A RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

ENTITLED

“ABSENTEEISM IN PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK”

Submitted in Pursuant to the Fulfilment of the Requirements for Award

of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Of

UPTU, LUCKNOW

Project Supervisor: Submitted By:

Namita Gupta Areeba Nisar

Lecturer Roll No. 0812070009

Dept. of Business Administration IV Semester

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT

GIDA, GORAKHPUR

2009-2010

1
 PREFACE

There is a famous saying “The theory without practical is lame and practical

without theory is blind.”

Absenteeism is a serious workplace problem and an expensive occurrence for

both employers and employees seemingly unpredictable in nature. The term

absenteeism refers to the failure to attend to work. It is one of the major problems faced

by companies across the globe today. Unscheduled absenteeism badly hurts the progress

of an organization resulting in loss of productivity, increased costs in hiring additional

staff and low morale among the workers. It is high time that employers address this

problem on a priority basis.

Employees can be absent for a variety of reasons including sickness, lethargic attitude,

family emergencies, too much workload and stress, monotonous work or a general

dissatisfaction with the job. A sales professional cites some other reasons like workplace

politics, long commute, strained relationship with the immediate supervisor and lack of

belongingness towards the organization as reasons for being absent from work. Whatever

be the reason absenteeism is not at all a healthy practice and steps should be taken to

manage it effectively.

2
Innocent absenteeism refers to being absent for those reasons that are beyond the control

of the employees like accidents or illnesses. Under such circumstances the employees

should not be blamed for not turning up at work. Culpable absenteeism on the other hand

is when employees absent themselves at a time when they are fully capable to attend

office. This type of no shows should always be discouraged for it can become a burden to

the organization in the long run.

Absenteeism is a vital issue that requires immediate attention by both employers and

employees. Employees should enjoy the work they are doing and employers on their part

should help them in whatever way they can to make their experience a pleasant one. After

all satisfied and happy employees look forward to report to work regularly and absent

themselves only for genuine reasons.

Thus this research project explores my abilities and strength to its fullest extent

for the achievement of my personal goal.

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to various persons who

have shared their valuable time and made this research project possible through

their direct and indirect cooperation.

My heartful thanks to Mr. Wasi Ahmad Khan, General Manager-1 of Punjab National

Bank, Gorakhpur, for giving information to carry on the project.

I would like to acknowledge with great pleasure, my deep sense of

gratitude to my supervisor Namita Gupta, Lecturer, Institute of Technology &

Management, GIDA, Gorakhpur, for her supervision and valuable guidance. I am also

grateful to Prof. S.N. Chaturvedi, Head, Dept. of Business Administration, Institute of

Technology & Management, GIDA, Gorakhpur, for his constant encouragement and

guidance.

I am highly thankful to my parents for motivation and support throughout the period of

my study in the institute.

Date: AREEBA NISAR

MBA (IV Sem.)

ITM, GIDA

4
From: - Prof. S.N. Chaturvedi
Head,
Dept. Business Administration

CERTIFICATE

It is hereby certified that Ms.Areeba Nisar, a student of MBA IV Semester, has

completed the Research Project Report titled “ABSENTEEISM IN PUNJAB

NATIONAL BANK” in pursuant to requirements for the award of the degree of

MBA of UPTU Lucknow. To the best of my knowledge and belief it is her

original work.

Date: (Prof. S.N. Chaturvedi)

5
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms.Areeba Nisar has completed the Research Project Report titled

“ABSENTEEISM IN PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK” in the partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration under my

guidance. To the best of my knowledge and belief it is her original work.

Date: Project Supervisor

Namita Gupta

Lecturer

Dept. of Business

Administration

6
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report is based on the research work done by me. This is

my original work and no part thereof has been submitted anywhere else for any other

academic purpose.

Date:

(AREEBA NISAR)

7
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1. Preface i

2. Acknowledgement ii

3. Certificate by H.O.D. iii

4. Certificate by Faculty iv

5. Declaration by Student v

CHAPTER-1 1-6

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Objectives of the Study

1.3 Research Methodology

1.4 Limitations of the Study

CHAPTER-2 COMPANY-PROFILE 7-17

8
2.1 Introduction of the Company

2.2 History of the company

2.3 Organizational Structure of the Company

2.4 Review of performance

2.5 Awards and Achievements

CHAPTER-3 18-52

3.1 Concept of Credit Appraisal

3.2 Stages of Credit Appraisal

3.3 Process of Credit Appraisal

3.4 Credit Policy

3.5 Credit Delivery

3.6 Statutary Restrictions on loans and advances

3.7 Selective Credit Control

3.8 Credit Risk Management

3.9 Credit Risk Rating

3.10 Data Analysis & Interpretation

9
CHAPTER-4 53-58

4.1 Findings

4.2 Conclusion

4.3 Suggestions & Recommendations

6. Bibliography x-xi

7. Annexure xii-xv

- Questionnaire

10
1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.4 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

11
 1.1 INTRODUCTION

Absenteeism in Indian organization is not a new phenomenon. The Royal Commission on

Labour observed that “high absenteeism prevails among industrial labour mainly due to

rural orientation”.

Absenteeism is one of the common factor, which affects the growth of the organization.

When the absenteeism control programmes are introduced to the absentees continues to

reduce the corporate profit severely.

If the person employed is absent for few days then the management has to take severe

action regarding this problem. So management has to go for recruitment of suitable

employees.

Substitute workers and such workers are to be well trained, because of this, management

are to insure expenditure on it. Evaluation of absenteeism rate is a yardstick with which

we can measure the employee’s job interest and their commitment to work. Apart from

this, employee’s attitude about job can be known, since it affects productivity to a large

extent.

12
 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The overall objectives of this project report are –

 To find out level of absenteeism among employees in the organization.

 To identify the rate of absenteeism of employees.

 To identify the various causes of absenteeism.

 To suggest remedial measures to control absenteeism rate.

13
 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research in a common parlance refers to search for knowledge. It is a careful

investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of

knowledge.

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically.

Research Design:

A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection of data and analysis of

data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purposes with economy

in procedure. In this study descriptive research design has been used.

Sample Selection & Size:

The population of absentees comprises of current year. The sample size of the study is 50

i.e. sample of 50 employees were used as a baseline of conducting research programme.

Data Collection & Statistical Tool:

The sources of data for the purpose of study were both primary and secondary. Primary

was collected through questionnaire. Questionnaire (enclosed in Annexure) mainly

contain closed-ended questions. Great care was taken in preparation of questionnaire so

14
that reliable data can be obtained. Secondary data was collected from the records of the

department of the organization.

Percentage method is used for analysis of data and bar graph is used to represent that

data.

15
 1.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

There are some limitations of the study ,which are as follows:-

 Respondent were reluctant were suspicious in responding to the questions.

 Accuracy is another problem as data from sample may not reveal the fact.

 The respondent’s opinion can be biased.

 There may be error due to the bias of the respondents.

 They don’t tell truth because of job insecurity.

16
2.1 PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

2.2 HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

2.3ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

2.4REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE

2.5 AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

17
 PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

2.1 INTRODUCTION:
Punjab National Bank (PNB) was registered on May 19, 1894 under the Indian

Companies Act with its office in Anarkali Bazaar Lahore. The Bank is the second largest

government-owned commercial bank in India with about 4,904 branches across 764

cities. It serves over 37 million customers. The bank has been ranked 248th biggest bank

in the world by Bankers Almanac, London. The bank's total assets for financial year 2007

were about US$60 billion. PNB has a banking subsidiary in the UK, as well as branches

in Hong Kong, Dubai and Kabul, and representative offices in Almaty, Dubai, Oslo, and

Shanghai.

PROFILE OF PNB

With over 56 million satisfied customers and 5002 offices, PNB has continued to retain

its leadership position amongst the nationalized banks. The bank enjoys strong

fundamentals, large franchise value and good brand image. Besides being ranked as one

of India's top service brands, PNB has remained fully committed to its guiding principles

of sound and prudent banking. Apart from offering banking products, the bank has also

entered the credit card & debit card business; bullion business; life and non-life insurance

business Gold coins & asset management business, etc.

18
Since its humble beginning in 1895 with the distinction of being the first Indian bank to

have been started with Indian capital, PNB has achieved significant growth in business

which at the end of March 2010 amounted to Rs 435931 crore. Today, with assets of

more than Rs 2,96,633 crore, PNB is ranked as the 3rd largest bank in the country (after

SBI and ICICI Bank) and has the 2nd largest network of branches (5002 offices including

5 overseas branches ).During the FY 2009-10, with 40.85% share of CASA deposits, the

bank achieved a net profit of Rs 3905 crore. Bank has a strong capital base with capital

adequacy ratio of 14.16% as on Mar’10 as per Basel II with Tier I and Tier II capital ratio

at 9.15% and 5.01% respectively. As on March’10, the Bank has the Gross and Net NPA

ratio of 1.71% and 0.53% respectively. During the FY 2009-10, its’ ratio of Priority

Sector Credit to Adjusted Net Bank Credit at 40.5% & Agriculture Credit to Adjusted

Net Bank Credit at 19.7% was also higher than the stipulated requirement of 40%

&18%.

The Bank has maintained its stake holder’s interest by posting an improved NIM of

3.57% in Mar’10 (3.52% Mar’09) and a Return on Assets of 1.44% (1.39% Mar’09). The

Earning per Share improved to Rs 123.98 (Rs 98.03 Mar’09) while the Book value per

share improved to Rs 514.77 (Rs 416.74 Mar’09)

Punjab National Bank continues to maintain its frontline position in the Indian banking

industry. In particular, the bank has retained its NUMBER ONE position among the

nationalized banks in terms of number of branches, Deposit, Advances, total Business,

Assets, Operating and Net profit in the year 2009-10. The impressive operational and

financial performance has been brought about by Bank’s focus on customer based

business with thrust on CASA deposits, Retail, SME & Agri Advances and with more

19
inclusive approach to banking; better asset liability management; improved margin

management, thrust on recovery and increased efficiency in core operations of the Bank.

The performance highlights of the bank in terms of business and profit are shown below:

Rs in Crore

Parameters Mar'08 Mar'09 Mar'10 CAGR(%)

Operating Profit 4006 5744 7326 22.29
Net Profit 2049 3091 3905 23.98
Deposit 166457 209760 249330 14.42
Advance 119502 154703 186601 16.01
Total Business 285959 364463 435931 15.09
PNB has always looked at technology as a key facilitator to provide better customer

service and ensured that its ‘IT strategy’ follows the ‘Business strategy’ so as to arrive at

“Best Fit”. The bank has made rapid strides in this direction. All branches of the Bank are

under Core Banking Solution (CBS) since Dec’08, thus covering 100% of its business

and providing ‘Anytime Anywhere’ banking facility to all customers including customers

of more than 3000 rural & semi urban branches. The bank has also been offering Internet

banking services to the customers of CBS branches like booking of tickets, payment of

bills of utilities, purchase of airline tickets etc. Towards developing a cost effective

alternative channels of delivery, the bank with more than 350 ATMs has the largest ATM

network amongst Nationalized Banks.

With the help of advanced technology, the Bank has been a frontrunner in the industry so

far as the initiatives for Financial Inclusion is concerned. With its policy of inclusive

growth in the Indo-Gangetic belt, the Bank’s mission is “Banking for Unbanked”. The

Bank has launched a drive for biometric smart card based technology enabled Financial

Inclusion with the help of Business Correspondents/Business Facilitators (BC/BF) so as

to reach out to the last mile customer. The Bank has started several innovative initiatives

20
for marginal groups like rickshaw pullers, vegetable vendors, dairy farmers, construction

workers, etc. Under Branchless Banking model, the Bank is implementing 40 projects in

16 States. The Bank launched an ambitious ‘Project Namaskar’ under which 1 lakh touch

points will be established in unbanked villages by 2013 to extend the Bank’s outreach.

Under this, 30 Kiosks have been opened covering 119 Villages reaching 1.32 Lakh

beneficiaries.

Backed by strong domestic performance, the bank is planning to realize its global

aspirations. Bank continues its selective foray in international markets with presence in 9

countries, with branches at Kabul and Dubai, Hong Kong & representative offices at

Almaty, Dubai, Shanghai and Oslo, a wholly owned subsidiary in UK, a joint venture

with Everest Bank Ltd. Nepal and a JV banking subsidiary “DRUK PNB Bank Ltd.” in

Bhutan. Bank is pursuing upgradation of its representative offices in China & Norway

and is in the process of setting up a representative office in Sydney, Australia and taking

controlling stake in JSC Dana Bank in Kazakhastan.

Bank has been a recipient of many awards and accolades during the year:-

• Gold trophy of SCOPE Meritorious Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance

2009 by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises

• As per Financial Express-Ernest & young (FE-EY) India’s Best Banks Survey, PNB is

identified as the best bank among the nationalized banks in terms of overall ranking.

• As per HT-MaRS Survey on Customer Satisfaction, PNB stood NUMBER ONE in

Delhi and Chennai in terms of customer satisfaction.

• As per the Forbes Annual list of 2000 global giants, PNB tops the list of nationalized

banks with a global ranking of 695, substantial improvement over last year’s placement at

21
946th position.

• The Economic Times has ranked CEO of PNB as the 32nd Most Powerful CEO of

2010.

• Skoch Challenge Award 2010 for “Livelihood Linkage” of the milk producers in

Bulandshahr District, Uttar Pradesh.

• IDC Financial Insights Innovation awards 2010 by IDC Financial Insights

22
2.2 HISTORY:

 1895: PNB commenced its operations in Lahore. PNB has the distinction of

being the first Indian bank to have been started solely with Indian capital that

has survived to the present. (The first entirely Indian bank, the Oudh

Commercial Bank, was established in 1881 in Faizabad, but failed in 1958.)

PNB's founders included several leaders of the Swadeshi movement such as

Dyal Singh Majithia and Lala HarKishen Lal, Lala Lalchand, Shri Kali

Prosanna Roy, Shri E.C. Jessawala, Shri Prabhu Dayal, Bakshi Jaishi Ram,

and Lala Dholan Dass. Lala Lajpat Rai was actively associated with the

management of the Bank in its early years.

 1904: PNB established branches in Karachi and Peshawar.

 1940: PNB absorbed Bhagwan Dass Bank, a scheduled bank located in Delhi

circle.

 1947: Partition of India and Pakistan at Independence. PNB lost its premises

in Lahore, but continued to operate in Pakistan.

 1951: PNB acquired the 39 branches of Bharat Bank (est. 1942); Bharat Bank

became Bharat Nidhi Ltd.

 1961: PNB acquired Universal Bank of India.

 1963: The Government of Burma nationalized PNB's branch in Rangoon

(Yangon).

23
 September 1965: After the Indo-Pak war the government of Pakistan seized

all the offices in Pakistan of Indian banks, including PNB's head office, which

may have moved to Karachi. PNB also had one or more branches in East

Pakistan (Bangladesh).

 1960s: PNB amalgamated Indo Commercial Bank (est. 1933) in a rescue.

 1969: The Government of India (GOI) nationalized PNB and 13 other major

commercial banks, on July 19, 1969.

 1976 or 1978: PNB opened a branch in London.

 1986 The Reserve Bank of India required PNB to transfer its London branch

to State Bank of India after the branch was involved in a fraud scandal.

 1986: PNB acquired Hindustan Commercial Bank (est. 1943) in a rescue. The

acquisition added Hindustan's 142 branches to PNB's network.

 1993: PNB acquired New Bank of India, which the GOI had nationalized in

1980.

 1998: PNB set up a representative office in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

 2003: PNB took over Nedungadi Bank, the oldest private sector bank in

Kerala. At the time of the merger with PNB, Nedungadi Bank's shares had

zero value, with the result that its shareholders received no payment for their

shares. PNB also opened a representative office in London.

 2004: PNB established a branch in Kabul, Afghanistan. PNB also opened a

representative office in Shanghai. PNB established an alliance with Everest

24
 Bank in Nepal that permits migrants to transfer funds easily between India and

Everest Bank's 12 branches in Nepal.

 2005: PNB opened a representative office in Dubai.

 2007: PNB established PNBIL - Punjab National Bank (International) - in the

UK, with two offices, one in London, and one in South Hall. Since then it has

opened a third branch in Leicester, and is planning a fourth in Birmingham.

 2008: PNB opened a branch in Hong Kong.

 2009: PNB opened a representative office in Oslo, Norway, and a second

branch in Hong Kong, this in Kowloon.

 2010: PNB received permission to upgrade its representative office in the

Dubai International Financial Centre to a branch.

VISION:
“To be a Leading Global Bank with Pan India footprints and become a

household brand in the Indo-Genetics Plains providing entire range of financial products

and services under one roof.”

MISSION:

"Banking for the unbanked"

25
A need was felt to have a vision to stretch the bank’s potential with

well defined strategies.Accordingly,the honorable board of directors in

the meeting held in Shimla in May 2008,proposed the concept of vision

2013 and set goals which were to be achieved in the next 5 years to

position the Bank as the “Number One Bank” in the country.

PNB VISION 2013

• QUANTITATIVE DIMENSIONS-

a. Deposits to increase from Rs.166457 Crore in

March 2008 to Rs.582000 Crore in March 2013,at

an average growth of 32%.

b. Advances to increase from Rs.119502 Crore in

March 2008 to Rs.418000 Crore in March 2013,at

an average growth of 28%.

c. Total business to increase from Rs.285959 Crore

in March 2008 to Rs.1000000 Crore in March

2013,at an average growth of 28%..

26
 d. Operating profit to increase from Rs.4006 Crore in

March 2008 to Rs.15000 Crore in March 2013 with

a CAGR of 30.2%.

e. Net profit to increase from Rs.2049 Crore in March

2008 to Rs.7500 Crore in March 2013,at an

average growth of 30%.

f. The Return on Assets {RoA} to increase from

1.15% in March 2008 to 1.30% in March 2013

{This ratio is comparable to the RoA of the peer

banks and is also better than all bank’s ratio of 1%

as on March 08}.

g. The Return on Equity {RoA} to increase from 19%

in March 2008 to 21% in March 2013.

h. 15 Crore in March 2013.

i. To have a rural coverage of 100000 villages in the

Indo-Gangetic Plains by March 2013.

• QUALITATIVE DIMENSIONS

27
1. A leader and front runner amongst

nationalized banks

a. In Financial inclusion

b. In all domestic operations

c. In adopting best risk management practices

d. In adopting global best practices in Corporate Governance

& Corporate Social Responsibility

e. In HR policies to raise skills, morale and productivity.

2. To be Global Bank

a. Among the top 3 Indian banks with global presence in

Middle East, South East Asia, China, UK, Australia, Canada,

etc.

b. Bring best global practices to effectively compete with

global players in India.

3. Become a universal bank

Provider of complete range of financial services.

4. To be the most profitable Bank amongst

nationalized banks by focusing on:

28
 a. Fee based income/off-balance sheet exposures

b. Mid Cap segment, Retail lending, SME Advances &

Agriculture

c. Reduction in Gross NPAs

d. Expenditure Control

e. Low cost deposits

f. Ensuring higher spreads (return on advances minus cost of

deposits/funds)

5. Capitalize on IT initiatives

a. Provide more value added services

b. Expand reach of ATMs

c. Bank Office Centralization of all CBS branches

d. Provide IT advisory services to other banks

6. Explore options of in-organic growth

a. Merger of Private/Public Sector Banks

7. Enlargement of customer base and retention

of existing customers.

29
 8. Ensure smooth transition to adopting Basel II

norms ahead of schedule.

9. Develop robust Management Information

System for better decision making and policy

prescription.

10. Further entrench brand image of the bank.

2.3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE:

Bank has its Corporate Office at New Delhi and supervises 58 Circle Offices under which

the branches function. The delegation of powers is decentralized upto the branch level to

facilitate quick decision making. Its organizational structure is shown below:

Head Office

Circle Offices (58)

30
 Branches (4267)

Highlights of the performance for the quarter

ended June 2010:

Profit
• Operating Profit for the first quarter of current financial year (Q1 FY11) stood at

Rs.2098.17 crore as against Rs.1569.34 crore in Q1 FY10, recording a YOY growth of

33.7%.

�Core Operating Profit excluding trading profit rose by 63.3% to Rs.1977.06

crore in Q1 FY11 from Rs.1210.86 crore in Q1 FY10.

• Net Profit of the Bank for the Q1 FY11 amounted to Rs.1068.29 crore as compared to

Rs.832.05 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year, registering a YOY

growth of 28.4%.

� Net Profit excluding treasury operations witnessed a jump of 127% to reach

Rs.960.81 crore in Q1 FY11 from Rs.423.18 crore in Q1 FY10.

Business
• Total Business of the Bank rose to Rs.4,52,205 crore as compared to Rs.3,76,939

crore in June 2009, showing a y‐o‐y growth of 20%.

31
• Deposits of the Bank at the end of June 2010 amounted to Rs.2,55,335 crore as

compared to Rs.2,18,960 crore in June 2009, exhibiting a growth of 16.6% on y‐o‐y

basis.

• CASA improved from Rs.83,948 crore in June’09 to Rs.1,04,385 crore in June’10

recording a growth of 24.3%.

o CASA share improved to 40.9% in Q1 of FY 2010‐11 from 38.3% a year ago.

• Advances of the Bank at Rs. 1, 96,870 crore as on 30.06.2010 grew by 24.6% (YoY) as

against Rs.1,57,979 crore as on 30.06.2009.

• Credit Deposit Ratio improved to 77.1% as at June’10 from 72.1% in June’09.

Income and Expenses

• Total income increased by 11.1% to Rs.6863.38 crore, led by YoY growth of 16.4%

in interest income.

o Net Interest Income rose by spectacular 45.4% on YoY basis to reach

Rs.2618.57 crore in Q1 FY11.

o Core Non Interest Income (excluding trading profit) witnessed a YoY growth of

10.9% to touch Rs.674.15 crore.

• Total expenses (excluding provisions) at Rs.4765.21 crore at the end of June 2010

have registered a growth of 3.4% only from a year ago.

� While growth in Interest expenses was contained at a miniscule 0.8%,

Non‐Interest expenses growth was restricted to mere 10.2% during the first

quarter of 2010‐11 despite recent wage revision and provisions made for pension

fund.

32
Important Ratios
• Gross NPA to Gross Advances ratio stood at 1.82% as at June’10.

• Net NPA to Net Advances ratio stood at 0.66% as at June’10.

• Provision Coverage Ratio is at 77.61 % compared to RBI’s stipulation of 70%.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM) has improved to 3.94% for the quarter ended 30.06.2010

from 3.24% in corresponding quarter of last year.

• Return on Assets improved to 1.38% in the quarter ended June 2010 as against

1.31% last year.

• Low increase in interest & operating expenses and a satisfactory interest income

growth led to substantial reduction in Cost to Income Ratio to 39.88% for the

quarter ended June 2010 as against 44.59% last year.

• Earnings per Share rose to Rs.135.53 (annualized) for the quarter ended 30.06.2010

as against Rs.105.55 last year.

� Book Value per Share was higher at Rs.548.66 as at June 2010 from Rs 443.11 as

on June 2009.

• As per Basel II the CRAR is 13.77% as at end of June’10 (Tier‐I Capital: 8.70%;

Tier‐II

Capital: 5.07%).

• Return on Equity improved to 24.70% in the quarter ended June 2010 as against

23.82% last year.

33
Priority Sector:
• PS advances grew by more than 25% to reach Rs.64,452 crore.

o Outstanding Agricultural advances grew by around 27% to cross Rs.30,000

crore.

o Issued 77,839 Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) during Quarter ended June 10, taking

cumulative number of KCCs issued to 33.42 lakh since inception.

Small & Medium Enterprise:

• Credit to MSME sector reached Rs.37,018 crore including retail trade advances of

Rs.3905 crore at the end of June 2010, recording a YoY growth of 29%.

• Besides 7 SME Hubs, 523 MSME specialized/focus branches have been

operationalised to provide single window services to SME borrowers.

• Bank tops in extending collateral/guarantee free lending to MSMEs under CGTMSE

amongst the member lending institutions of CGTMSE.

• Bank has adopted two Mega Artisans Clusters – Brass and brassware products at

Moradabad and Wood carving cluster at Saharanpur for intensive lending. Collateral

free loans to 9000 artisans have been extended at Moradabad Artisans Cluster and

800 Artisans at Muzaffarnagar. During the current quarter, Bank adopted 25 MSME

clusters for cluster based lending approach taking total to 41 clusters.

Retail Credit:

34
• Total Retail credit of the Bank marked a y‐o‐y increase of more than 17% to

Rs.19,410 crore at the end of June 2010.

o Good y‐o‐y growth in all key schemes i.e. Education loan (42%), Personal Loan

(39%) and Housing loans (16%).

Financial Inclusion:
• Opened 57.25 lakh “No Frill”/PNB Mitra accounts and issued more than 46000

General Credit Cards.

• Implemented 39 ICT based projects in 16 states.

• Set up exclusive FI Back Offices at Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Lucknow,

Patna, Shimla and Raipur.

• Bank has been allocated 4700 villages with population of over 2,000 in the country

for providing Banking services. PNB propose to cover these by 2012.

International Forays:
• International presence in 9 countries, with branches at Hong Kong, Kabul and Dubai &

representative offices at Almaty, Dubai, Shanghai and Norway; a wholly owned

subsidiary in UK; a joint venture in Nepal and a JV banking subsidiary in Bhutan.

• Bank is pursuing upgradation of its representative offices in Norway into a full‐fledged

branch and is in the process of setting up a representative office in Sydney, Australia

and taking controlling stake in Kazak Bank apart from opening a subsidiary in Canada.

35
I.T. Initiatives:
• Bank has installed 3715 ATMs facilitating more than 108 lakh ATM/Debit

cardholders

of the Bank transacting at more than 60000 ATMs of various Banks and at over 3

million POS terminals across the country.

• Bank has introduced Online Credit Proposal Tracking System in order to enable

customers online access to view the status of their loan applications.

• Registered Payee Mechanism has been enabled for Funds transfer to other/3rd party

accounts in respect of Retail Internet Banking Users for protecting our valued

customers from online frauds & phishing attacks.

• Bank has launched PNB Platinum Debit Card embedded with the brand equity of

PNB

and endorsed by Master Card for the premium customers. Bank is also planning to

launch Platinum Credit Cards shortly.

• PNB has over 10 lac customers using Internet Banking and 2.3 lac customers availing

SMS alert facility.

CSR initiatives:
• A board approved CSR policy has been adopted by the Bank to take CSR agenda

forward in synchronization with its mission of “Banking for the Unbanked”. Under this

a “Green” drive has been implemented across the organization to conserve

energy/optimize resource and lower costs.

36
• Bank has so far brought 68,949 farmers out of the clutches of moneylenders by

financing them Rs.264 crore under PNB Krishak Saathi (Debt Swap Scheme).

• Bank has 9 Farmers’ Training Centres where around 2.70 lac persons have been

trained till June 2010 at Bank’s cost including more than 51,000 women.

• Bank has operationalised 20 PNB Rural Self Employment Training Institutes

(PNBRSETIs) which provide training to Rural BPL youth and women. Till June, 9255

persons have been trained in these centres of which 5518 are women.

• 42 Medical Health Check Up Camps, 44 Tree Plantation Camps and 17 Blood Donation

Camps were arranged during Q1 FY11.

• Launched a pioneering “PNB Saathi Scheme” to provide credit facility to milk pourers

in Bulandshahar District, Uttar Pradesh with support of Mother Diary.

AWARDS:

37
 Awards & Achievements of
Punjab National Bank in Recent
Times

at the IDRBT Banking Technology

"Best IT Team of the Year
awards for the year 2005-06.
Award"
for Change Management for the year
SKOTCH Challenger Award
2005-06
Best IT User in Banking &
by NASSCOM in partnership with
Financial Services Industry -
Economic Times
2004
for Excellence in Corporate
Golden Peacock Award Governance - 2005 by Institute of
Directors
FICCI's Rural Development for Excellence in Rural Development -
Award 2005
Skotch Challenger Award for for becoming a pioneer in Public
Exemplary use of Technology Banks - 2005
Golden Peacock National
by Institute of Directors
Training - 2004 & 2005
National Award for Excellence Ranked 2nd for 4 consecutive years -
in SSI Lending 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005
Banking Technology Awards
2004 Jointly Adjudged by IBA, Finacle &
Runner up in 'Best IT Team TFCI
of the Year Award 2005'
Money Outlook Award - 2004
Runner up in 'Best Bank
(public Sector) of the year

38
Award' -2005
for excellence in export perforamnce
for 3 consecutive years 2001, 2002 &
Niryat Bandhu Gold Trophy 2003
by Federation of Indian Exporters
Organization (FIEO)
21st Amongst Top 500 by the leading Financial Daily The
Companies Economic Times, June 2005
9th amongst India's Top 50 A.C Nielson Survey, The Economic
Most Trusted Service Brands Times Dec 2004
3rd Rank amongst Banking
Sector in India The Bankers' Almanac, January 2006
323rd Rank in the World
368 amongst Top 1000
The Banker, London July 2005
Global Banks
Winner for becoming a pioneer in
Skoch Challenger Award for
public banks by Skoch consultancy
Exemplary Use of Technolgy
services pvt ltd, Gurgaon 2005
FICCI's Rural Development Award for excellence in rural
Award development 2005
Amity Business School, Noida has
conferred the Award to PNB, after an
in-depth research to analyse the
strengths and core competencies of the
Amity Global Corporate
Global 500 companies and banks which
Excellence Award
have already made an indelible most
admired impression on the Indian
economy. 2008
& 2007 & 2005
IBA, Finacle & TFCI jointly adjudged
Banking Technology Awards PNB as runner up in "Best IT Team of
the year Award" 2005
PC Quest Users’ Choice Best IT Implementation 2007

39
Award & 2005
Symantec Visionary Award Information Security Impact 2005
Money Outlok adjudged PNB as runner
Money Outlook Award up in "Best Bank (Public Sector) of the
year Award" 2005
IBA, Finacle & TFCI runner up Award
Banking Technology Awards for Outstanding Achiever of the Year
(Individual). 2005
Golden Peacock Innovative
2010 (for BCP implementation)
Product/Service Award
Golden Peacock Award for Winner in the ‘Large Joint Entry’.2009
Excellence in Corporate &
Governance 2007 & 2005
Skoch Challenger Award for For upliftment of Weaker sections of
Change Management society 2006
IDRBT Banking Technology
Best IT Team of the Year Award 2006
Awards
National Award For
First Prize by By Ministry of Small
Excellence in lending to Tiny
Scale Industries.2006
sector
Skoch Challenger Award for
Skoch Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd
capacity building for FTC
2007
initiative
Computer Associates
Excellence in EMS Roll Out. 2007
Excellence Award
For Best IT Implementation by IDG
CIO 100 Award
Media Pvt. Ltd.2007, 2008 & 2009
National Award for Excellence
in Lending to Micro For Lending to Micro enterprises 2007
Enterprises
Award for the use of Institute for Development and Research
Technology for Financial in Banking Technology (IDRBT),
Inclusion. Hyderabad. 2008

40
Dun & Bradstreet Award for
“Priority Sector Lending Dun & Bradstreet 2009
including Financial Inclusion”.
Khadi & Village Industry Commission,
National Award for Excellence
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
in Lending for Institutional
Enterprises, Govt. of India
Finance in Propagating KVI
(Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate
Programmes in NORTH
Scheme)
ZONE
2009
Khadi & Village IndustryCommission,

National Award for Excellence Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium

in Lending for Institutional Enterprises, Govt. of India
Finance in Propagating KVI
(Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate
Programmes in
Scheme)
CENTRAL ZONE

2009
Khadi & Village IndustryCommission,
National Award for Excellence
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
in Lending for Institutional
Enterprises, Govt. of India
Finance in Propagating KVI
Programmes in
(Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate
NATIONAL LEVEL
Scheme) 2009
Khadi & Village IndustryCommission,
National Award for Excellence
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
in Lending for Institutional
Enterprises, Govt. of India
Finance for Propagating KVI
Programmes in
(Prime Minister Employment
NORTH ZONE
Generation Programme) 2009
National Award for Excellence Khadi & Village IndustryCommission,
in Lending for Institutional Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
Finance for Propagating KVI Enterprises, Govt. of India
Programmes in

41
CENTRAL ZONE (Prime Minister Employment
Generation Programme) 2009
India Pride Award by dainik
Bhaskar and Daily News Excellence in PSU 2009
analysis
Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha
Promoting Hindi 2009
Shield
Emerson Uptime Champion
2009
Awards
“Best InfoSphere Warehouse
2009 (for implementation of Enterprise
Solution” Award by IBM
Wide Data Warehouse)

CSR Excellence Award by

the Associated Chamber of 2010

Commerce

42
3.1 CONCEPT OF ABSENTEEISM

3.2 MEASUREMENT OF ABSENTEEISM RATE

3.3 TYPES OF CHRONIC ABSENTEES

3.4 TYPES OF ABSENTEEISM

3.5 CAUSE OF ABSENTEEISM

3.6 EFFECT OF ABSENTEEISM ON INDUSTRIAL PROGESS

3.7 GUIDELINES & MEASURES FOR CONTROL OF ABSENTEEISM

3.8 THE BRADFORD FACTOR & ABSENTEEISM

3.9 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

43
 ABSENTEEISM

3.1 CONCEPT OF ABSENTEEISM:

It refers to workers absence from their regular task when he is normally schedule to work.

According to Webster’s Dictionary - “Absenteeism is a practice or habit of being an

absentee and an absentee is one who habitually stays away from work.”

According to Labour Bureau of Shimla – “Absenteeism is the total man shifts lost

because of absence as percentage of total number of man shifts scheduled to work.”

In other words, it signifies the absence of employee from work when he is

scheduled to work. Any employee may stay away from work if he has taken leave to he

entitled or on ground of some sickness or some accident or without any previous sanction

leave. Thus absenteeism may be authorized or unauthorized, willful or caused by

circumstances beyond one’s control.

May even worse than absenteeism, it is obvious people such as malingerers and those

unwilling to pay their part in the work place can also have a decidedly negative impact.

Such team members need individual attention from frontline supervisors and

management.

Indeed, as prevention is better than cure, where such a problem occur it always important

to review the recruitment procedure to identify how such people are employed in first

place.

44
For any business owner or manager, to cure excessive absenteeism, it is essential to find

and then eliminate the cause of discontent among team members.

Any effective absentee control program has to locate cause of discontent or modify those

causes or eliminate them entirely. Any investigation into absenteeism needs to look at

real reason for it.

Sometime team member call in sick when they really do not want to go to work. They

would not call you up and say, “I’m not coming today because my supervisor abuses

me.” Or “I’m not coming in today because my chair is uncomfortable”.

There are few essential questions to consider at the outlet if you want to make a

measurable improvement to your absenteeism figure.

It has been observed that the phenomenon of absenteeism does not exist in Indian

industry. It may differ according to the make – up of the work force. Workers need

monetary benefits for his services.

3.2 MEASUREMENT OF ABSENTEEISM RATE:

For calculating the rate of absenteeism, two facts are required:-

i. The number of persons scheduled to work.

ii. The number of actually present.

Thus absenteeism can be calculated by following formula:-

For Example:

a.) Average number of employees in work force = 100

45
 b.) Number of available workdays during period = 20

c.) Total number of available workdays (a x b) = 2000

d.) Total number of lost days due to absences during the period =93

e.) Absenteeism rate {(d/c) x 100} = 4.65%

Since absenteeism is a major barometer of employee

morale, absenteeism above 5% has to be considered as very serious (across most

industries 3% is considered standard).

Absenteeism Rate at PNB:

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
jan feb m ar apr m ay jun july aug s ept oct nov dec

2009 2010

46
3.3 TYPES OF CHRONIC ABSENTEES:
These are as follows-

1. Entrepreneurs: This class of absentees considers that their jobs are very small

for their total interest and personal goals. They engage themselves in other social

and economic activities of to fulfill their goals.

2. Status Seekers: These types of absentee enjoy or perceive a higher ascribed

social status and are keen on maintaining it.

3. Epicureans: This class of absentees does not like to take up the jobs, which

demand initiative, responsibility, discipline and discomfort. They wish to have

money, power, status, but unwilling to work for their achievement.

4. Family Oriented: This type of absentees is over identified with the family

activities.

5. Sick and Old: These categories of absentees are mostly unhealthy weak

constitution or old people.

47
3.4 TYPES OF ABSENTEEISM & THEIR CONTROL:

There are two types of absenteeism, each of which requires a different type of

approach.

1. INNOCENT ABSENTEEISM :

Innocent absenteeism refers to employees who are absent for reasons beyond

their control; like sickness and injury. Innocent absenteeism is not culpable

which means that it is blameless. In a labour relations context this means that it

cannot be remedied or treated by disciplinary measures.

2. CULPABLE ABSENTEEISM

Culpable absenteeism refers to employees who are absent without authorization

for reasons which are within their control. For instance, an employee who is on

sick leave even though he/she is not sick, and it can be proven that the employee

was not sick, is guilty of culpable absenteeism.

To be culpable is to be blameworthy. In a labour relations context this means that

progressive discipline can be applied.

For the large majority of employees, absenteeism is legitimate, innocent

absenteeism which occurs infrequently. Procedures for disciplinary action apply

only to culpable absenteeism. Many organizations take the view that through the

process of individual absentee counselling and treatment, the majority of

48
employees will overcome their problems and return to an acceptable level of

regular attendance.

COUNSELLING INNOCENT ABSENTEEISM:

Innocent absenteeism is not blameworthy and therefore disciplinary action is not

justified. It is obviously unfair to punish someone for conduct which is beyond

his/her control. Absenteeism, no matter what the cause, imposes losses on the

employer who is also not at fault. The damage suffered by the employer must be

weighed against the employee's right to be sick. There is a point at which the

employer's right to expect the employee to attend regularly and fulfill the

employment contract will outweigh the employee's right to be sick. At such a

point the termination of the employee may be justified, as will be discussed.

The procedure an employer may take for innocent absenteeism is as follows:

1. Initial counselling(s)

2. Written counselling(s)

3. Reduction(s) of hours and/or job reclassification

4. Discharge

1) Initial Counselling:

Presuming you have communicated attendance expectations generally and have

already identified an employee as a problem, you will have met with him or her

49
as part of your attendance program and you should now continue to monitor the

effect of these efforts on his or her attendance.

If the absences are intermittent, meet with the employee each time he/she returns

to work. If absence is prolonged, keep in touch with the employee regularly and

stay updated on the status of his/her condition. (Indicate your willingness to

assist.)

You may require the employee to provide you with regular medical assessments.

This will enable you to judge whether or not there is any likelihood of the

employee providing regular attendance in future. Regular medical assessments

will also give you an idea of what steps the employee is taking to seek medical or

other assistance. Formal meetings in which verbal warnings are given should be

given as appropriate and documented. If no improvement occurs written warning

may be necessary.

2) Written Counselling

If the absences persist, you should meet with the employee formally and provide

him/her with a letter of concern. If the absenteeism still continues to persist then

the employee should be given a second letter of concern during another formal

meeting. This letter would be stronger worded in that it would warn the

employee that unless attendance improves, termination may be necessary.

50
3) Reduction(s) of Hours and or Job Reclassification:

In between the first and second letters the employee may be given the option to

reduce his/her hours to better fit his/her personal circumstances. This option

must be voluntarily accepted by the employee and cannot be offered as an

ultimatum, as a reduction in hours is a reduction in pay and therefore can be

looked upon as discipline.

If the nature of the illness or injury is such that the employee is unable to fulfil

the requirements of his/her job, but could for example benefit from modified

work, counsel the employee to bid on jobs of such type if they become available.

(N.B. It is inadvisable to "build" a job around an employee's incapacitates

particularly in a unionized environment. The onus should be on the employee to

apply for an existing position within his/her capabilities.)

4)Discharge:

Only when all the previously noted needs and conditions have been met and

everything has been done to accommodate the employee can termination be

considered. An Arbitrator would consider the following in ruling on an innocent

absenteeism dismissal case.

a) Has the employee done everything possible to regain their health and

return to work?

51
 b) Has the employer provided every assistance possible? (i.e. counselling,

support, time off.)

c) Has the employer informed the employee of the unworkable situation

resulting from their sickness?

d) Has the employer attempted to accommodate the employee by offering a

more suitable position (if available) or a reduction of hours?

e) Has enough time elapsed to allow for every possible chance of recovery?

f) Has the employer treated the employee prejudicially in any way?

As is evident, a great deal of time and effort must elapse before dismissal can

take place.

These points would be used to substantiate or disprove the following two fold

test.

1. The absences must be shown to be clearly excessive.

2. It must be proven that the employee will be unable to attend work on a

regular basis in the future.

CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR CULPABLE ABSENTEEISM

As already indicated, culpable absenteeism consists of absences where it can be

demonstrated that the employee is not actually ill and is able to improve his/her

attendance.

52
Presuming you have communicated attendance expectations generally, have

identified the employee as a problem, have met with him/her as part of your

attendance program, made your concerns on his specific absenteeism known and

have offered counselling as appropriate, with no improvement despite your

positive efforts, disciplinary procedures may be appropriate.

The procedures for corrective/progressive discipline for culpable absenteeism are

generally the same as for other progressive discipline problems. The discipline

should not be prejudicial in any way. The general procedure is as follows:

[Utilizing counselling memorandum]

1. Initial Warning(s)

2. Written Warning(s)

3. Suspension(s)

4. Discharge

1) Verbal Warning:

Formally meet with the employee and explain that income protection is to be

used only when an employee is legitimately ill. Advice the employee that his/her

attendance record must improve and be maintained at an improved level or

further disciplinary action will result. Offer any counselling or guidance as is

appropriate. Give further verbal warnings as required. Review the employee's

income protection records at regular intervals. Where a marked improvement has

53
been shown, commend the employee. Where there is no improvement a written

warning should be issued.

2) Written Warning:

Interview the employee again. Show him/her the statistics and point out that

there has been no noticeable (or sufficient) improvement. Listen to the employee

to see if there is a valid reason and offer any assistance you can. If no

satisfactory explanation is given, advise the employee that he/she will be given a

written warning. Be specific in your discussion with him/her and in the

counselling memorandum as to the type of action to be taken and when it will be

taken if the record does not improve. As soon as possible after this meeting

provide the employee personally with the written warning and place a copy of

his/her file. The written warning should identify any noticeable pattern.

If the amount and/or pattern continue, the next step in progressive discipline may

be a second, stronger written warning. Your decision to provide a second written

warning as an alternative to proceeding to a higher level of discipline (i.e.

suspension) will depend on a number of factors. Such factors are the severity of

the problem, the credibility of the employee's explanations, the employee's

general work performance and length of service.

54
3) Suspension (only after consultation with the appropriate
superiors) :

If the problem of culpable absenteeism persists, following the next interview

period and immediately following an absence, the employee should be

interviewed and advised that he/she is to be suspended. The length of the

suspension will depend again on the severity of the problem, the credibility of

the employee's explanation, the employee's general work performance and length

of service. Subsequent suspensions are optional depending on the above

condition.

4) Dismissal (only after consultation with the appropriate

superiors) :

Dismissals should only be considered when all of the above conditions and

procedures have been met. The employee, upon displaying no satisfactory

improvement, would be dismissed on the grounds of his/her unwillingness to

correct his/her absence record.

55
 3.5 CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM
The Royal Commission Labour observed that high absenteeism among Indian labour is

due to rural orientation their frequent urge for rural exodus. According to Acharaya, “In

modern industrial establishment the incidence of industrial fatigue, mal-nutrition and bad

working conditions aggravate that feeling for change among industrial worker and some

time impel them to visit their village home frequently for rest and relaxation.”

There are various reasons of absenteeism. Some of them are discussed below-

1. Social and Religious Ceremonies: Social and religious functions divert the

workers attention from the work. In a large number of the proportion of

absenteeism due to sickness accident is not as a high as it is due to other causes

including social and religious ceremonies.

2. Unsatisfactory Housing Condition: This another one of the cause of

absenteeism in an organization i.e. unsatisfactory housing condition at the work

place. Health conditions are naturally bad, leading to consequent ill- health.

3. Industrial Fatigue: Industrial fatigue compels the workers to remain outside

the work place.

56
4. Unhealthy Working Conditions: The poor and intolerable working

conditions in the factories irritate the workers. Excess heat, noise, either too much

or too low lighting, poor ventilation, dust, smoke, etc. causes poor health of the

workers. These factors cause the workers to be absent.

5. Poor Welfare Facilities: Though a number of legislations concerning

welfare facilities are enacted, many organizations fail to provide welfare facilities.

This is either due to the poor financial position of the companies or due to

exploitive attitude of the employer. The poor welfare facilities include poor

sanitation, washing, bathing, first aid appliances, ambulance, rest rooms, drinking

water, canteen, shelter, crèches, etc. Dissatisfied workers with these facilities to

prefer to be away from the work place.

6. Alcoholism: Workers mostly, prefer to spend money on the consumption of

liquor and enjoyment after getting the wages. Therefore the rate of absenteeism is

more during the first week of every month.

7. Indebtness: The low level wages and unplanned expenditure of the workers

force them to borrow heavily. The research studies indicate that workers borrow

more than 10 times of their net pay. Consequently, workers fail to repay the

money. Then they try to escape from the place in order to avoid the money

lenders. This leads to absenteeism.

57
8. Maladjustment with the Job Demand: The fast changing technology

demands higher level of skills from the workers. Some worker fails to meet these

demands due to their level of education and/ or absence of training.

9. Unsound Personnel Policies: The improper and unrealistic personnel

policies result in employee’s dissatisfaction. Dissatisfied employee in turn prefers

to be away from the wok place.

10. Inadequate Leave Facilities: The inadequate leave facilities provided by

employer forces him to depend upon E.S.I. leave which allows the workers to be

away from the work for 56 days in a year on half pay.

11.Low Level of Wages: Wages in some organizations are very poor and they

are quite inadequate to meet the basic needs of the employees. Therefore,

employees go for other employment during their busy seasons and earn more

money. Further, some employees take up part- time jobs. Thus, the employment

resorts to moonlighting and absent them from work.

58
3.6 EFFECT OF ABSENTEEISM ON INDUSTRIAL

PROGRESS
It quite evident that absenteeism is a common feature of industrial labour in India. It

hinders industrial growth and it effect in two fold:-

1. Loss to Employees: Firstly due to the habit of absenting frequently worker’s

is reduced to a large extent. It is because there is a general principle of “no work –

no pay”. Thus the time lost in terms of absenteeism is a loss of income to workers.

2. Loss to Employers: On the other hand, the employer has to suffer a greater

loss due to absentees. It disturbs the efficiency and discipline of industries

consequently, industrial production is reduced. In order to meet the emergency

and strikes, an additional labour force is also maintained by the industries. On

certain occasions, those workers are employed who present themselves at factory

gates. During strikes they are adjusted in place of absent workers. Their

adjustment brings serious complications because workers do not generally prove

themselves up to work. Higher absenteeism is an evil both for worker and the

employers and ultimately it adversely affects the functioning of the industries.

59
3.7 GUIDELINES & MEASURES FOR CONTROL OF

ABSENTEEISM
Absenteeism is a disease that appears whenever a company fails to inoculate

itself through the use of sound management practices. To cure excessive

absenteeism, one has to know the exact causes and then examine the available,

workable and proven solutions to apply against those causes.

To embark upon a successful absenteeism reduction program, you need to make

sure you have some basic information and facts about absenteeism in your company.

Consider the following four questions, which should help you further focus your ideas

and put a plan into action.

Q. Why is your present absenteeism policy ineffective?

Absenteeism policies vary in effectiveness. Most ineffective policies I have

reviewed have a common denominator: They allow "excused" absences, whereas

those that do work are "no fault" policies.

Q. Where and when is excessive absenteeism occurring?

Numerous studies have concluded that under trained supervisors is one of the

main causes of absenteeism. Therefore, any company experiencing absenteeism

of greater than 3 percent should consider supervisors as a potential contributor to

60
the problem. Given that this may be the case, you first should check the

percentage of employee absenteeism by supervisor to see if it is concentrated

around one or two supervisors. If it is, you've begun to uncover the obvious

under trained supervisors. If, however, your research reveals that the rate of

absenteeism is almost equally distributed throughout your factory, you will need

to investigate other possible causes.

Q. What are the real causes for absences?

People-oriented companies are very sensitive to employee opinions. They

often engage in formal mini-studies to solicit anonymous employee opinions on

topics of mutual interest. These confidential worker surveys commonly ask for

employee opinion regarding higher-than-normal absenteeism.

In other words, employees revealed that repetitive, boring jobs coupled with

uncaring supervisors and/or physically unpleasant workplaces led them to make

up excuses for not coming to work, such as claiming to be sick.

One way to determine the causes of absenteeism is to question your

supervisors about their employees' excessive absenteeism, including what causes

it and how to reduce it.

61
 Q. How much formal training have your supervisors received on

absenteeism containment and reduction?

If you find that your supervisors hesitate to provide meaningful answers to your

questions, then you're on the right track toward a solution. Ask yourself, "How

much formal training have I given my supervisors in the areas of absenteeism

reduction and human resources skills?" If your answer is none or very little, your

solution can't be far behind. The fact of the matter is, you cannot ask a person to

do a job he or she has never been trained to do.

Following are the measures to control absenteeism:-

1) ADOPTION OF WELL-DEFINED RECRUITMENT POLICY:

The selection of employees on the basis of command, linguistic and family

consideration should be avoided. The management should look for aptitude and

ability in the prospective employees and should not easily yield or pressure of

personal likes and dislikes. Application blanks should invariably be used for a

preliminary selection and tools for interviews. The personal officer should play

more effective role as coordinator of information, provided that he has acquired

job knowledge in the function of selection. Employers should also take into

account the fact that selection should be for employee’s development, their

reliance. They should as far as possible rely on employment exchange.

62
2) PROVISION OF HEALTHFUL AND HYGENIC WORKING
CONDITION:

In India, where the climate is warm and most of the work involves manual

labour, it is essential that the workers should be provided with proper and

healthy working conditions. The facilities of drinking water, canteens, lavatories,

rest rooms, lighting and ventilation, need to be improved. Where any one of these

facilities is not available, it should be provided and all these help in keeping the

employee cheerful and increase productivity and the efficiency of operations

throughout the plant.

3) PROVISION OF REASONABLE WAGES & ALLOWANCES &

JOB SECUITY TO WORKERS:

The wages of an employee determine his as well as his family standard of living.

This single factor is important for him than other. The management should,

therefore pay reasonable wages and allowances, taking into account the capacity

of the industry to pay.

4) MOTIVATORS WELFARE AND SOCIAL MEASURES:

The management should consider the needs of workers and offer them adequate

and cheap housing facilities, free of subsidized food, free medical and transport

facilities, free education facilities for their children and other monetary benefits.

63
 As for social security is concern, the provision of Provident Fund, SBI facilities,

Gratuity and Pension, all those need to be improved.

5) IMPROVED COMMUNICATION AND PROMPT REDRESSAL

OF GRIEVANCES:

Since a majority of the workers are illiterate or not highly educated bulletins and

written notices journals and booklets are not easily understood by them.

Meetings and concealing are called for written communication becomes

meaningful only when workers can readied understood them, too many notices

should be avoided only the essential ones should be put on the boards, which

should be placed near the entrance inside the canteen and in areas which are

frequently visited by the workers so that they are aware of the policies of the

company and any sort changes being made.

6) LIBERAL GRANT OF LEAVE:

The management’s strict attitude in granting leave and holidays even when the

need for them is genuine, tempts workers to go on E.S.I. leave for under this

scheme, they can have 56 days leaves in years on half pay. An effective way of

dealing with absenteeism is to liberalize leave rules.

7) SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION:

Safety at work can be maintained and accidents can be prevented if the

management tries to eliminate such personal factors as negligence,

64
 overconfidence, carelessness, vanity, etc and such material factorizes unguarded

machinery and explosives, defective equipment and hand tools. Safe methods of

operation should be taught. In addition consistent and timely safely instruction,

written instructions (manual) in the regional language of the area should be given

to the work force.

8) CORDIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN SUPERVISORS AND

WORKERS:

The supervisor should be recognize that industrial work is a groups task and

cannot be properly done unless discipline is enforced and maintained. Cordial

relations between the supervisors and these workers are therefore essential for

without them, discipline cannot be increased. One of the consequences of

unhealthy relations between supervisors and subordinates is absenteeism.

9) DEVELOPMENT OF WORKERS BY TRAINING:

The system of worker’s education should be so designed as to take into account

their educational needs as individuals for their personal evaluation, as operatives

for their efficiency and advancement, as citizens for happy integrated life in the

community, as members of a trade union for the protection of their interests. The

educational programs according to their national commission on Labour should

be to make a worker:-

a) A responsible, committed and disciplines operative.

b) Aware of his rights and obligations.

65
c) Lead a calm, clean and health life, based on a firm ethical foundation.

d) A responsible and alter citizen.

3.8 THE BRADFORD FACTOR & ABSENTEEISM

The Bradford Factor is a Human Resources tool used by many organizations to measure

and identify areas of absenteeism. The theory is that short, frequent and unplanned

absences are more disruptive than longer absences.

It is based on the fact that it is normally easier to make arrangements to cover for staffs

who are going to be off for long periods, and which are more likely to be suffering from a

genuine illness.

However, employees taking odd unplanned days off here and there actually cause more

disruption to the business. If this pattern is repeated regularly, the employee will have a

high Bradford Factor score; which may raise questions about how genuine the illness

actually is?

The formula for the Bradford Factor is:-

E x E x D = Bradford Factor Score

Where E is the number of episodes of absence and D is the total number of days absent in

a rolling 52 week period.

66
So, for employees with a total of 10 days absence in one year, the Bradford Factor score

can vary enormously, depending on the number of episodes of absence involved. For

example:

One absence episode of 10 days is 10 points (i.e. 1 x 1 x 10)

Five absence episodes of two days each is 250 points (i.e. 5 x 5 x 10)

Ten absence episodes of one day each is 1,000 points (i.e. 10 x 10 x 10)

How do organizations use the Bradford Factor?

There are no set rules for using the Bradford Factor; it is down to each organization to

determine the ways in which it uses the score.

However, used effectively, the Bradford Factor can reduce absenteeism dramatically,

serving as a deterrent and a method for tackling persistent absenteeism.

Studies have shown that by educating staff about the Bradford Factor, and then showing

them their score on a regular basis, absenteeism can be reduced by over 20%. This is

largely down to staff understanding that taking the odd day off here and there will

quickly multiply their Bradford Factor score. The Bradford Factor places a value on the

absence which an employee can clearly see. Where the absence is not absolutely

necessary, this can serve to deter absenteeism.

When this is used in conjunction with a points system the Bradford Factor can be

effectively utilized to deter unnecessary absenteeism.

67
For example, the Bradford Factor can be utilized by creating “triggers” whereby certain

actions are taken when an employee’s Bradford score reaches a certain point. For

example, the UK Prison Service has used the following triggers:

• 51 points – verbal warning.

• 201 points – written warning

• 401 points – final warning

• 601 points – dismissal

Setting these triggers is entirely dependent on the organization using the Bradford Factor.

It is usually advisable to use the Bradford Factor as one of a number of absence policies.

However, setting these triggers and making staff aware of them, in addition to taking

action, resulted in the Prison Service reducing absenteeism by 18%.

By implementing mandatory procedures for tackling absenteeism across an organization

led by the Bradford Factor, an organization can remove the potential for differences

across teams and management and remove the difficulties and reluctance that line

managers often face when having to discipline a close staff member.

The Bradford Factor can provide organizations with a two pronged method for tackling

absence: proactively deterring absence in the first place and utilizing a set procedure to

identify and tackle persistent absenteeism.

68
Implementing the Bradford Factor:

Calculating the Bradford Factor for one member of staff over a given period is not a

difficult proposition. However, calculating the Bradford Factor over a rolling 52 week

period, across multiple teams and locations and considering different types of absence is

a very difficult task.

As a result of the exponential nature of the formula {E x E x D}, even the slightest

mistakes in calculation can result in a wide variance of an employee’s Bradford Factor

score.

For example: For an employee who has had 10 days off in a year in total, on two

separate occasions:

2 X 2 X 10 = 40 {which does not trigger a warning – fewer than 50}

However, if their absence is either not recorded correctly, or is calculated wrong by just

one day:

3 X 3 X 10= 90 {which does trigger a warning – over 50}

You can see that their score is more than double, despite the small mistake. Getting the

formula the wrong way round can have even more significant results:

10 X 10 X 2 = 200 {which would trigger disciplinary proceedings – over 200}

69
If an organization wants to tackle absenteeism effectively, using the Bradford Factor,

including using an employee’s Bradford Factor score in potential disciplinary

proceedings, then the process for calculating the Bradford Factor has to be full proof,

consistent and equal.

To achieve this, an organization will need to ensure:

• Absence reporting and monitoring is consistent, equal and accurate both

over time and across the whole organization.

• The calculation of an employee’s Bradford Factor score is based on these

accurate, equal and updated absence records.

• Management and staff have access to updated Bradford Factor scores.

Without these processes in place the calculation of the Bradford Factor is extremely

difficult and time consuming. In addition to this; unequal processes for reporting and

calculating the Bradford Factor could be discriminatory; everyone’s Bradford Factor

score should be subject to the same, indisputable criteria.

70
 3.9 DATA ANALYSIS
&
INTERPRETATION

The method of statistical representation is through bar diagram. The primary data

obtained through questionnaire are analyzed and interpreted below:-

Q. For how many years you are working with Punjab National Bank?

60%

50%

40%

30%
Employees
20%

10%

0%
0-2 Years 2-5 Years 5-15Years >20 Years

Interpretation: It can be seen that 56% of the employees of PNB are working

for more than 20 years whereas 36% are working for more than 5 yrs.

71
Q. How often you remain absent in a month?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50% no of absents in a month

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
nil once tw ice >tw ice

Interpretation: It can be seen that 96% of employees do not remain absent.

Q. According to you what are the main reasons for employees absent?

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%
reason for being absent
30%

20%

10%

0%
stress w orking personal
100% w orking
e nvironm ent problem condition
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
reason for being
40% absent
30%
Interpretation: According 20%
to 78% employees, personal problem is the reason for
10%
being absent. While 22% think
0% that stress can also be the reason.
stre ss personal
prob

72
Q. Your views regarding present Absenteeism Policy of Punjab National Bank?

80%

70%

60%

50%

40% view s re garding absenteeism

policy
30%

20%

10%

0%
excellent good fair poor

Interpretation: It can be seen that 76% employees rates the present absenteeism

policy as good whereas 22% as excellent and 2% rates as fair.

Q. Are you clear about your work / job responsibilities?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%
clarity regarding w ork
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
w ell clear good fairly clear don't know

73
Interpretation: 94% employees are well-cleared about their work / job
responsibilities, 4% employees have good knowledge about it and only 2% are
fairly cleared idea about their work.

Q. Are you satisfied with your work?

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40% satisfaction regarding w ork

30%

20%

10%

0%
w ell satisfied good fair not satisfied

Interpretation: 82% of the employees are fully satisfied with their work whereas

16% employees think their work as good.

Q. Views regarding working environment of Punjab National Bank?

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%
view s regarding w ork ing
40% env.

30%

20%

10%

0%
excellent good fair poor

74
Interpretation: 82% employees feel that the working environment at PNB is good

& 14% feel it as excellent.

Q. Your relations with your superiors?

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
relations with superiors
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
excellent good fair poor

Interpretation: 50% employees have good relations with the superiors whereas

30% have excellent relations with the superiors.15% says that they fair relation

with their superior while 5% poor relation with superior.

75
Q. Yours superiors behaviour towards your problem?

60%

50%

40%

30% superiors behaviour

tow ards your problem s

20%

10%

0%
excellent good fair poor

Interpretation: 32% employees think that their superior’s behaviour toward

their problems is excellent & 56% employees consider it as good.7% thinks that

it is fair while 2% assumes it poor.

Q. Yours views regarding facilities provided by Punjab National Bank?

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40% facilities provide d by PNB

30%

20%

10%

0%
excellent good fair poor

76
Interpretation: 86% employees consider that facilities provided to them are good

whereas 10% consider them as excellent .

77
4.1 FINDINGS

4.2 CONCLUSIONS

4.3 SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

78
 4.1 FINDINGS
From the analysis I got following result-

 Almost 56% of the employees at Punjab National Bank are working for

more than 20 years whereas 36% are working for more than 5 yrs.

 Almost 96% of the employees do not remain absent.

 According to 78% employees, personal problem is the reason for being

absent. 22% think that stress can also be the reason.

 Almost 76% employees, rate the present absenteeism policy as good

whereas 22% rate it as excellent.

 Almost 94% of the employees at Punjab National Bank are clear

regarding their work responsibilities.

 82% of the employees are fully satisfied with their work whereas 16%

workers think their work as good.

 14% of employees feel that working environment of Punjab National

Bank is excellent while 82% employees consider as good.

 50% employees have good relations with the superiors whereas 30%

have excellent relations with the superiors.15% says that they fair

relation with their superior while 5% poor relation with superior.

79
 32% employees think that their superior’s behaviour toward their

problems is excellent & 56% workers consider it as good.7% thinks

that it is fair while 2% assumes it poor.

 86% employees consider that facilities provided to them are good

whereas 10% consider them as excellent.

80
 4.2 CONCLUSION

Absenteeism is considered an important factor in determining the organizational

effectiveness. The objective of the organization is to maximize its profit.

If the organization has to achieve its objectives then they should concentrate on

employees. The management has to find out causes for absenteeism.

Based on the cause certain suggestions are to make to control the further rate of

absenteeism. The measures taken by the management should not be offensive and its

should be control in a simple manner.

81
 4.3 SUGGESTIONS
&
RECOMMENDATIONS

Absenteeism is a serious problem for management because it involves heavy

additional expenses. The management should take the following measures to

reduce the rate of absenteeism:-

1) Provide Incentives - An incentive boost the morale of employees and also

motivates them and avoid unnecessary absenteeism. Incentives like two

hours of bonus pay for every month of perfect attendance can improve a

lot.

2) Employee Assistance Program - If you confront an employee about his or

her frequent absenteeism and you find out that it is due to personal

problems refer them to EAP.

3) Sickness Reporting – Tell employees that they must phone in, as early as

possible to advise why they are unable to make it to work and when they

expect to return.

82
4) Return to Work Interview- When an employee returns to work then ensure

that they have a ‘return to work interview’.

5) Bradford factor: It can also be used to identify and cure excessive

absenteeism.

83
84
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

In the completion of this research report, I have consulted various books and also

internet.

BOOKS:

 C.B. Mamoria, Personnel Management, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai

 N.G.Nair & Nair Latha, Personnel Management, Sultan Chand & Sons

Publishing, New Delhi.

 T.N. Chabra, Human Resource Management, Dhanpat Rai & Co. (P) Ltd., New

Delhi.

WEBSITES:

www.wikipedia.com

www.informaworld.com

www.joem.org

www.employer-employee.com

85
86
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Personal Information

Name ………………………………………………………………………..

Age…………………………. Sex………………………..……

Job status…………………………………………………………………….

1) For how many years you are working with Punjab National Bank?

(a) 0-2 yr (b) 2-5yr

(c) 5-10yr (d) > 20yr

2) How often you remain absent in a month?

(a) Nil (b) Once

(c)Twice (d) > Twice

3) According to you what is the main reason for employees absent?

(a) Health problem / domestic reasons (b) Stress

(c)Work dissatisfaction (d) Working environment

87
4) Your views regarding the present Absenteeism Policy of Punjab National

Bank?

(a) Excellent (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Don’t know

5) Are you clear about your work / job responsibilities?

(a) Well clear (b) Good

(c) Fairly clear (d) Don’t know

6) Are you satisfied with your work?

(a) Well satisfied (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Not satisfied

7) Your views regarding the working environment of Punjab National

Bank?

(a) Excellent (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Poor

8) How are your relations with your superiors / co-workers?

(a) Excellent (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Poor

88
9) Your superior’s behaviour towards your problems?

(a) Excellent (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Poor

10) Your views regarding the facilities provided to you by Punjab National

Bank?

(a) Excellent (b) Good

(c) Fair (d) Poor

Any suggestions / Comments

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_____

89