Mb 0027 Set1

Human Resource Management-MB0027 MBA -1 SEM

Assignment – Set 1

L. Megha Syam 510925494 ________________________________________________________________ Q1. Discuss the difference between personnel management and Human Resource Management. Difference between Personnel Management & Human Resources Management Though the two terms 'Personnel Management' and 'Human Resources Management' are interchangeably used by most of the authors, there are some differences between them. 1. Management of Human Resources is a new field of study embodying behavioural science knowledge relating to the working of line and staff officials and union leaders to motivate organizational goals. 2. Personnel Management is that phase of management which deals with the effective control and use of manpower. 3. HRM is a broad concept which covers many personnel aspects and includes social, professional and individual enterprise aspects, whereas Personnel Management focuses only on personnel aspects such as leadership, justice determination, task specialisation, staffing, performance appraisal, etc. 4. HRM is more growth oriented whereas Personnel Management is slightly narrow. Human Resource Planning is very vital in HRM. This is because it leads to the maximum utilization of human resources, reduces excessive labour turnover and high absenteeism; improves productivity and aids in achieving the objectives of an organisation. 5. HRM emphasizes on training, an important area of personnel, which covers the following aspects: 1. Increasing productivity; 2. Improving quality; 3. Improving organisational climate; 4. Ensuring personnel growth etc. 6. In practice both pertained to people management philosophically the approach is vastly different. 7. The expectations from Personnel management approach is to ‘take care’ of the people working in a organization, addressing grievances and complaints formed a large part of the Personnel Management function. The focus is largely reactive and followed the Theory X approach.

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8. Employee welfare is of paramount importance and managing industrial relations as a result of heightened trade union activity formed the highlights of the Personnel Management functions. 9. Human Resources Management on the other hand adopts a proactive approach to managing people and the focus is on employee development and delight. Hiring the right talent, providing for ample opportunities for career growth and job satisfaction are the highlights of this management style. The basic philosophy is driven by the Theory Y approach where the belief is that people like to work and do not prefer to be supervised and made to perform

Q2 Explain the Human Resource Planning System. Human Resource Planning Human resource or manpower planning is defined as 'the process by which a management determines how an organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower position. Through HR planning, a management strives to have the right number and the right kind of people at the right places, at the right time, to do things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving the maximum long range benefit". Human resource Planning consists of a the following activities:. a. Forecasting future manpower requirements. b. Making an inventory c. Anticipating manpower problems d. Planning the necessary programmes of requirement. Manpower planning consists in projecting future manpower requirements and developing manpower plans for the implementation of the projections. Human Resource Planning System A Human Resource System takes into consideration the following. 1. Objectives of Human Resource Planning: Human Resource Planning fulfils individual, organizational and national goals. Its purpose is to relate future human resources to future enterprise needs, so as to maximise the future return on investment in human resources. The main purpose is one of matching or fitting employee abilities to enterprise requirements, with an emphasis on future instead of present arrangements. 2. Estimating the Future Organizational Structure or Forecasting the Manpower Requirements: The management must estimate the structure of the organization at a given point in time. For this estimate, the number and type of employees needed have to be determined. Many environmental factors affect this determination. They include business forecasts, expansion and growth, design and structural changes, management philosophy, government policy, product and human skills mix, and competition.

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Forecasting is necessary for various reasons, such as: 1. The eventualities and contingencies of general economic business cycles (such as inflation, wages, prices, costs and raw material supplies) have an influence on the short-range and long-run plans of all organizations. 2. An expansion following enlargement and growth in business involves the use of additional machinery and personnel, and a reallocation of facilities, all of which call for advance planning of human resources. 3. Changes in management philosophies and leadership styles. 4. The use of mechanical technology (such as the introduction of automatic controls, or the mechanization of materials handling functions) necessitates changes in the skills of workers, as well as a change in the number of employees needed. 5. Very often, changes in the quantity or quality of products or services require a change in the organization structure. Plans have to be made for this purpose as well.

3. Auditing Human Resources: Determination of present supply of manpower resources is done through "Skills Inventory". A skills inventory contains data about each employee's skills, abilities, work preferences and other items of information which indicate his overall value to the company. 4. Job Analysis: records details of training, skills, qualification, abilities, experience and responsibilities, etc., which are needed for a job. Job analysis includes the preparation of job descriptions and job specifications. It is useful in job analysis 5. Developing a Human Resource Plan: This step refers to the development and implementation of the human resource plan, which consists in finding out the sources of labour supply with a view to making an effective use of these sources. . 3 Write a detailed note on training needs identification. Training indicates any process by which the aptitudes, skills and abilities of employees to perform specific jobs are increased. The purpose of Training is to acquire Intellectual Knowledge, Manual Skills and Problem Solving Skills. Employee training tries to improve skills, or add to the existing level of knowledge so that the employee is better equipped to do his present job, or to prepare him for a higher position with increased responsibilities. Training Needs Identification Training could be a useful aid in improving the transformation process that takes place in an organization in terms of the processing of inputs to outputs. Training is related to both organization and an individual in terms of acquiring or imparting knowledge with respect to diversification of product lines, new technology or equipment installed.

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Methods of identifying training needs are 1. Views of the line manager 2. Performance appraisal 3. Company and departmental plans 4. Views of training manager 5. Analysis of job difficulties. Thayer and McGhee model identifies training requirement based on three factors: 1. Organization analysis 2. Task analysis 3. Man analysis Total Organization Analysis: Total Organization Analysis is a systematic effort to understand exactly where training effort needs to be emphasized in an organization. It involves a detailed analysis of the organization structure, objectives, human resources and future plans, and an understanding of its culture. Organizational Analysis involves achieving a clear understanding of both shortrun and long-run Goals. For an organization analysis, there are three essential requirements: 1. An adequate number of personnel available to ensure fulfilment of the business operation; 2. That personnel performance is up to the required standard; 3. That the working environment in their units/departments is conducive to fulfilment of tasks. In order to ensure the first two requirements a human resource inventory needs to be made. Data regarding positions, qualifications, vacancies, replacements and training time required for replacements have to be worked out. Job standards must also be worked out. Various efficiency and productivity indexes, or ratios such a productivity ratios, cost per unit etc, can be worked out to determine not only efficiency but also adequacy, in terms of under-manning or over-manning, of the workforce. In analyzing the organization climate, both direct and indirect methods could be used. Task Analysis This activity entails a detailed examination of a job, its components, its various operations and the conditions under which it has to be performed. The focus here is on the "task" itself, rather than on the individual and the training required to perform it. Analysis of the job and its various components will indicate the skills and training required to perform the job at the required standard. Standard of Performance: Every job has an expected standard of performance. Unless such standards are attained, not only will interrelated jobs suffer,

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If the standards set for the performance of a job are known, then it is possible to know whether the job is being performed at the desired level of output or not. Knowledge of the "task" will help in understanding what skills, knowledge and attitudes an employee should have. Methods: If an employee is asked to perform a job, the exact components of the job and the standard of performance must be known. Task analysis entails not merely a simple listing of the various job components, but also of the relatively critical nature of the various subtasks. Conventional methods of job analysis are usually suitable for task analysis. They are: 1. Literature review regarding the job. 2. Job performance. 3. Job observation, 4. Data Collection regarding job interviews. Man Analysis Man analysis is the third component in identifying training needs. The focus of man analysis is on the individual employee, his abilities, and the inputs required for job performance, or individual growth and development in terms of career planning. Man analysis helps to identify whether the individual employee requires training and if so, what kind of is training. Clues to training needs can come from an analysis of an individual's or a group's typical behaviour. The primary sources of such information are: 1. Observation at place or work, examination of job schedules, quantum of spoilage, wastage, and clues about interpersonal relations of the employees; 2. Interviews with superiors and employees; 3. Comparative studies of good vs. poor employees, to identify differences, skills and training gaps; 4. Personnel records; 5. Production reports; 6. Review of literature regarding the job and machines used. Job knowledge tests, work sampling and diagnostic psychological tests also provide information about employees.

4 Explain different types of appraisal methods. Performance evaluation is the personnel activity by means of which the enterprise determines the extent to which the employee is performing the job effectively and for performance evaluation to be more than a yearly paperwork exercise, top management must encourage its use and use it to make reward decisions such as promotions. Types of Appraisal Methods There are several ways to classify these tools. The three categories used here will be; Individual evaluation methods; Multiple person evaluation methods; and other methods.

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I. Individual evaluation Methods: There are five ways to evaluate an employee individually. In these systems, employees are evaluated one at a time without directly comparing them with other employees. They are: 1. Graphic rating scale: In this technique, the evaluator is presented with a graph and asked to rate employees on each of the characteristics listed. The number of characteristics rated varies from a few to several dozen. A factor analysis of the results indicates that only two traits were being rated: quality of performance and ability to do the present job. 2. Forced choice: In forced choice, the evaluator must choose from a set of descriptive statements about the employee. The two,three,or fourstatement items are grouped in a way that the evaluator cannot easily judge which statements apply to the most effective employee. 3. Essay evaluation: the evaluator is asked to describe the strong and weak aspects of the employee's behaviour. The essay method can be used by evaluators who are superiors, peers, or subordinates of the employee to be evaluated. 4. Management by objectives: In this system, the supervisor and employee to be evaluated jointly set objectives in advance for the employee to try to achieve during a specified period. The method encourages, if not requires, them to phrase these objectives primarily in quantitative terms. This approach combines the superior and self evaluation systems. 5. Critical incident technique: In this technique, personnel specialists and operating managers prepare lists of statements of very effective and very ineffective behaviour for an employee. These are the critical incidents. The critical incident technique is more likely to be used by superiors than in peer or subordinate evaluations. 6. Checklists and weighted checklists: In its simplest form, the checklist is a set of objectives or descriptive statements. If the Rater believes that the employee possesses a trait listed, the Rater checks the items; if not, the Rater leaves it blank. A rating score from the checklist equals the number of checks the employee's evaluation is the sum of the scores (weights) on the items checked. Checklists and weighted checklists can be used by evaluators who are superiors, peers, or subordinates, or by a combination. 7. Behaviourally anchored rating scales: BARS called the behavioural expectation scale (BES). This is a new, relatively infrequently used technique. Supervisors give escriptions of actually good and bad performance, and personnel specialists group these into categories (five to ten is typical). As with weighted checklists, the items are evaluated by supervisors (often other than those who submitted the items).

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II. Multiple person Evaluation Methods The techniques described above are used to evaluate employees one at a time. Three techniques that have been used to evaluate an employee in comparison with other employees being evaluated are discussed in this section. 1. Ranking: In ranking method, the evaluator is asked to rate employees from highest to lowest on some overall criterion. Simple ranking can be improved by alternative ranking. In this approach the evaluators pick the top and bottom employees first, then select the next highest and next lowest, and move towards the middle. 2. Paired comparison: This approach makes the ranking method easier and more reliable. First, the names of the persons to be evaluated are placed on separate sheets (or cards) in a predetermined order, so that each person is compared to all others to be evaluated. The evaluator then checks the person he feels is the better of the two on a criterion for each comparison. Typically the criterion is overall ability to do the present job. The number of times a person is preferred is tallied, and this develops an index of the number of preferences compared to the number being evaluated 3. Forced distribution: The forced distribution system is similar to 'grading on a curve’. The evaluator is asked to rate employees in some fixed distribution of categories, such as 10 percent in low, 20 percent in low average, 40 percent in average, 20 percent in high average, and 10 percent in high. One way to do this is to type each employee's name on a card and ask the evaluators to sort the cards into five piles corresponding to the ratings. This should be done twice for the two key criteria of job performance and promo ability. One reason forced distribution was developed was to try to alleviate such problems as inflated ratings and central tendency in the graphic rating scale. III. 360 Degree Appraisal The multiple input approach to performance feedback is sometimes called "360degree assessment" to connote that full circle. There are no prohibitions in law or regulation against using a variety of rating sources, in addition to the employee's supervisor, for assessing performance assessment approaches with multiple rating sources provide more accurate, reliable, and credible information. For this reason, Personnel Management supports the use of multiple rating sources as an effective method of assessing performance for formal appraisal and other evaluative and developmental purposes.

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Q5 Write a note on Motivation Techniques. Motivation Techniques Motivation Technique activity may be divided into two parts: (a) What is to be done.- forms steps in motivation. (b) How and why what is done.- identify rules governing the steps. The steps of motivation are listed below: 1. Size up situation requiring motivation: The first stage of motivation is to make sure of motivational needs. Every employee needs motivation. However, all people do not react in exactly the same way to the same stimuli. Keeping this in mind the executive shall size up how much and what kind of motivation is needed and when and by which individuals. 2. Prepare a set of motivating tools: An executive must have a list from which he should select and apply specific tools of motivation. An executive from his personal experience should prepare a list of what devices are likely to work with what type of people and under what circumstances. 3. Selecting and applying the appropriate motivator: Proper application of motivational plan is very important. This involves selection of the appropriate technique, the method of application and the timing and location of applications. 4. Follow-up the results of the application: The last stage of motivation is to follow-up the results of the application of the plan. The primary objective is to ascertain if an employee has been motivated or not. If not, some other technique should be tried. A secondary purpose of follow-up is to evaluate motivation plans for future guidance. Rules of Motivating: In following the steps of motivation a manager should be guided by some fundamental rules which should be based upon the following principles: 1. Self-interest and Motivation: Motivation is mainly built on selfishness. Psychologically speaking, selfishness is a part and parcel of life. To deny this is to build the theory on unrealistic foundation. The aim should be to learn more about selfishness. 2. Attainability: Motivation must establish attainable goals. What is prescribed for a particular person must be attainable by him. This does not mean that the goal is realised at once. Such goals as promotion or desirable transfer may take years to attain. But it must be within reach. There are a number of ways of inspiring and motivating a team and these include the use of: • • • • •

Positive imagery Team-building activities Training Enhanced communication Targets, rewards and incentives

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Q6 Elaborate the importance of grievance handling. Grievance can be described as “any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not

and whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company that an employee thinks, believes or even feels unfair, unjust or inequitable.” Or “A written complaint filed by an employee and claiming unfair treatment" Causes of employee grievances could be grouped under different major headings, some of the causes that need to be considered are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Promotions; Amenities; Continuity of Services; Compensation; Disciplinary action; Fines; Increments; Wages; Acting Promotion; Recovery of dues; Safety appliance; Superannuation; Supersession; Transfer; Victimization; Conditions of work.

Importance of Grievance Handling The grievance handling / dispute handling process starts from the desk of a senior manager, where should try to settle the grievance at the first stage i.e before the grievance has left the jurisdiction of the supervisor. This requires that the manager is competent and trained in handling a grievance problem and handling the grievance using scientific method is most productive for a satisfactory solution. The following directions help in handling a grievance: 1. Receive and define the nature of the dissatisfaction: The manner and attitude with which the supervisor receives the complaint of grievance is important. The supervisor should assume that the employee is fair in presenting the complaint or grievance. Statements should not be prejudged on the basis of past experience with this or other employees. The supervisor should not be too busy to listen and should not give an impression of condescension in doing so. 2. Get the facts: In gathering facts, one quickly becomes aware of the importance of keeping proper records such as performance ratings, job ratings, attending records, and suggestions. In addition, with the increasingly legalistic bent that is characteristic of modern labour management relations, the supervisor is wise to keep records on each particular grievance. It is also MB 0027 –Set 1

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important that the supervisor possesses and exercise some skill in interview conference, and discussion. 3. Analyze and divide: With the problem defined and the facts in hand, the manager must now analyze and evaluate them, and then come to some decision. 4. Apply the answer: Though the solution decided upon by the superior is adverse to the employee, some answer is better than none. In the event of an appeal beyond this stage of the procedure, the manager must have the decision and the reasons for his decisions should be properly recorded. 5. Follow up: The purpose of its follow up phase is to determine whether the clash of interest has been resolved. If follow up reveals that the case has been handled unsatisfactorily or that the wrong grievance has been processed, then redefinition of the problem, further fact finding, analysis, solution and follow up are required. 6. Among the common errors of management encountered in the processing of grievances are: i. ii. iii. iv.

Stopping too soon in the search of facts; Expressing a management opinion prior to the time when all pertinent facts have been discovered; Failing to maintain proper records; Resorting to executive fiat or orders instead of discussion and conference to change minds.

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