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Foundation of Human Resource Management
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Human Resource Management
PREFACE
The text of the Human Resource Management has been written with the basic
objective of introducing and familiarizing students with Human Resource
managements concepts that help them develop their knowledge base and
understand various facets of HRM. This book covers important concepts and
information that begins with introducing the subject in the module-1 followed by
Module II in which functions of HR Department are elaborated that makes one
understand how an employee is selected in an organization by throwing light upon
fundamentals of recruitment and selection which also covers areas such as Job
Analysis, Job description, Job specification, Recruitment, Selection, Placement and
Induction and socialization, Training and Development Training Process & Methodology Need and objectives Training Procedure Methods of Training Tools and Aids Evolution of training Programs.
Module III , IV and V discuss various functions of Human Resource Department
such as Compensation, Maintenance Integration and Audit & Control. This book
discusses various contemporary issues of HR department by focusing on Job
evaluation, Merit rating, Methods of wage payment, Incentive Compensation Types, Advantages, perquisites, Wage Policy in India - Minimum Wage, Fair
Wage, Living Wage .
The Human Resource Management is an ever evolving field and this book alludes
various concepts of this field such that students are able to relate to the basics
concepts of HRM and get an insight on the role of an HR manager and diverse
activities involved in this discipline.
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Human Resource Management
Brief Table of Contents
Chapter no. Title
CHAPTER 1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT- INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2 JOB ANALYSIS, JOB DESCRIPTION AND JOB
SPECIFICATION
CHAPTER 3 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
CHAPTER 4 INDUCTION, SOCILIZATION AND PLACEMENT
CHAPTER 5 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 6 CAREER PLANNING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 7 JOB EVALUATION AND COMPENSATION
CHAPTER 8 WAGE AND INCENTIVE COMPENSATION SCHEMES
CHAPTER 9 EMPLOYEE WELFARE , FRINGE BENEFITS AND SAFETY
& ACCIDENT PREVENTION
CHAPTER 10 ADDRESSING EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE AND DISCIPLINE
CHAPTER 11 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
CHAPTER 12 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM
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Chapter-1 Introduction to Human Resource Management
After reading this chapter, you will be able to understand:
1. Meaning and evolution of Human Resource Management
2. Objectives and Functions of HRM
3. Difference between HR and Personnel Management
4. Structure of HR department
1.0 Introduction Every organization is essentially a combination of physical and human resources.
Physical resources refer to materials, money and machines pre-arranged by the
organization for production or trade. Human resources, on the other hand, refer to
the knowledge, education, skills, training and proficiency of the members of the
organization. All organizational resources are important for achieving the
objectives of an organization. In fact, the effectiveness of an organization lies in
the judicious blending of the two resources to achieve optimum competency.
However, for a long time, it was felt that the efficient utilization of physical
resources was primary for developing organization. This was so because the
acquisition of physical resources resulted in a huge outflow of funds and those
assets carried a definite value. On the contrary, it was felt that hiring employees
never cost anything substantial for a firm and it was also quite easy to replace
them. This made human resource less important for employers. But, in the past
decade, employers have realized that intellectual capital is critical to business
success. The main reasons for this change are due to the understanding that
1. Product innovation and marketing strategy, which are crucial for market
survival and growth in a competitive environment, are possible only when a
good and creative workforce is present.
2. The challenge, opportunities and even disputes of creating and managing
organizations arise mostly from people-centered problems.
3. People are alike and they cannot be treated identically. They differ
physically and psychologically. These difference require individual
attention in order to achieve the optimum productivity.
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Human Resource Management
1.2 MEANING AND DEFINITION
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a management function that managers
recruit, select, train and develop members for an organization. HRM is concerned
with the peoples dimension in the organizations. We quote three definitions on HRM. But before quoting the definitions, it is useful
to point out the essentials which must find their place in any definition.
The core points of HRM are:
1. Organizations are not mere bricks, mortar, machineries or inventories. They
are people. It is the people who staff and manage organizations.
2. HRM involves the applications of management functions and principles. The
functions and principles are applied to acquisitioning, developing and
maintaining, and remunerating the employees in the organization.
3. Decisions relating to employees must be integrated. Decisions on different
aspects of employees must be consistent with other human resource
decisions.
4. Decisions made must influence the effectiveness of the organization.
Effectiveness of an organization must result in betterment of the services to
the customers in the form of high-quality products supplied at reasonable
cost.
5. HRM functions are not confined to business establishments only. They are
applicable to non-business organizations too, such as education, health care,
recreation, and the like.
The following three definitions collectively cover all the five core points:
1. a series of integrated decisions that form the employment relationship; their quality contributes to the ability of the organization and the
employees to achieve their objective.
2. . Is concerned with the people dimensions in management. Since every organization is made of people, acquiring their services, developing their
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skills, motivating them to higher levels performance and ensuring that
they continue to maintain their commitment to the organization are
essential to achieving the organizational objectives. This is true,
regardless of the type of organization government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action.
3. management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement , development, compensation, integration, maintenance
and separation of human resources to the end that individual,
organizational, and social objectives are accomplished.
Thus, HRM refers to a set of programs, functions and activities designed and
carried out in order to maximize both employee as well as organizational
effectiveness.
1.3 EVOLUTION OF HRM
HRM, a relatively new term, engaged during the 1970s. Many people continue to
refer to the discipline by its order, more traditional titles, such as personnel
management or personnel administration.
The trend is changing. The term now days used in industry circles is HRM.
Coming to evolution of HRM as a subject, it may be stated that concern for the
welfare of workers in the management of business enterprises has been in
existence since ages. Kautilyas Arthashastra states that there existed a sound base for systematic management of resources during as early as the 4
th century BC. The
government then took an active interest in the operation of public and private
sector enterprises and provided systematic procedures for regulating employer-
employee relationships.
Elsewhere, human resources in organizations received the managements attention much earlier. As early as in 1800 BC itself, minimum wages rate and incentive wages plan were included in Babylonian Code of Hammurai. Experts of HRM in our country have tried to chronicle the growth of the subject
only since the 1920s. this was the period when state intervention to protect the
interests of workers felt necessary because of the difficult conditions which
followed the First World War, and the emergence of trade unions. The Royal
Commission (1931) recommended the appointments of labour-welfare officers to
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deal with the selection of workers and to settle their grievances. The Factories Act,
1948, made appointments of welfare officers compulsory in industrial
establishments employing 500 or more workers each.
The aftermath of the Second World War and the countrys political independence witnessed increased awareness and exceptions of workers. During the 1960s, the
personnel function began to expand the welfare aspects, with labour welfare, IR
and personnel administration integrating into the emerging profession called
personnel management (PM). Simultaneously, the massive thrust given to the
heavy industry in the context of planned economic development, particularly since
the Second Five Year Plan and the accelerated growth of public sector in the
national economy resulted in a shift in focus towards professionalization of
management.
In 1990s, a shift in professional values was discernible. It shifted from a concern
for welfare to a focus on efficiency. In the 1980s, professionals began to talk about
new technologies, HRM challenges and HRD.
In the 1990s, the emphasis shifted to human values and productivity through
people. Reflecting this trend, the American Society for Personnel Administration
(ASPA) was renamed as the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).
Thus, beginning in 1920s, the subject HRM has grown in to a matured profession.
Below table shows the evolution of HRM.
1.4 SCOPE OF HRM
The scope of HRM is indeed vast. All major activities in the working of a worker
from the time of his or her entry into an organization until he or she leaves come
under the preview of HRM. Specifically, the activities included are HR planning, job analysis and design, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement,
training and development, performance appraisal and job evaluation, employee and
executive remuneration, motivation and communication, welfare, safety and
health, industrial relations (IR) and the like. For sake of convenience, we can
categorize all these functions into four objectives:
1.5 HRM Objective and Function
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HRM Objective Supporting Functions
1. Societal Objectives 1. Legal compliance
2. Benefits
3. Union Management Relations
2. Organizational Objectives 1. Human Resource Planning
2. Employee Relations
3. Selection
4. Training and development
5. Appraisal
6. Placement
7. Assessment
3. Functional Objectives 1. Appraisal
2. Placement
3. Assessment
4. Personal Objectives 1. Training and development
2. Appraisal
3. Placement 4. Compensation
5. Assessment
1.6 THE SEMANTICS
As in any discipline, there is the problem of semantics in HRM, too. First, we have
two terms, namely, personnel management (PM) and HRM. Between these two
terms is a basic difference, and it is useful as to what it is.
HRM differs from PM both in scope and orientation. HRM views people as an
important source or asset to be used for the benefit of organization, employees and
the society. It is emerging as a distinct philosophy of management aiming at
policies that promote mutuality mutual goals, mutual respect, mutual rewards and mutual responsibilities. The belief is that policies of mutuality will elicit
commitment which, in turn, will yield both better economic performance and
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greater human resource development (HRM). Though a distinct philosophy, HRM
cannot be treated in isolation. It is being treated into the overall strategic
management of business. Further, HRM represents the latest term in the evolution
of the subject. The year 1990 was a turning point in this evolution. The American
society for personnel administration (ASPA), the largest professional association in
this field of management, changed its name to the society for human resource
management (SHRM). Since then, the expression is gradually replacing the
hackneyed term personnel management.
1.7 HRM AND PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
The difference between HRM and PM is a subject of discussion amongst HRM
experts. They do not hold identical views about similarities and dissimilarities
between HRM and PM.
According to Lowry, PM and HRM are the successive stages of the same concept without any differences in the concept. In his words, Human Resource Management is just the continuing process of personnel management it is not
different.
1.7.1 HR Management vs Personnel Management
While digging for the difference between Human Resources Management and
Personnel Management, you are most likely going to get very divergent views,
depending on which sphere of experts you question. While some strongly affirm
that there is no difference between the two, others will recognize the variance, but
will still acknowledge the unmistakable similarities. In lay terms however, theres a general tendency to use the terms interchangeably.
The difference, when acknowledged, between HR and Personnel, is often depicted
as philosophical. Personnel management encompasses more administrative
disciplines of payroll issues, employment law compliance and all other related
tasks. On the other hand, HR is more concerned with the management of a
workforce, as this is one of the key resources that drive the day-to-day operations
of a company; hence its success.
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Whenever a distinction is made between Human Resources and Personnel
management, Human Resources is always represented to a broader extent than
Personnel management. Human Resources, it is said, embodies and elaborates
tasks of Personnel management, and at the same time, creates and develops teams
of employees for the advantage of the company. One of HRs primary goals is to provide a suitable environment for employees to fully utilize their skills, and work at maximum efficiency levels.
The tasks that are common within Personnel management include the traditional, routine duties; thus, it is generally described as reactive, i.e. only responding to demands as they arise. Human resources, on the other hand, involve continuous
innovation and strategizing to manage a companys workforce more efficiently. It is, therefore, generally considered proactive. Theres an ongoing development of policies, functions and skill assessments all aimed at improving the companys workforce.
While performance management is always considered to be influenced by the organizations, HR is generally considers as an integral part of the organizational functions. Personnel Management duties are solely the domain of the personnel
department. However, with regard to HR, most of the companys senior level employees (managers) are somehow involved, and key goal may be to engage the managers in the skills development processes needed to accomplish personnel related duties.
In terms of performance, motivation and rewards, Personnel Management typically
endeavors to reward and motivate employees with salaries, bonuses, compensation
and a standard paid annual leave in order to derive employee satisfaction. For HR,
the primary motivators are seen as job creativity, work groups and efficient
strategies to meet challenges.
To summarize, Personnel management is more concerned with payroll and similar
tasks, while HR is concerned with the overall management of a companys workforce. Personnel tasks are creative, while HR tasks are generally proactive,
and continuous. Personnel Management is considered independent from
organizational influence, while HR is dependent on input from some employees,
like senior management.
1.7.2 Similarities between HRM and PM
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The basic elements common to HRM and PM strategy:
Business Strategy Both form the basis for the evolution of HR and PM
strategy.
Matching People Choosing the right people for the right job and developing
them to achieve their maximum level of competence remain the priority of
both HRM and PM.
Prominence of Line Authority HRM, similar to PM, recognizes that the
primary responsibility for managing people stays with line managers.
Identical Core Elements Techniques like selection, traning, development,
compensation and performance management are common to both HRM and
PM.
Emphasis on Communication and Participation HRM and PM provide
equal importance to the communication process and workers participation in decision making.
1.8 ORGANISATION OF HR DEPARTMENT
Two issues become relevant in a discussion on organization of an HR Department.
They are
(i) place of the HR Department in the overall set-up and
(ii) Composition of the HR department itself.
Status of the HR Department in the total organizational structure depends on
whether a unit is small or large. In most of the small organizations, there is no
separate department to co-ordinate the activities relating to personnel. In fact, there
may not be any personnel managers at all. Services of outsiders who specialize in
maintaining accounts and records relating to provident fund, pension and other
statutory requirements are retained for free. Alternatively, a low places employee
may be entrusted with the task of attending to these functions. Figure shows a
structure of this type. In Fact, it was this arrangement which was followed in the
past, irrespective of the size of the organization. Earlier, personnel departments
were called health and happiness departments. The people assigned to deal with personnel issues were often individuals who were past their prime. The personnel
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department was seems as a place where the lesser productive employees could be
places with minimal damage to the organizations ongoing operations. Individuals in the personnel department were perceived as those responsible for planning company picnics, vacation schedules and retirement parties. Personnel, as an activity, were seen as a necessary but unimportant part of the organization. Fortunately, things have changed for the better and the status of the personnel department has improved enormously over the years.
Owner/Manager
Production Manager
Sales Manager Office Manager
Accountant
Personnel Assistant
Fig. HRM in a small-scale unit
A large scale unit will have a manager/director heading the HR department. His or
her status will be equal to that of any executive. Figure given below shows this
structure. This arrangement holds good when the company has a single unit. Where
the company has multiple plans located in different parts of the country, there may
be a centralized HR/personnel department at the mail or registered office and each
plant will have separate HR/personnel departments. Routine activities relating to
each plant are handled by the HR/personnel department attached to the work,
whereas the broad policies, matters concerning executives and the like are handled
by the central department. This is the case with conglomerates as BHEL, ITI and
L&T.
Chairman and Managing Director
Director Production
Director Finance Director
Personnel/HRM
Director Marketing Director R&D
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Fig. HRM in large scale unit
Coming to the composition of the HR Department, it may be stated that it depends on the scale of operations and attitude of the top management towards its personnel. However, a typical HR department is headed by a Director, under who
are Managers Personnel Manager-Administrative, Manager-HRD and Manager- Industrial Relations. The department will grow in size and importance when new demands are places on it by the top management.
Owner/Manager
Manager Personnel
Manager Administration
Manager HRD
Manager IR
Human Resource PR
Planning
Appraisal
Hiring Canteen Traning and Development
Grivance Handling Medical
Compensation Welfare
Transport
Legal
1.9 DUTIES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS
Basically Human resource manager caries out three distinct functions:
1. A line function: The human resource manager directs the activities of the
people in his or her own departments and in related services areas (like the
plant cafeteria). In other words, he or she exerts line authority within the HR
department. While they generally cant wield line authority outside, they are
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likely to exert implied authority. This is because line manager know the
human resource manager has top managements ear in areas like testing and affirmative action.
2. A coordinative function: Human resource manager also coordinate
personnel activities, a duty often referred to as functional authority (or
functional control). Here he or she acts as the right arm of the top executive to ensure that line manager are implementing the firms human resource policies and practices (for example, adhering to its sexual
harassment policies).
3. Staff (assist and advise) functions: Assisting and advising line managers is
the heart of the human resource managers job. He or she advises the CEO to
better understand the personnel aspects of the companys strategic options. HR assists in hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding, counseling, promoting,
and firing employees. It administers the various benefit programs (health and
accident insurance, retirement, vacation, and so on).
1.10 Quiz
Complete all the review questions listed here to test your
understanding of the topics and concepts in this chapter
1. Human Resource Management is primarily concerned with
a) Sales
b) Dimensions of people
c) External environment
d) Cost discipline
2. Human Resource Management aims to maximize employees as well as
organizational (a) Effectiveness
(b) Economy
(c) Efficiency
(d) Performativity
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3. Demand for human resources and management is created by
a) Expansion of industry
b) Shortage of labor
c) Abundance of capital
d) Consumer preferences
4. Human Resource Management function does not involve
a) Recruitment
b) Selection
c) Cost control
d) Training
5. Which one of the following becomes a creative factor in production?
a) Land
b) Capital
c) Consumers
d) Human Resources
6. Quality- oriented organization primary concern centers around
a) Coordination
b) Communication
c) Human Resources
d) Discipline
7. The term refers to the total knowledge, skills, creative
abilities , talents and aptitudes of an organizations workforce as well as the values, attitudes and beliefs of the individuals involved.
a) Human resource b) Human resource management
c) Human resource planning d) Human relations
8. Which of the given statement reflect the Relationship between HRM &
Management? a) Both are same
b) Management is one aspect of HRM
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c) HRM is one aspect of Management
d) No relationship exists
9. The functions of Human resource management can be classified into two
broad categories. Identify them.
i. Managerial functions
ii. Planning functions iii. Employment functions
iv. Operative functions
a) Only i and iii
b) Only i and iv
c) Only ii and iii
d) Only iii and iv
10.The human resource management functions aim at
a) Ensuring that the human resources possess adequate capital, tool, equipment
and material to perform the job successfully.
b) Helping the organization deal with its employees in different stages of
employment. c) Improving an organizations creditworthiness among financial institutions. d) None of the above.
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CHAPTER-2- JOB ANALYSIS, JOB DESCRIPTION AND JOB
SPECIFICATION
Upon Completion of this chapter, you will be able to understand:
1. Meaning, uses and techniques of Job Analysis
2. Meaning and Content of Job Description
3. Job Specification and its components
2.1 JOB ANALYSIS
Job Analysis is an essential prerequisite for the effective management of the human resource of an organization. It is about gathering relevant information about
a job. It actually specifies the tasks involved and the factors that influence the
performance of the job.
As a process, it is capable of producing results with great practical relevance for
human resource management. Job analysis has applications in almost all the HR
activities of an organization. In reality, the job analysis process involves ascertaining what people do and understanding why and how they do it.
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Job analysis is detailed and systematic study of jobs to know the nature and
characteristics of people to be employed for each job.
Job Analysis involves gathering dataabout observable job behaviors, and delineating the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to
perform the job
Harvey - R.J
The process of job analysis is essentially one of the data collection and then
analyzing the data. It provides the analyst with basic data pertaining to specific
jobs in terms of duties, responsibilities, skills, knowledge, degress of risk etc. This
data may be classified as follows:
1. Job identification
2. Nature of the job
3. Operations involved in doing the job
4. Materials and equipments to be used in doing the job
5. Personal attributes required to do the job e.g. education, traing, physical
strength and mental capabilities etc. 6. Relation with other jobs.
This information relating to a job which is thus classified , if examined carefully,
would suggest that some information relates to the job and some concerns the the
individual doing the job. The requirements of a job are known as Job Description
and the qualities demaned from the job holder are termed as Job Specification.
What job analysis is:
It is a systematic method for gathering information
It focuses on work behaviors, tasks, and outcomes
It identifies the personal qualifications necessary to perform the job and the
conditions under which work is performed
It reports the job as it exists at the time of analysis; not as it was in the past
nor as it exists in another organization
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What job analysis is not:
It is not an analysis of thought processes, attitudes, traits, or aptitudes
It is not a time and motion study It is not an analysis of an individual position
2.1.1Uses of Job Analysis
The purpose of Job Analysis is to establish and document the 'job relatedness' of
employment procedures. The employer use job analysis information to support
several human resource management activities.
Recruitment and Selection Job analysis provides information about what the job entails and what
human characteristics are required to perform these activities. This
information in the form of job description and job specifications, help
managers decide what sot of people to recruit and hire.
Compensation Job analysis information is indispensible for estimating the value of each job and its appropriate compensation. Compensation usually depends on the
jobs required skill education level, safety hazards, degree of responsibility, and so on all factors you can access through job analysis.
Training
The job description lists the jobs specific duties and requisite skills- and therefore the training- that the job requires.
Performance Appraisal A performance appraisal compares each employees actual performance with his or her performance standards. Doing so requires knowledge of the jobs duties and standards. Managers can use job analysis to find out what these duties and performance standards are.
Safety and Health Job analysis can provide exact information about the nature and type of
work conditions essential for an accident-free work environment. It can also
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suggest the safety requirements for the job. The need for the safety training
and safety apparatus can also be ascertained with the help of job analysis.
Legal Requirements The job description is a vital document for an organization in legally and
morally justifying its hiring practices, promotion policies, terminations,
disciplinary actions, and grievance redressal procedures. In fact, it is a legal
necessity for an organization to keep a job description statement for each
position in the organization
2.1.2Techniques of Data Collection in Job Analysis
No matter what the methodology adopted for data collection in job analysis, the
focus should be gathering information about the tasks associated with the job and
desired human behavior at work. However the characteristics of the job, the
purpose of the job, the purpose of the job analysis, and the desired quality of
information are the factors that usually influence the decisions involving the
selection of techniques for data collection.
Data collection for job analysis is usually done at one or more levels. These levels
are: (i) individual (ii) group, (iii) organizational and (iv) community. Further, the
decision involving the selection of a specific technique is usually influenced by the
factors such as the type of data to be collected, the methods of data collection, the
source from which the data will be collected, and the manner of data analysis.
The different methods of data collection are:
Questionnaire Method Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job related duties
and responsibilities is a popular way to obtain job analysis information. The
major advantage of questionnaire is that it is the easiest and more efficient
method to collect information from a large number of employees within a
short period. Different types of questionnaire are structured questionnaire,
structured checklist method, open ended questionnaire etc.
Observation Method In this method, the job analyst closely observes the performance of the employee on the job. He record the various tasks performed by the employee
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as a part of the job. This method is ideal for gathering first-hand information
relating to working conditions, the physical activities involved in the job,
and so on.
Critical Incident Method A critical incident is a significant event that takes place in the job
environment and forces the employee to respond in the form of performance
or behavior. Critical incidents are considered as snapshots in the regular
course of the job. The aim of this method is to gather relevant and behavior centered description of the job.
Interview Method In this method, the job analyst asks the employee questions about t=various
dimensions of the job. He then contacts the employees supervisors to get further information and also to verify the correctness of the information collected from the employee. While preparing the questions for interview the analyst must ensure that the questions are uncomplicated and realistic in nature.
Dairy Maintenance Method In this method employee is asked to keep a record of all the activities
performed by him as apart of the job analysis process. He should record the
information in chronological order. Diary maintenance will enable the
employee tom keep track of all the activities. This method ensures
continuous and better employee involvement in the job analysis process.
2.2 Job Description
Job description is an organized factual statement of job contents in the form of
duties and responsibilities of specific job. It aims at simplifying and standardizing
the HR activities of an organization. The preparation of Job description is
necessary before a vacancy is advertized. As the title indicated, the documents are
descriptive in nature and constitute a record of job facts in an organized way.
Job description document discloses what is to be done, how it is to be done and
why it is to be done.
The contents of job description have been discussed below:
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1. Job Title: It is desirable that the job title should be short, definite and
suggestive of the nature of the job. It identifies the nature of the job and
its position in the organization.
2. Job Location: It is necessary to give the location of the job. By location
we mean the name of the department where the job under consideration
exists.
3. Job Summary: A short paragraph succinctly summarizing the tasks
performed by the employee is helpful for the subsequent convenient
identification of the job.
4. Salary Range: List starting salary, mid-range, and high (maximum)
salary for the position. It should also include information about how
employees may be eligible for additional compensation (i.e., sales
commissions, performance bonuses, annual raises, etc.)
5. Duties to be performed: Each task performed should be written out and
estimate made of the percentage of the time that is developed to the
performance of each task. This is the most important phase of the job
description and should be carefully prepared.
6. Machines, tools and materials: The tools, machines, equipments and
materials used in the performance of the job should also be included in
the job description. It indicates the nature and the complexity of the job.
7. Relation to other jobs: Clear cut relation of the job under consideration
with other jobs in the organization will help to understand the nature of
the job well
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8. Nature of supervision: There are certain jobs, particularly unskilled jobs,
which require intensive supervision, while other jobs requie less
supervision, because people manning these positions are more committed
to the achievement of organization goals. Nature of supervision must be
given in the job description.
9. Working environment: The working conditions, hazards and other
characteristics of the physical surroundings within the working area
should be described to help in subsequent interpretation of job
evaluation.
2.3 Job specification
Job specification sets out the education, qualification, training, personal attributes
and competencies a job holder requires top perform her or his job satisfactorily.
The employee characteristics required for job may include physical, mental, social
and behavior characteristics of job holders. The qualifications may include
education, experience, skills and other background requirements for a job holder.
Important components of job specification are listed below:
1. Education and training A job specification states whether the jobs requires school-or college- level
education. It mentions the technical or professional qualification
requirements of the job holder. Finally, it specifies the minimum training
requirements the job holder must have completed.
2. Work Experience A job specification prescribes the work experience requirements for the job holder. And sometimes also the minimum experiences for effective
performances.
3. Skills and Competencies. Under this component head, a job specification states the types of skills
necessary for the satisfactory performances of the job. It indicates the nature
of skills required like computer skills, communication skills, technical skills,
and statistical skills.
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4. Physical Strength and Stamina
If the job involves physical activities like lifting or moving heavy objects,
the job specification also mentions the physical requirements of the job
holder.
5. Stress-Coping Ability
When the nature of the job requires a lot of stress endurance and involves constant work pressure in the form of deadlines or night shifts, the stress
management ability of the candidate should be mentioned.
2.4 QUIZ:
Complete all the review questions listed here to test your understanding of the
topics and concepts in this chapter
1. A written statement of main duties and responsibilities which a
particular job entails is called a) Job Analysis b) Job Specification
c) Job description
d) Job Evaluation
2. Which of the following is not the component of Job Specification-
a) Skills and competences
b) Job Location
c) Work Experience
d) Education and Training
3. Which of the following is not the technique of data collection in job
analysis
a) Questionnaire Method
b) Observation Method
c) Ranking method
d) Interview Method
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4. Job Analysis benefits Human Resource Planning, recruitment and
selection, compensation management and Performance appraisal.
Identify the end results of a job analysis that form the basis for
recruitment and selection.
a) Job Description and Job Specification
b) Job design and Job review
c) Job description and job review
d) Job design and Job specification
5. Job analysis is the recording of all activities involved in a job and the
skill and knowledge requirements of the performance of the job. What
is it also known as? a) Job review or Job design
b) Job review or Job Classification c) Job specification or Job description
d) Job classification or Job specification
6. is defined as a portrayal of the tasks, responsibilities,
duties and functions of a job.
a) Job specification b) Job Design
c) Job analysis
d) Job description
7. is a complete list of competencies and qualifications
required to match the job descriptions a) Job specification b) Job design
c) Job analysis
d) Job review
8. Which of the following methods are generally used to collect and
compile information on Critical incidents as part of job analysis using the critical incident technique?
i) Technical Conference
ii) Observation
iii) Interviews
iv) Questionnaires
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a) (i) and (ii)
b) (ii) and ( iii)
c) (iii) and (iv)
d) (i) and (iv)
9. Which one of the following is not a behavioral specification in a job
specification?
a) Ability to make judgments
b) Ability to undertake research
c) Ability to interpret data
d) Ability to be authoritative
10. involves increasing the length and hence the
operating time of each cycle of work for the job holder. It is a modern
management technique in which different and continuous small cycles
are integrated into one single cycle of operation.
a) Job rotation
b) Job enlargement
c) Job sharing d) Job enrichment
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CHAPTER-3 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Upon Completion of this chapter, you will be able to understand:
1. Meaning of Recruitment and Selection
2. Importance of Recruitment and Selection
3. Methods of Recruitment
4. Selection Process
3.1 RECRUITMENT
The human resources are the most important assets of an organization. The
success or failure of an organization is largely dependent on the caliber of the
people working therein. Without positive and creative contributions from people,
organizations cannot progress and prosper. In order to achieve the goals or the
activities of an organization, therefore, they need to recruit people with requisite
skills, qualifications and experience. While doing so, they have to keep the present
as well as the future requirements of the organization in mind.
Recruitment is distinct from Employment and Selection. Once the required
number and kind of human resources are determined, the management has to find
the places where the required human resources are/will be available and also find
the means of attracting them towards the organization before selecting suitable
candidates for jobs. All this process is generally known as recruitment. Some
people use the term Recruitment for employment. These two are not one and the same. Recruitment is only one of the steps in the entire employment process. Some others use the term recruitment for selection. These are not the same either.
Technically speaking, the function of recruitment precedes the selection function
and it includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective employees and
attracting them to apply for jobs in an organization, whereas the selection is the
process of finding out the most suitable candidate to the job out of the candidates
attracted (i.e., recruited).Formal definition of recruitment would give clear cut idea
about the function of recruitment.
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3.1.1DEFINITIONS
Recruitment is defined as, a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of
an efficient workforce.
Edwin B. Flippo defined recruitment as the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. Recruitment is a linking function-joining together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs. It is a joining process in that it tries to bring together job seekers and employer with a view to encourage the former to apply for a job with the latter.
3.1.2 PURPOSES AND IMPORTANCE
The general purpose of recruitment is to provide a pool of potentially qualified job
candidates. The purpose is to:-
Determine the present and future requirement of the organization in
conjunction with it personnel- planning and job analysis activities.
Increase the pool of job candidate at minimum cost.
Help increases the success rate of the selection process by reducing the
number of visibly overqualified job applicants.
Help reduce the probably that job applicants, once recruited and selected,
will leave the organization only after the short period of time.
Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of it workforce.
Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicant who will be
appropriate candidates.
Increases organizational and individual effectiveness in the short term and
long term.
Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources of all
type of job applicants.
Recruitment represents the first contact that a company makes with potential
employees. It is through recruitment that many individuals will come to know a
company, and eventually decide whether they wish to work for it. A well-planned
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and well-managed recruiting effort will result in high-quality applicants, whereas,
a haphazard and piecemeal effort will result in mediocre ones. High-quality
employees cannot be selected when better candidates do not know of job openings,
are not interested in working for the company and do not apply. The recruitment
process should inform qualified individuals about employment opportunities,
create a positive image of the company, provide enough information about the jobs
so that applicants can make comparisons with their qualifications and interests, and
generate enthusiasm among the best candidates so that they will apply for the
vacant positions.
3.1.3FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT The following are the 2 important factors affecting Recruitment:-
A. INTERNAL FACTORS
Recruiting policy
Temporary and part-time employees
Recruitment of local citizens
Engagement of the company in HRP
Companys size Cost of recruitment
Companys growth and expansion
2) EXTERNAL FACTORS
Supply and Demand factors
Unemployment Rate Labour-
market conditions Political and
legal considerations Social
factors
Economic factors
Technological factors
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3.1.4 CENTRALISED V/s DECENTRALISED RECRUITMENT
Recruitment practices vary from one organization to another. Some
organizations like commercial banks resort to centralized recruitment while some
organizations like the Indian Railway resort to decentralized recruitment practices.
Personnel department at the central office performs all the functions of recruitment
in case of centralised recruitment and personnel departments at unit level/zonal
level perform all the functions of recruitment concerning to the jobs of the
respective unit or zone.
MERITS OF CENTRALISED RECRUITMENT
Average cost of recruitment per candidate/unit should be relatively less due
to economies of scale.
It would have more expertise available to it.
It can ensure broad uniformity among human resources of various
units/zones in respect of education, skill, knowledge, talent, etc.
It would generally be above malpractices, abuse of powers, favouritism,
bias, etc.
It would facilitate interchangeability of staff among various units/zones.
It enables the line managers of various units and zones to concentrate on
their operational activities by relieving them from the recruiting functions.
It enables the organization to have centralised selection procedure,
promotional and transfer procedure, etc.
It ensures the most effective and suitable placement to candidates.
It enables centralised training programmes which further brings uniformity
and minimizes average cost of staff.
MERITS OF DECENTRALISED RECRUITMENT
The unit concerned concentrates only on those sources/places wherein
normally gets the suitable candidates. As such the cost of recruitment would
be relatively less.
The unit gets most suitable candidates as it is well aware of the requirements
of the job regarding culture, traditional, family background aspects, local
factors, social factors, etc.
Units can recruit candidates as and when they are required without any
delay.
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The units would enjoy freedom in finding out, developing the sources, in
selecting and employing the techniques to stimulate the candidates.
The unit would relatively enjoy advantage about the availability of
information, control and feedback and various functions/processes of
recruitment.
The unit would enjoy better familiarity and control over the employees it
recruits rather than on employees selected by the central recruitment agency.
Both the systems of recruitment would suffer from their own demerits. Hence,
the management has to weigh both the merits and demerits of each system before
making a final decision about centralizing or decentralizing the recruitment.
3.1.5 SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
The sources of recruitment may be broadly divided into two categories: internal sources and external sources. Both have their own merits and demerits.
Lets examine these.
INTERNAL SOURCES
Persons who are already working in an organization constitute the internal sources. Retrenched employees, retired employees, dependents of deceased employees may also constitute the internal sources. Whenever any vacancy arises,
someone from within the organization is upgraded, transferred, promoted or even
demoted.
A. PRESENT EMPLOYEES
Promotions and transfer from among the present employee can be good sources of
recruitment. Promotion to higher positions has several advantages are:-
It is good public relations
It build morale
It encourages competent individuals
It improve the probability of a good selection
When carefully planned, promoting
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B. EMPLOYEE REFERRALS
This can be good sources of internal recruitment. Employee can develop good
prospects for their families and friends by acquainting them with the company,
furnishing cards of introduction, and even encouraging them to apply. There are
some potential negative factors associated with employee referrals. They include
the possibility of inbreeding, manifesting in groups of people quitting one firm and
joining another. They carry with them the cultural practices of the previous firm.
They from cliques of their own, demand unacceptable privileges and often threaten
to quit if demand are not met.
C. FORMER EMPLOYEES
Former employee is also an internal source of applicants. Some retired employee
may be willing to come back to work on apart time basis or may recommend
someone who would be interested in working for the company. An advantage with
the sources is that the performance of these people is already known
D. PREVIOUS APPLICANTS
Although not truly an internal source, those who have previously applied for job can be contacted by mail, a quick and inexpensive way to fill an unexpected
opening. Although walk ins are likely to be more suitable for filling unskilled and semi- skilled jobs, some professional opening can be filled by applicants to previous jobs.
EXTERNAL SOURCES
External sources lie outside an organization. Here the organization can have the
services of : (a) Employees working in other organizations; (b) Jobs aspirants
registered with employment exchanges; (c) Students from reputed educational
institutions; (d) Candidates referred by unions, friends, relatives and existing
employees; (e) Candidates forwarded by search firms and contractors; (f)
Candidates responding to the advertisements, issued by the organization; and (g)
Unsolicited applications/ walk-ins.
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A. PROFESSIONAL OR TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Many associations provide placement service for their member. These services
may consist of compiling job seeker list and providing access to member during
regional or national conventions. Further many associations publish or sponsor
trade journals or magazines for their member. These publications often carry
classified advertisement from employer interested in recruiting their members.
B. ADVERTISEMENT
These constitute a popular method of seeking recruits as many recruiters prefer
advertisement because of their wide reach.
A number of factor influence the response rate to advertisement. There are three
important variables identification of the organization, labour market conditions, and the degree to which specific recruitments included in the advertisement.
E. EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES
Employment exchanges have been set up all over the country in the deference to
the provision of the employment exchange Act. 1959. The Act applies to all
industrial establishments having 25 workers or more each. The Act requires the
entire industrial establishment to notify the vacancies before they are filled. The
major functions of the exchange are to increases the pool of the possible applicants
and to do preliminary screening. Thus employment exchanges act as a link
between the employers and the prospective employees. These offices are
particularly useful in recruiting blue- collar, white- collar, and technical workers
F. CAMPUS RECRUITMENT
Collage, university, research laboratories, sports field and institute are fertile
ground for recruiters, particularly the institutes. The Indian institute of
management and the Indian institute of technology are on the top on list of avenues
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for recruiters. In fact, in some companies, recruiters are bond to recruit a given
number of candidates from these institutes every year. `
G. WALK- INS, WRITE- INS AND TALK- INS
The most common and least expensive approach for candidate is direct application
in which job seeker submit unsolicited application letter or resumes Direct
applications, can also provide a pool of potential employee to meet future need.
From employees view point, walk- INS, are preferable methods of recruitment as
they are free from the hassles associated with other method of recruitment.
H. CONSULTANTS
Ferguson associates, human recourse consultants, head hunter, batliboi and
company, annalistic consultancy Bureau, aims management consultants and the
search house are some among the numbers recruiting agencies.
I. CONTRACTORS
Contractors are used to recruit casual workers. The names of the workers are not
entered in the company record and, to this extent, difficulties experienced in
maintaining permanent workers are avoided.
J. RADIO AND TELEVISION
Radio and television are used but sparingly, and that too, by government
department only. Companies in the private sector are hesitant to use the media
because the high costs and also because they fear that such advertising will makes
the companies look desperate and damage their conservative image.
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K. GATE HIRINGS AND CONTRACTORS
Gate hiring (where job seekers, generally blue collar employees, present themselves at the factory gate and offer their services on a daily basis), hiring
through contractors, recruiting through word-of-mouth publicity are still in use despite the many possibilities for their misuse in the small scale sector in India.
L. UNSOLICITES APPLICATNS/WALK-INS
Companies generally receive unsolicited applications from job seekers at various points of time; the number of such applications depends on economic
conditions, the image of the company and the job seekers perception of the types of jobs that might be available etc. Such applications are generally kept in a data bank and whenever a suitable vacancy arises, the company would intimate the candidates to apply through a formal channel. One important problem with this method is that job seekers generally apply to number of organizations and when
they are actually required by the organizations, either they are already employed
in other organizations or are not simply interested in the position.
3.1.6 RECENT TRENDS IN RECRUITMENT
OUTSOURCING
The outsourcing firms help the organization by the initial screening of the
candidates according to the needs of the organization and creating a suitable pool
of talent for the final selection by the organization. Outsourcing firms develop their
human resource pool by employing people for them and make available personnel
to various companies as per their needs.
POACHING/RAIDING
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Buying talent (rather than developing it) is the latest mantra being followed by the organizations today. Poaching means employing a competent and experienced person already working with another reputed company in the same or different
industry; the organization might be a competitor in the industry. A company can
attract talent from another firm by offering attractive pay packages and other terms
and conditions, better than the current employer of the candidate.
E-RECRUITMENT
Many big organizations use Internet as a source of recruitment. E- Recruitment is
the use of technology to assist the recruitment process
The two kinds of e- recruitment that an organization can use is
o Job portals i.e. posting the position with the job description and the job specification on the job portal and also searching for the suitable resumes posted on the site corresponding to the opening in the organization.
o Creating a complete online recruitment/application section in the
companies own website
3.1.7 RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES OF SOME COMPANIES
HCL Technologies
Internal recruitment: The IT major relies heavily on this model, which also saves huge cost for the company, at the same time ensuring that the
talent pool remains intact.
Campus hiring: Many of the business unit heads and senior people at HCL have been picked from the campuses of some of the best engineering,
management and non-management colleges across the globe.
Employee referrals: HCL finds this to be a reliable channel to reach out to its potential employees.
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Social networking sites: At least 5-7% of its total recruiting is done through websites such as LinkedIn. This primarily includes much of senior-level
hiring, and makes it easier for the hiring managers to target candidates with
niche skills or for roles based in alien geographies.
3.1.8 MERITS AND DEMERITS OF INTERNAL RECRUITMENT OR
RECRUITING PEOPLE FROM WITHIN
Merits Demerits
1) Economical: The cost of
recruiting internal candidates is
minimal. No expenses are
incurred on advertising.
2) Suitable: The organization can
pick the right candidates having
the requisite skills. The candidate
can choose a right vacancy where
their talents can be fully utilized.
3) Reliable: The organization has
the knowledge about suitability of
a candidate for a position.
Known devils are better than unknown angels!
4) Satisfying: A policy of
preferring people from within
offers regular promotional
avenues for employees. It
motivates them to work hard and
earn promotions. They will work
with loyalty commitment and
enthusiasm.
1) Limited Choice: The
organization is forced to select
candidates from a limited pool. It
may have to sacrifice quality and
settle down for less qualified
candidates.
2) Inbreeding: It discourages entry
for talented people, available
outside an organization. Existing
employees may fail to behave in
innovative ways and inject
necessary dynamism to enterprise
activities.
3) Inefficiency: Promotions based
on length of service rather than
merit, may prove to be a blessing
for inefficient candidate. They do
not work hard and prove their
worth.
4) Bone of contention:
Recruitment from within may
lead to infighting among
employees aspiring for limited,
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higher level positions in an
organization. As years roll by,
the race for premium positions
may end up in a bitter race.
3.1.9 Merits and Demerits of External sources of Recruitment
Merits Demerits
Wide Choice: The organization has
the freedom to select candidates from
a large pool. Persons with requisite
qualifications could be picked up.
Infection of fresh blood: People
with special skills and knowledge
could be hired to stir up the existing
employees and pave the way for
innovative ways of working.
Motivational force: It helps in
motivating internal employees to
work hard and compete with external
candidates while seeking career
growth. Such a competitive
atmosphere would help an employee
to work to the best of his abilities.
Expenses: Hiring costs could go up
substantially. Tapping multifarious
sources of recruitment is not an easy
task either.
Time consuming: It takes time to
advertise, screen, to test and test and
to select suitable employees. Where
suitable ones are not available, the
process has to be repeated.
De-motivating: Existing employees
who have put in considerable service
may resist the process of filling up
vacancies from outside. The feeling
that their services have not been
recognized by the organization,
forces then to work with less
enthusiasm and motivation.
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Long term benefits: Talented
people could join the ranks, new
ideas could find meaningful
expression, a competitive
atmosphere would compel people to
give out their best and earn rewards,
etc.
Uncertainty: There is no guarantee
that the organization ultimately will
be able to hire the services of
suitable candidates. It may end up
hiring someone who does not fit and
who may not be able to adjust in the
new setup.
3.2 SELECTION-MEANING AND DEFINITION
Once the applicant pool is prepared, the next step for the HR department is to
implement the predetermined selection process in order to select the best candidate
for the job. The aim of this process is to finally end with candidates best suited for
the vacant jobs. The organization must be able to distinguish the applicants who are most likely to perform well as employees from the others who are less suitable.
Selecting the most suitable candidate for a job is never an easy task for an
organization, but it becomes all the more difficult when the organization has to
screen candidates to fill vacancies that are critical to the organization. This is
because any faulty decision in the selection of employees can have a far reaching
impact on the performance and future of the organization.
According to ODonnell Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates, from within the organization or from the outside, the most suitable
person for the current position or for the future position.
We may conclude that selection is a systematic process of identifying suitable
candidates for the jobs available in the organization from the available applicant
pool.
3.2.1 PURPOSE OF SELECTION
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The basic purpose of selection process is to choose right type of candidates to man
various positions in the organization. In order to achieve this purpose, a well organized selection procedure involves many steps and at each step, unsuitable candidates are rejected.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF SELECTION
1. Selection means employment of workers or establishing a Contractual
relationship between the employer and the worker.
2. Selection is a negative process because it involves rejection of unsuitable candidates.
3. Selection aims at eliminating unsuitable candidates and ensuring most
competent people for the vacant job.
4. Selection is a complex process under which each candidate is required to
cross a number of hurdles before getting the offer for a job.
3.2.2 SELECTION PROCESS
Selection is a long process, commencing from the preliminary interview of
the applicants and ending with the contract of employment. The procedure
of selection will vary from organization to organization and even from
department to department within the same organization according to the
kinds of jobs to be filled.
Thus every organization will design a selection procedure that suits its
requirements. However the main steps could be incorporated are as under:
1. Preliminary interview
2. Receiving applications or application blanks
3. Screening of application
4. Employment tests
5. Interview 6. Reference checking
7. Medical examination
8. Final Selection
The successive stages in the selection process are discussed below:
1.Preliminary Interview
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The selection programme begins with preliminary interview or
screening. The preliminary interview is generally does the job of
eliminating the totally unsuitable candidates. The preliminary
interview enables the HR specialists to eliminate unqualified job
seekers based on the information supplied in their application forms.
2. Receiving Applications or Application Blanks
Whenever there is a vacancy, it is advertised or enquires are made from
the suitable sources, and applications are received from the candidates.
Standard application forms (application blanks) may be drawn up for
different jobs supplied to the candidate on requests.
The application forms usually involve items such as name, address, age,
marital status and dependents, schooling, experience and reference. There
may be several other items depending upon the specific requirements of
the organization and the job.
3.Screening of Applications After the applications are received, they are screened by a screening
committee and a list is prepared of the candidates to be interviewed.
Applicants may be called for interview on some specific criteria like sex,
desired age group, experience and qualifications. The number of
candidates to be called for interview is normally five to seven times the
number of posts to be filled up. The screened applications are then
reviewed by the Personnel Manager and interview letters are dispatched
by registered post or under certificate of post.
4.Employment Tests Individual differ in almost all aspects one can think of .They differ with
respect to physical characteristics, capacity, level of mental ability, their
likes and dislikes and also with respect to personality traits. The pattern of physical, mental and personal variables gives rise to thousand and one combinations and the particular pattern makes the individual suitable for several classes of activities, jobs or field of work. Matching of
individuals physical, mental and temperamental pattern with the requirements of jobs or filed of training is a difficult task. So before deciding upon the job or jobs suitable for a particular individual, one
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should know the level of his ability and the knowledge. This will require
the use of employment tests which are listed below:
a. Intelligence tests: The aim of intelligence test is to measure
the general intellectual abilities of a person. The uniqueness
of this test is that it measures several abilities of the
candidate and derive the intelligence score. b. Aptitude tests: An aptitude test measures the latent talents of
a person that may be crucial to performing the job
successfully. This test is normally given to those applicants
who have no previous experience in that file
c. Interest tests: A persons mental and physical abilities are
not sufficient to achieve a desirable job performance. The
aim of the interest test is to know the interest test is to know
the interest, aptitude and preference of a person towards a job
offered.
d. Personality tests: Personality refers to the sum of the
characteristics of a person which reflect on his /her response
to a particular situation. The characteristics may include
among other things, introversion, interpersonal skills, motivation, stability, self belief, courage, attitude and
temperament.
Employment tests are widely used for judging the applicants suitability
for the job.
5.EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW
Employment tests provide a lot of valuable information about the candidate. Interview is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to
evaluate the applicants acceptability. An interview can be defined as a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of applicants oral response to oral inquiries or, as a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions and communication between two or more persons
The main purposes of an employment interview are:
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a) To find out the suitability of the candidate.
b) To seek more information about the candidate
c) To give him an accurate picture of the job with details of terms and
conditions and some idea of organizations policies.
Employment interview is considered to be an excellent selection device.
TYPES OF INTERVIEW (METHODS)
a)THE STRUCTURED INTERVIEW:
The structured interview has also been called patterned or standardized
interview. The interviewer predetermines the questions to be asked. He
merely follows the same template to ask the interviewee a series of
questions with title or no deviation. This method ensures uniformity in
the interview process and facilitates easy comparisons among the
candidates.
b) THE UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW In this type of interview, the interviewer does not pre-plan the
questions to be asked. In fact, he decides on the questions as the
interview proceeds. The purpose of this method is to allow a free
discussion on any topic as it emerges. Interviewers generally avoid
asking the same or similar questions.
c) IN DEPTH INTERVIEW The purpose of these interviews is to discuss the information concerning the candidate in detail. This method normally covers the subjects of mutual interest like specialization, motivation, qualification
and career plan of the candidate on one hand, and the firms offer on the nature of job, pay, perquisites, career opportunities on the other.
d) THE GROUP INTERVIEW
The group interview method has been devised to assess leadership.
Usually a topic is given discussion to a leaderless group of applicants.
This method is provides opportunities to rate various qualities as
initiative, poise, adaptability to new situations, social awareness and
speaking ability.
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e) STRESS INTERVIEW
The purpose of this interview is to put the candidate in an
uncomfortable situation to see his/her ability to handle stress.
f) PANEL INTERVIEW In this method, the applicant is interviewed by more than one
interviewer. A panel of two or more interviewers is formed to
interview the candidate. The interviewers are generally drawn from
different fields. The marks awarded by all the interviewers are finally
consolidated into a panel score.
6. CHECKING REFRENCES A reference is potentially an important source of information about a
candidates ability and personality if he holds a responsible position in some organization or has been the boss or employer of the candidate. Prior to final selection, the prospective employer normally makes an investigation or the reference supplied by the applicant and undertakes more or less through search into the candidates past employment, education, personal reputation, financial condition etc.
7. MEDICAL EXAMINATION The pre employment physical examination or medical test of a candidate is an important step in the selection process.
8. FINAL SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT LETTER The next step in the selection process is job offer to those applicants who
have crossed all the previous hurdles. Job offer is made through a letter of
appointment. Such a letter generally contains a date by which appointee
must report on duty.
3.3QUIZ
Complete all the review questions listed here to test your understanding of
the topics and concepts in this chapter
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1. In todays rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to requirements for people. Which is the step that starts off the process of acquiring and retaining employees for an organization?
a) Selection
b) Induction
c) Recruitment
d) Appointment
2. Edwin B. Flippo defined the process of recruitment as
a) The process of seeking and attracting a pool of people from which
qualified candidates for job vacancies can be chosen
b) The process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating
them to apply for jobs in the organization c) The process of choosing the most suitable candidates from the
available candidates
d) The process of inspiring people to apply for the jobs in the
organization and choosing the most suitable candidate from the
available candidates
3. An effective recruitment program aims at
a) Aiding the recruiter by making a wide choice of candidates available
b) Attracting the best people for the job
c) Optimizing the cost and time involved in recruitment
d) All of the above
4. The policy of filling job vacancies with candidates from within the company
instead of searching for new talent from outside has certain disadvantages.
One of the disadvantages of this approach is that
a) The return on investment on the workforce decreases for the company
b) The organization might miss out on talent that is available in the market
c) The cost of recruitment, selection and induction is increased
d) It might have a negative effect on the morale of the employees.
5. There are various methods of recruiting from external sources. Some of
popular methods are advertisements, campus recruitments, employee
referrals, employment exchanges, private placement agencies, etc. Which of
the following recruitment sources is likely to have the widest reach?
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a) Recruitment agencies
b) Campus recruitment
c) Advertisements
d) Employment exchanges
6. Which of the following is determining the selection of media when
advertising for candidates to fill a job vacancy? a) Cost of advertising in the media
b) The target audience for the advertisement
c) The reach of the advertisement desired
d) All of the above
7. Unsolicited application are a) Job applications that are not received by the company b) Job applications that are referred by existing employees
c) Job applications that are not in response to any advertisement or
announcement of vacancy d) Job applications that are rejected by the company
8. Which one of the following is the most important criteria for determining the
success or failure of the recruitment program?
a) The cost involved
b) The number of candidate hired
c) The number of successful placements
d) The number of applicants for the job
9. is considered to be a vital step in the employment process,
where the organization attempts to identify the right candidate for the right position.
a) Recruitment
b) Selection
c) Placement
d) Induction
10. help in assessing an individuals genuine liking for a job. They are generally inventories of the likes and dislikes of candidates in relation to work, occupations, hobbies and recreational activities.
a) Personality tests
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b) Aptitude tests
c) Intelligence tests
d) Interest tests
11. In the selection process, the main advantage of structures interviews is that
a) It does not require advance planning
b) There is no scope of subjectivity
c) The interaction between the interviewer and interviewee is formal
d) It gives more flexibility to the interviewer
12. help in assessing an individuals value system, emotions, maturity, and other characteristics. These characteristics are expressed in traits like self-confidence, tact, optimism, decisiveness, conformity,
objectivity, judgment, dominance or submission and impulsiveness or
stability.
a) Personality tests
b) Aptitude tests c) Interest tests
d) Situational tests
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CHAPTER-4 INDUCTION, SOCILIZATION AND PLACEMENT
Upon Completion of this chapter, you will be able to understand:
1. Meaning of Induction(Orientation)
2. Purpose and Types of Induction
3. Concept of Socialization
4. Significance of Placement
4.1 Orientation (Induction)
Employee orientation or induction is a crucial stage in the hiring process of an
organization. The newly joining employees get the first impression of the
organization through the orientation programmes. It is thus necessary for any
organization to have meticulously planned and well executed orientation program
to educate the employees about the various aspects of organizations. Orientation
programs are useful in making the new employee feel assured, happy and at ease
with the new environment. In orientation programmes, employees are usually
briefed about the history of the organization, its culture, values and attitude, the
expectation of the management, the job and department details, and the product or
services information.
4.1.1 PURPOSE OF EMPLOYEE OREINTATION/INDUCTION
The changing characteristics of the labour market, the increasing demand for the
skilled labour, the availability of simple and appropriate technology for storing and
presenting information, and the employees explicit demand for information about
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the organization have all forced organization to pay serious attention to employee
orientation. There is also growing realization among organization that the process
of orientation can sustain and improve the new employees initial enthusiasm. We shall now see the important purposes served by employee orientation.
Formally Welcoming Employees
Many organizations view orientation programmes as an occasion for the
management to welcome new employees formally and procedurally
Overcoming Initial Uneasiness and Hesitation
The new employees suffer from initial anxiety about the organization. Orientation
helps in quickly overcoming the initial nervousness and hesitation.
Exchanging Information
Orientation provides a platform for the organization to transfer knowledge about
the job, department, organization and people to the new employees. The
organization, too, gets to know about the employees, their background, and
individual career plans.
Assessing Employees
Although the selection process has already evaluated the training requirement
requirements of the employees the orientation provides one more opportunity to do
so.
Acclimatizing Employees
Orientation programmes enable the organization to teach the employees the basics
of the job and the satisfy measures to be adopted, and acquaint them with the other
facilities available in the premises.
Controlling the HR Cost
In the absence of orientation programmes, employees are normally left to learn
everything on their own, and this might push up their learning cost to the
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organization in the form of resource wastage and work disturbances. This could
also increase the HR cost associated with recruitment and selection.
Developing the Team Spirit
When the orientation programme is conducted for a group of new employees, it
helps in promoting team spirit among the peers.
Socializing Employees
Socialization refers to inculcating suitable values, standards and beliefs among the
employees so that they integrate themselves not only with the formal organization
but also with the informal groups.
4.1.2 Types of Orientation
Based on the number and nature of the new employees and its policy towards
orientation, an organization may decide on a specific method of orientation. The
important types of orientation pragramme.
General-Idea Orientation
In this type, some general information about the organization is provided to the
employees. For instance attendance and discipline is provided .The organization
may entrust the orientation pragramme to the HR department, which would
conduct it for all new entrants, irrespective of their departments.
Job-Specification Orientation
The purpose of this orientation is to inform the employees about the various
aspects of the job and other things related to it. For instance, the details of the
duties, responsibilities and accountability associated with the job, and specific
safety and other measures required in the performance of the job are provided.
Traditional and Modern Orientation
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Based on its purposes and content, orientation may also be classified into traditional
orientation and modern orientation. When the organizations employ the general and
oft-repeated materials to orient employees, it may be called traditional orientation.
In this method, orientation is viewed as a ritual and one-time exercise by the
organization. In the case of modern orientation, the organization views it as the
beginning of a continuous process to convert an employee into a precious asset.
4.1.3 An Effective Orientation Programme
Since the orientation programme is crucial to the management from the employee
motivation and retention perspective, every effort must be made to make it
effective and successful. The following measures might help the organization
achieve the desired effectiveness.
Framing Clear-cut Objectives
The organization should frame the objectives of its orientation in unambiguous
terms. The participations status and information requirements should be considered for determining the objectives are capable of providing a clear direction
to the whole orientation programme.
Determining the Roles of Departments and Personnel
The organization should determine clearly the department and persons responsible
for conducting the orientation programme. The responsibility for orientation is
assigned to the HR department normally. In some organizations, however, the
training departments are assigned the task of conducting orientation programmes.
Assessing the New Employees Information Requirements Accurately
An effective orientation programme must be able to fully address the first day
concerns and general information requirements of the new employees. Its success
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lies in making the new employees feel assured and positive about their new
organization and the job.
Selecting Appropriate Methodology, Techniques and Programme Content
The organization should also be judicious in designing the content
(curriculum) of the orientation programme. It should not attempt to include
everything in the programme content. It should decide exactly what the
employee should know initially and what information can wait for future
presentations. It should never overburden the new employees with
information. Thus, it is essential to ensure that the programme content flows
from the objectives and also work towards their attainment.
Creating a Positive Environment for New Employees
The organization should strive to create a positive environment for its new
employees. Even before the beginning of the orientation sessions ,arrangements
must be made to receive these employees and guide them to their predetermined
places. The whole orientation programme must be designed in such a way that the
participants completely enjoy their participation in it.
Providing Continuous Review and Effective Feedback
As employee orientation is a continuous process in an organization, it is necessary
to develop appropriate instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of such
programmes. Evaluation techniques should measure the extent of learning
achieved through orientation programmes.
4.2 SOCIALISATION
Socialization is the process of introducing or integrating the new employees into
the organizational culture. In simpler terms, it is the process by which the