MMPC 02 IGNOU

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

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 MMPC 02 - HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
FIRST PRIORITY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Q1- What is HRM? Describe evaluation of HRM and its camponents? (v v v v v

imp)
Ans – WHAT IS HRM?

HRM is the process of acquiring, developing, maintaining, and retaining human resources in an
organisation with the strategic objective of achieving organisational goals. So, what is the
significance of the term "human resource management"?

Human: This term refers to an organization's required workforce.

The term Resource refers to an organization's workforce supply.

Management refers to the most efficient use of resources in order to achieve organisational goals.

Many eminent management scientists have defined HRM in different ways. Some of the widely used
definitions are provided in the Box 1.
EVOLUTION OF HRM

HRM has evolved from the Personnel Management (which was the earstwhile management system
to manage employees). Going back to the roots of evolution of personnel management the
contributions of Psychologists and management experts such as Elton Mayo, F.W. Taylor and Robert
Owen play a significant role.Elton Mayo was the founder of the human relations movement in the
1920s. In the famous Howthorne study, he measured the relationship between productivity and the
work environment. He emphasized the influence of human relations on worker productivity.
Similarly, Robert Owen is considered to be the creator and initiator of reforms introduced for
workers. He introduced the principle of ‗8 hours work per day‘ . Owen recognised the importance of
improving working conditions in the workplace and its impact on worker productivity and efficiency.
Also worth mentioning is the contribution of Frederick W. Taylor. Taylor has developed a
differentiated compensation system that rewards employees with higher performance levels , that
are still used in the company. He promoted Scientific Management through fours principles:

1. Evaluate a task by dissecting its components;

2. Select employees that had appropriate skills for a task;

3. Provide workers with inventives and training to do a task; and

4. Use science to plan how workers perform their jobs.

Human Resources Approach: However, at some stage in early 60s the ‗pet milk principle‘,
(advocating that happy workers are productive workers or happy cows provide extra milk) of human
relationists have been largely rejected. Recognising the truth that workers are unique in their
personal wayhaving individual needs. Every employee is a unique and surprisingly individual wishes.
It was considered that each worker is a completely unique and highly complex character with
exceptional desires and values. What motivates one worker won't encourage any other and being
satisfied or feeling appropriate may additionally have very little effect on the productiveness of
positive personnel. Slowly however steadily, the trend closer to treating employees as resources or
assets emerged.

The contribution of behavioural science to management practice consists primarily of producing new
insights in place of new strategies. It has advanced and extended right into a useful way of thinking,
about the position of the supervisor, the nature of businesses and the behaviour of an individual
inside an business enterprise.Let us look into these trends more closely by examing the
transformation of personnel management to HRM from one stage to another by understanding its
differences and stages of development.

Stages of Development of HRM

Modern concept of HRM has developed through the following stages (Gupta, 1997).
The organizations have to compete for scarce resources, the most important among them being the
human resources, more so in the case of the service sector. This has called for the radical
transformation of personnel and administrative departments into human resource departments to
reflect the human facet of organizations. A glance at the structure of various Indian organizations
indicates that the majority of the organizations have rechristened their personnel and administrative
department as human resource development (HRD) departments. However, this transformation into
the HRM mode is at various stages in different organizations. The progressive players and market
leaders, especially in the IT and service sectors, have fully adopted this approach while other players
are in the process of adoption.

COMPONENTS OF HRM

Following are the major components of HRM

Human Resource Organisation: Human resource organisation is concerned with achieving success
by organisation design and development, motivation, the application of effective leadership, and the
process of getting across the message about what the enterprise is setting out to do and how it
proposes to do it. The fundamental objective of human resource organisation is to ensure that every
aspect of the organisation, employment, motivation, and management of people is integrated with
the strategic objectives of the business and contribute to the successful achievement of those
objectives. The human resource organisation programme has to take account of cultural issues so
that the desired corporate culture can be developed or reinforced. Moreover, organisational
development programmes and interventions are needed to achieve better integration, improve
teamwork, motivate human resource, develop proper leadership, facilitate communication system,
manage conflict and change, and obtain commitment.

Human Resource Planning: Human resource planning sets out to define how many people the
organisation wants; the type of people the organisation needs at present and in the future, in terms
of their expertise; and how they ―fit‖ the corporate culture. It involves the forecasting of both the
supply and demand for future labour. It provides the base for recruitment programmes and for
human resource development plans.

Human Resource Systems: Human resource systems are the essential programmes needed to
recruit, appraise, pay and look after the health, safety and well-being of the employees in the
organisation. The main key programmes are:

a) Recruitment management: It is a process of obtaining the required human resource for an

organisation.
b) Information management: It is a method of ensuring that all policies and practices are to be well
articulated and effectively communicated to the workforce.

Human Resource Development (HRD): Rao (1985) defines HRD as ―a process by which the
employees of an organisation are helped, in a continuous planned way to: (a) acquire or sharpen
capabilities required to perform various tasks and functions associated with their present or
expected future roles; (b) develop their general enabling capabilities as individuals so that they are
able to discover and exploit their own inner potentials for their own and/or organisational
development purposes; and (c) develop an organisational culture where superior-subordinate
relationship, team-work, and collaboration among different sub-units are strong and contribute to
the organisational health, dynamism and pride of employees.‖

Human Resource Relationships: Human resource relationships deal with the handling of employees
individually and collectively asmembers of trade unions or staff associations. Their main aim is to
increase co-operation and trust and to involve employees actively in the company‘s affairs. It also
deals with problem-solving techniques, particularly to solve problems relating to disciplinary cases
and grievances. There are two sides to a dispute in most organisations: the management and the
workers. There is a gap and the means have to be found to bridge that gap. Whether or not unions
exist, it is highly desirable for the management to develop methods of dealing with employees
collectively. Nonetheless, relationships with unions often involve confrontations. The necessary
techniques must be evolved for encouraging mutuality and working together in the interests of all.

Human Resource Utilisation: According to Peters and Watennan, to achieve productivity through
people, it is very essential to ―treat them as adults, treat them as partners, treat them with dignity,
and treat them with respect.‖ These fundamental human relations values provide the base for
productivity management programmes, which use techniques such as method study to improve
efficiency. Both managers and workers must be persuaded somehow to realise that they have a
common interest in increasing output. The following actions are required to improve the use of
human resources: (a) conduct a productivity drive; (b) improve manpower budgeting and control
techniques; (c) introduce work measurement; (d) use appropriate payment method by results;
bonus and profit-sharing schemes; (e) improve motivation; (f) involve employees in improvement
programmes; (g) introduce new technology; (h) negotiate appropriate productivity agreements; and
(i) introduce training programmes based on an analysis of productivity needs.

Human Resource Accounting (HRA): HRA means accounting for people as the organisational
resource. It is the measurement of the cost and value of people to organisations and involves
measuring the costs incurred on recruiting, selecting, hiring, training and developing employees and
judging their economic value to the organisation. HRA can be very useful in managerial decision-
making. For instance, whether it is recruitment and selection or replacement of an employee, HRA
can provide an estimate of the cost involved in the process. Similarly, it can help the management in
budgeting for development of human resources. HRA can also provide data pertaining to turnover
costs, the cost of employee‘s absence and its impact on performance of others.

Human Resource Audit: The purpose of a human resource audit is to assess the effectiveness of the
human resource function and to ensure regulatory compliance. Human resource audit is a vast
subject and covers many delicate aspects of human and organisational interactions. The HRD auditor
has to study the organisation design, its objective, performance of its human resources, as well as
the proper maintenance of HRD climate and practices. The job of the HR auditor is not an easy one.
To gain success, he has to be very selective about the area and procedure he wishes to follow.
Auditing in the field of human resources is a difficult job, more so because unlike other audits, the
auditor has to deal with individuals vis-a-vis organisational priorities. Therefore, the HR auditor is
required to be very systematic in his job and define the task clearly as to which arena he has to
cover.

Q2- Describe the objectives and benefits of performance appraisal? Compare

any two appraisal method? (v v v v v imp)
Ans – OBJECTIVES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Performance appraisal has a number of specific objectives. These are given below:

Some employees may believe that performance appraisal is simply used by the organization to
apportion blame and to provide a basis for disciplinary action. They see it as a stick that
management has introduced with which to beat people. Under such situations a well thought out
performance appraisal is doomed to failure. Even if the more positive objectives are built into the
system, problems may still arise because they may not all be achievable and they may cause conflict.
For Example, an appraise is less likely to be open about any shortcomings in past performance
during a process that affects pay or promotion prospects, or which might be perceived as leading to
disciplinary action. It is therefore important that performance appraisal should have specific
objective. Not only should the objectives be clear but also they should form part of the
organization‟s whole strategy. Thus incorporating objectives into the appraisal system may highlight
areas for improvement, new directions and opportunities.

BENEFITS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The benefits of an effective appraisal scheme can be summed up under three categories. These are
for the organization, for appraiser and for appraisee.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL METHODS

A number of methods are now available to assess the performance of the employees

Critical Incident Method- Critical incident appraisal focuses the rater‟s attention on those critical or
key behaviors that make the difference between doing a job effectively and doing it ineffectively.
What the appraiser does is write down little anecdotes that describe what the employee did that
was especially effective or ineffective. In this approach to appraisal, specific behaviors are cited, not
vaguely defined personality traits. A behaviorally based appraisal such as this should be more valid
than trait-based appraisals because it is clearly more job related. It is one thing to say that an
employee is “aggressive” or “imaginative or “relaxed,” but that does not tell anything about how
well the job is being done. Critical incidents, with their focus on behaviors, judge performance rather
than personalities. Additionally, a list of critical incidents on a given employees provides a rich set of
examples from which the employee can be shown which of his or her behaviors are desirable and
which ones call for improvement. This method suffers from following two drawbacks:

a) Supervisors are reluctant to write these reports on a daily or even weekly basis for all of their
subordinates as it is time consuming and burdensome for them

b) Critical incidents do not lend themselves to quantification. Therefore the comparison and ranking
of subordinates is difficult.

Graphic Rating Scale- One of the oldest and most popular methods of appraisal is the graphic rating
scale. They are used to assess factors such as quantity and quality of work, job knowledge,
cooperation, loyalty, dependability, attendance, honesty, integrity, attitudes, and initiative etc.
However, this method is most valid when abstract traits like loyalty or integrity are avoided unless
they can be defined in more specific behavioral terms. The assessor goes down the list of factors and
notes that point along the scale or continuum that list of factors and notes that point along the scale
or continuum that best describes the employee. There are typically five to ten points on the
continuum. In the design of the graphic scale, the challenge is to ensure that both the factors
evaluated and the scale pints are clearly understood and unambiguous to the rater. Should
ambiguity occur, bias is introduced. Following are some of the advantages of this method:

a) They are less time-consuming to develop and administer.

b) They permit quantitative analysis.

c) There is greater standardization of items so comparability with other individuals in diverse job
categories is possible.

Management by Objectives ( also come in short note)

Management by objectives (MBO) is a process that converts organizational objectives into individual
objectives. It can be thought of as consisting of four steps: goal setting, action planning, self-control,
and periodic reviews:-
Q3- Describe the concept , objective, importance and method of job
analysis? (v v v v v imp)
Ans – CONCEPT OF JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis is the fundamental process that forms the basis of all human resource activities. The
importance of job analysis has been well-established for years, dating back to at least the First World
War. The United States government‟s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978)
and the American Psychological Association‟s Principles for the Validation and use of Personnel
Selection Procedures stipulate that job analysis is essential to the valediction of any and all major
human resources activities. In its simplest terms, a job analysis is a systematic process for gathering,
documenting and analyzing date about the work required for a job. The data collected in a job
analysis, and reflected through a job description, includes a description of the context and principal
duties of the job, and information about the skills, responsibilities, mental models and techniques
for job analysis. These include the Position Analysis Questionnaire, which focuses on generalized
human behaviors and interviews, task inventories, functional job analysis and the job element
method.

A job analysis provides an objective picture of the job, not the person performing the job, and as
such, provides fundamental information to support all subsequent and related HR activities, such as
recruitment, training, development, performance management and succession planning. Job
analysis serves two critical functions with respect to these processes. Job analysis helps ensure that
decisions made with respect to HR processes are good decisions i.e., fair and accurate (e.g., selection
of the right person for the job, appropriate decisions about training, performance management,
development, etc.) and its helps ensure the defensibility of decisions made to employee (resulting in
good HR management) and to the courts (resulting in saving of costs, time and reputation). The unit
of study in job analysis may be position or a job. A “position” is the most basic structural entity in the
organization, representing the collection of duties assigned to a single person. One or more similar
positions, each of which is interchangeable with the others in terms of work activities, makes up a
“job.” In fact, a “job” has been defined (Henderson, 1979) as “work consisting of responsibilities and
duties that are sufficiently a like to justify being covered by a single job analysis.” It has also been
defined as “a collection of position similar enough to one another in terms of their work behaviors to
share a common job title “(Harvey, 1991). The linkage positions in an organization provides a
roadmap and tool for translating the organization‟s mission, values and business priorities into
results.

OBJECTIVES OF JOB ANALYSIS

The purpose of job analysis is to establish and document the „job-relatedness‟ of employment
procedures such as training, selection, compensation and performance appraisal. Other important
uses that job analysis can be put to are:

IMPORTANCE OF JOB ANALYSIS

According to scientific management, the key to productivity is a precise understanding of the tasks
that constitute a job. If the motions of workers are to become standardized and machine-like, then it
is necessary to be certain about what is to be accomplished, as well as what abilities and materials
are necessary to do the job. For many years, job analysis was considered the backbone of the
scientific clipboards and stopwatches, was the method used to determine the most efficient way to
perform specific jobs. As the popularity of scientific management declined after World War II,
however, so did the popularity of job analysis. With the new emphasis on human relations as the key
to productivity job analysis was used primarily to set salary scales. But in the modern times workers
and employers began to take renewed interest in this area because of concerns about two issues:
unfair discrimination and comparable worth.

There are two areas where unfair discrimination in hiring can occur: in the standards set for being
hired; and in the procedures used to assess the applicant‟s ability to meet those standards. Job
analysis addresses the question of what tasks, taken together actually constitute a job. Without this
information, standards for hiring may appear to be arbitrary – or worse, designed to exclude certain
individual or groups from the workplace.

More recently, the issue of comparable worth has also contributed to a new interest in job analysis.
Comparable worth refers to equal pay for individuals who hold different jobs but perform work that
is comparable in terms of knowledge required or level of responsibility. The major issue of the
comparable worth controversy is that women who are employed in jobs that are comparable to
those held by men are paid, on the average, about 65 percent of what a man would earn. In order to
determine the comparability of job tasks so that salaries can also be compared, a proper job analysis
is necessary. Comparable work is an issue of considerable interest to many people.

METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis is the procedure for identifying those duties or behaviors that define a job. Aside from
verifying the fairness of selection procedures, job analysis is the foundation of virtually every other
area of industrial psychology, including performance appraisal, training and human factors.
Additionally, job analysis is the basis of job evaluation, the procedure for setting salary scales. Figure
1 suggests some of the many uses of job analysis. Information about jobs can be collected in a
number of ways. McCormick (1976) lists the following as potential sources: observation, individual
interview, group interview, technical conference, questionnaire, diary, critical incidents, equipment
design information, recording of job activities, or employee records. Possible agents to do the
collecting are professional job analysis, supervisors, job incumbents, or even a camera in the work-
place. Inspite of both its importance and the availability of data, however, the area of job analysis
has not been studies in details. One reason for the lack of research is the nature of the data:
Although qualitative information about jobs, collected through observations, is plentiful, translating
this data into a quantitative form amenable to statistical analysis is often difficult.

Job analysis is the procedure for identifying those duties or behaviors that define a job. Aside from
verifying the fairness of selection procedures, job analysis is the foundation of virtually every other
area of industrial psychology, including performance appraisal, training and human factors.
Additionally, job analysis is the basis of job evaluation, the procedure for setting salary scales. Figure
1 suggests some of the many uses of job analysis. Information about jobs can be collected in a
number of ways. McCormick (1976) lists the following as potential sources: observation, individual
interview, group interview, technical conference, questionnaire, diary, critical incidents, equipment
design information, recording of job activities, or employee records. Possible agents to do the
collecting are professional job analysis, supervisors, job incumbents, or even a camera in the work-
place. Inspite of both its importance and the availability of data, however, the area of job analysis
has not been studies in details. One reason for the lack of research is the nature of the data:
Although qualitative information about jobs, collected through observations, is plentiful, translating
this data into a quantitative form amenable to statistical analysis is often difficult.
Q4- Describe causes and effect of grievance? Describe step in grievance
handling procedure with illustration? (v v v v v imp)
Ans – GRIEVANCES

In their working life, employees do get dissatisfied with various aspects of working may be with the
attitude of the manager, policy of the company, working conditions, or behaviour of colleagues.
Employers try to ignore or suppress grievances. But they cannot be suppressed for long as rust which
corrodes the very fabric of organisation. A complaint that has been formally presented to a
management representative or to a union official

FORMS OF GRIEVANCES

A grievance may take anyone of the following forms:

CAUSES OF GRIEVANCES

Grievances may occur for a number of reasons:

EFFECTS OF GRIEVANCE

Grievances, if they are not identified and redressed, may affect adversely the workers, managers and
the organisation. The effects are:

GRIEVANCE HANDLING PROCEDURE

Q5- Describe trade unions and its objectives? Describe the growth of trade
unions in india? (v v v v v imp)
Ans DEFINITION OF TRADE UNION

According to Webbs, a trade union is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of
maintaining and improving the conditions of their working lives. Under the Trade Union Act of 1926,
the term is defined as “any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the
purpose of regulating the relations between workers and employers, or for imposing restrictive
conditions on the condition of any trade or business and includes any federation of two or more
unions”. Let us examine the definition in parts.

l) Trade union is an association either of employees or employers or of independent workers.

2) It is a relatively permanent formation of workers. It is not a temporary or casual combination of

workers.
3) It is formed for securing certain economic (like better wages, better working and living
conditions), social (such as educational, recreational, medical, respect for individual) benefits to
members. Collective strength offers a sort of insurance cover to members to fight against irrational,
arbitrary and illegal actions of employers. Members can share their feelings, exchange notes and
fight the employer quite effectively whenever he goes off the track.

FORMATIVE STAGES OF TRADE UNION

Trade Union has to pass through a very difficult and hostile period in the initial years. The employers
wanted to crush them with iron hands. Then came the period of agitation and occasional
acceptance. When the union gained strength they started confronting with the employer. This is
period of struggle which continued for long. Employers were forced to accommodate, tolerate and
hesitatingly accept them. Then came the period of understanding and industry in collective
bargaining. This was followed by fraternal stage where union became matured and employers
started consulting them. The desired state is the “Fusion Stage” in which joint efforts were required
to be made for union management co-operation and partnership.

OBJECTIVES OF TRADE UNIONS

Unions concentrate their attention to achieve the following objectives:

a) Wages and Salaries: The subject which drew the major attention of the trade unions is
wages and salaries. Of course, this item may be related to policy matters. However,
differences may arise in the process of their implementation. In the case of unorganised
sector the trade union plays a crucial role in bargaining the pay scales.
b) Working Conditions: Trade unions with a view to safeguard the health of workers demands
the management to provide all the basic facilities such as, lighting and ventilation,
sanitation, rest rooms, safety equipment while discharging hazardous duties, drinking,
refreshment, minimum working hours, leave and rest, holidays with pay, job satisfaction,
social security benefits and other welfare measures.
c) Discipline: Trade unions not only conduct negotiations in respect of the items with which
their working conditions may be improved but also protect the workers from the clutches of
management whenever workers become the victims of management‟s unilateral acts and
disciplinary policies. This victimisation may take the form of penal transfers, suspensions,
dismissals, etc. In such a situation the seperated worker who is left in a helpless condition
may approach the tradeunion. Ultimately the problem may be brought to the notice of
management by trade union and it explains about the injustice met out to an individual
worker and fights the management for justice. Thus, the victimised worker may be
protected by the trade union
d) Personnel Policies: Trade unions may fight against improper implementation of personnel
policies in respect of recruitment, selection, promotions, transfers, training, etc.
e) Welfare: As stated earlier, trade unions are meant for the welfare of workers. Trade union
works as a guide, consulting authority and cooperates in overcoming the personnel
problems of workers. It may bring to the notice of management, through collective
bargaining meetings, the difficulties of workers in respect of sanitation, hospitals, quarters,
schools and colleges for their children‟s cultural and social problems
f) Employee-employer relation: Harmonious relations between the employees and employer
is a sine quo non for industrial peace. A trade union always strives for achieving this
objective. However, the bureaucratic attitude and unilateral thinking of management may
lead to conflicts in the organisation which ultimately disrupt the relations between the
workers and management. Trade union, being the representative of all the workers, may
carry out continuous negotiations with the management with a view to promote industrial
peace.
g) Negotiating machinery: Negotiations include the proposals made by one party and the
counter proposals of the other party. This process continues until the parties reach an
agreement. Thus, negotiations are based on „give and take‟ principle. Trade union being a
party for negotiations, protects the interests of workers through collective bargaining. Thus,
the trade union works as the negotiating machinery.
h) Safeguarding organisational health and the interest of the industry: Organisational health
can be diagnosed by methods evolved for grievance redressal and techniques adopted to
reduce the rate of absenteeism and labour turnover and to improve the employee relations.
Trade unions by their effective working may achieve employee satisfaction. Thus, trade
unions help in reducing the rate of absenteeism, labour turnover and developing systematic
grievance settlement procedures leading to harmonious industrial relations. Trade unions
can thus contribute to the improvements in level of production and productivity, discipline
and improve quality of work life.

GROWTH OF TRADE UNION MOVEMENT AND MEMBERSHIP IN INDIA

Trade unions in India, as in most other countries, have been the natural outcome the modem
factory system. The development of trade unionism in India has chequered history and a stormy
career.

Early Period

Efforts towards organising the workers for their welfare were made, during the early period of
industrial development by social workers, philanthropists and other religious leaders mostly on
humanitarian grounds. The first Factories Act, 1881, was passed on the basis of the
recommendations of the Bombay Factory Commission, 1875. Due to the limitations of the Act,
the workers in Bombay Textile Industry under the leadership of N M Lokhande demanded
reduced of hours of work, weekly rest days, mid-day recess and compensation for injuries.
Bombay Mill owners‟ Association conceded the demand for weekly holiday. Consequently,
Lokhande established the first Workers‟ Union in India in 1890 in the name of Bombay Mill
hands Association. A labour journal called “Dinabandu” was also published. Some of the
important unions established during the period are: Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of
India and Burma (1897), Management the Printers Union, Calcutta (1905) and the Bombay
Postal Union (1907), the Kamgar Hitavardhak Sabha (1910) and the Social Service League (1910).
But these unions were treated as ad hoc bodies and could not serve the purpose of trade unions.

Modest Beginning

The beginning of the Labour movement in the modest sense started after the outbreak of World
War I in the country. Economic, political and social conditions of the day influenced the growth
 of trade union movement in India. Establishment of International Labour Organisation in 1919
helped the formation of trade unions in the country. Madras Labour Union was formed on
systematic lines in 1919. A number of trade unions were established between 1919 and 1923.
Categorywise unions, like Spinners‟ Union and Weavers‟ Union, came into existence in
Ahmedabad under the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi. These unions were later federated into
an industrial union known as Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association. This union has been
formed on systematic lines and has been functioning on sound lines based on the Gandhian
Philosophy of mutual trust, collaboration and non-violence.

All India Trade Union Congress

The most important year in the history of Indian Trade Union movement is 1914 when the All
India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed consequent upon the necessity of electing
delegates for the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This is the first all India trade union in
the country. The first meeting of the AlTUC was held in October, 1914 at Bombay (now Mumbai)
under the presidentship of Lala Lajpat Rai. The formation of AlTUC led to the establishment of All
India Railwaymen‟s Federation (AIRF) IN 1922. Many Company Railway Unions were affiliated to
it. Signs of militant tendency and revolutionary ideas were apparent during this period.

There are as many as 10 central trade union organisations in the country (as against one or two
in UK, Japan, USA). The criteria for recognition as Central Trade Union has been that the
combined strength should be 5 lacs numbers with a spread over to at least 4 states and 4
industries as on 31.12.89. Ten such Trade Unions are; (1) BMS (2) INTUC (3) HMS, (4) U.T.U.C - LS
(5) AITUC (6) CITUC (7) NLO (8) UTUC (9) TUCC (10) NFITU. As per one survey (Economic Times,
24.9.97) the five leading Trade Unions‟ strength are as follows:

Q6- Explain process of selection? Describe objectives, purpose, limitation of

selection test? (v v v v v imp)
Ans SELECTION

Selection, as you have seen earlier, is the process of securing relevant information about an
applicant to evaluate his qualifications, experience and other qualities with a view to matching these
with the requirements of a job. It is essentially a process of picking out the man or men best suited
for the organization’s requirements.

The Selection Process

You would recall that selection process involves rejection of unsuitable or less suitable applicants.
This may be done at any of the successive hurdles which an applicant must cross. These hurdles act
as screens designed to eliminate an unqualified applicant at any point in the process. This technique
is known as the ‘successive hurdles technique’. Figure 1 gives these hurdles

Yoder calls these hurdles ‘go, no-go’ gauges. Those who qualify a hurdle go to the next one; those
who do not qualify.are dropped out. Not all selection processes, however, include these hurdles. The
complexity of the process usually increases with the level and responsibility of the position to be
filled. Moreover, these hurdles need not necessarily be placed in the same order. Their arrangement
may differ from organisation to organization.

Initial Screening or Preliminary Interview

This is a sorting process in which prospective applicants are given the necessary information about
the nature of the job and also, necessary information is elicited from the candidates about their
education, experience, skill, salary expected, etc. If the candidate is found to be suitable, he is
selected for further process and, if not, he is eliminated. This is a crude screening and can be done
across the counter in the organization’s employment offices. This is done by a junior executive in the
personnel department. Due care should be taken so that suitable candidates are not turned down in
a hurry. Since this provides personal contact for an individual with the company, the interviewer
should be courteous, kind, receptive and informal. When a candidate is found suitable, an
application form is given to him to fill in and submit.

Application Scrutiny
You might have seen that sometimes applications are asked on a plain sheet. This is done where no
application forms are designed. The applicant is asked to give details about age, marital status,
educational qualifications, work experience and references. Different types of application forms may
be used by the same organization for different types of employees, e.g., one for managers, the other
for supervisors and a third for other employees. Some forms are simple, general and easily
answerable, while others may require elaborate, complex and detailed information. Reference to
nationality, race, caste, religion and place of birth has been regarded as evidence of discriminatory
attitudes and should be avoided. An application form should be designed to serve as a highly
effective preliminary screening device, particularly, when applications arc received in direct
response to an advertisement and without any preliminary interview. The application can be used in
two ways: (i) to find out on the basis of information contained therein as to the chances of success
of the candidate in the job for which he is applying, and (ii) to provide a starting point for the
interview. It is often possible to reject candidates on the basis of scrutiny of the applications as they
are found to be lacking in educational standards, experience or some other relevant eligibility and
traits.

SELECTION TESTS
A test is a sample of an aspect of an individual’s behavior, performance or attitude. It can also be a
systematic procedure for comparing the behavior of two or more persons.

Purpose of Tests: The basic assumption underlying the use of tests in personnel selection is that
individuals are different in their job-related abilities and skills and that these skills can be adequately
and accurately measured

Tests seek to eliminate the possibility of prejudice on the part of the interviewer or supervisor.
Potential ability only will govern selection decisions. The other major advantage is that the tests may
uncover qualifications and talents that would not be detected by interviews or by listing of
education and job expenence.

Types of Tests: The various tests used in selection can be put in to four categories: (a) Achievement
or Intelligence Tests, (b) Aptitude or Potential Ability Tests, (c) Personality Tests, and (d) Interest
Tests.

These tests and what they measure are described below.

a) Achievement or Intelligence Tests

These are also called ‘proficiency tests’. These measure the skill or knowledge which is
acquired as a result of a training programme and on the job experience. These measure
what the applicant can do. These are of two types:
Test for Measuring job Knowledge: These are known as ‘Trade Tests’. These are
administered to determine knowledge of typing, shorthand and in operating calculators,
adding machines, dictating and transcribing
machines or simple mechanical equipment. These are primarily oral tests consisting of a
series of questions which are believed to be satisfactorily answered only by those who know
and thoroughly understand the trade or occupation. Oral tests may be supplemented by
written, picture or performance types.
 Work Sample Tests: These measure the proficiency with which equipment can be handled by
the candidate. This is done by giving him a piece of work to judge how efficiently he does it.
For example, a typing test would provide the material to be typed and note the time taken
and mistakes committed.
b) Aptitude or Potential Ability Tests
These tests measure the latent ability of a candidate to learn a new job or skill. Through
these tests you can detect peculiarity or defects in a person’s sensory or intellectual
capacity. These focus attention on particular types of talent such as learning, reasoning and
mechanical or musical aptitude..’Instruments’ used are variously described as tests of
‘intelligence’, ‘mental ability’, ‘mental alertness’, or simply as ‘personnel tests’. These are of
three types:
SECOND PRIORITY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Q7- What is human resource planning? Explain process of human resource

planning? (v v v v v imp)
Ans WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING?

Human Resource Planning (HRP) may be defined as strategy for acquisition, utilization, development
and retention of the human resources of an enterprise. The objective is to provide right human
resources for the right work and optimum utilization of the existing human resources. HRP exists as
a part of the planning process of business. This is the activity of the management which is aimed at
co-ordinating requirements for and the availability of different types of employers. The major
activities of HRP include: forecasting (future requirements), inventorying (present strength),
anticipating (comparison of present and future requirements) and planning (necessary programme
to meet future requirements).

OBJECTIVES, BENEFITS AND NEED OF HUMAN RESOURSE PLANNING

The following are the objectives of human resource planning:

PROCESS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Q8- Explain compensation administration and its determinants? Discuss
current compensation trend in india? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATION

The primary purpose of compensation administration is to assure management a sound

compensation system, and for employees an equitable compensation for services rendered. The
objectives of a sound compensation administration programme can be subdivided into specific sub-
goals:

1) Equitable payment in proportion to relative work to the organisation.

2) Consistency of payments between comparable occupations.

COMPENSATION DETERMINANTS

At the outset, it is important to distinguish between two related but different questions. First, one
can ask what factors account for individual differences in pay within organisations. An extensive
literature suggests that education, experience, performance, and other individual differences play
some role. Also, product market and labour market play a crucial role in pay determination.

Product Market

Pay levels of labour market and product market competitors play an important role in determining
pay levels. Dunlop (1957) argues that product market competition places an upper boundary on pay
level because organisations in a particular industry “encounter similar constraints of technology, raw
materials, product demand, and pricing”. Thus, an organisation will find itself at a competitive
disadvantage in the product market if its labour costs exceed those of its competitors. The reason
being such costs will ordinarily be reflected to some extent in higher prices for its products.

Labour Market

Organisations not only compete solely in the product market but also in the labour market. Maruti
Udyog, for example, competes for technicians and managers with similar such organisations. A pay
level that is too low relative to these competitors could lead to difficulties in attracting and retaining
sufficient number of quality employees. As such, labour market competition can be seen as placing a
lower boundary on pay level. In order to avoid such a situation, many companies emphasise that
their total compensation is equal to or better than other companies in the market.

Current compensation trend in india

• Substantial differentials in gross compensation of the managerial level to the next lower
level are practiced.
• Differentials in gross compensation and sometimes compensation structure are being
practiced between the project and support functions.
• Personalized salaries out of a basket of options for individuals at senior levels.
• Significant increase in basic salary and hence in deferred benefits.
 • Restriction of non-tax perks in the form of reimbursement under various heads to only
certain top levels of management.
• Higher annual increments, the average increments varying from 50 to 100% for different
levels of management.
• Shift in incentives to group / team incentives rather than individual based. Different kinds of
incentive like Performance Incentive, Commission, Performance Payment, and Performance
Bonus etc. are not always individual specific. They are usually team or level based. Individual
based cash incentives are on the downslide except at very senior levels.
• Soft furnishing allowance is being provided towards purchase of curtains, carpets, cutlery
and crockery etc., and this is usually paid as an annual, non-taxable allowance.
• Conveyance is an area, which provides a lot of scope for variations. Practices with regard to
provision of car, driver and reimbursement of expenses on car, parking, cleaning, petrol, and
maintenance are covered under this category.
• Companies encourages the employees to buy cars through hire purchase schemes and the
installments are paid by the company. This also helps combat the problem of accumulation
of used cars by the company cars with the high employee turnover.
• Two and Four wheeler loans are common practice. Interest rates may vary from 0% to 5%
with the repayment period varying from 3 to 5 years.
• Medical benefits are liberally available with tie-ups with insurance companies and hospitals
in many cases.
• Some companies assist employees in their higher education by sponsoring evening classes or
providing sabbatical leave at company cost.
• Reimbursement of books, periodicals, newspapers, journals etc against a pre-determined
limit is common. Membership subscription to professional bodies is also reimbursed.

Q9- Discuss concept and role of individual and the organization socialisation?
(v v v v v imp)
Ans- CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALISATION

“Socialisation refers to the process by which persons acquire the knowledge, skills, and disposition
that make them more or less able members of their society”. We have all undergone this process
many times. Certainly, significant socialisation occurs during infancy and early childhood. We are
born into this world with potential for a very wide range of behaviour, but we learn from our parents
and other close associates to behave within a narrower range that is customary and acceptable.
People face re-socialisation on entering the first grade, joining and athletic team or the scouts,
matriculating into college, and learning their first job. With all of these early socialisation experience
it might be thought that the adult should easily adapt to new social situations.

INDIVIDUAL AND THE ORGANIZATION: THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION

The individual joining any organization develops new values, attitudes, and behaviour appropriate
for membership. The problems associated with entrance into and adaptation to work organizations
are issues of adult socialisation. In complex societies with rapid technological and sociological
changes, it is imposible to socialise the young child to all future roles. Every individual must face
continuing resocialisation to new situations throughout his or her life.
One of the most important periods of adult socialisation is when the individual is on the boundary of
a new organization ready to become a member. Figure 1 illustrates the individual moving through
the boundary to become a member. The diagram is simple but the process is complex. There is a
great deal of difference between being an outsider looking in and being a full-fledged and accepted
member. Most organizations select individuals who can become members - and require newcomers
to behave in appropriate ways.

Organizational socialisation—the process of becoming an accepted member is a reciprocal process;

the individual adapts, but so does the organization. Every time an organization takes in a new
member too, is subject to new influences increasing likelihood of change. For example, the opening
up of business and others organizations to greater participation by women and minorities not only
results in the need to socialise these groups, but also require change in the organizations
themselves.

Self-image and Membership

Individuals hold a certain image of themselves when entering the organization. This undergoes
changes and they interact with the organization and learn new tasks and roles. The new lawyer is
likely to have a significantly different self-image after she has been in the law firm for six months
than when she started. Organizational life gives opportunities to test her knowledge and skills and to
assess her own strengths and weakness.

Membership often requires the development of new values appropriate to the position. To become
a successful members, the individual must accommodate, at least to some degree, the goals, value
and practices of the organization. The new CA fresh from examination in accounting theory and
practice, may have to modify his approach significantly to fit actual organizational practices.

We have stressed here the initial process of integrating into the organization. But, just as in the
world at large, the process is never complete. Later on the individual may betransferred, promoted,
move to another organization, or even change careers. Technological and structural shifts may
occur, task requirements may be modified, and social groups may change. All of these changes may
require the resocializaton of the person into a new situation.

Interactions Between Individual and Organization

How many organizations are you member of? How many affect your life in important ways? These
are simple questions but require some though. If you consider all organizations that have an
influence, (direct or oblique) on your life and behavior, the list would likely be in the hundreds and
still probably would not be complete.

For example, in driving to school (an organization of which you are voluntary member) your
behaviour is influenced by the speed limit (a product of governmental institutions).

Never the Total Person

Although we recognize that we are in constant interaction with organizations, we should remember
that they never encompass the total person. Organizations are designed to accomplish specific
purposes, and they engage only a segment of a person in accomplishing these objectives. They are
most interested in the specific behavior that affects individual performance in meeting these goals.
A person may be a champion bowler, a great husband and father a member of the church choir, and
a subscriber to Playboy, but these affiliations are likely to be irrelevant to the organization if his task
is to put two bolts on the left front door of the cars coming down the assembly line. Managers are
interested in having individual adapt their behavior in organizationally relevant matters.
Furthermore, the work situation requires that the individual shape a vast repertoire of potential
behaviours to a narrow range of specific actions. It seeks to utilize only part of a person‟s skills and
abilities.

This implies that there is always limited integration or socialisation of the total person into the
organization. “People who perform organizational tasks must be sustained by factors outside the
boundary of the organization. The organization is not the total world of the individual; it is not a
society. People must fulfill other social roles; besides, society has shaped them in ways which affect
their ability to perform organizational tasks. A man has a marital

status, ethnic identification, religious affiliations, a distinctive personality, friends, to name only a
few .... Daily, people come contaminated into the organization”. (Perrow, 1970).

Never the Total Organization

Just as the Organizational never encompasses the total, the individual does not comprehend and
experience the total organization. The individual‟s “organizational horizon” is limited (Porter,
Lawler, & Hackman, 1975). People in organizations have limited perspectives of the total
organization because of differences in hierarchical level, tasks assigned, departmental affiliations,
and interpersonal contacts. Moreover, different people subject to the same organizational
influences may have different perceptions. It is often starting for professors who receive evaluations
of their courses to find vast differences among individual responses. Some students may rate their
course and instructor as excellent, while others rate it a disaster. Similarly workers performing the
same task and receiving approximately the same rewards sometimes have significantly different
perceptions about the leadership style and quality of the work environment. It is quite obvious that
we perceive and react to new situations in different ways because of past socialisations to life and
our own personalities.

CONCEPT OF ROLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALISATION

The idea of role comes form sociology and it is the pattern of actions expected of a person in his
activities involving others. It arises as a result of the position one occupied in the social structure as
he/she interacts with other people. In order to be able to coordinate his work with others in an
organization, one needs some way to anticipate their behaviour as one interacts with them. Role
performs this functions in the social system.

A person functions in roles both on the job and away from it, as shown in Figure 2. One person
performs the occupational role of worker, the family role of father, the social role of club president,
and many others. In his various roles he is both buyer and seller, boss and subordinate, a father and
son, and an advisor and seeker of advice. Each role calls for different types of behaviour. Within the
work environment alone, a worker has more than one role. He may be a worker in group A, a
subordinate of foreman in B, and machinist, a member of a union, and a representative on the safety
committee. Undoubtedly role is the most complexly organized response pattern of which a human
being is capable. Activities of manager and workers a like are guided by their role perceptions, that
is, how they think they are supposed to act in a given situation. Since mangers perform many
different roles, they must be highly adaptive in order to change from one role to another quickly.
The factory foreman‟s role particularly requires that he be adaptive in working with the extremes of
subordinate and superior, staff and line, technical and non-technical, and education and
uneducated.

A role set is the entire configuration of surrounding roles as they affect a particular role, such as the
foreman‟s role just described. That is, all the different persons with whom the foreman interacts in
this role of foreman have role expectations concerning the way in which he should act, and these
expectations collectively make up the role set for his role as foreman, this role set arises partlyfrom
the nature of the job itself, because managers in equivalent jobs but in different companies tend to
perceive and play their roles in about the same way

The existence of role expectations means that a manager or other person interacting with someone
else needs to perceive three role values, and shown interacting with someone else needs to perceive
three role values, as shown in Figure 3. First, he needs to see his own role as required by the
function he is performing. Then he needs to see the role of the person he contacts. Finally, he needs
to see his role as seen by the other person. Obviously he cannot meet the needs of others unless he
can perceive what they expect of him. Research shows that where there is wide variance in a
manager‟s role perception of his job and the employee‟s role expectations of that job, there tends
to be poor motivation and inefficiency. They may even have difficulty communicating because they
will not be talking about the same things in the same way. For example, difficulties may arise
because a manager sees his role as that of a hard boiled pusher, but his employees expect the
opposite. When role expectations of a job are materially different or opposite, the incumbent in the
job tends to be in role conflict because he cannot meet one expectation without rejecting the other.
A president in one company faced role conflict, for example, when he learned that both the
controller and the personnel director expected him to allocate

Complex Web as they interact:The new organizational planning function to their departments.
Regarding the existence of role conflict research suggests that a manager bases his decision
primarily on legitimacy (which expectations he thinks is more “right” and reasonably) and sanction
(how he thinks he will be affected if he follows one expectation in preference to the other). In case
role expectations are substantially unknown because of poor communication or are inadequately
defined, role ambiguity exists, and it is more difficult to predict how a person in that role will act.
From a manager‟s point of view, a fuller understanding of roles should help him know what others
expect of him and how he should act. Knowing this he should be more adaptable to each unique role
relationship. His decision making should improve because he will understand why other people are
acting the way they are. He will also recognize the variety of roles each employee plays and will try
to provide motivations and satisfactions for those several job roles.

Q10- Discuss concept and process of mobility and separation in organisation

with figure? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- MOBILITY

“Mobility is an organizational activity to cope with the changing organizational requirements like
change in organizational structure, fluctuation in requirement of organizational product,
introduction of new method of work etc. Mobility in an organizational context includes mainly
„promotion‟and „transfer‟. Sometimes, „demotion‟also comes under mobility

Purposes of Mobility

Mobility serve the following purposes:

a) To improve organizational effectiveness;

b) To maximise employee efficiency;

c) To cope with changes in operation; and

d) To ensure discipline.
SEPARATIONS
Separation means cessation of service with the organization for one or other reason. It may occur
due to resignation, retirement, dismissal, suspension, layoff or death.

a) Resignation- Resignation or quit is a voluntary separation initiated by the employee. It may

be on grounds of health, marriage, better opportunities elsewhere or may be compulsory
when an employee is asked to resign to avoid termination. Some resignations may enable
the organization to rectify mistakes in hiring of employees and to bring in fresh talent from
outside. However, excess turnover is costly for the organization. Hence, to find out the real
causes of resignation so that appropriate actions may be taken to prevent avoidable
resignations, HR department conduct „Exit Interview‟ with the employee who is leaving the
organization. The main requirements of a successful exit interview are as following:
Q11- Discuss emerging aspect of HRM function and challenge faced by HR
manager? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- EMERGING ASPECTS OF HRM FUNCTION

Along side the changing functions of HRM and changing roles of HR managers there is also evidence
of emerging new aspects of HRM function such as strategy and HRM ethics and HRM, and HRM
outsourcing. Some of them are discussed below.

Strategy and HRM

The primary goal of every organization is to remain and relevant in business. To achieve this goal,
organizations should be effective and efficient in their operations within the limitations of their
resources. Therefore, management think of strategy, which is referred to as a set of coordinated and
monitored choices and actions within the framework of the organizations. A strategy is regarded to
be more than decisions, also is putting choices into practice. However, regarding HR management in
organizations, there are two basic types of strategy. (i) competitive business strategy, which involves
choice making and how to serve their customers better; and (ii) human resource strategy that
involve choice making regarding the management of people within the organization. Further, there
is need to harmonize the two strategies in order to ensure high organizational performance as
significant attention has been given to HR becoming a strategic partner. This concept has led to the
formation of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), which is an integration of the
strategic management and human resource management. SHRM points to the contribution of HRM
to the performance of organizations, evidently, organizations adopting a particular strategy require
HR practices that may differ from those required by organizations adopting alternative strategies
(Delery and Doty, 1996), meaning that there is an important link between organizational strategy
and HR practices that are implemented in that organization.

Ethics & HRM

HR practitioners play major role in keeping, disseminating and enforcing organizational ethics. Some
areas of ethical misconduct involving HR activities are depicted in Table 1. Essentially, these ethical
issues generate fundamental questions about fairness, justice, and truthfulness, therefore making
the study of ethics wide and complex.

HR Outsourcing

The concept of outsourcing is familiar to us with the term „BPO‟ i.e. Business process outsourcing.
Outsourcing simply refers to the use of another party or third party to carry out various or specific
business operations or functions. A similar kind of concept newly emerges for the HR functions as
well where the variety of specific HR functions of an organization is delegated to another outside
party who are expert to carry out HR functions. Challenges that an organization deals with while
opting for outsourcing is which function should be outsourced, to whom it can be outsourced, for
how long the function can be outsourced and how the relationship with the outsourced company
can be managed for getting the functions done effectively. The mixed thoughts and emotions
associated with HR outsourcing is available in the literature. Many have supported that provides
potential gains in HR functions but desired cost-saving rarely materialized (Cooke et al., 2005).
Although many organizations still opt for outsourcing their various business activities and in fact
decisions to outsource functions have increased, albeit perhaps cautiously (CIPD, 2011). CIPD(2011)
has explained the potential benefits of HR outsourcing along with the associated challenges. The
benefit of „reduced cost‟ comes with the challenge of determining which function can be
outsourced. If the manager is not aware of the particular HR functions completely it will lead to the
unnecessary increased cost of outsourcing. The benefit of „increased efficiency and speed of
response‟ comes with the loss of tacit knowledge of the organization. With outsourcing, an
organization takes the benefit of a sophisticated e-HR system of provider but at the cost of losing
control over the HR process and decision making. Along with these benefits, an organization takes
the advantage of HR expertise and knowledge of a third party but have to dissociate itself with the
day-to-day operations of HR decision making. Only the strategic HR decision making remains with
the organization.

CHALLENGES FACED BY HR MANAGERS-

HR activities in organizations are facing some challenges in practice, such as occupational shifts;
quality of available workforce; growth in casual workers; technological shifts; gender diversity;
racial/ethnic diversity; age limit; gloabalization and organizational restructuring. However,
challenges facing HR managers are seen from two perspectives; internal and external and could be
classified into three: (i) organizational challenges these are internal in nature and often results from
environmental forces that are external by nature. Some of the issues emanating from the
organizations include organizational restructuring, organizational culture, outsourcing, downsizing
and decentralization; (ii) environmental challenges they are issues emanating from the external
context where the company operates, which has great influence on performances of organizations.
These include; legislation, globalization, labour demand and supply, an work diversity; and (iii)
individual challenges are the issues regarding employees, how they are being treated, matching
individuals with organizations, employee development, insecurity, and reward systems, which
affects organizational performance.

Q12- Explain the concept of strategic HRM? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

According to Anthony et. al (1996) strategy can be defined as “the formulation of organizational
missions, goals and objectives, as well as the action plans for achievement, that explicitly recognize
the competition and the impact of outside environmental forces”. The classical approach of strategy
refers to the ability, capacity and readiness of the management to make long term planning to make
decisions and actions to achieve the organizational goals effectively. Therefore, management can be
seen as “a field that deals with managerial decisions and actions to improve the long-run
performance of organizations” (Crawshaw, Budhwar& Davis, 2017). According to them, strategic
management incorporates:
Q13- Discuss objective and determinants of HRP? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- OBJECTIVES, BENEFITS AND NEED OF HUMAN RESOURSE PLANNING

The following are the objectives of human resource planning

DETERMINANTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Q14- Explain the meaning of training? Discuss need and importance of
training? Describe various method of training? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- DEFINING TRANING

Training is the most important function that directly contributes to the development of human
resources. This also happens to be a neglected function in most of the organizations. Recent surveys
on the investments made by Indian organizations on training indicate that a large number of
organizations do not even have spend 0.1 per cent of their budget on training. Many organizations
do not even have a training department. If human resources have to be developed, the organization
should created conditions in which people acquired new knowledge and skills and develop healthy
patterns of behavior and styles. One of the main mechanisms of achieving this environment is
institutional training. Training is a short-term process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure
by which personnel acquired technical knowledge and skills for a definite purpose.

NEEDS AND BENEFITS OF TRAINING

Training is essential because technology is developing continuously and at a fast rate. Systems and
practices get outdated soon due to new discoveries in technology, including technical, managerial
and behavioural aspects. Organisations that do not develop mechanisms to catch up with and use
the growing technology soon become stale. However, developing individuals in the organisation can
contribute to its effectiveness of the organisation. There are some other reasons also for which this
training becomes necessary. Explained below are various factors, giving rise to the need for training.
Methods of Training
Q15- Discuss the environmental / organizational factors and its influence on
HRM? (v v v v v imp)
Ans-

Environmental influences are factors that impact the Human Resource Management operations
within an organization. Factors influencing Human Resource Management are not static. Factors
influencing HRM exhibit 1 can be classified into two categories:

A. External environment

B. Internal environment
Q16- Describe scope and importance of HRM? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- IMPORTANCE OF HRM

HRM is the central sub-system of an organisation (Figure 1).

SCOPE OF HRM
SHORT NOTE PRIORITY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Q1- Job description and job specification? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- Job analysis is the examination of a job, its component parts and the circumstances in which it
is performed. It leads to a job description which sets out the purpose, scope, duties and
responsibilities of a job. From the job analysis and job description, a job specification may be
derived, which is a statement of the skills, knowledge and other personal attributes required to carry
out the job. Some of the uses are:

1) Recruitment and selection: where it is provided a basis for a specification of what the company is
looking for.

2) Training: where by means of skills and task analysis it produces training specifications which set
out training needs and are used to prepare training programmes.

3) Job evaluation: where by means of whole job or factor comparison, job descriptions can be
compared and decisions made on the relative position of a job in the hierarchy.

4) Performance appraisal: where the job description resulting from job analysis is used to decide on
the objectives and standards the job holder should reach against which his or her performance will
be measured.

5) Organization Planning: as part of the process of activity

Job descriptions and job specifications are two similar tools, which are often used interchangeably,
but there is a subtle difference between them.

The job description is a brief statement that tells the general information about the job. In plain
English, it is where the nature of the job is described. The job description is briefly taken from the
job analysis, and it comprises of information about the workplace, duty-timing, salary,
responsibilities, and other general information.

The job specification derives from the job description; it is one of the most important readable
information for the job-hunter as it tells about the eligibility criteria for the certain post. The job
specification holds information regarding the eligibilities for the vacancy. It lets applicants know
what skills, level of experience, education, and abilities are required for the role.
Q2- JOB DESIGN? (v v v v v imp)
Ans- Job design has emerged as an important area of work analysis. It is based on growing
conceptual and empirical base and has commanded research attention and is being widely applied
to actual practice of management. Job design concern and approaches are considered to have begun
with the scientific management movement. Pioneering scientific managers like Taylor and Gilbreth
examined jobs with techniques such as time and motion analysis. Their goal was to maximize human
efficiency on the job. Taylor suggested that task design might be the most important single element
in scientific management. Job designing evolved into what is popularly known as job engineering.
The industrial engineering approach is basically concerned with products, process, tool design, plant
layout, operating procedures, work measurement, standards, and human-machine interactions. It
has also been closely associated with sophisticated computer applications involving Computer
Assisted Design (CAD). These computer systems had a positive impact by reducing task and workflow
uncertainty. Top management could readily perceive the immediate cost savings form job
engineering, but certain behavioural aspects like quality absenteeism, and turnover were generally
ignored

In the 1950s, different methods were being adopted by practicing managers. For example, IBM job
rotation and job enlargement programmes were introduced. Job enlargement programmes
essentially loaded the jobs horizontally, and expanded the number of operations performed by the
worker and made the job less specialized. Job rotation programmes reduced boredom by switching
people around to various jobs. Although boredom at work is still a significant problem in the last
several years, attention has shifted to new demanding challenges facing employees on the job. For
example, because of downsizing of organizations and increasingly advanced technology, jobs have
suddenly become much more demanding and employees must differently adapt to unpredictable
changes. For example, in manufacturing assembly line methods are being replaced by flexible,
customized production and computer-integrated manufacturing. This new manufacturing approach
requires workers to deal with an ever-increasing line of product and sophisticated technology. In this
context, job design takes on special importance in today‟s human resource management. It is
essential to design jobs so that stress can be reduced, motivation can be enhanced, and satisfaction
of employees and their performance can be improved so that organizations can effectively compete
in the global market place.

Job Enlargement

Job enlargement involves adding more tasks to a job. It is a horizontal expansion and increases jobs
scope and gives a variety of tasks to the jobholder. It is essentially adding more tasks to a single job.
It definitely reduces boredom and monotony by providing the employee more variety of tasks in the
job. Thus, it helps to increase interest in work and efficiency. In one study it was found that by
expanding the scope of job, workers got more satisfaction, committed less errors, and customer
service improved. However, research has provided contrary evidence also in that enlargement
sometimes may not motivate an individual in the desired direction. Job Enrichment

Job Enrichment
Another approach to designing jobs in job enrichment. In the earlier two methods, human
capabilities are not being utilized to a maximum and employees are feeling frustrated. Job
enrichment involves a vertical expansion of a job by adding more responsibilities and freedom to it.
According to Herzberg, job enrichment is the type of expansion of a job that gives employees more
challenge, more responsibility, more opportunity to grow and contribute his or her ideas to the
organization‟s success. In other words, job enrichment increases job depth that refers to the degree
of control employees have over their work. Job enrichment basically provides autonomy while
retaining accountability. It generates feeling of personal responsibility and achievement. Job
enrichment certainly improves the quality of work output, employee motivation, and satisfaction.

Every organization follows specific procedures for job designing. Each procedure may be different
for different jobs. Certain aspects may be kept in mind while following the job enrichment
procedure.

• Increasing the responsibilities of the employees by adding a variety of tasks

• Allowing employees to set their own standards of performance.

• Providing autonomy for the employee to execute the job

• Encouraging the employees to innovate new techniques and review results

• Empowering the individual to make critical decisions in problem situations while on the job.

Q3- MBO? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- Management by Objectives

Management by objectives (MBO) is a process that converts organizational objectives into individual
objectives. It can be thought of as consisting of four steps: goal setting, action planning, self-control,
and periodic reviews:-

a) In goal setting, the organization‟s overall objectives are used as guidelines from which
departmental and individual objectives are set. At the individual level, the manager and subordinate
jointly identify those goals that are critical for the subordinate to achieve in order to fulfill the
requirements of the job as determined in job analysis. These goals are agreed upon and then
become the standards by which the employee‟s results will be evaluated.

b) In action planning, the means are determined for achieving the ends established in goals setting.
That is, realistic plans are developed to attain the objectives.

This step includes identifying the activities necessary to accomplish the objective, establishing the
critical relationships between these activities, estimating the time requirement for each activity, and
determining the resources required to complete each activity.

c) Self-control refers to the systematic monitoring and measuring of performance. Ideally, by having
the individual review his or her own performance. The MBO philosophy is built on the assumptions
that individuals can be responsible, can exercise self-direction, and do not require external controls
and threats of punishment.

d) Finally, with periodic progress reviews, corrective action is initiated when behavior deviates from
the standards established in the goal-setting phase. Again, consistent with MBO philosophy, these
manager-subordinate reviews are conducted in a constructive rather than punitive manner. Reviews
are not meant to degrade the individual but to aid in future performance. These reviews should take
place at least two or three times a year.

Following are the advantages of MBO:

a) It is result –oriented. It assists the planning and control functions and provides motivation.

b) Employees know exactly what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated.

c) Employees have a greater commitment to objectives that they have participated in developing
than to those unilaterally set by their bosses.

Q3- Succession planning? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- Succession planning is an ongoing process that identifies necessary competencies, then works
to assess, develop, and retain a talent pool of employees, in order to ensure a continuity of
leadership for all critical positions. Succession planning is a specific strategy, which spells out the
particular steps to be followed to achieve the mission, goals, and initiatives identified in workforce
planning. It is a plan that managers can follow, implement, and customize to meet the needs of their
organisation, division, and/or department.

The continued existence of an organization over time require a succession of persons to fill key
position .The purpose of succession planning is to identify and develop people to replace current
incumbents in key position for a variety of reasons.

Succession can be from within or from outside the organization. Succession by people from within
gives a shared feeling among employee that they can grow as the organization grows. Therefore
organization needs to encourage the growth and development with its employee. They should look
inward to identify potential and make effort to groom people to higher and varied responsibilities. In
some professionally run large organizations, managers and supervisor in every department are
usually asked to identify three or four best candidate to replace them in their jobs should the need
arise. However, the organization may find it necessary to search for talent from outside in certain
circumstance. For example, when qualified and competent people are not available internally, when
it is planning to launch a major expansion or diversification programmes requiring new ideas etc..
Complete dependence on internal source may cause stagnation for the organization. Similarly
complete dependence on outside talent may cause stagnation in the career prospects of the
individual within the organization which may in turn generate a sense of frustration.

Succession planning provides managers and supervisors a step-by-step methodology to utilize after
workforce planning initiatives have identified the critical required job needs in their organization.
Succession planning is proactive and future focused, and enables managers and supervisors to
assess, evaluate, and develop a talent pool of individuals who are willing and able to fill positions
when needed. It is a tool to meet the necessary staffing needs of an organization/department, taking
not only quantity of available candidates into consideration, but also focusing on the quality of the
candidates, through addressing competencies and skill gaps.

Q4- Retraining? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- Retraining programmes are designed as a means of avoiding personal obsolescence. It is the
tendency of the individual worker to become outdated in terms of job requirements. This is true of
employees at every in the organization.

However, retraining is focused on rank-and-file workers. This is so because their number is large and
technological change makes its immediate impact on those who work closer to technological
resources. Besides they are less equipped to foresee their personal needs and because they require
more assistance in advance planning than do others.

Workers require refresher course to help them recall what they have forgotten and to overcome
some practices they have come to accept as satisfactory. They also need to bring them with respect
to relevant new knowledge and skill. The need for retraining also arises as a result of technological
changes resulting in changes in equipment, tools, and work methods.

Q4- Quality circle ? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- There are various forms and styles of participative management. One of them which is widely
applied and practised is „Quality circles‟. The „quality circle‟ concept first originated in USA which
was very successfully applied in Japan afterwards. This technique boosted the Japanese firms to
endeavour for high quality products at low costs.

Let us look at the organization of Quality Circle technique. Basically it consists of a group
organization of eight to ten employees who meet each other during a meeting which is held one in a
week, fortnight or month depending upon the problems and their frequency of generation. These
members discuss various problems related to quality. They recommend alternative solutions to solve
the problems by investigating the causes. Depending upon the recommendations, corrections are
made. Corrections are checked and then accepted as a norm if the solution works. They generally
hold their meeting in the organisation premises. They are generally given a room where they can
meet and think and come out with solution to problems. These employees basically have a shared
area of responsibilities. This leads to a good participative environment and greater acceptability of
decisions. Since the employees are not very good at analysing and decision making, the part of
quality making, the part of quality circle includes teaching employees group communication skills,
quality strategies and measurement and problem analysis techniques.

Q5- WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT? (v v v v v imp)

Ans- Workers‟ participation in management is a highly complex concept. The notion that workers
should participate in the management of enterprises which employ them is not a new concept. It has
apparently existed since the beginning of the industrial revolution. However, its importance
increased gradually over a period of years due to the growth of large-scale enterprises, increase in
work-force, paternalistic philosophy and practice of informal consultation. Moreover, the growth of
professionalism in industry, advent of democracy, and development of the principle of social justice,
transformation of traditional labour management relations have added new dimensions to the
concept of participative management. The philosophy underlying workers‟ participation stresses: (i)
democratic participation in decision-making; (ii) maximum employer-employee collaboration; (iii)
minimum state intervention; (iv) realisation of a greater measure of social justice; (v) greater
industrial efficiency; and (vi) higher level of organisational health and effectiveness.

It has been varyingly understood and practised as a system of joint consultation in industry; as a
form of labour management cooperation; as a recognition of the principle of co-partnership, and as
an instrument of industrial democracy. Consequently, participation has assumed different forms,
varying from mere voluntary sharing of information by management with the workers to formal
participation by the latter in actual decision-making process of management. Workers‟ participation
in management is mental and emotional involvement in group situation which encourages workers
to contribute to group goals and share responsibility. Participation has three ideas:

I-First, participation means mental and emotional involvement, rather than mere muscular
activity. A person‟s self is involved rather than his body. It is more psychological than
physical.
ii) Second idea in participation is that it motivates persons to contribute to achievement of
organisational goals by creative suggestions and initiatives.
iii) Third area is that it encourages people to accept responsibility. They are ready to work
with the manager, instead of against him.

To put it briefly, it is team working together for a common purpose, it is a notion of industrial
democracy. Workers have greater say over their work situation.