issue for any organization. Usually, an employee leaves
the organization after several years of service. Thus, the permanent separation of employees
from an organization requires discretion, empathy and a great deal of planning. An employee
may be separated as consequence of resignation, removal, death, permanent incapacity,
discharge or retirement. The employee may also be separated due to the expiration of an
employment contract or as part of downsizing of the workforce. Organizations should never
harass the employees, especially in the case of resignation, just because they are quitting the
organiza-tion. In fact, a quitting employee of the organization must be seen as a potential
candidate of the future for the organization and also the brand ambassador of its HR policies
and practices. However, many organizations are still treating their employees as "expendable
resources" and discharging them in an unplanned manner whenever they choose to do so.

Each organization must have comprehensive separation policies and procedures to treat the
departing employees equitably and ensure smooth transition for them. Further, each employee
can provide a wealth of information to the organization at the time of separation. Exit
interviews can be conducted by the HR department to ascertain the views of the leaving

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 employees about different aspects of the organization, including the efficacy of its HR
policies.

Reasons for Separation

Employee separation constitutes the final stage in the staffing process of an organization.An
employee can leave the organization for any reason which he deems fit for seeking separation.
However, separation is classified basically into two types. These are: voluntary separation and
involuntary separation. Voluntary separation refers to the separation of employees on their
own request, while involuntary separation means the separation of employees for
organizational reasons which are beyond the control of the employees. We shall now discuss
the causes of these separations in detail.

Voluntary Separation: Voluntary separation, which normally begins after a request is placed
in this regard by the employee, can happen due to two reasons: professional reason and
personal reason. We shall now discuss these reasons in detail.

Professional reasons Employees may seek separation when they decide to seek better
positions, responsibilities and status outside the present organization. Efficient employees
would seek to expand their realm of knowledge and skills continuously by working in
different capacities/positions in various organizations. In their quest for greater responsibility,
power and status, they may seek separation from the organization.

Personal reasons: The important personal reasons for voluntary separation are relocation for
family reasons like marriage of the employees and health crisis of family members, maternity
and child-rearing. For instance, when working women get married, they often prefer to settle
in the partners place of occupation. Similarly, an employee may seek voluntary separation to
look after the child or parent.

Involuntary Separation As mentioned earlier, an involuntary separation is caused by the

factors which remain beyond the purview of the employees. However, these factors may be
classified broadly into health problems, behavioural problems and organizational problems.
We shall now discuss these factors in detail

Health problems Major health problems crippling the employees may make them invalid or
unfit to continue in the profession. For instance, accidents causing permanent disabilities and
illness of the employees like brain stroke and other terminal illnesses can lead to their
involuntary separation. Death of employees is another factor which results in their involuntary
separation.

Behavioural problems An employee's objectionable and unruly behaviour within the

organization may also lead to his involuntary separation from the organization. When the
employees behaviour is unethical or violates the code of conduct in force, the organization
may initiate disciplinary actions, which may eventually result in his termination. This may
constitute an act of involuntary separation. Consistent failure to reach performance goals by
an employee can also result in his involuntary separation.

Organizational problems Organizational problems are another important factor that

contributes to the involuntary separation of employees. The poor financial performance of an
organization may cause it to terminate the services of some of its employees as part of cost
control measure. Such terminations are also classified as involuntary separation. Similarly,
automation, organizational restructuring and rationalization can also result in employee
termination, discharge or layoff, broadly called involuntary separation.

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