Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 1

MB0043 –Human Resource Management - 4 Credits

Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Q1. Explain the need for human resource planning.

Ans:- Human resource planning system is a mandatory part of every organization’s annual

planning process. Every organization that plans for its business goals for the year also plan how

it will go about achieving them, and therein the planning for the human resources:

1. To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary

qualification, skills, knowledge, work experience and aptitude of work.

2. Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result of superannuation) and

unnaturally (as a result of resignation), there is an on-going need for hiring replacement

staff to augment employee exit. Otherwise work would be impacted.

3. In order to meet for the more employees due to organizational growth and expansion, this

is turn call for large quantities of the same goods and services as well as new goods. This

growth could be rapid or gradual depending on the nature of the business, its competitors,

its position in the market and the general economy.

4. Often organization might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a result

of its changing needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet the

challenges of the changed needs of technology/product/service innovation the existing

employees need to be trained or new skills sets induced into the organization.

5. Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce its

workforce. In situation where the organization is faced with severe revenue and growth

limitation it might need to plan well to manage how it will workforce. Options such as

redeployment and outplacement can be planned for and executed properly

Q2. What are the objectives of job evaluation?

Ans:- Objectives of Job Evaluation

The decision to measure or rate jobs should only be made with the intent to reach certain

objectives which are important to both management and the employee. Although there are many

side benefits of job evaluation, the purpose is to work towards a solution of the many wage and

compensation related administrative problems which confront the industry. The below-

mentioned are some of the important objectives of a job evaluation programme:

1. Establishment of sound salary differentials between jobs differentiated on the skills required.

2. Identification and elimination of salary-related inequities.

3. Establishment of sound foundation for variable pay such as incentive and bonus.

4. Maintenance of a consistent career and employee growth policy/ guidelines.

5. In organizations with active unions, creation of a method of job classification, so that

management and union officials may deal with major and fundamental wage issues during

negotiations and grievance meetings.

6. Collection of job facts

a) Selection of employees

b) Promotion and transfer of employees

c) Training of new employees

d) Assignment of tasks to jobs

e) Improving working conditions

f) Administrative organization, and

g) Work simplification.

There are many established methods to carry out job evaluation in a scientific manner. A four-

fold system of classifying evaluation systems is presented here. Two are described as non-

quantitative and two as quantitative.

1. Non-quantitative evaluation measures,

a. The ranking system.

b. The job-classification system.

2. Quantitative evaluation measures.

a. The point system.

b. The factor-comparison system.

Q3. Why is it important to handle grievances carefully?

Ans:- Importance of Grievance Handling

What might happen if an organization does not provide some method by which a employee can

voice his complaints and obtain a explanation? The employee will be unhappy, his productivity

is impacted, he openly begins to share his discontent with not just his colleagues but also

outsider’s, friends, relatives, maybe even customers and vendors. Just as the employee has all the

right to voice a grievance, as employer (or the management) owes it to the employee to respond

suitably to the grievance. It is but commonsense that the resolution of a problem rests on

management. The earliest and clearest opportunity for issue resolution is found at the first stage,

before the grievance has left the jurisdiction of the manager. For this reason, many firms have

specifically trained their managers on how to handle a grievance or complaint properly. If the

dispute or grievance constitutes a managerial problem it can often be resolved by the manager

himself with the help of the HR team. The following steps discuss how a grievance can be

redressed:

1. Receiving the grievance: The manner and attitude with which the manager receives the

complaint of grievance is important. The basic premise is that the manager should at the outset

assume that the employee is fair in presenting his/her opinion/complaint. The complaint should

not be prejudged on the basis of past experience with this or other employees. When a employee

approaches the manager with a issue the manager needs to make himself available to listen it all

out and provide him/her the undivided attention. Research confirms that managers who were

more task-oriented, as contrasted with managers who were more people-oriented, tended to

experience a significantly higher number of grievances being filed in their units.

2. Reviewing the grievance: Once a complaint is received all facts supporting the issue needs to

be gathered. Proper record keeping such as performance ratings, job ratings, attending records,

and suggestions are reviewed. In addition, with the increasingly legal implications of modern

labour-management relations, the manager should keep records on each particular grievance. All

action taken, discussions with the employee, summary and what is agreed to all of it needs to be

recorded.

3. Analysis and decision: With the problem defined and the facts in hand, the manager must

now analyze and evaluate them, and come to some decision. It is important for the manager to

involve others in the process to ensure that it is fair and is the best solution. The manager must

include the views of his own manager as he might not be aware of all the implications of the

problem and its resolution. Involving HR too is a recommended process in all organizations. HR

can then seek finance or legal counsel if required, before any decision is taken. All involved in

the decision making process need to be aware that the decision may create an undesirable

precedence within the department as well as the company.

4. Response: Often it might not be possible to provide a positive resolution to the problem. If the

solution decided is adverse to the employee’s views, attention needs to be given to the method of

communication. Employees dislike managers who will take no stand, good or bad. Clearly

communicating the message and sharing as much information as possible about the decision

making process helps in establishing credibility to the process used to make the decision. The

manager can also invite HR or his manager to sit-in on the conversation with the employee. As

far as possible this should happen in a face-to-face meeting. In the event an employee wishes to

take the appeal beyond to the next stage of the procedure he must be allowed to do so. The

manager must have the opportunity to explain his decision to the other members so they can take

a well-informed decision.

5. Follow up: The objective of the grievance procedure is to resolve a disagreement between an

employee and the organization. Open communication is important for this process. The purpose

of phase is to determine whether the employee feels that the problem has been sufficiently

redressed. If follow up reveals that the case has been handled unsatisfactorily, then redefinition

of the problem, further fact-finding, analysis, solution and follow up are required. At this stage

the manager can step aside and allow someone else in a position of authority like the HR or the

manager’s manager to lead the process and close it.

Among the common errors of management encountered in the processing of grievances

are:

1. Lack of in-depth review of the issue and its facts;

2. Expressing policy/management opinion prior to the time when all pertinent facts have been

discovered;

3. Failing to maintain proper records;

4. Resorting to authoritative orders rather than having open conversations with the employee;

and

5. Watch out if making exceptions / setting a precedence which could then become a rule.

Q4. How can we evaluate the effectiveness of training programs conducted in

organizations?

Ans:- An objective of training evaluation is to determine the payoff from the training

investment. It focuses on the improvement of the participant in the training programme to

perform jobs for which they were trained, what was effective and what was not, whether the

trainees required any additional on the job training, and the extent of training not needed for the

participants to meet job requirements.

There are various approaches to training evaluation. To get a valid measure of training

effectiveness, the manager should accurately assess trainee’s job performance two to four

months after completion of training. However this focus is not easy to establish and track in most

organizations.

Per Kirkpatrick’s study, training effectiveness of outcomes can be measured:

1. Reaction: Evaluate the trainee’s reaction to the programme. Did he like the programme? Did

he think it worthwhile?

2. Learning: Did the trainee learn the principles, skills and fact that the supervisor or the trainer

worked them to learn?

3. Behaviour: Whether the trainee’s behaviour on the job changed because of the training

programme.

4. Results: What final results have been achieved? Did he learn how to work on machine? Did

scrap page costs decrease? Was turnover reduced? Are production quotas now being met? etc.,

Structured interviews with the immediate supervisor of the trainees are acceptable methods for

obtaining feedback in training. The supervisor is asked to rate the former trainee on job

proficiency directly related to the training objectives. Another approach is to involve the use of

experimental and control groups. Each group is randomly selected, one to receive training

(experimental) and the other not to receive training (control). The random selection helps to

assure the formation of groups quite similar to each other. Measures are taken of relevant

indicators of success (e.g. words typed per minute, units of work produced per hour etc.) before

and after training for both groups. If the results shown by the experimental group are

significantly greater than those of the control group, the training can be considered as successful.

Another common method is the longitudinal or time series analysis. A series of measurements

are taken before the programme begins and continues during and post completion of the

programme. The results are then plotted on a graph to ascertain changes if any, have occurred

and continue to remain as a result of the training investment that was made. In addition, pre-and-

post tests are administered to the training groups. Prior to the training, a test related to the

training material is applied, and the results of this pre-test are compared with results on the same

or similar test administered after the programme has been completed.

Q5. What are the objectives of human relations?

Ans:- Objectives of Human Relations

A human Relations Programme thereby attempts at enhancing employee motivation and

workplace morale through an improved three-way communications and through employee

participation in the decision making processes. Human relations seek to emphasise ‘employee’

aspects of work rather than technical or economic aspects. For example while it might be in the

best interest of an organization to have a employee skilled and completely proficient in one job/

set or responsibilities, today’s organization provides’ opportunities for employees to multi-skill

and acquire knowledge of new yet related jobs/responsibilities. These acts as a motivator for

employees as they benefit by learning new skills / jobs and given an opportunity can perform and

excel in another job. It also seeks to make employment and working conditions less impersonal.

The human relations approach emphasises policies and techniques designed to improve

employee morale and job satisfaction. For example it is common place in organizations to

provide for / encourage employee empowerment where-in the team brings about creative

measures to reduce cost/ improve customer satisfaction. Such teams design and implement self-

driven initiatives to bring about the business result. It is believed that this is accompanied by

increased employee efficiency and reduction in employee dissatisfaction.

An understanding of emerging workplace human behaviour can be summarised as:

i) Assist the manager to develop a better realization of how his own attitudes and behaviour play

a part in everyday affairs of the team and its morale;

ii) Assist the manager to develop a keener sensitivity towards the team members and

interpersonal dynamics

iii) Partner with the managers in helping him drive the business goals and take part ownership of

work challenges and how best to resolve them

iv) Enable him to anticipate and prevent problems, or at least to resolve more effectively those

that he cannot avoid; and

v) Network with other teams with related dependencies and help resolve inter-team business

impacting challenges

The variety of causes of human relations problems lead to the conclusion that no one programme

or single approach can create conditions for good human relations. Therefore, as shared earlier it

in common for organizations and individuals in organization to constantly innovate and resolve

challenges that will benefit both the organization as well as the employee.

This helps understand the key HR objectives which can be best illustrated by understanding the

functions that HR attempts to fulfil in any organization:

i) Human Resource Planning – estimating the need for resources in order achieve the desired

business results. HR plans can be both short term/immediate as well as long term / strategic. The

HR team partners with the line managers to understand the business goals and targets for the year

and then together plan the HR needs in order to meet the goals.

ii) Acquisition of human resources – staffing the organizations with the right mix of skills and

competencies at the right time. It also includes HR initiatives like promotions and internal job

posting to fulfil this requirement for human resources. Staffing teams in organizations are usually

a separate group of specialists who work closely with the line managers to understand the skills

and competencies needed for the job and engage together to select the best talent for the open

positions.

iii) Training and employee development – focuses on managing training activities to upgrade

skills and knowledge as well as soft skills like team building and leadership. The training team is

again a group of HR specialists who propose the training program and consult with the line

managers to ensure that the program achieves the desired outcomes.

iv) Building performance management systems – focuses on the right processes to set goals

for performance as individuals/teams and related measurement methods. This is a core HR

activity and is supported by the HR generalist.

v) Reward systems – establishing appropriate compensation systems and reward mechanisms

that would reward the desired outcome and results in accordance with the corporate values. This

again forms a part of the HR generalist’s tasks. How employees progress in a organization how

they are paid w.r.t. internal and external market factors, what employee benefits are offered, are

some aspect that this function redresses.

vi) Human Resources Information Systems that would take care of the operational transactions

from the time an employee joins till the time the employee exits, like personnel files,

compensation administration, payroll, benefits administration and issuing letters and

testimonials. This task is supported by as separate HR operations team who act as a HR helpdesk

and provide information to the employees/managers.

Q6. Assume yourself as an HR Manager. You have been given the responsibility of

promoting the rightful employees. For this, performance appraisal of the employees must

be carried out. What appraisal method would you choose? Justify.

Ans:- The most difficult part of the performance appraisal process is to accurately and

objectively measure the employee performance. Measuring the performance covers the

evaluation of the main tasks completed and the accomplishments of the employee in a given time

period in comparison with the goals set at the beginning of the period. Measuring also

encompasses the quality of the accomplishments, the compliance with the desired standards, the

costs involved and the time taken in achieving the results.

Ideally every individual in any organization needs to be appraised. The appraisal system should

be able to take care of this, and it shall also meet the needs and the objectives of the organization

meet. On broad way to categorise, the type of appraisal template used to assess performance,

focuses on what the organization wishes to measure:

Trait-based Appraisal: is used to assess personality or personal characteristics, loyalty,

communication skills, level of initiative, decision making etc.. This is common in

companies that are in the business of service, and customer satisfaction. While it is

difficult to define the criteria accurately, rater/manager bias is high, and as the focus is on

personal attributes providing feedback is a challenge.

Behavior-based Appraisal: focuses on the appraisal of what an employee ‘does’ on the

job. It evaluates behavior and measures what an employee should do differently. This is

common in customer facing organizations, like the hospitality / NGO companies. As the

focus is on the assessment of behavior rater/manager bias remains a challenge here as

well.

Results-based Appraisal: measures objective results of work. The focus is on the

outcome/deliverables from the job, and this alone serves as the measure for success. It

may not be possible to use in jobs which depend on team work or where the job is service

/ support based.

Most organizations use a combination of trait, behaviour and results in their appraisal systems as

all three are important. It provides for a holistic and fair assessment of the individual.

1. Individual evaluation Methods : There exists five ways to evaluate an employee

individually. Here the employee is evaluated one at a time without directly comparing him/her

with other employees.

2. Multiple-person Evaluation Methods : While the above techniques are used to evaluate

employees one at a time, there are a number of methods being used in organizations to evaluate

an employee in comparison with other

3 . 360 Degree Appraisal : Typically, performance appraisal has been limited to a feedback

process between employees and Managers. However, with the increased focus on teamwork,

employee development, and customer service, the emphasis has shifted to employee feedback

from the full circle of sources depicted in the diagram below. This multiple-input approach to

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

Figure 7.1: The 360 degree matrix

There are no prohibitions in law or regulation against using a variety of rating sources, in

addition to the employee’s Manager, for assessing performance. Research has shown assessment

approaches with multiple rating sources provide more accurate, reliable, and credible

information. For this reason, HR Management supports the use of multiple rating sources as an

effective method of assessing performance for formal appraisal and other evaluative and

developmental purposes.

The circle, or perhaps more accurately the sphere, of feedback sources consists of Managers,

peers, subordinates, customers, and one’s self. It is not necessary, or always appropriate, to

include all of the feedback sources in a particular appraisal program. The organizational culture

and mission must be considered, and the purpose of feedback will differ with each source. For

example, subordinate assessments of a Manager’s performance can provide valuable

developmental guidance, peer feedback can be the heart of excellence in teamwork, and

customer service feedback focuses on the quality of the team’s or agency’s results. The

objectives of performance appraisal and the particular aspects of performance that are to be

assessed must be established before determining which sources are appropriate.

We shall discuss the contributions of each source of ratings and feedback. In addition,

precautions are listed to consider when designing a performance management program that

includes 360-degree assessment.

360 degree appraisals are a powerful developmental method and quite different to traditional

manager-subordinate appraisals (which fulfil different purposes). As such a 360 degree process

does not replace the traditional one-to-one process - it augments it, and can be used as a stand-

alone development method.

360 degree appraisals involve the appraisee receiving feedback from people (named or

anonymous) whose views are considered helpful and relevant. The feedback is typically

provided on a form showing job skills/abilities/attitudinal/behavioural criteria and some sort of

scoring or value judgement system. The appraisee should also assess themselves using the same

feedback instrument or form.

360 degree respondents can be the appraisee's peers, up-line managers/execs, subordinate staff,

team members, other staff, customers, suppliers - anyone who comes into contact with the

appraisee and has opinions/views/reactions of and to the appraisee. Numerous systems and

providers are available - I wouldn't recommend any in particular because my view about this

process is that you should develop a process and materials for your own situation, preferably

involving the appraisees in this, which like all participative approaches, often works well.

You can develop your own 360 degree feedback system by running a half-day or full day

workshop (depending on extent and complexity of the required process) involving the appraisees

or a sample group, during which process and materials can be created and provisionally drafted.

The participative workshop approach as ever will give you something that's wholly appropriate

and 'owned' instead of something off-the-shelf or adapted, which would be arbitrary, mostly

inappropriate and impracticable (in terms of criteria and process), and 'not invented here', ie.,

imposed rather than owned.

I would recommend against restricting the 360 feedback to peers and managers only - it's a waste

of the potential of the 360 degree appraisal method. To use the feedback process for its fullest

'360 degree' benefit involve customers (in the broadest sense - could be patients, students, users,

depending on the organization), staff, suppliers, inspectors, contractors, and others for whom

good working relationships and understanding with the appraisee affect overall job performance,

quality, service, etc.

Ensure respondents are aware of equality and discrimination issues, notably the Age

Discrimination legislation and implications which might be new to some people. Comments such

as 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks', or 'not old enough to command respect' are ageist,

discriminatory, unlawful, and will create a liability for the originator and the employer.

Developing 360 degree appraisals systems process make ideal subjects for a workshops, which in

itself contains some very helpful developmental benefits and experience for all involved. If

you're not able to get everyone together for a workshop you should solicit input and ideas -

particularly about appraisal criteria and respondents and anonymity - then draft out process and

materials - then issue for approval, then pilot, review, adapt and then implement. Adapt, improve

and develop on an ongoing basis.

It is my view that no aspects of 360 feedback should ever be mandatory for any appraisee or

respondent. Given more than three or four similar role-types being appraised it's not sensible to

produce individually tailored criteria, in which case when it comes to the respondents completing

the feedback not all the criteria will be applicable for all respondents, nor for all appraisees

either. By the same when designing the feedback instruments (whether hard-copy documents or

online materials), it's useful to allow space for several 'other' aspects that the appraisee might

wish to add to the standard criteria, and space for respondents to add 'other' comments. Open

honest feedback can touch sensitivities, so be sure that appraisees understand and agree to the

criteria, respondents (by type, if not named) and process.

Ensure suitable and sensitive counselling is provided as part of the informing of feedback results.

If 360 degree feedback results are to be analysed collectively to indicate the overall/total

situation (ie., to assist in determining organizational training and development needs for

instance), think carefully about the feedback form scoring system and particularly its suitability

for input to some sort of analysis tool, which could be a spreadsheet, and therefore numerically

based requiring numerical scores, rather than words, (words of course are more difficult to count

and measure, and while words and description assessment enables more subtlety, they also allow

more room for misunderstanding and misinterpretation).

For guidance have a look at the skills and behavioural assessment tool - it's not a 360 degree tool,

but is an example of the basis of one, and some of the skills elements that can be included in a

360 degree appraisals form.

Similarly the training needs analysis tool is an example of a collective or organizational

measurement tool, based on the input of a number of individual feedback assessments. This tool

can easily be adapted to analyse a number of 360 degree responses.