Course Code :MS-02

Course Title : Management of Human Resources

Assignment Code : MS-02 /TMA/SEM – I/2021

Note: Attempt all the questions

Q1.Explain the concept of Human Resource Management focusing on its objectives

and process. How has Human Resource Management evolved over the past and what
is its relevance in the present?

Ans:

Human resource management (HRM or HR) is the strategic approach to the effective
management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business
gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize employee performance in service
of an employer's strategic objectives. Human resource management is primarily concerned
with the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.HR
departments are responsible for overseeing employee-benefits design, employee
recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and reward management,
such as managing pay and Employee benefits benefit systems.HR also concerns itself with
organizational change and industrial relations, or the balancing of organizational practices
with requirements arising from collective bargaining and governmental laws.

The overall purpose of human resources (HR) is to ensure that the organization is able to
achieve success through people.HR professionals manage the human capital of an
organization and focus on implementing policies and processes. They can specialize in
finding, recruiting, training, and developing employees, as well as maintaining employee
relations or benefits. Training and development professionals ensure that employees are
trained and have continuous development. This is done through training programs,
performance evaluations, and reward programs. Employee relations deals with the
concerns of employees when policies are broken, such as cases involving harassment or
discrimination. Managing employee benefits includes developing compensation structures,
parental leave programs, discounts, and other benefits for employees. On the other side of
the field are HR generalists or business partners. These HR professionals could work in all
areas or be labour relations representatives working with unionized employees.

HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th Century when
researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic
management of the workforce. It was initially dominated by transactional work, such as
payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation,
technological advances, and further research, HR as of 2015 focuses on strategic initiatives
like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and
labor relations, and diversity and inclusion. In the current global work environment, most
companies focus on lowering employee turnover and on retaining the talent and

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knowledge held by their workforce.[citation needed] New hiring not only entails a high
cost but also increases the risk of a new employee not being able to adequately replace the
position of the previous employee. HR departments strive to offer benefits that will appeal
to workers, thus reducing the risk of losing employee commitment and psychological
ownership.

Its objectives and process

1. Organizational structure which drives productivity

Hiring the right talent for the task is only a small part of the challenge. Once an
organization has captured the talent it then needs organizational structures and practices
in place to nurture staff skills and maximize the return on investment in human capital. The
kind of structures required for a highly technical manufacturing unit will necessarily be
very different from the structure of an academic institution, or a hospital, or retail
consumer-facing unit. It’s thus the job of HR to recognize the optimal structures that need
to be in place for a wide range of work environments.

2. Developing effective coordination and communication within the organization

The 16th-century poet John Donne is possibly best known today for the phrase ‘No Man is
an Island’. It alludes to the idea that people do pretty badly when isolated from others.
They need to be part of a community in order to survive. We are, after all, the most social of
animals.

Thus, in isolation from fellow staff, it is fairly obvious that many people would struggle. It,
therefore, falls to Human Resources to ensure that staff hired for their skills to aid in
achieving wider corporate objectives, must be given a framework that helps them succeed.
HR must foster a hierarchy which achieves the best communication within and between the
departments that make up any business.

3. Dedicate time to finding the right staff and developing their skills base

We definitely live in some of the most fluid and dynamic times for employers and
employees. People increasingly expect to acquire new skills to remain relevant in the
employment market, whilst employers are constantly looking to staff as a key part of the
business’s competitive advantage.

HR, then, must not only find the right staff to mesh with the strategic course the business is
taking, but then ensure that these employees are given the skills to remain valued and
valuable to companies seeking to compete in an ever-more competitive landscape.

Employees find themselves operating in ‘knowledge economies’ where lifelong learning

has become the norm and HR, to be effective, must be matching, if not exceeding, their
competitive counterparts.

4. Embracing wider societal and ethical developments

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HR, more so than at any time in the evolution of employment practices, should not only be
inward-looking at the structure, communication, and training of staff but also be conscious
of the rapid cultural and societal changes affecting the work environment.

HR needs to understand how demographic, technological and other important societal

changes, including a potential workforce living longer than ever before, affect business. It
means a constant state of disruption and reinvention as HR explores new ways of working.
For example, the rise of expert systems and AI may mean a radical change in employment
practices, both releasing human capital to focus on tasks that smart systems cannot
perform, whilst rationalizing roles and potentially reducing headcount.

Such changes inevitably hit on important ethical and societal questions which will
increasingly require strategic thought and practical implementation as technologies
revolutionize the world of work.

Process

Traditionally, Personnel/HRM used to handle four simple activities, namely-

Staffing, management of change, administrative activities, and performance-related work.

Staffing ensured that the right staff are available at the right time and in the right place.
This involved identifying the nature of the job and implementing a recruitment and
selection process to ensure a correct match. To retain the people selected, the organization
came out with developmental initiatives and a reward package.

To motivate the people selected, a performance appraisal system was also put in place. To
put the disengaged worker to task, motivational practices were also instituted.
Organizational rules, regulations, policies, and procedures followed to keep the firm
moving. Administrative mechanisms were also put in place to see that talent does not
disappear without notice.

As you can see, personnel management was thus more or less workforce centered and
more operational in its focus. Personnel managers used to recruit, select, and carry out
administrative procedures as laid down by Line Managers.

They acted as a bridge between the employer and the employee. There was a functional
bias and no strategic orientation. They had to understand the needs of line managers and
the employees and articulate those needs to both parties from time to time.

This was the time when Guest came out with his model of HRM, diverting attention to the
individual needs of workers, the strategic management of an organization by aligning the
needs of employees with those of the organization. How HR could be used to hire talent in
order to show superior performance and commitment rather than simply meet the
requirements of system — that is mere compliance.

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How HR could be used to achieve key business goals alongside developing employee
capabilities, assuming the role of a strategic partner. Storey also felt that human capability
and commitment differentiated one organization from another.

To achieve goals, involvement of HR at the highest level and the alignment of human
resource systems, processes and procedures with corporate goals was also being
emphasized. Within the HRM view, two approaches have been identified. Storey (1989)
labeled these two approaches as hard HRM and soft HRM.

The ‘hard’ approach, rooted in manpower planning is concerned with aligning human
resource strategy with business strategy, while the ‘soft’ approach rooted in the human
relations school, has concern for workers’ outcomes and encourages commitment to the
organization by focusing on workers’ concerns. Some authors have suggested that there are
inherent contradictions within this normative theory of HRM.

Human Resource Management evolved over the past and its relevance in the present

Everything you need to learn about the evolution of HRM (human resource management.)
Evolution of HRM over the period of time is important for understanding the philosophy,
functions, and practices of HRM that are followed in different situations so that relevant
HRM practices are evolved in the present situation.

HRM, being a part of management discipline, has followed the pattern of development of
management because of the interrelationship of the problems of both the fields.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is relatively a very recent term considered for
managing human resources in an organization. HRM is still evolving to become an amalgam
of organizational behaviour, personnel management, industrial relations and labour
legislation.

1. Managing Slaves:

Slaves comprised an important source of manpower in almost all ancient civilizations. They
could be sold and purchased like commodities. Their main purchasers were the wealthy
rulers, landlords, tribal chiefs and effluent businessmen. The purchasers of slaves had a
rather complete control over their slaves.

The masters of the slaves took a variety of arduous work from them such as carrying heavy
loads, rowing ships and boats, construction of buildings and forts, digging canals, cattle-
rearing and tillage of soil. The remuneration or compensation for their efforts comprised
mainly food, shelter and clothing. The slaves were dealt with iron hands. They were
subjected to strict supervision, and non-compliance of the orders of their masters or
supervisors was generally punishable with physical tortures, and occasionally with
mutilation of their limbs and even death sentence for grave offences.

2. Managing Serfs:

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Serfdom was widely prevalent in the feudal societies of the pre-and early medieval era.
Serfs were engaged by landlords mainly in agricultural operations and allied activities. The
landlords would usually give them a piece of land for their habitat and often, some land for
their own cultivation. In many cases, a paltry sum of money was advanced to them in order
that they could remain attached to their masters.

In lieu of these facilities, the serfs and their family members were required to serve their
masters. The work assigned to serfs mainly comprised – tillage of soil, cattle-rearing,
domestic work and similar other activities. Many landlords would also give them a meagre
amount as wages, whether in cash or in kind. Usually, serfs could become free after
returning to their masters the habitat, the piece of land and advances with interest. They
could also be transferred to some other landlord on payment.

Under serfdom, some measure of personal relationship existed between the landlords and
the serfs. Many landlords often tried to solve their genuine grievances and extended some
help to those who were in distress. The feudal lords also occasionally gave some economic
inducements to their serfs in the form of additional supply of food-grains and some money
for their increased productivity and good behaviour.

Although the management of serfs was based on the principle of authoritarianism, the
element of human treatment was often found in their relationship. With the abolition of the
feudal system, serfdom also came to an end. However, some remnants of the past can still
be found even today, especially in rural areas. The bonded labour system in India is
comparable to the system of serfdom prevalent in European countries during the medieval
period.

3. Managing Indentured Labour:

The system of indentured labour emerged primarily with the flourishing of mercantilism
and advent of industrial revolution. The discovery of new lands through sea and land
routes led to a substantial increase in the demand of European goods abroad, and at the
same time, gave a fillip to the establishment of industries in the continent.

As a consequence, trade flourished leaps and bounds, and the mercantilists, taking
advantage of the expanding markets, tried to accumulate as much wealth as possible. In
their quest for maximizing wealth, the mercantilists would offer attractive inducements to
the artisans and skilled craftsmen for accelerating production of goods in demand. The
artisans and craftsmen responded and they started engaging an increasing number of
apprentices and hired labourers to cope with the demand of the products.

Its Present Relevance

1. Industrial Revolution Era:

The systematic development of HRM started with industrial revolution that started during
1850s in Western Europe and USA. The industrial revolution consisted, essentially, the

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development of machinery, the use of mechanical energy in production processes, and
consequently the emergence of the concept of factory with large number of workforce
working together.

The factory system replaced the old cottage system. Industrial revolution brought out a
number of changes like centralized work locations with large number of workers working
together, mechanized production process, migration of workers from their place of origin,
and indirect contact between factory owners and workers.

In order to manage people in the factory system of industrial revolution, three systems of
HRM were developed- recruitment of workers, training for workers, and control of
workers. However, the basic philosophy of managing workers revolved around master-
servant relationship.

2. Trade Union Movement Era:

Shortly after the emergence of factory system, workers started to organize themselves
based on their common interests to form workers’ associations which were subsequently
known as trade unions. The basic objectives of these associations were to safeguard
interest of their members and to sort out their problems which arose primarily because of
employment of child labour, long hours of work, and poor working conditions.

Later, other aspects of work such as economic problems and wages, employee benefits and
services, etc. also became issues. These trade unions started such weapons as strikes,
slowdowns, walkouts, boycotts, etc., for the acceptance of their demands.

These activities of the trade unions forced owners and managers to adopt employee
grievance handling systems, arbitration as a means of resolving conflicts between
owners/managers and workers, disciplinary practice, expansion of employee benefit
programmes, holiday and vacation time, clear definition of job duties, job rights through
seniority, and installation of rational and defensible wage structures.

3. Social Responsibility Era:

In the first decade of 20th century, some factory owners started adopting a more
humanistic and paternalistic approach towards workers. Paternalistic approach to labour
management is based on the philosophy that labour is just like a child and owner is just like
a father and the owner should take care of his labour just like a father takes care of his
children.

Those industrialists who adopted paternalistic approach offered a number of concessions

and facilities to labour force like reduced number of work hours, improved facilities at
workplace, model villages to workers, etc. All these practices led to the development of
social welfare aspect of labour management.

Many critics to paternalistic approach viewed that this approach was adopted to overcome
the problems posed by labour union movement as plenty of trade unions emerged which
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frequently interrupted work performance. Employers observed that workers were going
out of their control and to overcome this problem, they implemented welfare scheme. Thus,
this was a compulsion rather than a philosophy.

4. Scientific Management Era:

Around the beginning of 20th century, Taylor started to find out ‘one best way of doing
thing’ based on time and motion studies. On the basis of his experiments, he was able to
increase workers’ productivity considerably and wrote many papers based on these
experiments and a book on scientific management.

The main principles of scientific management are:

(i)Replacing rule of thumb with science,

(ii) harmony, not conflict,

(iii) cooperation, not individualism, and

(iv) development of each and every person. Scientific management techniques relevant to
management of workers are- functional foremanship, standardization and simplification of
work, and differential piece wage system.

5. Human Relations Era:

Around 1920s, management researchers gave a close look at the human factor at work and
the variables that affected people’s behaviour. Before that, Hugo Munsterberg wrote a book
on ‘Psychology and Industrial Efficiency’ which suggested the use of psychology in the field
of personnel testing, interviewing, attitude measurement, learning, etc.

This brief period was termed as ‘Industrial Psychology Era’. In 1924, a group of professors
from Harvard Business School, USA, began an enquiry into the human aspects of work and
working conditions at Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company, Chicago.

They conducted researches from 1924 to 1932 and arrived at the conclusions that
productivity of workers depended on- (i) social factors at the workplace, (ii) group
formation and group influence, (iii) nature of leadership and supervision, and (iv)
communication.

They concluded that in order to have better productivity, management should take care of
human relations besides the physical conditions at the workplace. Consequently, the
concepts of social system, informal organization, group influence, and non-logical
behaviour entered the field of management of personnel.

6. Behavioural Science Era:

In contrast to human relations which assume that happy workers are productive workers,
the behavioural scientists have been goal and efficiency- oriented and consider

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understanding of human behaviour to be the major means to that end. They have tried
several sophisticated research methods to understand the nature of work and the people in
the work environment.

The contribution of behavioural scientists to management practices consists primarily of

producing new insights rather than new techniques. It has developed or expanded a useful
way of thinking about the role of the manager, the nature of organizations, and the
behaviour of individuals within organizations. As against human relations model, they have
given the concept of human resource model.

Q2.Explain the concept and process of Human Resource Planning. With the help of
real life job situation, explain the importance of Organizational Socialization for
Human Resource Planning.

Ans:

Concept

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is the process of forecasting the future human resource
requirements of the organization and determining as to how the existing human resource
capacity of the organization can be utilized to fulfill these requirements. It, thus, focuses on
the basic economic concept of demand and supply in context to the human resource
capacity of the organization.

It is the HRP process which helps the management of the organization in meeting the
future demand of human resource in the organization with the supply of the appropriate
people in appropriate numbers at the appropriate time and place. Further, it is only after
proper analysis of the HR requirements can the process of recruitment and selection be
initiated by the management. Also, HRP is essential in successfully achieving the strategies
and objectives of organization. In fact, with the element of strategies and long term
objectives of the organization being widely associated with human resource planning these
days, HR Planning has now became Strategic HR Planning.

Though, HR Planning may sound quite simple a process of managing the numbers in terms
of human resource requirement of the organization, yet, the actual activity may involve the
HR manager to face many roadblocks owing to the effect of the current workforce in the
organization, pressure to meet the business objectives and prevailing workforce market
condition.

HR Planning, thus, help the organization in many ways as follows:

 HR managers are in a stage of anticipating the workforce requirements rather than

getting surprised by the change of events
 Prevent the business from falling into the trap of shifting workforce market, a
common concern among all industries and sectors

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  Work proactively as the expansion in the workforce market is not always in
conjunction with the workforce requirement of the organization in terms of
professional experience, talent needs, skills, etc.
 Organizations in growth phase may face the challenge of meeting the need for
critical set of skills, competencies and talent to meet their strategic objectives so
they can stand well-prepared to meet the HR needs
 Considering the organizational goals, HR Planning allows the identification,
selection and development of required talent or competency within the
organization.

It is, therefore, suitable on the part of the organization to opt for HR Planning to prevent
any unnecessary hurdles in its workforce needs. An HR Consulting Firm can provide the
organization with a comprehensive HR assessment and planning to meet its future
requirements in the most cost-effective and timely manner.

Process

A process is a program that is running on your computer. This can be anything from a small
background task, such as a spell-checker or system events handler to a full-blown
application like Internet Explorer or Microsoft Word. All processes are composed of one or
more threads.

Since most operating systems have many background tasks running, your computer is
likely to have many more processes running than actual programs. For example, you may
only have three programs running, but there may be twenty active processes. You can view
active processes in Windows by opening the Task Manager (press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and click
Task Manager). On a Mac, you can see active processes by opening Activity Monitor (in the
Applications→Utilities folder).

The term "process" can also be used as a verb, which means to perform a series of
operations on a set of data. For example, your computer's CPU processes information sent
to it by various programs.

A process consists four major elements:

 Steps and decisions — the flowchart. A series of steps and decisions describing the
way work is completed.
 Variability of processing time and flow — the pattern of processing times.
 Timing and interdependence — when the arrivals happen, when people work, etc.
 Assignment of resources — how many and where are they assigned.

The expanded definition of a process describes the behavior of the current system. Using
this information linked in a model, the characteristics of the system can be changed, and
the key metrics tested… before investing a dime

The importance of Organizational Socialization for Human Resource Planning

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Organizational socialization is the process by which new employees become acclimated to
the culture of a new workplace. At the wider organizational level, socialization promotes
organizational continuity rather than change. At the individual level, though, socialization
in organizations does promote change, and does so by a number of mechanisms.

Anticipatory Socialization and the Hiring Process

The socialization process truly begins when a future employee simply considers working
for a company. The candidate forms expectations of what the daily realities and culture of a
workplace will be. This preliminary socialization continues during the hiring process. In
interviews, those responsible for hiring communicate the organization's norms and values,
and try to ascertain whether or not a candidate will be a good fit. During this process,
candidates may already be purposely or subconsciously altering their behavior in order to
better reflect what they perceive to be the dominant organizational values.

Formal Socialization

Most organizations engage in some type of formal socialization for new hires. In some
cases, this occurs via an orientation or training program that new employees undergo
before assuming the functions of their new positions. Formal socialization may also occur
through a mentoring process whereby values, skills and habits are communicated to a new
hire by a more senior employee. In both cases, the intended effect is to alter the behavior
and values of the new employees until they are in line with those behaviors and values
prized by the organization.

Informal Socialization

Organizational socialization also occurs through any number of informal channels via peer
interactions and informal interactions with management. In many ways, this is where the
most effective and lasting socialization takes place. As new hires observe and interact with
fellow employees in the lunchroom and around the water cooler, and as they observe the
accepted behaviors of both peers and superiors in a variety of workplace situations, they
gain an understanding of the true values of an organization, and soon change their
behaviors accordingly.

Effects of Socialization

Even as different employees come and go, the socialization process preserves continuity for
an organization. As new employees become socialized, they learn the history, values, and
culture of an organization. They also receive a sense of membership in the organization.
Once employees become fully socialized members of the organization, they will participate
in the socialization of new hires, helping to preserve the long-standing values and norms of
the organization.

Q3.What is competency approach to job analysis? What are its uses and advantages.

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Explain various methods of competency approach to job analysis with special focus
on Assessment Centres.

Ans:

Competency approach to job analysis

A skill is a task or activity required for competency on the job. Competency in a skill
requires knowledge, experience, attitude, and feedback. Performance assessment criteria
clearly define the acceptable level of competency for each skill required to perform the job.
The individual’s level of competency in each skill is measured against a performance
standard established by the organization.

These competency skills are grouped according to a major function of the occupation, and
are presented in a two-dimensional chart. Each skill has its own set of “learning outcomes”,
which must be mastered before a competency in the particular skill is acknowledged.

The competency-based job analysis involves the following steps:

1.Identification of major job functions.

2.Identification of skills performed within each of the major job functions.

3.Generation of several drafts to be reviewed by employers and employees and modified to

accurately reflect the skills performed on the job.

4.Development of an occupational analysis chart. The chart is a two-dimensional

spreadsheet chart displaying the major job functions and skills.

5.Identification of performance standards for each skill using a competency-based rating

scale which describes various levels of performance.

Approaches

1) Assessment Centre

“Assessment Centre” is a mechanism to identify the potential for growth. It is a procedure

(not location) that uses a variety of techniques to evaluate employees for manpower
purpose and decisions. It was initiated by American Telephone and Telegraph Company in
1960 for line personnel being considered for promotion to supervisory positions. An
essential feature of the assessment center is the use of situational test to observe specific
job behavior. Since it is with reference to a job, elements related to the job are simulated
through a variety of tests. The assessors observe the behavior and make independent
evaluation of what they have observed, which results in identifying strengths and
weaknesses of the attributes being studied.

It is, however, worth remembering that there is a large body of academic research which
suggests that the assessment centre is probably one of the most valid predictors of

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performance in a job and, if correctly structured, is probably one of the fairest and most
objective means of gathering information upon which a selection decision can be based.
From the candidate’s perspective it is important to be natural and to be oneself when faced
with an assessment centre, remembering always that you can only be assessed on what you
have done and what the assessors can observe. The International Personnel Management
Association (IPMA) has identified the following elements, essential for a process to
be considered as assessment center:

a) A job analysis of relevant behavior to determine attributes skills, etc. for effective
job performance and what should be evaluated by assessment center.

 Techniques used must be validated to assess the dimensions of skills and abilities.
 Multiple assessment techniques must be used.
 Assessment techniques must include job related simulations.
 Multiple assessors must be used for each assessed.
 Assessors must be thoroughly trained.
 Behavioral observations by assessors must be classified into some meaningful and
relevant categories of attributes, skills and abilities, etc.
 Systematic procedures should be used to record observations.
 Assessors must prepare a report.
 All information thus generated must be integrated either by discussion or
application of statistical techniques.

Data thus generated can become extremely useful in identifying employees with potential
for growth.

Following are some of the benefits of the assessment center:

 It helps in identifying early the supervisory/ managerial potential and gives

sufficient lead time for training before the person occupies the new position.
 It helps in identifying the training and development needs.
 Assessors who are generally senior managers in the organization find the training
for assessor as a relevant experience to know their organization a little better.
 The assessment center exercise provides an opportunity for the organization to
review its HRM policies.

Assessment Centre is a complex process and requires investment in time. It should

safeguard itself from misunderstandings and deviations in its implementation.

For this, the following concerns should be ensured:

 Assessment Centre for diagnosis is often converted as Assessment Centre for

prediction of long-range potential.
 The assessors’ judgment may reflect the perception of reality and not the reality
itself.

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  One is not sure if the benefits outweigh the cost.

Assessment Centre comprises a number of exercises or simulations which have been

designed to replicate the tasks and demands of the job. These exercises or simulations will
have been designed in such a way that candidates can undertake them both singly and
together and they will be observed by assessors while they are doing the exercises. The
main types of exercises are presented below. Most organizations use a combination of them
to assess the strengths, weaknesses and potential of employees.

a) Group Discussions:

In these, candidates are brought together as a committee or project team with one or a
number of items to make a recommendation on. Candidates may be assigned specific roles
to play in the group or it may be structured in such a way that all the candidates have the
same basic information. Group discussion allows them to exchange information and ideas
and gives them the experience of working in a team. In the work place, discussions enable
management to draw on the ideas and expertise of staff, and to acknowledge the staff as
valued members of a team.

Some advantages of group discussion are:

 Ideas can be generated.

 Ideas can be shared.
 Ideas can be ‘tried out’.
 Ideas can be responded to by others.
 When the dynamics are right, groups provide a supportive and nurturing
environment for academic and professional endeavour.
 Group discussion skills have many professional applications.
 Working in groups is fun!

A useful strategy for developing an effective group discussion is to identify task and
maintenance roles that members can take up. Following roles, and the dialogue that might
accompany them in a group discussion have been identified.

Positive Task Roles: These roles help in reaching the goals more effectively:

 Initiator: Recommends novel ideas about the problem at hand, new ways to
approach the problem, or possible solutions not yet considered.
 Information seeker: Emphasizes “getting the facts” by calling for background
information from others.
 Information giver: Provides data for forming decisions, including facts that derive
from expertise.
 Opinion seeker: Asks for more qualitative types of data, such as attitudes, values,
and feelings.
 Opinion giver: Provides opinions, values, and feelings.

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  Clarifier: Gives additional information- examples, rephrasing, applications about
points being made by others.
 Summarizer: Provides a secretarial function.

Positive Maintenance Roles

These become particularly important as the discussion develops and opposing

points of view begin to emerge:

 Social Supporter: Rewards others through agreement, warmth , and praise.

 Harmonizer: Mediates conflicts among group members.
 Tension Reliever: Informally points out the positive and negative aspects of the
group’s dynamics and calls for change, if necessary.
 Energizer: Stimulates the group to continue working when the discussion flags.
 Compromiser: Shifts her/his own position on an issue in order to reduce conflict in
the group.
 Gatekeeper: Smoothes communication by setting up procedures and ensuring
equal participation from members.

b) In Tray:

This type of exercise is normally undertaken by candidates individually. The materials

comprise a bundle of correspondence and the candidate is placed in the role of somebody,
generally, which assumed a new position or replaced their predecessor at short notice and
has been asked to deal with their accumulated correspondence. Generally the only
evidence that the assessors have to work with is the annotations which the candidates have
made on the articles of mail. It is important when undertaking such an exercise to make
sure that the items are not just dealt with, but are clearly marked on the items any thoughts
that candidates have about them or any other actions that they would wish to undertake.

c) Interview Simulations/Role Plays:

In these exercises, candidates meet individually with a role player or resource person.
Their brief is either to gather information to form a view and make a decision, or
alternatively, to engage in discussion with the resource person to come to a resolution on
an aspect or issue of dispute. Typically, candidates will be allowed 15 -30 minutes to
prepare for such a meeting and will be given a short, general brief on the objective of the
meeting. Although the assessment is made mainly on the conduct of the meeting itself,
consideration are also be given to preparatory notes.

d) Case Studies / Analysis Exercises:

In this type of exercise, the candidate is presented with the task of making a decision about
a particular business case. They are provided with a large amount of factual information
which is generally ambiguous and, in some cases, contradictory. Candidates generally work
independently on such an exercise and their recommendation or decision is usually to be
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communicated in the form of a brief written report and/or a presentation made to the
assessors. As with the other exercises it is important with this kind of exercise to ensure
that their thought processes are clearly articulated and available for the scrutiny of the
assessors. Of paramount importance, if the brief requires a decision to be made, ensure that
a decision is made and articulated.

Advantages

1. Assist in the recruitment process:

Competency-based assessment can offer tremendous value during recruitment. It can help
define important job-specific and company-related competencies that HR can leverage to
strengthen selection processes. Using an employee assessment tool such as a 360 degree
feedback you can identify the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to successful
perform within the organization. HR can then use this data to make hiring decisions based
on the closeness of fit between an applicant and your organization.

2. Identify job-related development needs:

Employee development is a prerequisite to stay competitive in the global marketplace.

Competency-based assessment can help evaluate your employees’ competency profile
against those required for their jobs and identify gaps for improvement. This data can be
used to create personalized development plans that map your employees’ paths within the
organization. From there you will have a clearer understanding of where to focus
development resources such as incentives, coaching, and training courses.

3. Support continuous improvement:

An integral part of the continuous feedback process, competency-based assessment allows

you to measure and document performance as it relates to organizational and job-specific
competencies. Using a list of competencies and definitions, you can set performance
standards for employees, update competency profiles as development results are received,
and use this information to support evaluations and professional growth. To learn more,
read How to Develop Effective 360 Degree Feedback Competencies.

4. Increase job satisfaction:

Assessing competencies can help motivate and engage your employees. It’s a great way to
recognize the skills and knowledge they possess, and empower them to take control of
their career development. The more competencies they acquire, the more valuable they
will be to your organization. This will lead to increased job satisfaction and a higher
retention rate for your organization.

Various methods of competency approach to job analysis with special focus on

Assessment Centres

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A certain function for identifying the skill and potential for growth, it uses few methods to
evaluate employees for human resource & manpower purpose & decisions.

In simple words, Assessment centres are a series of exercises commonly used by employers
to test skills not readily assessable from an interview alone.

The assessment centre in HRM works in a certain way, it pre-determined adopts various
techniques of testing to allow the competencies that are the candidates to showcase their
ability & skills to achieve sheer success in a given particular job.

Preparation of Assessment Centre

The Assessment centre mainly focuses on performing well at performance related

exercises that bring out the actual work situations & activities.

It lets the competencies to prepare for the assessment, makes the competencies familiarize
with the essentials & job duties of the job position and reviews the skills of the
competencies before the examination to make them improve themselves.

On Time Assessment Centre

 Every Station is set with a particular time and the candidates are given the exact
amount of time to complete the exercises.
 A Set of assessment centre experts will assess each particular exercise.
 The competencies will perform the exercise as soon as they finish the experts will
direct them to the next exercise.

The candidate behaviour is observed by the assessment experts who have been trained to
perceive individual behaviour in terms of job dimensions.

After the Assessment Centre Finishes

 After the assessment centre finishes the assessment centre the assessors i.e., the
experts will start assessing the exercises given to them, the experts will assess the
performances on each of the exercises being rated.
 When all the competencies complete their assessments, the expert assessors will
put the information together that they’ve gathered. They usually take the form of
discussing a candidate at a time.
 The competencies will be notified about the examination results in 10 days by the
Human Resources.
 Letting the competencies know about their performances doesn’t mean they’ll be
offered a position.

It determines the placement on the eligible list depending on the eligibility criteria the
competencies name might be sent to the departments with vacancies & will be called for
the interview for the position.

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Use of Assessment Centre

The use of assessment centre is mainly for HR department, because HR Department looks
after required and actual skill sets of candidates and then selects them.

Following are the Use of Assessment Centre:

 Selection
 Career path
 Identify the potential
 Identification of talent
 Training and development needs
 Succession planning
 Development of candidate

Selection assessment centre method helps in getting the right people for the right job
at the right time.

Career path

It helps in deciding the candidate to decide his / her career path or career development. It
is because the candidate has got knowledge about the competencies required for a
particular job.

Identify the potential

It helps the candidate to know his / her potential and strong areas. This helps him/her in
performance appraisal.

Identification of talent

Assessment centre method clearly indicates the talents available within the organization,
which helps in identifying potential people for a particular position.

Training and development needs

Assessment centres also facilitate training and development need identification for a
candidate.

Succession planning

Succession planning as said above assessment centre method clearly indicates the skill sets
or competencies of an individual, it helps in succession planning.

This decision of succession planning based on assessment centre results helps in

reducing errors or helps in the accuracy of taking the right decision.

 Development of candidate
 Skill enhancement through simulations
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Q4.Explain the foundation and needs of effective Human Resource Management.
Critically analyze the role of training in Human Resource Development with the help
of examples.

Ans:

The Human Resource Management possesses a great importance when it comes to the
prosperity and stability of an organization. It plays a very imperative role in leading an
organization to the heights of its success. The HR Management plays a significant role when
it comes to the success of an organization. Be it hiring the perfect gem for your company,
collaborating with the employees, polishing their skills and dexterity up or making them
adapt to their environment for a successful company future; the HR Management has
always been there and has successfully done that!

It specializes in making the techniques and facilities that lead to a successful production.
Stated below are some of the most important objectives that the HR Management
takes care of:

Framing the Organizational Structure

The working mechanism between the management and employees accumulates the
organizational structure of the company. Assigning the employees, their positions, duties
and account abilities; the HR Management plays a key role here. Providing their employees
with the best environment that would enhance their creative abilities makes it easier for
them to perform more fluently; thereby enabling them to work more proficiently and
under the given limit.

Utilizing Every Aspect

Making use of every single opportunity that could potentially help the company reach its
successive goals is what the HR Management has to take care of. Creating equilibrium
between the individual goals of the employees and the goals of the company happens to be
the utmost feature that facilitates the employees to work more fluently and with a very
positive effort, eventually resulting in the better progress of the organization.

Controlling the Budget

One of the most important objectives of the HR Management is keeping the budget under
control. With a well-furnished enrollment process, the HR Management happens to chop off
major expenses of the company. Trimming the executive expenditure as much as possible,
while getting the jobs done to the fullest is yet another remarkable feature associated with
the HR department.

Helping the Employees

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The performance management of the employee is an imperative key for a positive outcome.
Polishing their skills and sorting out their work that fits their capabilities perfectly is what
basically sums up under this particular aspect.

Ensuring the Stability of the Organization

The HR Management seeks out for those aspects that ensure the stability and future
success of the company. Not compromising on the companies policies and making the
employees perform to their fullest is what makes a company progress, prosper, sustain,
and reign.

They say that;

“The only vital value an enterprise has is the experience, skills, innovativeness, and insights
of its people.”

Harnessing the potential abilities of an employee and making it work out for the success of
an organization is what the HR Management department does. If played strategically, the
HR Management proves itself to be the backbone of a company!

The role of training in Human Resource Development

Training and human resource development co-exist. They are like the two sides of a coin.
These things remain hidden and latent in everyman. With good leadership and managerial
capabilities they flourish. Human resource development (HRD) is the framework for
helping employees develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge, and
abilities.

Human Resource Development includes such opportunities as employee training,

employee career development, performance management and development, coaching,
mentoring, succession planning, key employee identification, tuition assistance and
organizational development. Personality and personality development is one of the key
concepts in HRD. By personality we mean the traits and characteristics that make up on
individual's psyche and determine how he or she interacts with their environment.
Personality is determined by a number of factors including the traits that one is endowed
with as a result of genetic factors and characteristics that have been developed due to his
or her interactions with the environment.

The field of human resource development encompasses several aspects of enabling in

empowering human resources in organization. Whereas, earlier HRD was denoted as
managing people in organizations with emphasis on payroll, training and other functions
that were designed to keep employees happy, the current line of management though
focuses of empowering and enabling them to become employees capable of fulfilling their
aspirations and actualizing their potential.

The field of HRD spans several functions across the organization starting with employee
recruitment and training, appraisals and payroll and extending to the recreational and
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motivational aspects of employee development. Further, the field of HRD now has taken a
role that goes beyond employee satisfaction and instead, the focus now is one ensuring that
employees are delighted with the working conditions and perform their jobs according to
their talent and potentials which brought to the fore.

The training programs need to be implemented according to a rational consideration of

training needs and more over these training programs need to be evaluated for assessing
their effectiveness. So, there are two aspects of training programs and they are to do with
clear plan for implementation as well as potential evaluation of their effectiveness. Apart
from this, training programs need to be implemented based on a calendar that is drawn up
taking into account the availability of participants.

Motivation is one of the most important concepts in HRD. Motivation of employees is

needed important for the health of the companies. Only when employees are motivated
sufficiently, can give their best. Healthy organizations believe in human resource
development and cover all of these basis. One option that I recommend, in preference to
many other ways in which organizations develop employees, is to provide internal training
either with internal staff or a paid facilitator or consultant.

Nation's progress depends on human resources development. If people of state become

proactive, dynamic it will be highly contributive with the skill, they possess. In the present
competitive world, only the fittest will survive, others cannot. If the youth of the country
want to stand on their own feet by achieving the job excellence, nation will undoubtedly
make a stand towards the momentum of development.

In our country, there are people from different professionals are well trained, achieve skill,
they would be able to perform in high degree with better result. And finally a resultant
force will pull the nation to the befitting place, country will be highly ranked. Every
professionals will be highly prestigious and dignified. No defame can defeat one's identity.
People will be very much practical minded and nation will take its place of reputation and
honor.

Our students, farmers, businessman, lawyers, cultural activists, and politicians all must
achieved the practical implications in their learning session, that is, for development of
every professional he/she must have the practical demonstration, so that the pros and cons
are well visited. The problems are easily identified and get solved. Our student’s curriculum
must be well designed, so that it is not burden only its theory. In this regard our curriculum
must be goal oriented and of applied pattern.

As a result in future or real life, every student will come up as a creative man, good
manager, good commander and good leader. So, every sphere of life training is part and
parcel without which nation will fall. To overcome the situation, student must be prepared
with practical knowledge. They should be well equipped from the very beginning of their
student life. They must be good debate organizer, good performer and above all their think

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tanks must be very fertile. So, nation's target would be to make all people action oriented
force.

All people coming from walks of life should be made highly skilled. If any fisherman from
society have the knowledge of fishing and farmers have the knowledge in agricultural line
it will help them. Again, if any camera-man or a photographer can not a operate a camera
and cannot adjust the aperture hole and finally if it becomes the same practice for other
instrument or apparatus holder the total output will be poor. So, the citizen of the state
must be capable to control the steering like a good boat-man to make it save from capsize.
Many valuable lives and properties will be saved.

So, our aim would be to make skilled man power so that state is run effectively and
efficiently. Everywhere we must represent ourselves as an expert boat-man. With this end
in view, only training can play a pivotal role to make a worthy workforce of a country. The
writer is Deputy Director General & Commandant (PRL) Ansar-VDP Academy, Safipur,
Gazipur.

Example

Company recognize that his people are the primary source of our competitiveness who we
have always put first in all the initiatives. Our belief in employee welfare is corroborated in
the several ‘firsts’ in employee welfare measures that Tata Steel introduced over time. In
India, these include the 8-hour Work Day at our Jamshedpur plant in 1912, the Leave with
Pay scheme in 1936 and the Workers’ Provident Fund Scheme in 1920 – all of which were
subsequently adopted by the International Labour Organization and enacted by law in
India. Click here to know more.

The European Works Council meets on a regular basis to provide a forum for discussion of
significant issues which may affect employees. Tata Steel has signed on with the UK
Government’s Social Mobility Business Compact, which aims to ensure everyone has a fair
opportunity to fulfill his or her potential according to merit. To know more, click here.

In the SEA region too, there is a continual emphasis on human rights. Several initiatives in
NatSteel have been undertaken-like the adoption of best practices, annual satisfaction
survey for migrant workers, ensuring good living conditions, health management
workshops, HIV awareness talks, weight management programmes, smoking cessation
programmes, aerobic classes among others.

Tata Steel Thailand enhanced the human resource management in various areas such as
orientation and mentoring for new joinees; welfare and benefits improvements with the
TOGETHER Programme; feedback initiatives from the Labour union, Employee Committee,
Welfare Committee, etc., to improve remuneration and facilities; knowledge sharing
session to build workforce capability; and a continuous emphasis on feel-good initiatives to
keep morale high.

Health and well-being

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Company organise bi-annual holistic health check-ups as well as annual extensive
investigations for all employees.

Company conduct regular checks to ensure that first aid centres across our plants are well-
equipped and manned by experienced doctors and paramedics. Our ‘Doctor at Doorstep’
initiative sees teams of doctors, technicians and nurses visiting Tata Steel employees on
shop-floors to counsel them on lifestyle management and treatment at Indian operations.

Ensuring access to nutritious food

Apart from providing air conditioning at all employee canteens, we have taken steps to
ensure consistency in the quality of food at all our canteens. Tata Steel also provides
specialized training to canteen staff to improve service levels and has committees in place
that are responsible for continuous improvement.

Setting high standards for health & safety

Tata Steel has set quality standards by monitoring office seating arrangements as well as
mobile equipment such as cranes to ensure that their ergonomics are above par. Air
pollution control systems have been installed at our plants to reduce dust levels and more
and more equipment can now be operated remotely, making onsite jobs safer and less
strenuous. Our 'Mobi-safe' mobile application allows employees to report any unsafe
condition/act in the workplace, besides offering features for online detection of hazardous
gases as well as visual displays of the shop floor for better understanding of work
processes.

Families and celebrations

Company 'Muskan' crèches at Indian workspaces support young parents whose work
keeps them away from their children. They have state-of the-art facilities and a ratio of 1:3
caregivers to every child. Other initiatives instituted by Tata Steel to engage its workforce
include celebrations of professional and personal milestones, reward and recognition
events and team get-togethers.

Q5.How does the Worker's Empowerment contributes to the Industrial Democracy?

Explain various forms of Workers' Participation in Management citing examples.

Ans:

Workers’ representatives who participate in management have to perform the dual roles of
workers’ spokesman and a co-manager. Very few representatives are competent enough to assume
the two incompatible roles. Generally, Trade Unions’ leaders who represent workers are also active
members of various political parties. While participating in management they tend to give priority
to political interests rather than the workers’ cause. Schemes of workers’ participation have been
initiated and sponsored by the Government. However, there has been a lack of interest and
initiative on the part of both the trade unions and employers. In India, labour laws regulate virtually
all terms and conditions of employment at the workplace. Workers do not feel the urge to

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participate in management, having an innate feeling that they are born to serve and not to rule. The
focus has always been on participation at the higher levels, lower levels have never been allowed to
participate much in the decision-making in the organizations. The unwillingness of the employer to
share powers with the workers’ representatives, the disinterest of the workers and the perfunctory
attitude of the government towards participation in management act as stumbling blocks in the
way of promotion of participative management.

Employer should adopt a progressive outlook. They should consider the industry as a joint
endeavor in which workers have an equal say. Workers should be provided and enlightened about
the benefits of their participation in the management. Employers and workers should agree on the
objectives of the industry. They should recognize and respect the rights of each other. Workers and
their representatives should be provided education and training in the philosophy and process of
participative management. Workers should be made aware of the benefits of participative
management. There should be effective communication between workers and management and
effective consultation of workers by the management in decisions that have an impact on them.
Participation should be a continuous process. To begin with, participation should start at the
operating level of management. A mutual co-operation and commitment to participation must be
developed by both management and labour.

Modern scholars are of the mind that the old adage “a worker is a worker, a manager is a manager;
never the twain shall meet” should be replaced by “managers and workers are partners in the
progress of business”

Various forms of Workers Participation in Management

Suggestion schemes: Participation of workers can take place through suggestion scheme. Under this
method workers are invited and encouraged to offer suggestions for improving the working of the
enterprise. A suggestion box is installed and any worker can write his suggestions and drop them in
the box. Periodically all the suggestions are scrutinized by the suggestion committee or suggestion
screening committee. The committee is constituted by equal representation from the management
and the workers. The committee screens various suggestions received from the workers. Good
suggestions are accepted for implementation and suitable awards are given to the concerned
workers. Suggestion schemes encourage workers’ interest in the functioning of an enterprise.
Works committee: Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, every establishment employing 100 or
more workers is required to constitute a works committee. Such a committee consists of equal
number of representatives from the employer and the employees. The main purpose of this
committee is to provide measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between
the employer and the employees. Functions: Works committee deals with matters of day-to-day
functioning at the shop floor level.

Works committees are concerned with:

Conditions of work such as ventilation, lighting, and sanitation. Amenities such as drinking water,
canteens, dining rooms, medical and health services. Educational and recreational activities. Safety
measures, accident prevention mechanisms etc. Works committees function actively in some
organizations like Tata Steel, HLL, etc. but the progress of Works Committees in many organizations
has not been very satisfactory due to the following reasons: Lack of competence and interest on the
part of workers’ representatives. Employees consider it below their dignity and status to sit
alongside blue-collar workers. Lack of feedback on performance of Works Committee. Undue delay
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and problems in implementation due to advisory nature of recommendations. Joint Management
Councils: Under this system Joint Management Councils are constituted at the plant level. These
councils were setup as early as 1958. These councils consist of equal number of representatives of
the employers and employees, not exceeding 12 at the plant level. The plant should employ at least
500 workers. The council discusses various matters relating to the working of the industry. This
council is entrusted with the responsibility of administering welfare measures, supervision of
safety and health schemes, scheduling of working hours, rewards for suggestions etc.

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