MGT 558 Employee Relations Management Coursework 1

Deadline for submission 03/11/2011

Semester Student Name Registration Number

7th Khawaja Ali Raza FA08-BBA-044

Faculty of Business Administration Department of Management Sciences

Instructor: Zainab Ahsan

Telenor Group
Telenor ASA is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communication services. It ranks as worlds 7th largest mobile operator with a total of 164 million subscribers in its mobile operations.

Telenor Pakistan
Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Telenor Pakistan launched its operations in March 2005 as the single largest direct European investment in Pakistan, setting precedence for further foreign investments in the telecom sector. The company has crossed many milestones and grown in a number of directions, making Telenor Pakistan a leading telecom operator of the country. Telenor is the fastest growing mobile network in the country, with coverage reaching deep into many of the remotest areas of Pakistan. In the most difficult terrains of the country, from the hilly northern areas to the sprawling deserts in the south, at times Telenor is the only operator connecting the previously unconnected. It is keeping ahead by investing heavily in infrastructure expansion. With USD2 billion already invested, it has extended agreements with its vendors for network expansion and services until 2009. The agreements, with a potential to result in USD750 million worth of orders from Telenor Pakistan, are some of the biggest of their kind in the industry. Telenor is spread across Pakistan, creating 2,500 direct and 25,000-plus indirect employment opportunities. It has a network of 23 company-owned sales and service centers, more than 200 franchisees and some 100,000 retail outlets.

Performance Appraisal
Reviewing performance and taking positive steps to develop employees further is a key function of management and is a major component in ensuring the success of the company through effective employee performance. A review is about ensuring people know what levels of performance are expected of them and then taking action to ensure they are trained and developed to perform effectively.

Objectives of Performance Appraisals

To measure the work performance To motivate and assist employees in improving their performance And achieving their professional goals To identify employess with high potentials for advancements To identify employees training and development needs To provide a solid path for career planning for each individual

Appraisal Policy:
The intent of these appraisals is to review current job performance and responsibilities, set goals and discuss further opportunities with reference to past performance at Telenor.

Performance Review:
At TELENOR a review is intended to be an open and frank discussion between an employee and their Team Leader/Manager. Generally there are two elements: first is the element in which discussion takes place over the strengths and areas which need to be developed as displayed by the job holder over specific time period. The performance is of course judged comparing the performance against the core indicators of Job. The second element is concerned with discussing the training needs/inputs activities that are considered to be appropriate to help the jobholder overcome some of development areas discussed in the review and also those activities that are deemed appropriate to build upon their current strengths.

Sources of Performance Appraisal:

At TELENOR the primary sources of performance appraisal are the managers and secondary sources are employees themselves. Though the peers also give their opinion but it usually does not have any weightage unless a conflict arises between the manager and the employee.

Feedback:
Workers at Telenor are informed of their performance and given the opportunity to express their opinion over their own level of performance against each competence. This serves the following two main purposes: It enables the reviewer to redefine whether the initial assessment was correct, as circumstances may exist that the reviewer is unaware of. By asking the worker what he sees to be his own strengths and development areas often help to reduce negative responses and makes planning training needs/inputs activities easier if the person is able to express for himself the areas in which he feels he can improve. Following the review the final grades are allocated and the issues/points that were discussed at the review are included in the sheet. When the sheet is complete, at the first instance it is sent to the immediate manager who if required adds his comments, and then it is sent to Employee Relations Department.

Performance Measurement System

Strengths:
Though the management claims that their Performance Measures are congruent to strategies, reliable and acceptable but they emphasized that the main strengths of their systems are the validity and specificity.

Validity:
The performance measurement systems used at Telenor are valid. As stated by the management, the core job areas extensively. They are not only aligned with the companys strategic objectives but are also free from deficiency. Contamination is acceptable as a few things extra from the actual job requirements are expected.

Specificity:
The performance measure used at TELENOR has a very high specificity because it guides the employees as to where they lack and how can they improve.

Motivation
As we know Telenor is highly aware of how to motivate its employees in the best way. This can be judged by the enthusiasm and good spirit that people show in performing their jobs. There is a welldevised system that Telenor follows for the purpose of motivation. It includes both financial and nonfinancial rewards along with the major Motivators and Dissatisfies. The company recognizes the importance of making people drive towards their goals and the basic step towards this is made through recognizing the value of importance that the company gives to its employees. Telenor has a set of financial rewards, medical, dental, vision and life insurance, retirement plan, paid vacation days, family and work life balance benefits and profit sharing plan, Annual bonus opportunities, company cars etc. other ways in which employees are motivated are:

Employee Consultation for:

Everyday residence issues (remodeling, repairs, house-sitting, etc.). Legal matters. Financial issues Education and schooling. Parent and child care. Resources for seniors and eldercare issues Emergency dependent-care reimbursement. Adoption assistance.

Employees are safe in knowing that they will be rewarded for any exceptional work. This reward is not only monetary. It is accompanied by the employee being given recognition and greater empowerment. Employees are given a very beautiful and healthy work environment. Special

attention is given to make the physical environment most productive. This is why Telenor offices are considered to be the most well decorated and organized. As we know Telenor has a desire to

promote the high achievers from with in the company. Positions are given on merit and are transparent and fair in nature. There is no special treatment. Therefore each employee knows that he can aim for the top and actually get there. This has proved to be a great source of motivation for the employees of Telenor.

Wages, incentives and benefits

Telenor wants to reward the efforts of qualified employees through bonus schemes, wages, options and shares programmes as well as other forms of benefits. The incentive systems at Telenor are part of the effort to motivate employees to meet Telenor's principal goal of optimising shareholder value. The system has both a short-term and long-term perspective, through introducing annual bonuses as well as share and options programmes. In addition, the incentive systems also contribute by helping to retain and develop the strategic expertise in the Group and attract new expertise. The incentive systems for managers and key personnel at Telenor are based on an overall compensation principle, where wages, bonuses, options and other benefits are comprehensively evaluated. Extra holidays are a benefit of all employees at Telenor. Additional to the stipulated five weeks, employees of Telenor also have Christmas holidays, Eid holidays and two extra days off. Telenor also offers benefits for maternity leave, additional to those stipulated.

Health, Environment and Security

Health, Environment and Security (HES) is here used synonymous with the concept of working environment and comprises all factors affecting the working conditions, be they physical or psychosocial. The working environment at Telenor shall be distinguished by job-satisfaction, low sickness absence and few injuries. A joint policy, containing relevant procedures and guidelines, has been drawn up to achieve this. Employment at Telenor shall promote good health. Employees shall not suffer any form of health damage or injuries resulting from their work. The agreement for a more inclusive working life was signed in 2003. The agreement supports the basic efforts that were made in recent years in the form of follow-up and rehabilitation of people who have been struck by injury or illness. As far as possible, and provided that employees in question are willing, efforts will be made to bring people back to working life as quickly as possible. For the purpose of preventing sickness absence and of providing follow-up and rehabilitation of employees, focus has been on ensuring good cooperation between managers and employees. This has led to stable sickness absence figures of approximately 5% in Telenor's Norwegian operations. This stability contrasts with the overall development in Norway, where a considerable increase in the sickness absence has taken place in the last few years.

Our efforts to maintain a good working environment are an ongoing process pervading the whole Group. The work shall be organized, implemented, documented and reported to support the principal goals. Managers at all levels are responsible for planning and implementing initiatives that contribute to a satisfactory physical and psychosocial working environment. Telenor's employees are also responsible for contributing to the achievement of these goals. Trained HES personnel support managers in systematic efforts in Health, Environment and Safety in their own units. Health, Environment and Safety systems (HES systems) are quality systems implemented to ensure that Telenor abides by prevailing laws, regulations and internal directives regulating the working environment. Telenor's HES system is based on the following principles: Implementation and documentation of systematic HES efforts in own areas Ensuring sufficient expertise within the HES systems Ensure implementation of risk analyses, handle aberrations and introduce corrective measures Reviewing HES status in individual areas of responsibility and planning of activities, including HES revisions Organizing efforts to reduce the health risks relating to the workplace Follow-up of, and cooperation with, employees during sickness absence, including preparation for continued working life during temporary or permanent disability

Recommendations
To establish core competence and to bring competitiveness, Telenor should implement numerous effective plans to improve the performance of its various departments. Supervisors must manage employee performance well in order for Telenor to accomplish its mission and achieve its goals. Following are some recommendations for Telenor, which we personally feel can be useful for the organization, its employees and the customers.

Effective Performance Management

Performance management is one of the most important parts of a Supervisors or team leaders job. Developing skills in performance Management is wise investments that will help Telenor achieve its Goals. Managing employee performance includes: Planning work and setting expectations Monitoring and measuring performance Developing the capacity to perform Periodically rating performance in a summary fashion Recognizing and rewarding good performance

Setting Goals
Setting long and short-term goals with employees gives focus to Employee efforts. When goal setting is done correctly, employees strive to accomplish those goals and feel confident in achieving them. When goal setting is done poorly, work does not progress as desired. Knowing how to set goals effectively is an important part of Performance management. To do this well, supervisors need to be able to clarify expectations and to set realistic standards and targets.

Measuring Employee Performance

Credible measures of performance that employees understand and accept are critical for achieving high level performance. Measuring employee accomplishments, using both qualitative and quantitative measures, provides the information that supervisors and employees need in order to monitor performance.

Giving Feed Back

Feedback should inform, enlighten, and suggest improvements to employees regarding their performance. Supervisors should describe specific work related behavior or results they observe as close to the event as possible.

Coaching & Developing

Using their coaching skills, supervisors evaluate and address the developmental needs of their employees and help them select diverse experiences to gain necessary skills. Supervisors and employees create development plans that might include training, new assignment, job enrichment, self study or work details.