MB0043 -Human Resorce Management

8/3/2019 MB0043 -Human Resorce Management

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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION- SEMESTER I

MB0043 Human Resource Management

(Book ID: B0909)

Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Q.1 WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS THAT HR ATTEMPTS TO FULFILL IN ANY ORGANIZATION .[10

MARKS

Answer;-

The Functions that HR attempts to fulfill in any organization are as follows:

1. Human resource planning:

Estimating the need for resources in order achieve the desired business results. HR plans can be both

short term/immediate as well as long term/ strategic. The HR team partners with the line managers to

understand the business goals and targets for the year and together plan the HR needs in order to meet

the goals.

2. Acquisition of Human Resources:

Staffing the organization with the right mix of skills and competencies at the right time. It also includesHR initiatives like promotions and internal job posting to fulfill this requirement for human resources.

Staffing teams in organization are usually separate group of specialists who work closely with the line

managers to understand the skills and competencies needed for the job and engage together to elect

the best talent for the open position.

3. Training and employee development:

Focuses in managing training activities to upgrade skills and knowledge as well as soft skills like the

ream building and leadership. The training team is again a group of HR specialist who proposes the

training program and consults with the line managers to ensure that the program achieves the desired

outcomes.

4. Building performance management systems :

Focuses on the right processes to set goals for performance as individual / teams and related

measurement methods. This is core HR activity and is supported by the Hr generalist.


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Neelam Aswal

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5. Rewards systems :

Establishing appropriate compensation systems and reward mechanism that would reward the desired

outcome and results in accordance with the cooperate values. The again forms a part of HR generalists

tasks. Hoe employees progress in a organization how they are paid w.r.t internal and external market

factors, what employee benefits are offered are some aspects that this function redresses.

6. Human resources information systems :

That would that would take care of operational transactions form the time an employee exits, like

personal files, compensation administration, payroll, benefits administration and issuing letters and

testimonials. That task is supported by as separate HR operation team who acts as an Hr helpdesk and

provides information to the employee/managers.


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.2 DISCUSS THE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF INDIAN WORK FORCE.[10 MARKS]

Answer:-

Cultural Dimension of Indian Work Force: The foundation for understanding the unique work practices

at a country level can be best is understood by first understanding the culture aspects of the countrys

workforce. The pioneering work done by Dutch Scientist, Geert Hofstede is a useful tool in

understanding the cultural differences used to differentiate countries. He identified five cultural

dimensions around which counties have been clustered. The dimensions are: power distance,

uncertainly avoidance, individualism, masculinity and long term orientation. Geert Hofstede dimension

are based on research conducted among over 1000 IBM employees working globally. While their

continued to be other studies like the GLOBE (Global leadership and organizational behavior

Effectiveness) project and trompenaars framework, hofstedes model is most popular.

Power Distance

Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations accept

that power is distributed unequally. Countries in which people blindly obey of superior have high power

distance.

High power distance countries have norms, values and beliefs that support

In equally is good; everyone has a place; some are high, some are low. Most people should be dependent on a leader, The powerful are entitled to privileges, and The powerful should yield the power

India score 77 on power distance , indicating high power distance as a result of the inequalities both at

the level of society as well as the at the workplace. Indian organization typically have hierarchical

structures, policies yield power and subordination is acceptable.

The dimension of high power distance at the workplace can be best understood as:

People dislike work and try to avoid it Managers believe that they must adopt theory X leadership style, that is, they must be

authoritarian, and force workers to perform and need to supervise their subordinated closely.

Organizational structure and systems tend to match the assumption regarding leadership andmotivation

Decision making is centralized. Those at the top make most of the decision. Organization tends to have tall structures. They will have a large proportion of supervisory personal and The people at the lower level often will have low job qualifications


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Such structures encourages and promotes inequality between people at different levels.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situation, andhave

created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid theseIndia scores 40 indicating low to average

uncertainly avoidance characterizes. Countries withlow to average uncertainly avoidance have people

who are more willing to accept that risks areassociated with the unknown, and that life must go on in

spite of thisSpecifically, high uncertainly avoidance countries are characterized by norms, values and

beliefswhich accept that:

Conflict should not be avoided Deviant people and ideas should be tolerated , Laws are not very important and need not necessarily be followed, Experts and authorities are not always correct and consensus is not important.

Low uncertainty avoidance society such as ours have organization setting with less structuring of

activities, fewer written rules, more risk taking by managers, higher labor turnover and more

ambitious employees. Such an organization encourages employees to use their initiative and assume

responsibility for their actions. Denmark and Great Britain are good examples of low uncertainty

avoidance cultures. Germany, Japan and Spain typify high uncertainty avoidance societies.

Individualism

Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their family only. Theopposite of

this collectivism which refers to the tendency of people to belong to group and tolook after other inexchange for loyalty India score 48 on individualism, indicating somewhatlow scores, therefore tending

towards a more collectistic society.

Collectivist countries believe that:

Ones identity is based on ones group membership, Group decision making is best and Group protect individuals in exchange for their loyalty to the group

Organizations are collectivist societies tend to promote nepotism in selecting managers. In contrast, in

individualism societies, favoritism shown to friends and relatives is considered to be unfair and even

illegal. Further organizations in collectivist culture base promotions mostly on seniority and age, where

as in individualist societies; they are based on ones performance. Finally in collectivist cultures,

important decisions are made by older and senior managers as opposed to individualist cultures, where

decision making is an individuals responsibility. Individualism is common in the US, Canada, Australia,

Denmark and Sweden. The people of India, Indonesia, and Pakistan & Number of South American

countries exhibit collectivism.


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

Masculinity

Masculinity refers to a situation in which the dominant values in a society are success, money and other

material things. Hofstede measured this dimension on a continuum ranging from masculinity to

femininity. India scores 56 tending to be closed to masculinity than femininity. In higher masculine

societys, jobs are clearly defined by gender. There are mens jobs and womens jobs. Men usually

choose jobs that are associated with short term employment before marriage.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.3 EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM .[10 MARKS]

Answer:-

Human resource planning system is a mandatory part of every organizations annual planning process.

Every organization that plans for its business goals for the year also plan how it will go about achievingthem, and therein the planning for the human resources:

1. To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary qualification, skills,

knowledge, work experience and aptitude of work.

2. Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result of superannuation) and unnaturally

(as a result of resignation), there is an on-going need for hiring replacement staff to augment employee

exit. Otherwise work would be impacted.

3. In order to meet for the more employees due to organizational growth and expansion, this is turn call

for large quantities of the same goods and services as well as new goods. This growth could be rapid orgradual depending on the nature of the business, its competitors, its position in the market and the

general economy.

4. Often organization might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a result of its

changing needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet the challenges of the

changed needs of technology/product/service innovation the existing employees need to be trained or

new skills sets induced into the organization.

5. Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce its workforce.

In situation where the organization is faced with severe revenue and growth limitation it might need to

plan well to manage how it will workforce. Options such as redeployment and outplacement can be

planned for and executed properly


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.4 ELUCIDATE THE CLASSIFICATION OF WAGES IN THE INDIAN SYSTEM.[10 MARKS]

Answer:-

In India wages system is classified as follows:

Minimum wages Fair wages Living wages

Minimum wages

A minimum wages has been defined by the committee as the wages which must provide not only for

the bare substance of life, but for the preservation of the efficacy of the worker. For this purposeminimum wages must provide for some measure of education, medical requirement and amenities. In

other words, minimum wages should provide for sustenance for the workers family, for his efficiency,

for the education of his family members, for their medical care, for their amenities. It is very difficult to

determine the minimum wages because condition varies from place to place, industry to industry and

from worker to worker. However, the principles for determining minimum wages were evolved by the

government and have been incorporated in the minimum wages act,1948, the important principles

being that minimum wages should provide not only for the bare sustenance of life but also for the

preservation of the efficiency of the workers by the way of education, medical care and other amenities.

Fair wage

It is the wage which is above the minimum wage but below the living wage. The lower limit of the fair is

obviously the minimum wage; the upper limit is set by the capacity of industry to pay. Between these

two limits, the actual wages should depend on consideration of such factor as:

The productivity of labor The prevailing rates of wages in the same or neighboring localities; The level of the national income and its distribution; and The place of industry in the economy

Living wages

One which should enable the earner to provide for himself and his family not only therere essentials of

food, clothing and shelter but a measure of frugal comfort, including education for his children,

protection against ill-health, requirement of essential social needs and a measure of insurance against

the more important misfortunes including old age in other words, a living wage was to provide for a

standard of living that would ensure good health for the worker and his family as well as a measure of


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

decency, comfort, education for his children and protection against misfortunate. Generally ascertaining

wages and deciding who to pay what is a activity undertaken in the beginning when a organization is set

up. There on it are annual reviews to make correction per the countrys economic and market/industry

trends. The management considers the state of the labor market and takes into account of what he can

afford to pay and the value of the worker to him. The workers willingness for employment at the rate

offered implies that they agree to work at that rate; through they have had no part in fixing it.

1. Collective bargaining: it is still in the initial stage in India. Although it is a desirable development in

the relation between management and labor, it cannot be imposed upon either side by compulsion and

should evaluate naturally from within.

2. Voluntary arbitration : In voluntary arbitration, both parties agree to refer their dispute agreed

arbitrator and his award becomes binding on the parties.

3. Wage Legislation : Wages are fixed according to the law in some industries. The central government

and state government may fix minimum wages under the minimum wages act 1948 for the industries In

which workers are exploited or too unorganized to protect their own interest. In order to advise them in

the matter of fixing minimum wages, the government appoints minimum wages committees and the

advisory boards. The committees and the advisory boards consist of equal number of workers and

employers representative and also independent members whose number should not exceed one- third

of the total number of members.

4. Conciliation: The industrial dispute act 1947, provide for consideration in case of dispute between

employee and worker. If an agreement is reached in the course of conciliation proceeding, it becomes

binding on the parties and takes effects from the date agreed upon or from the date on which it is

signed by the two parties. In case no agreement is reached, the conciliation officer sends a full report o

the proceeding. On the receipt of the report, the govt. may decide to refer the case to industrial tribunalfor award.

5. Adjudication: Labor courts and industrial tribunal are set up under the industrial disputes act 1947.

On studying the awards one gets the impression that the adjudication are attempting to justify their

decision in social and ethical terms. At the same time, there is desire to satisfy both parties to dispute,

and therefore. Economics factors such as capacity to pay, unemployment, profit, condition of the

economy or welfare of the industry concerned, are given due prominence.

6. Wages Board: The board is appointed by govt. and consist 7 members.

2 Management 2- Labor 2 Independent member 1 Chairmen


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

The board is expected to take into account the needs of the specific industry in a developing economy,

the special feature of industry, the requirement of social justice and the necessity for adjusting wage

differential in such a manner as to provide incentives to workers for advancing their skill. Its

recommendation may be accepted by the govt. either completely or partly and may be statutorily

imposed on the industry in question, or may be rejected.


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.5 MS. S. SHARMA IS THE GENERAL MANAGER HR OF A PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL GROUP. SHE

IS PLANNING FOR THE PROMOTION POLICY FOR THE FACULTY MEMBERS. THE NORMS ARE

ALSO RULED BY THE GOVERNMENT POLICY AND CRITERIA. MOREOVER THE OPTIONS TO

PROMOTE ARE LIMITED. SUGGEST MS SHARMA THE ALTERNATIVE WAY TO VERTICAL

PROMOTION. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THAT OPTION?

Answer

Individually perceived sequences of a attitude and behavior work related activities and experience over

the span of a persons life. I normal parlance the term career has both an internal and external focus. An

internal focus refers to the way an individual views his/her career and the external or objective focus

and refers to the series of job position held by the individual. The dynamics of career development in an

organizational context has two dimensions:

How individuals plan and implement their own career goals , & How organizations design and implement their career implement their career development

programs.

Career planning is a deliberate attempt by an individual to become more aware of their skills, interest,

values, opportunities and constraints. It require an individual thinking to identify career- related goals

and establishing plans towards achieving those goals. Often it is self driven process, which every

professional appends some time to dwell on and discuss it with peers or superiors and frame it. It is also

viewed from time to time that the individual looks for possible new carrier option. Having a career planbuilds a commitment towards achieving it and is viewed as an excellent personal goal setting exercise

for self motivation.

Career management is considered to be an organizational process that involves preparing,

implementing & monitoring career plans undertaken by n individual alone or within the organizational

career system. Organizational establishing polices that provide for multiple career path options that an

employee can choose from and pursue. This is supported with a lot of training and development

activities that are agreed to with the managers and planned carefully and executed.

A variety of career development activities and tools exists for use in organizations. HR managers should

be familiar with these components bemuse the managers often serve as internal consultants

responsible for designing the career development system. Some of the activities described are

individuals career planning tools and other are commonly used for organizational career management. I

general the most effective career development program will use both type of activities Career

development program are as follows:


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

1. Self assessment tools : these are usually technology enabled on line tools that form part of the

performance appraisal system and allow the individual to identify areas of strength the best e.g career

planning workbooks, career workshop etc

2. Individual counseling: formally the process allows for individuals to discuss this as part of the

performance management process with their immediate managers and share and take feedback withtheir immediate managers and share and take feedback on the appropriateness of the choices and how

to go about pursuing it. Often managers recommend relevant other managers and leaders who the

employee can link with to seek advice and support. Organizations also provide for formal mentoring

programs to which an employee can enroll and sign up a mentor who can then provide the support and

counseling on the best career option and how to go about it achieving it.

3. Information services: organization has establishing policies on what skills and experience that each job

in the organization requires. Jobs with similar skills and experience are clubbed together to create

parallel career paths.

These are typically called career ladders or career paths and they help an employee to identify what his

options are for future growth and identify the appropriate one based on his personal skills and

capabilities/limitation. These career path would be supplemented with additional information on skills

and experience that one must have for each role/job in there career path. It would also specify the

particular qualification or special certification that the position demands. An employee aspiring to

purpose a career option would need to dedicate time and efforts and the expenses towards acquiring

the same. Large MNCs also encourage the reimbursement of these expenses as an annual fixed amount

on successfully the exam / certification. The employee however needs to find the time and expend the

efforts away from work. The actual move of the employee to the new role would however depend on

the existence of the job vacancy in the role. Employee can also approach career resource talent

management centers supported by HR team for more information on how to plan careers and apply for

new roles and job.

4. Initial employment programmedorganization also run internship and apprenticeship programs

wherein the individual aspiring to does a particular job can spend some time as a temporary employee

to explore interest and skill fitment for the job/role

5. Organization assessment programmed: it can proactively establish formal process wherein an

employee can volunteer to participate and understand himself/herself and his/her strengths. Through

the use of assessment center organizations can help an employee identify areas for improvement and

means of building those skills. So he can achieve his career plans. Certain organizations offerpsychological testing instrument which profile the employees strengths and roles and responsibility

he/she will best fit into.

6. Development programs focus the efforts of the employee towards helping the Employee to achieve

his career goals. The assessment centers, job rotations program, in housing training, tuition refund

plans, all prove effective tools to help the individual along.


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.6 ABC IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT WANTS TO REVISE THE HR POLICIES . BEFORE DOING

THAT IT WANT TO HAVE SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:

T WHAT THE EMPLOYEES THINK ABOUT THE COMPANY?

T WHAT DO THEY THINK, IN THE COMPANY IS GOING WELL?

T WHAT PRACTICES IN THE COMPANY THEY THINK ARE NOT DOING WELL?

T GET THE FEEDBACK ON MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS.

SUGGES HE SUI ABLE ME HOD O COLLEC HE EMPLOYEE OPINION AND EXPLAIN HE

ME HOD.

Answer

The Survey Questionnaire Method method is generally used to collect employee opinions about the

factors which affect morale and their opinion about the leadership. Morale or employee satisfaction

surveys are generally conducted with a view to:

1. Finding out what employees really think;

2. Finding out what, in the company, they think is working well and what is not;

3. Solicit feedback on managerial effectiveness;

4. Determining the clarity of company vision/objectives and the top management

Commitment to it; and

5. Finding out what employee is most unhappy about.

This questionnaire is usually a scientifically developed instrument and well tested for validity and

reliability. These include multiple choice, dichotomous (yes or no)" and open-ended questions.

Conducting the Survey: Organizations often engage outside consultants to conduct the entire survey.

There are a lot of reasons to do this:

Make the survey credible wherein employees share correct feedback As they are experts, they help determine the type of questions to be used depending on the

objectives of the survey.

The survey itself is carried out anonymously, the employee is not required to divulge his/hername and personal information

Analysis and generation of survey report is a specialized activity


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

In some cases the companys representatives may give the employees the questionnaires in a stamped

envelope, planning them on a table and permitting the employees to get them if they wish to, or having

a fellow employee distributed them. The stamped envelopes are frequently addressed to some

management consultant or college professor who tabulates the results. The consultant then analysesthe data to generate a number of reports. The reports can be generate for each department, for

manager with more than 20 team members, for the company, etc.. The management usually shares the

findings with all the employees, highlighting the strengths and the areas for improvement. Action plans

for improvement are also shared so employees are aware of the managements commitment towards

improving workplace morale and employee engagement.

The survey is usually conducted once a year. The important part of this initiative is the action that is

taken after the survey results come on. Each department head meets with his team of managers and

they together analyse the report and the data for the department and identify areas of low scores.

Brainstorming exercises then help identify what actions can improve employee morale in these areas.

Sometime action-planning teams are formed from among the employees and they drive the action

areas. For example if the report identifies that rewards and recognition is a concern area for the team,

then the taskforce focuses on establishing ways and means to improve reward systems and recognition

methods. The taskforce would recommend a rhythm for quarterly or monthly rewards and identify

categories for the reward (like quality, productivity, highest sales, customer appreciation). More and

more reward systems encourage employee to nominate their peers rather than the managers

identifying and giving awards away. All nominations are reviewed finally by a panel and the most

deserving nominee is awarded.

Organizations track Survey scores year on year. Most organizations tie the scores to managerial

effectiveness and use it as a measure to assess managers for promotions, potential for future senior

roles etc.


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Neelam Aswal

MBA Sem-1 HRM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION-MBA SEMESTER I

MB0043 Human Resource Management

(Book ID: B0909)

Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)

Q.1 DISCUSS THE FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT? [10 MARKS]

Answer;-

Factors Affecting Recruitment

All organizations, whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though not to the same

intensity. Few factors that impact the nature of recruitment:

1. The size of the organization- the smaller the organization the more the need to carefully scrutinize the

candidate for a job and the fitment to the organizational culture. The risk in case of job-candidate

mismatch can prove equally expensive for a smaller organization as compared to the larger one.

2. The employment conditions in the country where the organization is located- critically impacts the

recruiting strategy. The methods for recruiting, the selection tools that are most suited and the legal

framework that bear on the employer are some aspects that need to be considered.

3. The affects of past recruiting efforts which show the organizations ability to locate and keep good

performing people- constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the recruiting methods and the selection

tools used, evaluating the success at-work of the new recruits are some methods used by organizations

to ensure that quality hiring practices are in- place.

4. Working conditions and salary and benefit packages offered by the organization this may influence

turnover and necessitate future recruiting; (v) the rate of growth of organization- the phase in the life-

cycle of the firm is a measure of the recruiting effort

5. The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production programmes ensuring

that the recruitment numbers come from a well-planned Human Resource Plan is critical to ensure that

there is no over-hiring or under-hiring of the required talent to achieve the organizational objectives.

6. Cultural, economic and legal factors these too affect the recruiting and selection methods that are

used.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.2 RIGHT TIME IS A WATCH MANUFACTURING COMPANY. IT HAS HIRED 20 PEOPLE

RECENTLY FOR THE COMPANY. THEY WILL BE INVOLVED IN MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING

OF WATCHES. THEY WILL BE USING DIFFERENT MACHINES AND TOOLS FOR THIS. WHAT TYPE

OF TRAINING IS BEST FOR THEM? WHAT MAY BE THE ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF

THE TRAINING METHOD? [10 MARKS]

Answer:-

The term, training indicates any process by which the aptitudes, skills and abilities of employees to

perform specific jobs are increased. Usually training and development initiative in organizations have

the following intentions:

To improve skills, To add to the existing knowledge so that the employee is better equipped to do his present job,

to innovate,

To prepare him/her for a higher position, growth within the organization. Help organization cope with / adapt itself to a changing environment.

Training refers to the teaching/learning activities carried on for the primary purpose of helping

employees in an organization to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes needed

by that organization. Broadly speaking, training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an

employee for the benefit of both the employee as well as the firm.

Types and Techniques of Training

Training methods have a number of overlapping objectives. They have to be chosen carefully and in

relation to the programme design objectives. The main objectives of individual training methods could

be: demonstration of value, developing interest and finally appeal to senses.

Demonstration of Value: Complete demonstration of job requirements enables the trainee to grasp the

meaning of ideas, concepts, or procedures visually. Such a method can be used effectively as an aid to

overcome the "breakdown of communication". Trainees remember things that they see and hear, much

longer than they do information they receive through talks or reading alone.

Engaging trainee Interest: One of the important factors to be kept in mind in choosing a method is its

ability to hold and arouse the interest of the trainee in the learning situation. A trainee has to consideralternative methods of presenting training material to participants in order to stimulate their interest

and facilitate retention of the matter. For instance, if traditionally the matter has been presented

through lectures, perhaps audio visual methods could be used, or instead project work be assigned

which would mean learning by doing or researching the subject oneself.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Appeal to multiple senses: From the trainers point of view, it would be beneficial to utilize as many of

the trainers senses as possible, in order to improve retention of learning. The trainer has to understand

and identify the problem area i.e., he has to examine whether there is a problem with the manner in

which the task is done. Secondly, selecting the appropriate method would be dependent on the level of

the trainee in an organizations hierarchy. Finally, before selecting a training method, the trainer should

keep in mind about cost effectiveness.

Depending on the learning outcome, and the process by which it is attained, it is possible to categorize

the various methods into several groups.

On-the-job trainings: Since most jobs in a organization can be learned in a relatively short period of

time, this method is the most widely used. It has the advantage of strongly motivating the trainee to

learn since it is located in the artificial situation of a classroom. The fact that the success of the system

depends almost entirely upon the immediate supervisor, the trainer, means that the personnel unit has

a major responsibility for making a good, effective teacher out of every supervisor. The supervisor

typically follows a set procedure (as illustrated in the table) in training an employee to perform a

particular task. The suggestions accompanying each step are general guides evolved from both

experience and research.

Advantages: The main advantage of on-the-job training is that the trainee learns on the actual

equipment in use and in the true environment of his job. Secondly, it is highly economical since no

additional personnel or facilities are required for training. Thirdly, the trainee learns the rules,

regulations and procedures by observing their day-to-day applications. Fourthly, this type of training is a

suitable alternative for a company in which there are almost as many jobs as there are employees.

Finally, it is most appropriate for teaching the knowledge and skills which can be acquired in a relatively

short period i.e., a few days or weeks.

Disadvantages: The principal disadvantage of on-the-job training is that instruction is often highly

disorganized and haphazard and not properly supervised. This is due to such reasons as the inability of

the experienced employee to impart skills to the trainee, the breakdown of the job for the purpose of

instructions, and the back of motivation on the part of the trainee to receive training. Further, the other

drawback is the low productivity, especially when the employee is unable to fully develop his skills.

Vestibule / Classroom Training: This method attempts to duplicate on-the-job situations in a company

classroom. It is a classroom training which is often imparted with the help of the equipment and

machines which are identical with those in use in the place of work. This technique enables the trainee

to concentrate on learning the new skill rather than performing an actual job. In other words, it isgeared to job duties. Theoretical training is given in the classroom, while the practical work is conducted

on the production line.

The advantages of using the vestibule-training system are the disadvantages of specialization. The

instructor, a specialist, should be more skil led at teaching. The student avoids the confusion and

pressure of the work situation and thus is able to concentrate on learning.


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One can also often attain a given level of skill more quickly in the specialized learning situation. We have

more assurance that adequate time and attention will be given to training and that it will not slightedin

favors of other problems. More individualized instruction can be given, and training activities do not

interfere with the regular processes of production. Among the disadvantages are the splitting of

responsibilities leads to organizational problems. Second, an additional investment in equipment is

necessary, though the cost may be reduced by getting some productive work done by trainees while in

the school. Third, this method is of limited value for the jobs which utilize equipment which can be

duplicated and finally the training situation is somewhat artificial.

Apprenticeship programme: Apart from the requirements under Apprenticeship Act, various industries

have their own apprenticeship programme where in the employees are employed on a small stipend to

learn the job first and after satisfactorily completing the training they are absorbed in the industry.

The advantages of this method are:

A skilled work force is maintained; Immediate returns can be expected from training; The workmanship is good; The hiring cost is lower because of reduced turnover and lower production costs; and The loyalty of employees is increased and opportunities for growth are frequent.

Work Simulation Methods: Simulation is a technique which duplicates, as nearly as possible, the actual

conditions encountered on a job. Generally, simulation techniques have been most widely used in the

aeronautical industry.

Knowledge-based Methods: In this method of training, an effort is made to expose participants to

concepts and theories, basic principles, and pure and applied knowledge in any subject area. Basically, it

is aimed at creating an awareness of the knowledge of fundamentals. The focus is essentially on

transmission of knowledge which has been imbibed by the participants. This knowledge is the base, the

foundation, on which further understanding can be built. The categories of this method are lectures,

seminars, workshops, films and training, group discussions etc.

Experiential Methods: The emphasis in this category is on achieving through group processes and

dynamics, a better understanding of oneself and others. It has been asserted that attitudinal training

helps and individual to improve his comprehension of self, others, group behavior and personal

interaction. Such knowledge and understanding helps an individual to understand the problems ofhuman relationships in a work situation, including at times his managerial style.

Such training is imparted on the job by the employees immediate Managers. It provides to the trainees

opportunities for getting acquainted with their managers.The managers, too, have an opportunity to

judge the abilities and possibilities of trainees from the point of view of their job performance.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

The success of this method depends upon the fact that:

The experienced Managers must be good teachers; They should have incentives and sufficient time for carrying out the training programmes; and They should be provided with an accurate account of the training needs of the trainees they are

to teach.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.3 WRITE A NOTE ON 360 DEGREE APPRAISAL METHOD.

Answer:- 360 Degree Appraisal

Typically, performance appraisal has been limited to a feedback process between employees and

Managers. However, with the increased focus on teamwork, employee development, and customerservice, the emphasis has shifted to employee feedback from the full circle of sources depicted in the

diagram below. This multiple-input approach to performance feedback is sometimes called "360-degree

assessment" to connote that full circle.

The 360 degree matrix

There are no prohibitions in law or regulation against using a variety of rating sources, in addition to the

employees Manager, for assessing performance. Research has shown assessment approaches with

multiple rating sources provide more accurate, reliable, and credible information. For this reason, HR

Management supports the use of multiple rating sources as an effective method of assessing

performance for formal appraisal and other evaluative and developmental purposes.

The circle, or perhaps more accurately the sphere, of feedback sources consists of Managers, peers,

subordinates, customers, and ones self. It is not necessary, or always appropriate, to include all of the

feedback sources in a particular appraisal program. The organizational culture and mission must be

considered, and the purpose of feedback will differ with each source. For example, subordinate

assessments of a Managers performance can provide valuable developmental guidance, peer feedback

can be the heart of excellence in teamwork, and customer service feedback focuses on the quality of the

teams or agencys results. The objectives of performance appraisal and the particular aspects of

performance that are to be assessed must be established before determining which sources are

appropriate.


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We shall discuss the contributions of each source of ratings and feedback. In addition, precautions are

listed to consider when designing a performance management program that includes 360-degree

assessment.

Superiors: Evaluations by superiors are the most traditional source of employee feedback. This form of

evaluation includes both the ratings of individuals by Managers on elements in an employees

performance plan and the evaluation of programs and teams by senior managers.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.4 GIVEN BELOW IS THE HR POLICY GLIMPSE OF |ZOOM VIDEO}, A MULTIMEDIA COMPANY

1. IT OFFERS CASH REWARDS FOR STAFF MEMBERS

2. IT PROMOTES THE CULTURE OF EMPLOYEE REFERRAL AND ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO

REFER PEOPLE THEY KNOW, MAYBE THEIR FRIENDS, EX. COLLEAGUES, BATCH MATES AND

RELATIVES.

3. IT RECOGNIZES GOOD PERFORMANCES AND GIVES GOOD TITLES AND TRPHIES TO THE

PEOPLE WHO PERFORM WELL AND ALSO FELICITATES THEM IN THE ANNUAL DAY OF THE

COMPANY. IDENTIFY WHAT ALL ASPECTS DOES IT TAKE CARE OF, BASED ON DIFFERENT

LEVELS OF MASLOWS NEED HIERARCHY?

Answer:-

The importance of motivation to human life and work can be judged by the number of theories that

have been propounded to explain peoples behaviour. There are three categories of motivation theories

and these are per their evolution. The Needs Theories are the earliest ones and attempt to identify what

exactly motivates people at work. The three more prominent ones are the Maslows Need Hierarchy

Theory, McGregors Theory X and Theory Y and Fredrick Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene Theory. The

Process Theories are concerned with cognitive thinking that drives motivation and the effort behind it

explained by the Victor Vrooms Expectancy Theory. The Contemporary theory of motivation is best

discussed through the Equity theory and the Attribution theory.

Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory

Maslows theory of basic needs draws chiefly from human psychology. He arranged the human needs of

an individual in a hierarchical manner. Maslow proposed an individuals motivation as a predetermined

order of needs which he strives to satisfy. His model of Hierarchy of Needs indicates the following

propositions about human behaviour.

1. Physiological Needs: These are basic to life, viz., and hunger for food, thirst, shelter and

companionship among others. They are relatively independent of each other and in some cases can be

identified with a specific location in the body. These needs are cyclic. In other words, they are satisfied

for only a short period; then they reappear.

2. Safety Needs: If the physiological needs are relatively satisfied, a set of needs emerge for protection

against danger and threats. In an ordered society, a person usually feels safe from extremes of climate,

tyranny, violence and so on.


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3. Social Needs: If the physiological and safety needs are fairly satisfied, the needs for love and affection

and belongingness will emerge and the cycle will repeat itself with this new centre. If he is deprived of

these needs he will want to attain them more than anything else in the world. An individual desires

affectionate relationships with people in general and desires to have a respected place in his group.

4. Esteem Needs: Everyone has a need for self-respect and for the esteem of others. This results in the

desire for strength, confidence, prestige, recognition and appreciation.

These egoistic needs are rarely completely satisfied. The typical industrial and commercial organization

does not offer much opportunity for their satisfaction to employees at the lower levels.

5. Self-actualization Needs: The term "self-actualization" was coined by Kurt Goldstein and means, to

become actualized in what one is potentially good at. A person may achieve self actualization in being

the ideal fitter, supervisor, mother or an eminent artist.

People who are satisfied with these needs are basically satisfied people and it is from these that we can

expect the fullest creativeness. A sound motivational system to be successful must take care of this

hierarchy of needs of the team members in order to work efficiently. It must cover basic as well as

higher needs and it must be flexible to cater to changes in the environment.


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MBA Sem-1 HRM

Q.5 DESCRIBE THE EMERGING EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES.

Answer:- Emerging employee empowerment practices

In todays organizations the focus is moving towards collaboration at the workplace. One of the most

common instruments established in large organizations has be the Employee Suggestion Schemes (ESS).

The ESS has proved effective in allowing employees a discrete method of voicing their opinions and

suggestion for what can be better managed in the company. The management invites the employees

suggestions on all/any issue that is a source of irritation for the employees including topics mentioned in

13.3 above are open for comment. What however is different is that the employee is encouraged to

frame it as a suggestion and make a recommendation for a change, rather than the classic fault finding

approach about what is going wrong or what is not working well. There are ESS forms/ templates that

are left in common places or the employee can download from the company intranet and fill in the

suggestion for change and drop it in boxes left common places like the coffee area or the lunch rooms

etc..

These suggestions are then collated by the HR team and on a quarterly basis the Suggestion Committee

meets to review all of the suggestions received. The Suggestion Committee includes line managers, HR

representative and Finance and Facilities & Administration team members and senior management

representative who can provide the necessary guidance for approval of the suggestions. The committee

meets and discusses each suggestion in depth and evaluates the scope for implementation of the

suggestion. The feasibility of implementing the suggestion and its other implications are evaluated

closely and the suggestion accepted/set aside for future review/rejected. There are awards given away

for excellent ideas that help the company optimize costs, productivity and improve quality, customer

satisfaction etc.. The HR then communicates the suggestion committee report with all employees

through a mail or during the employees Open-house sessions. The employees open house also called

the all hands meeting is one more communication forum effectively used by the senior management of

a company to connect with its employees. This usually is a quarterly or a half-yearly meeting to which all

employees are invited. There is a brief sharing of the companys performance and the rest of the time

devoted to answering any queries that employees might have on any issue that concerns the company

and its employees. This is often followed with by a informal interactions over lunch/ breakfast, where

once again employees can speak to the senior executives and ask general questions. Often employees

might not feel comfortable asking tough questions in a open forum, hence there are drop-boxes

provided where the employee can write and drop a question or a opinion that he wants the senior

management to answer. The employee need not mention his name on the question slip. If the senior

management is unable to answer a question then and there the same is reviewed subsequently by the

senior management and a response shared with all employees over mail or posted on the notice board

or on the intranet site for everyone to read. Some organizations also operate a email communication

method where any employee who has a query or a observation can write his question to the mail alias

and obtain a response.


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Usually the HR is the custodian of this mailed and they do the necessary review to suitably answer the

questions and seek the managers inputs on a as needed basis. The concept of taskforce is also a

common mechanism that organizations use to build cross-functional teams (with one representative

each from each department) that will work on concerns that are commonly voiced. For example aleading medical transcription company wanted to review its incentive policy and in order to have a

collaborative approach put together a team of employees one each from each of the departments

including representatives from HR and Finance. The team was provided with all the historical

information they would need and were given all of 6 weeks to work on the project and make a

presentation to the senior management of the company. After the first presentation to them and having

incorporated the feedback received the taskforce then presented the new scheme to the employees.

Finally it was approved as a policy and made effective.

Todays organizations therefore adopt a collaborative approach to employee issues. While the

technology companies are more informal the traditional brick-and-motor companies have formal

processes. Whatever the approach whether formal or informal employees are encouraged to open-up

and ask questions and perform as contended employees.


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Q.6 WRITE A NOTE ON DIRECTIVE, PERMISSIVE AND PARTICIPATIVE TYPE OF LEADERSHIP.

Answer: -

Leadership is "the relationship in which one person influences others to work together willingly on

related tasks to attain that level which he desires." So, if there is no follower, there is no leader.

Haiman defined Leadership as "the process by which an executive or a manager imaginatively directs,

guides and influences the work of others in choosing and attaining specified goals by mediation between

the individual and organisation in such a manner that both will obtain the maximum satisfaction.

Directive Leadership

Directive Leadership is a common form of leadership we see in the world today. This leader tells the

subordinate what to do, and how to do it.

He initiates the action about the things to do and and tells subordinates exactly what is expected of

them, specifying standards and deadlines. They exercise firm rule and ensure that subordinates do

follow.

This kind of leaders are usually found in more traditional and long standing companies where the

prevalent culture in the country is a more authoritarian type of rule, and especially so in Asian countries.

Employees in these organizations will find it hard or sometimes even frustrating to work there. This is

because when a leader behaves in such a way, it restricts the potential of individuals in the organization

by not valuing their creativity and initiative.

As a leader, you must strive not to become like that because this is how you manage people. But

people dont want to be managed, they want to be lead.

However, of course there are some cases where this form of leadership is important, like in the military

where strictness and accuracy in performing tasks is often a virtue. However, for most other cases, I

believe that this form of leadership in this day and age is counter-productive.

Permissive Leadership

Permissive leadership can also be called hands-off leadership. A permissive leader does not attempt to

influence the members of the group. They are allowed to work on projects using whatever methods

appear O.K. at the time. The truly permissive leader uses very little leadership pressure. The group is

allowed and even expected to solve its own problems and accomplish goals using methods developed by

group members. Permissive leadership may swing too far away from any form of leadership -- resulting

in a vacuum of leadership which can result in confusion, lack of productivity, and even chaos within an

organization. In other words there is an absence of effective leadership; although a group of disciplined

and well motivated inviduals may be able to get things done.


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Participative Leadership

A participative leadership style takes into consideration the opinions and thoughts of the subordinates

before making a decision.

This type of leader is useful especially in situations where you can tap on the talent of your team.

Ultimately, you may not be the most equipped in your team to handling situations so you might want to

make a collective decision with your team.

A board of directors often behave in this fashion, where before a decision is made, the whole board is

consulted and then a decision be made unanimously.

The responsibility of the decision will be bore by the whole team as a result.

To have skills as a leader in this area, you must have the skill of facilitation; to learn how to facilitatediscussion and idea generation in a group.

Sometimes people dont speak up for various reasons and your job as a leader in this case is to draw

everyone to speak up so that you can tap on everyones thoughts and potential.

This is important because everyone must be willing to bear equal responsibility for a decision that is put

forward.

This form of leadership probably works best in the setting of large organizations where there are a lot of

shareholders or directors.

MB0043 -Human Resorce Management

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