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1. METHODS OF PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Numerous methods have been devised to measure the quantity and quality of performance appraisals.

Each of the methods is effective for some purposes for some organizations only. None should be dismissed or accepted as appropriate except as they relate to the particular needs of the organization or an employee. Broadly all methods of appraisals can be divided into two different categories.

Past Oriented Methods Future Oriented Methods

Past Oriented Methods 1. Rating Scales: Rating scales consists of several numerical scales representing job related performance criterions such as dependability, initiative, output, attendance, attitude etc. Each scales ranges from excellent to poor. The total numerical scores are computed and final conclusions are derived. Advantages Adaptability, easy to use, low cost, every type of job can be evaluated, large number of employees covered, no formal training required. Disadvantages Raters biases 2. Checklist: Under this method, checklist of statements of traits of employee in the form of Yes or No based questions is prepared. Here the rater only does the reporting or checking and HR department does the actual evaluation. Advantages economy, ease of administration, limited training required, standardization. Disadvantages Raters biases, use of improper weighs by HR, does not allow rater to give relative ratings 3. Forced Choice Method: The series of statements arranged in the blocks of two or more are given and the rater indicates which statement is true or false. The rater is forced to make a choice. HR department does actual assessment. Advantages Absence of personal biases because of forced choice. Disadvantages Statements may be wrongly framed. 4. Forced Distribution Method: here employees are clustered around a high point on a rating scale. Rater is compelled to distribute the employees on all points on the scale. It is assumed that the performance is conformed to normal distribution. Advantages Eliminates Disadvantages Assumption of normal distribution, unrealistic, errors of central tendency. 5. Critical Incidents Method: The approach is focused on certain critical behaviors of employee that makes all the difference in the performance. Supervisors as and when they occur record such incidents. Advantages Evaluations are based on actual job behaviors, ratings are supported by descriptions, feedback is easy, reduces recency biases, chances of subordinate improvement are high. Disadvantages Negative incidents can be prioritized, forgetting incidents, overly close supervision; feedback may be too much and may appear to be punishment. 6. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales: statements of effective and ineffective behaviors determine the points. They are said to be behaviorally anchored. The rater is supposed to say, which behavior describes the employee performance. Advantages helps overcome rating errors. Disadvantages Suffers from distortions inherent in most rating techniques.

7. Field Review Method: This is an appraisal done by someone outside employees own department usually from corporate or HR department. Advantages Useful for managerial level promotions, when comparable information is needed, Disadvantages Outsider is generally not familiar with employees work environment, Observation of actual behaviors not possible. 8. Performance Tests & Observations: This is based on the test of knowledge or skills. The tests may be written or an actual presentation of skills. Tests must be reliable and validated to be useful. Advantage Tests may be apt to measure potential more than actual performance. Disadvantages Tests may suffer if costs of test development or administration are high. 9. Confidential Records: Mostly used by government departments, however its application in industry is not ruled out. Here the report is given in the form of Annual Confidentiality Report (ACR) and may record ratings with respect to following items; attendance, self expression, team work, leadership, initiative, technical ability, reasoning ability, originality and resourcefulness etc. The system is highly secretive and confidential. Feedback to the assessee is given only in case of an adverse entry. Disadvantage is that it is highly subjective and ratings can be manipulated because the evaluations are linked to HR actions like promotions etc. 10. Essay Method: In this method the rater writes down the employee description in detail within a number of broad categories like, overall impression of performance, promoteability of employee, existing capabilities and qualifications of performing jobs, strengths and weaknesses and training needs of the employee. Advantage It is extremely useful in filing information gaps about the employees that often occur in a better-structured checklist. Disadvantages It its highly dependent upon the writing skills of rater and most of them are not good writers. They may get confused success depends on the memory power of raters. 11. Cost Accounting Method: Here performance is evaluated from the monetary returns yields to his or her organization. Cost to keep employee, and benefit the organization derives is ascertained. Hence it is more dependent upon cost and benefit analysis. 12. Comparative Evaluation Method (Ranking & Paired Comparisons): These are collection of different methods that compare performance with that of other co-workers. The usual techniques used may be ranking methods and paired comparison method.

Ranking Methods: Superior ranks his worker based on merit, from best to worst. However how best and why best are not elaborated in this method. It is easy to administer and explanation. Paired Comparison Methods: In this method each employee is rated with another employee in the form of pairs. The number of comparisons may be calculated with the help of a formula as under.

N x (N-1) / 2 Future Oriented Methods 1. Management By Objectives: It means management by objectives and the performance is rated against the achievement of objectives stated by the management. MBO process goes as under.

Establish goals and desired outcomes for each subordinate Setting performance standards Comparison of actual goals with goals attained by the employee Establish new goals and new strategies for goals not achieved in previous year.

Advantage It is more useful for managerial positions. Disadvantages Not applicable to all jobs, allocation of merit pay may result in setting short-term goals rather than important and long-term goals etc. 2. Psychological Appraisals: These appraisals are more directed to assess employees potential for future performance rather than the past one. It is done in the form of in-depth interviews, psychological tests, and discussion with supervisors and review of other evaluations. It is more focused on employees emotional, intellectual, and motivational and other personal characteristics affecting his performance. This approach is slow and costly and may be useful for bright young members who may have considerable potential. However quality of these appraisals largely depend upon the skills of psychologists who perform the evaluation. 3. Assessment Centers: This technique was first developed in USA and UK in 1943. An assessment center is a central location where managers may come together to have their participation in job related exercises evaluated by trained observers. It is more focused on observation of behaviors across a series of select exercises or work samples. Assessees are requested to participate in inbasket exercises, work groups, computer simulations, role playing and other similar activities which require same attributes for successful performance in actual job. The characteristics assessed in assessment center can be assertiveness, persuasive ability, communicating ability, planning and organizational ability, self confidence, resistance to stress, energy level, decision making, sensitivity to feelings, administrative ability, creativity and mental alertness etc. Disadvantages Costs of employees traveling and lodging, psychologists, ratings strongly influenced by assessees interpersonal skills. Solid performers may feel suffocated in simulated situations. Those who are not selected for this also may get affected. Advantages well-conducted assessment center can achieve better forecasts of future performance and progress than other methods of appraisals. Also reliability, content validity and predictive ability are said to be high in assessment centers. The tests also make sure that the wrong people are not hired or promoted. Finally it clearly defines the criteria for selection and promotion. 4. 360-Degree Feedback: It is a technique which is systematic collection of performance data on an individual group, derived from a number of stakeholders like immediate supervisors, team members, customers, peers and self. In fact anyone who has useful information on how an employee does a job may be one of the appraisers. This technique is highly useful in terms of broader perspective, greater self-development and multi-source feedback is useful. 360-degree appraisals are useful to measure inter-personal skills, customer satisfaction and team building skills. However on the negative side, receiving feedback from multiple sources can be intimidating, threatening etc. Multiple raters may be less adept at providing balanced and objective feedback.

2. DIFFERENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION WITH EXAMPLES What is Motivation?


Stated simply, motivation is the driving force behind all people's actions. Behavioral psychologists have conducted research investigating why people behave the way they do. Entrepreneurs who understand the theories that were developed from this research about what makes people tick learn how to motivate purchasers to buy their products and use their services. Employers also want to find the key that motivates workers to work diligently and productively.

Taylor's Theory of Scientifc Management


Frederick Taylor's theory of motivation states that most workers are motivated solely by the pay they receive for the work they do. He postulated that most workers do not enjoy the work they do and only perform when given the direct reward of monetary payment. His ideas were adopted by Henry Ford and other industrialists who paid their factory workers according to the number of items produced. This theory lost favor as workers became frustrated and production was frequently halted due to strikes by disgruntled employees.

Mayo's Theory of Human Relations


Elton Mayo's theory of motivation examined the social needs of the worker. He believed that pay alone was not sufficient to motivate employees to put forth their best effort. He believed that the social needs of the workers should be taken into consideration. He recommended employers treat their workers in a caring and humane fashion that demonstrates an interest in the individual in order to have them produce their best work.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs that indicates how people in general achieve a sense of satisfaction. This hierarchy is often used in business settings to explain employee motivation. Maslow proposed that needs are satisfied in a certain order and that higher-level needs can only be satisfied once lower-level needs are met. The needs are, from bottom to top of the hierarchy: physiological (the need for food and water), safety and security, social, esteem and status, and the need for self-actualization, or living up to one's full potential. In the workplace, most employees' physiological needs are met. Safety then becomes an issue, with certain types of jobs having more safety challenges than others (manufacturing jobs, for instance). Given that they feel safe, employees will be concerned about satisfying their needs for social interaction and about receiving positive feedback and support (esteem) for their work. With all of these needs met, employees can stay motivated to do their best work. Theories X, Y and Z Theory X was propounded by Sigmund Freud, who believed that people only work in order to gain security and that workers can only be motivated through coercion, using rewards or punishment. In contrast to this, in the early 1960s, researcher Douglas McGregor argued in his Theory Y that most people enjoyed work and responsibility and would be committed to an organization if the work was satisfying and rewarding. Psychologist Abraham Maslow, a contemporary of Freud, posited in Theory Z that the greatest motivation comes from doing a difficult job well.

3. Different Training methods

Many methods of training are available- each has certain advantages and disadvantages. Here we list the different methods of training...you can comment on the pros and cons and make the examples concrete by imagining how they could be applied in training truck drivers. 1. Technology-Based Learning Common methods of learning via technology include:

Basic PC-based programs Interactive multimedia - using a PC-based CD-ROM Interactive video - using a computer in conjunction with a VCR Web-based training programs

The forms of training with technology are almost unlimited. A trainer also gets more of the learner''s involvement than in any other environment and trainees have the benefit of learning at their own pace. Example: In the trucking industry one can imagine interactive multimedia training on tractor-trailers followed by a proficiency test to see how well the employee knows the truck. 2. Simulators Simulators are used to imitate real work experiences. Most simulators are very expensive but for certain jobs, like learning to fly a 747, they are indispensable. Astronauts also train extensively using simulators to imitate the challenges and micro-gravity experienced on a space mission. The military also uses video games (similar to the "shoot-em-up" ones your 14-year old plays) to train soldiers. Example: Truck drivers could use simulators to practice responding to dangerous driving situations. 3. On-The-Job Training Jumping right into work from day one can sometimes be the most effective type of training. Here are a few examples of on-the-job training: Read the manual - a rather boring, but thorough way of gaining knowledge of about a task. A Combination of observation, explanation and practice. Trainers go through the job description to explain duties and answer questions.

Use the intranet so trainees can post questions concerning their jobs and experts within the company can answer them. On-the-job training gives employees motivation to start the job. Some reports indicate that people learn more efficiently if they learn hands-on, rather than listening to an instructor. However, this method might not be for everyone, as it could be very stressful. Example: New trucking employees could ride with experienced drivers. They could ask questions about truck weigh stations, proper highway speeds, picking up hitchhikers, or any other issues that may arise. 4. Coaching/Mentoring Coaching/mentoring gives employees a chance to receive training one-on-one from an experienced professional. This usually takes place after another more formal process has taken place to expand on what trainees have already learned. Here are three examples of coaching/mentoring: Hire professional coaches for managers Set up a formal mentoring program between senior and junior managers Implement less formal coaching/mentoring to encourage the more experienced employees to coach the less experienced. Coaching/mentoring gives trainees the chance to ask questions and receive thorough and honest answers - something they might not receive in a classroom with a group of people. Example: Again, truck drivers could gain valuable knowledge from more experienced drivers using this method. 5. Lectures Lectures usually take place in a classroom-format. It seems the only advantage to a lecture is the ability to get a huge amount of information to a lot of people in a short amount of time. It has been said to be the least effective of all training methods. In many cases, lectures contain no form of interaction from the trainer to the trainee and can be quite boring. Studies show that people only retain 20 percent of what they are taught in a lecture. Example: Truck drivers could receive lectures on issues such as company policies and safety. 6. Group Discussions & Tutorials These most likely take place in a classroom where a group of people discuss issues.

For example, if an unfamiliar program is to be implemented, a group discussion on the new program would allow employees to ask questions and provide ideas on how the program would work best. A better form of training than lectures, it allows all trainees to discuss issues concerning the new program. It also enables every attendee to voice different ideas and bounce them off one another. Example: Truck drivers could have group discussions and tutorials on safety issues they face on the road. This is a good way to gain feedback and suggestions from other drivers. 7. Role Playing Role playing allows employees to act out issues that could occur in the workplace. Key skills often touched upon are negotiating and teamwork. A role play could take place between two people simulating an issue that could arise in the workplace. This could occur with a group of people split into pairs, or whereby two people role play in front of the classroom. Role playing can be effective in connecting theory and practice, but may not be popular with people who dont feel comfortable performing in front of a group of people. Example: Truck drivers could role play an issue such as a large line-up of trucks is found at the weighing station and one driver tells another that he might as well go ahead and skip the whole thing. Or role play a driver who gets pulled over by a police officer and doesnt agree with the speeding charge. 8. Management Games Management games simulate real-life issues faced in the workplace. They attract all types of trainees including active, practical and reflective employees. Some examples of management games could include: Computer simulations of business situations that managers play. Board games that simulate a business situation. Games surrounding thought and creativity - to help managers find creative ways to solve problems in the workplace, or to implement innovative ideas. Example: In a trucking business, managers could create games that teach truckers the impact of late deliveries, poor customer service or unsafe driving. 9. Outdoor Training A nice break from regular classroom or computer-based training, the usual purpose of outdoor training is to develop teamwork skills.

Some examples include: Wilderness or adventure training - participants live outdoors and engage in activities like whitewater rafting, sailing, and mountain climbing. Low-impact programming - equipment can include simple props or a permanently installed "low ropes" course. High-impact programming - Could include navigating a 40-foot "high ropes" course, rock climbing, or rappelling. Outgoing and active participants may get the most out of this form of training. One risk trainers might encounter is distraction, or people who dont like outdoor activities. Example: As truck drivers are often on the road alone, they could participate in a nature-training course along with depot personnel to build esprit de corps. 10. Films & Videos Films and videos can be used on their own or in conjunction with other training methods. To be truly effective, training films and videos should be geared towards a specific objective. Only if they are produced effectively, will they keep the trainees attention. They are also effective in stimulating discussion on specific issues after the film or video is finished. Films and videos are good training tools, but have some of the same disadvantages as a lecture - i.e., no interaction from the trainees. A few risks to think about - showing a film or video from an outside source may not touch on issues directly affecting a specific company. Trainees may find the information very interesting but irrelevant to their position in the company. Some trainers like to show videos as a break from another training method, i.e. as a break from a lecture instead of a coffee break. This is not a good idea for two reasons. One: after a long lecture, trainees will usually want a break from any training material, so a training film wouldnt be too popular. Two: using films and videos solely for the purpose of a break could get expensive. Example: Videos for truckers could show the proper way to interact with customers or illustrate preventive maintenance techniques. 11. Case Studies Case studies provide trainees with a chance to analyze and discuss real workplace issues. They develop analytical and problem-solving skills, and provide practical

illustrations of principle or theory. They can also build a strong sense of teamwork as teams struggle together to make sense of a case. All types of issues could be covered - i.e. how to handle a new product launch. Example: Truck drivers could use case studies to learn what issues have been faced in the trucking industry in the past and what they could do if a similar situation were to occur. 12. Planned Reading Basically planned reading is pre-stage preparation to more formal methods of training. Some trainees need to grasp specific issues before heading into the classroom or the team-building session. Planned reading will provide employees with a better idea of what the issues are, giving them a chance to think of any questions beforehand. Example: Here we may be stretching if we think that truckers are going to read through a lot of material the training department sends them. Conclusion Many avenues exist to train employees. The key is to match the training method to the situation. Assess each training method implemented in the organization and get feedback from trainees to see if they learned anything. Then take the results from the most popular and most effective methods to design a specific training program.

4. Process of Human resource planning:

Human resource planning is a process through which the company anticipates future business and environmental forces. Human resources planning assess the manpower requirement for future period of time. It attempts to provide sufficient manpower required to perform organizational activities. HR planning is a continuous process which starts with identification of HR objectives, move through analysis of manpower resources and ends at appraisal of HR planning. Following are the major steps involved in human resource planning: 1. Assessing Human Resources The assessment of HR begins with environmental analysis, under which the external (PEST) and internal (objectives, resources and structure) are analyzed to assess the currently available HR inventory level. After the analysis of external and internal forces of the organization, it will be easier for HR manager to find out the internal strengths as well as weakness of the organization in one hand and opportunities and threats on the other. Moreover, it includes an inventory of the workers and skills already available within the organization and a comprehensive job analysis. 2. Demand Forecasting HR forecasting is the process of estimating demand for and supply of HR in an organization. Demand forecasting is a process of determining future needs for HR in terms of quantity and quality. It is done to meet the future personnel requirements of the organization to achieve the desired level of output. Future human resource need can be estimated with the help of the organization's current human resource situation and analysis of organizational plans an procedures. It will be necessary to perform a year-by-year analysis for every significant level and type. 3. Supply Forecasting Supply is another side of human resource assessment. It is concerned with the estimation of supply of manpower given the analysis of current resource and future availability of human resource in the organization. It estimates the

future sources of HR that are likely to be available from within an outside the organization. Internal source includes promotion, transfer, job enlargement and enrichment, whereas external source includes recruitment of fresh candidates who are capable of performing well in the organization. 4. Matching Demand And Supply It is another step of human resource planning. It is concerned with bringing the forecast of future demand and supply of HR.The matching process refers to bring demand and supply in an equilibrium position so that shortages and over staffing position will be solved. In case of shortages an organization has to hire more required number of employees. Conversely, in the case of over staffing it has to reduce the level of existing employment. Hence, it is concluded that this matching process gives knowledge about requirements and sources of HR. 5. Action Plan It is the last phase of human resource planning which is concerned with surplus and shortages of human resource. Under it, the HR plan is executed through the designation of different HR activities. The major activities which are required to execute the HR plan are recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, socialization etc. Finally, this step is followed by control and evaluation of performance of HR to check whether the HR planning matches the HR objectives and policies. This action plan should be updated according to change in time and conditions.

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