HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by,

Nithin balakrishnan
S2 MBA
Roll no: 6
1. “The HRM function has acquired strategic importance in
organizations due to economic liberalization and globalization”.
Explain.
Answer:

Human Resource Management has an important role to play in equipping

organizations to meet the challenges of an expanding and increasingly
competitive sector. Increase in staff members, contractual diversification
and changes in demographic profile which compel the HR managers to
reconfigure the role and significance of Human Resource Management.
 Strategic HR Management: As a part of maintaining
organizational competitiveness, strategic planning for HR
effectiveness can be increased through the use of HR metrics and
HR technology. Human resource planning (HRP) function
determine the number and type of employees needed to accomplish
organizational goals.

 Equal Employment Opportunity. Compliance with equal

employment opportunity (EEO) laws and regulations affect all
other HR activities.

 Staffing: The aim of staffing is to provide a sufficient supply of

qualified individuals to fill jobs in an organization. Job analysis,
recruitment and selection are the main functions under staffing.

 Talent Management and Development: Beginning with the

orientation of new employees, talent management and development
includes different types of training. Orientation is the first step
towards helping a new employee to adjust himself with the new job
and the employer. It is a method to acquaint new employees with
particular aspects of their new job, including pay and benefit
programs, working hours and company rules and expectations.
  Total Rewards: Compensation in the form of pay, incentives and
benefits are the rewards given to the employees for performing
organizational work. Compensation management is the method for
determining how much employees should be paid for performing
certain jobs.

 Risk Management and Worker Protection-. HRM addresses

various workplace risks to ensure protection of workers by meeting
legal requirements and being more responsive to concern for
workplace health and safety along with disaster and recovery
planning.

 Employee and labor relations: The relationship between managers

and their employees must be handled legally and effectively.
Employer and employee rights must be addressed. It is important to
develop, communicate and update HR policies and procedures so
that managers and employees alike know what is expected.

2. Explain the objectives of human resource management. What is

required to achieve these objectives?

Answer:

(i) Societal Objectives.

The basic objective of HRM towards the society should be to ensure that
their organization manages human resources in an ethical and socially
responsible manner through ensuring compliance with legal and ethical
standards. Thus, this objective includes:
 To manage human resources in an ethical and socially responsible manner.
 To ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards.
 To minimize the negative impact of societal demands upon the
organization.

ii) Organizational Objectives.

 HR department, like any other department in an organization, should focus

on achieving the goals of the organization first. If it does not meet this
purpose, the HR department cannot exist in the long run.
 HR department should recognize its role in bringing about organizational
effectiveness.
 HRM is not an end in itself. It is only a means to assist the organization
with its primary objectives.
(ii) Functional Objectives.

 HRM's contribution should be appropriate to the organization's needs of

maximum resources utilization.
 The department's level of service must be tailored to fit the organization it
serves.
 HRM should employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently. It
should aim at making the people's strengths more productive and
beneficial to the organization.
 HRM should aim at providing the organization with well trained and well
motivated employees.

(iv) Personnel Objectives.

Personnel objectives or personal objectives of the employees must

be met if employees are to be maintained, retained and motivated.
Otherwise employee performance and satisfaction may decline and they
may leave the organization.
 To achieve organizational objectives:
 HRM should increase employees' job satisfaction to the fullest extent.
 HRM should also meet the self actualization needs of the employees'. It
should stimulate every employee to achieve his potential.
 HRM should assist the employees in achieving their personal goals, at least
in so far as these goals enhance the individual's contribution to the
organization.
 The HRM should also communicate HR policies to all employees. It will
help the HRM in tapping the ideas, opinions, feelings, and the views of the
employees.

3. Human resource planning is a pre-requisite for effective

management of human resources. In the light of this statement,
resources analyze the significance of human resource planning.

Answer

Any failure in HR planning will be a limiting factor in achieving the

objectives of the organization. If the number of persons in an organization
is less than the number of persons required, then there will be disruptions
in the work, production will be hampered and the pace of production will
be slow and employees will be burdened with more work. If there is
surplus manpower in the organization, there will be unnecessary financial
burden on it in the form of a large pay bill of employees are retained in the
organization or if they are terminated the compensation will have to be
paid to the retrenched employees. Therefore, it is necessary to have
adequate number of persons in an organization to achieve its objectives.

The HR planner should be concerned with the timing and

scheduling of planning of human resources. Manpower planning can also
 be used as an important aid in framing the training and development
programs for the employees because it take into account the anticipated
changes in the human resource requirements of the organizations.

4. How will you analyze a job? Explain with the help of job analysis
form.

Answer:

1. The job's identification code and title: This is official data. Let us precise that
the” Identification Code" rubric indicates the job’s location within the company’s
organizational chart. For example, the codes "DFSA1", "DFSA2", etc., could be
used to refer to employees located in the Department of Finance – Section
Accounting, while "DFSA" would designate the Chief Accountant and "DF" the
CFO.
2. The job's mission statement: The mission statement should concisely describe
(in max. 3 sentences) the end goals of the considered position - i.e. its role within the
organization. A third party should be able to understand what its essential
components are - in concrete terms. In order to be formulated in terms of finality,
omission statement should contain:
1. An action verb (e.g. realize, accompany, ensure, organize) that should meet the
job holder’s actual duties.
2. The position’s duties: they complete the action verb (e.g. ensure the completion
of the set goals) and specify the position’s area(s) of activity.
3. The beneficiaries / customers: the actual recipients of the delivered goods /
services should be identified (e.g. to external customers; to the Board; to the whole
personnel)
4. The requirements in terms of quality: the way in which the delivered goods /
services will be assessed should be determined in concise terms (e.g. in
accordance with expectations; in compliance with the rules; within the limits of
the budget…).
5. The mode of delivery: (by conducting interviews, by conducting market research,
in close collaboration with our customers, etc.)
3. Success indicators: These criteria should allow measuring whether the services
delivered meet the customers' expectations. They can also be used in employee
performance appraisals. There is a great diversity of indicators. However, most of
them belong to one of the following dimensions:
 Finances
 Quantity
 Quality
 Customers
 Management (Leadership, Commitment, etc.)
 Other (Project Management…)
4. Skills requirements: These are the criteria that are critical in order to fulfill the
job’s mission. Such competencies may be observed at both professional and personal
levels. Here are a few illustrations of these two dimensions:
1. Professional skills: financial management, team management, project
management, IT skills, technical know-how, etc.
2. Personal skills: soft skills, team spirit, analytical thinking, dynamism,
pedagogical skills, resistance to stress, responsibility, etc.
Please note that personal skills are generic criteria (i.e. they are not linked to a
particular type of position or company), while professional skills may be specific to
a given company or even workplace.
Attention! When filling in the job description form, it is best to focus on the key
skills that any job holder should display!
5. Customers and Suppliers: This phase is dedicated to the identification of the
position’s customer-supplier relationships. The term "customer" applies here to all
the units / positions that directly receive the goods / services delivered by the job
holder. Similarly, the term "supplier" refers to all the units / positons from which the
job holder receives goods / services in order to complete their tasks. Please note that
both these types of partners may refer to people either within or outside the
organization (notion of internal and external customers / suppliers).
In the "Who?" column of the sample job description form, you may list up all the
customer and supplier units / positions. In the "What?" column, you may briefly
describe the nature of the goods / services delivered and received (for example:
advisory, financial statements, raw materials, metal components, etc.).

5.What are the objectives of employee training? Explain the different

methods of evaluating training programs. Explain the need for
training in modern industry?
Answer:
Training may be viewed as a systematic and planned process
which has its organizational purpose to impart and provide learning
experiences that will bring about improvement in an employee and thus
enabling him to make his contribution in greater measure in meeting the
 goals and objectives of an organization. Training is an organized
procedure for increasing the knowledge and skill of people for a specific
purpose. The trainees acquire new skill, technical knowledge, problem-
solving ability, etc.
Importance of training
 Training enables the management to face the pressure of changing
environment.
 Training usually results in an increase of quantity and quality of
output.
 Training leads to job satisfaction and higher mohrale of the
employees
 Trained workers need lesser supervision
 Trained workers enable the enterprise to face competition from
rival organizations
 Training enables employees to develop and rise within the
organization and increase their earning capacity.
 It mold’s the employees attitudes and helps them to achieve better
co-operation within the organization
 Trained employees make better economic use of materials and
equipment resulting in reduction of wastage and spoilage
 Training instructs the workers towards better job adjustment and
reduces the rate of labor turnover and absenteeism
Techniques of evaluation:

 Experimental and Control Groups

 Longitudinal or Time Series Analysis.
 Cost Benefit Analysis.
 Questionnaires and Structured interviews.
6. Explain the advantages and limitations of career planning?
 Answer:

CAREER PLANNING
"Career planning is the deliberate process through which a person
becomes aware of personal career related attributes and the life long
series of stages that contribute to his career fulfillment”. The major
focus of career planning should be on assisting the employees in
achieving a better match between personal goals and the
opportunities that are realistically available in the organization.
Career planning is an effort to pinpoint and highlight those areas that
offer psychological success instead of vertical growth. Career
planning is not an event or end in itself, but a continuous process of
developing human resources for achieving optimum results. A
person who is not able to translate his career plan into action within
the organization may probably quit the job, if he has a choice.
Organizations, therefore, should help employees in career planning
so that both can satisfy each other's needs.

Advantages:

 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 labor turnover.

 Every organization prepares succession planning towards which

career planning is the first step.

Disadvantages:

 Career planning can become a reality only when opportunities for

vertical mobility are available. It is not suitable for small
organizations.
 In a developing country like India, changes in environmental factors
such as government policy, public sector development, growth of
backward areas, etc. influence business and industry. Therefore,
career plans for a long period may not be effective.
 In family business houses, members of the family expect to progress
faster in their career than their professional colleagues.
 Systematic career planning might become difficult due to favoritism
and nepotism in promotions, political intervention in appointments,
etc.
 Some career does not have scope for much advancement. Employees
cannot get promotions despite their career plans and development in
such job.
 Career opportunities for certain categories reach the declining stage
due to the influence of the technological or economic factors.
Solution for such a problem is career shift.
7. What do you understand by wage and salary administration?
Discuss the essentials of sound wage and salary structure?

Answer:

WAGE: Wage is a general term referring to direct monetary compensation.

It is also used specifically to refer to payments to service workers on the
basis of hourly rated production.
Salary: Salary refers to weekly or monthly rates paid to clerical,
administrative and professional employees.
Wage and salary administration is a collection of practices and procedures used for
planning and distributing company-wide compensation programs for employees.
These practices include employees at all levels and are usually handled by the
accounting department of a company. Wage and salary administration procedures
usually involve activities such as calculating the number of hours worked in order
to determine compensation, administering employment benefits, and answering
payroll questions from employees. At the majority of companies and organizations,
wages are usually dispersed to all employees on a specific date. The workers in
charge of salary administration may also be charged with ensuring that the company
adheres to federal and local compensation laws.

Essentials of a Sound Wage Plan for Workers

Equitable to All:
Fair and Adequate Compensation:
Simplicity, Certainty and Flexibility:
Incentive Wages:
Easy Collective Bargaining:
Wage Control:
Significance of Economic Reward:

8. Explain various individual and group incentive plans. What are the
problems associated with wage incentive?
Answer:
Incentive plans are methods in which employees of an
organization are kept motivated for the work that they do, and are given
incentives on reaching or accomplishing certain organizational goals. The
various incentive plans can be classified into two.
 Individual incentive plans
 Group incentive plans

Individual incentive plan: Under individual incentive plan, individual

employee is paid incentive on the basis of individual performance or
output. The employers are liable to pay incentives to those employees who
are producing more than the standard output.
Time based incentive plans are:
I. Halsey Incentive Plan.
II. Rowan Incentive Plan.
III. Emerson Efficiency Plan.
IV. Bedeaux Incentive Plan.

Some of the production based incentive plans are:

I. Taylor’s differential piece rate system.
II. Merrick’s multiple piece rate plans.
III. Gantt Task and Bonus Wage Plan
Group incentive plans: group incentive plan scheme is designed to
promote effective teamwork, as the bonus is dependent on the
performance and output of the team as a whole. Under group incentive
plan, each employee is paid incentive on the basis of collective
performance of his group to which he belongs. Within the group, each
employee gets an equal share of the incentive.
Some of the group incentive plans are:
I. Priestman’s Plan.
II. Scanlon’s Plan.

9. Discuss the main approaches to the study of industrial relations?

Answer:

 Psychological approach
  Sociological approach
 V.V giri approach
 Gandhian approch

Psychological Approach.

To a psychologist, industrial conflict means the conflicting

interests, aspirations, goals, motives and perceptions of different
groups of individuals operating within and reacting to a given socio-
economic and political environment. The perceptions of employers,
workers and trade unions are different from one another. They view
and interpret situations and issues involved in industrial conflicts in
different ways. These differences in the perceptions of employers
and workers give rise to problems of industrial relations.

Sociological Approach.
The social and cultural changes shape behavioral patterns and cause
adjustments in industrial relations. There cannot be harmony and peace in
industry when the society is in turmoil. Industry is a part of society and the
value systems, customs, status symbols and institutions of the society
affect relations between the parties involved. Different family
backgrounds, education level, personalities, attitudes, behavior etc. create
problems of conflict and cooperation in industry. Various social problems
cause stress and strain among workers which affect their industrial
relations as well.

V.V. Giri Approach.

V.V.Giri, the late President of India, gave an approach to settle

industrial disputes. This approach, to industrial relations implies the
encouragement of mutual settlement of disputes, collective
bargaining and voluntary arbitration. The essence of this approach is
internal settlement in preference to compulsion from outside and
voluntary arbitration and collective bargaining rather than
compulsory arbitration.
 Gandhian approach:

Gandhian Approach to industrial relations is based on the

fundamental principles of truth, non-violence and non-possession. If
the employers follow the principal of trusteeship, there is no scope
for conflict of interests between them and labor. Workers can resort
to Satyagraha to have their grievances redressed. Gandhi accepted
the workers' right to go on strike but they should exercise this right
in a peaceful and non-violent manner.

10. What is collective bargaining? What are its important pre-

conditions? How far these available in India?

Answer:
Collective bargaining is a term used to define a situation in which the
essential conditions of employment are determined by a bargaining
process undertaken by representatives of workers and representatives of
management. Both parties sit at the bargaining table where they deliberate,
persuade, try to influence, argue and haggle. Eventually they reach at an
agreement which they record in the form of labor management contract.

Pre-conditions:
 Identification of the problem
 Preparation for negotiation
 Negotiation procedure
 Implementation of contract
In India, initially the resolution of conflict through collective bargaining
agreements did not gain popularity. The legal steps taken by the
government after the second world war revived interest in the subject once
again. In India, collective bargaining has not made much headway
particularly at industry and national levels, due to following reasons:
 Lack of central trade union and employer’s organisation which can
represent country wide interests.
  Excessive dependence on compulsory adjudication for the settlement
of industrial disputes
 Multiplicity of unions and inter-union revelry
 Conditions of work differ widely in different parts of the country
 Weak trade union movement because of poor leadership and political
dominance
 Legislation and regulatory bodies have reduced the area for
collective bargaining.
11. Differentiate between recruitment and selection. Explain the
different sources of recruitment?
Answer:

 Recruitment is concerned with developing suitable techniques

for attracting more and more candidates while selection is the process
of finding out the most suitable candidate for the job. Recruitment is
the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating
them to apply for jobs in the organization.
 According to Yoder, "Recruitment is a process to discover the
sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing
schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting the
manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an
efficient working force”.
Sources of recruitment:

INTERNAL SOURCES
1. Present Employees
Promotions and transfers from among the present employees can be a
good source of recruitment.
 i. Transfer.
Transfer involves shifting of persons from present jobs to other
similar places.
ii. Promotions.
Promotions refer to shifting of persons to positions carrying better
prestige, higher responsibilities and more salaries.
2. Employee Referrals
Employee referrals can be a good source of internal recruitment.
Employees can develop good prospects for their families and friends
with the advantages of a job with the company .This source is,
usually, one of the most effective methods of recruiting because
many qualified people are reached at a very low cost.
3. Former Employees
Former employees are another internal source of recruitment. Some
retired employees may be willing to come back to work or
recommend someone who would be interested in working for the
company.
4. Previous Applicants
Although not an internal source, in the true sense, those who have
previously applied for jobs can be contacted by mail. This is a quick
and an inexpensive way to fill an unexpected vacancy.
5. Motivation Technique.
Internal recruitment can be used to motivate employees. Since there
is a scope for promotions and higher responsibility jobs, employees
will try to put in their best efforts.
 6. Social Responsibility.
By giving new opportunities to existing employees the enterprise is
satisfying social responsibility also. It is the responsibility of every
organization to satisfy its employees by keeping their aspirations in
mind.
7. Stability of Employees.
Internal source of recruitment ensures stability of employees. Since
the organization provides the better opportunities to suitable
employees, they will like to stay with the enterprise.
8. Trade Union's Support.
This source of recruitment has the support of trade unions also. Trade
unions always support the cause of existing employees so there will
be no conflict on this score.
EXTERNAL SOURCES
1. Advertisement.
Advertisement is the best method of recruiting persons for higher and
experienced jobs. The advertisements are given in local or national
press, trade or professional journals. The requirements of jobs are
given in the advertisements.

2. Employment Exchanges.
Employment exchanges run by the government are also a good
source of recruitment. Unemployed persons get themselves
registered with these exchanges.
 3. Unsolicited Applicants.
Persons in search of employment may contact employers through
telephone, by post or in person. Generally, employers with good
reputation get unsolicited applications.
4. Professional Organizations.
Professional organizations maintain complete bio-data of their
members and supply it to companies on demand.
5. Data Banks.
The recruiting firms can prepare a data bank about various persons
in different fields. They can collect information from educational
institutions, employment changes, professional organizations etc.
6. Similar Organizations.
The organizations producing similar products or having the same of
business act as an important source of recruitment. The persons
having same experience required by the recruiting firms will be
available in similar organizations.

12. Explain the role of employee counseling in the ITEs sector?

Answer:
 1. Helps employees to tackle with the problems effectively
2. Employees are able to sort their problems
3. Helps in decision making
4. A new way to look at the perspective.
5. May reduce the number of absenteeism of employee
6. It may prevent termination from employer or resignation from
employee.
7. It reduces the cost of hiring new employee and training new staff.
8. Possibility of smooth coordination between employer and
employee.

13. Explain the importance of quality of work life among employees?

Answer:

Quality of working life refers to the favorableness or unfavourableness

of the job environment of an organization for its employees.
Eg: Economic incentives, job security, working conditions,
organizational and interpersonal relationships etc…
“QWL is a process of joint decision making, collaborations and
building mutual respect between management and employees”.

Importance:

 Enhance relations and credibility

 Increase productivity
 Attraction and retention
 Reduces absenteeism
 Improve the quality of working life
 Job involvement and satisfaction
14. Explain in detail the grievance handling machinery and the
procedure to solve grievance?

Answer:

A grievance is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice having connection with

one’s employment situation which is brought to the attention of management.
Speaking broadly, a grievance is any dissatisfaction that adversely affects
organizational relations and productivity. To understand what a grievance is, it is
necessary to distinguish between dissatisfaction, complaint, and grievance.

1. Dissatisfaction is anything that disturbs an employee, whether or not the unrest is

expressed in words.

2. Complaint is a spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the

supervisor or the shop steward.

3. Grievance is a complaint that has been formally presented to a management

representative or to a union official.

According to Michael Jucious, ‘grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction

whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected
with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels to be unfair,
unjust or inequitable’.

In short, grievance is a state of dissatisfaction, expressed or unexpressed, written or

unwritten, justified or unjustified, having connection with employment situation.
1. Steps in Grievance Handling Procedure:
At any stage of the grievance machinery, the dispute must be handled by some
members of the management. In grievance redressed, responsibility lies largely with
the management. And, grievances should be settled promptly at the first stage itself.
The following steps will provide a measure of guidance to the manager dealing with
grievances.

i. Acknowledge Dissatisfaction:
Managerial/supervisory attitude to grievances is important. They should focus
attention on grievances, not turn away from them. Ignorance is not bliss, it is the
bane of industrial conflict. Condescending attitude on the part of supervisors and
managers would aggravate the problem.

ii. Define the Problem:

Instead of trying to deal with a vague feeling of discontent, the problem should be
defined properly. Sometime the wrong complaint is given. By effective listening,
one can make sure that a true complaint is voiced.

iii. Get the Facts:

Facts should be separated from fiction. Though grievances result in hurt feelings,
the effort should be to get the facts behind the feelings. There is need for a proper
record of each grievance.

iv. Analyse and Decide:

Decisions on each of the grievances will have a precedent effect. While no time
should be lost in dealing with them, it is no excuse to be slip-shod about it.
Grievance settlements provide opportunities for managements to correct
themselves, and thereby come closer to the employees.

Horse-trading in grievance redressed due to union pressures may temporarily bring

union leadership closer to the management, but it will surely alienate the workforce
away from the management.

v. Follow up:
Decisions taken must be followed up earnestly. They should be promptly
communicated to the employee concerned. If a decision is favourable to the
employee, his immediate boss should have the privilege of communicating the
same.