Assignment Set-1 MB0043 Human Resources Management Q.

1 What are the functions that HR attempts to fulfill in any organization. AnswerThe function of Human Resources departments is generally administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of "Human Capital" progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by inroducing specialized Human Resource Management Systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before the clientserver architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally-developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of clientserver, Application Service Provider, and Software as a Service SaaS or Human Resource Management Systems enabled increasingly higher administrative control of such systems. Currently Human Resource Management Systems encompass: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Payroll Work Time Appraisal performance Benefits Administration HR management Information system Recruiting/Learning Management # TrainingSystem Performance Record Employee Self-Service

The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate
RollNo-521143406

automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems The work time module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions. The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement. he HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a Learning Management System if a stand alone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Q.2 Discuss the cultural dimensions of Indian Work Force. AnswerThe foundation for understanding the unique work practices at a country level can best be understood by first understanding the cultural aspects of the countrys workforce. The pioneering work done by Dutch scientist, Geert Hofstede is a useful tool in understanding the cultural differences used to differentiate countries. He identified five cultural dimensions around which countries have been clustered. The dimensions are: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity and long term orientation. Geert Hofstede dimensions are based on research conducted among over 1000 IBM employees working globally. While there continued to be other studies like the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour
RollNo-521143406

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 organisations accept that power is distributed unequally. Countries in which people blindly obey the orders of superiors have high power distance. High power distance countries have norms, values and beliefs that support: Inequality 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 their power. ndia scores 77 on power distance, indicating high power distance as a result of the inequalities both at the level of the society as well as the at the workplace. Indian organizations typically have hierarchical structures, position yields power and subordination is acceptable. Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations, and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these. India scores 40 indicating low to average uncertainty avoidance characteristics. Countries with low uncertainty avoidance have people who are more willing to accept that risks are associated with the unknown, and that life must go on in spite of this. Individualism Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their family only. The opposite of this is collectivism which refers to the tendency of people to belong to groups and to look after each other in exchange for loyalty. India scores 48 on Individualism, indicating somewhat low scores, therefore tending towards a more collectivistic society.
RollNo-521143406

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 feminity. Q.3 Explain the need for Human Resource Planning System. AnswerHuman Resource Planning is understood as the process of forecasting an organization's future human resource demand for, and supply to meet the objectives such as the right type of people in the right number. After this process only the HRM department can initiate recruitment and selection process. HRP is a sub-system in the total organizational planning. Human resource planning is important for helping both organizations and employees to prepare for the future but you might be thinking "Are not things always changing?" Human resource planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objective. Human Resource Planning System. A. Objectives of Human Resource Planning:Human Resource Planning fulfils individual, organizational and national goals; but, according to Sikula, "the ultimate mission or purpose is to relate future human resources to future enterprise needs, so as to maximize the future return on investment in human resources. In effect, the main purpose is one of matching or fitting employee abilities to enterprise requirements, with an emphasis on future instead of present arrangements." The objectives may be laid down for a short term (i.e. for one year). B. Estimating the Future Organizational Structure or Forecasting the Manpower Requirements:The management must estimate the structure of the organization at a given point in time. For this estimate, the number and type of employees needed have to be determined. Many environmental factors affect this determination. They include business forecasts, expansion and growth, design and structural changes, management philosophy,
RollNo-521143406

government policy, product and human skills mix, and competition. Forecasting provides the basic premises on which the manpower planning is built. Currently Human Resource Management Systems encompass: The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems. The work time gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labour distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions. The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement. The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information system to:

Produce pay checks and payroll reports; Maintain personnel records; Pursue Talent Management.

RollNo-521143406

Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent Management systems typically encompass:

Analyzing personnel usage within an organization; Identifying potential applicants; Recruiting through company-facing listings; Recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants.

The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a dedicated Applicant Tracking System, or 'ATS', module. Q.4 Elucidate the classication of wages in the Indian System.

AnswerOn 18 January 1826, the Government of the French Indian Ocean island of Runion laid down terms for the introduction of Indian labourers to the colony. Each man was required to appear before a magistrate and declare that he was going voluntarily. The contract was for five years with pay of eight rupees per month and rations provided. By 1830, 3,012 Indian labourers had been transported from Pondicherry and Karikal. The first attempt at importing Indian labour into Mauritius, in 1829, ended in failure, but by 1834, with abolition throughout most of the British Empire, transportation of Indian labour to the island gained pace. By 1838, 25,000 Indian labourers had been shipped to Mauritius. Colonial British Indian Government Regulations of 1837 laid down specific conditions for the dispatch of Indian labour from Calcutta. The would-be emigrant and his emigration agent were required to appear before an officer designated by the Colonial British Government of India with a written statement of the terms of the contract. The length of service was to be five years, renewable for further five-year terms. The emigrant was to be returned at the end of his service to the port of departure. Each emigrant vessel was required to conform to certain standards of space, diet etc. and carry a medical officer. In 1837 this scheme was extended to Madras and

RollNo-521143406

Bombay. Ban on export of Indian labour As soon as the new system of emigration of labour became known, a campaign, similar to the anti-slavery campaign sprang up in Britain and India. On 1 August 1838, a committee was appointed to inquire into the export of Indian labour. It heard reports of abuses of the new system. On 29 May 1839, overseas manual labour was prohibited and any person effecting such emigration was liable to a 200 Rupee fine or three months in jail. After prohibition, a few Indian labourers continued to be sent Mauritius via Pondicherry (a French enclave in South India). Esumption of Indian labour transportation The planters in Mauritius and the Caribbean worked hard to overturn the ban, while the anti-slavery committee worked just as hard to uphold the ban. The Government of the East India Company finally capitulated under intense pressure from planters and their capitalist supporters: On 2 December 1842, the Indian Government permitted emigration from Calcutta, Bombay and Madras to Mauritius. Emigration Agents were appointed at each departure point. There were penalties for abuse of the system. Return passage had to be provided at any time after five years when claimed. After the lifting of the ban, the first ship left Calcutta for Mauritius on 23 January 1843. The Protector of Immigrants in Mauritius reported that a ship arrived every few days with a human consignment and the large number of immigrants was causing a backlog in processing and he asked for help. During 1843, 30,218 male and 4,307 female indentured immigrants entered Mauritius. The first ship from Madras arrived in Mauritius on 21 April 1843. Q.4 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 options? Answer-

RollNo-521143406

In Vertical Promotion, employees are promoted from one rank to the next higher rank in the same department or division. This is based on the belief that this leads to effective utilization of experience gained in the same department. It also gives an opportunity to the employees to go up while increasing their specialization in their area of operation. However, it has got one disadvantage. The vacancies may be very few in a department. Me Sharma can promote Faculty member to a Professor, but In this Case a biggest challenge for Me Sharma is, a Lecturer working in a particular Department may not become a Professor or the Head of the Department unless his superiors die/retire/resign. This makes the person frustrated. Besides, this type of promotion limits a person's contact with other departments and does not permit him to enhance his knowledge/expertise with each year's experience. Because his experience would be one or two year's knowledge multiplied by 10 to 15 years rotation. If he does not get his promotion at the right time since the room at the top is limited he will also start disliking his job / organisation. As a result, he becomes counter-productive. As we can suggest to Ms. Sharma to consider the Horizontal promotions as an alternative way to vertical promotion. Under this policy, an employee may be transferred from a position in one department to a position of higher rank in another department or to the same rank in a different department if the transfer gives him an opportunity to acquire greater knowledge and wider experience. E.g. if a Senior Lecturer cannot get promotion in a particular Department for obvious reasons, he may be transferred as Registrar of the University or as Controller of Examinations or Director of Distance Education. However, there is one difficulty. Unless the person is quite dynamic and intelligent, he may find the new assignment a tough one and irksome. To some, it may be a cause for frustration. However, for many, Horizontal promotion even if it is only a paper promotion is a challenge since it allows them job rotation. Q.6 ABC ia 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?
RollNo-521143406

 Get the feedback on managerial effectiveness. Suggest the suitable method to collect the employee opinion and explain the method. AnswerEvery method of gathering employee feedback depends on what challenges you need to address as a business. Consider: Is your employee base growing or downsizing? Are you preparing for a merger or staying level? Professionals in the industry of employee research say offering general feedback opportunities are important open-office policies or meeting with managers but specific targeting of issues can help guide your company through difficult times. Common questions managers seek input on include: how engaged are my employees? How satisfied are they working for the company? What is the communication like with management? Do they have the right tools to do the job? How secure do they feel in the job? You can also use a survey to find out the demographics of your work force, such as age and gender, and to look for reasons for high turnover. "You don't do business without employees," says Howard Deutsch, CEO of Quantisoft, a survey and consulting company based in Monroe Township, New Jersey. "Those who are highly engaged or motivated will be better at their job." Gerry McDonough, CEO of LeadFirst, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based partner of data collection firm WorldAPP, that provides survey design and employee engagement consulting, says asking about the culture of the organization is important. The culture is "upstream" of issues like employee satisfaction and engagement, meaning the answers workers give about their coworkers and the general office environment often directly affect their job satisfaction.

RollNo-521143406