MBA Semester I Winter 2011 MB0043 Human Resource Management Assignments Set I Q1.

Q1. Trace out the growth of human Resource Management in India.

The historical background to the management techniques of human resources are in vogue since ancient times. Its only in the past 100 odd years that the techniques and study of human behavior at work has become formal and structured with certain basic practices established as core and a host of other practices left to each organization to design and implement as per their individual business driven practices. As per Fisher, Schonfeldt and Shaw, in their book titled Human Resources Management, they have characterized the history of HRM as having evolved through four broad phases, the Craft system, the scientific system, the human relations approach and the prevalent organizational science-human resources approach. The Craft system refers to early trends noticed in Egypt and Babylon, where skills based training was provided to people to ensure a steady flow of craftsmen required to build huge monuments. By the 13th century, subsequently the trend was noticed in Europe and later craft guilds evolved to ensure not only the skill acquisition but regulate the conditions of employment, level of skill and improved production techniques. Most relevant in the domestic industry where generations of skilled workers trained and became experts in a particular skill. The Scientific Management approach was a key part of the industrial revolution typical of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It was instilled in the principles of mass production and organization of work simple work skills and supervisory/managerial skills. This rapidly emerged as the assembly line approach to managing workflow, which later Fredrick Taylor (1856-1915) pioneered based on the philosophy that employees wanted to be used efficiently and money being the primary motivator. Over a period of time this was proved wrong as employee dissent grew and union issues surfaced. It was during this phase that employee welfare as a key HR practice emerged which redressed employee issues like recreational facilities, medical program and employee grievance systems. The Human Relations approach was an outcome of the famous studies undertaken by US social scientist Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger at the Western Electrics Hawthorne plant in Chicago. The Hawthorne Studies: As described in virtually every book written about management, the human relations or behavioral school of management began in 1927 with a group of studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric, an AT&T subsidiary. Curiously, these studies were prompted by an experiment carried out by the company's engineers between 1924 and 1932. Following the scientific management tradition, these engineers were applying research methods to answer job-related problems. Two groups were studied to determine the effects of different levels of illumination on worker performance. One group received increased illumination, while the other did not. A preliminary finding was that, when illumination was increased, the level of performance also increased. Surprisingly to the engineers, productivity also increased when the level of illumination was decreased almost to moonlight levels. One interpretation made of these results was that the employees involved in the experiment enjoyed being the centre of attention; they reacted positively because management cared about them. The reason for the increase in the production was not the physical but the psychological impact of the employees attitude towards the job and towards the company. Such a phenomenon taking place in any research setting is now called the Hawthorne effect. As a result of these preliminary investigations, a team of researchers headed by Elton Mayo and F.J. Roethlisberger from Harvard conducted a lengthy series of experiments extending over a six year period. The conclusions they reached served as the bedrock of later developments in the human relations approach to management. Among their key findings were the following: Economic incentives are less potent than generally believed in influencing employees to achieve high levels of output.

Leadership practices and work-group pressures profoundly influence employee satisfaction and performance. Any factor influencing employee behaviour is embedded in a social system. For instance, to understand the impact of pay on performance, you also have to understand the climate that exists in the work group and the leadership style of the superior. Leadership Style and Practices: As a consequence of the Hawthorne Studies, worker attitudes, morale, and group influences became a concern of researchers. A notable development of the nature occurred shortly after World War II at the University of Michigan. A group of social scientists formed an organization, later to be called the Institute for Social Research, to study those principles of leadership that were associated with highest productivity. Based upon work with clerical and production employees, an important conclusion was that supervisors of high-producing units behaved differently from those of low-producing units. Among the differences in style noted were that supervisors of productive groups in comparison to their lower producing counterparts were: More emotionally supportive of subordinates. More likely to pay a differentiated role - plan, regulate, and coordinate the activities of subordinates, but not become directly involved in work tasks. More likely to exercise general rather than close or light supervision. The origin and progress of the human relations movement (particularly in U.S.A.) has been due to certain social and cultural forces working there, such as Recognition of the dignity of the individual and his personality. The individual has a lot of freedom of choice and the idea of decision-making by oneself is deep-rooted in the national tradition. A child is brought up to value independence and encouraged to think on his own and not to be dependent on parents. Virtual disappearance of owner managers and the growth of professional managers capable of managing according to professional code. Strong organizations of labour, at all levels, calling for higher skills in communication and participative behaviour on the part of the management. Shortage of labour led to skilled labour being treated as nearly irreplaceable. Hence, much greater care in utilising this scarce and valuable resource had to be thought of in the form of "Human Relations." Higher standards of living of American labour. Since their physical and security needs were generally satisfied, increased participation alone could satisfy their emerging social and ego needs. The possible weakening of work ethics, requiring managers to develop new attitudes towards labour. The changing work environment-greater specialization and a large scope of operations which require a greater degree of managerial effectiveness with and through employees.

A significant increase in the general educational level of employees who, as a result, demanded more from their employers. Concurrent with the growth of human relations in work organizations, has been the burgeoning of techniques and programmes to foster human growth off the job. In the last two decades, millions of people seeking personal growth (or sometimes simply emotional arousal) have participated in programmes such as encounter groups, marriage enrichment groups, seminar training, couples groups, and transactional analysis. During the early 1970s, the human potential (meaning development of one's potential) movement began to appear in work settings. Management awareness training and assertiveness training represent two other techniques related to the development of human potential. Both are designed to deal with the problem of job discrimination against women. In management awareness training, managers are made more sensitive to their sexist attitudes (such as thinking of all engineers are male) and in changing their attitudes. Assertiveness training has been widely used to help women to be more direct in making known their demands for equal opportunity.

Career development programmes in industry are more prevalent today than at any time in the past. Although varying widely in content, all these programmes are designed to help the individual make career decisions that will move him or her toward self-fulfillment. In the process, it is assumed that the person will make a better contribution to the organization. Finally the Organizational Sciences approach to human resources management has brought the focus to the scientific process within organizations that can impact employee experience, and less on just the individual. Todays organizations focus on building their processes and policies and compete to emerge as preferred employers (best employer). It is not uncommon for competing organizations to woo the employees through advertising more and better employee-friendly initiatives like work-from-home jobs, careers for married couples, global work assignments and internal job postings and world class workplace infrastructures from in-campus cricket grounds to gymnasiums for employee wellbeing. This is the HR that we now see around us.

Q2. What are the factors that impact recruitment in organizations?

All organizations, whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though not to the same intensity. Few factors that impact the nature of recruitment: i. The size of the organization- the smaller the organization the more the need to carefully scrutinize the candidate for a job and the fitment to the organizational culture. The risk in case of job-candidate mismatch can prove equally expensive for a smaller organization as compared to the larger one. ii. The employment conditions in the country where the organization is located- critically impacts the recruiting strategy. The methods for recruiting, the selection tools that are most suited and the legal framework that bear on the employer are some aspects that need to be considered. iii. The affects of past recruiting efforts which show the organization's ability to locate and keep good performing people- constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the recruiting methods and the selection tools used, evaluating the success at-work of the new recruits are some methods used by organizations to ensure that quality hiring practices are in-place. iv. working conditions and salary and benefit packages offered by the organization this may influence turnover and necessitate future recruiting; (v) The rate of growth of organization- the phase in the life-cycle of the firm is a measure of the recruiting effort v. The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production programmes ensuring that the recruitment numbers come form a well-planned Human Resource Plan is critical to ensure that there is no over-hiring or under-hiring of the required talent to achieve the organizational objectives. vi. Cultural, economic and legal factors these too affect the recruiting and selection methods that are used.

Q3.State the major career development activities found in organizations.

While the general notion is that most Career development programs are often instituted to meet the unique needs of particular employees, the benefits for the organization are immense. This is one reason why organizations continue to invest time and resources on it despite the fact that it does not offer immediate measurable benefits. Although many different groups and issues may be targeted for career development, some of the more common programs are those that focus on work-family issues, outplacement, entrenched employees, late-career employee, disadvantages employees, fast track employees and managers. Work-Family Programs focus on supporting employee manages their personal as well as work related challenges in a balanced manner. Increasing use of flexible work schedules, work from home options, opening of more on-site or company-sponsored child-care centers, and greater use of paid leave for fathers and adoptive parents are some common practices in this area. There are also more focused programs that focus on managing gender diversity at the workplace and set goals for advancing women into senior management positions. And is truly amazing is the increasing pattern of companies holding managers accountable for meeting these goals. There are specific workshops and training programs mandated for managers to help them initiating and implementing them.

Relocation Assistance and hiring practices redresses the challenges associated with employee relocation on account of a career move. The support provided by firms in assisting spouse of employees with opportunities within the company, linking them with job placement consultants as well as sponsoring the cost of re-training or picking up a new skill. The amount and nature of support could vary from company to company. Some firms have altered their policy to allow for hiring both spouses while they may not be allowed to work in the same department/team. Work Life balance Seminars and flexible HR practices wherein organizations design programs to help employees manage their work-family conflicts and coping strategies. Especially prevalent in the ITES/BPO organizations where the work-life balance is a concern. This practice is now part of most organizations where the increasing work pressure is driving companies to help employees cope with personal pressure. Various stress management workshops and stretch- exercise schedules are practiced to help employees cope with stress. Lifestyle management workshops too are becoming popular in larger organizations. Organizations are also changing their practices for recruitment, travel, transfer, promotions, scheduling hours, and benefits to meet the needs of the larger number of dual career couples. Flexible Work schedules are being increasingly instituted at the workplace. These include flextime, job sharing, part time work, working from home, compressed workweeks, temporary workweeks etc... Such programs enable employees to address their work and family concerns and reduce their potential stress or conflicts between their various life roles. Telecommuting has become very popular. This provides for organizational as well as employee related advantages. Some difficulties with telecommuting are communication problems with other employees, limited access to necessary supplies and equipment and family interruption. Outplacement Program during retrenchment and downsizing is a professionally managed process in most organizations. The objective here is to assist the effected employees in making the transition to new employment. It could involve re-skilling for new, more relevant skills per market demand so finding a new job is easier. Companies might tie up with training institutes and provide the skills training. Else the company might prefer to reimburse the cost of re-skilling directly to the impacted employee for a course of his/her choice. Outplacement services would also involve working with placement agencies and recruitment firms to provide interviewing opportunities for the employees. Outplacement programs stress the importance of self confidence and individual career planning beneficial for middle or late-career employees who are being laid off. Special Programs for Women, Minorities and Employees with Disabilities: With organizations increasingly tapping into this critical talent pool, more employees in these special categories are entering the workforce. This calls for special focus on the importance of assisting these employees with their career needs. Fast Track employees are now being increasingly identified as stars with high potential for bright future in the organization. The identification and development of these employees requires organizations to exert efforts to build and monitor special programs that cater to this special audience. These employees are identified in a formal process and are placed on a fast track program. The objective here is to enable them to move to senior positions quickly. As is with all other such initiatives, this initiative helps in retaining this critical talent. Among other activities that target this group they are offered quicker job changes and more challenging job assignments.

Q4. What are the major problems faced in benefits management?

Managing employee Benefits is a critical part of the entire compensation policy and particularly so as the cost is completely borne by the company. There is no scientific way of ascertaining its impact on factors such as employee satisfaction and employee retention or productivity for that matter. In designing Benefits packages organizations need to pay attention to the following aspects: Legal and local laws of the land that require statutory compliance The positioning of Benefits in the total compensation strategy Are the benefits provided consistent with the long term strategic business objectives and plans Are our benefits meeting the needs and expectations of the employees and their dependents

Are we competitive w.r.t. the choice of benefits, adequacy and equity and costs vs. the industry / our competitors

The components of a benefits package are commonly practiced as; Security and Health Benefits - which focuses on the provisions made by the employer w.r.t. Life Insurance, Worker Compensation, Accident Insurance, Medical Insurance for self and dependents (where different companies could differently categorise dependents, some might include parents as dependents, some might limit it to spouse and children only), other medical coverage, Provident and Pension Plans, Severance Pay etc.. Organizations might even have other health benefits programs like Health Check-up Camps, Dental Camps and other employee wellness initiatives. The modern organizations of today provide for on-campus gymnasium facilities or the reimbursement of gymnasium / health club membership. Other reimbursement plans like reimbursement of telephone bills and broadband bills where these facilities might not be entirely used for business purposes alone. Reimbursement of conveyance costs including providing for pick-up and drop facilities for their employees. Also included are catering of lunch and snacks in addition to sophisticated on-campus food-courts and even departmental stores, all with the objective of helping the employee manage better work - life balance. Another popular benefit is the provision for crche facilities for the infants of employees. While the larger companies can afford a on-campus or adjacent crche which is for the children of only the employees, other companies allow for the reimbursement of the cost of crche for their employees children. Organizations like Cognizant and IBM go a step further by organizing for Childrens camp during the school vacations. Organizations also provide for employee counselling/ assistance programs and facilities. Some might tie-up with professional counsellors to provide remote/ over phone/email counselling services, while some other companies provide for on-campus employee assistance kiosks manned by professional counsellors visiting the facility 2-3 times a week. Some organizations might insist on few benefits to be contributory where the employee might need to bear part of the cost. The challenge in managing benefits is that while it costs a lot it is often taken for granted by the employees. The dilemma of finding the right balance of benefits and cash compensation is a on-going one. Like for Compensation, Benefits too are benchmarked by organizations and implemented keeping the market practices and trends in view. The key to leveraging the investment made by organizations on benefits can be got by adequate communication making employees aware of them. It includes, providing clarity on how to apply for and claim benefits, as well as hold road-shows show-casing the benefits and what the employee can avail of. It focuses on to remind the employees that they are part of the total compensation package. Most large and medium sized organizations manage compensation and benefits through state-of-the-art HRMS (Human Resource Management Systems) and the corporate intranet portals. Employee can enrol on-line for the benefits, ask queries, look up the policies and review the outstanding and balance status of the various benefits. They can view deadlines, apply for the various benefit claims and track reimbursement status on-line. This brings a lot of empowerment to the employee as well as awareness of the total benefits that he/she and their dependents are eligible for. Some common metrics used to assess the investments made by a company on Benefits: a) Annual cost of benefits for all employees b) Cost per employee per year c) Percentage cost of payroll d) Percentage cost of total costs In these times of economic challenges organizations are closely tracking the investments and driving efficiency.

Q5. Assume yourself as an HR Manager of publishing house. You find that the morale of the employees is generally low. What steps would you take to improve employee morale?
As assume myself an HR manager there are a number of measures which can be used to control the warning signals of low morale. The following are the positive measures to be taken to bring job satisfaction to the employees and reconcile individual interests with the interests of the organization. 1. Creation of whole jobs Under this method, complete jobs are assigned to the employees. The complexity of a job should be increased so that it may appeal to their higher needs.

2. Job enrichment Job enrichment tries to deal with dissatisfaction by increasing job depth. Under this, individual employees may be given responsibility for setting their own work pace, for concerning their own errors, and/or for deciding on the best way to perform a particular task 3. Building responsibility into a job Employees should be encouraged to participate and if possible be held responsible for taking decisions. Some delegation of responsibility from the manager tot he employee could be useful in improving employee ownership 4. Managerial effectiveness - This can be achieved by: i) Developing work groups; ii) Improving the social contacts of the employees- time away from work in team building and fun activities; iii) Managerial coaching discussed above iv) Employee stress management activities 5. Flexing working hours Flex time / work from home provisions allow employees to arrange their work hours to suit their personal needs and life-styles. This is particularly suited to situations with fluctuating workloads. Flex time employees are responsible for co-ordinating their functions with other employees and thereby have more responsibility and autonomy. 6. Rotation of jobs This reduces employee's boredom which arises out of the monotonous nature of his work. 7. Incentive and Profit-sharing plans- Morale can be improved by effective incentive and profit-sharing schemes. Incentive schemes are effective in improving workplace morale. They need to carefully designed (preferably by experts) well communicated and implemented to be effective. In addition to its economic aspects, profit-sharing has also psychological aspects relating to friendly move by the management in providing the employees an opportunity to participate in the profits. Morale can also be improved by adapting several other measures such as employee contest, special recognition and awards to long service employees and training the managers in how to manage people.

Q6.Explain the general procedures followed in the case of a disciplinary action.

Though there is no specific procedure to be followed. Different organizations use a variety of formal and informal methods to resolve these matters. The following steps are recommended a) An accurate statement of the disciplinary problem. b) Collection of data or facts supporting the report of the offence. c) Review policy and past similar incidents. d) Identify corrective action to implement; take legal counsel to ensure that the local laws of the land are not in conflict e) Apply the action f) Follow-up on the disciplinary action. a. Accurate Statement of the Problem: The first step is to ascertain the problem by seeking answers to the following questions: 1. Does this case call for a disciplinary action? 2. What, exactly, is the nature of the violation or offence? 3. Under what-conditions did it occur? 4. Which individual or individuals were involved in it? 5. When, or how often, did the violation occur? In other words, an executive must first find out that a violation has occurred and that is entirely the fault, or at least partially the fault, of one or more subordinates. The next step is to determine and state the nature of the alleged violation of a rule, a regulation, a policy; to determine whether a request or order has been ignored or broken, and assess the seriousness of the specific offence which has been committed. It is also necessary to know exactly who and what was involved in the violation-whether a particular individual or group. Finally, it is desirable to know when and/or how often the violation occurred. b. Collection of data or facts support the report of the offence: Before any action is taken in a case, it is essential to gather all the facts about it. A thorough examination of the case should be made within the

stipulated time limit. The facts gathered should be such as can be produced before a higher authority, if and when needed. c. Review policy and past similar incidents: The kind of penalty to be imposed for an offence should be determined beforehand. Should it be simple reprimand, a financial or non-financial penalty? Or should it be demotion, temporary lay-off or outright discharge? d. Identify corrective action to implement; take legal counsel to ensure that the local laws of the land are not in conflict: When a decision has been taken to impose a penalty, the punishment to be awarded should be such as would prevent a recurrence of the offence. If the punishment is lighter than it should be, it may encourage the violation of the same rule or another; if it is greater than it should be, it may lead to a grievance. e. Apply the action: The application of the penalty involves a positive and assured attitude on the part of the management. "If the disciplinary action is a simple reprimand, the executive should calmly and quickly dispose of the matter. But when severe action is called for, a fortnight, serious and determined attitude is highly desirable. f. Follow-up on Disciplinary Action: The ultimate purpose of a disciplinary action is to maintain discipline, to ensure productivity, and avoid a repetition of the offence. A disciplinary action should, therefore, be evaluated in terms of its effectiveness after it has been taken. In other words, there should be a more careful supervision of the persons against whom a disciplinary action has been taken.