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1. Describe the role of “Quality of work life” in building people and productivity.

The term refers to the favourableness or unfavourableness of a total job environment for people.
QWL programs are another way in which organizations recognise their responsibility to develop
jobs and working conditions that are excellent for people as well as for economic health of the
organisation.

The elements in a typical QWL program include – open communications, equitable reward systems,
a concern for employee job security and satisfying careers and participation in decision making.
Many early QWL efforts focus on job enrichment. In addition to improving the work system, QWL
programs usually emphasise development of employee skills, the reduction of occupational stress
and the development of more co-operative labour-management relations.

Vigorous Domestic and International competition drive organisations to be more productive.


Proactive managers and human resource departments respond to this challenge by finding new
ways to improve productivity. Some strategies relyheavily upon new capital investment and
technology. Others seek changes in employee relations practices.

Human resource departments are involved with efforts to improve productivity through changes in
employee relations. QWL means having good supervision, good working conditions, good pay and
benefits and an interesting, challenging and rewarding job. High QWL is sought through an
employee relations philosophy that encourages the use of QWL efforts, which are systematic
attempts by an organisation to give workers greater opportunities to affect their jobs and their
contributions to the organisation’s overall effectiveness. That is, a proactive human resource
department finds ways to empower employees so that they draw on their “brains and wits,” usually
by getting the employees more involved in the decision-making process.

QWL - A Rationale

Job specialisation and simplification were popular in the early part of this century. Employees were
assigned narrow jobs and supported by a rigid hierarchy in the expectation that efficiency would

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improve. The idea was to lower cost by using unskilled workers who could be easily trained to do a
small, repetitive part of each job.

Many difficulties developed from that classical job design, however. There was excessive division
of labour. Workers became socially isolated from their co- workers because their highly specialised
jobs weakened their community of interest in the whole product. De-skilled workers lost pride in
their work and became bored with their jobs. Higher-order (social and growth) needs were left
unsatisfied. The result was higher turnover and absenteeism, declines in quality and alienated
workers. Conflict often arose as workers sought to improve their conditions and organisations failed
to respond appropriately. The real cause was that in many instances the job itself simply was not
satisfying.

Forces For Change

A factor contributing to the problem was that the workers themselves were changing. They became
educated, more affluent (partly because of the effectiveness of classical job design), and more
independent. They began reaching for higher-order needs, something more than merely earning
their bread. Employers now had two reasons for re-designing jobs and organisations for a better
QWL:

Classical design originally gave inadequate attention to human needs.


The needs and aspirations of workers themselves were changing
Humanised Work Through QWL

One option was to re-design jobs to have the attributes desired by people, and re-design
organisations to have the environment desired by the people. This approach seeks to improve QWL.
There is a need to give workers more of a challenge, more of a whole task, more opportunity to use
their ideas. Close attention to QWL provides a more humanised work environment. It attempts to
serve the higher-order needs of workers as well as their more basic needs. It seeks to employ the
higher skills of workers and to provide an environment that encourages them to improve their skills.
The idea is that human resources should be developed and not simply used. Further, the work
should not have excessively negative conditions. It should not put workers under undue stress. It
should not damage or degrade their humanness. It should not be threatening or unduly dangerous.
Finally, it should contribute to, or at least leave unimpaired, workers’ abilities to perform in other

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life roles, such as citizen, spouse and parent. That is, work should contribute to general social
advancement.

Job Enlargement vs. Job Enrichment

The modern interest in quality of work life was stimulated through efforts to change the scope of
people’s jobs in attempting to motivate them. Job scope has two dimensions – breadth and depth.
Job breadth is the number of different tasks an individual is directly responsible for. It ranges from
very narrow (one task performed repetitively) to wide (several tasks). Employees with narrow job
breadth were sometimes given a wider variety of duties in order to reduce their monotony; this
process is called job enlargement. In order to perform these additional duties, employees spend less
time on each duty. Another approach to changing job breadth is job rotation, which involves
periodic assignment of an employee to completely different sets of job activities. Job rotation is an
effective way to develop multiple skills in employees, which benefits the organisation while
creating greater job interest and career options for the employee.

Job enrichment takes a different approach by adding additional motivators to a job to make it more
rewarding. It was developed by Frederick Herzberg on the basis of his studies indicating that the
most effective way to motivate workers was by focusing on higher-order needs. Job enrichment
seeks to add depth to a job by giving workers more control, responsibility and discretion over how
their job is performed. Job enrichment focuses on satisfying higher- order needs, while job
enlargement concentrates on adding additional tasks to the worker’s job for greater variety. The
two approaches can even be blended, by both expanding the number of tasks and adding more
motivators, for a two-pronged attempt to improve QWL.

Its general result is a role enrichment that encourages growth and self- actualisation. The job is built
in such a way that intrinsic motivation is encouraged. Because motivation is increased, performance
should improve, thus providing both a more humanised and a more productive job. Negative effects
also tend to be reduced, such as turnover, absences, grievances and idle time. In this manner both
the worker and society benefit. The worker performs better, experiences greater job satisfaction and
becomes more self-actualised, thus being able to participate in all life roles more effectively.
Society benefits from the more effectively functioning person as well as from better job
performance.

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Applying Job Enrichment

Viewed in terms of Herzberg’s motivational factors, job enrichment occurs when the work itself is
more challenging, when achievement is encouraged, when there is opportunity for growth and when
responsibility, feedback and recognition are provided. However, employees are the final judges of
what enriches their jobs. All that management can do is gather information about what tend to
enrich jobs, try those changes in the job system and then determine whether employees feel that
enrichment has occurred.

In trying to build motivational factors, management also gives attention to maintenance factors. It
attempts to keep maintenance factors constant or higher as the motivational factors are increased. If
maintenance factors are allowed to decline during an enrichment program, then employees may be
less responsive to the enrichment program because they are distracted by inadequate maintenance.
The need for a systems approach in job enrichment is satisfied by the practice of gain sharing.

The role of human resource department in QWL efforts varies widely. In some organisations, top
management appoints an executive to ensure that QWL and productivity efforts occur throughout
the organisation. In most cases, these executives have a small staff and must rely on the human
resource department for help with employee training, communications, attitude survey feedback,
and similar assistance. In other organisations, the department is responsible for initiating and
directing the firm’s QWL and productivity efforts.

Perhaps the most crucial role of the department is winning the support of key managers.
Management support – particularly top management support appears to be an almost universal
prerequisite for successful QWL programs. By substantiating employee satisfaction and bottom-line
benefits, which range from lower absenteeism and turnover to higher productivity and fewer
accidents, the department can help convince doubting managers. Sometimes documentation of
QWL can result from studies of performance before and after a QWL effort. Without
documentation of these results, top management might not have continued its strong support.

QWL THROUGH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT (EI)

One of the most common methods used to create QWL is employee involvement. Employee
involvement (EI) consists of a variety of systematic methods that empower employees to participate

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in the decisions that affect them and their relationship with the organisation. Through (EI),
employees feel a sense of responsibility, even “ownership” of decisions in which they participate.
To be successful, however, EI must be more than just a systematic approach; it must become part of
the organisation’s culture by being part of management’s philosophy. Some companies have had
this philosophy ingrained in their corporate structure for decades; Hewlett-Packard, IBM, General
Motors, Ford, etc.

Quality Circles

Quality circles are small groups of employees who meet regularly with their common leader to
identify and solve work-related probems. They are a highly specific form of team building, which
are common in Japan and gained popularity in North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s. By
the 1980s most medium- and large-sized Japanese firms had quality control circles for hourly
employees. This effort began as a quality improvement program but has since become a routine
procedure for many Japanese managers and a cornerstone of QWL efforts in many Japanese firms.

Researches indicate that balanced work-life can lead to greater employee productivity. With the
progressive shift of the economy towards a knowledge economy, the meaning and importance of
tile quality of work life is also assuming a new significance. Some of factors that have created the
need for maintaining work life balance are:

1. Shifts in Societal Patterns

Gone are the days of joint families where you had to care for elders and they, in turn, had to nurture
your emotions. Today's nuclear families with both the partners working have created new dynamics
that has become emotionally demanding to the employees. Financial and social obligations have
assumed a different level of significance today. Not only this, the needs of organisations today have
also changed. Money is getting accumulated in tiny pockets, among those sections of people who
possess the ‘most wanted’ knowledge. And these so- called ‘knowledge workers’ are the ones who
are in acute need to balancing their work and life.

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2. Technological Breakthroughs

Tremendous progress in the fields of information technology and communication system has
changed our worldview. At the same time, it demands more from today’s employees. Strict
deadlines, tighter schedules and ever- escalating corporate targets are the natural outcome of it.

Several researchers have shown that a balanced work-life creates greater employee productivity.
What important is the long-term and not the short-term, which seems to become the focus of many
organisations. So, though it may apparently seem that employees are having more leisure, the effect
of a balanced work-life will show up positively in the bottom line of the company.

Benefits of improving work-life balance

More employees may stay on in a job, return after a break or take a job with one company
over another if they can match their other needs better with those of their paid work.
This results in savings for the employer – avoiding the cost of losing an experienced worker
and recruiting someone new.
Employers who support their staff in this way often gain the bonus of loyalty from those staff.
The British Work-Life Balance Study 2000, including a representative survey of 2500
workplaces, found that 58 per cent of employers thought that work-life balance practices had
improved staff motivation and commitment, and 52 per cent thought labour turnover and
absenteeism were lower, and that they helped retain female employees. The Australian 2002
Benchmarking Study found that organisations implementing work-life strategies and evaluating
them observed reduced turnover, absenteeism, and increased return from parental leave.

Reducing absenteeism
Many companies that have introduced family-friendly or flexible working practices have seen
benefits through reductions in absenteeism. Sickness rates may fall as pressures are managed better,
while employees may have better methods of dealing with work-life conflicts than taking
unplanned leave.
Workers (including their managers) who are healthy and not over-stressed may be more efficient.

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Improving the quality of people's working lives
Minimising work-life role conflict can help prevent role overload and help people have a more
satisfying working life, fulfilling their potential both in paid work and outside it.
Work life balance can minimise stress and fatigue at work, enabling people to have safer and
healthier working lives. Workplace stress and fatigue can contribute to injuries at work and at
home.
Self-employed people control their own work time to some extent. Most existing information
on work-life balance is targeted at those in employment relationships. However, the self-employed
too may benefit from maintaining healthy work habits and developing strategies to manage work-
flows which enable them to balance work with other roles in their lives.
Workers (including their managers) who are healthy and not over-stressed maybe more
efficient.

Improving the quality of people's working lives

Minimising work-life role conflict can help prevent role overload and help people have a more
satisfying working life, fulfilling their potential both in paid work and outside it.

Work life balance can minimise stress and fatigue at work, enabling people to have safer and
healthier working lives. Workplace stress and fatigue can contribute to injuries at work and at
home.

Self-employed people control their own work time to some extent. Most existing information
on work-life balance is targeted at those in employment relationships. However, the self-employed
too may benefit from maintaining healthy work habits and developing strategies to manage work-
flows which enable them to balance work with other roles in their lives.

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2. How would you assess manpower requirements? Is it possible to improve performance
through effective manpower planning? How?

Manpower requirements arises when organizations need to know how many people and what sort of
people they should have to meet present and future business requirements. This is the function of
human resource planning (or workforce planning).

Human resource planning is ‘the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an
organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements. It is a process in
which an organization attempts to estimate the demand for labour and evaluate the size, nature and
sources of supply which will be required to meet the demand.

Human resource planning is an integral part of business planning. The strategic planning process
defines projected changes in the types of activities carried out by the organization and the scale of
those activities. It identifies the core competences the organization needs to achieve its goals and
therefore its skill and behavioural requirements.

Human resource planning interprets these plans in terms of people requirements. But it may
influence the business strategy by drawing attention to ways in which people could be developed
and deployed more effectively to further the achievement of business goals as well as focusing on
any problems that might have to be resolved to ensure that the people required will be available and
will be capable of making the necessary contribution.

Human resource planning is a decision-making process that combines three important activities:

1) Identifying and acquiring the right number of people with the proper skills,
2) Motivating them to achieve high performance, and
3) Creating interactive links between business objectives and people-planning activities.

Features of Human Resource Planning


1. It is future oriented: - Human Resource Planning is forward-looking. It involves forecasting the
manpower needs for a future period so that adequate and timely provisions may be made to meet
the needs.

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2. It is a continuous process: - Human Resource Planning is a continuous process because the
demand and supply of Human Resource keeps fluctuating throughout the year. Human Resource
Planning has to be reviewed according to the needs of the organisation and changing environment.
3. Integral part of Corporate Planning: - Manpower planning is an integral part of corporate
planning because without a corporate plan there can be no manpower planning.
4. Optimum utilisation of resources: - The basic purpose of Human Resource Planning is to make
optimum utilisation of organization’s current and future human resources.
5. Both Qualitative and Quantitative aspect : - Human Resource Planning considers both the
qualitative and quantitative aspects of Human Resource Management, ‘Quantitative’ meaning the
right number of people and ‘Qualitative’ implying the right quality of manpower required in the
organisation.
6. Long term and Short term: - Human Resource Planning is both Long-term and short-term in
nature. Just like planning which is long-term and short-term depending on the need of the hour,
Human Resource Planning keeps long-term goals and short-term goals in view while predicting and
forecasting the demand and supply of Human Resource.
7. Involves study of manpower requirement: - Human Resource Planning involves the study of
manpower availability and the manpower requirement in the organisation.

Objectives of Human Resource Planning


1. Optimum utilisation of human resources currently employed in the organisation.
2. To reduce imbalance in distribution and allocation of manpower in organisation for various
activities.
3. To ensure that the organisation is well-equipped with the required Quantity and Quality of
manpower on a sustained basis.
4. To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and resources.
5. To control cost of Human Resources employed, used and maintained in the organisation.
6. To provide a basis for management development programmes.
7. To ensure optimum contribution and satisfaction of the personnel with reasonable expenditure.
8. To recruit and retain human resource of required Quantity and Quality.

Need for Human Resource Planning


1. Shortage of Skills: - These days we find shortage of skills in people. So it is necessary to plan
for such skilled people much in advance than when we actually need them. Non-availability of

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skilled people when and where they are needed is an important factor which prompts sound Human
Resource Planning.
2. Frequent Labour Turnover: - Human Resource Planning is essential because of frequent labour
turnover which is unavoidable by all means. Labour turnover arises because of discharges,
marriages, promotion, transfer etc which causes a constant ebb and flow in the workforce in the
organisation.
3. Changing needs of technology: - Due to changes in technology and new techniques of
production, existing employees need to be trained or new blood injected into an organisation.
4. Identify areas of surplus or shortage of personnel: - Manpower planning is needed in order to
identify areas with a surplus of personnel or areas in which there is a shortage of personnel. If there
is a surplus, it can be re-deployed, or if there is a shortage new employees can be procured.
5. Changes in organisation design and structure: - Due to changes in organisation structure and
design we need to plan the required human resources right from the beginning.

How to improve performance through Human Resource Planning

1. Adequate information system: - The main problem faced in Human Resource Planning is the
lack of information. So an adequate Human resource database should be maintained/developed for
better coordinated and more accurate Human Resource Planning.
2. Participation: - To be successful, Human Resource Planning requires active participation and
coordinated efforts on the part of operating executives. Such participation will help to improve
understanding of the process and thereby, reduce resistance from the top management.
3. Adequate organization: - Human Resource Planning should be properly organised; a separate
section or committee may be constituted within the human resource department to provide adequate
focus and to coordinate the planning efforts at various levels.
4. Human Resource Planning should be balanced with corporate planning: -Human resource
plans should be balanced with the corporate plans of the enterprise. The methods and techniques
used should fit the objectives, strategies and environment of the particular organisation.
5. Appropriate time horizon: - The period of manpower plans should be appropriate according to
the needs and circumstances of the specific enterprise. The size and structure of the enterprise as
well as the changing aspirations of the people should be taken into consideration.

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3. Give a brief note on the Past, Present and Future of HRM.

Human resources management can be defined as a strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization’s most valued assets: the people working there, who individually
and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives.

Human resource management is about managing people. It is a process of binding people and
organizations together so that the objective of each are achieved. It is based on four fundamental
principles:

1. Human resource is the most important assets an organization has and their effective management
is the key to its success.

2. Organizational success is most likely to be achieved if the personnel policies and procedures are
closely linked to corporate and strategic plans.

3. Organizational culture, values and climate significantly influence managerial behavior and exert
a major influence on the achievement of excellence. Hence, continuous effort starting from the
management and acceptance of the culture.

4. Human resource management is concerned with interaction, i.e. getting all members of the
organization involved and working together with a sense of common purpose.

The practice of human resource management (HRM) is concerned with all aspects of how people
are employed and managed in organizations. It covers activities such as strategic HRM, human
capital management, corporate social responsibility, knowledge management, organization
development, resourcing (human resource planning, recruitment and selection, and talent
management), performance management, learning and development, reward management,
employee relations, employee well-being and health and safety and the provision of employee
services. HRM practice has a strong conceptual basis drawn from the behavioural sciences and from
strategic management, human capital and industrial relations theories. This foundation has been
built with the help of a multitude of research projects.

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The history of HRM can be characterized as moving through our broad phases:
• The craft system
• Scientific management
• The human relations approach
• The current organizational science – human resource approach.

The Craft System: From the earliest times in Egypt and Babylon, training in craft skills was
organized to maintain an adequate supply of craft workers. By 13"' century craft training became
popular in Western Europe.
Craft guilds supervised quality and methods of production and regulated conditions of employment
for each occupation. The craft guilds were controlled by master crafts worker, and the recruit
entered after a period of training as an apprentice. The crafts system was best suited to domestic
industry, the master operated in his own premises with his assistants residing and working in the
same house

Nature of HRM:-
1. HRM involves management functions like planning, organizing, directing and controlling
2. It involves procurement, development, maintenance of human resource
3. It helps to achieve individual, organizational and social objectives
4. HRM is a mighty disciplinary subject. It includes the study of management psychology
communication, economics and sociology.
5. It involves team spirit and team work.
Functions of Human Resources Management:
There are two broad functions of H R M. They are
1. Managerial Functions
2. Operational Functions

1) Managerial Functions:
Managerial functions of Personnel management include planning, organizing, directing,
co-coordinating and controlling.
Planning: It is the charting out of programmes and changes in advance in the achievement of
organizational goals. Hence, it involves planning of human resources requirements, recruitment,
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Selection, training etc. It also involves forecasting of personnel needs, changing values, attitudes
and behaviors of their employees and their impact on the organization.
Organising:- An organization is a "structure and process by which co-operative groups of human
beings allocated its tasks among its members, identifies relationships and integrates its activities
towards a common objective." Given the complex relationships that exist between specialized
departments and the general departments, many top managers seek the advice of personnel
manager. In this manner, the organization establishes relationships among the employees so that
they can together contribute to the achievement of organizational goals.
Directing: After planning and organizing comes the execution of the plan. The willing and
effective co-operation of employees towards the achievement of organization’s goal has to be
brought about by proper direction. Identifying and utilizing maximum potentials of people is
possible through motivation and command. Direction, therefore, is an important managerial
function in ensuring optimum employee contribution.
Co-coordinating: It is the task of matrixing various employees’ efforts to ensure successful goal
achievement. The Personnel manager co-ordinates various managers at different levels as far as the
personnel functions are concerned.
Controlling: After planning, organizing, directing and coordinating, the various activities, the
performance is to be verified in order to know, at various points of time, whether the activities are
performed as per plans and directions. It involves checking, verifying and comparing actual with
the plans, identification of deviations if any and correcting the deviations. Auditing training
programmes, analysing labour turnover, overseeing morale surveys, conducting exit interviews are
some of the controlling functions of personnel management.

2) Operative Functions:
The operative functions of H R M relate to employment, development, compensation and relations.
All these are interacted by managerial functions. Also, they are to be performed in
conjunction with management functions.

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The objectives of HRM
The overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is able to
achieve success through people. HRM aims to increase organizational effectiveness and capability –
the capacity of an organization to achieve its goals by making the best use of the resources available
to it.
1. Strategic integration: the ability of the organization to integrate HRM issues into its strategic
plans, ensure that the various aspects of HRM cohere, and provide for line managers to incorporate
an HRM perspective into their decision making.
2. High commitment: Behavioural commitment to pursue agreed goals and attitudinal commitment
reflected in a strong identification with the enterprise.
3. High quality: this refers to all aspects of managerial behaviour that bear directly on the quality
of goods and services provided, including the management of employees and investment in high
quality employees.
4. Flexibility: functional flexibility and the existence of an adaptable organization structure with the
capacity to manage innovation.

The role of the human resource functions is explained by identifying the key objectives to be
achieved. Four objectives form the foundation of all HR activity:

1. Staffing objectives
Human resource managers are first concerned with ensuring that the business is appropriately
staffed and thus able to draw on the human resources it needs. This involves designing organisation
structures, identifying under what type of contract different groups of employees (or
subcontractors) will work, before recruiting, selecting and developing the people required to fill the
roles: the right people, with the right skills to provide their services when needed. There is a need to
compete effectively in the employment market by recruiting and retaining the best, affordable
workforce that is available. This involves developing employment packages that are sufficiently
attractive to maintain the required employee skills levels and, where necessary, disposing of those
judged no longer to have a role to play in the organisation.

2. Performance objectives
Once the required workforce is in place, human resource managers seek to ensure that people are
well motivated and committed so as to maximise their performance in their different roles. Training

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and development has a role to play, as do reward systems to maximise effort and focus attention on
performance targets. In many organisations, particularly where trade unions play a significant role,
human resource managers negotiate improved performance with the workforce. The achievement of
performance objectives also requires HR specialists to assist in disciplining employees effectively
and equitably where individual conduct and/or performance standards are unsatisfactory. Welfare
functions can also assist performance by providing constructive assistance to people whose
performance has fallen short of their potential because of illness or difficult personal circumstances.
Last but not least, there is the range of employee involvement initiatives to raise levels of
commitment and to engage employees in developing new ideas.

3. Change-management objectives
A third set of core objectives in nearly every business relates to the role played by the HR function
in effectively managing change. Frequently change does not come along in readily defined episodes
precipitated by some external factor. Instead it is endemic and well-nigh continuous, generated as
much by a continual need to innovate as from definable environmental pressures. Change comes in
different forms. Sometimes it is merely structural, requiring reorganisation of activities or the
introduction of new people into particular roles. At other times cultural change is sought in order to
alter attitudes, philosophies or long-present organisational norms. In any of these scenarios the HR
function can play a central role. Key activities include therecruitment and/or development of people
with the necessary leadership skills to drive the change process, the employment of change agents
to encourage acceptance of change and the construction of reward systems which underpin the
change process.

Timely and effective employee involvement is also crucial because ‘people support what they help
to create’.

4. Administration objectives
The fourth type of objective is less directly related to achieving competitive advantage, but is
focused on underpinning the achievement of the other forms of objective. In part it is simply carried
out in order to facilitate an organisation’s smooth running. Hence there is a need to maintain
accurate and comprehensive data on individual employees, a record of their achievement in terms of
performance, their attendance and training records, their terms and conditions of employment and
their personal details. However, there is also a legal aspect to much administrative activity, meaning

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that it is done because the business is required by law to comply. Of particular significance is the
requirement that payment is administered professionally and lawfully, with itemised monthly pay
statements being provided for all employees. There is also the need to make arrangements for the
deduction of taxation and national insurance, for the payment of pension fund contributions and to
be on top of the complexities associated with Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay, as
well as maternity and paternity leave. Additional legal requirements relate to the monitoring of
health and safety systems and the issuing of contracts to new employees. Accurate record keeping is
central to ensuring compliance with a variety of newer legal obligations such as the National
Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations.

Future of HRM

Strategic HRM is an approach that defines how the organization’s goals will be achieved through
people by means of HR strategies and integrated HR policies and practices. Strategic HRM can be
regarded as a mindset underpinned by certain concepts rather than a set of techniques. It provides
the foundation for strategic reviews in which analyses of the organizational context and existing HR
practices lead to choices on strategic plans for the development of overall or specific HR strategies.

Strategic HRM involves the exercise of strategic choice (which is always there) and the
establishment of strategic priorities. But strategic HRM is not just about strategic planning. It is also
concerned with the implementation of strategy and the strategic behaviour of HR specialists
working with their line management colleagues on an everyday basis to ensure that the business
goals of the organization are achieved and its values are put into practice.

Aims of strategic HRM

The fundamental aim of strategic HRM is to generate organizational capability by ensuring that the
organization has the skilled, engaged, committed and well-motivated employees it needs to achieve
sustained competitive advantage. It has two main objectives: first to achieve integration – the
vertical alignment of HR strategies with business strategies and the horizontal integration of HR
strategies. The second objective is to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment
so that the business needs of the organization and the individual and collective needs of its
employees can be met by the development and implementation of coherent and practical HR

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policies and programmes. In accordance with the resource-based view, the strategic goal will be to
‘create firms which are more intelligent and flexible than their competitors’ by hiring and
developing more talented staff and by extending their skills base.

Strategic human resource management is largely about integration and adaptation. Its concern is to
ensure that:
1) Human resources (HR) management is fully integrated with the strategy and strategic needs of
the firm;
2) HR policies cohere both across policy areas and across hierarchies; and
3) HR practices are adjusted, accepted and used by line managers and employees as part of their
everyday work.

The term "world class" or ranking among the foremost in the world, is used frequently as the
aspirations of organisations. In the context of HRM, world class is indicated by an HR group with a
shared vision as to its constituents and how best to serve them.

Excellence in HRM is characterised by a service orientation and a willingness to be in partnership


with constituents. Specific earmarks of world class HRM include:
• Having an HR vision oriented to strategic needs of the organisation.
• Having a philosophy and values consistent with those of the organizations.
• Being seen as a business unit within the firm and operating the same way as other units -
having customers and quality management etc.
• Being organised in a way that brings maximum service to the customer and maximum
motivation to the HR staff.
• Having the best HR products available for the customers.
• Championing HR programmes that fulfill the agenda of HR group and the customer.
• Having an HR vision that is actively shared by the entire group.
• Being a proactive and not a reactive group.
• Being involved in key business issue discussions.

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4. Write a short note on:
(a) Job Analysis
(b) Job Evaluation
(c) Job design

(a) Job Analysis

Job analysis is a process used to capture information about jobs, particularly tasks; duties;
knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs); and competencies. A job analysis may be used for multiple
purposes, such as selection, compensation, and performance management. Each type has different
goals and uses as described in the next paragraph. Many focuses are possible in a job analysis, but
considerably more time and resources are required for a more thorough multipurpose job analysis
than for a single-purpose job analysis.

Selection-oriented job analysis techniques focus on identifying important work behaviors and the
tasks associated with them. This includes an analysis of the important work behavior(s) required for
successful performance and their relative importance and, if the behavior results in work product(s),
an analysis of the work product(s). The information produced from this type of job analysis is most
useful for making decisions on selection, performance management, and training.

In contrast, a classification-oriented job analysis may focus on relevant compensable factors (e.g.,
decision making, complexity), describing work behaviors in a way that distinguishes among levels
within these factors. This type of job analysis is often is a foundation for compensation decisions
based on similar work of all jobs in a class.

The selection-oriented job analysis is the basis for development of valid selection instruments that
are used to differentiate between potentially good and poor workers. A job analysis that produces a
valid examination should identify the job characteristics that distinguish among different levels of
work performance, are not easily learned on the job, and are present to at least a moderate extent in
the applicant pool. It is critical that the examination plan and examination(s) are not finalized until
after the job analysis is completed.

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Any job analysis should focus on the work behavior(s) and the tasks associated with them. If work
behavior(s) are not observable, the job analysis should identify and analyze those aspects of the
behavior(s) that can be observed and the observed work products. The work behavior(s) selected for
measurement should be critical work behavior(s) as measured by importance and difficulty to learn,
and/or frequent work behavior(s) constituting most of the job.

INFORMATION COLLECTION
The HR specialist collects details about the job and performance levels and then groups that
information into general factors that are important for successful job performance. The following
are six basic techniques used to gather information about a job:
1. Literature review
2. Direct experience
3. Interviews
4. Worker logs
5. Questionnaires
6. Observation
Regardless of the technique, the information collected must be analyzed and its link to elements of
the selection process documented.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD JOB ANALYSIS
An appropriate job analysis consists of four key elements:
1. Reliability
2. Validity
3. Quantification; and
4. Adaptability.

1. Reliability

Reliability refers to the extent to which a process or a result can be replicated. A reliable job
analysis procedure is one that provides essentially the same results when it:
(1) is applied to the same job by another HR Specialist;
(2) relies on a different sample of job experts; or
(3) is applied at a different time.

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Reliability of a job analysis procedure does not guarantee its validity. Standardized job analysis
methods produce acceptable to high levels of reliability. Particularly high levels of reliability can be
demonstrated for methods that rely on structured questionnaires such as worker-oriented
questionnaires, job inventories, or checklists. This is especially true if the structure of these
instruments carefully controls the usage and meaning of the language.

2. Validity

Validity is the extent to which the analysis measures what it was designed to measure. It is a
separate requirement from reliability. The validity of a procedure depends on its purpose. A job
analysis can only be valid for examination development and selection if it identifies those factors
that differentiate among levels of performance in the particular job. A job analysis method that
simply describes what is done and does not evaluate levels of performance is not valid for
development of an examination.

3. Quantification

Quantification is an important aspect of most major job analysis methods. Quantification involves
assigning a numeric value to the data in order to differentiate relative importance of items, analyze
large amounts of data, and provide a defensible basis for selection decisions. However, the HR
professional must utilize professional judgment acquired through study and practice to
appropriately interpret the significance and use of results.

4. Adaptability

Adaptability refers to the extent to which the results of an analysis are adaptable or useful in
other contexts. Generally, procedures that are narrative and subjective are low in adaptability.
Structured instruments that use a similar format and process for a variety of applications tend to
be high in adaptability.

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OBJECTIVES OF SELECTION-ORIENTED JOB ANALYSES

When developing a job analysis for selection purposes, there are three basic considerations:
validity, defensibility, and minimizing time and resources.

1. Validity

The five commonly used job analysis methods described above are intended to form the basis of
content validity. An examination can claim content validity if the domain of job performance is
adequately sampled by the examination. The job analysis should lead to development of a content-
valid selection device that differentiates among performance levels in the areas selected for
evaluation.

2. Defensibility

Documentation is the key to defensibility. The analysis should provide as much documentation as is
practical given the demands for validity and the limitations of time and resources. Reliability also
contributes to the defensibility of a job analysis.

3. Minimizing Time & Resources

Minimizing administrative time and resources should always be a consideration. This consideration
will limit the other two objectives. In general, the more time and resources that are devoted to the
job analysis, the more valid and defensible the resulting examination will be.

(b) Job Evaluation

Job evaluation is a systematic process for defining the relative worth or size of jobs within an
organization in order to establish internal relativities.

Aims of job evaluation


• Establish the relative value or size of jobs (internal relativities) based on fair, sound and
consistent judgements.

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• Produce the information required to design and maintain equitable and defensible grade and
pay structures.
• Provide as objective as possible a basis for grading jobs within a grade structure, thus
enabling consistent decisions to be made about job grading.
• Enable sound market comparisons with jobs or roles of equivalent complexity and size.
• Be transparent – the basis upon which grades are defined and jobs graded should be clear.
• Ensure that the organization meets equal pay for work of equal value obligations.

Approaches
Approaches to establishing the worth of jobs fall broadly into two categories: formal and informal.

Formal job valuation


Formal approaches use standardized methods to evaluate jobs that can be analytical or
nonanalytical. Such schemes deal with internal relativities and the associated process of
establishing and defining job grades or levels in an organization.

An alternative approach is ‘extreme market pricing’ in which formal pay structures and individual
rates of pay are entirely based on systematically collected and analysed information on market rates
and no use is made of job evaluation to establish internal relativities. Extreme market pricing should
be distinguished from the process of collecting and analysing market rate data used to establish
external relativities, having already determined internal relativities through formal job evaluation.

Informal job evaluation


Informal approaches price jobs either on the basis of assumptions about internal and external
relativities or simply by reference to going or market rates when recruiting people, unsupported by
any systematic analysis. There are, however, degrees of informality. A semi-formal approach might
require some firm evidence to support a market pricing decision and the use of role profiles to
provide greater accuracy to the matching process.

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(c) Job design

Job design specifies the contents, methods and relationships of jobs in order to satisfy work
requirements for productivity, efficiency and quality, meet the personal needs of the job holder and
thus increase levels of employee engagement.

The process of job design is based on an analysis of the way in which work needs to be organized
and what work therefore needs to be done – the tasks that have to be carried out if the purpose of
the organization or an organizational unit is to be achieved. This is where the techniques of process
planning and systems analysis are used to achieve improvement in organizational performance.
They concentrate on the work to be done, not the worker. They may lead to a high degree of task
specialization and assembly line processing; of paper work as well as physical products. More
desirably, it can also lead to the maximization of individual responsibility and the opportunity to
use personal skills.

It is necessary, however, to distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness. The most efficient
method may maximize outputs in relation to inputs in the short run, but it may not be effective in
the longer term in that it fails to achieve the overall objectives of the activity. The pursuit of short-
term efficiency by imposing the maximum degree of task specialization may reduce longer-term
effectiveness by demotivating job holders and increasing employee turnover and absenteeism.

Job design has to start from work requirements because that is why the job exists. When the tasks to
be done have been determined it should then be the function of the job designer to consider how the
jobs can be set up to provide the maximum degree of intrinsic motivation for those who have to
carry them out, with a view to improving performance and productivity.

Consideration has also to be given to another important aim of job design: to fulfill the social
responsibilities of the organization to the people who work in it by improving the quality of
working life.

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Factors affecting job design

1. The characteristics of jobs.


2. The characteristics of task structure.
3. The process of intrinsic motivation.
4. The job characteristics model.
5. The implications of group activities.

1. The characteristics of jobs


There are three fundamental characteristics shared by all jobs:
1. Job range – the number of operations a job holder performs to complete a task.
2. Job depth – the amount of discretion a job holder has to decide job activities and job outcomes.
3. Job relationships – the interpersonal relationships between job holders and their managers and co-workers.

2. Task structure
Job design requires the assembly of a number of tasks into a job or a group of jobs. An individual may carry out
one main task that consists of a number of interrelated elements or functions. Alternatively, task functions may be
allocated to a team working closely together in a manufacturing ‘cell’ or customer service unit, or strung along an
assembly line.

In more complex jobs, individuals may carry out a variety of connected tasks (multi-tasking), each with a number
of functions, or these tasks may be allocated to a team of workers or divided between them. In the latter case, the
tasks may require a variety of skills that have to be possessed by all members of the team (multi-skilling) in order
to work flexibly. Complexity in a job may be a reflection of the number and variety of tasks to be carried out, the
different skills or competencies to be used, the range and scope of the decisions that have to be made, or the
difficulty of predicting the outcome of decisions.

The internal structure of each task consists of three elements:


• Planning (deciding on the course of action, its timing and the resources required),
• Executing (carrying out the plan), and
• Controlling (monitoring performance and progress and taking corrective action when
required).

A completely integrated job includes all these elements for each of the tasks involved. The worker, or group of
workers, having been given objectives in terms of output, quality and cost targets, decides on how the work is to

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be done, assembles the resources, performs the work, and monitors output, quality and cost standards.
Responsibility in a job is measured by the amount of authority someone has to do all these things.
The ideal arrangement from the point of view of motivation and engagement is to provide for fully integrated jobs
containing all three task elements. In practice, management and team leaders are often entirely responsible for
planning and control, leaving the worker responsible for execution. To a degree this is inevitable, but one of the
aims of job design is often to extend the responsibility of workers into the functions of planning and control. This
can involve empowerment – giving individuals and teams more responsibility for decision making and ensuring
that they have the training, support and guidance to exercise that responsibility properly.

3. Intrinsic motivation
The case for using job design techniques is based on the premise that effective performance and
genuine satisfaction in work follow mainly from the intrinsic content of the job. This is related to
the fundamental concept that people are motivated when they are provided with the means to
achieve their goals. Work provides the means to earn money, which as an extrinsic reward satisfies
basic needs and is instrumental in providing ways of satisfying higher-level needs. But work also
provides intrinsic rewards related to achievement, responsibility and the opportunity to use and
develop skills that are more under the control of the worker.

SOURCE REVIEW
4. The job characteristics model
A useful perspective on the factors affecting job design and motivation is provided by Hackman
and Oldham’s (1974) job characteristics model. They suggest that the ‘critical psychological states’
of ‘experienced meaningfulness of work, experienced responsibility for outcomes of work and
knowledge of the actual outcomes of work’ strongly influence motivation, job satisfaction and
performance. They identified the following characteristics of jobs that need to be taken into account
in job design.

Job characteristics, Hackman and Oldman (1974)


1. Variety.
2. Autonomy.
3. Required interaction.
4. Optional interaction.
5. Knowledge and skill required.
6. Responsibility.
SOURCE REVIEW

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5. What are activities are involved in designing a Training Programme?

6. What is the significance of employment tests in the selection process? Discuss its benefits &
limitations.

7. Explain the used of Performance Appraisal. Discuss how would you make a Performance
Appraisal excessive effective.

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