Question 1

Human Resource Management as a modern connotation was recently adopted from the

1980s onwards. In ancient times when artisans and craftsmen produced goods and sold them in

the market, there was no need for employer-employee or master-servant relationship, which has

become very rampart in today’s workplace environment. They managed their affairs themselves

and with the help of the family members. However, wealthy craftsmen employed apprentices and

certain categories of hired laborers. The master craftsmen and the apprentices at the time had

very close relationship, which enabled them to manage the problems facing the apprentices and

their family members.

The 19th century industrial revolution brought about the notion of applying effective

utilization of labor force in industrial organizations. There have since then been organized

practices that deal with the management of people, which initially was labor force and

subsequently included managerial personnel. Over the past 50 years, human resource has gained

more recognition as the workforce considered to be an important resource needed by an

organization to gain a competitive advantage. It is also helpful in utilizing the resources of an

organization for the realization of the organizational optimum goals. In 1990, the liberalization

of government policies of different countries brought about the floating of human resources from

one country to another, and this led to the diversification of workforce. Employees migration

from different countries brought about cross culture in the workplace environment, so that the

HRM has to play a major role in coordinating the workforce comprising people of different

culture in an organization.

Question 2
 1. Human Resources Managers are responsible for managing teams of recruiters and human

resources specialists. They develop strategic solutions to meet workforce demands and

labor force trends. They also make decisions related to corporate branding as it relates

to recruiting and retaining talented employees.

2. HR managers oversee employment processes such as hiring and firing of employees.

They develop strategies for employee retention, or for maintaining the current staffing

levels. HR Managers develop incentive programs for employees by providing them

with cross-training so they can become certified in different specialties to become more

valuable to the organization.

3. Human Resources Managers are responsible for connecting managers with employees.

They preserve the employer-employee relationship through effective employee relations

strategies. They create specific steps for ensuring the overall well-being of employees,

which includes ensuring that employees have a safe working environment, free from

discrimination and harassment.

4. Human Resources Managers are responsible for the management of budget and payroll.

They provide guidance and direction to compensation and benefits specialists. They

develop strategic compensation plans that align performance management systems with

compensation structure and monitor negotiations for group health care benefits.

5. Human Resources Managers monitor compliance of employment practices, and they

oversee training and development of employees. They conduct periodic needs

assessments to determine when training is necessary, and the type of training necessary

to improve performance and productivity.

Question 3
 A company’s vision statement defines the desired future the company foresees while a

mission statement clearly defines the company’s business and objectives, while defining the

measured approaches undertaken by the company to achieve those objectives. An organization

may combine the elements of its vision and mission statements to formulate its goals, values and

objectives. Vision and mission statements work internally to guide management’s decisions on

issues of strategic importance; define standards of performance and inspire productivity, and

help formulate a blueprint for good ethics in the workplace environment. It also works to attract

external support by creating a better communication channel with customers while serving as a

very important tool for public relations.

Question 4

Equal Employment Opportunity, is an act that was started in 1972. This act allowed

the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the authority to sue in federal courts

when it had reasonable cause that an employer, or employee had been discriminated against

based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and family

status. The EEOC will investigate any claim of discrimination, and if a case is found, they have

the power to file a civil discrimination lawsuit against employers on behalf of the victim or

victims.

Affirmative Action, is a plan that will define the employer’s standards for recruitment,

hiring, promotion, removal, layoff and recall for women, minorities, veterans and the disabled.

The policies and plans have numerical measures that try to increase the number of minorities.

According SHRM “Federal contractors above certain dollar limits are required to institute AAPs,

and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is charged with enforcing contractor
affirmative action mandates.” Companies must create EEO’s and make sure that all of

management knows about nondiscrimination practices.

Diversity, according to the Business Dictionary means “Feature of a mixed workforce

that provides a wide range of abilities, experience, knowledge, and strengths due to its

heterogeneity in age, background, ethnicity, physical abilities, political and religious beliefs, sex

and other attributes.” However, there are diversity initiatives placed by companies. These

initiatives are to measure the acceptance of minorities and embrace workplace cultural

differences. According to SHRM “The value of diversity is achieved through awareness,

education and positive recognition of cultural differences within the workplace.” Diversity is a

conscious practice that requires the understanding and appreciation of other cultures and

development. It’s a mutual respect for qualities that are different from our own. Having a rich

diversity in the workplace can help create alliances in the workplace that can help eliminate

discrimination. Equal Employment Opportunity, affirmative action, and diversity have their

differences, they are however, similar in a way. All three are trying to eliminate discrimination

against minorities by helping to protect and increase the diversity of minorities, women,

disabled, and veterans in the workplace environment.

Question 5

Job analysis is the process of collecting and recording data like knowledge of the job and

the skills that are need for the performance of the duties and responsibilities that the job entails,

the educational qualifications and the experience required plus the physical, mental and

emotional requirements to effectively function on the job. The purpose of conducting a job

analysis by a firm is to ensure the competences of a job, establish the legality of assessment and
selection processes and decisions. It also establishes the basis for relatedness of job for specific

tasks and the determination of relative worth. The methods of accomplishing a job analysis

include proving the relevance of specific roles in an organization, benchmarking or grouping

positions of similar characteristics for analysis, identifying data sources or inputs to be used for

analysis, draft and finalize the job description.

Question 6

Internal recruitment occurs when a firm or an organization seeks to fill a vacancy from

within its current workforce while external recruitment occurs when an organization seeks to fill

vacancies from applications outside of the organization. Both recruitment processes can occur or

can be used at the same time since they are not mutually exclusive

Advantages of Internal Recruitment

The advantages of internal recruitment process include that its cost-effective and faster. It

leverages the staff already present in the company. It strengthens and promotes loyalty and sense

of belonging while reducing employee turnover.

Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

The disadvantages of internal recruitment process include that it reduces the change of

innovations and new ideas capable of surpassing the company’s missions. It is capable of

creating a hole that might be difficult to fill in the company’s workforce.

Advantages of External Recruitment

It encourages new ideas and innovations because a new recruit is expected to bring new ideas

into the firm. It is capable of creating a much needed growth by shaking up the business. It
encourages recruitment of people with new ideas and skills. It would discourage stagnancy in the

business as new recruits will constantly put older workforce on their toes.

Disadvantages of External Recruitment

The company is at a greater risk filling a vacant position externally because new recruits have a

very limited understanding of the company’s culture. Internal disputes can arise if it is

discovered that the new recruit is not worth the position and if current employees feel they are

more qualified and suited for the position.

Question 7

Some of the major types of fit that companies should look for in the selection process include:

1. Education – This provides the individual with the necessary knowledge that is required to

handle their work requirements without any kind of misunderstandings.

2. Experience – This helps workers and makes it easy for them to perform the job since it is

something they have done before. Having done a task before means that when one does it

again they will do it to it better and avoid mistakes that were made in the first attempts.

3. Skills and Abilities – Certain skills help individuals to relate their own characteristics to

the environment and the decisions they face, while other skills are needed to successfully

implement choices, to evaluate progress, and to adjust direction. For example, analyzing

the situations, the programs and the problems.

4. Personal characteristics – Personal characteristics such as an employee being disciplined,

dependable and responsible means that a company is able to rely on that employee to

perform their work with minimal supervision and will provide maximum efficiency.
 5. Criminal records checks – This will ensure that the employees the company is hiring are

not criminals and that they do not pose a danger to the business in any way.

Question 8

A career is a lifelong job or profession, which we are interested in, skilled in and knowledgeable

about that forms a key part of human identity as our lives unfold. The stages include:

1. Growing – this is a type when an individual start to create a picture and have a sense

about what profession they want to undertake in the future.

2. Exploring – this is a time when we have specific interests and aptitudes. This is the time

when an individual shows a preference for some subjects more than the others.

3. Establishing – this is a time when individuals explore job opportunities and enters career

paths and fields they consider suitable for them.

4. Maintaining – this is a time an individual takes stock of his achievements in his chosen

career.

Question 9

An ideal performance appraisal is composed of six basic forms and methods namely;

1. The process of conducting the appraisal must be clear and known to all the employees

and managers. This ensures the process is transparent and fair to all the parties involved.

2. The appraisal method must always be objective, where there should be no form of bias

regardless of the level of the employee.

 3. All the contents of the performance appraisal must never be a surprise to the employee

being evaluated. The employee should have some basic understanding of the contents of

the appraisal since it should be a review of performance.

4. The appraisal must be a tool for the development of the employees. After conducting the

appraisals, the employees should be in a position to improve their services. The appraisal

should not only criticize, but also help improve the performance.

5. The appraisal must also have room for feedback from employees. The feedback helps

make the process better and more efficient.

6. The appraisal must also contain an action plan. The results of the appraisal should not

only be filed but, instead, there should be a clear plan that would result in quick

implementation of the necessary changes for better performance.

Question 10

Sometimes the managers would give negative performance appraisal results based on the

employee's age, gender sex or race. Sometimes the evaluators would end up giving feedback that

would see the employees treated unequally. Performance appraisal does not allow room for

employee representation and, that implies that the legal requirement of proper interest

representation of employees is biased, leading to unfair treatment. Labor laws and regulations

strive to ensure that all employees are given equal opportunities but, if some are treated better

due to superior performance, then that would be a form of discrimination.