Human Resource Management by Raja Rao Pagidipalli

Human Resource Management – M.B.A. PRINCE
R a j a R a o P a g i d i p a l l i Page 1

I - UNIT
INTRODUCTION TO HRM
Introduction:
According to Leon C. Megginson, the term human resources (HR) can be thought of as
“the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes of an organization’s
workforce, as well as the value, attitudes and beliefs of the individuals involved.” The
term human resources can also be explained in the sense that it is a resource like any
natural resource. It does mean that the management can get and use the skill,
knowledge, ability etc., through the development of skills, tapping and utilizing them
again and again by developing a positive attitude among employees. The aspect of
‘attitude’ among the human resources aspects gained significance along with
globalization. Managing of these human resources deals with the above areas and also
provides an answer to the question referred above. Now, we shall discuss the meaning of
human resources management (HRM) and other areas.
Meaning and Definition of HRM
In simple sense, human resources management means employing people, developing
their resources, utilizing, maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the
job and organizational requirements with a view to contribute to the goals of the
organization, individual and the society. Michael J. Jucius defined Personnel
Management as “the field of management which has to do with planning, organizing,
and controlling the functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and utilizing a
labour force, such that the:
ü Objectives for which the company is established are attained economically and
effectively,
ü Objectives of all levels of personnel are serve to the highest possible degree, and
ü Objective of society are duly considered and served.”
According to Pulapa Subba Rao, human resources management (HRM) is managing
(planning, organizing, directing and controlling) the functions of employing, developing,
compensating and utilizing human resources, resulting In the creation and development
of human and industrial relations which would shape the future policies and practices of
human resource management, with a view to contribute proportionately (due to them)
to the organizational, individual and social goals.

Differences between Personnel Management and Human Resources
Management:
Personnel Management is different from Human Resources Management. Personnel
means persons employed. Hence, personnel management views the man as economic
man who works for money or salary. Human resources management treats the people as
human beings having economic, social and psychological needs. Thus, HRM is broader
in scope compared to personnel management. John Storey differentiated personnel
management from human resources management.
Functions of HRM
The functions of HRM can be broadly classified into two categories:
Managerial functions and Operative functions.
I.Managerial Functions: Managerial functions of personnel management involve
planning, organizing, directing and controlling. All these functions influence the
operative functions.
v Planning:
It is a predetermined course of action. Planning pertains to formulating strategies
of personnel programmers and changes in advance that will contribute to the
organizational goals. In other words, it involves planning of human resources,
requirements, recruitment, selection, training etc.
v Organizing:
An organization is a means to an end. It is essential to carry out the determined
course of action. In the words of J.C. Massie, an organization is a “structure and a
process by which a co-operative group of human beings allocates its task among
its members, identifies relationships and integrates its activities towards a
common objective.”
v Directing:
The next logical function after completing planning and organizing is the
execution of the plan. The basic function of personnel management at any level is
motivating, commanding, leading and activating people. The willing and effective
co-operation of employees for the attainment of organizational goals is possible
through proper direction.
v Controlling:
After planning, organizing and directing various actives of personnel
management, the performance is to be verified in order to know that the
personnel functions are performed in conformity with the actual with the plans,
identification of deviations if any and correcting of identified deviations.

II. Operative Functions: The operative functions of human resources management
are related to specific activities of personnel management - Employment, Development,
Compensation and Relations. All these functions are interacted with managerial
functions. Further, these functions are to be performed in conjunction with
management functions.
1. Employment: It is the first operative function of HRM. Employment is concerned
with securing and employing the people possessing required kind and level of human
resources necessary to achieve the organizational objectives. It covers the functions such
as job analysis, HR Planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and internal
mobility.
Job Analysis: It is the process of study and collection of information relating to
the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It includes collection of data,
information, facts and ideas relating to various aspects of jobs including men,
machines and materials.
Human Resources Planning: It is a process for determination and assuring
that the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons,
available at proper times, performing jobs which would meet the needs of the
organization and which would provide satisfaction for the individuals involved. It
involves estimation of present and future requirements and supply of human
resources based on objectives and long range plans of the organization.
Recruitment: It is the process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization. It deals with identification
of existing sources of applicants and creation/identification of new sources of
applicants.
Selection: It is the process of ascertaining the qualifications, experiences, skills,
knowledge etc., of an applicant with a view to appraising his/her suitability to a
job. This function includes:
ü Framing and developing application blanks.
ü Creating and developing valid and reliable testing techniques.
ü Formulating interviewing techniques.
ü Checking of references.
ü Placement:
ü Counseling the functional managers regarding placement.

ü Conducting follow-up study, appraising employee performance in order to
determine employee adjustment with the job.
ü Correcting misplacements, if any.
ü Induction and Orientation: Induction and orientation are the techniques by
which a new employee is rehabilitated in the changed surrounding and
introduced to the practices, policies, purposes and people etc., of the
organization.
II. Human Resources Development:
It is the process of improving, and changing the skills, Knowledge, creative ability,
aptitude, values, commitment etc., based on present and future job and organizational
requirements. This function includes:
ü Performance Appraisal: It is the systematic evaluation of individuals with
respect to their performance on the job and their potential for development. It
includes: Developing policies, procedures and techniques.
ü Training: It is the process of imparting to the employees technical and
operating skills and knowledge. It includes: 1. Identification of training needs of
the individuals and the company. 2. Developing suitable training programmes.
ü Management Development: It is the process of designing and conducting
suitable executive development programmes so as to develop the managerial
and human relations skill of employees. It includes: 1. Identification of the areas
in which management development is needed. 2. Conducting development
programmes.
ü Career Planning and Development: It is the planning of one’s career and
implementation of career plans by means of education, training, job search and
acquisition of work experiences. It includes internal and external mobility.
ü Internal Mobility: It includes vertical and horizontal movement of an
employee within an organization. It consists of transfer, promotion and
demotion.
ü Transfer: It is the process of placing employees in the same level jobs where
they can be utilized more effectively in consistence with their potentialities and
needs of the employees and the organization. It also deals with:
1. Developing transfer policies and procedures. 2. Guiding employees and line

management on transfers.
ü Promotion: It deals with upward reassignment given to an employee in the
organization to occupy higher position which commands better status and/or
pay keeping in view the human resources of the employees and the job
requirements.
ü Demotion: It deals with downward reassignment to an employee in the
organization.
ü Retention and Retrenchment Management: Employers prefer to retain
more talented employees while they retrench less talented employees.
Employers modify existing human resource strategies and craft new strategies
in order to pay more salaries provide more benefits and create high quality of
work life to retain the best employees. And managements pay less to the less
talented employees and plan to retrench the misfits as well as unwanted
employees depending upon the negative business trends.
ü Change and Organisation Development: Change implies the creation of
imbalances in the existent pattern or situation. Organisation development is a
planned process designed process designed to improve organizational
effectiveness and health through modifications in individual and group
behaviour, culture and systems of the organization using knowledge and
technology of applied behavioural sciences.
III. Compensation:
It is the process of providing adequate and fair remuneration to the employees. It
includes job evaluation, wage and salary administration, incentives, bonus, fringe
benefits, social security measures etc.
v Job Evaluation: It is the process of determining relative worth of jobs.
• Select suitable job evaluation techniques.
• Classify jobs into various categories.
• Determining relative value of jobs in various categories.
v Wage and Salary Administration: This is the process of developing and
operating a suitable wage and salary programme. It covers:
• Conducting wage and salary survey.
• Determining wage and salary rates based on various factors.

• Administering wage and salary programmes.
• Evaluating its effectiveness.
v Incentives: It is the process of formulating, administering and revising the
schemes of financial incentives in addition to regular payment of wages and
salary.
It includes:
• Formulating incentive payment schemes.
• Helping functional managers on the operation.
• Review them periodically to evaluate effectiveness.
v Bonus: It includes payment of statutory bonus according to the Payment of
Bonus Act, 1965 and its latest amendments.
v Fringe Benefits: These are the various benefits at the fringe of the wage.
Management provides these benefits to motivate the employees and to meet
their life’s contingencies.
These benefits include:
ü Disablement benefit.
ü Housing facilities.
ü Educational facilities to employees and children.
ü Canteen facilities.
ü Recreational facilities.
ü Conveyance facilities.
ü Credit facilities.
ü Legal clinics.
ü Medical, maternity and welfare facilities.
ü Company stores.
v Social Security Measures: Managements provide social security to their
employees in addition to the fringe benefits. These measures include:
¶ Workmen’s compensation to those workers (or their dependents) who
involve in accidents.
¶ Maternity benefits to women employees. Sickness benefits and medical
benefits.
¶ Disablement benefits/allowance.
¶ Dependent benefits.
¶ Retirement benefits like provident fund, pension, gratuity etc.

IV. Human Relations: Practicing various human resources policies and programmes
like employment, development and compensation and interaction among employees
create a sense of relationship between the individual worker and management, among
workers and trade unions and the management. It is the process of interaction among
human beings. Human relations is an area of management in integrating people into
work situations in a way that motivates them to work together productively, co-
operatively and with economic, psychological and social satisfaction. It includes:
¶ Understanding and applying the models of perception, personality,
learning, intra and inter-personal relations, intra and inter-group relations.
¶ Motivating the employees.
¶ Boosting employee morale.
¶ Developing the communication skills.
¶ Developing the leadership skills.
¶ Redressing employee grievances properly and in time b means of a well
formulated grievance procedure.
¶ Handling disciplinary cases by means of an established disciplinary
procedure.
¶ Counseling the employees in solving their personal, family and work
problems and releasing their stress, strain and tensions.
¶ Providing a comfortable work environment by reducing fatigue, monotony
boredom and industrial accidents.
¶ Improving quality of work life of employees through participation and
other means.
V. Industrial Relations: The term ‘industrial relations’ refers to the study of
relations among employees, employers, government and trade unions. Industrial
relations include:
ü Indian labour market
ü Trade unionism
ü Collective bargaining
ü Industrial conflicts
ü Workers’ participation in management and
ü Quality circles.
VI. Recent Trends in HRM: Human Resources Management has been
advancing at a fast rate. The recent trends in HRM include:
¶ Quality of work life
¶ Total quality in human resources
¶ HR accounting, audit and research and

¶ Recent techniques of HRM.
SEOPE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
The scope of human resources management in the modern days is vast. In fact, the
scope of HRM was limited to employment and maintenance of and payment of wage and
salary. The scope gradually enlarged to providing welfare facilities, motivation,
performance appraisal, human resources management, maintenance of human
relations, strategic human resources and the like. The scope has been continuously
enlarging.
The scope of Human Resources Management includes:
ÿ Objectives of HRM
ÿ Organisation of HRM
ÿ Strategic HRM
ÿ Employment
ÿ Development
ÿ Wage and salary administration/compensation
ÿ Maintenance
ÿ Motivation
ÿ Industrial relations
ÿ Participative management and
ÿ Recent developments in HRM.
IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Human resources play a crucial role in the development process of modern economics.
Arthur Lewis observed, “there are great differences in development countries which
seem to have roughly equal resources, so it is necessary to enquire into the difference in
human behaviour.” It is often felt that though the exploitation of natural resources,
availability of physical and financial resources and international aid play prominent
roles in the growth of modern economies, none of these factors is more significant than
efficient and committed manpower. It is in fact said that all development comes from
the human mind. Human Resources in the Nation’s Well-being
A nation with abundance of physical resources will not benefit itself unless human
resources make use of them. In fact, human resources with right attitude are solely
responsible for making use of national resources and for the transformation of
traditional economies into the modern industrial and knowledge economies. Man Vis-à-

vis Machine Most of the problems in organizational sectional sections are human and
social rather than physical, technical or economic. No industry can be rendered efficient,
so long as the basic fact remains unrecognized that it is principally human. It is not a
mass of machines and technical processes but a body of men.
HRM and General Management: Management of an organisational in modern
economies is not only complex and sophisticated but it is also vital influencing the
economic growth of a country. One of the fundamental tasks of management is to
manage human resources in the service of the economic objectives of the enterprise.
Successful management depends not solely, but significantly upon the ability to predict
and control human behaviour.
Role of HRM: Human Resources Management plays the most crucial role in the
management of an organization. Human resources play crucial role in the conversion
process of inputs. Product design, quality maintenance, rendering services etc., depend
upon the efficiency of human resources. Similarly, human resources plays critical role in
marketing the products and services. Human resource also plays significant role in
managing finances and managing information systems.
Objectives of HRM: Objectives are pre-determined goals to which individual or group
activity in an organization is directed. Objectives of HRM are influenced by social
objectives, organizational objectives, functional objectives and individual objectives.
Institutions are instituted to attain certain specific objectives. The objectives of the
economic institutions are mostly to earn profits, and that educational institutions are
mostly to impart education and/or conduct research so on and so forth. However, the
fundamental objective of any organization is survival. Organizations are not just
satisfied with this goal. Further, the goal of most of the organisations is growth and/or
profits.
The objectives of HRM may be as follows:
µ To create and utilize able and motivated workforce, to accomplish the basic
organizational goals.
µ To establish and maintain sound organizational structure and desirable working
relationships among all the members of the organization.
µ To secure the integration of individual and groups within the organization by co-
ordination of the individual and group goals with those of the organization.
µ To create facilities and opportunities for individual or group development so as to
match it with the growth of the organization.
µ To attain an effective utilization of human resources in the achievement of
organizational goals.

µ To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by providing adequate and
equitable wages, incentives , employee benefits and social security and measures
for challenging work, prestige, recognition, security, status etc.
HRM Objectives at Wipro
ü To respect the individual, as people are the greatest assets.
ü To govern individual and company relationships with the highest
standard of conduct and integrity.
ü To be close to the customer through employees.
ü To achieve and maintain leadership in people management.
HRM Policies, Procedures and Programmes:
After the establishment of objectives of HRM, human resources policies are to be
formulated Policies are general statements that guide thinking and action in decision-
making.
Definition of HRM Policy: A Policy is a plan of action. Brewster and Richbell defined
HRM policies as, “set of proposals and actions that act as a reference point for managers
in their dealings with employees”. “HR polices constitute guides 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”. HR policies guide the
course of action intended to accomplish personnel objectives.
What is HRM Procedure?
Policies are general instructions whereas procedures are specific applications. A
procedure is a well thought out course of action. It prescribes the specific manner in
which a piece of work is to be done. Procedures are called “action guidelines.” They are
generally derived from policies. Where policies define a broad field, procedures show a
sequence of activities within that area. The emphasis is on chronological, step-by-step
sequence of required actions. For instance, a student is required to complete several
itemized steps in order to register himself to complete several itemized steps for courses
in a university. The basic purpose of a procedure is to spell out clearly the way one is to
go about doing something.
Role of HR Manager:
Human Resources Manager plays a vital role in the modern organization. He plays
various strategic roles at different levels in the organization. Te roles of the HR Manager
include roles of conscience, of a counselor, a mediator, a company spokesman, a
problem solver and a change agent.

µ The Conscience Role: The conscience role is that of a humanitarian who
reminds the management of its morals and obligations to its employees.
µ The Counsellor: Employees who are dissatisfied with the present job approach
the HR manager for counseling. In addition, employees facing various problems
like marital, health, children education/marriage, mental, physical and career
also approach the HR managers. The HR Manager counsels and consults the
employees and offers suggestions to solve/overcome the problems.
µ The Mediator: As a mediator, the HR manager plays the role of a peace-maker.
He settles the disputes between employees and the management. He acts as a
liaison and communication link between both
µ The Spokesman: He is a frequent spokesman for of representative of the
company.
µ The Problem-solver: He acts as a problem solver with respect to the issues
that involve human resources management an overall long range organizational
planning.
µ The Change Agent: He acts as a change agent and introduces changes in
various existing programmes.
JOB DESIGN
Job design is defined as the process of deciding on the content of a job in terms of duties
and responsibilities of the jobholders; on the methods to be used in carrying out the job,
in terms of techniques, systems and procedures and on the relationships that should
exist between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues. Factor
affecting job design include organizational factors, environmental factors and
behavioural factors. Two important goals of job design:
µ To meet the organizational requirements such as higher productivity, operational
efficiency, quality of product/service etc., and
µ To satisfy the needs of the individual employees like interests, challenges,
achievement or accomplishment etc. Finally, the goal of the job design is to
integrate the needs of the individual with the organizational requirements.
Approaches to job Design: There are three important approaches to job design viz.,
¶ (i) engineering approach
¶ (ii) human approach and
¶ (iii) job characteristics approach.
i. Engineering Approach: This approach which studies the work
scientifically is based on scientific management principles. These principles
seem to be quite rational and appealing as they point towards increased

organizational performance.
ii. Human Approach: Human relations approach to job design recognizes the
need to design the jobs which are interesting and rewarding.
iii. Job Characteristics Approach: This approach assumes that employees
will work hard when they are rewarded for the work they do and when the
work gives them satisfaction. Therefore, motivation, satisfaction and
performance should be integrated in the job design. Jobs with skill variety,
task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback are called core job
dimensions. Core job dimensions will motivate the employees and result in
job satisfaction and high performance.
Job Rotation:
Job rotation refers to the movement of an employee from one job to another. Jobs
themselves are not actually changed, only the employees are rotated among various
jobs. An employee who works on a routine/respective job moves to and works on
another job for some hours/days/months and backs up to the first job. This measure
relieves the employee from boredom and monotony, improves employee’s skills
regarding various jobs, prepares the competent employees and provides competitive
advantage to the company These measures also improves worker’s self-image and
provides personal growth. However, frequent job rotations are not advisable in view
of their negative impact on the orgsnisation and the employee.
Job Enlargement:
Job enlargement means adding more and different tasks to a specialized job to
provide greater variety. This process is called horizontal job loading or horizontal job
enlargement. Job enlargement is a horizontal slice of the organization. It tackles
dissatisfaction and reduces monotony by increasing the variety and scope of tasks.
This technique leads to specialization, it improves worker satisfaction, quality of
production and overall efficiency of the organization.
Job Enrichment:
Job enrichment loads the job vertically. Job enrichment means adding duties and
responsibilities that will provide for skill variety, task identity, task significance,
autonomy and feedback on job performance. It tries to deal with dissatisfaction by
increasing job depth as work activities from a vertical slice of the organizational unit
are combined in one job. As work becomes more challenging and worker
responsibility increases, motivation and enthusiasm also increase. Dale S. Beach has
suggested specific action steps for designing enriched jobs. They are:

ü Creation of natural or logical work units,
ü Combining several duties, requiring various skills into each job,
ü The employee should have direct contact and knowledge about the people for
whom his product is meant,
ü Vertical job loading is to incorporate some planning and controlling duties into
the job and
ü Feedback information should be provided to employees to correct and improve
their performance.
JOB ANALYSIS
Procurement is the first operative function of personnel management,
which can be sub-divided into various sub-functions like human resources
planning, recruitment and selection. Management should determine the kind of
personnel required for a job and the number of persons to be employed. The
organization should also find out the right man for the right job in the right time.
The knowledge of the job is essential to perform these functions. In addition,
establishment of the scientific standard in advance is comparing the applicants
with the job and to select the suitable personnel. This standard stipulates the
minimum acceptable qualifications, skills and qualities required for adequate job
performance. Stipulating the standard requires the knowledge regarding job
design, study of the job duties and responsibilities, requirements of the job,
human abilities and qualities etc. job analyst is needed to know all these
functions and to perform various functions of HRM.
¶ Job Terminology: Description of technical terminology is highly necessary in
order to facilitate the study of a job analysis. So, it is desirable to define the terms
related to job analysis like task, position, job, occupation, job analysis, job
description, job specification and job classification.
¶ Task: A task is an action or related group of action designed to produce a definite
outcome or result.
¶ Position: A position is a group of similar tasks and responsibilities assigned to
one individual. The term is used in this narrow technical sense to facilitate more
precise discussion of the job analysis technique.
¶ Job: A job is “a group of positions that are similar as to the kind and level of
work.” In some instances, only one position may be involved, simply because no
other similar position exists. For example, in the small firm the position of
personnel manager also constitutes a job since there is only one personnel

manager position in the organization. Further, there may be six employees, “all of
whom are classified under the same title, yet each may perform slightly different
work.” For example, there may be five or six cashiers in a large commercial balk
branch who may do different work.
Occupation: An occupation “is a group of jobs that are similar as to the kind of
work land are found throughout an industry or the entire country.” An
occupation is la category of work found in many firms.
¶ Job Analysis: The U.S. Department of Labour defined job analysis as “the
process of determining, by observation and study and reporting pertinent
information relating to the nature of a specific job. It is the determination of the
tasks which comprise the job and of the skills, knowledge, abilities and
responsibilities required of the worker of a successful performance and which
differentiate one job from all others.”
The aspects of job analysis include job description and job
specification.
¶ Job Description: A job description is “an organized, factual statement of the
duties and responsibilities of a specific job.” In brief, it should tell what is to be
done, how it is done and why? It is a standard of function, in that it defines the
appropriate and authorized content of a job.
¶ Job Specification: A job specification is “a statement of the minimum
acceptable human qualities necessary to perform a job properly.” In contrast to
the job description, it is a standard of personnel and designates the qualities
required for acceptable performance.
¶ Job Classification: A job classification is “a grouping of jobs on some specified
basis such as the kind of work or pay.” For example, a clerk, a teacher, an
engineer, a chemist etc.
Process of job Analysis
Job can be analysed through a process, which consists of seven basic steps. These steps
consist of strategies, a collection of background information, selection of background
information, selection of job to be analysed, collection of job analysis data, developing a
job description, job specification and employee specification.
¯ Strategies: The strategies of the company are the basis for any organizational
activity including job analysis. If the strategy implementation needs innovative
skills and autonomy, they should be included in the job analysis.

According to William P. Anthony the companies have to make four strategic
choices viz.
ü The extent of employee involvement in job analysis
ü The level of details of job analysis
ü Timing and frequency of analysis and
ü Past-oriented vs. future-oriented job analysis.
¯ Collection of Background Information: Background information consists
of organization charts class specifications and existing job descriptions.
Organization charts show the relation of the job with other jobs in the overall
organizations. Class-specifications describe the general requirements of the class
of job to which this particular job belongs. The existing job description provides
a good starting point for job analysis.
¯ Selection of Representative Position to be analysed: It would be too
difficult and too time consuming to analyse all the jobs. So, the job analyst has to
select some of the representative positions in order to analyse them.
iv. Collection of job Analysis Data: This step involves actually analyzing a job by
collecting data on features of the job, required employee behaviour and human
requirements.
¯ Developing a job Description: This step involves describing the contents of
the job in terms of functions, duties, responsibilities, operations etc. The
incumbent of the job is expected to discharge the duties and responsibilities and
perform the functions and operations listed in job description.
¯ Developing a job Specification: This step involves conversion of the job
description statements into a job specification. Job specification or job
requirements describe the personal qualities, traits, skills, knowledge and
background necessary for getting the job done.
¯ Developing Employee Specification: This final step involves conversion of
specifications of human qualities under job specification into an employee
specification. Employee specification describes physical qualification,
educational qualifications, experience etc., which specify that the candidate with
these qualities possesses the minimum human qualities listed in the job
specification.
Job Description:
Job description is an important document which is basically descriptive in nature and
contains a statement of job analysis. It serves to identify a job for consideration by other

job analysts. It tells us what should be done, why it should be done, and where it should
be performed.
Characteristics of Good job Description: Earnest Dale developed the following
hints for writing the job description:
µ The job description should indicate the scope and nature of the work including all
important relationships.
µ (ii) The job description should be clear regarding the work of the position, duties
etc.
µ (iii) More specific words should be selected to show
ü (a) the kind of work,
ü (b) the degree of complexity,
ü (c) the degree of skill required,
ü (d) the extent t which problems are standardized,
ü (e) the extent of worker’s responsibility for each phase of the work and
ü (f) the degree and type of accountability.
Action words such as analyse, gather, plan, confirm deliver, maintain, supervise and
recommend should be used.
µ (iv) Supervisory responsibility should be shown to the incumbents.
Brief and accurate statements should be used in order to accomplish the purpose.
µ (v) Utility of the description in meeting the basic requirements should be checked
from the extent of understanding the job by reading the job description by a new
employee
The Content of Job Description
The job description normally contains the information on the following lines:
¯ Job title
¯ Organizational location of the job
¯ Supervision given and received
¯ Materials, tools, machinery and equipment worked with
¯ Designation of the immediate superiors and subordinates
¯ Salary levels: Pay , D.A., other allowances, bonus, incentive wage, method of
payment, hours of work, shift and break
¯ Complete list of duties to e performed separated according to daily, weekly,
monthly and casual, estimated time to be spent on each duty
¯ Definition of unusual terms
¯ Conditions of work: location, time, speed of work, accuracy, health hazards
and accident hazards
¯ Training and development facilities and
¯ Promotional chances and channels.
JOB SPECIFICATION

It is a written statement of qualifications, traits, physical and mental characteristics that
an individual must possess to perform the job duties and discharge responsibilities
effectively.
Job Specification Information:
The first step in the programme of job specification is to prepare a list of all the jobs in
the company and where they are located. The second step is to secure and write up the
information about each of the jobs in a company. Usually, this information includes:
ÿ i. physical specifications,
ÿ ii. mental specifications,
ÿ iii. emotional and social specifications and
ÿ iv. behavioural specifications.
¶ Physical specifications: Physical specifications include the physical
qualifications or physical capacities which vary from job to job. Physical
qualifications or capacities include physical features like height, weight, chest,
vision, hearing, ability to lift weight, ability to carry weight, health, age, capacity
to use or operate machines, tools equipment etc.
¶ ii. Mental specifications: Mental specifications include ability to perform,
arithmetical calculations to interpret data, information blueprints, to read
electrical circuits, ability to plan, reading abilities, scientific abilities, judgment,
ability to concentrate, ability to handle variable factors, general intelligence,
memory etc.
¶ iii. Emotional and social specifications: Emotional and social specifications
are more important for the post of managers, supervisors, foremen etc. These
include emotional stability, flexibility, social adaptability in human relationship,
personal appearance including dress, posture, poise, features and voice required
by the job.
¶ iv. Behavioural specifications: Behavioural specifications play an important
role in selecting the candidates for higher level jobs in the organizational
hierarchy. This specification seeks to describe the acts of managers rather than
the traits that cause the acts. These specifications include judgments, research,
creativity, teaching ability, maturity (capable of accepting responsibility) trial of
conciliation, self-reliance (self-starter sticks to own decisions), dominance (giving
orders in a personal way) etc.
Meaning & Objectives of HR Planning:

In simple terms, human resource planning means deciding the number and type of the
human resources required for each job, unit and the total company for a particular
future date in order to carry our organizational activities. E.W. Vetter viewed human
resources planning as “a process by which an organization should move from its current
manpower position to its desired manpower position. Through planning management,
strive to have the right number and right kind of people at the right place at the right
time, doing things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving
maximum long-run benefit.”
Objectives of Human Resources Planning: The important objectives of manpower
planning in an organization are
Ø (i)to recruit and retain the human resources of required quantity and quality.
Ø (ii) to foresee the employee turnover and make the arrangements for minimizing
turnover and filling up of consequent vacancies.
Ø (iii) to meet the needs of the programmes of expansion, diversification etc.:
Ø (iv) to foresee the impact of technology on work, existing employees and future
human resource requirements.
Ø (v) to improve the standards, skill, knowledge, ability, discipline etc.
Ø (vi) to assess the surplus of shortage of human resources and take measures
accordingly;
Ø (vii) to maintain congenial industrial relations by maintaining optimum level and
structure of human resources;
Ø (viii) to minimize imbalances caused due to non-availability of human resources
of the right kind, right number in right time and right place;
Ø (ix) to make the best use of its human resources and
Ø (x) to estimate the cost of human resources.
Benefits of HR Planning:
¶ Human Resources Planning (HRP) anticipates not only the required kind and
number of employees but also determines the action plan for all the functions of
personnel management. The major benefits of human resources planning are:
¶ It checks the corporate plan of the organization.
¶ It offsets uncertainty and change. But the HRP offsets uncertainties and changes
to the maximum extent possible and enables the organization to have right men
at the right time and in the right place.
¶ It provides scope for advancement and development of employees training,
development etc.
Factors Affecting HR Planning:

Several factors affect HRP. These factors can be classified into external factors and
internal factors.
External Factors: External Factors include:
Ø (i) Government Policies: Policies of the government like labour policy, industrial
relations policy, policy towards reserving certain jobs for different communities
and sons-of the-soil etc.,
Ø (ii) Level of Economic Development: Level of economic development determines
the level of HRD in the country and thereby the supply of human resources in
the future in the country.
Ø (iii) Business Environment: External business environmental factors influence
the volume and mix of production and thereby the future demand for human
resources.
Ø (iv) Information Technology: Information technology bought amazing shifts in
the way how do businesses operate? These shifts include business process
reengineering, enterprise resources planning and supply drain management.
Ø (v) Level of Technology: Level of technology determines the kind of human
resources required.
Ø (vi) International Factors: International factors like the demand for and supply
of human resources in various countries.
Internal Factors : Internal Factors affecting HRP include:
ü (i) Company strategies: Company’s polices and strategies relating to expansion,
diversification, alliances etc. determine the human resources demand in terms of
quality and quality.
ü (ii) Human resources policies: Human resources policies of the company
regarding quality of human resources, compensation level, quality of work life
etc. influence human resources plan.
ü (iii) Job Analysis: Fundamentally, human resources plan is based on job analysis,
job description and job specification. Thus, the job analysis determines the kind
of employees required.
ü (iv) Time horizons: Companies with a stable competitive environment can plan
for the long run, whereas firms with and unstable competitive environment can
plan for only short-term range. Exhibit 4.2 presents the degree of uncertainty and
length of the planning period.
ü (v) Type and quality of information: Any planning process needs qualitative and
accurate information. This is more s with human resources plan. Exhibit 4.3
presents HRP information.

ü (vi) Company’s production/operations policy: Company’s policy regarding how
much to produce and how much to buy from outside to prepare a final product
influences the number and kind of people required.
ü (vii) Trade unions: Influence of trade unions regarding the number of working
hours per week, recruitment sources etc., and affect HRP.
The Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software or online solution for
the data entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the Human Resources,
payroll, management, and accounting functions within a business. Normally packaged
as a data base, hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS and every HRIS has
different capabilities. Pick your HRIS carefully based on the capabilities you need in
your company.
The Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) provide:
þ Management of all employee information.
þ Reporting and analysis of employee information.
þ Company-related documents such as employee handbooks, emergency
evacuation procedures, and safety guidelines.
þ Benefits administration including enrollment, status changes, and personal
information updating.
þ Complete integration with payroll and other company financial software and
accounting systems.
þ Applicant and resume management.
The HRIS that most effectively serves companies tracks:
þ attendance,
þ pay raises and history,
þ pay grades and positions held,
þ performance development plans,
þ training received,
þ disciplinary action received,
þ personal employee information, and occasionally,
þ management and key employee succession plans,
þ high potential employee identification, and
þ applicant tracking, interviewing, and selection.
An effective HRIS provides information on just about anything the company needs to
track and analyze about employees, former employees, and applicants. Your company
will need to select a Human Resources Information System and customize it to meet
your needs. With an appropriate HRIS, Human Resources staff enables employees to do

their own benefits updates and address changes, thus freeing HR staff for more strategic
functions. Additionally, data necessary for employee management, knowledge
development, career growth and development, and equal treatment is facilitated.
Finally, managers can access the information they need to legally, ethically, and
effectively support the success of their reporting employees.
Strategic HR Planning:
Strategic HR planning is an important component of strategic HR management. It links
HR management directly to the strategic plan of your organization. Most mid- to large
sized organizations have a strategic plan that guides it in successfully meeting its
mission. Organizations routinely complete financial plans to ensure they achieve
organizational goals and while workforce plans are not as common, they are just as
important.
Strategic HR management is defined as: Integrating human resource management
strategies and systems to achieve the overall mission, strategies, and success of the firm
while meeting the needs of employees and other stakeholders.
The overall purpose of strategic HR planning is to:
ü Ensure adequate human resources to meet the strategic goals and operational
plans of your organization
ü the right people with the right skills at the right time
Keep up with social, economic, legislative and technological trends that impact
on human resources in your area and in the sector
Remain flexible so that your organization can manage change if the future is
different than anticipated.
ü Strategic HR planning predicts the future HR management needs of the
organization after analyzing the organization’s current human resources, the
external labour market and the future HR environment that the organization will
be operating in.
The strategic HR planning process: The strategic HR planning process has four
steps:
þ Assessing the current HR capacity
þ Forecasting HR requirements
þ Gap analysis
þ Developing HR strategies to support organizational strategies
þ Assessing current HR capacity
Based on the organization’s strategic plan, the first step in the strategic HR planning
process is to assess the current HR capacity of the organization. The knowledge, skills

and abilities of your current staff need to be identified. This can be done by developing a
skills inventory for each employee.
Forecasting HR requirements: The next step is to forecast HR needs for the future
based on the strategic goals of the organization. Realistic forecasting of human
resources involves estimating both demand and supply.
Gap analysis: The next step is to determine the gap between where your organization
wants to be in the future and where you are now. The gap analysis includes identifying
the number of staff and the skills and abilities required in the future in comparison to
the current situation
Developing HR strategies to support organizational strategies: There are five
HR strategies for meeting your organization’s needs in the future:
¯ Restructuring strategies
¯ Training and development strategies
¯ Recruitment strategies
¯ Outsourcing strategies
¯ Collaboration strategies
Restructuring strategies: This strategy includes:
ü Reducing staff either by termination or attrition
ü Regrouping tasks to create well designed jobs
ü Reorganizing work units to be more efficient
Training and development strategies: This strategy includes:
ü Providing staff with training to take on new roles
ü Providing current staff with development opportunities to prepare them for
future jobs in your organization
Recruitment strategies: This strategy includes:
ü Recruiting new staff with the skill and abilities that your organization will need in
the future
ü Considering all the available options for strategically promoting job openings and
encouraging suitable candidates to apply.
Outsourcing strategies: This strategy includes:

ü Using external individuals or organizations to complete some tasks
ü Many organizations look outside their own staff pool and contract for certain
skills.
ü This is particularly helpful for accomplishing specific, specialized tasks that don’t
require ongoing full-time work.
Collaboration strategies: Finally, the strategic HR planning process may lead to
indirect strategies that go beyond your organization. By collaborating with other
organizations you may have better success at dealing with a shortage of certain skills.

II - UNIT
RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
Introduction to Recruitment:
Once the required number and the kind of human resources are determined, the
management has to find the places where required human resources are/will be
available and also work out strategies for attracting them towards the organization
before selecting suitable candidates for jobs. This process is generally known as
recruitment. Some people use the term ‘recruitment’ for employment. These two are not
one and the same. Recruitment is only one of the steps in the entire employment
process. Some others use the term recruitment for selection. These two terms are
different. Technically speaking, the function of recruitment precedes the selection
function and it includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective employees
and attracting them to apply for jobs in an organization, whereas the selection is the
process of finding out the most suitable candidate to the job out of the candidates
attracted(i.e., recruited).
Recruitment Definition:
Recruitment is defined as “a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the
requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting
that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient
workforce.” Edwin B.Flippo defined recruitment as “the process of searching for
prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”
These definitions can be analyzed by discussing the processes of recruitment through
systems approach.
Objectives of Recruitment: The objectives of recruitment are:
i. To attract people with multi-dimensional skills and experiences that suit the
present and future organizational strategies,
ii. To induct outsiders with a new perspective to lead the company,
iii. To infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization,
iv. To develop an organizational culture that attracts competent people to the
company,
v. To search or head hunt/head pouch people whose skills fit the company’s
values,
vi. To devise methodologies for assessing psychological traits,

vii. To seek out non-conventional development grounds of talent,
viii. To search for talent globally and not just within the company,
ix. To design entry pay that competes on quality but not on quantum,
x. To anticipate and find people for positions that does not exist yet.
Employee Recruitment Methods: Recruitment can be in two different ways
¯ Internal recruitment is when the business looks to fill the vacancy from within
its existing workforce.
¯ External recruitment is when the business looks to fill the vacancy from any
suitable applicant outside the business.
Internal Recruitment Sources:
They include those who are employed in the organisation or those who were in the past
employ (but quit voluntarily or due to retrenchment) and would return if the
organisation likes to re-employ. The advantage in looking for internal resources is that
they provide opportunities for better deployment and utilisation of existing human
resources through planned placements and transfers. It will also motivate people
through planned promotions and career development when vacancies exist in higher
grades. The law provides preferences to retrenched employees when vacancies arise in
future.
Internal recruitment methods are not only cost efficient, they also support employee
satisfaction and moral. Before looking outside of the company for talent, take the time to
look at the current employees. Nothing causes more dissatisfaction than having
someone new take the position that an employee has been working to get promoted to.
Promoting within requires less training and transition. Here are two ways to accomplish
this:
Job postings – post open positions for employees to apply for before external hires are
considered.
Skills inventory – have HR keep a record of employee skills. Review the inventory to
identify any employees that might qualify for the job. Invite them to apply.
Internal Recruitment – Advantages
1.Cheaper and quicker to recruit
2. People already familiar with the business and how it operates
3. Provides opportunities for promotion with in the business – can be motivating
4. Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates
Internal Recruitment - Disadvantages :
1.Limits the number of potential applicants
2.No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business

3.May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed
4.Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled
External Recruitment
The External Recruitment is the source of the fresh blood for the organization. As
a very critical HR Process, the external recruitment process has to be set up very
carefully. The external recruitment is a process, which is very sensitive to changes on the
external market and the managers are very sensitive about that as well.
The most popular ways of recruiting externally are:
Job centres – These are paid for by the government and are responsible for helping
the unemployed find jobs or get training. They also provide a service for businesses
needing to advertise a vacancy and are generally free to use.
Job advertisements – Advertisements are the most common form of external
recruitment. They can be found in many places (local and national newspapers, notice
boards, recruitment fairs) and should include some important information relating to
the job (job title, pay package, location, job description, how to apply-either by CV or
application form). Where a business chooses to advertise will depend on the cost of
advertising and the coverage needed (i.e. how far away people will consider applying for
the job
Recruitment agency – Provides employers with details of suitable candidates for a
vacancy and can sometimes be referred to as ‘head-hunters’. They work for a fee and
often specialise in particular employment areas e.g. nursing, financial services, teacher
recruitment
Personal recommendation – Often referred to as ‘word of mouth’ and can be a
recommendation from a colleague at work. A full assessment of the candidate is still
needed however but potentially it saves on advertising cost.
Unsolicited applicants – most business will have unsolicited resumes. Make sure
these resumes are kept and filed. Review these before beginning to advertise. The right
candidate might very well be in that file.
Events – job fairs, open houses. These are costly to run but can produce excellent
results. The number of positions available can best determine if it is worth the
investment.

Campus Placements – co-op programs and job placement programs are a great way
to bring in new employees. Contact local colleges or universities to see if there is an
opportunity to work together.
Modern Sources of Recruitment: A number of modern recruitment sources are
being used by the corporate sector in addition to traditional sources.
ÿ Employee Referrals: Present employees are well aware of the qualifications,
attitudes, experience and emotions of their friends and relatives. They are also
aware of the job requirements and organizational culture of their company. As
such, they can make preliminary judgment regarding the match between the job
and their friends or relatives. Hence, the HR managers of various companies
depend on the present employees for reference of the candidates for various jobs.
This source reduces the cost and time required for recruitment. Further, this
source enhances the effectiveness of recruitment. HR managers offer various
incentives/rewards including cash incentives to the current employees for
referring the best candidates.
Modern external sources include: Walk in and consult in, head-hunting, body-
shopping, mergers and acquisitions, tele-recruitment and outsourcing.
Ï Walk-in: The busy organizations and the rapid changing companies do not find
time to perform various functions of recruitment. Therefore, they advise the
potential candidates to attend for an interview directly and without a prior
application on a specified date, time and at a specified place. The suitable
candidates from among the interviewees will be selected for appointment after
screening the candidates through tests and interviews.
Ï (ii) Consult-in: The busy and dynamic companies encourage the potential job
seekers to approach them personally and consult them regarding the jobs. The
companies select the suitable candidates from among such candidates through
the selection process.
Ï (iii) Head-hunting: The companies request the professional organizations to
search for the best candidates particularly for the senior executive positions. The
professional organizations search for the most suitable candidates and advise the
company regarding the filling up of the positions. Head-hunters are also called
‘search consultants’.
Ï (iv) Body shopping: Professional organizations and the hi-tech training
institutes develop the pool of human resources for the possible employment. The
prospective employers contact these organizations to recruit the candidates.

Otherwise, the organizations themselves approach the prospective employers to
place their human resources. These professional and training institutions are
called ‘body shoppers’ and these shopping is also known as employee leasing
activity. The leasing firms employ the people and lease them for the use by
various needy companies for payment of a commission.
Ï (v) Mergers & Acquisitions: Business alliances like acquisitions, mergers,
and take-overs help in getting human resources. In addition, the companies do
also have alliances in sharing their human resources on ad-hoc basis.
It does mean that the company with surplus human resources offers the services
of their employees to other needy organizations.
Ï (vi) E-Recruitment: The technological revolution in telecommunications
helped the organizations to use internet as a source of recruitment. Organizations
advertise the job vacancies through the World Wide Web (www). The job seekers
send their applications through e-mail using the Internet. Alternatively, job
seekers place their CVs in the world wide web/internet, which can be drawn by
the prospective employers depending upon their requirements.
External Recruitment Sources: Organisations may look for people outside it. Entry
level jobs are usually filled by new entrants from outside. Also in the following
circumstances organisations may resort to outside sources:
Ï a. when suitably qualified people are not available.
Ï b. when the organisation feels it necessary to impart new blood for fresh ideas.
Ï c. when it is diversifying into new avenues and
Ï d. when it is merging with another organisation.
External Recruitment – Advantages
¯ Outside people bring in new ideas
¯ Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate
¯ People have a wider range of experience
External Recruitment - Disadvantages :
Longer process
More expensive process due to advertisements and interviews required
Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal the best candidate

Recruitment Strategies: The recruitment strategies formulated by the companies
include:
In-sourcing or Outsourcing: Companies recruit the candidates, employ them, train
and develop them and utilize the human resources of these candidates. This strategy is
called ‘in-sourcing’. Companies formulate and implement this strategy when the
company’s growth is stable. Some organizations employ and develop the candidates
with a view to provide the human resources to other companies which concentrate on
manufacturing, servicing and such other activities. Some manufacturing and service
companies depend for their human resource requirements on such external
organizations whose core business is to provide human resources. This strategy is called
‘outsourcing’. Most of the IT companies follow this strategy. Even manufacturing
companies also depend on outsourcing for the running the non-core business like
canteens, hospitals, office maintenance, security, house-keeping, plant maintenance etc.
outsourcing strategy is more suitable for both the fast growing and diversifying
companies.
Vast and Fast Source: The fast developing IT industry and high technology oriented
industry invariably require vast human resources within the short span of time. The best
strategy to get vast human resources immediately is through internet.
Recruitment Policy: Recruitment policy of any organization is derived from the HR
policy of the same organization. In other words, the former is a part of the latter.
However, recruitment policy by itself should take into consideration the government’s
reservation policy, policy Regarding sons of soil etc., HR policies of other organizations
regarding merit, internal sources, social responsibility in absorbing minority sections,
women etc. recruitment policy should commit itself to the organization’s HR policy like
enriching the organization’s human resources or serving the community by absorbing
the weaker sections and disadvantaged people of the society, motivating the employees
through internal promotions, improving the employee’s loyalty to the organization by
absorbing the retrenched or laid-of employees or casual/temporary employees or
dependents of present/former employees etc.
Limitations for Recruitment – Challenges:
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation ) Act, 1986: This Act replaces
the Employment of Children Act, 138, and seeks to prohibit the engagement of
children below 14 years of age in certain employment and to regulate the
conditions of work of children in certain other employment. Penalties for
contravening the provisions are fine and imprisonment.
2. The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act,
1959: The Act requires all employers to notify vacancies (with certain

exemptions) occurring in their establishments to the prescribed employment
exchanges before they are filled
3. The Apprentices Act, 1961: The Act seeks to provide for the regulation and
control of training apprentices and for matters connected therewith. The Act
provides for a machinery to lay down syllabi and prescribe period of training,
reciprocal obligations for apprentices and employers etc. The responsibility for
engagement of apprentices lies solely with the employer. An apprentice is not a
workman.
4. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970: This Act
seeks to regulate the employment of contract labour in certain establishments
and to provide for the abolition in certain circumstances. The Act applies to every
establishment / contractor employing 20 or more persons.
5. Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976: This Act seeks to provide
for the abolition of bonded labour system with a view to preventing the economic
and physical exploitation of the weaker sections of society.
6. The Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act, 1979: This Act safeguards the
interests of the workmen who are recruited by contractors from one state for
service in an establishment situated in another state and to guard against the
exploitation of such workmen by the contractors.
7. The Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, etc. : Certain legislation,
like the Factories Act and the Mines Act prohibit employment of women (in night
work, underground work etc.) and children (below 14 years of age) in certain
types of jobs.
8. Reservations for Special Groups: In pursuance of the constitutional
provisions, statutory reservations and relaxed norms have been provided in
education and employment to candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in central and state services including departmental
undertakings, government corporations, local bodies and other quasi –
government organisations. Most state governments have issued policy directives
extending the reservations to notified backward communities also.
9. Sons -of -the-Soil: The question of preference to local population in the
matter of employment has become more complex toady than ever before. The
Govt. of India has recognised the main elements of the arguments on behalf of
the sons of the soil and laid down certain principles in the matter of recruitment
to its public sector projects, whose implementation, however, is left to the
undertakings themselves.
10. Displaced Persons: Whenever major projects are set up, large tracts of
land are acquired for the purpose, displacing several hundred households in each
case. Payment of compensation for land was at one time considered a sufficient
discharge of obligation towards persons who are dispossessed of land. This alone
did not solve the question of earning livelihood.

Realistic Job Preview:
A Realistic Job Preview is an approach that enables the communication of aspects of a
job to prospective applicants before the applicant accepts the offer of a position.
For a RJP to be effective, it is critical to allow employees to obtain a balanced view of the
positive and negative aspects of the position. Discrepancies between the applicant of the
position and the actual operational requirements of the job role may lead to lower
commitment levels and increased turnover. A RJP works by providing applicants with
information that clarifies their expectations and allows them to have a more realistic
perspective of the role. By providing a well designed and consistent RJP process to all
potential employees, the organization can reduce turnover and increase commitment by
allowing the employer to match job requirements with the applicant’s qualities and the
applicant to match their personal needs with the position requirements and the
organizational culture.
Research on the effects of utilizing a RJP has demostrated cost savings due to increased
performance and job survival; decreased levels in turnover by better meeting employee
expectations, improving their ability to cope, providing a perception of honesty for the
organization and allowing them to self-select themselves for the position. In addition,
there is also increased post-employment job satisfaction by giving them preparation to
cope with the demands of the position and making them feel that the employer has been
honest in their recruitment process.
Using Realistic Job Previews for recruitment
By providing applicants with an insight into the job vacancy – both the attractive and
less attractive aspects of the role – many candidates decide for themselves that the job is
not for them. The Realistic Job Previews (RJP) helps the applicant to really think
through whether the new role is for them – whether they will fit into the organisation
and enjoy the role.
The Realistic Job Preview should be used to: Help unsuitable applicants withdraw
themselves before the formal recruitment process takes place. Ensure such ‘self-
elimination’ is seen in a positive, brand aligned and advisory way. These applicants may
also be customers and it is important to treat them with dignity.
The benefits of Realistic Job Preview
Realistic Job Previews can help with volume recruitment by removing around 15% of
applicants through clarifying and clearly stating the job requirements, thereby
increasing the quality of applications received. It also reduces resignation rate of

recruits and ensures candidates finally selected are likely to align well with the values
and culture of the organization.
Selection:
Selection is a process of measurement, decision making and evaluation. The goal of a
selection system is to bring in to the organisation individuals who will perform well on
the job. To have an accurate and fair selection system, an organisation must use reliable
and valid measures of job applicant characteristics. In addition, a good selection system
must include a means of combining information about applicant characteristics in a
rational way and producing correct hire and no-hire decisions. A good personnel
selection system should add to the overall effectiveness of the organisation.
Organisations vary in the complexity of their selection system. Some merely skim
applications blanks and conduct brief, informal interviews, whereas others take to
resting, repeated interviewing, background checks and so on. Although the latter system
is more costly per applicant, many benefits are realised from careful, thorough selection.
An organisation needs to have members who are both skilled and motivated to perform
their roles. Either such members can be identified by careful selection or attempts can
be made to develop them after hire by extensive training. Thus cursory selection may
greatly increase training and monitoring costs, whereas spending more on the selection
process will reduce these post-hire expenses.
Selection procedure:
Selection procedure employs several methods of collecting information about the
candidate’s qualifications, experience, physical and mental ability, nature and
behaviour, knowledge, aptitude and the like for judging whether a given applicant is
suitable or not for the job. Therefore, the selection procedure is not a single act but is
essentially a series of methods or stages by which different types of information can be
secured through various selection techniques. At each step, facts may come to light
which are useful for comparison with the job requirement and employee specifications.
Steps in Scientific Selection Process
(i) Job Analysis, (ii) Recruitment. (iii) Application Form, (iv) Written Examination, (v)
Preliminary Interview (iv) Business Games (vii) Tests. (viii) Final Interview. (ix) Medical
Examination (x) Reference Checks. (xi) Line Manager’s Decision. (xii) Job offer (xiii)
Employment.
Job Analysis: Job analysis is the basis of selecting the right candidate. Every
organization should finalize the job analysis, job description, job specification and
employee specifications before proceeding to the next stop of selection.

Human Resource Plan: Every company plans for the required number of and kind of
employees for a future date. This is the basis for recruitment function.
Recruitment: Recruitment refers to the process of searching for prospective employees
and stimulating then to apply for jobs in an organization. It is the basis for the
remaining techniques of the selection and the latter varies depending upon the former.
It develops the applicants’ pool.
Development of Bases for Selection: The Company has to select the appropriate
candidates from the applicants’ pool. The company develops or borrows the appropriate
bases/techniques for screening the candidates in order to select the appropriate
candidates for the jobs.
Application Form: Application Form is also known as application blank. The
technique of application bank is traditional and widely accepted for securing
information from the prospective candidates. It can also be used as a device to screen
the candidates at the preliminary level. Many companies formulate their own style of
application forms depending upon the requirement of information based on the size of
the company, nature of business activities, type and level of the job etc. Information is
generally required on the following items in the application forms: Personal background
information, Educational attainments, Work experiences, Salary , Personal details and
References.
Written Examination: The organizations have to conduct written examination for
the qualified candidates after they are screened on the basis of the application blanks so
as to measure the candidate’s ability in arithmetical calculations, to know the
candidates’ attitude towards the job, to measure the candidates’ aptitude, reasoning,
knowledge in various disciplines, general knowledge and English language.
Preliminary Interview: The preliminary interview is to solicit necessary information
from the prospective applicants and to assess the applicant’s suitability to the job. This
may be conducted by an assistant in the personnel department. The information thus
provided by the candidate may be related to the job or personal specifications regarding
education, experience, salary expected, aptitude towards the job, age, physical
appearance and other physical requirements etc. Thus, preliminary interview is useful
as a process of eliminating the undesirable and unsuitable candidates. If a candidate
satisfied the job requirements regarding most of the areas, he may be selected for
further process. Preliminary interviews are short and known as stand-up interviews or
sizing-up of the applicants or screening interviews. However, certain required amount of
care is to be taken to ensure that the desirable workers are not eliminated. This
interview is also useful to provide the basic information about the company to the
candidate.

Business Games: Business games are widely used as a selection technique for
selecting management trainees, executive trainees and managerial personnel at junior,
middle and top management positions. Business games help to evaluate the applicants
in the areas of decision-making identifying the potentialities, handling the situations,
problem-solving skills, human relations skills etc. Participants are placed in a
hypothetical work situation and are required to play the role situations in the game. The
hypothesis is that the most successful candidate in the game will be the most successful
one on the job.
Group Discussion: The technique of group discussion is used in order to secure
further information regarding the suitability of the candidate for the job. Group
discussion is a method where groups of the successful applicants are brought around a
conference table and are asked to discuss either a case study or a subject-matter. The
candidates in the group are required to analyses, discuss, find alternative solutions and
select the sound solution. A selection panel then observes the candidates in the areas of
initiating the discussion, explaining the problem, soliciting unrevealing information
based on the given information and using common sense, keenly observing the
discussion of others, clarifying controversial issues, influencing others, speaking
effectively, concealing and mediating arguments among the participants and
summarizing or concluding apply. The selection panel, based on its observation, judges
the candidates’ skill and ability and ranks them according to their merit. In some cases,
the selection panel may also ask the candidates to write the summary of the group
discussion in order to know the candidates’ writing ability as well.
Test: Psychological tests play a vital role in employee selection. A psychological test is
essentially an objective and standardized measure of sample of behavior from which
inferences about future behavior and performance of the candidate can be drawn.
Objectivity of tests refers to the validity and reliability of the instruments in measuring
the ability of the individuals. Objectivity provides equal opportunity to all the job
seekers without any discrimination against sex, caste etc. standardization of test refers
to uniformity of the total behavior of the prospective employee on the job.
Types of Test: Tests are classified into six types. They are Aptitude tests, Achievement
tests , Situational tests, Interest tests, Personality tests and Multidimensional testing.
Aptitude tests: These tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or latent
ability to learn a given job if given adequate training. Aptitudes can be divided into
general and mental ability or intelligence and specific aptitudes such as mechanical,
clerical, manipulative capacity etc.
Emotional Quotient (EQ): Most of the organizations realized that emotional
involvement and commitment of the employees determine their contribution to the

company rather than their intelligence quotient. As such, emotional quotient (EQ) is
used as important criteria in the employee selection process.
Achievement Tests: These tests are conducted when applicants claim to know
something as these tests are concerned with what one has accomplished. These tests are
more useful to measure the value of a specific achievement when an organization wishes
to employ experienced candidates. These tests are classified into: (a) Job knowledge
test: and (b) Work sample test.
Situational test: This test evaluates a candidate in a similar real life situation. In this
test, the candidate is asked either to cope with the situation or solve critical situations of
the job.
Interest tests: These tests are inventories of the likes and dislikes of candidates in
relation to work, job, occupations, hobbies and recreational activities. The purpose of
this test is to find out whether a candidate is interested or disinterested in the job for
which he is a candidate and to find out in which area of the job range/occupation the
candidate is interested. The assumption of this test is that there is a high correlation
between the interest of a candidate in a job and job success. Interest inventories are less
faked and they may not fluctuate after the age of 30.
Personality Tests: These tests prove deeply to discover clues to an individual’s value
system, his emotional reactions and maturity and characteristic mood. They are
expressed in such traits like self-confidence, tact, emotional control, optimism,
decisiveness, sociability, conformity, objectivity, patience, fear, distrust, initiative,
judgment dominance of submission, impulsiveness, sympathy, integrity, stability and
self-confidence.
Cognitive Ability Tests: These tests measure mathematical and verbal abilities.
Popularly known tests of this category include Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: this is a comprehensive test including general
information, arithmetic, similarities, vocabulary, picture completion, picture
arrangement, object assembly and similar items.
Wonderlic Personnel Test: This test includes perceptual, verbal and arithmetic.
Polygraph Tests: The polygraph is an instrument that records changes in breathing,
blood pressure, pulse and skin response associated with sweating of palms and plots
these reactions on paper.

Multi-dimensional Testing: However, the need for multi-skills is being felt by most
of the companies’ consequent upon globalization, competitiveness and the consequent
customer-centred strategies. Organization have to develop multi-dimensional testing in
order to find out whether the candidates possess a variety of skills or not, candidate’s
ability to integrate the multi-skills and potentiality to apply them based on situational
and functional requirement.
Employment Interview: Final interview is usually followed by testing. This is the
most essential step in the process of selection. In this step, the interviewer matches the
information obtained about the candidate thorough various means to the job
requirements and to the information obtained through his own observation during the
interview.
Various Types of interviews: 1.Priliminary Interview 2.Core Interview 3.Decision-
Making Interview
Priliminary Interview: Informal Interview & Unstructured Interview
Ï Informal Interview: This is the interview which can be conducted at any place
by any person to secure the basic and non-job related information. the
interaction between the candidate and the personnel manager when the former
meets the latter to enquire about the vacancies or additional particulars in
connection with the employment advertisement is an example of informal
interview.
Ï Unstructured Interview: In this interview, the candidate in given the freedom
to tell about himself by revealing his knowledge on various items/areas, his
background , expectations, interest etc. Similarly, the interviewer also provides
information on various items required by the candidate.
Core Interview: It is normally the interaction between the candidate and the line
executive or experts on various areas of no knowledge, skill, talent etc. this interview
may take various forms like: Background Information Interview, Job and Probing
Interview, Stress Interview, Stress Interview, Group Discussion Interview, Formal and
Structured Interview, Panel Interview & Depth Interview.
Background Information Interview: This interview is intended to collect
the information which is not available in the application blank and to check that
information provided in the application blank regarding education, place of
domicile, family, health, interests, hobbies, likes, dislikes and extracurricular
activities of the applicant.

Job and Probing Interview: This interview aims at testing the candidate’s job
knowledge about duties, activities, methods of doing the job, critical/problematic
areas, methods of handling those areas etc.
Stress Interview: This Interview aims at testing the candidate’s job behaviour
and level of withstanding during the period of stress and strain. The interviewer
tests the candidate by putting him under stress and strain by interrupting the
applicant from answering, criticising his opinions, asking questions pertaining to
unrelated areas, keeping silent for unduly long periods after he has finished
speaking etc. stress during the middle portion of the interview gives effective
results. Stress interview must be handled with utmost care and skill. This type
interview is often invalid, as the interviewee’s need for a job and his previous
experience in such type of interviews may inhibit his actual behaviour under such
situations.
Group Discussion Interview: There are two methods of conducting group
discussion interviews, viz. group interview method and discussion interview
method. All the candidates are brought into one room, i.e., the interview room
and are interviewed one by one under group interview. This method helps a busy
executive to save valuable time and gives a fair account of the objectivity of the
interview to the candidates. Under the discussion interview method, one topic is
given for discussion to the candidates who assemble in one room and they are
asked to discuss the topic in detail. This type of interview helps the interviewer in
appraising certain skills of the candidates like initiative, interpersonal skills,
dynamism, presentation, leading, comprehension, collaboration etc. Interviewers
are at ease in this category of interview because of its informality and flexibility.
But it may fail to cover some significant portions of the candidates’ background
and skills.
Formal and Structured Interview: In this type of interview, all the
formalities, procedures like fixing the value, time, panel of interviewers, opening
and closing, intimating the candidates officially etc. are strictly followed
arranging and conducting the interview. The course of the interview is
preplanned and structured, in advance, depending on job requirements, the
questions for discussion are structured and experts are allotted different areas
and questions to be asked. There will be very little room for the interviewers to
deviate from the questions prepared in advance in a sequence.
Panel Interview: A panel of experts interviews each candidate, judges his
performance individually and prepares consolidated judgment. This type of

interview is known as panel interview. Interviews for middle level and senior
level managers are normally conducted by the panel of experts.
Depth Interview: In this interview, the candidate would be examined
extensively in core areas of job skills and knowledge. Experts test the candidate’s
knowledge in depth. Depth interviews are conducted for specialist jobs.
Information technology brought significant developments in the selection process
of employees. The vital development is on-line interview.
Decision-Making Interview:
After the candidates are examined by the experts including the line managers of the
organization in the core areas of the job, the head of the department/section concerned
interviews the candidates once again, mostly through informal discussion. The
interviewer examines the interest of the candidate in the job, organization,
reaction/adaptability to the working conditions, career planning, promotional
opportunities, work adjustment and allotment etc. the Personnel Manager also
interviews the candidates with a view to find out his reaction/acceptance regarding
salary, allowances, benefits, promotions, opportunities etc.
The head of the department and the personnel manager exchange the views and then
they jointly inform their decision to the chairman of the interview board, who finally
makes the decision about the candidates’ performance and their ranks in the interview.
Most of the organizations have realized recently that employees’ positive attitude
matters much rather than employees’ skills and knowledge. Employees with positive
attitude contribute much to the organization. Hence the interviewers look for the
candidates with the right attitude while making final decision.
Medical examination: – Applicants who have crossed the above stages are sent for a
physical examination either to the company’s physician or to a medical officer approved
for the purpose.
Reference checks: – The applicant is asked to mention in his application form the
names and addresses of two or three persons who know him well.
Final approval: – The shortlisted candidates by the department are finally approved
by the executives of the concerned department. Employment is offered in the form of
appointment letter mentioning the post, the rank, the grade, the date by which the
candidate should join and other terms and conditions in brief.
HR Interview

The goal of an HR interview is to determine the potential job performance of an
applicant based on the answers that they give to questions. The HR interview is
excellent for jobs that will require applicants to have communication skills. It will also
allow the company to obtain important information that is related to the client. During
the HR interview, the applicant will be able to demonstrate how much they know about
a particular task.
The HR interview is designed to make sure the best candidates are selected. The
interview will also allow the human resources department to determine if the
applicant can work well with the other employees. However, there are a number
of disadvantages to the HR interview process. The evaluations that are made by
the HR department will often be subjective. The decision on whether or not they
will hire the applicant is generally made during the first few minutes of the
conversation. The rest of the interview is used by the HR department to
determine if the decision is valid.
Ï There are a number of ways that can be used to make the HR interview more
successful. The use of stereotypes should be reduced as much as possible. Sex and
race should not play a role in the selection process of the company. Studies have
shown that interviewers who do not have an advanced knowledge of the job are
much more likely to use stereotypes than those who do understand the job
requirements.
ÿ The questions that are asked during the interview should always be related to the
job. When applicants are asked questions which are not related to the job, this
can damage the credibility of the company. To solve these problems, it is
important for a company to make sure they train their employees, especially
those who will be interviewing applicants. The interviewer must have
interpersonal skills. They should not make quick decisions about those they
interview, and they should never use stereotypes. The emphasis should never be
placed on any one characteristic, especially if the job requires the applicant to be
skilled in multiple areas.
¯ Reliability of the Interview: In the interview context, reliability is consensus,
or agreement, between two interviewers on their assessment of the same
candidates. This is called Interrater Reliability. Research shows that it is rather
weak.
¯ Similarity Error: Interviewers are positively predisposed to candidates who
are similar to them (in hobbies, interests, personal background). They are
negatively disposed to candidates who are unlike them.
¯ Contrast Error: When several candidates are interviewed in succession, raters
tend to compare each candidate with the preceding candidates instead of an

absolute standard. Thus an average candidate can be rated as higher than average
if he or she comes after one or two poor candidates and lower than average if he
or she follows an excellent candidate.
¯ First Impression Error: Some interviewers tend to form a first impression of
candidates rather quickly, based on a review of the application blank or on the
first few moments of the interview. Thus, this impression is based on relatively
little information about the candidate. Nevertheless the initial judgment is
resistant t change as more information or contradictory information is acquired.
In addition, the interviewer may choose subsequent questions based on the first
impression, in an attempt to confirm the positive or negative impression.
¯ Traits Rated and Halo Error: Halo error occurs when either the interviewer’s
overall impression or strong impression of a single dimension spreads to
influence his or her rating of other characteristics. For instance, if a candidate
impresses the interviewer as being very enthusiastic, the interviewer might tend
to rate he candidate high on other characteristics, such as job knowledge, loyalty
and dependability.
Placement: Placement refers to assigning rank and responsibility to an individual,
identifying him with a particular job. If the person adjusts to the job and continues to
perform per expectations, it means that the candidate is properly placed. However, if the
candidate is seen to have problems in adjusting himself to the job, the supervisor must
find out whether the person is properly placed as per the latter’s aptitude and potential.
Usually, placement problems arise out of wrong selection or improper placement or
both. Therefore, organizations need to constantly review cases of employees
expectations / potential and employee related problems such as turnover, absenteeism,
accidents etc., and assess how far they are related to inappropriate placement decisions
and remedy the situation without delay.
Induction: Induction refers to the introduction of a person to the job and the
organization. The purpose is to make the employee feel at home and develop a sense of
pride in the organization and commitment to the job. The induction process is also
envisaged to indoctrinate, orient, acclimatize, and acculturate the person to the job and
the organization. The basic thrust of Induction training during the first one or few weeks
after a person joins service in the organization is to:
þ introduce the person to the people with whom he works
þ make him aware of the general company policies that apply to him as also the
þ specific work situation and requirements,
þ answer any questions and clarify any doubts that the person may have about the
job and the organization ……and
þ provide on-the-job instructions, check back periodically how
the person is doing and offer help, if required.

III – UNIT
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Introduction: Organization and individual should develop and progress
simultaneously for their survival and attainment of mutual goals. So, every modern
management has to develop the organization through human resources development.
Employee training is the most important sub-system of human resources development.
Training is a specialized function and is one of the fundamental operative functions for
human resources management.
Meaning: After an employee is selected, placed and introduced in an organization
he/she must be provided with training facilities in order to adjust him to the job.
Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a
particular job. Training is a short-term educational process and utilizing a systematic
and organized procedure by which employees learn technical knowledge and skills for a
definite purpose. Dale S. Beach defines the training as”….. the organized procedure by
which people learn knowledge and skill for a definite purpose”. In other words, training
improves changes and moulds the employee’s knowledge, skill, behavior and aptitude
and attitude towards the requirements of the job and the organization. Training refers to
the teaching and learning activities carried on for the primary purpose of helping
members of an organization to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, abilities and
attitudes needed by a particular job and organization.Thus, training bridges the
differences between job requirements and employee’s present specifications.
Training and Development: Employee training is distinct from management
development or executive development. While the former refers to training given to
employees in the areas of operations, technical and allied areas, the latter refers to
developing an employee in the areas of principles and techniques of management,
administration, organization and allied areas.
Importance of Training and Development: Optimum Utilization of Human
Resources – Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human
resource that further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as
their individual goals.
Development of Human Resources – Training and Development helps to provide
an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources’ technical

and behavioral skills in an organization. It also helps the employees in attaining
personal growth.
Development of skills of employees – Training and Development helps in
increasing the job knowledge and skills of employees at each level. It helps to expand the
horizons of human intellect and an overall personality of the employees.
Productivity – Training and Development helps in increasing the productivity of the
employees that helps the organization further to achieve its long-term goal.
Team spirit – Training and Development helps in inculcating the sense of team work,
team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal to learn within
the employees.
Organization Culture – Training and Development helps to develop and improve the
organizational health culture and effectiveness. It helps in creating the learning culture
within the organization.
Organization Climate – Training and Development helps building the positive
perception and feeling about the organization. The employees get these feelings from
leaders, subordinates, and peers.
Quality – Training and Development helps in improving upon the quality of work and
work-life.
Healthy work environment – Training and Development helps in creating the
healthy working environment. It helps to build good employee, relationship so that
individual goals aligns with organizational goal.
Health and Safety – Training and Development helps in improving the health and
safety of the organization thus preventing obsolescence.
Morale – Training and Development helps in improving the morale of the work force.
Image – Training and Development helps in creating a better corporate image.
Profitability – Training and Development leads to improved profitability and more
positive attitudes towards profit orientation.
þ Training and Development aids in organizational development i.e. Organization
gets more effective decision making and problem solving. It helps in
understanding and carrying out organisational policies

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