Why Human Resource Management?

Behind the production of every product or service there is human mind, effort and man hours (working hours). no product or service can be produced without help of human being. Human being is the fundamental resource for making or constructing anything. Today many experts claim that machines and technology are replacing human resource and minimizing their role or effort. But even machines and technology have been build by the human aid and besides companies have been continuously in search for talented, skilled and qualified professionals to further develop latest machines and technology, which again have to be controlled or used by humans to bring out products.

Definition:

Human Resource Management is the process of recruitment, selection of employee, providing proper orientation and induction, providing proper training and the developing skills, assessment of employee (performance of appraisal), providing proper compensation and benefits, motivating, maintaining proper relations with labor and with trade unions, maintaining employees safety, welfare and health by complying with labour laws of concern state or country.

Why name human resource management?

Human: refer to the skilled workforce in the organisation.

Resource: refer to limited availability or scarce.

Management: refer to maximize or proper utilization and make best use of limited and a scarce resource.

Altogether,  human resource management is the process of proper and maximize utilization of  available limited skilled workforce. The core purpose of the human resource management is to make efficient use of existing human resource in the organisation. The Best example at present situation is, construction industry has been facing serious shortage of skilled workforce. It is  expected to triple in the next decade from the present 30 per cent, will negatively impact the overall productivity of the sector, warn industry experts.

Every organisations' desire is to have skilled and competent people to make their organisation more effective than their competitors. humans are very important assets for the organisation rather than land and buildings, without employees ( humans ) no activity in the organisation can be done. Machines are meant to to produce more goods with good quality but they should get operated by the human only.

"You must treat your employees with respect and dignity because in the most automated factory in the world, you need the power of human mind. That is what brings in innovation. If you want high quality minds to work for you, then you must protect the respect and dignity. "

---Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys

“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” - John F. Kennedy.

The Best Appraisal Method

Q.1. Assume yourself as an HR Manager. You have been given the responsibility of promoting the rightful employees. For this, performance appraisal of the employees must be carried out. What appraisal method would you choose? Justify.

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If  I am a HR manager, i would choose the 360-degree appraisal method because of the following reasons:

360 Degree Appraisal:

Typically, performance appraisal has been limited to a feedback process between employees and Managers. However, with the increased focus on teamwork, employee development, and customer service, the emphasis has shifted to employee feedback from the full circle of sources depicted in the diagram below. This multiple-input approach to performance feedback is sometimes called "360-degree assessment" to connote that full circle.

 

There are no prohibitions in law or regulation against using a variety of rating sources, in addition to the employee’s Manager, for assessing performance. Research has shown assessment approaches with multiple rating sources provide more accurate, reliable, and credible information. For this reason, HR Management supports the use of multiple rating sources as an effective method of assessing performance for formal appraisal and other evaluative and developmental purposes.

The circle, or perhaps more accurately the sphere, of feedback sources consists of Managers, peers, subordinates, customers, and one’s self. It is not necessary, or always appropriate, to include all of the feedback sources in a particular appraisal program. The organizational culture and mission must be considered, and the purpose of feedback will differ with each source. For example, subordinate assessments of a Manager’s performance can provide valuable developmental guidance, peer feedback can be the heart of excellence in teamwork, and customer service feedback focuses on the quality of the team’s or agency’s results. The objectives of performance appraisal and the particular aspects of performance that are to be assessed must be established before determining which sources are appropriate.

Superiors: Evaluations by superiors are the most traditional source of employee feedback. This form of evaluation includes both the ratings of individuals by Managers on elements in an employee’s performance plan and the evaluation of programs and teams by senior managers.

Self Assessment: This form of performance information is actually quite common but usually used only as an informal part of the Manager-employee appraisal feedback session. Managers frequently open the discussion with: "How do you feel you have performed?" In a somewhat more formal approach, Managers ask employees to identify the key accomplishments they feel best represent their performance in critical and non-critical performance elements. In a 360-degree approach, if self-ratings are going to be included, structured forms and formal procedures are recommended.

Peers: With downsizing and reduced hierarchies in organizations, as well as the increasing use of teams and group accountability, peers are often the most relevant evaluators of their colleagues’ performance. Peers have a unique perspective on a co-worker’s job performance and employees are generally very receptive to the concept of rating each other. Peer ratings can be used when the employee’s expertise is known or the performance and results can be observed.

Subordinates: An upward-appraisal process or feedback survey (sometimes referred to as SAM for a "Subordinates Appraising Managers") is among the most significant and yet controversial features of a "full circle" performance evaluation program. Both managers being appraised and their own superiors agree that subordinates have a unique, often essential, perspective. The subordinate ratings provide particularly valuable data on performance elements concerning managerial and Managerial behaviors. However, there is usually great reluctance, even fear, concerning implementation of this rating dimension.

Customers: Setting Customer Service Standards, requires agencies to survey internal and external customers, publish customer service standards, and measure agency performance against these standards. Internal customers are defined as users of products or services supplied by another employee or group within the agency or organization. External customers are outside the organization and include, but are not limited to, the general public.
 

What are the objectives of human relations?

Q.5. What are the objectives of human relations?

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Objectives of Human Relations :

The following are the objectives of human relations :

1. A human Relations Programme thereby attempts at enhancing employee motivation and workplace morale through an improved three-way communications and through employee participation in the decision making processes.

2. Human relations seek to emphasise ‘employee’ aspects of work rather than technical or economic aspects. For example while it might be in the best interest of an organization to have a employee skilled and completely proficient in one job/ set or responsibilities, today’s organization provides’ opportunities for employees to multi-skill and acquire knowledge of new yet related jobs/responsibilities.

3. These acts as a motivator for employees as they benefit by learning new skills / jobs and given an opportunity can perform and excel in another job.

4. It also seeks to make employment and working conditions less impersonal.

5. The human relations approach emphasises policies and techniques designed to improve employee morale and job satisfaction. For example it is common place in organizations to provide for / encourage employee empowerment where-in the team brings about creative measures to reduce cost/ improve customer satisfaction.

6. Such teams design and implement self-driven initiatives to bring about the business result. It is believed that this is accompanied by increased employee efficiency and reduction in employee dissatisfaction.   

7. To strengthen and appreciate the human assets continuously by providing training and development programs.

8. To establish and maintain organizational structure and desirable working relationships among all the members of the organization.

9. To provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership.

10. To provide an opportunity for expression and voice management.

11. To secure the integration of individual or groups within the organization by co-ordination of the individual and group goals with those of the organization.

12. To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by providing adequate and equitable wages, incentives, employee benefits and social security and measures for challenging work, prestige, recognition, security, status.

What are the objectives of job evaluation?

Q.2. What are the objectives of job evaluation?

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Objectives of Job Evaluation :

The decision to measure or rate jobs should only be made with the intent to reach certain objectives which are important to both management and the employee. Although there are many side benefits of job evaluation, the purpose is to work towards a solution of the many wage and compensation related administrative problems which confront the industry. The below-mentioned are some of the important objectives of a job evaluation programme:

1. Establishment of sound salary differentials between jobs differentiated on the skills required.

2. Identification and elimination of salary-related inequities.

3. Establishment of sound foundation for variable pay such as incentive and bonus.

4. Maintenance of a consistent career and employee growth policy/ guidelines.

5. In organizations with active unions, creation of a method of job classification, so that management and union officials may deal with major and fundamental wage issues during negotiations and grievance meetings.

6. Collection of job facts
 a) Selection of employees
 b) Promotion and transfer of employees
 c) Training of new employees
 d) Assignment of tasks to jobs
 e) Improving working conditions
 f) Administrative organization, and
 g) Work simplification.










 

Explain the need for human resource planning

Q.1. Explain the need for human resource planning.

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Need for Human Resource Planning


Human Resource Planning is a mandatory part of every organization’s annual planning process. Every organization that plans for its business goals for the year also plans for how it will go about achieving them, and therein the planning for the human resource:

1. To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary qualifications, skills, knowledge, work experience and aptitude for work.

2. Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result of superannuation) and unnaturally (as a result of resignation), there is an on-going need for hiring replacement staff to augment employee exit. Otherwise, work would be impacted.

3. In order to meet the need for more employees due to organizational growth and expansion, this in turn calls for larger quantities of the same goods and services as well as new goods. This growth could be rapid or gradual depending on the nature of the business, its competitors, its position in the market and the general economy.

4. Often organizations might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a result of its changing needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet the challenge of the changed needs of technology / product/service innovation the existing employees need to be trained or new skill sets induced into the organization.

5. Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce its workforce. In situations where the organization is faced with severe revenue and growth limitations it might need to plan well to manage how it will reduce its workforce. Options such as redeployment and outplacement can be planned for and executed properly.

How can we evaluate the effectiveness of training programs conducted in organizations?

Q.4. How can we evaluate the effectiveness of training programs conducted in organizations? 
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Evaluation of Training Effectiveness / How To Evaluate a Training Program:

An objective of training evaluation is to determine the payoff from the training investment. It focuses on the improvement of the participant in the training programme to perform jobs for which they were trained, what was effective and what was not, whether the trainees required any additional on the job training, and the extent of training not needed for the participants to meet job requirements.


In 1975, Donald Kirkpatrick, who was known for creating the training evaluation model, first presented a four-level model of evaluation that has become a classic in the industry:

Level I: Reaction – How did the student feel and what did they think about the training?
Level II: Learning – How much did the student learn?
Level III: Behavior – What is the extent of behavior and capability improvement and implementation/application?
Level IV: Results – What impact on the business did the training have as a result of the learner’s performance?
By using Kirkpatrick’s 4 levels of evaluation, you can effectively determine if training goals were met.

The Kirkpatrick Model for Summative Evaluation

Reaction – Distribute an evaluation or feedback form. This is often called a “smilesheet” and can be administered in either paper format or online format.  This type of evaluation is usually inexpensive and used by most organizations.  Be sure to distribute evaluations immediately after training ends.  You can include questions to evaluate the instructor, material covered, training materials and audio visual equipment.

Learning – To assess the amount of learning, consider using pre-tests and post-tests.  The tests attempts to determine how students have advanced with regards to skills, knowledge and attitude.  Pre-tests should be administered before the class begins, and post-tests would be given at the completion of the training class.  You can administer pre-tests and post-tests on paper or online. You can include multiple choice/fill-in the blank type questions, and/or may include work-related hands-on exercises for the learner to complete online.

Behavior – To determine the extent of behavior and capability improvement, consider observing learners for an extended period of time after training is completed.  This can be measured via post training interviews, monitoring progress and meeting with managers of the learners to determine if the training has allowed the learner to excel in his/her job.

Results – To determine the business impact of the training program, measure key performance indicators including return on investment, staff turnover, employee retention, quality ratings and other types of quantifiable aspects of the performance of the organization.