Human Resource

Management
SUBMITTED TO:
Tuhin Hussain
Lecturer & MBA Coordinator
Department of Business Administration
Bangladesh University

SUBMITTED BY:
Name: Muna Alam Mary
ID No: 202011155036
Batch: 55th (A)
Course Code: BUS-2204
Mobile No: 01759778051
 Unit 1
❖ Define HRM? What are its functions and objectives?
HRM is the personnel function which is concerned with procurement, development, compensation,
integration and maintenance of the personnel of an organization for the purpose of contributing
towards the accomplishments of the organization’s objectives. Therefore, personnel management
is the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the performance of those operative
functions.
The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of right people for right jobs so as the
organisational goals are achieved effectively.
This primary objective can further be divided into the following sub-objectives:
1. To help the organisation to attain its goals effectively and efficiently by providing
competent and motivated employees.
2. To utilize the available human resources effectively.
3. To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualisation.
4. To develop and maintain the quality of work life (QWL) which makes employment in the
organisation a desirable personal and social situation.
5. To help maintain ethical policies and behaviour inside and outside the organisation.
6. To establish and maintain cordial relations between employees and management.
7. To reconcile individual/group goals with organisational goals.

Functions:
We have already defined HRM. The definition of HRM is based on what managers do. The
functions performed by managers are common to all organizations. For the convenience of study,
the function performed by the resource management can broadly be classified into two categories,
viz.
(1) Managerial functions, and
(2) Operative functions

(1) Managerial Functions:

Planning: Planning is a predetermined course of actions. It is a process of determining the
organisational goals and formulation of policies and programmes for achieving them. Thus
planning is future oriented concerned with clearly charting out the desired direction of business
activities in future. Forecasting is one of the important elements in the planning process. Other
functions of managers depend on planning function.
Organising: Organising is a process by which the structure and allocation of jobs are determined.
Thus organising involves giving each subordinate a specific task establishing departments,
delegating authority to subordinates, establishing channels of authority and communication,
coordinating the work of subordinates, and so on.

Staffing: TOs is a process by which managers select, train, promote and retire their subordinates
This involves deciding what type of people should be hired, recruiting prospective employees,
selecting employees, setting performance standard, compensating employees, evaluating
performance, counseling employees, training and developing employees.
Directing/Leading: Directing is the process of activating group efforts to achieve the desired
goals. It includes activities like getting subordinates to get the job done, maintaining morale
motivating subordinates etc. for achieving the goals of the organisation.
Controlling: It is the process of setting standards for performance, checking to see how actual
performance compares with these set standards, and taking corrective actions as needed.

(2) Operative Functions:

The operative, also called, service functions are those which are relevant to specific department.
These functions vary from department to department depending on the nature of the department
Viewed from this standpoint, the operative functions of HRM relate to ensuring right people for
right jobs at right times. These functions include procurement, development, compensation, and
maintenance functions of HRM.

A brief description of these follows:

Procurement: It involves procuring the right kind of people in appropriate number to be placed
in the organisation. It consists of activities such as manpower planning, recruitment, selection
placement and induction or orientation of new employees.

Development: This function involves activities meant to improve the knowledge, skills aptitudes
and values of employees so as to enable them to perform their jobs in a better manner in future.
These functions may comprise training to employees, executive training to develop managers,
organisation development to strike a better fit between organisational climate/culture and
employees.
Compensation: Compensation function involves determination of wages and salaries matching
with contribution made by employees to organisational goals. In other words, this function ensures
equitable and fair remuneration for employees in the organisation. It consists of activities such as
job evaluation, wage and salary administration, bonus, incentives, etc.
Maintenance: It is concerned with protecting and promoting employees while at work. For this
purpose virus benefits such as housing, medical, educational, transport facilities, etc. are provided
to the employees. Several social security measures such as provident fund, pension, gratuity, group
insurance, etc. are also arranged.
It is important to note that the managerial and operative functions of HRM are performed in
conjunction with each other in an organisation, be large or small organisations. Having discussed
the scope and functions of HRM, now it seems pertinent to delineate the HRM scenario in India.

❖ Elaborate about the nature of HRM and its relevance in present scenario.

The emergence of human resource management can be attributed to the writings of the human
relationists who attached great significance to the human factor. Lawrence Appley remarked,
Management is personnel administration‖. This view is partially true as management is concerned
with the efficient and effective use of both human as well as non-human resources. Thus human
resource management is only a part of the management process. At the same time, it must be
recognised that human resource management is inherent in the process of management. This
function is performed by all the managers. A manager to get the best of his people, must undertake
the basic responsibility of selecting people who will work under him and to help develop, motivate
and guide them. However, he can take the help of the specialised services of the personnel
department in discharging this responsibility.

The nature of the human resource management has been highlighted in its following features :

1. Inherent Part of Management: Human resource management is inherent in the process

of management. This function is performed by all the managers throughout the organisation
 rather that by the personnel department only. If a manager is to get the best of his people,
he must undertake the basic responsibility of selecting people who will work under him.
2. Pervasive Function: Human Resource Management is a pervasive function of
management. It is performed by all managers at various levels in the organisation. It is not
a responsibility that a manager can leave completely to someone else. However, he may
secure advice and help in managing people from experts who have special competence in
personnel management and industrial relations.
3. Basic to all Functional Areas: Human Resource Management permeates all the functional
area of management such as production management, financial management, and
marketing management. That is every manager from top to bottom, working in any
department has to perform the personnel functions.
4. People Centered: Human Resource Management is people centered and is relevant in all
types of organisations. It is concerned with all categories of personnel from top to the
bottom of the organisation. The broad classification of personnel in an industrial enterprise
may be as follows : (i) Blue-collar workers (i.e. those working on machines and engaged
in loading, unloading etc.) and white-collar workers (i.e. clerical employees), (ii)
Managerial and non-managerial personnel, (iii) Professionals (such as Chartered
Accountant, Company Secretary, Lawyer, etc.) and non- professional personnel.
5. Personnel Activities or Functions: Human Resource Management involves several
functions concerned with the management of people at work. It includes manpower
planning, employment, placement, training, appraisal and compensation of employees. For
the performance of these activities efficiently, a separate department known as Personnel
Department is created in most of the organisations.
6. Continuous Process: Human Resource Management is not a ‗one shot‘ function. It must
be performed continuously if the organisational objectives are to be achieved smoothly.
7. Based on Human Relations: Human Resource Management is concerned with the
motivation of human resources in the organisation. The human beings can‘t be dealt with
like physical factors of production. Every person has different needs, perceptions and
expectations. The managers should give due attention to these factors. They require human
relations skills to deal with the people at work. Human relations skills are also required in
training performance appraisal, transfer and promotion of subordinates.
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More specifically, the goal of human resources development training is "the integrated
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training, Projexpat will send training personnel to the World Skills annually and internship in
private and governmental organizations at venues around the world.

❖ Explain the role of HR manager in HRM.

The role of HRM is to plan, develop and administer policies and programs designed to make
optimum use of an organizations human resources. It is that part of management which is
concerned with the people at work and with their relationship within enterprises. Its objectives are:
(a) effective utilization of human resources,
(b) desirable working relationships among all members of the organizations, and
(c) maximum individual development. Human resources function as primarily administrative
and professional.
HR staff focused on administering benefits and other payroll and operational functions and didn’t
think of themselves as playing a part in the firm’s overall strategy.
HR professionals have an all encompassing role. They are required to have a thorough knowledge
of the organization and its intricacies and complexities. The ultimate goal of every HR person
should be to develop a linkage between the employee and organization because employee’s
commitment to the organization is crucial.

The first and foremost role of HR personnel is to impart continuous education to the employees
about the changes and challenges facing the country in general and their organization in particular.
The employees should know about the balance sheet of the company, sales progress, and
diversification of plans, share price movements, turnover and other details about the company. The
HR professionals should impart such knowledge to all employees through small booklets, video
films and lectures.
The primary responsibilities of Human Resource managers are:

i. To develop a thorough knowledge of corporate culture, plans and policies. To act

as an internal change agent and consultant
ii. To initiate change and act as an expert and facilitator To actively involve in
company’s strategy formulation
iii. To keep communication line open between the HRD function and individuals and
groups both within and outside the organization\
iv. To identify and evolve HRD strategies in consonance with overall business
strategy.
v. To facilitate the development of various organizational teams and their working
relationship with other teams and individuals.
vi. To try and relate people and work so that the organization objectives are achieved
efficiently and effectively.
vii. To diagnose problems and determine appropriate solution particularly in the human
resource areas.
viii. To provide co-ordination and support services for the delivery of HRD programmes
and services
ix. To evaluate the impact of an HRD intervention or to conduct research so as to
identify, develop or test how HRD In general has improved individual and
organizational performance.

Different management gurus have deliberated different roles for the HR manager based on the
major responsibilities that they full fill in the organization. Few of the commonly accepted models
are enumerated below.

Pat Mc Lagan has suggested nine roles that are played by HR practitioners
 i. To bring the issues and trends concerning an organization’s external and internal people to
the attention of strategic decision makers and to recommend long term strategies to support
organizational excellence and endurance.
ii. To design and prepare HR systems and actions for implementation so that they can produce
maximum impact on organizational performance and development.

iii. To facilitate the development and implementation of strategies for transforming one’s own
organization by pursuing values and visions.

iv. To create a positive relationship with the customer’s by providing them with the best
services; to utilize the resources to the maximum and to create commitment among the
people who help the organization to meet the customers needs whether directly connected
or indirectly connected to the organization.

v. To identify the learning needs hence to design and develop structured learning programmes
and materials to help accelerate learning for individuals and groups.

vi. To enable the individuals and groups to work in new situations and to expend \and change
their views so that people in power move from authoritarian to participative models of
leadership.

vii. To help employees to assess their competencies, values and goals so that they can identify,
plan and implement development plans.

He also assists the individual employee to add values in the workplace and to focus on the
interventions and interpersonal skills for helping people change and sustain change.
He assesses the HRD practices and programmes and their impact and to communicate results so
that the organization and its people accelerate their change and development.
 Unit 2
❖ Explain the role of HR professional in human resource planning process in
organizations.
A company succeeds in large measure because of the skill, creativity and dedication of its
managers and employees. Human resource planning is the process of making sure the company
has the right people in the right positions – those who possess the skills, experience and spirit of
teamwork required for the company to grow and effectively compete.

➢ Assuring Adequate Staff Levels

A primary function of human resources planning is making certain that various company
departments have sufficient staff to complete all the work required to meet the organization’s
goals. The business owner also must make sure that the workload is balanced – no individual or
department should be so overburdened with work that it is impossible to complete all assigned
tasks on time. The results of this type of poor human resource planning include heightened stress
levels for employees, burnout, missing deadlines and mistakes and errors. All of these outcomes
negatively affect productivity and may result in higher employee turnover.

➢ Matching Skills to Current Organizational Needs

As the company grows, the management function becomes more complex. Instead of everyone
reporting to the owner, layers are added to the organization structure. The management team
must supervise additional employees. Addressing these changing needs requires the business
owner to determine if the current management team has the necessary experience and skills to
succeed in a larger, more structured, more complex organization. If he identifies gaps, he creates
new positions and hires new people.

➢ Building an Ethical Business Culture

A business owner often creates a code of conduct for employees to follow which defines what
is considered ethical conduct in dealing with customers, suppliers and co-workers. The aim of
building an ethical culture can be furthered by bringing on new hires who have a track record of
high ethical behavior. This may require a more in-depth interviewing process in which the hiring
manager asks candidates how they have dealt with ethical dilemmas on the job. Just because a
sales manager has a track record of meeting or exceeding quotas in past positions, he may not
live up to the ethical standards the owner wants to set for his organization.
 ➢ Finding Team Players
A critical but difficult aspect of human resource planning is determining whether prospective
new hires will fit in with existing members of the team. The owner wants to foster a harmonious
work environment characterized by open and honest communication, so the more specifically he
can articulate the corporate culture he seeks to create, the better the chances that candidates for
new positions can articulate why they believe they would fit in.

➢ Identifying Employees Ready for Advancement

Human resource planning should include creating a path for advancement for each employee.
The business owner must assess which employees are ready to move up in the organization and
which might need more seasoning in their current positions. He wants to make sure his
organization is developing its own in-house managerial talent, and he may provide education
and training opportunities to move the employees down the path toward taking on additional
responsibilities.

❖ Describe the various forecasting techniques and how these techniques are being used
in human resource planning.

Human resource forecasting techniques typically include using past data to predict future staffing
needs. Additionally, organizations can use survey, benchmarking and modeling techniques to
estimate workforce staffing numbers. Use several HR forecasting process methods and cross-
check your findings to obtain the most accurate results.

Analyzing Work Operations: The foundation for any HR forecasting process is to conduct a
detailed job analysis for each function in the company and list the policies and procedures
required to complete each task. From there, you can document the standard output per hour per
person. The purpose here is to figure out the desired level of output in order to calculate the
number of people you need to produce that volume of operations.

The Delphi Technique: The Delphi technique is a method for conducting surveys. It involves
asking several experts in your organization their opinions on forecasting needs based on their
experience of managing the employees in your organization who directly contribute to the
creation of products or services. Experts typically do not share their opinions with each other –
hence the need for centralized surveys. It's easy enough to create and distribute a survey using a
tool such as SurveyMonkey to gather your data. Examine the input and prepare a forecast. Send
the forecast to the original participants to get their new input, and repeat the survey process until
all participants reach consensus that the forecast appears accurate.

Run HR Forecasting Process Calculations: Use calculators available from the Society of
Human Resource Management website to calculate metrics such as the “average length of
service” and “90-day turnover” rates based on your current human resources data. Use this
information to help predict future staffing needs. A few specific calculations you can run include:

• Turnover rate
• Retention rate
• Overall cost of your workforce

Calculating these figures can help you budget and plan for future staffing needs. They can also
help you find ways to lower your turnover rate and increase your retention rate, which can save
your company money.

Using Industry Benchmarks: Organizations and trade bodies such as the Department of
Commerce often publish data that can support your workforce planning needs. Use these to learn
about trends in your sector and forecast your budget for hiring, training and paying staff required
to compete in a global marketplace. For example, the Department of Defense (DOD) pays
eligible DOD civilian employees up to $500 per pay period when they're engaged in intelligence-
related duties, and up to five percent of their salaries when performing non-intelligence related
duties., according to Ask Fedweek.

The DOD pays their multilingual employees this bonus because these employees bring much
greater value to the agency through their fluency. Knowing two or more languages enables them
to complete tasks monolingual employees cannot. Keep this in mind when you're recruiting and
training staff – an employee who speaks more than one language could make her a far more
valuable asset to the team than a monolingual employee.

Get Organizational Buy In: Document your forecasting process and follow it consistently
throughout your company so that all managers align their forecast to your strategic direction,
identify skill gaps, create action plans to address shortages, implement plans to hire and retain
skilled personnel and evaluate forecasts on an ongoing basis. Using this model, you can more
accurately guide workforce planning efforts for all skill areas such as information technology
and knowledge management.

❖ Explain the barriers to HRP. Bring out the requisites for effective planning.
Barriers to Human Resource Planning – With Requisites for Successful Human Resource Planning
1. Some critics think that when required people can be hired and fired, then, why make a
simple task difficult.

2. HR Practitioners are perceived as experts in handling personnel matters but not experts in
managing business. Therefore their plans when enmeshed with original plans may prove
to be defective.

3. HR information is often incompatible with other information used in strategy formulation.

Financial forecasting takes precedence over HRP.

4. Conflict may exist between short term and long term HR needs. HR Managers with myopic
vision may neglect long term needs in order to tide over short term needs.

5. There is a conflict between quantitative and qualitative approach to HRP. A bid to transfer
people across the department without looking at the qualitative request may prove
detrimental to organisation’s interest. Best results will accrue if there is a balance between
quantitative and qualitative approach.

6. Non-involvement of operative managers renders HRP ineffective. Hence, the need to co-
opt the operative mangers in HRP.

Requisites for Successful Human Resource Planning:

1. It must be recognised as an integral part of corporate planning.

2. Backing of top management.

3. HRP responsibility should be centralised for better coordination and consultation between
different management levels.
 4. Personnel record must be complete.

5. The technique of planning should be best suited to data available.

6. Plans should be prepared by skill level rather than aggregates.

7. Data collection, analysis of planning and plans themselves must be continuously revised
and improved.

Unit 3

❖ What do you understand by job analysis? What is its importance in the management
of human resources?
Job Analysis Defined:
Developing an organizational structure, results in jobs which have to be staffed. Job analysis is the
procedure through which you determine the duties and nature of the jobs and the kinds of people
(in terms of skills and experience) who should be hired for them.’ It provides you with data on job
requirements, which are then used for developing job descriptions (what the job entails) and job
specifications (what kind of people to hire for the job).
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a modern approach of maintaining people at workplace
which focuses on acquisition, development, utilization and maintenance of human resource.
HRM is development oriented. It is concern of managers of all level and provides space for
employee involvement, performance and growth. Several companies nowadays prefer HRM to
personnel management because HRM plays vital role in maintaining quality team of working
experts. Besides, it has several importance which are discussed below.

To maintain quality of work life: Quality of work life is the perception of employees regarding
the relationship between working condition with management. Simply, it is the relationship
between employees and total work environment.

Quality of work life is concerned with the employee’s perception of physical as well as
psychological wellbeing at workplace and it can be obtained by maintaining work autonomy, work
freedom, job recognition, belongingness, rewards, etc.
To increase productivity and profit: Human resource management ensures right quality and
quantity of personnel in workplace, apart from which, it creates opportunities to facilitate and
motivate individual and group of employees to grow and advance their career. Motivated
employees work hard to meet their personal career goal which directly influences productivity of
organization. Minimizing cost and maximizing profit is the essence of productivity.

To produce employees who are easily adaptable to change: Human resource management
performs various functions, among which training and development of employees is one of the
vital ones. Training and development programs keep employees updated with skills necessary to
adjust with alteration of organization’s environment, structure and technology.

To match demand and supply of human resource: Human resource management probes
existing human resource in certain interval of time to identify if the company has adequate number
of workers or not. In case when company has inadequate human resource, human resource
management performs activities like recruitment and selection to balance the need. In the same
way, it lay-off inefficient employee in case when the company has excessive employees.

To retain employees and motivate them to accomplish company’s goal: Utilizing human
resource to their fullest and maintaining them in the company for a long term is a major function
of human resource management. Under this function, HRM performs tasks like providing fringe
benefits, compensation and rewards to the deserving employees. These activities do not only help
in retaining employees in the company but also in achieving organization’s goal effectively.

To recognize merit and contribution of employee: Human resource management performs

timely appraisal of employee’s performance in order to recognize excellent and poor workers. The
excellent workers are then rewarded as a return for their contribution.

To create a feeling of belongingness and team spirit in the employee: Human resource
management designs job on the basis of teamwork. As teamwork demands contribution from every
team member, HRM focuses on making each and every employee feel valued so that employee
contributes best from their side.

To sustain business in the market: Human resource management makes sure that the company
has the best employee because promising employees are capable of taking their company ahead in
the race by delivering excellent results. This guarantees organization’s success and stability in
future.

To resolve conflicts: In any company, either big or small, conflicts may arise between any
parties/group. Conflicts are inevitable and they should not be ignored. Human resource
management acts as a consultant to sort out such conflicts timely and conduct other organizational
activities smoothly.

To develop corporate image: Every company should maintain good public image in order to
sustain in the market. Any individual would like to work for companies which are known for moral
and social behavior. On the other hand, companies that do not treat their employees in a good
manner can run through employee deficiency and even collapse.

❖ What steps are involved in the preparation of job analysis?

Job analysis is the procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the
kind of person who should be hired for it. It is a process of collecting information related to various
aspects of the job. The main purposes of conducting job analysis are to prepare a job description
and job specification which in turn helps to hire the right quality of workforce into the organization.

It collects and analyses the information associated with job description and specifications.
Following steps are involved in job analysis:

1. Information Collection This is the first step of job analysis under which required
information related to various aspects of jobs are collected. Probably the most
important consideration is to identify the objectives of the job analysis. Information is
obtained through different methods such as interview, observation, questionnaire,
critical incidents etc. It is associated with the preparation of plans and programs and
assignment of responsibilities to the concerned person.
2. Review Background Information This is the second step of job analysis process
under which the previously collected information is reviewed to design organizational
charts, current position descriptions and specifications, procedures, manuals and
process charts. These help in the detailed assessment of job.
 3. Selection of Representative Position to be Analyzed Analyzing all jobs at a time is a
complex and costly affair. So, only a representative sample of jobs is selected for the
purpose of detailed analysis. Under it, the job analyst investigates to determine which
organization managers or employees require job analysis. He should also determine for
what purpose the job must be analyzed.
4. Analysis of Job by Collecting Data Under this step of job analysis process, a job
analyst obtains the data and information related to the selected jobs. The information
is collected on the job activities, required employee behaviors, working conditions,
human traits and qualities, abilities to perform the job and other various dimensions of
the job. Data can be collected either through questionnaire, observation or interviews.
5. Develop Job Description In this step of job analysis, a job description schedule is
developed through the information collected in the above step. This is the written
statement which describes the prominent characteristics of the job along with duties,
location, and degree of risk involved in each job.
6. Develop Job Specification Developing the job specification is the last step of job
analysis process under which a detailed specification statement is prepared showing the
minimum requirement of each job. It consists of a requirement of the job holder for
successfully performing the job. A job specification summarizes the personal qualities,
traits, skills, knowledge, and background required to perform the specific task. It also
involves the physical and psychological attributes of the incumbent.

❖ What is job description? How is it prepared?

Job description is the immediate product of job analysis process; the data collected through job
analysis provides a basis for job description and job specification.
Preparing a job Description:
While job descriptions and selection criteria are closely linked, it may make sense to work on the
job description first, since that will help you decide what at least some of your selection criteria
should be. A job description that includes administering medical treatment is unlikely to suggest
hiring someone with a background only in heavy construction, for instance. On the other hand,
there may be criteria that are important for any position you hire -- sense of humor, respect for the
target population, commitment to social change -- which, stated or unstated, may be as important
to you as the particular skills the staff person will need. We'll discuss this issue further later in the
section.

There are really three parts to the task of preparing a job description:

1. Choosing the job title.

2. Developing a list, often bulleted or numbered, of specific duties and responsibilities that
the position requires.
3. Composing a capsule description of the position, including what it's meant to accomplish,
requirements other than specific tasks (e.g., hours per week and expected schedule, whether
weekend or evening work is required, necessary travel, etc.), and who the position
supervises and reports to. This section may include wage or salary and benefit information
as well.

❖ Define job specification? How is it different from job description?

Job description is a document which states an overview of the duties, responsibilities and
functions of a specific job in an organisation. Job specification is a statement of the
qualifications, personality traits, skills, etc. required by an individual to perform the job.

Differences Between Job Description and Job Specification The difference between job
description and job specification can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

1. Job Description is a descriptive statement that describes the role, responsibility, duties, and
scope of a particular job. Job Specification states the minimum qualifications required for
performing a particular job.
2. Job Description is the outcome of Job Analysis while Job specification is the result of Job
Description.
3. Job Description describes jobs, but Job Specification describes job holders.
4. The job description is a summary of what an employee will do after getting selected.
Conversely, Job Specification is a statement showing what a person must possess for
getting selected.
5. Job Description contains designation, place of work, scope, working hours,
responsibilities, reporting authority, salary range, etc. On the other hand, Job Specification
 contains educational qualifications, experience, skills, knowledge, age, abilities, work
orientation factors, etc.

❖ Write notes on :
Job Rotation: Job rotation is a strategy where employees rotate between jobs at the same
business. Employees take on new tasks at a different job for a period of time before rotating
back to their original position. With a job rotation system, employees gain experience and
skills by taking on new responsibilities.

Job Simplification: Work or job simplification is the process of removing tasks from existing
roles in order to make them more focused. The objective of work simplification is to develop
improved work methods that maximize output while minimizing expenditure and cost.

❖ Distinguish between :
a) Distinguish between a job description and a job specification

Content: Job description usually lists out the job title, location, job summary, working
environment, duties to be performed on the job, etc. Job specification lists out the qualifications,
experience, training, skills, emotional attributes, mental capabilities of an individual to perform
the job.

Measures: Job description measures the tasks and responsibilities attached to the job. Job
specification measures the capabilities that the job holder must possess to perform the job.

Usefulness: Job description offers ample information about the job which helps the management
in evaluating the job performance and defining the training needs of an employee. Job specification
helps the candidates who are applying for a job to analyse whether they are eligible for a particular
job or not.

Benefit: Job description statement helps the organisation to be clear about 'Who should do what'.
Job specification statement helps the management to take decisions regarding promotion, bonus,
internal transfers and salary increase.
 b) Job enlargement and job enrichment
Job enlargement and job enrichment are both used as techniques for employee motivation and
satisfaction. However, they differ a lot from each other. The critical difference is job enlargement
is a horizontal expansion of duties and tasks across the same organizational level, whereas job
enrichment is the vertical expansion of the roles, responsibilities, authority and activities along
with the different hierarchical levels.
Job enlargement is a technique used for motivating the semi-skilled or unskilled workers and may
be misinterpreted as work overload without a good hike in salary. Job enrichment is used for
development and satisfaction of the skilled employees which is usually taken as a reward of good
work.

❖ “Job analysis is the most basic personnel management function.” Discuss.

Job Analysis plays an important role in recruitment and selection, job evaluation, job
designing, deciding compensation and benefits packages, performance appraisal, analyzing
training and development needs, assessing the worth of a job and increasing personnel as well
as organizational productivity.

▪ Recruitment and Selection: Job Analysis helps in determining what kind of person is
required to perform a particular job. It points out the educational qualifications, level of
experience and technical, physical, emotional and personal skills required to carry out a
job in desired fashion. The objective is to fit a right person at a right place.
▪ Performance Analysis: Job analysis is done to check if goals and objectives of a particular
job are met or not. It helps in deciding the performance standards, evaluation criteria and
individual’s output. On this basis, the overall performance of an employee is measured and
he or she is appraised accordingly.
▪ Training and Development: Job Analysis can be used to assess the training and
development needs of employees. The difference between the expected and actual output
determines the level of training that need to be imparted to employees. It also helps in
deciding the training content, tools and equipments to be used to conduct training and
methods of training.
▪ Compensation Management: Of course, job analysis plays a vital role in deciding the pay
packages and extra perks and benefits and fixed and variable incentives of employees.
 After all, the pay package depends on the position, job title and duties and responsibilities
involved in a job. The process guides HR managers in deciding the worth of an employee
for a particular job opening.
▪ Job Designing and Redesigning: The main purpose of job analysis is to streamline the
human efforts and get the best possible output. It helps in designing, redesigning, enriching,
evaluating and also cutting back and adding the extra responsibilities in a particular job.
This is done to enhance the employee satisfaction while increasing the human output.

❖ Clearly define and discuss the relationship among job analysis, job description and
job specification.
The relationship between job analysis, job specification and job description is that job analysis is
the fundamental basis upon which job description and job specification are formulated. The HR department has to
formulate job positions based on the analyses conducted to determine the purpose and usefulness of each position
(Muchinsky & Paul, 2012). It can therefore be deduced that job description and jobs pecification are products of job
analysis because without job analysis, it would neither be possible nor necessary to compile job descriptions and job
specifications.

Apart from a job description, other outcomes of job analysis include recruiting plans, position postings and
advertisements, and performance development planning within your performance management
system. According to Franklin (2005), job analysis may include these activities: reviewing the job responsibilities
of current employees, researching and viewing sample job descriptions online and offline highlighting similar jobs,
analyzing the work duties, tasks, and responsibilities that need to be accomplished by the employee filling the
position, researching and sharing with other companies that have similar jobs, and articulation of the most important
outcomes or contributions needed from the position

Unit 4
❖ Define recruitment and identify the various factors which affect recruitment.
Recruitment forms a step in the process which continues with selection and ceases with the
placement of the candidate. It is the next step in the procurement function, the first being the
manpower planning. Recruiting makes it possible to acquire the number and types of people
necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organisation. Recruiting is the discovering of
potential applicants for actual or anticipated organisational vacancies.

❖ Discuss various sources of recruitment

After the finalisation of recruitment plan indicating the number and type of prospective candidates,
they must be attracted to offer themselves for consideration to their employment. This necessitates
the identification of sources from which these candidates can be attracted. Some companies try to
develop new sources, while most only try to tackle the existing sources they have. These sources,
accordingly, may be termed as internal and external.

Here are the top 9 recruitment sources your company should continuously leverage to reach the
best talent out there.

1. Job Boards. Perhaps one of the main recruitment sources, job boards have grown thanks
to the ease of online job searches. Think of where your talent pool would go to find a job—
if you’re looking for a graphic designer, post your job on boards that designers usually
visit. Post jobs in general job boards as well, especially when looking for entry-level
candidates, as they tend to go there first.
2. Company Website. Posting all job opportunities on your company’s website is a given.
Whether candidates arrive there directly or are directed there from another site, this is the
place where all your recruiting lives. On your own website, you can post not only job
openings but also FAQ’s about working at your company, like benefits offered and
anything that helps your company stand out.
3. ‘>Social Media. LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, among others—these social
media networks are key recruiting sources. Nowadays most candidates are on one or all of
these networks, making them a perfect place to promote your job openings. Yet social
media is not just for posting jobs; it also offers an opportunity for a conversation. It’s a
place where you can promote your company’s brand and contribute insightful information
about your company and industry. Once you build a foundation with your followers, they’ll
be more likely to come directly to you when seeking a new job.
4. Referrals. One of the fastest growing recruiting sources out there is employee referrals.
Tapping into your existing workforce to get new talent is a smart strategy. Consider
 offering referral incentives, like bonuses. Make sure your employees know that they can
refer candidates to current openings. Establish a system for doing so, whether it’s having
the employee submitting the candidate’s resume for him or specifically asking for an
employee referral in all your job applications.
5. Direct Contact. Similar to employee referrals, direct contact leverages current employees
specifically going after a candidate. This usually works well with senior-level staff, since
they know very well what the company is looking for and they have wide professional
networks. These employees seek out candidates, cultivate relationships, and bring them in
as referrals when the right time comes.
6. Temp-to-Hires. Another way to bring in new employees is through temporary or part-time
employment first. Portals that help you find temporary and seasonal employees can all be
seen as a recruiting source. Consider offering good temps and contingent employees a
permanent position in your company.
7. Career Fairs. Having a company presence at career fairs puts you in the center of a pool
of candidates. This works better if you’re looking for candidates with a certain skill set—
like software development or graphic design—as industry-specific career fairs tend to yield
more potential candidates. Also consider career fairs at colleges and universities, which
offer a great opportunity to reach a pool of potential entry-level candidates.
8. Agency. Depending on your company’s needs, you may require the help of a recruiting
agency. Recruiting agencies can be cost-effective options for finding top candidates from
wider talent pools, or to find heavily sought-after candidates in more specialized industries.
When considering the services of a recruiting agency, take time to weigh the pros and cons,
since for some companies it’s not worth the cost.
9. Newspapers. Although they’re old school, print job ads are still playing a role in the
recruiting scene, especially considering the papers’ online presence. Depending on the job
and the industry, more of the candidates you’re looking for may rely on print job ads when
searching for openings. More so, however, is the possibility of reaching a wider audience
by posting ads in the print edition and posting them on the newspaper’s website as well.

❖ What is realistic job preview?

Realistic Job Previews are not your traditional assessment in that they do not give measurable
results. The Realistic Job Preview provides more information about the job, giving the
 candidate the ability to make a more informed decision about whether or not they are a fit for
the job.
The traditional philosophy is to get as many people as possible to apply for the job. As a result of
this, a large number of job seekers apply for the job, which makes the final selection process
difficult and can often result in the selection of wrong candidates. Wrong selection can, in turn,
lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnover in the long run.

In realistic philosophy, the needs of the organisation are matched with the needs of the applicants,
which enhance the effectiveness of the recruitment process. In realistic approach, the employees
who are recruited will stay in the organisation for a longer period of time and will perform at
higher level of effectiveness.

❖ What do you mean by recruitment policy? Explain the prerequisites of a good

recruitment policy.
As Yoder et al observe recruitment policy spells out the objectives of the recruitment and
provides a framework for implementations of the recruitment programme in the form of
procedures. It may involve a commitment to broad principles such as filling vacancies with the
best qualified individuals. The recruitment policy may embrace several issues such as the
extent of promotion from within, attitudes of enterprise in recruiting old, handicapped, and
minor individuals, minority group members, part-time employees and relatives of present
employees.
It establishes broad guidelines for the staffing process. Generally, the following factors are
involved in a recruitment policy:

i. To provide each employee with an open road and encouragement in the continuing
development of his talents and skills;
ii. To provide individual employees with the maximum of employment security,
avoiding, frequent lay-off or lost time;
iii. To avoid cliques which may develop when several members of the same household
or community are employed in the organisation;
 iv. To carefully observe the letter and spirit of the relevant public policy on hiring and,
on the whole, employment relationship;
v. To assure each employee of the organisation interest in his personal goals and
employment objective; To assure employees of fairness in all employment
relationships, including promotions and transfers;
vi. To provide employment in jobs which are engineered to meet the qualifications of
handicapped workers and minority sections; and
vii. To encourage one or more strong, effective, responsible trade unions among the
employees.

❖ Write short notes on following.

a) Advantages and disadvantages of internal sources of recruitment.
Merits of Internal Sources: The following are the merits of internal sources of
recruitment:
i. It creates a sense of security among employees when they are assured that they
would be preferred in filling up vacancies.
ii. It improves the morale of employees, for they are assured of the fact that they would
be preferred over outsiders when vacancies occur.
iii. It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job security
and opportunities for advancement.
iv. The employer is in a better position to evaluate those presently employed than
outside candidates. This is because the company maintains a record of the progress,
experience and service of its employees.
Time and costs of training will be low because employees remain familiar with the
organisation and its policies.
v. Relations with trade unions remain good. Labour turnover is reduced. As the
persons in the employment of the company are fully aware of, and well acquainted
wit, its policies and know its operating procedures, they require little training, and
the chances are that they would stay longer in the employment of the organisation
than a new outsider would.
vi. It encourages self-development among the employees. It encourages good
individuals who are ambitious.
 vii. It encourages stability from continuity of employment.
viii. It can also act as a training device for developing middle and top-level managers.

Demerits of Internal Sources: However, this system suffers from certain defects as:

i. There are possibilities that internal sources may “dry up”, and it may be difficult to find
the requisite personnel from within an organisation.
ii. It often leads to inbreeding, and discourages new blood from entering and organisation.
iii. As promotion is based on seniority, the danger is that really capable hands may not be
chosen. The likes and dislikes of the management may also play an important role in the
selection of personnel.
iv. Since the learner does not know more than the lecturer, no innovations worth the name can
be made. Therefore, on jobs which require original thinking (such as advertising, style,
designing and basic research), this practice is not followed.

b) Advantages and disadvantages of external source of recruitment.

External Sources
DeCenzo and Robbins remark, “Occasionally, it may be necessary to bring in some ‘new blood’
to broaden the present ideas, knowledge, and enthusiasm.” Thus, all organisations have to depend
on external sources of recruitment. Among these sources are included:
i. Employment agencies.
ii. Educational and technical institutes. and
iii. Casual labour or “applicants at the gate” and nail applicants.
Public and private employment agencies play a vital role in making available suitable employees
for different positions in the organisations. Besides public agencies, private agencies have
developed markedly in large cities in the form of consultancy services. Usually, these agencies
facilitate recruitment of technical and professional personnel. Because of their specialisation, they
effectively assess the needs of their clients and aptitudes and skills of the specialised personnel.
They do not merely bring an employer and an employee together but computerise lists of available
talents, utilising testing to classify and assess applicants and use advanced techniques of vocational
guidance for effective placement purposes.
Educational and technical institutes also form an effective source of manpower supply. There is
an increasing emphasis on recruiting student from different management institutes and universities
commerce and management departments by recruiters for positions in sales, accounting, finance,
personnel and production. These students are recruited as management trainees and then placed in
special company training programmes. They are not recruited for particular positions but for
development as future supervisors and executives. Indeed, this source provides a constant flow of
new personnel with leadership potentialities. Frequently, this source is tapped through on-campus
interview with promising students. In addition, vocational schools and industrial training institutes
provide specialised employees, apprentices, and trainees for semiskilled and skilled jobs. Persons
trained in these schools and institutes can be placed on operative and similar jobs with a minimum
of in-plant training. However, recruitment of these candidates must be based on realistic and
differential standards established through research reducing turnover and enhancing productivity.

❖ Explain the direct, indirect and third party methods of recruitment.

Direct Method:
In this method, the representatives of the organisation are sent to the potential candidates in the
educational and training institutes. They establish contacts with the candidates seeking jobs. These
representatives work in cooperation with placement cells in the institutions Persons pursuing
management; engineering, medical etc. programmes are mostly picked up in this manner.

Indirect Methods:
Indirect methods include advertisements in news papers, on the radio and television, in
professional journals, technical magazines etc.

Third Party Methods:

These include the use of private employment agencies, management consultants, professional
bodies/associations, employee referral/recommendations, voluntary organisations, trade unions,
data banks, labour contractors etc., to establish contact with the job- seekers.
 Unit 5
❖ What do you understand by selection process? Discuss various steps involved in it.
Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidates from those who apply for the job.
It is a process of offering jobs to desired candidates.
Typically selection process consists of the following steps but it is not necessary that all
organization go through all these steps as per the requirement of the organization some steps can
be skipped while performing the selection process.

1. Initial Screening.
2. Completion of the Application Form.
3. Employment Tests.
4. Job Interview.
5. Conditional Job Offer.
6. Background Investigation.
7. Medical Examination.
8. Permanent Job Offer.

❖ What is application blank? What purpose does it serve? Explain the contents of an
application blank.
Application Blank or Application Form: An application blank is a traditional widely accepted
device for getting information from a prospective applicant which will enable the management to
make a proper selection. The blank provides preliminary information as well as aid in the interview
by indicating areas of interest and discussion. It is a good means of quickly collecting verifiable
(and therefore fairly accurate) basic historical data from the candidate. It also serves as a
convenient device for circulating information about the applicant to appropriate members of
management and as a useful device for storing information for, later reference.

i. Biographical Data: Name, father’s name, data and place of birth, age, sex, nationality,
height, weight, identification marks, physical disability, if any, marital status, and number
of dependants.
 ii. Educational Attainment: Education (subjects offered and grades secured), training
acquired in special fields and knowledge gained from professional/technical institutes or
through correspondence courses.
iii. Work Experience: Previous experience, the number of jobs held with the same or other
employers, including the nature of duties, and responsibilities and the duration of various
assignments, salary received, grades, and reasons for leaving the present employer.
iv. Salary and Benefits: Present and expected.
v. Other Items: Names and addresses of previous employers, references, etc. An application
blank is a brief history sheet of an employee’s background and can be used for future
reference, in case needed.

❖ What is an interview? What purpose does it serve? Discuss various types of

interviews.
Interview: An interview is a procedure designed to get information from a person and to assess
his potential for the job he is being considered on the basis of oral responses by the applicant
to oral inquiries by the interviewer. Interviewer does a formal in-depth conversation with the
applicant, to evaluate his suitability. It is one of the most important tools in the selection
process. This tool is used when interviewing skilled, technical, professional and even
managerial employees. It involves two-way exchange of information. The interviewer learns
about the applicant and the candidate learns about the employer.
Types of interviews: Interviews can be classified in various ways according to:
1. Degree of Structure
2. Purpose of Interview
3. Content of Interview

❖ Discuss various guidelines to be followed for an interview.

To make it effective, an interview should be properly planned and conducted on certain principles;
Edwin B. Flippo has described certain rules and principles of good interviewing to this end:
Provide proper surroundings. The physical setting for the interview should be both private and
comfortable.
The mental setting should be one of rapport. The interviewer must be aware of non-verbal
behaviour. Plan for the interview by thoroughly reviewing job specifications and job descriptions.
 ❖ Determine the specific objectives and the method of the interviewing.

i. Inform yourself as much as possible concerning the known information about

the interviewee. The interviewer should possess and demonstrate a basic liking
and respect for people.
ii. Questions should be asked in a manner that encourages the interviewee to talk. Put
the applicant at ease.

iii. Make a decision only when all the data and information are available. Avoid
decisions that are based on first impressions.

iv. Conclude the interview tactfully, making sure that the candidate leaves feeling
neither too elated nor frustrated.

v. Maintain some written record of the interview during or

immediately after it. Listen attentively and, if possible,
protectively.
vi. Questions must be stated clearly to avoid confusion and ambiguity. Maintain a
balance between open and overtly structured questions.

vii. ‘Body language’ must not be ignored.

viii. The interviewer should make some overt sign to indicate the end of the interview.

❖ Explain various steps involved in the selection of personnel.

The selection process consists of five distinct aspects:

1. Criteria development. All individuals involved in the hiring process should be properly
trained on the steps for interviewing, including developing criteria, reviewing résumés,
developing interview questions, and weighting the candidates.
 2. Application and résumé review. Once the criteria have been developed (step one),
applications can be reviewed. People have different methods of going through this process,
but there are also computer programs that can search for keywords in résumés and narrow
down the number of résumés that must be looked at and reviewed.

3. Interviewing. After the HR manager and/or manager have determined which applications
meet the minimum criteria, he or she must select those people to be interviewed. Most
people do not have time to review twenty or thirty candidates, so the field is sometimes
narrowed even further with a phone interview.

4. Test administration. Any number of tests may be administered before a hiring decision is
made. These include drug tests, physical tests, personality tests, and cognitive tests. Some
organizations also perform reference checks, credit report checks, and background checks.
Once the field of candidates has been narrowed down, tests can be administered.

5. Making the offer. The last step in the selection process is to offer a position to the chosen
candidate. Development of an offer via e-mail or letter is sometimes a more formal part of
this process. Compensation and benefits will be defined in an offer.

❖ What do you understand by placement and orientation?

Placement consists in matching what the supervisor has reason to think the new employee can
do with what the job demands (job requirements), imposes (in strain, working conditions, etc.),
and offers (in the form of pay rate, interest, companionship with other, promotional possibilities,
etc.)” They further state that it is not easy to match all these factors for a new worker who is still
in many ways an unknown quantity. For this reason, the first placement usually carries with it the
status of probationer.

Orientation is a process through which a new employee is introduced to the organisation. It is the
process wherein an employee is made to feel comfortable and at home in the organisation. The
new employee is handed over a rulebook, company booklets, policy manuals, progress reports and
documents containing company information which are informational in nature. It is responsibility
of the human resource department to execute the orientation programme.