1.

Management Process and Organisation Behavior – 0038

Management Process and Organisation Behavior

Following are the 15 topics/Units we learn in this paper

1. Management Process
2. Introduction & Foundations of Organisational Behavior
3. Learning Ability
4. Value, Attitude & Job Satisfaction
5. Personality
6. Emotions
7. Perception
8. Motivation
9. Leadership
10. Group Behavior
11. Power & Politics
12. Conflict Management
13. Stress Management
14. Organization Change
15. Organization Development

Here i am trying to create a sample question & answer, which may help students who are not able to attend class, specially for working
professionals

Q: What are the groups/ steps in  management functions ?

A: Management functions are regrouped into four main functions:
1. Planning,
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Controlling

Q: What are the different process involves in management process ?

A : The management process includes : planning, organising, staffing, directing, controlling, deciding and evaluating. Different implications are :
1. Social Process.
2. Integrated Process.
3. Continuous Process.
4. Interactive Process

Q: What is SWOT?
A: SWOT analysis is a simple framework for generating strategic alternatives from a situation analysis, this type of analysis frequently appears
in marketing plan.
S – Strengths.
W – Weakness.
O – Opportunities.
T – Threats.

Introduction & Foundations of Organisational Behavior

1. What is Organizational Behaviour?

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does
this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole
organization, and whole social system.

2. What are the elements of Organizational Behaviour?

The organization’s base rests on management’s philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is
composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment.

3. What is the purpose of the study of Organizational Behaviour?

Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives.

4. What are social systems?

A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways. Within an organization, the social system includes all the
people in it and their relationships to each other and to the outside world. The behavior of one member can have an impact, either directly or
indirectly, on the behavior of others. Also, the social system does not have boundaries… it exchanges goods, ideas, culture, etc. with the
environment around it.

5. What is Organizational Development?

Organization Development (OD) is the systematic application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels, such as group, inter-group,
organization, etc., to bring about planned change. Its objectives is a higher quality of work-life, productivity, adaptability, and effectiveness.

Learning Ability

1. What is Organizational learning?

Learning is a characteristic of an adaptive organization, i.e., an organization that is able to sense changes in signals from its environment (both
internal and external) and adapt accordingly

2. Give the formula for Organizational learning?

Action Learning can be viewed as a formula: [L = P + Q]:

 Learning (L) occurs through a combination of

 programmed knowledge (P) and
 the ability to ask insightful questions (Q).

3. What are bad habits?

Some destructive behaviour patterns that refer to deep-rooted psychological flaws that translates into consistently problematic behaviour. Their
bad habits are a central part of their personalities. They create their own glass ceilings, limit their success and their contributions to the company.
Sometimes, these bad habits destroy their careers.

4. Who is a meritocrat?

One who believes that the best ideas can and will be determined objectively and thus will always prevail because of their clear merit; ignores the
politics inherent in most situations

5. What are the root causes of bad habits?

Bad habits grow out of a mix of an individual’s genes and environmental influences, such as family and peer relationships.

Value, Attitude & Job Satisfaction

1. What are values?

Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode
of conduct or end-state of existence.

2. What are the types of values?

 Terminal values: Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.
 Instrumental values: Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values.

3. What are attitudes?

Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events.

4. What is power distance and cognitive dissonance?

Power distance: A national culture attribute describing the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is
distributed equally.

Cognitive dissonance: Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behaviour and attitudes.

5. What is the difference between job satisfaction and productivity?

Satisfied workers aren’t necessarily more productive. Worker productivity is higher in organizations with more satisfied workers.

Personality

1. What is personality?

The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.

2. Define extroversion and conscientiousness?

Extroversion: A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive.

Conscientiousness: A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

3. What is locus of control?

The degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate.

Internals: Individuals who believe that they control what happens to them.

Externals: Individuals who believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance.

4. What is type-A personality?

 Are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly

 feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place
  strive to think or do two or more things at once
 cannot cope with leisure time
 are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire.

5. What is type-B personality?

 Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience

 feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation
 play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost
 can relax without guilt

Emotions

1. What are emotions and how are they different from moods?

Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something are called emotions. Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a
contextual stimulus are called Moods.

2. What is emotional intelligence?

An assortment of non-cognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a person’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental
demands and pressures.

3. What is emotional labor?

A situation in which an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions.

4. What are felt emotions?

An individual’s actual emotions are called as felt emotions.

5. What are displayed emotions?

Emotions that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job.

Perception

1. What is perception?

A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

2. What is attribution theory?

When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused.

3. Explain distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency?

Distinctiveness: shows different behaviors in different situations

Consensus: Response is the same as others to same situation

Consistency: Response in the same way over time

4. What is fundamental attribution error?

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about
the behaviour of others.

5. What is Halo effect?

Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic.

Motivation

1. What is Management by objectives (MBO)?

A program that encompasses specific goals, participatively set, for an explicit time period, with feedback on goal progress.

2. What is employee involvement program?

A participative process that uses the entire capacity of employees and is designed to encourage increased commitment to the organization’s
success.

3. Explain Job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment?

Job rotation: The periodic shifting of a worker from one task to another.

Job enlargement: The horizontal expansion of jobs

Job enrichment: The vertical expansion of jobs

4. How to motivate employees in the organizations?

 Recognize individual differences

 Use goals and feedback
 Allow employees to participate in decisions that affect them
 Link rewards to performance
 Check the system for equity

5. Define flextime and job sharing?

Flextime: Employees work during a common core time period each day but have discretion in forming their total workday from a flexible set of
hours outside the core.

Job sharing: The practice of having two or more people split a 40-hour-a-week job.

Leadership

1. What is leadership?

Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals.

2. Differentiate trait theory and behavioral theory?

Trait theory: Leaders are born, not made.

Behavioral theory: Leadership traits can be taught.

3. Differentiate employee-oriented leader and production-oriented leader?

Employee oriented leader: Emphasizing interpersonal relations, taking a personal interest in the needs of employees and accepting individual
differences among members

Production oriented leader: One who emphasizes technical or task aspects of the job.

4. Who is a development oriented leader?

One who values experimentation, seeking new ideas, and generating and implementing change.

5. What is path-goal theory?

The theory that it is the leader’s job to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide them the necessary direction and/or support to
ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or organization.

Group Behavior

1. What is group?

Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

2. Define different types of groups?

 Formal group: A designated work group defined by the organization structure

 Informal group: A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social
contact
 Command group: A group composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager
 Interest group: Those working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned
 Task group: Those working together to complete a job task
 Friendship group: Those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics

3. Why people join groups?

 Security
 Status
 Self-esteem
 Affiliation
 Power
 Goal achievement

4. What is groupthink?

A phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

5. What is groupshift?

A change in decision risk between the group’s decision and the individual decision that members within the group would make; can be either
toward conservatism or greater risk.

Power & Politics

1. What is power?

A capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.

2. What are power tactics?

Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions. Different types of influence tactics are: Legitimacy, rational, inspirational
appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure, coalitions.

3. What is political behaviour?

Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of
advantages or disadvantages within the organization.

4. Distinguish legitimate and illegitimate political behaviour?

Legitimate political behaviour: Normal everyday politics

Illegitimate political behaviour: Extreme political behaviour that violates the implied rules of the game.

5. What are the various employee reactions to organizational politics?

 Decreased job satisfaction

 Increased anxiety and stress
 Increased turnover
 Reduced performance

Conflict Management

1. How is conflict defined?

Conflict is the process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something
that the first party cares about.

2. What are the types of conflict?

 Task conflict: Conflict over content and goals of work

 Relationship conflict: Conflict based on interpersonal relationships
 Process conflict: Conflict over how work gets done

3. Distinguish between perceived conflict and felt conflict?

Perceived conflict: Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise.

Felt conflict: Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility.

4. What is conflict management?

The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict is called conflict management.

5. What are the various conflict management techniques?

 Problem solving
  Superordinate goals
 Expansion of resources
 Avoidance
 Smoothing
 Compromise
 Authoritative command
 Altering the human variable
 Altering the structural variable
 Communication
 Bringing in outsiders
 Restructuring the organization
 Appointing a devil’s advocate

Stress Management

1. Define work stress?

A dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint (or demand) related to what he or she desires and for
which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

2. What are the potential sources of stress?

 Environmental factors
 Organizational factors
 Individual factors
 Individual differences

3. What are the consequences of stress?

 Physiological symptoms
 Psychological symptoms
 Behavioral symptoms

4. How to manage stress?

 Individual approaches: relaxation, expanding social support network, etc

 Employee counselling
 Organizational approaches: realistic goal setting, increased employee involvement, etc

5. Define constraints and demands?

Constraints are the forces that prevent individuals from doing what they desire.

Demands are loss of something desired.

Organization Change

1. Define change, planned change, and who are change agents?

Change is to make things different. Planned change are activities that are intentional and goal oriented. Persons who act as catalysts and assume
the responsibility for managing change activities.

2. What are the forms of resistance to change?

  Overt and immediate: Voicing complaints, engaging in job actions
 Implicit and deferred: Loss of employee loyalty and motivation, increased errors and mistakes, increased absenteeism.

3. How to overcome resistance to change?

 Education and communication

 Participation
 Facilitation and support
 Negotiation
 Manipulation and cooptation
 Coercion

4. Describe Lewin’s change model?

 Unfreezing: Change efforts to overcome pressures of both individual resistance and group conformity.
 Driving forces: Forces that direct behaviour away from the status quo.
 Restraining forces: Forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium.
 Refreezing: Stabilizing a change intervention by balancing driving and restraining forces.

5. What is action research?

A change process based on systematic collection of data and then selection of a change action based on what the analysed data indicate.

Organization Development

1. What is organizational development?

A collection of planned interventions, built on humanistic-democratic values, that seeks to improve organizational effectiveness and employee
well-being.

2. What is team building?

High interaction among team members to increase trust and openness.

3. What are the various team building activities?

 Goal and priority setting

 Developing interpersonal relations
 Role analysis to each member’s role and responsibilities
 Team process analysis

4. Who are called the idea champions?

Individuals who take an innovation and actively and enthusiastically promote the idea, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure that the
idea is implemented.

5. What is a learning organization?

An organization that has developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change is called as a learning organization.
 2. Business Communication – 0039

Business Communication
1. Basic Principles of Communication
2. Types & Channels of Communication
3. The Nature of Business Communication
4. The Importance of Listening in the Workplace
5. Guidelines of written business communication
6. Developing Oral Business Communication
7. Reading Skills of Effective Business communication
8. Internal Business communication – Guidelines for meetings
9. Internal Business Communication – Writings Memos, Circular and Notices
10. Internal Business Communication – Electronic Media & Shareholder communication
11. External Business Communication – Writings Business Letters
12. Other Forms of External Business Communication
13. Writing Business Report
14. Employment communication – Resumes & Cover Letters
15. Employment communication group discussion & Interviews

Basic Principles of Communication

1. What is communication?

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions
between at least two agents. Communication is commonly defined as “the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by
speech, writing, or signs.”

2. What are the forms of communication?

There are various forms of communication. Based on communication channels:  1. Verbal communication 2. Non-verbal communication. Based
on style and purpose: 1. Formal communication 2. Informal communication.

3. What is the significance of communication?

Organizations are totally reliant on communication, which is defined as the exchange of ideas, messages, or information by speech, signals, or
writing. Without communication, organizations would not function. If communication is diminished or hampered, the entire organization suffers.
When communication is thorough, accurate, and timely, the organization tends to be vibrant and effective.

4. What are the basic principles of communication?

Whether one is speaking informally to a colleague, addressing a conference or meeting, writing a newsletter article or formal report, the
following basic principles apply:

 Know your audience

 Know your topic and purpose

 Present a multi-dimensional picture

 Open the subtopics in different stages

 Make the communication interactive

5. What is Business communication?

Business communication is used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and
similar issues. It is also a means of relying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer. In business, the term
communications encompasses various channels of communication, including the Internet, Print, Radio, Television, Ambient media, Outdoor,
and Word of mouth.

Types & Channels of Communication

1) What are the types of business communication?

There are two types of business communication in an organization:

 Internal Communication
  External Communication

2. What is internal communication?

Communication within an organization is called “Internal Communication”.It may be informal or a formal function or department providing
communication in various forms to employees. Good communication may help to increase job satisfaction, safety, productivity, and profits and
decrease grievances and turnover.

3. What is external communication?

Communication with people outside the company is called “external communication”. Supervisors communicate with sources outside the
organization, such as vendors and customers.

4. What are the various channels of communication?

There are several methods of business communication, including:

 Web-based communication – for better and improved communication, anytime anywhere

 e-mails, which provide an instantaneous medium of written communication worldwide;

 Reports – important in documenting the activities of any department;

 Presentations – very popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like
copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;

 telephoned meetings, which allow for long distance speech;

 forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location; and

 face-to-face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written follow up.

5. What are the uses of various channels of business communication?

Business Communication encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding, Customer relations, Consumer behaviour,
Advertising, Public relations, Corporate communication, Community engagement, Research & Measurement, Reputation management,
Interpersonal communication, Employee engagement, Online communication, and Event management. It is closely related to the fields of
professional communication and technical communication.

The Nature of Business Communication

1. What is good communication?

Good communication means that the message that you wish to send is received by the intended recipients without being distorted in any manner.
This is the reason why verbal communication is supposedly the best form of communication there can be. This is because there is very low
possibility of distortions and there is instant feedback to be received. But in the context of business this is not always possible chiefly because of
the ‘one to many’ nature of business communication.

2. How business communication works?

Most business communication is of a non-verbal type and can be anything from e-mails, letters, circulars, notices or memos. The use of these
methods lays even more emphasis on the importance of business communication. This is because there are no spoken words or feedback and
body language to fall back on. So if the message lacks clarity then it may result in various incorrect assumptions being made by the recipients.

3. What are the guidelines to written communication?

This requires all written communication to be concise and accurately worded. The sentences need to be examined for any unintended double
entrendes. You must remember that a confusing message may result in an unfavorable response from your intended audience.

4. Use of tools for business communication.

The modern tools of business communication can also work in your favor. They can be a universal mode of non-personalized communication
that you can look to use throughout your business set-up. They can help maintain an impersonal and formal tone and thus promote the concepts
of equality and uniformity in your organization.

5. What to manage cross-cultural communication?

Technological advances have made the world a smaller place and turned cross-cultural communication into an important dimension of any
business. So it’s best to learn something about the different ethnic groups that you may want to communicate with. This is because nuances can
make a big difference to the way that people perceive your message. This is true for both verbal and non verbal forms of communication. So you
should look to avoid stereotyping and be open to new ideas on how best to communicate with various groups of people.

The Importance of Listening in the Workplace

1. What is the importance of listening in communication?

The importance of listening in communication is enormous. People often focus on their speaking ability believing that good speaking equals
good communication. The ability to speak well is a necessary component to successful communication. The ability to listen is equally as
important.

2. What are the advantages of good listening skills?

Good listening skills make workers more productive. The ability to listen carefully will allow you to:

 better understand assignments and what is expected of you;

 build rapport with co-workers, bosses, and clients;

 show support;

 work better in a team-based environment;

 resolve problems with customers, co-workers, and bosses;

 answer questions; and

 find underlying meanings in what others say.

3. What can be done to improve the listening skills?

 maintain eye contact;

 don’t interrupt the speaker;

 sit still;

 nod your head;

 lean toward the speaker;

 repeat instructions and ask appropriate questions when the speaker has finished.

4. What do people ignore listening?

 bias or prejudice;

 language differences or accents;

 noise;

 worry, fear, or anger; and

 lack of attention span.

5. What is active listening?

Active listening is a communication technique. Active listening requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what they hear. The
ability to listen actively can improve personal relationships through reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, and fostering understanding.

Guidelines of written business communication

1. What is written communication?

Written communication is very important aspect of business communication. It is important to fix accountability and responsibility of people in
organization. This requires more of written communication (much of paper work). Everything should be communicated in written by the
manager to the people in the organization. Written messages can be saved for future references and cannot be denied.
2. Why is good written communication useful?

Good written communication contributes to success of an organization. It helps in building goodwill of an organization. Written business
communication includes – letters, memoranda, agenda, manuals, reports etc.

3. How are business letters written?

It must have a good appealing layout. The content of the letter should be clear in mind of the writer. The letter must be divided into paragraphs.
It must have subject written and should be enclosed in an envelope. It should be surely used for future reference. It should be carefully written as
it has an impact on goodwill of the organization. Examples of Business letters are – sales letters, information letters, problem letters etc.

4. What are memoranda and reports?

Memoranda: Memos are generally short means of written communication within an organization. They are used to convey specific information
to the people within an organization.

Reports: A report is prepared after lot of investigation. Whatever observations are made, an account of them is written in the report. Reports are
important for analyzing the performance of the organization. It helps in taking important decisions within an organization.

5. What are the guidelines for writing an Agenda?

Agenda is an outline about all the contents of the meeting. It tells what the purpose of the meeting is and where the participants are heading.
While designing an agenda one should be very specific. Designing an agenda beforehand helps the people to come prepared for the meeting.

Developing Oral Business Communication

1. What is the purpose of Oral business communication?

Communication is used daily to talk to friends, make business proposals and pass legislation. It is the exchange of messages between a sender
and a receiver. Effective communication is the ability to send a message and have it be understood in its entirety. Oral communication is used in
business to make deals, sell products and train employees.

2. What is public oral communication?

Public oral communication is any message sent or received by a group of people. Public oral communication can be a press conference, a
presidential speech or a business presentation. Public oral communication is also referred to as mass communication or mass media. Public oral
communication is more sensitive to the general perception of society and is often developed to not offend or send a message that may be
questionable.

3. What is interpersonal oral communication?

Interpersonal oral communication is the exchange of words between two individuals. This form of communication is commonly seen between
friends, co-workers and within families, but is not limited to people who know one another.

4. What is the significance of interpersonal oral communication?

The purpose of interpersonal communication is to build and maintain relationships. Effective interpersonal oral communication will encourage,
educate and inspire. Interpersonal oral communication is the most effective when one is able to predict what the other person will understand.

5. What are the considerations in oral communications?

In order for communication to be the most effective, verbal (oral) and nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions, body language and
tone of voice) must agree. For example, if a person says, “you’re doing a great job,” but says it in an angry tone of voice, the message may be
confusing or misunderstood.

Internal Business communication – Guidelines for meetings

1. What is internal business communication?

Internal communications is a generic expression for all communication (formal and informal) that an organization undertakes with its
close stakeholders — i.e. those people with whom it has a relationship that requires support, principally direct/indirect employees and/or
members. The main purpose of formal internal communications is to inform employees or members of the direction and performance of the
organization (and/or team) to which they belong.

2. What are the formal channels of internal communications?

 Electronic: email, intranet, newsletters, conference calls, etc

  Print: magazines, brochures, posters, etc

 Face-to-face: team meetings, conferences, consultation forums, round-table discussions, etc

 Workspace: the working environment

3. What are the various forms of communications in team meetings?

 Verbal (e.g. memos, reports, change orders)

 Oral (e.g. presentations, phone calls, meetings)

 Schematic (e.g. circuit diagrams, flow charts, blue prints)

 Gestural

4. How is communication important in meetings?

Meetings are one of the most common—and useful—forms of communication in any team. This is because a meeting can address almost any
likely situation, and will fit both formal and informal occasions.

5. What are the common meeting formats?

One-on-ones: Normally held weekly, these informal meetings between the team leader and each individual team member are ideal for
motivating people, catching up on progress, and ensuring that any problems are identified and dealt with promptly.

Full team meeting:. These are held regularly (perhaps monthly, or alternatively, every 1 or 2 weeks) so that all team members are updated on
each area or task. Team meetings are useful for identifying and addressing gaps or slippage in schedules, and for ensuring that all parts of the
“big picture” come together.

Presentations: More formal affairs, presentations are often held to impart messages to key stakeholders—such as the users, project sponsor, or
shareholders—to keep them informed and to maintain buy-in.

Internal Business Communication – Writings Memos, Circular and Notices

1. What are the written methods in workplace communication?

 Letters

 Reports

 Manuals

 Minutes

 E-mails

 Memoranda

 Circulars

2. Explain about circulars.

Circulars are usually the least formal method of written communication within the workplace and will usually include various notices or
information relating to welfare and safety issues. This approach may also be utilised to inform employees of forthcoming events such as mufti-
days, work socials or presentations.

3. What are memoranda?

Memos are generally short means of written communication within an organization. They are used to convey specific information to the people
within an organization.

4. What are manuals?

Manuals are used by an organisation as a means of having written records of established practices such as instructions on how to undertake
specific tasks and work policies. A manual will help new employees to understand key procedures and approaches and then put these into
practice in their daily work. In simple terms manuals are sets of instructions which can be used as a point of reference within then workplace
environment.

5. What is minutes of meeting (MOM)?

Most business meetings, especially those which are formal, will have an individual present whose task is to record the minutes. Minutes are
basically a written record of key information or occurrence within a meeting. They will typically include any significant decisions or agreements
and provide a useful summary of key issues or points raised within any discussions.

3. Statistics For Management – 0040

Statistics For Management

1. Introduction
2. Statistical Survey
3. Classification, Tabulation & Presentation of data
4. Measures used to summarise data
5. Probabilities
6. Theoretical Distributions
7. Sampling & Sampling Distributions
8. Estimation
9. Testing of Hypothesis in case of large & small samples
10. Chi-Square
11. F-Distribution and Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
12. Simple correlation and Regression
13. Business Forecasting
14. Time Series Analysis
15 . Index Numbers

Indian B2B site for Manufacturers & Exporters

Q: What’s the definition of Statistics ?

A : Statistics are usually defined as:
1. A collection of numerical data that measure something.
2. The science of recording, organising, analysing and reporting quantitative information.

Q: What are the different components of statistics ?

A: There are four components as per Croxton & Cowden
1. Collection of Data.
2. Presentation of Data
3. Analysis of Data
4. Interpretation of Data

Q: What’s the use of Correlation & Regression ?

A: Correlation & Regression is a statistical tools, are used to measure strength of relationships between two variables.

Q. What is the need for Statistics?

Statistics gives us a technique to obtain, condense, analyze and relate numerical data. Statistical methods are of a supreme value in education and
psychology.

Q. How is statistics used in everyday life?

Statistics are everywhere, election predictions are statistics, anything food product that says they x% more or less of a certain ingredient is a
statistic. Life expectancy is a statistic. If you play card games card counting is using statistics. There are tons of statistics everywhere you look.

Statistical Survey

1. What is statistical survey?

Statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population. A survey may focus on opinions or factual
information depending on its purpose, and many surveys involve administering questions to individuals. When the questions are administered by
a researcher, the survey is called a structured interview or a researcher-administered survey. When the questions are administered by
the respondent, the survey is referred to as a questionnaire or a self-administered survey.

2. What are the advantages of survey?

 Efficient way of collecting information

  Wide range of information can be collected

 Easy to administer

 Cheaper to run

3. What are the disadvantages of survey?

 Responses may be subjective

 Motivation may be low to answer

 Errors due to sampling

 If the question is not specific, it may lead to vague data.

4. What are the various modes of data collection?

 Telephone

 Mail

 Online surveys

 Personal survey

 Mall intercept survey

5. What is sampling?

“Sampling” basically means selecting people/objects from a “population” in order to test the population for something. For example, we might
want to find out how people are going to vote at the next election. Obviously we can’t ask everyone in the country, so we ask a sample.

Classification, Tabulation & Presentation of data

1. What are the types of data collection?

Qualitative Data

 Nominal, Attributable or Categorical data

 Ordinal or Ranked data

Quantitative or Interval data

 Discrete data

 Continuous measurements

2. What is tabulation of data?

Tabulation refers to the systematic arrangement of the information in rows and columns. Rows are the horizontal arrangement. In simple words,
tabulation is a layout of figures in rectangular form with appropriate headings to explain different rows and columns. The main purpose of the
table is to simplify the presentation and to facilitate comparisons.

3. What is presentation of data?

Descriptive statistics can be illustrated in an understandable fashion by presenting them graphically using statistical and data presentation tools.

4. What are the different elements of tabulation?

Tabulation:

 Table Number

 Title

 Captions and Stubs

 Headnotes
  Body

 Source

5. What are the forms of presentation of the data?

Grouped and ungrouped data may be presented as :

 Pie Charts

 Frequency Histograms

 Frequency Polygons

 Ogives

 Boxplots

Measures used to summarise data

1. What are the measures of summarizing data?

 Measures of Central tendency: Mean, median, mode

 Measures of Dispersion: Range, Variance, Standard Deviation

2. Define mean, median, and mode?

Mean: The mean value is what we typically call the “average.” You calculate the mean by adding up all of the measurements in a group and then
dividing by the number of measurements.

Median: Median is the middle most value in a series when arranged in ascending or descending order

Mode: The most repeated value in a series.

3. Which measure of central tendency is to be used?

The measure to be used differs in different contexts. If your results involve categories instead of continuous numbers, then the best measure of
central tendency will probably be the most frequent outcome (the mode). On the other hand, sometimes it is an advantage to have a measure of
central tendency that is less sensitive to changes in the extremes of the data.

4. Define range, variance and standard deviation?

The range is defined by the smallest and largest data values in the set.

Variance: The variance (σ2) is a measure of how far each value in the data set is from the mean.

Standard Deviation: it is the square root of the variance.

5. How can standard deviation be used?

The standard deviation has proven to be an extremely useful measure of spread in part because it is mathematically tractable.

Probablity

1. What is Probability?

Probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred.

2. What is a random experiment?

An experiment is said to be a random experiment, if it’s out-come can’t be predicted with certainty.

3. What is a sample space?

The set of all possible out-comes of an experiment is called the sample space. It is denoted by ‘S’ and its number of elements are n(s).

Example; In throwing a dice, the number that appears at top is any one of 1,2,3,4,5,6. So here:

S ={1,2,3,4,5,6} and n(s) = 6

Similarly in the case of a coin, S={Head,Tail} or {H,T} and n(s)=2.

4. What is an event? What are the different kinds of event?

Event: Every subset of a sample space is an event. It is denoted by ‘E’.

Example: In throwing a dice S={1,2,3,4,5,6}, the appearance of an event number will be the event E={2,4,6}.

Clearly E is a sub set of S.

Simple event: An event, consisting of a single sample point is called a simple event.

Example: In throwing a dice, S={1,2,3,4,5,6}, so each of {1},{2},{3},{4},{5} and {6} are simple events.

Compound event: A subset of the sample space, which has more than on element is called a mixed event.

Example: In throwing a dice, the event of appearing of odd numbers is a compound event, because E={1,3,5} which has ’3′ elements.

5. What is the definition of probability?

If ‘S’ be the sample space, then the probability of occurrence of an event ‘E’ is defined as:

P(E) = n(E)/N(S) =

number of elements in ‘E’

number of elements in sample space ‘S’

Theoretical Distributions

1. What are theoretical distributions?

Theoretical distributions are based on mathematical formulae and logic. It is used in statistics to define statistics. When empirical and theoretical
distributions correspond, you can use the theoretical one to determine probabilities of an outcome, which will lead to inferential statistics.

2. What are the various types of theoretical distributions?

 Rectangular distribution (or Uniform Distribution)

 Binomial distribution

 Normal distribution

3. Define rectangular distribution and binomial distribution?

Rectangular distribution: Distribution in which all possible scores have the same probability of occurrence.

Binomial distribution: Distribution of the frequency of events that can have only two possible outcomes.

4. What is normal distribution?

The normal distribution is a bell-shaped theoretical distribution that predicts the frequency of occurrence of chance events. The probability of an
event or a group of events corresponds to the area of the theoretical distribution associated with the event or group of event. The distribution is
asymptotic: its line continually approaches but never reaches a specified limit. The curve is symmetrical: half of the total area is to the left and
the other half to the right.

5. What is the central limit theorem?

This theorem states that when an infinite number of successive random samples are taken from a population, the sampling distribution of the
means of those samples will become approximately normally distributed with mean μ and standard deviation σ/√ N as the same size (N)
becomes larger, irrespective of the shape of the population distribution.

Sampling & Sampling Distributions

1. What is sampling distribution?

Suppose that we draw all possible samples of size n from a given population. Suppose further that we compute a statistic (mean, proportion,
standard deviation) for each sample. The probability distribution of this statistic is called Sampling Distribution.

2. What is variability of a sampling distribution?

The variability of sampling distribution is measured by its variance or its standard deviation. The variability of a sampling distribution depends
on three factors:

 N: the no. of observations in the population.

 n: the no. of observations in the sample

 The way that the random sample is chosen.

3. How to create the sampling distribution of the mean?

Suppose that we draw all possible samples of size n from a population of size N. Suppose further that we compute a mean score for each sample.
In this way we create the sampling distribution of the mean.

We know the following. The mean of the population (μ) is equal to the mean of the sampling distribution (μ x). And the standard error of the
sampling distribution (σx) is determined by the standard deviation of the population (σ), the population size, and the sample size. These
relationships are shown in the equations below:

μx = μ      and      σx = σ * sqrt( 1/n – 1/N )

4. What is the sampling distribution of the population?

In a population of size N, suppose that the probability of the occurence of an event (dubbed a “success”) is P; and the probability of the event’s
non-occurence (dubbed a “failure”) is Q. From this population, suppose that we draw all possible samples of size n. And finally, within each
sample, suppose that we determine the proportion of successes p and failures q. In this way, we create a sampling distribution of the proportion.

5. Show the mathematical expression of the sampling distribution of the population.

We find that the mean of the sampling distribution of the proportion (μ p) is equal to the probability of success in the population (P). And the
standard error of the sampling distribution (σp) is determined by the standard deviation of the population (σ), the population size, and the sample
size. These relationships are shown in the equations below:

μp = P      and      σp = σ * sqrt( 1/n – 1/N ) = sqrt[ PQ/n - PQ/N ]

where σ = sqrt[ PQ ].

Estimation

1. When will the sampling distribution be normally distributed?

Generally, the sampling distribution will be approximately normally distributed if any of the following conditions apply.

 The population distribution is normal.

 The sampling distribution is symmetric, unimodal, without outliers, and the sample size is 15 or less.

 The sampling distribution is moderately skewed, unimodal, without outliers, and the sample size is between 16 and 40.

 The sample size is greater than 40, without outliers.

2. Get the variability of the sample mean.

Suppose k possible samples of size n can be selected from a population of size N. The standard deviation of the sampling distribution is the
“average” deviation between the k sample means and the true population mean, μ. The standard deviation of the sample mean σ x is:

σx = σ * sqrt{ ( 1/n ) * ( 1 – n/N ) * [ N / ( N - 1 ) ] }

where σ is the standard deviation of the population, N is the population size, and n is the sample size. When the population size is much larger (at
least 10 times larger) than the sample size, the standard deviation can be approximated by:

σx = σ / sqrt( n )

3. How can standard error of the population calculated?

When the standard deviation of the population σ is unknown, the standard deviation of the sampling distribution cannot be calculated. Under
these circumstances, use the standard error. The standard error (SE) provides an unbiased estimate of the standard deviation. It can be calculated
from the equation below.

SEx = s * sqrt{ ( 1/n ) * ( 1 – n/N ) * [ N / ( N - 1 ) ] }

where s is the standard deviation of the sample, N is the population size, and n is the sample size. When the population size is much larger (at
least 10 times larger) than the sample size, the standard error can be approximated by:

SEx = s / sqrt( n )

4. How to find the confidence interval of the mean?

 Identify a sample statistic. Use the sample mean to estimate the population mean.

 Select a confidence level. The confidence level describes the uncertainty of a sampling method. Often, researchers choose 90%, 95%, or 99%
confidence levels; but any percentage can be used.

 Specify the confidence interval. The range of the confidence interval is defined by the sample statistic + margin of error. And the uncertainty
is denoted by the confidence level.

Testing of Hypothesis in case of large & small samples

1. What is a statistical hypothesis?

A statistical hypothesis is an assumption about a population parameter. This assumption may or may not be true.

2. What are the types of statistical hypothesis?

There are two types of statistical hypotheses.

 Null hypothesis. The null hypothesis, denoted by H0, is usually the hypothesis that sample observations result purely from chance.

 Alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis, denoted by H1 or Ha, is the hypothesis that sample observations are influenced by
some non-random cause.

3. What is hypothesis testing?

Statisticians follow a formal process to determine whether to reject a null hypothesis, based on sample data. This process is called hypothesis
testing.

4. Define the steps of hypothesis testing?

Hypothesis testing consists of four steps.

 State the hypotheses. This involves stating the null and alternative hypotheses. The hypotheses are stated in such a way that they are
mutually exclusive. That is, if one is true, the other must be false.

 Formulate an analysis plan. The analysis plan describes how to use sample data to evaluate the null hypothesis. The evaluation often
focuses around a single test statistic.

 Analyze sample data. Find the value of the test statistic (mean score, proportion, t-score, z-score, etc.) described in the analysis plan.

 Interpret results. Apply the decision rule described in the analysis plan. If the value of the test statistic is unlikely, based on the null
hypothesis, reject the null hypothesis.

5. What are decision errors?

Two types of errors can result from a hypothesis test.

 Type I error. A Type I error occurs when the researcher rejects a null hypothesis when it is true. The probability of committing a
Type I error is called the significance level. This probability is also called alpha, and is often denoted by α.

 Type II error. A Type II error occurs when the researcher fails to reject a null hypothesis that is false. The probability of committing a
Type II error is called Beta, and is often denoted by β. The probability of not committing a Type II error is called the Power of the
test.

6. How to arrive at a decision on hypothesis?

The decision rules can be taken in two ways – with reference to a P-value or with reference to a region of acceptance.

 P-value. The strength of evidence in support of a null hypothesis is measured by the P-value. Suppose the test statistic is equal to S.
The P-value is the probability of observing a test statistic as extreme as S, assuming the null hypotheis is true. If the P-value is less
than the significance level, we reject the null hypothesis.
  Region of acceptance. The region of acceptance is a range of values. If the test statistic falls within the region of acceptance, the null
hypothesis is not rejected. The region of acceptance is defined so that the chance of making a Type I error is equal to the significance
level.The set of values outside the region of acceptance is called the region of rejection. If the test statistic falls within the region of
rejection, the null hypothesis is rejected. In such cases, we say that the hypothesis has been rejected at the α level of significance.

7. Explain one-tailed and two-tailed tests?

A test of a statistical hypothesis, where the region of rejection is on only one side of the sampling distribution, is called a one-tailed test. For
example, suppose the null hypothesis states that the mean is less than or equal to 10. The alternative hypothesis would be that the mean is greater
than 10. The region of rejection would consist of a range of numbers located located on the right side of sampling distribution; that is, a set of
numbers greater than 10.

A test of a statistical hypothesis, where the region of rejection is on both sides of the sampling distribution, is called a two-tailed test. For
example, suppose the null hypothesis states that the mean is equal to 10. The alternative hypothesis would be that the mean is less than 10 or
greater than 10. The region of rejection would consist of a range of numbers located located on both sides of sampling distribution; that is, the
region of rejection would consist partly of numbers that were less than 10 and partly of numbers that were greater than 10.

What is Chi Sqare in Statistics?

Suppose Sachin plays 100 tests, and 20 times he made 50. Is he a good player ?

In statistics, the chi-square test calculates how well a series of numbers fits a distribution. In this module, we only test for whether results fit an
even distribution. It doesn’t simply say “yes” or “no”. Instead, it gives you a confidence interval, which sets upper and lower bounds on the
likelihood that the variation in your data is due to chance.

There are basically two types of random variables and they yield two types of data: numerical and categorical.

A chi square (X2) statistic is used to investigate whether distributions of categorical variables differ from one another. Basically categorical
variable yield data in the categories and numerical variables yield data in numerical form.

Responses to such questions as “What is your major?” or Do you own a car?” are categorical because they yield data such as “biology” or “no.”
In contrast, responses to such questions as “How tall are you?” or “What is your G.P.A.?” are numerical. Numerical data can be either discrete or
continuous.

Datatype Questiontype Possible answer

Categorical Where are you from ? India / USA / UK / Any country

Numerical How tall are you ? 70 inches

F-Distribution and Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

1. What is ANOVA?

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a collection of statistical models and their associated procedures in which the observed variance is partitioned
into components due to different sources of variation. ANOVA provides a statistical test of whether or not the means of several groups are all
equal.

2. What are the assumption in ANOVA?

The following assumptions are made to perform ANOVA:

 Independence of cases – this is an assumption of the model that simplifies the statistical analysis.

 Normality – the distributions of the residuals are normal.

 Equality (or “homogeneity”) of variances, called homoscedasticity — the variance of data in groups should be the same. Model-based
approaches usually assume that the variance is constant. The constant-variance property also appears in the randomization (design-
based) analysis of randomized experiments, where it is a necessary consequence of the randomized design and the assumption of unit
treatment additivity (Hinkelmann and Kempthorne): If the responses of a randomized balanced experiment fail to have constant
variance, then the assumption of unit treatment additivity is necessarily violated. It has been shown, however, that the F-test is robust
to violations of this assumption.

3. What is the logic of ANOVA?

Partitioning of the sum of squares

The fundamental technique is a partitioning of the total sum of squares (abbreviated SS) into components related to the effects used in the model.
For example, we show the model for a simplified ANOVA with one type of treatment at different levels.

So, the number of degrees of freedom (abbreviated df) can be partitioned in a similar way and specifies the chi-square distribution which
describes the associated sums of squares.

4. What is the F-test?

The F-test is used for comparisons of the components of the total deviation. For example, in one-way, or single-factor ANOVA, statistical
significance is tested for by comparing the F test statistic

where

I = number of treatments

and

nT = total number of cases

to the F-distribution with I − 1,nT − I degrees of freedom. Using the F-distribution is a natural candidate because the test statistic is the quotient
of two mean sums of squares which have a chi-square distribution.

5. Why is ANOVA helpful?

ANOVAs are helpful because they possess a certain advantage over a two-sample t-test. Doing multiple two-sample t-tests would result in a
largely increased chance of committing a type I error. For this reason, ANOVAs are useful in comparing three or more means.

Simple correlation and Regression

1. What is correlation?

Correlation is a measure of association between two variables. The variables are not designated as dependent or independent.

2. What can be the values for correlation coefficient?

The value of a correlation coefficient can vary from -1 to +1. A -1 indicates a perfect negative correlation and a +1 indicated a perfect positive
correlation. A correlation coefficient of zero means there is no relationship between the two variables.

3. What is the interpretation of the correlation coefficient values?

When there is a negative correlation between two variables, as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable decreases, and
vise versa. In other words, for a negative correlation, the variables work opposite each other. When there is a positive correlation between two
variables, as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable also increases. The variables move together.

4. What is simple regression?

Simple regression is used to examine the relationship between one dependent and one independent variable. After performing an analysis, the
regression statistics can be used to predict the dependent variable when the independent variable is known. Regression goes beyond correlation
by adding prediction capabilities.
5. Explain the mathematical analysis of regression?

In the regression equation, y is always the dependent variable and x is always the independent variable. Here are three equivalent ways to
mathematically describe a linear regression model.

y = intercept + (slope  x) + error

y = constant + (coefficient x) + error

y = a + bx + e

The significance of the slope of the regression line is determined from the t-statistic. It is the probability that the observed correlation coefficient
occurred by chance if the true correlation is zero. Some researchers prefer to report the F-ratio instead of the t-statistic. The F-ratio is equal to the
t-statistic squared.

Business Forecasting

1. What is forecasting?

Forecasting is a prediction of what will occur in the future, and it is an uncertain process. Because of the uncertainty, the accuracy of a forecast is
as important as the outcome predicted by the forecast.

2. What are the various business forecasting techniques?

3. How to model the Causal time series?

With multiple regressions, we can use more than one predictor. It is always best, however, to be parsimonious, that is to use as few variables as
predictors as necessary to get a reasonably accurate forecast. Multiple regressions are best modeled with commercial package such as SAS or
SPSS. The forecast takes the form:

Y = b0 + b1X1 + b2X2 + . . .+ bnXn,

where b0 is the intercept, b1, b2, . . . bn are coefficients representing the contribution of the independent variables X 1, X2,…, Xn.

4. What are the various smoothing techniques?

Simple Moving average: The best-known forecasting methods is the moving averages or simply takes a certain number of past periods and add
them together; then divide by the number of periods. Simple Moving Averages (MA) is effective and efficient approach provided the time series
is stationary in both mean and variance. The following formula is used in finding the moving average of order n, MA(n) for a period t+1,

MAt+1 = [Dt + Dt-1 + ... +Dt-n+1] / n

where n is the number of observations used in the calculation.

Weighted Moving Average: Very powerful and economical. They are widely used where repeated forecasts required-uses methods like sum-of-
the-digits and trend adjustment methods. As an example, a Weighted Moving Averages is:

Weighted MA(3) = w1.Dt + w2.Dt-1 + w3.Dt-2

where the weights are any positive numbers such that: w1 + w2 + w3 = 1.

5. Explain exponential smoothing techniques?

Single Exponential Smoothing: It calculates the smoothed series as a damping coefficient times the actual series plus 1 minus the damping
coefficient times the lagged value of the smoothed series. The extrapolated smoothed series is a constant, equal to the last value of the smoothed
series during the period when actual data on the underlying series are available.
Ft+1 = a Dt + (1 - a) Ft

where:

 Dt is the actual value

 Ft is the forecasted value

 a is the weighting factor, which ranges from 0 to 1

 t is the current time period.

Double Exponential Smoothing: It applies the process described above three to account for linear trend. The extrapolated series has a constant
growth rate, equal to the growth of the smoothed series at the end of the data period.

6. What are time series models?

A time series is a set of numbers that measures the status of some activity over time. It is the historical record of some activity, with
measurements taken at equally spaced intervals (exception: monthly) with a consistency in the activity and the method of measurement.

Time Series Analysis

1. What is time series forecasting?

The time-series can be represented as a curve that evolve over time. Forecasting the time-series mean that we extend the historical values into the
future where the measurements are not available yet.

2. What are the different models in time series forecasting?

 Simple moving average

 Weighted moving average

 Simple exponential smoothing

 Holt’s double Exponential smoothing

 Winter’s triple exponential smoothing

 Forecast by linear regression

3. Explain simple moving average and weighted moving average models?

Simple Moving average: The best-known forecasting methods is the moving averages or simply takes a certain number of past periods and add
them together; then divide by the number of periods. Simple Moving Averages (MA) is effective and efficient approach provided the time series
is stationary in both mean and variance. The following formula is used in finding the moving average of order n, MA(n) for a period t+1,

MAt+1 = [Dt + Dt-1 + ... +Dt-n+1] / n

where n is the number of observations used in the calculation.

Weighted Moving Average: Very powerful and economical. They are widely used where repeated forecasts required-uses methods like sum-of-
the-digits and trend adjustment methods. As an example, a Weighted Moving Averages is:

Weighted MA(3) = w1.Dt + w2.Dt-1 + w3.Dt-2

where the weights are any positive numbers such that: w1 + w2 + w3 = 1.

4. Explain the exponential smoothing techniques?

Single Exponential Smoothing: It calculates the smoothed series as a damping coefficient times the actual series plus 1 minus the damping
coefficient times the lagged value of the smoothed series. The extrapolated smoothed series is a constant, equal to the last value of the smoothed
series during the period when actual data on the underlying series are available.

Ft+1 = a Dt + (1 - a) Ft

where:

 Dt is the actual value

  Ft is the forecasted value

 a is the weighting factor, which ranges from 0 to 1

 t is the current time period.

Double Exponential Smoothing: It applies the process described above three to account for linear trend. The extrapolated series has a constant
growth rate, equal to the growth of the smoothed series at the end of the data period.

Triple exponential Smoothing: It applies the process described above three to account for nonlinear trend.

5. How should one forecast by linear regression?

Regression is the study of relationships among variables, a principal purpose of which is to predict, or estimate the value of one variable from
known or assumed values of other variables related to it.

Types of Analysis

Simple Linear Regression: A regression using only one predictor is called a simple regression.

Multiple Regression: Where there are two or more predictors, multiple regression analysis is employed.

Index Numbers

1. What are index numbers?

Index numbers are used to measure changes in some quantity which we cannot observe directly. E.g changes in business activity.

2. Describe the classification of index numbers?

Index numbers are classified in terms of the variables that are intended to measure. In business, different groups of variables in the measurement
of which index number techniques are commonly used are i) price ii) quantity iii) value iv) Business activity

3. What are simple and composite index numbers?

Simple index numbers: A simple index number is a number that measures a relative change in a single variable with respect to a base.

Composite index numbers: A composite index number is a number that measures an average relative change in a group of relative variables
with respect to a base.

4. What are price index numbers?

Price index numbers measure the relative changes in the prices of commodities between two periods. Prices can be retail or wholesale.

5. What are quantity index numbers?

These index numbers are considered to measure changes in the physical quantity of goods produced, consumed, or sold of an item or a group of
items.

Human Resource Management – 0043

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Arindam Chakraborty

Human Resource Management

1. Human Resource Management – introduction

2. HRM in India
3. Human resource Planing
4. Recruitment & Selection
5. Training & Development
6. Employee Growth
7. Performance Appraisal
8. Compensation Management
9. Job Evaluation
10 . Employee Satisfaction & Moral
11. Motivation
12. Employee Misconduct & Disciplinary procedure
13. Grievance Procedure
14. Groups & Group Dynamics
15. Leadership

Human Resource Management – Introduction

1. What is HRM (Human Resource Management)?

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing
direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

2. What does HRM deals with?

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance
management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

3. What is the significance of HRM?

The Human Resources (HR) function provides significant support and advice to line management. The attraction, preservation and development
of high caliber people are a source of competitive advantage for our business, and are the responsibility of HR.

4. What is the difference between human resource management and personnel management?

Personnel management is more administrative in nature, dealing with payroll, complying with employment law, and handling related tasks.
Human resources, on the other hand, is responsible for managing a workforce as one of the primary resources that contributes to the success of
an organization.

5.What is the impact of globalization on HRM?

Organizations expanding globally can put a strain in the HR department as it does all it can to ensure its strategic partnership with the
organization. HR has to ensure ways to overcome the cultural barriers, ensure the organization’s strategy is met by placing the right people into
the right positions, ensure the “replacement” person has the proper training, understanding of the organization, and skill set. HR must evaluate
technological needs, and ensure the right system is in place, a system that is able to integrate the different requirements of different nations as
well as ensure the security needs are met.

HRM in India

1. What is the context of HRM in India?

In the contemporary context, the Indian management mindscape continues to be influenced by the residual traces of ancient wisdom as it faces
the complexities of global realities. Such cultural based tradition and heritage can have a substantial impact on current managerial mindsets in
terms of family bonding and mutuality of obligations. Hence the human resource management must be customized to suit the needs and practices
of India.

2. What are the challenges of HR in India?

 Managing Knowledge Workers

 Managing Technological Challenges

 Competence of HR Managers

 Developing Leadership

 Managing Change

3. Name some Indian companies that follow a sound HR strategy?

TCS, ICICI Bank, WIPRO, Infosys, Microsoft-India, Mahindra & Co.

4. Is HRM in India still at an infact stage?

Organizations are under the constance pressure to reduce cost and increase productivity and this is possible only through increase in efficiency of
the employees. Hence, HR practices in India have to mature to the level that can offer innovation and employee development in such a way that
it can foster the growth of the organization.

5. How is the relationship between HR and unions in companies in India?

Both union representatives and HR professionals should work in a cordial manner despite differences. There is certainly scope for better
communication, with a substantial number of both parties suggesting that the other uses ‘unhelpful language’.

Human Resource Planning

1. What is Human Resource Planning (HRP)?

The development of strategies for matching the size and skills of the workforce to organizational needs is called HRP. It assists organizations to
recruit, retain, and optimize the deployment of the personnel needed to meet business objectives and to respond to changes in the external
environment

2. What is the need for HRP?

Increasing environmental instability, demographic shifts, changes in technology, and heightened international competition are changing the need
for and the nature of human resource planning in leading organizations. Planning is increasingly the product of the interaction between line
management and planners. In addition, organizations are realizing that in order to adequately address human resource concerns, they must
develop long-term as well as short term solutions.

3. What is workforce analysis?

Supply Analysis

 Internal supply

- Current workforce demographics

- Workforce trends – eligibility for retirement, separation rate, etc.

 External supply

Demand Analysis

• Critical occupations and competencies required to meet projected needs

• Anticipated changes of programs and services (volume, delivery channel, location and duration)

• Separation/turnover rates

• Vacancy rates

Gap Analysis

• Compare supply with demand analysis to determine future shortages and excess in the number of employees needed, types of occupations, and
competencies

4. What is the process involved in HRP?

However, here’s a model which relies on gap analysis, and attempts to link human resource planning to overall business planning or strategic
planning.

 Workforce Analysis

 Internal Scan

 External Scan

 Gap Analysis

 Priority Setting and Work Plan

 Monitoring, Evaluating, Reporting

5. What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is the process by which companies and businesses ensure that there is an orderly and planned transfer of powers,
responsibilities and job functions when employees — usually in executive and management positions, leave the company through retirement, or
other means.

Recruitment and Selection

1. What is recruitment?

Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job or function, undertaken by recruiters. It may be undertaken by an
employment agency or a member of staff at the business or organization looking for recruits.

2. What are the channels of recruitment?

Advertising is commonly part of the recruiting process, and can occur through several means: through newspapers, using newspaper dedicated to
job advertisement, through professional publication, using advertisements placed in windows, through a job center, through campus interviews,
etc.

3. What is selection?

Selection is the process used to identify and hire individuals or groups of individuals to fill vacancies within an organization. Often based on an
initial job analysis, the ultimate goal of personnel selection is to ensure an adequate return on investment.

4. What are the sources of prospective employees?

 Hiring external candidates

 Rehiring former employees

 Succession Planning

 Hiring employee references – internal hiring

 Team transfer

5. What are the steps in recruitment and selection?

 Employee planning and forecasting

 Recruiting: Building a pool of candidates

 Applicants complete application forms

 Using selection tools to screen out most applicants

 Supervisors and others interview last set of applicants to make a final choice

Training and Development

1. What are the issues affecting companies and influencing training purposes?

 Growth of the business

 improve customer service

 providing employees with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful

2. What is training?

Training is a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies. Competencies can be knowledge, skills
or behaviour critical for successful job performance

3. What are the goals of training?

 Master the knowledge, skill, and behaviours emphasized in training programs

 Apply them to their day-to-day activities

4. What are the traditional training methods?

 Presentation methods: lectures, audio-visual techniques

 Hands-on methods: on-the-job training, simulations, case studies, business games, role plays, behaviour modeling

 Group Building methods: sharing ideas and experiences, building group identity, understanding interpersonal dynamics, etc
5. What is transfer of training?

Trainees effectively and continually applying what they learned in training on their jobs.

Employee Growth

1. Who should manage employee growth and development?

The lion’s share of the responsibility for cultivating and developing leadership competencies belongs to you, the employee.  This doesn’t mean
you’re completely on your own.  But it is up to each employee to map out and manage their own personal and professional growth.

Your supervisor, manager, local training organization, the National Training Center, your community, your peers, and your professional contacts
form a support system for your continuous learning process.

2. So how to do begin employee growth?

Central to this process is feedback.  You must know where your strengths are and be able to identify opportunities to grow.

3. Why is employee growth and development important?

New-generation employees know career development requires a commitment to growth. They seek companies that understand that a paycheck is
only part of the career equation. In fact, training, education and degree-completion programs are some of the most desired employee benefits
available today.

4. How do companies benefit from employee growth and developement?

When a company satisfies employees’ desire to obtain more training, the result often can be a company team that is more capable and willing to
accept responsibility and control over the part they play in the company’s success. Well-trained employees often need less supervision, leaving
management with additional time to focus on other critical areas of the business.

5. How much seriousness can the company lay on employee growth and development?

Investing in employee growth is a philosophy first and a program second. No matter how strong the training or mentoring program, it only will
be successful if principal business decision-makers are fully committed to it. Employee development cannot be an item that easily hits the
chopping block when times are tough.

Performance Appraisal

1. What is performance appraisal?

Performance appraisal is evaluating an employee’s current and/or past performance relative to his or her performance standards.

2. What is the role of supervisors in performance appraisal?

 Do the actual appraising

 Must be familiar with basic appraisal techniques

 Must understand and avoid problems that can cripple appraisals

 Must know how to conduct appraisals fairly

3. Describe graphic rating scale in performance appraisal?

A scale that lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each that is used to identify that score that best describes and employee’s
level of performance for each trait.

4. Describe behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)?

An appraisal method that uses quantified scale with specific narrative examples of good and poor performance.

5. What are the advantages of using BARS?

 A more accurate guage

 Clear standards
  Feedback

 Independent dimensions

 Consistency

Compensation Management

1. What is compensation?

Compensation is a remuneration received by an employee in return for his/her contribution to the organization.

2. What are the components of compensation system?

Components of compensation system are as follows:

 Job analysis

 Salary surveys

 Pay structures

3. What are the types of compensation?

Compensation provided to employees can be direct in the form of monetary benefits and/or indirect in the form of non-monetary benefits such as
perks, time-off etc.

4. What is the need for compensation management?

 A good compensation package is important to motivate the employees to increase productivity

 Unless compensation is provided no one will join the organization

 Compensation helps in running an organization effectively and accomplishing its goals.

Job Evaluation

1. What is a job?

A job consists of a group of related activities and duties – natural units of work that are similar and related.

2. What is Job analysis?

Job analysis is “obtaining information about jobs” using the following steps:

 collecting and recording job information

 checking job information for accuracy

 writing job descriptions based on the information

 using the information for various HR purposes

 updating the information from time to time

3. What is job description?

A job description is a written narrative describing the activities performed on the job, which includes information about key activities, equipment
used and working conditions.

4. What is job specification?

A job specification outlines the specific skills, knowledge, abilities and other physical and personal characteristics that are necessary to perform
a job.

5. What is job design?

Job design is structuring jobs in order to improve organizational efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Employee satisfaction and morale

1. What is employee satisfaction?

Employee satisfaction is the individual employee’s general attitude towards the job. It is also an employee’s cognitive and affective valuation of
his or her job.

2. What are the factors that affect employee satisfaction?

 Compensation and Benefits

 Promotions and training

 Work tasks

 Coworkers

 Supervisors

3. What is the importance of employee satisfaction for the organization?

 Enhanced employee retention

 Increased productivity

 Increased customer satisfaction

 Reduced turnover, training, and recruiting costs

 More energetic employees

 Improve teamwork

4. What is the importance of employee satisfaction for the employee?

 Employee will be satisfied in the long run

 Employee will ensure quality work

 Employees will create and deliver superior value to the customer

 Employees will be more committed.

5. How to improve employee satisfaction?

 Share vision and mission with the employees

 Job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment

 Compensation and Benefits

 Frequent appraisal system

 Improve relationship with supervisors

 Promotions and Career Development

 Build corporate culture

Motivation

1. What is motivation?

Motivation is a multi-faceted process – one that has individual, managerial, and organizational implications. Motivation is not just what the
employee exhibits, but also a compilation of environmental issues surrounding the job.

2. What are the various things to be taken are of to ensure employees are motivated?

 Availability of latest technology

 Appropriate office setting

  Office automation and industrial engineering techniques

 Proper job design

3. What is the need for motivation?

To retain good staff and to encourage them to give their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and
physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.

4. How to ensure motivation through employee relations?

When you have the right people working for you it is important to keep them working for you, and to ensure they are doing a decent job. This
can be achieved by good employee relations.

5. How to handle motivate through finances?

You cannot keep employees at your organization by good motivational skills alone. They will want to be paid in a fair manner and on time.
Incorrect management of your payroll system can lead to catastrophe in terms of your staff.

Employee Misconduct & Disciplinary procedure

1. What are disciplinary procedures?

Disciplinary procedures establishes standards for employee conduct and performance, equitable procedures for dealing with allegations that the
standards have been breached and reasonable personnel actions can be taken to address the situation.

2. How are to be disciplinary procedures complied with?

Disciplinary procedures should not be viewed primarily as a means of imposing sanctions. Rather they should be seen as a way of helping and
encouraging improvement amongst workers whose conduct or standard of work is unsatisfactory.

3. How should disciplinary procedures be implemented?

When implementing disciplinary procedures, employers should have regard to the requirements of natural justice. Workers should be informed
in advance of any disciplinary hearing of the allegations that are being made against them together with the supporting evidence and be given the
opportunity of challenging the allegations and evidence before decisions are reached.

4. How can decisions regarding disciplinary procedures be fair?

Workers should be informed in advance of any disciplinary hearing of the allegations that are being made against them together with the
supporting evidence and be given the opportunity of challenging the allegations and evidence before decisions are reached.

Grievance Procedure

1. What is the need to have grievance handling?

If an organization has to move towards excellence, maintenance of harmonious and cordial relationships is a vital condition. The employees do
have expectation in terms of what they have contributed to each other. Failure to meet these expectations or deviating may lead to indiscipline,
grievance and stress. Thus grievance handling becomes important.

2. What are the various ways of grievance handling?

 Informal review of employment problems

 Formal review procedures

3. What is informal review of employment problems?

The flexibility of informal discussions often results in solutions to employment problems more quickly and easily than do formal procedures.

4. What are the formal review procedures?

 Consultation with grievant’s supervisor

 Supervisor to investigate the matter

 Supervisor’s written response to the grievant

 If the grievant is not satisfied, he/she can approach the higher management.
Groups & Group Dynamics

1. What is group?

Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

2. What is group dynamics?

Group dynamics is the study of groups and also a general term for group processes.

3. What should one study group dynamics?

Because a group interact and influence each other, groups develop a number of dynamic processes that separate them from a random collection
of individuals.

4. What are the various dimensions of group processes?

 Patterns of communications and coordinations

 Patterns of influence

 Roles/relationships

 Patterns of dominance

 Balance of task focus vs. social focus

 Level of group effectiveness

 Handling conflicts

 Emotional state of the group as a whole

5. Give some real applications of group dynamics?

 Workgroup applications

 Therapy applications

 Virtual group applications

Leadership

1. What is leadership?

Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals.

2. Differentiate trait theory and behavioral theory?

Trait theory: Leaders are born, not made.

Behavioral theory: Leadership traits can be taught.

3. Differentiate employee-oriented leader and production-oriented leader?

Employee oriented leader: Emphasizing interpersonal relations, taking a personal interest in the needs of employees and accepting individual
differences among members

Production oriented leader: One who emphasizes technical or task aspects of the job.

4. Who is a development oriented leader?

One who values experimentation, seeking new ideas, and generating and implementing change.

5. What is path-goal theory?

The theory that it is the leader’s job to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide them the necessary direction and/or support to
ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or organization.