CHAPTER IV

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PKAC'I'ICES - PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES

CHAPTER IV

Personnel Management Practices - Procurement ~ctivities ~ntroduction

After having reviewed the profiles of the selected

cooperative societies and their employees, the personnel

management practices existing in the selected sample units

are critically analysed in this chapter and in the next one.

In order to have a detailed study some of the managerial

functions of personnel management such as organising,

directing and controlling are excluded. However, personnel

planning is included in this study. Among the operative

functions, motivation, employee discipline, performance

appraisal and grievance redressal are excluded. The reasons

for their exclusion are already mentioned in the Chapter I.

In this chapter, procurement activities such as

personnel department, personnel staff ratio, personnel

planning, personnel policy, recruitment 6 selection are

analysed. In the next chapter, development activities such

as training, transfer, promotion, compensation, welfare

measures and union-management relations are analysed.

Methodology

This is an empirical study based on sample survey

method. The techniques of questionnaire, discussion,

interviews and observation were followed to obtain the

required information. All the selected societies were given

the questionnaire I (given in schedule I) to get information

about their personnel management practices. This was

followed by discussions with the Chief Executives,

~on-official Cooperators and Employees' Union Leaders.

There was no difficulty in getting the information from

the societies.

A second questionnaire was distributed to the

employees. All the permanent employees of the selected

societies are classified into four categories. They are

(1) top level managers (2) middle level managers (3) lower

level managers and (4) supporting Staff. The questionnaires

were distributed to the middle and lower level manaqers and

the supporting staff. The top level managers are excluded

since a separate questionnaire was issued to them to find

Out their satisfaction of the employees working under them.

The questionnaires were distributed after pre-test in a

Pilot study. The filled in questionnaires were received from

the employees; the answers were fed in the computer and

tables were prepared for critical analysis.

It is always better to have more respondents to have

accuracy. The higher is the rate of response to sample

the greater is the accuracy of the information. So, the

following precautions were taken to get more response from

the selected employees:

( I ) The employees were given the choice of language i.e.

either English or Tamil.

(2) Questions are structured in such a way that options are

given to the employees with regard to answers and they will

have to just put a tick ( j ) mark for most of the

questions to save time.

(3) The researcher visited all the societies and met the

employees personally and explained the objectives of the

study.

(4) The employees were assured that their identity and

information provided by them will be kept strictly

confidential. The questionnaire does not require the name or

signature of the employee with a view to maintain

confidentiality. In some cases, the identity can be

established through designation, for example, cashier or

accountant. So, this information was also not required in

the questionnaire.

( 5 ) The questionnaires were personally handed over and

received back from the employees, so that no one else could

See the answers.

selection of sample employees

The method of selection of sample cooperative societies

has already been mentioned in Chapter I. The employees were

selected on proportionate random sampling method from the

pay rolls of the employees. So, casual labourers are

axoludod from thm study. Twenty percent of total employees

excluding top level managers were selected for sample.

But the actual response was just above 50% of the sample for

more than one reason. Some were on leave and so could not be

contacted. Many were hesitating inspite of the best efforts

of the researcher to enthuse confidence. The Table 4.1 gives

particulars of actual strength of employees, sample size and

rate of response received.

The total number of employees excluding top level

managers in all the five sample societies, is 1,465. These

employees constitute the population. Among them 293

employees i.e., 20% of them were selected as sample. In

selecting the sample employees, their designation or level

of management is not considered. In the pre-test, it has

been noticed that they are unwilling to indicate their

designation for fear of being identified. Out of 293

employees selected, 150 employees responded. The rate of

response of employees vary from society to society. In

The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. the rate of

Table 4.1

Employees' sample s i z e and response

S1. Name of t h e To ta l TOP Tota l Employees No. of X of X of No. Soc ie ty No. of Level NO. of selected Employees Response Response t o

Employees Managers P o p u l a t ~ o n f o r Sample Responded t o Sample Populat ion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 . The Pondicherry Cooperat ive 150 9 141 28 13 46.43 9.22 M i l k Producers' Union L td .

2. The I n d i a n Coffee Workers' 266 1 265 53 25 47.17 9 .43 Cooperat ive Society L td .

3. The Pondicherry Cooperative 718 9 Sugar M i l l s L td .

4 . The Pondicherry S ta te 197 3 Cooperat ive Bank L t d .

5 . The Pondicherry Cooperative 161 5 156 3 1 17 54.84 10.90 Wholesale Stores L td .

To ta l 1492 2 7 1465 293 150 51.19 10 .24

Source : Complled from t h e Q u e s t i o n n a ~ r e .

response ( 82.05% ) is very high. In The Pondicherry

cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. The Indian Coffee

workerst Cooperative Society Ltd. and The Pondicherry

cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. the rate of response is below

50%. In The Pondicherry Cooperative Wholesale Stores Ltd.

the response rate is 54.84%.

The reason for the difference in response rate is due

to the level of education and their perception of research.

However, the average response is 51.19% to selected sample

and the percentage of number of employees responded to the

total population is 10.24%. "Questionnaire studies with a

fairly wide population base have reported the percentage

answering as from 20% to 70%".~ Hence, the rate of response

is satisfactory.

Presentation

Before actually analysing the functions, the

theoretical concepts and principles of each of the functions

is briefly explained in order to have continuity and

comprehensiveness. This is followed by the critical

analysis of the personnel management functions of each of

1. Goode ,J., and Hat - Methods in social Research - McGrant Hill International Book Company, Tokyo - 1983 - p.173.

the selected society. Then, the employeest perception of the

particular function is discussed.

IMPORTANCE OF PWSONNEL DEPARTHENT

Introduction

The personnel management is so vital and complex for

the success of any organisation that top priority should be

given to the Personnel Manager and personnel department in

preference to other functional areas such as machinery

material and money. The importance given to personnel

management is measured in terms of the level of authority of

Personnel Manager, the quality of Personnel Manager and the

number of full time staff doing the personnel management

functions i.e.. Personnel Staff Ratio.

Level of Authority

None of the selected cooperative societies has a

separate personnel department. However, these functions are

carried out by establishment section. In The Pondicherry

Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. there is an officer with

the designation Labour Welfare Officer. But he is not

entrusted with the performance of personnel functions. The

Administrative Officer is the head of the establishment

section. He is only a recommending authority. He is treated

as one of the top level managers.

In other societies, the recommending authorities are

middle level managers. The final deciding authority rests

with the Chief Executives in all the selected units. Thus

the level of authority of Personnel Manager is highest in

all the five selected units.

Quality of Chief Executives

All the Chief Executives except the Managing Director

in The Pondicherry Cooperative Milk Producers1 Union Ltd.

are on deputation from the Cooperative Department. The

difficulty arises only in the selection of persons to

be deputed as Chief Executives. They are selected more

for the administrative convenience than for their

suitability to that particular organisation.

In The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. the

Deputy Secretary to Government is holding additional charge

as Managing Director, in addition to his normal duties.

After having invested millions of rupees, the Government

does not take enough care to appoint a full time Chief

Executive. This adversely affects the managerial

effectiveness. In other three selected units, the Chief

Executives are drawn from Cooperative Department who have

some knowledge in the managerial functions.

The Pondicherry Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd.

is the only society having its own employee as the Chief

Executive who discharges the personnel management functions.

He is having 25 years of experience and well acquainted with

his work environment. He had also undergone training in

personnel management.

Thus, the level of Personnel Manager is satisfactory

in all the five selected units but not in their quality

except in The Pondicherry Cooperative Milk Producersr Union

Ltd. since all are General Managers without any formal

training or education in personnel management.

Personnel Staff Ratio

The personnel staff ratio is calculated as a

percentage of employees in the personnel section to total

number of employees. It will give the number of employees of

personnel section to every 100 employees.

Number of employees in the personnel section

Personnel Staff Ratio = X 100 Total number of employees

This ratio indicates the management's outlook towards

personnel functions. The higher the ratio, the greater

is the importance attached to the personnel functions.

"A survey conducted in the Indian Industries revealed

that the average personnel staff ratio was 0.49 in respect

of units with less than 500 employees, it was 0.21 in

respect of units employing 1000 or more while it was 0.24 in

the units where the number of employees ranged between 500

and 1000. This shows that staff ratio was relatively higher

in smaller units and lower in bigger organisations. Various

studies made in foreign countries also revealed similar

pattern. The average personnel ratio was 2.5 in respect of

Central Cooperative Banks in Tamil Nadu with less than 500

employees and 1.7 in the banks with above 500 employeesu.

For the purpose of the present study this findings of

Sivaprakasam. P is taken as normal personnel staff ratio,

since it relates to cooperative sector geographically

adjacent to this Union territory.

There are 33 personnel staff excluding the Chief

Executives for a total of 1492 employees in all the five

2 . Sivaprakasam, P - Personnel Management in Central Cooperative Banks in India - Kanishka Publishers and Distributors, Delhi - 1993 - pp. 67-68.

selected units. SO, the average personnel staff ratio is

2.21%. Personnel staff ratio exceeds 3% in The Pondicherry

Milk Producers1 Union and The Pondicherry Cooperative

Wholesale Stores Ltd. which are having less than 200

employees each. Table 4.2 gives personnel staff ratio in

selected units.

Table 4.2

Personnel Staff Ratio in the Selected Cooperative Societies

S1. Name of the society Number of Total Personnel No. Personnel Number of Staff

Staff Employees Ratio

1. The Pondicherry Cooperative Milk 5 150 3.33% Producers' Union Ltd.

2. The Indian Coffee Workersf Cooperative 6 Society Ltd.

3. The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar 12 Mills Ltd.

4. The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank 5 Ltd.

5. The Pondicherry Cooperative 5 161 3.11% Wholesale Stores Ltd.

Total 3 3 1492 2.21%

Source: Compiled from the records of selected Cooperative Societies.

The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. is

having 2.54% as personnel staff ratio.1n The Indian Coffee

Workers' Cooperative Society Ltd. which is having 266

employees, the ratio is 2.26%. The Pondicherry Cooperative

Sugar Mills Ltd. which is employing 718 people, is having

1.67% as personnel staff ratio. Thus, the higher the number

of employees, the lower is the ratio which is in

accordance with the studies made in India and Western

countries.

The use of computer is the reason for lower average

personnel staff ratio (2.21%) as against the average

staff ratio (2.50%) in The Central Cooperative Banks in

Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the personnel staff ratio in the

selected units may be considered satisfactory.

PWSONNEL PLANNING

Introduction

Planning is one of the basic functions of management of

any organisation. So, personnel planning, which is an

integrated part of overall planning is one of the most

important functions of the personnel department. Personnel

planning serves many organisational and managerial purposes.

It helps the management to determine recruitment level, to

anticipate redundancies and avoid unnecessary dismissals, to

determine optimum training levels, to provide a basis for

management development programme, to cost the man power in

new projects, and to assess future accommodation

requirements.Scientific personnel planning avoids over

staffing or understaffing. In view of its great importance,

the personnel planning in the selected units is analysed.

Definition

David A . DeCenzo and others describe, "Human Resource

Planning as a process by which an organisation ensures that

it has the right number and kinds of people, at the right

places, at the right time, capable of effectively and

efficiently completing those tasks that will help the

organisation to achieve its overall objectives" .

Bruce P.Colemn also defines it as a process. "Manpower

planning is the process of determining manpower in order to

carry out the integrated plan of the ~rganisation".~

3. David A . DeCenzo and Stephen P. Robbins - Personnel / Human Resource Management - Prentice - Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi - 1989 - p.79

4. Colemn, Bruce P. - an Integrated System of Manpower Planning - Business Horizon. Vol 13 - 1970 - pp. 89-95 - Quoted by Mamoria, C.B - Personnel Management - Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay - 1996 - p. 170

According to Rudrabasavaraj, "Manpower planning is a

strategy for the acquisition, utilisation, improvement and

preservation of an enterprise's human resources".

nanagerial Practice

The concept of personnel planning has not been

understood in the correct perception in the selected

societies. The allocation of annual budget for salaries and

personnel planning are considered as synonymous. When the

correct meaning of the term was explained to them, it is

understood that absolutely there is no personnel planning in

any of the selected units. The reasons attributed by Chief

Executives are (1) overstaffing; (2) abundant supply of

labour force and (3) the promotion policy of the selected

units.

The argument that overstaffing is the reason for the

absence of personnel planning is not correct. Proper

personnel planning can reduce the overstaffing to the

optimum level. The Pondicherry Cooperative Wholesale Stores

Ltd. has already initiated action in this regard. Every

society is suffering from overstaffing. They find it

difficult to assign proper work to every employee.

5 . Rudrabasavaraj - Dynamic Personnel Administration - Himalaya publishing House, Bombay - 1987 - p.86

153

planning is not necessary to fill up any vacancy. The

overstaffing is the result of political interference in

the appointment of staff. Most of them were not appointed

through employment exchange. This aspect is discussed in

more detail under the head, recruitment.

Even if there is no overstaffing, there are too many

educated and employable youths. Whenever there is need,

they can just recruit any number of staff. So, the selected

units feel that manpower-planning is not necessary. This is

also not correct. If the educated employable youths are

available in plenty, the qualification at entry level can be

enhanced so that the quality of the employees can also be

increased while the political influence is reduced.

Even in the case of higher posts, no planning is done.

As per the personnel policy of the society all higher posts

are filled only by promotion. The entry level is the lowest

grade.

PERSONNEL POLICY

Definition

Policies are guidelines to achieve the goals of an

Organisation or a department within an organisation. They

are vital for achieving the objectives or goals. Dale Yodar

describes a policy as "a pre-determined and accepted course

of thought and action that is defined and established as a

guide towards accepted goals and objectives" .

According Calhoon, "Personnel policies constitute guide

to action. They furnish the general standards or bases

on which decisions are reached. Their genesis lies in

an organisation's values, philosophy, concepts and

principles".

Walter ill Scott and others consider, 'IA policy is a

plan of action. It is a statement of intention committing

management to a general course of actionn.' Subba Rao and

Rao V.S.P consider personnel policy as principles and rules

of conduct. "Personnel policies guide the course of action

intended to accomplish personnel objectives" . According

to Michael Armstrong, "Personnel policy is a set of

proposals and actions that act as a reference point for

managers in their dealings with employees. They are

6. Dale Yoder - Personnel Management and Industrial 1965 - p.139

7. Richard P.Calhoon - Personnel Management and Supervision - Prentice - Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi - 1969 - p.29

8. Walter Dill Scott - Personnel Management - Tata McGraw - Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi - 1986 - p.47

9. Subba Rao P. and Rao V.S.P - Personnel / Human Resource Management - Konark Publishers Private Limited, Delhi - 1990 - p. 21

continuing guidelines on what should be done in different

circumstances". lo

Importance of Personnel Policies

Policies provide stability, consistency and objectivity

in decision making. In a way policy is a form of authority

difficult to be overruled. Policies, therefore, help the

managers, supervisors and workers to anticipate how others

will react. So,they will make their plans with greater

degree of confidence. Many administrative problems could

be avoided by having a well formulated personnel policy.

Policies are, therefore, established and communicated

to (1) facilitate achievement of organisational goals; (2)

provide guidelines and thus maintain consistency and

continuity in planning, strategy, and day-to-day management

decisions: (3) support confidence in expectations with

respect to the roles to be played and the reactions and

day-to-day decisions of individuals in the organisation: and

(4) serve as yardstick for evaluating performance.

Personnel policies exist in every organisation. The

extent to which they are written, communicated, accepted and

Consistently applied reflect the effectiveness of these

10. Michael Armstrong - A Hand Book of Personnel Management practice - Kogan Page Ltd., London - 1984 - p.14

policies. The personnel policies of the selected units are

evaluated on these bases. This is an important area of

personnel management in the case of selected units and for

that matter all the cooperative societies should pay

more attention.

nanagerial Practice

The selected cooperative societies have personnel

policy in some areas. The personnel policy of The

Pondicherry Cooperative Milk Producers1 Union Ltd. is

written down and communicated to all the employees. The

policy relates to duties, responsibilities, recruitment and

promotion. But the employees in the lower level plead

ignorance of any such policy. Perhaps, the management has

not given proper publicity.

In the case of The Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative

Society Ltd. the personnel policy is included in the bye-

laws of the society. Every member is aware of the policy.

In this society, the personnel policy is written,

communicated, accepted and consistently followed. This is a

healthy sign.

In The ~ondicherry Cooperatives Sugar Mills Ltd. the

personnel policy is written and communicated. At the time of

establishment of the mill, each employee was given a copy of

it. The freshers do not have it. The senior employees had

lost It. Only few people are having a copy of it. It is

complained by many employees that the policy is not followed

consistently. There are occasional deviations to suit the

convenience of the management. The leaders of the employees'

union are not fully satisfied in this regard.

In the case of The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank

~ t d . and The Pondicherry Cooperative Wholesale Stores

~ t d . the personnel policy is written, communicated and

followed consistently in some aspects. They are in the form

of Memorandum Of Understanding signed by the Management and

the leaders of employees' union. So, it is written,

communicated and followed. But it lacks comprehensiveness

and does not cover all aspects of personnel management.

For example, the transfer policy of Bank has been finalised

in respect of transfer to Mahe and Yanam but not so with

regard to transfer within Pondicherry region or Pondicherry

to Karaikal and vice versa.

Definition

After ascertaining the need for personnel in terms of

number and quality through personnel planning, the

organisation will make a search to discover the place where

they are available. This process is known as recruitment.

EdWin B. Flippo defines, "Recruitment is a process of

searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to

apply for jobs in the ~rqanisation".~~

Robert L. Mathis considers recruitment as a process.

vlRecruiting is the process of generating a pool of qualified

applicants for jobs in the organisation". l2

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and selection are not one and the

same. They are different from each other, though sometimes

they are used synonymously. The object of recruitment is to

induce them to apply for a job so that the organisation

will have more choice in selecting its employees. This is a

positive process and precedes selection. On the other hand,

the aim of selection is to eliminate the unqualified and

under qualified applicants. It aims at reducing the list. It

is a negative process. Selection begins where recruitment

ends.

11. Edwin B. Flippo - Principles of Personnel Management - McGraw-Hill - International Editions, New Delhi - 1971 - p.122

12. Robert L. Mathis and John H.Jackson - Personnel /Human Resource Management - Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi - 1985 - p.218

objectives of Recruitment

The object of recruitment is to attract a large number

of qualified candidates to offer themselves to be employed.

Selection ratio is the number of applications received from

qualified candidates to the number of persons appointed.

The higher the ratio, the better is the recruitment policy.

At the same time, the planned recruitment should dissuade

unqualified candidates from applying for the job and save

cost, time and energy of the organisation. Selection Ratio

is not calculated because no sample society has invited

applications for jobs during the last 5 years. Their main

source of recruitment is on the basis of direct

application.

Sources of Recruitment

In general, the sources of recruitment may be broadly

classified into two types viz., internal and external.

Internal sources are analysed under the topics transfer and

promotion. The external sources of recruitment are many.

They are advertisements, employment exchange, direct

applications, educational institutions, deputation and

through present employees. The choice of source will depend

upon the need of the organisation. The more the number of

Sources availed by an organisation, the better will be the

quality of selection. In the light of the above, the

number and nature of recruitment sources, the recruitment

policy and practice in the selected units are analysed in

this section.

Managerial Practice

In The Pondicherry Cooperative Milk Producers' Union

Ltd. all kinds of recruitments are made. Technical

qualifications are essential for middle level managers.

The minimum qualification is a degree in Dairy Science.

Therefore, these posts are advertised in the newspapers and

the recruitment area is made very wide. This is a healthy

trend. Recruitment to office staff is being done through

employment exchange, to the posts of Junior Assistants,

typists etc., who are considered as operating employees in

the office and all other posts are filled in by promotion

only. Now the office staff are appointed on the basis of

direct applications without referring to employment

exchange.

For unskilled workers recruitment is limited to casual

labourers who were selected through gate selection. The

absenteeism, is very high in the cadre of unskilled workers.

Milk being a highly perishable commodity, processing has to

be done immediately after procurement. In anticipation of

the demand for unskilled workers, unemployed youths will be

waiting outside. They will be engaged for that day only

depending upon the number of employees required. Later, they

will be absorbed as unskilled workers and then promoted as

skilled workers. Table 4.3 gives particulars of recruitment

sources of sample units.

Out of 13 respondents in The Pondicherry Cooperative

Milk Producers' Union Ltd. one was recruited through the

employment exchange and another through advertisement. There

are 9 employees selected on the basis of direct

application and 2 on deputation. Thus, The Pondicherry

Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. is resorting to

different sources of recruitment for different categories of

employees.

In The Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative Society Ltd.

recruitment is restricted to children or wards of existing

employees.If suitable candidates are not available, then

they will approach the employment exchange which is very

rare. Thus, the membership and employment are restricted to

a group of families who originally formed the society. It is

in the bye-laws and so purely legal. It has the practical

advantage of mutual understanding and adjustment among the

employees. The employees will be first absorbed as casual

labourers and later appointed as full fledged members based

on direct application. All the 25 respondents are appointed

in this method. Thus, the source of recruitment is very

limited in this society.

In The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. the

situation is different. Recruitment is made rarely for this

society as it is already suffering from overstaffing. The

overstaffing was the result of offering employment to those

from whom land was acquired for construction of mill.

Further employment was offered to those who offered to

supply sugarcane and subscribed to the share capital of

the society. But all these people were unskilled. So,

technically qualified people with experience were appointed

through the employment exchange and advertisement in the

newspapers. Subsequently, occasional appointments were made

on the basis of applications given by individuals who are

close to management or politicians in power. In one case, a

candidate who was allowed to do his project work was

absorbed as regular employee overlooking the claim of

workers for promotion from lower grade to higher grade.

In The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills

Ltd. 16 respondents are appointed through employment

exchange and 23 respondents are appointed through

advertisement. They are all skilled workers. The number of

persons appointed on the basis of direct application are 22

all of whom belong to the category of canegrowers or vendors

of land to the society. There are 2 respondents appointed

on deputation. In short, the recruitment policy and

practice in The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd.

is not satisfactory and is also against the principles of

management.

The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. has been in

existence since 1958. The Bank followed different policies

at different times. Some were appointed through the

employment exchange and some others through individual

applications. People working in the Primary Agricultural

Credit Societies do not have any chance of promotion or

getting higher pay since they are working in small village

level societies. The present system in the Bank is to

recruit people who are already working in the Primary

Agricultural Credit Societies. This is a good trend. But

the system of appointment through direct applications has

not been totally stopped.

In The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. out

of 32 respondents 5 are appointed through employment

exchange and 7 on the basis of advertisement. Fourteen

employees are appointed on the basis of direct application.

There are 4 employees appointed from Primary Agricultural

credit Societies through circulars and 2 respondents on

deputation. The recruitment practice in this society is

satisfactory.

In the Pondicherry Cooperative Wholesale Stores Ltd.

recruitment has not been done during the last five years as

they are suffering from overstaffing in the office. The

sales section is having optimum strength and this is

indicated in the reasonable rate of Gross Profit.

Overstaffing in the office is the main reason for net loss.

The management is trying to introduce golden handshake

scheme. But the extent of the success of the scheme is not

known.

The number of respondents employed through employment

exchange is 2, while 5 respondents were appointed through

advertisement. Eight employees are appointed on the basis of

direct application and two employees on deputation.

Out of 150 respondents, 24 (16%) are recruited through

employment exchange: 36 respondents (24%) are recruited

through advertisement in the newspapers. The number of

respondents recruited through direct application is 79

(52.67%). There are 7 respondents (4.67%) appointed on

deputation. Four employees (2.66%) are appointed through

circulars.

Each society has its own norms for creation of posts.

These norms are prescribed by the Federations at the

~ational level. For example, the NABARD has prescribed norms

for creation of posts in the State Cooperative Banks. The

pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. will send proposals

to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies for his approval.

After the approval, the bank will take steps to appoint the

employees. But in actual practice, this is not followed.

Initially casual labourers are appointed without

reference to the employment exchange. The wages of

casual labourers are paid as contingent expenses and they

are not treated as regular employees. Thus, the societies

avoid the need to obtain the consent of the Registrar of

Cooperative Societies and reference to the employment

exchange in order to patronise the friends and relatives

of management. Subsequently, applications are received from

these causal labourers and all of them are regularised.

The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank Ltd. alone

follows the method of recruitment from the employees of

other primary societies. There are 4 employees, out of

32 respondents, appointed from other cooperative societies.

Thus, direct applications (52.67%) is the predominant source

of recruitment for all the 5 selected units. The absence of

elected Board of Directors and the Chief Executives drawn

as deputationist from the Department of cooperation are

convenient to the politicians to follow this source of

recruitment.

SELECTION

Once the sources of required manpower are identified

and the prospective employees are stimulated to seek for a

job in the organisation, the next natural step is to select

the best and most suitable persons from among the several

applicants. This process is known as selection. Selection

means establishing the best fit between the job requirements

on the one hand and the candidates1 qualification on the

other.

Definition

According to Arun Monappa and Mirza S. Saiyadain,

"Selection refers to the process of offering jobs to one or

more applicants from the applications.n13 In the opinion of

Dale Yoder and Standohar, "Selection is the process in which

Candidates for employment are divided into two classes those

13. Arun Monappa and Mirza S. Saiyadain - Personnel Management - Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd., New Delhi - 1989 - p.106

who are to be offered employment and those who are not".14

David A . DeCenzo considers, "Primary purpose of

selection is to predict which job applicant will be

successful if hired".15 According to Mathis, "Selection is

the process of picking individuals who have relevant

qualifications to fill jobs in an organisation". l6

Michael J.Jucius defines selection procedure as "a

sequence of functions adopted in a given case for the

purpose of ascertaining whether or not candidates possess

the qualifications called for a specific jobm.''

Selection involves many steps leading to employment of

persons who possess the ability and qualifications to

perform the jobs for which they are selected. At each step

more and more information are gathered about the candidate

14. Dale Yodar and Paul Standohar - Personnel Management and Industrial Relations - Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi - 1986 - p.169

15. David A. DeCenzo and Stephen P. Robbins - Personnel / Human Resource Management - Prentice - Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi - 1989 - p.147.

16. Robert L. Mathis and John H-Jackson - Personnel /Human Resource Management - Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi - 1985 - p.237

17. Michael J.Jucius - Personnel Management - Richard D. Irwin Inc., Homewood, Illinois, U.S.A - 1955- p.142

to find out hie suitability or otherwise. The steps are:

1) Application of the candidate 2) Employment tests. 3) Personal interviews. 4) Reference Checking. 5) Medical Examination.

Selection procedure may be simple or sophisticated

depending upon the nature of the job. The more sophisticated

the procedure is, the better will be the fitness of the

candidate. Choosing the right persons is more important.

The candidate should neither be underqualified nor

overqualified. He should have the aptitude to handle the

job. The job should not be merely a means of earning a

livelihood. A wrong selection means heavy loss to the

organisation in terms of expenditure incurred on selection,

induction, training and poor performance of the employee.

The misfit will either leave the job if he gets better

opportunities or continue to work in the organisation

without interest resulting in poor performance. Hence, the

procedure in the selection of employees in the selected

units is analysed here.

Managerial Practice

During the discussion with the Chief Executives, it is

Understood that medical examination is compulsory and

checking of the references is not done unless there is a

complaint. So, only other steps such as scrutiny of

applications, written test and interviews are analysed in

this section.

There is no standard form of application in any of the

selected societies to qet relevant information from the

candidates. Applications are received only after the society

decides to select the candidates. Written tests are

conducted to find out the technical skill of the candidate.

In some cases alone the written test was conducted. Personal

interview was conducted in all the cases. But there is no

technical person in the selection committee to find out the

aptitude or ability. It is always better to have both

written test and interview. Table 4.4 gives details of

methods of selection of employees.

In The Pondicherry cooperative Milk 1'1 - ..lcersl Union Ltd. none of the respondents was selected either on the

basis of written test and interview or written test only.

Seven respondents were selected purely on the basis of

personal interview. Four persons were selected on

compassionate grounds. There are 2 deputationists among

the respondents who are appointed for administrative

convenience of the Government.

In The Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative Society Ltd.

17 respondents were selected purely on the basis of personal

interview while two were selected after written test and

interview. Six respondents were selected on compassionate

grounds.

Out of 63 respondents in The Pondicherry Cooperative

Sugar Mills Ltd. 52 were selected purely on the basis of

interview. One respondent was selected on the basis of

written test only and 5 were selected on written test and

interview. Three respondents were selected on compassionate

grounds and another 2 respondents were deputationists.

In Tho Pondicherry S t c ~ t e C o o p n r n t i v c n ; ~ r ~ k 1,td. 0

respondents were selected on the basis of written test

only and 5 were selected on the basis of written test and

interview. out of 32 respondents, 15 were selected on the

basis of interview. There were two respondents selected

on compassionate grounds and another two were

deputationists.

Out of 17 respondents, 7 were selected on the basis of

interview and 7 others on written test and interview. Two

respondents were selected on compassionate grounds and 2

respondents were deputationists.

Thus, the overall picture clearly indicates that the

selection policy is biased towards selection purely on the

basis of personal interview. Out of 150 respondents in all

the selected units, 93 were selected purely on the basis

of interview. There were 10 respondents selected purely

on written test and 23 respondents had undergone both

written test and interview. There were 17 respondents who

were selected on compassionate grounds.

In the case of compassionate appointments, the

interview was only nominal to find out whether the candidate

is having the minimum educational qualification required for

the post. There are seven deputationists among the 150

respondents. This number is in addition to Chief Executives.

In other words either the societies depend on Government for

top level and middle level managers or the Government is

pushing its employees into the societies so that they can

have better control over the functioning of ,the societies.

The second possibility seems to be more reasonable.

Social Justice and Selection

Cooperative movement is considered as the appropriate

agency to bring about a social and economic transformation

in the independent India. The principle of social justice

i.e. reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and

other Backward Castes is one of the fundamental principles

in our constitution. So, the researcher tried to find out

the ratio of Schedule Castes / Schedule Tribe employees to

total number of employees. But this could not be done as

none of the selected societies is having the relevant

information. So, in the questionnaire information was

TABLE 4.5

Classification of respondents on the basis of Social Status

Name of the Social Status Society

S.C. O.B.C. Others Total

The Pondicherry Coop. Milk Producers' 2 Union Ltd. (15.38)

The Indian Coffee Workers' Coop. 19 Society (76.00)

The Pondicherry Coop. Sugar 5 Mills Ltd. (7.93)

The Pondicherry State Coop. 3 Bank Ltd. (9.38)

The Pondicherry Coop. Wholesale - Stores Ltd.

Total

- - - - --

Source : Compiled from Questionnaire 11.

solicited about their community. From the sample we could

find out the ratio of Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe, and

other Backward Communities to total number of employees.

Table 4.5 gives particulars about community of the

respondents.

There are 2 Schedule Caste (15.38%) and 7 Other

Backward Communities (53.85%) respondents respectively in

The Pondicherry Milk Producers1 Union Limited. Four (30.77%)

belong to other Communities. Out of 25 sample employees in

The Indian Coffee Workers' Cooperative Society Ltd. there

are 19 (76%) Schedule Caste and 2 (4%) Other Backward

Communities respondents respectively. This is highly

favourable.

In The Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. out of

63 respondents, 5 (7.93%) belong to Schedule Caste, 42

(61.67%) belong to Other Backward Communities respectively.

In The Pondicherry State Cooperative Bank ~ t d . respondents

belonging to Schedule Caste and Other Backward Communities

are 3 and 13 respectively. In The Pondicherry Cooperative

Wholesale Stores Ltd. there is no respondent belonging

to Schedule Caste. This is an unhealthy trend. There are 16

(94.12%)respondents belonging to Other Backward Communities.

There is no sample employee belonging to Schedule Tribe

since according to census there is no Schedule Tribe

community in this Territory. The total effect is 19.33%

belong to Schedule Caste, 53.33% belong to Other Backward

Communities while 27.34% belong to others. Considering the

constitutional provision of 16% to Schedule Caste, all

the selected societies except The Indian Coffee Workers'

Cooperative Society Ltd. do not fare well.

Attitude of Employees Towards Reservation

The respondents are asked to give their opinion

regarding the reservation to people belonging to Schedule

Castes. Accordingly, 104 (69.33%) out of 150 respondents

favour reservation to Schedule Caste people in recruitment

and selection.

The respondents are also asked to give their

opinion regarding the reservation to people belonging to

Backward Schedule Class . Accordingly, 103 (68.66%) out of 150 respondents favour reservation to Backward Class people

in recruitment and selection.

The respondents are again asked to give their

opinion regarding the reservation to people belonging to

Economically poor people but belonging to forward

Communities. Accordingly, 114 (76%) out of 150 respondents

favour reservation to poor people in recruitment and

selection. It is, therefore, concluded that the employees

prefer reservation to candidates belonging to Scheduled

Castes, Backward Class and poor people belonging to forward

communities.