MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

Let Us See !

1. Who conceives the idea of setting up an organization?

2. Who sets up the infrastructure of the organization?

3. Who recruits, selects and employs the staff in the organization?

4. Who does planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in the organization?

5. Who operates the machines in an ‘industrial organization’ or provides services in a ‘service organization’?

6. Who sells the products and services?

7. Whose skills, abilities, aptitudes offer a competitive advantage to the organization?

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It is all human beings !

Manage them Well

• ‘Human Beings’ also known as ‘Human Resources’ in the organizational context, have to be managed properly if we want to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization

• Human beings are the most important ‘input’ for an organization.

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Three indispensable Elements of Organizational Functioning

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InputTransformation

ProcessOutput

through

Raw Material

Human Beings

Output & Services offered by another organization

Consumer Goods

Human Beings

Services provided by the Organization

Technology

Hardware

Capital Investments

Management-Worker Relationship

Orientation of the Top Management

The overall attitudes and orientation of the top management determines

• The nature of transformation process

• The Input-Output relationships

• The effectiveness and efficiency of the organization

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Two Extreme Philosophical Orientations

The top management often tends to adopt any one of the two extreme philosophical orientations:

1. Rational System Model:

• Taylor’s Scientific Management Theory

• Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory - Impersonal in approach. No importance given to feelings

2. Social System Model:- Human Relations Approach

• Hawthorne Studies

• Workers’ participation

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Evolution of HRM (I)

• 4th Century BC: References to systematic management of resources and regulating employer-employee relations found in Kautilya’s Arthashastra

• 1929: Formal beginning of HRM functions in India with the setting up of Royal Commission of Labour

• 1931: Commission recommends appointment of Labour Welfare Officers for employee selection, dismissal and grievances

• 1940s-1950s: Indian Institute of Personnel Management and National Institute of Labour Management set up

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Evolution of HRM (II)

* 1960s-1970s:

- growth in business, competition, size of industry

- need to attract and retain people

- welfare officers start performing HR functions

- welfare officers renamed Personnel Managers

* 1980s-1990s:

- Increasing recognition of the contribution of human resources to the survival and competitive advantage of the organization

- Personnel functions renamed HR functions

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HRM Function Today

Today HRM function can be seen as the amalgam of:

• Organizational Behaviour

• Personnel Management

• Industrial Relations and Labour Legislation

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Organizational Behaviour

Industrial Relations and

LabourLegislation

Personnel Management

Differences between HRM and Personnel Management (I)

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Dimension PM HRM

Employment Contract Careful delineation of written contract

Aim to go beyond contract

Rules Importance given to devising clear rules

Impatience with rules

Managerial task vis-à-vis Labour

monitoring nurturing

Initiatives piecemeal integrated

Differences between HRM and Personnel Management (II)

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Dimension PM HRM

Management Role Transactional Transformational

Communication Indirect Direct

Prized management Skill Negotiation Facilitation

Selection Separate managerial task

Integrated, key task

Pay Fixed Grades Performance related

Differences between HRM and Personnel Management (III)

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Dimension PM HRM

Job design Division of labour Team work

Conflict – handling Reach temporary truce Manage climate andculture

T & D Controlled access to courses

Learning companies

Attitude towards Enployees

Labour is treated as a tool

People are treated as assets

Shared interests Organization important Mutuality of interests

Process Involved in HRM

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Process Involved in HRM (I)

A – StaffingStep I : Identifying the organization’s mission and strategyStep II: Identifying job requirements of the organizationStep III: Identifying individuals with relevant skills, abilitiesStep IV: Obtain adequate pool of applicants – for wider choiceStep V: Short listingStep VI: Assessing through screening and interviewsStep VII: Offer of jobStep VIII: Ensure that the selected candidates accept the job offer

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Process Involved in HRM (II)

B – Training and Development

Why T and D? – To help the employee adapt to the new surroundings

How is it Done? – Through Socialization ProcessPhase I – Orientation of the new employee to rules, regulations

and goals of the organizationPhase II – Familiarity with requirements of the job as per goals of

the organizationPhase III – Shaping and reformulating the employees to make

them fully productive in a short time

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Elements of Phase III

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Employee Training

Organization Development

Career DevelopmentEmployee

Development

The Motivation Function

Performance in an organization is a function of two factors:-

1. Ability – so we can hire the ‘right person’ for the ‘right job’

2. Willingness or motivation to do the job

How can HR manager motivate the employees to perform in accordance with their capabilities?

Design the job properly

Making necessary tools available

Create a level of respect between management and workers

Set performance standards for each employee

Establish a link between employee compensation and performance

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The Maintenance Function

What should the HR manager do to retain the productive employees?

• Ensure a safe and healthy working environment

• Design employee assistance programmes – help them deal with stressful life situations

• Operate appropriate communication programs

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HRM Functions in Practice

Employment – How to get the right people for the right job?

What does the HR manager do?

1. Advertise correctly – clear specification

2. Sorts through resumes and weeds out the ones not meeting specifications

3. Forwards the shortlisted resumes to the line manager for review

4. Calls, screens, tests and interviews the candidates tipped by the line manager

5. Fixes final interview of suitable candidates with the line manager

6. Prepares job-offer letter and, if required, convinces the candidate to accept the job once the hiring decision is made by the line manager.

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Training and Development

Conduct / organize training and development sessions to:-

1. Enhance employees’ personal qualities for maximising organizational productivity

2. Facilitate career development of employees

3. As an ‘internal change agent’ help employees cope with ‘change’

This ‘change’ can be at different levels:-

a. Cultural change – change in the philosophy, values, organizational orientation or organizational structure

can result in – new job assignments, lay-offs, team involvement etc.

b. Change in procedures and policies- e.g. new policy to stop discrimination against minorities or to stop sexual harassment

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Compensation and Benefits

HR manager decides upon compensation on the basis of:-

1. Job ranking – higher the job rank more the compensation

2. Job rating – higher the worth of the job, more the compensation

Job ratings are determined by :-

Skill

Job-responsibility

Effort

accountability

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Employee Relations

Employee Relations

1. Non-union setting. Direct dealing with employees

2. Grievance handling by talking directly to the employees

3. Open communication

Labour Relations

1. Involves ‘dealing with labourunions’

2. Specific grievance redrassalprocedure involving management, union and wronged employee-procedure detailed in labour management contract

3. Communication through unions

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Employee relations are different from Labour relations.

Communication Program to Improve Employee Relations

Fundamental elements of communication programme

1. Top management’s commitment

2. Effective upward communication

3. Communicating information that is crucial for the employees’ job

4. Allowance for feedback-through surveys, suggestion box, word-of-mouth assessment etc.

5. Providing information sources to supervisors – for effective handling of ‘frontline’ questions.

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Emerging HR Functions

Reasons for changing HR functions

• Increasing organizational size and complexity

• Transition from traditional to professional management

• Changing social and cultural norms

• Globalization of industry

• Availability of information technology

So HR manager has to be more creative to:-

• Satisfy human (employee) aspirations

• To provide the competitive edge to the organization

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The Changing HR Functions

Assessment Centres – A mechanism to identify potential for growth

Essential features of Assessment Centre

Situational tests, presentations, group discussions, structured interviews etc.

Many assessors

Independent evaluation and report

Identification of job-related strengths and weaknesses

Benefits of assessment centre

1. Early identification of supervisory/managerial potential

2. Provides sufficient time for training for new position

3. Helps identify training and development needs

4. Provides opportunity for organization to review its HRM policies

5. Assists in target development

6. Guides in career development

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Empowerment

Empowerment provides greater freedom and discretion to

employees to make decisions and solve problems

Benefits of Employee Empowerment

Empowerment helps the employees to:-

1. Develop mutual trust

2. Share information liberally

3. Become team players

4. Release their full potential to contribute to the organization

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Kanter’s Study

Kanter studied one major electronic company in 1979

The company initiated two programmes to increase effectiveness of supervisors:

• Traditional competency training

• Structural change situation

Structural change situation involved:

• Empowering supervisors by increasing their flexibility

• Access to resources

• Connection with higher level officials

• Control over working conditions

Results:- Change in supervisory behaviour much more rapid in 2nd situation

Indian Examples – Shri Ram Group, Reliance Industries Ltd.

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Job Enrichment

Job enrichment entails providing discretion, flexibility and variety to the

job. The concept was given by Hackman and Oldham (1975). The characteristics of job enrichment are:

• Skill variety

• Task identity

• Task significance

• Autonomy

• Feedback from job

• Feedback from others

• Dealing with others

However ‘skill variety’ and ‘autonomy’ are the most important predictors of organizational effectiveness

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Parity and Justice

• Ensuring that constitutional and legislation guarantees regarding parity and justice to each individual are not violated/ignored

• General awareness about rights increasing, so are the PIL cases

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Downsizing and Rightsizing

Downsizing – reducing the workforce

Rightsizing – Aligning the workforce to organizational needs

Purpose: to improve efficiency, productivity, competitiveness (core employees retained to operate the system)

Reasons for downsizing:-

• Mergers and acquisitions/sell offs

• To reduce costs and enhance revenue

• Modernisation or upgradation of technology – less dependence on manual work

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HR Information System

It provides information about:

• Duties and responsibilities of every job in the organization

• Skills possessed by every employee

• Future human resource needs of the organization

• Current productivity of human resources

• Identification of training needs

HRIS – retrieves, processes and analyses this information speedily – helps making quick and correct decision for the efficiency of the organization

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