Case # 1 Case Title: Jack Nelsons Problem Referenced: Chapter 1 Introduction to Human Resource Management Summary: This case

states the problem of a well-run Local Bank and from HR perspective its for no or improper Banks human resource system in the home-office and all branch es. These problems were detected by Jack Nelson, a new member of the board of di rectors, when he was being introduced to all employees in the home office. In an organization all managers have basic five functions and among them one is Staffing or Personnel Planning or Human Resource Management. Human resource mana gement(HRM) is the policies and practices involved in carrying out the people or h uman resources aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening , training, rewarding and appraising. The main functions of HRM is to conduct j ob analysis, planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates, selecting job c andidates, orienting and training new employees, managing wages and salaries, pr oviding incentives and benefits, appraising performance, training and developing managers, building employee commitment. The first problem that he noticed is lacking of offering proper training and dev eloping program to newly appointed employees, when he was introduced to Ruth Joh nson. Nelsons curiosity made him ask to Johnson about her work and the machine sh e was using. But Johnson didnt know anything about the machine from her two month s joining, however, she know precisely how to operate the machine. But according to her Supervisor, she was an excellent employee. At one of the branch offices another problem that Nelson noticed is high employe e turnover. No sooner had one employee been put on the job than another resigned . These creates a lot obstacles with customers to see and loans to be made as th e branch Supervisor had little time with the new employee as they came and went. As management is not aware of the importance of HRM in an organization, such lac king happens. HRM helps the managers to avoid: Hiring the wrong person for the job Experiencing high turnover Have their employee not doing their best Have their organization taken to court for any discriminatory acts Have some employee think their salaries are not fair and inequitable to other em ployee of the organization Allow a lack of training to undermine the departments effectiveness Commit any unfair practices One should remember that he can do everything right as a manager- lay brilliant plans, draw clear organization charts, set up modern assembly lines, and use sop histicated accounting controls, but still fail, by hiring the wrong people or by not motivating subordinates. Thus to be successful even with inadequate plan, o rganizations or controls an organization must had the knack of hiring the right people for the right jobs and motivating, appraising, and developing them. Again, the hiring process of this Bank is inappropriate as all branch line manag ers hired their own employees without communication with the head office or othe r branches and whenever an opening developed they tried to find a suitable emplo yee to replace the worker who had quit. This causes as all supervisors duties and responsibilities are not well-organize d and allocated among them. The functions of supervisor as well as line managers is to-placing the right person to the right job, orienting new employees, train ing employees for the new job, improving job performance, gaining creative coope ration and developing smooth working relationships, interpreting companys policie s and procedures, creating and maintaining departments morale. Being an HR manager today is challenging and requires several proficiencies.HR p roficiencies represent the traditional knowledge and skills in areas such as emp loyee selection, training and compensating. Business proficiencies reflect HR pr ofessionals with new strategic role. The HR manger needs to be familiar with str ategic planning, marketing, production and finance. And they need to be able to explain the HR activities in financially measurable terms.HR managers also requi

re leadership proficiencies. That is they need the ability to work with and had management groups and drive to the changes required. Finally, as the competitive landscape is changing, so quickly and new technologies are being continually in troduced, the HR mangers need learning proficiencies. Nelson doubted about what initiative the head-office appliance should, when he f ound similar problems in the other 22 branches. The Bank was generally regarded as being a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191 employees during t he last eight years for which he is also unsure about whether to report his find ings to the company president or not. Question # 1: What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank head office and branches? Answer: This case states the problem of a well-run Local Bank and from HR perspective its for no or improper Banks human resource system in the home-office and all branch es. These problems were detected by Jack Nelson, a new member of the board of di rectors, when he was being introduced to all employees in the home office and ot her branches. Following has been noted as few problems faced by the banks home office and branc hes. Lack of orientation & training: This is the first problem that Jack has noticed the lacking of offering proper training and developing program to newly appointe d employees, when he was introduced to Ruth Johnson. Nelsons curiosity made him a sk to Johnson about her work and the machine she was using. But Johnson didnt kno w anything about the machine from her two months joining, however, she know prec isely how to operate the machine. But according to her Supervisor, she was an ex cellent employee. High employee turnover: The major issue was that employee turnover was quite hig h within the office, as a matter of fact every time an employee would be hired, there would be another employee resigning. We understand that employee turnover is a costly expense especially in lower paying job roles, for which the employee turnover rate is highest. Many factors play a role in the employee turnover rat e of any company, and these can stem from both the employer and the employees. Lack of On-Job Training: It is the responsibility of the supervisors and manager s to utilize available resources to train, qualify and develop their employees. We find that employees had not been provided with sufficient training related to their job role. For example: One of the employees Ms. Ruth Johnson was hired al most two months ago as a machine operator but was not aware of the machine outpu t productivity or its name! Therefore, we can conclude that there was lack of On -Job Training for the employees hired. On-Job training is a primary method used for broadening employees skills and increase in productivity. Hiring Employee: The case study highlights the fact that there is no participati on or contribution from the HR Department in terms of hiring new employees, whic h means that the office does not have any HR Department working. Hence, employee s were hired by supervisors direct, who were over occupied with many job respons ibilities and believed in the fact that immediate replacement was the initial ne ed of the company. They lacked the actual skills and understanding of successful human resources functions, which means right candidate did not come through and even if they did, then further lack of training, motivation and probably not go od wages forced them to quit before time. Lack of communication among the branches; and between the main office and the br anches: It is very important in any organization for people to communicate. Enga ging employees in communication can have positive outcomes in an organization. All of these problems are occurred only for the absent of HR department in the b ank both in home office and branches. Nevertheless, the Bank authority must real ize it and take measurable initiative. Question # 2: Do you think setting up an HR department in the head office would help? Answer:

After studying the case, we learned that the well-run Local Bank is facing probl ems from HR perspective its for no or improper Banks human resource system in the home-office and branches. For which, setting up an HR unit in the main office wo uld help. That means the bank should introduce and practice HRM in their organiz ation culture and environment. In an organization all managers have basic five functions and among them one is Staffing or Personnel Planning or Human Resource Management. Human resource mana gement(HRM) is the policies and practices involved in carrying out the people or h uman resources aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening , training, rewarding and appraising. The main functions of HRM is to conduct job analysis, planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates, selecting job candidates, orienting and training new employees, managing wages and salaries, providing incentives and benefits, appra ising performance, training and developing managers, building employee commitmen t. As management is not aware of the importance of HRM in an organization, such lac king happens. HRM helps the managers to avoid: Hiring the wrong person for the job Experiencing high turnover Have their employee not doing their best Have their organization taken to court for any discriminatory acts Have some employee think their salaries are not fair and inequitable to other em ployee of the organization Allow a lack of training to undermine the departments effectiveness Commit any unfair practices One should remember that he can do everything right as a manager- lay brilliant plans, draw clear organization charts, set up modern assembly lines, and use sop histicated accounting controls, but still fail, by hiring the wrong people or by not motivating subordinates. Thus to be successful even with inadequate plan, organizations or controls an or ganization must had the knack of hiring the right people for the right jobs and motivating, appraising, and developing them. Question # 3: What specific functions should an HRM department carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by the line managers? Answer: HR unit should carry out three main functions-the HR manger exerts line authorit y in his/her unit and implied authority elsewhere in the bank. He/she ensures th at the banks HR objectives and policies are coordinated and implemented. And he/s he provides various staff services to line management, like partnering with the CEO in designing the banks strategy and assisting in hiring, training, evaluating , rewarding, promoting and disciplining of employees at all level. Other activit ies are-job analyses, planning labor needs and recruiting, providing advising an d training in the selection process, orientation of new employees, managing wage and salary administration, managing incentives and benefits, providing and mana ging the performance appraisal process, organization-wide communications, and pr oviding training & developing services. Supervisors and Other Line Managers responsibility is to: placing the right pers on to the right job, orienting new employees, training employees for the new job , improving job performance, gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships, interpreting companys policies and procedures, creating an d maintaining departments morale. Internet can play an essential role in the new HR organization. By using interne t, they can exchange information that helps them to enrich their HR unit. They c an also learn many different things needed to them, can communicate with the bra nch offices and many other benefits.

Case # 2

Case Title: Carter Cleaning Company-The Job Description Referenced: Chapter 4 Job Analysis Summary: Jennifer is an employee of a store. She wants to developing job descriptions for her store manager. She think that the pivotal role of job descriptions actually played in the smooth functioning of an enterprise through her basic management and HR management courses were insufficient. In her job, after few days one of h er store managers ask her that, why he was violating what she knew to be recomme nded company policies and procedures. Jennifer knew that a job description means a list of a jobs duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working cond itions and supervisory responsibilities job description is the clear information that specified what was to be done and how to do it. She wants to go a long way toward reducing this problem. She thinks that the store manager is responsible for directing all store activit ies in such a way that quality work is produced, customer relations and sales ar e maximized and profitability is maintainer through effective control of labor, supply and energy costs. In accomplishing that general aim, a specific store man agers duties and responsibilities including quality control, store appearance and cleanliness, customer relations, machine maintenance, purchasing, human resourc e administration etc. Jennifer think that which addresses she has to follow- Job is generally defined as a set of closely related activities carried out for pay. A Job analysis is the procedure through which some one determine the duties of t hese positions and the characteristics of the people to hire for them. Job analy sis produces information used for writing job descriptions. (A list of what kind of people to hire for the job). The supervisor on human resources specialist normally collects one or more of th e following types of information via the job analysis: Work activates: First, someone collects information about the jobs actual work ac tivities. Such as cleaning, selling etc. Human Behaviors: The specialist may also collect information about human behavio rs like sensing, communicating, deciding and writing. Machines, tools, equipment and work aids: This category includes information reg arding tools used materials processed. Performance standards: The employer may also want information about the jobs perf ormance standards. Jobs context: Included here is information about such matters as physical workin g conditions, work schedule and the organizational and social context for instan ce, the number of people with whom the employee would normally interact. Human requirements: This includes information regarding the jobs human requiremen ts, such as job related knowledge or skills. Job analysis information support several human resource management activities. S o it is most important for a store. Job analysis provides information about what the job entails and what human characteristics are required to perform these ac tivities. The job description lists the jobs specific duties and requisite skills and therefore the training that the job requires. Manager knows about the perfo rmance appraisal through job analysis. It also helps reveal unassigned duties an d plays a big role in legal compliance. There are six steps in doing a job analysis. These are; 1. Determine the use of the job analysis information. 2. Collect background information. 3. Select the positions to be analyzed. 4. Collect job analysis data. 5. review information with participants and 6. Develop a job description and job specification. There are various ways to collect information on the duties, responsibilities an d activities of a job, interviews, questionnaires, observations and diary/logs a re the most popular methods for gathering job analysis data. Interviews are popular methods for obtaining job related information. Manager ma

y range from completely unstructured interviews to highly structured ones in whi ch job analysis follow detailed questionnaires in asking their questions. Its a s imple and quick way to collect information, also provides an opportunity to expl ain the need for and function of the job analysis. Keep several things in mind w hen conducting a job analysis interview. This areFirstly, the job analyst and supervisor should work together to identify the wor kers who know the job best. Secondly, quickly establish rapport with the intervi ewee. Thirdly, hollow a structured guide, one that lists questions and provides space for answers. Fourthly, ensure that someone dont overlook crucial but infreq uently performed activities. Fifthly, after completing the interview, review and verify the data. Another method is questionnaire. It is a quick and efficient way to obtain infor mation from a large number of employees, it is less costly than interviewing hun dreds of workers but this method is expensive and time consuming. Observation is especially useful when jobs consist mainly of observable physical activities. On the other hand, observation is usually not appropriate when the job entails a lot of mental activity. Another method is diary/log it is a list that made by workers of every activity in which they engage along with the time each activity takes. But it is more exp ensive and time-consuming. The employer almost always uses the job analysis to produce a job description. A job description is a written statement of what the worker actually does how he or she does it and what the jobs working conditions are. Everyone use this inform ation to write a job specification, this lists the knowledge, abilities and skil ls required to perform the job satisfactorily. There is no standard format for writing a job description. However, most descrip tions contain sections that cover: 1. job identification 2. job summary 3. responsibilities and duties 4. authority of applicant 5. standards of performance 6. working conditions 7. job specifications Job description is one product of a job analysis. Jobs and job descriptions, unt il quite recently, tended to follow their prescriptions and to be fairly detaile d and specific. Many proposed solutions like job enlargement that means assignin g workers additional same level activities, thus increasing the number if activi ties they perform. Another is job rotation means, systematically moving workers from one job to another to enhance work team performance and to broaden his or h er experience and identify strong and weak points to prepare the person for an e nhanced role with the company. Last one is job enrichment that means redesigning jobs in a way that increases the opportunities for the worker to experience fee lings of responsibility, achievement, growth and recognition. Question # 1: What should be the format and final form of the store managers job description? Answer: There is no standard format as to what should be included in the job description of store manager but most job descriptions cover the following sections: Job identification: To specify the job title. Job summary: The job summary should of course summarize the essence of the job a nd include only its major activities. Responsibilities and Duties: This is the heart of the job description. It should present a list of the jobs significant responsibilities and duties. Authority of incumbent: Standards of performance: This lists the standards the employee is expected to a chieve under each of the job descriptions main duties and responsibilities. But, setting a standard is not an easy task. Working conditions:

Job specification: Job specification takes the job description and it tells what kind of person to recruit and what qualities that person should be tested.

Question # 2: Is it practical to specify standards and procedures in the body of the job description, or should these be kept separate? Answer: Not all the standards and procedures are important to mention in the body of job description except the ones that are relevant and important for the applicants to know i.e. Performance and Competency standards. But, if the standard and proc edures are mentioned in the body of job description, it helps the employee to be alert about their duties more clearly. And finally, it leads them to a better p erformance. Question # 3: How should Jennifer go about collecting the information required f or the standards, procedures and job description? Answer: First of all Jennifer should conduct a complete job analysis for the job of stor e manager and she should also check out existing policies and procedures of the company in place, then she should use one or more of the following methods for c ollecting information about Standards, Procedures and Job description for the jo b of Store Manager. The Interview: It is one of the most popular methods for collecting job analysis data. She can interview the employees it can be individual, group or supervisor y interview. Questionnaire: Having the employees fill out questionnaires to decide their job related duties and responsibilities. It may be structured or unstructured. Observation: Direct observation is especially useful when the jobs consist mainl y of physically observable activities. But it not essential for mental activitie s. Participant Diary/Logs: It means to make the list of activities the worker perfo rms individually. All the methods mentioned can be used in Carter Cleaning Company. In addition to these basic methods Jennifer Carter can also use these Quantitati ve techniques as well for measuring job description of store manager Position analysis questionnaire Department of labor procedures Functional job analysis To collect job analysis information Jennifer should keep some guide lines in min d to collect job analysis information. First, conducting the job analysis usually involves a joint effort by a HR speci alist, the worker, he supervisor. Second, job analysis almost always requires collecting job analysis information from the people familiar to the job. Third, if there are several people doing the same job, it is typical to collect information individually and averaging them. Fourth, make sure that the questions and the surveys are clear to the respondent s. Fifth, if possible, observe and question respondents early enough in the job ana lysis process to catch any problems while there is still time to correct the job analysis procedures are using.