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MBA Semester 1

MB0043 Human Resource Management

Assignment - Set- 1

Q.1 What are the functions that HR attempts to fulfill in any organization.

Answer:

The variety of human relations problems leads to the conclusion that no one program or single

approach can create conditions fro good human relations. Therefore, it is common for

organizations and individuals in an organization to constantly innovate and resolve challenges

that will benefit both the organization as well as the employee. The Functions that HR attempts

to fulfill in any organization are as follows:

1. Human Resource Planning

Estimating the need for resources in order achieve the desired business results. HR plans can

be both short term/immediate as well as long term/strategic. The HR team partners with the

line managers to understand the business goals and targets for the year and together plan theHR needs in order to meet the goals.

2. Acquisition of Human Resources

Staffing the organization with the right mix of skills and competencies at the right time. It also

includes HR initiatives like promotions and internal job posting to fulfill this requirement for

human resources. Staffing teams in organization are usually separate group of specialists who

work closely with the line managers to understand the skills and competencies needed for the

job and engage together to elect the best talent for the open position.

3. Training and employee development

Focuses in managing training activities to upgrade skills and knowledge as well as soft skills like

the ream building and leadership. The training team is again a group of HR specialist who

proposes the training program and consults with the line managers to ensure that the program

achieves the desired outcomes.

4. Building performance management systems

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Focuses on the right processes to set goals for performance as individual / teams and related

measurement methods. This is core HR activity and is supported by the Hr generalist.

5. Rewards systems

Establishing appropriate compensation systems and reward mechanism that would reward the

desired outcome and results in accordance with the cooperate values. The again forms a part of

HR generalists tasks. Hoe employees progress in a organization how they are paid w.r.t

internal and external market factors, what employee benefits are offered are some aspects that

this function redresses.

6. Human resources information systems

Taking care of operational transactions form the time an employee exits, like personal files,

compensation administration, payroll, benefits administration and issuing letters and

testimonials. That task is supported by as separate HR operation team who acts as an Hrhelpdesk and provides information to the employee/managers.

Q.2 Discuss the cultural dimensions of Indian Work force.

Answer:

Cultural Dimension of Indian Work Force: The foundation for understanding the unique work

practices at a country level can be best is understood by first understanding the culture aspects

of the countrys workforce. The pioneering work done by Dutch Scientist, Geert Hofstede is a

useful tool in understanding the cultural differences used to differentiate countries. He

identified five cultural dimensions around which counties have been clustered.

The dimensions are: power distance, uncertainly avoidance, individualism, masculinity and long

term orientation. Geert Hofstede dimension are based on research conducted among over 1000

IBM employees working globally. While their continued to be other studies like the GLOBE

(Global leadership and organizational behavior Effectiveness) project and trompenaars

framework, hofstedes model is most popular.

Power Distance

Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations

accept that power is distributed unequally. Countries in which people blindly obey of superior

have high power distance.

High power distance countries have norms, values and beliefs that support

In equally is good; everyone has a place; some are high, some are low

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Most people should be dependent on a leader,

The powerful are entitled to privileges, and

The powerful should yield the power

India score 77 on power distance , indicating high power distance as a result of the inequalities

both at the level of society as well as the at the workplace. Indian organization typically have

hierarchical structures, policies yield power and subordination is acceptable. The dimension of

high power distance at the workplace can be best understood as:

People dislike work and try to avoid it.

Managers believe that they must adopt theory X leadership style, that is, they must beauthoritarian, and force workers to perform and need to supervise their subordinated

closely.

Organizational structure and systems tend to match the assumption regarding leadership

and motivation.

Decision making is centralized.

Those at the top make most of the decision. Organization tends to have tall structures.

They will have a large proportion of supervisory personal and The people at the lower

level often will have low job qualifications.

Such structure s encourages and promotes inequality between people at different levels.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situation,

and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these India scores 40 indicating low

to average uncertainly avoidance characterizes. Countries with low to average uncertainly

avoidance have people who are more willing to accept that risks are associated with the

unknown, and that life must go on in spite of this specifically, high uncertainly avoidance

countries are characterized by norms, values and beliefs which accept that:

Conflict should not be avoided,

Deviant people and ideas should be tolerated ,

Laws are not very important and need not necessarily be followed,

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Experts and authorities are not always correct and consensus is not important.

Low uncertainty avoidance society such as ours have organization setting with less structuring

of activities, fewer written rules, more risk taking by managers, higher labor turnover and

more ambitious employees. Such an organization encourages employees to use their initiative

and assume responsibility for their actions. Denmark and Great Britain are good examples oflow uncertainty avoidance cultures. Germany, Japan and Spain typify high uncertainty

avoidance societies.

Individualism

Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their family only. The

opposite of this collectivism which refers to the tendency of people to belong to group and to

look after other in exchange for loyalty India score 48 on individualism, indicating somewhat

low scores, therefore tending towards a more collectivistic society.

Collectivist countries believe that:

Ones identity is based on ones group membership,

Group decision making is best, and

Group protects individuals in exchange for their loyalty to the group.

Organizations are collectivist societies tend to promote nepotism in selecting managers. Incontrast, in individualism societies, favoritism shown to friends and relatives is considered to be

unfair and even illegal. Further organizations in collectivist culture base promotions mostly on

seniority and age, where as in individualist societies; they are based on ones performance.

Finally in collectivist cultures, important decisions are made by older and senior managers as

opposed to individualist cultures, where decision making is an individuals responsibility.

Masculinity

Masculinity refers to a situation in which the dominant values in a society are success, money

and other material things. Hofstede measured this dimension on a continuum ranging from

masculinity to femininity. India scores 56 tending to be closed to masculinity than femininity. Inhigher masculine societys, jobs are clearly defined by gender. There are mens jobs and

womens jobs. Men usually choose jobs that are associated with short term employment before

marriage.

Q.3 Explain the need for Human Resource planning system.

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Answer:

Human resource planning system is a mandatory part of every organizations annual planning

process. Every organization that plans for its business goals for the year also plan how it will go

about achieving them, and therein the planning for the human resources:

1. To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary

qualification, skills, knowledge, work experience and aptitude of work.

2. Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result of superannuation) and

unnaturally (as a result of resignation), there is an on-going need for hiring replacement

staff to augment employee exit. Otherwise work would be impacted.

3. In order to meet for the more employees due to organizational growth and expansion,

this is turn call for large quantities of the same goods and services as well as new goods.

This growth could be rapid or gradual depending on the nature of the business, itscompetitors, its position in the market and the general economy.

4. Often organization might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a result

of its changing needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet the

challenges of the changed needs of technology/product/service innovation the existing

employees need to be trained or new skills sets induced into the organization.

5. Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce its

workforce. In situation where the organization is faced with severe revenue and growth

limitation it might need to plan well to manage how it will workforce. Options such as

redeployment and outplacement can be planned for and executed properly.

Q.4 Elucidate the classification of wages in the Indian System.

Answer:

In India wages system is classified as follows:

1. Minimum wages

2. Fair wages3. Living wages

1. Minimum wages

A minimum wages has been defined by the committee as the wages which must provide not

only for the bare substance of life, but for the preservation of the efficacy of the worker. For this

purpose minimum wages must provide for some measure of education, medical requirement

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and amenities. In other words, minimum wages should provide for sustenance for the workers

family, for his efficiency, for the education of his family members, for their medical care, for

their amenities. It is very difficult to determine the minimum wages because condition varies

from place to place, industry to industry and from worker to worker. However, the principles for

determining minimum wages were evolved by the government and have been incorporated in

the minimum wages act,1948, the important principles being that minimum wages shouldprovide not only for the bare sustenance of life but also for the preservation of the efficiency of

the workers by the way of education, medical care and other amenities.

2. Fair wage

It is the wage which is above the minimum wage but below the living wage. The lower limit of

the fair is obviously the minimum wage; the upper limit is set by the capacity of industry to pay.

Between these two limits, the actual wages should depend on consideration of such factor as:

i) The productivity of labour;

ii) The prevailing rates of wages in the same or neighboring localities;

iii) The level of the national income and its distribution; and

iv) The place of industry in the economy.

3. Living wages

One which should enable the earner to provide for himself and his family not only there bare

essentials of food, clothing and shelter but a measure of frugal comfort, including education for

his children, protection against ill-health, requirement of essential social needs and a measure

of insurance against the more important misfortunes including old age in other words, a living

wage was to provide for a standard of living that would ensure good health for the worker and

his family as well as a measure of decency, comfort, education for his children and protection

against misfortunate. Generally ascertaining wages and deciding who to pay what is a activity

undertaken in the beginning when a organization is set up. There on it are annual reviews to

make correction per the countrys economic and market/industry trends. The management

considers the state of the labor market and takes into account of what he can afford to pay and

the value of the worker to him. The workers willingness for employment at the rate offered

implies that they agree to work at that rate; through they have had no part in fixing it.

1. Collective bargaining: It is still in the initial stage in India. Although it is a desirable

development in the relation between management and labor, it cannot be imposed upon

either side by compulsion and should evaluate naturally from within.

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2. Voluntary arbitration: In voluntary arbitration, both parties agree to refer their dispute

agreed arbitrator and his award becomes binding on the parties.

3. Wage Legislation: Wages are fixed according to the law in some industries. The central

government and state government may fix minimum wages under the minimum wages

act 1948 for the industries in which workers are exploited or too unorganized to protecttheir own interest. In order to advise them in the matter of fixing minimum wages, the

government appoints minimum wages committees and the advisory boards. The

committees and the advisory boards consist of equal number of workers and employers

representative and also independent members whose number should not exceed one-

third of the total number of members.

4. Conciliation:The industrial dispute act 1947, provide for consideration in case of dispute

between employee and worker. If an agreement is reached in the course of conciliation

proceeding, it becomes binding on the parties and takes effects from the date agreed

upon or from the date on which it is signed by the two parties. In case no agreement is

reached, the conciliation officer sends a full report o the proceeding. On the receipt of

the report, the govt. may decide to refer the case to industrial tribunal for award.

5. Adjudication: Labor courts and industrial tribunal are set up under the industrial disputes

act 1947. On studying the awards one gets the impression that the adjudication are

attempting to justify their decision in social and ethical terms. At the same time, there is

desire to satisfy both parties to dispute, and therefore. Economics factors such as

capacity to pay, unemployment, profit, condition of the economy or welfare of the

industry concerned, are given due prominence.

6. Wages Board: The board is appointed by govt. and consists of seven members- two

management, two of labour, two independent and a chairman. The board is expected to

take into account the needs of the specific industry in a developing economy, the special

feature of industry, the requirement of social justice and the necessity for adjusting wage

differential in such a manner as to provide incentives to workers for advancing their skill.

Its recommendation may be accepted by the govt. either completely or partly and may

be statutorily imposed on the industry in question, or may be rejected.

Q.5 Ms. S. Sharma is the General Manager HR of a private educational group. She is

planning for the promotion policy for the faculty members. The norms are also ruled

by the government policy and criteria. Moreover the options to promote are limited.

Suggest Ms Sharma the alternative way to vertical promotion. What are the

challenges in implementing that option?

Answer:

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Individually perceived sequences of a attitude and behavior work related activities and

experience over the span of a persons life. In normal parlance the term career has both an

internal and external focus. An internal focus refers to the way an individual views his/her

career and the external or objective focus and refers to the series of job position held by the

individual. The dynamics of career development in an organizational context has two

dimensions:

How individuals plan and implement their own career goals , and

How organizations design and implement their career implement their career

development programs.

Career planning is a deliberate attempt by an individual to become more aware of their skills,

interest, values, opportunities and constraints. It requires an individual thinking to identify

career-related goals and establishing plans towards achieving those goals. Often it is self driven

process, which every professional appends some time to dwell on and discuss it with peers or

superiors and frame it. It is also viewed from time to time that the individual

looks for possible new carrier option. Having a career plan builds a commitment towards

achieving it and is viewed as an excellent personal goal setting exercise for self motivation.

Career management is considered to be an organizational process that involves preparing,

implementing & monitoring career plans undertaken by n individual alone or within the

organizational career system. Organizational establishing polices that provide for multiple

career path options that an employee can choose from and pursue. This is supported with a lotof training and development activities that are agreed to with the managers and planned

carefully and executed. A variety of career development activities and tools exists for use in

organizations. HR managers should be familiar with these components bemuse the managers

often serve as internal consultants responsible for designing the career development system.

Some of the activities described are individuals career planning tools and other are commonly

used for organizational career management.

In general the most effective career development program will use both type of activities

Career development program are as follows:

1. Self assessment tools: these are usually technology enabled on line tools that form partof the performance appraisal system and allow the individual to identify areas of strength

the best e.g career planning workbooks, career workshop etc

2. Individual counseling: formally the process allows for individuals to discuss this as part of

the performance management process with their immediate managers and share and

take feedback with their immediate managers and share and take feedback on the

appropriateness of the choices and how to go about pursuing it. Often managers

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recommend relevant other managers and leaders who the employee can link with to

seek advice and support.

Organizations also provide for formal mentoring programs to which an employee can

enroll and sign up a mentor who can then provide the support and counseling on the best

career option and how to go about it achieving it.

3. Information services: organization has establishing policies on what skills and experience

that each job in the organization requires. Jobs with similar skills and experience are

clubbed together to create parallel career paths. These are typically called career ladders

or career paths and they help an employee to identify what his options are for future

growth and identify the appropriate one based on his personal skills and

capabilities/limitation. These career path would be supplemented with additional

information on skills and experience that one must have for each role/job in there career

path. It would also specify the particular qualification or special certification that the

position demands. An employee aspiring to purpose a career option would need to

dedicate time and efforts and the expenses towards acquiring the same. Large MNCsalso encourage the reimbursement of these expenses as an annual fixed amount on

successfully the exam / certification. The employee however needs to find the time and

expend the efforts away from work. The actual move of the employee to the new role

would however depend on the existence of the job vacancy in the role. Employee can

also approach career resource / talent management centers supported by HR team for

more information on how to plan careers and apply for new roles and job.

4. Initial employment programmed organization also run internship and apprenticeship

programs wherein the individual aspiring to do particular jobs can spend some time as a

temporary employee to explore interest and skill fitment for the job/role.

5. Organization assessment program: it can proactively establish formal process wherein an

employee can volunteer to participate and understand himself/herself and his/her

strengths. Through the use of assessment center organizations can help an employee

identify areas for improvement and means of building those skills. So he can achieve his

career plans. Certain organizations offer psychological testing instrument which profile

the employees strengths and roles and responsibility he/she will best fit into.

6. Development programs focus the efforts of the employee towards helping the employee

to achieve his career goals. The assessment centers, job rotations program, in housing

training, tuition refund plans, all prove effective tools to help the individual along.

Q.6 ABC is an organization that wants to revise the HR policies. Before doing that it

wants to have some details about the following:

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What the employees think about the company?

What do they think, in the company is going well?

What practices in the company they think are not doing well?

Get the feedback on managerial effectiveness.

Suggest the suitable method to collect the employee opinion and explain the

method.

Answer:

Employee survey techniques have developed significantly over the past few years, with web

based technologies it is easier and cheaper than ever to collect and manage data. In the past,

any HR driven initiative was seen as tactical and of little real benefit to the organization as a

whole. Now many enlightened organizations see HR and employee surveys as a powerful

business improvement tool.

Customers now have a greater range of choices than ever and are becoming increasingly better

informed. This in turn means that many have very high expectations and, if they feel they are

being short changed in any way, they take the initiative and switch their allegiance. This

reduction in consumer loyalty can create difficulties in retaining existing customers, causing

organizations to increase the amount they spend on engaging new customers.

Consumer choice has also brought greater competitiveness to the market and in many

situations it is difficult for an organization to differentiate itself from the competition in terms of

production range, quality and price. As a result, the main differentiator for organizations has to

be the quality of service that the customer receives. It is vital for every interaction to be a

positive one, not just for the customer, but for the employee as well. If the customer is happy,

they spend more money, which naturally improves the organizations overall business

performance.

Different Types of Employee Survey Programs

Annual climate and employee satisfaction surveys are by far the most popular kind of

employee survey activity. However, the following types of survey programs are also gaining in

popularity:

Combining employee and customer satisfaction studies.

Procedure/policy evaluation.

Alignment of employees behind new product development.

Alignment of employees behind organizational rebranding and repositioning efforts.

Managing employees through organizational change programs (e.g. merger,

acquisition/downsizing, etc.).

Internal customer service evaluations.

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Internal communications evaluations.

Evaluation and design of different benefits schemes.

Defining Employee Survey Goals and Objectives

Before starting on a staff survey process, it is vital to define a set of objectives for the survey.Without these objectives, the survey program will lack focus and it will be difficult to raise

enthusiasm for the survey among your key influencers and decision makers. All employee

survey programs need to be seen as a company-wide initiative that is driven by managers and

employees from across the whole organization and not something that is solely initiated and

managed just within HR

Deciding on the Appropriate Survey Methodology

Defining objectives at the outset will help to determine the methodology because, to meet the

desired objectives, you will need to consider the following:

Are all employees affected and should all employees need to be involved?

Will changes and improvement action be required at different levels across the

organization?

How will managers and employees be engaged in the improvement process?

How will awareness of the survey, its results and improvements be raised and managed

among employees?

How will the progress of improvement actions be reviewed, monitored and

communicated over time?

Quantitative and qualitative research methods can both be highly effective in employee

surveys. It is essential, though, to ensure that the correct methodology is used for the type ofsurvey being conducted.

Employee satisfaction surveys are the most common form of quantitative research. There are

occasions when both methodologies can be effectively combined. For example, in an employee

satisfaction survey, you may decide to use focus groups before designing the survey in order to

determine the survey content and/or pilot questionnaire.

Employee Satisfaction Surveys It is worthwhile examining employee satisfaction surveys in

more detail given that they are the most popular type of employee survey.

Pre Survey

During the Survey

Post Survey

Between Surveys

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AN INTRODUCTION TO EMPLOYEE SURVEY TECHNIQUES

Planning for Employee Satisfaction Surveys

The following outlines some of the factors that should be communicated at each stage of the

process:

Pre Survey

Objectives of the survey, rationale for the survey and how the results will be fed back

Use an independent, third-party agency for data collection and analysis

Timing of the data collection

Senior management commitment to the survey

Importance of getting a good response rate so that all employee opinions are heard

Importance of participation

Methodology to be used

Assurance that the study will protect anonymity and preserve confidentiality

During the Survey

Reminder of the objectives and assurance that action will be taken

Assurance that individual surveys cannot be seen

Regular reminders and a notice of when the survey completion period will end

How the results will be acted upon

Update on current response rate

Reinforce the importance of participation

How employees can participate and what employees should do if having problemsaccessing or completing the survey

Reinforce anonymity and confidentiality of the results

Post Survey

Thank employees for participating and communicate how results will be shared

Final response rate (Company wide vs. Business Units/Divisions)

Detail on how employees should get involved in the improvement action planning

process

Local results and local improvement action planning

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Provide top-level summary results

Reminder of the action planning process

Between Surveys

Highlight and recognize successful examples of action planning and progress made Recognize the contributions of teams and individuals to the action planning process

Senior management endorsement and support of the final action plan/survey outcomes

Detailed plans for the next survey

Highlight any areas where action cannot be taken and the reasons for this

Highlight the impact of action planning on customer service and business performance

Electronic and Web-Enabled

Increasingly, organizations are starting to move towards electronic methods of surveying their

employees and the most common method is hosting a web-enabled survey.

Questionnaire Design

The design of the questionnaire is important as it can have as much influence over the

response rate as the method of completion.

The key incentive

In contrast to the weak influence of incentives, research shows that employees are more likely

to participate in an employee survey if they believe that the results will be acted upon. The

golden rule of this type of survey is that, if you do not intend to act on the results, then do notconduct the survey in the first place.

Results Analysis and Reporting

There are many different ways of analyzing, cutting and reporting results and each organization

has to decide individually on the best method for their needs.

IMPROVEMENT ACTION PLANNING

Background As noted earlier, the guiding principle of employee survey is that, if you are not

prepared to act on the results, then do not conduct the survey in the first place. You have spent

time and effort getting employees enthusiastic about the survey and they now have high

expectations that there will be improvement activity in which they will be involved.

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Improvement action planning should be top down process where the priorities for the

organization are identified, communicated and acted upon at the senior management level.

Then moving down to Divisional and Unit levels, local teams should identify and tackle the

things that they have direct control over and escalate anything else back upwards.

Prioritizing Improvement Actions Prioritization of improvement actions should be taken underconsideration. Some organizations struggle with improvement action planning because they try

to tackle far too many improvement actions at once and start spreading the valuable resources

they have too thinly over too many actions. Our recommendation is that not more than three to

four improvement actions should be tackled at one time and that further actions should not be

pursued until at least one of the existing actions has been fully completed.

The specific components of the plan should be as follows:

1. Area for improvement: What is the problem? What impact is it having on employees

and customers? What is causing the problem?

2. What Needs to Happen: Specify the specific improvement action that is required toaddress the problem.

3. How It Will Happen: Specify the process and activities required as part of the

improvement action.

4. Timelines: It is important to have a target date for completing the delivery of the action.

This sets the focus that any target delivery date is realistic and achievable and it may be

stretched if not met.

5. Action Owner: It is important for one person to be allocated ownership for the action.

This does not necessarily mean that this person is solely responsible for the delivery ofthe action, but they are responsible for ensuring that the delivery does actually happen.

Ownership for actions should be spread around the team so that no one person is

overburdened.

6. Resources: Specify and determine what individual resources are required such as

personnel, money, materials or support from other parts of the organization.

7. Improvement Targets: It is important to be able to determine whether improvementactions are having the desired effect by setting improvement targets. The survey can be

used as a source for this by pulling out appropriate questions and setting targets for

improving the results to these questions in the next survey.

8. Method of Measurement: List the data sources that will provide the information

needed for improvement targets.

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9. Review Dates: Specify all of the dates when the improvement action will be reviewed.

10.Review of Progress: This step should be completed after each review to outline the

progress made against the action.

11.Completion Date: The date when the action was finally completed.

12.Impact: Completed after the action has finally been delivered to define the impact and

difference that the improvement action has made to employees, customers and the

business overall.

Reviewing the Action Plan

Regular review of the action plan is perhaps the most important element of the improvement

action planning process because it ensures that the momentum is being maintained, enables

progress to be tracked and identifies any barriers that may exist.

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AUGUST 2011

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Semester 1

MB0043 Human Resource Management - 4

Credits

(Book ID: B0909)

Assignment - Set- 2

Q.1 Discuss the factors affecting recruitment?

Answer:

The ability to identify the correct talent for not just the role/job but also from the organizational

values perspective can be summarized as the key recruiting challenge. All organizations,

whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though not to the same intensity. Few

factors that impact the nature of recruitment:

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i) The size of the organization- the smaller the organization the more the need to

carefully scrutinize the candidate for a job and the fitment to the organizational

culture. The risk in case of job-candidate mismatch can prove equally expensive for a

smaller organization as compared to the larger one.

ii) The employment conditions in the country where the organization is located-

critically impacts the recruiting strategy. The methods for recruiting, the selection

tools that are most suited and the legal framework that bear on the employer are

some aspects that need to be considered.

iii) The affects of past recruiting efforts which show the organizations ability to locate

and keep good performing people- constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the

recruiting methods and the selection tools used, evaluating the success at-work of the

new recruits are some methods used by organizations to ensure that quality hiring

practices are in-place.

iv) Working conditions and salary and benefit packages offered by the organization

this may influence turnover and necessitate future recruiting; (v) The rate of growth

of organization- the phase in the life-cycle of the firm is a measure of the recruiting

effort.

v) The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production

programs ensuring that the recruitment numbers come form a well-planned Human

Resource Plan is critical to ensure that there is no over-hiring or under-hiring of the

required talent to achieve the organizational objectives.

vi) Cultural, economic and legal factors these too affect the recruiting and selectionmethods that are used.

Q.2 Right Time is a watch manufacturing company. It has hired 20 people recently

for the company. They will be involved in manufacturing, assembling of watches.

They will be using different machines and tools for this. What type of training is best

for them? What may be the advantages and limitations of the training method?

Answer:

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Vestibule/classroom training is best for twenty people hired by Right Time, a watch

manufacturing training since they will be involved in manufacturing and assembling of watches.

Vestibule / Classroom Training:

This method attempts to duplicate on-the-job situations in a company classroom. It is a

classroom training which is often imparted with the help of the equipment and machines which

are identical with those in use in the place of work. This technique enables the trainee to

concentrate on learning the new skill rather than performing an actual job. In other words, it is

geared to job duties. Theoretical training is given in the classroom, while the practical work is

conducted on the production line.

The advantages of using the vestibule-training system are the disadvantages of specialization.

The instructor, a specialist, should be more skilled at teaching. The student avoids the

confusion and pressure of the work situation and thus is able to concentrate on learning. One

can also often attain a given level of skill more quickly in the specialized learning situation. We

have more assurance that adequate time and attention will be given to training and that it willnot slighted in favour of other problems. More individualized instruction can be given, and

training activities do not interfere with the regular processes of production.

Among the disadvantages are the splitting of responsibilities leads to organizational

problems. Second, an additional investment in equipment is necessary, though the cost may be

reduced by getting some productive work done by trainees while in the school. Third, this

method is of limited value for the jobs which utilize equipment which can be duplicated and

finally the training situation is somewhat artificial.

Q.3 Write a note on 360 degree appraisal method.

Answer:

Typically, performance appraisal has been limited to a feedback process between employees

and Managers. However, with the increased focus on teamwork, employee development, and

customer service, the emphasis has shifted to employee feedback from the full circle of sources

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depicted in the diagram below. This multiple-input approach to performance feedback is

sometimes called "360-degree assessment" to connote that full circle.

The 360 degree matrix

There are no prohibitions in law or regulation against using a variety of rating sources, in

addition to the employees Manager, for assessing performance. Research has shown

assessment approaches with multiple rating sources provide more accurate, reliable, and

credible information. For this reason, HR Management supports the use of multiple rating

sources as an effective method of assessing performance for formal appraisal and other

evaluative and developmental purposes.

The circle, or perhaps more accurately the sphere, of feedback sources consists of Managers,

peers, subordinates, customers, and ones self. It is not necessary, or always appropriate, to

include all of the feedback sources in a particular appraisal program. The organizational culture

and mission must be considered, and the purpose of feedback will differ with each source. Forexample, subordinate assessments of a Managers performance can provide valuable

developmental guidance, peer feedback can be the heart of excellence in teamwork, and

customer service feedback focuses on the quality of the teams or agencys results.

The objectives of performance appraisal and the particular aspects of performance that are to

be assessed must be established before determining which sources are appropriate.

Superiors: Evaluations by superiors are the most traditional source of employee feedback. This

form of evaluation includes both the ratings of individuals by Managers on elements in an

employees performance plan and the evaluation of programs and teams by senior managers.

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Q.4 Given below is the HR policy glimpse of ZoomVideo, a multimedia company

1. It offers cash rewards for staff members2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages people to referpeople they know, maybe their friends, ex. colleagues, batch mates and relatives.3. It recognizes good performances and gives good titles and trphies to the peoplewho perform well and also felicitates them in the Annual Day of the company.Identify what all aspects does it take care of, based on different levels of Maslows

Need Hierarchy ?

Answer:

Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory

Maslows theory of basic needs draws chiefly from human psychology. He arranged the human

needs of an individual in a hierarchical manner. Maslow proposed an individuals motivation asa predetermined order of needs which he strives to satisfy. His model of Hierarchy of Needsindicates the following propositions about human behaviour.

i) Physiological Needs:These are basic to life, viz., and hunger for food, thirst, shelter andcompanionship among others. They are relatively independent of each other and in some casescan be identified with a specific location in the body. These needs are cyclic. In other words,they are satisfied for only a short period; then they reappear.

ii) Safety Needs:If the physiological needs are relatively satisfied, a set of needs emerge forprotection against danger and threats. In an ordered society, a person usually feels safe fromextremes of climate, tyranny, violence and so on.

iii) Social Needs: If the physiological and safety needs are fairly satisfied, the needs for loveand affection and belongingness will emerge and the cycle will repeat itself with this newcentre. If he is deprived of these needs he will want to attain them more than anything else inthe world. An individual desires affectionate relationships with people in general and desires tohave a respected place in his group.

iv) Esteem Needs:Everyone has a need for self-respect and for the esteem of others. Thisresults in the desire for strength, confidence, prestige, recognition and appreciation. Theseegoistic needs are rarely completely satisfied. The typical industrial and commercialorganization does not offer much opportunity for their satisfaction to employees at the lowerlevels.

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v) Self-actualization Needs:The term "self-actualization" wascoined by Kurt Goldstein andmeans, to become actualized in what one is potentially good at. A person may achieve self actualization in being the ideal fitter, supervisor, mother or an eminent artist.

People who are satisfied with these needs are basically satisfied people and it is from these thatwe can expect the fullest creativeness. A sound motivational system to be successful must take

care of this hierarchy of needs of the team members in order to work efficiently. It must coverbasic as well as higher needs and it must be flexible to cater to changes in the environment.

Q.5 Describe the emerging employee empowerment practices.

Answer:

In todays organizations the focus is moving towards collaboration at the workplace. One of themost common instruments established in large organizations has been the EmployeeSuggestion Schemes (ESS). The ESS has proved effective in allowing employees a discretemethod of voicing their opinions and suggestion for what can be better managed in the

company. The management invites the employees suggestions on all/any issue that is a sourceof irritation for the employees including topics mentioned in 13.3 above are open for comment.What however is different is that the employee is encouraged to frame it as a suggestion andmake a recommendation for a change, rather than the classic fault finding approach about whatis going wrong or what is not working well. There are ESS forms/ templates that are left incommon places or the employee can download from the company intranet and fill in thesuggestion for change and drop it in boxes left common places like the coffee area or the lunchrooms etc.. These suggestions are then collated by the HR team and on a quarterly basis theSuggestion Committee meets to review all of the suggestions received. The SuggestionCommittee includes line managers, HR representative and Finance and Facilities &Administration team members and senior management representative who can provide thenecessary guidance for approval of the suggestions. The committee meets and discusses each

suggestion in depth and evaluates the scope for implementation of the suggestion. Thefeasibility of implementing the suggestion and its other implications are evaluated closely andthe suggestion accepted/set aside for future review/rejected. There are awards given away forexcellent ideas that help the company optimize costs, productivity and improve quality,customer satisfaction etc.. The HR then communicates the suggestion committee report with allemployees through a mail or during the employees Open-house sessions.

The employees open house also called the all hands meeting is one morecommunication forum effectively used by the senior management of a company to connect withits employees. This usually is a quarterly or a half-yearly meeting to which all employees areinvited. There is a brief sharing of the companys performance and the rest of the time devotedto answering any queries that employees might have on any issue that concerns the company

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and its employees. This is often followed with by a informal interactions over lunch/breakfast,where once again employees can speak to the senior executives and ask general questions.Often employees might not feel comfortable asking tough questions in a open forum, hencethere are drop-boxes provided where the employee can write and drop a question or a opinionthat he wants the senior management to answer. The employee need not mention his name onthe question slip. If the senior management is unable to answer a question then and there the

same is reviewed subsequently by the senior management and a response shared with allemployees over mail or posted on the notice board or on the intranet site for everyone to read.Some organizations also operate a email communication method where any employee who hasa query or a observation can write his question to the mail alias and obtain a response. Usuallythe HR is the custodian of this mailed and they do the necessary review to suitably answer thequestions and seek the managers inputs on a as needed basis. The concept of taskforce is alsoa common mechanism that organizations use to build cross-functional teams (with onerepresentative each from each department) that will work on concerns that are commonlyvoiced. For example a leading medical transcription company wanted to review its incentivepolicy and in order to have a collaborative approach put together a team of employees oneeach from each of the departments including representatives from HR and Finance. The teamwas provided with all the historical information they would need and were given all of 6 weeks

to work on the project and make a presentation to the senior management of the company.After the first presentation to them and having incorporated the feedback received thetaskforce then presented the new scheme to the employees. Finally it was approved as a policyand made effective.

Todays organizations therefore adopt a collaborative approach to employee issues. While thetechnology companies are more informal the traditional brick-and-motor companies haveformal processes. Whatever the approach whether formal or informal employees areencouraged to open-up and ask questions and perform as contended employees.

Q.6 Write a note on directive, permissive and participative type of leadership.

Answer:

According to Chris Argyris, leadership is classified into three groups as follows:

a) The Directive typeb) The Permissive typec) The participative type

Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic)

Authoritarian leaders are those who provide clear expectations of what needs to be done, whenit should be done, and how it should be done. Authoritarian leaders usually make decisionsindependently with little or no input from the rest of the group. Very evidently decision-making

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was less creative under authoritarian leadership. Lewin also found that it is more difficult tomove from an authoritarian style to a democratic style than vice versa. The leader was viewedas controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.

Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for groupdecision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.

Participative Leadership (Democratic)

Lewins study found that participative (democratic) leadership is generally the most effectiveleadership style. Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they alsoparticipate in the group and allow input from other group members. While it is possible that thisstyle productivity is lower than that in the authoritarian group, but the contributions were of amuch higher quality. This could also be more time taking. Participative leaders encourage groupmembers to participate, but retain the final say over the decision-making process. Groupmembers feel engaged in the process and are more motivated and creative.

Delegative (Laissez-Fair)

Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-makingentirely to group members. While this style can be effective in situations where group membersare highly qualified in an area of expertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack ofmotivation.

Transformational Leader

Transformational leaders offer a purpose that transcends short-term goals and focuses onhigher order intrinsic needs (as discussed above). This results in followers identifying with theneeds of the leader.

Charismatic Leader

Charismatic Leader is the degree to which the leader behaves in admirable ways that causefollowers to identify with the leader. Charismatic leaders display convictions, take stands andappeal to followers on an emotional level. This is about the leader having a clear set of valuesand demonstrating them in every action, providing a role model for their followers.