HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ( H R M )

Definition 1 – Integration
“HRM is a series of integrated decisions that form the employment relationships; their quality
contributes to the ability of the organizations and the employees to achieve their objectives.”

Definition 2 – Influencing
“HRM is concerned with the people dimensions in management. Since every organization is
made up of people, acquiring their services, developing their skills, motivating them to higher
levels of performance and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to the
organization are essential to achieving organizational objectives. This is true, regardless of the
type of the organization – government, business, education, health, recreational, or social
action.”

Definition 3 – Applicability
“HRM 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.”

MEANING OF HRM: -

HRM is management function that helps managers to recruit, select, train and develop members
for an organization. Obviously HRM is concerned with the people’s dimensions in
organizations. HRM refers to set of programs, functions, and activities designed and carried out

Managerial Functions of HRM

1. Planning: Plan and research about wage trends, labor market conditions, union demands and
other personnel benefits. Forecasting manpower needs etc.
2. Organizing: Organizing manpower and material resources by creating authorities and
responsibilities for the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
3. Staffing: Recruitment & Selection
4. Directing: Issuance of orders and instructions, providing guidance and motivation of
employees to follow the path laid-down.
5. Controlling: Regulating personnel activities and policies according to plans. Observations
and comparisons of deviations

Operational Functions of HRM

1. Procurement: Planning, Recruitment and Selection, Induction and Placement

2. Development: Training, Development, Career planning and counseling.
3. Compensation: Wage and Salary determination and administration
4. Integration: Integration of human resources with organization.
5. Maintenance: Sustaining and improving working conditions, retentions, employee
communication
6. Separations: Managing separations caused by resignations, terminations, lay offs, death,
medical sickness etc.

Line Managers

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Line managers have responsibility for directly managing individual employees or teams. In turn,
they are managed by a higher-level manager on the performance of those employees or teams.

The term ‘front-line manager’ or ‘first-line manager’ normally refers to those who supervise and
manage employees with no supervisory responsibilities, but some will have management
responsibilities even if their job title does not have ‘manager’ in it.

Typically, management responsibilities include:

• Day-to-day people management.

• Managing operational costs.
• Providing technical expertise.
• Allocating work and rotas.
• Monitoring and quality assuring work.
• Measuring operational performance.
• Developing people.
• Recruiting and inducting new people to the team.

Managers are also responsible for supporting the wellbeing of their teams. Working conditions
can greatly affect people's health and it's the manager's responsibility to, monitor workloads and
ways of working, and seek support from occupational health services to deal with cases of poor
physical or mental health. Our Health and wellbeing survey found that, although the number of
sick days recorded by employers has dropped, ‘presenteeism’, where employees feel the need to
work when unwell, and ‘leaveism’, where employees work while on holiday, are widespread.
These attitudes are informed by the organisation’s and team’s culture and line managers can play
a key role in shaping them.

Roles of HRM

1. Advisory Role: HRM advises management on the solutions to any problems affecting
people, personnel policies and procedures.
a. Personnel Policies: Organization Structure, Social Responsibility, Employment Terms
& Conditions, Compensation, Career & Promotion, Training & Development and Industrial
Relations.
b. Personnel Procedures: Relating to manpower planning procedures, recruitment and
selection procedures, and employment procedures, training procedures, management
development procedures, performance appraisal procedures, compensation procedures, industrial
relations procedures and health and safety procedures.

2. Functional Role: The personnel function interprets and helps to communicate personnel
policies. It provides guidance to managers, which will ensure that agreed policies are
implemented.

3. Service Role: Personnel function provides services that need to be carried out by full time
specialists. These services constitute the main activities carried out by personnel departments
and involve the implementation of the policies and procedures described above.

Role of HR Managers (Today)

1. Humanitarian Role: Reminding moral and ethical obligations to employees

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2. Counselor: Consultations to employees about marital, health, mental, physical and career
problems.
3. Mediator: Playing the role of a peacemaker during disputes, conflicts between individuals
and groups and management.
4. Spokesman: To represent of the company because he has better overall picture of his
company’s operations.
5. Problem Solver: Solving problems of overall human resource management and long-term
organizational planning.
6. Change Agent: Introducing and implementing institutional changes and installing
organizational development programs
7. Management of Manpower Resources: Broadly concerned with leadership both in the
group and individual relationships and labor-management relations.

Key Responsibilities of Human Resources

Here is a list of Human Resources’ major responsibilities in an organization:

• Setting Organization Design Principles and Rules for Job Design

• Strategic Workforce Planning and Budgeting
• Recruiting and Moving Talents
• Designing and Managing Performance Management Systems
• Monitoring and Measuring Employee Morale and Employee Satisfaction
• People Operations including Employee Life Cycle and HR Policies & Procedures
• Designing and Maintaining Competitive Compensation Strategy & Policy

Setting Organization Design Principles and Rules for Job Design

Human Resources is responsible for setting organization design principles and rules for job
design because they are responsible for ensuring that the organization is staffed with the right
people who have the necessary skills to do their jobs.

They also need to ensure that the organization’s structure is designed in a way that allows
employees to work together effectively and efficiently. organization design principles and
rules help to guide the organization in creating positions that can meet the demands of the
business while also providing employees with opportunities to grow and develop their skills.

Job Design principles and rules help to ensure that positions are created that provide employees
with the necessary challenges and responsibilities to enable them to be successful in their roles.

Setting organization Design principles and rules for Job Design helps to create an organization
that is effective and efficient, and that provides employees with the opportunity to grow and
develop their skills.

Job design is the process of determining what tasks need to be performed in a job and how those
tasks are related to each other. The goal of job design is to simplify the creation of job
descriptions, which can play an important role in the onboarding of new employees.

By breaking down a job into its tasks and responsibilities, job designers can create a clear and
concise job description that can be easily understood by candidates. In addition, job descriptions
that are based on job design principles are more likely to accurately reflect the actual duties and
requirements of the job, making it easier for candidates to self-select for positions that are a
good fit.

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As a result, job design can save time and energy during the hiring process, while also increasing
the likelihood of finding qualified candidates.

Strategic Workforce Planning and Budgeting

A strategic workforce plan is a critical tool that companies use to ensure they have the right
mix of talent to meet their business goals. The workforce budget is used to fund the training,
development, and compensation of employees.

HR is responsible for leading and managing these processes because they are uniquely
positioned to understand the company’s workforce needs and the skills and experience required
to meet those needs.

In addition, HR has a deep understanding of the labor market and can provide valuable
insights into trends that may impact the company’s ability to attract and retain talent. By
developing a strategic workforce plan and budget, HR can help ensure that the company has the
resources it needs to build a strong workforce too that can meet the changing demands of the
business.

Recruiting and Moving Talents

As the department responsible for managing an organization’s human capital, Human Resources
is uniquely positioned to oversee the recruiting and movement of talent within the company.

By working with open positions, succession planning, internal talent pools, social media, and
other tools, Human Resources can identify top candidates and ensure that they are matched with
the right roles. Additionally, Human Resources is responsible for developing and maintaining
the employer brand, which is essential for attracting top talent.

By ensuring that the recruitment and movement of talent are managed effectively, Human
Resources plays a vital role in ensuring that an organization has the manpower it needs to be
successful.

Internally hired talents are usually engaged employees who have worked with the company for a
period of time and have developed the skills and experience required to be successful in their
roles.

Designing and Managing Performance Management Systems

A well-designed performance management system can provide employees with clarity about
their roles and responsibilities, as well as a clear link between the organization’s vision,
business strategy, and goals.

By establishing procedures for setting and measuring progress towards goals, performance
management systems help ensure that employees are aware of what is expected of them and can
see how their efforts contribute to the success of the organization.

Additionally, regular feedback and coaching sessions allow employees to learn from their
mistakes and improve their performance over time. Ultimately, a good performance
management system brings clarity and understanding to the workplace, which can lead to higher
levels of employee engagement and satisfaction.

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Human Resources is responsible for designing and managing performance management systems
to increase employee satisfaction, support employer brand, and create internal equity.

By increasing employee satisfaction, Human Resources Department can reduce turnover, which
is expensive for businesses. In addition, by supporting the Employer Brand, Human Resources is
able to attract and retain high-quality employees.

Finally, by creating internal equity, HR is able to ensure that employees are paid fairly for one
another. All of these things contribute to a business being successful. Therefore, it is clear why
HR employees are responsible for designing and managing performance management systems.

Monitoring and Measuring Employee Morale and Job Satisfaction

Human Resources plays a pivotal role in monitoring and measuring employee morale and
job satisfaction. By conducting regular surveys and focus groups, HR is able to identify any
issues that may be impacting employee satisfaction.

Additionally, HR is responsible for tracking absenteeism and turnover rates, which can provide
valuable insight into employees’ overall satisfaction with their jobs. By understanding the
factors that contribute to employee satisfaction, HR is able to take steps to improve morale and
increase retention.

This, in turn, can lead to a significant competitive advantage for the company. Employee
satisfaction is a key driver of productivity, and companies that are able to create a positive work
environment are more likely to attract and retain top talent. In today’s competitive business
landscape, this can make all the difference in achieving success.

People Operations including Employee Life Cycle and HR Policies & Procedures
People Operations is responsible for managing the employee life cycle and developing HR
policies and procedures. The employee life cycle includes all of the steps that an employee
goes through from recruitment to retirement.

This includes activities such as job postings, screening and interviewing candidates, onboarding
new hires, managing performance, and providing training and development opportunities. HR
policies and procedures govern how the company will manage its workforce.

They cover topics such as hiring, firing, leaves of absence, and payroll. By including these two
areas in its scope, People Operations can ensure that the company is effectively managing its
most important asset - its people.

Designing and Maintaining Competitive Compensation Strategy & Policy

Human resources is responsible for designing and maintaining a competitive Compensation
Strategy and Policy. This strategy must take into account internal and external equity, including
salary surveys and market benchmarking.

The goal of this strategy is to ensure that the company attracts and retains the best talent. By
offering competitive compensation, the company is able to attract top talent. This top talent is
then able to contribute to the company’s success.

In addition, by offering competitive compensation, the company is able to retain its top talent.
This top talent is essential to the company’s continued success. Finally, by offering competitive

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compensation, the company is able to ensure that its employees are motivated to perform at their
best. This motivation is essential to the company’s continued success.

Approaches in organizing HRM

There are many different approaches to human resource management. HRM may be discussed
from the different approaches. These approaches define HRM from different perspectives.

7 approaches to Human Resource Management are;

1. Strategic Approach
2. Management Approach
3. Human Resource Approach
4. Commodity Approach
5. Proactive Approach
6. Reactive Approach
7. System Approach

Strategic Approach

People are the strategic asset of an organization. People have core competencies, the basis
of competitive advantage.

Human resources are the combination of talent and skills; some are inborn and other skills they
have acquired through learning and education. The strategic HRM approach focuses on people
management programs and long-term solutions.

It stresses organizational development interventions, achieving employee organizational fit, and

other aspects that ensure employees add value.

Management Approach

HRM is a part of general management. Management is nothing but managing people in the
workplace. Managers at all levels are responsible for managing their employees or subordinates.

Human Resource Approach

People are human beings with a lot of potential and intellectual abilities. It is important to treat
people with respect and dignity.

Commodity Approach

People are a commodity. They are viewed as a cog of a machine. People can be hired and fired
through money. It is money that matters most. There is a saying, “money is sweeter than honey.”
This approach views people as economic men.

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Proactive Approach

HR managers must anticipate the challenges or problems before they arise. Prevention is better
than cure.

The proactive approach will save companies considerable time and money in the short and long
run. P. F. Drucker (1997) rightly highlighted the importance of a proactive approach.

He argues,” In a perfect world, every startup would take the proactive approach and build their
company from the beginning by identifying not only
the mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, etc.

But will determine where they want to go in the short and long-term and build a holistic, aligned
organization beginning at the founder level where they can attract, hire, and retain the top talent
to get them where they want to go.

Reactive Approach

It occurs when decision-makers respond to problems. If efforts are reactive only, problems may
be compounded, opportunities may be missed, and organizations may suffer loss.

Companies may lose time and money if they take a reactive approach.

System Approach

A system is a set of interrelated but separate elements or parts working together for a common
goal.

For example, HRM is a system that may have parts such as procurement, training, performance
appraisal and reward, etc. One part affects and is affected by the other.

Globalization and competitive trends

There are a number of forces which induce and propel globalisation. On the other hand there are
also forces which restrain globalisation. I. Driving Forces The important forces driving
globalisation are the following.

1) Liberalisation

One of the most important factors, which have given a great impetus to globalisation
since the 1980s is the almost universal economic policy liberalisations which are
fostering a borderless business world. While a lot of the liberalisations owe it to the
GATT/WTO, substantial liberalisations have been occurring outside the GATT/WTO as
well, for example, the revolutionary economic policy changes in China and other
socialist/communist nations. It may be noted that it has become quite common to
describe the global trend as LPG (liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation)
indicating the mutually interdependent and reinforcing nature of these forces. One of the

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 impacts of liberalisation and privatisation is the surge in cross-border M&As and other
Fill resulting in greater global economic integration.

2) Network of MNCs

Multinational enterprises which link their resources and objectives with world market
opportunities, have been a powerful force driving targets globalisation. Taking advantage
of the liberalisation trend, there has been a fast growth of the number of MNCs and their
global network of affiliates. According to the World Investment Report 1997, there were
about 44,500 MNCs in the world with nearly 2.77 lakh foreign affiliates. The respective
numbers were over 65,000 and 8.5 lakhs according to the WIR 2002. The MNCs
leverage their strengths to link global resources and opportunities and thereby strengthen
the globalisation trend.

3) Technological growth

As pointed out, technology is a powerful driving force of globalisation. .Technological

advances have tremendously fostered globalisation. Technology has in fact been a very
important facilitating factor of globalisation, "with its rising costs and risks which makes
it imperative for firms to tap world markets and to share these costs and risks. On the
other hand, falling transport and communication costs - the "death" of distance have
made it economical to integrate distant operations and ship products and components
across the globe in the search of efficiency. This contributes, in particular, to efficiency-
seeking FDI, with important implications for the export competitiveness of countries."
"Technology is a universal factor that crosses national and cultural boundaries.
Technology is truly "stateless"; there are no cultural boundaries limiting its application.
Once a technology is developed, it soon becomes available everywhere in the world."
Several technological developments become a compelling reason for internationalisation.
Technological break-throughs are substantially increasing the scale economies and the
market scale required to break-even. Monopoly of technology, like possession of
patented technology, encourages internationalisation because the firm can exploit the
respective demand without any competition. The technological revolution has immensely
facilitated globalisation of the medical and health care sector.

4. Transportation and Communication Revolutions.

The pace of globalisation has been accelerated by several enabling technologies,

Technological revolution in several spheres, like transport and communication, has given
a great impetus to globalisation by their tremendous contribution to the reduction of the
disadvantages of natural barriers like distance and cost. The IT revolution has made an
enormous contribution to the emergence of the global village. Indeed the microprocessor,
which enabled the explosive growth of highpower, low-cost computing, vastly increasing
the amount of information that can be processed by individuals and firms, has been doing
wonders. The microprocessor also underlies many recent advances in
telecommunications technology.

4) Product Development

Costs and Efforts The cost of new product development is very huge in several industries
such as pharmaceuticals. To recoup such high costs a global market is required. A

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 corollary is that the fast technological changes, which hasten product obsolescence,
necessitate a short pay back period, which can be realized only with a very large market.
Further, because of the huge investment and diverse requirements of skill associated with
new product development, cross-border alliances in research and development are
becoming more and more popular. Again, in a number of cases different phases of the
product development are carried out in different countries either by a company's own
affiliates or by outsourcing.

5) Quality and Cost

The two most important determinants of demand are the quality and price of the offering.
These can be better achieved when a firm is global in its operations.

6) Rising Aspirations and Wants

Because of the increasing levels of education and exposure to the media particularly the
electronic media, the aspirations of people all around the world are rising. They aspire
for everything that can make life more comfortable or satisfying. If domestic firms are
not able to meet the wants, they would natural turn to the foreign firms. The customer
today is, by and large, global. He wants a world-class product or a product of desired
attributes at international price. He may desire a product available anywhere in the
world. His aspirations cannot tied down to the domestic availability. 8) Competition
Another important force driving the globalisation is increasing competition. Heightened
competition compels firms to explore new ways of increasing their efficiency, including
by extending their international reach to new markets at an early stage and by shifting
certain production activities to reduce costs. It also results in international production
taking new forms, with new ownership and contractual arrangements, and new activities
being located in new sites abroad.

7) World Economic Trends

There are some world economic trends, which add momentum to the globalisation trend.
One of the important trends is the difference in the growth rates of the
economies/markets. The comparatively slow growth of the developed economies or the
stagnation of some of their markets and the fast growth of a number of developing
countries prompt firms of developed countries to turn to the expanding markets
elsewhere. The differences in the growth characteristics exist even within the categories
of developed and developing countries. Secondly, the domestic economic growth and the
outside opportunities reduce the opposition to globalisation. A classic example is China.
China has benefitted tremendously out of foreign investment; the fast growing Chinese
economy provides scope for a large number of players in the expanding market. At the
same time, China is enormously exploiting the business opportunities outside the
country. Globalisation should be a two-way process, which can be mutually beneficial.
Another driving force of globalisation is the economic liberalisation, as pointed out
earlier, characterised by deregulation and privatisation.

8) Regional Integration

The proliferation of regional integration schemes, like the European Union (EU), North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), etc., by creating a borderless world between

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 the members of such trade blocs, foster the globalisation trend. As pointed out in the
Regional Economic Integration, a major I part of the global trade now is intraregional
trade (i.e., trade between the members of the trade blocs). Some of these regional blocs
also give a fillip to the cross-border investments and financial flows.

9) Leverages

A very important factor that supports globalisation is the unique opportunity global
company possesses to develop leverage. A global company can leverage its 23
experience to expand its global operations. The more the number of countries it operates
in a business sector, the more could be the scope for leverage.

Technological Trends in HRM

Human resource departments need to manage all employees’ activities and try to improve their
performance. To give a better experience to employees, the HR department started using various
technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud-based HR software, digital learning, blockchain,
and some other technologies.

• Artificial intelligence is a data-driven technology that is useful for the recruitment process.
This technology helps the companies to recruit talents in the markets easily by giving its analysis
on candidates. HR managers use this analysis as a reference to recruiting the people.
• Recently, due to COVID-19, companies started a new kind of work structure which is
work-from-home. Due to this work structure, the HR department needs to interact with
employees more and make them feel comfortable with company work. For this reason, they also
started to use various collaborated software applications and connect with them digitally.
• HR managers now started using cloud-based software applications to access the data. By
using them they can easily manage the compensation, incentives of employees and make other
decisions related to them easily. Using this cloud-based software system, they also manage the
onboarding process, training programs of new or old employees in the company.
• Digital learning is one of the recent techniques that HR managers are used to conducting
training sessions. They provide various online training sessions and also some online materials
to improve the performance of employees.
• Blockchain is a powerful technology that is very useful for the HR department. They can
use this technology to conduct background check-ups on the candidates to test whether
candidates have any criminal background or not. This blockchain technology provides smart
contracts systems that are useful for the HR department when they create contracts with new
employees. This blockchain technology mainly handles all financial transactions like payroll
functions in the company. This blockchain is a distributed ledger as it will store large amounts of
data and keep updating according to it. This blockchain technology provides good security to the
data which helps this HR department very much.

Those traditional methods used by human resource departments will take more time to perform
and sometimes they will not work efficiently. Due to these modern technologies, the human
resource department is able to work more efficiently compared to traditional methods. This
technology reduces the work for the human resource department and also provides many
insights which are useful to make their work more efficient. In the future, many new
technologies will help the human resource department to execute its operations more efficiently.

Trends in nature of work

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Seven major trends and challenges point to how the HR profession will have to adjust to the
changing nature of work and the workplace.

In 2010, AHRI published a white paper on the future of work, ‘people@work/2020’. The latest
contribution to this theme is ‘Evolution of Work and the Worker’, a research study the Society
for Human Resources Management Foundation in the US commissioned from the Economist
Intelligence Unit.

Both studies cover similar drivers in the modern workforce that are shaping the conditions under
which the HR profession needs to undertake its role. Putting these two studies together provides
seven major trends:

Workforce and Demographic Trends

1. Globalisation

Global competition is the new norm, with employers and employees seeing themselves as global
players in product and HR markets. The Australian Financial Review competes every day online
with the UK’s Financial Times, all because consumers are flexing their purchasing muscle.
Similarly, Apple and Google are recruiting Aussie talent with the promise of an engaging career
in California.

2. Demographic changes

Demographic shifts are constantly changing workforce patterns. The most prominent aspect is
the ageing population, which raises two concerns: the potential loss of organisational memory
and intellectual property when ageing workers retire; and the subsequent demand for post-
retirement incomes/pensions, and public health and welfare services. The other demographic
pattern of concern is the emergence of a new younger ‘lost generation’ – those neither in
education nor employment, and for whom prospects appear quite dismal.

3. Technological changes on the employment market

The structure of the workforce is changing too. The power of IT is causing a permanent loss of
jobs in the middle tier and at first-job entry level. Also experiencing hardship are those with
narrow industry-specific skills that are becoming outmoded, such as automotive workers, and
the future re-education burden will be heavy.

4. Technological changes on how work is undertaken

Technological innovations provide both threats and opportunities. Fewer people need to work in
a central office location, and are instead able to do their jobs remotely. On the other hand, these
trends are increasing workplace diversity through the growth of a multigenerational, flexibly
skilled, cross-cultural workforce, which is requiring more sophisticated people management
practices.

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5. Education

While education responses are common solutions to demographic challenges, the traditional
educational sector is becoming a workplace challenge in itself. Business practitioners are finding
the divide between acquired formal professional qualifications and workplace learning needs is
getting wider. Plus, the quality of tertiary and technical qualifications varies enormously across
institutional providers.

6. Smart work

Smart work in the services sector is now dominating employment growth patterns. The
momentum of this is being met by relative reductions for labour required in the agriculture and
manufacturing sectors, and the social and political resistance to this is finally crumbling.

7. Income distribution

Not all our global changes are simple net positives. Many connote serious tensions. Society’s
standards for greater equity are intensifying demands for better income distribution and benefit
sharing between wages and profits, and to even out regional growth disparities within Australia
and internationally.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF HRM

1. Globalization: - Growing internationalization of business has its impact on HRM in

terms of problems of unfamiliar laws, languages, practices, competitions, attitudes, management
styles, work ethics and more. HR managers have a challenge to deal with more functions, more
heterogeneous functions and more involvement in employee’s personal life.

2. Corporate Re-organizations: -Reorganization relates to mergers and acquisitions,

joint ventures, take over, internal restructuring of organizations. In these situations, it is difficult
to imagine circumstances that pose a greater challenge for HRM than reorganizations itself. It is
a challenge to manage employees’ anxiety, uncertainties, insecurities and fears during these
dynamic trends.

3. New Organizational forms: -The basic challenge to HRM comes from the changing
character of competitions. The competition is not between individual firms but between
constellations of firm. Major companies are operating through a complex web of strategic
alliances, forgings with local suppliers, etc. These relationships give birth to completely new
forms of organizational structure, which highly depend upon a regular exchange of people and
information. The challenge for HRM is to cope with the implications of these newly networked
relations more and more, in place of more comfortable hierarchical relationships that existed
within the organizations for ages in the past.

4. Changing Demographics of Workforce: -Changes in workforce are largely

reflected by dual career couples, large chunk of young blood between age old superannuating
employees, working mothers, more educated and aware workers etc. These dynamic workforces
have their own implications for HR managers and from HRM point of view is a true challenge to
handle.

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5. Changed employee expectations: -With the changes in workforce demographics,
employee expectations and attitudes have also transformed. Traditional allurements like job
security, house, and remunerations are not much attractive today, rather employees are
demanding empowerment and equality with management. Hence it is a challenge for HRM to
redesign the profile of workers, and discover new methods of hiring, training, remunerating and
motivating employees.

6. New Industrial Relations Approach: -In today’s dynamic world, even unions have
understood that strikes and militancy have lost their relevance and unions are greatly affected by
it. The trade union membership has fallen drastically worldwide and the future of labor
movement is in danger. The challenge before HRM is to adopt a proactive industrial relations
approach which should enable HR specialist to look into challenges unfolding in the future and
to be prepared to convert them into opportunities.

7. Renewed People Focus: -The need of today’s world and business is the people’s
approach. The structure, strategy, systems approach which worked in post war era is no more
relevant in today’s economic environment which is characterized by over capacities and intense
competition. The challenge of HR manager is to focus on people and make them justifiable and
sustainable.

8. Managing the Managers: - Managers are unique tribe in any society, they believe they
are class apart. They demand decision-making, bossism, and operational freedom. However in
the post liberalization era, freedom given to managers is grossly misused to get rid of talented
and hard working juniors. The challenge of HRM is how to manage this tribe? How to make
them realize that the freedom given to them is to enable them make quick decisions in the
interest of the organization and not to resort to witch-hunting.

9. Weaker Society interests: -Another challenge for HRM is to protect the interest of
weaker sections of society. The dramatic increase of women workers, minorities and other
backward communities in the workforce has resulted in the need for organizations to reexamine
their policies, practices and values. In the name of global competition, productivity and quality
the interests of the society around should not be sacrificed. It is a challenge of today’s HR
managers to see that these weaker sections are neither denied their rightful jobs nor are
discriminated against while in service.

10. Contribution to the success of organizations: -The biggest challenge to an HR

manager is to make all employees contribute to the success of the organization in an ethical and
socially responsible way. Because society’s well being to a large extent depends on its
organizations.

High performance work systems

High performance work system (HPWS) is a specific combination of HR practices, work
structures and processes that enhances employee skill, knowledge, commitment, involvement
and adaptability. The key concept in HPWS is the system.

HPWS is composed of many interrelated sub-systems that complement one another to attain
the goals of an organization, big or small.

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Though it may be difficult to list the ‘best practices’ in HPWS, there are a few important
components of HPWS. They are work design, HR practices, leadership roles and information
technology.

All the features of HPWS are important individually. But as a system to be effective all these
features must be integrated. A careful planning is essential to ensure that all the features fit
together and linked with the overall strategic goals of the organization. Internal and
external linkages should fit HPWS together.

1. Shared Information:
In the past, organizations did not bother to supply information about the organizations to the
employees and employees were also not interested to ask for information. But, nowadays,
sharing of information between the managements and employees is highly critical.

i. When employees are given timely and useful information about business performance,
plans and strategies, they are more likely to offer suggestions to improve the business.

ii. Sharing of information leads to better cooperation in effecting major organizational

changes.

iii. Employees feel more committed to new courses of action if they have adequate
information from the management.

iv. Sharing of information results in the shift from the mentality of command and control to
focus on employee commitment.

v. Relationship between management and employees improves by sharing information.

vi. Employees are more likely to be willing to work to attain the goals in a culture of
information sharing, and

vii. Employees will know more, do more and contribute more when information is shared.

2. Knowledge Development:
Information sharing and knowledge development coexist. As organizations compete through
people, they must concentrate and invest in developing employees.

3. Performance-Reward Linkage:
The personal objectives of employees and the organizational goals of management,
naturally, cannot go hand in hand. Employees, by nature, pursue outcomes that bring in
personal benefit to them and not necessarily to the organization as a whole.

i. When rewards are connected to performance, supervisors need not have to constantly
watch to make sure that employees do the right thing.

ii. Appropriate performance-reward linkage makes people to go out of the way to make
certain that co-workers are getting the help they need, systems and processes are functioning
are functioning efficiently and customers are happy.

iii. Connecting rewards to organizational performance also ensures fairness and tends to
focus employees on the organization.

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iv. Performance-based rewards ensure that employees share in the gains that result from any
performance improvement.

4. Egalitarianism:
In HPWS, conflicts among managers, employees and labour unions are increasingly being
replaced by more cooperation approaches to managing work. Present day employees feel
that they are a part and parcel of the organization, not just workers.

i. In an egalitarian environment where everyone is treated alike, status and power differences
are eliminated.

ii. There will be more of collaboration and teamwork.

iii. When people work together as a team without inhibition, productivity improves.

iv. Egalitarian environment ensures employee loyalty.

v. Empowering employees in HPWS give them more control and influence over decision -
making.

vi. With decreasing power distances, employees can become more involved in their work
and their quality of work is improved simultaneously.

HR Scorecard
Concomitant to these developments was the evolution of the initiatives such as HR Scorecard
which are tools to measure how well the HR function is aligned to the overall strategic
goals of the organization.

In other words, HR now was expected to align its recruitment, compensation, and employee
retention strategies to the organizational strategies.

What this means is that in contemporary organizations, the HR managers have a “seat at the
leadership table” or to put it simply, they have to be aligned with the larger organizational
strategies.

Towards this end, the HR Scorecard works by providing decision-makers with data and inputs
about how much the employee recruitment and retention processes cost and what are the benefits
of the same.

For much of the 20th century, it was commonly understood that these costs are part of the
overall organizational costs and there was no way to measure the benefits of such expenses in
“tangible” ways.

In other words, what this means is that an HR Scorecard provides the organizational leaders with
metrics and data in tangible terms about the payoffs and the benefits from HR processes and
activities.

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How the HR Scorecard Works

How the HR Scorecard works is that by drawing up the budget for the HR function, key cost
items and overheads are identified and once done so, then such costs are translated into how
much benefit that they are bringing to the overall organization.

For instance, if high potential and highly talented employees are hired, the costs of hiring and
retention are then measured and stacked against the likely benefits that such activities bring to
the organization.

Apart from this, the real usefulness of HR Scorecards is that it gathers metrics about activities
and processes such as training and then identifies the likely benefits in terms of result oriented
and metric-based training outcomes.

In other words, “by keeping score” of which training cost how much and how useful or relevant
it was in addition to how much benefit that such training meant to the attendees, the HR
Scorecard provides the leadership and the HR managers with measures and metrics on the
“value” that is being created to the organization.

Thus, HR scorecards are indeed useful and relevant in contemporary organizations that take
human resources seriously.

What are the Benefits of HR Scorecards?

The key benefit or the relevance of tools such as HR Scorecards is that it aligns the broader
organizational strategies with the HR strategies and the convergence of organizational goals with
the HR goals brings the HR function in line and tune with the overall organizational ecosystem.

For instance, how this works in the real world is that if an organization identifies superlative
customer service as a strategic goal, the HR scorecard helps in measuring the benefits of
initiatives such as training the customer service representatives and the associated staff costs
involved in hiring and retaining such key personnel.

At the end of the year, the benefits of the initiatives as measured by customer feedback surveys
are tallied to the costs of the initiatives so that organizational decision makers and more
importantly, the HR Managers have an idea about the effectiveness and efficacy of their hiring
and retention strategies and their usefulness and relevance to the broader organizational goals
and objectives.

HRIS
HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System. The HRIS is a system that is used to
collect and store data on an organization’s employees.

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 In most cases, an HRIS encompasses the basic functionalities needed for end-to-end Human
Resources Management (HRM). It is a system for recruitment, performance management,
learning & development, and more.

An HRIS is also known as HRIS software. This is a bit confusing as it implies that different
systems can have different software running on them. However, this is not the case. The HRIS
is, in essence, an HR software package.

The HRIS can either run on the company’s own technical infrastructure, or, more common
nowadays, be cloud-based. This means that the HR software is running outside of the company’s
premises, making it much easier to update.

Other commonly used names are HRIS system and HRMS, or Human Resources Management
system. These are all different words for the same thing. Collectively, these systems are also
called Human Capital Management systems, or HCM. In this article, we will use the terms HRIS
and HRIS systems interchangeably.

Benefits of an HRIS
As we discuss in our Digital HR Certificate Program, using an HRIS has a number of clear
benefits. That’s why companies of all sizes implement this tool to support their people
operations. Centrally, the HRIS holds employee information. A wide range of employee data is
then easily accessible, in one system.

• Record-keeping. An HRIS is a record-keeping system that keeps track of changes to

anything related to employees. The HRIS can be seen as the single source of truth when it
comes to personnel data.
• Compliance. Some data is collected and stored for compliance reasons. This includes
material for the identification of employees in case of theft, fraud, or other misbehaviors, first
contact information in case of accidents, citizens identification information for the tax office,
and expiration dates for mandatory certification. All this information can be stored in the
HRIS. It is essential that data is stored safely and securely, in line with GDPR regulations.
• Efficiency. Having all this information stored in one place not only benefits accuracy but
also saves time. Some companies still keep a lot of data about employees as physical
paperwork. Finding the right folder, and locating the right sheet, can take up a lot of staff
time.
• HR strategy. The HRIS permits the tracking of data required to advance the HR and
business strategy. Depending on the priorities of the organization, different data will be
essential to track. This is where the HRIS shines.
• Self-Service HR. A final benefit is the ability to offer self-service HR to employees and
managers. This enables employees to manage their own affairs. When done right, the HRIS
can offer a good employee experience. Keep in mind that not all HRIS systems offer this in a
user-friendly manner!
Working with an HRIS has multiple benefits for the organization, HR, and the employee. Using
an HRIS becomes interesting when you have between 30 to 50 employees.

At this time, managing this basic information in Excel becomes cumbersome and simple
procedures like approving employee holidays need to be standardized.

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 Using an HRIS is especially beneficial for large organizations which typically use more
advanced HRIS systems to support different HR functions. Small businesses would suit a more
basic HRIS.

HRIS functions
There are different kinds of HRIS systems and software. Because an HRIS encompasses all the
functionalities for HR, all separate functionalities are part of the system. These functionalities
include:

• Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This software handles all the company’s recruiting
needs. It tracks candidate information and resumes, enables recruiters to match job openings
to suitable candidates from the company’s application pool, and helps in guiding the hiring
process.
• Payroll. Payroll automates the pay process of employees. Contractual data and
information on new hires is often entered into this system – sometimes combined with time &
attendance data – and at the end of the month, payments orders are created.
• Benefits administration. Another functionality of the HRIS is benefits
management. Employee benefits are an important aspect of compensation and are also
managed in this system. More advanced systems offer an employee self-service model for
employee benefits. In this case, employees can select the benefits they are looking for
themselves. One may want more paternity leave, the other one a more expensive company
car. This self-service approach to benefits is also called a cafeteria model.
• Time & Attendance. This module gathers time and attendance data from employees.
These are especially relevant for shift workers where employees clock in and out. Back
in the day, employees often wrote down their working hours on a piece of paper. Then,
the manager would manually enter the data into a time tracking system. Based on this
data, payment orders were generated and paid to all employees. Nowadays, workers
often check into work by fingerprint or a card that is synced with an HRIS. This gives an
exact time for arrival and departure. Any issues with lateness are easily detected.
• Training. Learning and development is a key element when it comes to employee
management. This module allows HR to track qualification, certification, and skills of
the employees, as well as an outline of available courses for company employees. This
module is often referred to as an LMS, or Learning Management System, when it’s a
stand-alone. An LMS usually includes available e-learning and other courses to be
followed by employees.
• Performance management. Performance management is a key part of managing people.
Performance ratings are generated once or multiple times a year by the direct manager or
peers of the employee.
• Succession planning. Creating a talent pipeline and having replacements available for
key roles in the organization is another key component of an HRIS.
• Employee self-service. Employee self-service has already been mentioned.
Organizations are focusing increasingly on having employees and their direct supervisors
manage their own data. Requests like holidays can be asked for by the employee
him/herself. After approval, these are then immediately saved into the system (and
registered to track for payroll and benefits purposes).

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 • Reporting & Analytics. A much rarer module in HRIS systems is reporting and
analytics. Modern systems enable the creation of automated HR reports on various topics
like employee turnover, absence, performance, and more. Analytics involves the analysis
of these insights for better-informed decision making. We’ll explain more about this in
the section below.
e-HRM
E-HRM is the application of IT for HR practices that enable easy interactions between
employees and employers. It stores information regarding payroll, employee personal data,
performance management, training, recruitment, and strategic orientation.

Automated HR tasks and practices transform traditional paper-and-pencil, labor-intensive HR

tasks into efficient, fast-response activities that enable companies to anticipate and profit from
environmental shifts to create a much-needed competitive advantage.

E-HRM is the relatively new term for this IT-supported HRM, especially through web
technology. E-HRM has the potential to change the way traditional HRM functions are
performed.

For example, in the analysis and design of work, employees in geographically dispersed
locations can work together in virtual teams using videos, email, etc.

Under the recruitment function, job openings can be posted online, and candidates can apply for
jobs online.

On compensation and benefits issues, e-HRM will make it easy for employees to review salary
and bonus information and seek information about bonus plans.

E-HRM is the planning, implementation, and application of information technology for both
networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing
of HR activities.

E-HRM is not the same as HRIS, which refers to ICT systems used within HR departments. It is
different from that of Virtual HRM.

E-HRM is a network-based structure built on partnerships and typically mediated by information

technologies to help the organization acquire, develop, and deploy intellectual capital.

E-HRM is, in essence, the devolution of HR functions to management and employees.

They access these functions typically via intranet or other web-technology channels.

Kavanagh and Thite (2008) define it as “the system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze,
retrieve, and distribute information regarding an organization’s human resources.

There are three types of E-HRM.

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1. Operational E-HRM
2. Relational E-HRM
3. Transformational E-HRM

HR Analytics
HR analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing Human Resource (HR) data in order to
improve an organization’s workforce performance. The process can also be referred to as talent
analytics, people analytics, or even workforce analytics.

This method of data analysis takes data that is routinely collected by HR and correlates it to HR
and organizational objectives. Doing so provides measured evidence of how HR initiatives are
contributing to the organization’s goals and strategies.

For example, if a software engineering firm has high employee turnover, the company is not
operating at a fully productive level.

It takes time and investment to bring employees up to a fully productive level.

HR analytics provides data-backed insight on what is working well and what is not so that
organizations can make improvements and plan more effectively for the future.

As in the example above, knowing the cause of the firm’s high turnover can provide valuable
insight into how it might be reduced. By reducing the turnover, the company can increase its
revenue and productivity.

Most organizations already have data that is routinely collected, so why the need for a
specialized form of analytics? Can HR not simply look at the data they already have?

Unfortunately, raw data on its own cannot actually provide any useful insight. It would be like
looking at a large spreadsheet full of numbers and words.
Without organization or direction, the data appears meaningless.
Once organized, compared and analyzed, this raw data provides useful insight.
They can help answer questions like:
• What patterns can be revealed in employee turnover?

• How long does it take to hire employees?

• What amount of investment is needed to get employees up to a fully productive speed?

• Which of our employees are most likely to leave within the year?

• Are learning and development initiatives having an impact on employee performance?

Having data-backed evidence means that organizations can focus on making the necessary
improvements and plan for future initiatives.
With the ability to answer important organizational questions without any guesswork, it is not
surprising that many businesses using HR analytics are attributing performance improvement to
HR initiatives.

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Examples in HR Analytics
How can HR Analytics be used by organizations?
Let’s take a look at a few examples using common organizational issues:
Turnover
When employees quit, there is often no real understanding of why.
There may be collected reports or data on individual situations, but no way of knowing whether
there is an overarching reason or trend for the turnover.
With turnover being costly in terms of lost time and profit, organizations need this insight to
prevent turnover from becoming an on-going problem.
HR Analytics can:
• Collect and analyze past data on turnover to identify trends and patterns indicating why
employees quit.
• Collect data on employee behavior, such as productivity and engagement, to better
understand the status of current employees.
• Correlate both types of data to understand the factors that lead to turnover.
• Help create a predictive model to better track and flag employees who may fall into the
identified pattern associated with employees that have quit.
• Develop strategies and make decisions that will improve the work environment and
engagement levels.
• Identify patterns of employee engagement, employee satisfaction and performance.

UNIT - 2
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING ( H R P )

Definition 1: - Need, Availability, Supply=Demand

“HRP includes estimation of how many qualified people are necessary to carry out the assigned
activities, how many people will be available, and what, if anything, must be done to ensure
personnel supply equals personnel demand at the appropriate point in the future.”

Definition 2: - Right numbers, Capability, Organization Objectives

“HRP is a Process, by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kind of
people at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those
tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives.”

Definition 3: - Translation of objectives into HR numbers

“HRP is a process of translating organizational objectives and plans into the number of workers
needed to meet those objectives.”

MEANING / PURPOSE OF HRP

• In simple words HRP is understood as the process of forecasting an organization’s future

demand for and supply of the right type of people in the right numbers.
• It is only after HRP is done, that the company can initiate and plan the recruitment and
selection process.

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• HRP is a sub-system in the total organizational planning.
• HRP facilitates the realization of the company’s objectives by providing right type and right
number of personnel.
• HRP is important because without a clear-cut manpower planning, estimation of a
organization’s human resource need is reduced to mere guesswork.

NEED & IMPORTANCE OF HRP

Forecast future personnel needs: To avoid the situations of surplus or deficiency of

manpower in future, it is important to plan your manpower in advance. For this purpose a proper
forecasting of futures business needs helps you to ascertain our future manpower needs. From
this angle, HRP plays an important role to predict the right size of manpower in the
organization.
Cope with change: HRP enables an enterprise to cope with changes in competitive forces,
markets, technology, products and government regulations. Such changes generate changes in
job content, skills demands and number of human resources required.
Creating highly talented personnel: Since jobs are becoming highly intellectual and
incumbents getting vastly professionalized, HRP helps prevent shortages of labor caused by
attritions. Further technology changes would further upgrade or degrade jobs and create
manpower shortages. In these situations only accurate human resource planning can help to meet
the resource requirements. Further HRP is also an answer to the problems of succession
planning.
Protection of weaker sections : A well-conceived personnel planning would also help to
protect the interests of the SC/ST, physically handicapped, children of socially oppressed and
backward classes who enjoy a certain percentage of employments notwithstanding the
constitutional provisions of equal opportunity for all.
International strategies: International expansion strategies largely depend upon effective
HRP. With growing trends towards global operations, the need for HRP further becomes more
important as the need to integrate HRP more closely into the organization keeps growing. This is
also because the process of meeting staffing needs from foreign countries grows in a complex
manner.
Foundation of personnel functions: HRP provides essential information for designing
and implementing personnel functions such as recruitment, selection, personnel development,
training and development etc.
Increasing investments in HR: Another importance is the investment that an organization
makes in human capital. It is important that employees are used effectively throughout their
careers. Because human assets can increase the organization value tremendously as opposed to
physical assets
Resistance to change & move: The growing resistance towards change and move, self
evaluation, loyalty and dedication making it more difficult to assume that organization can move
its employees everywhere. Here HRP becomes very important and needs the resources to be
planned carefully.
Other benefits: Following are the other benefits of HRP.
1. Upper management has a better view of HR dimensions of business
2. Management can anticipate imbalances before they become unmanageable and
expensive.
3. More time is provided to locate talent
4. Better opportunities exists to include women and minorities in future growth plans
5. Better planning of assignments to develop managers
6. Major and successful demands on local labor markets can be made.

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HRP SYSTEM
HRP System as such includes following elements or sets for planning.

Overall Organization Objectives

Business Environment
Forecasting Manpower Needs
Assessing Manpower Supply
Matching Manpower Demand-Supply factors
Based on these elements we can draw “HRP System Architecture” as under.

Business Environment

Organization Objectives & Goals

Manpower Forecast Manpower Supply Assessment

Manpower Programming

Manpower Implementation

Control & Manpower

Evaluation

Surplus Manpower Shortage of Manpower

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HRP PROCESS

Organizational Objectives & Policies: -

The objectives of HR plan must be derived from organizational objectives like specific
requirements of numbers and characteristics of employees etc. HRP needs to sub-serve the
overall objectives by ensuring availability and utilization of human resources. Specific policies
need to be formulated to address the following decisions.
• Internal Hiring or External Hiring?
• Training & Development plans
• Union Constraints
• Job enrichment issues
• Rightsizing organization
• Automation needs
• Continuous availability of adaptive and flexible workforce

Manpower Demand Forecasting: -

It is the process of estimating the future quantity and quality of people required.
The basis should be annual budget and long term corporate plans
Demand forecasting should be based on following factors.

Internal Factors: -
• Budget constraints
• Production levels
• New products and services
• Organizational structure
• Employee separation

External Factors: -
• Competition environment
• Economic climate
• Laws and regulatory bodies
• Technology changes
• Social Factors
Reasons for Manpower Demand Forecasting: -
• To quantify jobs
• To determine the Staff-mix
• To assess staffing levels and avoid unnecessary costs
• Prevent shortages of people
• Monitor compliances of legal requirements with regards to reservations

Manpower Forecasting Techniques: -

Management Judgment: In this techniques managers across all the levels decide the forecast
on their own judgment. This can be bottom-up or top-down approach and judgments can be
reviewed across departments, divisions and top management can conclude on final numbers of
manpower required.
Ration-Trend Analysis: This technique involves studying past ratios, and forecasting future
ratios making some allowance for changes in the organization or its methods.

24
Work Study Techniques: It is possible when work measurement to calculate the length of
operations and the amount of manpower required. The starting point can be production budget,
followed by standard hours, output per hour; man-hours required etc could be computed.
Delphi Techniques: This technique solicits estimates from a group of experts, and HRP experts
normally act as intermediaries, summarizes various responses and report the findings back to
experts.
Flow Models: This technique involves the flow of following components. Determine the time
required, Establish categories, Count annual movements, Estimate probable transitions. Here
demand is a function of replacing those who make a transition.

Manpower Supply Forecasting: -

This process measures the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the
organization after making allowance for absenteeism, internal movements and promotions,
wastages, changes in hours and other conditions of work.

Reasons for Manpower Supply Forecasting:

• Clarify Staff-mixes exist in the future
• Assess existing staff levels
• Prevent shortages
• Monitor expected future compliance of legal requirements of job reservations

Supply Analysis covers:

Existing Human Resources: HR Audits facilitate analysis of existing employees with skills and
abilities. The existing employees can be categorized as skills inventories (non-managers) and
managerial inventories (managers)
Skill inventory would include the following;
• Personal data
• Skills
• Special Qualifications
• Salary
• Job History
• Company data
• Capabilities
• Special preferences

Management inventories would include the following

• Work History
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Promotion Potential
• Career Goals
• Personal Data
• Number and Types of Subordinates
• Total Budget Managed
• Previous Management Duties

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Internal Supply: -

Internal supply techniques help to assess the following

• Inflows and outflows (transfers, promotions, separations, resignations, retirements etc.)
• Turnover rate (No. Of separations p.a. / Average employees p.a. X 100)
• Conditions of work (working hours, overtime, etc.)
• Absenteeism (leaves, absences)
• Productivity level
• Job movements (Job rotations or cross functional utilizations)

External Supply: -
External sources are required for following reasons
• New blood,
• New experiences
• Replenish lost personnel
• Organizational growth
• Diversification
External sources can be colleges and universities, consultants, competitors and unsolicited
applications.

HR Plan Implementation: -

A series of action programs are initiated as a part of HR plan implementation as under.

Recruitment & Selection: Employees are hired against the job vacancies. Based on the
manpower demand and supply forecasts made, hiring of employees is initiated based on supply
forecasts. For this internal and external sources of manpower are utilized. A formal selection
board is established to interview and select the best of the candidates for the required vacancies.
Finally the selected employees also need to be placed on proper jobs. Here some companies
recruit employees for specific jobs while others recruit fresh trainees in large number and train
them for future manpower needs.
Training and Development: The training and development program is charted out to
cover the number of trainees, existing staff etc. The programs also cover the identification of
resource personnel for conducting development program, frequency of training and development
programs and budget allocation.
Retraining and Redeployment; New skills are to be imparted to existing staff when
technology changes or product line discontinued. Employees need to be redeployed to other
departments where they could be gainfully employed.
Retention Plan: Retention plans cover actions, which would reduce avoidable separations of
employees. Using compensation plans, performance appraisals, avoiding conflicts, providing
green pastures etc, can do this.
Downsizing plans: Where there is surplus workforce trimming of labor force will be
necessary. For these identifying and managing redundancies is very essential.
Managerial Succession Planning; Methods of managerial succession plans may vary.
Most successful programs seem to include top managements involvement and commitment,
high-level review of succession plans, formal performance assessment and potential assessment
and written development plans for individuals. A typical succession planning involves following
activities.

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• Analysis of demand for managers and professionals
• Audit of existing executives
• Projection of future likely supply from internal and external sources
• Individual career path planning
• Career counseling
• Accelerated promotions
• Performance related training and development
• Strategic recruitment

Control & Evaluation of HRP: -

HR Plan must also clarify responsibilities for control and establish reporting procedures, which
will enable achievements to be monitored against the plan. The HR Plan should include budgets,
targets and standards. These plans may simply be reports on the numbers employed, recruited
against targets etc.

JOB ANALYSIS

JOB:
“Job is a ‘group of tasks to be performed everyday.”

JOB ANALYSIS

Definition 1: (Process of Collecting Information)

“Job Analysis is a process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and
responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis are ‘Job Description’
and ‘Job Specifications’.”

Definition 2: (Systematic Exploration of Activities)

“Job Analysis is a systematic exploration of activities within a job. It is a basic technical
procedure that is used to define duties and responsibilities and accountabilities of the job.”

Definition 3: (Identifying Job Requirements)

“Job is a collection of tasks that can be performed by a single employee to contribute to the
production of some product or service, provided by the organization. Each job has certain ability
requirements (as well as certain rewards) associated with it. Job Analysis is a process used to
identify these requirements.”

MEANING OF JOB ANALYSIS

Job Analysis is a process of collecting information about a job. The process of job analysis
results into two sets of data.
• Job Description
• Job Specification
As a result Job analysis involves the following steps in a logical order.

Steps of Job Analysis

1. Collecting and recording job information
2. Checking the job information for accuracy

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3. Writing job description based on information collected to determine the skills, knowledge,
abilities and activities required
4. Updating and upgrading this information

PURPOSE OF JOB ANALYSIS: -

• Human Resource Planning (HRP): - The numbers and types of personnel are
determined by the jobs, which need to be staffed. Job related information in the form of Job
Analysis serves this purpose or use.
• Recruitment & Selection: - Recruitment precedes job analysis. It helps HR to locate
places to obtain employees. It also helps in better continuity and planning in staffing in the
organization. Also selecting a good candidate also requires detailed job information. Because the
objective of hiring is to match the right candidate for right job
• Training & Development: Training and development programs can be designed
depending upon job requirement and analysis. Selection of trainees is also facilitated by job
analysis.
• Job Evaluation: Job evaluation means determination of relative worth of each job for
the purpose of establishing wage and salary credentials. This is possible with the help of job
description and specifications; i.e. Job Analysis.
• Remuneration: Job analysis also helps in determining wage and salary for all jobs.
• Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisal, assessments, rewards, promotions, is
facilitated by job analysis by way of fixing standards of job performance.
• Personnel Information: Job analysis is vital for building personnel information
systems and processes for improving administrative efficiency and providing decision support.
• Safety & Health: Job Analysis helps to uncover hazardous conditions and unhealthy
environmental factors so that corrective measures can be taken to minimize and avoid possibility
of human injury.

PROCESS OF JOB ANALYSIS

Process 1: Strategic Choices

Process 2: Collecting Information
Process 3: Processing Information
Process 4: Job Description
Process 5: Job Specification

Strategic Choices: -

Extent of involvement of employees: Extent of employee involvement is a debatable

point. Too much involvement may result in bias in favor of a job in terms of inflating duties and
responsibilities. Too less involvement leads to suspicion about the motives behind the job.
Besides it may also lead to inaccurate information. Hence extent of involvement depends on the
needs of the organization and employee.
Level of details of job analysis: The nature of jobs being analyzed determines the level of
details in job analysis. If the purpose were for training programs or assessing the worth of job,
levels of details required would be great. If the purpose is just clarification the details required
would be less.
Timing and frequency of Job Analysis: When do you do Job Analysis?
• Initial stage, for new organization

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• New Job is created
• Changes in Job, Technology and Processes
• Deficiencies and Disparities in Job
• New compensation plan is introduced
• Updating and upgrading is required.
Past-oriented and future -oriented Job Analysis: For rapidly changing organization
more future oriented approach would be desired. For traditional organizations past oriented
analysis would be required. However more future oriented analysis may be derived based on
past data.
Sources of Job Data: For job analysis number of human and non-human sources is
available besides jobholder himself. Following can be sources of data available for job analysis.
Non-Human Sources Human Sources
Existing job descriptions and specifications Job Analysis
Equipment maintenance records Job Incumbents
Equipment design blueprints Supervisors
Architectural blueprints of work area Job Experts
Films of employee working
Training manuals and materials
Magazines, newspapers, literatures

Collecting Information: -

Information collection is done on the basis of following 3 parameters

Types of Data for Job Analysis:

• Work Activities (Tasks details)
• Interface with other jobs and equipments (Procedures, Behaviors, Movements)
• Machines, Tools, Equipments and Work Aids (List, Materials, Products, Services)
• Job Context (Physical, Social, Organizational, Work schedule)
• Personal Requirement (Skills, Education, Training, Experience)

Methods of Data Collection:

• Observation
• Interview
• Questionnaires
• Checklists
• Technical Conference
• Diary Methods

Who to Collect Data?

• Trained Job Analysts
• Supervisors
• Job Incumbents

Processing Information: -
Once the job information is collected it needs to be processed, so that it would be useful in
various personnel functions. Specifically job related data would be useful to prepare job
description and specifications, which form the next two processes of job analysis.

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METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION:

Observation: Job Analyst carefully observes the jobholder and records the information in
terms of what, how the job is done and how much time is taken. It is a simple and accurate
method, but is also time consuming and inapplicable to jobs involving mental activities and
unobservable job cycles. The analysts must be fully trained observers.
Interview: In this analyst interviews the jobholders, his supervisors to elicit information. It can
be Structured or Unstructured Interview. Again this is also a time consuming method in case of
large organizations. Plus there is also a problem of bias.
Questionnaires: A standard questionnaire is given to jobholder about his job, which can be
filled and given back to supervisors or job analysts. The questionnaire may contain job title,
jobholder’s name, managers name, reporting staff, description of job, list of main duties and
responsibilities etc. It is useful in large number of staffs and less time consuming. However the
accuracy of information leaves much to be desired.
Checklists: It is more similar to questionnaire but the response sheet contains fewer subjective
judgments and tends to be either yes or no variety. Preparation of checklist is a challenging job
itself.
Technical Conference: Here a conference of supervisors is used. The analysts initiate the
discussions providing job details. However this method lacks accuracy.
Diary Methods: In this method jobholder is required to note down their activities day by day
in their diary. If done faithfully this technique is accurate and eliminates errors caused by
memory lapses etc.

Quantitative Methods of Job Data Collection: -

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ): -

PAQ is a highly specialized instrument for analyzing any job in terms of employee activities.
The PAQ contains 194 job elements on which job is created depending on the degree to which
an element is present. These elements are grouped together into 6 categories.
1. U – Usability / Use of Job
2. I – Importance of Job
3. T – Time
4. P – Possibility of Occurrence of Job
5. A – Applicability of Job
6. S – Specialty Tasks of Job

The primary advantage of PAQ is that it can be used to analyze almost every job. This analysis
provides a comparison of a specific job with other job classifications, particularly for selection
and remuneration purposes. However PAQ needs to be completed by trained job analysts only
rather than incumbents.

Management Position Description Questionnaire (MPDQ): -

Highly structured questionnaire, containing 208 elements relating to managerial responsibilities,
demand, restrictions and other position characteristics These 208 elements are grouped under 13
categories.

PAQ and MPDQ yield standardized information about the worker and the job.

Functional Job Analysis: -

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It is a worker oriented job analytical approach, which attempts to describe the
whole person on the job.

BARRIERS OF JOB ANALYSIS

• Support from Top Management

• Single means and source, reliance on single method rather than combination
• No Training or Motivation to Jobholders
• Activities and Data may be Distorted

JOB DESCRIPTION

“Job Description implies objective listing of the job title, tasks, and responsibilities involved in a
job.”

Job description is a word picture in writing of the duties, responsibilities and organizational
relationships that constitutes a given job or position. It defines continuing work assignment and
a scope of responsibility that are sufficiently different from those of the other jobs to warrant a
specific title. Job description is a broad statement of purpose, scope, duties and responsibilities
of a particular job.

Contents of Job Description

1. Job Identification
2. Job Summary
3. Job Duties and Responsibilities
4. Supervision specification
5. Machines, tools and materials
6. Work conditions
7. Work hazards
8. Definition of unusual terms

Format of Job Description

• Job Title
• Region/Location
• Department
• Reporting to (Operational and Managerial)
• Objective
• Principal duties and responsibilities

Features of Good Job Description

1. Up to date
2. Proper Job Title
3. Comprehensive Job Summary
4. Clear duties and responsibilities
5. Easily understandable
6. State job requirements

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7. Specify reporting relationships
8. Showcase degrees of difficulties
9. Indicates opportunities for career development
10. Offer bird’s-eye-view of primary responsibilities

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

“Job Specification involves listing of employee qualifications, skills and abilities required to
meet the job description. These specifications are needed to do job satisfactorily.”

In other words it is a statement of minimum and acceptable human qualities necessary to

perform job properly. Job specifications seeks to indicate what kind of persons may be expected
to most closely approximate the role requirements and thus it is basically concerned with matters
of selection, screening and placement and is intended to serve as a guide in hiring.

Contents of Job Specifications

1. Physical Characteristics
2. Psychological characteristics
3. Personal characteristics
4. Responsibilities
5. Demographic features

Further the job specifications can be divided into three broad categories
Essential Attributes
Desirable Attributes
Contra-Indicators – indicators hampering the success of job

JOB DESIGN

The Logical Sequence to Job Analysis is Job Design.

Definition 1: Integration of work, rewards and qualification

“Job Design integrates work content (tasks, functions, relationships), the rewards and
qualifications required including skills, knowledge and abilities for each job in a way that meets
the needs of employees and the organization.”

Steps in Job Design: -

1. Specification of Individual Tasks
2. Specification of Methods of Tasks Performance
3. Combination of Tasks into Specific Jobs to be assigned to individuals

Factors affecting Job Design: -

Organizational factors:
• Characteristics of Tasks (Planning, Execution and Controlling of Task)
• Work Flow (Process Sequences)
• Ergonomics (Time & Motion Study)
• Work Practices (Set of ways of performing tasks)

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Environmental Factors:
• Employee Abilities and Availability
• Social and Cultural Expectations

Behavioral Elements:
• Feedback
• Autonomy
• Use of Abilities
• Variety

TECHNIQUES OF JOB DESIGN: -

Work Simplification: Job is simplified or specialized. The job is broken down into small
parts and each part is assigned to an individual. To be more specific, work simplification is
mechanical pacing of work, repetitive work processes, working only on one part of a product,
predetermining tools and techniques, restricting interaction amongst employees, few skills
requirement. Work simplification is used when jobs are not specialized.

Job Rotation: When incumbents become bore of routine jobs, job rotation is an answer to it.
Here jobs remain unchanged, but the incumbents shift from one job to another. On the positive
side, it increases the intrinsic reward potential of a job because of different skills and abilities
needed to perform it. Workers become more competent in several jobs, know variety of jobs and
improve the self-image, personal growth. Further the worker becomes more valuable to the
organization. Periodic job changes can improve interdepartmental cooperation. On the negative
side, it may not be much enthusiastic or efficiency may not be more. Besides jobs may not
improve the relationships between task, while activities and objectives remain unchanged.
Further training costs also rise and it can also de-motivate intelligent and ambitious trainees who
seek specific responsibilities in their chosen specialties.

Job Enlargement: It means expanding the number of tasks, or duties assigned to a given
job. Job enlargement is naturally opposite to work simplification. Adding more tasks or duties to
a job does not mean that new skills and abilities are needed. There is only horizontal expansion.
It is with same skills taking additional responsibilities like extending working hours etc. Job
enlargement may involve breaking up of the existing work system and redesigning a new work
system. For this employees also need to be trained to adjust to the new system. Job enlargement
is said to contribute to employee motivation but the claim is not validated in practice.

Benefits of Job Enlargement:

1. Task Variety
2. Meaningful Work Modules
3. Full Ability Utilization
4. Worker Paced Control
5. Meaningful Performance Feedback

Disadvantages of Job Enlargement

1. High Training Costs
2. Redesigning existing work system required
3. Productivity may not increase necessarily
4. Workload increases
5. Unions demand pay–hike

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6. Jobs may still remain boring and routine

Job Enrichment: Job enrichment is improvisation of both tasks efficiency and human
satisfaction by building into people’s jobs, quite specifically, greater scope for personal
achievement and recognition, more challenging and responsible work and more opportunity for
individual advancement and growth. An enriched job will have more responsibility, more
autonomy (vertical enrichment), more variety of tasks (horizontal enrichment) and more growth
opportunities. The employee does more planning and controlling with less supervision but more
self-evaluation. In other words, transferring some of the supervisor’s tasks to the employee and
making his job enriched.

Benefits of Job enrichment

1. It benefits employee and organization in terms of increased motivation, performance,

satisfaction, job involvement and reduced absenteeism.
2. Additional features in job meet certain psychological needs of jobholders due to skill
variety, identity, significance of job etc.
3. It also adds to employee self-esteem and self-control.
4. Job enrichment gives status to jobholder and acts as a strong satisfier in one’s life.
5. Job enrichment stimulates improvements in other areas of organization.
6. Empowerment is a by-product of job enrichment. It means passing on more authority
and responsibility.

Demerits of Job Enrichment

1. Lazy employees may not be able to take additional responsibilities and power. It
won’t fetch the desired results for an employee who is not attentive towards his job.
2. Unions resistance, increased cost of design and implementation and limited research
on long term effect of job enrichment are some of the other demerits.
3. Job enrichment itself might not be a great motivator since it is job-intrinsic factor. As
per the two-factor motivation theory, job enrichment is not enough. It should be preceded by
hygienic factors etc.
4. Job enrichment assumes that workers want more responsibilities and those workers
who are motivated by less responsibility, job enrichment surely de-motivates them
5. Workers participation may affect the enrichment process itself.
6. Change is difficult to implement and is always resisted as job enrichment brings in a
changes the responsibility.

Autonomous of Self-Directed Teams: Empowerment results in self-directed work

teams. A self –directed team is an intact group of employees responsible for whole work
segment, they work together, handle day-to-day problems, plan and control, and are highly
effective teams.

High Performance Work Design: Improving performance in an environment where

positive and demanding goals are set leads to high performance work design. It starts from the
principle of autonomous groups working and developing an approach, which enables group to
work effectively together in situations where the rate of innovation is very high. Operational
flexibility is important and there is the need for employees to gain and apply new skills quickly
with minimum supervision. However due to bureaucracy high performance work design does
not work.

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DESIGNING JOBS – MOTIVATING JOBS

The concept of motivating jobs relates to Job design. Job design affects employee productivity,
motivation and satisfaction. Job design is a conscious effort to organize tasks, duties and
responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve certain objectives.

How a job design creates a motivating job can be seen with the help of certain components of
job design, namely, job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, work simplification etc.

Work simplification simplifies the job by breaking down the job into small parts. Simplified jobs
are easy to perform hence employees find it easy to do. Training requirements are reduced and it
benefits the organizations in terms of cost.

Job rotation means movement of employees of job to job across the organization. It improves
the intrinsic reward potential of a job because of different skills and abilities are needed to
perform a job. Workers become more competent in several jobs rather than only one. It also
improves workers self image, provides personal growth and makes workers more valuable to the
organization. Periodic job change can improve inter-departmental cooperation. Employees
become more understanding to each other’s problems. Consequently it provides a high level of
motivation to employees because jobs itself become motivators. Hence job rotation helps the job
become more motivating.

Job enlargement involves expanding number of tasks or duties assigned to a given job.

Job enrichment involves improving task efficiency and human satisfaction. Job enrichment
provides greater scope for personal achievement and recognition, more challenging and
responsible work and more opportunity for individual advancement and growth. An enriched job
gives vertical enrichment in the form of more responsibility and autonomy and a horizontal
enrichment in the form of variety of tasks and more growth opportunities. The employee does
more planning and controlling with less supervision but more self-evaluation. All these factors
lead to increased level of motivation and hence make the jobs more motivated.

Considering above examples, we can say that designing jobs is actually using the relevant and
right techniques of job design, like rotation, enrichment, simplifications and make the jobs more
motivating to perform.

So we can say that Designing Jobs is actually creating Motivated Jobs.

JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction is the result of various attitudes possessed by an employee towards his job,
related factors and life in general. The attitudes related to job may be wages, supervision,
steadiness, working conditions, advancement opportunities, recognitions, fair evaluation of
work, social relations on job, prompt settlement of grievances etc.

In short job satisfaction is a general attitude, which is the result of many specific attitudes in
three areas namely, job factors, individual characteristics and group relationships outside the job.

Components of Job Satisfaction

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Personal factors: Sex, Dependents, Age, Timings, Intelligence, Education and Personality.

Job inherent factors: Type of work, Skills, Occupational status, Geography, Size of plant

Management controlled factors: Security, Payment, Fringe benefits, Advancement

opportunities and Working conditions, Co-workers, Responsibilities, Supervision

Job Satisfaction & Behavior relationship is described through following examples.

Satisfaction & Turnover

Satisfaction & Absenteeism
Satisfaction & Accidents
Satisfaction & Job Performance

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

RECRUITMENT

Definition Of Recruitment: Finding and Attracting Applications

“Recruitment is the Process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The
Process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted.
The result is a pool of application from which new employees are selected.”

MEANING OF RECRUITMENT:

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs, from
among them the right people can be selected. Though theoretically recruitment process is said to
end with the receipt of applications, in practice the activity extends to the screening of
applications so as to eliminate those who are not qualified for the job.

PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT: -

1. Determine the present and future requirements in conjunction with personnel planning and
job analysis activities
2. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost
3. Help increase success rate of selection process by reducing number of under-qualified or
over-qualified applications.
4. Reduce the probability that job applicants once selected would leave shortly
5. Meet legal and social obligations
6. Identify and prepare potential job applicants
7. Evaluate effectiveness of various recruitment techniques and sources for job applicants.

FACTORS GOVERNING RECRUITMENT

External Factors:
• Demand and Supply (Specific Skills)
• Unemployment Rate (Area-wise)
• Labor Market Conditions
• Political and Legal Environment (Reservations, Labor laws)

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• Image
Internal Factors
• Recruitment Policy (Internal Hiring or External Hiring?)
• Human Resource Planning (Planning of resources required)
• Size of the Organization (Bigger the size lesser the recruitment problems)
• Cost
• Growth and Expansion Plans

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Recruitment Planning
• Number of contacts
• Types of contacts
Recruitment Strategy Development
• Make or Buy Employees
• Technological Sophistication
• Where to look
• How to look
Internal Recruitment (Source 1)
• Present employees
• Employee referrals
• Transfers & Promotions
• Former Employees
• Previous Applicants
• Evaluation of Internal Recruitment
External Recruitment (Source 2)
• Professionals or Trade Associations
• Advertisements
• Employment Exchanges
• Campus Recruitment
• Walk-ins Interviews
• Consultants
• Contractors
• Displaced Persons
• Radio & Television
• Acquisitions & Mergers
• Competitors
• Evaluation of External Recruitment
Searching
• Source activation
• Selling
• Screening of Applications
Evaluation and Cost Control
• Salary Cost
• Management & Professional Time spent
• Advertisement Cost
• Producing Supporting literature
• Recruitment Overheads and Expenses

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• Cost of Overtime and Outsourcing
• Consultant’s fees
Evaluation of Recruitment Process
• Return rate of applications sent out
• Suitable Candidates for selection
• Retention and Performance of selected candidates
• Recruitment Cost
• Time lapsed data
• Image projection

INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Less Costly 1. Old concept of doing things
2. Candidates already oriented towards 2. It abets raiding
organization 3. Candidates current work may be
3. Organizations have better knowledge affected
about internal candidates 4. Politics play greater roles
4. Employee morale and motivation is 5. Morale problem for those not
enhanced promoted.

EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Benefits of new skills and talents 1. Better morale and motivation
2. Benefits of new experiences associated with internal recruiting is denied
3. Compliance with reservation policy 2. It is costly method
becomes easy 3. Chances of creeping in false positive
4. Scope for resentment, jealousies, and and false negative errors
heartburn are avoided. 4. Adjustment of new employees takes
longer time.
SELECTION: -

MEANING OF SELECTION:

Selection is the process of picking up individuals (out of the pool of job applicants) with
requisite qualifications and competence to fill jobs in the organization. A formal definition of
Selection is as under

Definition of Selection: Process of differentiating

“Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify and hire those
with a greater likelihood of success in a job.”

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION:

Recruitment Selection
1. Recruitment refers to the process of 1. Selection is concerned with picking up
identifying and encouraging prospective the right candidates from a pool of
employees to apply for jobs. applicants.

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2. Recruitment is said to be positive in its 2. Selection on the other hand is negative
approach as it seeks to attract as many in its application in as much as it seeks to
candidates as possible. eliminate as many unqualified applicants as
possible in order to identify the right
candidates.

PROCESS / STEPS IN SELECTION

1. Preliminary Interview: The purpose of preliminary interviews is basically to eliminate

unqualified applications based on information supplied in application forms. The basic objective
is to reject misfits. On the other hands preliminary interviews is often called a courtesy interview
and is a good public relations exercise.
2. Selection Tests: Jobseekers who past the preliminary interviews are called for tests.
There are various types of tests conducted depending upon the jobs and the company. These
tests can be Aptitude Tests, Personality Tests, and Ability Tests and are conducted to judge how
well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. Besides this there are some other tests
also like Interest Tests (activity preferences), Graphology Test (Handwriting), Medical Tests,
Psychometric Tests etc.
3. Employment Interview: The next step in selection is employment interview. Here
interview is a formal and in-depth conversation between applicant’s acceptability. It is
considered to be an excellent selection device. Interviews can be One-to-One, Panel Interview,
or Sequential Interviews. Besides there can be Structured and Unstructured interviews,
Behavioral Interviews, Stress Interviews.
4. Reference & Background Checks: Reference checks and background checks are
conducted to verify the information provided by the candidates. Reference checks can be
through formal letters, telephone conversations. However it is merely a formality and selections
decisions are seldom affected by it.
5. Selection Decision: After obtaining all the information, the most critical step is the
selection decision is to be made. The final decision has to be made out of applicants who have
passed preliminary interviews, tests, final interviews and reference checks. The views of line
managers are considered generally because it is the line manager who is responsible for the
performance of the new employee.
6. Physical Examination: After the selection decision is made, the candidate is required to
undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer is often contingent upon the candidate passing the
physical examination.
7. Job Offer: The next step in selection process is job offer to those applicants who have
crossed all the previous hurdles. It is made by way of letter of appointment.
8. Contract of Employment: After the job offer is made and candidates accept the offer,
certain documents need to be executed by the employer and the candidate. Here is a need to
prepare a formal contract of employment, containing written contractual terms of employment
etc.

ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD SELECTION PRACTICE

1. Detailed job descriptions and job specifications prepared in advance and endorsed by
personnel and line management
2. Trained the selectors
3. Determine aids to be used for selection process
4. Check competence of recruitment consultants before retention
5. Involve line managers at all stages

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6. Attempt to validate the procedure
7. Help the appointed candidate to succeed by training and management development

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SELECTION: -

1. Perception: We all perceive the world differently. Our limited perceptual ability is
obviously a stumbling block to the objective and rational selection of people.
2. Fairness: Barriers of fairness includes discrimination against religion, region, race or
gender etc.
3. Validity: A test that has been validated can differentiate between the employees who can
perform well and those who will not. However it does not predict the job success accurately.
4. Reliability: A reliable test may fail to predict job performance with precision.
5. Pressure: Pressure brought on selectors by politicians, bureaucrats, relatives, friends and
peers to select particular candidate are also barriers to selection.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Definition of Training & Development: Improve performance

“Training & Development is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by
increasing an employee’s ability to perform through learning, usually by changing the
employee’s attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge.”

MEANING OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT: -

The need for Training and Development is determined by the employee’s performance
deficiency, computed as follows.
Training & Development Need = Standard Performance – Actual Performance

We can make a distinction among Training, Development and Education.

Distinction between Training and Education

Training Education
Application oriented Theoretical Orientation
Job experience Classroom learning
Specific Task in mind Covers general concepts
Narrow Perspective Has Broad Perspective
Training is Job Specific Education is no bar

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Training: Training refers to the process of imparting specific skills. An employee undergoing
training is presumed to have had some formal education. No training program is complete
without an element of education. Hence we can say that Training is offered to operatives.

Education: It is a theoretical learning in classrooms. The purpose of education is to teach

theoretical concepts and develop a sense of reasoning and judgment. That any training and
development program must contain an element of education is well understood by HR
Specialists. Any such program has university professors as resource persons to enlighten
participants about theoretical knowledge of the topics proposed to discuss. In fact organizations
depute or encourage employees to do courses on part time basis. CEOs are known to attend
refresher courses conducted by business schools. The education is more important for managers
and executives rather than low cadre workers. Anyways education is common to all employees,
their grades notwithstanding.

Development: Development means those learning opportunities designed to help employees to

grow. Development is not primarily skills oriented. Instead it provides the general knowledge
and attitudes, which will be helpful to employers in higher positions. Efforts towards
development often depend on personal drive and ambition. Development activities such as those
supplied by management development programs are generally voluntary in nature. Development
provides knowledge about business environment, management principles and techniques, human
relations, specific industry analysis and the like is useful for better management of a company.

Objectives of (MDP) Management Development Programs OR

Advantages of Development

1. Making them
• Self-starters
• Committed
• Motivated
• Result oriented
• Sensitive to environment
• Understand use of power
2. Creating self awareness
3. Develop inspiring leadership styles
4. Instill zest for excellence
5. Teach them about effective communication
6. To subordinate their functional loyalties to the interests of the organization

Difference between Training and Development

Training Development
Training is skills focused Development is creating learning abilities
Training is presumed to have a formal Development is not education dependent
education
Training needs depend upon lack or Development depends on personal drive
deficiency in skills and ambition

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Trainings are generally need based Development is voluntary
Training is a narrower concept focused on Development is a broader concept focused
job related skills on personality development
Training may not include development Development includes training wherever
necessary
Training is aimed at improving job related Development aims at overall personal
efficiency and performance effectiveness including job efficiencies

What are the Training Inputs?

• Skills
• Education
• Development
• Ethics
• Problem Solving Skills
• Decision Making
• Attitudinal Changes

Importance of Training & Development

• Helps remove performance deficiencies in employees
• Greater stability, flexibility and capacity for growth in an organization
• Accidents, scraps and damages to machinery can be avoided
• Serves as effective source of recruitment
• It is an investment in HR with a promise of better returns in future
• Reduces dissatisfaction, absenteeism, complaints and turnover of employees

Need of Training
Individual level
• Diagnosis of present problems and future challenges
• Improve individual performance or fix up performance deficiency
• Improve skills or knowledge or any other problem
• To anticipate future skill-needs and prepare employee to handle more challenging tasks
• To prepare for possible job transfers
Group level
• To face any change in organization strategy at group levels
• When new products and services are launched
• To avoid scraps and accident rates

Identification of Training Needs (Methods)

Individual Training Needs Identification

1. Performance Appraisals
2. Interviews
3. Questionnaires
4. Attitude Surveys
5. Training Progress Feedback
6. Work Sampling
7. Rating Scales

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Group Level Training Needs Identification

1. Organizational Goals and Objectives

2. Personnel / Skills Inventories
3. Organizational Climate Indices
4. Efficiency Indices
5. Exit Interviews
6. MBO / Work Planning Systems
7. Quality Circles
8. Customer Satisfaction Survey
9. Analysis of Current and Anticipated Changes

Benefits of Training Needs Identification

1. Trainers can be informed about the broader needs in advance

2. Trainers Perception Gaps can be reduced between employees and their supervisors
3. Trainers can design course inputs closer to the specific needs of the participants
4. Diagnosis of causes of performance deficiencies can be done

Methods of Training

On the Job Trainings: These methods are generally applied on the workplace while employees
is actually working. Following are the on-the-job methods.

Advantages of On-the-Job Training:

It is directly in the context of job
It is often informal
It is most effective because it is learning by experience
It is least expensive
Trainees are highly motivated
It is free from artificial classroom situations

Disadvantages of On-the-Job Training:

Trainer may not be experienced enough to train
It is not systematically organized
Poorly conducted programs may create safety hazards

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