UNIT 2:-THE CONCEPT OF BEST FIT EMPLOYEE

PART A

1. What is Human resource planning?

2. Explain briefly the significance and purpose of human resource planning?
3. Why should organizations engage in HR planning? Mention the reasons.
4. What kinds of action decisions are available to an organization when there is a
surplus of labour?
5. What kinds of action decisions are available to an organization when there is a
labour shortage?
6. How is attrition used with hiring freeze in human resource management?
7. List the factors that cause an organization demand for human resource to change.
8. List the various forecasting methods of human resources supply forecasting.
9. What are the various forecasting methods of human resources demand
forecasting.
10. What is the difference between judgmental and statistical forecasting?
11. when are judgmental methods of demand forecasting preferred over statistical
methods?
12. Differentiate between bottom –up and top-down demand forecasting method.
13. What is the difference between Delphi technique and nominal group technique
used for demand forecasting?
14. List the most commonly employed statistical technique used to forecast staffing
demand needs.
15. What do you mean by the terms’ productivity ratios’ and ‘personnel ratios’?
16. What are replacement charts? Write its significance in relevance to HRP.
17. What is succession planning?
18. What are the roadblocks in the process of human resource planning?
19. What is job analysis? Why it is important to an organization?
20. Differentiate between the terms:
a) Task and Duty.
b) Job and occupation.
21. What are the types of information obtained through job analysis?
22. Who should conduct the job analysis in organization?
23. List out the various methods by which information about jobs can be gathered.
24. What do you mean by diary/log job analysis method?
25. What is the difference between job description and job specification?
26. What are the job description components?
27. Mention the benefits of job description.
28. What are the job specification components?
29. What is meant by Recruitment?
30. What are the purposes of recruitment?
31. What are the constraints on recruiting efforts?
32. Identify factors that influence the degree to which an organization will engage in
recruiting.
33. List the various sources of recruitment.
34. What are the internal sources of recruitment?
35. What are the external sources of recruitment?
36. List the pros and cons for internal and external sources of recruits.
37. What are the advantages of adopting “ promotions from within “ policy in an
organization?
38. What do you mean by ripple effect?
39. What is job rotation?
40. Explain the terms: - 1) rehires and 2) recalls.
41. Differentiate between walk-ins and write-ins.
42. What is meant by head-hunting?
43. Explain briefly the concepts of employee referrals?
44. What are the pros and cons of using employee referrals for recruiting workers?
45. What are the pros and cons of using some form of temporary or leased employees
rather than hiring permanent employees?
46. What are the criteria used to determine the choice between internal and external
sources of recruitment?
47. List out various methods of recruiting.
48. What is meant by job posting and bidding?
49. What does a skill inventory refer?
50. What do you infer from the term inside moonlighting?
51. Differentiate between want-ads and blind-ads.
52. Under what circumstances would a blind-ad be useful recruiting technique?
53. Write a brief about special event recruiting.
54. List the most commonly used advertising media for recruiting purposes.
55. What do you mean by realistic job preview?
56. What do you mean by outsourcing?
57. What is employee leasing?
58. List alternatives to recruiting individuals.
59. What is meant by decruitment?
60. List out the various decruitment options.
61. What is meant by personnel selection?
62. What are the goals of selection?
63. What are the purposes of selection?
64. What is meant by description of selection as a two-way street?
65. What are the essentials of selection?
66. What information should the employment specialist review before beginning the
selection process?
67. What are the external circumstances that influence personnel selection?
68. What is an initial screening?
69. What is an application blank? What are its purposes?
70. What is a weighted application form?
71. Differentiate between an application blank and resume.
72. What are employment tests?
73. List the various tests that have been used for personnel selection.
74. Distinguish between aptitude and achievement test.
75. Distinguish between ability, aptitude and personality tests.
 76. What are performance simulation tests?
77. What is the purpose of polygraph and graphology tests?
78. What is meant by work sampling?
79. What is an assessment centre?
80. List the various medical tests that have been used for physical examinations of
applicants.
81. What is genetic screening?
82. Why is employment interviews widely used as selection device?
83. Differentiate between unstructured and structured interviews.
84. When do you use stress interviews?
85. What is a reference check? When do you use it? For which jobs?
86. Distinguish between a predicator and a criterion. Give example
87. Define the terms reliability and validity.
88. What are the three types of validity?
89. What are selection ratios and base rates? How do they influence the effectiveness
of selection?
90. What is meant by induction?
91. Define orientation.
92. What are the purposes of orientation?
93. Who is responsible for orienting new employees?
94. Differentiate between orientation and socialization.
95. Differentiate between selection and placement.

PART B

1. List out the steps in human resource planning. Illustrate with examples?
2. How is manpower planning done? what are some peculiarities in forecasting
manpower in industries with high attrition?
3. What is job analysis? what are the methods used in job anlysis?how is it done?
4. Write on various recruiting sources available to the human resource department?
5. What are the skill Skills recruiters want in India?
6. What are the interview process?
7. What are the major types of employment tests? discuss the characteristics of each
type?
8. What are the common types of interviewing errors. how can they be overcome?
9. How are tests validated? what are the uses of interviewers in making a right
selection/
10. Discuss the possible plans that can be developed to address both shortages and a
surplus of employees in an organization?
11. Write short notes on the following techniques used to forecast the human resource
supply.
12. What are the process of recruitment is influenced environmental factors?
13. What are the steps in Induction Programme?
14. What are the purpose of internal Mobility?
Unit 3:- TRAINING AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

PART A

1. What is meant by employee training?

2. Differentiate between Training and Education.
3. Differentiate between Training and development.
4. Why does organisation train their employees?
5. List out the benefit of employee training to the organization.
6. List out the benefit of employee training to the individual.
7. Who responsible for training and development?
8. What is training need assessment?
9. What are the 3 levels of training needs analysis?
10. What is meant by on-the-job training?
11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of on job training?
12. What is JIT? Contrast it with apprenticeship training?
13. What is meant by off-the-job training?
14. What are the advantages and disadvantages of off-the-job training?
15. What are the off-the-job training method?
16. What is vestibule training?
17. What do you meant by in-basket training?
18. What is a simulation exercise? Give some examples?
19. What are the criteria should be considered while selecting a training method?
20. What are the four levels at which training can be evaluated?
21. Name the performance based training evaluation methods.
22. What do you mean by pre-post-training performance with control group method?
23. What do you mean by ‘induction training’ and ‘cross-cultural training’?
24. What is executive or management development?
25. What are the objectives of executive or management development?
26. List the benefit of executive or management development.
27. What are the essential components of comprehensive executive development
program?
28. What are the common methods used in executive development?
29. What does ‘understudy assignment’ achieve in managerial training?
30. Name any six on-the-job techniques of executive management?
31. What is meant by job rotation? Contrast between horizontal and vertical relatives?
32. What is coaching? Contrast it with mentoring.
33. What is team building and when is it appropriate?
34. What are the steps in building a good mentor protégé relationship?
35. Briefly state the fundamental of transactional analysis?
36. What is behavior modeling training? For what type of content is it most useful?
 37. What is organization development?
38. List organization development techniques.
39. What do you mean by self-management?
40. Differentiate between tacit knowledge of explicit knowledge?
41. What do you meant by knowledge management?
42. What are the human resource dimensions of knowledge management.?
43. Management development should be considered a life-time process. Why?
44. What simulation techniques can be used in management training?
45. List the various challenges in developing knowledge management in an
organization?

Part- B

1. Explain the common forms of training using examples. How is training used to
reward good performance?
2. Explain different off-the-job training methods adopted by organization?
3. What are the different ways of evaluating training effectiveness? Explain?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of on-the-job training?
5. Why is training and development so important in organizations? Is this important
growing? Why?
6. What are the phases of training needs assessment?
7. Do computers play a role in training? Discuss?
8. Explain the four levels at which training can be evaluated?
9. Discuss the various ingredients of a comprehensive executive development
process?
10. List and discuss on-the-job training methods for management training?
11. List and discuss off-the-job training methods for management training?
12. Write short notes on the following methods of executive development?
13. Compare and contrast the sensitivity training for executive development with
team building?
14. Compare and contrast transactional analysis with behavioral modeling method for
executive development?
15. Explain the various stages of knowledge management process?

Unit 4:- SUSTAINING EMPLOYEE INTEREST

Part A

1. What is compensation?
2. What are the objectives of compensation function?
3. What are intrinsic rewards?
4. Distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards?
5. What are memberships based rewards?
6. How do financial and non-financial rewards differ?
7. Distinguish between direct and indirect compensation.
8. What is meant by ‘Flexi-time’ and state its advantages?
9. What are the factors affecting compensation administration?
10. What is meant by pay structuring?
11. List the sources of compensation data.
12. What are the advantages and disadvantages of linking pay to performance?
13. What is an incentive?
14. What is the major individual incentive plans used?
15. What does gainsharing mean?
16. What is the scanlon plan?
17. What does improshare mean?
18. What are ESOPs?
19. What is Fringe benefit?
20. What do enterprises have benefit plans? List different types of benefit plans.
21. What are internal, external and employees’ equity?
22. Define the term motivation.
23. Differentiate between 1) positive and negative motivation 2) intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation.
24. List out the Maslow’s classification of needs.
25. Explain Maslow’s theory of motivation?
26. What are the three variables in the expectancy theory of motivation? Explain
briefly?
27. List out the various motivation and hygiene factors stated by Henzberg’s two
factor, theory?
28. What do you mean by ‘theory X and theory Y’?
29. What does the term ‘ERG’ in Alderfer’s ERG theory refer?
30. List at least six management techniques designed to increase employee
motivation?
31. What does equity theory suggest?
32. Identify three acquired needs proposed by David McClelland?
33. Define the terms: career, career path, and career goals?
34. What is meant by career management?
35. Contrast between the terms career planning and career development.
36. What are the two perspectives in discussing careers?
37. What are the benefit to an organisation in offering career development programs
to its employees?
38. List the various stages in a typical career?
39. What is a career anchor?
40. What do you mean by career planning?
41. How can be individual career development achieved?
42. What is meant by mentoring?
43. What are the steps in building a good mentor-protégé relationship?
44. Bring out the merits and demerits of developing mentor-protégé relationship?
45. Differentiate between Training and Executive development.
46. List out the features of executive development.
47. State the Importance of executive development.
48. Steps in the organisation of an executive development programme.
49. List out various Methods/techniques used in executive development
50. What do you mean by self development?
51. What do you mean by Knowledge Management (KM)?

Part -B

1. What are the components of compensation plan? What are the new trends in
compensation management?
2. Explain Maslow’s and Hertzberg’s theory of motivation. Explain their use in
understanding motivation in work life?
3. Explain X and Y theory and Hertzberg’s theory of motivation, How can jobs be
designed to Increase the motivation?
4. Explain Vroom’s theory of motivation?
5. Why is career development important to the organization and the employee?
Explain?
6. What are the career stages? What decisions are made in each stage of career?
7. Explain the process of developing mentor-protégé relationship?
8. Briefly describe the various career development programs offered by organization
to its employees?
9. What are the process of employees counseling?
10. Write short note on
a) Alderfer’s ERG theory of motivation;
b) Equity theory and
c) Skinner’s reinforcement theory.
11. What are the four basic method of Job evaluation? Explain how each works also
compare their merits and demerits?
12. Compare and contrast the various individual’s incentive systems: Price-rate plans,
standard hour plans, commission plans, and individual bonuses?
13. Discuss the objectives of compensation plan?
14. Write brief notes on compensation policies and aspects that influence them?
15. What are the Essentials of a sound incentive plan?
UNIT 2 -THE CONCEPT OF BEST FIT EMPLOYEE
INTRODUCTION
Planning is very important to our everyday activities. Several definitions have been given
by different writers what planning is all about and its importance to achieving our
objectives. It is amazing that this important part of HR is mostly ignored in HR in most
organizations because those at the top do not know the value of HR planning.
Organizations that do not plan for the future have less opportunities to survive the
competition ahead. HRP offers an accurate estimate of the number of employees required
with matching skill requirements to meet organisational objectives. HRP is a forward
looking function as human resource estimates are made well in advance. It is, of course,
subject to revision.

DEFINITION OF HR PLANNING

Human resource planning (HRP) is the process by which an organization ensures that it
has the right number and kinds of people, in the right places, and at the right times, who
are capable of effectively and efficiently performing assigned tasks.

Quoting Mondy et (1996) they define it as a systematic analysis of HR needs in order to

ensure that correct number of employees with the necessary skills are available when
they are required.

OBJECTIVE OF HR PLANNING

a) Forecast personnel requirements

b) Cope with changes
c) Use existing manpower productively
d) Promote employees in a systematic way

Importance of Planning
Planning is not as easy as one might think because it requires a concerted effort to come
out with a programme that would easy your work. Commencing is complicated, but once
you start and finish it you have a smile because everything moves smoothly.

Planning is processes that have to be commenced form somewhere and completed for a
purpose. It involves gathering information that would enable managers and supervisors
make sound decisions. The information obtained is also utilized to make better actions for
achieving the objectives of the Organization. There are many factors that you have to
look into when deciding for an HR Planning programme.

HR Planning involves gathering of information, making objectives, and making decisions

to enable the organization achieve its objectives. Surprisingly, this aspect of HR is one of
the most neglected in the HR field. When HR Planning is applied properly in the field of
HR Management, it would assist to address the following questions:

a) How many staff does the Organization have?

 b) What type of employees as far as skills and abilities does the Company have?
c) How should the Organization best utilize the available resources?
d) How can the Company keep its employees?

HR planning makes the organization move and succeed in the 21st Century that we are
in. Human Resources Practitioners who prepare the HR Planning programme would
assist the Organization to manage its staff strategically. The programme assist to direct
the actions of HR department.

The programme does not assist the Organization only, but it will also facilitate the career
planning of the employees and assist them to achieve the objectives as well. This
augment motivation and the Organization would become a good place to work. HR
Planning forms an important part of Management information system.

HR have an enormous task keeping pace with the all the changes and ensuring that the
right people are available to the Organization at the right time. It is changes to the
composition of the workforce that force managers to pay attention to HR planning. The
changes in composition of workforce not only influence the appointment of staff, but also
the methods of selection, training, compensation and motivation. It becomes very critical
when Organizations merge, plants are relocated, and activities are scaled down due to
financial problems.

Inadequacy of HR Planning
Poor HR Planning and lack of it in the Organization may result in huge costs and
financial looses. It may result in staff posts taking long to be filled. This augment costs
and hampers effective work performance because employees are requested to work
unnecessary overtime and may not put more effort due to fatigue. If given more work this
may stretch them beyond their limit and may cause unnecessary disruptions to the
production of the Organization. Employees are put on a disadvantage because their live
programmes are disrupted and they are not given the chance to plan for their career
development.

The most important reason why HR Planning should be managed and implemented is the
costs involved. Because costs forms an important part of the Organizations budget,
workforce Planning enable the Organization to provide HR provision costs. When there
is staff shortage, the organization should not just appoint discriminately, because of the
costs implications of the other options, such as training and transferring of staff, have to
be considered.

Steps in HR Planning
Forecasting
HR Planning requires that we gather data on the Organizational goals objectives. One
should understand where the Organization wants to go and how it wants to get to that
point. The needs of the employees are derived from the corporate objectives of the
Organization. They stern from shorter and medium term objectives and their conversion
into action budgets (eg) establishing a new branch in New Dehli by January 2006 and
staff it with a Branch Manager (6,000 USD, Secretary 1,550 USD, and two clerical staff
800 USD per month. Therefore, the HR Plan should have a mechanism to express
planned Company strategies into planned results and budgets so that these can be
converted in terms of numbers and skills required.

Inventory
After knowing what human resources are required in the Organization, the next step is to
take stock of the current employees in the Organization. The HR inventory should not
only relate to data concerning numbers, ages, and locations, but also an analysis of
individuals and skills. Skills inventory provides valid information on professional and
technical skills and other qualifications provided in the firm. It reveals what skills are
immediately available when compared to the forecasted HR requirements.

Audit
We do not live in a static World and our HR resources can transform dramatically. HR
inventory calls for collection of data, the HR audit requires systematic examination and
analysis of this data. The Audit looks at what had occured in the past and at present in
terms of labor turn over, age and sex groupings, training costs and absence. Based on this
information, one can then be able to predict what will happen to HR in the future in the
Organization.

HR Resource Plan
Here we look at career Planning and HR plans. People are the greatest asserts in any
Organization. The Organization is at liberty to develop its staff at full pace in the way
ideally suited to their individual capacities. The main reason is that the Organization’s
objectives should be aligned as near as possible, or matched, in order to give optimum
scope for the developing potential of its employees. Therefore, career planning may also
be referred to as HR Planning or succession planning.

The questions that should concern us are:

a) Are we making use of the available talent we have in the Organization, and have
we an enough provision for the future?
b) Are employees satisfied with our care of their growth in terms of advancing their
career?
Assignment of individuals to planned future posts enable the administration to ensure
that these individuals may be suitably prepared in advance.

Actioning of Plan
There are three fundamentals necessary for this first step.
 a) Know where you are going.
b) There must be acceptance and backing from top management for the planning.
c) There must be knowledge of the available resources (i.e) financial, physical and
human (Management and technical).

Once in action, the HR Plans become Corporate plans. Having been made and concurred
with top management, the plans become a part of the company’s long-range plan. Failure
to achieve the HR Plans due to cost, or lack of knowledge, may be a serious constraints
on the long-range plan. Below is an illustration of how HR Plan is linked to corporate
Plan.

Monitoring and Control.

This is the last stage of HR planning in the Organization. Once the programme has been
accepted and implementation launched, it has to be controlled. HR department has to
make a follow up to see what is happening in terms of the available resources. The idea
is to make sure that we make use of all the available talents that are at our disposal failure
of which we continue to struggle to get to the top.

Benefits
A clear human resource development plan can include benefits like:
 Highlighting opportunities for strategic partnerships that allow communities and
other partners to share the benefits, risks and training costs.
 Providing for the small successes that are encouraging and motivating for the
community and can show funders, community members and others that the
program is on track.
 Making it easier to evaluate progress (especially from feedback from clients) and
to present funders, partners, and community members with effective information
about that progress.

Major challenges in HR planning

HR professionals are basically confronted with three problems while preparing and
administering HR plans: accuracy, inadequate top management support, lopsided focus
on quantitative aspects.
 A very real need to see results makes planning seem wasteful of time, diverting
efforts from doing. Impatience with planning is always a challenge.
 Public expectations may be unrealistic, looking for jobs as an immediate
outcome.
 Careful assessment may turn up more human resource development needs than
the projected or existing resources and funding can handle, and this may require
excruciating choices.

FORECASTING THE HUMAN RESOURCES

Forecasting helps to match the requirements and the availabilities of employees. There
are two kinds of forecasting methods: qualitative and quantitative methods. On the other
hand, the Miles and Snow typology could be used by companies as a tool to identify their
positions. This paper discusses how typology and forecasting are valuable for successful
human resource management to function in a company.

MATCHING HUMAN RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND POTENTIAL

HUMAN RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

Matching human resources with planned organizational activities for the present and the
future is one of the main problems faced by an organization. Human resources have a
certain degree of inflexibility, both in terms of their development and their utilization. It
takes several months to recruit, select, place, and train the average employee; in the case
of higher-echelon management personnel in large organizations, the process may take
years. Decisions on personnel recruitment and development are strategic and produce
long-lasting effects. Therefore, management must forecast the demand and supply of
human resources as part of the organization’s business and functional planning processes.
Long-term business requirements, promotion policies, and recruitment (supply)
possibilities have to be matched so that human resources requirements and availability
estimates (from both internal and external sources) correspond sufficiently
(Alpander,1982:78-79).

Establishing long-term human resources requirements is closely related to strategic

business plans. Strategic business plans should provide a minimum base of information
on which viable human resources plans can be built. On the other hand, management
should consider labor availability when they establish strategic business plan because
current and potentially available human resources affect the viability of strategic business
plans (Alpander, 1982:79). The following figure illustrates the desired reciprocal
relationship.
FORECASTING LABOR DEMAND AND SUPPLY

At the beginning, management needs to estimate future labor availabilities and needs,
that is, to assess the supply of labor, both within and outside of the organization. Also,
they need to determine the future demand for specific numbers and types of employees.
Implicit here is that supply and demand analyses should be conducted separately (Walker,
1980). The main reason for this is that internal supply forecasts tend to rely heavily on
organization-specific variables, such as turnover and retirement rates, transfers, and
promotions. Demand forecasts, on the other hand, depend primarily on variations in
external factors (e.g., product or service demand) (Duane, 1996). In sum, Cascio (1991)
notes that in contrast to forecasts of human resource supply, demand forecasts are beset
with multiple uncertainties-in consumer behavior, in technology, in general economic
environment, and so forth.
Techniques used to perform demand and supply forecasts fall into two broad
categories: qualitative techniques and quantitative techniques.

Qualitative Forecasting Techniques

Qualitative forecasts are essentially educated guesses or estimates by individuals who
have some knowledge of previous HR availability’s or utilization (Duane, 1996 ).

Technique Description
1. Nominal Group A group of four or five participants is asked to present
their views regarding labor forecasts. These views are
written down, with no discussion until all of the
members have advanced their positions. The group then
discusses the information presented and, subsequently,
a final ballot is taken to determine its judgment.

2. Delphi Technique This technique calls for a facilitator to solicit and

collate Written, expert opinions on labor forecasts.
After answers are received, a summary of the
information is developed and distributed t the experts,
who are then requested to submitted revised forecasts.
experts never meet face-to-face, but rather
communicate through the facilitator.

3. Replacement Planning Forecasting estimates are based on charting techniques,

which identify current job incumbents and relevant
information about each of them. This information
typically includes a brief assessment of performance
and potential, age length of time in current position, and
overall length of service.

4. Allocation Planning This technique involves judgments about labor supply

or demand by observing the movement of employees
through positions at the same organizational level.
Quantitative Forecasting Techniques
There are several quantitative methods for determining labor supply and demand
(Duane,1996).

Technique Description
1. Regression Model Fluctuations in labor levels are projected using relevant
variables, such as sales.

2. Time-Series Model Fluctuations in labor levels are projected by isolating

trend, seasonal, cyclical, and irregular effects.

3. Economic Model Fluctuations in labor levels are projected using a

specified form of the production function.

4. Linear Programming Model Fluctuations in labor levels are analyzed using an

objective function as well as organizational and
environmental constraints.

5. Markov Model Fluctuations in labor levels are projected using

historical transition rates.

CHOICE OF A FORECASTING TECHNIQUE

Forecasters can choose either the qualitative or quantitative techniques. Also, they
can combine them. The assumption is that a pattern exists concerning the predictors of
labor supply or demand. In choosing a forecasting technique, the following factors
should be considered.
1. Organization's environment. Jackson and Schuler (1990) observe that
organizations operating in fairly stable environments may be able "to quantify the
expected values of variables in their models, which means they can use statistical
forecasting models." Conversely, for firms operating in unstable environments,
quantitatively based predictions are likely to be highly tentative, since "both the
variables and their expected values are difficult to specify accurately by replying on
historical data".
2. Organization size. Stone and Fiorito (1986) suggest that larger organizations tend to
use more sophisticated, quantitative techniques than do smaller ones. According to
them, this relationship is particularly strong among government, mining, forestry,
transportation, communications, and utilities organizations, which traditionally have
had high internal stability due to low turnover among their employees (Duane, 1996:
13).
3. Perceived uncertainty in labor markets and economy. In particular, "more
sophisticated techniques will be discontinued if perceived uncertainty increases to a
point where techniques are no longer feasible, or if perceived uncertainty decreases to
a point where techniques are no longer needed" (Stone and Fiorito, 1986;
Rowland and Summers, 1983).
4. Competition. Organizations in industries that are regulated, operate within predictable
product markets, and acquire resource slack tend to use similar forecasting techniques
(Doeringer et al., 1968; Fiorito et al., 1985; Moore and Reichert, 1983; Vatter, 1967).
In sum, these factors suggest that different types of organizations must approach it
differently. Considering these factors, that is, organization’s environment and size,
perceived uncertainty in labor markets and economy, and competition, the Miles and
Snow typology can be used to determine appropriate forecasting techniques in an
organization.

 Like all plans, a human resource plan must struggle between the need to be
systematic and well thought out over several years and the need to be flexible to
meet changing circumstances.

Forecasting the demand for human resources

External Challenges: Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG era) have
created huge demand for people in software, finance marketing, and manufacturing
fields.
Organisational Decisions: Decisions such as expansion, diversification, and relocation
leading to demand for people possessing requisite skills

Workforce Factors: Such as retirement, resignation, and termination etc creating

manpower gaps.

HR forecasts are an attempt to find out an organisation's future demand for employees
IT can done by following way :-
a) Expert forecasts
b) Trend analysis
c) Workforce analysis
d) Workload analysis
Expert Forecasts: These are based on the judgements of those who possess good
knowledge of future human resource needs
Trend Analysis: This is based on the assumption that the future is an extrapolation from
the past. Human resource needs, as such, can be estimated by examining pas trends.
Workforce Analysis: All relevant factors in planning manpower flows in a firm such as
transfers, promotions, new recruitments, retirement, resignation, dismissal etc are taken
into account while estimating HR needs
Workload analysis: Based on the planned output, a firm tires to calculate the number of
persons required for various jobs.

Supply Forecasting
Internal labour supply: a manpower inventory in terms of the size and quality of
personnel available (their age, sex, education, training, experience, job performance, etc)
is usually prepared by HR departments. Several techniques are used while ascertaining
the internal supply of manpower (a supply of employees to fill projected vacancies can
come from within the firm or from new hires )
Staffing table: Shows the number of employees in each job, how they are utilised and
the future employment needs for each type of job.
Marcov analysis: Uses historical information from personnel movements of the internal
labour supply to predict what will happen in the future
Skills inventory: It is a summary of the skills and abilities of non managerial employees
used in forecasting supply.
External Labour supply: External hires need to be contacted when suitable internal
replacements are not available. A growing number of firms are now using computerised
human resource information systems to track the qualifications of hundreds or thousands
of employees. HRIS can provide managers with a listing of candidates with required
qualifications after scanning the data base.

JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis is the process of gathering information about a job. It is, to be more specific,
a systematic investigation of the tasks, duties and responsibilities necessary to do a job.

Nature of job analysis

Job Tasks
Job Analysis Job Duties
Job Responsibilities

Benefits of Job analysis

Job analysis information is useful for a variety of organisation purposes ranging from
human resource planning to career counseling.

Who should conduct job analysis?

 Job incumbents themselves
 Supervisors
 External analysts

The process of Job analysis

The major steps involved in job analysis are:
 Organisational analysis
 Selection of representative positions to be analysed
 Collection of job analysis data
 Preparation of job description
 Preparation of job specification

Methods Of Collecting Job Analysis Data

Seven general techniques are generally used to collect job analysis data;
 Job performance: the analyst actually performs the job in question and collects
the needed information.
 Personal observation: the analyst observes others doing the job and writes a
summary.
 Critical incidents: job incumbents describe several incidents relating to work,
based on past experience; the analyst collects, analyses and classifies data.
 Interview: job incumbents and supervisors are interviewed to get the most
essential information about a job.
 Panel of experts: experienced people such as job incumbents and supervisors
with good knowledge of the job asked to provide the information.
 Diary method: job incumbents asked to maintain diaries or logs of their daily job
activities and record the time spent and nature of work carried out.
  Questionnaire method: job incumbents approached through a properly designed
questionnaire and asked to provide details.
a) The Position Analysis Questionnaire: it is a standardised form used to
collect specific information about job tasks and worker traits.
b) Management Position Description Questionnaire: it is a standardised
form designed to analyse managerial jobs
c) Functional job analysis: it is a systematic process of finding what is
done on a job by examining and analysing the fundamental
components of data, people and things.
Behavioural Factors Impacting Job Analysis
The following behavioural factors must be taken care of while carrying out a job analysis:
 Exaggerate the facts
 Employee anxieties
 Resistance to change
 Overemphasis on current efforts
 Management straight jacket

Job Description And Job Specification

The end products of job analysis are:
Job description: this is a written statement of what the job holder does, how it is done,
under what conditions it is done and why it is done.
Job specification: it offers a profile of human characteristics (knowledge, skills and
abilities) needed by a person doing a job.

Role Analysis
To have a clear picture about what a person actually does on a job, the job analysis
information must be supplemented with role analysis. Role analysis involves the
following steps:
 Identifying the objectives of the department and the functions to be
carried out therein
 Role incumbent asked to state his key performance areas and his
understanding of the roles to be played by him
 Other role partners of the job such as boss, subordinate, peers are asked
to state their expectations from the role incumbent
 The incumbent's role is clarified and expressed in writing after
integrating the diverse viewpoints expressed by various role partners.

RECRUITMENT
Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for
existing or anticipated job openings
 Certain influences, however, restrain a firm while choosing a recruiting source
such as:    
 Poor image
 Unattractive job
 Conservative internal policies
 Limited budgetary support
  Restrictive policies of government

What are different sources of recruitment?

In today’s competitive and demanding corporate environment, hiring and retaining good
talent has assumed great importance. Companies are constantly in the process of
recruiting people from top universities, from other companies and from other sources.
 
 All the sources of recruitment can be broadly classified into two types. They are internal
and external sources :-
 
Internal sources: These include filling up a vacancy using a person who is already in the
company’s payroll. The vacancy is advertised within the company and on the basis of
responses from within the company, a selection is made. This type of recruitment has
many advantages. The company is able to obtain accurate information about the
candidate as he has already been working with them. It boosts the morale of the
workforce who sees that the company is able to provide them with opportunity for future
growth. The cost of recruitment is relatively less. The employees being acquainted with
the company already do not require job training.

Types of recruitments
1. TRANSFERS - The employees are transferred from one department to another
according to their efficiency and experience.

2. PROMOTIONS - The employees are promoted from one department to another with
more benefits and greater responsibility based on efficiency and experience.

3. Others are Upgrading and Demotion of present employees according to their

performance.

4. Retired and Retrenched employees may also be recruited once again in case of
shortage of qualified personnel or increase in load of work. Recruitment such people save
time and costs of the organisations as the people are already aware of the organisational
culture and the policies and procedures.

5. The dependents and relatives of Deceased employees and Disabled employees are also
done by many companies so that the members of the family do not become dependent on
the mercy of others.

 However, this method of recruitment has a few disadvantages as well. The choice of
candidates is greatly limited. Selection of a candidate over others results in ill feeling
among those who were not chosen. The selection of the candidate involves a great deal of
subjectivity amongst the superiors and hence may not always be transparent.
 
External sources: The external sources are those sources of recruitment that are found
outside the employment. The general sources of recruitment are :-
 
 1.  Advertisement: This is a common method of recruitment. The advertisement usually
appears in a newspaper, website or magazine. It is important that the company pays
attention to how the advertisement is drafted. For the advertisement to draw the right
candidates, it has to be drafted properly with clarity and should present a favorable
picture of the company and the working culture. 
 
 2.  Campus recruitment: There are some cases where recruiters contact educational
institutions such as colleges and universities for a list of prospective candidates. The
campus recruitment has the advantage of meeting all the candidates at a single place and
hence saves time and effort. While campus recruitment may be attractive, it suffers from
the limitation that it is suitable only for filling “entry level” positions. 
 
 3.  Unsolicited applicants: Many candidates send their resumes to company without any
explicit request. Companies usually file these resumes and refer to them when the need
for a position arises. 
 
 4.  Websites: With the advent of the Internet, searching for candidates has acquired a
whole new dimension. Web portals dedicated to finding jobs have been setup. The
candidates key in their details and post their resumes. Employers have to just browse
through these resumes or use the site search engine to list out people with specific skills. 
 
 5.  Employee referrals: Some companies also encourage current employees to refer their
friends or acquaintances for positions in the organization. This system has the advantage
that the new employees also have a fair idea about the organization and its culture. The
downside is that this system tends to create nepotism and allows cliques of friends and
relatives to form in an organization. 
 
 6.  Placement Agencies: Placement agencies maintain database of resumes from
prospective candidates. Companies in need of personnel contact these agencies with their
profile. The agencies provide them with a list of potential candidates. The placement
agencies can also assist in the recruitment process.
 
 External sources of recruitment have many advantages. They enable fresh talent and new
ideas to enter the organization. Since the selection is made from candidates from a wide
area, the choice of candidates is widened.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department
and recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the
strategic advantage for the organisations. Recruitment process involves a systematic
procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and
requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as follows:

1 Identifying the vacancy:

The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving
requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain:
a) Posts to be filled
b) Number of persons
c) Duties to be performed
d) Qualifications required
2 Preparing the job description and person specification.
3 Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees
(Advertising etc).
4 Managing the response
5 Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics.
6 Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates.
7 Conducting the interview and decision making.
The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final
interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment
formalities.

SELECTION
Selection is the process of picking individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill
jobs in an organization. Selection is much more than just choosing the best candidate. It
is an attempt to strike a happy balance between what the applicant can and wants to do
and what the organization requires.   

ESSENTIALS OF SELECTION
 Picking individuals possessing relevant qualifications
 Matching job requirements with the profile of candidates
 Using multiple tools and techniques to find the most suitable
candidates capable
 Of achieving success on the job

The Process of Selection

1) Reception
2) Screening Interview
 3) Application blank
4) Selection Tests
5) Selection Interview
6) Medical Examination
7) Reference Checks
8) Hiring Decision

Reception
A warm, friendly and courteous reception is extended to candidates with a view to create
a favourable impression. Employment possibilities are also communicated honestly and
clearly
Screening interview
The HR department tries to screen out the obvious misfits through this courtesy
interview. A prescribed application form is given to candidates who are found to be
suitable.
Application blank
It is a printed form completed by job aspirants detailing their educational background,
previous work history and certain personal data.
Weighted application blank
The items that have a strong relationship to job performance are given numeric values or
weights so that a company can cross-compare candidates with more or less similar
qualifications on paper

SELECTION TESTING
A test is a standardized, objective measure of a sample of behaviour. Selection tests are
increasingly used by companies these days because they measure individual differences
in a scientific way, leaving very little room for Individual bias.
A. Intelligence tests: They measure a candidate’s learning ability and also the ability to
understand instructions and make judgements. They do not measure any single trait but
several mental abilities (memory, vocabulary, fluency, numerical ability, perception etc)
B. Aptitude tests: They measure a candidate’s potential to learn clerical, mechanical
and mathematical skills. Since they do not measure a candidate’s on the job motivation,
they are generally administered in combination with other tests.
C. Personality tests: They measure basic aspects of a candidate’s personality such as
motivation, emotional balance, self confidence, interpersonal behaviour, introversion etc.
 Projective tests: These tests expect the candidates to interpret problems or
situations based on their own motives, attitudes, values etc (interpreting a picture,
reacting to a situation etc)
 Interest tests: These are meant to find how a person in tests compares with the
interests of successful people in a specific job. These tests show the areas of work
in which a person is most interested.
 Preference tests: These tests try to compare employee preferences with the job
and organisational requirements.
D. Achievement tests: These are designed to measure what the applicant can do on the
job currently, i.e., whether the testee actually knows what he or she claims to know.
E.  Simulation tests: Simulation exercise is a test which duplicates many of the
activities and problems an employee faces while at work.
F. Assessment centre: It is a standardised form of employee appraisal that uses multiple
assessment exercises such as in basket, games, role play etc and multiple raters.
 The in-basket: From out of reports, memos, letters etc placed in the in-
basket, a candidate is supposed to initiate relevant actions within a limited period
of time.
 The leaderless group discussion: This exercise involves groups of managerial
candidates working together on a job related problem so as to measure skills such
as oral communication, tolerance, self-confidence, adaptability, etc.
 Business games: Here participants try to solve a problem, usually as members of
two or more simulated companies that are competing in the market place
 Individual presentations: In this case the participants are given a limited
amount of time to plan, organise and prepare a presentation on a given topic.
G. Graphology tests: Here a trained evaluator tries to examine the lines, loops, hooks,
strokes, curves etc in a person's handwriting to assess the person's personality and
emotional make-up.
H. Polygraph: It is a lie detection test. During the test, the operator records the
respiration, blood pressure and perspiration of the subject as he or she responds to s series
of questions posed to elicit the truth.
I. Integrity tests: these are designed to measure employee's honesty to predict those
who are more likely to indulge in unacceptable behaviour

Evaluation of the assessment centre technique

+points - points
The flexibility of form and content - expensive to design
The use of a variety of techniques -difficult to administer
Standardised ways of interpreting behaviour - blind acceptance of data may
Pooled assessor judgements not be advisable
Content validity and wider acceptance
Performance ratings are more objective

Tests as Selection Tools

Tests help uncover qualifications and talents that cannot be predicted otherwise. They
offer unbiased information regarding potentially sound candidates. However, they suffer
from sizeable errors of estimate. It is difficult to elicit truthful responses from testees.
Standards for Selection Tests
To be useful, tests must meet certain requirements such as reliability, validity, suitability,
preparation, standardisation etc.
 Reliability: the ability of a selection tool to measure an attribute consistently;
When a test is administered to the same individual repeatedly, he should get
Approximately identical scores.
 Validity: the extent to which an instrument measures what it intends to measure;
In a typing test, validity measures a typist’s speed and accuracy.
 Suitability: a test must fit the nature of the group on which it is applied
Usefulness: exclusive reliance on any single test should be avoided
  Standardisation: norms for finalising test scores should be established Qualified
people: tests demand a high level of professional skills
Selection Interview
Interview is an important source of information about job applicants. Several types of
interviews are used , depending on the nature and importance of the position to be filled
within an organisation.

INTERVIEW
An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the
interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the
interviewee.

“Interview is an action which helps interviewer who as an Employer, Candidate,

Journalist, or an Ordinary person to make hypothesis about a person’s personality
or a company’s organizational structure.”  : - Ankur Garg, Psychologist

A job interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer

for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm, and was established
in the late 16th century.

Process
A typical job interview has a single candidate meeting with between one and three
persons representing the employer; the potential supervisor of the employee is usually
involved in the interview process. A larger interview panel will often have a specialized
human resources worker. While the meeting can be over in as little as 15 minutes, job
interviews usually last less than two hours. The bulk of the job interview will entail the
interviewers asking the candidate questions about his or her job history, personality, work
style and other factors relevant to the job. The candidate will usually be given a chance to
ask any questions at the end of the interview. These questions are strongly encouraged
since they allow the interviewee to acquire more information about the job and the
company, but they can also demonstrate the candidate's strong interest in them. A
candidate should follow up the interview with a thank-you letter, expressing his or her
appreciation for the opportunity to meet with the company representative. The thank you
letter ensures that the candidate will stay fresh in the interviewer's mind. The primary
purpose of the job interview is to assess the candidate's suitability for the job, although
the candidate will also be assessing the corporate culture and demands of the job.

Candidates for lower paid and lower skilled positions tend to have much simpler job
interviews than do candidates for more prestigious positions. For instance, a lawyer's job
interview will be much more demanding than that of a retail cashier. Most job interviews
are formal; the larger the firm, the more formal and structured the interview will tend to
be. Candidates generally dress slightly better than they would for work, with a suit (called
an interview suit) being appropriate for a white-collar job interview.
Additionally, some professions have specific types of job interviews; for performing
artists, this is an audition in which the emphasis is placed on the performance ability of
the candidate.

In many companies, Assessment Days are increasingly being used, particularly for
graduate positions, which may include analysis tasks, group activities, presentation
exercises, and Psychometric testing.

Types of Interview
Behavioral interview
A common type of job interview in the modern workplace is the behavioral interview or
behavioral event interview. This type of interview is based on the notion that a job
candidate's previous behaviors are the best indicators of future performance. In
behavioral interviews, the interviewer asks candidates to recall specific instances where
they were faced with a set of circumstances, and how they reacted. Typical behavioral
interview questions:
 "Tell me about a project you worked on where the requirements changed
midstream. What did you do?"
 "Tell me about a time when you took the lead on a project. What did you do?"
 "Describe the worst project you worked on."
 "Describe a time you had to work with someone you didn't like."
 "Tell me about a time when you had to stick by a decision you had made, even
though it made you very unpopular."
 "Give us an example of something particularly innovative that you have done that
made a difference in the workplace."
 "What happened the last time you were late with a project?"

A bad hiring decision nowadays can be immensely expensive for an organization – cost
of the hire, training costs, severance pay, loss of productivity, impact on morale, cost of
re-hiring, etc. (Gallup international places the cost of a bad hire as being 3.2 times the
individual's salary). Structured selection techniques have a better track record of
identifying the soundest candidate than the old-style "biographical" interview.

Stress interview
Stress interviews are still in common use. One type of stress interview is where the
employer uses a succession of interviewers (one at a time or en masse) whose mission is
to intimidate the candidate and keep him/her off-balance. The ostensible purpose of this
interview: to find out how the candidate handles stress. Stress interviews might involve
testing an applicant's behavior in a busy environment. Questions about handling work
overload, dealing with multiple projects, and handling conflict are typical.

Another type of stress interview may involve only a single interviewer who behaves in an
uninterested or hostile manner. For example, the interviewer may not make eye contact,
may roll his eyes or sigh at the candidate's answers, interrupt, turn his back, take phone
calls during the interview, or ask questions in a demeaning or challenging style. The goal
is to assess how the interviewee handles pressure or to purposely evoke emotional
responses. This technique was also used in research protocols studying Stress and Type A
(coronary-prone) Behavior because it would evoke hostility and even changes in blood
pressure and heart rate in study subjects. The key to success for the candidate is to de-
personalize the process. The interviewer is acting a role, deliberately and calculatedly
trying to "rattle the cage." Once the candidate realizes that there is nothing personal
behind the interviewer's approach, it is easier to handle the questions with aplomb.

Example stress interview questions:

 Sticky situation: "If you caught a colleague cheating on his expenses, what
would you do?"
 Putting you on the spot: "How do you feel this interview is going?"
 Popping the balloon: "(deep sigh) Well, if that's the best answer you can give ...
(shakes head) Okay, what about this one ...?"
 Oddball question: "What would you change about the design of the hockey
stick?"
 Doubting your veracity: "I don't feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter
here. Start again - tell me what really makes you tick."

Candidates may also be asked to deliver a presentation as part of the selection process.
The "Platform Test" method involves having the candidate make a presentation to both
the selection panel and other candidates for the same job. This is obviously highly
stressful and is therefore useful as a predictor of how the candidate will perform under
similar circumstances on the job. Selection processes in academic, training, airline, legal
and teaching circles frequently involve presentations of this sort.

Technical Interview
This kind of interview focuses on problem solving and creativity. The questions aim at
your problem-solving skills and likely show your ability and creativity. Sometimes these
interviews will be on a computer module with multiple-choice questions.

MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND REFERENCE CHECKING

Medical evaluation and reference checking are routinely undertaken by leading
companies these days to learn more about the candidate’s general health, social
behaviour, interpersonal skills, punctuality and honesty etc.

ORIENTATION OR INDUCTION
Candidate joins the firm, he or she goes through the firm’s orientation program.
Orientation is the process of acquainting new employees with the organization.
Orientation topics range from such basic items as the location of the company cafeteria to
such concerns as various career paths within the firm.
Hence we can say that induction or orientation is the process through which a new
employee is introduced to the job and the organization. In the words of Armstrong,
induction is "the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first joins a
company and giving him the basic information he needs to settle down quickly and start
work.
Objectives
Induction serves the following purposes:
Removes fears: A newcomer steps into an organization as a stranger. He is new to the
people, workplace and work environment. He is not very sure about what he is supposed
to do. Induction helps a new employee overcome such fears and perform better on the
job.
It assists him in knowing more about:
The job, its content, policies, rules and regulations.
1• The people with whom he is supposed to interact. .
1• The terms and conditions of employment.
1
2b. Creates a good impression: Another purpose of induction is to make the newcomer
feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization. Induction helps him to:

 Adjust and adapt to new demands of the job.

 Get along with people.
 Get off to a good start.
Through induction, a new recruit is able to see more clearly as to what he is supposed to
do, how good the colleagues are, how important is the job, etc. He can pose questions and
seek clarifications on issues relating to his job. Induction is a positive step, in the sense; it
leaves a good impression about the company and the people working there in the minds
of new recruits. They begin to take pride in their work and are more committed to their
jobs.
c. Act as a valuable source of information: Induction serves as a valuable source of
information to new recruits. It classifies many things through employee
manuals/handbook. Informal discussions with colleagues may also clear the fog
surrounding certain issues. The basic purpose of induction is to communicate specific job
requirements to the employee, put him at ease and make him feel confident about his
abilities.

Steps in Induction Programme

The HR department may initiate the following steps while organizing the induction
programme:
 Welcome to the organization
 Explain about the company.
 Show the location, department where the new recruit will work. .
 Give the company's manual to the new recruit.
 Provide details about various work groups and the extent of unionism within the
company.
 Give details about pay, benefits, holidays, leave, etc. Emphasize the importance of
attendance or punctuality.
 Explain about future training opportunities and career prospects.
 Clarify doubts, by encouraging the employee to come out with questions.
 Take the employee on a guided tour of buildings, facilities, etc. Hand him over to
his supervisor.
SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is a process through which a new recruit begins to understand and accept
the values, norms and beliefs held by others in the organization. HR department
representatives help new recruits to internalize the way things are done in the
organization". Orientation helps the newcomers to interact freely with employees
working at various levels and learn behaviors that are acceptable. Through such formal
and informal interaction and discussion, newcomers begin to understand how the
department/ company is run, who holds power and who does not, who is politically active
within the department, how to behave in the company, what is expected of them, etc. In
short, if the new recruits wish to survive and prosper in their new work home, they must
soon come to 'know the ropes'.
Unit 3:- TRAINING AND EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

TRAINING
Training is a planned programme designed to improve performance and bring about
measurable changes in knowledge, skills, attitude and social behaviour of employees.

Features of Training
 Increases knowledge and skills for doing a particular job
 Focuses attention on the individual job.
 Concentrates on individual employees
 Gives importance to short term performance
Training is essential for job success. It can lead to higher production, fewer mistakes,
greater job satisfaction and lower turnover.

Need For Training

 helps new recruits to perform assigned tasks effectively
 helps existing employees to prepare for higher level jobs
 enables existing employees to keep in touch with latest developments
 permits employees to cope with changes brought in by frequent transfers
 makes employees more versatile, mobile, flexible and useful to the
organisation
 bridges the gap what the employee has and what the job demands allows an
employee to gain acceptance from peer groups readily 
Training vs. Development
Training is concerned with teaching specific job related skills and behaviour.
Development is future oriented training, focusing on the personal growth of the
employee.

Learning Dimension Train ing Development

Meant for Operatives Executiv es
Focus Current job Current and future jobs
Scope Indiv idual employee Work group or organis ation
Goal Fix current skill deficit Prepare for future work demands
Initiated by Management The Individual
Content Specific job related information General Knowledge
Time-fr ame Immediate Long term
Training vs. Education
Training, more or less, is job oriented (skill) learning. Education, on the other hand, is
a person-oriented, theory-based knowledge whose main purpose is to improve the
understanding of a particular subject (a kind of conceptual learning).

Training Pitfalls
Here is a checklist to avoid training pitfalls
 Attempting to teach too quickly
 Trying to teach too much
 Viewing all trainees as the same
 Giving very little time to practice
 Offering very little to the trainee in the form of encouragement, praise or
reward

Learning Principles: The Philosophy of Training

Training efforts are invariably based on certain learning oriented guidelines:
 Modeling: It is simply copying someone else's behaviour. (like showing the
videotapes of desired behaviour while at work)
 Motivation: For learning to happen, it is important to motivate the trainee
first.
 Reinforcement: If behaviour is rewarded, it probably will be repeated.
Positive reinforcement consists of rewarding desired behaviours.
 Feedback: Feedback helps an employee find where he stands. People learn
best if reinforcement is given as soon as possible.
 Spaced practice: Learning takes place easily if the practice sessions are spread
over a period of time.
 Whole learning: Employees learn better if the job information is given as an
entire logical process.
 Active practice: Learning is enhanced when trainees are provided ample
opportunities to repeat the task.
 Relevance: training should be as real as possible so that trainees can
successfully transfer the new knowledge to their jobs
 Environment: employees learn faster in comfortable environments

Areas and Types of Training

Training is generally offered in the following areas
Areas of training
 Knowledge
 Technical skills
 Social skills
 Techniques
Types of Training
 Skills training: here certain basic skills like reading, writing, computing,
speaking, listening, problem solving etc are taught
  Refresher training: here the focus is on short term courses that would help
employees learn about latest developments in their respective fields
 Cross functional training: this helps employees perform operations in areas
other than their assigned job.
 Team training: this is concerned with how team members should
communicate with each other, how they should cooperate to get ahead, how
they should handle conflict situations, how to find their way using collective
wisdom etc.
 Creativity training: this helps employees to think unconventionally, break
the rules, take risks, go out of the box and develop unexpected solutions.
 Diversity training: it aims to create better cross cultural sensitivity with the
aim of fostering more harmonious and fruitful working relationships among a
firm's employees
 Literacy training: this is generally offered to those employees with weak
reading, writing or arithmetic skills.

A Systematic Approach to Training

A systematic approach to training would consist of three phases: training needs
assessment, implementation and evaluation
Training needs assessment
Training efforts must aim at meeting the needs of the organisation and the individual
employees. This, essentially, involves three types of analysis:
A. Organisational analysis: This is a study of the entire organisation in terms of its
objectives, utilization of resources to achieve objectives etc.
 Analysis of objectives
       Resource utilization analysis
       Environmental scanning
 Organisational climate analysis
B. Task or role analysis: this is a detailed examination of a job, its components, its
various operations and conditions under which it has to be performed.
C.Person analysis: here the focus is on the individual in a given job; whether training
is needed, whether the employee is capable of being trained, and the areas where the
training is needed.
D. Identify training objectives:
E.Training methods: Formal training methods include on the job training covering
job instruction training, coaching, mentoring, job rotation, apprenticeship training,
committee assignments etc and off the job training including lectures, conference,
simulation exercises and programmed instruction.
F.Evaluation: Evaluation helps in controlling and correcting the training programme.
 OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING

OBJECTIVE

Innovative Problems Solvin g Regular

Anticipating problems Train in g clerks to Orientation
before they occur reduce complaints
Team building Training supervisors Recurring training of
sessions with the in communications interviewers
departments to reduce grievances
Refresher courses on
safety procedures

FUNCTIONS OF MENTORING

Good mentors...... Good mentees......

Lis ten and understand Listen
Challenge and stimulate Act on Advice
learning Show commitment to learn
Coach
Check ego at the door
Buil d self-confidence Successf ul Ask for feedback
Provide wise counsel Mentoring
Are open minded
Teach by example
Are wil ling to change
Act as role model
Are proactive
Share experiences
Offer encouragement
TYPES OF TRAINING
On The Job Training Methods
 Job instruction training (JIT): This is training directly received on the job.
Here the trainee receives an overview of the job. The trainer actually
demonstrates the hob and the trainee is asked to copy the trainer’s way. The
trainee, finally, tries to perform the job independently.
 Coaching: Here the supervisor explains things and answers questions; throws
light on why things are done the way they are; offers a model for trainees to
copy, conducts lot of decision making meetings, and allows trainees freedom
to commit mistakes and learn .Coaching, thus, requires lot of teaching skills.
 Mentoring: The use of an experienced person to teach and train someone with
less knowledge and experience in a given area is known as mentoring. The
mentor nurtures, supports and guides the efforts of young persons by giving
appropriate information, feedback and encouragement whenever required.
 Apprenticeship training: Most craft workers such as plumbers, carpenters
etc are trained through formal apprenticeship programmes. In this method, the
trainees are put under the guidance of a master worker typically for 2-5 years.
 Committee assignments: In this method, trainees are asked to solve an actual
organisational programme working along with other trainees.
Off The Job Training Methods
 Vestibule training: It occurs off the job on equipment or methods that are
highly similar to those used on the job.
 Role playing: This is a development technique requiring the trainee to assume
a role in a given situation and act out behaviours associated with that role.
 Lecture method: Here the instructor organises the study material on a
specific topic and offers it to a group of trainees in the form of a talk.
 Conference or discussion method: In this method the trainer delivers a
lecture and involves the trainees in a discussion so that the doubts about the
job to be undertaken get clarified.
 Programmed instruction: This is an approach that puts material to be
learned into highly organized logical sequences that require the trainees to
respond
Evaluation of a Training Programme
Training can be evaluated at five levels: reaction, learning, behaviour, organisation
and results. Important decision points in training evaluation may be listed thus;
Important decision points in planning training evaluation
 Should an evaluation be made?
 Who should evaluate?
 What is the purpose of evaluation?
 What will be measured?
 How comprehensive will the evaluation be?
 Who has the authority and responsibility?
 What are the sources of data?
 How will the data be collected and evaluated?
 How will the data be analyzed and reported?
 Methods of evaluation
 Questionnaires
 Tests
 Interviews
 Studies
 Human resource factors
 Cost benefit analysis
 Feedback.

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
The basic purpose of executive development is to improve managerial performance by
imparting knowledge, changing attitudes or increasing skills. Training certainly helps
in improving job-related skills but when the intent is to enhance executives’ ability to
handle diverse jobs and prepare them for future challenges the focus must shift to
executive development.
Training vs. executive development

Training I te m De velop men t

Learn specific beha viour s and
actions; demonstrate techniques
and pr ocesse s.
Short term.
Tries to improve a specific skill
relating to a job (mostly technical
and mechanical).
Meet curr ent requirements of a
job; aims at improving employee
performance on a currently held
job.
Per forman ce app raisals, cost-
benefit analysis, passing tests
or certification.
Fo cus Understand and inter pret knowledge;
Develop judgement; Expand capacities
for varied assignments.
Time F rame Long term.
Process Aims at improving the total personality
of an individual (largely analytical and
conceptual abilities) .
Goal Meet future challenges of the job and
th e in dividu al; aims a t provi ding
lear ning opportunities designed to help
employees grow.
Qua lifie d p eop le a vaila ble w he n
Effectiveness
ne ed ed, pr om ot ion f rom w ith in
Measures
po ssible , H R- b ased comp et itive
advantage.

Features of executive development

 It is a planned effort to improve executives’ ability to handle a variety of
assignments
 It is not a one-shot deal, but a continuous, ongoing activity.
 It aims at improving the total personality of an executive.
  It aims at meeting future needs unlike training, which seeks to meet current
needs.
 It is a long term process, as managers take time to acquire and improve their
capabilities.
 It is proactive in nature as it focuses attention on the present as well as future
requirements of both the organisation and the individual.

Importance of executive development

 Invaluable investment in the long run as it helps managers to acquire requisite
knowledge, skills and abilities needed to handle complex situations in
business.
 Enables executives to realize their own career goals and aspirations.
 Helps executives to step into superior positions easily.
 Assists executives in enhancing their people-management skills, taking a
holistic view of various problems.

Executive Development Programmes:

Steps in the organisation of an executive development programme
 Analysis of organisational development needs.
 Appraisal of present managerial capabilities.
 Inventory of executive talent (in terms of age, service, education, experience
etc).
 Planning of individual development programmes.
 Devising appropriate development programmes.
 Evaluating results
Methods/techniques executive development
Various methods are employed to develop managerial skills and knowledge, such as:

1. Decision-making skills (a) In-basket

(b) Business game
(c) Case study
2. Interpersonal skills (a) Role play
(b) Sensitivity training
(c) Behaviour Modelling
3. Job knowledge (a) On-the-jobexperiences
(b) Coaching
(c) Understudy
4. Organisational knowledge (a) Job rotation
(b) Multiple management
5. General knowledge (a) Special courses
(b) Special meetings
(c) Specific readings
6. Specific individual needs (a) Special projects
(b) Committee assignments
Methods/techniques

In-basket: The trainee is asked to look into a number of papers such as memoranda,
reports, telephone messages that typically confront a manager and respond
appropriately.
+Trainees learn quickly, as they have to do everything within a time frame.
+Creates healthy competition between participants allows them to grow.
-The method is somewhat academic and removed from real life situations.
-Participants rarely respond to such imaginary situations in an enthusiastic manner.

Case-study: The participant is asked to take up a simulated business problem and take
appropriate decisions.
When a case is study most appropriate?
 When the problem requires problem solving, thinking skills.
 The KSAs are complex and participants need time to master them.
 Active participation is required.
 The process of learning is as important as the content.
 Tem problem solving and interaction are possible.
When using case studies
 Be clear about learning objectives and explore possible ways to realize the
objectives.
 Decide which objectives would be best served by the case method.
 Find out the available cases that might work or consider developing your own.
 Set up the activity – including the case material, the room and the schedule.
 Observe the principles that guide effective group interactions.
 Provide an opportunity to all trainees to participate meaningfully and try to
keep the groups small.
 Stop for process checks and get set to intervene when interactions go out of
hand.
 Allow for different learning styles.
 Clarify the trainer's role as a facilitator .
 Bridge the gap between theory and practice

Role play: This is a technique that requires the trainee to assume different identities to
learn how others feel under different circumstances
+ Participants develop interpersonal skills
+ They learn by doing things actually
+ The competitive environment compels participants to listen, observe, analyse and
improve their own performance by exploiting their potential fully
-lack of realism in this method comes in the way of enthusiastic participation
-not easy to duplicate the pressures and realities of actual decision making
-most trainees may not be very comfortable in role playing situations

Sensitivity training: This is a method of changing behaviour through unstructured

group interaction. (also known as T-group training, where T stands for training)
Features of T-group training
 T-Group consists of 10-12 persons.
 A leader acts as a catalyst and provides a free and open environment for
discussion.
 There is no specified agenda.
 Members express their ideas, feelings and thoughts freely and openly.
 The focus is on behaviour rather than on duties.
 The aim is to achieve behaviour effectiveness in transactions with one's
environment.
Benefits
 Participants gain rich experience in getting along with people.
 The exclusive focus on each others' behaviour helps participants to observe,
analyze and then respond appropriately.
 Trainees can find out where they stand in comparison to others.
 The agenda less discussions encourages the participants to come out more
openly and share their opinions with others.
 The opportunity to take charge of the group is always inherently present for the
right candidate.
Costs
 Considerable time is wasted in agenda-less, direction-less discussions.
 T-group leaders may lack the skills to instil enthusiasm and confidence in
participants.
 There is an immoral and unjustified invasion of privacy, based on false
assumptions about the nature of human relationships at work.
 The interchange of opinions in an open manner may be punished by superiors
at a later stage, using some pretext or the other.
 T groups may actually destroy team learning and team spirit as they encourage
participants to be hostile without feeling guilty during training.

Behaviour modelling: This is an approach that demonstrates desired behaviour and

gives trainees the chance to practice and role-play those behaviours and receive
feedback.

On the job experience: This is a kind of class room learning where the trainee learns
by actually doing things under the supervision of an experienced supervisor. Such
methods are highly useful for certain groups like scientific and technical personnel

Coaching: This is a development activity in which a supervisor plays an active role in

imparting job knowledge and skills to the trainee. For effective coaching, a healthy
and open relationship ust exist between employees and their supervisors.
Merits and demerits of coaching
+ Trainees learn quickly by actually doing a piece of work and obtain feedback
+Where the trainer and the trainee interact in an open manner, there is tremendous
scope for the trainee to grow by seeking clarifications continuously and rectifying
mistakes
- A lot depends on the interpersonal skills of the supervisor
-The learner, often, cannot develop much beyond the limits of his own supervisor
Understudy: This is a development method wherein potential managers are given the
chance to temporarily relieve an experienced manager of part of hi job and act as his
substitute during the period, giving him vital insights into the overall job that would
make him the automatic choice in the succession process.

Job rotation: Moving a trainee from job to job so as to offer cross training is called
job rotation. The idea behind this is to give managers the required diversified skills
and a broader outlook.

Multiple management: It is a system in which permanent advisory committees of

managers study problems of the company (thereby gaining first hand experience of
various important aspects of business) and make recommendations to higher
management.

Special courses, meetings, readings: In addition to the above, managers could also
benefit by attending workshops organized by academic institutions, attending special
meetings organized by various government and voluntary organisations and by
reading specific articles relevant to their respective fields.

Special projects: In this method, a trainee is put on a project closely related to the
objectives of the department.

Committee assignment: In this method, an adhoc committee is appointed to discuss,

evaluate and offer suggestions relating to an important aspect of business.
Conferences: A conference is a meeting of people to discuss a subject of common
interest. The participants exchange notes, opinions and ideas on the subject in a
systematic and planner manner.
Lectures: Lectures are formal presentations on a topic by an experienced and
knowledgeable person. The presentation is generally supported by discussions, case
studies, audio-visual aids and film shows.
Group discussion: In this method, papers are presented by two or three trainees on a
selected topic, followed by thought-provoking discussions.
Programmed instruction: This is a learner-oriented technique which presents
subject matter to the trainees in small sequential steps requiring frequent responses
from the trainee and immediately offering him of their accuracy or otherwise.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Self-Development is taking personal responsibility for one's own learning and
development through a process of assessment, reflection, and taking action.

When To use it
  To continually update skills and to remain marketable in the workplace.
 To determine future career direction.

How to use it
 Assess your current skills and interest through paper-and-pencil career tests or
through computer programs that analyze skills and interests.
 Maintain a learning log or diary to help you analyze what you are learning from
work experiences.
 Write a personal vision and mission statement.
 Develop a personal development plan that identifies your learning needs and
goals.
 Find a mentor who can provide you with support, advice, and assistance in your
career direction.
 Become involved in professional organizations.
 Read professional journals and trade magazines to keep current on the latest
developments in your field.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM)

Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of practices used in an organisation
to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences.
Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or
embedded in organisational processes or practice. An established discipline since 1995,
KM includes courses taught in the fields of business administration, information systems,
management, and library and information sciences. More recently, other fields, to include
those focused on information and media, computer science, public health, and public
policy, also have started contributing to KM research. Many large companies and non-
profit organisations have resources dedicated to internal KM efforts, often as a part of
their 'Business Strategy', 'Information Technology', or 'Human Resource Management'
departments. Several consulting companies also exist that provide strategy and advice
regarding KM to these organisations.

KM efforts typically focus on organisational objectives such as improved performance,

competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, and continuous
improvement of the organisation. KM efforts overlap with Organisational Learning, and
may be distinguished from by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a
strategic asset and a focus on encouraging the exchange of knowledge. KM efforts can
help individuals and groups to share valuable organisational insights, to reduce redundant
work, to avoid reinventing the wheel per se, to reduce training time for new employees,
to retain intellectual capital as employees turnover in an organisation, and to adapt to
changing environments and markets .

History and research

KM efforts have a long history, to include on-the-job discussions, formal apprenticeship,
discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs.
More recently, with increased use of computers in the second half of the 20th century,
specific adaptations of technologies such as knowledge bases, expert systems, knowledge
repositories, group decision support systems, and computer supported cooperative work
have been introduced to further enhance the such efforts .
A broad range of thoughts on the KM discipline exists with no unanimous agreement;
approaches vary by author and school. As the discipline matures, academic debates have
increased regarding both the theory and practice of KM, to include the following
perspectives:
 Techno-centric with a focus on technology, ideally those that enhance
knowledge sharing and creation
 Organisational with a focus on how an organisation can be designed to facilitate
knowledge processes best
 Ecological with a focus on the interaction of people, identity, knowledge, and
environmental factors as a complex adaptive system akin to a natural ecosystem
Regardless of the school of thought, core components of KM include People, Processes,
Technology (or) Culture, Structure, Technology, depending on the specific perspective.
Different KM schools of thought include various lenses through which KM can be
viewed and explained, to include:
 community of practice
 social network analysis
 intellectual capital
 information theory
 complexity science
 constructivism

Dimensions
Different frameworks for distinguishing between knowledge exist. One proposed
framework for categorising the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes between tacit
knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge represents internalised knowledge
that an individual may not be consciously aware of how he or she accomplishes particular
tasks. At the opposite end of the spectrum, explicit knowledge represents knowledge that
the individual holds consciously in mental focus, in a form that can easily be
communicated to others.
Early research suggested that a successful KM effort needs to convert internalised tacit
knowledge into explicit knowledge in order to share it, but the same effort must also
permit individuals to internalise and make personally meaningful any codified knowledge
retrieved from the KM effort. Subsequent research into KM suggested that a distinction
between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge represented an oversimplification and
that the notion of explicit knowledge is self-contradictory. Specifically, for knowledge to
be made explicit, it must be translated into information (i.e., symbols outside of our
heads).
A second proposed framework for categorising the dimensions of knowledge
distinguishes between embedded knowledge of a system outside of a human individual
(e.g., an information system may have knowledge embedded into its design) and
embodied knowledge representing a learned capability of a human body’s nervous and
endocrine systems.
A third proposed framework for categorising the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes
between the exploratory creation of "new knowledge" (i.e., innovation) vs. the transfer or
exploitation of "established knowledge" within a group, organisation, or community.
Collaborative environments such as communities of practice or the use of social
computing tools can be used for both knowledge creation and transfer .

Strategies
Knowledge may be accessed at three stages: before, during, or after KM-related
activities. Different organisations have tried various knowledge capture incentives,
including making content submission mandatory and incorporating rewards into
performance measurement plans. Considerable controversy exists over whether
incentives work or not in this field and no consensus has emerged.
One strategy to KM involves actively managing knowledge. In such an instance,
individuals strive to explicitly encode their knowledge into a shared knowledge
repository, such as a database, as well as retrieving knowledge they need that other
individuals have provided to the repository.
Another strategy to KM involves individuals making knowledge requests of experts
associated with a particular subject on an ad hoc basis. In such an instance, expert
individual(s) can provide their insights to the particular person or people needing this.
Unit 4:- SUSTAINING EMPLOYEE INTEREST

COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATION
Compensation is what employees receive in exchange for their contribution to the
organization. Generally speaking, employees offer their services for three types of
rewards
 Base pay
 Variable pay
 Benefits

The most important objective of any pay system is fairness or equity, generally expressed
in three forms
 Internal equity: where more difficult jobs are paid more
 External equity: where jobs are fairly compensated in comparison to
similar jobs in labour market
 Individual equity: where equal pay is ensured for equal work

Objectives of compensation planning

 Attract talent
 Retain talent
 Ensure equity
 Reward appropriately(loyalty, commitment, experience, risk raking and other
desired behaviours)
 Control costs
 Comply with legal rules
 Ease of operation

Components of Pay Structure

The two essential components of pay structure are; basic wages and dearness
allowance .the basic wage rate is fixed taking the skill needs of the job, experience
needed, difficulty of work, training required, responsibilities involved and the hazardous
nature of the job. Dearness allowance it paid to employees in order to compensate them
for the occasional or regular rise in the price of essential commodities.

Factors influencing compensation levels

 Job needs
 Ability to pay
 Cost of living
 Prevailing wage rates
 Unions
 Productivity
 State regulation
 Demand and supply of labour
Choices In Designing A Compensation System
The compensation that is followed by a firm should be in tune with its own unique
character and culture and allow the firm to achieve its strategic objectives. A variety of
choices confront a firm here:
 Internal and external pay
 Fixed vs. variable pay
 Performance vs. membership
 Job vs. individual pay
 Below market vs. above market compensation
 Open vs. secret pay

INCENTIVES AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

A proper system of wage payment is absolutely essential to keep employees in good
humour. Ideally, such a system must have the following characteristics:
Characteristics of a wage payment plan
 Simple
 Beneficial
 Equitable
 Guaranteed minimum wage
 Balanced
 Incentive-oriented
 Quality output
 Certainty
 Cost effective
 flexible

Variable Pay Or Pay For Performance Systems

Here the pay is linked to individual, group or organisational performance. Employees
have to compete and deliver results. Three types of variable pay are commonly used:
 Individual incentives: they link individual effort to pay
 Group incentives: they link pay to the overall performance of the entire group
 Organisation-wide incentives: here employees are rewarded on the basis of the
success of the organisation over a specified time period.

Essentials of a sound incentive plan

 Guaranteed minimum wages
 Simple
 Equitable
 Economical
 Flexible
 Supported by workers and unions
 Motivating
 Prompt payment
Individual Incentive Plans
 Halsey plan: Here the worker gets a guaranteed wages based on the time,
irrespective of whether the assigned work is completed or not. If the worker is
able to finish the task in less than the standard time, he or she is entitled to get
fifty (in some cases one third) per cent of time saved at time rate in addition to
normal time wages.
 Rowan plan: It assures minimum time wages. Bonus is paid on the basis of time
saved. But unlike a fixed percentage , it is calculated thus
Bonus = Time saved/Standard time X Time taken X hourly rate
 Gantt task and bonus plan: Here time wages are guaranteed. Standard time for
each task is fixed. Workers, who fail to finish the job within the time limits, get
time wages. A worker who reaches the standard is paid time wage plus bonus at a
fixed percentage (20 per cent)of normal time wages. If a worker exceeds the
standards, he is paid a high piece rate.
 Bedeaux plan: In this plan every operation is expressed in terms of standard
minutes called as “B's” representing one minute. A worker gets time wages for
100 % performance; ie, finishing the job exactly as per standards set. If actual
performance exceeds the standard performance in terms of B's then 75% of the
wages of time saved is paid to worker as bonus and 25% is given to the foreman.
 Haynes manit plan: It is more or less like the bedeaux plan. Here the bonus is
only 50 per cent as against 75 per cent, being paid to the efficient worker. Of the
remaining 50 per cent, 10% goes to the foreman and the rest to management.
 Emerson's efficiency plan: If the worker achieves 67% efficiency, he gets bonus
at a given rate. The rate of bonus increases gradually from 67% to 100%. Above
100% bonus will be at 20% of the basic rate plus 1% for each increase in
efficiency.
 Accelerate premium bonus plan: Here the premium is paid at varying rates for
increasing efficiency.

Group or Team Based Incentive Plans

Here all team members receive an incentive bonus payment when production or service
standards are met or exceeded. Methods in this category include Preistman’s production
bonus, Rucker plan, Scanlon plan, Towne plan and Co partnership. Under co partnership,
the worker gets his usual wages, a share in the profits of the company and a share in the
management of the company as well.

Organisation Wide Incentive Plans

These plans reward employees on the basis of the success of the organisation over a
specified time period.
 Profit sharing: Here the organisation agrees to pay a particular portion of net
profits (given in cash or in the form of shares) to eligible employees.
 Gain sharing: It is based on a mathematical formula that compares a baseline of
performance with actual productivity during a given period. When productivity
 exceeds the base line an agreed upon savings is shared with employees. Unlike
profit sharing plans which have deferred payments, gain sharing plans are current
distribution plans. These are based on individual performance and are distributed
on a monthly or quarterly basis.
 Employee stock ownership plan: It provides a mechanism through which certain
eligible employees (based on length of service, contribution to the department etc)
may purchase the stock of the company at a reduced rate.

Incentive Schemes For Indirect Workers

Since Indirect workers also play a key role in manufacturing operations, their
contributions need to be recognised and rewarded appropriately. The list of beneficiaries
here would include repairs and maintenance staff, store staff, material handling staff,
office staff etc. Such schemes, however, must be based on some agreed criteria aimed at
improving the overall efficiency of the organisation over a period of time.

Merit Pay
Any salary increase awarded to an employee based on his or her performance is called
merit pay. It is like rewarding the best performers with the largest increases in pay as an
appreciative gesture from the employer. When high achievers are rewarded, they set the
benchmarks for others to follow. But the whole process of recognising merit, measuring
performance, picking up the winners need to be followed objectively.

Fringe Benefits
These are extra benefits provided to employees in addition to the normal compensation
paid in the form of wages or salaries.
Features
 Supplementary forms of compensation
 Paid to all employees
 Indirect compensation, since they are not directly related to performance
 May be statutory or voluntary

Need for fringe benefits

 Employee demands
 Trade union demands
 Employer's preference
 A kind of social security
 To improve industrial relations

MOTIVATION
Motivation is the set of reasons that determines one to engage in a particular behavior.
The term is generally used for human motivation but, theoretically, it can be used to
describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation.
According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize
physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and
resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to
less-apparent reasons such as altruism, morality, or avoiding mortality.
 Motivational concepts
The Incentive Theory of Motivation
A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e.
behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating
positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward
immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive
action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from
two things: you, and other people. There is extrinsic motivation, which comes from
others, and intrinsic motivation, which comes from within you.

Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on
enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based
on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for
a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun.

A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a

measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something
to the environment.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation occurs when people engage in an activity, such as a hobby, without
obvious external incentives. This form of motivation has been studied by social and
educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Research has found that it is usually
associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. Intrinsic
motivation has been explained by Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work on
self-efficacy, and Ryan and Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. Students are likely to be
intrinsically motivated if they:
 attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the
amount of effort they put in),
 believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are
not determined by luck),
 are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good
grades.

In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons

for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to
the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may provide a
more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable
workplace.

In terms of sports, intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the
performer. That is, the athlete competes for the love of the sport.
Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. Money is the most obvious
example, but coercion and threat of punishment are also common extrinsic motivations.

In sports, the crowd may cheer the performer on, and this motivates him or her to do well.
Trophies are also extrinsic incentives. Competition is often extrinsic because it
encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the
activity.

Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to
overjustification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation.

Self-control
The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional
intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative
definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this
intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's
"expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert self
control to pursue a particular goal.

Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that
is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual
and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be
sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas
more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person
to behave in a manner pleasing to others.

By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of
training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat
motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is
removed from the process.

Motivational Theories
Drive Reduction Theories
There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the
concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength
of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its
desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud
and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction
Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary
Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or
psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order
conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to
explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before
they finished cooking it.

However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does
get hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been
consumed the drive decreases. The only reason the food does not get eaten before is the
human element of restraint and has nothing to do with drive theory. Also, the food will
either be nicer after it is cooked, or it won't be edible at all before it is cooked.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Suggested by Leon Festinger, this occurs when an individual experiences some degree of
discomfort resulting from an incompatibility between two cognitions. For example, a
consumer may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling, in retrospect, that
another decision may have been preferable.

Another example of cognitive dissonance is when a belief and a behavior are in conflict.
A person may wish to be healthy, believes smoking is bad for one's health, and yet
continues to smoke.

Affective-Arousal Theories
Need Achievement Theory
David McClelland’s achievement motivation theory envisions that a person has a need
for three things, but differs in degrees to which the various needs influence their
behavior: Need for achievement, Need for power, and Need for affiliation.

Interests Theory
Holland Codes are used in the assessment of interests as in Vocational Preference
Inventory (VPI; Holland, 1985). One way to look at interests is that if a person has a
strong interest in one of the six Holland areas, then obtaining outcomes in that area will
be strongly reinforcing relative to obtaining outcomes in areas of weak interest.

Need Theories
Need Hierarchy Theory
Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory is the one of the most widely
discussed theories of motivation.
The theory can be summarized as follows:
 Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behavior. Only
unsatisfied needs influence behavior, satisfied needs do not.
 Since needs are many, they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to
the complex.
 The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at
least minimally satisfied.
 The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and
psychological health a person will show.
The needs, listed from basic (lowest, earliest) to most complex (highest, latest) are as
follows:
 Physiological
 Safety
 Belongingness
 Esteem
 Self actualization

Herzberg’s two-factor theory

Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory, aka intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, concludes that
certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, but if absent, lead to
dissatisfaction.
He distinguished between:
 Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give
positive satisfaction, and
 Hygiene factors; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) that do not
motivate if present, but, if absent, result in demotivation.

The name Hygiene factors is used because, like hygiene, the presence will not make you
healthier, but absence can cause health deterioration.

The theory is sometimes called the "Motivator-Hygiene Theory."

Alderfer’s ERG theory

Clayton Alderfer, expanding on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, created the ERG theory
(existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are
placed in the existence category, while love and self esteem needs are placed in the
relatedness category. The growth category contains our self-actualization and self-esteem
needs.

Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the
importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical
theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and
development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of
"autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the
environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are
autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.

Broad Theories
The latest approach in Achievement Motivation is an integrative perspective as lined out
in the "Onion-Ring-Model of Achievement Motivation" by Heinz Schuler, George C.
Thornton III, Andreas Frintrup and Rose Mueller-Hanson. It is based on the premise that
performance motivation results from way broad components of personality are directed
towards performance. As a result, it includes a range of dimensions that are relevant to
success at work but which are not conventionally regarded as being part of performance
motivation. Especially it integrates formerly separated approaches as Need for
Achievement with e.g. social motives like Dominance. The Achievement Motivation
Inventory AMI (Schuler, Thornton, Frintrup & Mueller-Hanson, 2003) is based on this
theory and assesses three factors (17 separated scales) relevant to vocational and
professional success.

Cognitive theories
Goal-setting theory
Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to
reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's
efficiency is affected by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal
should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end
state is close. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a
bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to
complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a
challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people
want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity
concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be objectively defined
and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get
the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to
reach that goal.

Douglas Vermeeren, has done extensive research into why many people fail to get to
their goals. The failure is directly attributed to motivating factors. Vermeeren states that
unless an individual can clearly identify their motivating factor or their significant and
meaningful reasons why they wish to attain the goal, they will never have the power to
attain it.

Unconscious motivation
Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized and
directed by unconscious motives. According to Maslow, "Psychoanalysis has often
demonstrated that the relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate
unconscious aim that underlies it need not be at all direct." In other words, stated motives
do not always match those inferred by skilled observers. For example, it is possible that a
person can be accident-prone because he has an unconscious desire to hurt himself and
not because he is careless or ignorant of the safety rules. Similarly, some overweight
people are not hungry at all for food but for attention and love. Eating is merely a
defensive reaction to lack of attention. Some workers damage more equipment than
others do because they harbor unconscious feelings of aggression toward authority
figures.

Psychotherapists point out that some behavior is so automatic that the reasons for it are
not available in the individual's conscious mind. Compulsive cigarette smoking is an
example. Sometimes maintaining self-esteem is so important and the motive for an
activity is so threatening that it is simply not recognized and, in fact, may be disguised or
repressed. Rationalization, or "explaining away", is one such disguise, or defense
mechanism, as it is called. Another is projecting or attributing one's own faults to others.
"I feel I am to blame", becomes "It is her fault; she is selfish". Repression of powerful but
socially unacceptable motives may result in outward behavior that is the opposite of the
repressed tendencies. An example of this would be the employee who hates his boss but
overworks himself on the job to show that he holds him in high regard.

Unconscious motives add to the hazards of interpreting human behavior and, to the extent
that they are present, complicate the life of the administrator. On the other hand,
knowledge that unconscious motives exist can lead to a more careful assessment of
behavioral problems. Although few contemporary psychologists deny the existence of
unconscious factors, many do believe that these are activated only in times of anxiety and
stress, and that in the ordinary course of events, human behavior — from the subject's
point of view — is rationally purposeful.

Controlling motivation
The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different
approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by
critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why
many people lack motivation.

Early programming
Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that
emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical
Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of
pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has
found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information
(linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice
as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it
declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is
already at about 95% of adult levels in the ninth year of life.

Organization
Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are
solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-
motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the
proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to
maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those
which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from
the tasks themselves into a "meta-task", namely the processing of the tasks in the task list,
which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be
considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between
completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes
simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).
Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of
mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the
human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple
bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented
persons.

Drugs
Some authors, especially in the transhumanist movement, have suggested the use of
"smart drugs", also known as nootropics, as "motivation-enhancers". The effects of many
of these drugs on the brain are emphatically not well understood, and their legal status
often makes open experimentation difficult.

Converging neurobiological evidence also supports the idea that addictive drugs such as
cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for
natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems
serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can
be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug
rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing
the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.

Applications
Education
Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial
role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied
in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms
of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.
Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and how they
behave towards subject matter. It can:
1. Direct behavior toward particular goals
2. Lead to increased effort and energy
3. Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
4. Enhance cognitive processing
5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing
6. Lead to improved performance.

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated
motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

There are two kinds of motivation:

 Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do
something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or
they feel that what they are learning is significant.
 Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do
something or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like
money or good grades).
Note also that there is already questioning and expansion about this dichotomy on
motivation, e.g., Self-Determination Theory.

Motivation has been found to be a pivotal area in treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, as
in Pivotal Response Therapy.

Motivation is also an important element in the concept of Andragogy (what motivates the
adult learner).

Business
At lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, such as Physiological needs, money is a
motivator, however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a short
period (in accordance with Herzberg's two-factor model of motivation). At higher levels
of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are
far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of
motivation and Douglas McGregor's Theory X and theory Y (pertaining to the theory of
leadership) demonstrate.

Maslow has money at the lowest level of the hierarchy and shows other needs are better
motivators to staff. McGregor places money in his Theory X category and feels it is a
poor motivator. Praise and recognition are placed in the Theory Y category and are
considered stronger motivators than money.

 Motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job.

 Motivated employees are more quality oriented.
 Motivated workers are more productive.

The average workplace is about midway between the extremes of high threat and high
opportunity. Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff are more
attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side. Motivation
is a powerful tool in the work environment that can lead to employees working at their
most efficient levels of production.

The assumptions of Maslow and Herzberg were challenged by a classic study at Vauxhall
Motors' UK manufacturing plant. This introduced the concept of orientation to work and
distinguished three main orientations: instrumental (where work is a means to an end),
bureaucratic (where work is a source of status, security and immediate reward) and
solidaristic (which prioritises group loyalty).

Other theories which expanded and extended those of Maslow and Herzberg included
Kurt Lewin's Force Field Theory, Edwin Locke's Goal Theory and Victor Vroom's
Expectancy theory. These tend to stress cultural differences and the fact that individuals
tend to be motivated by different factors at different times.

According to the system of scientific management developed by Frederick Winslow

Taylor, a worker's motivation is solely determined by pay, and therefore management
 need not consider psychological or social aspects of work. In essence, scientific
management bases human motivation wholly on extrinsic rewards and discards the idea
of intrinsic rewards.

In contrast, David McClelland believed that workers could not be motivated by the mere
need for money — in fact, extrinsic motivation (e.g., money) could extinguish intrinsic
motivation such as achievement motivation, though money could be used as an indicator
of success for various motives, e.g., keeping score. In keeping with this view, his
consulting firm, McBer & Company, had as its first motto "To make everyone
productive, happy, and free." For McClelland, satisfaction lay in aligning a person's life
with their fundamental motivations.

Elton Mayo found out that the social contacts a worker has at the workplace are very
important and that boredom and repetitiveness of tasks lead to reduced motivation. Mayo
believed that workers could be motivated by acknowledging their social needs and
making them feel important. As a result, employees were given freedom to make
decisions on the job and greater attention was paid to informal work groups. Mayo named
the model the Hawthorne effect. His model has been judged as placing undue reliance on
social contacts at work situations for motivating employees.

CAREER MANAGEMENT
The concept of career
A career comprises of a series of work related activities, that offer continuity, order
and meaning to a person’s life. The underlying idea behind a career is that a person
can shape his destiny through a number of well planned and well timed, positive steps.
The success of one’s career, therefore, depends on the individual more than anything
else.

Career stages
A career includes many positions, stages and transitions just as a person’s life does.
High
Exploration Establish- Mid career Late career Decline
ment
Perfor mance

Fr om college First job Will per for mance The elder Preparing
to wor k and being increase or statesperson f or
acce pted begin to retirement
decline?

L ow 25 35 50 60 70
Age
Career: Important features
 A career develops over time.
 The success of one's career depends, most often, on one's own careful planning
and timely steps taken at a right time.
 The important element in one's career is experiencing psychological success.
 The typical career of a person today would probably include many positions
and transitions.

Career stages
 Exploration: the transition that occurs in mid-twenties as one looks at work after
college education, seeking answer to various questions about careers from teachers,
friends etc.
 Establishment: this is the stage where one begins the search for work, picks up
the first job, commits mistakes and learns thereafter.
 Mid-career: Between 35 and 50 one is typically confronted with a plateaued
career, where your maturity and experience are still valued but there is the nagging
feeling of having lost the initial fire in the belly
 Late career: This is the stage where one relaxes a bit and plays an elderly role,
offering advice to younger ones as to how to avoid career mistakes and grow
continually.
 Decline: This is the stage where one is constantly reminded of retirement, after a
series of hits and misses.

Golden rules to be kept in mind while searching for a job

 List all your wins and achievements, and then draw a second list from it –
highlighting different aspects of your personality. Do not underplay your
achievements.
 Seek help from all your contacts. Asking for help during job hunt is like asking for
directions when you are lost. It is better to ask for directions than to stay lost.
 Your resume should not be a condensed biographical sketch (nor a razzle-dazzle
document) of your life and work. It must reveal your experiences, diverse skills
and vast knowledge in an appropriate manner.
 Be ready to respond positively (“I can do that”) to tricky questions probing your
knowledge and experience in a different area. Having a “can do” attitude can
sometimes be more important than the actual experience. This way, one is sure to
get at least interesting work where one can learn and get ahead.
 Be it a war or an interview, before actually going full throttle, one need to plan and
prepare well and at the same time watch out for the unexpected. The best way out
is to arm oneself with answers for all the possible questions.
 Try not to be everything in an interview. Most candidates try too hard in an
interview and are very accommodating. Don’t be. The most commonly asked
question during an interview is “what could you contribute to this organisation?”
The usual answer given is ‘whatever you need’. This just shows your desperation.
Guard against this.
 Negotiate salary, benefits and working conditions clearly, keeping realistic picture
of your own fair market value and the current economic climate in mind. Most
experts believe that a candidate should guard against winning a salary tug-of-war
at the expense of losing the goodwill of his interviewer.
 Lost out on a job, no problem. It is always a good idea to call your interviewer and
ask him for feedback on the reasons why you were not hired.

How to get off to a flying start in your new job?

According to William Ellis, the following strategies help a person get off to a flying
start in a new position.
 Make yourself visible early: Try a novel tactic, use a stunningly different
strategy or follow a route that’s generally avoided by most others. Try anything
so as to get noticed.
 Overkill that first assignment: In your first assignment, set impossible
targets for yourself – which others can’t even think of in their wildest dreams
and deliver results faster than others.
 Get the lay of the land: Get as much information as possible about people,
processes and activities in your work spot – at an amazing speed and
become a quick and authoritative information source.
 Say “sure” and figure out how later: Management values the new employee
who grabs a challenge and runs with it. Try to get over the hurdles somehow –
through a painful process of trial and error and come back with winning
solutions
 Accelerate your enthusiasm: An enthusiastic newcomer can spark a whole
department. Yet some days your enthusiasm will run low. There is a remedy,
however; if you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic. Inner enthusiasm
follows, and it will have an echo effect on colleagues and bosses. Even cynical
old hands want to help an enthusiastic new person.
 Dare to Change the Entrenched Method: Try to challenge the traditional old
ways of doing things. Stretch yourself to find those creative ways that save lot
of organisational time, energies and resources.

The greatest advantage of the fast start on a new job is the early creation of a
winning mystique. Even if you were a little slow in the beginning, nothing says,
you can’t go to work tomorrow morning and act as if it was your first day on a
new job. Better late than never?

Career anchors
These are distinct patterns of self-perceived talents, attitudes, motives and values that
guide and stabilize a person’s career after several years of real world experiences.

More about eight career anchors

 Managerial competence
 Technical competence
 Security
 Creativity
  Autonomy
 Dedication to a cause
 Pure challenge
 Life style

Career planning
Career planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to
achieve those goals. Career planning, it should be noted here, is a prerequisite to
effective human resource planning.

Why career planning?

Career planning seeks to meet the following objectives
 Attract and retain talent
 Use human resources properly and achieve greater productivity
 Reduce employee turnover
 Improve employee morale and motivation
 Meet the current and future human resource needs of the organisation

The process of career planning

 Identify individual needs and aspirations
 Analyze career opportunities
 Align employee needs with available career opportunities
 Develop action plans
 Carry out periodic review

Career Development
Career development consists of the personal actions one undertakes to achieve a career
plan. The actions for career development may be initiated by the individual himself or
by the organisation
Individual career development: Some of the important steps that could help
employees achieve their career goals could be listed thus;

Individual career development

 Performance
 Exposure
 Networking
 Leveraging
 Loyalty
 Mentors and sponsors
 Key subordinates
 Expanding capabilities over time

How to avoid big career mistakes while getting ahead?

After interviewing more than 2000 executives, E.D. Betaf has identified the following
career mistakes-which would come in the way of someone who wants to get ahead.
  Having no plan: Conflict is an inescapable path of organisational life. So if
you are in conflict with someone who could derail your career-think twice
before getting into the soup. Instead work out the details of a plan that would
help you move closer to those who matter in your workspot.
 Lacking expectations: People who don’t understand what their employer
would expect them to deliver are bound to miss the bus. Always better to read
your job description, identify important tasks to be carried out, seek
clarifications from your boss and deliver things in tune with your boss’s
instructions.
 Being a loner: The golden rule of work is relationships, relationships and
relationships. Friendly colleagues, make you an important member of a team
and build long-lasting bonds with people in other departments as well. It’s far
too risky to be a loner and expect your work to speak for itself. Having allies
who speak well of your has an added benefit in that it increases your visibility
to top management.
 Waffling: Business respects those who are willing to take tough decisions and
deliver things-right or wrong. People who continually waffle decisions,
however, stand out for the wrong reasons.
 Focusing too Narrowly: Inability to develop and adapt is one of the important
reasons for career failures at many levels. By making sure you develop a
variety of widely applicable skills, you can better market yourself to your
current employer or, if need be, to a new one.
 Covering up: When you commit a blunder the best thing to do is to own up to
it and fix it as soon as possible. Handle it right, and you may even come out
ahead of the game.

Career Development
 Organisational career development: organisations could help promote
individual careers through a series of well planned moves. These include:
Organisational career development
Self assessment tools such as holding a career planning workshop, circulation of a
career work book in advance etc.
2.Individual counselling
3.Information services
 Job posting system
 Skills inventory
 career ladders and career paths
 career resource centre
Employee assessment programmes
 Assessment centers
 Psychological tests
 Promo ability forecasts
 Succession planning
5.Employee developmental programmes
6.Career programmes for special groups
Career Development Strategies Of Indian Companies
Career development strategies followed by three Indian companies
At the organisation level, let us examine the career development strategies adopted by
three leading companies in India.

Ernst & Young (India)

The global consulting firm uses the same career development methodology in India
that it uses elsewhere. Primarily, it seeks to align individual aspirations with
organisational, business and functional goals, using the formal assessment system to
check for skill gaps and career potential. While designing training tools, things that are
given serious attention are past performance, future potential, the individual skill sets
and competencies of each manager, and the need of the company. However, the firm
often takes the assistance of professional trainers brought in from E&Y offices
worldwide, or relevant institutions to design specific training programmes for
different categories and levels of managers.
At the organisation level, let us examine the career development strategiesby three
leading companies in India.
Ernst & Young (India)
The global consulting firm uses the same career development methodology in India
that it uses elsewhere. Primarily, it seeks to align individual aspirations with
organisational, business and functional goals, using the formal assessment system to
check for skill gaps and career potential. While designing training tools, things that are
given serious attention are past performance, future potential, the individual skill sets
and competencies of each manager, and the need of the company. However, the firm
often takes the assistance of professional trainers brought in from E&Y offices
worldwide, or relevant institutions to design specific training programmes for
different categories and levels of managers.

Hyundai Motor (India)

Most executives working for this South Korean car-maker, which started operations in
India relatively recently, are middle-level recruits from different industries who have
been chosen on the basis of their track record—a factor whose influence pervades the
company’s career development system. The company aims to convert these managers
into ‘achievers’ for Hyundai, with attributes like mental toughness, professional
competence, and an ambition to advance. The HR department devises interventions
keeping these goals in mind. The HR functionaries are expected to look at the
development process holistically. The company also conducts a three-day process lab
where the system is discussed using case studies.
Seagram (India)
The Canadian liquor major has a career development system that hinges on speedy
induction. Among the inputs given during the induction programme, fitting in with the
organisational culture is critical. The aim is to enable the new entrant to hit the ground
running in terms of performance. The programmes also includes sessions on the
history of the organisation, product portfolio, and operations. The programme includes
visits to markets and bottling units and sessions with each functional head.
CAREER MANAGEMENT
Career management includes both organisational actions and individual efforts aimed
at setting career goals, formulating and implementing strategies and monitoring the
results.

Advantages And Limitations Of Career Planning

Career planning offers significant benefits to both the individual and the organisation.
The employee has advance knowledge of available career opportunities. He or she can
set appropriate career goals and plan to achieve them over a period of time.
Organisations, too, can separate the stars from the mediocre and reward the efforts of
those who are hard working and talented. This would, in turn, improve employer-
employee relations. On the negative side, for small scale units, career planning may
prove to be a difficult and costly exercise. Sometimes, local laws, union pressures
could upset career planning efforts. Not every company would be able to resolve all
career related issues successfully.

Effective Career Planning

Effective career planning depends on a number of factors such as
 Ensuring top management support
 Setting appropriate corporate goals for human resources
 Offering rewards for good performance
 Placing employees depending on their talents, career aspirations etc
 Laying down suitable career paths for all employees
 Monitoring continuously to find where the organisation stands
 Giving publicity to career related issues and actions

Succession Planning
The basic purpose of succession planning is to identify and develop people to replace
current job holders in key positions. Through succession planning organisations
ensure a steady flow of internal talent to fill important vacancies. Succession planning
encourages “hiring from within” and creates a healthy environment where employees
have careers and not merely jobs. It should be noted here that career planning (which
covers executives at all levels), by its very nature, includes succession planning
(which covers key positions at higher levels)
Succession management focuses attention on creating and stocking pools of
candidates with high leadership potential. It assures that key people are not just
identified but also nurtured and developed into future leadership roles

Steps in succession management

 Identifying the shortage of leadership skills and defining the requirements
 Identifying potential successors for critical positions
 Coaching and grooming the 'star performers'

The interesting case of BAJAJ AUTO

  Arm your successor
 Begin at the edges
 Start succession early
 Prepare the organisation.

EMPLOYEE COUNSELLING
Counselling is a dyadic relationship between a manager who is offering help and an
employee to whom such help is given. Counselling helps a person overcome emotional
problems and weaknesses related to performance.

Features of Counselling
 The focus is on developmental, educational, preventive concerns
 Processes such as guidance, classification, suggestion etc., are commonly
employed
 The emphasis is on problem-solving and situational difficulties
 The relationship between the counsellor and the counsellee is friendly, advisory,
helpful and trustworthy.
 The aim is to clear the mind (of a counseller) of cob-webs, mental blocks and
improve personal effectiveness.
The process of counselling
 Rapport building
 Exploration
 Action planning

MENTORING
Mentoring is the use of an experienced person to teach and train someone with less
knowledge in a given area. Technical, interpersonal and political skills can be conveyed
in such a relationship from the older to the younger person.
Mentor’s ways of helping the protégé
 Share knowledge and skills related to the job
 Explain unwritten rules of conduct and behaviour of the organisation
 Prevent the protege from doing wrong things and committing mistakes
 Provide important insights into the corporate affairs
 Extend emotional support and guidance continuously so that the protege can
develop his skills and knowledge over a period of time and stand on his own.
Steps in Mentoring
 Establishing trusting relationship between the mentor and the protégé
 Modelling behavioural norms for the young persons
 Listening to the job related problems of the protégé
 Helping the protégé to find alternative ways to resolve the problems
 Responding to the emotional needs of the protégé, without making him dependent
on the mentor
 Developing a long lasting relationship based on mutual trust and understanding.