Master of Business Administration Mb0043

8/3/2019 Master of Business Administration Mb0043

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MASTER OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION

NAME KAUSHAL KUMAR

REGISTRATION NO. 521101945

LEARNING CENTER NAME

LEARNING CENTER CODE

COURSE MBA

SEMESTER 1

SUBJECT MB0043

SET NO.

DATE OF SUBMISSION

MARKS AWARDED

Directorate of Distance Learning

Sikkim Manipal University

II Floor, Syndicate Building

Manipal 576 104

Signature of the Coordinator Signature of the LC Signature of Evaluator


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MB0043 Human Resource Management

Set-1

Question.1 What are the functions that HR attempts to fulfillin any organization.

Answer 1.The variety of human relations problems leads to the conclusionthat 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 the HR 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 engagetogether 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


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consults with the line managers to ensure that the program achieves the

desired outcomes.

4. Building performance management systems

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 andexternal 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 Hr helpdesk and provides information to theemployee/managers.

Question.2 Discuss the cultural dimensions of Indian Work

force.

Answer.2 Cultural Dimension of Indian Work Force: The foundation for

understanding the unique work practices at a country level can be best isunderstood by first understanding the culture aspects of the countrys

workforce. The pioneering work done byDutch Scientist, Geert Hofstede is auseful tool in understanding the cultural differences used to differentiate

countries. He identified five cultural dimensions around which counties have

been clustered.


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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 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 be authoritarian, and force workers to perform and need to

supervise their subordinated closely.

Organizational structure and systems tend to match the assumptionregarding leadership and motivation.

Decision making is centralized.


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

They will have a large proportion of supervisory personal and Thepeople at the lower level often will have low job qualifications.

Such structure s encourages and promotes inequality between people atdifferent 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 havepeople 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, 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 assumeresponsibility for their actions. Denmark and Great Britain are good examples

of low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Germany, Japan and Spain typify high

uncertainty avoidance societies.

Individualism


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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 selectingmanagers. In contrast, 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. In higher masculine

societys, jobs are clearly defined by gender. There are mens jobs and

womens jobs. Men usuallychoose jobs that are associated with short term

employment before marriage.

Question.3 Explain the need for Human Resource Planning

system .

Answer.3 Human resource planning system is a mandatory part of every

organizations annual planning process. Every organization that plans for its


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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 thenecessary qualification, skills, knowledge, work experience and aptitude

of work.

2. Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result ofsuperannuation) 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 growthand 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, its competitors, its

position in the market and the general economy.

4. Often organization might need to replace the nature of the presentworkforce as a result of its changing needs, therefore the need to hire

new set of employees. To meet the challenges of the changed needs oftechnology/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 organizationsneed 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.

Question.4 Elucidate the classification of wages in the

Indian System.

Answer.4

In India wages system is classified as follows:


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1. Minimum wages2. 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 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 should provide not only for the bare sustenance of life but also for the

preservation of the efficiency of the workers by the way of education, medicalcare 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 actualwages 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;


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iii) The level of the national income and its distribution; andiv) 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 ascertainingwages and deciding who to pay what is a activity undertaken in the beginningwhen 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 foremployment at the rate offered implies that they agree towork 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 itis 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 torefer their dispute agreed arbitrator and his award becomes binding on

the parties.

3.

Wage Legislation: Wages are fixed according to the law in someindustries. The central government and state government may fixminimum wages under the minimum wages act 1948 for the industries

in which workers are exploited or too unorganized to protect their 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 totalnumber of members.

4. Conciliation:The industrial dispute act 1947, provide for considerationin 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 toindustrial tribunal for award.

5.Adjudication:Labor courts and industrial tribunal are set up under theindustrial 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 sevenmembers- 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


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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.Question.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.5

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


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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 lot of 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 thesecomponents 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 linetools that form part of 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 todiscuss 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 recommendrelevant other managers and leaders who the employee can link with to

seek advice and support.


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Organizations also provide for formal mentoring programs to which

an employee can enroll and sign up a mentor who can then provide thesupport and counseling on the best career option and how to go about it

achieving it.

3. Information services: organization has establishing policies on whatskills 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 futuregrowth 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 MNCs also 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 internshipand 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.


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5. Organization assessment program: it can proactively establish formalprocess 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 achievehis 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 towardshelping 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.

Question.6 ABC is an organization that wants to revise the

HR policies. Before doing that it want to have some details

about the following:

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.


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Answer.6 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 apowerful 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.


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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. 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 focusand 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 methodologybecause, to meet the desired objectives, you will need to consider the

following:

Are all employees affected and should all employees need to beinvolved?

Will changes and improvement action be required at different levelsacross the organization?

How will managers and employees be engaged in the improvementprocess?

How will awareness of the survey, its results and improvements beraised and managed among employees?

How will the progress of improvement actions be reviewed, monitoredand communicated over time?


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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 of survey being conducted.

Employee satisfaction surveys are the most common form of quantitativeresearch. 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

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 resultswill 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


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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

problems accessing or completing the survey

Reinforce anonymity and confidentiality of the results

Post Survey

Thank employees for participating and communicate how results will beshared

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 Provide top-level summary results Reminder of the action planning process

Between Surveys

Highlight and recognize successful examples of action planning andprogress made


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Recognize the contributions of teams and individuals to the actionplanning process

Senior management endorsement and support of the final actionplan/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 andbusiness performance

Electronic and Web-Enabled

Increasingly, organizations are starting to move towards electronic methodsof 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 not conduct 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.


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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 enthusiasticabout the survey and they now have high expectations that there will be

improvement activity in which they will be involved.

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 under consideration. 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 havingon employees and customers? What is causing the problem?

2. What Needs to Happen: Specify the specific improvement action that isrequired to address the problem.

3.

How It Will Happen: Specify the process and activities required as partof the improvement action.

4. Timelines: It is important to have a target date for completing thedelivery of the action. This sets the focus that any target delivery date is

realistic and achievable and it may be stretched if not met.


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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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MB0043 Human Resource Management

Set-2

Question.1 Discuss the factors affecting recruitment?

Answer.1

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:

i) The size of the organization- the smaller the organization themore 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 theorganization 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 theorganizations 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 newrecruits are some methods used by organizations to ensure that

quality hiring practices are in-place.

iv) Working conditions and salary and benefit packages offered bythe organization this may influence turnover and necessitate future


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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 andproduction programs ensuring that the recruitment numbers comeform 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 therecruiting and selection methods that are used.

Question.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.2Vestibule/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 placeof 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.


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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 moreassurance that adequate time and attention will be given to training and that it

will not 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 workdone 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.

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

Answer.3

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 depicted in the

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

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


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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 multiplerating sources as an effectivemethod of assessing performance for formal appraisal and other evaluative

and developmental purposes.

The circle, or perhaps more accurately the sphere, of feedback sourcesconsists of Managers, peers, subordinates, customers, and ones self. Itis 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. For

example, subordinate assessments of a Managers performance can provide


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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 ofperformance 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.

Q.4 Given below is the HR policy glimpse of Zoom Video, a

multimedia company

1. It offers cash rewards for staff members

2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages

people to refer people they know, maybe their friends, ex.

colleagues, batch mates and relatives.

3. It recognizes good performances and gives good titles and

trophies to the people who 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.4

Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory

Maslows theory of basic needs draws chiefly from human psychology. Hearranged the human needs of an individual in a hierarchical manner. Maslow


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proposed an individuals motivation as a predetermined order of needs whichhe strives to satisfy. His model of Hierarchy of Needs indicates the followingpropositions about human behaviour.

i) Physiological Needs: These are basic to life, viz., and hunger for food,thirst, shelter and companionship among others. They are relativelyindependent of each other and in some cases can be identified with a specificlocation in the body. These needs are cyclic. In other words, they are satisfiedfor only a short period; then they reappear.

ii) Safety Needs: If the physiological needs are relatively satisfied, a set ofneeds emerge for protection against danger and threats. In an ordered society,a person usually feels safe from extremes of climate, tyranny, violence and soon.

iii)Social Needs:If the physiological and safety needs are fairly satisfied, theneeds for love and affection and belongingness will emerge and the cycle willrepeat itself with this new centre. If he is deprived of these needs he will wantto attain them more than anything else in the world. An individual desiresaffectionate relationships with people in general and desires to have arespected place in his group.

iv) Esteem Needs:Everyone has a need for self-respect and for the esteem ofothers. This results in the desire for strength, confidence, prestige, recognitionand appreciation. These egoistic needs are rarely completely satisfied. Thetypical industrial and commercial organization does not offer muchopportunity for their satisfaction to employees at the lower levels.

v)Self-actualization Needs:The term "self-actualization" wascoined by KurtGoldstein and means, 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 itis from these that we can expect the fullest creativeness. A sound motivationalsystem to be successful must take care of this hierarchy of needs of the teammembers in order to work efficiently. It must cover basic as well as higherneeds and it must be flexible to cater to changes in the environment.


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Question.5 Describe the emerging employee empowerment

practices.

Answer.5

In todays organizations the focus is moving towards collaboration at theworkplace. One of the most common instruments established in largeorganizations has been the Employee Suggestion Schemes (ESS). The ESS hasproved effective in allowing employees a discrete method of voicing theiropinions and suggestion for what can be better managed in the company. Themanagement invites the employees suggestions on all/any issue that is asource of irritation for the employees including topics mentioned in 13.3above are open for comment. What however is different is that the employeeis encouraged to frame it as a suggestion and make a recommendation for achange, rather than the classic fault finding approach about what is goingwrong or what is not working well. There are ESS forms/ templates that areleft in common places or the employee can download from the companyintranet and fill in the suggestion for change and drop it in boxes left commonplaces like the coffee area or the lunch rooms etc.. These suggestions are thencollated by the HR team and on a quarterly basis the Suggestion Committeemeets to review all of the suggestions received. The Suggestion Committeeincludes line managers, HR representative and Finance and Facilities &Administration team members and senior management representative who

can provide the necessary guidance for approval of the suggestions. Thecommittee meets and discusses each suggestion in depth and evaluates thescope for implementation of the suggestion. The feasibility of implementingthe suggestion and its other implications are evaluated closely and thesuggestion accepted/set aside for future review/rejected. There are awardsgiven away for excellent ideas that help the company optimize costs,productivity and improve quality, customer satisfaction etc.. The HR thencommunicates the suggestion committee report with all employees through amail or during the employees Open-house sessions.

The employees open housealso called theall hands meeting is one morecommunication forum effectively used by the senior management of acompany to connect with its employees. This usually is a quarterly or a half-yearly meeting to which all employees are invited. There is a brief sharing ofthe companys performance and the rest of the time devoted to answering anyqueries 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 overlunch/breakfast, where once again employees can speak to the seniorexecutives and ask general questions. Often employees might not feelcomfortable asking tough questions in a open forum, hence there are drop-

boxes provided where the employee can write and drop a question or aopinion that he wants the senior management to answer. The employee neednot mention his name on the question slip. If the senior management is unableto answer a question then and there the same is reviewed subsequently by thesenior management and a response shared with all employees over mail orposted on the notice board or on the intranet site for everyone to read. Someorganizations also operate a email communication method where anyemployee who has a query or a observation can write his question to the mailalias and obtain a response. Usually the HR is the custodian of this mailed andthey do the necessary review to suitably answer the questions and seek themanagers inputs on a as needed basis. The concept oftaskforce is also acommon mechanism that organizations use to build cross-functional teams(with one representative each from each department) that will work onconcerns that are commonly voiced. For example a leading medicaltranscription company wanted to review its incentive policy and in order tohave a collaborative approach put together a team of employees one eachfrom each of the departments including representatives from HR and Finance.The team was provided with all the historical information they would needand 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 themand having incorporated the feedback received the taskforce then presentedthe new scheme to the employees. Finally it was approved as a policy andmade effective.

Todays organizations therefore adopt a collaborative approach to employeeissues. While the technology companies are more informal the traditionalbrick-and-motor companies have formal processes. Whatever the approachwhether formal or informal employees are encouraged to open-up and askquestions and perform as contended employees.


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Question.6 Write a note on directive, permissive and

participative type of leadership.

Answer.6

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

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

Authoritarian Leadership (Autocratic)

Authoritarian leaders are those who provide clear expectations of what needsto be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done. Authoritarianleaders usually make decisions independently with little or no input from therest of the group. Very evidently decision-making was less creative underauthoritarian leadership. Lewin also found that it is more difficult to movefrom an authoritarian style to a democratic style than vice versa. The leaderwas viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.

Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little timefor group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeablemember of the group.

Participative Leadership (Democratic)

Lewins study found that participative (democratic) leadership is generallythe most effective leadership style. Democratic leaders offer guidance togroup members, but they also participate in the group and allow input fromother group members. While it is possible that this style productivity is lowerthan that in the authoritarian group, but the contributions were of a much

higher quality. This could also be more time taking. Participative leadersencourage group members to participate, but retain the final say over thedecision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and aremore motivated and creative.

Delegative (Laissez-Fair)


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Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leavedecision-making entirely to group members. While this style can be effectivein situations where group members are highly qualified in an area ofexpertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation.

Transformational Leader

Transformational leaders offer a purpose that transcends short-term goalsand focuses on higher order intrinsic needs (as discussed above). This resultsin followers identifying with the needs of the leader.

Charismatic Leader

Charismatic Leader is the degree to which the leader behaves in admirable

ways that cause followers to identify with the leader. Charismatic leadersdisplay convictions, take stands and appeal to followers on an emotional level.This is about the leader having a clear set of values and demonstrating them inevery action, providing a role model for their followers.

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