Human Resource Management

Human resources may be defined as the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes of an organization's workforce, as well as the values, attitudes, approaches and beliefs of the individuals involved in the affairs of the organization. It is the sum total or aggregate of inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills represented by the talents and aptitudes of the persons employed in the organization. The human resources are multidimensional in nature. From the national point of view, human resources may be defined as the knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes obtained in the population; whereas from the viewpoint of the individual enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills as exemplified in the talents and aptitudes of its employees. Human Resource Management: Defined Human Resource Management has come to be recognized as an inherent part of management, which is concerned with the human resources of an organization. Its objective is the maintenance of better human relations in the organization by the development, application and evaluation of policies, procedures and programmes relating to human resources to optimize their contribution towards the realization of organizational objectives. In other words, HRM is concerned with getting better results with the collaboration of people. It is an integral but distinctive part of management, concerned with people at work and their relationships within the enterprise. HRM helps in attaining maximum individual development, desirable working relationship between employees and employers, employees and employees, and effective modeling of human resources as contrasted with physical resources. It is the recruitment, selection, development, utilization, compensation and motivation of human resources by the organization. Human Resource Management: Evolution The early part of the century saw a concern for improved efficiency through careful design of work. During the middle part of the century emphasis shifted to the employee's productivity. Recent decades have focused on increased concern for the quality of working life, total quality management and worker's participation in management. These three phases may be termed as welfare, development and empowerment. Human Resource Management: Nature Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. The various features of HRM include: It is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises. Its focus is on results rather than on rules. It tries to help employees develop their potential fully. It encourages employees to give their best to the organization. It is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results. It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well motivated employees. It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various levels in the organization.

 It is a multidisciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from psychology, economics, etc. Human Resource Management: Scope The scope of HRM is very wide: 1. Personnel aspect-This is concerned with manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, transfer, promotion, training and development, layoff and retrenchment, remuneration, incentives, productivity etc. 2. Welfare aspect-It deals with working conditions and amenities such as canteens, creches, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc. 3. Industrial relations aspect-This covers union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary procedures, settlement of disputes, etc. Human Resource Management: Beliefs The Human Resource Management philosophy is based on the following beliefs: Human resource is the most important asset in the organization and can be developed and increased to an unlimited extent. A healthy climate with values of openness, enthusiasm, trust, mutuality and collaboration is essential for developing human resource. HRM can be planned and monitored in ways that are beneficial both to the individuals and the organization. Employees feel committed to their work and the organization, if the organization perpetuates a feeling of belongingness. Employees feel highly motivated if the organization provides for satisfaction of their basic and higher level needs. Employee commitment is increased with the opportunity to discover and use one's capabilities and potential in one's work. It is every manager's responsibility to ensure the development and utilisation of the capabilities of subordinates. Human Resource Management: Objectives To help the organization reach its goals. To ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resources. To ensure respect for human beings. To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals. To ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization. To achieve and maintain high morale among employees. To provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees. To increase to the fullest the employee's job satisfaction and self-actualization. To develop and maintain a quality of work life. To be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society. To develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect. To enhance employee's capabilities to perform the present job. To equip the employees with precision and clarity in transaction of business. To inculcate the sense of team spirit, team work and inter-team collaboration. Human Resource Management: Functions In order to achieve the above objectives, Human Resource Management undertakes the following activities:

1. Human resource or manpower planning. 2. Recruitment, selection and placement of personnel. 3. Training and development of employees. 4. Appraisal of performance of employees. 5. Taking corrective steps such as transfer from one job to another. 6. Remuneration of employees. 7. Social security and welfare of employees. 8. Setting general and specific management policy for organizational relationship. 9. Collective bargaining, contract negotiation and grievance handling. 10. Staffing the organization. 11. Aiding in the self-development of employees at all levels. 12. Developing and maintaining motivation for workers by providing incentives. 13. Reviewing and auditing manpower management in the organization 14. Potential Appraisal. Feedback Counseling. 15. Role Analysis for job occupants. 16. Job Rotation. 17. Quality Circle, Organization development and Quality of Working Life. Human Resource Management: Major Influencing Factors In the 21st century HRM will be influenced by following factors, which will work as various issues affecting its strategy: Size of the workforce. Rising employees' expectations Drastic changes in the technology as well as Life-style changes. Composition of workforce. New skills required. Environmental challenges. Lean and mean organizations. Impact of new economic policy. Political ideology of the Government. Downsizing and rightsizing of the organizations. Culture prevailing in the organization etc. Human Resource Management: Futuristic Vision On the basis of the various issues and challenges the following suggestions will be of much help to the philosophy of HRM with regard to its futuristic vision: 1. There should be a properly defined recruitment policy in the organization that should give its focus on professional aspect and merit based selection. 2. In every decision-making process there should be given proper weightage to the aspect that employees are involved wherever possible. It will ultimately lead to sense of team spirit, team-work and inter-team collaboration. 3. Opportunity and comprehensive framework should be provided for full expression of employees' talents and manifest potentialities. 4. Networking skills of the organizations should be developed internally and externally as well as horizontally and vertically. 5. For performance appraisal of the employees emphasis should be given to 360 degree feedback which is based on the review by superiors, peers, subordinates as well as self-review. 6. 360 degree feedback will further lead to increased focus on customer services, creating of highly involved workforce, decreased hierarchies, avoiding discrimination and biases and identifying performance threshold. 7. More emphasis should be given to Total Quality Management. TQM will cover all employees at all levels; it will conform to customer's needs and expectations; it will ensure effective utilization of

resources and will lead towards continuous improvement in all spheres and activities of the organization. 8. There should be focus on job rotation so that vision and knowledge of the employees are broadened as well as potentialities of the employees are increased for future job prospects. 9. For proper utilization of manpower in the organization the concept of six sigma of improving productivity should be intermingled in the HRM strategy. 10. The capacities of the employees should be assessed through potential appraisal for performing new roles and responsibilities. It should not be confined to organizational aspects only but the environmental changes of political, economic and social considerations should also be taken into account. 11. The career of the employees should be planned in such a way that individualizing process and socializing process come together for fusion process and career planning should constitute the part of human resource planning. To conclude Human Resource Management should be linked with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility. All the above futuristic visions coupled with strategic goals and objectives should be based on 3 H's of Heart, Head and Hand i.e., we should feel by Heart, think by Head and implement by Hand.

HRM IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT A. HRM in a Changing Environment B. New trends at work place LESSON OVERVIEW This lecture will primarily help students who intend to be managers, deal effectively with the challenges of managing people. Firms that deal with these challenges effectively are likely to outperform those that do not. These challenges may be categorized according to their primary focus: the environment, the organization, or the individual. A. HRM in a Changing Environment: The Challenges Today's organizations are facing challenges upon following levels: i. Environmental Challenges ii. Organizational Challenges iii. Individual Challenges
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Environmental Challenges Environmental challenges refer to forces external to the firm that are largely beyond management's control but influence organizational performance. They include: rapid change, the internet revolution, workforce diversity, globalization, legislation, evolving work and family roles, and skill shortages and the rise of the service sector. Six important environmental challenges today are: a) Rapid change, b) Work force diversity, c) Globalization, d) Legislation, e) Technology f) Evolving work and family roles, g) Skill shortages and the rise of the service sector a) Rapid Change Many organizations face a volatile environment in which change is nearly constant. If they are to survive and prosper, they need to adapt to change quickly and effectively. Human resources are almost always at the heart of an effective response system. Here are a few examples of how HR policies can help or hinder a firm grappling with external change: b) Work Force Diversity. All these trends present both a significant challenge and a real opportunity for managers. Firms that formulate and implement HR strategies that capitalize on employee diversity are more likely to survive and prosper. c) Globalization. One of the most dramatic challenges facing as they enter the twenty-first century is how to compete against foreign firms, both domestically and abroad. Many companies are already being compelled to think globally, something that doesn't come easily to firms long accustomed to doing business in a large and expanding domestic market with minimal foreign competition.

Weak response to international competition may be resulting in upwards layoffs in every year. Human resources can play a critical role in a business's ability to compete headto-head with foreign producers. The implications of a global economy on human resource management are many. Here are a few examples:

Worldwide company culture

Some firms try to develop a global company identity to smooth over cultural differences between domestic employees and those in international operations. Minimizing these differences increases cooperation and can have a strong impact on the bottom line. For instance, the head of human resources at the European division of Colgate Palmolive notes, "We try to build a common corporate culture. We want them all to be Colgaters."

Global alliances"

Some firms actively engage in international alliances with foreign firms or acquire companies overseas to take advantage of global markets. Making such alliances work requires a highly trained and devoted staff. For instance, Phillips (a Netherlands lighting and electronics firm) became the largest lighting manufacturer in the world by establishing a joint venture with AT&T and making several key acquisitions. These illustrations show how firms can use HR strategies to gain a worldwide competitive advantage. d) Legislation Much of the growth in the HR function over the past three decades may be attributed to its crucial role in keeping the company out of trouble with the law. Most firms are deeply concerned with potential liability resulting from personnel decisions that may violate laws enacted by the state legislatures, and/or local governments. These laws are constantly interpreted in thousands of cases brought before government agencies, federal courts, state courts, and t Supreme Court. How successfully a firm manages its human resources depends to a large extent on its ability to deal effectively with government regulations. Operating within the legal framework requires keeping track of the external legal environment and developing internal systems (for example, supervisory training and grievance procedures) to ensure compliance and minimize complaints. Many firms are now developing formal policies on sexual harassment and establishing internal administrative channels to deal with alleged incidents before employees feel the need to file a lawsuit. Legislation often has a differential impact on public- and private sector organizations. (Public sector is another term for governmental agencies; private sector refers to all other types of organizations.) Some legislation applies only to public-sector organizations. For instance, affirmative action requirements are typically limited to public organizations and to organizations that do contract work for them. However, much legislation applies to both public- and private sector organizations. In fact, it's difficult to think of any HR practices that are not influenced by government regulations. e) Technology The world has never before seen such rapid technological changes as are presently occurring in the computer and telecommunications industries. One estimate is that technological change is occurring so rapidly that individuals may have to change their entire skills three or four times in their career. The advances being made, affect every area of a business including human resource management.

f) Evolving Work and Family Roles The proportion of dual-career families, in which both wife and husband (or both members of a couple) work, is increasing every year. Unfortunately, women face the double burden of working at home and on the job, devoting 42 hours per week on average to the office and an additional 30 hours at home to children. This compares to 43 hours spent working in the office and only 12 hours at home for men. More and more companies are introducing "family-friendly" programs that give them a competitive advantage in the labor market. These programs are HR tactics that companies use to hire and retain the best-qualified employees, male or female, and they are very likely to payoff. For instance, among the well known organizations / firms, half of all recruits are women, but only 5% of partners are women. Major talent is being wasted as many women drop out after lengthy training because they have decided that the demanding 10- to 12-year partner track requires a total sacrifice of family life. These firms have started to change their policies and are already seeing gains as a result. Different companies have recently begun offering child-care and eldercare referral services as well to facilitate women workers as well as are introducing alternative scheduling to allow employees some flexibility in their work hours. g) Skill Shortages and the Rise of the Service Sector. Expansion of service-sector employment is linked to a number of factors, including changes in consumer tastes and preferences, legal and regulatory changes, advances in science and technology that have eliminated many manufacturing jobs, and changes in the way businesses are organized and managed. Service, technical, and managerial positions that require college degrees will make up half of all manufacturing and service jobs by 2000. Unfortunately, most available workers will be too unskilled to fill those jobs. Even now, many companies complain that the supply of skilled labor is dwindling and that they must provide their employees with basic training to make up for the shortcomings of the public education system. To rectify these shortcomings, companies currently spend large amount year on a wide variety of training programs.
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Organizational Challenges Organizational challenges refer to concerns that are internal to the firm. However, they are often a byproduct of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. These issues include: competitive position (cost, quality, and distinctive capability), decentralization, downsizing, organizational restructuring, self-managed work teams, small businesses, organizational culture, technology, and outsourcing. Organizational challenges are concerns or problems internal to a firm. They are often a byproduct of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. Still, managers can usually exert much more control over organizational challenges than over environmental challenges. Effective managers spot organizational issues and deal with them before they become major problems. One of the themes of this text is proactively: the need for firms to take action before problems get out of hand. Only managers who are well informed about important HR issues and organizational challenges can do this. These challenges include the need for a competitive position and flexibility, the problems of downsizing and organizational restructuring, the use of self-managed work teams, the rise of small businesses, the need to create a strong organizational culture, the role of technology, and the rise of outsourcing. An organization will outperform its competitors if it effectively utilizes its work force's unique combination of skills and abilities to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. HR policies can influence an organization's competitive position by

a) Controlling costs, b) Improving quality, and c) Creating distinctive capabilities d) Restructuring a) Controlling costs One way for a firm to gain a competitive advantage is to maintain low costs and a strong cash flow. A compensation system that uses innovative reward strategies to control labor costs can help the organization grow. A well-designed compensation system rewards employees for behaviors that benefit the company. Other factors besides compensation policies can enhance a firm's competitiveness by keeping labor costs under control. These include: better employee selection so that workers are more likely to stay with the company and to perform better while they are there, training employees to make them more efficient and productive; attaining harmonious labor relations); effectively managing health and safety issues in the workplace and structuring work to reduce the time and resources needed to design, produce, and deliver products or services b) Improving quality. The second way to gain a competitive advantage is to engage in continuous quality improvement. Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is oriented toward providing a quality product or service. c) Creating Distinctive Capabilities The third way to gain a competitive advantage is to utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in a particular area (for example, 3M's competence in adhesives, Carlson Corporation's leading presence in the travel business, and Xerox's dominance of the photocopier market). d) Restructuring A number of firms are changing the way the functions are performed. For example, some companies are restructuring HR for reasons such as time pressures, financial considerations, and market pressures. This restructuring often results in a shift in terms of who performs each function. Organizations still perform the majority of a firm's HR functions inside the firm. Adjusting to HR restructuring trends--who performs the human resource management tasks? The traditional human resource manager continues to be in place in most organizations, but some organizations are also using shared service centers, outsourcing, and line managers to assist in the delivery of human resources to better accomplish organizational objectives. Additionally, the size of some HR departments is getting smaller because certain functions are now being accomplished by others. This shift permits the HR managers to focus on more strategic and mission-oriented activities.
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The Human Resource Manager--An individual who normally acts in an advisory or staff capacity, working with other managers to help them deal with human resource matters. One general trend is that HR personnel are servicing an increasing number of employees. The human resource manager is primarily responsible for coordinating the management of human resources to help the organization achieve its goals. There is a shared responsibility between line managers and human resource professionals.

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Shared Service Centers--Take routine, transaction-based activities that are dispersed throughout the organization and consolidate them in one place. Outsourcing Firms--The process of transferring responsibility for an area of service and its objectives to an external provider. The main reason for this movement was to reduce transaction time, but other benefits include cost reductions and quality improvements. Companies found that administrative, repetitive tasks are often performed in a more cost-effective manner by external sources. Line Managers--Line managers, by the nature of their jobs, are involved with human resources. Line managers in certain firms are being used more to deliver HR services. When implemented, this change reduces the size of the HR department. Decentralization: In the traditional organizational structure, most major decisions are made at the top and implemented at lower levels. It is not uncommon for these organizations to centralize major functions, such as human resources, marketing, and production, in a single location (typically corporate headquarters) that serves as the firm's command center. Multiple layers of management are generally used to execute orders issued at the top and to control the lower ranks from above. Employees who are committed to the firm tend to move up the ranks over time in what some have called the internal labor market. However, the traditional top-down form of organization is quickly becoming obsolete, both because it is costly to operate and because it is too inflexible to compete effectively. It is being replaced by decentralization, which transfers responsibility and decision-making authority from a central office to people and locations closer to the situation that demands attention. HR strategies can play a crucial role in enhancing organizational flexibility by improving decision-making processes within the firm. The need for maintaining or creating organizational flexibility in HR strategies is addressed in several chapters of this book, including those dealing with work flows, compensation and training. Downsizing Periodic reductions in a company's work force to improve its bottom lineoften called downsizing-are becoming standard business practice, even among firms that were once legendary for their "no layoff' policies, such as AT&T, IBM, Kodak, and Xerox. In addition to fostering a lack of emotional commitment, transient employment relationships create a new set of challenges for firms and people competing in the labor market, as well as for government agencies that must deal with the social problems associated with employment insecurity (including loss of health insurance and mental illness). However, the good news for laid-off employees is that the poor-performance stigma traditionally attached to being fired or laid off is fading. Individual Challenges Human resource issues at the individual level address concerns that are most pertinent to decisions involving specific employees. These issues almost always reflect what is happening in the larger organization. How individuals are treated also is likely to have an effect on organizational issues. For instance, if many key employees leave a firm to join its competitor, it will affect the competitive posture of the firm. The individual issues include matching people and organization, ethics and social responsibility, productivity, empowerment, brain drain, and job insecurity. Human resource issues at the individual level address the decisions most pertinent to specific employees. These individual challenges almost always reflect what is happening in the larger organization. For instance, technology affects individual productivity; it also has ethical ramifications in terms of how information is used to make HR decisions (for example, use of credit or medical history data to decide whom to hire). How the company treats its individual

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employees is also likely to affect the organizational challenges we discussed earlier. For example, if many key employees leave the firm to join competitors, the organization's competitive position is likely to be affected. In other words, there is a two-way relationship between organizational and individual challenges. This is unlike the relationship between environmental and organizational challenges, in which the relationship goes only one way few organizations can have much impact on the environment. The most important individual challenges today involve, productivity, ethics and social responsibility, productivity, empowerment, brain drain, job security and matching people and organizations. Here we discuss each of them... a. Productivity is a measure of how much value individual employees add to the goods or services that the organization produces. The greater the output per individual, the higher the organization's productivity. Two important factors that affect individual productivity are ability and motivation. Employee ability, competence in performing a job, can be improved through a hiring and placement process that selects the best individuals for the job. It can also be improved through training and career development programs designed to sharpen employees' skills and prepare them for additional responsibilities. Motivation refers to a person's desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they believe that it offers a high quality of work life (QWL). b. Ethics and Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility refers to the extent to which companies should and do channel resources toward improving one or more segments of society other than the firm's owners or stockholders. Ethics is the bedrock of socially responsible behavior. People's expectations that their employers will behave ethically are increasing, so much that many firms and professional organizations have created codes of ethics outlining principles and standards of personal conduct for their members. Unfortunately, these codes often do not meet employees' expectations of ethical employer behavior. These negative perceptions have worsened over the years. In a recent poll of Harvard Business Review readers, almost half the respondents indicated their belief that managers do not consistently make ethical decisions. The widespread perceptions of unethical behavior may be attributed to the fact that managerial decisions are rarely clearcut. Except in a few blatant cases (such as willful misrepresentation), what is ethical or unethical is open to debate. Even the most detailed codes of ethics are still general enough to allow much room for managerial discretion. In other words, many specific decisions related to the management of human resources are subject to judgment calls. A company that exercises social responsibility attempts to balance its commitments-not only to its investors, but also to its employees, its customers, other businesses, and the community or communities in which it operates. For example, McDonald's established Ronald McDonald houses several years ago to provide lodging for families of sick children hospitalized away from home. Sears and General Electric support artists and performers, and many local merchants support local children's sports teams. c. Empowerment In recent years many firms have reduced employee dependence on superiors and placed more emphasis on individual control over (and responsibility for) the work that needs to be done. This process has been labeled empowerment

because it transfers direction from an external source (normally the immediate supervisor) to an internal source (the individual's own desire to do well). In essence, the process of empowerment entails providing workers with the skills and authority to make decisions that would traditionally be made by managers. The goal of empowerment is an organization consisting of enthusiastic, committed people who perform their work ably because they believe in it and enjoys doing it (internal control). This situation is in stark contrast to an organization that gets people to work as an act of compliance to avoid punishment (for example, being fired) or to qualify for a paycheck (external control). d. Brain Drain - With organizational success more and more dependent on knowledge held by specific employees, companies are becoming more susceptible to brain drain-the loss of intellectual property that results when competitors lure away key employees. High-Tec firms are particularly vulnerable to this problem. Such important industries as semiconductors and electronics suffer from high employee turnover as key employees, inspired by the potential for huge profits, leave established firms to start their own businesses. This brain drain can negatively affect innovation and cause major delays in the introduction of new products. To make matters worse, departing employees, particularly those in upper management, can wreak considerable havoc by taking other talent with them when they leave. To combat the problem of defection to competitors, some firms are crafting elaborate ant defection devices. For example, Compaq computer has introduced a policy that revokes bonuses and other benefits to key executives if they take other employees with them when they quit. Micron Technology staggers key employees' bonuses; they lose un-awarded portions when they leave. e. Job Insecurity In this era of downsizing and restructuring, many employees fear for their jobs. For most workers, being able to count on a steady job and regular promotions is a thing of the past. Even the most profitable companies have laid off workers. Companies argue that regardless of how well the firm is doing, layoffs have become essential in an age of cutthroat competition. In addition, the stock market often looks favorably on layoffs. For employees, however, chronic job insecurity is a major source of stress and can lead to lower performance and productivity. Though union membership has been declining in recent years, many workers still belong to unions, and job security is now a top union priority. In return for job security, though, many union leaders have had to make major concessions regarding pay and benefits. f. Matching People and Organizations Research suggests that HR strategies contribute to firm performance most when the firm uses these strategies to attract and retain the type of employee who best fits the firm's culture and overall business objectives. For example, one study showed that the competencies and personality characteristics of top executives could hamper or improve firm performance, depending on what the firm's business strategies are. Fast-growth firms perform better with managers who have a strong marketing and sales background, who are willing to take risks, and who have a high tolerance for ambiguity. However, these managerial traits actually reduce the performance of mature firms that have an established product and are more interested in maintaining (rather than expanding) their market share. Other research has shown that small high- tech firms benefit by hiring employees who are willing to

work in an atmosphere of high uncertainty, low pay, and rapid change in exchange for greater intrinsic satisfaction and the financial opportunities associated with a risky but potentially very lucrative product launch B. New Trends at Work Place: a. Education b. Work time c. Standard of living d. Expectations & demand e. Diversity and gender issues at work place f. QWL g. TQM The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic transformation in how firms are structured. Tall organizations that had many management levels are becoming flatter as companies reduce the number of people between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the lowest-ranking production employee in an effort to become more competitive. This transformation has had enormous implications for the effective utilization of human resources. Since the late 1980s, many companies have instituted massive layoffs of middle managers, whose traditional role of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling has come to be equated with the kind of cumbersome bureaucracy that prevents businesses from responding to market forces. It is estimated that two thirds of the jobs eliminated in the 1990s were supervisory/middle management jobs. New relationships among firms are also fostering hybrid organizational structures and the blending of firms with diverse histories and labor forces. Mergers and acquisitions, in which formerly independent organizations come together as a single entity, represent two important sources of restructuring. A newer and rapidly growing form of inter organizational bonding comes in the form of joint ventures, alliances, and collaborations among firms that remain independent, yet work together on specific products to spread costs and risks. To be successful, organizational restructuring requires effective management of human resources. For instance, flattening the organization requires careful examination of staffing demands, workflows, communication channels, training needs, and so on. Likewise, mergers and other forms of inter organizational relations require the successful blending of dissimilar organizational structures, management practices, technical expertise, and so forth...
a.

Education: Now a day organizations are available with the opportunity of having more knowledge and skilled workers, increase in the education level of society's continuously providing the highly educated work force in the organizations. Work time: Flextime--the practice of permitting employees to choose, with certain limitations, their own working hours. Compressed Workweek--any arrangement of work hours that permits employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. This approach adds many highly qualified individuals to the labor market by permitting both employment and family needs to be addressed. Standard of living: High employment rate, low inflation and Steady economic growth provide opportunity and rising living standards. Technological advance has enabled the world's population to grow with improved living standards for most.

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Expectations & demand: People's expectations that their employers will behave ethically are increasing, so much that many firms and professional organizations have created codes of ethics outlining principles and standards of personal conduct for their members. Figure 1-5 shows the code of ethics for members of the American Marketing Association. Unfortunately, these codes often do not meet employees' expectations of ethical employer behavior. These negative perceptions have worsened over the years. Diversity and gender issues at work place: Managing diversity means planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized. Managers are striving for racial, ethnic, and sexual workplace balance as a matter of economic self-interest. A study found that cultural diversity contributes to improved productivity, return on equity, and market performance. QWL: High quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in turn is a strong predictor of absenteeism and turnover. A firm's investments in improving the quality of work life also payoff in the form of better customer service. We discuss issues covering job design and their effects on employee attitudes and behavior. TQM: Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is oriented toward providing a quality product or service

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Define Recruitment, Objectives of Recruitment, Methods of Recruitment

Definition of Recruitment Recruitment is the process of hiring talented employees for certain jobs by motivating them to apply for those jobs which are available in organization. Objectives of Recruitment Recruitment fulfills the following objectives: It reviews the list of objectives of the company and tries to achieve them by promoting the company in the minds of public. 2. It forecasts how many people will be required in the company. 3. It enables the company to advertise itself and attract talented people. 4. It provides different opportunities to procure human resource.

Methods of Recruitment Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs. Companies can adopt different methods of recruitment for selecting people in the company. These methods are: 1. Internal sources 2. External sources The sources can be further explained with the help of following diagram:

Internal Sources of Recruitment Internal sources of recruitment refer to obtaining people for job from inside the company. There are different methods of internal recruitment: 1. Promotion Companies can give promotion to existing employees. This method of recruitment saves a lot of time, money and efforts because the company does not have to train the existing employee. Since the employee has

already worked with the company. He is familiar with the working culture and working style. It is a method of encouraging efficient workers. 2. Departmental examination This method is used by government departments to select employees for higher level posts. The advertisement is put up on the notice board of the department. People who are interested must send their application to the HR department and appear for the exam. Successful candidates are given the higher level job. The method ensures proper selection and impartiality.

3. Transfer Many companies adopt transfer as a method of recruitment. The idea is to select talented personnel from other branches of the company and transfer them to branches where there is shortage of people. 4. Retirement Many companies call back personnel who have already retired from the organization. This is a temporary measure. The method is beneficial because it gives a sense of pride to the retired when he is called back and helps the organization to reduce recruitment selection and training cost. 5. Internal advertisement In this method vacancies in a particular branch are advertised in the notice board. People who are interested are asked to apply for the job. The method helps in obtaining people who are ready to shift to another branch of the same company and it is also beneficial to people who want to shift to another branch. 6. Employee recommendation In this method employees are asked to recommend people for jobs. Since the employee is aware of the working conditions inside the company he will suggest people who can adjust to the situation. The company is benefited because it will obtain. Advantages of Internal Recruitment 1. Internal methods are time saving. 2. No separate induction program is required. 3. The method increases loyalty and reduces labour turnover. 4. This method is less expensive. Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment 1. There is no opportunity to get new talent in this method. 2. The method involves selecting people from those available in the company so there is limited scope for selection. 3. There are chances of biased and partiality. 4. Chances of employee discontent are very high. External Methods/Sources of Recruitment External sources of recruitment refer to methods of recruitment to obtain people from outside the company. These methods are:

1. Management consultant Management consultant helps the company by providing them with managerial personnel, when the company is on the look out for entry level management trainees and middle level managers. They generally approach management consultants. 2. Employment agencies Companies may give a contract to employment agencies that search, interview and obtain the required number of people. The method can be used to obtain lower level and middle level staff. 3. Campus recruitment When companies are in search of fresh graduates or new talent they opt for campus recruitment. Companies approach colleges, management, technical institutes, make a presentation about the company and the job and invite applications. Interested candidates who have applied are made to go through a series of selection test and interview before final selection. 4. News paper advertisement This is one of the oldest and most popular methods of recruitment. Advertisements for the job are given in leading news papers; the details of the job and salary are also mentioned. Candidates are given a contact address where their applications must be sent and are asked to send their applications within a specified time limit. The method has maximum reach and most preferred among all other methods of recruitment. 5. Internet advertisement With increasing importance to internet, companies and candidates have started using the internet as medium of advertisement and search for jobs. There are various job sites like naukri.com and monster.com etc. candidates can also post their profiles on these sites. This method is growing in popularity. 6. Walk in interview Another method of recruitment which is gaining importance is the walk in interview method. An advertisement about the location and time of walk in interview is given in the news paper. Candidates require to directly appearing for the interview and have to bring a copy of their C.V. with them. This method is very popular among B.P.O and call centers. Advantages of External Recruitment 1. There is influx of new talent in the method. 2. The method encourages more and more competition. 3. There is lesser chance of partiality through this method. 4. If options like campus recruitment have been exercised we get a chance to employ fresh graduates, thus increasing employment. Disadvantages of External Recruitment 1. The method is costly because it involves recruitment cost, selection, training cost. 2. The method is time consuming. 3. The method reduces loyalty to the company.

Define Selection of Employees in HRM, Process of Selection

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Define Selection Selection can be defined as process of choosing the right person for the right job from a pool of different candidates who applied for a certain job. Process of Selection The process of selection is not the same in all organizations; it can be different in many organizations depending upon the nature of that organization. However, one particular type of selection is approved by most organizations; it can be explain with the help of following diagram:

1. Job analysis The very first step in the selection procedure is the job analysis. The HR department prepares the job description and specification for the jobs which are vacant. This gives details for the jobs which are vacant. This gives details about the name of the job, qualification, qualities required and work conditions etc. 2. Advertisement Based on the information collected in step 1, the HR department prepares an advertisement and publishes it in a leading news papers. The advertisement conveys details about the last date for application, the address to which the application must be sent etc. 3. Application blank/form Application blank is the application form to be filled by the candidate when he applies for a job in the company. The application blank collects information consisting of the following four parts:

1. Personal details 2. Educational details 3. Work experience 4. Family background 4. Written test The applications which have been received are screened by the HR department and those applications which are incomplete are rejected. The other candidates are called for the written test. Arrangement for the written test is looked after the HR department i.e. question papers, answer papers, examination centers and hall tickets etc. 5. Interview Candidates who have successfully cleared the test are called for an interview. The entire responsibility for conducting the interview lies with the HR department i.e. they look after the panel of interviewers, refreshments, informing candidates etc. 6. Medical examination The candidates who have successfully cleared the interview are asked to take a medical exam. This medical exam may be conducted by the organization itself (army). The organization may have a tie up with the hospital or the candidate may be asked to get a certificate from his family doctor. 7. Initial job offer Candidates who successfully clear the medical exam are given an initial job offer by the company stating the details regarding salary, terms of employment, employment bond if any etc. The candidate is given some time to think over the offer and to accept or reject. 8. Acceptance/ rejection Candidates who are happy with the offer send their acceptance within a specified time limit to show that they are ready to work with the company. 9. Letter of appointment/final job offer Candidates who send their acceptance are given the letter of appointment. The letter will state the name of the job. The salary and other benefits, number of medical leaves and casual leaves, details of employment bond if any etc. It will also state the date on which the employee is required to start duty in the company. 10. Induction On the date of joining the employee is introduced to the company and other employees through am elaborate induction program. Types of Selection Test

Different selection test are adopted by different organization depending upon their requirements. These tests are specialized test which have been scientifically tested and hence they are also known as scientific test. Different types of test can be explained with the help of following diagram:

1. Aptitude test Aptitude tests are test which assess the potential and ability of a candidate. It enables to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the job. The job may be managerial technical or clerical. The different types of aptitude test are the following: a) Mental ability/mental intelligence test This test is used to measure the over all intelligence and intellectual ability of the candidate to deal with problems. It judges the decision making abilities. b) Mechanical aptitude test This test deals with the ability of the candidate to do mechanical work. It is used to judge and measure the specialized knowledge and problem solving ability. It is used for technical and maintenance staff. c) Psycho motor test This test judges the motor skills the hand and eye co-ordination and evaluates the ability to do jobs lie packing, quality testing, quality inspection etc. 2. Intelligence test This test measures the numerical skills and reasoning abilities of the candidates. Such abilities become important in decision making. The test consists of logical reasoning ability, data interpretation, comprehension skills and basic language skills. 3. Personality test In this test the emotional ability or the emotional quotient is tested. This test judges the ability to work in a group, inter personal skills, ability to understand and handle conflicts and judge motivation levels. This test is becoming very popular now days.

4. Performance test This test judges and evaluates the acquired knowledge and experience of the knowledge and experience of the individual and his speed and accuracy in performing a job. It is used to test performance of typist, data entry operators etc. Induction Induction = Orientation Definition of Induction in HRM Induction can be defined as a process of introducing the employee who is newly elected to the organization. When an employee is given a letter of appointment he joins the company on duty. The very first thing that the company does is, introduces the new employee to the organization and people working there. An induction program may be conducted at a particular center for all employees or at different places (branches of the company) for different employees. Normally the new employee is called together to the staff training college for the induction program. Induction Process The induction starts with an introduction secession about the company, number of branches, a brief history of the company, number of products, number of countries operating in, organizational structure, culture, values, beliefs, the names of top management personnel etc. Apart from this introductory secession there will be other secessions also like secessions on behavioral science, soft skill training, secessions on giving details about the job, salary, bonus, information about different leaves that can be taken by the employee about upward mobility in the organization etc. There are different ways in which secessions can be conducted i.e. using lecture method, power point presentation, group discussion, psychological test, roll play secessions etc. The induction program concludes with the employee reporting for duty at his respective branch after induction. When he reports for duty the senior most people in the branch takes the new employee around the office and introduces to all other employees and gives information about the working of the branch. The senior people regularly stay in touch with the new employee in the first week so that he can make the new employee comfortable and help him to adjust to the company. After this the company may start a training program for the new employee. Define Placement Companies conduct recruitment and selection and finally select employees. The employees undergo an induction program. After the induction program is over the employee is given a specific job in the company. This is called placement.

Define Training and Development in HRM Objectives and Purpose

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Definition of Training and Development Program Training is the process of planned programs and procedures undertaken for the improvement of employee's performance in terms of his attitude, skills, knowledge and behavior. These training and development programs can significantly improve the overall performance of organization.

Training is normally viewed as a short process. It is applied to technical staff, lower, middle, senior level management. When applied to lower and middle management staff it is called as training and for senior level it is called managerial development program/executive development program/development program. Objectives/Purpose/Goals of Training and Development The purpose of training and development can be explained as follows: 1. Improving quality of workforce Training and development programs can help in improving the quality of work produced by the workforce of organization. Mostly, training is given in a specific area like finance, marketing or HR, which helps in improving the quality of work in that particular area. 2. Enhance employee growth By attending these training and development programs, employees are able master the work of their jobs and that's how they develop and grow themselves in a professional way. 3. Prevents obsolescence These programs help employees to keep themselves up to date with the new trends in latest technology, which reduces the chances of termination of the job. 4. Assisting new comer These programs help new employees to adjust themselves in a new working environment, culture and technology. They feel themselves as regular employees of that organization. 5. Bridging the gap between planning and implementation It helps organizations to easily achieve their targets and goals what they actually planned for. Employees know their job better and they deliver the quality performance according to needs of top management. That's why organizations can easily implement their plans. 6. Health and safety measures Training and development program clearly identifies and teaches employees about the different risk involved in their job, the different problems that can arise and how to prevent such problems. This helps to improve the health and safety measures in the company.