Human Resource Management
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[email protected] 1 Concept of Hrm • What Is Human Resource Management (HRM)? The policies and practices involved in carrying out the “people” or human resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding, and appraising. • Acc to Flippo : HRM is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and reproduction of human resource to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are achieved. Characteristics(nature) of HRM Comprehensive Function People oriented Action Oriented Individual oriented Development oriented Pervasive Function Continuous Function Future Oriented Function Challenging Function Science as well as Art Staff Function Young Discipline: 19 th Century Interdisciplinary Objectives of hrm
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Transcript of Human Resource Management
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Concept of Hrm
• What Is Human Resource Management (HRM)?
The policies and practices involved in carrying out the “people” or human resource aspects of a
management position, including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding, and appraising.
• Acc to Flippo :
HRM is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration,
maintenance and reproduction of human resource to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are
achieved.
Characteristics(nature) of HRM
Comprehensive Function
People oriented
Action Oriented
Individual oriented
Development oriented
Pervasive Function
Continuous Function
Future Oriented Function
Challenging Function
Science as well as Art
Staff Function
Young Discipline: 19th Century
Interdisciplinary
Objectives of hrm
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To create and utilize an able and motivated workforce, to accomplish the basic organizational goals.
To establish and maintain sound organizational structure and desirable working relationships among all the
members of the organization.
To secure the integration of individual or groups within the organization by co-ordination of the individual and
group goals with those of the organization.
To create facilities and opportunities for individual or group development so as to match it with the growth of the
organization.
To attain an effective utilization of human resources in the achievement of organizational goals.
To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by providing adequate and equitable wages, incentives,
employee benefits and social security and measures for challenging work, prestige, recognition, security, status.
To maintain high employees morale and sound human relations by sustaining and improving the various conditions
and facilities.
To strengthen and appreciate the human assets continuously by providing training and development programs.
To provide an opportunity for expression and voice management.
To provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership.
To provide facilities and conditions of work and creation of favorable atmosphere for maintaining stability of
employment
Functions of HRM
Functions of HRM are divided into two categories
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1.Managerial Functions
Planning
Organizing
Directing
Controlling
2.Operative Function
Procurement Function
Job analysis
Human Resource Planning
Recruitment
Selection
Placement
Induction and Orientation
3) Developmental Functions
Performance and Potential Appraisal Training
Executive Development
Career Planning and Development
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4) Compensation Functions
Job Evaluation
Wage and Salary Administration
Bonus
5) Integration Function
Handling employee grievances
Financial and non Financial incentives
Job satisfaction
Grievance procedures
6) Maintenance Function
Medical Aid
Conveyance
HRM and 3 P’s
• People – core strength of an organization.Any resource can be replaced but not HR
• Processes – evolve over a period of time IT enabled environment facilitates engineering effortlessly
• Performance – the pillars of performance are people and IT.Organizational performance in terms of value creation and
return on investment
SCOPE
The scope of HRM is extensive and far-reaching. Therefore, it is very difficult to define it concisely. However, we may
classify the same under following heads:
HRM in Personnel Management: This is typically direct manpower management that involves manpower planning,
hiring (recruitment and selection), training and development, induction and orientation, transfer, promotion,
compensation, layoff and retrenchment, employee productivity. The overall objective here is to ascertain individual
growth, development and effectiveness which indirectly contribute to organizational development.
It also includes performance appraisal, developing new skills, disbursement of wages, incentives, allowances, traveling
policies and procedures and other related courses of actions.
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HRM in Employee Welfare: This particular aspect of HRM deals with working conditions and amenities at
workplace. This includes a wide array of responsibilities and services such as safety services, health services,
welfare funds, social security and medical services. It also covers appointment of safety officers, making the
environment worth working, eliminating workplace hazards, support by top management, job safety, safeguarding
machinery, cleanliness, proper ventilation and lighting, sanitation, medical care, sickness benefits, employment
injury benefits, personal injury benefits, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits and family benefits.
It also relates to supervision, employee counseling, establishing harmonious relationships with employees, education and
training. Employee welfare is about determining employees’ real needs and fulfilling them with active participation of both
management and employees. In addition to this, it also takes care of canteen facilities, crèches, rest and lunch rooms,
housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc.
HRM in Industrial Relations: Since it is a highly sensitive area, it needs careful interactions with labor or employee
unions, addressing their grievances and settling the disputes effectively in order to maintain peace and harmony in
the organization. It is the art and science of understanding the employment (union-management) relations, joint
consultation, disciplinary procedures, solving problems with mutual efforts, understanding human behavior and
maintaining work relations, collective bargaining and settlement of disputes.
The main aim is to safeguarding the interest of employees by securing the highest level of understanding to the extent that
does not leave a negative impact on organization. It is about establishing, growing and promoting industrial democracy to
safeguard the interests of both employees and management.
The scope of HRM is extremely wide, thus, can not be written concisely. However, for the sake of convenience and
developing understanding about the subject, we divide it in three categories mentioned above.
HR processes
1. Human resource planning (Recruitment, Selecting, Hiring, Training, Induction, Orientation, Evaluation, Promotion
and Layoff).
2. Employee remuneration and Benefits Administration
3. Performance Management.
4. Employee Relations.
The efficient designing of these processes apart from other things depends upon the degree of correspondence of each of
these. This means that each process is subservient to other. You start from Human resource Planning and there is a
continual value addition at each step. To exemplify, the PMS (performance Management System) of an organization like
Infosys would different from an organization like Walmart. Lets study each process separately.
Human Resource Planning: Generally, we consider Human Resource Planning as the process of people forecasting. Right
but incomplete! It also involves the processes of Evaluation, Promotion and Layoff.
Recruitment: It aims at attracting applicants that match a certain Job criteria.
Selection: The next level of filtration. Aims at short listing candidates who are the nearest match in terms
qualifications, expertise and potential for a certain job.
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Hiring: Deciding upon the final candidate who gets the job.
Training and Development: Those processes that work on an employee onboard for his skills and abilities
upgradation.
Employee Remuneration and Benefits Administration: The process involves deciding upon salaries and wages, Incentives,
Fringe Benefits and Perquisites etc. Money is the prime motivator in any job and therefore the importance of this process.
Performing employees seek raises, better salaries and bonuses.
Performance Management: It is meant to help the organization train, motivate and reward workers. It is also meant to
ensure that the organizational goals are met with efficiency. The process not only includes the employees but can also be
for a department, product, service or customer process; all towards enhancing or adding value to them.
Nowadays there is an automated performance management system (PMS) that carries all the information to help
managers evaluate the performance of the employees and assess them accordingly on their training and development
needs.
Employee Relations: Employee retention is a nuisance with organizations especially in industries that are hugely
competitive in nature. Though there are myriad factors that motivate an individual to stick to or leave an organization, but
certainly few are under our control.
Employee relations include Labor Law and Relations, Working Environment, Employee heath and safety, Employee-
Employee conflict management, Employee- Employee Conflict Management, Quality of Work Life, Workers Compensation,
Employee Wellness and assistance programs, Counseling for occupational stress. All these are critical to employee
retention apart from the money which is only a hygiene factor.
All processes are integral to the survival and success of HR strategies and no single process can work in isolation; there has
to be a high level of conformity and cohesiveness between the same.
Importance of Human Resource Management
Significance of HRM can be discussed at four levels which are as follows:
1. Corporate Level
For an enterprise effective HRM leads to attainment of its goal efficiently and effectively. HRM helps enterprise in
the following ways.
a. Hiring required skill set and retaining them through effective human resource planning, recruitment, selection,
placement, orientation and promotion policies.
b. Development of employees by enhancing necessary skills and right attitude among employees through training,
development, performance appraisals etc.
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c. HRM also takes care of optimum utilization of available human resource.
d. HRM also ensures that organization has a competent team and dedicated employees in future.
2. Significance at Professional Level
a. HRM also leads to improved quality of work life, it enables effective team work among employees by providing
healthy working environment. It also contributes to professional growth in various ways such as
b. By providing opportunities for personal development of an employee
Enabling healthy relationships among teams and allocating work properly to employees as well as teams.
3. Significance at Social Level
a. HRM plays important role in the society, it helps labour to live with pride and dignity by providing employment
which in turn gives them social and psychological satisfaction.
b. HRM also maintains balance between open jobs and job seekers.
4. Significance at National Level
HRM plays a very significant role in the development of nation. Efficient and committed human resource leads to
effective exploitation and utilization of a nations natural, physical and financial resources. Skilled and developed
human resource ensures the development of that country. If people are underdeveloped then that country will be
underdeveloped. Effective HRM enhances economic growth which in turn leads to higher standard of living and
maximum employment.
Evolution of hrm
The commodity concept
The factor of production concept
The paternalistic concept :collective bargaining
The Humanitarian Concept
The Human Resource Concept
The Emerging Concept
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By the time enough theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce management, changes in
the business landscape (a là Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller) and in public policy (a là Sidney and Beatrice Webb,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal) had transformed the employer-employee relationship, and the discipline was
formalized as "industrial and labor relations". In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR associations—the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development—was founded in England as the Welfare Workers' Association, then
changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of
Labour Management before settling upon its current name.[3] Likewise in the United States, the world's first institution of
higher education dedicated to workplace studies—the School of Industrial and Labor Relations—was formed at Cornell
University in 1945.[4]
During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management
continued to expand its influence within organizations. "Industrial and labor relations" began being used to refer
specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as
"personnel administration". In 1948, what would later become the largest professional HR association—the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM)—was founded as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA).[5]
Nearing the 21st century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and
collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in a machine. "Human resources
management", consequently, became the dominant term for the function—the ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in
1998.[5] "Human capital management" is sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers
to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an
organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include "organizational management",
"manpower management", "talent management", "personnel management", and simply "people management".
HRM MODELS
Human Resource Management Models
HRM Models provide an analytical framework for studying. They serve as a heuristic device-something to help us discover
& understand the world for explaining the nature & significance of key HR Practices.
There are 4 HR Models:-
- Fombrun, Tichy, & Devanna Model:
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Being the 1st model, this emphasizes just 4 functions & their interrelatedness. The 4 functions are Selection, Appraisal, HRD,
Rewards. These 4 components of HRM are expected to contribute to organizational effectiveness. The Fombrun Model is
incomplete as it focuses on only 4 functions of HRM & ignores all environmental & contingency factors that impact HR
functions. Nevertheless, the model deserves appreciation for being the 1st & has set stage for other theories to emerge.
- The Harvard Model:
The dimensions included in The Harvard Model are stakeholders interest, situational factors, HRM Policy choices, HR
Outcomes, & Long-term consequences. The Stakeholders interests recognize the importance of “trade offs” between the
interests of the owners & those of employees. Trade offs also exists among other interest group also. But this is a challenge
for HR Manager as he needs to balance the interests of all stakeholders;
The Situational factors influence management’s choice of HR strategy. The contingent factors included in the model include
work force characteristics, management philosophy, labour market, technology, trade unions etc;
The HRM Policy choices emphasise the management’s decisions & actions in terms of HRM can be fully appreciated only if
it is recognized that they result from an interaction between constraints & choices;
Organizational commitment, competence, congruence, cost-effectiveness constitute HRM Outcomes. The assumption here
is that employees have talents which are rarely exploited for organizational growth & they are willing to grow with the
organization if a participative environment is available;
The Long-term consequences include societal well-being, organizational effectiveness, & individual welfare. There is
obvious linkage among the three. Employee welfare leads to organizational effectiveness & efficacy of all organizations
contributes to societal well-being;
The feedback loop is the sixth component of the Harvard Model. As situational factors influence HRM Policy & choices, &
are influenced by long-term consequences. Similarly, stakeholders interests influence HRM Policy choices.
- The Guest Model:
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HRM Model was developed by David Guest & claims to be much superior to other models. The model emphasizes the
logical sequence of 6 components– HR Strategy, HR Practices, HR Outcomes, Behavioural Outcomes, Performance Results
& Financial Results. Looking inversely, the financial results depend on employee performance, which in turn is the result of
action oriented employee behaviours. Behavioural outcomes are the result of employee commitment, quality & flexibility,
which in turn are impacted by HR practices. HR practices need to be in tune with HR strategies which are invariably aligned
with organizational strategies. This clearly maps out the field of HRM & indicates the inputs & outcomes. It also tells how
HRM can contribute of the organizational effectiveness.
- The Warwick Model:
This Model was developed by 2 researchers, Hendry & Pettigrew of University of Warwick. It has classified into 5 elements
i.e. Outer Context ( Macro Environmental Forces)
Inner Context ( Firm Specific or Micro environmental Forces)
Business Strategy
HRM Context, HRM Content
The Strength of the model is that it identifies & classifies important environmental influences on HRM. It maps the
connection between the external & environmental factors & explores how HRM adopts to changes in the context.
Obviously, those organizations achieving an alignment between the external & internal contexts will achieve performance
& growth.
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ROLE OF HR MANAGER
As a Specialist
As an information source
As a change agent
As a controller
As a Liaison man
As a house keeper : Health, Safety
As a Fire Fighter : shock absorber
Involvement in the strategic planning process
HR manager gets involved in the strategic planning process of the organization and identifies HR as a core competency of
the organization. When HR is assumed as a core competency HR becomes a competitive advantage for the organization
and HR manager is responsible of developing the HR of organizations to bring the stated competitve advantage to the
organization.
Forecasting the labour requirement
Recruitment
Once the labour forecast is done organization can identify the need for more labour in the organization if the existing
workforce is not sufficient to handle the future workload. In such a situation HR manager has to recruit new potential
candidates to fill the vacancies. Recruitment is the process of creating a pool of potential candidates who can be employed
to fill the vacancies.
Selection
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Selection is the process by which the most suitable candidate is selected from the recruited pool of candidates. Selection is
done by carrying out various types of tests and interviews. HR department/manager is responsible of selecting the
most suitable employees to fill existing vacancies.
Induction
Induction is the process by which new employees are made familiarized with the organizational environment. Once the
employees are selected they need to be introduced to other staff of the organization and they should be
given necessary guidelines about the organizational culture and the procedures.
Training
Motivation
Performance Appraisal
Managing Carrier Growth of employees/Promotions
Managing redundancy
Managing employee grievance
Managing complains about employees
Challenges
How can HR influence firm performance?
• How can HR cope with workplace changes and trends?
• What are HR strategies thathelp a firm achieve competitive advantage?
Key HR Challenges for Today’s Managers: Environmental
Rapid change
•Workforce diversity
•Globalization
• Internet revolution
• Legislation
• Evolving work and family roles
• Skill Shortages
•Rise of the service sector
Key HR Challenges for Today’s Managers: Organizational
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Quality, distinctivecapabilities
•Decentralization
•Downsizing
•Organizational restructuring
• Self-managed work teams
• Small business growth
• Technology
•Outsourcing
Key HR Challenges for Today’s Managers: Cultural
Basic assumptions and beliefs shared by members of an organization…
• rules, norms
• behaviors
• philosophy
• dominant values
• feeling or climate
Individual Challenges
• Matching People and Organization
• Matching people and
organizations
• Ethical dilemmas
• Social responsibility
• Productivity
• Empowerment
• Brain drain
• Job insecurity
Key HR Challenges for Today’s Managers: Individual
Matching people and organizations
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• Ethical dilemmas
• Social responsibility
• Productivity
• Empowerment
• Brain drain
• Job insecurity
Impact of technology on HR functions
It is important to look forward for the changing trends in technology which can have an impact on the HR practices.
Understanding these changes will help smart managers to adapt and flourish. Once you exploit these changing trends, you
can very well have the advantage over other players in the global market. The wide range of impact of technology on HR
can be clearly viewed on the HR functions such as:
Recruitment
Training & development
Performance management
Payroll & attendance records
Employee benefits etc
In case of Recruitment, IT has a highly positive impact. E-recruitment is the use of technology or web based tools to support
the recruitment process. The major ways of recruitment, which companies commonly use are by displaying the career
opportunities on their websites, depending on the job portals for making the potential hires and using social networking
sites (SNS) for getting the database. The major advantages of this e-recruitment are:
Economical way to publish job openings
Greater reach
An easy tool to get connected to people with niche skills
Speeds up the recruitment process (faster posting of jobs, quicker applicant response, and rapid hiring).
24*7 access to the online resumes.
E-recruitment also has its pitfalls. Even though e-recruitment helps in speeding up the whole recruitment process, there is
danger of short listing stage becoming a lengthy one. As large volume of resumes are posted online, screening and short
listing of resumes takes long time for the HR department. Also if the screening is not done properly, the Company might
lose the right candidature and will have to continue with the GO-Error, thus leading to inefficiency.
The usage of Social networking helps in getting faster response and interactions but the safety and credibility of the data
continues to be a serious question. Corporates have started using these sites for business and to find out potential talents
in few minutes. The major disadvantage is that many job seekers post their confidential data on these sites and end in
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serious issues; hence the safety of these data is an unanswerable one. Risk of mistaken identity is another problem faced
by the recruiter. Even though all these risks exists, major IT services companies in India like HCL, Wipro, TCS etc hire 7-10%
of their overall employees through SNS and these companies have a separate recruiter team for coordinating these
activities. It is due to the reduced cost and greater reach of SNS to the younger segment which makes major corporate use
SNS as a tool for recruitment.
In the case of Training & development, e-learning is an intense opportunity provided by the companies for their employees,
which help them to increase their knowledge level. The training materials are provided online; employees can utilize these
materials and get trained. In the case of e-learning, employees have an advantage that they can learn at their own pace.
The stretched duration taken by the employees to complete the training and the assimilation of the training independently
can be few disadvantages in the e-learning mode.
Several customized HR-IT solutions are available off the shelf for performance management, payroll maintenance and
attendance which have a positive impact. These functions have become a part of the customized software packages like
ERP solutions. CPM (Computerized performance monitoring) system used by companies helps in data collection by
counting the number of work units covered by each one per time period. At a time, it helps in calculating the performance
of approximately ten million people. Even though these software packages have been made to make the flow of
information between different departments to be smoother, they have disadvantages also. Inadequate testing of the
application and poor implementation can lead to problems in the system, also inexperienced employees using the system
can add to confusions leading to lower productivity.
In the case of Employee Benefits, the use of ESS (Employee Self Service) has helped HR managers to dedicate more time on
strategic issues like workforce management, succession planning, compensation planning etc and ensuring that the
employee’s data are accurate and updated. Through this ESS solution, employees get access to their data, pay roll
information, training materials etc online which allow them to keep their data updated.
With the help of these HR IT solutions, a job done by 2-4 persons can be done by a single person, leading to cost savings.
The increased impact of technology has cut down the employee head counts, in turn achieving cost effectiveness.
Managing the expectations of the surviving knowledge workers becomes a major area of concern for the HR managers.
Managing virtual organizations in this technology driven market is going to cause hard challenge for HR managers.
Virtual organization
Virtual organization is the network of companies or employees connected by computers. Virtual workers can work from
wherever they want, from home, car or abroad. Human resource department has significant role in virtual organizations. As
the employees in a virtual organization doesn’t meet face to face, it is the HR manager’s responsibility to create a
psychological connection between various units and their workers. HR department has to take care of the alignment of the
organization’s vision, mission and goal with the worker’s objectives. Finding potential hires with the requisite skills for the
virtual organization become another challenge for the HR department. Creating a feeling of belongingness among the
workers and managers can help in meeting their responsibilities in an effective way.
The major disadvantages of the use of technology on HR are:
When organizations depend more on technology as a substitute to human interactions, loss of potential talents
may happen.
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HR is all about managing people, which requires human interaction and face to face communication, and as human
element will always remain significant in HR, a balance should be maintained between the IT and the human
aspect.
Technological obsolescence also poses to be a problem. Obsolescence occurs very fast that the information relied
on obsolete technologies becomes inaccessible in certain cases. Hence, the ROI for the HR technology systems, if
not estimated and measured will lead to problems
Workforce diversity
When an organization has people of different ethnicities and a greater proportion of women than the industry average,
naturally the question arises as to how to reconcile the differences between these employees without causing too much
friction in everyday interactions. Managing diversity is important as otherwise the performance of the organization takes
a hit and worse, there can be possible
lawsuits and legal tangles from disaffected employees who feel aggrieved because of instances of discrimination and
harassment based on their ethnicity or gender.
Issues in Managing Diversity
One of the central issues in managing diversity is to do with the majority and the minority perspective. Usually, it is the
case in organizations that there is a predominant majority of a particular race or ethnicity and various others in minority
groups. And considering that the most pressing issue in managing diversity arises out of the treatment of women, we get a
sense of the issues of race and gender as the primary drivers in managing diversity. In recent times, these issues have come
to the forefront of the debate because of greater awareness among the minority groups about their rights as well as
stricter enforcement of laws and regulations that govern workplace behavior.
Hence, it is in the interest of the management of any firm to sensitize their workforce towards race and gender issues and
ensure that the workplace is free of discrimination against minority groups as well as women.
Gender Sensitization
We have devoted a separate section on gender sensitization because when compared to other issues in managing diversity,
this is the most pressing issue because of the preponderance of women in the workforce as well as recent trends that point
to the emergence of this single issue as the dominant issue that is taking the mind space of managers. The worrying aspect
about this issue is that despite policies and rules governing gender specific issues in most organizations, there is little
evidence to show that they are being followed. Hence, what is needed is a mindset change rather than more policies and
this can only be done if the workforce is sensitized to the needs of women.
Conclusion
Though the situation in Corporate India or India Inc. has not yet reached the stage where lawsuits are routinely brought
against management for discriminatory practices, nonetheless, the trend in recent years is towards a more vocal
disapproval of such practices from industry leaders and management consultants who repeatedly emphasize the
importance of a non-discriminatory workplace. Hence, the onus is on the management, senior and middle, to ensure that
they follow the norms that is required of them. In our opinion, the middle management and the managers who directly
interact with the teams of people have a greater role as they are the “Sandwich” between the upper management and the
workforce and hence are in a position to follow the policies as well as enforce them.
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EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT
Empowerment is the process of enabling employees to set their own work-related goals, make decisions and solve
problems within their spheres of responsibility and authority.
“Empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees”.
“Employee Empowerment predominantly about encouraging front-line staff to solve customer problems on the spot,
without constant recourse to management approval”.
Need of Empowerment
• Time to respond is much shorter today.
• First line employees must make many decisions.
• There is great-untapped potential.
• Employees feel much more control over their lives.
• Empowered people do not feel like victims.
Ways of Employee Empowerment
• Express confidence in employees’ abilities.
• Hold high expectations concerning their performance.
• Allow employees to participate in the decision-making process.
• Allow employees freedom and autonomy in how they perform their jobs.
• Use position power in a positive way and limit the use of coercive power.
• Set inspirational and managerial goals for employees.
Significance of Empowerment
• Enhances beliefs of employees that they are influential contributors to the organizational success.
• Employees perceive meaning in work.
• Employees feel competent.
• Employees derive a sense of self-determination.
• Employees believe that they have an impact on important decisions.
Process of Employee Empowerment
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Characteristics of Empowered Employees
• Sense of Self-Determination
• Sense of Meaning
• Sense of Competence
• Sense of Impact
PROTEAN CAREER
The career of the 21st century will be protean, a career that is driven by the person, not the organization, and that will be
reinvented by the person from time to time, as the person and the environment change. The Protean Career is a concept
that requires everyone to 1) monitor and assess the job market; 2) anticipate future developments, trends, and industry
shifts, 3) gain the necessary skills, qualifications, relationships, and assets to meet the shifts, and 4) adapt quickly to thrive
in an ever-changing workplace. The word “Protean” comes from the Mythical Greek Sea God“Proteus,” who was best
known for 1) predicting and foretelling the future and 2) his versatility and adaptability to acclimate himself to successfully
meet and thrive in the future he envisioned.
In today’s transformational, constantly changing workplace, everyone must master the strengths of Proteus!
Characteristics:
• Focus on psychological success rather than vertical success
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• Lifelong series of identity changes and continuous learning
• Career age counts, not chronological age
• Job security replaced by the goal of employability
• Sources of development are work challenges and relationships, not necessarily training and retraining programs
• The new career contract is not a pact with the organization;rather, it is an agreement with one’s self and one’s work
• Focus on learning metaskills (learning how to learn), i.e., how to develop self-knowledge (about one’s identity) and
adaptability
• Adaptability and identity learning is best accomplished through interactions with other people (reflected in
interdependence,
mutuality, reciprocity, and learning from differences)
The Moonlighting
Moonlighting refers to the phenomenon where, an employee engages himself in gainful employment with another
employer, in addition to his regular job. The income that an employee might earn from his hobbies such as writing,
painting, etc., is usually not considered as a moonlighting initiative. It can be an acceptable proposition as long as it does
not affect an employee's performance in his/her main job or does not result in any loss to the principal employer. There are
several views expressed in favor of moonlighting. Due to the increased earnings, the standard of living of a moonlighting
employee can go up and also broaden the scope of educational and other opportunities for the members of his family.
Through moonlighting, employees also contribute towards the creation of additional assets, by increasing the production of
goods or services. It also helps a person to use his spare time and energy, constructively and gainfully.
Employees may moonlight for several reasons, including:
To gain experience or “test the water” in different jobs before making a final career decision.
To obtain additional income.(This reason seems to be more prevalent these days as the number of moonlighters
rises.)
To fulfill a passion or take advantage of a particular skill in another field.
An example of moonlighting is working as a pizza delivery person at night when your full time job is as a secretary.
Effect of Moon Lighting of HRM in Future
Moon lighting by employees affects almost all the functions of human resources management. The effects of moon lighting
would be mostly negative and it possesses challenges to the HR manager. Presently very limited number of employees does
moon lighting. But the number of employees who will do moon lighting will go on increasing due to change in employee
values and expectations.
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Managements will have to take all possible care in selection process about the possibility of moon lighting by the
prospective candidates. Moon lighting will affect human resources development as employees would not be interested in
the human resources development as planned by the organizations.
Employees will go on demanding for hike in wages and other benefits. The moon lighting will be increased i.e. from dark to
full moon and expended to dark moon lighting employees if the management does not accept the demand of the
employees.
The relations between the superior and subordinate will be affected adversely in case of moon lighting by sub-ordinates.
The disciplinary procedure in that case becomes worse. Managements will face a challenge in motivating the moon lighting
and non-moon lighting employees due to varying values, aspirations and goals. It reduces the interest of employees in
participative management, quality circles etc. Thus, different degrees of moon lighting by employees will affect Human
Resources Management in future adversely. It will become a challenging task to the Human resources managers.
types
Blue Moon
Employees in future will demand the management for hike in wages and benefits. The management will also respond
positively to the employees demand. Some employees will be satisfied with the increased in wages and benefits and adjust
their expenses with the level of wages and benefits from time to time willingly. Some employees will not be satisfied with
the level of wages and benefits and will not go for second job in future because of their in ability in getting a second job.
Such type of employees will have a conflict with the organizational wage level as this category of employees need a second
job for additional income and it will not be available to them. Thus, their efforts to earn additional income through second
job will not bear any fruit. Such type of efforts and the consequent result may be called Blue Moon Lighting by employees.
Full Moon Lighting
Employees in some professions/ occupations find relatively free time whereas employees in some organizations generally
feel that their income from the job is almost negligible, compared to their expectations. Some employees (deserve their)
have friends or relatives earning huge money more than their salary. Similarly, some employees view that their friends or
relatives with lower educational qualifications and abilities enjoy better social status due to their ownership of and earning
from business or industry. Employees who realize that their jobs are almost negligible from the point of view of social
status, venture to start a business unit / industrial unit. They spend most of their time and resources in starting, developing,
expanding and diversifying their business or industrial units. They keep on staying on the job as it will be useful for them as
a shock absorber in times of need. Their financial and social position will almost be determined by the second occupation.
The extent of second jobbing may be known as Full Moon Lighting by employees.
Strategic human resource planning
Human resources planning is a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an organization to
achieve it goals. Human resources planning should serve as a link between human resources management and the overall
strategic plan of an organization. Aging worker populations in most western countries and growing demands for qualified
workers in developing economies have underscored the importance of effective Human Resources Planning.
21
As defined by Bulla and Scott (1994), human resource planning is ‘the process for ensuring that the human resource
requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements’. Reilly (2003) defined
workforce planning as: ‘A process in which an organization attempts to estimate the demand for labour and evaluate the
size, nature and sources of supply which will be required to meet the demand.’ Human resource planning includes creating
an employer brand, retention strategy, absence management strategy, flexibility strategy, talent management strategy,
recruitment and selection strategy.
Importance
1) Each Organisation needs personnel with necessary qualifications, skills, knowledge,experience & aptitude .
2) Need for Replacement of Personnel - Replacing old, retired or disabled personnel.
3) Meet manpower shortages due to labour turnover - Indian Airlines, Gas Authority of India headless for 10months.
4) Meet needs of expansion / downsizing programmes - As a result of expansion of IT companies the demand for IT
professionals are increasing. PSU’s offering VRS to employees to retrench staff and labour costs. DOT.COMs firing staff.
5) Cater to Future Personnel Needs - Avoid surplus or deficiency of labour. 75% of organisations are overstaffed.
Redeployment of staff to other units.
6) Nature of present workforce in relation with Changing Environment - helps to cope with changes in competitive forces,
markets, technology, products and government regulations. Shift in demand from ERP to internet programming has
increased internet programmers demand at Wipro, Infosys etc. ITI retrained its existing workforce in the new electronic
telephone system.
Forecasting Manpower
process of estimating future quantity and quality of manpower required for an organisation.
External factors - competition, laws & regulation, economic climate, changes in technology and social factors
22
Internal factors - budget constraints,production levels, new products & services,organisational structure & employee
separations
Forecasting Techniques
Qualitative Techniques
Expert Estimate,Nominal Group Technique (NGT),Delphi Technique
Quantitative Techniques
Regression Analysis
Productivity Ratio
Personnel Ratio
Time Series Analysis
23
Delphi Method
1.Select your group.
2.Each member is sent a form with an issue or questions about an issue and asked to send their comments back to the
facilitator.
3.The facilitator organizes the comments and then sends those out to the group for another round of responses.
4.Step 3 is repeated until the facilitator feels enough progress has been made to publish the results.
The Expert Estimate
• The Delphi technique elicits expert estimates from a number of individuals in an iterative manner
24
– Developed by the Rand Corporation
– Estimates are revised by each
individual based on knowledge of the
other individuals’ estimates
• With the nominal group technique (NGT), individual estimates are followed by group brainstorming
– The goal is to generate a group decision that is preferred over any individual decision
Quantitative Techniques
Regression analysis
Past levels of various work load indicators, such as sales,production levels, and value added, are examined forstatistical
relationships with staffing levels. Where sufficiently strong relationships are found, a regression (or multiple regression)
model is derived. Forecasted levels of the retained indicator(s) are entered into the resulting model and used to calculate
the associated level of human resource requirements.
Productivity ratios
Historical data are used to examine past levels of a
productivity index (P):
P = Work load / Number of People
Where constant, or systematic, relationships are found, human resource requirements can be computed by diving
predicted work loads by P.
Personnel ratios
Past personnel data are examined to determine historical relationships among the employees in various jobs or job
categories. Regression analysis or productivity ratios are then used to project either total or key-group human resource
requirements, and personnel ratios are used to allocated total requirements to various job categories or to estimate for
non-key groups.
Time series analysis
Past staffing levels (instead of work load indicators) are used to project future human resource requirements. Past staffing
levels are examined to isolate and cyclical variation, long-tem terms, and random movement. Longterm trends are then
extrapolated or projected using a moving average, exponential smoothing, or regression technique.
25
There are number of techniques of estimating/forecasting human resources demand:
(a) Managerial Judgement
(b) Work Study Technique
(c) Ratio-trend Analysis (d) Econometric Models
(e) Delphi Model
(f) Other Techniques
(a) Managerial Judgement: Managerial judgement technique is very common technique of demand forecasting. This
approach is applied by small as well as large scale organisations. This technique involves two types of approaches i.e.
'bottom-up approach' and 'top-down approach'. Under the 'bottom-up approach', line mangers send their departmental
requirement of human resources to top management. Top management ultimately forecasts the human resource
requirement for the overall organisation on the basis of proposals of departmental heads. Under the Top-down approach',
top management forecasts the human resource requirement for the entire organisation and various departments. This
information is supplied to various departmental heads for their review and approval. However, a combination of both the
approaches i.e. 'Participative Approach' should be applied for demand forecasting. Under this approach, top management
and departmental heads meet and decide about the future human resource requirement. So, demand of human resources
can be forecasted with unanimity under this approach.
(b) Work-Study Technique: This technique is also known as 'work-load analysis'. This technique is suitable where the
estimated work-load is easily measureable. Under this method, estimated total production and activities for a specific
future period are predicted. This information is translated into number of man-hours required to produce per units taking
into consideration the capability of the workforce. Past-experience of the management can help in translating the work-
loads into number of man-hours required. Thus, demand of human resources is forecasted on the basis of estimated total
production and contribution of each employee in producing each unit items. The following example gives clear idea about
this technique.
Let us assume that the estimated production of an organisation is 3.00.000 units. The standard man-hours required to
produce each unit are 2 hours. The past experiences show that the work ability of each employee in man-hours is 1500
hours per annum. The work-load and demand of human resources can be calculated as under:
Estimated total annual production = 300000 units
Standard man-hours needed to produce each unit = 2 hrs
Estimated man-hours needed to meet estimated annual production (i x ii) = 600000 hrs
Work ability/contribution per employee in terms of man-hour = 1500 units
Estimated no. of workers needed (iii / iv) = 600000/1500 = 400 units
The above example clearly shows that 400 workers are needed for the year. Further, absenteeism rate, rate of labour
turnover, resignations, deaths, machine break-down, strikes, power-failure etc. should also be taken into consideration
while estimating future demand of human resources/ manpower.
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(c) Ratio-Trend Analysis: Demand for manpower/human resources is also estimated on the basis of ratio of production
level and number of workers available. This ratio will be used to estimate demand of human resources. The following
example will help in clearly understanding this technique.
Estimated production for next year = 1,40,000 units
Estimated no. of workers needed
(on the basis of ratio-trend of 1: 200) will be = 700
(d) Econometrics Models: These models are based on mathematical and statistical techniques for estimating future
demand. Under these models relationship is established between the dependent variable to be predicted (e.g.
manpower/human resources) and the independent variables (e.g., sales, total production, work-load, etc.). Using these
models, estimated demand of human resources can be predicted.
(e) Delphi Technique: Delphi technique is also very important technique used for estimating demand of human resources.
This technique takes into consideration human resources requirements given by a group of experts i.e. mangers. The
human resource experts collect the manpower needs, summarises the various responses and prepare a report. This process
is continued until all experts agree on estimated human resources requirement.
(f) Other Techniques: The other techniques of Human Resources demand forecasting are specified as under:
(a) Following the techniques of demand forecasting of human resources used by other similar organisations
(b) Organisation-cum-succession-charts
(c) Estimation based on techniques of production
(d) Estimates based on historical records
(e) Statistical techniques e.g. co-relation and regression analysis.
Turnover and absenteeism
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Job Analysis
The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired
for it. Job analysis is primary tool in personnel management. In this method, a personnel manager tries to gather,
synthesize and implement the information available regarding the workforce in the concern. A personnel manager has to
undertake job analysis so as to put right man on right job.
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There are two outcomes of job analysis :
1. Job description
2. Job specification
The information collected under job analysis is :
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1. Nature of jobs required in a concern.
2. Nature/ size of organizational structure.
3. Type of people required to fit that structure.
4. The relationship of the job with other jobs in the concern.
5. Kind of qualifications and academic background required for jobs.
6. Provision of physical condition to support the activities of the concern. For example- separate cabins for managers,
special cabins for the supervisors, healthy condition for workers, adequate store room for store keeper.
Advantages of Job Analysis
1. Job analysis helps the personnel manager at the time of recruitment and selection of right man on right job.
2. It helps him to understand extent and scope of training required in that field.
3. It helps in evaluating the job in which the worth of the job has to be evaluated.
4. In those instances where smooth work force is required in concern.
5. When he has to avoid overlapping of authority- responsibility relationship so that distortion in chain of command
doesn’t exist.
6. It also helps to chalk out the compensation plans for the employees.
7. It also helps the personnel manager to undertake performance appraisal effectively in a concern.
A personnel manger carries analysis in two ways :
a. Job description
b. Job specification
1. JOB DESCRIPTION is an organized factual statement of job contents in the form of duties and responsibilities of a
specific job. The preparation of job description is very important before a vacancy is advertised. It tells in brief the
nature and type of job. This type of document is descriptive in nature and it constitutes all those facts which are
related to a job such as :
a. Title/ Designation of job and location in the concern.
b. The nature of duties and operations to be performed in that job.
c. The nature of authority- responsibility relationships.
d. Necessary qualifications that are required for job.
e. Relationship of that job with other jobs in a concern.
f. The provision of physical and working condition or the work environment required in performance of that
job.
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Advantages of Job Description
g. It helps the supervisors in assigning work to the subordinates so that he can guide and monitor their
performances.
h. It helps in recruitment and selection procedures.
i. It assists in manpower planning.
j. It is also helpful in performance appraisal.
k. It is helpful in job evaluation in order to decide about rate of remuneration for a specific job.
l. It also helps in chalking out training and development programmes.
2. JOB SPECIFICATION is a statement which tells us minimum acceptable human qualities which helps to perform a
job. Job specification translates the job description into human qualifications so that a job can be performed in a
better manner. Job specification helps in hiring an appropriate person for an appropriate position. The contents are
:
a. Job title and designation
b. Educational qualifications for that title
c. Physical and other related attributes
d. Physique and mental health
e. Special attributes and abilities
f. Maturity and dependability
g. Relationship of that job with other jobs in a concern.
Advantages of Job Specification
h. It is helpful in preliminary screening in the selection procedure.
i. It helps in giving due justification to each job.
j. It also helps in designing training and development programmes.
k. It helps the supervisors for counseling and monitoring performance of employees.
l. It helps in job evaluation.
m. It helps the management to take decisions regarding promotion, transfers and giving extra benefits to the
employees.
From the above advantages, we can justify the importance of job analysis and it’s related products. Both job description as
well as job specification are important for personnel manager in personnel management function. Therefore, job analysis
is considered to be the primary tool of personnel management.
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Six Steps of Job Analysis [edit]
1. Decide how to use the information since this will determine the data to collect and how to collect it. Some data
collection techniques such as interviewing the employee and asking what the job entails are good for writing job
descriptions and selecting employees for the job. Other techniques like the position analysis questionnaire do not provide
qualitative information for job descriptions. Rather, they provide numerical ratings for each job and can be used to
compare jobs for compensation purposes.[17].
2. Review appropriate background information like organization charts, process charts, and job descriptions. Organization
charts show the organization-wide work division, how the job in question relates to other jobs, and where the job fits in the
overall organization. The chart should show the title of each position and, through connecting lines, show reports to whom
and with whome the job incumbent communicates. A process chart provides a more detailed picture of the work flow. In
its simplest, most organic form, a process chart shows the flow of inputs to and outputs from the job being analyzed.
Finally, the existing job description (if there is one) usually provides a starting point for building the revised job description.
3. Select representative positions. This is because there may be too many similar jobs to analyze. For example, it is usally
unnecessary to analyze jobs of 200 assembly workers when a sample of 10 jobs will be sufficient.
4. Actually analyze the job by collecting data on job activities, necessary employee behaviors and actions, working
conditions, and human traits and abilities required to perform the job. For this step, one or more than one methods of job
analysis may be needed
5. Verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job and with his or her immediate supervisor. This
will help confirm that the information is factually correct and complete. This review can also help gain the employee's
acceptance of the job analysis data and conclusions by giving that person a chance to review and modify descriptions of the
job activities.
6. Develop a job description and job specification. These are two tangible products of the job analysis process. The job
description is a written statement that describes the activities and responsibilities of the job as well as its important
features such as working conditions and safety hazards. The job specification summarizes the personal qualities, traits,
skills, and background required for completing a certain job. These two may be completely separate or in the same
document.
JOB DESIGN
Job Design typically refers to the way that a set of tasks, or an entire position, is organized
Job design is an effort to organize task, duties, and responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve a certain
objectives.
It has critical impact on organization and employee objectives.
It specifies the content of the job and determines how work is distributed within an organization.
OBJECTIVES OF JOB DESIGN
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Technical feasibility
Ability to handle equipments and machinery
Economic feasibility
Cost effectiveness
Behavioral feasibility
Motivation and morale to work
It explores:
what tasks are done
when and how the tasks are done
how many tasks are done
in what order the tasks are done
factors which affect the work
Approaches to Job Design
Broadly speaking the various factors that affect a job design can classified under three heads. They are:
Organizational Factors
Environmental Factors
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Behavioural Factors
Organizational factors
that affect job design can be work nature or characteristics, work flow, organizational practices and ergonomics.
Work Nature: There are various elements of a job and job design is required to classify various tasks into a job or a
coherent set of jobs. The various tasks may be planning, executing, monitoring, controlling etc and all these are to
be taken into consideration while designing a job.
Ergonomics: Ergonomics aims at designing jobs in such a way that the physical abilities and individual traits of
employees are taken into consideration so as to ensure efficiency and productivity. Ergonomics is concerned with
designing and shaping jobs to fit the physical abilities and characteristics of individuals so that ,they perform the
jobs effectively .Ergonomics helps employees to design jobs in such a way that workers' physical abilities and job
demands are balanced .It does not alter the nature of job tasks, but alters the location of tools ,switches and other
facilities, keeping in view that handling the job is the primary consideration.
Workflow: Product and service type often determines the sequence of work flow. A balance is required between
various product or service processes and a job design ensures this.
Culture: Organizational culture determines the way tasks are carried out at the work places. Practices are methods
or standards laid out for carrying out a certain task. These practices often affect the job design especially when the
practices are not aligned to the interests of the unions.
Environmental factors
affect the job design to a considerable extent. These factors include both the internal as well as external factors.
They include factors like employee skills and abilities, their availability, and their socio economic and cultural
prospects.
Employee availability and abilities: Employee skills, abilities and time of availability play a crucial role while
designing of the jobs. The above mentioned factors of employees who will actually perform the job are taken into
consideration. Designing a job that is more demanding and above their skill set will lead to decreased productivity
and employee satisfaction.
Socio economic and cultural expectations: Jobs are nowadays becoming more employee centered rather than
process centered. They are therefore designed keeping the employees into consideration. In addition the literacy
level among the employees is also on the rise. They now demand jobs that are to their liking and competency and
which they can perform the best.
Behavioral factors or human factors are those that pertain to the human need and that need to be satisfied for ensuring
productivity at workplace. They include the elements like autonomy, diversity, feedback etc. A brief explanation of some is
given below:
Autonomy: Employees should work in an open environment rather than one that contains fear. It promotes
creativity, independence and leads to increased efficiency.
Feedback: Feedback should be an integral part of work. Each employee should receive proper feedback about his
work performance.
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Diversity: Repetitive jobs often make work monotonous which leads to boredom. A job should carry sufficient
diversity and variety so that it remains as interesting with every passing day. Job variety / diversity should be given
due importance while designing a job.
Use of Skills and abilities: Jobs should be employee rather than process centered. Though due emphasis needs to
be given to the latter but jobs should be designed in a manner such that an employee is able to make full use of his
abilities and perform the job effectively.
TECHNIQUES OF JOB DESIGN
Work Simplification
Job Rotation
Job Enlargement
Job Enrichment
High Performance work Design
Work simplification
describes the making of daily tasks easier in order to reduce strain, or to decrease the amount energy required to
complete an activity.
Example:
Using an automated can opener instead of the manual version
Lengthening a short handle on a dustpan to avoid bending
Sliding heavy objects or using a wheeled cart to avoid lifting
Job Rotation
is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more assignments or jobs at regular
intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an
objective to test the employee skills and competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to
it, it reduces the monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights.
JOB ROTATION OBJECTIVES
Reducing Monotony of the Job
Succession Planning
Creating Right-Employee Job Fit
Exposing Workers to All Verticals of the Company
Testing Employee Skills and Competencies
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Developing a Wider Range of Work Experience
Job enrichment
is an attempt to motivate employees by giving them the opportunity to use the range of their abilities.
It can be contrasted to job enlargement which simply increases the number of tasks without changing the
challenge. As such job enrichment has been described as 'vertical loading' of a job, while job enlargement is
'horizontal loading'.
An enriched job should ideally contain:
A range of tasks and challenges of varying difficulties (Physical or Mental)
A complete unit of work - a meaningful task
Feedback, encouragement and communication
Benefits of Job Design
The following are the benefits of a good job design:
1. Employee Input: A good job design enables a good job feedback. Employees have the option to vary tasks as per their personal and social needs, habits and circumstances in the workplace.
2. Employee Training: Training is an integral part of job design. Contrary to the philosophy of “leave them alone’ job design lays due emphasis on training people so that are well aware of what their job demands and how it is to be done.
3. Work / Rest Schedules: Job design offers good work and rest schedule by clearly defining the number of hours an individual has to spend in his/her job.
4. Adjustments: A good job designs allows for adjustments for physically demanding jobs by minimising the energy spent doing the job and by aligning the manpower requirements for the same.
Job design is a continuous and ever evolving process that is aimed at helping employees make adjustments with the changes in the workplace. The end goal is reducing dissatisfaction, enhancing motivation and employee engagement at the workplace.
Careers and Career Management
Career development is important for companies to create and sustain a continuous learning environment
The biggest challenge companies face is how to balance advancing current employees’ careers with simultaneously
attracting and acquiring employees with new skills
The growing use of teams is influencing the concept of careers
e.g., project careers
Changes in the concept of career affect:
employees’ motivation to attend training programs
the outcomes they expect to gain from attendance
41
their choice of programs
how and what they need to know
Career management is the process through which employees:
Become aware of their own interests, values, strengths, and weaknesses
Obtain information about job opportunities within the company
Identify career goals
Establish action plans to achieve career goals
Why Is Career Management Important?
From the company’s perspective, the failure to motivate employees to plan their careers can result in:
a shortage of employees to fill open positions
lower employee commitment
inappropriate use of monies allocated for training and development programs
From the employees’ perspective, lack of career management can result in:
frustration
feelings of not being valued by the company
being unable to find suitable employment should a job change be necessary due to mergers, acquisitions,
restructuring, or downsizing
Career motivation refers to:
Employees’ energy to invest in their careers
Their awareness of the direction they want their careers to take
The ability to maintain energy and direction despite barriers they may encounter
Career motivation has three aspects:
Career resilience/flexibility
Career insight
Career identity
Career resilience – the extent to which employees are able to cope with problems that affect their work
Career insight involves:
how much employees know about their interests, skill strengths, and weaknesses
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the awareness of how these perceptions relate to their career goals
Career identity – the degree to which employees define their personal values according to their work
A Model of Career Development
Career development is the process by which employees progress through a series of stages
Each stage is characterized by a different set of developmental tasks, activities, and relationships
There are four career stages:
Exploration
Establishment
Maintenance
Disengagement
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Components of the Career Management Process:
Self-Assessment
Use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral
tendencies
Often involves psychological tests
Reality Check
Information employees receive about how the company evaluates their skills and knowledge and where
they fit into company plans
Goal Setting
The process of employees developing short- and long-term career objectives
Usually discussed with the manager and written into a development plan
Action Planning
Employees determining how they will achieve their short- and long-term career goals
Employees’ Role in Career Management
Take the initiative to ask for feedback from managers and peers regarding their skill strengths and weaknesses
Identify their stage of career development and development needs
Seek challenges by gaining exposure to a range of learning opportunities
Interact with employees from different work groups inside and outside the company
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Create visibility through good performance
HR Manager’s Role in Career Management
Provide information or advice about training and development opportunities
Provide specialized services such as testing to determine employees’ values, interests, and skills
Help prepare employees for job searches
Offer counseling on career-related problems
Company’s Role in Career Management
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HR Generalist
A person with responsibility for performing a variety of HR activities.
HR Specialist
A person with in-depth knowledge and expertise in a limited area of HR.
Within companies, HR positions generally fall into one of two categories: generalist and specialist. Generalists support
employees directly with their questions, grievances, and projects. They "may handle all aspects of human resources work,
and thus require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human resources generalists can vary widely,
depending on their employer's needs."[13] Specialists, conversely, work in a specific HR function. Some practitioners will
spend an entire career as either a generalist or a specialist while others will obtain experiences from each and choose a
path later.
The Human Resources Generalist is responsible for managing all the HR operations and strategies within a company. The
HR generalist oversees the administration of all people related matters such as:
attendance management
compensation and benefits
employment law
employee relations
organisational development
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performance management
recruitment
reward and recognition
succession planning
training and development
In larger organisations, the Human Resources Generalist works in conjunction with human resource specialists to ensure a
comprehensive HR service is delivered to the business. When working for a smaller business, HR generalists often work on
a stand alone basis.
The HR objectives of a company are originated and led by HR generalists. These HR objectives should result in an
employee-oriented, high performance culture that emphasizes quality, high standards, productivity and the recruitment
and ongoing development of a superior workforce.
HR specialists are integral to carrying out the variety of functions of a human resources department. Some may specialize in
recruiting or labor relations, while others are generalists and perform many functions.
One of your primary duties as an HR specialist is employee selection. This includes working with company managers to
determine their employment needs, then collaborating with them to create job descriptions. It may be your job to place
"help wanted" ads or work with recruiters to find qualified candidates. Managers may rely on you to screen and schedule
interviews with applicants, then assist during the hiring phase. You may call candidates and negotiate salaries
Administration Duties
Administrative duties may also be part of your job as an HR specialist. You ensure that all employees fill out required forms,
including I-9s to prove their legal status to work in the United States and W-4 forms, which determine amounts to be
deducted from paychecks for taxes. You may create training manuals on company policies and procedures; assist managers
in maintaining employee records and performance reviews; and help coordinate medical and life insurance programs for
employees. If you work for a unionized company, you may be involved in mediation or negotiating sessions between
management and union members.
Work Environment
Most HR specialists work full-time in offices, with occasional overtime and weekend work. If you don't work for a consumer
products or oil company, or other manufacturer or supplier, you are likely to be employed by an HR recruiting firm,
according to the BLS. Some companies outsource the HR function. HR specialists occasionally travel to colleges or job fairs
to recruit employees.
Education and Training
HR specialist positions generally require a bachelor's degree in human resources, business or a related field. A high school
degree and significant experience may also qualify you a position. You may get certified as an HR specialist to demonstrate
your competence in many areas of human resources.
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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Human Resource Management, training and development is the field which is concerned with organizational activity
aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups inorganizational settings
Training and development (T&D) encompasses three main activities: training, education, and development.
Training: This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an individual currently holds.[3]
Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in the future, and is evaluated
against those jobs.[3]
Development: This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing the individual, or that the
individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost impossible to evaluate.[3]
Training
_Effort initiated by an organization to foster learning among its members.
_Tends to be narrowly focused and oriented toward short-term performance concerns.
• Development
_Effort that is oriented more toward broadening an individual’s skills for the future responsibilities
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Purpose of Training
• � To increase productivity and quality
• � To promote versatility and adaptability to new methods
• � To reduce the number of accidents
• � To reduce labour turnover
• � To increase job satisfaction displaying itself in lower labour turn- over and less absenteeism
• � To increase efficiency
When does the need for training arise?
• � The installation of new equipment or techniques
• � A change in working methods or products produced
• � A realization that performance is inadequate
• � Labour shortage, necessitating the upgrading of some employees
• � A desire to reduce the amount of scrap and to improve quality
• � An increase in the number of accidents
• � Promotion or transfer of individual employees.
• � Ensures availability of necessary skills and there could be a pool of talent from which to promote from.
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Advantages of Training
1. Leads to improved profitability and/or more positive attitudes toward profits orientation.
2. Improves the job knowledge and skills at all levels of the organization.
3. Improves the morale of the workforce.
4. Helps people identify with organizational goals.
5. Helps create a better corporate image.
6. Fasters authentically, openness and trust.
7. Improves the relationship between boss and subordinate.
8. Aids in organizational development.
9. Learns from the trainee.
10. Helps prepare guidelines for work.
Disadvantages of training
– 1. Can be a financial drain on resources; expensive development and testing, expensive to operate?
– 2. Often takes people away from their job for varying periods of time;
– 3. Equips staff to leave for a better job
– 4. Bad habits passed on
– 5. Narrow experience
Areas of Training
The Areas of Training in which training is offered may be classified into the following categories:
Knowledge
Here the trainee learns about a set of rules and regulations about the job, the staff and the products or services offered by
the company. The aim is to make the new employee fully aware of what goes inside and outside the company.
Technical Skills
The employee is taught a specific skill (e.g., operating a machine and handling computer) so that he can acquire that skill
and contribute meaningfully.
Social Skills
The employee is made to learn about himself and other, develop a right mental attitude, towards the job, colleagues and
the company. The principal focus is on teaching the employee how to be a team member and get ahead.
Techniques
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This involves the application of knowledge and skill to various on-the-job situations. In addition to improving the skills and
knowledge of employees, training aims at clouding employee attitudes: When administered properly, a training
programme. It will go a long way in obtaining employee loyalty, support and commitment to company activities.
Steps in the Training Process
1. Organizational objectives
2. Assessment of Training needs
3. Establishment of Training goals
4. Devising training programme
5. Implementation of training programme
6. Evaluation of results
Training Methods for NonmanagerialEmployees
• On-the-Job Training (OJT)
• Apprenticeship Training
• Cooperative Training,Internships, and Governmental Training
• Classroom Instruction
• Programmed Instruction
• Audiovisual Methods
• Computer-based Training and E-Learning
• Simulation Method
Performance appraisal is formal evaluation of an employee’s job performance in order to determine the degree to which
the employee is performing effectively.
Griffin and Ebert (2002).
Performance
• Performance is about how things are done as well as what is done.
• Performance is the degree of accomplishment of the tasks of a particular job.
• It reflects how much and how the requirements of the job have been fulfilled.
• Performance is measured in terms of result.
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Benefits of Performance Management
• Improves performance
• Motivates and increases commitment of employees
• Underpins core values
• Helps in integrated training and development process
• Enlarges and enhances the skill base
• Provides the base for career-planning
• Helps to retain employees
• Supports organizational initiatives and helps in managing
change
• Clarity of roles and goals
• Support and encouragement from supervisors for better
performance
• Provision of guidance and help in developing abilities and
performance
• Opportunities to contribute to the formulation of objectives and
plans, and improvements in the way work is managed and carried out
• An objective and fair basis for assessing performance
What is PerformanceAppraisal?
Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a
person for further growth and development. Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as
follows:
1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans.
2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.
3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.
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Objectives of Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind:
1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc.
2. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job.
3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development.
4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.
5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.
6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees.
7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes.
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Advantages of Performance Appraisal
It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by following advantages:
1. Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient
employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed or demoted in case.
2. Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation packages for employees. Merit rating is
possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance.
Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are
dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority.
3. Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame
training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can
be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes.
4. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the
selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of
selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard.
5. Communication: For an organization, effective communication between employees and employers is very
important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways:
a. Through performance appraisal, the employers can understand and accept skills of subordinates.
b. The subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in superiors.
c. It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labour management relationship.
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d. It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees.
All the above factors ensure effective communication.
6. Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a
person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job
and helps him to improve his performance in the future.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL METHODS
1. Critical incident method
This format of performance appraisal is a method which is involved identifying and describing specific incidents where
employees did something really well or that needs improving during their performance period.
2. Weighted checklist method
In this style, performance appraisal is made under a method where the jobs being evaluated based on descriptive
statements about effective and ineffective behavior on jobs.
3. Paired comparison analysis
This form of performance appraisal is a good way to make full use of the methods of options. There will be a list of relevant
options. Each option is in comparison with the others in the list. The results will be calculated and then such option with
highest score will be mostly chosen.
4. Graphic rating scales
This format is considered the oldest and most popular method to assess the employee’s performance.
In this style of performance appraisal, the management just simply does checks on the performance levels of their staff.
5. Essay Evaluation method
In this style of performance appraisal, managers/ supervisors are required to figure out the strong and weak points of
staff’s behaviors. Essay evaluation method is a non-quantitative technique. It is often mixed with the method the graphic
rating scale.
6. Behaviorally anchored rating scales
This formatted performance appraisal is based on making rates on behaviors or sets of indicators to determine the
effectiveness or ineffectiveness of working performance. The form is a mix of the rating scale and critical incident
techniques to assess performance of the staff.
7. Performance ranking method
The performance appraisal of ranking is used to assess the working performance of employees from the highest to lowest
levels.
Managers will make comparisons of an employee with the others, instead of making comparison of each employee with
some certain standards.
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8. Management By Objectives (MBO) method
MBO is a method of performance appraisal in which managers or employers set a list of objectives and make assessments
on their performance on a regular basis, and finally make rewards based on the results achieved. This method mostly cares
about the results achieved (goals) but not to the way how employees can fulfill them.
9. 360 degree performance appraisal
The style of 360 degree performance appraisal is a method that employees will give confidential and anonymous
assessments on their colleagues. This post also information that can be used as references for such methods of
performance assessments of 720, 540, 180…
10.Forced ranking (forced distribution)
In this style of performance appraisal, employees are ranked in terms of forced allocations.
For instance, it is vital that the proportions be shared in the way that 10 or 20 % will be the highest levels of performances,
while 70 or 80% will be in the middle level and the rest will be in the lowest one.
11. Behavioral Observation Scales
The method based on the scales of observation on behaviors is the one in which important tasks that workers have
performed during their working time will be assessed on a regular basis.
DRAWBACKS OF FORMAL APPRAISAL SYSTEM
• Detrimental to quality improvement
• Negative perception
• Errors
• Legal Issues
• Performance goals
• Derail merit pay or performance-based pay
Potential errors in performance appraisal:
• Leniency
• Central tendency
• Recovery
• Halo effect
• Contrast effect
• First impression error
• Similar-to-me effect
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• Negative and positive skew
• Attribution bias
• Stereotyping
Job evaluation
A job evaluation is a systematic way of determining the value/worth of a job in relation to other jobs in an organization. It
tries to make a systematic comparison between jobs to assess their relative worth for the purpose of establishing a rational
pay structure.
Job evaluation needs to be differentiated from job analysis. Job analysis is a systematic way of gathering information about
a job. Every job evaluation method requires at least some basic job analysis in order to provide factual information about
the jobs concerned. Thus, job evaluation begins with job analysis and ends at that point where the worth of a job is
ascertained for achievingpay equity between jobs.
Features [edit]
The purpose of job evaluation is to produce a defensive[clarification needed] ranking of jobs on which a rational and acceptable
pay structure can be built. The important features of job evaluation may be summarised thus:
It tries to assess jobs, not people.
The standards of job evaluation are relative, not absolute.
The basic information on which job evaluations are made is obtained from job analysis.
Job evaluations are carried out by groups, not by individuals.
Some degree of subjectivity is always present in job evaluation.
Job evaluation does not fix pay scales, but merely provides a basis for evaluating a rational wage structure.
Process of job evaluation [edit]
The process of job evaluation involves the following steps:
Gaining acceptance: Before undertaking job evaluation, top management must explain the aims) and uses of the programme to
the employees and unions. To elaborate the programme further, oral presentations could be made. Letters, booklets could be used
to classify all relevant aspects of the job evaluation programme.
Creating job evaluation committee: It is not possible for a single person to evaluate all the key jobs in an organisation. Usually a job
evaluation committee consisting of experienced employees, union representatives and HR experts is created to set the ball rolling.
Finding the jobs to be evaluated: Every job need not be evaluated. This may be too taxing and costly. Certain key jobs in each
department may be identified. While picking up the jobs, care must be taken to ensure that they represent the type of work
performed in that department.
Analysing and preparing job description: This requires the preparation of a job description and also an analysis of job needs for
successful performance .
Selecting the method of evaluation: The most important method of evaluating the jobs must be identified now, keeping the job
factors as well as organisational demands in mind.
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Classifying jobs: The relative worth of various jobs in an organisation may be found out after arranging jobs in order of importance
using criteria such as skill requirements, experience needed, under which conditions job is performed, type of responsibilities to be
shouldered, degree of supervision needed, the amount of stress caused by the job, etc. Weights can be assigned to each such
factor. When we finally add all the weights, the worth of a job is determined. The points may then be converted into monetary
values
Installing the programme [edit]
Once the evaluation process is over and a plan of action is ready, management must explain it to employees and put it into
operation.
Reviewing periodically
Benefits [edit]
The pay offs from job evaluation may be stated thus:
It tries to link pay with the requirements of the job.
It offers a systematic procedure for determining the relative worth of jobs. Jobs are ranked on the basis of rational criteria such as
skill, education, experience, responsibilities, hazards, etc., and are priced accordingly.
An equitable wage structure is a natural outcome of job evaluation. An unbiased job evaluation tends to eliminate salary inequities
by placing jobs having similar requirements in the same salary range.
Employees as well as unions participate as members of job evaluation committee while determining rate grades for different jobs.
This helps in solving wage related grievances quickly.
Job evaluation, when conducted properly and with care, helps in the evaluation of new jobs.
It points out possibilities of more appropriate use of the plant's labour force by indicating jobs that need more or less skilled
workers than those who are manning these jobs currently.
Job evaluation methods
Ranking method Perhaps the simplest method of job evaluation is the ranking method. According to this method, jobs are
arranged from highest to lowest, in order of their value or merit to the organization. Jobs can also be arranged according to
the relative difficulty in performing them
Classification method
Separate classes may include office, clerical, managerial, personnel, etc. Following is a brief description of such a
classification in an office.
Class I - Executives: Further classification under this category may be Office Manager, Deputy office manager,
Office superintendent, Departmental supervisor, etc.
Class II - Skilled workers: Under this category may come the Purchasing assistant, Cashier, Receipts clerk, etc.
Class III - Semiskilled workers: Under this category may come Stenotypists, Machine-operators, Switchboard
operator etc.
Class IV - Unskilled workers: This category comprises Daftaris[clarification needed], File clerks, Office boys, etc.
Factor comparison method
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Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of factors. These factors
include mental effort, physical effort, skill needed, responsibility, supervisory responsibility, working conditions and other
such factors (for instance, know-how, problem solving abilities, accountability, etc.). Pay will be assigned in this method by
comparing the weights of the factors required for each job, i.e., the present wages paid for key jobs may be divided among
the factors weighted by importance (the most important factor, for instance, mental effort, receives the highest weight). In
other words, wages are assigned to the job in comparison to its ranking on each job factor.
Point method
This method is widely used currently. Here, jobs are expressed in terms of key factors. Points are assigned to each factor
after prioritizing each factor in order of importance. The points are summed up to determine the wage rate for the job.
Jobs with similar point totals are placed in similar pay grades.
Limitations of job evaluation
Job evaluation is not exactly scientific.
1. The most of the techniques is difficult to understand, even for the supervisors.
2. The factors taken by the programme are not exhaustive.
3. There may be wide fluctuations in compensable factors in view of changes in technology, values and aspirations of
employers, etc.
4. Employees, trade union leaders, management and the programme operators may assign different weight to
different factors, thus creating grounds for dispute.
Compensation
Compensation is the total reward received by an employee in exchange for services performed for an organisation.
Compensation is a systematic approach to providing monetary value to employees in exchange for work
performed. compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performed and job
satisfaction.
Objectives of Compensation
1. To establish a fair and equitable remuneration.
2. To attract competent personnel.
3. To retain present employees.
4. To improve productivity.
5. To control costs
6. To improve union management relations.
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7. To improve public image of the company.
Components of Compensation
Items in the total package offered to employees over and above salary which increase their wealth or well-being at
some cost to the employer
Factors affecting compensation
1. Demand and supply of labour.
it is one of the important factors affecting wages. If the demand of labor is more they will be paid high wages otherwise
vice versa. If the supply of the employees is more than they will be paid less and vice versa.
2. Ability to pay
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The Overall Macroeconomic situation where in the state of the economy of the country in which the firm is situated plays a
major role in determining the compensation to be paid. For instance, if an economy is booming or is in a high growth
trajectory, chances are that the employers would pay the employees more and conversely, if the economy is in a
downward trajectory, chances are that the employers would pay the employees less
3. Labour unions.
labor union also helps in paying better wages to the workers. Higher wages have to be paid by the firm to its workers
under the pressure of the trade unions.
4. Cost of living.
wages depends upon the cost of living if it is high wages will also hike.
5. Prevailing wage rates.
wages also depends upon the prevailing wage rate as the organizations have to pay accordingly to keep the employees with
them.
6. Job requirements
The Demand for a particular skill weighs heavily on the way in which the employer fixes the compensation for the
employee. For instance, premium skills like Consulting and Accountancy are paid more as are the Technology Professionals
who might be experts in their chosen field. As discussed in earlier articles, it is the expertise and the relative scarcity of such
experts that determines how much the employer is willing to pay.
7. Productivity.
8. State regulations.
government has also fixed the rules for protecting the interest of the employees. The organizations are liable to pay as per
the government instructions. Wages can not be fixed below the level prescribed by the government.
9. Finally, the urgency of the firm in filling up the position plays an important role in determining how much the
employer is willing to pay the employee and in many cases, if the time to get on board the employee is less, staffing
managers along with the line manager in charge of hiring the employee might decide to pay more because they
want the employee to come on board as quickly as possible.
WAGE INCENTIVES
“Wage incentives are extra financial motivation. They are designed to stimulate human effort by rewarding the person,
over and above the time rated remuneration, for improvements in the present or targeted results.”
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HEALTH AND SAFETY ,SOCIAL SECURITY
Health
It is a state of complete physical , mental and social well being and not merely absence of diseases
It is the outcome of the interaction between the individual and his environment
Working conditions affecting health
Cleanliness
Lighting
Temperature and ventilation
Freedom from noise
Dust control
Working space and setting
Occupational Hazards and diseases occur because of the following
Chemical substances
Biological hazards
Environmental hazards
Atmospheric conditions
Causes of Industrial Accidents
Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Acts
Miscellaneous Causes
Statutory Provisions Concerning Industrial Safety
Factory Act 1948 lays following safety provisions
Fencing of machinery
Work on or near machinery in motion
Employment of young person on dangerous machines
Precaution against dangerous fumes
Precaution regarding the use of portal electric light
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Precaution against explosive or inflammable dust, gas etc
Protection of eyes
Social security
According to ILO , social security is the protection which society provides for its members through a series of public
measures , against the economic and social distress that otherwise would be caused by the stoppage or substantial
reduction of earnings resulting from sickness , maternity , employment , injury , unemployment , invalidity , old age , death
, the provision of subsidies for families with children .
According to william Beveridge , social security means “ the security of an income to take the place of earnings when they
are interrupted the unemployment , sickness or accident to provide for the retirement through old age , to provide against
loss of support by death of another person and to meet exceptional expenditure connected with birth , death or mairrage
” .
OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL SECURITY
COMPENSATION
RESTORATION
PREVENTION
SCOPE OF SOCIAL SECURITY
• Social insurance : a common fund is established with nominal amount of periodical contributions from workers
and state . Ex: PF , Group insurance schemes .
• Social assistance : Benefits are offered to persons of small means by the government out of its general revenues .
Social security in India
The social security ( minimum standards ) convention No. 102 of the ILO prescribes the following components of social
security :
Medical care
Sickness benefit in cash
Old age benefits or retirement benefits
Employment injury benefit
Family benefit
Maternity benefit
Invalidity benefit
Survivor’s benefit
Various Acts governing social security measures
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The workmen’s compensation act , 1923
The Employees’ State Insurance Act , 1948
The employee’s Provident Funds and miscellaneous Provisions Act , 1952
The Maternity Benefit act , 1961
The payment of gratuity Act , 1972
Group Life insurance
Social security is not a burden but a wise investment which yields good “ social dividends in the long run” .
Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
The field of industrial relations is also called labor relations.
The process by which human beings and their organization interact at the work place,
More broadly, in society as a whole to establish the terms and condition of employment.
Labor relations can take place on many levels, such as at the regional level, national level etc.
The distribution of power amongst these levels can greatly shape the way an economy functions.
Finally labor relations is a system in order to emphasize the interrelations among persons, organizations, and
standard in the industrial environment.
ACC. TO ILO
IR is concerned with the relationship between management and workers and the role of regulatory mechanism in
resolving any industrial dispute.
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LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
Each workers have their own problems
Difficult to manage each worker
All complaints/problems combine collectively
Appoint representatives
Functions of Labor Management Relations
Economic
Legal
Social
Importance Of IR
Higher Productivity
Industrial Progress
Motivated Workforce
Reduce Labour turnover and absenteeism
Establishing harmony and mutual understanding
Parties to IR
Employees
Employee associations
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Employers
Employers associations
Government
Approaches to IR
(A) Theoretical Perspectives
Unitary Approach
Pluralistic Approach
Marxist Approach
(B) Other Basis
Psychological Approach
Sociological Approach
Human Relation Approach
Causes of Poor IR
Economic causes
Organizational causes
Social causes
Psychological causes
Political causes
Measures for Improving IR
Sound Human Resource Polices
Collective Bargaining
Mutual Negotiation
Participative Management
Responsible Unions
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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Strategic management is drafting, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization
to achieve its long-term objectives. (David, 1989) Definition-
strategic human resource management is the integration of human resource management and strategic
management process.
In other words we can say that it is the alignment of Human Resource Management with the organization’s
mission.
• Strategic Human Resource Management
The linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and
develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility.
Involves formulating and executing HR systems—HR policies and activities—that produce the
employee competencies and behaviors that the company needs to achieve its strategic aims.
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Two Views of Strategy
Mainstream view- Strategy as a plan
(i) Strategies are plans made by top managers and their corporate strategy advisors
(ii) Strategy is a matter of policy and it precedes action
(iii) Strategy and implementation are separate
Processual view- Strategy as a pattern
(i) Strategies are more usefully seen as the outcome of both
planned and unplanned activities
(ii) Policies often emerge out of actions that have already been taken
(iii) Strategy and implementation tend to happen simultaneously
The Way SHRM works
If we take real world examples, many organizations in recent times have dedicated “people managers” whose sole function
is to look after the enabling and fulfilling needs of the resources. This is a marked change from treating people as just
resources to treating people as assets. For instance, Infosys states that people are its assets and the famous statement by
Mr. Narayana Murthy, one of the founders of the company that the capital of Infosys walks in every morning and walks out
every evening has to be taken in this context.
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Elaborating on this point, one finds that organizations tend to leverage upon the capabilities of the people employed there
and ensuring that the “human capital” is nourished and nurtured as a source of competitive advantage. This translates into
a dedicated HR department and people managers in every group dealing exclusively with employee issues as opposed to
treating this as a line management function.
Role of Strategic HRM
• Strategic Partner
• Administrative Expert
• Employee Champion
• Company Champion nd Change Agent
STRATEGIC HRM MODELS
(i) Life Cycle Model
• Introductory stage
• Growth stage
• Maturity stage
• Decline stage
Competitive Advantage Model
Cost leadership,Differentiation and Focus.
IHRM
International human resource management is all about the world wide management of human resources –
Process of sourcing, allocating, and effectively utilizing their skill, knowledge, ideas and plan.
“The process of procuring, allocating and effectively utilizing human resources in an international business” is
called International Human Resource Management or IHRM.
Process of acquiring, developing, allocating and utilizing human resources in a global corporation to
achieve organizational objectives irrespective of geographical boundaries.
IHRM is the process of procuring, allocating, and effectively utilizing human resources in a multinational
corporation.
How IHRM is different from HRM?
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1. Encompass more functions—requires a much broader perspective on even the most common HR
activities.
2. Have more heterogeneous functions—
International taxation: Expatriates are subject to international taxation, and have both domestic
(i.e., home-country) and host-country tax liabilities.
3. Involves constantly changing perspectives
4. Requires more involvement in employees personnel lives
Many multinationals have an ‘International HR Services’ section that coordinates administration of
various programmes and provides services for PCNs and TCNs such as handling their banking,
investments, home rental while on assignment, coordinating home visits, and final repatriation.
5.Involves a greater level of risk—
If HR policies antagonize host-country unions or important political group, the MNC may be asked
to leave the country.
Terrorism is another aspect of risk exposure relevant to IHRM—HR department may need to
devise emergency evacuation procedures for highly volatile assignment locations.
Dimensions of IHRM
According to P.V. Morgan: IHRM is the interplay among 3 dimensions:
1. HR Activities: Broad activities of IHRM – procurement, allocation and utilization of human resources
cover all the six activities of domestics HRM i.e., HR planning, Employees Hiring, Training and
Development, Remuneration, Performance Management and Industrial Relations.
2. Types of countries: The three national or country categories involved in IHRM activities are:
- The host country where subsidiary may be located
- The home country where the company has its head quarters
- Other countries that may be sources of labor or finance
3. Types of Employees: of an international business are -
– Parent Country Nationals (PCNs) , Host Country Nationals (HCNs) and Third Country Nationals (TCNs).
ISSUES IN IHRM
• Managing international assignments
• Employee and family adjustment
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• Selecting the right person for a foreign assignment
• Managing a multicultural workforce
• Developing managerial talent in a global business environment.
• Language and communication
Approaches to IHRM
Ethnocentric:
The MNC simply exports HR practices and policies used in the home country to subsidiaries in
foreign locations.
The foreign subsidiaries do not have much autonomy and the strategic decisions are made only at
the headquarters.
The key positions are managed by personnel from the headquarters.
In short, the subsidiaries are managed by expatriates from the home country.
Polycentric:
Subsidiaries are independent from headquarters.
HR policies are adapted to meet the circumstances in each foreign country.
Local managers in the foreign country are hired to manage HRM activities.
The MNC treats each subsidiary as a distinct entity with some autonomy.
The subsidiary is managed by local nations.
Regiocentric
Represents a regional grouping of subsidiaries.
HR policies are coordinated within the region to as great extent as possible.
Subsidiaries may be staffed by managers from any of the countries within the region.
Coordination and communication within the region are high, but they are quite limited between
the region and the MNCs headquarters.
It utilizes a wider pool of managers but in a limited way. Personnel may move outside their
countries but only within the particular geographic region.
Geocentric:
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HR policies are developed to meet the global network of home-country locations and foreign
subsidiaries.
MNCs take a worldwide approach to their operations, recognizing that each part makes a unique
contribution with its unique competence.
WORK LIFE BALANCE
This idea of ‘balance’ is described many different ways but it basically refers to intentionally creating a life that
reflects your personal values and dreams. Balance occurs when work and all those other aspects of your life that
are important to you mix in a way that is comfortable for you. There’s no formula for it – what is balanced for
one person may be very different than for someone else.
“Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is
achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as
the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society.”
In other words, Work–life balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and
ambition) and "lifestyle" (Health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation).
Benefits-To the individual
• More value and balance in your life
• Understanding your best work life balance
• Increased productivity
• Better relationship both on and off the job
• Reduced Stress
Benefits to the organization
• Measured increase in productivity, accountability, commitment
• Better teamwork and communication
• Improved morale
• Less negative organizational stress
poor work life balance resulted in:
• Higher rates of absenteeism • Higher rates of staff turnover • Reduced productivity
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• Decreased job satisfaction • Rising healthcare costs • Lower levels of organisational commitment and loyalty • Poor customer service
BENEFITS OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
• 1. Enhance reputation
• Socially responsible employer: companies that treat their employees with respect and ensure a favourable working
environment are respected by the wider community.
•
• Employer of choice: potential employees want to work for companies that have attractive
• work-life balance policies and are more likely to show loyalty to companies that provide these.
•
• 2. Attract and retain staff
•
• More and more employees – and not just the younger generation (Gen.Y), but mature workers too, are looking for
work-life balance. Research shows that increasingly such benefits are valued as much as, or more highly than
financial remuneration.
•
• Companies that offer work-life balance options are better able to retain staff who might
• otherwise consider leaving if the environment is too stressful or inflexible.
•
• 3. Increase productivity
•
• Employees who are less overworked and stressed produce a higher quality of work and
• make fewer mistakes.
•
• Employees who are encouraged to consider their personal wellbeing take less time off due
• to sickness and poor health.
•
• 4. Raise morale
•
• Arrangements that respect the individual needs of employees and give a greater
• degree of control over when and how work is done leads to raised morale and increased
• loyalty.
•
• Work-life balance initiatives that facilitate social interaction between employees boost
• morale and team spirit.
•
• 5. Manage costs
•
• Flexible work arrangements (such as home working) can reduce office overheads, save
• office space and cut down on travel costs.
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•
• A healthier, less stressed work-force means less costs associated with health-care and
• absenteeism.
•
• Recruitment and training costs can be reduced through improved staff retention.
•
HOW TO ACHIEVE WORK LIFE BALANCE ???
Here are seven suggestions that may, help you get time on your side:
1. Don't overbook. This may seem unusual to people who try to crowbar as much as possible into every
workday. The problem is: Things rarely go according to a prearranged agenda. That means a lot of time falling
through the cracks chasing down appointments, unreturned phone calls and other items that simply aren't going
to happen. "Don't try to plan on doing too many things," says McGonagle. "Assume that only 50% of the things
you plan on doing today will actually get done. If you don't, you'll just waste valuable time trying to find out why
things didn't happen."
2. Prioritize ruthlessly. The secret to booking your time effectively boils down to knowing what's important and
what can wait. But it's critical to use the sharpest knife possible in trimming the essential from the secondary.
"Learn to ask questions that help you determine the level of urgency," says Krista Kurth, co-author of Running on
Plenty at Work. "Negotiate longer lead times whenever you can and don't give into the "instant-and-immediate
answer" syndrome. Treating everything as top priority is draining and depleting."
3. Learn how to say no. One of the biggest land mines to effective time management is recognizing you don't
have to agree to everything and with everyone. Use your priority criteria to identify requests that simply aren't
worth your time. "I've learned that saying no to one thing opens the door to saying yes to something else," says
Kurth. "That can mean anything from cleaning my desk to getting a good night's sleep."
4. Organize. Organize household tasks efficiently, such as running errands in batches or doing a load of laundry
every day, rather than saving it all for your day off. Put family events on a weekly family calendar and keep a
daily to-do list. Do what needs to be done and let the rest go. Limit time-consuming misunderstandings by
communicating clearly and listening carefully. Take notes if necessary.
5. Satisfaction. Desired work life balance is achieved when oneself feel comfortable, satisfied and balanced
professional and work life because where self satisfaction exists there is no scope for any imbalances.
6. Develop interests. When you are under pressure of heavy workload, go for your interests to manage your
stress. For example, painting, yoga, listening to music, dancing, sports, etc. Doing so, leads to the balance on one
side and on the other hand, refreshes you along with the managed time.
7. Know it won't always be perfect. Try as we all may, time management isn't an exact science. Don't stress
out—and waste time in the process—by obsessing over every second of time. Do what you can and enjoy
whatever time you spend more pleasantly or productively. "Be grateful for what goes right and learn from your
mistakes," says Kurth. "Act as if they were scenes in a movie that you get to retake.
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Green HRM:
Use of HRM policies to promote :-
• Sustainable use of resources.
• Cause of environmentalism.
• Wider programmes of CSR.
• Integrating a number of green practices.
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Benefits of Green HRM
• retention rate of employee.
• public image.
• attracting better employees.
• productivity and sustainability.
• reduction in environmental impact
Hurdles In Implementation
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• Apathy
• Complexity
• Confusing Terminologies
• Awareness about Green HR.
human resource management system (HRMS) or human resource information system (HRIS),
refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management (HRM) and information
technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information
technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages
of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that
integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human
resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed
predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible
Currently human resource management systems encompass
1. Payroll
2. Time and attendance
3. Performance appraisal
4. Benefits administration
5. HR management information system
6. Recruiting/Learning management
7. Performance record
8. Employee self-service
9. Scheduling
10. Absence management
The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various
deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the
human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This
module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems.
The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide
broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and
efficiency metrics are the primary functions.
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The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in
benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement.
The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system
records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management,
compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications
and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position
control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and
development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to:
produce pay checks and payroll reports;
maintain personnel records;
pursue talent management.
Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for
available positions within an organization. Talent management systems typically encompass:
analyzing personnel usage within an organization;
identifying potential applicants;
recruiting through company-facing listings;
recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants.
The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or
industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a
dedicated applicant tracking system, or 'ATS', module.
The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development
efforts. The system, normally called a "learning management system" (LMS) if a stand alone product, allows HR to track
education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based
learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with
delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers
to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics.
The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the
system. Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel.
The module also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading
the task on HR department.
Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information
systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis,
health, safety and security, while others integrate an outsourced applicant tracking system that encompasses a subset of
the above.
Assigning Responsibilities Communication between the Employees.
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Typically, the better The Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) provide overall:
Management of all employee information.
Reporting and analysis of employee information.
Company-related documents such as employee handbooks, emergency evacuation procedures, and safety
guidelines.
Benefits administration including enrollment, status changes, and personal information updating.
Complete integration with payroll and other company financial software and accounting systems.
Applicant tracking and resume management.
The HRIS that most effectively serves companies tracks:
attendance and PTO use,
pay raises and history,
pay grades and positions held,
performance development plans,
training received,
disciplinary action received,
personal employee information, and occasionally,
management and key employee succession plans,
high potential employee identification, and
applicant tracking, interviewing, and selection.
HR Audit
• An audit refers to a review and verification of accounting transactions to see whether they represent a true and fair
view of the operations and state of affairs of the business or not.
• The Human Resources (HR) Audit is a process of examining policies, procedures, documentation, systems, and
practices with respect to an organization’s HR functions
• The Human Resources (HR) Audit is a process of examining policies, procedures, documentation, systems, and
practices with respect to an organization’s HR functions
• The team that is responsible for the audit should represent a cross-section of the organization’s staff, including line
staff, middle and upper management, and those responsible for HR functions.
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• Or one may use an external consultant to assist.
Benefits of a Human Resource Audit
• Identifies the contribution of the personnel departments to the organization
• Improves professional image of the personnel department
• Encourages greater responsibility and professionalism among members of the personnel department
• Clarifies the personnel department’s duties and responsibilities
• Finds critical personnel problems
Audit Tools:
• Interview
• Document review
• Questionnaire
• Sampling
Scope of HR Audit
• Audit of The Functional Role of HR
1.1 Human Resource Development Systems and Procedures (HRD)
Scope: Audit whether there is the integrated use of training and development, organisation development, and
career development to improve individual, group, and organisational effectiveness.
1.2 Human Resource Management (HRM)
Scope: Audit whether the HRD systems and procedures are aligned with the HRM systems and procedures to
promote staff competence, confidence, and performance standards. These areas are closely related to the three primary
HRD areas. In them, development is important, but it is not the primary orientation or process.
Organistion /Job Design
Human Resource Planning
Performance Management Systems
Selection and Staffing
1.3 HR Info Systems
Scope: Audit whether these areas support the achievement of results in the area of HRD and HRM; audit whether
HR maintains performance indicators that help management keep track of HR costs and benefits.
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• Compensation And Benefits
• Employee Assistance
• Union/Labor Relations
• HR Research And information Systems
• Audit of The Service Role of HR
• Audit of The Compliance Role of HR
• The audit will assess to what degree management and HR have instituted the four main codes of best practice as
prescribed in the following acts:
• Labour Relations Act
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act
• Employment Equity Act
• Skills Levy and Skills Development Acts
• Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Audit of The Strategic Role of HR
• The purpose of this part of the audit is to assist line management, and HR to formulate a specific people
management strategy. An outside facilitator facilitates a half-day strategy discussion between line management
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and HR to assess the current/implicit people management strategy, and the desired/explicit strategy the hotel
requires to manage its business situation/context.
PURPOSE-HR AUDIT
The purpose of the audit is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses in the human resources system, and any issues
needing resolution.
The audit works best when the focus is on analyzing and improving the HR function in the organization.
The audit itself is a diagnostic tool, not a prescriptive instrument. It will help you identify what you are missing or
need to improve, but it can’t tell you what you need to do to address these issues.
It is most useful when an organization is ready to act on the findings, and to evolve its HR function to a level where
its full potential to support the organization’s mission and objectives can be realized.
How should it be conducted?
The audit process consists of a series of questions covering the eight primary components of the HR
function:
1. Roles, head count, and HR information systems (HRIS)
2. Recruitment
3. Documentation
4. Training, development, and career management
5. Compensation and benefits
6. Performance measurement and evaluation
7. Termination and transition
8. Legal issues and personnel policies
9. Health / Welfare systems
10.Employee Relations
11. Safety
12. Resourcing
Human Resource Accounting
HRA may be defined as the measurement and reporting of the costs incurred in recruit, hire, train and develop employees
and their present economic value to the organization
Human Resource Costs
1. Recruitment Costs
2. Selection Costs
3. Hiring and Placement Costs
4. Orientation Costs
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5. Training Costs
6. Development Costs
Objectives of Human Resource Accounting [edit]
1. To furnish cost value information for making proper and effective management decisions about acquiring, allocating
developing and maintaining human resources in order to achieve cost effective organisational objectives.
2. To monitor effectively the use of human resources by the management.
3. To have an analysis of the Human Asset, i.e. whether such assets are conserved, depleted or appreciated.
4. To aid in the development of management principles and proper decision making for the future by classifying financial
consequences of various practices.
Methods of Human Resource Accounting [edit]
Cost Approach [edit]
This method measures the organization’s investment in employees using the fiveparameters: recruiting, acquisition; formal
training and, familiarization; informal training, Informal familiarization; experience; and development e.g.: If company
spends one lakh on an employee recruited at 25 years, and he leaves the organization at the age 50, he serves the company
for 25 years (his actual retirement age was 55 years). The company has recovered rupees 83333.33 so the unamortized
amount of rupees 16666.66 should be charged to p&l account i.e.
100000\30=3333.33
3333.33*25=83333.33
100000-83333.33=16666.67
Replacement Cost approach [edit]
This approach measures the cost of replacing an employee. According to Likert (1985) replacement cost include
recruitment, selection, compensation, and training cost (including the income foregone during the training period). The
data derived from this method could be useful in deciding whether to dismiss or replace the staff.
Present Value of Future Earnings [edit]
Lev and Schwartz (1971) proposed an economic valuation of employees based on the present value of future earnings,
adjusted for the probability of employees’ death/separation/retirement. This method helps in determining what an
employee’s future contribution is worth today.
Value to the organization [edit]
Hekimian and Jones (1967) proposed that where an organization had several divisions seeking the same employee, the
employee should be allocated to the highest bidder and the bid price incorporated into that division’s investment base. For
example a value of a professional athlete’s service is often determined by how much money a particular team, acting in an
open competitive market is willing to pay him or her.
Expense model [edit]
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According to Mirvis and Mac, (1976) this model focuses on attaching dollar estimates to the behavioral outcomes produced
by working in an organization. Criteria such as absenteeism, turnover, and job performance are measured using traditional
organizational tools, and then costs are estimated for each criterion. For example, in costing labor turnover, dollar figures
are attached to separation costs, replacement costs, and training costs.
Limitations of Human Resource Accounting
There is no proper clear cut and specific procedure or guidelines for finding costs and value of human resources of an
organisation. The systems which are being adopted have certain drawbacks.
1. The period of existence of Human Resource is uncertain and hence valuing them under uncertainty in future seems
to be unrealistic.
2. The much needed empirical evidence is yet to be found to support the hypothesis that HRA as a tool of
management facilitates better and effective management of human Resources.
3. As human resources are incapable of being owned, retained, and utilised, unlike the physical assets, there is a
problem for the management to treat them as assets in the strict sense.
4. There is a constant fear of opposition from the trade unions as placing a value on employees would make them
claim rewards and compensations based on such valuations.
5. In spite of all its significance and necessity, the Tax Laws don’t recognise human beings as assets.
6. There is no universally accepted method of the valuation of Human Resources.
