Chapter 1INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTObjectives:After studying this chapter, you would be able to: 1) 2) 3) 4) Know the basic concepts of human resource management (HRM) Be acquainted with management functions. the major human resource

Understand personnel issues under different schools of thoughts Analyze the context (the environment) within which human resource management functions.

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT What is human resource management?Before giving an answer to this question, it would be better to define "management" it self. The reason to this is that human resource management belongs to the broader field of study and practice known as management. Management can be defined as the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other resources. Management in all areas of life implies achieving goals with effective and efficient use of organizational resources. Organizational resources can be grouped into four major categories:

Human resources Financial resources Physical resources Information resources

Human resources are among the fundamental resources available to any organization. Emphasizing the importance of human resources,

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some prominent writers define management as the process of getting things done with and through other people. Human resource management (HRM) is thus a part of the field of management. HRM, can be defined as the utilization of human resources to achieve organizational objectives. It can broadly be seen as that function of all organizations which provides for effective utilization of human resources to achieve both the objectives of the organization on one hand and the satisfaction and development of employees on the other hand (Glueck, 1992). In defining and studying human resources management some points need to be emphasized:

Human resources management is concerned with the peopledimension of the organizational management.

Human resource management is a pervasive activity, meaninga universal activity in any type of organization : government, business, education, health, defense, recreation, etc.

The human resource is said to be the most important ( or

critical) element in an organization since people make the decisions concerning all other organizational resources. Therefore, getting and keeping good people is critical to the success of every organization, whether profit or non-profit, public or private.

In an organization, managers at all levels must concern themselves with human resource management at least to some extent. Basically, it has been said, managers get things done through the efforts of others, which basically requires effective human resource management (Monday & Noe, 1990). A human resource manager is an individual who normally acts in an advisory, or "staff", capacity, working with other managers to help them deal with human resource matters. The human resource manager is primarily responsible for coordinating the management of human resources to help the organization achieve its goals. Some writers in the field and other management people may use such names as "personnel", "personnel management", "manpower management", and "employee relations" to say the same thing: human resource management.

Major Human Resource Management FunctionsHuman resource management functions are the set of activities 2

performed in utilizing human resources for better achievement of organizational objectives. Following are the major elements (Mondy & Noe, 1990): 1. Human Resource Planning Human resource planning (HRP) is the process of systematically reviewing human resource requirements to ensure that the required numbers of employees, with the required skills, are available when they are needed. HRP is the process of matching the internal and external supply of people with job openings anticipated in the organization over a specified period of time.

2. RecruitmentRecruitment is the process of attracting individuals in sufficient numbers and encouraging them to apply for jobs with the organization. It is the process of identifying and attracting a pool of candidates, from which some will later be selected to receive employment offers. 3. Selection Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individuals best suited for a particular position. Whereas recruitment encourages individuals to seek employment with a firm, the purpose of the selection process is to identify and employ the best qualified individuals for specific positions. 4. Orientation Orientation is the formal process of familiarizing new employees with the organization, their job, and their work unit. Through orientation (also called socialization or induction) new employees will acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that make them successful members of the organization. 5. Training and Development Training and development aim to increase employee's ability to contribute to organizational effectiveness. Training is a process designed to maintain or improve performance (and skills) in the present job. Development is a programme designed to develop skills necessary for future work activities. It is designed to prepare employees for promotion. 6. Compensation Administration Compensation administration refers to the administration of every type of reward that individuals receive in return for their services. In its boarder sense, compensation represents all sorts of rewards that individuals receive as a result of their employment. 3

7. Performance Evaluation Performance evaluation is a formal system of periodic review and evaluation of an individual's job performance. 8. Safety and Health Safety involves protecting employees from injuries caused by work-related accidents. Health refers to the employees freedom from illness and their general physical and mental well-being. These aspects of the job are important because employees who work in a safe environment and enjoy good health are more likely to be productive and yield long-term benefits to the organization. Promotions, transfers, demotions and separations Promotions, transfers, demotions, and separations reflect an employee's value to the organization. High performers may be promoted or transferred to help them develop their skills, while low performers may be demoted, transferred to less important positions, or even separated.

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10. Human Resource Research Human resource research is a systematic gathering, recording, analyzing, and interpretation of data for guiding human resource management decisions. Every human resource management function needs effective research. 11. Other areas such as employee and labour relations, collective bargaining, employee rights and discipline, and retirement are also concerns of human resource management.

Historical Development: an overviewPersonnel, according to some writers, at least in a primitive form, have existed since the dawn of group effort. Certain personnel functions, even though informal in nature, were performed whenever people came together for a common purpose. During the course of this century, however, the processes of managing people have become more formalized and specialized, and a growing body of knowledge has been accumulated by practitioners and scholars. For many decades such responsibilities as selection, training and compensation were considered basic functions constituting the area traditionally referred to as personnel. These functions were performed without much regard for how they related to each other. From this narrow view the world has seen the emergence of what is now known as human resources management. 4

Human resources management (HRM), as it is currently perceived, therefore, represents the extension rather than the rejection of the traditional requirements for managing personnel effectively. Understanding Personnel issues under different schools of thoughts: Scientific management and human Relations School 1. Scientific Management Scientific management is one of the classical schools of thoughts in management. This approach was initially formulated with the aim of increasing productivity and makes the work easier by scientifically studying work methods and establishing standards. Frederick W. Taylor played the dominant role in formulating this theory and he is usually named as the father of scientific management. Scientific management, sometimes called Taylorism, has a strong industrial engineering flavor. Taylor himself was a mechanical engineer whose primary aim was maximizing profits and minimizing costs of production. The guiding principle of this school was "getting the most out of workers". Taylor disliked wastage and inefficiency. During his time, in some working areas, employees tended to work at a slower pace. And this tendency, according to him, was a cause for less productivity and efficiency. Managers were unaware of this practice because they had never analyzed the jobs closely enough to determine how much the employees should be producing. Frederick Taylor based his management system on production-line time studies. Instead of relaying on traditional work methods, he analyzed and timed each element of workers' movements on a series of jobs. Once Taylor has designed the job, he thereby established how many workers should be able to do with the equipment and materials at hand. Next, he implemented a piece-rate pay system. Instead of paying all employees the same wage, he began increasing the pay of each worker who met and exceeded the target level of output set for his job. Taylor encouraged employers to pay more productive workers at a higher rate than others. To realize this he developed a differential rate system, which involves the compensation of higher wages to more efficient workers (Stoner & Freeman, 1992). 5

Frederick Taylor rested his philosophy on some basic principles (Stoner & Freeman, 1992): 1. The development of a true science of management, so that the best method for performing each task could be determined. 2. The scientific selection of workers, so that each worker would be given responsibility for the task for which he best suited. 3. 4. 5. The scientific training (education) of the worker. Intimate, friendly cooperation between management and labour. A division of responsibility between management and labour.

Frederick Taylor saw scientific management as benefiting both management and the worker equally: management could achieve more work in a given amount of time; the worker could produce more and hence earn more-with little or no additional effort. Taylor strongly believed that employees could be motivated by economic rewards, provided those rewards were related to individual performance. Scientific management, according to Rue and Byars (1992), was a complete mental revolution for both management and employees toward their respective duties and toward each other. It was, at that time, a new philosophy and attitude toward the use of human effort. It emphasized maximum output with minimum effort through the elimination of waste and inefficiency at the operative level. Scientific management basically had a focus on such areas as:

techniques of production the most efficient method rigid rules of performance using the shortest time possible workers productivity /efficiency minimum cost of production hence maximum profit

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highly refined tools and materials training and closer supervision, etc.Scientific management, because of its fundamental ideas, has been subject to strong critics. This school of thought was and still is considered to be limited by its basic assumptions, particularly, about human beings. During the time of Taylor, the popular model of human behavior held that people were rational and motivated primarily to satisfy their economic and physical needs. Employees were considered as an extension of machine, as a factor of production, and as an economic unit. Thus, employees, according to Taylor, could be motivated solely by economic rewards or material gain. Nevertheless, the Taylor's model of motivation overlooked the human desire for job satisfaction and the social needs of workers as a group, failing to consider the tensions created when these needs are frustrated. Furthermore, the emphasis on productivity and profitability led some managers to exploit both workers and customers of the organization. As a result more workers started to join labour unions to challenge the behavior of management.

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The Human Relations MovementThe human relations movement, as the name implies is said to stress the human element in the work place. This movement was started as a reaction against the doctrines and practices of scientific management. According to the beliefs of this theory, labour is not a commodity to be bought and sold. Workers must be considered in the context of the groups of which they are a part (Griffith, 1979). The human relation was interdisciplinary in nature. It was founded on new knowledge's developed in the areas of psychology, group dynamics, sociology, political science, and labour economics. The human relations movement basically grew from the Howthrone Experiments conducted by a scholar known as Elton Mayo. After extensive studies, Elton Mayo argued that workers respond primarily to other social context of the work place, and his conclusions include:

Work is a group activity

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the need for recognition, security, and a sense of belonging is more important in determining workers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works. The worker is a person whose attitudes and effectiveness are conditioned by social demands from both inside and outside the work place. Informal groups within the work place exercise strong social controls over the work habits and attitudes of the individual worker.The proponents of scientific management are criticized to look on the employee as an economic unit, a factor of production, and an extension of a machine who is motivated only by a desire for material gain. The human relationists, on the other hand, considered the worker as a complete human being with attitudes and needs which profoundly affected his work. It follows then that organizations must provide for the satisfaction of all human needs to obtain the most from their employees. Scientific management did not consider the existence of informal relationship as it exists side by side with the formal one. As recognized by the human relationists, informal organizations exist and play important part in the life of the worker. Informal organizations consist of social relationships among employees. Informal organization is voluntary in origin, its purpose is not clear, it has no hierarchy of positions and it ceases to exist when its members left. Many workers get their satisfaction in the informal groups where they are treated as individuals, not as a part of a machine in the plant. The friendliness and recognition of their co-workers compensate for their impersonal treatment by the large and complex formal organization. In these informal and shifting groupings, leaders arise. They are not elected or appointed, they have no legal standing, but they assume leadership roles on the basis of their colleagues' esteem, and together they constitute the informal authority structure. The attitude of an employee's primary group, as voiced by the group leader, may determine whether an official directive will be supported or subverted, whether employees will cooperate with administrators, or whether work norms will be raised or lowered. The group can influence a member to interpret rules narrowly or broadly, to slow down to speed up, to comply or resist.

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ASSESS CONDITIONS External Organizational Employee A skillful administrator knows the various informal organization in his work environment and he knows their leaders. In discussion with the leaders of informal groups, he hears opinions, which might not be openly expressed in formal meetings. This leader recognizes that the informal organization adds a flexible dimension, which enables the formal organization to adjust to special cases and situations. After several studies and investigations Elton Mayo and his associates tried to show that workers primarily respond to group, not as individuals. It follows, then, that administrators should not deal with workers as individual units, isolated from those they work with, but as members of work groups subject to group pressure. The human relations movement also emphasizes that:

Communication is the life blood of an organization. Therefore, unlike the thinking of the classical school, information must flow freely, up, down, and horizontally through established net works of the formal organization and non-official networks of the informal organization, Participative decision making has strong motivating force. Participation in decision making increases members' level of satisfaction, their enthusiasm for their organization and their positive attitude towards their organization and their superiors.

The Human Resource Management ModelThe Human Resource Management Model includes four interrelated phases (Milkovich & Boudreau, 1991): 1. Assess human resource conditions, 2. Set objective based on the assessment, 3. Choose a course of action from alternatives generated to achieve objectives, and 4. Evaluate the results (evaluating the results provides feedback on the success of the actions).

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EVALUATE RESULTS

SET CHOOSE ACTIVITIES OBJECTIVES Planning Staffing Development Compensation Employee/Labour Relations

The Diagnostic Model The Environment of Human Resource ManagementMany interrelated environmental factors affect human resource management. Such factors are part of either the organization's external environment or its internal environment. The organization has little, if any, control over how the external environment affects management of its human resources. These factors impose influences of varying degrees on the organization from outside its boundaries. Moreover, important factors within the firm itself also have an impact on how the organization manages its human resources. The environment of an organization consists of the conditions, circumstances, and influences that affect the organization's ability to achieve its objectives. Every organization exists in an environment that has both external and internal components. As such, a human resource management programme functions in a complex environment both outside and inside the organization. Human resource managers therefore should be aware that rapid changes are occurring within the environment in which organizations operate.

The External EnvironmentAccording to Griffin (1990), the external environment consists of everything outside an organization that might affect it. However, the boundary that separates the organization from the external environment is not always clear and precise. The external environment has a significant impact on human resource management policies and practices. It helps to determine the values, attitudes, and behavior that employees bring to their jobs. 10

The external environment is composed of two layers: the general environment and the task environment.

The General EnvironmentAn organization's general environment consists of the nonspecific dimensions and forces in its surroundings that might affect the organization's activities. These elements are not necessarily associated with other specific organization or groups. Instead, they are general forces or processes that interact with each other and also affect the organizations as a whole. Each embodies conditions and events that have the potential to influence the organization and its human resource management activities in significant ways. The general environment of most organizations has the following dimensions:

1) The Economic EnvironmentThe economic environment refers to the general economic conditions and trends that may affect the human resource management activities of an organization. The economic variables include unemployment, demand and supply, inflation, interest rates, the labour market, and others. When, for example, unemployment is high, the organization is able to be very selective about whom it hires. Increased or decreased demand for a firm's products or services will have important implications for recruitment or layoff. Inflation has had a significant impact on human resources programme, necessitating periodic upward adjustments in employee compensation.

2) The Technological EnvironmentThe technological environment includes advances in sciences as well as new developments in products, processes, equipment, machinery and other materials that may affect an organization. Technological advancements have tended to reduce the number of jobs that require little skill and to increase the number of jobs that require considerable skill. Technological advances also have training implication. The challenging areas in human resource management will be training employees to stay up with rapidly advancing technology. Because, as technological changes occur, certain skills also are no longer required. This necessitates some retraining of the current workforce.

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The Socio-Cultural Environment11

The socio-cultural dimension of the general environment is made up of the customs, values, and demographic characteristics of the society in which the organization functions. The socio-cultural dimension influences how employees feel about an organization. Human resource management, today, has become more complex than it was when employees were concerned primarily with economic survival. Today, many employees have more social concerns than mere economic interest as early times.

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The Political-Legal EnvironmentPolitical variables are the factors that may influence an organizations activities as a result of the political process or climate. The political-legal environment is also made up of the laws and regulations within which an organization conducts its affairs. Government has a significant impact on human resources management. Each of the functions performed in the management of human resources, from employee recruitment to termination, is in some way affected by laws and regulations established by the government. Human resource managers must follow all laws and government regulations.

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The Physical EnvironmentThe physical environment includes the climate, terrain, and other physical characteristics of the area in which the organization is located. The physical element can help or hinder an organizational ability to attract and retain employees. Housing and living costs can vary from one location to another and can have a significant impact on the compensation, employees will expect.

The Task EnvironmentThe task environment of an organization consists of individuals, groups, and organizations that directly affect a particular organization but are not part of it. The task environment refers to the specific environment of an organization and may include (Barney, 1992):

The The The The

Customers Suppliers Regulators Owners 12

The Competitors The PartnersAll these elements are much close and specific to a given organization. Whereas the elements of the general environment affect virtually all organizations in the society, the elements of the task environment are pertinent (more relevant) to a specific organization.

The Internal EnvironmentThe environment that exists within an organization is known as the internal environment. The internal environment consists those factors that affect an organization's human resources from inside its boundaries. The internal environment of an organization includes (Mondy & Noe, 1990):

Mission

Mission is the organization's continuing purpose or reason for its existence. Each management level should operate with a clear understanding of the firm's mission. The specific organizational mission must be regarded as a major internal factor that affects the tasks of human resource management.

Policy

A policy is a predetermined guide established to provide direction in decision making. As guides, rather than hard and fast rules, policies are somewhat flexible, requiring interpretation and judgment in their use. They can exert significant influence on how human resource managers accomplish their jobs. Although policies are established for marketing, production, and finance, the largest number of policies often relate to human resource management. Some potential policy statements that affect human resource management are:

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To provide employees with a safe place to work To encourage all employees to achieve as much of their human potential as possible To provide compensation that will encourage a high level productivity in both quality and quantity.

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To ensure that current employees are considered first for any vacant position for which they may be qualified.

Organizational Culture

As an internal environmental factor affecting human resource management, organizational culture refers to the organization's social and psychological climate. Organizational culture is defined as the system of shared values, beliefs, and habits within an organization that interacts with the formal structure to produce behavioral norms. Other factors include:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The organization's management The organization's employees The organization's structure The organization's rules and procedures etc.

Review and Discussion QuestionsDefine " management". What are the major categories of organizational resources? What is human resource management (HRM)? "HRM is a pervasive activity". Explain Human resources are said to be the most important element in organizations. Why? Define the following terms: a) Human resource planning b) Recruitment c) Selection d) Orientation e) Training and development f) Compensation administration g) Performance evaluation Define "Scientific Management". Who played the dominant role in formulating this theory? What are the basic principles of Scientific Management? What is "Human Relations Movement"? Describe the major conclusions drawn from the Howthrone Experiment. How do you compare " Scientific Management" and "Human Relations Movement"? Describe the human resource management model. What is "environment"? What are the components (layers) of the external environment? Describe the major dimensions of the "general environment". Outline the major components of the "task environment". 14

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. What is the difference between the "general environment" and the "task environment"? 18. Define the internal environment" 19. Describe the components of the "internal environment" References: 1. Glueck, William, Personnel: A Diagnostic Approach, (Plano, Texas: Business Publications, Inc. 1992). 2. Mondy, Wayne and Robert Noe, Human Resource Management, (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1990). 3. Stoner, James and Edward Freeman, Management, (5th Ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 1992). 4. Rue, Leslie and Lioyd byars, Management: Skills and Applications, (6th Ed., Illinois: Irwin, 1992). 5. Griffith, Francis, Administrative Theory in Education: Text and Readings, (Michigan: Pendell Publishing Company, 1992). 6. Milkovich, George and John W. Boudreau Human Resource Management, (Homewood, Ill: Irwin, 1991). 7. Griffin, Ricky, Management, (3rd Ed., Boston: Houghton Miffin Company, 1990). 8. Barney, Jayb, The Management of Organization Strategy, Structure, Behaviour, (Hoston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992).

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CHAPTER- 3 JOB ANALYSISDefinitionJob analysis is a systematic analysis of each job for the purpose of collecting information as to what the jobholder does, under what circumstances it is performed and what qualifications are required for doing the job. Job analysis deals with complete study of the job embodying every known and determinable factors, including 1The duties and responsibilities involved in its performance 2The condition under which the work is carried 3The nature of the task 4The qualification required by workers and 5The condition of employment Job analysis is the determination the task which comprises the job and the skills, knowledge, abilities, and responsibilities required of the worker for successful performance and with differentiate the job from all other jobs. The information collected through job analysis relates to the job and the jobholder. The requirements relating to the job are termed as job description where as the qualities

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demanded from a jobholder is known as job specifications. N. B. Job description and Job specification are the immediate products of job analysis. The following chart shows the information, which appears in job description and job specification.

JOB ANALYSIS JOB DESCRIPTION 1. Name of the job 2. Code Number 3. Working Conditions 4. Supervision given 5. Responsibility 6. Duties performed 7. Equipments, tools and machines JOB SPECIFICATION 1. Education 2. Experience 3. Initiatives 4. Training 5. Physical requirement 6. Mental and visual demand 7. Personality

STEPS IN JOB ANALYSIS There are six stapes in doing job analysis Step1. Decide the use of job analysis information: It is true that the information generated by job analysis can be utilized for practically all functions of HRA. Nevertheless, it is important to focus on a few areas in which the job analysis information is to be used. These areas can be decided on the bases of the need, priorities, and constraints of particular organization. Step2. Review relevant background information such as organization chart, and job descriptions and process flow chart. Step3. Select representative positions. 17

Step4. Carefully analyze the job by collecting data on job activities, required employees behavior, working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job. Step5. Verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job and with his or her immediate supervisor. This review can also help gain the employees acceptance of the job analysis data and conclusions, by giving the person chance to review and modify your description of the job activities. Step6. Develop a job description and job specification. METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION Interviews, questionnaires, observations, and maintenance of records are the most popular methods for gathering job analysis data.

A. InterviewThe job analysts interview the jobholders for obtaining information about the job. This method coupled with observation is considered as the most satisfactory method of job analysis. Pros 1Its a relatively simple and quick way to collect information, including information that might never appear on a written form. 2Skilled interviewers can reveal important activities that occur only occasionally, informal contacts that wouldnt be obvious from the organization chart. 3The interviewer also provides an opportunity to explain the need for functions of the job analysis. And the employee can vent frustrations that might otherwise go unnoticed by management. Cons 1It can be extremely time-consuming because of the time required to schedule, get into, and actually conduct the interview. 2Distortion in information whether due to out right falsification or honest misunderstanding. Job analysis is often a prelude to chagrining a jobs pay rate. Employees therefore may legitimately view the interview as an efficiency

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evaluation that may affect their pay. They may tend to exaggerate certain responsibilities while minimizing others.

B. ObservationDirect observation is especially useful when jobs consist mainly of observable physical activities like assembly worker and accounting clerk. On the other hand, observation is usually not appropriate when the job entails a lot of mental activities (lawyer, design engineer). By personal observation, the analysts can come to know about facts relating to jobs though materials, equipments, working condition etc.

C. Written narratives or maintenance of recordUnder this method, both the employees as well as his supervisors keep a record of various facts relating to the job. Since each employee keeps a full record of her/his daily operations starting from the beginning till end. This method consumes more time than other methods.

D. Job questionnairesUnder this method, questionnaires are circulated among the workers who report the fact about the job. This method is highly unsatisfactory as it places greater faith in the job holders ability to provide information. Pros 1A questionnaire is quick and efficient way to obtain information from a large number of employees. 2It is appropriate to obtain information from a large number of employees in relatively shot period of time Cons 1Questionnaires can be time consuming and expensive to develop. 2There is a possibility that either the respondent or the job analyst will misinterpret the information.

USES OF JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION EEO compliance- job analysis can play a big role in EEO compliance. For Example, 19

employers must be able to show that their selection criteria and job performance are actually related. Doing this, of course, requires knowing what the job entails which in turn requires a job analysis. Job definition a job analysis results in a description of the duties and responsibilities of the job. Such a description is useful to the current jobholders and their supervisors as well as prospective employees. Orientation - Effective job orientation cannot be accomplished with out a clear understanding of the job requirements. The duties and responsibilities of a job must be clearly defined before a new employee can be taught how to perform the job. Employee safety A thorough job analysis often uncovers unsafe practices and environmental conditions associated with a job. Focusing precisely on how the job is done usually reveals any unsafe procedures. Manpower planning It helps in developing labor supply as labor needs are laid dawn in clear terms. Recruitment and selection Job analysis provides guidance in recruitment and selection of employees, as specific requirements of the job are laid down in concrete terms. It provides reliable data on the bases of which the employees are selected. Promotion and transfer-Job analysis helps in evaluating current employees for promotion and transfers. If information about the job is available employees can be transferred from one department to another with out any complication. Compensation job analysis information is crucial for estimating the value of each job and an appropriate compensation. Compensation (such as salary and bonus )usually depends on the job required skills and education level, safety hazards, degree of responsibility, and so on-all factors you can assess through job analysis. Training and development The job information helps in determining the content, context and subject matter of training and development program. Performance appraisal The standard of performance for employees can be set on the bases of information provided by job analysis and actual performance can be compared with these standards. It helps the management in judging the worth of employees. Job evaluations-Job analysis provide data determining the value of the job in relation other jobs on the bases of which actual wages for the jobs are fixed.

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Job DescriptionIt is factual and organized statement describing the job in terms of its title, location, duties, responsibilities, working conditions, hazards, and relationship with other jobs. It tells us what to be done, how it is to be done and why. The main objective of job description is to differentiate from other jobs and to set out it outer limits. Job description is an important document as it helps to identify the job and give a clear idea of what the job is. Contents of job description 1.Job identification: Job title, code number of the job, department or division where the job is located. This part of job description helps to identify and designate the job. 2.Job summary: It describes the contents of the job in terms of activities or tasks performed. 3.Job duties and responsibilities: It is the heart of job description. It describes the duties performed along with frequency of each major duty and responsibilities concerning custody of money, supervision, training of staff, etc. are also described in this part. 4.Working condition: The physical environment of the job is described in terms of heat, light, noise level, dust, etc. Nature of risk and hazards and their possibility of occurrence are also given. 5.Social environment: Size of work group and inter-personal interactions required to perform the job are given. 6.Machines, tools and equipments: The name of major machines, equipments, and materials used in the job are described. 7.Supervision: The extent of supervision given or received is stated in terms of persons to be supervised along with their job titles. Designation of immediate superior and subordinates may also be described. 8.Relation with other jobs: The jobs immediately, above and below are mentioned. 21

It provides an idea of vertical workflow and channel of promotion. It also indicates to whom the jobholder will report and who will report to him/her. Specimen of job description Job title: Manager, wage and salary administration Code number: HR/1705 Department: Human resource division Job summary: Responsible for company wage and salary programs, job analysis, job evaluation, wage and s alary surveys and benefit administration.

Job duties: Supervises job analysis studies and approves final form of descriptions. Acts as a chairman of company wide job evaluation committee Conduct periodic wage and salary surveys in the community and industry Administer the companys fringe benefits program. Working conditions: Normal working conditions Eight hours per days a week. Supervision: Reports to director, human resources, and exercise supervision on officers in the wage and salary department in human resource division of the company. Relation ships: with equivalent levels of other departments. Maintain official social contacts with local officials.

Job SpecificationIt is a statement of the minimum acceptable human qualities required for the proper performance of the job. It is a record of the physical, mental, social and psychological, and behavioral characteristics which a person should posses in order to perform the job effectively. Physical characteristics include height, weight, vision, hearing, health, age, hand foot coordination. Mental characteristics consist of general intelligence, memory, judgment, ability to concentrate, foresight etc. Social and psychological characteristic include emotional stability, flexibility, personal appearance, pleasing manner, initiative, drive, conversational ability etc. Other personal characteristics include sex, education, family, background, job experience, extra-curricular activities, hobbies, etc. 22

Job specification tells what kind of person is required for a given job. It serves as a guide in the recruitment and selection processes. See the typical example of job specification of compensation manager below Specimen of Job specification Position title: Manager, wage and salary administration. Department: Human resource division. Education and training: A bachelor degree with at least 3.00 CGPA A degree or diploma in law will be desirable qualification. MBA with specialization in HRM.

CHAPTER- 4 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (HRP)MEANING Human resource planning involves forecasting the organizations future demand for employees, forecasting the future supply of employees within the organization, and designing programs to correct the discrepancy between the two. Human resource planning is the process of translating over all organizational objectives, plans, and programs to achieve specific performance of work force needs. The systematic and the continuing process of analyzing an organizations human resource needs under changeling conditions and developing personnel policies, appropriate to the long term effectiveness of the organization. The purpose of human resource planning is to ensure that, in the future, the organization has enough employees with the appropriate skill so that it can accomplish its long-term goals. REASONS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING The major reasons for HRP are: A. Scarcity of personal in some specialized areas. One rationale for HRP is the significant lead-time that normally exists between the recognition of need to fill a job and the squiring of qualified person to fill that need. In other words, it is usually not possible to go out and find an appropriate person over night. Effective HRP can also help reduce turn over by keeping employees appraised of their 23

career opportunities within the company. B. To achieve more effective and efficient use of people at work HRP should precede other HRM activities. It is difficult to envision how an organization could effectively recruit, select, or train employees with out advance planning. In addition, efficient use of those human resource already employed by an organization can really be achieved only through careful planning activities. Especially in todays competitive business environment reduction of the work force (down sizing) has almost become a way of life for organizations. HRP is an essential part of this process as well.. C. More satisfied and better developed employees. Employees working in organizations that use good HR planning systems have a better chance to participate in planning there own careers and to share in training and development. Thus, they are likely to feel that their talents are important to the employer, and they have a better chance to utilize those talents. This situation often leads to grater satisfaction among employees, and its consequences: lower turn over, lower absenteeism, fewer accidents, and higher quality of work. Basically, all organizations are engaged in HRP either formally or informally. Some organizations do a good job and others a poor job. The long-term success of any organization ultimately depends on havening the right people in the right jobs at the right time. Organizations objectives and their strategies for achieving those objectives are meaningful only when people with appropriate talents, skills, and desire are available to carry out those strategies. PROCEDURES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING The following are the main procedures in HRP: 1.Conducting external and internal environmental scanning. 2.Determining future HR requirements. 3. Determining future HR availabilities. 4.Determining net man power requirement (NMPR) 5.Developing action plan.

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1. Conducting external and internal environmental scanning A number of external influences affect the conduct of HR management. These include Economic conditions, labor market, laws and regulations, and labor union. Accordingly, these factors are also grist for HR planning. Of the various areas mentioned through environmental scanning, the labor market is most directly relevant to HR planning. If tight labor market is expected, the organization must plan to put considerable time and money in to attracting and retaining the needed talent. It is also important for an organization to scan its internal environment. The monitoring of key indexes such as employee performance, absenteeism, turnover, and accident rates help us to learn what is going on in the organization. 2. Determining future human resource requirement This step involves considering what the organizations HR needs will be in the future. This includes the number of employees that will be needed, the type of skills that will be required, productivity levels needed to complete successfully, and so forth. The logical place to begin this process is with an organizations business plan (long-term and operational plan). These plans usually indicate major sales, production, and financial goals. This information tells the human resource planner whether volumes will be going up, staying the same, or going down. From organizational plan we can infer whether or not there will be any change in the basic technologies the organization uses to make, and distribute its products /services. Such changes typically are introduced as a means of increasing employee productivity and thus reducing future human resource requirements. 3. Determining future human resource availabilities The task here is to estimate the number and types of employees that will be available in various job categories at the end of planning period. This phase of HR planning is designed to answer the question, how many and what kinds of employees do I currently have interims of the skills and training necessary for the future? It all begins with an inventory of employees expected to be available in various job categories at the start of planning period. From these figures are subtracted anticipated losses during planning period due to retirements ,voluntary turnover , promotions, transfers, death, quits, resignation and others.

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4. Determining net manpower requirements This requires comparing over all personnel requirement with personnel inventory where the difference is net requirement. 5. Developing action plans Once the supply and demand of human resource are estimated, adjustments may be needed. When the internal supply of workers exceeds the firms demand, a human resource surplus exists. The alternative solutions include: early retirements, demotions, layoffs, terminations, attrition, voluntary resignation inducement, reclassification, transfer, work sharing and hire freezing. Decisions in surplus conditions are some of the most difficult that managers must make, because the employees who are considered surplus are seldom responsible for the condition leading to surplus. A shortage of row materials such as fuel or a poorly designed or poorly marketed product can cause an organization to have a surplus of employees. As a first approach to dealing with a surplus, most organizations avoid layoffs by relying on attrition, early retirements, and creation of work and the like. Many organizations can reduce their work force simply by not replacing those who retire or quit. When the internal supply can not fulfill the organizations needs, a human resource shortage exists. If the shortage is small and employees are willing to work over time, it can be filled with present employees. If there is a shortage of highly skilled employees, transfer, training and promotions of present employees, together with the recruitment of employees, are possibilities. This decision can also include recalling employees who were previously laid off. Now days many organizations make use of part time workers, subcontractors, and independent professionals in response to changing demands. Using these kinds of employees give an organization surplus of labor than maintaining more traditional fulltime employees for all jobs.

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CHAPTER- FIVE RECRUITMENTMeaningRecruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. Source of manpower can be internal or external. Recruitment is the process of attracting potential new employees to the organization. This HR program is closely related to selection, because it supplies a pool of qualified applicants from which the organization can choose those best suited for its needs. Recruitment refers to the process of generating job applicants. Obviously, if an organization fails to obtain applicants who are qualified for the job, it will face a problem in selection phase, like wise, if too few applicants apply, an organization may be unable to fill all of its vacancies. It is there fore critical for organizations to identify and properly utilize effective recruitment practice. Recruitment needs are of three types: planned, anticipated and unexpected.

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Planned needs arise from changes in organization retirement policy. Resignation, death, accidents and illness give rise to unexpected needs. Anticipated needs refer to those movements in personnel, which an organization can predict by studying trends in external and internal environments. Features of recruitment 1Recruitment is a process or a series of activities rather than a single act or event. 2Recruitment is linking activity as it brings together those with job (employer) and those seeking jobs (employees). 3Recruitment is a positive function as it seeks to develop a pool of eligible person from which most suitable ones are selected. 4The basic purpose of recruitment to locate the source of people required to meet job requirements and attracting such people to offer themselves for employment in the organization. 5Recruitment is an important function as it makes possible to acquire the number and type of persons necessary for the continued function of the organization. 6Recruitment is a pervasive function as all organizations engage in recruitment activity. But the volume and nature of recruitment varies with the size, nature and environment of the particular organization. 7Recruitment is a complex job because too many factors affect it. E.g., image of the organization, nature of job offered, organizational polices, working conditions, compensation levels in the organization and rate of growth of the organization etc.

Sources of recruitmentAn organization may fill particular job either with some one already employed by the organization or with some one from out side. Each of these sources has advantages and disadvantage.

Internal sources: Internal sources consists of the followingPresent employee-permanent, temporary and causal employees already on the pay of the 28

organization are good source. Vacancies may be filed up from such employees through promotion, transfers, and upgrading and even demotion. Transfer implies shifting of an employee from one job to another with out any major change in the status and responsibilities of the employee. On the other hand, promotion refers to shifting of an employee to a higher position carrying higher status, responsibilities and pay. Retired and retrenched employees who want to the company may be rehired. Internal sources have the following advantages: 1Morale and motivation of employees is improved when they are assured that they will be preferred in filling up vacancies at higher levels. A sense of security is created among employees. 2Suitability of existing employees can be judged better as record of their qualifications and performance is already available in the organization. Chances of proper selection is higher 3It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job security and opportunities for advancement. 4Present employees are already familiar with the organization and its polices. Therefore, time and cost of orientation and training is low. 5The time and cost of recruitment is reduced, as there is little need for advertising vacancies, or arranging rigorous tests and interviews. 6Relations with trade unions remain good because union prefer recruitment particularly through promotion. 7Filling of a higher-level job through promotion within the organization helps to retain talented and ambitious employees. Labor turn over is reduced. 8It improves return on investment of human resource. Internal source, how ever, suffer from some demerits: First, it may lead to inbreeding. Second, if promotion is based on seniority, really capable persons may be left out. Third, the choice of selection is restricted. More talented outsiders may not be employed. Mobility of labor is restricted. Chances of favoritism are higher and the limited talent of inside restricts growth of business. Finally, this source of recruitment is not available to a newly established enterprise. 29

External sourcesAn external source of recruitment is recruitment outside the organization. These are; A. Campus recruiting Recruiting from colleges and universities is common practice of both private and public organizations. In college recruiting the organization sends an employee, called recruiter, to a campus to interview candidates and describes facts about the organizations to them. Coinciding with the visit, brochures and other literature about the organization are often distributed. The organization may conduct seminars at which company executives talk about various facts of the organization. From the employers perspective, campus recruitment offers several advantages, as well as several shortcomings. On the positive side, many organizations find the college campus an effective source of applicants. The placement center typically helps locate applicants have at least some qualification, since they have demonstrated the ability and motivation to complete a college degree. Another advantage of campus recruitment is that students generally have lower salary expectations than more experienced applicants. On the negative side, the campus recruitment suffers from several distinct disadvantages compared with other recruitment sources. First, most of the applicants have little or no work experience. Thus, the organization must be prepared to provide some kind of training to applicants they hire. Second, campus recruitment tends to depend on seasons. Third, campus recruiting can be quite expensive for organizations located in another city. Costs such as airfare, hotels, and meals for recruiters as well as applicants visit can become quite higher for organizations located at a distance from the university. B. Walk Ins/unsolicited applications Many applicants search for jobs either by walking in to organizations and completing an application blank or by mailing a resume in the hope that a position is available. Corporate image has a significant impact on the number and quality of people who apply to an organization in this manner. Compensation policies, working conditions, relationships with labor, and participation in the community activities are some of the many factors that can positively or negatively influence an organizations image. The major advantage of this source is that it is relatively of low cost, because the 30

company is not spending money to advertise and collect the resumes. On the other hand, there are several disadvantages. First, although there are no advertising costs, there is a cost associated with processing and sorting the resumes and application blanks. Second, minorities are less likely to apply for jobs that have not been advertised. Thus, heavy reliance on this approach may lead to the under representation of minorities in the work force, which may result in legal problems. This source tends to favor applicants who are actively searching jobs; highly qualified applicants who are satisfied with their current jobs are unlikely to apply. C. Employee referrals Many organizations involve their current employees in recruiting process. These recruiting systems may be informal and operated by word of mouth, or they may be structured with definite guidelines to be followed. Incentives and bonuses are some times given to employees who refer subsequently hired people. Employee referral programs have pros and cons. Current employees can and usually will provide accurate information about the job applicants they are referring, especially since they are putting their own reputation on line. The new employees may also come with a more realistic picture of what working in the firm is like after with friends there. But the success for the campaign depends a lot on employee morale. And the campaign can back fire if an employees referrals are rejected and the employee becomes dissatisfied. Using referrals exclusively may also be discriminatory if most of the current employees and their referrals are male or white. Other draw back to the use of employee referrals is that cliques may develop within the organization because employees tends to refer only friends or relatives.

D. News paper advertisementsThis is method of job recruitment by advertising in a newspaper. If you look at the edition of news papers such as ADDIS ZEMEN, ETHIOPIAN HERALD, and the REPOERTER, you will find page after page job advertisements. Given the popularity of newspaper ads, it is not surprising that this source has several advantages. First, job ads can be placed quite quickly, with little lead time. News paper ads permits a greater deal of flexibility in terms of information; they also target specific geographic area . On the 31

negative side , news paper ads tends to attract only individuals who are actively seeking employment, while some of the best candidates , who are well paid and challenged by their current jobs, fail to even be aware of these openings. Also, a company may get many applicants who are marginally qualified or completely unqualified for the job. Thus, this source may generate a generate a great deal of administrative work for the organization, with little in return.

E. Television and Radio advertisementsThis is method of job recruitment by advertising open positions using television and radio spots. This recruitment sources offers several potential advantages, particularly compared with news paper ads. First, television and radio ads are more likely to reach individuals who are not actively seeking employment. Television and radio ads also enable the organization to target the audience more carefully, by selecting the channel or station and the time of day the advertisement is aired. On the negative side, television and radio ads are rather expensive. In addition airtime may be quite costly. Also, because the television and radio ads is simply seen or heard, potential candidates may have a difficult time remembering the information, making application difficult. For this reason, some employers choose to use the television or radio ads as a supplement to a more traditional news pepper ads. In sum, despite their costs, television and radio ads may be highly effective recruitment sources.

F. Recruiting on InternetA large number and fast growing proportion of employers use the Internet as a recruiting tool. Employers list several advantages of internet recruiting. First, it is cost effective: Newspapers can charge from $50 to $100 to several thousands dollars for print ads; job listings on the internet may cost as little as $10 each. The newspaper ads may keep attracting applications for 30 days or more. Internet recruiting can also be more timely. Responses to electronic job listing may come the day the ads is posted, where the responses to news paper ads can take a week just to reach an employer. Some employers cite just such a flood of responses as a down side of internet recruiting. The problem is that the relative ease of responding to internet ads encourages unqualified job seekers to 32

apply; further more, applications may arrive from geographic areas that are un realistically far away. External sources offer the following advantage: People having the requisite skill, education and training can be obtained. As recruitment is done from a wider market, best selection can be made irrespective of caste, sex, or religion Expertise and experience from other organization can be obtained. This source recruitment never dries up. It is available to even new enterprises. It helps to bring new blood and new ideas into the organization, their orientation and training is necessary External sources, however, suffer from the following disadvantages; It is more expensive and time-consuming to recruit people from outside. Detailed necessary as very little is known about the candidates The employees being un familiar with the organization, their orientation and training is necessary If higher levels are filled from the external source, motivation and loyalty of existing staff are affected. screening is

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SELECTIONMEANING Selection is the process by which an organization chooses from a list of applicants the person or persons who best meet the selection criteria for the position available, considering current environmental conditions. Selection is the process of matching the qualification of applicants with job requirement. Selection divides all applicants into the categories- suitable and unsuitable, selection may be described as a process of rejection because generally more candidates are turned away than the hired. Selection differs from recruitment. Recruitment technically precedes selection. Recruitment involves identifying the source of manpower and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. On the other hand, selection is the process of choosing the best out of those recruited. Recruitment is positive as it aims at increasing the number of applicants for wider choice or increase selection ratio. Selection is negative as it rejects a large number of applicants to identify the few who are suitable for the job. Recruitment involves prospecting or searching whereas selection involves comparison and choice of candidates. The purpose of selection is to pick up the right person for every job. Selection is an important function as no organization can achieve its goals with out selecting the right people. Faulty selection leads to wastage of time and money and spoil the environment of the organization.

The significant of Employee SelectionEffective selection is highly important for an organizations future success because; 1Selection is more powerful ways of improving productivity. Selecting qualified and competent employees improves the benefits an organization reaps. 2Selection decision is a long lasting decision. Once the decision is made reversing it is very

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difficult .If an organization hires poor performers, it can not be successful long, even if it has a perfect plan and good control system s. In todays business what makes the kind of human resource you have, not technology or financial resource. 3Selection affects other HR functions. If less qualified people are selected, then it will be necessary to budget funds for training them.

Environmental factors affecting selection process.A. Legal considerations HRM is influenced by legislation, executive orders, and court decisions. Managers who hire employees must have extensive knowledge of the legal aspects of selection. They must see the relationship between useful and legally defensible selection tools. B. Organizational hierarchy Different methods of selection are taken for filling positions at varying levels in the organization. For example, extensive background checks and interviewing would be conducted to verify the experience and capabilities of the applicant for the sales manager position. On the other hand, an applicant for a clerical position (secretary) would most likely take only a word processing test and perhaps a short employment interview. C. Applicant pool (labor market) The number of qualified applicants for a particular job can also affect the selection process. The process can be truly selective only if there are several qualified applicants for a particular position. When the applicants are very few, then selection process becomes a matter of choosing whoever is at hand. C. Probationary period Many Organizations use a probationary period that permits them to evaluate an employees ability based on established performance. Probationary period is required for either of the following two reasons. 1. a substitute for certain phases of the selection process (If the an individual can successfully perform the job during the probationary period , other selection tools may not be needed) or 35

2. a check on the validity of the selection process ( to determine whether the hiring decision was a good one)

SELECTION CRITERIAAt the core of any effective selection system is an understanding of what characteristics are essential for high performance. This is where the critical role of job analysis in selection becomes most apparent, because that list of characteristics should have been identified during the process of job analysis and should now be accurately reflected in job specification. Thus, from a performance perspective, the goal of any selection system is to accurately determine which applicants posses the skill, knowledge, ability and other characteristics detected by the job. Different selection criteria may, indeed, be needed to assess these qualitatively different (KSAOs).

Categories of criteriaThe criteria typically used by organizations for making selection decision can be summarized in several broad categories: education, experience, physical characteristics, and other personal characteristics. A. Formal education An employer selecting from a pool of job applicants wants to find the person who has the right abilities and attitudes to be successful. A large number of cognitive, motor, physical, and interpersonal attributes are present because of genetic predispositions and because they were learned at home, at school, on the job and so on. One of the more common cost- effective ways to screen of many of these abilities is by using educational accomplishment as a surrogate for of summary of the measures of those abilities. Rather than using a selection test to measure each of these, the organization might simply require that applicants have proof that they have completed the specified level of education. For certain jobs, the employer might go one or more steps further than simply requiring than 36

a certain educational level has been achieved; The employer may stipulate that the education (especially for college-level requirements) is in a particular area of expertise, such as accounting or management. The employer might also prefer that the degree be from certain institutions that the grade point average be higher than some minimum, and those certain honors have been achieved.

B. Experience and past performance Another uses full criteria for selecting employees is experience and past performance. Many selection specialists believe that past performance on a similar job might be one of the best indicators of future job performance. In addition, employers often consider experience to be a good indicator of ability and work related attitudes. Their reasoning is that a prospective employee who has performed the job before and is applying for a similar job must like the work and be able to do the job will. C. Physical characteristics In the past, many employers consciously or unconsciously used physical characteristics as a criterion. Studies found that employers were most likely to hire and pay better wages to taller men, and airlines choose flight attendants and company receptionists on the base of beauty. Many times such practices discriminated against ethnic groups, women, and hind capped people. For this reason, they are now illegal unless it can be shown that a physical characteristics is directly related to effectiveness at work. Fore example, visual acuity (eyesight) would be a physical characteristic that could be used to hire airline pilots. It might not, however, be legally used for hiring a telephone reservations agent for an airline. D. Personality characteristics and personality type Personal characteristics include marital status, sex, age, and so on. Some employers have, fore example, preferred stable married employees over single people because they

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have assumed that married people have a lower turnover rate. On the other hand, other employers might seek out single people fore some jobs since a single person might be more likely to accept a transfer or a lengthy over sees assignment. Age, too, has some times been used as a criterion. While it is illegal to discriminate against people who are over the age 40. However, minimum and maximum age restrictions for the job be used only if they are clearly job related. Thus, age should be used as a selection criterion only after very careful thought and consideration.

SELECTION PROCESSThe selection process consists of a series of steps. At each stage facts may come to light, which may lead to rejection of the applicant. It is a series of successive hurdle or barriers, which an applicant must cross. These hurdles are designed to eliminate an unqualified candidate at any point in the selection process. However, every selection procedure dose not contains all these hurdles. Moreover, the arrangement of these hurdles may differ from organization to organization. There is no standard selection procedure to be used in all organization or for all jobs. The complexity 0f election procedure increase with the level and responsibility of the position to be filled. The strategy and method used for selecting employees varies from firms to firm and from one job to another. Steps involved in employee selection may be described as under: 1. Application blank: Application form is a traditional and widely used device for collecting information from the candidates. Small firms design no application form and ask the candidates to write details about their age, marital status, education, work experience, etc. on a plan of sheet of paper. But big companies use different type of application forms for different jobs. The application form should provide all the information relevant to selection. 38

2. Preliminary interviews: The preliminary interview is used to determine whether the applicants skills, abilities, and the job preferences match any of the available jobs in the organization, to explain to the applicant the available jobs and d their requirements, and to answer any questions the applicant has about the available jobs or the employer. A preliminary interview is usually conducted after the applicant has completed the application form. It is generally a brief, explanatory interview screens out unqualified or un interested applicants. Interview questions must be job related and are not subject to demonstration of validity. 3. Employment test: A technique that some organizations use to aid their selection decisions is employment test. An employment test is a mechanism that attempts to measure certain characteristics of individuals. The basic categories of tests are: i. Aptitude test: means of measuring a persons capacity or latent ability to learn and perform the job ii. Psychomotor test: test that measures a persons strength, dexterity, and Coordination. iii. Job knowledge test: Tests used to measure the job related knowledge of the applicants. iv. Proficiency test: tests used to measure how well a job applicant can do a sample of the work to be performed in the job. v. Interest Test: tests designed to determine how a persons interest compared with the interest of successful people in a specific job. vi. Personality test: tests that attempt to measure personality traits. vii. Polygraph test: the polygraph, popularly known as the lie detector, is a de vice that records physical changes in the body as the test subject answers a serious of questions. The polygraph records fluctuations in blood pressure, respiration, and perspiration on a moving roll of graphic paper. The polygraph operator makes a judgment as to whether the subjects response was truthful or deceptive by studying the physiological measurements recorded on paper viii. Graphology (hand writing analysis): use of trained analysis to examine a persons hand writing to assess the personality, emotional problems, and honesty. 39

4. Secondary or follow-up interview or Employment interviewMost organizations use the second or follow up interview as an important step in the selection process. Its purpose is to supplement information obtained in other steps in the selection process to determine the suitability of an applicant for a specific opening. All questions asked during an interview must be job related There are different types of interview and different organizations use one or more of them to make their selection choices. Interview types that are generally used are discussed below. I. Structured interview In this form of interview, the interviewer follows a predetermined approach designed to ensure that all pertinent factors relating to he candidates qualifications suitability for the job will be gone over. This type of interview also allows an interviewer to prepare in advance, questions that are job-related and then complete a standardized interviewer evaluation form. II. Semi-structured interview Here only the major questions to be asked are worked out beforehand. The interviewer also has the option to prepare in-depth questions in certain areas. Clearly, the interviewer, in this approach, needs to prepare more adequately and his role also has greater flexibility than in the structured style. During the course of the interview, where the occasion rises the interviewer has the freedom to probe In a greater detail those areas, which appear to require further investigation, The interviewers objective, in the semi-structured format, should be to achieve the ideal balance between adequate structure facilitating exchange of factual information, with adequate freedom to develop a clear perception of the candidates work. III. Unstructured interview This may be defined as the process of active listening. Normally used in psychological counseling, it is also widely used in selection. The interviewer has a wider canvas and the choice to prepare a list of topics to be covered rather than the 40

question s. little preparation is required on the part of the interviewer. The interviewer asks general questions designed to prompt the candidate to discuss him or her self and often uses a thought or idea expressed on one response as the base for the next question. The tremendous plus point of the unstructured approach is the freedom the interviewer has to adapt both to the changing situations and a variety of candidates. The difficulties, however, lie in the maintenance of job relatedness and obtaining of comparable data on each applicant. Spontaneity is the chief characteristics of this approach but the pitfalls are daunting. In the hands of untrained interviewer, biases invariably creep in and digressions, discontinuity and a host of subjective elements may well destroy or negate the fundamental objective of selecting the best available talent. IV. Stress interview This is a special type of interview designed to asses and provides use full information as to whether a person would be able to cope with stress on the job or not. Stress interviews are deliberate attempts to create tension and pressure in an applicant to see how well he or she responds to those tensions and pressures. Methods used to induce stress, ranges from frequent interruptions and criticism of an applicants opinion, to keeping silent for an extended period of time. V. Depth Interview

In this case, an attempt is made to cover completely the life history of the applicant and develop a comprehensive profile based on in-depth understanding of the frozen aspects of the frozen aspects of his or her personality such as education, extracurricular activities, early childhood experiences, etc. as well as the flexible aspects such as hobbies , interests , hopes , desires, aspirations , goals etc . This is a time consuming and costly approach best suited for executive selection rather than blue or white collar workers, its major advantage is in getting a complete, detailed understanding of the candidate but the price paid in terms of time and money need to be carefully weighed.

Problems in Interviews41

Despite the wide spread use of the employment interview, it continues to be the source of a variety of problems of the selection process. There is no doubt that problems of reliability can develop in the use of interviews when they are less structured or conducted by relatively untrained interviewers. Following is a list of some sources of errors in the interview process. a. Contrast effects or Hallow effect: The order of interviewees influence ratings. For instance , Strong candidates who succeed weak ones look even stronger by contrast b. Similarity to interviewer: interviewees similarity in sex, age, ethnicity, religion and or attitude to interviewers may lead to favorable evaluation at the expense of the expectations of the job. c. Non-verbal signals: interviewers often fall in to the trap of using non- verbal behavior patterns as a basis for reaching a decision. Factors such as how a candidate looks, sits in the chair , maintains eye contact, fidgets or his or her facial expressions may be allowed to become overriding criteria and this can easily in by passing competent candidates d. Interviewer lack of knowledge: Where this happens there is almost invariably a miscarriage of justice. The interviewers lack of familiarity with job requirements prevents him or her from identifying those characteristics in the candidate that makes him or her suitable for the job. Instead, he or she might well be eliminated for the wrong reasons. e. Over emphasis on negative characteristics: quite often, there is a natural human tendency on the part of interviewers to succumb to the pitfall of assigning undue emphasis to one or two negative qualities of the applicant . Very many good aspects suited to the job at hand may be ignored in the process, the interviewer must consciously attempt to look beyond small drawbacks in the candidate and take an objective, brad based view. f. Snap judgment: there is a tendency for the interviewers to make up their minds on the first impression of the candidate. Based on the first observation of the applicant and the first few minutes of discussion, a judgment is arrived at which in fact, may be quite erroneous. Too often, interviewers from an

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early impression and spend the rest of the time looking for evidence to support it. The attempt, on the other hand, should be to collect comprehensive information about the candidate and reserve judgment until various aspects and areas have been probed.

5. Reference ChecksThe applicant is asked to mention in his application form the names and addresses of two or three persons who know him or her well. They may be his or her previous employers, head of educational institutions or public figures. The organization contacts them by mail or telephone. They are requested to provide their frank opinion about the candidate with out incurring any liability. They are assured that all the information supplied will kept confidential.

6. Selection DecisionIn most of the organizations, the human resource department carries out selection process. The decision of this department is recommendatory. The executive of the concerned department finally approves the candidates short-listed by the department.

7. Physical examination or Medical evaluationApplicants who have crossed the above stages are sent for a physical examination either to the companys physician to the medical officer approved for the purpose. Such examination serves the following purposes: a)It determines whether the candidate is physically fit to perform the job. Those who are physically unfit are rejected. b)It revels existing disabilities and provides a record of the employees health at the time of selection. This record will help in settling companys liability under the workmen compensation act for claim of an injury.

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c)It prevents the employment of people suffering from contagious diseases.

8. Final approval or hiring decisionEmployment is offered in the form of an appointment letter mentioning the post, the rank, the salary grade, and the date by which the candidate should join and other terms and conditions in brief.

9. Reviewing the hiring processAfter completing the hiring , the selection process ought to be evaluated . Here are some considerations in the evaluation : What about the number of initial applicants? Where there too many applicants? Too few? Does the firm need to think about changing its advertisement and recruiting to get the results desired? What was the nature of the applicants qualification? Were the applicants too qualified enough? Perhaps the advertisements need to be re-worked to attract more appropriate candidates. In this case, using a job description can help. How cost effective was the advertising? A simple way to measure is to divide the cost (not only in birr but in your time) by either the number of total applicants or the number of applicants that you considered seriously. Were there questions that needed to be asked but werent? How well did the interviewers do? One way to determine this is to ask the new employee to critique the interviewing process. Did employment tests support or help the hiring decision? If not, may be the firm will have to reconsider the kinds of tests it is administering. Further, the evaluation process should help the firm decide if the cost and the time involved in the testing is worth it. Would you have come to the same hiring decision without testing?

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3. Induction/OrientationOrientation is the process of acquainting new employees with the organization. Orientation topics range from such basic items as the location of the company cafeteria to such concerns as various career paths within the firm. Hence we can say that induction or orientation is the process through which a new employee is introduced to the job and the organization. In the words of Armstrong, induction is "the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first joins a company and giving him the basic information he needs to settle down quickly and start work. Orientation is designed to provide a new employee with the information he or she needs to function comfortably and effectively in the organization. It conveys three types of information: General information about the daily work routines; Organization history, objectives, operations, products, etc.

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Organization policies, work rules and employee benefits. Thus, orientation/induction is the planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, coworkers and the organization.

Purposes of orientationIn general, induction serves the following purposes: a. Removes fears: A newcomer steps into an organization as a stranger. He is new to the people, workplace and work environment. He is not very sure about what he is supposed to do. Induction helps a new employee overcome such fears and perform better on the job. It assists him in knowing more about:

The job, its content, policies, rules and regulations. The people with whom he is supposed to interact. . The terms and conditions of employment.

b. Creates a good impression: Another purpose of induction is to make the newcomer feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization. Induction helps him to:

Adjust and adapt to new demands of the job. Get along with people. Get off to a good start.

Through induction, a new recruit is able to see more clearly as to what he is supposed to do, how good the colleagues are, how important is the job, etc. He/she poses questions and seeks clarifications on issues relating to his/her job. Induction is a positive step, in the sense; it leaves a good impression about the company and the people working there in the minds of new recruits. They begin to take pride in their work and are more committed to their jobs.

c. Act as a valuable source of information: Induction serves as a valuable source ofinformation to new recruits. It classifies many things through employee manuals/handbook. Informal discussions with colleagues may also clear the fog surrounding certain issues. The basic purpose of induction is to communicate specific job requirements to the employee, put him at ease and make him feel confident about his abilities. Some of the benefits of good employee orientation include the following: Strong loyalty to the organization; Greater commitment to organizational values and goals; Low absenteeism;

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higher job satisfaction and Reduction in turnover.

Steps in Induction ProgramThe HR department may initiate the following steps while organizing the induction program: Welcome to the organization Explain about the company. Show the location, department where the new recruit will work. . Give the company's manual to the new recruit. Provide details about various work groups and the extent of unionism within the company. Give details about pay, benefits, holidays, leave, etc. Emphasize the importance of attendance or punctuality. Explain about future training opportunities and career prospects. Clarify doubts, by encouraging the employee to come out with questions. Take the employee on a guided tour of buildings, facilities, etc. and Hand him over to his supervisor.

Content of inductionThe areas covered in employee induction program may be stated as follows: 1. Organizational issues History of company; Names and titles of key executive; Employees' title and department; Layout of physical facilities; Probationary period; Products/services offered; Overview of production process; Company policy and rules; Disciplinary procedures; Safety steps; Employees' handbook. 2. Employee benefits Pay scales, pay days; Vacations, holidays; Rest pauses; Training Avenues; Counseling; Insurance, medical, recreation, and retirement benefit. 3. Introductions To supervisors; to co-workers; to trainers; and to employee counselor

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4. Job duties Job location; Job tasks; Job safety needs; Overview of jobs; Job objectives; Relationship with other jobs

Need for Induction1. When a new employee joins an organization, he is a stranger to the organization and vice versa. He may feel insecure, shy and nervous in the strange situation. He may have anxiety because of lack of adequate information about the job, work procedures, organizational policies and practices, etc. Frustration is likely to develop because of ambiguity. In such a case, induction is needed through which relevant information can be provided; he/she is introduced to old employees and to work procedures. All these may develop confidence in the candidate and he/she may start developing positive thinking about the organization. 2. Effective induction can minimize the impact of reality shock some new employees may undergo. Often, fresher join, the organization with very high expectations, which may be far beyond the reality. When they come across with reality, they often feel shocked. By proper induction, the newcomers can be made to understand the reality of the situation. Every organization has some sort of induction program either formally or informally. In large organizations where there are well-developed personnel functions, often induction program are undertaken on formal basis, usually through the personnel department. In smaller organizations, the immediate superior of the new employee may do this.

SocializationSocialization is a process through which a new recruit begins to understand and accept the values, norms and beliefs held by others in the organization. HR department representatives help new recruits to internalize the way things are done in the organization. Orientation helps the newcomers to interact freely with employees working at various levels and learn behaviors that are acceptable. Through such formal and informal interaction and discussion, newcomers begin to understand how the department/ company is run, who holds power and who does not, who is politically active within the department, how to behave in the company, what is expected of them, etc. In short, if the new recruits wish to survive and

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prosper in their new work home, they must soon come to 'know the ropes'.

Employee Induction Program: Three ExamplesThe company takes its new entrants through a structured induction-training program. The one-day program includes a briefing on the company's market position, the business it is in, its functioning style, its organizational structure and its HR policies. The entrants are also familiarized with what others do before being deputed to their own departments. A six-month behavioral training is also offered in team building, self-development, customer-sensitivity etc. Finally, the recruits are put through an appraisal process to gauge fitment and progress. The other company customizes its initiation programs to suit the profile of the new recruit. For engineers, the program is offered in four parts: (1) familiarize with various functions and meet division heads (ii) work on shop floor (iii) work at various other departments (iv) work finally in departments for about 2 months, where they will eventually work. In the last company the management trainees are picked up from premium B - schools and undergo introduction training for about 6 months. During this period, the trainees see the various divisions of the bank to get a holistic view of the bank's operations, and get a chance to meet each of the bank's business heads. A two-day session dedicated to team building is also conducted ther