Q1). What is a profession? Is personnel a profession in India?

Discuss with reasons

Ans) A profession is defined as a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive
preparation, including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical, or
scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, maintaining by force of organization or
concerted opinion high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing its members to
continued study and to a kind of work which has for its prime purpose the rendering of public service.

Any professional has three major characteristics. These are as follows:

1). Their qualifications, usually of a specific body of knowledge. This knowledge has some practical
applications and it is beneficial for others.
2). Their membership of a professional association to improve professional skills. They should always be in
search of improving their skills.
3). Their code of ethics, which guides them towards the desired goals. They should exhibit a high level of
commitment for the welfare of the society.

Personnel is a profession in India as to be a professional there needs to be satisfaction of some

characteristics. A professional must exhibit academic qualifications. A professional must be committed
towards his work and should be a member of some professional association. In India, these days there is a
requirement of qualification to become a personnel officer. Many Business Schools have started issuing
MBA degree in Human Relations management. Generally personnel behave in a committed fashion and
there are many HR related associations where the HR resources can associate themselves.

Q3). What is Human Resource Planning (HRP)? Discuss the purposes and process of HRP?
Ans). Human Resource planning is a process of including forecasting, developing and controlling – by
which a firm ensures that it has the right number of people and the right kind of people at the right places at
the right time doing thing for which they are economically most useful.

Miner and Miner have also pointed out that manpower planning attempts to ensure that the right number and
the right kind of people will be at the right places at the right time in the future, capable of doing things
needed so that the organization can continue to achieve its goal.

Purpose for Human Resource Planning

Human Resource Planning is essential for every organization because:

• Human resource planning helps in detailing the number and kind of personnel required for carrying
out the operations or rendering services or conducting business in an organization.
• Human resource planning spells out the qualifications, skills, expertise, knowledge, experience,
physical abilities, occupation groups, etc of personnel required in an organization.
• Human resource planning gives adequate lead time for recruitment, selection, training and
development of personnel because manpower planning anticipates the need for various types of skill
requirement and level of personnel, well in advance.
• Human resource planning can be instrumental in reducing the cost of production as through it the
labor can be effectively controlled and utilized.
• It is necessary because there is a constant need for replacing people who retire, die, resign or get
physically incapable or reporting for duty, or are promoted or dismissed.
• Human resource planning is essential for meeting the fresh demands of personnel caused due to
business growth or expansion of the organization.
Forms of Manpower Planning

Manpower planning can be of two types:

Short term Manpower Planning -

This mainly aims at two things namely matching employees to their present jobs and filing unexpected
vacancies from amongst the existing employees in a short period.

• Long term Manpower Planning

Though long-term manpower planning can be of any duration, five-year period appears to be more
reasonable. However this five-year manpower plan should be a rolling plan. In other words, every year a
five-year manpower plan should be made. Only in this way, can the plan be kept realistic and functioning.

Process of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning process is a very complex and multi-step process and embraces within its folds the
following:

Identify Objectives

Assessing Business Plan

Forecasting Requirements

Manpower Audits

Job Analysis

Developing HR Plan

A). Objectives of HR Planning

Some of the most common objectives of a human resource plan are as follows:
 • Making correct estimates of manpower requirements
• Making a sound recruitment and selection policy
• Making sound training and development policy
• Managing the manpower according to the requirements of the organizations.
• Maintaining the production level.
• Maintaining good human and industrial relations.
• Getting information about the matter in which existing personnel are deployed
• Making proper and effective use of existing manpower.

B). Business Plan

Having determined the objectives of the organization, the next important step in the process of manpower
planning is to prepare business plan i.e. to arrive at the scale of business activity over a period of time to
enable to estimate the structure and size of the organization from time to time. This is to be done keeping in
view all the factors of the internal and external environment.

C). Forecasting

A lot of forecasting techniques, many of which are highly mathematical, statistical and sophisticated, have
been developed. For the forecast to be useful, the future manpower estimates should be made clear as
follows:

• The functional Category

• The number required
• The levels at which they are required.

The above estimates have to be assessed under two heads namely Growth of the establishment and Turnover
(Predictable and Unpredictable).

D). Manpower Audit

Having determines the manpower needs of the organization over a period of time; the next step in the
process of manpower planning is to audit the existing manpower in the organization. The primary objective
of auditing the existing manpower to come to know what exists in the stock and what needs to be added to
that stock, i.e. it gives an indication of the gap that needs to be filled in through external sources.

E). Job Analysis

Once Human resource auditing is done, and a list of future vacancies over a period of time is prepared, it is
essential to prepare a job analysis. Job analysis provides information about the nature of the job and the
characteristics and qualifications that are desirable in the jobholder.

F). Developing a Human Resource Plan

After having done job analysis, the next step in the process of human resource planning is to work out a plan
identifying the sources of manpower supply so that these sources can be tapped as and when required. These
sources may comprise:

• Internal Sources
• External Sources
Q4). Write short notes on any three of the following:
Ans).

Job evaluation

Job evaluation is the methods and practices of ordering jobs or positions with respect to their value or
worth to the organization. Job Evaluation (JE) is a method for assessing the work value of positions. It
provides a systematic, defensible approach for grading positions. In evaluating a job, the position's
requirements are compared to detailed standard definitions to find the level of each factor, which most
accurately describes the characteristics of the position. Increasingly job evaluation is finding a
rejuvenated role as a dynamic tool for driving forward changes in organizations' reward structures. But
its main function remains the provision of a rational basis for comparing the relative worth of jobs.
While job evaluation is not an exact science, the aim is to achieve as high a degree of objectivity as
possible in grading decisions.

Job Analysis

Procurement of personnel for the organization is the first operative function of personnel management.
Therefore before recruitment takes place, it is necessary to determine the duties, responsibilities and
requirements of a particular job known as job description and the minimum acceptable human qualities
necessary to perform that job properly and effectively known as job specifications. Both Job description and
job specification are the two immediate products of job analysis. Hence it can be stated that Job Analysis is
the procedure by which the facts with respect to each job are systematically discovered and noted. It is
sometimes called Job Study, suggesting the care with which the tasks, processes, responsibilities and
personnel requirements are investigated. Job Analysis is the process of data collection. Following are the
steps covered in Job Analysis.

• Data Collection (Questionnaires, Written narrations, Personal Observation, Personal Interviews)

• Filling Job Description
• Preparing Job Specification
• Writing report
• Getting the final approval.

Job Analysis is a very important tool that is used in Manpower Planning, recruitment, selection, placement,
training, orientation and inducting new employees, job evaluation, performance appraisals, occupational
counseling, job re-engineering etc.

Recruitment

Recruitment is the process by which a large number of prospective candidates are attracted by various
methods to apply for the positions available. According to Edwin, “Recruitment is the process of searching
for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization”. As the objective of
recruitment is to attract a large number of potential candidates for the jobs available, it is concerned to be a
positive concept. Selection, on the other hand is often termed negative because it tends to eliminate
applicants leaving only the best to be appointed. Every organization should have a well-thought and well-
laid recruitment policy. The best recruitment policy should have the following features:

• All employment activity must center in one place.

• Authorized by competent authority
• The number of people should not exceed number of vacant positions.
• Job analysis should take place before recruitment.
 • Job specifications should be implemented.
• Recruitment should be fair.
• Recruitment should be done by trained and skilled staff

Following are the few methods of recruitment.

• Direct Method
• Indirect Method
• Third Party Method.

360-degree performance appraisal

This is one of the modern methods of performance appraisals. This technique has its origin in the assessment
of Generic Electric, US 1992 and its main user companies include American Express, General Electronics
India (GE), Godrej Soaps and Reliance Industries Ltd. Its description comprises evaluation of manager’s
approach to work, quality of interaction with colleagues et al by his bosses, peons and subordinates. Its
method of application includes administering structured questionnaire to assesee’s colleagues. It also
involves presenting findings to assessee in the form of charts and graphs. This hot new form of assessment,
known as 360-degree feedback, involves having a manager rated by everyone above, alongside, and below
him. Every company wants to know everything about a man. That’s why 360-degree method should be on
top of a CEO’s wish list and that’s why the companies referred to above and some others are using this
technique to find out home truths about their managers.

Collective bargaining

Collective Bargaining, an essential element of economic democracy, is a two party procedure for arriving at
a commonly agreed solution. According to the Encyclopedia of social sciences, collective bargaining is “a
process of discussion and negotiation between two parties, one or both of whom is a group of persons acting
in concert. The resulting bargain is an understanding as to the terms and conditions under which a
continuing service is to be performed. More specifically, collective bargaining is a procedure by which
employers and a group of employees agree upon the conditions of work. The word “collective” merely
indicates that the representatives are trying to negotiate an agreement for group of persons. Bargaining is the
process of meeting, presenting demands, discussing, presenting counter-offers, haggling, cajoling,
threatening, and a whole host of other activities which go in to the negotiation of the agreement. The term
“Collective Bargaining” therefore denotes collective negotiations of a contract between management’s
representative on one side and those of the workers on the other.

Q5). What is ‘Career’ and why is career planning becoming more important in today’s competitive
world?
Ans). Career is a set of all the jobs that are held during one’s working life. Career can also be defined as the
general progression of one’s working or professional life. Career is a particular occupation on which one is
trained. Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation, getting a job, growing
in our job, possibly changing careers, and eventually retiring. Career is divided in to many stages. These are
explained below.

• Exploration – The exploratory stage is the period of transition from college to work i.e. the period
immediately prior to employment.
 • Establishment – This career stage begins as one starts seeking for work. It includes getting one’s first
job.
• Mid – Career – During this stage the performance may increase or decrease or may remain constant.
While some employees may reach their goals at the early stage and may achieve greater heights. This
stage comes when an employee have some years of experience.
• Late-Career – This is the later stage of the career, when the employees have worked for many years
in the industry. In this phase there is nothing new to learn.
• Decline – This is the final stage of one’s career; it ends in the retirement of the employee after
putting up decades of service full of continuous achievements and success stories.

Process of career Planning

The various steps included in the career planning are as follows:

• Analyzing the skills, aptitudes, knowledge, competence etc of the employee

• Identifying and analyzing the career opportunities available in the organization as well as outside the
organization.
• Analyzing career demands like skills, knowledge, competence etc.
• Relating specific jobs to different careers.
• Working out both short-term and long-term goals.
• Working out career strategies in the areas of change or adjustments.
• Preparing action plan and acquiring resources
• Execution of action plan.

Career Planning is very important in today’s competitive world. Career planning is beneficial to both
employee and organization. Employees are benefited because they are able to have more realistic goals and
expectations, better feedback about their performance, better communication, and behavioral and functional
skills, and better career decisions. The organizations are also benefited because of the improved skills and
understanding of the employees, better communication within the organization, greater retention of the
valued employees, greater clarification of organizational goals, increased effectiveness of personnel systems
of the organization, and expanded public image of the organization as a people developer. Career Planning
also helps in following things.

• Effectively organize your career search.

• Discover your true purpose and career path
• Match your interests with several career paths
• Explore and research your career choices
• Establish a personal mission statement and career goals
• Lay out a roadmap for achieving your ideal career
• Stay on track and moving forward towards your dreams

Q6). Why are employees often unhappy with the performance appraisal done in the organization?
Discuss the important errors that can happen during performance appraisals.

Ans). Following are some of the reasons why people are unhappy with the performance appraisals in the
organization.
 • In the conventional performance appraisal or review process, the manager annually writes his
opinions of the performance of a reporting staff member on a document supplied by the HR
department. In some organizations, the staff member is asked to fill out a self-review to share with
the supervisor. Most of the time, the appraisal reflects what the manager can remember; this is
usually the most recent events. Almost always, the appraisal is based on opinions as real
performance measurement takes time and follow-up to do well. The documents in use in many
organizations also ask the supervisor to make judgments based on concepts and words such as
“excellent performance,” “exhibits enthusiasm,” and “achievement oriented.”

• Many managers are uncomfortable in the role of judge, so uncomfortable, in fact, that performance
appraisals are often months overdue. The HR professional, who manages the appraisal system, finds
his most important roles are to develop the form and maintain an employee official file, notify
supervisors of due dates, and then nag, nag, nag when the review is long overdue. Despite the fact
that annual raises are often tied to the performance evaluation, managers avoid doing them as long as
possible. This results in an unmotivated employee who feels his manager doesn’t care about him
enough to facilitate his annual raise

• The manager is uncomfortable in the judgment seat. He knows he may have to justify his opinions
with specific examples when the staff member asks. He lacks skill in providing feedback and often
provokes a defensive response from the employee, who may justifiably feel he is under attack.
Consequently, managers avoid giving honest feedback, which defeats the purpose of the review.

• In turn, the staff member whose performance is under review often becomes defensive. Whenever
his performance is rated as less than the best, or less than the level at which he personally perceives
his contribution, the manager is viewed as punitive. Disagreement about contribution and
performance ratings can create a conflict-ridden situation that festers for months. Most managers
avoid conflict that will undermine work place harmony. In today’s team-oriented work environment,
it is also difficult to ask people who work as colleagues, and sometimes even friends, to take on the
role of judge and defendant.

• Further compromising the situation, with salary increases frequently tied to the numerical rating or
ranking, the manager knows he is limiting the staff member’s increase if he rates his performance
less than “outstanding.” No wonder managers waffle, and in one organization with whom I worked,
ninety-six percent of all employees were rated “one.”

The most common errors in performance appraisals are as follows:

1. The centrality error is when everyone is assessed in an average manner because the assessor feels
that giving everyone average ratings will avoid the conflicts that may emerge if marginal or
outstanding performance is identified.
 2. An error due to leniency occurs when everyone is assessed at uniformly high levels. It occurs
because assessors feel that positive ratings will encourage future performance, or because they wish
to avoid the conflicts that may erupt if performance is assessed accurately, or if they wish to increase
their popularity as they are moving to a different role and they require support of others.

3. Another error which occurs is the sequencing effect error which occurs when exceptionally good
or bad feelings about one employee spill over into the evaluation of the employee to follow and thus
a true rating is not achieved.

4. Recency error occurs when an assessment is made on the basis of one positive or negative incident
that occurred shortly before the performance review rather than on the employee's performance
throughout the appraisal period.

5. The similarity error occurs where the manager judges more favorably those employees most like
himself. Thus an employee who is different compared to his boss suffers.

6. Contrast Error occurs when the employee is evaluated against another employee's performance,
rather than against pre-established job requirements. Here, an employee is not judged on his or her
own performance but in comparison to the performance of another employee.

7. First impression error occurs when an assessment is made on the basis of whatever judgment was
made about the employee when first introduced to the manager.

8. Error may also take place due to halo effect where one positive attribute reflects the employee’s
entire performance either positively or negatively and the overall rating does not accurately reflect
the employee's actual performance.

Overcoming errors

One must realize that the performance appraisal is a human endeavor and, as such, is ripe for human error. I
feel HR can do the company a great service by educating top bosses about the errors and how to avoid them.
Overcoming these errors requires understanding and tolerance.
In my opinion the most productive job appraisal ideally comes from a multitude of sources and hence the
assessor and assessee must be aware of how the company welcomes and encourages the use of multiple
ratings from sources such as assessments of coworkers and customers.
By allowing multiple people to assess the same employee and treating these opinions as important rather
than as "just second opinions" the candidate will be assured that his/her assessment is not in the hands of just
a single person. This will be music for people who don't get along well with their assessors.