MBA SEMESTER 1: MB0043

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 3 CREDITS (BOOK ID: B0909)

ASSIGNMENT SET – 1

By

Mohammed. Ali

1st Semester MBA

July 2010

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Q1: Training refers to the process of imparting specific skills. “Training need analysis” is
required for effective training program. Explain in detail, all the three factors of Thayer and
McGhee model of identify training neds.

A1: Training efforts must aim at meeting the requirements of the organizations (long – term)
and the individual employees (short-term). This involves finding answers to questions such as:
Whether training is needed? If yes, where it is needed? Which training is needed? Once we
identify training gaps within the organisation, it becomes easy to design an appropriate training
programme. Training needs can be identified through the following types of analysis (Thayer &
McGhee Model):

Organisational analysis: It involves a study of the entire organization in terms of its objectives,
its resources, the utilization of these resources, in order to achieve stated objectives and its
interaction pattern with environment. The important elements that are closely examined in this
connection are:

Analysis of objectives: This is a study of short term and long-term objectives and the strategies
followed at various levels to meet these objectives.

Resource utilisation analysis: How the various organisational resources (human, physical and
financial) are put to use is the main focus of this study. The contributions of various
departments- are also examined by establishing efficiency indices for each unit. This is done to
find out comparative labour costs, whether a unit is under manned or over manned.

Environmental scanning: Here the economic, political, socio-cultural and technological

environment of the organisation is examined.

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Organisational climate analysis: The climate of an organisation speaks about the attitudes of
members towards work, company policies, supervisors, etc. Absenteeism, turnover ratios
generally reflect the prevailing employee attitudes.

Task or role analysis: This is a detailed examination of a job, its components, its various
operations and conditions under which it has to be performed. The focus here is on the roles
played by an individual and the training needed to perform such roles. The whole exercise is
meant to find out how the various tasks h be performed and what kind of skills, knowledge,
attitudes are needed to the job needs.

Questionnaires, interviews, reports, tests, observation and methods are generally used to
collect job related information from time-to-time. After collecting the information, an
appropriate training program may be designed, paying attention to (i) performance standards
required of employees, (ii) the tasks they have to discharge, (iii) the methods they will employ
on the job and (iv) how they have learned such methods, etc.

Manpower analysis: Here the focus is on the individual-in a given job. There are three issues to
be resolved through manpower analysis. First we try to find, whether performance is
satisfactory and training is required. Second, whether the employee is capable of being trained
and the specific areas in which training is needed. Finally, we need to state whether poor
performances (who can improve with requisite training inputs) on the job need to be replaced
by those who can do the job.

Other options to training such as modifications in the job or processes should also be looked
into. Personal observation, performance reviews, supervisory reports, diagnostic tests help in
collecting the required information and select particular training options that try to improve the
performance individual workers.

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Q2: India is considered as the leading emerging economy. India’s organizational success is
rooted in its culture; bring out Indian culture and historical perspecive to HRM. Write a breif
note on Human relaions movement in India.

A2: It is widely recognised that different organisations have distinctive cultures. A commonly
used definition of organisational culture is 'the way we see and do things around here'. Through
tradition, history and structure, organisations build up their own culture. Culture therefore
gives an organisation a sense of identity - 'who we are', 'what we stand for', 'what we do'. It
determines, through the organisation's legends, rituals, beliefs, meanings, values, norms and
language, the way in which 'things are done around here'.

For HR managers in the knowledge driven technology sector, managing a young workforce and
training them on cross culture issues, has emerged as a strategic differentiator.

Increasingly, for Indian companies, which are serving a diverse set of enterprises, spread across
different geographies, grooming their staff on some simple and, yet, tricky culture issues, is
getting increasingly institutionalised or becoming an expert outsourced option.

An organisations' culture encapsulates what it has been good at and what has worked in the
past. These values can often be accepted without question by long-serving members of an
organisation.

One of the first things a new employee learns is some of the organisation's legends - perhaps
how the founder worked long hours and despised formal educational and training
qualifications. Legends can stay with an organisation and become part of the established way of
doing things.

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Perhaps the founder's views about the importance of education and training will stay current;
in the course of time there may be a 'culture shift' as new managers move into the organisation
and change the old ways. However, a number of legends continue to be important
determinants of 'the way we do things around here'.

Q3: A company is being set up by a group of 3 professionals. The business objective is to sell
mobile phones of a Chinese company. They need to submit a human resource plan to the
investors. Explain the process of human resource planning system for this company, which
covers all important steps needed for HRP

A3: When it concerns human resources, the issue has become not how many people should be
employed, but ensuring that all members of staff are making an effective contribution. And for
the future, the questions are what are the skills that will be required, and how will they be
acquired.

Determining the numbers to be employed at a new location

If organisations overdo the size of their workforce it will carry surplus or underutilised staff.
Alternatively, if the opposite misjudgement is made, staff may be overstretched, making it hard
or impossible to meet production or service deadlines at the quality level expected. So the
questions we ask are:

 How can output be improved your through understanding the

interrelation between productivity, work organisation and technological development?
What does this mean for staff numbers?

 What techniques can be used to establish workforce requirements?

 Have more flexible work arrangements been considered?

 How are the staff you need to be acquired?

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The principles can be applied to any exercise to define workforce requirements, whether it be a
business start-up, a relocation, or the opening of new factory or office.

Retaining your highly skilled staff

Issues about retention may not have been to the fore in recent years, but all it needs is for
organisations to lose key staff to realise that an understanding of the pattern of resignation is
needed. Thus organisations should:

 monitor the extent of resignation

 discover the reasons for it

 establish what it is costing the organisation

 compare loss rates with other similar organisations.

Without this understanding, management may be unaware of how many good quality staff are
being lost. This will cost the organisation directly through the bill for separation, recruitment
and induction, but also through a loss of long-term capability.

Having understood the nature and extent of resignation steps can be taken to rectify the
situation. These may be relatively cheap and simple solutions once the reasons for the
departure of employees have been identified. But it will depend on whether the problem is
peculiar to your own organisation, and whether it is concentrated in particular groups (eg by
age, gender, grade or skill).

Managing an effective downsizing programme

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This is an all too common issue for managers. How is the workforce to be cut painlessly, while
at the same time protecting the long-term interests of the organisation? A question made all
the harder by the time pressures management is under, both because of business necessities
and employee anxieties. HRP helps by considering:

 the sort of workforce envisaged at the end of the exercise

 the pros and cons of the different routes to get there

 how the nature and extent of wastage will change during the run-down

 the utility of retraining, redeployment and transfers

 what the appropriate recruitment levels might be.

Such an analysis can be presented to senior managers so that the cost benefit of various
methods of reduction can be assessed, and the time taken to meet targets established.

If instead the CEO announces on day one that there will be no compulsory redundancies and
voluntary severance is open to all staff, the danger is that an unbalanced workforce will result,
reflecting the take-up of the severance offer. It is often difficult and expensive to replace lost
quality and experience.

Where will the next generation of managers come from?

Many senior managers are troubled by this issue. They have seen traditional career paths
disappear. They have had to bring in senior staff from elsewhere. But they recognise that while
this may have dealt with a short-term skills shortage, it has not solved the longer term question
of managerial supply: what sort, how many, and where will they come from? To address these
questions you need to understand:

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 the present career system (including patterns of promotion and movement, of

recruitment and wastage)

 the characteristics of those who currently occupy senior positions

 the organisation’s future supply of talent.

This then can be compared with future requirements, in number and type. These will of course
be affected by internal structural changes and external business or political changes. Comparing
your current supply to this revised demand will show surpluses and shortages which will allow
you to take corrective action such as:

 recruiting to meet a shortage of those with senior management potential

 allowing faster promotion to fill immediate gaps

 developing cross functional transfers for high fliers

 hiring on fixed-term contracts to meet short-term skills/experience deficits

 reducing staff numbers to remove blockages or forthcoming surpluses.

Thus appropriate recruitment, deployment and severance policies can be pursued to meet
business needs. Otherwise processes are likely to be haphazard and inconsistent. The wrong
sort of staff are engaged at the wrong time on the wrong contract. It is expensive and
embarrassing to put such matters right.

How can HRP be applied?

The report details the sort of approach companies might wish to take. Most organisations are
likely to want HRP systems:

 which are responsive to change

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 where assumptions can easily be modified

 that recognise organisational fluidity around skills

 that allow flexibility in supply to be included

 that are simple to understand and use

 which are not too time demanding.

To operate such systems organisations need:

 appropriate demand models

 good monitoring and corrective action processes

 comprehensive data about current employees and the external labour market

 an understanding how resourcing works in the organisation.

If HRP techniques are ignored, decisions will still be taken, but without the benefit of
understanding their implications. Graduate recruitment numbers will be set in ignorance of
demand, or management succession problems will develop unnoticed. As George Bernard Shaw
said: ‘to be in hell is to drift; to be in heaven is to steer’. It is surely better if decision makers
follow this maxim in the way they make and execute resourcing plans.

Human Resource Management Systems encompass:

1. Payroll
2. Work Time
3. Benefits Administration
4. HR management Information system
5. Recruiting
6. Training/Learning Management System

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7. Performance Record
8. Employee Self-Service

Q4: Organizations hire candidates through various sources. Discuss all the possible sources of
recruitment.

A4: The sources of employees can be classified into two types, internal and external

Internal source

Current employees are the best source of recruits for all except entry level positions because
they know organizational culture and policies. Promotion and transfers are typically decided by
operational managers with little involvement of HR dept.

Job positioning programs:

HR becomes involved when jobs are publicized to employees through Job positioning programs.

Job positioning programs informs employees through notices on bulletin boards or in

company`s news papar or magzine.

Then with recommendation of supervisors or self nominations employee apply for the job
opening.

This process is used to encourage employees for promotion transfer or to meet employee`s
personal objectives.

outside sources available, among which are the following:

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1. Advertising: There is a trend toward more selective recruitment in advertising. This can
be effected in at least two ways. First, advertisements can be placed in media read only
by particular groups. Secondly, more information about the company, the job, and the
job specification can be included in the ad to permit some self-screening.
2. Employment Agencies: Additional screening can be affected through the utilization of
employment agencies, both public and private. Today, in contrast to their former
unsavoury reputation, the public employment agencies in several States are well-
regarded, particularly in the fields of unskilled semi-skilled and skilled operative jobs. In
the technical and professional areas, however, the private agencies appear to be doing
most of the work. Many private agencies tend to specialize in a particular type of worker
and job, such as sales, office, executive or engineer.
3. Employee Referrals: Friends and relatives of present employees are also a good source
from which employees may be drawn. When the labour market is very tight, large
employers frequently offer their employees bonus or prizes for any referrals that are
hired and stay with the company for a specific length of time. Some companies maintain
a register of former employees whose record was good to contact them when there are
new job openings for which they are qualified. This method of recruitment, however,
suffers from a serious defect that it encourages nepotism, i.e. persons of one’s
community or caste are employed, who may or may not be fit for the job.
4. Schools, Colleges and Professional Institutions: Offer opportunities for recruiting their
students. They operate placement services where complete bio-data and other
particulars of the students are available. The companies that need employees maintain
contact with Guidance Counsellors of Employment Bureaus and teachers of business
and vocational subjects. The prospective employers can review Credentials and
interview candidates for management trainees or probationers. Whether the education
sought involves a higher secondary certificate, specific vocational training, or a college
background with a bachelor’s, masters’ or doctoral degree, educational institutions
provide an excellent source of potential employees for entry-level positions in

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organizations. These general and technical/ professional institutions provide blue-collar

applicants, white-collar and managerial personnel.
5. Labour unions: Firms with closed or union shops must look to the union in their
recruitment efforts. Disadvantages of a monopolistically controlled labour source are
offset, at least particularly, by savings in recruitment costs. With one-fifth of the labour
force organized into unions, organized labour constitutes an important source of
personnel.
6. Casual applicants: Unsolicited applications, both at the gate and through the mail,
constitute a much-used source of personnel. These can be developed through provision
of attractive employment office facilities and prompt and courteous replies to
unsolicited letters.
7. Professional organizations or recruiting firms or executive recruiters: maintain
complete information records about employed executives. These firms are looked upon
as ‘head hunters’, ‘raiders’ and ‘pirates’ by organizations which lose personnel through
their efforts. However, these same organizations may employ “executive search firms”
to help them find talent. These consulting firms recommend persons of high calibre for
managerial, marketing and production engineers’ posts.
8. Indoctrination seminars for colleges professors: are arranged to discuss the problem of
companies and employees. Professors are invited to take part in these seminars. Visits
to plants and banquets are arranged so that the participant professors may be
favourably impressed. They may later speak well of a company and help it in getting the
required personnel.
9. Unconsolidated applications: For positions in which large numbers of candidates are
not available from other sources, the companies may gain keeping files of applications
received from candidates who make direct enquiries about possible vacancies on their
own, or may send unconsolidated applications. The information may be indexed and
filed for future use when there are openings in these jobs.

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10. Nepotism: The hiring of relatives will be an inevitable component of recruitment

programmes in family-owned firms, such a policy does not necessarily coincide with
hiring on the basis of merit, but interest and loyalty to the enterprise are offsetting
advantages.
11. Leasing: To adjust to short-term fluctuations in personnel needs, the possibility of
leasing personnel by the hour or day should be considered. This practice has been
particularly well-developed in the office administration field. The firm not only obtains
well-trained and selected personnel but avoids any obligation in pensions, insurance,
and other fringe benefits.
12. Voluntary organizations: such as private clubs, social organizations might also provide
employees – handicaps, widowed or married women, old persons, retired hands, etc., in
response to advertisements.
13. Computer data banks: When a company desires a particular type of employee, job
specifications and requirements are fed into a computer, where they are matched
against the resume data stored therein. The output is a set of resumes for individuals
who meet the requirements. This method is very useful for identifying candidates for
hard-to-fill positions which call for an unusual combination of skills

Q5: Short notes on MBO and 360 degree

MBO

The principle behind Management by Objectives (MBO) is to make sure that everybody within
the organization has a clear understanding of the aims, or objectives, of that organization, as
well as awareness of their own roles and responsibilities in achieving those aims. The complete
MBO system is to get managers and empowered employees acting to implement and achieve
their plans, which automatically achieve those of the organization.

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The MBO style is appropriate for knowledge-based enterpriseswhen your staff is competent. It
is appropriate in situations where you wish to build employees' management and self-
leadership skills and tap their creativity, tacit knowledge and initiative. Management by
Objectives (MBO) is also used by chief executives of multinational corporations (MNCs) for their
country managers abroad.

Management by Objectives (MBO) systems, objectives are written down for each level of the
organization, and individuals are given specific aims and targets. "The principle behind this is to
ensure that people know what the organization is trying to achieve, what their part of the
organization must do to meet those aims, and how, as individuals, they are expected to help.
This presupposes that organization's programs and methods have been fully considered. If they
have not, start by constructing team objectives and ask team members to share in the process."

For Management by Objectives (MBO) to be effective, individual managers must understand

the specific objectives of their job and how those objectives fit in with the overall company
objectives set by the board of directors. "A manager's job should be based on a task to be
performed in order to attain the company's objectives... the manager should be directed and
controlled by the objectives of performance rather than by his boss.

The managers of the various units or sub-units, or sections of an organization should know not
only the objectives of their unit but should also actively participate in setting these objectives
and make responsibility for them.

360 Degree

360 degree feedback is the most comprehensive and costly type of appraisal. It includes self
ratings, peer review, and upward assessments; feedback is sought from everyone. It gives
people a chance to know how they are seen by others; to see their skills and style; and may
improve communications between people.

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360 degree feedback helps by bringing out every aspect of an employee's life. Cooperation with
people outside their department, helpfulness towards customers and vendors, etc. may not be
rewarded by other types of appraisal. This system also helps those who have conflicts with their
manager.

360 degree feedback generally has high employee involvement and credibility; may have the
strongest impact on behavior and performance; and may greatly increase communication and
shared goals. It provides people with a good all-around perspective.

In human resources or industrial/organizational psychology, 360-degree feedback, also known

as multi-rater feedback, multisource feedback, or multisource assessment, is feedback that
comes from all around an employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle, with an
individual figuratively in the center of the circle. Feedback is provided by subordinates, peers,
and supervisors. It also includes a self-assessment and, in some cases, feedback from external
sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted
with "upward feedback," where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a
"traditional performance appraisal," where the employees are most often reviewed only by
their managers.

The results from 360-degree feedback are often used by the person receiving the feedback to
plan training and development. Results are also used by some organizations in making
administrative decisions, such as pay or promotion. When this is the case, the 360 assessment
is for evaluation purposes, and is sometimes called a "360-degree review." However, there is a
great deal of controversy as to whether 360-degree feedback should be used exclusively for
development purposes, or should be used for appraisal purposes as well (Waldman et al.,
1998). There is also controversy regarding whether 360-degree feedback improves employee
performance, and it has even been suggested that it may decrease shareholder value (Pfau &
Kay, 2002).

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Q6: Hawthorne study has played a critical role in human resource development: Elucidate the
Hawthrone study and explain its contribution to human relations movement

A6: One of the most criticised and controversial investigations ever undertaken on workplace
relations was known as the Hawthorne Effect. These studies were undertaken at the Bell
Telephone Western Electric Manufacturing Plant in Chicago. The studies began in 1924 and
continued through until the Depression in 1932. The purpose of the studies was to gain an
insight on whether a workers environment affected their productivity. Initially the study that
was of particular interest to the researchers was if the illumination levels within the workroom
impacted the employees. Surprisingly though the researchers found that the illumination levels
did in fact affect the workers but not in the way they suspected.. They found that productivity
actually increased regardless of the level of illumination. This then prompted the researchers to
continue their testing and experiments on the workers to determine what it was that affected
their productivity.

The Hawthorne studies commenced in 1924 with the illumination tests. The initial reasoning for
the test was to decrease accidents and increase productivity. Workers were divided into two
groups, the controlled group which were not supervised and the experimental group who were
the group that were to be constantly monitored and supervised. To do the tests workers were
exposed to various forms of lighting conditions varying from very dark and dim to very bright.
To the researchers surprise though both the controlled group and the experimental group both
increased their productions levels regardless of the illumination levels, consequently these
results failed to provide a link between illumination and efficiency. These results then prompted
the researchers to carry out further testings on the two groups. These testings were known as
The Relay Assembly Room Tests. They began in 1927 and concluded in 1932 due to the
Depression. This phase became the most well known area of the Hawthorne studies and also
the most widely criticised. As management theories evolve one reoccurring factor since the

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Hawthorne Studies consistently appears, that is if the worker is happy within the workplace and
also outside it their work seems to be more effective and efficient thus resulting in increased
productivity levels. The Hawthorne Studies were the beginning of a new era for Management.
They set the standards for a new and what was then a radical style which has only evolved and
grown in popularity since. Managers today have realised that to be a successful manager you
need to allow your employee to be more hands on and involved in their work. Flexibility and
freedom is now widely accepted within the workplace and managers encourage their
employees to make decisions and to have a proactive role to ensure that they get the most
desired outcome possible which then in turn benefits everyone.

References
McLean G. N. National Human Resource Development: A Focused Study in Transitioning
Societies in the Developing World. In Advances in Developing Human Resources; 8; 3, 2006.
Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.).
London: Kogan Page
Wilkinson, A. (1988). "Empowerment: theory and practice". Personnel Review 27 (1): 40–56

 Bracken, D.W., Summers, L., & Fleenor, J.W. (1998) High tech 360. Training &
Development, August.
 Bracken, D.W., Timmereck, C.W., & Church, A.H. (2001a). The handbook of multisource
feedback. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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