Question # 1

Differentiate between Human Resource Management and Human

Resource Development.

HRM stands for human resources management, which refers to the art of
managing all aspects of the human work force at a company or organization. HRM
aims at providing an optimal working environment for employees to fully and
freely utilize their skills to their best to achieve the company’s intended output.
As human resources management usually applies to big companies and
organizations, it has sub categories, among which is HRD, which stands for human
resources development. This is a component of HRM that focuses on ‘nurturing’
employee’s skills. Because the process of hiring new employees can be long,
expensive and cumbersome, most companies employ the strategy of HRD to
promote longevity of employees within the company because through this an
employee is likely to progressively scale up the managerial ladder.

Human resources management of a company is often an independent

department of its own composed of various sections including recruitment and
retention, performance and appraisal management, HRD and compensation
sections. But HRD does not only focus on development of skills but also focuses
on the personal development of employees. Because peoples’ needs and
expectations are ever growing and changing this section of HRM is specifically
there to help employees cope with such and prepare them for future
uncertainties.
Generally speaking, professionals working within the HRM department must have
excellent people skills although this is more so with those particularly working in
the HRD section. The HRD section needs to have professionals with impeccable
people management skills as they need to be able to realize talent within people
from a cross section of backgrounds. The HRD section is concerned with
identifying strengths and weaknesses among different employees and devising
training means that aim at making those skills complement the other.

HRD aims at developing a superior workforce so that the company and individual
employees may achieve their work goals in the customers’ service. It can take on
a formal approach as in a classroom or laboratory training in a case where it may
apply. It may also take the informal route where an employee receives coaching
or simple mentorship from his superior, usually a manager.

COMPARISON

BASIS FOR
HRM HRD
COMPARISON

Meaning Human Resource Human Resource Development

Management refers to the means a continuous
application of principles of development function that
management to manage the intends to improve the
people working in the performance of people working
organization. in the organization.
BASIS FOR
HRM HRD
COMPARISON

What is it? Management function. Subset of Human Resource

Management.

Function Reactive Proactive

Objective To improve the performance To develop the skills, knowledge

of the employees. and competency of employees.

Process Routine Ongoing

Dependency Independent It is a subsystem.

Concerned with People only Development of the entire

organization.

Summary:
1. HRD is a sub section of HRM, i.e. HRD is a section with the department of HRM.
2.HRM deals with all aspects of the human resources function while HRD only
deals with the development part.
3.HRM is concerned with recruitment, rewards among others while HRD is
concerned with employee skills development.
4.HRM functions are mostly formal while HRD functions can be informal like
mentorships.

Question # 2

Differentiate between performance appraisal and performance

management.

Performance management is the process of identifying, measuring, managing,

and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization.
Performance appraisal, on the other hand, is the ongoing process of evaluating
employee performance.
There are all kinds of ways to think of the difference between the two.
Performance management is about what you’re going to do to help an employee
continue in their development to become increasingly better in their performance
for your organization. Performance appraisal is how you evaluate the progress
being made by assessing or measuring the employee’s actual performance on a
regular basis over time.
Another way to think of the difference between the two is that performance
appraisal is about the past, meaning how the employee performed in the
immediate past period being reviewed during the appraisal process. Performance
management, meanwhile, is focused on the present and the future. In the
present, you’re doing things in real-time to help make sure the employee’s
performance reaches the desired level. With an eye on the future, you’re also
planning what can be done to further develop that employee’s capabilities for
periods to come.
When you think about it, another way to distinguish between the two is to say
that performance appraisal is reactiveprocess while performance management is
a proactive process.

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
COMPARISON MANAGEMENT

Meaning Performance Appraisal, means Performance Management

the analysis of an employee's is the management of
performance and their caliber for human resources in an
future growth and development. organization.

What is it? It is a system. It is a process.

Nature Rigid Supple

Type of tool Operational Tool Strategic Tool

Owned by Human Resource Department Managers

Conducted Annually Continuously

Approach Individualistic Holistic

BASIS FOR PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
COMPARISON MANAGEMENT

Focused on Quantitative Aspects Qualitative Aspects

Corrections Retrospective Prospective

Although the performance appraisal process is more structured and formal, it

does allow customization of the key performance areas which vary from
employee to employee. However, when it comes to setting rating parameters, it is
quite rigid as these ratings are applicable for every employee.

In contrast, the performance management process is quite flexible at evaluating

performance. While there are certain guidelines that constitute optimal
performance, they can vary from employee to employee depending on their job
description and capabilities.

Conclusion
We can see that performance appraisal is, in a way, an essential process that goes
along well with performance management. It is safe to say that performance
appraisal is just one piece of the larger puzzle of performance management.

Question # 3

Explain benchmarks of compensation management practices.

Compensation is one of the most important human resource management
functions in an organisation. For many organisations, compensation is the biggest
single cost of doing business. An organisation’s compensation system can help to
reinforce the key corporate values, and facilitate the achievement of
organizational objectives. By rewarding performance, an organisation’s
compensation policies and practices can reinforce employee behaviour that
realises its business objectives.

Importance of compensation benchmarking

Establishing market rates for core positions within an organization is important

for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it guides pay decision-making
including hiring, promotions, internal equity salary adjustments, and general
compensation budget planning. Because labor costs are the largest cost to any
organization, a solid understanding of the external value of each position allows
an organization to develop an approach for setting overall total rewards
philosophy, or the level at which the organization will set salary levels. The ability
to balance the needs to attracting and retaining talent with fiscal responsibility of
the organization is a key priority for executives. Compensation benchmarking
provides the information leaders need to define the costs associated with salaries
and other compensation components such as profit sharing or bonuses.

Porcess of compensation benchmarking

It is very important to use a reputable salary survey to complete compensation

benchmarking so that the matches made to the market are as accurate as
possible. In addition, reputable salary survey companies employ compensation
analytical professionals trained to compile, analyze, and publish data in a
confidential and robust manner, ensuring a true representation of pay levels in
the market. Also, regulatory guidelines such as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act set
forth requirements for the way in which salary information is collected and
shared, in an effort to ensure price fixing of salary levels is not occurring. In order
to complete a compensation benchmarking project, current job descriptions and
identified salary surveys which include similar jobs in comparable industries and
similar size companies are essential.

Question # 4

Differentiate between jobs and careers. Describe the career planning

process and benefits of it.

A person usually holds several jobs in their career. It is usually easier to change
jobs in the same field of work that define ones career. However, switching careers
is more difficult and may require the person to start at the bottom of the ladder
in the new career.

Job

A task or activity performed by a person, as a part of regular employment to earn

money is known as Job. The person who performs the job is known as an
employee and the person for whom the job is performed is known as an
employer. It involves mental or physical work or both. There is a fixed time for
doing a job. Rights, duties, functions, responsibilities and powers are associated
with each job.

No doubt, the job is one of the best sources of income to earn the livelihood. That
is why, most of the youngsters join jobs, just after completing their education to
earn a steady income, gain some experience, get independent and settled as soon
as possible. Normally, people hold a job for a certain period. Once the purpose for
which they joined the job is accomplished or when they get some better
opportunity for life, the job holders will leave the job.

Career

Career is defined as the occupation endeavoured by a person, for an important

period of his life. It is the series of jobs that a person has done all over his life. It is
the long-term goal of an individual’s life. A career is not confined to a job only, but
it is a course of life, in which a person employs his knowledge, skills, education,
competencies.

Career is not just making money to earn bread and butter, but it is something
bigger. It’s what a person loves to do, it is what a person interested in, it is what a
person is passionate about, it is what that keeps a man working without getting
distracted, it is something for which a person can take any kind of risk, it is what a
person wants to see himself as, in the future.

Comparison Chart
BASIS FOR
JOB CAREER
COMPARISON

Meaning A job is an activity or task A career can be defined as a

performed by an individual to journey of a work life of an
earn livelihood. individual.

What is it? Trip Journey

Exchange of Time for money. Time for pursuing your

lifelong ambition.

Concept A means to fulfill the needs. An end in itself.

Duration Short term Long term

Requires Education and other skills. Training in specific field.

Focus on Regular income and job safety Innovation, learning more,

taking risks.

Career Planning Process

The Career Planning Process encompasses the stages involved in discovering a
career path, including self-assessment, research, decision making, job searching,
and accepting a job offer.

The Steps in the Career Planning Process

Step 1: Self-Assessment. Careful evaluation of your individual strengths, lifestyle

preferences, passions, work style, and financial needs is a vital and often
overlooked step in planning your various potential career paths.

Step 2: Research. Once you have articulated a sense of the satisfaction(s) you
would like to derive from your work and the skills you have to offer employers,
you can begin your research. This stage involves brainstorming possible job
options and investigating them thoroughly.

Step 3: Decision-Making. This stage involves an evaluation of the pros and cons
for the career options you have been researching. It also involves prioritizing and,
for some people, risk-taking. During this stage in the career planning process,
you’ll have to make decisions regarding issues like relocation (are you willing to
move in order to land your dream job?) and cost analysis (can you afford to do a
poorly-compensated job you love, or will it be necessary to find personally
unfulfilling work that provides a great salary and healthcare benefits?).

Step 4: Job Search. Once you have identified a work objective, you can begin your
job search. Most people engaged in an active job search will be involved with
activities such as professional networking, identifying prospective employers,
writing cover letters and resumes, and interviewing.
Step 5: Acceptance. Finally, after this lengthy process of self-evaluation, research,
application, and interviewing, you will be offered a job and accept employment.
Ideally, this will mark the beginning, or at least a milestone, in your exciting and
varied career.

Benefits of Career Planning

 Career planning ensures a constant supply of promotable employees.

 It helps in improving the loyalty of employees.

 Career planning encourages an employee’s growth and development.

 It discourages the negative attitude of superiors who are interested in

suppressing the growth of the subordinates.

 It ensures that senior management knows about the calibre and capacity of
the employees who can move upwards.

 It can always create a team of employees prepared enough to meet any

contingency.

 Career planning reduces labour turnover.

 Every organization prepares succession planning towards which career

planning is the first step.

Conclusion
For most people — whether they’re on a traditional career path or not — a job is
just a way to earn money. There are people who love their work, but even then
not all of them are in a career. For most people, work is simply a necessary evil.

So what’s the difference between a career and a job? A career is simply a lifetime
of jobs, whether those jobs are related or not. And while it’s important to focus
on your future goals, it’s even more important to focus on doing the best you can
right now at your current job.

Question # 5

Highlight poor practices of organization in their recruitment and

selection process.

One of the most common complaints that recruiters have is that they do not have
enough resources or time to do their job the way they would like. This overload
leads to a number of other problems such as a bad candidate experiences, higher
than desired turnover rates, higher costs to fill, and longer time to fill metrics.
However, recruiter overload is in some ways a direct result of the recruiters
following some bad recruitment practices.

Here are some common recruitment practices that should be avoided:

FAILURE TO ENGAGE OR NURTURE PAST CANDIDATE RELATIONSHIPS

Most ATS platforms provides some capabilities to maintain visibility and

communication with past candidates. Newer social media technologies are now
available that go well beyond these capabilities and provide the capabilities to
actually engage and nurture past candidates. However, these capabilities may not
be used by recruiters based on the perception they do not have the time. What is
overlooked is that devoting modest time and resource to this effort now would
result in huge sourcing efficiencies and time savings downstream.

Rationalization for bad practice – Candidates don’t want to stay engaged with
one company. They will just move on to the next opportunity. Engaging them
would be a waste of time.
Reality – Candidates will focus on and actively pursue employers that are seen as
having a distinctive and valued employer brand. This brand is based both on the
candidate experience and the treatment of employees. The candidate experience
provides a good indicator of how you will be treated as an employee. An excellent
candidate experience will result in easier sourcing.
UNREASONABLE JOB REQUIREMENTS RESULTING IN OVERLY NARROW
CANDIDATE POOLS

Recruiters and hiring managers often post job requirements that are overly
restrictive in the hopes of finding candidates that are perfect for the role and
would require no training, coaching, or further development. As an example, a
hiring manager may look for an IT professional that has extensive experience in all
the technologies being used in the company, even if some of those technologies
may be arcane or relatively scarce. The result is that few if any candidates will
possess all the requirements and recruiters will spend more time than is
necessary to find candidates for the position.

Rationalization for bad practice – We do not have the time to train or develop
new hires. We need to find candidates that are ready on day one to perform at a
superior level. We have to be highly selective and find the perfect candidate no
matter how long it takes.
Reality – Realistically, all candidates should have an onboarding development
plan. Just as a professional sports team recruits good athletes and then develops
them for key positions, organizations should recruit candidates that possess many
of the desired qualifications and the ability to learn and develop new skills. A
strategy of finding and developing “good athletes” will reduce hiring costs and
time to fill metrics.
VALUING EFFICIENCY MORE THAN QUALITY

Recruiter overload results in a higher sense of priority for investing in efficiency

gains and time savings, and comparatively less priority on spending the time or
money to ensure a quality hire. For this reason, most recruiters will make
investing in an applicant tracking system (ATS) their highest priority.
Unfortunately, they often feel that this investment is the only one needed. The
truth is ATS platforms provide very limited support in evaluating candidates
accurately and predicting likely success on the job. They provide huge process
efficiencies but limited support for even basic selection tools such as conducting
effective, professional interviews. Poor hiring quality results in unnecessary
replacement hiring which increases recruiter overload.

Rationalization for bad practice – An ATS meets all my recruitment needs. We

cannot afford additional investments in our selection practices.
Reality –Most organizations hiring practices need substantial improvements and
experience a higher than desired rate of bad or mediocre hires. Bad hires require
more costly training, have lower productivity, require more costly time from
managers and teammates, and often result in replacement costs. The ROI for
investing in improving quality of hire is huge.