Elective-Human Resource MGT

First Printing in 2008 by Agol Ghana Ltd, Accra
Second printing in 2011 by Hampton Press Ltd, Cape Coast

Third printing in 2012 by Paramount Works, Accra
Fourth printing in 2014 by Paramount Works, Accra
Printed in 2017 by Bosompem Business Ventures, Accra
Printed in 2018 by Akoyab Multimedia
© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

(CoDEUCC), 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018
ISBN 978-9988-8464-0-4
CoDE PUBLICATIONS 2018
REVISED, 2016
All right reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted by any form or means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or
otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
Cover page illustrated by R. Y. Essiam

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Driven by the desire to deliver quality, cost-effective tertiary education to clients, it

is necessary to appreciate all colleagues and staff of the College of Distance
Education (CoDEUCC) who have contributed in attaining this objective. The
revision of this module has been made possible through the support and commitment
of several people whose contribution in diverse ways is making CoDEUCC attain its
mission in the history of distance education in Ghana.
First, I acknowledge the hard work of the authors of the reviewed modules. The
purpose of the review was to bring to bear new knowledge and trends in the subject
content. I therefore appreciate the work of the reviewers of this module for making
the content of this module indispensable in attaining success for all clients. Thus,
much thanks go to the following Mr. Joseph C. Sefenu and Mr. J. K. Nyan
for their painstaking effort.
I also acknowledge the support of the Co-ordinator and staff of the Reprographic,
Productions and Dispatch Unit, CoDE, who worked hard to bring this material into
print. The support of the Advisory Committee, particularly Heads of Department
and Chief Examiners has also been invaluable.
I thank the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, all UCC Management
and the various printing houses without whose support this module would not have
been produced.
Special thanks go to Mrs. Cecilia Nkrumah, Mr Francis Eshun, Miss Abigail B.

Osafo and Mrs. Christina Hesse for typesetting into the house style of CoDE.
Prof. Isaac Galyuon

(Provost)
vii
ABOUT THIS BOOK
This Course Book ‘Human Resource Management’ has been exclusively written
by experts in the discipline to up-date your general knowledge in human resource
issues in order to equip you with the basic tools you will require for your training.
This course book of thirty-six (36) sessions has been structured to reflect the weekly
three-hour lecture for this course in the University. Thus, each session is equivalent
to a one-hour lecture on campus. As a distance learner however, you are expected to
spend a minimum of three hours and a maximum of five hours on each session.
To help you do this effectively, a Study Guide has been particularly designed to
show you how this book can be used. In this Study Guide, your weekly schedules
are clearly spelt out as well as dates for quizzes, assignments and examinations.
Also included in this book is a list of all symbols and their meanings. They are meant
to draw your attention to vital issues of concern and activities you are expected to
perform.
Blank sheets have been also inserted for your comments on topics that you may find
difficult. Remember to bring these to the attention of your Course Tutor during your
face-to-face meetings.
We wish you a happy and successful study.
Joseph. C. Sefenu
John. K. Nyan
CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce /Management S tudies i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
About this Module … … … … … … … ii
Acknowledgements … … … … … … iii
Symbols and Their Meaning … … … … … iv
Table of Contents … … … … … … v
UNIT 1: NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)1

Session 1: Human Resource Management at Work ... ... ... 3
1.1 Functions of Management ... ... ... ... 3
Session 2: The Concept of Human Resource ... … … … 7
2.1 Meaning of Human Resource … … … … 7
2.2 Managing Human Resource … … … … 8
2.3 Relationship between Human Resource and Material
Resource … … … … … … 10
Session 3: Need for Human Resource Management … … … 13
3.1 Functions of Human Resource Managers … … 13
3.2 Consequences of Poor Human Resource Management in
Organizations .... … … … … … 14
Session 4: Human Resource Policy … … … … … 17
4.1 Explanation of Human Resource Policy … … 17
4.2 Types of Human Resource Policy … … … 19
4.3 Importance of Human Resource Policy … ... 18
Session 5: Legal Environment of the Human Resource Manager … 21
5.1 Legal Requirements … … … … … 21
Session 6: Challenges of Human Resource Management … … 25
6.1 Internal Challenges … … … … … 25
6.2 External Changes ... ... ... ... ... 26
6.3 Handling Challenges of Human Resource
Management ... ... ... ... ... ... 27
UNIT 2: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND

RECRUITMENT ... ... ... ... ... ... 29
Session 1: Human Resource Planning ... ... ... ... ... 31

1.1 Definition of Human Resource Planning … … 31
1.2 Importance of Human Resource Planning … … … 31
1.3 Steps in Human Resource Planning … … … 31
Session 2: Discrimination in Employment ..... .... …. ... 33
2.1 Meaning of Discrimination … … … … 33
2.2 Objective vrs. Subjective Discrimination … … 33
2.3 Forms of Discrimination …… … … 34
Session 3: General Conditions of Employment in Ghana 39
3.1 Employment of Persons with Disability… … … 39
3.2 Employment of Women … … … … 40
CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
3.3 Employment of Young Persons 41

3.4 Forced Labour 41
Session 4: Recruitment of Job Applicants ... ... ... ... 45
4.1 Meaning of Recruitment … … … … 45
4.2 Job Analysis … … … … … … 46
4.3 Job Description … … … … … 46
4.4 Job Specification … … … … … 47
4.5 Uses of Job Analysis Information … … … 48
Session 5: External Sources of Recruitment … … … 51
5.1 Meaning of External Sources of Recruitment ... … 51
5.2 Direct Advertisement … … … … … 51
5.3 Employment Agencies (Public and Private) …. …. 52
5.4 Executive Recruiters … … … … … 52
5.5 Educational Institutions/Professional Organizations … 53
Session 6: Internal Sources of Recruitment ... ... ... ... 55
6.1 Meaning of Internal Sources of Recruitment … … 55
6.2 Employee Referrals and Walk-ins … … … 56
6.3 Hiring Employees the Second Time … … … 56
6.4 Notice Boards, Newsletters/Bulletins and Company Gates 56
6.5 Striking a Balance … … … … … 56
UNIT 3: EMPLOYEE SELECTION ... ... ... ... ... 59
Session 1: Meaning and Purpose of Employee Selection ... ... 61

1.1 Meaning of Employee Selection ... ... ... 61
1.2 Why Careful Selection is Important … … … 61
1.3 Application Letters as a Selection Device … … 62
1.4 Uses of Completed Application Forms/Blanks … 64
Session 2: References and Medical Checks … … … … 67
2.1 References as a Selection Device … … … 67
2.2 Medical Checks … … … … … 68
Session 3: Selection Tests ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 71
3.1 Meaning of Selection Tests … … … … 71
3.2 Types of Test … … … … … 71
3.3 Limitations of Selection Tests… … … … 71
Session 4: Selection Interviews ... ... ... ... ... ... 75
4.1 Meaning of Selection Interview … … … 75
4.2 Types of Selection Interview … … … 76
Session 5: Administering Selection Interviews … … … … 79
5.1 Forms of Interview Administration … … … 79
5.2 Administrative Arrangement for Interviews … … 79
5.3 Common Problems with Interviews … … … 81
Session 6: Completing the Selection Process … … … 83
6.1 Making the Selection Decision … … … 83
6.2 Communicating with Successful Applicants … … 83
6.3 Handling Unsuccessful Applicants … … … 84
iii CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 4: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND EMPLOYEE

PLACEMENT ... ... ... ... ... ... 89
Session 1: Getting the new employee started ... ... ... ... 91
1.1 Induction/Orientation … … … 91
1.2 Probation … … … 92
1.3 Confirmation … … … 92
Session 2: Employee Performance Appraisal … … … 93
2.1 What is Performance Appraisal? … … … 93
2.2 Methods of Appraisal … … … … … 94
2.3 Benefits of Appraisal … … … … 94
Session 3: Challenges of Employee Appraisal ... ... ... 97
3.1 Administrative Challenges … … … … 97
3.2 Assessment Challenges … … … … 97
3.3 Implementation Challenges … … … … 97
3.4 Dealing with Appraisal Challenges … … … 97
Session 4: Employee Placement (Movement on the Job - 1)...... ... 99
4.1 Meaning of Employee Placement … … … 99
4.2 Forms of Movement on the Job … … … 99
a) Promotion
b) Upgrading
c) Transfers
d) Promotion with Transfer
Session 5: Employee Placement (Movement on the Job – 2) ... ... 101
a) Demotion
b) Relieving Duties
c) Reposting
d) Re-appointment of Existing employees
Session 6: Temporary and Permanent Separations... ... ... ... 105
6.1 Meaning of Separations … … … … 105
6.2 Interdiction … … … … 105
6.3 Reinstatement … … … … 106
6.4 Termination … … … 106
6.5 Resignation ….. …. ….. … 107
6.6 Dismissal …. … …. … .. 107
UNIT 5: EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT … 109

Session 1: Difference between ‘Training’ and ‘Development of Employees 91
1.1 Training … … … … … … 91
1.2 Employee Development … … … … 92
1.3 Key Differences between Training and Development 92
Session 2: Training and Development Process … … … 93
2.1 Needs Analysis … … … … … 93
2.2 Instructional Design … … … … 94
2.3 Validation of Design … … … … 94
2.4 Design Implementation … … … … 94
2.5 Evaluation and Follow-up … … … … 95
CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Session 3: Training Techniques (I) ... ... ... ... 97

3.1 Meaning of On-the-Job Training … … 97
3.2 On-the-Job Training Techniques … … … 97
Session 4: Training Techniques (2) ... ... ... ... ... 99
4.1 Meaning of Off-the-Job Training… … … … 99
4.2 Off-the-Job Training Techniques … … … 99
Session 5: Management Development Techniques ... ... ... 101
5:1 Objectives of Management Development … … 101
5.2 Management Development Programmes … … 102
Session 6: Career Management ... ... ... ... ... ... 105
6.1 Meaning of Career Management … … … 105
6.2 Career Planning … … … … … 105
6.3 Management Succession … … … … 106
UNIT 6 EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND RETIREMENT ... 135

Session 1: Concepts of Employee Compensation ... ... ... 137
1.1 Meaning of Employee Compensation .. … … 137
1.2 Planning Employee Compensation … … … 137
1.3 Pay Structure … … … … 137
1.4 Approaches to Devising a Pay Structure … … 138
Session 2: Employee Pay Systems … … … … … 141
2.1 Meaning of a Pay System … … … … 141
2.2 Wage as a Pay System … … … … 141
2.3 Salary as a Pay System … … … … 142
2.4 Fixed Incremental System … … … … 142
2.5 Variable Incremental System … … … … 142
Session 3: Managing Employee Benefits ... ... ... ... 143
3.1 Employee Benefits Package … … … … 143
3.2 Devising a Benefits Package … … … … 143
3.3 Direct Financial Benefits … … … … 143
Session 4: Service Benefits Package ... ... ... ... ... 147
4.1 Meaning of Service Benefits Package … … 147
4.2 Forms of Service Benefits Package … … … 149
4.3 Advantages of Effective Compensation Management 149
Session 5: Health and Safety at Work … … … … … 151
5:1 Meaning of Safety and Health at Work … … 151
5.2 The Need for Safety and Health at Work … … 151
Session 6: Employee Retirement… … … … … … 155
6.1 Meaning and Forms of Retirement … … … 155
6.2 Preparing for Retirement … … … … 156
6.3 Pension/Retirement Benefits … … … 156
6.4 Retirement Phases … … … … … 156
… … … … … …
v CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UNIT 1
UNIT 1: NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UNIT OUTLINE
Session 1: Human Resource Management at Work
Session 2: The Concept of Human Resource Management
Session 3: Need for Human Resource Management
Session 4: Human Resource Policy
Session 5: Legal Environment of the Human Resource Manager
Session 6: Challenges of Human Resource Management
Welcome to the study and practice of Human Resource

Management. Every human institution or organization such as
schools, banks, hospitals, among others, work through various categories of employees
properly referred to as human resource. We note with much pleasure that most of you
are already employees in one institution/organization or the other. Please keep it up!
This module has been designed to introduce you to the study of Human Resource
Management using a step-by-step approach. For now, let us agree that Human Resource
Management is a sustained management effort aimed at getting a required caliber of
employees to work for an organization at minimum cost. What constitutes human
resource and how such a resource can be harnessed for organizational progress are the
knowledge and skills you should be equipped with by the time you complete your study
of this module.
Objectives
By the end of this Unit you should be able to:
1. Explain the concept of human resource
2. List some examples of human resource
3. Identify and explain some of the tasks or functions of human resource
managers
4. Explain the concept of human resource policy
5. Describe the legal environment of the human resource manager
6. Explain some challenges of human resource management
CoDEUCC/ Di pl oma in Commerce/ Management Studies 27

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT WORK
UNIT 1
This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

• issues that are not clear; and
• difficult topics, if any.
28 CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE UNIT 1
MANAGEMENT SESSION 1
SESSION 1: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT WORK
You are welcome to Session 1, the beginning of your academic

exploration of the field of Human Resource Management. In this
session, we shall take a look at Human Resource Management as an aspect of
Management Studies in general. Specifically, we shall pay attention to what Human
Resource Management entails and how organizations can achieve their objectives
through effective use of human resource.
Objectives
By the end of this session, you should be able to:
(a) List the general functions of management;
(b) Explain what staffing in organizations entails;
(c) Identify the link between staffing and Human Resource Management; and
(d) Describe the management process for any business organization of your
choice.
Now read on …
1.1 Functions of Management

Most management experts agree that there are five basic functions, which all managers
perform. These are planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. In total,
these functions represent the management process and are often referred to as the
traditional functions of management. Some specific activities involved in each of the
functions are as follows:
i. Planning- Establishing goals and standards, developing rules
and procedures, developing plans and forecasting, predicting or projecting
some future occurrences.
ii. Organizing - Establishing departments and providing necessary structures,
equipment and other physical factors of production, establishing
channels of authority and work coordination.
iii. Staffing - Deciding what type of people should be hired, recruiting the requisite
number of prospective employees, giving each employee a specific task,
evaluating employee performance, training and developing employees.
iv. Leading - Getting employees to accomplish specific tasks, coordinating
individual efforts, motivating employees and maintaining morale.
vi. Controlling - Setting standards of performance such as sales quotas, quality
standards or production levels, checking to see how actual performance
compares with these standards; taking corrective action as needed.
CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies 3

UNIT 1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT WORK
SESSION 1
From these functions, you can deduce that the management process aims at establishing
a framework, which managers must go through for successful accomplishment of their
organizational objectives. For instance, if a manager decides to establish a good school,
he could go through these five functions or management processes to achieve his aim.
1.1.1 Planning as a Management Function

Planning for the school could include the following activities:
i. Deciding what level of school to establish; should it be a crèche, a kindergarten
or a primary school?
ii. Deciding on where the most appropriate site for the school. Should it be in a
countryside or a city? If in a city, which part of the city?
iii. How does he get the capital or funds to start work?
By the time the manager goes through these questions and gets answers, his planning
process or management function should have been in good shape.
Nonetheless, you need to note that whatever plans he puts down at this stage are not
static. He is at liberty to revise same as he moves along.
1.1.2 Organizing as a Management Function

The next function of organizing could entail the following activities.
i. Obtaining necessary approval from the Ghana Education Service or
Municipal/District Authority and others.
ii. Constructing physical school structures or buildings and dividing same into
departments or sections such as classrooms, offices, toilet facilities, play
grounds and food joints.
iii. Providing appropriate furniture and other school infrastructure.
1.1.3 Staffing as a Function in Management

The third function is staffing. This stage is of much importance to the manager and he
needs to accomplish it properly because whatever the manager does to make his
potential school succeed will depend on the people he hires. His efforts at staffing could
involve the following activities.
i. Deciding on what type of teachers to hire, which would also depend on
what type of school he is establishing and what subjects are to be taught.
ii. Determining what support staff to hire for instance, office staff,
labourers to keep the environment in order, security personnel and any
others according to his plans.

iii. The manager would also determine how much to pay the staff in order to make
them happy to stay in the school, how to give them future training if the need
arises and how to measure the work that the staff do by way of staff appraisal.
1.1.4 Leading as a Function in Management

Having got the requisite staff, the manager now has to lead them to accomplish specific
tasks. This stage constitutes the fourth function and entails:
i Delegating authority to subordinates and receiving feedback.

ii. Coordinating the work of individual staff members, encouraging team spirit, and
making employees have a sense of belongingness to the school.
1.1.5 Controlling as a Function in Management

The last function, which is controlling helps the manager to check on his own
performance. This process enables the manager to sit back and look at what has been done
so far about his plan to establish a school. He could ask himself the following questions.
i. Have I established the school I planned initially?

ii. Have I got the appropriate school infrastructure I determined to have
initially?
iii. Have I been able to assemble the right caliber and number of teachers and support
staff intended?
iv. Are the staff members happy?
v. Do I have the number and caliber of pupils as planned?
vi. Are the academic results of my school what I dreamt of initially?
Dear friend, you may have realized by this time that the five stages we
discussed as management functions, depend on each other or better still, lead,
one to the other and the cycle continues. A manager is therefore able to
accomplish his functions appreciably well by going through the processes cautiously till
his set plans come into fruition at a given time.
Self-Assessment Questions
Exercise 1.1
1. State the five functions managers perform generally.
2. Explain briefly what each of the five functions entails.

UNIT 1 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT WORK
SESSION 1


SESSION 2: THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
Welcome to Session 2, which promises to be very revealing because it

touches on the core of this course – Human Resource management. We
shall take a look at the concept of human resource and what it means to manage human
resource. We will then proceed to see the relationship between human resource and
other factors of production or material resources.
Objectives
(a) Describe what constitutes human resource;
(b) List some examples of human resource;
(c) Explain what it means to manage human resource;
(d) Explain why it is important to manage human resource.
(e) Differentiate human resource from material resources.
Now read on…
2.1 Meaning of Human Resource

We have discussed the staffing process in organizations, but the reality is that no
manager is just interested in organizing a workforce, which cannot produce anything.
We hope that you agree with this statement. Well if you do not, try and identify any
prudent manager who just gathers people and pays them regularly for no work done.
You might not find any.
The focus is that if a manager hires a worker, it should be for the simple reason that such
a worker is capable of contributing something productive for the manager’s business to
progress.
The quality in any particular worker that makes him desirable by an employer/manager
is what is called a resource. Such a resource is described or qualified as “human”
because it resides in, or is found in the human being. This is one way a human resource
is different from robots or other material resource.
What constitute human resource include knowledge, skills, talents and emotions inherent
in any human being. Human resource involves all of these attributes or any of them in
any given proportion as may be exhibited any human being. Otherwise stated, human
resource is any productive attribute a worker possesses in his head, hand and heart as
well as other parts of the body.

UNIT 1 THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE
SESSION 2
My good friend let us pause now and take a few practical examples of human resource.
i Knowledge refers to that which is known; information, instruction,
enlightenment or assured belief and experiences upon which one is able to
act. Examples include knowledge of a given discipline such as human
resource management or knowledge of a language.
ii. Skills in this context mean any craft or accomplishment, expertise, aptitudes
and competences appropriate for a particular job. For instance, ability to play
football or marksmanship.
iii. Talents include any natural or special gift, a special aptitude which one is
able to exhibit without any extraordinary effort. These are normally in-born
unlike skills, which are acquired.
iv. Emotions refer to feelings and any of the various phenomena of the mind
such as anger, joy, fear, sorrow patience, tolerance which are also associated
with physical symptoms.
You may now consider what degrees of the above attributes you possess and how you can
improve these resources for the benefit of yourself and your organization.
2.2 Managing Human Resource

It has been explained already that having a certain number and caliber of workforce is one
thing whilst getting the workforce to work in a given direction is another. The task of
directing the workforce for a given purpose is what is generally termed as managing human
resource. As in the case of applying the functions of management to establish a school
which we saw earlier in this Unit, managing human resource equally involves planning
human resource, organizing human resource, directing or leading human resource and
controlling human resource. These aspects are discussed in brief below:
i. Planning implies, estimating appropriate number and caliber of human resource
required for any establishment either for the moment or future. Those who
constitute any organization’s workforce should be carefully planned and not left
to chance. The details of this activity are discussed in Unit 2.
ii. Organizing human resource means assembling or bringing together the number
and caliber of workforce as seen in (i) above. In effect, organizing human
resource is better described as recruiting, selecting and placing an organization’s
workforce. Parts of Units 2 and 4 would consider this aspect in detail.
iii. Directing or leading a workforce implies determining what tasks are to be
performed by a worker or team of workers. Assigning tasks could be done
directly from a manager to a worker or through a supervisor or any other
intermediary. Where the manager assigns a task directly to a worker or through a
supervisor, the manager is said to be delegating authority. The manager’s job
does not end there.
8 CoDEUCC/Di ploma in Commerce/Management Studies

Once he has delegated authority, he should devise a means of ensuring that whatever
work is done, is done as expected. This expectation of the manager takes us to the next
stage of managing human resource.
4. Controlling human resource. The concept of controlling human resource is often

misconstrued to mean suppressing and punishing workers indiscriminately. It is quite
far from these. What controlling human resource or a worker means includes:
i. Identifying the task already assigned the worker as seen above.
ii. Finding out the extent to which the worker has been able to accomplish the given
task.
iii. Whether there are any difference (s) between what he has accomplished and what
he was expected to accomplish.
iv. If there are any differences between (i) and (ii) above, the manager should find out
the cause (s) for such differences. Let us note here that in practice, the manager
should not always expect the differences because it is sometimes possible for a
worker to accomplish a task just as it was expected of him. The manager should
therefore reward the worker in such a case and such reward could take any form;
from verbal to concrete rewards. We should also note that a worker who
accomplishes tasks as expected without or with very little deviations over a
reasonable period of time is ready to assume higher responsibility and such
opportunity should be provided for him in order to retain his interest or good
working spirit in the organisaton.
v. In a situation where the manager discovers any difference and is able to detect the
cause(s) of such difference(s) the next stage in the control process is to find
solutions to cause(s) of the difference(s). Finding solutions to such challenges could
be done by the manager alone or in consultation with the management team.
vi. Probably, the last stage of the control process is to use whatever solutions that
were found to challenges discovered under (v) above, to redesign jobs or tasks for
workers. For example, if a manger discovers that his secretary was unable to
complete a certain volume of work by the deadline and this was because his
secretary was using a faculty machine, and a new one could have helped to
accomplish the task, the manager would have to take one of the following decisions
for a similar task in future:
a) Reducing the secretary’s volume of work to cope with the faculty machine
or
b) Procuring a new one to enable the secretary accomplish the same volume of
work by the due time.
If the manager takes any one of the two decisions above, he helps his secretary to
move nearer expected job performance in the future. How do you see that? What
alternative measures could the manger have taken in such a situation? Just assume
that your secretary was in such a situation. What would you have done?

UNIT 1 THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE
SESSION 2
2.3 Relationship between Human Resource and Material Resource

Most economists agree on two major factors of production namely; Land and Capital.
Others expand capital to include Labour or Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship
embodies the human resource element as a factor of production. This human resource
element has to be distinguished from the other inactive factors of production such as
land, machines, equipment and tools. The human resource examples which we earlier
described as knowledge, skills, talents and emotions inherent in any worker, constitute
the active factor of production generally referred to as labour. In fact all other factors of
production would continue to lie idle and remain unproductive until human resource is
available to turn these other factors around. Human Resource is the active factor around
which the other inactive factors revolve.
Exercise 1.2
1. Describe what constitutes human resource in your own words.

2. List any three (3) examples of human resource.
3. How is human resource different from other factors of production?
4. Why is it important to manage human resource?
5 Identify your outstanding human resource and describe how you have used
this to the benefit of yourself or community.
How have you fared? I hope you were able to answer all the questions correctly.
If yes, well done and keep is up! If however you have difficulty, contact your
study group members or course tutor.

SESSION 3: NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
Welcome to this session. We hope you are finding the course more
practical and interesting. In session 2, we discussed what it means to
manage human resource. In this session we shall concentrate on why it is important to
manage human resource at all. We shall also take a look at what managers stand to lose
if they do not manage human resource properly.
Objectives
(a) Explain why human resource management is important for managers;
(b) Identify and explain some of the tasks or functions of human resource managers;
and
(c) List some of the consequences of poor human resource management.
Now read on …
3.1 Functions of Human Resource Managers

Most Human Resource Managers perform all or some of the following functions in
order to keep a desired level of workforce. These functions are an expanded version of
what we discussed under Managing Human Resource in session 2 of this Unit.
i. Planning human resource requirements or workforce levels. This implies
determining in advance the number and caliber of employees the manager
anticipates to have.
ii. Conducting Job Analyses which means determining the jobs to be performed
and the knowledge, skills and abilities, generally called academic or
professional qualification, required for each job.
iii. Recruiting Job Applicants, briefly described as looking round for qualified
job applicants who are ready to work if offered a chance.
iv. Selecting substantive employees. This means picking or choosing from
among the several job applicants recruited.
v. Inducting new employees. This implies getting new employees ready to start
work quite independently on a new job.
vi. Managing employee wages and salaries. Managing wages and salaries is a
major Human Resource function, which deals with direct financial rewards to
employees.
CoDEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 11

UNIT 1 NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SESSION 3
vii. Providing employee benefits and incentives. Apart from direct financial
rewards in the form of wages and salaries, employers also provide other
packages or indirect financial rewards to employees and these also constitute
a function of Human Resource Manager.
viii. Appraising employee performance. This means evaluating the performance
of workers. Whatever employees do has to be measured and this is done
through appraisal.
ix. Training and developing. Technology is changing fast and workers have to
change as well. This involves re-training of employees.
x. Building employee commitment. The commitment of employees should be
built and maintained and this is normally done through various strategies of
motivation.
Dear reader, you may have noticed by now that the Human Resource Manager
performs several functions. Can you think of any others?
3.2 Consequences of Poor Human Resource Management in

Organisations
This part of our discussion will centre on what organistions are likely to suffer if their
human resource is not properly managed. In the end you should realize how important
proper human resource management is, for organizations.
The following issues come up immediately when human management is poorly

handled.
3.2.1 Hiring the Wrong Person for a Job

Hiring the wrong person for a job implies the popular saying of putting a square peg in a
round hole. Assuming that your company needed an administrative secretary who
should be able to receive and show clients around and organize a small office and
somehow, the person who gets appointed for the job speaks and writes poorly and is
also not cheerful, such a person may not be a good administrative secretary. He/she
would be the wrong person for the job.
The reverse is also possible where you have a well qualified person who is given a
wrong job. Let us take for instance that the administrative secretary in question has all
the expected qualities of a secretary but is requested to do the work of an accounts clerk,
you can be sure that the employee would be unable to perform as expected because
he/she has been put on the wrong job.

3.2.2 High Employee Turnover

Given a certain number of workforce, employee turnover refers to the number of
existing employees who leave any establishment at any given time and have to be
replaced.The more employees leave an establishment and have to be replaced, the higher
the turnover is said to be. This situation is better appreciated if the rate of turnover is
calculated as would be seen at another level in this course. Poor human resource
management practices can result in employees leaving the service of any establishment
very frequently.
3.2.3 Poor Employee Performance

One of the human resource functions, we have seen is Performance Appraisal. This concept
means measuring the employee performance at specific intervals. Poor human resource
management practices can result in managers not having any means of measuring the
output of their employees. When this happens over a period of time, employees could
either be paid very well for little or no work done or paid less for more work done. Neither
of these situations is desirable. Employees must be given equal pay for work of equal
value.
3.2.4 Waste of Time with Useless Interviews

Most organizations depend heavily on interviews as a selection device. Conducting
selection interviews can be an expensive exercise and one can imagine the heavy cost
organizations can incur as a result of repeated selection interviews within any short period.
Interviewing job applicants frequently for a specific position normally arises in a situation
of high employee turnover as already seen or where the selection process itself is poor and
does not end up with the best choice of candidates.
3.2.5 Court Actions

Managers have often come face-to-face with the law because of poor human resource
management. A practical situation is where people with criminal records are hired because
their backgrounds were not properly investigated by the managers, leading to such
employees misconducting themselves and landing their employer in court.
Exercise 1.3
1 List three functions of Human Resource Managers.

……………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………….
2 Explain the functions you have listed in your own words.
3. What does it mean to hire the wrong person?
4. Explain one issue that can drive an employer to face court action.

UNIT 1 NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SESSION 3


NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
UNIT 1
SESSION 4: HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY
In this session we shall concentrate on the need for human resource

policy. In every home, parents set out dos and don’ts to ensure order in
the home. The same happens in organizations, large or small. In fact can you imagine
what will happen in a large organisation like the University of Cape Coast if there are no
rules. These rules which are followed in organizations are called policy or policies.
Types of policy and their general importance is what you will be going through in this
session.
Objectives
When you have finished studying this session, you should be able to:
(a) Explain what human resource policy is;
(b) Identify types of human resource policy;
(c) List the importance of human resource policy
Now read on …
4.1 Explanation of Human Resource Policy

Activities and programmes undertaken by individuals and organizations should be
regulated by guidelines. The general guidelines that regulate organizational actions are
termed policies (Mathis & Jackson, 1994). They indicate that policies are general in
nature, while procedures and rules are specific to the situation. The important role of
policies in guiding organizational decision-making requires that they be reviewed
regularly.
Policies spell out the acceptable behavior of employees by prescribing what employees
can and should do and what they cannot and should not do for the organisation.
Invariably, what employees can and should do is that which serves the interest of the
organisation in terms of accomplishment of its objectives, and with a policy in place, no
one can just do anything under the pretext of serving the organisation.
4.2 Types of Human Resource Policy

According to Armstrong (2006), there are different kinds of policy. Policies can be either
advisory or mandatory. Advisory policies give decision makers a degree of flexibility. They
promote innovation and self-initiative spirit of managers and employees. Mandatory
policies on the other hand, leave managers with no discretion. Mandatory policies are
restrictive and should be regarded as ‘rules’ rather than policies. Mandatory policies do not
promote the self-initiative skills in the organisation. Advisory policies on the other hand,
motivate managers and employees by making them explore improved decision-making for
the organisation.

UNIT 1
SESSION 4
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY
Policies may also be written and formal or unwritten and informal. Informal, unwritten
policies are usually associated with a strategic need for competitive secrecy. For example,
promotion from within is a policy which is widely known or expected by employees and
implicitly sanctioned by management. Both managers and employees often like the latitude
granted by unwritten and informal policies. However, such policies may detract from long-
term success of strategy.
4.3 The Importance of Human Resource Policy

The importance of policies to the management of organizations can be realized
by looking at the functions that policies perform. Pearce & Robinson (2009) have
identified the following as the key functions of policies:
1. Policies establish indirect control over independent action by clearly stating how
things are to be done now. By definition, policies in effect control decisions yet
empower employees to conduct activities without direct intervention by top
management.
2. Policies promote uniform handling of similar activities. This facilitates the
coordination of work tasks and helps reduce friction arising from favoritism,
discrimination and the disparate handling of common functions – something that
often hampers operating personnel.
3. Making references to HR policies would ensure that managers do the right thing
and do not bring embarrassment to themselves and their organizations.
To be very effective, HR policies should be in writing and should be communicated to

all employees. To ensure that every employee is conversant with HR policies, many
organizations especially the large firms and government agencies publish HR policy
manuals which should be revised from time to time.
Exercise 1.4
1. Mention and explain any two types of human resource policy.
2. What three benefits come with any good human resource policy?
These are very manageable questions and I hope you have been able to answer all with
little or no difficulty. How did you fare? Very well, I hope. Come with me now to
session 5.
16 CoDEUCC/ Di ploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 5: LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGER
In this session, we shall consider why it is important to provide a legal
framework to regulate employment. We shall also discuss examples of
such legal requirements.
Objectives
(a) List some reasons for regulating the employment process by law;
(b) Cite at least one law in support of equal employment opportunity; and
(c) Explain why employers should focus not only on profitability.
Now read on…
5.1 Legal Requirements

Governments throughout the world ensure that employers do not abuse the rights of job
seekers by determining all the rules, which must operate in the job market. The job
market is a pool of people who have acquired specific skills, talents and abilities and are
in search of employers.
A few reasons for regulating the process of hiring job seekers include:
i. Respect for the right of job seekers. Every person who is employable has the
right to be employed and should be respected for that.
ii. Every job seeker should be free to determine where he wants to work without
hindrance. This means job seekers should be free to choose a trade or
profession.
iii. Employers should also reserve the right to spell out lawful requirements or
expectation of job seekers and be allowed to go by such requirements.
iv. Job seekers, after they have been hired should work in a non-threatening
environment to ensure that these conditions and others to be identified are
met. Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) stipulates in Section 14 (e) as
follows:
“ An employer shall not in respect of any person seeking employment or
persons already in his employment discriminate against the person on grounds
of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, social or economic
status, disability or politics”.
This part of the law enjoins all employers to give job seekers equal opportunity to treat
all very fairly. To ensure that employees do not work in any threatening work
environment, the law further provides again in Section 14(a - d) as follows:

LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF HUMAN
UNIT 1
SESSION 5
RESOURCE MANAGER
“An employer shall not in respect of any person seeking employment, or of persons
already in his employment:
a. Require that person to form or join a trade union or to refrain from forming or
joining a trade union of his or her choice;
b. Require that person to participate or refrain from participating in the lawful
activities of a trade union;
c. Refuse to employ a person because of that person’s membership of a trade
union.
d. Promise the person any benefit or advantage for not participating in trade union
activities.”
From the above requirements by the law, it is very obvious that employers are under
obligation to provide a friendly work environment for their employees especially in trade
union matters.
We noted at the beginning of this Session that the practice of ensuring equality at the
workplace by law is an international provision. Let us now see another example of such a
law as it applies in the United States of America. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, (ratified in 1791) states, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of the law”.
The management of discrimination and equal opportunities in the employment

relationship is an extremely important subject for organisations and for society in
general. Organistaions are increasingly being asked to determine their business strategies
to ensure that their aims are not simply focused on profitability, but also include
important issues around managing the expectations of employees and society. Most
employees will spend considerable periods of their working life in the work environment
and are entitled to fairness of treatment, some consideration of their need for personal
fulfillment, and the provision of non-threatening work environment.
Exercise 1.5
1. State and explain two reasons for regulating the employment process.
2. List and explain four areas in which the Ghana Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651)
expects employers to treat job seekers fairly.
3. Should employers just be interested in the profit they can make out of their
businesses? If your answer is “Yes”, support it with at least one reason. If it is
“No”, also support it with one reason.
How have you faired? Discuss your answers with your peers before turning to the
answers at the end of the manual.
18 CoDEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 6: CHALLENGES OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
In this session, we shall take you through the challenges of Human

Resource Management. It is important to note that challenges are all
around us and it is so with business organizations and their functions.
Objectives
(a) Explain what a challenge of human resource management is.
(b) Identify issues of internal challenges.
(c) Explain briefly the concept of succession planning.
Now read on …
6.1 What Challenges of Human Resource Management Entail

Modern organizations exist in a turbulent environment filled with challenges over which
an organisation and its Human Resource department may have little control/influence.
These challenges shape the way the organisation operates and thus affects Human
Resource policies and practices. It must be noted that the challenges are not a one-time
event. Generally, managers and Human Resource professionals must deal with these
challenges proactively. We should now consider some of the challenges in detail.
6.2 Internal Challenges of Human Resource Management

Below are some internal challenges of human resource management.
1. Workforce Diversity
Knowledge about workforce diversity comes from personal observation and
from demography, that is, a statistical study of your workforce demographic
characteristics such as education level, race/ethnicity, age, sex, cultural and
attitudinal diversity, marital status. All these constitute challenges for the Human
Resource practitioner.
2. Unions/Associations
Trade Unions in particular can pose an actual challenge in unionized
organizations. Agitations for wage increases and improved conditions of
services never end in unionized organizations. Some trade associations can also
pose the same level of challenges to Managers and Human Resource
practitioners.
CoDEUCC Di ploma in Commerce/ Management Studies 19

UNIT 1
CHALLENGES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE
SESSION 6 MANAGEMENT
3. Internal Information Systems

Increasingly, the quality of human resource decisions depend on the quality of
information available, internally. Human resource practitioners must continually
obtain and refine the department’s information base. Answers to the following
questions for example are important
a. What are the duty schedules in the organisation?
b. What are the skills of each employee?
c. What are the organisation’s future human resource needs?
d. What are the current trends in employee compensation?
In all these, the human resource manager must obtain relevant, accurate and timely
information to be able to reach quality decisions while maintaining employee privacy
and confidentiality.
4. Professionalism/Certification and Salary Equivalences

Alongside the workforce diversity are the challenges of professionalism,
certification and wage equivalences. The human resource department has the
task of identifying the organisation’s professionals and their respective academic
and professional certificates to be able to determine the wage equivalences. This
exercise is normally tedious and can generate internal unrest, especially if the
wage structure is so distorted in favour of a particular group. Every professional
body is to maintain a credible entry requirement, a code of ethics and be
registered as such.
5. Succession Planning
Succession planning or continuity planning is the process human resource
planners use to convert information about current employees into decisions
about future internal job placements. By identifying successors to key jobs and
high potential employees, organizations are able to ensure a steady flow of
internal talents to fill important openings. Not only does succession planning
encourage ‘hiring from within’, and create an environment in which employees
have careers and not mere jobs, it helps identify human resource shortages and
skill deficiencies before openings occur. Institutional memory is also
maintained. Through special assignments, job rotation, training and other forms
of human resource development, candidates can be prepared to accept the
greater responsibilities of future job openings. The result for the organisation is
great continuity of operations and better qualified incumbents.
6. Organisational Culture and Politics

Each organisation has a unique culture. The organisational culture is the product of
all the organisation’s features: its employees, its core values or beliefs such as
quality service, product innovation, labour cost, corporate image, its successes, its
failures. An organisation’s culture reflects its past and shapes its future. Among its
employees are those who play by the rules as well as others who maneuver. Senior
personnel develop soft spots for some employees for several reasons, both personal
and job-related and the line is very thin. Effective human resource practitioners
should be able to identify and adjust proactively to the culture of the organisation
and strive to further the values to the oraganisation’s advantage.
6.3 External Challenges

1. Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Perhaps, the greatest impact on jobs since the industrial revolution is artificial
intelligence. Artificial intelligence gives a number of workers access to expert systems –
computerized systems that capture the knowledge and decision making
process/approaches of experts and thereby replace them. Money counting machines
(including coins counting) for example have replaced many bank workers. Several new
technologies have led to loss of job opportunities, reduction in workforce or the creation
of early retirements. These various forms of technology including robotics have affected
the field of human resource management. Note that robots are more likely to be used on
risk-prone jobs such as working with toxic chemicals and paints. Also, repetitive
assembly tasks are increasingly being reserved for robots which are much cheaper as
compared with traditional labour cost. Artificial intelligence will continue to be a
challenge to human resource professionals in the face of efforts to make robots lighter,
faster, stronger and more intelligent.
2. Competition
National and global competition put pressure on all organizations to be more productive.
Organizations must therefore make choices about how to scare off competitors or how to
make them weaker. Competition comes in different forms such as for capital acquisition,
specialized employees, market share and customer satisfaction, better pricing,
production methods, remuneration for employees, among others. Human resource
professionals will need to find more innovative ways to help line managers increase
productivity of employees to ward off competition.
3. Economic Challenges
Organizations should be able to adjust quickly to economic challenges that affect their
operations. When the economy expands for example, new employees and training
programmes are needed and voluntary separations by employees increase, pressure for
higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions also mount.
Overstaffing, bloated benefit programmes and higher wages become serious burdens
when the business cycle turns downwards. A recession creates a need to maintain a
competent workforce and reduce labour cost. Decisions to reduce hours, lay off workers

UNIT 1
or accept lower profit margins involve the advice of human resource experts who must
act cautiously in all these matters.
4. Government Challenges
Through the enactment and enforcement of laws, government has direct and immediate
impact on managers and human resource functions. Laws regulating employee-employer
relations challenge the method human resource departments use. Government involvement
in employment relationship is meant to achieve a social objective – usually the elimination
of practices that are considered contrary to public policy. The impact of these laws has
helped to elevate the importance of human resource decisions as the laws require
compliance and proactive efforts to minimize consequences such as lawsuits.
Dear reader, you may want to consider, the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), the Single Spine
Pay Policy, NHIS, New Pension Law and Social Security Contributions, utility tariffs, EEO,
rising fuel costs, Employee Safety and Health, all of which have direct external implications
for human resource practices.
6.4 Handling Challenges of the Human Resource Management

The following steps are recommended for dealing with human resource challenges:
1. Monitor the Environment

Human Resource practitioners must stay informed about likely changes/challenges
in their work environment by belonging to professional associations, attending
seminars, seeking providing further formal education and personal studies in
relevant areas.
2. Evaluate Impact of Changes/Challenges

As new information is obtained, human resource experts should ask, ‘what impact
will this information have on the organisation today or tomorrow?. Human resource
practitioners must diagnose the future meaning of today’s events.
3. Take Proactive Measures

Once challenges and their impact have been evaluated, human resource specialists
implement strategies that will help the organisation reach its goals.
4. Obtain and analyze feedback

The results of proactive Human Resource activities are then evaluated to see if
the desired outcomes are reached.

Exercise 1.6
1. Identify and explain two challenges of human resource management.
2. Explain the following terms:

a. Succession planning
b. Artificial intelligence.
3. Is it possible to predict an organisation’s performance? Explain your answer.

UNIT 1

• difficult topics if any.
• issues that are not clear;

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND
RECRUITMENT UNIT 2
UNIT 2: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND RECRUITMENT
Unit Outline
Session 1: Human Resource Planning
Session 2: Discrimination in Employment
Session 3: General Conditions of Employment in Ghana
Session 4: Recruitment of Job Applicants
Session 5: External Sources of Recruitment
Session 6: Internal Sources of Recruitment
Welcome to Unit 2. In Unit 1, we discovered that every organization

must be adequately equipped with the right caliber of human resource
whom we referred to as employees. In this Unit, we shall consider how
organizations determine their human resource requirements in advance. This process is
called Human Resource Planning. Though employers have the right to determine the
number and caliber of employees to hire, they are still required by law to provide an equal
playing field, which is better described as equalizing employment opportunity. Our
discussion on Human Resource Planning will be followed by consideration of an important
area in Human Resource Management called Recruitment.
Objectives
By the end of this Unit, you should be able to:
1. Describe what human resource planning is.
2. Explain the concept of discrimination as used in Human Resource Management.
3. List and explain the various forms of discrimination.
4. Discuss some areas of unfair discrimination in Ghana.
5. Describe the process of recruitment of job applicants.
6. Differentiate between external sources and internal sources of recruitment.

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNINGAND
UNIT 2 RECRUITMENT

• difficult topics if any

UNIT 2
RECRUITMENT SESSION 1
SESSION 1: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

In this session we shall concentrate on the need for organisations to
determine in advance, the appropriate number and caliber of workforce
to have at any particular time. Why this is done and how it should be done properly is of
particular importance. We hope you would enjoy the session.
Objectives
(a) Explain the concept of human resource planning;
(b) List and explain the reasons for planning human resource; and
(c) Trace the steps in human resource planning
Now read on …
1.1 Definition of Human Resource Planning

Before the management of any organisation plunges head long into recruitment and
selection of candidates, it is important to stop, think and plan ahead. What human
resource planning means is determining the future employee requirements of any
organisation. Because it is a plan, it must be carried out well before the actual time the
employees would be needed to start work. If the plan is not started in good time, the
results would be disappointing since the organisation’s expectations may not be met
adequately.
Employee requirements in this context refer to the desired number (employee size) and
caliber (expertise) of workers that are expected. For example, how many technical and
clerical staff would be answering the question of numbers or employee size as stated.
Referring to the expertise would mean trying to determine what level of training, for
example should any job applicant have, to qualify? Human resource planning can
therefore be described as the process of projecting the employee requirements of any
organisation in terms of numerical strength and level of expertise for a given period in
the future.
1.2 Importance of Human Resource Planning

Having gone through what it means to plan human resource, we should now attempt to
appreciate the importance of undertaking such an exercise.
The following points come to the fore:

a) To help determine recruitment levels and thereby avoid expensive and unsatisfactory
panic measures. Such panics often arise from realizing suddenly that the

UNIT 2
SESSION 1 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
organisation is short of staff or when it becomes clear that business will be slowed
down for lack of workers to meet production targets or orders.
b) To help determine qualifications such workers should possess. Determining

requisite qualifications would depend on the type of job and industry to which the
organisation belongs. Whereas a firm of human resource consultants will require
more human resource experts (skilled) and very few manual workers (unskilled) a
cement factory on the other hand would require more manual workers than human
resource experts. The suitable proportions in which each category of staff would be
required for achieving organizational goals, is one of the reasons for which human
resource planning is important.
c) Human resource planning also enables organisations to monitor the ratio of human
resource cost to other costs of production. Resources in general are scarce and
whatever is available must be used judiciously. Though the organisation must look out
for the best caliber of workers, this involves cost. Care should therefore be taken not
to allocate nearly all available resources to human resource acquisition alone. The
likely result is that qualified people may be engaged in the right numbers but they may
have insufficient materials and machines to work with.
d) Anticipating redundancies and if possible, finding ways of preventing such situations is

another reason for planning human resource. Employee redundancy is described as a
situation where an organisation no longer has work for a portion of its employees due
to closure of a given product line or a whole department, for example. Maintaining
employees in general, means cost and keeping more than necessary workers simply
points to a waste of scarce resources. Such a situation must be avoided and this is
what human resource planning helps to address ahead of time.
e) Human resource planning enables establishments to identify their future workspace

requirements in the form of offices, workshops, staff canteens, recreational centers and
residential facilities. Employees must work in a conducive environment if they are to
remain healthy and improve output. It is therefore important that long before their
engagement in any workplace, their workspace and other facilities as already mentioned,
are planned for and provided.
Beyond this management responsibility of providing adequate workspace for

employees is the legal requirement by the state, through appropriate legislation, for
employers to ensure that workers have adequate congenial work environment. Have
you heard of such a law? Why not check up from Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003
(Act 651) for some detail.

UNIT 2
1.3 Steps in Human Resource Planning

Before we discuss this session, can you recall the stages you have gone
through to get to this level of your education? Can you also imagine what you
are yet to go through before completing this programme successfully? Please
attempt to put down a few things you think you have to do in order to pass out
successfully. How did it go with you? What you have just done can be described as
steps for accomplishing your programme. The same can be done when organizations are
planning for their human resource requirements.
We shall now take ourselves through steps in human resource planning.

a) Identifying future demand for human resource. The activity in this step is
similar to what we discussed under session 1.2. It involves estimating what
number(s) of workers you imagine would meet your organizational needs and
what competencies they should have. Please refer to points a) and b) under 1.2
above.
b) Identifying what resources would be required to meet the level determined under
(a) above. Such resources include the financial capacity to employ all those
identified, whether there will really be enough work for them to do and whether
there will be adequate equipment and workspace for them. As seen earlier in this
session it is also important to compare the cost of human resource to the cost of
other factors of production for the specified period.
c) Comparing points (a) and (b) above to determine how the plan would work out.
Point (a) basically means, the organisation would need so much or a given number
and caliber of workers but Point (b) is asking the question : “Do you have enough
resources to cater for them”? If yes, go ahead, if not, then just take what your resources
would permit.
It is important that organisations operate within their resources in order to avoid running
into unnecessary debt and possible bankruptcy.
Exercise 2.1
1. Mention and explain any two reasons for good human resource
planning in
organizations.
2. Describe sequentially, the steps in human resource planning.
These are very manageable questions and we hope you have been able to answer all
with little or no difficulty. How did you fare? Very well, we hope. Come with us now
to Session 2.

UNIT 2
SESSION 1 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
This is blank sheet for your short notes on:

• Issues that are not clear: and
• Difficult topics if any

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND UNIT 2
RECRUITMEMT SESSION 2
SESSION 2: DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT

Welcome to Session 2. Having looked at what it means to plan human
resource and how this can be done, it is now time to consider what
discrimination, as used in Human Resource Management is, and specific forms of
discrimination.
Objectives
(a) Define the concept of discrimination; and
(b) Identify the difference between subjective discrimination and objective
discrimination.
Now read on…
2.1 The Meaning of Discrimination

To discriminate means to make a distinction. Making a distinction means to separate one
person or group of persons from another, based on some criteria. Discrimination is
normal in everyday life, as we always have to choose one thing instead of the other,
based on some facts or for one reason or the other.2 In the employment process,
discrimination is also allowed except that the basis of discriminating or selecting one job
candidate instead of the other, must be made clear.
2.2 Objective Versus Subjective Discrimination

Discrimination is an essential skill in Human Resource Management, as all
organizations need to be able to make distinctions in areas such as employee selection,
appraisal and reward management.
Such discrimination or distinction must be based on clear job-related criteria to be

regarded as objective or fair discrimination. For example, discrimination is objective if a
first degree in Management Studies is accepted as the academic qualification for a given
job, say an Administrative Manager of a small company. The implication is that this
requirement (for the degree) will be made known to persons interested in such a job. If
jobseekers are aware of this requirement and the company in fact goes ahead to use this
requirement to separate those who have it from those who do not, the discrimination is
described as fair.
Discrimination here is fair because job seekers who possess the first degree and apply,
will be short-listed for the next stage of the selection; say a selection test or a selection
interview.

FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN RESOURCE
UNIT 2 PLANNING
SESSION 2
Discrimination would however be subjective or unfair if different criteria or

requirements are used to select different jobseekers for the same job.
Otherwise stated, discrimination is said to be subjective if the employer alone for
example, knows the reason for selecting one jobseeker instead of another and especially
if such reasons are not the same for all the candidates.
In the example cited above for objective discrimination, if the employer decided to
short-list some applicants with the Bachelor of Management Studies degree and others
with qualifications not related to and even comparable to this one in question, say
Diploma in Management Studies, for the same job, after announcing clearly that only
holders of the first degree would be considered, this distinction would have been
completely subjective. As seen earlier, Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) provides
that distinctions based on characteristics that are not relevant to the job such as sex,
marital status, colour, nationality, disability or age are considered unfair or subjective
and these affect the basic human rights of individuals.
2.3 Forms of Discrimination
a) Sex Discrimination
Direct Discrimination – Direct Discrimination involves treating a person less
favourably on the grounds of their sex. If there is another reason for the less favourable
treatment, for example the applicant for a job is under-qualified, or unreliable or not
physically strong enough, then a failure to employ is, of course, perfectly permissible.
However, what an employer must be sure of avoiding is making assumptions about a
particular sex, such as, for example, all women being weak and therefore refusing to
consider any woman for a job requiring physical strength. Applicants must be
considered on the basis of their individual merits and not their sex.
Indirect Discrimination – Indirect Discrimination is usually more insidious than direct

discrimination. Frequently, employers will not realize that their actions may well
constitute indirect discrimination. Management must always be aware of the possibility
of their actions constituting this type of discrimination. A claim for indirect
discrimination depends on four conditions being met:
i. The employer attaches terms or conditions to a particular job.
ii. The terms or conditions are such that the proportion of one group who can
comply with them is considerably smaller than the proportion of another
group.
iii. The terms or conditions cannot be shown to be justified irrespective of sex.
iv. There is no objective justification for the terms of conditions.
If all these four requirements are met, then the applicants will have claim to sex
discrimination. In London Underground v Edwards (1998), for example, Edwards, a
RECRUITMEMT SESSION 2
single mother, argued that the introduction of a shift system requiring her to start work
as a train driver early in the morning was discriminatory. This was held to be potentially
the case. Women are more likely to be single parents who look after young children and
who are unable to find child-care facilities at anti-social hours.
Victimization – this occurs where an employee, regardless of sex, is treated less

favourably, due to making allegations of discrimination, or giving evidence, or bringing
proceedings or intending to do any of these things.
b) Race Discrimination
Race is defined as including “colour, race, nationality and national or ethnic origins”.
Much of what has already been said about sex discrimination is equally applicable to
race discrimination. It will suffice here to give some examples of potentially indirect
race discrimination. Seemingly innocuous acts of employers such as attaching an
English Language requirement or qualification to a job application may constitute race
discrimination as considerably fewer members of ethnic minorities may be able to meet
the requirement where English is their second language. Of course, the requirement may
always be justified, and would in a large number of jobs, be an objective, reasonable
condition to meet. There would, therefore, be no discrimination. But, where the
majority of the workforce are Moslems for example, the employer’s failure to allow
them to take part of their annual leave during an Islamic festival will constitute indirect
race discrimination, although Muslims do not constitute a separate racial group.
c) Disability Discrimination
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 came into force in Great Britain in December
1996. According to the Act, a disability is defined as “a physical or mental impairment,
which has a substantial long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out
normal day-to-day activities”. It thus includes both physical and mental illness or injury
as long as the illness is sufficiently recognized by a substantial body of medical opinion.
The illness must also be more than minor or trivial in its effect and be long-term in that
it is not just for at least a year.
Conditions that are able to be treated by drugs or by artificial aids will still constitute
disabilities. Thus, for instance, those with artificial limbs, hearing aids, or on
medication, which remedies the disability, will all come within the provisions of the
Act. The one exception to this is the wearing of spectacles. Provided the glasses
perform their function, the wearer is not categorized as being disabled. Some anti-social
illnesses are also expressly excluded from the definition of a disability, for example,
kleptomania. Do you know what kleptomania is? If yes, congratulations. If no, please
find out.

FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN RESOURCE
UNIT 2 PLANNING
SESSION 2
In Ghana, the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) came into being on 9th
August, 2006. The Act defines persons with disability as ‘as individuals with a physical,
mental or sensory impairment including a visual, hearing or speech functional disability
which gives rise to physical, cultural or social barriers that substantially limit one or
more of the major life activities of that individual’.
The Act makes provisions in major areas such as rights of persons with disability,
employment and education of persons with disability, transportation, health-care
facilities. There are also miscellaneous provisions such as incentives for manufacturers
of technical aids and appliances as well as enforcement of the provisions on persons
with disability. Dear reader, you may want to find the Act and read more.
Once a disability is established, the employer must ensure that there is not direct
discrimination, that is, the disabled job applicant or employee is not treated less
favourably on the grounds of his or her disability.
c) Age Discrimination
The Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967 (U.S.A.), made it unlawful to
discriminate against employees or applicants for employment, especially who are between
40 and 65 years. The Act prohibited all forms of arbitrary age discrimination.
Exercise 2.2
1. What does it mean to make a distinction in employment? Give your

answer in not more than two sentences
2. Describe one form of Objective Discrimination.
3. Describe one example of Subjective Discrimination.
4. List four forms of Discrimination, which may not be job-related.
i. ……………………………………………………….…..……
ii ……………………………………………………………...…
iii. …………………………………………………………...……
iv. …………………………………………………...………………
5. What is Kleptomania?
How did you fare? You may now discuss your answers with your colleagues.
Well done!

UNIT 2
SESSION 3: GENERAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT IN

GHANA
Welcome to session 3. In this part we will turn our attention to

employment laws in Ghana which seek to ensure fairness in the
employment process. The Labour Act 2003, (Act 651) is the main source
of reference.
Objectives
(a) Identify some areas of fairness in employment covered by law in Ghana;
(b) Cite at least two specific examples in the areas; and
(c) Compare provisions of the law in Ghana to those of the U.K. and the
United State of America as seen in Session 2.
Now read on…
3.1 Employment of Persons with Disability (Part V)
1. Registration of persons with disability

a. A person with disability may apply to the Centre for registration.
The Centre shall upon registration of a person with disability, issue the
person a certificate of registration in a form determined by the Chief Labour
Officer.
2. Special Incentives
b Special incentives shall be provided to an employer who employs
persons with disability.
i. Special incentives shall be given to a person with disability
engaged in a business or enterprise.
ii. The special incentives shall be determined by the Minister.
3. Employment not to cease upon disablement

The employment of a person who suffers disability after the employment, shall
not cease if his or residual capacity for work is such that he or she can be found
employment in the same or some other corresponding job in the same
undertaking, but if no such corresponding job can be found, the employment may
be terminated by notice.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT IN
UNIT 2
SESSION 3 GHANA
4. Length of notice of termination

The length of notice of termination required to be given in the case of a person
with disability shall not be shorter than one month.
5. Training
Where it is necessary to train or retrain a person with disability to overcome any
aspect of his or her disability in order to cope with any aspect of the person’s
employment, the employer may provide or arrange at the employer’s expense
the training or retraining for the person.
2
3.2 Employment of Women (Part VI)
1. Night work or overtime by pregnant women
a. Unless with her consent, an employer shall not
i. Assign or employ a pregnant woman worker to do any night
work between the hours of ten o’clock in the evening and seven
o’clock in the morning.
ii. Engage for overtime a pregnant woman worker or a mother of a
child of less than eight months old.
b. The pregnant woman worker or the mother may present a written
complaint to the National Labour Commission established under Section
135, against an employer who contravenes sub-section (1).
c. The Commission shall investigate the complaint and its decision on the
matter shall, subject to any other law, be final.
2. Prohibition of assignment of pregnant women

a. An employer shall not assign, whether permanently or temporarily, a
pregnant woman worker to a post outside her place of residence after the
completion of the fourth month of pregnancy, if the assignment, in the
opinion of a medical practitioner or midwife, is detrimental to her health.
b. The pregnant woman worker may present a written complaint to the
Commission against the employer who contravenes sub-section (1).
c. The Commission shall investigate the complaint and its decision on the
matter shall, subject to any other law, be final.
3. Maternity, annual and sick leave

a. A woman worker, on production of a medical certificate issued by a
medical practitioner or a midwife indicating the expected date of her
confinement, is entitled to a period of maternity leave of at least twelve
weeks in addition to any period of annual leave she is entitled, after her
period of confinement.
b. A woman worker on maternity leave is entitled to be paid her full
remuneration and other benefits to which she is otherwise entitled.

UNIT 2
c. The period of maternity may be extended for at least two additional weeks
where the confinement is abnormal or where in the course of the same
confinement, two more babies are born.
d. Where an illness, medically certified by a medical practitioner, is due to her
pregnancy, the woman worker is entitled to additional leave as certified by
the medical practitioner.
e. Where an illness, medically certified by a medical practitioner, is due to
her confinement, the woman worker is entitled to an extension of leave after
confinement as certified by the medical practitioner.
f. A nursing mother is entitled to interrupt her work for an hour during her
working hours to nurse her baby.
g. Interruptions of work by a nursing mother for the purpose of nursing her
baby shall be treated as working hours and paid for accordingly.
h. An employer shall not dismiss a woman worker because of her absence from
work on maternity leave.
Interpretation
In this part:
“Night work” in relation to women, means at any time within a period of
eleven consecutive hours that includes the seven consecutive hours
occurring between ten o’clock in the evening and seven o’clock in the
morning but in industrial undertakings which are influenced by the seasons,
the work may be reduced to ten hours in sixty days of the year.
“Nursing mother” means a woman with a child suckling at her breast for a
period of not more than one year.
3.3 Employment of Young Persons (Part VII)

1. Prohibition of employment of young persons in hazardous work
a. A young person shall not be engaged in any type of employment or work
likely to expose the person to physical or moral hazard.
b. The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine the type of
employment that is likely to expose a young person to physical or moral
hazard.
c. An employer shall not employ a young person in an underground mine
work.
d. A person who contravenes subsection (a) or (c) commits an offence and is
liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.
2. Health of young persons

a) An employer shall not employ a young person on any work unless a
medical practitioner has certified that the young person is in good health
and is medically fit for the work.

UNIT 2
SESSION 3 GHANA
b) Where a person fails to comply with subsection (a) the person shall be
ordered by the Minister to have the medical examination conducted.
3. Registration of young persons

a) An employer in an industrial undertaking shall keep a register of young
persons employed by him or her and their dates of birth or their apparent
ages.
b) The Chief Labour Officer shall direct an employer who fails to comply with
subsection (a) to do so within a specified time, and the employer shall
comply with the direction.
4. Interpretation
In this part, “industrial undertakings” include:
a) Mines, quarries and other works for the extraction of minerals from the
earth. UNIT 2
b) Undertakings in which articles are manufactured, altered, cleaned, repaired,
ornamented, finished, adapted for sale, broken up or demolished, or in which
materials are transformed, including undertakings engaged in shipbuilding or
in the generation, transformation or transmission of electricity or automotive
power of any kind.
c) Undertakings engaged in building and civil engineering work, including
constructional, repair, maintenance, alteration and demolition work.
3.4 Forced Labour (Part XIV)

1. Prohibition of Forced Labour
a) A person shall not be required to perform forced labour.
b) It is an offence for an employer to exact or cause to be exacted, or permit to be
exacted, for his or her benefit forced labour from any worker.
2. Any employer convicted of an offence under subsection (b) is liable to a fine not
exceeding 250 penalty units.
3. Interpretation of “forced labour”

In this Part “forced labour” means work or service that is exacted from a
person under threat of a penalty and for which that person has not offered
himself or herself voluntarily, but does not include:
a) Labour required as a result of a sentence or order of a court;
b) Labour required of a member of a disciplined force or service as his or
her duties;
c) Labour required during a period when the country is at war or in the
event of an emergency or calamity that threatens life and well-being of
the community, to the extent that the requirement of the labour is

UNIT 2
reasonably justifiable in circumstances of a situation arising or existing

during that period for the purpose of dealing with the situation; or
d) Labour reasonably required as part of normal communal or other civic
obligations.
Exercise 2.3
1. Mention and explain two responsibilities of an Employer towards
an employee with disability.
2. Identify at least four conditions that an employer should satisfy when
assigning duties to a pregnant employee.
3 Explain the term of “Forced Labour”

UNIT 2
SESSION 3 GHANA


SESSION 4: RECRUITMENT OF JOB APPLICANTS
Welcome to session 4. Having provided an equal playing field to all job

applicants as seen in session 3, we will now proceed to determine
procedures by which an organization or employers recruit job applicants.
Objectives
(a) Describe or explain the concept of Recruitment;
(b) Determine the components of Job Analysis;
(c) Distinguish between Job Description and Job Specification; and
(d) List the uses of Job Analysis Information.
Now read on…
4.1 Meaning of Recruitment

The term “recruitment” as used in Human Resource Management does not mean
employment of job applicant neither does it mean selecting prospective employees.
Rather recruitment is one of the three major processes in the entire employment process.
The others are selection of job applicant and placement of employees. Hence,
recruitment, selection and placement constitute the employment process. It is normal to
have people describe recruitment as if it is synonymous with employment. This is
technically wrong and should be avoided.
In detail, recruitment is the term used to describe the processes employers use to gather
as many job seekers as possible who are available and willing to work for the employer,
if they are offered the opportunity.
For example if an employer has vacancy for twenty-five (25) factory workers and
decides to embark on recruitment, what it means is that this employer will have to go
through the process of gathering as many job seekers as possible who are available and
willing to work as factory workers if they are offered the opportunity. The implication is
that this particular employer may end-up having as many as 60, 70 or even 100 people
who will offer themselves for the job.
Recruitment therefore involves casting the search net as wide as possible in order to
create as large a pool of applicants as possible. This is important because the more
applicants the employer has, the more selective this employer can be in hiring. By
illustration, if only 25 candidates applied for the 25 openings for factory workers we
described earlier, the employer will have little choice but to employ all.

UNIT 2 RECRUITMENT OF JOB APPLICANTS
SESSION 4
If however 60 applicants applied, the employer could use some techniques to select the
best 25 from the 60 applicants.
As to the techniques for selecting the 25, let us wait patiently till we get to Unit 3
4.2 Job Analysis

Organizations consist of job positions that have to be filled. The process begins with
recruitment, as described under 4.1. Job Analysis is the procedure for determining the
duties and skills requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired.
Otherwise stated, Job Analysis is the procedure through which organizations determine
the duties of job positions and the characteristics of job seekers who should be hired; for
example, factory workers as already mentioned. The analysis produces information on
job requirements and this information is used for developing a job description and a
job specification.
4.3 Job Description

It is a component of job analysis and is a list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting
relationships, working conditions and supervisory responsibilities. Similarly, a job
description is a written statement of what the jobholder actually does, how he or she
does it, and under what conditions the job is performed. This information is in turn used
to write a job specification that lists the knowledge, abilities and skills needed to
perform the job satisfactorily. There is no standard format used in writing a job
description, but most descriptions contain sections on:
i. Job identification – this section contains several types of information such as job
title; for instance marketing manager, or inventory control clerk, job status section
which permits a quick identification of the job as to whether it is professional,
technical, administrative; and the grade/level/classification such as inventory clerk
Grade I or inventory clerk Grade II.
ii. Job Summary – this section should describe the general nature of the job, listing
only its major functions or activities. Thus, the marketing manager for
example could have a job summary as “plans, directs, and coordinates marketing
of the organisation’s product and/ or services.
iii. Relationships – there is occasionally relationships statement which shows the
jobholder’s relationship with others inside and outside the organization and might
look like the following for a human resource manager:
Reports to: General Manager
Supervises: Human resource assistant, test administrator, and one
secretary.
Works with: All department managers and executive management.
Outside the company: employment agencies, executive firms, union
representatives.

iv. Responsibilities and Duties - This section presents a list of the job’s major
responsibilities and duties. Each of the job’s duties should be listed separately
and described in a few sentences. For instance, the duties of a marketing
manager include “establishing marketing goals, developing and executing
marketing plans and programmes, communicating with outside advertising
agencies, as well as developing and recommending pricing strategy”. This
section should also define the limits of the jobholder’s authority.
In writing job descriptions, one needs to be very clear, specific and brief to ensure that
the correct message is communicated.
4.4 Job Specification

This is another component of Job Analysis and is a list of a job’s human requirements,
or what caliber of job seekers to hire for the job. The job’s human requirements consist
of the requisite education, skills, personality, and sometimes age limit. The job
specification takes the job description and answers the question “what human traits and
experience are required to do this job well?” It shows what kind of person to recruit and
for what qualities that person should be tested.
Writing job specifications for trained employees is relatively straightforward. For

example, for filling a position of a trained bookkeeper, the job specification might focus
mostly on traits like length of previous service, quality of relevant training, and previous
job performance. Thus it is usually not too difficult to determine the human
requirements for placing already trained people on a job.
But the problem is more complex in the case of untrained people, for instance a night
watchman. Here, qualities such physical traits, personality, interests, or sensory skills
that may imply some potential for performing the job or for having the ability to be
trained for the job have to be included, but these are more difficult to measure
accurately.
4.5 Uses of Job Analysis Information

Job analysis information is the basis for several interrelated human resource
management activities, as follows:
i. Recruitment and Selection – Job analysis provides information about what the
job entails and what human characteristics are required to carry out these
activities. The job description and job specification information is then used to
decide what sort of people to recruit and hire.
ii. Compensation – Job analysis information is also essential for estimating the
value of, and appropriate compensation for each job. This is because
compensation such as salary and bonuses, usually depends on such criteria as

SESSION 4
the job’s required skill and education level, safety hazards, and degree of
responsibility.
iii. Performance Appraisal – A performance appraisal compares each employee’s

actual performance with his/her performance standards. It is often through job
analysis that experts determine the standards to be achieved and the specific
activities to be performed.
iv. Training – Job analysis information is also used for designing training and
development programmes, because the analysis and resulting job description
show the skill and therefore the training that is required.
v. Ensures complete assignment of duties – Job analysis can also help discover
unassigned duties. For example, in analyzing the job of an organization’s
production manager, one may discover that he reports himself as being
responsible for twenty or so duties including planning weekly production
schedules and purchasing raw materials. Missing however may be any reference
to managing raw material or finished goods inventories. On further
investigation, one finds that none of the other manufacturing people is
responsible for inventory management either. Job analysis should not be based
only on what employees report as their duties, but on what management knows
these duties should be. Missing duties are often uncovered through job analysis.
Job analysis thus plays a role in remedying the sort of problems that would arise.
Having considered the above factors, the next step in the recruitment exercise is to
develop a pool of applicants using internal sources, external sources, or both. Recruiting
is important because the more applicants you have, the more selective you can be in
your hiring.
What is more is recruiting effectively. For example, consider the results of this study of
university recruiter effectiveness. Out of 62 recruits asked why they judged some firms
as bad fits, 39 mentioned the nature of the job, but 23 said recruiters had turned them
off. They mentioned that some were dressed ‘sloppily’, others were ‘barely literate’
some were rude; and some made offensively sexist comments. All these recruiters
needless to say, were ineffective recruiters for their firms.
Exercise 2.4
1. Define the term ‘recruitment’ in your own words.
2. What is the main difference between a job description and a job specification
3. List three uses of job analysis information to any organization.

How have you fared? Discuss your answers with a colleague

SESSION 4


UNIT 2
SESSION 5: EXTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
We hope you enjoyed studying Session 4. Let us now continue with Session
5 where we shall pay attention to sources of recruitment. The assumption
here is that the employer is just about to begin business and has no existing
employees to rely on.
Objectives
(a) Explain what the term “sources of recruitment” means;
(b) Explain what an external source of recruitment is;
(c) Identify four clear sources of external recruitment; and
(d) Discuss some merits and demerits of external sources of
recruitment.
Now read on…
5.1 Meaning of Sources of Recruitment

A source of recruitment can be described as any means through which a
prospective employer can organize a pool of job applicants or job seekers.
Basically there are two means preferably described as sources of
recruitment. The two are external sources and internal sources.
As stated in the introduction, attention here will be on external sources.

Since it is assumed that the organisation is a new one, the owners can only
enter the job market for job applicants with requisite academic/professional
qualifications and who are available and willing to work. We shall now
consider some sources of external recruitment.
5.2 Direct Advertisement

Direct Advertisement is one source of external recruitment. To use
advertising successfully, you need to address two issues; the medium to use
and the content of the advertisement itself. The selection of the best
medium, be it the local newspaper, television, radio or a
professional/technical journal/magazine, depends largely on the type of
position(s) to be filled. The local newspaper or radio station is usually the
best source for blue-collar staff, clerical employees, and lower-level
administrative employees. On the other hand, if recruitment is even for
blue-collar workers with special skills, you may have to advertise through
another medium.
CCEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 51

UNIT 2 EXTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
SESSION 5
Similarly, for specialized employees, you can advertise in trade and

professional journals/magazines. One drawback of professional journal
advertising is the long lead-time that is usually required; this may be a month
or more after request for insertion of the advertisement. The merits and
demerits of print and electronic media of advertising are well known.
Examples are that for print medium, it can be seen as a source of reference
and this is a merit. A demerit is that it is slower to reach its larger audience.
Can you think of a few merits and demerits on your own?
5.3 Employment Agencies (Public and Private)

There are Public and Private Employment Agencies. In Ghana, the Labour
Department and the Public Services Commission mainly serve as Public
Employment Agencies. NGOs and some Churches are mainly involved in
assisting with private employment in addition to limited liability companies.
Can you mention specific examples you know of?
Private employment agencies are important sources of clerical, white-collar,

and managerial personnel. Such agencies charge fees for each applicant they
place. Some specific reasons for turning to employment agencies will include
the following:
i. When your firm does not have its own human resource department and is
not ready to do recruiting and screening.
ii. When your firm has found it difficult in the past to generate a pool of
qualified applicants.
iii. When a particular opening must be filled quickly.
iv. When there is a perceived need to attract a greater number of minority
applicants.
v. When the recruitment effort is aimed at reaching individuals who are
currently employed; and who might feel more comfortable dealing with
employment agencies rather than competing companies.
Generally, employment agencies help in cutting down on the number of

interviews by the employer, by finding, interviewing and selecting only the
most qualified candidates for the hiring process by the employer.
Regrettably, these agencies are no panacea. For example, an employment
agency pre-screens applicants for your job, but this advantage can also
backfire since some poor applicants can by-pass the preliminary stages of
your own selection process. Similarly, potentially successful minority and
non-minority applicants may be blocked from entering your applicant pool by
improper testing and screening by the employment agency.
52 CCEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

UNIT 2
5.4 Executive Recruiters

Executive recruiters, also called headhunters, are special employment
agencies retained by employers to seek out top-management talent for their
organizations. Headhunters can be quite useful. They have many contacts
and are especially good at contacting qualified candidates who are employed
and not actively looking to change jobs. They can also keep the firm’s name
confidential until late into the search process. The headhunter can save top
management time by doing the preliminary work of advertising for the
position and screening what could turn out to be hundreds of applicants. The
recruiter’s fee might actually turn out to be insignificant compared to the cost
of the executive time saved.
There are however some pitfalls. As an employer, it is essential for you to

explain completely what sort of candidates are required and why. Some
recruiters are also more sales-people than professionals. They may be more
interested in persuading you to hire a candidate than in finding one who will
really do the job. Recruiters also claim that what their clients say they want is
often not really accurate. Therefore, be prepared to provide detailed clarification
on your request in order to obtain desired results.
5.5 Educational Institutions/Professional Organisations

Institutional recruiting implies sending an employer’s representative to
campuses to pre-screen applicants and creating an applicant poll from that
institution’s graduating class. This has become an important source of
management trainees, promotable candidates, and professional and technical
employees. Unilever Ltd. is a good example of firms which do institutional
recruiting in Ghana.
There are two main challenges with on-campus recruiting. First, it is relatively
expensive and time consuming for the recruiters. Schedules must be set well in
advance, company brochures printed, records of interviews kept, and much
recruiting time spent on campus. Second, as mentioned earlier, recruiters
themselves are sometimes ineffective, or worse still, some recruiters are
unprepared, show little interest in the candidates, and act superior. Some
recruiters also do not effectively screen their student candidates. For example,
students’ physical attractiveness often outweighs other more valid traits and
skills. Some recruiters also tend to assign females to ‘female-type’ jobs and
males to ‘male-type’ jobs. Such findings underscore the need to train recruiters
before sending them to the campuses.
5.6 Recruiting on the Internet
A large and growing proportion of employers recruit on the internet. In one
survey, 32% of the survey’s 203 respondents said they were using the internet as
CCEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 53

UNIT 2 EXTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
SESSION 5
a primary recruitment source. Not surprisingly, computer-related positions were

the most common jobs filled through internet postings.
Employers list several advantages of internet recruiting. First is that it is cost-

effective as compared with newspapers. The newspaper advertisement may have
a life span of perhaps 10 days while that of the internet may keep attracting
candidates for 30 days or more. Except where a fax number is provided,
responses from internet recruiting can be timelier as compared with newspaper
advertisement. Nevertheless, some employers cite a flood of responses as a
possible downside of internet recruiting.
Self Assessment Questions

Exercise 2.5
1. What does the term “source of recruitment” mean? Write down

your answer in one sentence.
2. What does the term external recruitment mean?
3. List and explain briefly three sources of external recruitment.
Well done! You can now discuss your answers with a colleague.
54 CCEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 6: INTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
Welcome to session 6. We are confident that you are enjoying your study
of Human Resource Management
In this session, we will dwell on the second source of Recruitment which we shall
describe as Internal Sources. It is important to note that recruiting from internal sources
is applicable only in existing organizations.
Objectives
(a) Explain what internal sources of recruitment means.
(b) List three sources of internal recruitment.
(c) Compare external sources of recruitment with internal sources in the
following areas:
i. Cost of recruitment
ii. Speed of recruitment.
iii. Number of applicants.
Now read on…
6.1 Meaning of Internal Sources of Recruitment

Although recruiting may bring to mind employment agencies and classified
advertisements, current employees are sometimes the best source of recruitment.
Filling positions with internal candidates has several advantages. Employees see that
competence is rewarded, and performance may thus be enhanced. Having already been
with your firm for some time, internal candidates may be more committed to company
goals and less likely to leave. Appointment from within can boost employee
commitment and provide mangers a longer-term perspective when making business
decisions. It may also be safer to fill vacancies from within, since you are likely to have
a more accurate assessment of the person’s skills. Internal candidates may also require
less orientation and training than outsiders.
Yet, hiring from within can also backfire. Employees who apply for jobs and are
unsuccessful may become discontented. Similarly, many employees require managers
to post job openings and interview all internal candidates. Yet the manager often knows
ahead of time exactly whom he or she wants to hire, and requiring the person to
interview a stream of unsuspecting internal candidates is therefore a waste of time for all
concerned.

UNIT 2 INTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
SESSION 6
Groups are sometimes not as satisfied when their new boss is appointed from within
their own ranks as when he or she is a newcomer; sometimes for instance, it is difficult
for the insider to shake off the reputation of being an old hand.
Inbreeding is another drawback. When all managers have been brought up through the
ranks, there may be a tendency to maintain the status quo, when an innovative and new
direction is needed. Balancing the benefits of morale and loyalty with the drawback of
inbreeding is thus a challenge.
6.2 Employee Referrals and Walk-Ins

Employee referrals are another option of internal recruitment. Announcements of
openings and requests for referrals are made in the organization’s bulletins. This
system has its merits and demerits. Current employees can and usually will provide
accurate information about the job applicants they are referring, especially since they
are often putting their own reputation on the line by recommending applicants. The
new employees may also come with a more realistic picture of what working in the firm
is really like after speaking with their friends who are currently employed there.
Referrals may also result in higher-quality candidates, insofar as employees are
reluctant to refer less qualified applicants. The success of the campaign however
depends a lot on employee morale. The campaign can also backfire if an employee’s
referral is rejected and the employee becomes dissatisfied.
6.3 Hiring Employees the Second Time

Until recently it was often considered unusual to rehire former employees – particularly
those who had left voluntarily may be for greener pastures. Voluntarily leaving was
often seen as a form of betrayal; and problems ranging from disloyalty to bad morale
were often attributed of those who had been involuntarily allowed to go.
Hiring former employees has its merits and demerits. On the plus side, your former
employees are known and are already familiar with the company’s culture, style, and
ways of doing things. On the other hand, employees who were allowed to go may
return with less than positive attitudes. Hiring former employees who left for greener
pastures back into better positions may signal your current employees that the best way
to get ahead is to leave the firm, even if it is for a short period.
6.4 Notice Boards, Newsletters/Bulletins and Company Gates
This is by far one of the easiet and cheapest source of internal recruitment. Whenever
job openings occur, employers simply post the advertisement on their company notice
boards or company gates. Another means is to insert same in company newsletters and
bulletins. Apart from being cheaper, this source of recruitment provides opportunity to
existing employees to know about the opening for those interested to apply.

6.5 Striking a Balance

Having considered the strengths and weaknesses of both internal sources and external
sources of recruitment, it is obvious that no organization would be willing to stick to
only one source. Human resource managers are encouraged to weigh the two options at
any given time in order to arrive at better opportunities for their organisation.
Furthermore, the following factors may influence the source of recruitment a manager can
make.
i. Candidate Expectations – The job-seeking habits of the target market are a prime
consideration. Although it is difficult to generalize, certain patterns do emerge.
Thus one is more likely to recruit a competent systems analyst through a specialist
agency or an advertisement in one of the computer-related journals than through a
notice in the corner shop window. Conversely, unskilled workers may well be
found through a factory gate notice or some other local medium which suits their
reading or listening habits and expectations.
ii. Cost Considerations – Although important, cash alone is not an appropriate

determinant of which recruitment method to use. Cost-effectiveness is what is
important. Even if you only spend a few cedis on a classified advertisement in the
local paper, those few cedis will be wasted if there is no response. As a general
rule, where you are seeking to recruit a number of people for the same kind of
position, it will be more cost-effective to place the advertisement yourself, using an
appropriate medium rather than to engage the services of a consultant. This is
because you will only pay for the advertisement once, but have many candidates
from which you subsequently select. If you work through any Agency, you may be
required to pay a fee for each individual appointed.
iii. Organization's Culture - Some organizations, prompted either by social conscience
and a public-spirited attempt to reduce the number of unemployed, or by cost
considerations, make it a policy to approach the government agencies first. Others
use specific media for their product advertising and therefore try to keep their
recruitment advertising in line.

Exercise 2.6
1. Mention and explain two internal sources of recruitment.
2. What does it mean to hire an employee for the second time?
3. List two advantages of employee recommendations.

UNIT 2 INTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
SESSION 6


EMPLOYEE SELECTION UNIT 3
UNIT 3: EMPLOYEE SELECTION
Unit Outline
Session 1: Meaning and Purpose of Employee Selection
Session 2: References and Medical Checks
Session 3: Selection Tests
Session 4: Selection Interviews
Session 5: Administering Selection Interviews
Session 6: Completing the Selection Process
Welcome to Unit 3, another exciting unit of Human Resource

Management. We shall focus on what it means to select employees
and how employers are able to differentiate job applicants on the basis of expected
qualities.
This unit specifically examines the processes by which employers identify and select
employees that have the ability, capacity and potential to work for the employer. The
unit focuses on the meaning and purpose of selection. It covers also the use of medical
checks, selection tests and selection interviews as tools for identifying the right
jobseekers for appointment.
Unit Objectives
(1) Give at least two reasons why employee selection is important;
(2) Explain the purpose of medical checks and selection tests as tools
for identifying the right people for appointment;
(3) Explain two selection tests as tools for identifying the right candidate.
(4) Define selection interview and identify two types of selection interview;
(5) Describe the process for administering the selection interview; and
(6) Discuss how to complete the selection process

UNIT 3 EMPLOYEE SELECTION


SESSION 1
SESSION 1: MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EMPLOYEE

SELECTION
We welcome you to the first session of Unit 3 which is devoted to
selection of employees. We shall be looking at the meaning of selection
and why it is very important. We shall also examine in detail the use of application
letters and application forms as selection devices.
Objectives
(a) Define the concept “selection of employees”
(b) Give at least two reasons why careful selection is important;
(c) Explain why an application letter is described as unstructured and an application
form is described as structured selection devices;
(d) Discuss importance of completed application forms.
Now read on…
1.1 Meaning of ‘Employee Selection’

‘Employee selection’ as a concept is simply defined as the process by which employers
identify suitable jobseekers for appointment. It is the process by which capable job
applicants are separated from those who are incapable, from a pool of recruits.
1.2 Why Careful Selection is Important
Selecting the right employees is important for at least, three main reasons. First, for
employers, their own performance depends largely on the performance of employees.
Employees with the right skills and attributes will do a better job for the company.
Employees without these skills or who are obstructionists would not perform effectively,
and the employer’s performance and the firm’s work, will suffer. The time to screen out
such undesirable applicants is during selection.
Effective selection is also important because it is costly to recruit and hire employees.
Hiring and training even a clerk can be very expensive in terms of fees and supervisory
time. The total cost of hiring a manager could easily be ten times as high that of a clerk
when search fees, interviewing time, reference checking, travel and moving expenses are
tallied..
Careful selection is also important because of the legal implications of incompetent
hiring resulting in unfair discrimination against protected groups, as already discussed in
Unit Two. Furthermore, the courts are increasingly finding employers liable for
negligent hiring.
CoDEUC/ Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 61

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UNIT 3
SESSION 1 SELECTION
Negligent hiring occurs when employees with criminal records or other problems find
their way into organizations as employees. For example, an employee may take
advantage of access to a customer’s home or other similar opportunities to commit
crimes. Hiring workers with such backgrounds without proper safeguards is called
negligent hiring.
Several cases illustrate this problem. In one, Ponticas v. K.M.S. Investments, an

apartment manager with a passkey entered a woman’s apartment and assaulted her.
Negligence by the owner and by the operator of the apartment complex in not properly
checking the manager’s background before hiring him, was found to be the cause of the
woman’s personal injury. In another case, Henley v. Prince George County, an
employee who turned out to have criminal background murdered a young boy;
management, aware of the man’s prior murder conviction, was held liable.
1.3 Application Letters as a Selection Device

Once you have a pool of applicants, the selection process can begin, and for most
employers, Application Letters and Application Forms are the first steps in this process
though some firms first require a brief pre-screening interview.
1.3.1 The Letter of Application

Obtaining unstructured information from a candidate can play useful, though limited
part in your selection procedure. It can identify the candidate’s ability to express
himself clearly and coherently in writing. It can tell you how good his spelling and
grammar are. If they are bad in a job application, the chances are that they are worse
when the applicant is not making a special effort. It can give you a glimpse of his
character, his choice of words or possibly his handwriting. If you need this kind of
information in order to assess his suitability for the job, it will be helpful.
If, on the other hand, the applicant will not be required to write letters or express himself
via the written word once employed, such data will largely be irrelevant to your
selection decision.
In addition, being unstructured, the information contained in a letter of application is
inevitably that which the candidate considers relevant to the job and favourable to
himself. His assessment particularly in relation to the job’s relevance, may differ from
yours as the employer though a well-worded advertisement can help to guide his
thoughts. You must, therefore, choose between rejecting a potentially worthwhile
candidate because he has omitted to give you some information, which you require, and
risking wasting your time through pursuing his application further.

SESSION 1
1.3.2 The Application Form

The application form is a good way to quickly collect structured, verifiable and therefore
fairly accurate historical data from the candidate. It usually includes information about
such areas as education, prior work history and hobbies.
A completed form provides four types of information. First, you can make judgment on
substantive matters, such as ‘Does the applicant have the education and experience to do the
job? Second, you can draw conclusions about the applicant’s previous progress and growth,
a trait that is especially important for managing candidates.
Third, you can also draw tentative conclusions regarding the applicant’s stability based on
previous work record. Here, you have to be careful not to assume that an unusual number of
job changes necessarily reflects on the applicant’s ability; for example, the person’s last two
employers may have had to lay off large numbers of employees. Fourth, you may be able to
use the data in the application to predict which candidates will succeed on the job and which
will not. This aspect will be dealt with later.
In practice, one organization may use different application forms. For technical and
managerial personnel, for example, the form may require detailed answers to questions
concerning the applicant’s education and so on. The form for hourly factory workers might
focus on the tools and equipment the applicant has used and can use.
1.5 Uses of Completed Application Forms/Blanks

A few uses of completed application form are listed below:
(a) Well-designed forms will aid the selection of candidates for the next stage in the
selection process. They enable you to compare similar information and to relate the
facts. The bio-data, of the applicant as provided on the form can become the basis of his
permanent personal record, encapsulating all the details of his life before joining the
organization.
(b) If the candidate is not selected, you may still wish to keep the form pending a
suitable alternative vacancy in the future. There are two dangers here. The
candidate was not quite good enough for this vacancy, so will he really be good
enough for the next one? Someone else has now filled the job for which he applied, so
will the next job that becomes available be identical to it, with an identical personnel
specification. You should only reconsider the candidate if you are convinced that his
attributes are right for the new job.
(c) Regardless of whether the applicant is selected, application forms which have been
completed will provide you with useful information for an analysis of the labour market;
what kind of people are interested in joining you, where they live and what their pay
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MEANING AND PURPOSE OF EMPLOYEE
UNIT 3
SESSION 1 SELECTION
expectations are. This will be of assistance in the assessment of the external availability
of human resource.

Exercise 3.1
1. How will you explain the concept of ‘employee selection’ to your junior
colleague?
2. Why is it very important to select employees carefully? Give at least two
reasons for your answer.
3. What are the main differences between Letters of Application and Application
Forms, as employee selection devices?
Please note that the more you are able to answer these questions with little or no
assistance at all, the better is your understanding of the subject and your ability to apply
same on the job.
How did you fare? You may now wish to compare your answers with those of your
colleagues. Also remember to note down your difficulties for face-to-face (discussion).

SESSION 2
SESSION 2: REFERENCES AND MEDICAL CHECKS
Having studied the meaning of employee selection and reasons why

careful selection is important as well as the use of application letters and
forms as selection devices, we can now move to another interesting aspect of the
selection process. We shall, specifically, examine why some employers use references
and medical checks as selection devices.
Objectives
(a) State, at least, two reasons for references as employee selection devices;
(b) Describe two types of references;
(c) Explain medical checks as s selection device
Now read on…
2.1 References as a Selection Device
A candidate may be requested to nominate referees who are prepared to supply

information concerning the candidate’s past life and character. References can come in
any of the following ways:
a) Unsolicited Testimonials
These may be produced by a job applicant. He will claim that a previous
employer, headmaster, or associate has written this (usually glowing) assertion
that the bearer is honest, diligent and bursting with integrity. Such documents
should be treated with caution.. While many are, no doubt, genuine and sincere,
they can all readily be manufactured by anyone with access to his erstwhile
employer’s headed stationery.
b) Letters
The response to a specific request for a reference may be obtained from the
candidate’s nominees. There have been cases of candidates providing names and
addresses for reference purposes which belong to their friends and accomplices.
But, by and large, this method is less prone to abuse than unsolicited
testimonials. Names and addresses of companies can, in any case, be checked
perhaps by just using the telephone directory to make sure that they do exist.
c) Structured Reference Forms
These can be designed to ensure that you obtain information in a standard
framework which will enable you to identify evasions and omissions. If you are
employing a number of staff at different levels, you may, as with the application

UNIT 3 REFERENCES AND MEDICAL CHECKS
SESSION 2
form, find it appropriate to draw up more than one standard reference form,
making each appropriate to a particular level of job.
d) Telephone References
These may circumvent some of the difficulties if used as a substitute for, or in
addition to the other methods. Although some organizations are reluctant to
provide such information over the telephone, others are willing to say things
which they would hesitate to put down on paper. The best way of obtaining
references over the telephone is to call the referee and ask him if he would like
to ring you back.
That way, he has a chance to check that you are genuine. A checklist of some
kind will help you to ensure that you cover the key areas.
e) Written Reasons for Dismissal

If an employee is dismissed by his employer, he is entitled, under the law, to be
given a written statement of the reasons. While this is clearly not a substitute for the
more detailed reference information that you may want, where an applicant claims
that his last employer dismissed him, perusal of his written statement should throw
light on the reasons for this.
References are a useful source of additional information about candidates for selection,
but only if the major problems we have mentioned can be resolved. However well the
referee knows the candidate, and however honestly he tries to answer your questions, in
the last analysis, the decision about the applicant’s suitability for this particular job, in
your particular organization, will be yours as the employer.
2.2 Medical Checks

The real value or purpose of a medical check comes where a qualified medical practitioner,
with a thorough knowledge of the physical and mental requirements of the job, assesses
the physical and mental state of the applicant. In larger organizations, a company doctor is
sometimes retained for this purpose, and to treat existing employees at the workplace. He
can provide valuable advice concerning the applicant’s suitability for a particular job, and
if the applicant is unsuitable, can suggest alternative types of work for which he might be
considered.
In detail, the following reasons can be advanced for a medical examination of prospective
employees before they are appointed or they even assume duty.
(a) To safeguard the health of those engaged on hazardous work: Examples include the
need to avoid employment of lung patients in adverse atmospheric conditions, or

SESSION 2
sufferers from stress diseases, whether physical or mental, on jobs with high stress
content.
(b) To safeguard the health and safety of vulnerable groups: An epileptic, for instance,
should not be employed where a seizure could place him in danger. (for example,
near moving machinery).
(c) To safeguard the health and safety of others: Employing individuals suffering from
infectious diseases or violent mental disorders could directly jeopardize the safety of
other employees. Employing someone with poor eyesight as a driver could create
unnecessary danger for him and others.
(d) To ensure that some specific job requirement can be met: This can range from
simple tests for colour blindness administered to designers or electricians, to
comprehensive physical examinations for security personnel where peak physical
condition is vital.
(e) To meet requirements of occupational pension schemes whose rules require that
employees are examined medically in order to qualify for pension.

Exercise 3.2
1. Explain the term 'references' as used in employee selection.

2. How are unsolicited testimonials different from letters of application?
3. Which two of the reasons for carrying out medical checks are of interest to you
and why?
Dear reader, do you remember a reference letter written for you before? Who wrote
it and what were the main contents? Continue to the next session.

UNIT 3 REFERENCES AND MEDICAL CHECKS
SESSION 2


SESSION 3
SESSION 3: SELECTION TESTS
Having studied the meaning of employee selection and reasons why

careful selection is important as well as the use of references and
medical checks as selection devices, we can now move to another interesting aspect of
the selection process. We shall examine specifically, selection tests as a selection
device.
Objectives
(a) Explain what a selection test is;
(b) Explain the role of tests as a selection device;
(c) State and describe at least four types of test used as a selection device;
(d) List and explain any three limitations of tests as selection tool.
Now read on…
3.1 Meaning of Selection Tests

Testing candidates is another selection device, which can be used to gather information
about candidates. Tests help us to assess what a candidate can do. If for example, we
want to know whether a candidate can type at a certain speed or can calculate
percentages, testing the candidate will provide us the opportunity to assess his abilities
and measure them against the standards which we know (from our job specification)
and are looking for.
3.2 Types of Test

Generally, selection tests are classified according to what job specifications they have
been designed to measure, such as cognitive (mental) abilities, motor and physical
abilities, personality and interests, or achievement.
3.2.1 Cognitive Tests

Cognitive tests include tests of general reasoning ability (intelligence) and tests of
specific mental abilities like deductive and inductive reasoning, (aptitude).
Intelligence (IQ) tests are tests of general intelligence abilities. They measure not a
single ‘intelligence’ trait, but rather a range of abilities including memory, vocabulary,
verbal fluency, and numerical ability.
Originally, IQ (Intelligence Quotient) was literally a quotient. The procedure was to

divide a child’s mental age (as measured by the intelligence test) by his or her
chronological age, and multiply the results by 100. Thus, if an 8-year-old child

UNIT 3 SELECTION TESTS
SESSION 3
answered questions as a 10-year-old might, his or her IQ would be 10 divided by 8,

multiplied by 100. The child’s IQ is thus 125. For adults, of course, the notion of
mental age divided by chronological age would normally not make sense. For example,
we would not necessarily expect a 30-year-old individual to be more intelligent than a
25-year-old one. Therefore, an adult’s IQ score is actually a derived score. It reflects
the extent to which the person is above or below the ’average’ adult’s intelligence score.
Aptitude Tests are designed to assess whether candidates have the basic abilities to
develop particular skills or knowledge for a specific job. These tests assess deductive
and inductive reasoning of job candidates.
Deductive reasoning assesses a candidate’s ability to make general inferences, or to

reason from a general to a particular. It involves reasoning from one or more principles
or premises to a conclusion, which necessarily or logically follows. For example, Every
student of the College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast has high
potential to succeed. You are a student of College of Distance Education, University of
Cape Coast. Therefore you have high potential to succeed.
Inductive reasoning is a method of supporting or arriving at a general or universal

statement by observing a limited number of cases, (as in research). For example, Every
student of College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast who has ever been
observed has high potential to succeed. Therefore every College of Distance Education,
University of Cape Coast student has high potential to succeed.
There is a range of aptitudes which some of us possess in a higher degree than others.
Hand-eye co-ordination, manipulative dexterity, mechanical reasoning, spatial ability,
numeracy, word-fluency, visual perception and critical thinking are some examples of
aptitude tests.
3.2.2 Motor and Physical Abilities

Motor abilities of candidates that employers may want to test include finger dexterity,
manual dexterity, speed of arm movement, and reaction time. Test of physical abilities
include static strength (such as lifting weights), dynamic strength (like pull-ups), body
coordination (as in jumping rope) and stamina.
3.2.3 Personality and Interests Tests

A person’s cognitive and physical abilities alone seldom explain his or her job
performance. Other factors like the person’s motivation and interpersonal skills are
important too. Personality and interests tests are sometimes used to predict a candidate’s
suitability. Personality is a complex web of factors, which reflect the whole or part of a
person’s character; it includes the extent to which one is introvert or extrovert, happy-
go-lucky, proud, expedient and practical. These are the attributes personality tests are
70 CoD|EUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 3
designed to assess. Personality tests are mostly projective. Today, most industrial
psychologists emphasize the ‘big-five’ personality dimensions as they apply to
personnel testing: extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
and openness to experience.
Interest tests compare one’s interests with those of people in various occupations. Thus,
a person who takes the Strong-Campbell Inventory interest test, for instance, would
receive a report comparing his or her interests to those of people already in occupations
such as accounting, engineering, management, or medical technology. The main benefit
of interest tests is career planning, since a person will likely do better on jobs that
involve activities in which he or she is interested.
3.2.4 Achievement Tests

An achievement test is basically a measure of what a person has learned. Achievement
tests measure your ‘job knowledge’ in areas like economics, marketing, human resource
or what an applicant knows about a subject relevant to a job.
3.2.5 Performance/Proficiency Tests
These are tests to measure specific skills required on a job. A word processing test, for
instance, can indicate both the speed and accuracy of candidates for secretarial or typing
positions. Similarly, a driving test can indicate the proficiency of say, a heavy goods
vehicle driver.
3.3 Limitations of Selection Tests

In spite of the importance of tests as a selection device, there are a number of specific
limitations, which should be borne in mind:
(a) Test scores, at best, simply tell you that a greater proportion of people who achieve a
certain score will be successful in the performance of the task than those who do
not achieve this score. They cannot predict whether one specific individual will
succeed or fail.
(b) Tests do not tell you why someone has performed well or badly.
(c) Test validity and reliability may be reduced by the existence of stress, faking or
familiarity, each of which will tend to distort the results. If candidates are
particularly nervous, they may well under-perform on the test. If they have seen the
test before, they may have an unfair advantage.

UNIT 3 SELECTION TESTS
SESSION 3
(d) Knowledge of results may have an adverse effect. If the applicant learns of his
results on a particular test, this may either undermine his confidence or give him an
inflated sense of his own ability.
(e) Tests may be discriminatory. It is important that every aspect of your selection
procedure should be examined to make sure that it does not unjustifiably include
methods or criteria with which one group may find particularly hard. Even a
language test can be regarded as discriminatory, as the British Steel Corporation
found to its cost at Scunthorpe in January 1979. The Corporation had refused to re-
hire seven Bangladeshi ex-employees who failed a newly introduced English
language test. The workers brought the case before an Industrial Tribunal, but an
agreed settlement was eventually reached between the Corporation and the
Commission for Racial Equality, involving payments totaling $10,000.00 to be
made by the Corporation to its ex-employees. The men concerned were also offered
labouring jobs with the Corporation until such time as their attendance at English
language classes (during working hours) should render them sufficiently proficient
in the language to pass a properly supervised test and enable them to gain promotion
into production area jobs.

Exercise 3.3
1. How different is an employment selection test from a class quiz?

2. Describe any three types of employment selection tests you know off.
3. Differentiate between a deductive test and an inductive test.
How did it go with you? Let's press on.
72 CoD|EUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 4
SESSION 4: SELECTION INTERVIEWS
Welcome to session 4 which focuses on the selection interview as

another major stage in the process of selecting job applicants with the
required qualifications. This session is designed to give you an explanation on selection
interviews and the types of selection interview normally used in organisations.
Objectives
(a) Explain selection interviews in your own words;
(b) Give at least two reasons why selection interviews are important;
(c) State and explain at least two types of selection interview.
Now read on…
4.1 Meaning of Selection Interview

The selection interview remains a most commonly used selection tool for job applicants
though experience indicates that few interviewers are able to measure the success of
interviews in a way which inspires much confidence in the method. A selection interview is
a technique designed to predict future job performance on the basis of an applicant’s
responses to oral inquiries.
Estimates of organizations using interviews for selection range from 70% for some types of
interviews, to one study of 852 employers that found that 99% of them used interviews for
employee selection.
Interviews have become important for the following reasons:

a) Interviews help employers to assess the candidate’s capacity and motivation to
perform a particular job. They are especially useful when employers are trying to
assess a person’s disposition or impact on others.
b) Interviews also help candidates to formulate their own assessment of the

interviewer and the organization. This is particularly important if we accept that the
outcome of the selection process will only really be satisfactory if both parties – the
interviewer and interviewee – feel it to be right and fair.
4.2 Types of Selection Interview

There are several types of selection interview. They include structured, unstructured,
stress and situational interview. Let’s consider them in turns.

UNIT 3 SELECTION INTERVIEWS
SESSION 4
a) Structured vs. Unstructured Interviews

In the structured type of interview, questions and acceptable responses are determined
in advance and the responses are rated for appropriateness of content. Here the
interviewer follows a predetermined series of questions.
In an unstructured interview the interviewer asks questions as they come to mind.

There is generally no set format to follow, so the interview can take various directions.
While questions can be specified in advance, they usually are not, and there is seldom a
formalized guide for scoring the quality of each answer. Thus interviewees for the same
job may not be asked the same or similar questions. Furthermore, the lack of structure
allows the interviewer to ask follow-up questions, based on the candidate’s last
statement, and to pursue points of interest as they develop.
Structured and unstructured interviews have their respective merits and demerits. In
structured interviews, all applicants are generally asked the same questions by all
interviewers: structured interviews are therefore generally more reliable and valid.
Structured interviews can also help interviewers who may be less comfortable with
interviewing, to ask questions and conduct more useful interviews. Standardizing the
administration of the interview also increases consistency across candidates, enhances
job relatedness, reduces overall subjectivity and thus the potential for bias and enhance
the ability to withstand legal challenge. On the other hand, structured interviews do not
always leave the flexibility to pursue points of interest as they develop. Their validity is
also affected negatively if a candidate passes the questions to a friend yet to be
interviewed.
b) Stress Interview
This is a special type of selection interview in which the applicant is made
uncomfortable by a series of sometimes rude questions. The aim of the stress interview
is supposedly to help identify sensitive applicants and those with low or high stress
tolerance.
In the typical stress interview, the applicant is made uncomfortable by a series of frank
and often discourteous questions from the interviewer. Thus, a candidate for customer
relations manager who obligingly mentions having had four jobs in the past two years
might be told that frequent job changes reflect irresponsible and immature behaviour. If
the applicant reacts explosively with anger and disbelief, this might be taken as a
symptom of low tolerance for stress.
The stress approach can be a good way to identify hypersensitive applicants who might
be expected to overreact to mild criticism with anger and abuse.

SESSION 4
c) Situational Interview
In this type of interview, the questions focus on the individual’s ability to project what
his or her behaviour would be in a given situation. For example, a candidate for a
supervisor’s position may be asked how he or she would respond to a subordinate
coming to work late three days in a row. In this case, the candidate could be evaluated,
on his/her choice of action to handle the situation. This approach may elicit deeper and
more meaningful responses than are normally produced by a series of one-on-one
interviews.
d) Group/Mass Interview
An even more stressful type is the group/mass interview. In this interview, a panel
interviews several candidates simultaneously. Here the panel poses a problem to be
solved by the interviewees and then sits back to assess the candidate on the basis of their
respective contributions to solving the problem.

Exercise 4.4
1. Explain the term ‘selection interview’ the way you understand it.
2. What reasons will you advance in favour of selection interviews?
3. What are the differences between structured interviews and unstructured
interviews?
Good Luck!

UNIT 3 SELECTION INTERVIEWS
SESSION 4


SESSION 5
SESSION 5: ADMINISTERING SELECTION INTERVIEWS

In this session, we shall discuss how to administer a selection interview.
We hope you will find it very interesting. We shall begin by looking at
what the administration of interview entails and why you need to put
special arrangement in place for interviews. We shall end the session by looking at
some common problems with interviews and how to complete the selection process.
Objectives
(a) State and describe any three way by which interview can be administered.
(b) Explain administrative arrangements for conducting interviews.
(c) List and explain any three problems associated with interviews.
Now read on…
5.1 Forms of Interview Administration

Interviews can be administered on one-on-one basis, by a panel of interviewers
sequentially (as already discussed), or by computer. In a one-on-one interview as the name
implies, two people meet and one, normally the employer, interviews the other normally
the jobseeker, by seeking oral responses to oral inquiries. Most selection interviews are
also by a panel and are done sequentially. In a panel/sequential interview, several persons
interview the applicant in sequence before a selection decision is made.
Increasingly, interviews are not administered by people at all, but are computerized. A
computerized selection interview is one in which a job candidate’s oral and/or
computerized responses are obtained in response to computerized oral, visual, or written
question and/or situations. The basic idea is generally to present the applicant with a series
of questions regarding his or her background, experience, education, skills, knowledge
work attitudes and specific questions that relate to the job for which the person has
applied.
In a typical computerized interview the questions are presented in a multiple choice
format, one at a time, and the applicant is expected to respond to the questions on the
computer screen by pressing a key corresponding to his or her desired response. For
example, a sample interview question for a person applying for a job as a retail store clerk
might be:
‘How would your supervisor rate your customer service skills?’
A. Outstanding
B. Above average
C. Average
D. Below average
E. Poor

UNIT 3 ADMINISTERING SELECTION INTERVIEWS
SESSION 5
Questions on a computerized interview like this come in rapid sequence and require
concentration on the applicant’ part. The typical computerized interviewer then measures
the response time to each question. A delay in answering certain questions such as ‘Can
you be trusted?’ can raise a potential problem.
5.2 Administrative Arrangement for Interviews

Before you start inviting candidates for interview, you must sort out where, when, how, and
by whom, the interview is to be conducted. The following checklist is helpful.
a) Decide time and venue of the interview.
b) Decide who will be involved in conducting the interview (panelists).
c) Notify other panelists of the time and venue, and arrange a meeting to plan the
interview.
d) Notify candidates, in good time, of the time and venue. Tell them how to get
there, who to ask for, and roughly how long and what form the proceedings will
take.
e) Notify the receptionist/gatekeeper or other relevant person(s), whom to expect
and where to direct them to.
f) If candidate expectations and the timing of the interview warrant it, arrange to
have some beverage served. If you are interviewing a candidate for a senior
position appointment, it may be appropriate to provide lunch for both panelists
and candidates who are interviewed late.
5.3 Common Problems With Interviews

The opposite of carefully weighing up and evaluating responses during interviews is the
unconscious habit of jumping to conclusions and allowing our prejudices to determine
the outcome. Jumping to conclusion, can take several forms, as discussed below:
5.3.1 The Halo Effect

This occurs where one feature of the interviewee becomes an over-riding factor, which
governs our perception of the person. A common pitfall is to assume that someone who
appears attractive and articulate is also intelligent.
5.3.2 Prejudice/Bias
We tend to pre-judge people either favourably, because they belong to a particular
group or remind us of a particular person. Common prejudices include the assumption
that members of one race are more hard-working than those of another, or that women,
for example, are less reliable than men. These preconceptions can colour our
interpretation of any comments such applicants may make.
5.3.3 Stereotypes
These take two forms:

SESSION 5
(a) Good worker stereotypes – We may build up a picture in our minds of what a good
worker is like, and then use the interview as a means of finding someone who matches
that rather than the personnel specification. We will be favourably disposed to those who
appear to match, and will be more critical of those who do not match. The most
common stereotypes of the good worker are the ‘boy scout’ stereotype (who is normally
a good-doer and pillar of the community) and the ‘human relations’ stereotype (who is a
jolly good person whom everyone likes). Neither may be right for the job.
(b) Physical trait stereotypes – We may identify one physical characteristic and assume
that people who possess that trait will be alike in character. Examples are the
assumption that people who are short are quick tempered and tall people are soft spoken.
These unfounded assumptions could again colour our judgment and make it more
difficult for us to evaluate information in a well-balanced way.
5.3.4 Unfavourable Information (the horn effect)

Most of us are more heavily influenced by people’s bad points than by their good ones.
Once we have formulated an adverse impression, we are slow to change our minds.
This too, can be a barrier to effective evaluation of all the information that has emerged
during the interview.

Exercise 3.5
1. List and describe any two ways selection interviews may be conducted.
2. How different is Prejudice from Halo Effect?
3. Identify and describe any three problems associated with selection interviews.
How have you fared, especially with question 2? Well done. Let us now advance to
session 6.

UNIT 3 ADMINISTERING SELECTION INTERVIEWS
SESSION 5


SESSION 6
SESSION 6: COMPLETING THE SELECTION PROCESS

Welcome to session 6 which deals with completing the selection process.
The selection process is most critical as this can make or break your
organization. Completing the selection process can also make lasting impression on your
job applicant because of the decisions you make at this point. In this session, we shall
consider what it means to make a selection decision and how such decisions are
communicated to both successful and unsuccessful applicants.
Objectives
(a) Explain the concept “selection decision-making”;
(b) Discuss why successful applicants should be informed very early;
(c) Suggest other ways of dealing with unsuccessful applicants.
Now read on…
6.1 Making the Selection Decision
Deciding on the outcome of the selection procedure is seldom an easy task. You are
dealing with people, all of whom are likely to find failure or rejection unpalatable. You
are also trying to determine, on the basis of a few pieces of paper plus an interview or
two, something which has an important bearing on the future success of your
organization. If the selection decision is based on say the interview alone, candidates
are ranked from highest marks to the lowest and the required number of candidates are
selected. If the decision is also based on a multiple of selection decisions as already
discussed, an aggregate performance broadsheet is prepared for all candidates based on
which successful candidates are informed.
In all of these, the employer should make sure that his decision to hire a particular
applicant is the right one.
6.2 Communicating with Successful Candidates

The person selected should be notified speedily by means of an offer letter. If he has
applied for similar jobs, there is a chance that he will be offered one of the others first
and you will lose him. He may, of course, change his mind even after he has accepted
your offer, so you can feel inclined to leave open some channel of communication to
one of the other applicants, just in case. This will only be feasible if he too, matches
your requirements and came close in the decision-making process.
The offer letter tells the applicant that you are offering him the job. The letter may
suggest an effective date, but this is normally open and takes effect from the day the
UNIT 3 EMPLOYEE SELECTION
SESSION 6
candidate assumes duty. The letter should also include details of the salary and major
terms and conditions of employment.
6.3 Handling Unsuccessful Applicants

You should adopt a policy of informing unsuccessful candidates at the earliest
opportunity. If the decision is formulated during the interview, the applicant should be
brought to this realization of his unsuitability during the interview. But if the decision is
delayed, you should write to him. Remember to make your letter as polite as possible
because you may never know when the need to rely on such a candidate will arise.

Exercise 3.6
Q1. Explain what a selection decision is.

Q2. In what one way can a selection decision be reached?
Q3.Try your hand on producing an offer letter to a successful candidate for the job
of Assistant Human Resource Manager in your organization.
We hope you found this very interesting. Please keep it up!
81 CoDEUCC/ Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 6


EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
AND PLACEMENT UNIT 4
UNIT 4: EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND

PLACEMENT
Unit Outline
Session 1: Getting the new employee started on the job
Session 2: Employee Performance Appraisal
Session 3: Challenges of Employee Appraisal
Session 4: Employee Placement- Movement on the job -1
Session 5 Employee Placement - Movement on the job -2
Session 6 Temporary and Permanent Separations
You are welcome to Unit 4 where our focus will be on employee

appraisal and placement. After employees are selected, they are
guided systematically to start on the job. As they continue working,
managers have responsibility to determine from time to time, how the employee is
performing on the job. How this is done and what the results of the employee's appraisal
is used for, are what will engage our attention. We hope you will find this session very
special.
Objectives
When you have finished studying this Unit, you should be able to:
1. Describe how a new employee gets started on the job
2. Explain what employee performance appraisal means
3. Identify a few challenges associated with appraising employees.
4. Describe what it means to place an employee
5. Discuss at least three types of employee movements on the job.
6. Differentiate between a temporary separation and permanent separation on the
job.
Now read on......
CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 82

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND
UNIT 4 PLACEMENT

83 CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND UNIT4
SESSION 1
PLACEMENT
SESSION 1: GETTING THE NEW EMPLOYEE STARTED
Welcome to session 1 which deals with getting the new employee started
on the job. Dear reader, do you recall your own experience, the first time
you stepped foot on the University of Cape Coast Campus?
It is common knowledge that whenever we find ourselves in a new environment, we need
someone already familiar with the environment to show us around to enable us to
accomplish our mission in this new environment. This process takes place in organisations
for new employees. How it is done is what you will find in this session.
Objectives
(a) Explain the concept ‘induction’.
(b) State three preparatory activities to receive a new employee.
(c) Explain the purpose of an induction checklist.
Now read on…
1.1 Induction Training/Orientation

Once you have agreed on a starting date for a new employee, it is a good idea to compile
a checklist of things to do so that you are ready for him when he assumes duty. The first
three or four months at work can be the most critical in determining whether a new
employee will stay or not. The reception he is given on his first day, and the help and
guidance he receives while he is settling in, is very important. The entire process of
welcoming a new employee and getting him well started on his new job is referred to as
induction or orientation.
a) Preparing to receive the new employee
Before the new employee arrives, the Human Resource Manager must do the following:
a) Inform the people who need to know about the new employee, for instance,
people with whom he will work directly.
b) Allocate working space, and make sure that it is as clean, tidy and welcoming, as
circumstances will allow.
c) Brief someone to act as a guide and mentor during the first few weeks; to
accompany the new employee to lunch breaks, and perhaps answer informal
enquiries.
d) Provide details to the Pay Section to include the employee’s name on the payroll.
e) Decide who is to induct the new worker into the organization, and make the
necessary arrangements.
CoDEUCC Dipl oma in Commerce/ Management Studies 88

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT
SESSION 1
f) If you will not be inducting him personally, set aside some time to welcome him
yourself.
Nothing will be more embarrassing than for a new employee to feel that his
employer is not ready to receive him on his first day at work.
b) Checklist for Induction/Orientation
A standard checklist for a newcomer might include the following items.

1. Tour of the building, to locate fire exits, recreational facilities/canteen,
lavatories, car park, pay office and other sections relevant to the newcomer
personally.
2. Information about the organization, to give him a more detailed idea of the
company’s operations, what business it is in, its history and future plans. This
will serve to reinforce any written information or details given at interview, but
care must be taken to put the information over in a way that will both be
interesting and directly relevant.
3. Information about terms and conditions of employment and any queries on the
contract of employment or written particulars should be reinforced. If these
were not sent out in advance, they should be handed over during induction. The
main points to which attention should be drawn are hours of work, working
hours, the timing and length of lunch breaks, his holiday entitlement and who he
should see to book his leave or ask for other time off. Specific rules should be
explained such as First Aid procedures, what he should do if he is unwell and
unable to come to work one day and many more.
4. Information about the job, including a job description if he has not already been
given one, can be dealt with during induction. The job should be discussed in
some depth, so that any misconception can be ironed out immediately or during
preliminary job training.
5. Introduction to the people with whom he will be working especially his guide
and mentor, and to the providers of essential services such as pay clerk and tea
lady (were available) is also essential
6. Hand him over to his department or supervisor with whom he will work directly.
7. Following on him till he has fairly settled down on the job.
You may find it useful to put yourself in the newcomer’s shoes. Given that he knows
nothing and no one in the organization at present, how much of this information does he

SESSION 1
PLACEMENT
need to have on his first arrival? Bear in mind that he will be registering many new
experiences, some of which may not be in line with his expectations. Take care however,
not to overload him initially with information, which he will have difficulty in
remembering, but tell him enough to survive.
Once you have welcomed the new employee and begun to acclimatize him to the
organization, your next task, in his interest and your own, is to ensure that he is in a
position to do his job effectively, as soon as possible.
Dear reader, if you are an employee, can you recall your first day at work? Discuss your
experiences with your peers.
1.2 Probation
Probation is a period of trial for both employer and new employee. During probation, the
employer has enough time to observe the new employee and to determine whether or not
the new employee is the right choice and is suitable for the job. For the new employee, he
also wants to be sure that his career aspirations will be met when he stays on the job.
Because it is a trial period, employers will not give the new employee all benefits (for
example holidays and all allowances) commensurate with the position during probation.
Depending upon the organization and the position in question, the period of probation
may last up to one year. To the new employee, probation is the period to demonstrate his
best to convince the employer, if indeed the employee intends to stay on. Because of the
fluid nature of the probation period, either employer or new employee can back out
without very serious contractual implications on either side.
1.3 Confirmation of Appointment

Confirmation of a new employee’s appointment marks the end of probation for the new
employee. It is now time for both employer and employee to agree formally that they
will stay together; the employee becomes a bona fide worker of the organization. Before
confirmation, a report compiled on the new employee during probation is reviewed by a
duly constituted panel which approves the confirmation or otherwise, based on reports
on the employee.
Depending on the organisation's policy, the employee is taken through due process,
either at an interview or any form of evaluation after which, depending upon his
performance, he is confirmed. The confirmation will normally take effect from the date
the employee assumed duty or first reported in the organization on appointment. Some

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT
SESSION 1
organisations have provision for extended probation where the new employee is unable
to meet the requirements at the end of the normal probation period.

Exercise 4.1
1. Explain the term induction or orientation.
2. How will you explain the period of probation to a new employee?
3. As a Human Resource Manager, discuss the need to get ready to
receive a new employee, with your peers.
We hope you found this very interesting. Please keep up the team spirit.

SESSION 1
PLACEMENT

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL UNIT 4
AND PLACEMENT SESSION 2
SESSION 2: EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Welcome to Session 2. This session examines the concept of employee

appraisal, approaches to appraisal, as well as the importance of appraisal.

(a) Explain what performance appraisals is;
(b) List and explain three approaches to appraisal;
(c) State and explain three ways in which appraisal is important;
(d) Explain any one limitation of appraisal.
Now read on…
2.1 What is Performance Appraisal?

Performance Appraisal is the name given to the regular, formal and recorded review of the
way an employee is performing on his job. It is normally carried out by the job-holder’s
immediate supervisor.
2.2 Appraisal Approaches

Three approaches to appraisal are the trait-oriented, results-oriented and job behaviour-
oriented approaches. These approaches measure specific outcomes or attributes of
employees.
a) Personal Traits Approach

This involves the assessment of personal qualities, such as appearance, punctuality,
leadership skills and cooperativeness.
b) Results or Output Approach

This requires that the outcomes or results achieved by the job-holder should form the basis
of the assessment. Sales figures, wastage rate, complaints received and costs incurred
provide examples.
c) Job-related behaviour Approach

This recognizes the importance of the way a person goes about his work, rather than only
the results he achieves. What does the effective performer do, and how does he do it?
What are the differences between the way he behaves and the way a poor performer
behaves?
Though the job-oriented systems are becoming more widely used, results –oriented systems are
the most common. A further dimension is given to any discussion of performance appraisal by
the split between open and closed systems. In an open system, as the name implies, the
employee being appraised has the opportunity to discuss his performance with his supervisor,

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
SESSION 2
and to contribute, to a greater or lesser extent, to the record of the appraisal. Closed systems, on
the other hand, are those where the supervisor assesses the direct report without discussions
with him.
As pressures increase for more employee participation and a more open approach to
employee management, the trend is towards more openness in appraisal.
2.3 How Appraisal is Done
As seen in 2.2 above, organisations develop criteria or employee qualities to be evaluated or

appraised. Having done that, rating systems are developed where weighting or marks are
allotted to each quality to be assessed. For example if the total rating for an employee
appraised is 20, the 20 points may be sub-divided as follows:
Personal traits - 4 points

Results or output - 10 points
Job related behaviour - 6 points
Following the break-down, a complete appraisal form is designed to be used for employee
evaluation using any of the following appraisal procedures.
a) Manager/Supervisor appraisal
This has been the traditional approach to evaluating an employee's performance. In most
instances, supervisors are in the best position to perform this function. In this approach,
appraisal is done by an employee's supervisor or manager. If it is done by a manager, the
result is often reviewed by another manager, one level higher.
b) Self-Appraisal
Sometimes employees are requested to evaluate themselves on a self-appraisal form. The

self-appraisal approach is beneficial when managers seek to increase an employee's
involvement in the review process. In using this approach, performance appraisal is done by
the employee being evaluated, generally on an appraisal form completed by the employee
himself prior to the main evaluation to be prepared by his manager or supervisor.
c) Subordinate appraisal
This approach allows for appraisal of supervising officer by a subordinate worker normally
working with the supervising officer. This method is more appropriate for developmental
than for administrative purposes. Performance areas assessed in this approach will normally
include leadership, oral communication, delegation of authority, team effort or coordination

and interest in subordinates. Available evidence suggests that when managers heed the
promptings/ratings of their direct reports, their own performance can improve substantially.
Dear reader, you may want to find out about other methods like Peer appraisal, Team
appraisal, Consumer appraisal or putting it all together properly referred to as 360-degrees
appraisal.
2.4 Importance of Appraisal

Performance appraisal can be a very useful management tool. A regular review of each
individual’s performances should provide accurate information about the quality and skills
of the workforce – essential for manpower planning. An appraisal system can also
encourage commitment to corporate goals and conformity with corporate norms or expected
patterns of behaviour. In addition to the above, performance appraisal can serve a wide
range of uses for the individual and his manager. Prominent among them are as follow:
(a) Identifying training needs. Unless some mechanism is devised for assessing an
employee’s level of competence on his job, any areas of shortfall in his performance may be
difficult to identify. You may know that a subordinate is not 100 per cent effective. You
may think that you know why. But it is only when you come to look at the requirements of
his job in detail, and compare it with what he is actually doing, that the scope and nature of
the problem may fully emerge. If you go further and actually discuss this with him, all sorts
of things may be revealed. He may never have realized that some specific task was his
responsibility, or he may never have been taught how to do it properly.
(b) Improving present performance. There are many reasons why an employee may fail
to meet required standards of performance, or maximize his contribution to the business.
The existence of bad inter-personal relationships within the department, financial worries,
domestic problems, misunderstanding over what is required, ignorance of the effect his low
work standards have on others, as well as the more specific training needs we have
discussed, can all drag standards of performance downwards. The performance appraisal
interview can provide an opportunity for discovering such barriers to effective performance,
and for considering how they can be removed.
(c) Improving communication. The importance of communicating with employees is real. A
quick word exchanged amid the pressures of the work environment is not really communication
in the true sense of the word. Performance appraisal forces a constructive dialogue between you
and your subordinates: a chance to see things in perspective, and to plan together. So although
the basis for your discussion will be your day-to-day activities, the opportunity to discuss them
in detail does not present itself every day.
(d) Improving motivation. A few words of encouragement and of recognition can have a
more positive effect on morale and job satisfaction than a pay raise would. An employee who
is working well deserves thanks, and an employee who has room to improve is more likely to

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
SESSION 2
feel that it is worth making the effort if he can see clearly what is expected of him and is given
guidance on how to achieve it. The performance appraisal interview can provide an appropriate
mechanism for this too.
(e) Disciplinary documentation. If and when you have to dismiss one of your employees for
misconduct or poor performance, it will be important that you have documentary evidence to
support your assertion, perhaps before an industrial tribunal. You will not only need to show
that the employee was unsatisfactory, you will also have to demonstrate that he knew that this
was the case and had been given an opportunity to improve. Performance appraisal is not, in
itself, a disciplinary device. What is important is that the appraisal should reflect consistently
the individual’s standard of performance and behaviour. This way, you avoid the
embarrassment and cost of a tribunal finding that an apparently isolated episode did not warrant
dismissal.
(f) Determining Pay. The link between performance appraisal and pay has long been a bone of
contention. But where it is the quality of overall performance which determines that Kwame
for instance, receives more pay than Kofi for doing the same job, there must be some means of
assessing merit as fairly as possible. The performance appraisal scheme might seem the obvious
answer.
(g) Determining employee placement
As will be seen later in this Unit, appraisal results help to determine where an employee may be
placed. Examples are promotion, transfers and any others deemed suitable.
Exercise 4.2
1. How will you explain ‘employee appraisal’ to your colleague?

2. Discuss any two procedures for conducting employee appraisal.
3. What three reasons will you give for conducting employee appraisal?
How have you faired? Hope you did well. Let’s progress to Session 3.



EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND UNIT 4
PLACEMENT SESSION 3
SESSION 3: CHALLENGES OF APPRAISAL
Welcome to session 3. Here, we shall consider challenges that come with

employee performance appraisal. We shall focus on administrative,
assessment and implementation challenges and end with how to handle these
challenges. Can you begin to imagine what some of these challenges are?
Objectives
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
(a) List and explain any two challenges associated with employee
appraisal
(b) Explain what it means to overcome an appraisal challenge.
Now read on…
3.1 Administrative Challenges

It takes time and money to develop and administer a system. Those who are required to
appraise others must be trained and should spend much time planning the appraisals.
Appraisal interviews could mean time away from the job for both appraiser and
appraisee, and in a large department, the manager can be tied up with appraisals for
days or even weeks.
3.2 Assessment Challenges

Arbitrary assessment is contrary to good employment practice. Bias can creep in, even
in well-organized systems. Halo effect stereotyping and an over-emphasis on negative
information, can also play a part. Leniency too may be a problem.
3.3 Implementation Challenges

There is always the danger that the system will not be used for the purpose intended –
perhaps because people have lost sight of its original objectives. Many systems fall into
the trap of creating expectations, which become unrealistic. Systems which create
expectations of promotion, for instance, will lead to frustration and disillusion if the
organization stops growing or if promotion blockages occur.
Although not all these problems are inevitable, many are hard to avoid. Having weighed
up the costs, the pitfalls and the benefits, you may decide that you need such a system
or otherwise.

UNIT 4 CHALLENGES OF APPRAISAL
SESSION 3
3.4 Dealing with Appraisal Challenges
Appraising employees come with several challenges either from appraisers

themselves, appraisee or existing appraisal procedures as discussed under
3.3. In this sub-session, we shall consider the following strategies for
dealing with appraisal challenges.
a) Training
As discussed under session 2.3 of this Unit, supervisors and department heads are
eligible to evaluate the performance of their subordinate staff. Organisations also have
their specific appraisal policies regarding frequency, criteria, evaluation procedures and
how to provide feedback to appraisees. It is therefore important that any supervisor or
head of department directly involved in employee appraisal be trained and retrained
especially when new policies on appraisal are introduced.
b) Evaluation of Appraisal Procedures
Each organisation will normally have a procedure for evaluating its employees.
Interviews, assessment forms, positive and negative critical incident recognition,
observation or a combination of any of these are means or procedures normally used to
evaluate the performance of workers. In all of these procedures, the aim is to produce a
most effective way of assessing employee performance. It is to be noted that the
accuracy of appraisal depends to a large extent on the quality of appraisal procedure in
use, hence the need to keep an eye on the procedures and revise same as soon as the
need arises.
c) Guidelines
Closely related to training as discussed under a) above is the need to provide appraisers
with specific guidelines for evaluating employees at different levels. Whereas the
training could be for general appraisal policies of the organisation, guidelines focus on
specific issues to appraise: how to evaluate different categories of workers and what
performance indicators to look for, (for instance knowledge of work, leadership ability
and whether the appraisal is for compensation or placement purposes and how to
provide feedback to employees). Providing feedback to employees will normally be by
a procedure called evaluation interview.

PLACEMENT SESSION 3
d) Performance Management
The ultimate purpose of employee appraisal is to improve the current and future
employee performance. Where this is not achieved, the whole purpose of appraisal is
largely defeated. Employee performance management through appraisal is more
effective where evaluation interviews are used. During evaluation interviews, actual
performance of the employee is measured against a standard set either for the employee
or together with the employee. The process allows for frank discussion between the
employee and his/her rater or supervisor on the strengths and weaknesses of the former.
By proposing remedies to the employee’s weaknesses and highlighting his/her
strengths, the employee makes necessary amends for better performance in the future.

UNIT 4 CHALLENGES OF APPRAISAL
SESSION 3
Exercise 4.3
Q1. What is an appraisal challenge?
Q2. How different is an administrative challenge of appraisal from an implementation

challenge?
Q3. Discuss one strategy for dealing with appraisal challenges.

PLACEMENT SESSION 3


SESSION 4: EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENTS ON THE

JOB - 1)
Welcome to Session 4. We shall commence our discussion on
employee placement. In this session, we shall focus on moving
employees on the job. Let us remember that jobs change in terms of design and
description just as employees change because of additional qualifications and
experience. For these reasons, employees and jobs continue to be matched to ensure
efficiency and effectiveness. The process of matching involves moving employees on
the job and is technically described as employee placement.
Objectives
By the time you complete your study of this session, you should be able to:
a. Differentiate clearly between promotion and upgrading of an employee
b. Distinguish between a transfer and a transfer with promotion
Now read on…
4.1 Employee Promotion
A grade in employment is a rank or stage of advancement in an employee’s career path.

In the career path of Human Resource Management for example, the ranks in ascending
order, may be from Assistant Human Resource Manager, to Human Resource Manager,
Senior Human Resource Manager, Principal Human Resource Manager, Chief Human
Resource Manager, Deputy Director of Human Resource and Director of Human
Resource. This example depicts seven grades or ranks in the career path. Can you
identify these grades? Why not do so to be sure.
A promotion is the movement of an employee from a lower level of job responsibility

or grade to the next (immediate) higher one. A promotion must take place in the same
organisation, in a given career path and must come with higher responsibility and
remuneration to the beneficiary employee. For a normal promotion, the employee to be
considered must have spent a required number of years on the current grade or position,
must have been duly appraised over the years and obtained an acceptable appraisal
score. In addition, the employee must have applied formally with recommendations
from an immediate supervisor and perhaps, reference reports from his/her chosen
referees.
Ultimately, the employee must appear before an appropriate panel to be interviewed or

tested as the case may be. If the employee is found suitable, he is promoted to the next
CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce/ Management Studies 105

UNIT 4
EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENTS ON THE JOB -1)
SESSION 4
grade. In the example of grades provided above, an employee may be promoted from
Principal Human Resource Manager to Chief Human Resource Manager.
4.2 Upgrading
What upgrading means is, movement of an employee from one grade to the next
(immediate) higher grade, for instance from Human Resource Manager to Senior
Human Resource Manager. This movement may be based on a higher
academic/professional certificate obtained by the employee and which is commensurate
with new grade for which the employee is being considered. It could also be done to
recognize/reward exceptional desirable work behavior exhibited by the employee.
Please note that though upgrading is a form of promotion, there are technical
differences between the two. Apart from upgrading being a shortened administrative
process for promotion, an employee to be upgraded need not spend the required number
of years on his current grade before stepping up. The employee also may not appear
before a promotions panel before upgrading takes place, though the promotions panel
has jurisdiction for ratifying the upgrading later, at a duly constituted meeting.
4.3 Transfers
A transfer is a movement of an employee from one job location to another job location
within the same organisation, usually with no change in salary or grade. Employees
may seek transfers for personal enrichment, for more interesting jobs, for greater
convenience – better hours, location of work, and so on – or for jobs offering greater
possibilities for advancement. Employers may also transfer a worker from a job
location where he is no longer needed, to fill one where he is needed more, within the
same organisation.
4.4 Promotion with Transfer
As the term implies, a promotion with transfer is a combination of 4.1 and 4.3 above.
This movement has both a vertical and lateral effect on the employee; vertical due to
promotion and lateral because it must be in another location of the same organisation.
By way of example, if Mr. Amuzu is currently Senior Human Resource Manager in
Branch A of XYZ Company Limited at Pokuase and qualifies for promotion to
Principal Human Resource Manager, he will have to go through the process as
described under 4.1 above. Finally, if Mr. Amuzu gets promoted, there may be no
vacancy at his current location in Branch A at Pokuase to occupy as Principal Human
Resource Manager, but such vacancy could be at Branch B of the same organisation in

Ho. What therefore normally happens will be to transfer Mr. Amuzu from Pokuase to
Ho to occupy the vacant position as Principal Human Resource Manager. The result is
the promotion of Mr. Amuzu to Principal Human Resource Manager and with transfer
to Ho.
Exercise 4.4
1. Mention three prerequisites of an employee promotion.
2. What is a transfer?
3. Describe what an employee upgrading is.
CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce/ Management Studies 105

UNIT 4
EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENTS ON THE JOB -1)
SESSION 4


PLACEMENT SESSION 5
SESSION 5 EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENT ON THE

JOB – 2)
Welcome to session 5. In this session, we shall continue with our

discussion on matching jobs with qualifications of employees.
Employee movements such as demotions, relieving duties and others will be discussed.
Objectives
a. Differentiate clearly between employee demotion and relieving duties
b. Describe what it means to send an employee on relieving duties or re-appoint an
existing employee.
You may read on……
5.1 Demotions
A demotion is the movement of an employee from one job grade to a lower one. Unlike
a promotion, a demotion need not be to the next or immediate lower grade, it can also
be two or more grades below. A demotion normally comes as punishment to the
employee for any undesirable behavior which has been proved through due process at
which the employee is given adequate opportunity to defend himself.
The conditions for demotion of an employee are the direct opposite for promotion. You
may wish to refer to session 4.1 of this Unit.
5.2 Relieving Duties
This employee movement is usually temporary and meant for one employee to take
over from a colleague on leave; annual, maternity, casual or any other leave. To be
successful, an employee for relieving duties must be in nearly the same job schedule as
the one to be relieved. Usually, the reliever spends sometime, depending upon
prevailing circumstances, with the one to be relieved, before taking over.
5.3 Reposting
Posting an employee entails assigning an employee to his duty schedule in any

organisation. The assignment may be in any branch or geographical area of an

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENT ON THE JOB 2)
SESSION 5
organisation. What reposting means is re-assigning an employee to another branch or

area of the same organisation to assume (not resume) duty normally on first
appointment. For example if Mesuna Ltd has its head office in Accra and posts its new
senior marketing officer, Mr. Adams to its branch office in Cape Coast, only to realize
that Mr. Adams was actually appointed for the Koforidua office, Mr. Adams cannot be
left in Cape Coast because he will have no work to do. What the Head Office will do
will be to now send Mr. Adams to the Koforidua Branch. This process is described as
employee reposting.
5.4 Re-appointment of an Existing Employee
In session 6 of Unit 2, we learnt about internal recruitment; a system by which job

openings in organizations are filled from within. Kindly go back and revise your notes
if you do not remember readily, what we discussed. We shall soon see in Unit 5 that
employees can receive both training and development either on the job or off the job.
Such training or development opportunities equip employees with additional skills or

qualifications which render them suitable for other positions within their existing career
path or in a different job schedule altogether.
Re-appointment of an existing employee occurs (please note that we are not talking of
promotions here) when the employee in question has the requisite qualification and
work experience for another job within the same organisation, and is so appointed. For
example, if a vacancy occurs in the Audit Department of organisation A for the position
of Senior Auditing Assistant, and the vacancy is advertised, especially internally, any
existing employee with the requisite qualification and experience may apply. If Mr.
Quansah, an Accounting Assistant from the Finance Department applies and gets
appointed, Mr. Quansah’s status immediately changes to Senior Auditing Assistant.
This now makes Mr. Quansah an Audit staff and no longer an Accounting staff.
Remember that Accountants and Auditors have nearly the same academic/professional
qualifications but vary in their duties; the Accountant will normally prepare financial
statements whilst Auditors verify same and lend credibility of otherwise to the financial
statements so prepared.
It should again be noted that re-appointing an employee is different from appointing an

employee the second time, or re-engagement of an employee who separated from the
employer for one reason or another.

PLACEMENT SESSION 5
Exercise 4.5
1. Discuss the term ‘relieving duties’.
2. Describe a reposting situation you know or have read about with your
colleagues.
3. Distinguish between re-appointment of an employee from re-engaging a former
employee.
How did you perform? Let’s press on to the next session.

UNIT 4 EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT (MOVEMENT ON THE JOB 2)
SESSION 5


EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT AND PERFORMANCE UNIT 4
APPRAISAL SESSION 6
SESSION 6 TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT SEPARATIONS

Dear reader, you are warmly welcome to session 6. In this session, we
shall continue to discuss employee movements. But here, the
movements will not be on the job, but away from the job. This is why such movements
are better described as separations. As will be seen below, some of the separations are
only temporary while others are permanent.
Objectives
a. Explain the concept of employee separations
b. Identify some forms of employee separation.
c. Distinguish clearly among the forms of separation discussed.
Now read on…
6.1 Meaning of Employee Separation

As captured briefly in the introduction, employee separation here implies a situation
where the contract of employment between the employer and employee is nullified
either temporarily or permanently. The term nullified here means the contract is either
fluid or ceases to be in force completely. If this situation is only for the time-being, the
separation is described as temporary and the employee has opportunity to return to his
job. Where the employee or worker has no opportunity to return to his job, the
separation is described as permanent.
Separations other than mandatory retirement, are very stressful situations to both
employer and employee and should be avoided as much as possible especially by the
employee. Below are some forms of separations.
6.2 Interdiction
An interdiction is a temporary separation of the employee from his job at the instance of
the employer. This temporary separation follows a misconduct by the employee which
has to be investigated. Many organizations have laid down procedures for investigating
internal misconduct. Some of such procedures are through disciplinary committees or
arbitration panels.
During interdiction, the employee is formally requested to step aside or stay away from
work to allow for the investigations without undue influence from the employee.
Depending on the organisation’s policy and nature of the misconduct, the interdiction
may last for up to three or six months. However, the shorter the period of investigation,

UNIT 4 TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT SEPARATIONS
SESSION 6
the better it is for both the employer and employee. This is because, while on
interdiction, the employee is paid a given proportion of his salary up to about 50%,
depending upon the organisation’s conditions of service or collective agreement. If at
the end of the investigation, the employee is found culpable of the misconduct, his
appointment is either terminated or he is dismissed or punished in other ways depending
upon the gravity of offense and conditions of service. You may at this point be thinking
about what termination and dismissal mean. Just read on patiently and you will find the
explanation soon.
6.3 Reinstatement
Having discussed interdiction under 6.2, reinstatement should be easy to follow. At the
end of investigations that follow interdiction of an employee, the disciplinary committee
or arbitration panel may find the employee not culpable. This means the employee is
cleared of the alleged misconduct. In this case, the employee is allowed to return to his
job and all entitlements lost during the period of interdiction and investigations are paid
back to him. Reinstatement means, the employee is put back on his position (in terms of
the job and benefits) before the interdiction.
Dear reader, we hope you now see very clearly why interdiction is only a temporary
separation.
6.4 Termination
Termination is a permanent separation but different from dismissal. Termination comes
as punishment to the employee following investigation of misconduct by the employee.
When an employee is alleged to have misconducted himself, the employee is given a
fair hearing by the internal disciplinary system. If at the end, the worker is unable to
defend himself, termination could be one option of punishment depending upon the
findings of the investigations. Termination means, the offending worker is shown the
exit. But unlike dismissal, termination allows the worker to leave with abated
entitlements. Abated here implies some reduction in all entitlements due the worker
before the misconduct. With termination, the employee separates permanently but
leaves with some entitlements paid to him by from the employer.
6.5 Resignation
To resign is to leave one’s job formally and permanently. Leaving one’s job implies
ceasing to be an employee of your organisation from the date the resignation takes
effect. Formally, it means an employee who intends to resign does so officially or by
due process of application to the effect. This application must be duly accepted by the
employer, to make the separation mutually acceptable to both parties.

EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT AND PERFORMANCE UNIT 4
APPRAISAL SESSION 6
The resigning employee will, at this stage, hand over any employer’s property in his
custody, such as company identity card, office equipment, official vehicle, to the
employer before leaving. Depending on the conditions of service and the number of
years the employee has served, the latter may be paid his entitlements.
6.6 Dismissal
Dismissal is apermanent separation of an employee form his employer at the instance of
the employer. Dismissal comes as punishment for misconduct. What constitutes
misconduct will normally be spelt out in the organisation’s conditions of service.
Examples are stealing company property, fighting at work, sexual harassment, habitual
absenteeism.
To be dismissed, the employee must be taken through due process, to defend himself. If
found culpable, the employee is discharged in writing and he leaves the organisation
with no entitlements from the employer. He may however have access to any personal
contributions to a pension scheme to which he belongs. You may want to refer to
pension schemes as discussed in Unit 6.
Very related to dismissal is what is called summary dismissal. The reasons for summary
dismissal are normally criminal in nature (that is an offence against the State).
Examples are armed robbery, rape, libel, felony. Such matters are normally handled by
the State security, outside the employer’s jurisdiction.
What is worthy of note here is that with summary dismissal, the employee is not taken
through any due process by the employer. The dismissal is instant and the employee
leaves with no entitlements except his own contributions as in normal dismissal.
Exercise 4.6
1. What does employee separation mean in general?

2. How different is Interdiction from Termination?
3. Explain ‘summary dismissal’ and distinguish it from ‘dismissal’.

UNIT 4 TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT SEPARATIONS
SESSION 6


EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
UNIT 5
UNIT 5: EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Unit Outline
Session 1: Differences between ‘Training’ and ‘Development’ of Employees
Session 2: Training and Development Process
Session 3: Training Techniques (1)
Session 4: Training Techniques (2)
Session 5: Management Development Techniques
Session 6: Career Management
Welcome to Unit 4, another very revealing Unit of this Course. This

Unit is a theoretical explanation of what you yourselves are going
through now by embarking on this distance learning programme at
the College of Distance Education of the University of Cape Coast. To make this point
clearer to you, try to answer these personal questions, “Why did I choose to pursue this
programme? Why was I not content with the current qualification I have? What
difference will it make for me if I complete this programme successfully?” Very correct
and sincere answers to these questions will reveal why organizations deem it important
for their employees to undertake further training and development.
In this Unit, we shall pay attention to the meaning of training and development and look
at the technical differences between the two concepts. We will then proceed to look at
the various training and development techniques available and end up with an
exposition on the concept of career management.
Objectives
By the end of a careful study of this Unit, you should be able to:
1. Explain the meaning of 'training' and 'development'.
2. Identify the differences between the terms ‘training and development’.
3. Describe training and development processes.
4. List and explain some training and development techniques.
5. Describe a few management development techniques.
6. Explain the concept of career management.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ‘TRAINING’ AND
UNIT 5 ‘DEVELOPMENT’ OF EMPLOYEES


EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT UNIT 5
SESSION 1
SESSION 1: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘TRAINING’ AND

‘DEVELOPMENT’ OF EMPLOYEES
Welcome to session 1 where we shall consider the technical difference
between two concepts which have often been used interchangeably.
Though very different, the two concepts describe the process of employee job-related
learning.
Objectives
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
a. Explain the term “training” as used in human resource management.
b. Describe the process of employee development
c. List one or two differences between ‘training’ and ‘development’.
Now read on…
1.1 Training
As has been described earlier, performance appraisal provides one method for
identifying individual employee training needs.
Training may be described as a formal and systematic modification of employee

behaviour through learning which occurs as a result of education, instruction and
planned experience.
The fundamental aim of training is to help an organization achieve its purpose by

adding value to its employees. Training involves investing in employees to enable them
to perform better.
Training is concerned with the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills which can
be applied to work of a particular type. Changing technology and patterns of work mean
that training must be a continuous process throughout one's working life.
Skills acquired for one’s job may have to be transferred, modified and supplemented for
other jobs. If core skills common to a group of jobs can be identified, flexibility can be
enhanced.
Benefits of effective training include minimising production costs in general, improving

individual and team performance in terms of output, quality, speed and overall
productivity. Additional benefits include attracting high quality employees by offering
them learning opportunities, increasing their levels of competence, thereby giving them
more job satisfaction to be able to progress within the organization.

UNIT 5
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘TRAINING’ AND
SESSION 1 ‘DEVELOPMENT’ OF EMPLOYEES
1.2 Employee Development

This concept is better described as management development. It is concerned with
improving managers’ performance in their present roles and preparing them for greater
responsibilities in the future.
Management development is a course of action designed to enable the individual

manager to realize his potential for growth in the organization. It relates to future and
higher rather than present jobs.
Management development contributes to business success by helping the organization

identify managers with potential to prepare and implement personal development plans
and ensure that they receive the required experience. Additionally, management
development provides for management succession and creates a system to keep this
under review.
1.3 Key Differences between Training and Development

Initially, the key task is to identify the training needs of a job or job-group before
considering how best these needs can be met. From the description of training so far, it
is inferable that training will normally be applicable to jobs which are less supervisory
in nature; require specific tasks or related tasks and which can be accomplished in
relatively shorter periods of learning. Examples are training of tradesmen such as
mechanics and construction workers.
Although training helps employees to do their current job, the benefits of training may
extend throughout an employee’s career development and by contrast help the
employee to handle future responsibilities. Development programmes deal with
supervisory jobs, last over relatively longer learning periods and are generally designed
for employees in management positions. Examples are Marketing Manager, Production
Manager or Director of Human Resource.
Since the distinction between training (now) and development (future) is blur, both are
often used to mean the same thing – to improve upon work performance. What most
organizations therefore seek is to create an organization where people engage in
continuous learning.

SESSION 1
Exercise 5.1
1. Describe what employee training is.

2. List at least two differences between ‘training’ and ‘management development’.
Discuss your answers with your peers.

UNIT 5
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘TRAINING’ AND
SESSION 1 ‘DEVELOPMENT’ OF EMPLOYEES


EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
UNIT 5
SESSION 2
SESSION 2: THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES
Welcome to session 2. Having mastered the theoretical difference

between training and development, it is now time to consider the
processes involved in training and developing employees. This session is very practical
and we hope you will be able to go through successfully.
Objectives
You should be able to do the following after you have studied this session
carefully:
a. Explain what it means to analyse training needs – Needs Analyses
b. List and briefly explain two (2) other processes of training and development
c. Describe the process for evaluating a training and development programme
Now read on…
2.1 Needs Analyses

We can conveniently think of training programmes as consisting of five (5) steps; the
first being Needs Analyses. Needs Analyses is identifying specific job performance
skills expected and to develop specific measurable knowledge and performance
objectives. It is important to ensure that performance deficiency is amenable to training
rather than caused by, say, poor morale due to low salary.
Needs Analyses bring to the fore what is termed the training gap. The training gap is the
difference between what he (the employee) is now, or what he can do now and what he
should be able to do in the future.
By way of illustration, let us agree to use a secretary who is conversant with word
processing and whose manager wants to introduce the use of coral draw but does not
want to lay off this secretary because of other personal qualities the secretary has.
The best alternative for this manager will be this secretary. In this example, the need
will be to bridge the gap between word processing and coral draw.
Generally, Needs Analyses involves the following:

a) Identifying specific job performance skills needed to improve performance
and productivity.
b) Analysing the prospective trainees to ensure that the programme will be
suited to their specific levels of education, experience and skills as well as
their attitudes and personal motivations.
c) Using research to develop specific measurable knowledge and performance
objectives.

UNIT 5 THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTPROCESS
SESSION 2
2.2 Instructional Design

In this second step, the actual content of the training programme is compiled and
produced, including workbooks, exercises and activities. The following are considered:
a) Gathering instructional objectives, methods, media, description of and
sequence of content, examples, exercises and activities. Organising them
into a curriculum that supports adult learning theory and provides a blueprint
to programme development.
b) Making sure all materials, such as video scripts, leaders’ guides and
participants’ workbooks complement each other, are written clearly and
participants’ work directed to the stated learning objectives.
c) Carefully and professionally handle all programme elements – whether
reproduced on paper, film or tape – to guarantee quality and effectiveness
handling.
Taking our example of the trainee secretary discussed, what do you think will go into
his/her instructional design?
2.3 Validation of Design

The next is the validation stage where the training programme is tested or cleaned up by
presenting it to a small representative audience. The trainer will have to base the final
revision of the training programme on the pilot results. In this way, you can ensure the
programme’s effectiveness.
2.4 Design Implementation

Design implementation involves carrying the training programme or applying it to
specific trainees using any of the techniques to be discussed later in this Unit.
In the case of our example, the secretary could be sent to a computer school for a short
training on the coral draw and others like excel and power point presentations, or an
expert could be brought in to teach him/her on the job.
2.5 Evaluation and Follow-up

This step the fifth, involves measuring or assessing the programme’s success or failure.
The measurement could be done in the following manner:
a) Reaction – Document learner’s immediate reaction to training
b) Learning – Use feedback devices or pre-and post-tests to measure what learners
have actually learned.
c) Behaviour –Measure the degree to which learners apply new skills and
knowledge to their jobs by taking reaction from trainees.
d) Results – Determine the level of improvement in job performance. This requires
a follow-up on the trainee to his/her workplace.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
UNIT 5
SESSION 2
Exercise 5.2
Attempt the following questions, using our example of the secretary in this
Session.
1. What was/were the training need(s) of the Secretary?
2. How did the training need(s) arise?
3. How will you evaluate or measure the effect of her training on her job
performance?
How did you fare? Well done! You can now progress to Session 3.

UNIT 5 THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTPROCESS
SESSION 2


SESSION 3
SESSION 3: TRAINING TECHNIQUES (1)
Welcome to Session 3 where we shall concentrate on some training

techniques. Training may take place by two main methods, but using
several techniques. The two main methods are on-the-job (internal training) and off-the-
job (external training). On-the-job training requires that the employee learns alongside
performance of his duties. The techniques for this method are what this Session
concerns itself with.
Objectives
It is important that you are able to accomplish the following after going through
this session carefully.
a. Describe an example of on-the-job training
b. Discuss a few techniques for training internally
c. List and explain at least three (3) benefits for training employees on the job.
Now read on…
3.1 Meaning of On-the-Job Training (OJT)

This means job by actually performing it. Virtually, every employee, from the Cleaner
to the Managing Director, gets some training on-the-job when he joins a firm. In many
companies, OJT is the only type of training available. It usually involves assigning new
employees to experienced workers or supervisors who then do the actual training
3.2 On-the-Job Training Techniques

There are several types of OJT techniques. The most familiar is Apprenticeship. This
started as far back as the Middle Ages and is a training process by which individuals
become skilled workers through observation of the Master. Sometimes a combination of
classroom instruction and learning by doing is applied. It is widely used to train
individuals for many occupations especially tradesmen/women and artisans including
electricians, plumbers, tailors/seamstresses and hairdressers.
Closely related to Apprenticeship technique is the Coaching or Understudy method.

Here an experienced worker or the worker’s supervisor trains the employee. At lower
levels trainees may acquire skills for say, running a machine by observing the
supervisor. But this technique is also widely used at top-management levels. The
position of ‘assistant’ is often used to train and develop the company’s future top
managers. For instance job rotation in which an employee (usually a management
trainee) moves from job to job at planned intervals is another OJT technique. Others
such as Demonstrations and Special Assignment like asking trainees to research and
report on a specific area of the organization (raw material supply) similarly, give lower-
level executives firsthand experience in working on actual problems.

UNIT 5 TRAINING TECHNIQUES (1)
SESSION 3
OJT has several advantages. It is relatively inexpensive; trainees learn while producing
and there is no need for expensive off-the-job facilities like classroom or programmed
learning devices. The method also facilitates learning, since trainees learn by actually
doing the job and get quick feedback about the correctness of their performance.
However, there are several trainer-related factors to keep in mind when designing OJT
programmes. The trainers themselves should be carefully trained and given the
necessary training materials. Often an experienced worker is simply told to “go and
train the employee” Experienced workers who are chosen as trainers should be
thoroughly trained in the proper methods of instruction – in particular the principles of
learning and perhaps the step-by-step job instruction technique as will be discussed in
Session 4.
Self-Assessment Question
Exercise 5.3
1. Define on-the-job training and discuss your definition with your peers.
2. What is the difference between apprenticeship and coaching.
3. Discuss challenges associated with on-the-job training (OJT).
Well Done! Let’s move to Session 4


SESSION 3

UNIT 5
SESSION 4
SESSION 4 TRAINING TECHNIQUES (2)
Gradually, you have progressed to session 4. In this session, we shall

continue with training techniques. But this time, we shall consider
techniques applicable to the off-the-job training method. The means external learning
techniques available to a trainee.
Objectives
When you have completed studying this session, you should be able to:
a. Explain what training off-the-job means.
b. List and explain three (3) techniques for training off-the-job.
c. Discuss the benefits of training off-the-job with your peers.
Now read on…
4.1 Meaning of Off-the-Job Training

This form of training is useful if the training courses cover standard theory and practice
which can easily be translated from general to the particular. This form of training
should be able to supply the quality of instruction that it might not be cost-effective to
provide internally. It can be used to inculcate highly specialized knowledge or advanced
skills and has the added advantage of broadening the mindset of trainees.
4.2 Off-the-Job Training Techniques

Lectures/Tutorials/Seminars
These have several advantages. They are quick and simple ways to provide knowledge
to large groups of trainees, as when the sales force must be taught the special features of
a new product. Because materials like books and manuals could be used, they may
involve considerable printing expense.
Audiovisual Techniques
Audiovisual techniques like films, video conferencing, audiotapes can be very effective
and are widely used. Many computer firms use this technique to train their new
employees. Audiovisuals are more expensive than conventional lectures but offer some
advantages. The following areas come to the fore:
a. When there is a need to illustrate how a certain sequence should be
followed over time, such as when teaching wire soldering or telephone
repair, the stop action, instant replay or fast or slow-motion capabilities
of audiovisuals can be useful.
b. When there is need to expose trainees to events not easily demonstrable
in live lectures, such as a visual tour of a factory or open-heart surgery.
c. When the training is for organization-wide use and is too costly to move
the trainers from place to place.

UNIT 5 TRAINING TECHNIQUES (2)
SESSION 4
Vestibule or Simulated Training

This is a technique in which trainees learn on the actual or simulated equipment they
will use on the job but are actually trained off-the-job. The aim is to obtain the
advantages of on-the-job training without actually putting the trainee on the job in his
own work environment. Vestibule training is virtually a necessity because it is too
costly or dangerous to train employees on the job internally. Putting a new assembly-
line worker right on the job could be counter productive, for instance when safety is a
concern. As with pilots, vestibule training may be the only alternative.
Think of, and discuss other techniques such as talks, discussions, discovery learning,
group exercises, team building, distance learning, workshops and conferences.
Exercise 5.4
1. How will you explain off-the-job training to a colleague? Please write down
your answer.
2. How many techniques of external training do you know? List and explain them.
3. Discuss any three benefits of training off-the-job. Does this apply to you? If yes,
explain how.
Well done! You can now move to session 5.

UNIT 5
SESSION 5
SESSION 5: MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES
We congratulate you for coming this far to session 5. Here, we shall

discuss the learning techniques available to management employees.
You will recall that in session 1 of this unit, we distinguished between training and
development as learning methods in orgainsations. Please refresh your memories by
going back to the session in question if you have forgotten.
Objectives
a. List some objectives of management development
b. Describe some management development programmes.
c. Discuss two merits of management development.
Now read on…
5.1 Objectives of Management Development

The most important thing to remember about the process of management development
is that it must be organization-led even though it will be considered with the individual
development and potential in mind. The organisation has to decide what sort of
managers it needs to achieve its strategic goals. Even when the emphasis is on self-
development, the organisation must still indicate the direction.
Management development in its entirety has the following self-explanatory benefits to

the individual trainee manager which ultimately benefits the organization.
a) Helps the individual in making better decisions and effective problem
solving.
b) Aids in encouraging and achieving self-development and self-confidence.
c) Helps managers to better handle stress, tension and conflict.
d) Provides information for improving leadership, knowledge, communication
skills and attitudes.
e) Increases job satisfaction and recognition.
f) Provides avenue for personal growth in the organisation.
g) As an aspect of developing self-confidence, management development helps
eliminate fear in attempting new tasks or breaking new grounds in the
organization.
5.2 Management Development Programmes

Management Development Programmes can also be on-the -job or off-the-job, that is,
internal or external methods of training. A few of such programmes include the
following:

UNIT 5 MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES
SESSION 5
a) Job Rotation
This means moving management trainees from department to department to broaden
their understanding of all parts of the organisation. The trainee, often a new-comer, may
spend several months in each department; this helps not only to broaden his experience,
but also discover the jobs he prefers. The person may just be an observer in each
department but more commonly gets fully involved in its operations. The trainee thus
learns the department’s business by actually doing it, whether it involves sales,
production, finance or some other functions depending upon the qualifications of the
employee.
b) Coaching/Understudy
In the coaching/understudy approach, the trainee works directly with a senior manager
or with the person he is to replace; the latter may probably be the reason for coaching
the trainee. Normally, the understudy relieves the executive of certain responsibilities,
thereby giving the trainee a chance to learn on the job. This helps ensure that the
employer will have trained managers to assume key positions when such positions
become vacant due to retirement, promotions, transfers or otherwise.
c) Action Learning
Action learning enables managers and other employees to work full-time on projects,
analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. The trainees meet
periodically in four or five –person project groups to discuss their findings. With action
learning, several trainees may work together as a project group or compare notes and
discuss each other’s projects.
d) Case Study – This method presents a trainee with a written description of an

organizational problem. The person then analyses the case in private, diagnoses the
problem and presents his findings and solutions in a discussion with other trainees.
This helps to ensure that trainees understand the background of the case and make it
easy for them to transfer what they learn to their own jobs and situations.
e) Management Games – Computerized management games are popular. Trainees are

divided into groups representing different companies, each of which competes with the
others in a simulated marketplace. For example, each group may be allowed to decide
how much to spend on advertising, how much to produce and how much inventory to
maintain.
Other techniques already discussed like formal lectures, seminars, workshops and
conferences are also applicable to management development.

UNIT 5
SESSION 5
It is note-worthy that though the terms 'training and development' have been
distinguished in theory, in practice the two, together with their learning
techniques/programmes are often used interchangeably.
Exercise 5.5
1. List and explain two (2) benefits of management development.
2. Select and discuss any two (2) management development programmes with your
study group members.
Well done! You may progress to the next session.

UNIT 5 MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES
SESSION 5


UNIT 5
SESSION 6
SESSION 6: CAREER MANAGEMENT
Welcome to session 6 which promises to be very interesting. This

session will focus on career management, a process by which
organisations help especially their management employees to grow on the job. This
important management technique has enormous benefits for both managers and the
organisation.
Objectives
When you have completed studying this session, you should be able to:
a. Explain the concept of career management
b. Differentiate between career planning and management succession.
c. List and explain some benefits of career management in
organisations.
Now read on…
6.1 Meaning of Career Management

A career consists of all the related jobs held during one’s working life. For some people, a
career is simply a matter of luck. For others, these related jobs are part of a careful plan.
Career management consists of career planning and management succession. Generally,
career management aims at:
a. Providing management employees of promise, with a sequence of development
experiences that will equip them for whatever responsibilities they have the
ability to reach.
b. Ensuring that the organisation’s needs for management succession are satisfied.
6.2 Career Planning

Nearly every worker asks any of the following questions or more at some point during his
or her working life;
a. How do I advance my career?
b. Why has my Head of Department not given me any career counseling?
c. Do I need a higher academic/professional certificate for that job?
d. Are not most promotions based on luck and knowing the right people?
Sincere answers to these questions help identify the actions needed by anyone to further
his career. Merely planning a career does not guarantee success. Superior performance,
education, experience and occasional networking play an important role. When
employees depend largely on networking however, they seldom are prepared for the
career opportunities that arise. Successful people identify their career goals, plan and
then take action.

UNIT 5 CAREER MANAGEMENT
SESSION 6
Career planning may involve the following stages.

a. Establishing the career goals/path – this involves planning what job or job-
groups to hold during one’s working life. To help employees establish career
goals and find appropriate career paths, the Human Resource Department would
often offer career counseling. The career counselor may be someone who listens
to an employee’s interest and provides the specific job-related information. The
counselor may also help employees uncover their interests by interviewing such
employees thoroughly or by administering and interpreting aptitude, skills,
psychological and other tests.
b. Pursuing the career goal /path – to be successful on the career path, each
employee must go through a self-assessment exercise or self-inventory. Self-
assessment includes trying to discover one-self in terms of physical work,
written or oral work, quantitative or visual work, interpersonal, creative or
mechanical work and the rest. The employee should therefore position himself
where he has personal comparative advantage.
c. Career maturity – this occurs when the employee is well established on his
career path and proceeds along it according to his motivation, abilities and
opportunities. Having career maturity will result from the individual employee
accepting personal responsibility for career progression. Once this personal
commitment is made, several career progression actions such as excellent job
performance, organisational loyalty, exposure, having and depending on good
mentors and sponsors as well as international experience can prove very useful
for attaining career maturity.
6.3 Management Succession

This management strategy is often referred to as continuity planning or succession
planning. Succession planning is the process organisations use to convert information
about current employees into decisions about future internal job placements.
The key aim of succession planning is to ensure that as far as possible, suitable
managers are available to fill vacancies created by promotion, resignation, transfer,
organisational expansion, retirement or death.
Succession planning may be implemented by way of “make or buy” decisions or a

blend of the two. A “make” decision means growing your own managers by internal
promotions policy and “buy” decision involves bringing “fresh blood” into the
organisation. A blend of the two often involves deciding on what percentage to grow
from within before the rest is brought from outside.

UNIT 5
SESSION 6
Each of these approaches has implications for the organisation. Can you recall some of
these implications from our discussion in session 5 of this Unit?
Exercise 5.6
1. What is a career?
2. What does it mean to manage one’s career?
3. What other names do we have for management succession?

UNIT 5 CAREER MANAGEMENT
SESSION 6


EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, SAFETY AND
UNIT 6
RETIREMENT
UNIT 6: EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, SAFETY AND

RETIREMENT
Unit Outline
Session 1: Concept of Employee Compensation
Session 2: Employee Pay System
Session 3: Managing Employee Benefits
Session 4: Service Benefits Package
Session 5: Safety and Health at Work
Session 6: Employee Retirement
Welcome to Unit 6 which deals with employee compensation,

safety and retirement. Employee compensation in organisations can
be likened to the “central nervous system” of human resource
management. This is because the sustainability of every organization depends largely on
its employees, just as the commitment and loyalty of the employees themselves depend
directly on an effective and transparent compensation policy from which they benefit.
Employees expect to spend their active working life in safe work environments so they
can retire comfortably. How the employer manages these important aspects of the
subject matter will be discussed. In fact every employee must retire one day unless
he/she dies in harness.
Objectives
After studying this Unit carefully, you should be able to accomplish the
following:
1. Explain the concept of employee compensation to your peers.
2. Describe alternative procedures for devising a pay structure.
3. List a few factors to consider when choosing a particular pay structure.
4. Describe a benefits package
5. Explain why both employers and employees should pay attention to safety and
health policies.
6. Describe any one pension scheme available to Ghanaian workers.

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND RETIREMENT
UNIT 6

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, SAFETY AND UNIT 6
SESSION 1
RETIREMENT
SESSION 1 CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION
Welcome to session 1. In this session we shall consider how

organizations develop compensation systems for their employees. This
is normally not an easy task especially for new and small organizations since they have
no internal reference. In spite of the challenges associated with this exercise,
organizations have responsibility of ensuring that whatever compensation system is
adopted does not create distortions in the organization.
Objectives
A careful study of this session should assist you to accomplish the following:
a. Explain what employee compensation is.
b. List and explain at least two (2) approaches to pay structure determination.
Now read on…
1.1 Meaning of Employee Compensation
“It is doubtful whether many employees would continue working where it is not for the
money they earn”, (Bohlander, Snell and Sherman, 2001). Employees desire
compensation systems which they perceive as fair and commensurate with their skills
and expectations. Pay therefore is a major consideration in Human Resource
Management because it provides employees with a tangible reward for their services, as
well as a source of recognition and livelihood.
Employee compensation includes all forms of pay and reward received by employees
for the performance of their jobs. Direct compensation encompasses employee wages
and salaries, incentives, bonuses and commissions. Indirect compensation comprises the
many benefits provided by employers such as social security, workmen’s compensation,
National Health Insurance among others. There are also non-financial compensation
packages such as staff accommodation, transport and childcare.
Both managers and scholars agree that the way compensation is allocated among
employees sends a message about what management believes is important and the type
of activities it encourages.
1.2 Planning Employee Compensation
Planning employee compensation involves designing all forms of employee pay and
rewards (direct, indirect and non-financial) in a manner that enhances motivation and

UNIT 6 CONCEPT OF EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
SESSION 1
growth, while at the same time aligning the efforts of the employees with organizational
objectives and culture.
Planning employee compensation also includes determining what market rates to pay
employees and how such rates fit into specific Human Resource programmes of the
organization. For example, it may be necessary to raise starting wages of a specific staff
category to attract a certain caliber of workforce and thereby reduce training costs in
future. Also, when employees perform at exceptional levels, as revealed by appraisal
results, it may justify an increased rate. For these and other reasons, organizations
should make time for careful compensation planning.
Other reasons include rewarding adequately employee’s past performance, remaining

competitive in the labour market, maintaining wage and salary equity among
employees, attracting new and very qualified employees, and controlling the
compensation budget.
1.3 Pay Structure

A pay structure is a pattern of internal differentials between the remuneration levels for
various jobs, often expressed as a series of ascending grades or points. Such a structure
provides a reference point for employers and employees alike. The employer benefits
because decisions about pay take place within a closely defined framework and can
therefore be made lower down in the organization, thereby saving senior management
time. The employer can also forecast pay costs more effectively and justify decisions
against a specific framework. From the employee’s point of view, a published pay
structure helps them as individuals to see where they stand in the organization, and to
what levels they can aspire. It also helps employees collectively to feel that there is
some sort of rational system, rather than managerial whim, which determines their
rewards and provides a degree of uniformity among employees doing similar work and
appropriate differentials for those engaged in more skilled tasks. Equal pay legislation
now makes this particularly important.
Practically, it is seldom possible to start with a clean sheet in devising a pay structure
that is both rational and fair. The normal process is a series of updates and rethinks; all
of which are inevitably coloured by the history of what has gone before
1.4 Approaches to Devising a Pay Structure

Four general approaches to devising a pay structure, are discussed below:
a. Ad hoc Pay Structure

SESSION 1
RETIREMENT
Small firms often exist without a formally agreed pay structure of any kind, but have a
loose arrangement that develops on an ad hoc basis. When the owner takes on a new
employee, probably to do a rather ill-defined job, he pays him whatever rate is
necessary to persuade the individual to join him. The next employee comes along and
the cycle is repeated. Soon the first employee comes back and asks for a pay raise and
either gets it or not, according to the owners assessment of the consequences of each
action. For instance, can the firm afford a higher pay or will the employee quit if he
does not get it? These are questions that the owner needs to ask himself before taking
any action.
The problems with ad hoc pay structures arise as the firm grows and a number of people
are employed to do the same kind of job, but find themselves on totally different rates
of pay. Once the job starts to prescribe the contribution that the individual can make, so
that job worth becomes more important to the firm than the man worth, it is time to start
thinking about devising a more soundly based structure, otherwise unhealthy suspicion
and jealousy will breed among employees.
b. Externally Imposed Structure

National agreements, arrived at between employers’ associations and trade unions,
provide, for those groups of employees covered by the agreements, a basic pattern of
differentials between jobs. The actual rates of pay are less important to our present
discussion than the pattern which emerges among skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled
jobs as well as among different crafts or types of employee category. In fact, many
employers exceed the basic cash minima required by national agreements, but the shape
of their pay structure still follows the same broad outline.
c. Local Collective Bargaining Arrangements

We have seen the influence that national agreements may have but at the local level,
pay rates and differentials agreed upon by employers and unions have a vital bearing on
the shape of the structure. Particularly significant here may be the comparative power of
the different unions with which, in a multi-union work-force, an employer may have to
negotiate. Unions with a stronger bargaining position, acquired perhaps through weight
of numbers or through the centrality of their members’ jobs to the success of the
enterprise, may be able to win for themselves higher rates of pay than their less well-
organized colleagues and thereby influence the pattern of differentials for the
organization.
What these first three approaches have in common is the fact that each involves starting
with the money (the rate agreed upon either individually or collectively) and working
backwards to see what sort of structure emerges form the pattern of differentials. The
fourth method of determining a pay described below, concentrates on job evaluation,
which makes reference to the actual content of jobs themselves, to start with.

UNIT 6 CONCEPT OF EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
SESSION 1
d. Job-evaluated Pay Structure

Job evaluation can be defined as a method of establishing the relative worth of a job,
using criteria drawn from the content of the jobs themselves. Most people have a
feeling that some jobs warrant more pay than others. The criteria that we instinctively
use are probably the level of responsibility, pleasantness or unpleasantness of the work,
and the level of skills or training required.
Job evaluation is a means of harnessing the above factors in order to provide some
rational and defensible basis for the differential rates of pay that inevitably arise
between jobs. Some form of job evaluation is currently used by more than 80 per cent
of large companies as opposed the smaller firms. In Ghana, the Single Spine Salary
Scheme is an example of a pay structure based on job evaluation. You may want to read
more about this on your own.
Self –Assessment Questions

Exercise 6.1
1. Explain the term compensation management.

2. Give two (2) reasons why organizations should have a workable pay structure.
3. Explain the following approaches to devising a pay structure
(a) Ad hoc Pay Structure
(b) Job- evaluated Pay Structure
How have you faired? Well done!

SESSION 1
RETIREMENT


SESSION 2
RETIREMENT
SESSION 2: EMPLOYEE PAY SYSTEMS
You are welcome to session 2 where we shall deal with choosing a pay
system. Having considered a pay structure as seen in session 1, it is
now time for the organisation to settle down on a particular method of paying direct
financial benefits its employees. Please study carefully the differences.
Objectives
(a) Explain a pay system
(b) Identify the difference between a pay system and a pay structure ( with
reference to session 1)
(c) Differentiate between a salary and a wage.
Now read on…
2.1 Meaning of a Pay System

A pay system is a method for differentiating between the pay received by individuals
doing the same or similar jobs. A number of jobs may be grouped at the same grade,
and a number of people may be employed to do identical work, but because of
differences in output or skill or age or length of service or some other variable, the
employer may find it appropriate to reward the job-holders at different rates. In theory,
the employer should reward individuals by the criteria which best reflect their value to
the organization. In practice, the history of the situation and in particular, employee and
managerial attitudes, will have an important influence. Pay systems are normally
divided into two; wage and salary as discussed below:
2.2 Wage as a Pay System

A wage is payment to an employee on hourly or daily basis in return for work done.
Employees who receive this form of remuneration are referred to as wage earners. Two
traditional systems of wage payment by results (PBR) are described below:
a) Piece rate
This system of wage payment is designed to reward an employee for the number of
units he produces. The implication is that the more the employee’s output, the higher
the wage he receives. The piece-rate system of pay is normally applied under the
following conditions:
i. Short job cycle.

ii. Output is controlled by individual employee or group
iii. High manual content

UNIT 6 EMPLOYEE PAY SYSTEMS
SESSION 2
iv. There is marked fluctuation in materials supply

v. Reasonably stable industrial relations
vi. Effective work measurement
b) Time Rate
Time rate is also referred to as the flat rate system- This system provides that the
employee receives an agreed rate of payment in return for a given period of work,
for example GH¢10.00 per hour or GH¢400 per week. The time rate is normally
used under the following conditions:
i. Output not controlled by employees

ii. Frequent design changes and modifications
iii. Frequent interruptions to work flow
iv. Clear standards of performance
v. Effective supervision.
2.3 Salary as a Pay System

Employees who are normally paid on monthly basis are described as salaried workers.
These are normally clerical or white collar workers. Below are some approaches for
personal progression of an employee through a salary scale
a) Fixed-Incremental System
A salary scale is a series of incremental points within a remuneration package for a
specific job position. This approach provides for the employee to move through a series
of levels or incremental points within a salary scale. The movement is year by year and
based on satisfactory performance over each year. This system is normally used in the
public sector and has the advantage of being easy to administer because it is possible to
obtain very accurate forecasts of future pay costs.
By providing for a series of overlapping scales and with an objective reference point for
promotion from one scale to another on the basis of fairly rudimentary performance
criteria, a job holder can actually receive a personal increment every year over a long
period. For instance, an employee may be offered a pay or salary package within the
range of GH¢4,200 – GH¢5,000 with a starting salary of GH¢4,200 per annum. This
means, for this specific job position, the employee will be paid a beginning salary of
GH¢4,2000 per annum but can rise through determined yearly incremental points (say
4,400, 4,600, 4,800) to the maximum of GH¢5,000 within the scale. When the
employee reaches the maximum point, it should be time for him to get promoted out of
the scale, but of course his promotion will depend on positive appraisal reports.

SESSION 2
RETIREMENT
b) Variable-Incremental Systems
Although operating on the same broad professional principles, a variable-incremental
system allows for an element of discretion in determining the speed at which an
individual employee moves through the salary scale. Each employer can bestow or
withhold increment on the basis of performance or other criteria, but there is no laid
down formula.
This system is more of a ‘stick or carrot’ approach and employees are rewarded if they
behave in a particular way, than of right. The method however tends to be ad hoc and
difficult to justify, as pay is not necessarily linked to any clearly defined standard of
performance. This system is mostly applicable in private organizations.
By their nature, fixed incremental systems seem more suited to bureaucratic

organizations where every procedure is clearly defined and laid down. A variable
incremental system might be better suited to flexibility normally associated with private
enterprises. With this approach the contribution that each employee makes is
determined more by man-worth rather than job-worth. These are however
generalizations. What seems to suit the needs of the organization may not suit the needs
of the employees within it, but the two must somehow be brought into harmony.
Exercise 6.2
1. Describe two (2) systems of wage payment
2. How is a salary different from a wage?
3. List and explain two (2) differences between the fixed incremental system and the
variable incremental system of pay.
How have you fared? If you are not satisfied with yourself, you may approach a
colleague for help. Let us now move to session 3.

UNIT 6 EMPLOYEE PAY SYSTEMS
SESSION 2


EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, SAFETY AND RETIREMENT UNIT 6
SESSION 3
SESSION 3 MANAGING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
In this session, we shall focus on other forms of financial benefits

(direct and some indirect) that employers put in place for employees.
Employee benefits are important because, where these are well planned and delivered,
employees’ total remuneration can be enhanced and which can in turn improve
commitment and loyalty. Please make mental references to any financial benefits you
are currently enjoying as you go through this session.
Objectives
(a) Explain what a Benefits Package is
(b) Differentiate between direct and indirect financial benefits
(c) List and explain three factors to consider when selecting a benefits package
(d) Identify and explain at least two other forms of indirect financial benefits
employees enjoy.
Now read on…
3.1 What is a Benefits Package?

Benefits in general represent an important part of every employee’s pay. Benefits can
be defined as all the indirect financial and non-financial payments one receives as an
employee of an organisation and constitutes part of the total pay package. Examples of
benefits are bonuses, pension schemes, loans to employees and times-off.
3.2 Devising a Benefits Package

In spite of the numerous merits of benefit packages to employees and for that matter
employers, organizations consider the package carefully before implementation. The
following factors are often taken into account.
a) Objectives of Package
As in every field of management, the first task is to clarify objectives of the package.
For instance, are you designing a package just to meet current employee expectations,
or will it be helpful to anticipate future demands? Is employee retention a factor that
you need to consider? Will your package need to have high motivational value, or is
that already catered for through the pay system? To answer these questions favorably,
consideration of what other organizations, especially prosperous ones are doing, may
give a clue.
b) Pay Policy Considerations

In devising a benefits package you will need to consider how it relates to your basic pay
policy. You may be tempted to compensate for low basic pay through a policy of

UNIT 6 MANAGING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
SESSION 3
generous benefits. This is not usually very effective, unless the benefits are geared
towards the security and social need to employees.
c) Cost Considerations
However attractive a benefits package may look, if the company cannot afford it, there
is little future in pursuing it unless the consequences of not doing so will be worse than
the cost of going ahead. All benefits need careful costing, particularly if, like
occupational pension schemes, they will involve the company in a long–term
commitment.
d) Compatibility with company objectives and employee needs

You must make sure that any benefits you introduce are in line with the direction in
which the company is travelling, and will meet the needs of your employees.
We should not always assume that employees would want the kind of benefits, which
are the most expensive for the employer to provide. In one American company it turned
out that employees had a marked preference for a comparatively inexpensive dental
insurance scheme, rather than a much more costly life assurance scheme. Their rationale
was apparently that death was probably a long way off, but their next dentist’s bill was
just around the corner.
e) Impact on Internal Relativities

Benefit packages should as well maintain internal harmony among various groupings in
the rank and file. For instance, if you are thinking of giving one group of employees
five weeks’ holiday, how will that affect other groups of employees, in terms of work
load, morale and demands for equal treatment or a compensating increase to maintain
their relative position?
3.3 Other Direct Financial Benefits
Closely linked with a wage or salary payable to employees as direct financial benefits,
are other indirect financial benefits. A few are discussed below:
(a) Bonuses -Bonuses more closely resemble a straight addition to pay than most of the
other benefits we will be considering. They are normally payable in relation to some
specified criterion, such as profit or length of service, rather than as gifts from employer
to employee. They do, however, tend to become a right, rather than a benefit, in the
eyes of employees.
Some organizations have a practice of making additional payments to employees at

particular points in the year. Extra cash or goods at Christmas may be given to all
employees, perhaps graded by seniority. What tends to happen is that if the bonus is

SESSION 3
worth having, few staff if any, will leave in the periods immediately before it becomes
payable, but there may be a mass exodus afterwards. Unless you can gear your bonus
payment to come at the end of your peak period of production, this can cause real
problems. While Christmas is the traditional time for such largesse, some companies
provide an extra week or two’s pay by way of holiday bonus.
(b) Commission
A commission is another form of direct financial benefit to employees for achieving

specific targets. It is normally paid to marketing officers or salespersons. For instance,
in addition to a salesperson’s normally salary, an employer may provide that a
salesperson can enjoy a commission of five percent on sales he/she makes up to
GH¢2,000.00 per month and seven percent on any amount in excess of GH¢2,000.00
per month.
(c) Pension Schemes- Pension Schemes are another form of direct financial benefit to
employees. These are further discussed in session 6.3 of this Unit.
(d) Workmen’s Compensation
At this point it is worth considering very briefly, the issue of Workmen's Compensation.
Workmen's Compensation laws are aimed at providing sure, prompt income and
medical benefits to work-related accident victims or their dependents, regardless of who
is to be blamed for the accident. Workmen's compensation benefits can be either
monetary and or medical. In the event of a worker’s death, or disablement, the person’s
dependents are paid cash benefit based on prior earnings; usually one-half to two-thirds
the worker’s average weekly wage, per week of employment. In Ghana, the formula for
calculating a workmen’s compensation, according to the Workmen’s Compensation
Law 1987 (PNDC Law 187) is:
Annual Basic Salary x % age injury x 96 where

12
i. Annual Basic Salary is the injured workman’s yearly salary, without allowances
ii. Percentage injury is the degree of injury or loss as estimated by a medical
practioner and expressed in percentage
iii. 96 is the equivalent of 8 years expressed in months.
For an injury or illness to be covered by workmen’s compensation, one must only prove
that the injury or disease occurred while the employee was on the job. It does not
matter whether the employee was at fault. If the employee was on the job before the
injury occurred, he is entitled to workmen’s compensation. Suppose all employees are

UNIT 6 MANAGING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
SESSION 3
instructed to wear safety goggles when working at their machine and one worker does
not and is injured while on the job, the company must still provide compensation
benefit. The fact that the worker was at fault does not waive his claim to workmen’s
compensation.
Where an employee dies on the job due to accident, PNDL 187, Section 3 (1) a.
provides that the percentage injury shall be 100 of his/her annual basic salary multiplied
by 60 months. The formula is:
Annual Basic Salary x 60

12 1
3.4 Indirect Financial Benefits
These may include the following:
a) Loans- Employers can lend their employees money at preferential rates of interest,
or even interest free, for any purpose from house purchase to the cost of a family
car. The cash can be made available either directly by the company, or by
arrangement with a finance house. A loan system may be of value to the employer
as an aid to employee retention, and as a means of alleviating financial worry
which might otherwise detract employees from job performance.
b) Payments in Kind – There are many other alternatives to monetary reward, which
can be used for their incentive value, as a mark of status and seniority, or as a
means of helping employees to be more effective on their jobs. For whatever
purpose they are primarily designed, payments in kind are more likely to prove
socially divisive than some of the other benefits already discussed. Examples of
this benefit include company cars for either business use or as part of total
remuneration.
c) Time-Off – A reduction in the hours of work of existing employees means, in

theory, that more people will need to be recruited if output is to be maintained.
This should reduce the number of unemployed. It will also constitute a very real
benefit to existing employees, who will be asked to devote less time to their jobs,
for the same monetary reward. In practice, a reduction in normal hours of work
may just lead to an increase in overtime hours. This may benefit existing
employees, as they will be paid at premium rates (time and a half, double time) but
it is unlikely to help the cause of the unemployer.

SESSION 3
Time- off comes in a number of guises such as holiday entitlements, sabbatical

leave, flexible working hours, sick leave, study leave, casual leave, examination
leave, maternity leave and even annual leave.
Exercise 6.3
1. Describe an employee benefits package
2. How can cost considerations affect an organisation’s benefits package
for employees
3. Assume that an injured worker’s annual basic salary is GH¢30,000 and his
percentage injury is 10 (%).
Required: Calculate the compensation for the injured worker.
Well done! Let us now progress Session 4.

SESSION 4
SESSION 4: SERVICE BENEFITS PACKAGE (NON-FINANCIAL)
Welcome to session 4. At this stage, we shall continue with our

discussions on benefits package. The difference is that we shall
consider packages that come in the form of non-financial benefits to employees.
Otherwise stated, though provision of such services means cost to the employer, the
benefit to the employee is not in the form of direct cash. Such benefits are however also
very relevant because they contribute to the total reward an employee derives from
serving in the organisation.
Objectives
(a) Define a service benefit package in your own words
(b) List and explain five (5) forms of service benefits.
(c) Differentiate between a direct financial benefit and service benefits.
Now read on…
4.1 Meaning of Service Benefits Package

A service benefits package can be described as any non-monetary entitlement an
employee enjoys at the workplace. Such entitlements are paid generally to all
employees or employee groups and may not be directly commensurate with the
employee's age, or length of service. In some cases however, the quality of the service
may differ. For instance, if an employer provides medical facilities to his employees,
all his employees benefit from the service alike, except that sometimes the same service
may be provided differently to such employees perhaps in order of seniority or status.
Different employee groups in the organisation may also enjoy special services. For
example, company drivers may enjoy more regular eye examination than say, the
company’s factory hands.
4.2 Forms of Service Benefits Package

Employee service benefits may take the form of opportunities for employee learning,
healthcare and aid, health insurance, estate services, transport facilities, security,
retirement counseling and employee recommendations.
The above examples of services benefits are discussed below:
(a) Employee Learning

This takes the form of employee training and development as already disused in Unit 4.
But beyond this is the educational facilities that some employers provide for wards of
their employees. Several examples abound in Ghana, such as university basic schools,
and Volta River Authority schools.
SERVICE BENEFITS PACKAGE
UNIT 6
SESSION 4
(b) Health Care and Aid

In addition to providing direct daily healthcare facilities for employees, some
organisations also provide medical aid such as spectacles, dentures, artificial limbs and
othe services to their employees.
(c) Health Insurance

Health Insurance is in many parts of the world including Ghana. Among large
employers in the U.S.A for example, 99 percent report making payments for health
insurance. This finding in the U.S.A contrasts sharply with Europe where many
employers face no direct medical insurance because healthcare is provided by the state.
In Ghana, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has come to stay and most
employers are encouraged to pay the premiums on behalf of their employees to cover
basic ailments. You may want to find out more about the NHIA in Ghana.
(d) Estate Services

These include housing and utility services which some employers provide at subsidized
rates for their employees.
(e) Transport services

Most employers provide bus services for employees to ensure their early and safe
shuttle between home and the workplace. Though this service is also expensive,
employers find it a better alternative to losing man hours due to lateness.
(f) Security Services

Most employers who provide housing facilities also provide security services to ensure
that the premises are protected during the day when employees are at work and at night
when they are resting after the day’s work.
(g) Retirement Counseling

This is a very important employee service but which, unfortunately does not receive
attention at all, or is handled haphazardly in most organisations. The primary purpose
of retirement counseling is to encourage an employee to plan for his/her mandatory exit
emotionally and financially. These sessions also explain the nature of the employee’s
retirement programme to highlight any emotional and financial challenges he/she might
face. Resulting from this service, potential retirees are assisted to grapple with questions
such as: How much money do I need to retire with? What will l do in retirement?
What of my spouse and children?

SESSION 4
(h) Employee Recommendations

These normally take the form of introductory letters that employers provide on behalf of
employees to an embassy, travel agent, educational or other institutions for assistance to
employees.
4.3 Advantages of Effective Compensation Management

Ultimately, the benefits of effective compensation management are to reward desired
work behaviour and control loss. The following are identified.
(a) Attracting qualified personnel
Remuneration needs to be high enough to attract very qualified applicants. Premium

rates of pay are sometimes needed to attract applicants already employed elsewhere.
(b) Retaining current employees

Employees may leave when remuneration levels are not competitive, resulting in high
turnover
(c) Ensuring equity

Remuneration management allows for internal and external equity as explained in the
introduction of this session.
(d) Rewarding desired behaviour

Pay should reinforce desired behaviours and act as an incentive for these behaviors to
occur in the future. Effective remuneration plans reward high performance, loyalty,
experience, and responsibilities.
(d) Controlling costs- A rational remuneration package helps the organisation obtain
and retain workers at a reasonable cost. Without effective remuneration
management, workers could be overpaid or underpaid.
(f) Facilitating understanding

A good remuneration systems should be easily understood by human resource
managers, employees, local unions and authorities.
Exercise 6.4
1. Explain what a service benefit package is and list at least two examples

SERVICE BENEFITS PACKAGE
UNIT 6
SESSION 4
2. Group Discussion- Take the various advantages of effective compensation

management under 4.3 of this session and discuss how these are implemented at your
workplace.

SESSION 5
SESSION 5: SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK
Welcome to session 5 which deals with safety and health at work.

Employees spend a greater part of their entire working life at the
workplace. Employers, by law, are responsible for the well-being of employees as long
as they are at work. It is for this reason that employers make an effort to keep the
workplace safe and healthy.
Objectives
(a) Describe the importance of safety and health as they apply to the
workplace
(b) List and explain three(3) physical causes of workplace accident
(c) List and explain two (2) employee causes of workplace accidents.
Now read on…
5.1 Meaning of Safety and Health at work

Safety and Health at work is also known as Occupational Safety and Health. It may be
defined as a general area of concern in employment which spans the physiological/
psychological needs and well-being of persons engaged in occupations. It is the
prevention and protection of workers form work-related trauma, stress, injury, illness or
death of workers.
5.2 The Need for Safety and Health at Workplaces

Occupational Safety and Health seek to ensure that workers are protected and prevented
from exposure to situations, events and incidents where their physical state may be
harmed. Occupational safety and health include social, mental and the physical well-
being of workers.
a) Legal Requirement
In Ghana, the legal framework for ensuring safety and health at workplaces is contained
in the Factories, Offices and Shops Act (328) of Ghana, 1970. The main provisions of
the Act concern improvements necessary to attain internationally accepted standards for
safety, health and welfare of workers. The Act covers a wide range of industry,
extending the basic protective and welfare requirements of the law to offices and shops,
building operations and works of engineering construction. The main objective is to
reduce the risk of injury and safeguard the health of all employees in all premises
covered by the Act.

UNIT 6 SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK
SESSION 5
b) Economic Considerations
Bohlander, Snell and Sherman (2001) report that in any year, approximately 75 million
working days are lost because of on-the -job injuries and that in 1996, 6,112 employees
died from work accidents in the USA alone.
The picture is particularly bleak in the mining and construction industries for example.
According to Hackett (1985) about 232 workers are killed or suffer major injury at work
in the construction industry each year whilst 179 per 100,000 suffer the same fate in the
mining industry. The lost time and sick pay, compensation payments and medical
treatment as well as replacement of labour, add up to a colossal financial cost to
employers.
c) Humanitarian Implication
Employees who are injured, may never fully recover their health and strength. They and
their families and the families of those who die, can never be adequately compensated
for their loss. Humanitarian implications of accidents at work therefore provide an
irrefutable argument for attractive safety and health at workplace. Further still, there
are legal obligations to ensure, so far as practicable, the safety, health and welfare of
people at work.
5.3 Causes of Accidents at the Work Place

In this context, the word ‘accident’ is used to mean any unplanned and uncontrolled
event which results in injury or disease, to an employee in the course of work. The
reasons for accidents can be examined at two levels as follows:
a) Physical Causes- According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents,
accidents most frequently happen when people are handling and lifting goods and
materials, are working with machinery, fall (from heights or on the same level) are hit
by falling objects, bump into or step on objects, are using hand tools, or come into
contact with work transport.
The reasons for physical accidents are many: work floors may not be level, there may
be protruding surfaces, rickety steps or dangerous openings; machinery may be unsafe
or badly maintained; poor ventilation may also lead to diseases and explosions. Untidy
work places, faulty electrical connections, faulty hand tools and fire hazards can all play
their part in contributing to accidents and injury at the work place.
The work process itself can also contribute to physical accidents. For instance the
cleaning or maintenance of a machine whilst it is in use, the lack of suitable seats, the
need to carry or lift heavy objects, processes which involve contact with dangerous

SESSION 5
substances or moving parts or objects, all play a part. Machines which require the
operator to be of a certain height, or have a certain hand or arm span, may also
constitute a danger if they are not adapted to suit different operator capacities.
b) Individual Worker/Employee Factor

Industrial accidents may also happen as a result of the individual worker’s nature or
way of life. For instance, individuals have character weaknesses such as recklessness,
nervousness, over excitement, greed, ignorance and outright laziness. Because of these
personal characteristics, a worker may commit unsafe acts which may result in
workplace accidents.
Even more seriously, an employee may be placed on a job for which he has no adequate
training or where there is inadequate supervision because the employer is too pre-
occupied with profit or other human faults e.g. lack of concern for employee safety
which prevents the employer from giving adequate thought to such matters. In fact,
inanimate objects are not a danger in themselves; they are only dangerous because, we
make them so.
Self- Assessment Questions

Exercise 6.5
1. How will you define a workplace accident?
2. Why will you consider humanitarian implications to be a relevant factor when
considering safety and health at work?
3. List two (2) physical causes of workplace accidents.
Hope you have fared well. If so, well done. Let's move to session 6.

UNIT 6 SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK
SESSION 5


SESSION 6
SESSION 6: EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

Welcome to the final session of Unit 6. In this session, we shall
concentrate on employee retirement. As stated in the introduction to this
Unit, for every employee, retirement will surely come, unless the unexpected happens.
What retirement actually means, the forms of retirements, how to prepare for it and real
life during retirement are discussed in this session.
Objectives
(a) Explain two forms of retirement
(b) Discuss the stages in retirement life.
(c) Review or plan your own retirement.
Now read on…
6.1 Meaning and Forms of Retirement

Retirement is one of the most exciting events every worker will ever experience at the
end of active work. It is important to note that retirement concerns all workers whether
they be in the formal (private or public) or informal sectors. Our focus for now will be
on retirement in the formal sector.
Retirement is a formal withdrawal from active work on grounds of mandatory age. If

both employer and employee consent to separate when the employee attains voluntary
retirement age or when the employee is medically unfit to continue work, retirement
will occur. Retirement is the concluding stage in the employment process and marks the
end of active working life though the worker may have residual capacity.
Retirement may take any one of three forms. These are Compulsory, Voluntary and
Forced or Retirement on ill-health grounds.
a) Compulsory Retirement
According to National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) of Ghana, compulsory retirement
takes effect when an employee attains age 60 years. This means, an employee, on
attaining 60 years must exit work by law. In some cases however, depending upon the
employee’s expertise, health and difficulty of suitable replacement, some employers re-
appoint retired employees after age 60. This is often referred to as post-retirement
contract.

UNIT 6 EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
SESSION 6
b) Voluntary Retirement
The National Pension Act, 2008 (Act 766) also states that a worker who attains age 55
years may retire voluntarily. Voluntary retirement is normally initiated by the worker
and may be for one or several personal reasons.
c) Forced or Retirement on Health Grounds

As the name implies, employees may exit work prematurely. This occurs when the
employee is incapacitated due to sickness, accident or any other physical or mental
reasons which make it very difficult or impossible for the employee to continue to
discharge his duties.
In such situations, a medical board is constituted to determine the degree of incapacity

after which the worker is discharged and paid off.
6.2 Preparing for Retirement
Employees expect to retire comfortably. Comfortable retirement requires adequate

preparation to be successful and such preparation requires careful consideration of
salient factors. A few are discussed below:
a) Housing or Accommodation
Shelter continues to be one very important need of man but becomes even more
prominent during retirement. The days when employees retired and went to settle in
family homes are fast becoming a thing of the past. This is why it is important for
employees to start planning for retirement even right from the first day of appointment.
When planning one’s retirement accommodation, one must consider the location, size
and durability of the house carefully. Issues of maintenance, in terms of daily cleaning,
occasional repairs and replacement also need careful consideration. These and the
empty nest concept are reasons for which the size and type of housing for retirement
must be accorded great attention.
Dear reader, you may be wandering what the empty nest concept is about and want to
read about it on your own.
b) Health Facility Consideration
It is normal that one’s health begins to deteriorate with age and this is why it is
important for prospective retirees to place much premium on health matters. Naturally,
prospective retirees should consider proximity to the health facility, the quality of health
service delivery and cost. Cost may not be too much of a burden now when one

SESSION 6
registers with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as the scheme will
normally take care of bills for basic medications.
In some instances, prospective retirees may want to remain near a particular health
facility or health expert in whom they have built confidence over the years. Whatever
the considerations, accessibility to good health facility remains one very important
factor when preparing for retirement.
c) Residual Work Opportunity
What residual work opportunity means is any income generating activity in which one
can still be engaged after retirement. Normally employees retire with huge experiences
on the job except that they now have less physical capacity to accomplish such tasks as
they would have done in active service. Examples of residual work opportunities
include consultancy, poultry or vegetable farming, writing or literary work, retail trade.
Such work will normally require less effort but are worthwhile, depending upon the
individual’s background, expertise and business acumen.
d) Recreation or Pastime
It is worthy of note that though health and recreation are bed fellows and normally
complement each other, they are distinct. Issues of safety and health have been covered
in Session 5 of this Unit. You may wish to refresh your mind by referring to that
session.
Recreation or pastime is also often referred to as leisure time or hobby. Simply stated
recreation, pastime or leisure time implies what one does purposively to relax the body,
mentally or physically and on a continuous basis. Good recreation reduces stress, helps
to rejuvenate the body and to keep one going. Different people adopt different forms of
recreation depending upon one’s physical capacity, recreational facilities available and
how much time one has to spend. Swimming, gardening, reading for pleasure, music in
all forms, cooking, any other form of sport are some examples of recreation to which
prospective retirees must give some thought.
e) Family Ties
Family ties is one of the most revered cultural values in most African societies
including Ghana. Much as maintaining strong family bonds is generally encouraged,
some people shun the idea completely or push the entire concept to the back-burner.
Depending on the prospective retiree’s disposition to family ties, he may want to set
aside sometime for the larger family responsibilities. In Ghana, the role of Family Head
is well-known and incumbents wield traditional authority. Whether a prospective retiree
is for or against the idea, can influence his preparation for retirement.

SESSION 6
f) Religious Consideration
Religious beliefs are strong personal understanding or an attachment to a Deity, and
which normally shapes one’s life. If during one’s active working life, one is used to a
particular form of religious worship, this alone may be enough to determine how and
where one resides after retirement. Normally, a prospective retiree will want to stick to
his religious beliefs and continue to enjoy the warmth of the congregation or those he
shares those beliefs with. In most cases, religion, like health considerations determine
where employees may choose to settle during retirement.
Dear reader, which of the above factors will influence your retirement preparation
more? Also consider other factors which have not been discussed in this part.
6.3 Pension/Retirement Benefits
A retired employee or pensioner may enjoy benefits depending upon the pension or
retirement scheme he prepared for or contributed to. According to the National Pension
Act, 2008 (Act766) of Ghana, a pension scheme means an employee benefit scheme
which provides retirement benefits by establishment of a trust fund or the purchase of
insurance or annuity contracts or a combination of both, and benefits may be paid either
as an annuity or as a lump sum.
The Act states that an annuity means a series of payments which may be subject to
increases, made at stated intervals until a particular event occurs. This event is most
commonly at the end of a specified period or the death of the person receiving the
annuity.
In this sub-session, we shall consider two pension /retirement schemes from which a
retiree may benefit depending upon his/her contribution.
a) Provident Fund Scheme

The word ‘provident’ means seeing beforehand and preparing for the future. What a
provident fund seeks to achieve is a future financial security from a contribution to the
fund.
According to the National Pension Act, 2008 (Act 766) a provident fund scheme means
a scheme governed by a trust to which a contributor or the contributor’s employer or
both, contribute to a pension scheme which provides benefits based on a defined
contribution formula:

SESSION 6
i. To provide for the payment of lump sum benefits to the members of the scheme
when they reach the retirement age, or any other prescribed event occurs in
relation to them or
ii. In the case of members who die before reaching that age or before the
occurrence of such an event, provide for the payment of those benefits to the
personal representatives or beneficiaries of the estate of those members.
The amount contributed by the worker and what the employer contributes on his behalf,
will normally depend upon the collective agreement at the enterprise level. The
employer shall, ensure that there is an up-to-date record of direct payment arrangement
with the trustees. The trustees of the scheme shall, before the end of the prescribed
intervals send the member (worker) a statement setting out the amounts and dates of the
payments made under the direct payment arrangements during the prescribed period.
b) The SSNIT Pension Scheme
‘SSNIT’ stands for Social Security and National Insurance Trust. In Ghana, the SSNIT
Pension Scheme came into being in 1965. The purpose among others, is to provide post-
retirement benefits to workers who contribute to the scheme during their working life.
In 2008, the National Pension Act, 2008 (Act 766) came into being to provide for
pension reform in the country by introducing a three-tier pension scheme, among other
reforms. The Act established the Trust as a common seal and may sue and be sued in its
corporate name.
i. Functions of the Trust
To achieve its objective the Trust shall:

a) Operate the basic national social security pension scheme and other schemes as
may be prescribed by law,
b) Have a Fund into which shall be paid the contributions and other moneys as may
be required by the Act,
c) Be responsible for the general administration of the social security scheme and
regulations made under it.
d) Ensure the provision of social protection for the working population for various
contingencies including old age, invalidity and death, among others.
ii. Entry Age and Social Security Number
The minimum age at which a person may join the social security scheme is fifteen years
and the maximum is forty-five years. A worker to whom the social security scheme
applies shall be given a social security number on registration with the Trust. The

SESSION 6
number is not transferrable and shall be used by the worker throughout his working life.
An employer shall not transfer or use the social security number of one worker for
another.
iii. Mandatory Contributions
According to the Section 3 of Act, an employer shall remit thirteen per centum out of
the total contributions of eighteen and a half per centum on behalf of the worker to the
first tier mandatory social security scheme within fourteen days after the end of each
month, to the Trust. The minimum contribution is thirteen per centum of the approved
monthly equivalent of the national daily minimum wage. The worker’s contribution is
the remaining five and a half per centum of the same approved monthly equivalent of
the national minimum wage.
iv. Qualifying for Benefits
Section 76 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) states as follows
1) A person who has:
(a) Satisfied the minimum contribution period of not less than one hundred and
eighty months,
(b) Attained the age of sixty years or fifty-five in the case of an underground mine
worker or a worker specified in subsection (2) or has opted for voluntary
retirement with reduced pension, and
(c) Filed an application for superannuation benefit, is entitled to a pension payment
for each month beginning with the first month in which the person becomes
entitled to the payment.
(2) A person who has satisfied the minimum contribution period and has worked as
an underground mine worker or in a quarry or in steel works or in any other
employment and is likely to contract industrial diseases as defined in section 12(2)
of the Factories and Shops Act, 1971 (Act 328) by virtue of that employment, is
entitled to full pension benefit upon attaining the age of fifty-five.
v. Formula for computation of pensions
According to Section 77 of the Act
(1) A member may be paid full or reduced pension.

SESSION 6
(2) The minimum pension payment shall be based on fifty per centum of the
average annual salary for the three best years of a member’s working life.
(3) Where a member works beyond the minimum contribution, the amount of
pension payable shall be increased by one and half per centum for every
additional twelve months worked up to a maximum of eighty per centum.
(4) Where there are grounds to suspect that the salary has been inflated with intent
to defraud, the Trust shall investigate and the right pension based on the formula
determined by the Trust shall be paid to the member.
Dear student, if you are an employee, please remind yourself of which pension scheme
you contribute to. Ensure that you are fully paid up and find out the formula by which
you will be paid on retirement as stipulated in your collective agreement.
6.4 Retirement Phases

According to Longino (2006) the retirement process can be classified into six distinct
phases or stages. Before discussing these phases, it is very important to note that these
phases do not have one general timeline for all retirees and sadly too, not all retirees
live long to go through all the phases in the order discussed below. We will now
consider the phases.
a) Pre-retirement Phase
In this phase the prospective retiree becomes aware that retirement is approaching. He
begins to save more money, envisions pre-retirement activities as discussed under 6.2
above. Generally, the prospective retiree prepares physically and psychologically for
general changes in social and economic life.
b) Honeymoon Phase
As in the case of a new couple, the honeymoon phase of retirement starts immediately
after the last day on the active job. Retirees typically, may sleep longer as there is no
pressure to rise early enough to be at work on time. Activities such as extended travel,
putting finishing touches to their retirement abode (if they have not already done so)
and other activities that could not be accomplished during work time, occupy their time.
This phase of retirement requires more disposable income and this may pose a
challenge to many elderly people.

SESSION 6
c) Disenchantment Phase
As the name suggests, the retired worker may begin to feel depressed about life and lack
of interesting things to do. The retiree may also begin to miss work routine, colleagues
and memorable work experiences.
After doing the things most desired, some retirees get tired or bored. This is where they
begin to reorient themselves.
d) Reorientation Phase
At this stage, retirees develop more realistic attitudes about how to deal with
retirement. They re-evaluate their choice of activities and make decisions about what is
most important to them. This phase generally involves using their life experiences to
develop a realistic view of alternatives, while paying attention to their financial and
human resources. The aim here is to establish a structure and a routine for living in
retirement with a leverage of satisfaction.
e) Stability Phase
The stability phase is where the retiree establishes a new set of daily life routines and
enjoys them. Typically, volunteer work, visiting or residual opportunity work such as a
consultancy, retail shopping, academic/professional writing or writing for pleasure is
embarked upon to keep the retiree happy and important. This is also referred to as the
peak of retirement. Because of improved medical facility, many workers retire a bit
more healthy than before, thus giving them opportunity to engage in other economic
activities to improve their income and leisure.
f) Terminal Phase
This phase in retirement is marked primarily by illness or disability that prevents the
retiree from actively caring for himself. Medical facility becomes of great essence as the
retiree begins to grow weak or frail.
Dear reader, we hope you have enjoyed your study of this course and that the contents
will be of benefit to you beyond your examinations. Well Done!

SESSION 6
Exercise 6.6
1. At what age(s) can a worker belong to SSNIT?

2. Discuss how you hope to prepare for retirement, with your peers.
3. Which of the retirement phases appeal to you most and why?
Congratulations! We hope to meet in another context.

ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
UNIT ONE
Exercise 1.1
Q1. The five (5) functions of management are

i. Planning
ii. Organizing
iii. Staffing
iv. Leading
v. Controlling.
Q2. Brief explanation of the five functions.

i. Planning
Establishing goals and standards, forecasting or projecting what to do in the
future and how to do it.
ii. Organizing
Bringing together necessary equipment and other physical factors of
production to accomplish a given purpose.
iii. Staffing
Deciding on the people to employ into an organisation in terms of their number
and qualification or caliber.
iv. Leading
Motivating employees to enable them to accomplish specific tasks at a
given time or over a period of time.
v. Controlling,
Setting performance standards and ensuring that such standards are met.
Exercise 1.2
Q1. Human resource is any productive value, factor or attribute in a person. It is the
quality in any person which makes the person employable and productive.
Q2. Three examples of human resource include knowledge, skills and

emotions.
Q3. Human resource is an active resource whilst other factors of production are
inactive or idle.
Q4. It is important to manage human resource in order to provide direction or

leadership to what employees do at any given time.
Q5. My outstanding human resource is a talent; a talent in teaching.

This is how I have contributed to the production of this module.
Exercise 1.3
Q1. Three functions of Human Resource Managers include

(a). Planning employee or work force levels.
(b). Conducting job analyses
(c) Recruiting job applicants
Q2. (a) Planning workforce levels:

Projecting the number and qualifications of employees for the
organisation, for any given period in the future.
(b) Conducting job analyses:
Determining the job or tasks to be performed and the knowledge,
skills or abilities that any employee should possess to be able to accomplish
the job or task well.
(c) Recruiting job applicants
Creating a pool of qualified job applicants who are ready to work if offered
a chance.
Q3. Hiring the wrong person

This means employing a person who is not qualified in terms of knowledge,
skills and abilities for a given job. It means “putting square pegs in round holes’.
Q4. Driving an employer to face court action

One issue that can drive an employer to face court action is when the employer
hires the wrong person. For example, if an employer does not investigate
properly, the background of his employee and realizes later that his employee is
a thief who goes about stealing the property of the organisation’s customers,
such customers can take the employer to court.
Exercise 1.4
Q1. Two types of human resource policy are:
i. Written or Formal policy ii. Unwritten or Informal policy.
Written policy is a documented guide to action approved by the management of

any organisation. It is formal because it serves as the official position or
mouthpiece of the management.

Unwritten policy is any normal practice or action taken by an organisation on a

given matter. Such practice may not be the official position of the organisation but
may be allowed to pass and this is why it is informal.
Q2. Three benefits that come with human resource policy include:
i) Policy serves as an official reference point for action.

ii) Policy allows for dealing with the same situation equally at all times.
iii) Policy protects officials from personal liability in so far as such policy is
implemented correctly.
Exercise 1.5
Q1. Two reasons for regulating the employment process are

(a) Respect for the right of job-seekers
(b) Job-seekers should work in a non-threatening environment after they have been
hired.
Q2. Four areas in which Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) expects employers to
treat jobseekers fairly are:
(a) Not preventing a job seeker to form or join a trade union
(b) Not preventing a job-seeker to participate or refrain from participating in lawful
activities
(c) Refusing employment of a job-seeker because of that person’s membership of a
trade union
(d) Promising a job-seeker any benefit or advantage if he/she does not participate in
a trade union activities
Q3. It is important for employers to be interested in profit, but beyond that

employers should also be very interested in the well-being of their employees
because:
i. Their success as employers depends on the well-being of their workers.
ii. A motivated workforce contributes to higher productivity.
Exercise 1.6
Q1. Two challenges of Human Resource Management include:

i. Workforce Diversity – This has to do with demographic characteristics of the
workforce and includes education level, age, sex, and marital status.
ii. Competition – National/Global competition comes in different forms for capital
acquisition, expert employees, market share, among others.

Q2. a) Succession Planning, also called Continuity Planning deals with identifying
successors to key job positions to ensure a steady use of internal human resource.
b) Artificial intelligence has to do with the use of robots for high risk jobs such as
work on toxic materials.
Q3. It is possible to predict an organisation’s performance through strategic

planning. This is possible when an organisation considers its current
conditions (finances, production level, human resource, market opportunities
etc) and uses this information to project where it wishes to be placed in a
specific time in the future, say six years.
Through strategic planning, organisations are able to exercise greater control over their
future events than just wait for such events to come along anyhow.
UNIT 2
Exercise 2.1
Q1. Two (2) reasons for good human resource planning in organizations include:
(a) To help determine recruitment levels: This means to be able to have the
required number of workers expected at any time
(b) To monitor the ratio of human resource cost to other costs of production: the
implication is that employers do not have to pay only employee cost or
wages and salaries. Employers also have to pay for other factors of
production such as machines, buildings and administrative over heads.
At each time, it is important to maintain a good balance between the cost of

these other factors and wages / salaries, since employers have limited
resources.
Q2. Steps in human resource planning described sequentially:

(a) Identifying future demands for human resource; this means looking ahead to
project the number and caliber of employees an employer will require at a
particular time.
(b) Identifying required resources; this calls for answering the question - Do you
Have enough resources to cater for your projected employee
requirements?
(c) Comparing (a) and (b) above
This means, it is alright if the employer has enough resources to meet his
employee projection, If he has not, then he will have to either cut down on his

requirements or look for extra funding. Simply put, the employer will have to
‘cut his coat according to the size of his cloth’.
Exercise 2.2
Q1 Making a distinction in employment means to separate a
job-seeker or a group of them from another, based on some criteria.
Q2. One form of objective discrimination is where there is a given set of criteria for
separating one job-seeker from another. It is also important that the set criteria
be made known to job-seekers concerned. For instance publishing the result of a
job interview and selecting job-seekers according to a ranked order. (From the
best performed job-seeker down to the last desirable candidate)
Q3. Subjective discrimination is the direct opposite of the objective discrimination.

In subjective discrimination the criteria for separation is shrouded in secrecy and
may also be different for different candidates.
Q4. Four forms of discrimination which are generally not job-related are:
(a) discrimination on the basis of sex
(b) discrimination on the basis of race
(c) discrimination on the basis of disability
(d) discrimination on the basis of age
Q5. Kleptomania means uncontrollable tendency to steal. What makes kleptomania a

matter of interest is that the thief will normally not have any economic value for the
article or items stolen. It is like stealing for fun.
Exercise 2.3
Q1. Two responsibilities of an employer towards an employee with disability are:
(a) Such employees must be registered by the employer
(b) Such employees shall be entitled to special incentives from the employer
(c) The employment of employees with disability shall not cease upon disablement
(d) Employees with disability shall be entitled to equal opportunities for
training
Q2. Four conditions that an employer should beware of when assigning duties to a
pregnant employee are
(a) She should not do night work between 10.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.
(b) She should not do overtime
(c) She should not be assigned to a post outside her place of residence after four (4)
months of pregnancy, if it will be against her health

(d) The commission has the right to investigate any complains brought up by a
pregnant woman who contravenes the provisions in (a), (b) and (c) above.
Q3. Force labour, according to the Act, is “work or service that is exacted from a
person under threat of a penalty and for which that person has not offered
himself or herself voluntarily. This however excludes;
- Court orders
- The work of a member of a force or service
- Cases of national emergency
- Communal labour.
Exercise: 2.4
Q1. Recruitment may be defined as the creation of a large pool of job applicants who
are capable and willing to take up job positions if offered the chance by an
employer.
Q2. The main difference between a job description and a job specification is that
whereas the former deals with the duty schedules of any job or what is expected
of a job, the latter concentrates on the prospective job holder, in terms of the
qualification and other qualities the person must possess.
Q3. Three uses of job analysis information are as follows:

(a) Helps to identify training needs of employees.
(b) Helps to determine the reward or compensation levels of employees.
(c) Helps employee appraisal by providing information to compare actual
performance with expected performance.
Exercise: 2.5
Q.1 A source of recruitment means where job-seekers can be gathered from. Examples
are external sources and internal sources.
Q2. External recruitment means looking outside an existing organisation to

create a pool of job applicants. It implies excluding existing workers
when looking for job applicant for a vacant position.
Q3. Three sources of external recruitment are:

(a) Direct advertisements; the use of print and electronic media to inform and gather
job seekers.
(b) Employment agencies; these are public and private organizations which assist
employers during recruitment, for a fee. Some churches however do it free of
charge.

(c) Educational Institutions; schools, colleges and training centres assist

recruitment by recommending their graduates to employers.
Exercise: 2.6
Q1. Two (2) sources of internal recruitment are:

(a) Through an organisation’s newsletters or magazines. Through this means,
vacant job openings are announced for the benefit of existing employees.
(b) Employee referrals; this implies recommending existing employees to be
considered for vacant job positions.
Q2. Hiring an employee the second time means reconsidering a former employee for
a fresh job opening. The implication is that such an applicant has served the
organisation in the past but is now coming in again - the second time.
Q3. Employee recommendations have several advantages. Two of such advantages

are:
(a) Current employees will normally provide accurate information since their own
reputation will be on line.
(b) Recommended employees will normally be high calibre candidates.
UNIT 3
Exercise: 3.1
Q1. Employee selection is the process of identifying and picking out job seekers with
requisite skills out of a pool of recruited applicants.
Q2. Two reasons for selecting job candidates very carefully are:
(a) The organisation’s performance depends on the quality of its own employees
(b) It is costly to recruit and hire employees, hence the need to select carefully and
avoid duplication of cost.
Q3. Differences between Letters of Application (LA) and Application

Forms (AF) include:
(a) LA originate from job applicants but AF originate from the prospective
employee
(b) Information in LA is not structured but information in the AF is structured or in
an orderly manner.
(c) LA may not provide all necessary information expected by the prospective
employer but AF capture all such information.

Exercise: 3.2
Q1. A reference in this context is a report on a job-seeker from the job-seeker’s referee
to a prospective employer. The report will normally contain information on the job-
seeker’s past life and character and is aimed at enhancing the job-seeker’s chances of
being selected.
Q2. Unsolicited Testimonials (UT) are different from Letters of Application (LA) in
the following ways, among others.
i. Whereas UT emanate from a referee, LA emanate from the job applicant

ii. Unlike UT which may be an aspect of the selection exercise, LA are more like
part of a recruitment exercise.
iii. Prospective employers are under ethical obligation to give more attention and
act on LA unlike UT.
Q3. Two of the reasons are:
i. To place properly, job applicants with health limitations but who are
otherwise employable. The reason for this choice is that it allows for
equal employment opportunity.
ii. To prevent the spread of communicable diseases. This is of interest to
me because the health of workers are not only of importance to the
employer for reasons of high productivity but also because most workers
are the only bread winners for their families.
Exercise: 3.3
Q1.
i. Whereas a selection test most likely results in employment, a class quiz most
likely results in educational progression.
ii. An employment selection test will normally be written by a job seeker whereas a
class quiz is by students.
Q2. Three types of employment selection tests are:

i. Personality tests – These are concerned with employee factors like motivation
and interpersonal skills. Examples are the candidates openness or experiences
and extroversion.
ii. Achievement tests – These measures what the job-seeker has actually learnt.
Examples are knowledge acquired such as in Economics or Marketing
iii. Physical ability tests – These test for static/dynamic strength, finger or manual
dexterity. Body coordination and stature are also specific examples.

Q3. A deductive test is one that measures a candidate’s ability to reason from general
to a particular. Example, every mammal has lungs, a rabbit is a mammal, so a rabbit
has lungs.
Inductive tests contrarily, look out for the ability to arrive at universal or general
statements by observing a limited or good enough representative of cases. Example,
every rabbit observed has lungs so all rabbits lave lungs.
Exercise: 3.4.
Q.1 A selection interview may be explained as any verbal interaction between a job
seeker and a prospective employer which is likely to result in whether the job seeker
will be offered the job or not. The interaction is normally face- to -face. Modern
technology now makes it possible to interview by Skype and other computer
applications.
Q.2 Selection interviews are important for the following reasons:

(a) Interviews help both prospective employer and job seeker to know each other, at
least, physically, through observation and to assess especially the capacity and
motivation to perform a particular job.
(b) Interviews help prospective employers to gather additional information about
job seekers which could not be captured on Application Forms. Even where
such information is captured, the prospective employer, through the interview,
is able to seek further explanation on such information. Job seekers also have
opportunity to see their prospective employer.
Q3 Differences between structured interviews (SI) and Unstructured

Interviews (UI) include the following.
(a) Nearly all questions for SI are pre-determined but questions for UI mostly
depend on the trend of the actual interview.
(b) SI are normally for non-supervisory jobs whilst UI will normally be for
candidates likely to exercise some initiative in supervisory positions.
(c) SI will normally be conducted within a shorter time per candidate whilst UI will
normally take a longer time.
(d)
Exercise: 3.5
Q1. Selection interviews may be conducted in the following two ways.
(a) one-on-one basis.
This is a situation where two people, one a job seeker and the other a prospective
employer interact in an interview situation.
employer and who meet with a job seeker to determine, through interaction, the job
seeker’s suitability for the job.

(a) Panel Interview

This is a group of persons, representing the prospective
Q2. The difference between a Prejudice and Halo Effect are:
(a) The Halo Effect

This is where one feature of the candidate which is objectively and
accurately assessed, becomes an over-riding factor and colours the entire
judgment of the interviewer.
(b) Prejudice
This means that an interviewer is likely to base interview results on some
information already gathered about the candidate even before the interview.
Such information could be favorable or unfavorable.
Q3. Three problems associated with selection interviews are:

i) Halo Effect (see explanation above).
ii) Prejudice (see explanation above).
Q4. Physical trait Stereotypes

These are unfounded assumptions or opinions which prospective employers
form about job seekers. One example is to assume that people below a certain
height in stature are also quick tempered.
Exercise: 3.6
Q1. A selection decision is a determination by an interviewer(s) on the suitability or
otherwise of an interviewee based on the outcome of interactions with the interviewee.
Q2. A selection decision can be based on the interview performance alone. Practically
however, such decisions as based on the outcome of multiple selection devices.
Q3. An offer letter to a successful candidate may take different forms depending upon
each organization’s style. Despite these differences, the following information may run
through all.
i. Date
ii. Name of employer
iii. Name of prospective employee
iv. Date of first appointment
v. You are employed as (job title or grade)
vi. Your rate, method and intervals of pay is
vii. Your hours of work are…
viii. Your periods of holidays and details of holiday pay are

ix. The conditions relating to incapacity to work due to sickness or injury and the
details of sick pay, if any, are…
x. Details of social security or pension scheme
xi. Amount of notice to terminate employment to be given by:
a) The employer
b) The worker
xii. The disciplinary rules applicable to you are…

xiii. The procedure for dealing with any grievances or dispute is…
xiv. Overtime payment, if any
xv. Signature of employer
Source: Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) of Ghana
UNIT 4
Exercise: 4.1
Employee Placement means getting fresh employees to start very well and confidently
on their new jobs.
Q1. Induction or orientation is the process or stages that a new employee is

taken through on assumption of duty, to enable such a
new employee to start work and also know his/her work environment.
Q2. A period of probation is a given time interval immediately after a new employee
assumes duty during which his/her suitability for the job is determined. The
probation can last between six months and one year.
Q3. Your discussion on the need to get ready to receive a new employee
can be along the following lines:
(a) Adequate preparation ensures that the Human Resource Manager (HRM) is not
taken by surprise on the day of the employee’s arrival.
(b) Man-hours are not lost after the employee has reported because what he/she
needs to work with is not available. This also means cost to the organisation.
(c) The new employee feels accepted or wanted if he/she gets the impression that
adequate preparation was made for his/her arrival. This awareness in turn raises
his/her morale for higher productivity.
Please feel free to raise as many relevant points on the matter with your peers.

Exercise: 4.2
Q1. Employee Appraisal is an evaluation of an employee’s performance
for a given period, normally six months or one calendar year. It is a
formal, regular and recorded exercise carried out by the employee’s
immediate supervisor.
Q2. Employee Appraisal can be done in two ways as follows:
i. Manager/supervisor appraisal. This is a traditional procedure where a superior

officer evaluates the work of his/her supervisees or direct reports.
ii. Self-appraisal. This is becoming the trend where employees are permitted to
evaluate their own performance for verification by their superiors.
Q3. Three reasons for conducting employee appraisal include:

i. Indentifying training needs – this means determining what the employee can do
now and what he is expected to do in future.
ii. Improving communication – if the open approach is used, the appraisal process
helps to open discussions between supervisors and those they supervise.
iii. Disciplinary documentation – appraisal provides a record of what employees do
for any given period including misconducts. Such records serve as a good source
of reference/evidence in support of future disciplinary action.
Exercise 4.3
Q1. An appraisal challenge is any obstacle or an institutional procedure that prevents
realization of appraisal objectives. Such challenges could come because of an
inaccurate appraisal procedure itself, arbitrariness on the part of appraisers or
implementation challenges.
Q2. Administrative challenges are normally difficulties associated with carrying out
evaluation of employee performance. Implementation challenges on the other
hand have to do with difficulty of making use of employee evaluation results as
expected.
Q3. Several ways are available but one of such is adequate training of appraisers or
evaluators.
Exercise 4.4
Q1. Three prerequisites of an employee promotion include:
i. A movement of the employee from a lower level of responsibility to a higher
level of responsibility.
ii. An increase in remuneration of the employee.
iii. A promotion must take place in the employee’s organisation.

Q.2 A transfer is the movement of an employee from one job schedule or job
location to another job schedule/location within the same organisation to
perform nearly the same duties. A transfer does not come with higher
remuneration or level of responsibility.
Q3. Employee upgrading is elevation of an employee to a higher level of

responsibility and which comes with higher remuneration. Employee upgrading
is an abridged form of promotion which is granted employees who obtain
commensurate qualifications or excel in any desired organisational behavior or
output. Upgrading will normally be ratified at a later date by an appropriate
panel in charge of promotions.
Exercise: 4.5
Q1. Relieving duties refer to a temporary measure to replace a worker proceeding on

leave or who has to be absent for a reasonable period of time (e.g. training off
the job). Any employee so posted to replace another, is said to be on relieving
duties.
Q2. Reposting means reassigning a new employee from his/her proposed original
workplace to another without necessarily assuming duty at the proposed original
location. This may happen if the employee was either wrongly posted in the first
place or for logistic reasons, such as lack of accommodation or suitable job
vacancy.
Q3. Re-appointment of an existing employee means truncating the employee’s

current appointment and giving him/her another one (normally a higher one)
almost immediately. For example, changing the appointment of a Deputy
Director of Internal Audit to Director of Finance in the same organisation.
Re-engaging a former employee means bringing back an employee, for example

Mr. X who left the organisation, say by resigning his position. Such re-
engagement or re-appointment as some organizations term it may be because of
expertise of the former employee or some other specific reason.
Exercise: 4.6
Q1. Employee separation means bringing the contract of employment between an
employer and his/her worker to an end either temporarily or permanently; for
example, temporarily by interdiction and permanently by dismissal or even
mandatory retirement.

Q2. Interdiction is a temporary separation but termination is permanent. Whilst

interdiction is a process, termination is an end-product, hence interdiction can
result in termination. An employee on interdiction is entitled to a fixed
proportion of his/her monthly emoluments but one on termination may be paid
off in one lump sum.
Q3. Summary dismissal implies instant truncation of an employee’s contract of
employment without following due internal process. This may be due to
criminal charges preferred against the employee by the state. The state will
normally take disciplinary procedure. Dismissal on the other hand will normally
follow due internal procedure and the employee is given a fair hearing. In both
cases however, the affected employee leaves without any entitlements.
UNIT 5
Exercise: 5.1
Q1. Employee training begins with identifying each employee’s training needs.
This is then followed by designing or using an appropriate
formal/informal and systematic learning means to modify and add value to
the employee. This process can be summarized as follows:
(a) Identifying training needs

(b)Designing appropriate learning methods
(c) Take employees through (b) above.
Q2. Two differences between them are:

i. Training is aimed at providing skills for specific tasks but Development
provides knowledge for general problem-solving.
ii. Training normally takes place over shorter periods whereas Development takes
much longer time.
Exercise: 5.2
Q1. The training need of the secretary was:
(a) To be able to use a personal computer for her work.
(b) To be able to improve her efficiency and effectiveness.
(c) To be abreast with modern secretarial technology.
Q2. The training need(s) were identified through Needs Analysis which revealed the
Training Gap. The Training Gap is the difference between what an employee can
do now and what he/she ought to be doing at a given time in the future.
Q3. Evaluation of the secretary’s job can be done by assessing his/her

reaction or her work performance after the training session.

Exercise: 5.3
Q1. On the- job training may be defined as learning while at work. It means working
and learning alongside or simultaneously. On-the job training implies learning a
job by actually performing it.
Q2. The key difference between Apprenticeship and Coaching is that with the
former, the learner has virtually no knowledge of the new skills to be acquired,
for example, a young person learning to become a tailor or a seamstress and
must start from the scratch. In the case of coaching however, the learner already
has some knowledge or skill about what is to be learnt and only has to be
assisted by the trainer (Coach or Master) to polish up, for example, a footballer.
Q3. On-the job training has several challenges including the following:
(a) Lack of a systematic learning programme to be used by the trainer

/master/mistress
(b) Lack of proper training skills or anthology
(c) Training may take unduly long time since it is only the trainer, who to a
large extent, determines that the trainee has qualified and can pass out
(d) Trainees attention could be divided between job performance and learning
Exercise: 5.4
Q1. Off-the-job training can be described as setting time aside solely to learn or
acquire a new skill. The important thing to note here is that, within this period of
learning the new skill, the trainee stops or is not engaged in the performance of
his/her normal duties.
Q.2 External training techniques include lectures, tutorials, seminars, vestibule or

simulated training. You may refer to your notes for the explanations.
Q3. Benefits derived from off-the-job training include:

a) Training courses will normally cover standard theory and practice and
supply quality of instruction.
b) Off-the-job training is more useful for inculcating highly specialized
knowledge or advanced skills
c) Trainees are also able to share ideas through peer learning and thereby
improve the quality of skills acquired.

Exercise: 5.5
Q1. Two benefits of management development are:
a) Effectiveness
Management development helps learners in making better decisions and
become more effective in problem solving.
b) Personal Growth
Management development provides an avenue for personal growth in
organizations
Q2. Two management development programmes are:

a) Job Rotation
This is the systematic movement of management trainees to various job
schedules in an organization with the sole aim of helping such trainees
acquire additional experience on the job. e.g. moving an administrative
officer from the Marketing Department to Human Resource Department.
b) Case Studies
This approach involves solving hypothetical and sometimes real business
problems and gaining additional experience in the process. An example is to
determine whether to base promotion of employees on seniority or
competence.
Exercise: 5.6
Q1. A career may be described as all the related jobs held during one’s working life.
For example the career of a retired Chief Executive will include all the job
positions he/she held while in active service.
Q2. Managing one’s career means a careful plan of one’s jobs and holding such job
positions successfully throughout one’s working life.
Q3. Management succession may also be called ‘succession planning’ or ‘continuity
planning’.
UNIT 6
Exercise 6.1
Q1. Compensation may be described as any form of reward an employer gives to an
employee in exchange for work done e.g. Giving a worker ¢2,500. at the end of
the month in return for what the worker has contributed.
Q2. Organizations need a workable pay structure for the following two reasons,
among others:

a) It provides a reference point for both employers and employees.

b) The employer is also able to forecast pay cost more effectively.
Q3. a) Ad-hoc Pay Structure

This means an interim pattern of payment for a given job. It is a loose pay
arrangement which will normally be changed soonest. For instance a pay
system for a new employee for a job which did not exist previously in a
particular company.
b)Job-evaluated Pay Structure

A job-evaluated Pay Structure is a pattern of payment based on the relative
worth of a job. This means, based on some criteria, some value is placed on
each job and these values in turn, determine how much to pay for that job
Exercise 6.2
Q1. Two systems of wage payment are:
a) Piece-rate Payment
This is payment by result (PBR). With this approach, pay is tied to output.
b) Time-rate payment
With this approach payment to a worker is based on how long he stays on a
given job. Payment is normally calculated on hourly basis
Q2. Nature of salary

i. Normally paid to established or permanent workers of an
organization
ii. It is paid according to length of time on the job, usually
a month.
iii. subject to increment yearly within a scale or notches
Nature of wage
i. paid to casual workers
ii. often paid by results and termination can be immediate or at the end of the
each day
Q3. Two differences between the fixed increment system (FIS) and the variable
incremental system (VIS) are:
i. FIS will normally be used in bureaucratic organizations where
procedures are very structured and formal. VIS will however be
common in small private firms where one person can determine
what to pay.
ii. With FIS, employees will normally rise gradually on the salary
scale depending upon their performance for the year. VIS is more

of a ‘stick and carrot’ mechanism where desirable employee

behavior can be rewarded instantly and undesirable behavior
punished.
Exercise 6.3
Q1. An employee benefits package can be described as indirect financial and non-
financial rewards paid to a worker over and above the workers regular pay. eg.
A car loan or medical facility.
Q2. The main way cost considerations affect an organisation’s benefits package is
ability to pay. No matter how attractive a benefit can be to both employer and
employee, the organizations ability to pay is always paramount.
Q3. Using the formula provided under workmen’s compensation, the compensation
for this injured worker will be
¢ 30,000 x 10 x 96
12 100 1
= ¢ 24,000.
Exercise 6.4
Q1. A service benefits package is any non-monitory entitlement an employee enjoys
and which may not be commensurate with the employee’s age or length of
service
Q2. Write down your group’s answers and bring up for discussion during face-to-
face (FTF).
Exercise 6.5
Q1. A workplace accident is any unexpected or uncontrolled event which results in

injury or disease to an employee in the course of work.
Q2. The strong humanitarian consideration for health and safety at workplaces stems
from the realization that employees who are injured may never recover fully thus
resulting in hardships to themselves, their family and communities.
Q3. Two physical causes of workplace accidents are faulty electrical connections and
poor ventilation.

Exercise 6.6
Q1. The minimum age entry is 15 years and maximum is 45years.
Q2. You are expected to discuss any of the strategies listed under 6.2 of this session.
How you prepare may be different from the way your peers prepare.
Q3. The phase that appeals to me most is the honeymoon. Some of the reasons:
i. Freedom to sleep a bit longer than before.

ii. Enough money at hand if your retirement benefits have been paid to you fully or
in part.
iii. Possibility of travelling on holiday.

REFERENCES
1. Armstrong, Michael (2009), Human resource management practice,: Kogan

Page Ltd.: London.
2. Blyton, P & Morris J. (1992), Human resource management and the limits of
flexibility, Sage: London.
3. Bohlander G. Scott & Scherman A. (2001). Managing human resources.

(12ed.) ,Thompson Learning: USA
4. Government of Ghana (2003), Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651);Government

Printer, Assembly Press: Accra.
5. Ivancevich M. J, Lorenz P, Skinner S & Crosby B. P, (1992). Management,

quality and competitiveness, (2ed.) Irwin / McGraw Hill: USA.
6. Martin, J. (2001), Organization behaviour, Thompson Learning; London
7. Mensah-Bonsu, J. A. N. & Effah, P. (2003), Conflict management and

resolution skills for managers in tertiary education institutions: A training
manual, Adwinsa Publications Ltd: Accra.
8. Noe A, R., Hollenbeck R. J., Gerhart B. & Wright M. P., (1996), Human
resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage, Irwin Me Graw
Hill: New York.
9. Pitt, G. (2000); Employment law, Sweet & Maxwell Ltd:London
10. Torrington D., Hall L. & Taylor, S. (2005), Human resource management,
Practice Hall: UK..

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First Printing in 2008 by Agol Ghana Ltd, Accra

Second printing in 2011 by Hampton Press Ltd, Cape Coast

© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

CoDE PUBLICATIONS 2018

Cover page illustrated by R. Y. Essiam

Driven by the desire to deliver quality, cost-effective tertiary education to clients, it

Special thanks go to Mrs. Cecilia Nkrumah, Mr Francis Eshun, Miss Abigail B.

Prof. Isaac Galyuon

We wish you a happy and successful study.

CoDEUCC/Diploma in Commerce /Management S tudies i

UNIT 1: NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)1

UNIT 2: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING AND

Session 1: Human Resource Planning ... ... ... ... ... 31

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies ii

3.3 Employment of Young Persons 41

UNIT 3: EMPLOYEE SELECTION ... ... ... ... ... 59

Session 1: Meaning and Purpose of Employee Selection ... ... 61

iii CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

UNIT 4: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND EMPLOYEE

UNIT 5: EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT … 109

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies iv

Session 3: Training Techniques (I) ... ... ... ... 97

UNIT 6 EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND RETIREMENT ... 135

v CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

UNIT 1: NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Welcome to the study and practice of Human Resource

CoDEUCC/ Di pl oma in Commerce/ Management Studies 27

This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

28 CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 1: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT WORK

You are welcome to Session 1, the beginning of your academic

1.1 Functions of Management

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies 3

1.1.1 Planning as a Management Function

1.1.2 Organizing as a Management Function

1.1.3 Staffing as a Function in Management

4 CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

1.1.4 Leading as a Function in Management

i Delegating authority to subordinates and receiving feedback.

1.1.5 Controlling as a Function in Management

i. Have I established the school I planned initially?

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies 5

This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

6 CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 2: THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

Welcome to Session 2, which promises to be very revealing because it

Now read on…

2.1 Meaning of Human Resource

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies 7

2.2 Managing Human Resource

8 CoDEUCC/Di ploma in Commerce/Management Studies

4. Controlling human resource. The concept of controlling human resource is often

CoDEUCC/Di pl oma in Commerce/Management Studies 9

2.3 Relationship between Human Resource and Material Resource

1. Describe what constitutes human resource in your own words.

10 CoDEUCC/Di ploma in Commerce/Management Studies

SESSION 3: NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE

3.1 Functions of Human Resource Managers

CoDEUCC Diploma in Commerce/Management Studies 11

3.2 Consequences of Poor Human Resource Management in

The following issues come up immediately when human management is poorly

3.2.1 Hiring the Wrong Person for a Job

12 CoDEUCC/Di ploma in Commerce/Management Studies