You are on page 1of 56

Part One Introduction to Human Resources Management

Human resources have increasingly become the crucial resource for the organizations, as it plays a vital role in determining the success of the organization.

Introduction
Effective management of the human resources available in the organization helps the organization to develop a pool of skilled and motivated employees.

DEFINITION OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT


Human resources of any country refers to the total population of that country except those who are above 60 years of old and below 16 (in some countries 18), also those who are in prisons or hospitals, and the higher education students, plus the house wives. Human Resources management -formerly known as personnel management- basically deal with people who work in an organization. Human Resources are not replaced in an organization as they have specific skills, knowledge and capabilities that can enhance the organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Newly recruited employees may not have the same experience and skills compared with the existing employees. In other words, human resources management (HRM) could be defined as (the utilization of individuals to achieve organizational objectives).

Among the issue of the HRM include;


Employee placement, Job and team design, Compensation of the employees, etc. In today's technological era, HRM has become increasingly important in all organizations. This is crucial as the manager is aware of the limitations of technological inputs despite the rapid evolution of the technology. Since the cutting edge of technologies are readily available in almost all parts of the world, technological ownership does not guarantee the success of the organization. In general, it is actually the human capital of that organization who determine the success or failure of the organization. Now, employees of many organizations come from various cultural, race, education backgrounds. To be able to work effectively with another worker, you have to understand the Human Behavior.
1

You have to know about the existing policies, systems, and practices that will help in building a group of trained and motivated workers. A manager's job does not only involve recruiting workers to fill up available job positions, but a manager's responsible to assure that the worker achieves his job satisfaction.

FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT;


Basically there are FOUR functional areas which are associated with effective human resources management: Staffing; the staffing process is an essential one that can contribute to the success of the organization, An organization needs to have employees who are capable, have the necessary skills and are qualified to perform their respective jobs. To get this type of workers, the HR planning that involve recruitment and selection need to be mapped out carefully. The organization must insure that there is a continuous supply of productive employees both in short term and long term period of its HR planning. The most effective selection of employees will determine whether the organization can be successful or not.

Staffing consists of three important components; 1- HR planning; before an organization actually conducts the recruitment
and selection process, it must first develop its own HR plan. HR planning is a systematic process that analyses the human resource requirements to ensure that the number of employees with necessary qualifications is matched to the job which is being advertised. A crucial; instrument used in HR planning as job analysis. Job analysis is used by most employers to plan on the human resources supply in their organizations. Job analysis is a process that develops a detailed job description which includes the list of work responsibility in the job position, the inter-relationship of that particular job with other related job positions; and the required knowledge, skill and qualification for the job position. This is critical to ensure that the recruited employee manages to perform the job efficiency.

2- Recruitment; is a process of attracting qualified individuals and


encouraging them to apply for work in the organization. Before the organization can scout for potential capable employees. It has to know the job specifications well for the vacant job position. Job Specification is a statement that outlines the required knowledge, skill and capabilities in order to perform the job. Besides, job specification, managers and supervisors need the job description of the job position to select the potential candidate and tally him or her with the job. Job description is an account of the job tasks and responsibilities.

3- Selection; is the process through which the organization chooses the best
candidates from a group of applicants to fill in the job vacancy. The objective of having an effective selection process is to match the individual
2

characteristics and traits of the candidate like capabilities, knowledge and academic qualifications with the recruitment of the job itself. If the management is failing to do the appropriate matching process, it will affect the performance and job satisfaction of the recruited candidate. Selection is seen as the most difficult process for a manager. Try to look at the recruitment and selection process in your organization. What can you deduce from the process?

HR Development; HR development aids individuals and work teams to be more


effective. In the light of the changing nature of the organization, work, technology and work systems, HR development is the necessary tool to train and develop the employees so that they can keep up with the evolutionary technologies that will lead to increased productivity. HR development also prepares those individuals so that they can hold higher positions as they gain more experience with the company. The main components in HR development are orientation, staff training, and development and performance appraisal

Orientation; is a formal process that aims to get the new employees to become more
familiar with the organization specially the tasks involve rules and regulations, organization objectives and other co-workers. Each newly recruited employee is required to attend orientation program conducted by the organization. This is important for the employees to adjust the new work environment in the organization

Training and Development; all employees in the organization must undergo continuous
organizational training and development so that they can maintain their effective work performance and adapt the newly emerged work practices.

Staff training and development is defined as a series of activities designed to give


ample opportunities to the employees to improve their work competencies. Through training, the organization can encourage healthy and productive work practices in the work environment. Every thing is possible by training

Performance Appraisal; the manager must assess his staff's performance based on the
tasks assigned to them. The manager can do that by using performance appraisal. In performance appraisal process, the manager needs to use the appropriate forms and
3

appraisal systems that are designed by the human resources department. Performance appraisal encompasses the process of identifying, evaluating and managing the performance of the individuals in the organization. By using the performance appraisal, a typical employee can be appraised to see how far he has accomplished the job as assigned by his superiors.

Performance Evaluation comes handy for the new employees to learn about how they
can improve their own productivity to meet the organization's need for quality. In your opinion, when can the organization conduct the orientation program? When it is suitable for the organization to arrange for the employee training and development.

Compensation, Human Resources Health and Safety; Compensation and employees


health and safety are among the critical mechanism that can be used by the companies and managers to attract, maintain and motivate high-performing employees so that they can continuously contribute to the realization of organization objectives

Compensation; is the benefits given by the organization to the employees as tokens of


appreciation for their hard work for the organization. Examples include gratuity, pension and services rendered benefits. All these will be given to employees to agree to work in the organization. The benefits are rewards could be a combination of the following :-

-Salary; money received by the worker for the work rendered for a period of
time (weekly, monthly etc.) -Allowance; additional financial and non-financial rewards beside the basic salary such as annual leaves, sick leaves and medical insurance. -Incentives; additional financial reward given to the employees to motivate them. For example, sales incentives may include the sales commission and holiday vouchers. Other incentives can be performance bonuses, attendance bonus and excellent performance awards -Health and safety of workers; the organization is responsible for the health and safety of its employees at the office. The organization also has to ensure that the job offered is safe and happy. In this context, health refers to the overall physical and mental well-being of the workers, and safety is associated with the organization's actions to protect the workers from possible injuries that could be caused by hazards at the workplace -Industrial relations; an organization consists of workers with diverse backgrounds who collaborate together to achieve the common organizational goals. Sometimes, the personal needs of these individuals are not parallel with the organization objectives or their work styles do not fit into the organization system. These discrepancies can create conflict. Industrial relations refers to the developed systems and approved regulations that are embedded in organization policies to provide a conducive work environment. They are components in the industrial relations; namely Relationship between the employer and the employee; to maintain a pleasant working
4

environment, the organization must focus on the relationship between the employer and the employees. A stressful working environment in which there are numerous conflicts between the employee and employees would affect the workers' performance and, eventually the organizational performance.

Discipline of the employees; industrial relations also involves taking disciplinary action
on the employees that fail to adhere to the organizational rules and regulations.

Relationship between the functions of HRM


All the functions of HR are inter-related with each other. The manager must be sensitive that each decision that he makes using one of the functions would affect the other functions as well To illustrate further, let us say, the organization focuses on recruiting quality candidates only but ignores to look into the compensation packages for these candidates then the whole human resources process would not be cost-effective to the organization. Skilled and productive employees will be de-motivated if they are not enlisted for appropriate training and development programs that would add value to their competencies. Besides that, benefits and compensation are not enough, the employees also have the right to work in a comfortable conducive work environment.

Factors that influence the HRM


How the environmental factors influence the management of human resources. These factors are divided into the external environmental factors and internal environmental factors.

External Environment Factors


Labor m et ark econom y H an um resources m anag ent em technolog y

Leg al requirem ents

Labor unions

shareholders

com petition

custom ers

External factors include economy, technology, customers, competition, share holders, labor unions, labor market and legal requirements. Each respective factor, either by itself or by a combination of other factors, can influence human recourse management recession

1- The Economy of the nation is a major environmental factor that affects human
5

resources management. In general, an economic boom or recession can determine the level of demand and supply of the workforce. In the recession period, more potential candidates would be looking for jobs and organization could have more choices to consider from a larger pool of human resources. The state of economy can also affect the career development of the employee. When the economy is booming, the organization tends to reduce the training and development activities for its staff as compared to when the economy faces recession. For example, companies contributing to the human resources development fund (HRMF) are allowed to use some of the contributions for the training and development of its staff. Another function of human resources management that is affected by the economy is the compensation and rewards for the staff. When the economy is stable , the organization would give out lucrative bonuses and promotions.. The organization might put the bonus or salary increment on hold or it could come up with salary cut among its workers if necessary. In your opinion, how far is the effect of the 2009 economic recession on the management of human resources in your organization?

2- Technology; the rate of change in technology accelerates at an amazing pace. The most
challenging aspect for the HR managers is to train and develop their employees so that they can keep up with the evolving technology With various changes in technology, certain competencies become obsolete, and eventually employees need to re-learn new skills like the skill to use the latest models of computers (PC tablet, etc.), utilize the latest method in information technology and adopt the more advanced communication technology (teleconferencing) (videoconferencing) etc Technological advancement has also enabled the process of recruiting candidates to be done over the internet (e.g. online recruitment). Job vacancies in certain organizations would be advertised in the organization's web-site or a special recruitment web-site that scouts for possible candidates There are also some organizations which conduct computer based training. Another common use of technology in human resource management is the organization's human resources information system. The human resources information system can be used to produce accurate and current reports that could help the management to make decisions related to the needs of human resources, the career planning and promotion; policy assessment and human resources
6

practices.

3- Customers; customers are the people who actually use a firm's goods and services, and
they also are part of the firm's external environment. Since sales is crucially important for the survival of an organization, management needs to insure that its human resources practices are customer- friendly Customers constantly demand high quality products and after purchase service. If the longer look forward to continue buying products from the firm. Therefore, the employees capable of providing top quality goods and services. These scenarios are correlated with the skills, qualifications, at motivation of the employees

4- Marketplace, and the Labor Market: there will always be other firms that produce
the similar products or services. Thus, a firm must maintain a supply of competent employees if it aims to succeed, grow and prosper in the competitive business environment. the firm's task is to ensure that it obtains a retains a sufficient number of employees in various careers to maintain its competitive advantage Employees have high mobility. Employees changing jobs from company to another. To encourage the high-performers to continue working with the organization, the management must have excellent human resources policies, attractive compensation package (even better than what the competitors are offering), safe working environment and continuous training and development programs for staff so that they equip themselves with new skills.

5- Shareholders; As the owners of a corporation, shareholders or stockholders invest their


capital in the corporation. At time, they may challenge the decisions made by the management. On the other side, management needs to stand by their decisions by providing rational justifications regarding the viability of the programs that could affect cost, income, and the revenue of the organization Shareholders deserve to know if the cost spent on these programs would generate income or reduce costs. Thus, management must be prepared to justify the advantages of the programs in term of its benefits and economical costs

6- Labor Unions; types of compensation, work benefits, salary level and working
conditions reflect the joint decisions made by the labor union and the management of the organization. A union is established by a group of employees who aims to improve their working conditions. Usually, labor unions will negotiate with the management in the organization that has labor unions. Labor union can influence the management decision on the compensation and benefits received by the employees Normally, the main issues by the union include compensation packages and work place surroundings.

7- The Labor Supply Market; an organization gets its supply of human resources from
the labor supply market. Labor supply market is viewed as an external environmental factor
7

since newly recruited employees are taken from this labor market. The labor supply market changes periodically and these changes directly affect the organization's manpower The organization has a group of employees who originate from different races, religions and ethnic groups. The multifarious backgrounds of employees have wide impact on managing human resources in the organization. Managers must ensure that they are sensitive to the different needs of these groups and practice fair judgment in their course of action The labor market provides organizations with employees of diverse backgrounds and qualifications, different job positions within the organization require the organization to hire people with combination of multiple skills Conducting the training and development programs will accommodate these changes in the human resources management in the organization. If the human diversity in the organization is not well-managed, then the organization has to face high turnover, difficult communication and interpersonal conflicts between the employees and the organizations.

8- Legal Requirement; human resources is also shaped by the federal


laws, state laws, local laws and court verdicts. Those laws include (labor laws, social insurance laws, health and safety laws, etc.) those laws should be considered in designing and adopting company policies Most of the successful human resources management practices depend on the effective enforcement of those laws. To operate in the domain of law, an organization needs to develop its internal system that comply with these laws.

The Internal Environment;


Internal environment consists of factors that can be controlled by an organization. The factors encompass organization strategies, organizational objectives, leadership styles and corporate culture. These factors will create more positive working conditions that will increase the employee productivity
Org anizational strateg y

Org anizational objectives

H umanresources manag ent em

L eadershipstyle

Corporateculture

1- Organizational Strategy; organizational strategy is important as it is an action plan


that gives a clear direction for the top management and the staff, so that they will be working towards one common goal. Through strategic planning, the top management will determine the overall objectives and mission to be achieved and how they will be achieved.

2- Organizational Objectives; the organizational objectives will influence the


manager's decisions. The extent to which organization focuses on the job promotion or budget for training and development rely on the organization objectives. Thus, organizational objective actually reflects the success or failure of the organizational planning.

3- Senior Management; senior management plays a big role to generate success and
income for the organization, and the management needs the back-up support from the staff. Focus should be given to human resources and its respective functions.

4- Corporate Culture; corporate culture is the system of shared values, habits within an
organization that ties the members of the organization together. For example, an organization needs to encourage its staff to build on their skills, and support human resources policies such as informal recruitment, flexible compensation schemes or generic work plan

Part Two JOB ANALYSIS Definition;


Job analysis is a basic tool for HRM; it is often described as the basis for human resources management as the information gathered in this process is very useful to the major functions of HRM. job analysis is a systematic process to identify the skills, duties and knowledge required for performing a job in an organization in effective manner. It basically answers the following important questions; What physical and mental tasks must the worker accomplish towards the completion of the job? Does the work require the use of special machine or specific tools? What are the qualifications, skills, and abilities needed by the job holder to perform the job? What kind of environment and work place needed to finish the job? What is the estimated job performance for this kind of job? Why is the job done? When should the job analysis be conducted? Actually, job analysis is carried out in three occasions. First, job analysis is crucial when the organization is fairly new, and a job analysis program is initiated for the first time. Second, it is used to examine the new scope of new jobs created in the organization.
9

Third, when jobs are changed significantly as results of new technologies, methods, procedures, or systems. Job analysis will have to be carried out to take into account the current changes. The information gathered in job analysis is used to prepare both job description and job specifications. A job description is a written statement that provides information regarding the tasks, duties, and responsibilities for the job Besides, describing the nature of the job, it also points out what is expected to be done by the job holder. On the other hand, a job specification outlines the minimum acceptable qualifications a person should possess to perform a particular job. The following chart illustrates how job analysis is conducted and its various uses

IMPORTANCE OF THE JOB ANALYSIS;


Data derived from job analysis, is actually inter-connected between one another. Recruitment; recruiting workers needs to be done in a systematic way. The selection would be topsy-turvy if the recruiter did not know the qualifications needed to perform the various jobs Since jobs analysis, especially job description and job specification, contains information on the types of skills, knowledge and capabilities needed to perform a certain job, then it can be used to determine which category the individual would belong to when he is hired for the job.

Selection; carrying out a selection process to obtain employees for the organization needs
careful planning. A complete and detailed job analysis would assist the human resources manager to match the individual with the most appropriate job position according to the skills, knowledge and abilities that he has.

Training and development; job analysis plays an important role in identifying the need
for employees training and development. Job analysis information is used to develop training programs. Job analysis and specification usually reflect the career development path for employees. If the job specification suggests that the job position requires certain knowledge, skills, or abilities and the individual in that position does not possess the requirements needed, then
10

he needs to undergo training or development programs. Training and development helps employees to perform the job as detailed in the job description or to prepare them for higher posts in the future

Performance evaluation; the performance standards that are used to assess the
employee's performance for the purpose of job promotion, gratuity, discipline or dismissal must be related to the job. Information contained in the job analysis must be helpful to the managers to make better human resources decisions

Compensation; job analysis information is also used to compare the relative contribution
value for every job to overall performance of the organization. To be able to give out the compensation, the relative value of a particular job in the organization must be derived before the job can be estimated in its financial terms In general, the more worthy the job and its responsibilities are the more valuable the job's role to the organization. A job position that requires better knowledge, skills, and abilities should be worth more to firm

Safety and health; job analysis information is also very useful to identify safety and
health considerations. For example, an employer needs to specify if a particular job is exposed to certain hazards or otherwise. The job description/specification should reflect this condition.

Employee-employer relationship; besides that, job analysis information is imperative in


the employer-employee relationship. When an employee is considered for a promotion, a transfer, or demotion, the job description will become the skill comparative standard. There is no doubt that job analysis information will assist the manager to make a reliable and more objective decision. Sometimes, the information also acts as supporting documents for job promotion, job transfer and job demotion

Your idea;
Think how job analysis can help in the human resources management functions in your organization

Exercise
Job analysis is the most basic tool in human resources management. Discuss.

TYPES OF INFORMATION NEEDED


Job analyst needs a huge amount of information to do the job analysis process. In addition, job analyst actually determines the set of tasks and responsibilities related to the job position. Critical job functions are also identified in this process. The job analyst also identifies the work activities, worker-related activities, and the types of machines, tools, equipments, and work aids used in the job
11

There is also some job analysis process that determines the level of accomplishment of the job position. Sometimes, job measurement is also used to decide on the duration needed to complete the task. Apart from that, the job analyst looks at the job context like, the job schedule, financial and non financial incentives and the physical work environment Since some of the job positions require collaboration with other job positions, then the organizational and social context need to be taken into account as well. Educational qualifications, training and required work experience related to the job should also be considered.

WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE JOB ANALYSIS?


The job analyst, involved in the job analysis, needs to gather information that can answer this question "What is needed to do the job?". The people involved in the job analysis process must be; -The employees who conduct the jobs. -Supervisors. -Top management. A large organization might have more than one job analyst but in smaller organizations, the supervisor can also be a job analyst. There are other organizations which hire external job analysts to perform job analysis. Despite the various methods used, a job analyst must first equip himself with a good grasp of what the job function is all about. To get as many information as possible, job analyst has to study the organizational charts or interview the experienced and knowledgeable individuals. Before conducting the job analysis, the head of department or the supervisor has to introduce the job analyst to their workers and inform them the reasons of conducting job analysis It is crucial for the job analyst to gain the trust and understanding of the workers to get their cooperation because, if the job analyst fails to gather the correct information and get full support from those people, there is a possibility that the job analyst might produce an incomplete and inaccurate job analysis.

MONITORING THE ACCURACY OF WORK INFORMATION


Since there are so many potential uses for the job analysis information, thus, the information gathered must be reliable and accurate. The job analyst needs to ensure that all right and crucial information is placed in the job analysis The job analyst also must be alert of any discrepancy in analyzing the job that might originate from employees who exaggerate the amount of responsibilities they have to carry in order to perform the job just to get higher pay. During the job survey, the job analyst has to examine whether the information gathered from the individuals regarding the job
12

function is supposed to be When collecting the information from the employees, the job analyst should get information from a group of employees instead of an individual worker only. If there is a discrepancy in the information received, the job analyst should obtain additional Information from the employees involved, his manager or from other fellow workers who are doing the same job. It is also a common practice for the managers and supervisors to re-examine the job description produced

JOB ANALYSIS METHODS


There are various methods to gather information on the task, responsibilities and job activities. The selection of the appropriate method considers how the information is used. It depends on whether the information is used assess the job function, training, salary segment, increment, and career development or any other method that can be used in the organization Figure show the job analysis methods including, interview, surveys, observation, employee notes, management position description, job analysis surveys, critical event methods, or a combination of various methods. In practice, we can use either one or a combination of methods that would be most appropriate for the needs.

surveys interviews observatio n

Employee notes Managem ent position descriptio n

Job analysis

Job analysis surveys

Combinati on

Critical incidents

1- Interviews;
Job analysis data can be obtained through three types of interviews; an individual interview (a one- to- one interview), and team interview (an interview with a team of workers with similar job positions) and an interview with supervisor/s. A team interview is conducted when there is a large number of employees are doing the same job. It is the most cost-effective and the fastest way to learn about a particular job. Usually, the job analyst interviews the employee first and assists him in describing his job activities. Then, the job analyst contacts the supervisor to obtain additional information, check the information accuracy, and clarify
13

certain points.

2- Surveys;
Information also can obtained by structured questionnaire to be filled by the workers and their supervisors. The questionnaire is used to gain information on the job tasks and responsibilities, job objectives, physical environment, other requirements to perform the job (skills, education, physical and mental needs, etc.), Other work tools that will be used, and issues regarding the job health and safety. Even though this method is fast and economical, but sometimes the worker's limited oral communication ability might affect the effectiveness of this method.

3- Observation;
By using the observation method, the job analyst watches the employee performing the job task and records his observations This method is used to collect information on hard labor work like the machine operators. It can also help the analyst to identify the interrelationship between physical and mental tasks However, observation alone is not sufficient to conduct job analysis; specially the mental skills that would be a major part of the job itself. For example, if we are observing an accountant at work, there is no much information that we can collect on the requirements of the job.

4- Employee Notes;
The employees are asked to elaborate on their daily work activities in a daily log book or diary. The activities would be recorded in the log book at specific times (e.g. when working shifts, and employee may need to record his activity every hour or half an hour), Normally the employee will need to record his daily activities for a period of time (e.g. a week period or a two-week period). Still, the job analyst needs to be cautious of any fabrication that could have been made by the employees.

5- Management Position Description Questionnaire;


This method is designed specifically for the management positions and is an important method used to examine the top and middle level management positions. It uses a check list to analyze the jobs The check list has various factors like supervision, service responsibilities, production and freedom to take action. Every worker will be assessed based on a scale which is related to every activity The method also considers the training needs of individuals who are selected to hold future managerial positions. Management position description questionnaire has also been used to evaluate and set compensation rates for managerial jobs

Position Analysis Questionnaire;


Position analysis questionnaire is a structures job analysis questionnaire that has 194 different items. By using a scale of five, this questionnaire returning how far the items are different from each other or job elements involved in doing the job. The whole 194 items are divided into six parts 1- Information input- the source of information from which the employee gain to do
14

the job. 2- Mental process- cognitive activities, decision-making, planning and processing information related in performing the job. 3- Work output- physical activities and tools used by the worker to do the job. 4- Job context- physical and social context when performing the job. 5- Personal relationship- interaction with other workers when doing the job. 6- Other activities- situation and features related to the job. A completed position analysis questionnaire will be analyzed by the computer to produce a profile and its traits.
JOBANAL S Y IS
S OURCEOFINF ORMA TION Work analysis, Workers, supervisors JOBD CRIPTION ES Objectives, Task, Responsibilities, Required capabilities, Relationship with other jobs, Work environment

WORKD T AA Task, performance quality responsibilities, , required knowledge, work context, tools used

F UNC ION OF H T UMAN RE OURC S MANAGE NT S E ME Recruitm , s ent election, tra in a developm t, in g nd en perform nce appra a com a is l, pens ation m g ent, ana em rela tions betweenem hip ployer a em nd ployee, em ployee hea a s lth nd afety

INF ORMA TIONGA ERINGMETHOD TH S Interviews, questionnaires, observations, worker notes, crucial event methods,

JOBS PECIF TION ICA Qualifications, experience, skills, physical conditions

JOB DESCRIPTION
Information obtained through job analysis is crucial for development of the job description. A job description is defined as " a document that states the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job" It is important that job description is appropriate and accurate. It should provide a concise statement on what the employee is expected to do on the job, and indicate what employee does, how he does it, and the work conditions. There is no standard format for job description, so job description varies from one organization to another. Position Human resources officer Job station Department Job analyst Analysis date Salary category Reporting to Job code Checked on Khartoum Human resources management Mohamed Adam June 14th 2010 Executive Human resources manager A-66 June 16th 2010
15

Job Introduction

Summary of Main Job Functions

Job Statement

1. Job holder is required to carry out human resources duties in employee

recruitment and selection, testing, employee orientation, employee transfer, updating and maintaining employee files. 2. Job holder is also expected to administer employee welfare, give training and analyze matters related to employee compensation, benefits and incentives. 3. Job holder is also required to prepare the human resources reports.

Critical Functions and Responsibilities

Crucial Job Functions

1. Conduct the recruitment process to fill in vacancies in the organization. 2. Check and review the job advertisements. 3. Examine the resume and application letters of the candidates to select

the potential candidates. 4. Schedule and conduct interviews to decide the candidate's suitability with the job advertised. 5. Inform the employees on compensation and company policies through training, memo, letters, meetings, and/or bulletin. 6. Carry out orientation process for new employees

Job Requirement and Specifications

Job Specification 1. University graduate with a degree in human resources management, business management, or psychology. Or advanced diploma in human resources management with three years work experience. Or combination of work experience, education and training which are equivalent with university qualifications. 2. Have experience in recruitment and selection of employees and manpower allocation. 3. Knowledgeable in the labor laws. 4. Independent and self-initiative. 5. Able to work with all levels of employees. 6. Competent in Microsoft Office.

Job Title
16

The first item in the job description is the job title which has several uses. A correct job title reflects the features of the job and differentiates the job from the other jobs in the organization, job title such as "electronic engineer", "salesman", "food inspector" can provide a clear picture of the job task. Unfortunately, some job titles are confusing For example, a "Marketing Executive" in one organization has to do the market planning, but another marketing executive in another organization might have to be salesperson as well. The job title is important to attract potential employees in the organization. Today, an individual's social position is closely related to the type of job he holds. The job title carries a psychological effect in terms of the position and status of the employee. For instance, "hygiene control engineer" sounds better than "trash assistant". The job title of certain position also has to reflect the employee's position in the organization. Surely, a senior engineer highlights that the person holding that position is far more experienced than a mere engineer.

Job Introduction
Job title is always followed by a job introduction. The job holder would need to report duty on the day the analysis is done. The date of the analysis is included in the job description to help assist in identifying the changes in the nature of the job. By signifying the chain of command like who reports to whom, then a clear picture on the job position in the organizational hierarchy can be created.

Critical Functions/Responsibilities;
Statement on the respective job tasks will be arranged according to the importance of the tasks. Job list statement has to focus on the job responsibilities and decisions to be made. It is a common practice also to highlight the tools used by the job holder in his job. This section provides guidelines on the type of training provided. No doubt, a job position experiences changes over the period of time. The job scope will span over bigger areas and the task would become more completed. Thus, the last task shown in the job description will highlight; The job holder will also be required to perform other tasks as stipulated by his supervisor Inserting the above phrase in the job description would avoid future problems if the employees refuse to perform other duties not mentioned in their job descriptions. The tasks and responsibilities should be clearly stated, otherwise, they cannot be used as the basis for performance appraisal.

Job Specification;
Job specification contains all the acceptable qualifications that a person should possess in order to perform a particular job. There are two components in the job specifications; 1) the needed skills, and 2) physical needs of the job
17

The relevant skills include;


-Level of Education, -Work Experience, -Special Training, -Personal Characteristics or -Other Competencies. Physical requirement refer to the physical activities that an employee has to go through to accomplish the job. The physical work environment and potential hazards also include in the physical requirement of the job.

IMPORTANCE OF JOB DESCRIPTION


Job description is a basic process in human resources management such as identifying the employee training and development needs, performance appraisal and also the compensation package. When the organization decides to do a restructuring exercise, job description is useful to : -Identify unnecessary job positions, -Overlapped job responsibilities and -Functions not assigned to any job function. -Etc. Job description is important to the employees. It helps them to learn about the job and set the benchmark for them to produce the acceptable or excellent performance as required by the management. For the employers, job description can be the basis to reduce conflicts between the supervisors and the employees regarding the allocation of job responsibilities. When there is an even distribution of compensation to the employees, job description can be used to justify on why the compensation is different from one employee to another. Job description also highlights the potential hazards that the employees might face at the workplace. This is to ensure that the potential candidate would know all the risks involved beforehand when he attends the interview. A vague job description that is written using too many technical jargons cannot be used as a guideline for the workers. Job description that is not being updated to reflect the changes in the nature of the job. Sometimes, the job description contains elements that are against the law. E.g. specification that does not ensure the accomplishment of the job. Job description actually curbs the organizational flexibility by limiting activities that should be done by the job holder.

Writing an Accurate Job Description


18

-Writing an accurate job description -When writing a job description, it is important to use clear and accurate statements. -The manager might think that the job description is taxing as it disturbs the responsibility and the task of other employees. -It is interesting to note that there are some many software packages to help this task. -These software can be obtained from HR magazines and the internet. -Writing an accurate job description -As an international standard It is advised to use the present continuous tens. -Use direct words and statements that describe the task specifically and precisely. -Arrange tasks in a way that represent the importance of tasks compared to other tasks. -Use simple language to be understood by all levels of workers.

Job Specification
Job specification addresses issues like "what are the needed features and experience that an individual should have in order for him to do the job efficiently. Job specification is a statement that lists the knowledge, skills, and abilities that an individual should possess to do the job. It can be a different section from a job description or it can be part of the job description.

The normal items that can be found in a job specification are;


-Educational Needs, -Work Experience, -Behavior Features and -Physical Abilities. In practice, job specification generally is included in the job description. When the entire jobs have been analyzed and the job descriptions have been developed, the statements would be cross-checked by the employees and their supervisors. This is to ensure that the job description is concise, accurate and easy to understand.

19

Part Three Human Resources Planning Process; Definition.


Human resources planning is a systematic process that examines the human resources needs to ensure that the number of people with the right combination of skills is sufficient for the organization. In other words, human resources planning is a process that determines how many employees would be needed and from where the employees would be hired. Labor supply refers to the readily available manpower with the necessary requirements to meet the needs of the organization

Human Resources Planning Steps


S g et oalsand objectives

S upplyforecast

D andforecast em

balance Plan im plementation feedback

Human Resources Forecasting Techniques.


20

-Quantitative methods; The quantitative methods include Zero-Based Forecasting, Bottom-up Method and Trend Analysis.

Zero-Based Forecasting;
The approach uses the organization's current level of employment as the starting point for determining future staffing needs. If an employee retires, fired, or leaves the firm for any other reason, the position is not automatically filled. Instead, an analysis is made to determine whether the firm can justify filling it. It is concern for creating new positions when they appear to be needed. An open position is analyzed before a replacement is approved. The position is not filled and the work spread out among remaining employees

Bottom-up Approach;
A forecasting method that begins with the lowest organization units and progresses upwards through an organization, ultimately, to provide and aggregate forecast of employment needs. It is based on the reasoning that the manager in each respected unit is the most knowledgeable about employment requirements. Human resources forecasting is often most effective when managers periodically project the human resources needs, comparing their current and anticipated levels, and giving the human resources department adequate lead time to explore internal and external source.

Trend Analysis;
Is a quantitative method that uses the organization index; like sales or production to forecast the human resources need. This method based on the amount of the workers in the organization, so the information must be accurate and recorded. This method involves few steps 1- Choose one of the organization index (sales) 2- Get the information of the trend history with the index of the number of workers need. 3- Count the productivity of the workers for five years. 4- The productivity is counted by dividing the total sales by the worker; and. 5- Last, make forecast about the human resource need.

Qualitative Methods;
Management forecast; unlike quantitative methods, qualitative method does not require statistical or mathematical calculations to do the forecasting. A normally used qualitative method is the management forecast in which it highlights on the fact that the future needs for human resources in an organization relay on the suggestions of the supervisors or the department managers Human resource planners in the small and large organization seek opinions from the experts that can assist them in developing forecast that would determine the human resources needs in the organization. In this method, each respective supervisor or manager is responsible to estimate their human resources needs.
21

Methods to Forecast Labor Supply;


When an organization has made a forecast on its labor needs, the organization need to make sure that the numbers of workers and types of work can fulfill the job vacancies. The forecast would show if the workers needed to be taken from inside the organization or outside the organization or a combination of both sources.

Labor Supply in the Organization;


The workers can be transferred within the organization or promoted to satisfy the needs of the organization. There are four methods to identify the supply of human resources in the organization;

Skill Inventory System; the skill inventory system provides a collection of information
on the non-management workers which usually is stored in the computer. The information is listed as below 1- The background of the workers 2- Experience 3- Skill and knowledge. 4- Past time performance report. 5- Objectives and 6- Training program the worker involved in. The system shows the readiness level of non-management workers to hold a higher position. And updated and well-prepared inventory system would allow the organization to match the expected job vacancy with the worker's background

Management Inventory; the management inventory stores the information about the
managers. It retains the information from the skill inventory system and extra information like -Development needs. -The potential of promotion after undergoing advanced training and development. -Job specification. -Type of work and location. -Purpose and aspiration of work. -The retirement date. -The worker's test results

Markov Analysis; Markov analysis is a method used to identify the working pattern of
the different types of work. This analysis shows the percentage and number of workers who are still working in the organization, workers who were promoted, changes in the workplace, and layoff Replacement Chart; this chart shows the Information about the post in the organization, including the name holding the position and the names of the respective successors. This chart is developed to identify the current worker position and inform the higher management on the potential workers who will be promoted, retired, replaced or retrenched.

Labor Supply From Outside The Organization


22

Sometimes, the workers in the organization are unable to fulfill the forecasted needs of the organization's human resources. The reason why the organization has to depend on the outside supply may include - Internal workers are not equipped with the necessary qualifications and skills. or - The rapid expansion in the organization results in insufficient number of workers to accommodate the growth. or - None of the employees in the organization is fit for promotion. - Management is seeking for candidates to fulfill the senior management positions. When the situation occurs, the organization needs to hire outside personnel. Some organizations will recruit fresh graduates from universities, institutes, vocational centers, or competitor companies. There are many factors affecting the labor supply, among them; - Changes in demography, and - Demand for skill workers, and - Economy, and - Level of manpower, and others. - What else?????

Action Decisions With No Variance In Supply And Demand


It is possible for the organization, after matching demand for employees with the supply at hand, to find that previous planning has been excellent that the demand is matched exactly with the supply. In this case, employment planning has served its purpose well in helping the organization to meet its objectives. An exact match is rare if it is not impossible. More frequently the total supply is correct, but there are variances in subgroups. These data become inputs to facilitate decisions about training, promotion, and similar decisions.

Action decisions with a shortage of employees


When employment specialists comparing demand to supply find the supply of workers is less than the demand, several possibilities are open to the organization. If the shortage is small, and the employees are willing to work overtime, it can be filled with present employees. If there is a shortage of highly skilled employees, training and promotion of present employees, together with the recruitment of lower skilled employees, is a possibility.

This decision can also include


- Recalling previously laid-off employees. - Outside the organization, - Additional part-time or full-time employees can be hired, - Or some of the work can be contracted out to other organizations.

Action decisions in surplus conditions


When comparison of employees demand and supply indicates a surplus, the
23

alternative solutions include; - Early Retirements, - Demotions, - Layoffs, - Terminations Surplus employees' decisions are some of the most difficult decisions managers must make, because the employees who are considered surplus are seldom responsible for the conditions leading to the surplus. A shortage of a raw material such as fuel, or poorly designed or marketed product can cause an organization to have a surplus of employees.

Balancing HR Supply and Demand

1223

external

The relationship between Human resources planning and recruitment


D eficit H an um resources planning results alternatives balance No action

recruitm ent

internal

outsourcing conting ency leasing Overtim e

surplus

Earlyretirem ent

dem otions layoffs


24

term ination

Part Four R E C R U I T M E N T;
Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers, and with appropriate qualifications, and encouraging them to apply for jobs with the organization Finding the appropriate way of encouraging the qualified candidates to apply for employment is extremely important when a firm needs to hire employees. Tapping productive source of applicants and using suitable recruitment methods are essential to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment

Alternatives to recruitment
Human resources planning indicates a need for additional or replacement of employees. A firm may decide against increasing the size of its database of workers. The cost of recruitment and selection is expensive as the organization has to consider; the
25

search process, interviewing, agency fees, orientation and training cost, and relocation and processing the new employees. Therefore, a firm may consider its alternatives carefully before engaging in recruitment Alternatives to recruitment commonly include; outsourcing, use of contingent workers, employee leasing, and overtime Outsourcing; a process of transferring responsibility for an area of service and its objectives to an external provider. Subcontracting various jobs to other firms has been a common practice in industry for decades. This decision is usually made when the subcontractor can perform with greater efficiency and effectiveness

Contingent worker; also known as part-time, temporaries and independent contractors.


-Employee leasing; professional employer organizations (PEOs) are essentially off-site human resources departments that put a client firm's employees on their payroll, then, lease the employees to the company, the organization handles the company's payroll, benefits, human resources, and risk management

Overtime; a method of meeting short-term fluctuations in work volume is overtime.


Overtime helps both employer and employee. The employer benefits by avoiding recruitment, selection, and training costs. The employer gains from an increased income during the overtime period

THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS;


Recruitment begins when a manager initiates an employee requisition, a document that specifies job title, department, the data the employee is needed for work, and other details. Manager can refer to the appropriate job description to determine whether the qualifications of the recruited person meet the organizational requirements. Recruitment methods are the specific means which potential employee can be attracted to the firm. To maximize recruiting effectiveness, utilizing recruitment sources and method tailored to a specific organization's needs is vitally important. Recruitment sources can be obtained from two sources; internal and external. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods??? For discussion Source Advantages Disadvantages

26

RECRUITING INTERNAL WORKERS

1.The organization can choose the right candidate based on the performance record 2.The organization can cut down the cost and time 3.The organization is able to motivate workers to perform well 4.The organization is able to increase loyalty of workers towards the organization

5.Lack of new ideas 6.The recruitment process might be influenced by some factors 7.Skills and knowledge needed by the organization may not be met.

RECRUITING EXTERNAL WORKERS

1. New candidates is the resource for new ideas 2. New candidate might have new and wider skills and knowledge than the internal worker 3. The external candidate might have the required experience needed by the organization

4. The candidate who is not selected may leave the organization 5. Higher recruitment cost 6. The chances of selecting unsuitable candidates will increase. 7. Additional cost of orientation and training.

RECRUITMENT METHODS
By examining the recruitment source, a firm determines the location of potential job applicants. It then seeks to attract these applicants by specific recruitment methods. Suitable recruitment for an organization includes; internal recruitment method and external recruitment method;

Internal recruitment methods include;


Organization uses the skill inventory system and the management inventory system to determine whether the current employee possesses the qualifications for positions in the office
27

The management inventory has detailed information on every manager and can be used to identify potential individuals that can move up to the senior positions. The skill inventory system has recorded the readiness level of non management workers to either move to higher positions or transfer to other department in the organization. As recruitment devices, these tools are very useful as it assist the management to identify whether the individual is ready to be promoted or not Job posting and job bidding; job posting is a procedure to inform employees that job opining exist. Job bidding is a technique that permits employees who believe that they possess the required qualifications to apply for an advertised job The job posting and bidding procedures can help minimize the common complaints that insiders are not aware of a job opening until it has been filled. It also provides the freedom of choice and encourages career growth. However, a job posting and bidding system have some negative features. An effective system requires the expenditure time and money.

External recruitment methods include;


Advertising in the mass media; a way of communicating the firm's employment needs to the public through media such as radio, T.V., newspapers or industry publication.

Private and public employment agency; an employment agency is an


organization that helps firms recruit employees and at the same time aids individuals in their attempt to locate jobs. These agencies perform recruitment and selection functions that have proven beneficial to many organizations. In some cases, the firm doesn't have the time or enough experts to perform recruitment and selection, in this case the organization might seek help of other organization, like training institutions, to do this job on behalf for some fees.

Employee referrals; some organizations have found that their existing


employees can serve an important role in the recruitment process by actively soliciting applications from their friends, relatives and associates.

Unsolicited walk-in applicants; if an organization has the reputation being


a conducive place to work, it may be able to attract qualified prospects even without extensive recruitment efforts. Unsolicited applicants apply for the job because they are favorably impressed with the firm's good reputation.

Job fair; sometimes, a group of firms might have their own job fairs to attract
bigger numbers of potential candidates for their firms. Also universities and
28

colleges can be contacted for final year students to get jobs.

Practical training in the organization; in most universities, the final year


students are required to undergone practical training in selected firms for specific period of time. These opportunities would expose them to real practices in the firm. If the practical students showed satisfactory performance, then the firm can consider hiring them to fill in the vacancies available in future.

Internet/online recruitment; posting job openings over the internet has


become a common practice among today's organizations. Recruitment officers usually post the job openings in the firm's website or online recruitment portal like Jobstreet or jobDb.com. the job openings are categorized according to the field of specializations, location and job levels. Advertising over the internet is more cost-effective than advertising through the printed mass media. Interested candidates can send their application letters and resume via e-mail.

29

Part Five SELECTION OF EMPOLOYEES; INDIVIDUAL MATCHING WITH THE JOB


Selection is a process in which the most qualified candidate is selected from a group of candidates to fill in the position in an organization. The process would narrow the selection of candidates through instruments like selection test, background checks, and reference check to decide on the candidate's suitability. The recruitment and selection process is closely related. If the recruitment process is unable to attract qualified candidates, then the organization has no choice but to select the less qualified candidates Selection process is the most crucial and difficult process in the human resource management. If the firm hired a new employee and after a short while, the employee resigns because he is not suitable to do the job, then the firm has to bear additional costs as it has to go through the recruitment and selection process again and retrain another new employee.

SELECTION PROCESS;
The process starts with a preliminary screening, at which the applicant's resume is submitted to the human resources department to determine the suitability of the applicant. Generally, the human resource executive will use the job description as a guideline to assist them in reviewing the applicant's information. Besides identifying the required competencies possessed by the applicant, job description also helps to differentiate the suitable applicants from the rest of the applicants.

SCREENING APPLICATION
Usually, applicants send their resume when they apply for jobs in certain companies. Resumes are standard documents used by the applicants to highlight their qualifications. If the response towards the recruitment process is favorable, then the company has a bigger pool of applicants that it can consider The main purpose of having a screening application process is to ensure that the applicant have the needed qualifications and knowledge in order for them to be hired for the job. The human resources executive will use the job description as a guide to decide on the required skills, knowledge and abilities of the particular job. Unsuitable applicants will be disregarded at this stage.

PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW
After the application forms have been screened and enlisted, the potential applicants will called for preliminary interviews. The preliminary interview gives an opportunity for the applicant to see whether the organization and the job vacancy meets his expectation in terms of salary, work environment, location and career advancement opportunities During this interview, the interviewer gets firsthand knowledge on the applicant which cannot be obtained from the resume alone. This is known as the visual screening. Though some applicants might have sent detailed resumes, they still need to fill up the application forms when they attend the preliminary interviews.
30

SELECTION TEST
Even though most employers use interviews to assess the candidate's skills and capabilities, the assessment can further be verified by using the selection test. Selection test is a sample behavior measurement which is objective and constant and it is used to measure knowledge, skills, abilities and other individual traits Selection tests can range from simple test to ( a typing test for the clerical position, driving test for the drivers etc) to a combination of a few complex tests (cognitive tests for management positions) to choose the most appropriate candidates for the vacant position Since a selection test can be used to assist a manager in making a selection, then it is crucial to ensure that the test is well developed. Only a well designed test will be valid and reliable to choose the most qualified candidates

TYPES OF SELECTION TESTS Cognitive ability test; cognitive ability test measures an individual's competency to
perform a job. It tests on the general reasoning ability, vocabulary, verbal ability and numerical skills. Examples of cognitive ability test is intelligence test and specific cognitive test;

Intelligence test (IQ test) IQ test measures the general intellectual ability of
a person; it doesn't only assess a single intellectual trait but also it tests on memory, numerical ability and vocabulary. IQ test is a good performance indicator for most job functions.

Specific cognitive test; specific cognitive test evaluates the mental capability
like deductive and inductive reasoning, oral comprehension, memory and numerical ability. The test is also known as the attitude test in which the test also checks how inclined the candidate is towards his job.

Psychomotor ability test; this test measures finger deftness,


manual precision, speed of arm activity and response time. This test is used for jobs that required worker's swiftness in installing components in machinery department.

Job knowledge test; this test is designed to measure the level of understanding of a
candidate in the job he is applying for. Job knowledge test can be specially developed for a certain job based on the information gathered from job analysis.

Work sample test (simulation); work sample test measures how the candidate can
actually perform parts of the job. Work sample test simulates the real work environment and gives the employer an opportunity to observe the candidate "in action". Work sample test will give a real picture of the candidate's actual capabilities and skills. These tests have high content and predictive validity. In other words, work sample test is valid, cheap, reliable, and fair and can be accepted by the candidate Personality test; if the cognitive ability test measures the mental capability, then
31

personality test assesses the personal traits and behavior of the candidate. It also used to identify the candidate who is highly motivated, flexible and excellent team player. Some companies use personality test to classify the personality types Personality test is the most difficult test to conduct. It is also very costly and the assessment of the test can only be done by the qualified experts. An expert must analyze the person's reaction and make a conclusion based on the person's behavior. The use of this kind of test depends on the assumption that there is a relationship between the personality aspect of the candidate and the completion of the job. Though, the predictive validity of this test is low, still, if it is used together with the cognitive ability test, a better prediction on the work performance can be attained
Individual recruitment yes yes yes yes yes yes yes Screeningapplication Preliminaryinterview Selection test Job interview Background investigation Selectionresults Medical check appointment No No No No No No

JOB INTERVIEW PLANNING


Types of interview; Structured interview Structured interview consists of job-related questions, and each question has its respective pre-determined answer. Interviewer will ask each respective candidate the same series of questions and the candidate's answer will be evaluated based on the pre-determined answers and content suitability The same question will provide the same basis to assess the candidate. Usually, there are three types of questions used in the interview session;

Situational questions; questions that trigger the response of the


candidate towards certain situations. A sample of situational question can be like this "you are putting your luggage in your car and preparing to go off for a holiday with your family when you remember that you have an appointment with your client on the very same day. What would you do?"

Job knowledge questions; to verify whether the candidate has


32

basic knowledge needed to perform the job. Example; "what factors should you consider when developing a health awareness program for the public?"

Worker need questions; questions that assess the worker's


obligations to do the job in certain situations. Example of this kind of question is " in our company, there are times when we have extremely peak hours especially when we are having sales exhibitions. How do you feel about working extra hours?" Other features of structured interviews include questions that are based on the job analysis, additional restricted questions (to ensure that the interviewers only ask similar set of questions) and the use of different types of questions. The candidate is also allowed to ask any question at the end of the interview session Structured interview can provide the necessary information for the human resources officer to make a sound decision because it only involves job-related questions. It also helps the interviewer who may be uncomfortable to conduct interviews to ask effective questions and conduct a fine interview session. Since, an interview is considered a subjective process, a structured interview can reduce the subjectivity and increase the consistency of assessing the candidate. However, structured interview does not provide the flexibility to the interviewer to interrogate the candidates on the answers given by them. To avoid this problem, the organization will also use unstructured interview.

Unstructured interview;
In an unstructured interview, the interviewer is free to ask any question that comes to his mind. In contrast with the structured interview, the questions asked will not follow a certain format or guidelines. Questions may differ for each respective candidate. The interviewer will only ask additional questions based on the answers provided by the candidate. This type of interview gives the freedom to the candidate to determine the direction of the session and the candidates are encouraged to speak up as much as possible. The interviewer might ask open-ended questions like "tell me about your experience in your previous job". And usually, the interviewer will give the opportunity for the candidate to speak without interruption. In general, in an unstructured interview, the interviewer will be the passive party by listening to the candidate's explanation, not arguing with him, or change the topic of communication without warning. Additional questions will be asked to allow the candidates to elaborate more on the answers than structured interview.
33

The freedom given to the candidate in an unstructured interview is invaluable as it can highlight the actual traits, personality and behavior of the candidate which cannot be observed in a structured interview. Since the direction of the unstructured interview is largely determined by the candidates and there are different information gathered from different candidates, the reliability and validity of an unstructured interview is very low.

Behavioral specification interview;


Behavioral specification interview is structured interview that adopts questions to find out about the past behaviors of the candidates in certain situations. It focuses on the actual work events experienced by the candidate in the past. In the behavioral specification interview, the candidate will be asked on the actions that he taken in the past to address the impending conflicts in specific conditions. The questions are selected carefully so that they are closely related to the job. For example, a candidate might be asked this kind of question; "tell us how you make a critical decision without having the necessary information". This method is based on the critical incidents of the job analysis and assumptions that the previous performance would be the best indicator for future performance; in other words, how the candidate responds to critical issues in his previous job would indicate how he would react to the emerging issues in the new job.

Situational interview;
Another structured interview that focuses on questions on how the candidate would behave in a given situation. Unlike the behavioral specification interview, questions asked in the situational interview are based on assumed events only. Situational interview emphasizes on a particular situation. For instance, a candidate for the supervisory position will be asked on how he will react if one of his subordinates is late for work. The response given by the candidate will be appraised by comparing it with the pre-determined feedback.

CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW


There are a few ways to conduct an interview. Among them; 1- One-to-one interview 2- One-to-one interview is commonly used in the selection process. In this type of interview, the candidate will meet the interviewer and an oral session will be conducted.

3- Panel interview
Panel interview means the candidate will be interviewed by a panel of interviewers. In the panel interview, the candidate will meet up with three or five persons who will take turns to question him. At the end of the session, all
34

interviewers will share their observations to achieve a consensus on the suitability of the candidate. panel interview normally is more reliable than a one-to-one interview because it involves more than one person, allows for a better decision to be made and reduces the decision-making time.

4- Group interview;
In a group interview, a few candidates will be interviewed simultaneously by a panel of interviewers. Generally, in a group interview, the panel will give a problem to the candidates to solve, and the candidates will respond to the problem accordingly. This time-saving method is very useful for busy officers.

5- Computerized interview;
With the advent of information technology, many organizations are now using computers and internet to assist them in conducting interviews. In a computerized interview, the candidate normally is required to answer a set of multiple questions (may range between 75-125 questions). The candidate's responses will be compared to the best answers from other candidates. Computerized interview is used to reject unqualified candidates and select the potential candidates for a face-to-face interview. Through a computerized interview, making judgment based on the person's personality will be eliminated. However, some candidates might feel that the computerized interview reflects that the employer-to-be is less interested to develop personal contact with the employees.

6- Stress interview;
Stress interview is an interview with a set of harsh and probing questions that is specially developed to make the candidate feel uncomfortable. This kind of interview attempts to identify overly sensitive candidates and investigate whether the candidate has a high or low stress resistance level. This is important for jobs that require the candidate to have a very high stress resistance level especially customer based positions.

FACTORS THAT HINDER THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVIEW


Comparison effects Comparison effects results from a mistake in the judgment made by the interviewer after having interviewed good or incompetent candidates before he conducts the next session of interview. For example, an interviewer who has interviewed a few unsuitable candidates before he manages to interview an average candidate projects an excellent person as compared to others. Halo effects Halo effects occur when an interviewer allows one or more personal characteristics affects the overall candidate personality. The interviewer will assume that only one single factor is sufficient to reflect the overall impression on the candidate. For example, a meticulous and fussy interviewer would presume that the candidate he interviews is clumsy based on the candidate's appearance. Indirectly, the interviewer has led his personal judgment interferes with the interview session and given low appraisal points to the candidate Focused inclination effect This effect occurs when the interviewer refuses to give very high or very low points to the candidate. In this situation, he treats the candidates as average performers. Because of this, he
35

fails to distinguish between the potentially good candidates from poor ones. VARIFICATION OF INFORMATION GIVEN BY CANDIDATES; For the purpose of reference check and background investigations, candidates are required to provide a few contact persons that could provide extra information on them to the potential employer. Most firms conduct reference and background investigations to investigate more on the candidate's background. Reference check and background investigations provide additional information. The purpose of having reference checks and background investigations is to check on the validity of the information given by the candidate in his resume and to investigate whether the candidate has a criminal record, traffic offences, etc. Reference check and background investigations can be used as alternative screening tools to reject candidates who provide false information about their work experience. Besides that, these tools also help the management to probe into the candidate's background to see whether he has committed offences that would directly related to the job he is applying for. Reference checks and background investigations can be done either over the phone of via written correspondences. Generally, reference checks by phone are more popular as it saves time, information can be obtained immediately and the answers given are more honest and sincere. The supervisor is the best person who would know the work performance and behaviors of the candidate very well. Incomplete reference check will lead to high turnover, by conducting the reference check, the organization can acquire invaluable facts on the habits and behaviors of the candidate. In some rare cases a firm can verify the information validity by administering a polygraph test, the polygraph test or a lie detector test measures the changes in blood pressure and heartbeat of a person when he lies

SELECTION DECISION;
The most essential step in the selection process is the decision to accept the candidate. A final selection will be made based on whether the candidate has succeeded in all levels of the selection. This will be done after the interviewer has evaluated the candidate's score in the selection test and the interview session. Even though the human resources executive is involved in almost every stage of the selection process, the final decision will still fall upon the managers who are responsible for the job performance of the new employee.

MEDICAL CHECK UPS;


After the decision to offer employment is made, the next phase in the selection process is to request the candidate to undergo a medical examination. Usually, the offer of employment depends on whether the candidate passes his medical examination. There are a few reasons for the medical examination, the medical examination is not only used to determine whether the candidate's physical ability is compatible with the needs of the job but also to discover if the candidate has other medical limitations that the management should consider before taking him into the organization.
36

Medical examination also creates a personal health record for the employee in order to make health claims in future from the insurance companies. Besides that, medical examination will also identify other health problems, reduce the possibility of tardiness or not showing up for work, or detect other diseases not known by the candidate.

NOTIFICATION OF RESULT TO THE CANDIDATES;


In all organizations, informing the selection results and issuing letter of employment to the candidate will be done by the human resources department, if, at that point of time, the medical examination results is still in process, then a conditional offer will be issued in which if the candidate passed the medical examination, he will be offered a permanent position. It has been also common practice among the firms, especially the smaller ones, to inform the unsuccessful candidates of their performance in the selection test as a personal gesture to maintain the good public image of the firm.

Part Six Training & development


37

What is the difference between - Education. - Learning. - Training. - Development. - Capacity building. Structure and function in training and development. Human resources training and development include the planned learning activities systematically and continuously in the organization. It is meant to give opportunity to all employees in the organization to equip themselves with knowledge, skills, capabilities and attitude in order to fulfill the job requirement currently and in the future. McLagan (1989) suggested three approaches which can be utilized to develop human resource and improve effectiveness and productivity of employees, work groups and organization. Through (training and development),( career development) and (organizational development), employees will be equipped with required skills to meet the standard work performance for now and for the future. Training is a planned learning process implemented by organization to provide knowledge, skills and required attitude in order to carry out the work, and increase current performance. Training provided to workers need to be related with the current work scope, so the workers can practice immediately what they have learned as soon as they get back to their work place. Development generally can be seen as a learning process to upgrade employees, and not necessary to be connected with current work scope. Normally employees would like to improve their career, either with current or other organization. The organization that sensitive towards employees' career requirements will provide facilities and opportunity for the employees to enroll in short term or long term courses, within their interest and organizations value. For principle functions human resources management, it can be seen that training and development, career development and performance management is part of the functions that need to be carried out by the organization that want the employee to be efficient and effective to help to achieve the organization's goals.

Training and development, role and importance.


Training plays an important role to assist the organization to increase the competitiveness. The main objective in providing training and development is to provide required efficiency to the workers so that can upgrade the employees' work performance as well as the organization. From an effective training, workers can obtain and increase their knowledge, skills and capabilities and responsibilities effectively and efficiently. This will increase the productivity and the organization effectiveness. Training should be given to the new employees in the organization. The new
38

employees need to know about the organization's policy and regulations so there will be no problem in the future. They need to know the system and work instruction so they can work properly. Other than that, they need to know other employees in the organization especially the managers, supervisors and colleagues, and the employees who are from other departments who they need to work as team. Therefore, the orientation program organized need to take in the aspects relate to the organization, work scope and employees. Through the well organized orientation program, new employees can manage themselves with the organization, work scope, leaders, other employees as well as the new work environment in a short time. Training also needs to be given to the potential employees in their career. In this situation, the identified worker will be trained and be prepared in knowledge, skill, attitude and capability when times for promotion. For example, an identified officer with potentials to be promoted to a manager need to have higher level of efficiency compared to current level because of the different duties and responsibilities. Employees who transferred from one department to another department also need to be trained so they will understand the new job requirements. Training needs will arise when there are changes in technology or changes in the market request. These types of changes may influence and highly demand in the output process and work system. To ensure customer requests' are fulfill, organization need to re-evaluate and modify the output process and existing work system. When the structure and work system change, the workers who involve will need to be re-trained. Training need to ensure each worker understands and can do the work with the new work procedures correctly. Training also need to be provided when there are other changes in the organization such as re-structuring, changes in policy and procedures, new management, implementation of quality management system, new equipment, etc It is important to ensure the existing knowledge and skill not outdated and always be improved according to the individual needs, work requirement and organization requirement. For example, the organization needs to implement ISO 9002 quality system. To ensure the implementation successful until the certification, all employees, especially those who involve in quality work process, need to be trained so they will understand and support the organization's objective.

The management of training and development.


Organization can only achieve the objectives if the workers can carry out the duties and responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Therefore, continuous training and ability to meet requirements of the organization, individual and work scope is very critical. The main objective for training and development in the organization is to complete the workers with efficiency so their work performance and organizational efficiency can increase every time. For that, the organization needs those who are knowledgeable, expert and capable to manage the processes and many activities in
39

training and development effectively. Training process involves a few important steps. Each step need to manage carefully to get the results expected. The following chart shows the important steps to be taken in training process. It shows clearly that a trainer in organization not only organize training programs, but also act as an organizer, evaluator, designer and also as a counselor. Training process begins with needs analysis to identify where and whom in the organization that needs training. Not every problem or lacking in the organization can be solved via training. Therefore, careful in evaluation and prioritization for the training gaps need to solve first After that, suitable programs can be selected to achieve the objectives which have been set. Preparation for the materials and required tools, as well as the selection of the suitable location, selection of experts as facilitators is all essentials for the implementation

Effective training will generate efficient workers, actually, training is an investment that can give a positive return to the organization, if it is organized properly; otherwise, it will become a burden cost to the organization. If the workers do not show any difference after the learning process, it will make the training as a cost to the organization. However, if the workers are able to utilize what have been learned to increase the quality of the work, it will be a profitable return.

Knowledge and skills required to manage training effectively;


According to McLagan (1989) 35 types of efficiency was identified in order to implement the roles as a trainer. These 35 efficiency grouped into four categories (technical- business- individual skills- and intellectual)
40

Technical efficiencies: requires 11 types of knowledge and skill to manage training process. This efficiencies emphasize on understanding of theory and adult learning principles, knowledge and skills in order to identify individual efficiency to implement their roles and tasks, and able to write the training objectives and skills to carry out researches Those who play the roles as researchers, program designers, training material developers, facilitators, evaluators and advisors, really need these efficiencies. Example, to be an efficient program designer, a person need to know how the adult learn, what factor will encourage them to learn and what are their needs, so the program design will attract their attention and interests Only after they understand the needs, they can set the program objectives and start to write about the program using computer. To write a program, they need to manage training venue, training tools and materials required. There are many other duties need to organize besides that, however in short, it shows the technical skills are important in this responsibilities

Business efficiency; business efficiency states ninety (90) types of knowledge and skills
relate to management, administration and economic are required to understand the business world and the surrounding where it operates. Two efficiencies emphasized are knowledge on business and decision making, and understand about organizational behavior. Other efficiencies include knowledge on cost-benefit analysis, delegation skills, organizational requirements, project management and record keeping This skill important for marketer, change agent, evaluator, manager or training executive. This is because they need to understand about the objectives and organization's requirement and current development in business world and relevant industries in planning and decision making about training Cost-benefit analyst need to estimate the investment towards training and the return to the organization and staff. Job will be divided to those in training unit to manage the project successfully

Interpersonal skills: interpersonal skills are one component in communications skills.


With strong basic communication skills, it will make easier for us to interact with other people such as with managers, supervisors, employees and consultants. From 8 efficiencies, 5 of them very critical to ensure oneself can play his role as marketer, change agent, facilitator, advisor or counselor, and also as manager or training executive The five efficiencies are giving feedback skills, skills for delivering or presenting. Questioning skills, public relations skills or network relations, and writing skills. Other efficiency required is coaching skills. Those work attitudes require individuals who can talk and talkative, clear presentations and good listener Intellectual efficiency; intellectual efficiency refers to 7 types of knowledge and skills to think and to use the information obtained in rational and creative way. Skills to look and to
41

gather information, open mind, and observation skills are among the main skills required. Other skills include data processing, model development skills, self knowledge and vision. Researcher, change agent from evaluator needs all these intellectual efficiency to carry out the duties effectively.

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS EFFICIENCY

Theoretical knowledge on adult learning principles Theoretical knowledge on work development Skills to identify efficiency Computer skills Skills to use training tools Skills to manage facilities/logistics Skills and knowledge to set objectives Skills in observation towards work results

Business experience Knowledge on cost-benefit analysis Delegation skills Industrial relation knowledge Knowledge on organizational behavior Knowledge on organizational development Knowledge on organization Project management skills Knowledge on record keeping Coaching skills Feedback skills Group process knowledge Negotiation skills Presentation skills Questioning skills Network relation skills Writing skills

42

INTELLECTUAL EFFICIENCY

EFFICIENCY Data processing skills Searching and data collection skills Open mind and versatile thinking knowledge Model development skills Self knowledge visionary

Selecting suitable training strategy;


Human resources development is one of the most important activities in managing human resources management. Hence, training strategy needs to be developed according to the organizational plan. Training strategies require a mechanism to monitor training effectiveness. It gives guidelines and clear direction to all employees. Hence, we are more prepared to get the opportunity out of the issues and changes happen now and in future. Training strategies developed will evaluate the growth now, issues faced and objectives can be achieved effectively.

Early preparation:
Organizations should equip workers with knowledge, skills, attitude and capabilities required in the first place in order to allow them run their new duties and responsibilities Refresher training should be given to them from time to time. This is important because various changes may happen and influence daily work activities. Eg. Changes in latest technology may influence their existing efficiency, procedures and work system; this is an important level due to the suitability with the new change

Continuous learning:
Workers' skills and knowledge should be upgraded systematically and continuously align with the internal and external changes happened. Internal changes involved work activities
43

like policies, procedures, instructions, technologies etc External changes included current country's economic situation, Political stability, technology, globalization and other factors which can influence training. Workers need to be train or re-train so they will become more competitive, innovative and able to suit themselves with the rapid changes.

Monitoring and evaluation:


Evaluation will be organized to determine staff performance level achieved resulted from training given. Other than that, it needs to evaluate the benefits or return on investment gained from individual as well as from organizational basis on the training given. Monitoring schedule may be able to assist to identify any problems arise before, during and after training organized It is clear now the importance of training and development involved achievement and increase of certain knowledge, skills, attitude and capabilities, there are three main objectives training i.e.; - To increase level of knowledge, understanding and awareness to all staff. - To equip and increase workers' skills in one or more expertise; and - To increase workers' motivation level to work harder and better in carrying out their daily duties and responsibilities Wexley and Latham (2002) suggested three strategies that can be selected to fulfill one or all the three objectives, i.e. to increase workers performance via; Cognition; emphasis will be given on the staff thinking in increasing the knowledge and awareness as well as their understanding on certain things For example, new workers will be given orientation training where to understand on organization information, work and other workers, policies, and work procedures, systems and instructions, benefits and compensation, managers, supervisors and colleagues. This information can assist the workers to understand better their work. Training base on these information can assist them to understand the organization's objectives and may try to suit their needs align with the organization's requirements.

Behavior; second training strategies emphasized on aspects of workers skills and


capabilities. Training base on this function will focus on workers efficiency in carrying out their daily duties and responsibilities Through the model of training behaviors, this strategy can assist to change the negative work behaviors towards positive. This involves contribution and involvement by the workers in the organized training programs. Workers will show the work behavior required
44

and they will be asked to repeat until objectives are met Drills exercise in training will be emphasized at the work place. These drill exercise will make the workers more skillful and efficient. Therefore, productivity and work performance will increase. Work environment; training can be organized at work place to implement the changes planned in organization development. Normally changes will involve the attitude and motivational of the staff. Some may accept the changes, but there are some who reject and even try to prevent it

To change the workers is not easy job. We need to understand the factors that lead to
these behaviors at the work place. Work rotation can be implemented to make workers get use to the new environment. Through this work experience, they will understand better the activities in the organization and the importance of each task including the roles They need to have a full view on the organizational operations. When the workers are exposed about the work environment, they will be more motivated and activate what they have learned. Training strategies which are suitable should be based on the training objectives which have been identified. If the organization objectives to increase workers' knowledge and understand, then the training strategy based on cognitive is more suitable to be used. Mean while, to increase workers in daily work, then behavior strategy are more suitable. To increase the workers motivation, work environment strategy more suitable that workers are more motivated to carry out the roles and responsibilities given to them. Process on developing training and development Training needs analysis phase; Needs analysis is a process that need to be carried out to identify either training or development is required in the organization. Main purpose of the needs analysis is to determine where and who needs training in the organization. Through needs analysis, we can identify the gap or lacks that may exist in; Organization performance is the organization already achieves the objectives. Current work performance is every worker have the knowledge, skills, attitude and ability required to carry out the current duties effectively and efficiently. Future work performance is the current knowledge, skills, attitudes and ability sufficient to carry out the future duties. Whose work performance that need training now and in future, and what type of programs needed This needs analysis is important because the information can determine either training needs to be carried out or not, and where is it needed, in what form, who is involved in the program, in what format need to implement and what type of evaluation can be
45

carried out for this program. Then, it is obvious the need analysis is important and acts as a base in development of the effective training program. DeSimone, Warner and Harris (2002) explain five types of training needs base on survey results done by Brinkerhoff (1998). They emphasize that training needs refer to the gap exist between current performance shown compared to the set performance standard which can be solved by training program.

Performance gap training required to assist workers who do not meet the
standard performance required. The gap here refers to the comparison between actual achievement and the standard achievement set. For example, a sales person must sell 50 books a week, but he managed to sell 38-45 books only for 15 consecutive weeks. Here we can see there is a gap in work performance achievement.

Democratic needs- training needs base on the majority request. There are
times the workers make request to attend training programs base on their needs, taste and interest. Diagnostic needs- this training depends on the factors that may influence the workers performance. Training is more focus to the factors that can lead them to an effective performance in future and not to the current problem only For example, an officer would like to be advance in his career will identify the training and development program that can lead him towards that without looking at the problems he face now.

Analytical needs- training that is required identifying new work or job procedures which
is better from the current ones. The program can encourage the workers to become more creative and innovative so that can improve current work process The programs that can improve the work quality is an example where workers will be exposed to various methods and techniques which can be used to ease daily work routine and eliminate any steps that are not required, combine certain new steps and etc.

Law needs- this training is fix by the law system or certain rules. For
example, occupational safety & Health (1994) has determine that the organization must give training to all the workers on safety and health issues at the work place, which this is to make them aware on their responsibilities.

Stages in training needs analysis;


To identify training needs, we need to carry out an analysis at three stages that are; organizational stage, job stage, and individual stage. Organizational stage involve that analysis in total by seeing the environmental internally and externally which able to influence the operation movement in order to achieve the objectives. On the other hand, job analysis is more to certain kind of job and
46

to carry out the job effectively Meanwhile, individual analysis is to identify if the workers have the skills required to carry out the work. Organizational analysis involves the evaluation towards organization needs through vision, mission, long term objectives and short term objectives. What are the requirements to meet the organization's objective? Are there any gaps that can prevent the organization from achieving the objectives? Are there any factors like external pressure that can influence the organization's movement? There are many questions at the organizational level that need to analyze and to identify the gaps. Second activity in this phase is to analyze the job to determine the work performance for each job in the organization. Job analysis also known as operation analysis, in this step the required result by the organization need to be identified not to be fixed. Three important questions need to be answered; What is the job and responsibilities involve in the work scope? What knowledge, skill, and capabilities required to carry out the work effectively? What are the performances needs to be established? Usually, analysis at the job stage refer to the job description and job specification in order to identify the activities for certain job and skills needed to do the work. There are five steps in job analysis after the analysis is done. From the example in organization analysis, we can say that to select a work scope of a training officer; List the duties and responsibilities required to carry out the work. Here we are going to list all activities or steps taken to do the work. For example, among the duties of training officer is to carry out the training needs analysis, to choose training programs and suitable trainers, prepare the program and training calendar, manage the training activities and participants. To do the training evaluation and prepare the report for management review Identify the type and knowledge level, skill and capabilities required to carry out the work. Example, to carry out the duties and responsibilities for a training officer A person need to have a good knowledge on training process, good communications skills and interpersonal skills, computer skills, and other training equipments, and able to organize independently or work in team Identify the performance level in work performed. Example, to prepare a need analysis report at the end of the year and when needed, prepare report for the management on training activities and financial status at every six month and ensure workers attend the training program planned and as well as update the training record for each worker.
47

Identify the duties and skills needed in training program for a particular work. This determination will involve evaluation to know the difficulty level, importance and period required to carry out a particular work. Types and efficiency level also need to be determined for each job based on the evaluation. Example, if to prepare the report to management is important, we need to look either is it easy or difficult to do, and the dateline given to do it if training is not provided. Arrange the training needs identified according to priority. Duties and skills that are most important need to be solve prior to anything else. Example, if to prepare the report is important, but difficult to prepare and need longer period to do, no computer skills, then definitely need to give priority to it. Third stage in evaluation phase is to identify training needs at individual stage and to determine if the workers in the organization need the training to increase their work performance Two main questions need to answer that is; who needs to ensure which worker has the gap and lack of skills compared to current standard work performance. If gaps exist, we need to identify the type of suitable training to assist them close gap. Example, we have seen the organization requirement and duties of a training officer, now we need to observe the training officer performance to see if there is any gap exists in his work performance If the officer failed to update the workers' training record in a certain period, then we need to determine suitable training to give to him in order to increase efficiency. Maybe due to lack of skills in using computer system, causing the officer could not perform good performance. Therefore, suitable training in using computer needs to be given to the officer From that we can recognize that the needs analysis is a process run systematically by the organization to identify either training is required or not. Need analysis which is effective can give direction to the organization on a few important things including; Effectiveness for an organization to achieve the objectives compared to actual performance and the set performance standard.

Current skill gaps compare the knowledge, skills, attitude and


capabilities owned by the workers as present and with the level, type of skills needed to carry out the work effectively and efficiently.

Future skills gap compare the efficiency owned at present and the
efficiency required to carry out future duties and responsibilities.
48

Methods for training needs analysis;


Generally, there are four suitable methods always been used in training needs analysis at all analysis stages. They are (survey- interview- observation- and documentation)

Survey; this method used to get feedback from public in a short time. Even it is low cost,
the feedback is beyond the control that many people do not return the forms within the period given and the forms are not complete when returned. Continuous monitoring need to be done to increase the percentage of forms returned Other than that, we need to use certain tactics like to make calls or to meet them personally with the respondents in order to get back the survey forms. This process takes longer time. In addition, the questions could be in long list which may bore the respondent. Also can find it difficult to get further details from the survey forms.

Interview; interview method is either through telephone or face-to-face communication is


effective because we can gather details of information on certain matters, even it takes longer time, especially if we need to get from many respondents. Information obtained also difficult to analyze. Furthermore, we need skilled workers to carry out the interview sessions so to get complete responds. It can cause interruptions towards to work movement to those interviewees and they have to stop their work to spend time to be interviewed.

Observations; this method can produce precise information about a work because it can
be done base on the specific work flow. It can avoid from any interruptions at the work place. However, this also requires a skilled worker to observe and ensure nothing is overlook. Workers behavior is observe by someone. Other than that, this method may take a long time to get precise data and complete information.

Documentation; to use existing documentation may give precise information and data on
certain matters. However, existing documents may be obsolete and not suitable anymore. On the other hand, information needed may be difficult to get and take longer time if there is no proper filing system DeSimone, Warner and Harris (200) suggested resources of information can be used at each level in needs analysis to determine the training needs in the organization;

Organizational analysis;
Documentation analysis and organization planning- this can explain the organizational directions and to emphasize the
49

training in the organization. Human resources inventory- this can determine the job vacancies due to resignation, retirement, etc. Vacancies will determine the skill level required for that particular job.

Skill inventory- it shows


the numbers of workers in certain job and the required skills and the training given and to be given.

Skill inventory- it shows the numbers of workers in certain job


and the required skills and the training given and to be given. Organization data index line discontent rate, turn over, absenteeism, productivity, accidents, and customer complaint can be seen as problem arises and determine that training is required.

Efficiency index- data as such the resource cost used, quality


of product, level of equipment used, wastage rate, improvement rates and late delivery can indicate the actual performance and the standard required. Request from the management- this method is widely used to identify the training needs in the organization.

Part Eight EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION :


Employee compensation refers to all types of salary and compensation that are paid by the employers to their staff. It includes financial and non-financial compensation for the services rendered for the organization. The amount of compensation received by the employee consists of three parts;
com pensation

s alary

incentive benefits

50

Salary; is the basic pay received by the employee in an organization for a


specific period of time (daily, monthly, weekly etc.) depending on the nature of job. Incentive; incentives are given to the employees who have shown their best performance in their job. Examples, annual bonus, best employee award etc. Benefits; benefits consists of the financial and non-financial rewards given to the employee, such as employee health insurance, staff leave, etc. The difference between incentives and benefits is that, the incentives are considered as motivational rewards for selected employees. While benefits are given to all the staff regardless of staff performance or productivity.

Types of equity
Many organizations attempt to develop a compensation system that will consider the issue of equity and fairness. Equity is the essential factor in the determination of salary rate, especially internal and external equity. For the employees, salary equity means the compensation received is parallel with the relative value of the work done. From the external perspective, the salary received in the organization must reasonably similar to the other salary rates in other firms. If not, the organization will have a problem to attract or maintain its competent staff. The following table presents the types of equities and its descriptions;

External equity refers to the situation in which the organization pays the wages relatively similar to the rate of wages paid by external companies for the same type of jobs. The compensation policies is said to achieve an internal equity when the employees of an organization believe that their salary rate is equitably the same with the job value in the organization.
51

Individual equity is the extent of which the salary rate is distributed to certain individuals in the organization that reflects their respective merits.

Features of effective compensation;


If an employer wants to have an effective compensation system, the employer has to encourage the employees to take part in the development and administration of the compensation plan. This method would boost their willingness to accept the compensation plan. Employees in the organization also must be able to distinguish the relationship between the reward payments received with their job performance. This can be seen clearly if there are existing objectives of quality and quantity standard to assess their performance. Employee's willingness to achieve the standard is crucial to ensure the success of the compensation system. Management must not allow the employees to believe that the reward payment is their due rights. Reward payment must be viewed as a payment gained by their efforts to get work done. Financial rewards that have to be tied to excellent performance. Incentive system implemented has to deemed as fair by the worker. The payment method must be simple and easy to understand. The productivity standard quality must be challenging yet attainable

Basics of salary determinant;


The organization has to determine the formal value of a job by performing job estimation. Job estimation is a methodical process that can decide the job relative value so that the organization can decide which job carries the most value in the organization. Job estimation helps to develop internal equity among various jobs in the firm. The relative value of a particular job can be decided by comparing the workload with other jobs in the organization or with a scale that have been developed for the particular purpose. The method of estimation could be classified as; - Qantitative methods that include (point rating method and) - Non quantitative methods that include (job ranking system)

Job ranking system; is the simplest method of job estimation.


The method ranks the jobs according to their relative values to the organization. A technique used to rank a job is to accumulate and arrange the cards that contain all the tasks and responsibilities of each respective job according to the significance of the job Job ranking can be done by an individual who is well versed in all the jobs available in the particular organization or a panel that consists of representatives of both the management
52

and the employees A disadvantage of this system is it only provides the relative importance of a certain job and not the degree of differences that could exist among the jobs Besides that, the system appropriate to be used when it involves only a small number of jobs, not more than fifteen types of jobs. Yet, since it is easy to use this job ranking system, the method is most favorable in the smaller firms.

Job classification system; is widely used in the organizations, as it is so easy


to use. This method divides the jobs into groups. The job group, which has similar type of jobs, is known as class, while the group that has similar degree of difficulty but different in terms of other aspects is recognized as grade In the job classification system, the jobs are classified and grouped based on a certain grade series. The higher the job grade, the more responsibilities, competences, knowledge, abilities and other factors are selected to compare the job. The description of each respective job class becomes the standard scale for the comparison of various job specifications The manager will evaluate each job by comparing the job description with various salary grade to match the job with the corresponding suitable grades. Though job classification is simple to use, it is not as accurate as a point system method and factor comparison system Point system method; one of the most famous qualitative methods used in job evaluation, in this technique, the relative value of a particular job is determined by computing the total points allocated for the job In other words, the value is also obtained by using the compensable factors. A compensable factor is the most critical job-related criterion that is used by the organizations to evaluate the relative value of various jobs. Another item used as a compensable factor is the knowledge required for the particular type of job Normally, there are a few positions, which need a high level of knowledge that received a higher evaluation rating, thus making them eligible for higher pay plans. Even though, almost every firm can decide on using their own compensable factors that will be more suited for the respective jobs in their organizations, Yet, they also use other compensable factors which can be found in an established job evaluation system. The major advantage of this method is it acts as a more fine foundation for judgments as compared to job ranking system and job classification system.

Factor comparison system; this system, just like the point system, allows the
job evaluation to be according to the factor-to-factor bases. The difference between the factor comparison system and the point system method is that the compensable factors in this system can be measured against the compensable factors of the major job functions in the organization, which acts as a job evaluation scales
53

Major job can be defined as the essential job function that decides on the salary determinants that are commonly used in the labor supply market. The major job is assessed based on compensable factors such as skills, mental efforts, responsibilities and work conditions. Generally, a panel will be chosen to rank the criteria of the major job. The panel members will allocate the salary financial rate for each corresponding compensable factor. When the task is completed another factor comparison scale will be created to evaluate other types of job. The factor comparison system method has been often used in the organizations because of it several advantages. One of them is its accuracy and meticulous order Any job can be compared with other jobs to decide on its comparison value. The system also is more comprehensible for most employees in the organization. However, the system does not exist without its own flaw. In fact, the only set back of this system is its complexity in designing the system itself. It may look easy to some people but the development of the system is a whole other matter o be handled by the employee. Job evaluation is a technique used to decide on the relative value of each respective job. Bearing in mind that the job evaluation process is done internally and it does not take into account the market salary rate or the salary rate as practiced in other firms Job evaluation only focuses on the job value that complements each job and not the individual who is assigned to do the job. To achieve external equity, the firms need to conduct a salary survey.

Salary survey;
Salary survey aims to estimate the salary range for each grade level so that the salary rate in the organization is similar to the normal salary rate in the labor supply market. A good salary survey would produce a specific wage rate for particular jobs In practice, a formal written questionnaire is considered a comprehensive survey but telephone survey and newspaper survey can also be the sources of information The employer adopts salary survey in three ways; Firstly, the data survey is used to give a price to a benchmark job. A benchmark job is deemed as the most crucial job in the organization of which it represents the overall job structure. Also, it is a position in which most jobs are focused on. Secondly, most employers pay the compensation that is normally parallel to what has been provided by other firms for the same job type based on the informal and formal survey. Lastly, surveys also gather information on benefits like insurance; sick leave and any other type of leave which will be the bases of employee benefits
54

decision. Large organizations conduct salary survey to seek for the comparable market wage rate in the labor supply market.

Performance based pay;


Many organizations adopt the performance-based pay system. This is to boost the employee's motivation and work performance so that they can work effectively and efficiently, hence, improve their overall productivity and salary increment and other compensation given according to the employee's work performance This means, not every individual in the organization will receive the same compensation or benefits. Employee who exhibits superior work performance will be getting more pay than average or poor employee. The performance based pay system can be applied to individual workers, work teams and the whole organization. The performance of the three levels of employees is usually stated in the performance appraisal. Performance appraisal data will provide information on the merit pay, variable pay, skill-based pay and competency based pay.

Merit pay; is the salary increment given to an employee based on his


performance as reflected in his performance appraisal Variable pay; refers to the performance-based compensation (annual bonus). Skill-based pay; is a type of pay that rewards the employee based on his respective level of skill and knowledge. Competency-based pay; is given to the employee who has shown a high level of competency in his nature of job.

Benefits
Unlike incentives, benefits are not related to the employee's performance. Thus it is also not a motivation tool to improve productivity The benefits given are under the discretion of the management but there are compulsory benefits that should be provided by the employer as stipulated in the labor law; cost of living allowance, house to office transport allowance, housing allowance, over time payment, etc.

Incentives;
Incentive compensation always ties the salary with the productivity, the higher the productivity is the higher the compensation will be. It could be seen in different forms; The individual incentive scheme Team incentive scheme Profit sharing where a percentage of revenue is distributed to the employees. Employees share option plan Thank u C u in PhD. Program With my complements
55

Dr Abulabbas F. Kagoak 0912350961

56

You might also like