Management Studies: March 2013

Role Information System Occupies in HRP

Role of information system in HRP (Human Resource Planning) can be listed out as follows:

Human Resource Inventory Role: Human resource information systems help in preparing human resource inventory by providing the following information.

Number of current employees by department, skills, service, level, age, etc.
Number of employee, joining and leaving with reasons for leaving
Labour turnover rates
Sickness and absenteeism rate
Salary bills including overtime, payer bills including overtime payments etc.

Human Resource Forecast Role: Human Resource information system helps to forecast human resource demand and supply. Various statistical and mathematical forecasting tools require information to be use. They can be

Statistical tool e.g. trend analysis
Mathematical tools
Econometric tools
Markov analysis etc.

Human Resource Development Role: Human Resource information system helps to identify person training, development promotion or transfer etc. It can be also used for succession planning and careers planning.
Job Analysis Role: Job analysis is the systematic investigation of job content. It provides information about jobs currently being done. It defines the jobs and behavior necessary to perform those jobs. It is the framework on which all human resource management activities are based. The information obtained from job analysis is helpful for job description and job specification.

Human Resource Planning

Approaches to Human Resources Planning
Human resource planning involves estimating the size and composition of the future force. It is predetermining future human resource needs and choosing action to satisfy those needs.

The approaches to human resources planning can be
1. Quantitative Approach (i.e. top down Approach): This approach is management driven. It views human resource planning as a numbers game designed to track the flow of people across departments. The foundations of this approach are

Human resource management information system (computerized, if possible)
Demand forecasting techniques, especially statistical and mathematical techniques consisting of tools such as;

Trend analysis
Mathematical models
Econometric models
Marker analysis, etc.

Work study Techniques to lay down work standards

The focus of this approach is to forecast human resource shortages and surpluses. The aim is to reconcile supply and demand of human resources.

2. Qualitative Approach (i.e. Bottom up Approach): This approach is employee driven and focuses on individual employee concerns such as promotion, performance evaluation, career development, etc. Specific highlight can be

Employee development and training
Compensation and incentive schemes
Employee motivational techniques to increase productivity.
Promotion of employee
Career planning and development of employees.
Protection of special focus groups as such women, disadvantages person etc. Managerial judgment and expert forecasts serve as important techniques for forecasting human resource demand.

3. Mixed Approach to HRP: This approach combines both the quantitative and qualitative approaches for the purposes of human resource planning. Efforts are made to strike a balance between both the approaches. They both complement each other.

Relationship of HRP to Strategic Planning

Business organizations prepares plan to reach its objectives. Plan is of short middle and long term. Short-term plan can be considered as tactical plan and long-term plan is strategic plan. Strategic plan includes corporate philosophy strength and policy to achieve organizational goal. Medium-term planning is operational planning. It is concerned with the policy of how efficiently is to operate the organization smoothly. Strategic planning is a systematic process to analyze the opportunities and threats in the environment, assess organization’s strengths and weakness, and identify opportunities of competitive advantage in a long-term perspective.

Every planning is implemented through human resources. Human resources planning are done to support the business planning. So, all the HRP should be linked with business plan. In other word, it can be said that HRP is nothing but the part of business planning. Here HRP are highlighted as all the plans are implemented through HR. Human resource plan cannot be developed as a separate or parallel activity from corporate plan. It should be based on the overall strategies and objectives of the organization. The emerging thinking is that human resource plan should be a partner in the formulation of the corporate strategic plan. Implication of human resources should be considered in the formulation stage of the corporate plan. Human resource should develop a strategic relationship in the development of the corporate strategic plan. HRM should also get everybody in the organization involved in implementing the strategic plan effectively.

Concept of Job Analysis

Job analysis forms an intensive, direct technique for identifying the crucial information regarding the job. It is the process of determining the tasks involves in the job and personnel qualities of the individuals required to involve in the job. According to Flipper, “Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job.” Job analysis provides information both for the job and jobholder. It involves the breaking up of a job into its basic elements and studying them in detail to obtain all pertinent facts about the job. It provides information about job contents, job duties personnel qualities required for the job.

Uses/ Advantages/ Benefits of Job Analysis:

It helps in proper placement of employees by matching job requirements and personnel case of units and misfits are reduced.
It helps to improve efficiency due to better placement and frequently suggests method for improvements.
Job analysis helps in improving the design of job and work methods. It aids in analyzing work processes and work simplification. It also serves as the basis for time and motion studies conducted to lay down work standards for incentive plans.
It provides a basis for manpower planning and for intelligent recruitment and selection of personnel. It reveals the nature and qualities of people for employees.
Job analysis helps in devising the training and development programmes for employees.
It facilities job evaluation and performance appraisal, which are necessary for wage determination, for appraising the working conditions and promotions and transfers.
By facilitating the matching of employee skills with job requirements, job analysis helps to improve job satisfaction, motivation and morale of employees. Absenteeism and turnover of the personnel can be reduced.
It assists management are the proper allocation of authority and responsibility by describing the duties of each job and the interrelationships among jobs.

Procedure of Job Analysis

The job analysis process involves the following steps.

Step – I Collection of Background Information

Step – II Selection of Representative Position to be analyzed

Step – III Collection of Job Analysis Data

Step – IV Developing a Job Description

Step – V Developing a Job Specification

Step – VI Developing Employee Specification

Job Analysis Information

The job analysis provides the following information:

Job identification which includes job title.
Significant characteristics of a job including location, physical setting, union jurisdiction hazards etc.
What the typical worker will do?
What materials and equipments the workers use.
Performa of job duties.
Required personnel attribute.
How the job are performed.
Job relationship.

Methods of Collecting Job Information

There are various techniques one can use for collecting information on the duties, responsibilities, and activities of the job. In practice, one could use any one of them or combine techniques that best fit one’s purpose. Thus, an interview might be appropriate for creating a job description, where as the position always questionnaire is more appropriate for determining the worth of a job for compensation purpose, determining the worth of a job for compensation purpose.

Collecting job analysis data usually involves a joint effort by an HR specialist, the worker, and the worker’s supervisor. The HR specialist (perhaps an HR manager, job analyst, or consultant) might observe and analyze the work being done and then develop a job description and specification. The supervisor and worker will also get involved, perhaps by filling out questionnaires listing the subordinate’s activities. The supervisor and worker may then review and verify the job analyst’s conclusions regarding the job’s activities and duties.

Basic Methods of Data Collection for Job Information
There are two principle methods of collecting job information primarily.
1. Observation: In this method, respondents are visually observed, regardless of whether they realize it or not. This method is more objective than the use of survey questions. In observation method, there is chance of influencing the respondents because of interaction. In some cases, this method may yield more information than could otherwise be obtained, because the methods are independent of respondents’ unwillingness or inability to respond. Individuals are usually reluctant to discuss personal habits of consumption (in the case of marketing research) and observation avoids this problem.

The personal or direct technique of observation is most commonly used. Mechanical recording devices are often used for this purpose. Observers may be explicitly instructed about what they are supposed to notice. Training and practice are necessary if desired detail is to be systematically noted and recorded. If bias cannot be completely eliminated through training, it may be necessary to use observers of various backgrounds to over each other’s blind spots.

2. Questioning: Using this technique, data can be collected more quickly and at a minimum cost because the research does not have to wait for the event in order to observe it. The method is quite versatile, because it can be used to explore virtually all types of marketing problems. They can be useful to learn about a consumer’s internal working such as motives and attitudes that are not observable.

There are three basic types of questioning.

Personal Interview:

An interviewer must know the language of the interviewee. A great deal of personal and social interaction occurs in a personal interview. The appearance of the interviewer must be taken into account. The use of the personal interview should be restricted only to the individual interview but it may involve group as well. That may be a focus group.

Telephone Interview: This technique poses a special challenge for international researchers. State-run telephone is usually associated with poor service and it is usually difficult to have a telephone survey, because everyone may not have telephone lines. Assuming that private telephones are available. There are several problems associated with a telephone interview. They may be difficulty in conversational skills. The habits may vary a lot: an interviewer may feel difficulty in getting the desired information over the telephone.
The Mail Questionnaire: The mail questionnaire is a very popular survey method because of its low cost and high degree of standardization. One problem involves the lack of good mailing lists. People in most countries generally do not bother in reporting their new address, not even for the purpose of mail forwarding. As a result, a government’s list based on the censused report is out dated. Another problem is illiteracy. Lack of familiarity with the mailed survey question method should be given careful consideration. Because many people are not used to responding by mail. The cause may even be the poor mail system. Many postal workers are simply lazy careless.

There are various techniques by which job information can be collected. Some of the important techniques are described below:
Technique 1: Questionnaire: A formalized instrument for asking information directly from a respondent concerning behavior, demographic chart and level of knowledge and or attitudes, beliefs and feelings.

Technique 2: Attitude Scale: A formalized instrument for eliciting self-regrets of beliefs and feelings counseling objects.

Technique 3: Rating Scale: Require the respondent to place the object being rated at some point along a numerically ordered service of categories.

Technique 4: Composite Scale: To express a degree of belief concerning various attributes such that the attitude can be indeed from the pattern of responses.

Technique 5: Perceptual ways: Derive the components or chart on individual uses in comparing objects and provide a-ix score for and object on each chart.

Technique 6: Observation: This is the direct examination of behavior, the result of behavior or physiological changes.

Technique 7: Conjoint Analysis: Derive the value an individual assigns to various attributes of a product.

Technique 8: Projective Technique Interviews: Designed to gather information that respondents are either unable or unwilling to provide in response to direct questioning.

Technique 9: Draft Interview: Allow individuals to express their feeling without any fear of disapproval, dispute or advice from the interviewer.

The Values of Written Job Description in an Organization

Job description is prepared on the basis of data collected through job analysis. Job description is a functional description of the contents what the job entails. It is a narration of the contents of a job. It is a description of the activities and duties to be performed in a job, the relationship of the job with other jobs, the equipment and tools involved, the nature of supervision, working conditions and hazards of the job and so on. All major categories of jobs need to be spelled out in clear and comprehensive manner to determine the qualifications and skills required to perform a job. Thus, job description differentiates on job from the other. In addition, job description is a written statement of what a job holder does, how it is done, and why it is done. The sample of job description is sown as below:

Job Title: Director of wage and salary Administration. Job Summary: Responsible for company wage and salary programs including job analysis job evaluation, wage surveys, and benefit administration.
Job Duties :1. Supervisor job analysis studies and approves final form of job description.
2. Develops executes and monitors job evaluation procedures in cooperation with operating management.
3. Acts as chairman of the company-wide job evolution committee.
4. Conducts periodic wage and salary surveys in the community and industry.
5. Administers the company’s supplementary benefit programme. Recommends changes in and additions to existing benefit.
6. supervises members of the wage and salary division
Working Conditions: Normal-working condition eight hours per day.

Behavioral Approach of Job Design

Behavioral Approach

This approach considers behavioral factors in job design. Employee needs in terms of autonomy, variety, task identify, task significance, and feedback are considered. The methods are:

a) Job Enrichment: It adds new sources of satisfaction to jobs. Jobs are made challenging and meaningful by increasing responsibilities are added to the job, usually with less supervision and more self-evaluation. workers get greater autonomy in planning and controlling their performance. It is also known as "vertical loading" of job. The steps in job environment are

Select jobs, which are suitable for enrichment; identify changes needed.
Change contents of the job to provide autonomy, control responsibility, achievement, and advancement.
Train and guide employees.
Integrate enriched jobs into work schedule.

Advantages	Disadvantages
- It leads to increased motivation and job satisfaction. - It satisfies higher level needs of the employees; job outcomes improve; job status increases. - It stimulates improvements in other areas of the organization. - It empowers employees; provides feedback to correct performances. - It leads to reduce turnover and lower absenteeism; employee development is facilitated.	- Unions may resist job enrichment; employees may refuse to accept enriched jobs with new responsibilities. - The costs of design and implementation are high for job enrichment; training costs can be high. - It focuses on the job only and ignores other variables that contribute to quality of work life (QWL). - Managers may be unwilling to delegate authority; supportive work environment may be lacking. - Job enrichment is only a tool; it is not universally applicable, it is situation specific.

Advantages

Disadvantages

- It leads to increased motivation and job satisfaction.
- It satisfies higher level needs of the employees; job outcomes improve; job status increases.
- It stimulates improvements in other areas of the organization.
- It empowers employees; provides feedback to correct performances.
- It leads to reduce turnover and lower absenteeism; employee development is facilitated.

- Unions may resist job enrichment; employees may refuse to accept enriched jobs with new responsibilities.
- The costs of design and implementation are high for job enrichment; training costs can be high.
- It focuses on the job only and ignores other variables that contribute to quality of work life (QWL).
- Managers may be unwilling to delegate authority; supportive work environment may be lacking.
- Job enrichment is only a tool; it is not universally applicable, it is situation specific.

b) Autonomous Teams (Self-directed Team): Autonomous teams are a group of employees with widely defined jobs and responsibilities to achieve specific goal. Team members are: highly committed; decide collectively; interact continuously; work closely, determine work assignments and working methods and practice self-supervision.

Advantages	Disadvantages
- Autonomous teams generally achieve high productivity and quality. - Supervision costs are reduced. - Team spirit with employee empowerment is realized. - Greater involvement of employees in decision making; greater employees commitment.	- Employees, managers and unions resist autonomous teams. - Cooperation among team members may be difficult. - Efficiency of the team may be low.

c) Modified Works Schedules: The work schedule is modified. The techniques can be

Shorter work week; worker work ten hours each day for four days. It provides mere leisure to employees. Turnover and reduced absenteeism.
Flexible time
Job sharing
Homework

Classical Approach of Job Design

It is based on the principles of scientific management. Standardization and simplification are used in job design to ensure specialization. The popular methods are:

a) Work simplifications: The job is simplified by breaking down the tasks of the job. The task contained in one job may be assigned to tow jobs. The outcome of work simplification is more specialization.

Advantages	Disadvantages
- Work simplification, promotes efficiency through specialization. - Less trained and low paid employees can perform the jobs.	- Overspecialization results in boredom: Boredom results in fatigue and high labour. - Cost go up. - Routinized mechanical pacing provides little opportunity for interaction.

b) Job Rotation: Employees are allowed to move from job to job. The jobs are not changed; only the employees are rotated.

Advantages	Disadvantages
- Job rotation provides variety; employees can use different skills and abilities; monotony of specialized jobs are broken. - Employees become competent in several jobs. This results in employee development. - Worker’s self image is improved, provides for employee’s personal growth and improves task significance. - Organizations get flexibility in scheduling work.	- Job rotation does not improve the jobs; job relationships remain unchanged. - Costs are high, especially the training costs. - Job disruptions may be created. - Employees may feel alienated.

c. Job Enlargement: The tasks assigned to a job are increased by adding similar tasks. The scope of the job is enlarged horizontally. It is also known as “Horizontal loading” of job.

Advantages	Disadvantages
- It provides variety; reduces monotony by expanding the job cycle; draws on a wider range of employee skills. - Job satisfaction increases; motivation may also increases higher needs of employees may get satisfied.	- It requires longer training period; cost is high. - It does not reduce monotony of job; adds one more boring job to another. - It is resisted by employees.

Concept of Job Design

As we know, organizations are human association for achieving goals. In an organization, different types of activities are to be performed to achieve organizational goal. Activities may be of different types and nature requiring different skills to perform it. So, to perform the activities smoothly, it should be organized or managed. The process of organizing and managing activities can be known as job design.

Job design engineer performs the test of job design. Job is the vehicles through which the organizational works are accomplished so, while designing the job the designer should meet the psychological and behavioral feeling of jobholders. Otherwise jobholder won’t be motivated towards the job.

Hence in the conclusion, job design is the overall structure of the job, that explains about the nature of job, contents of the job, skill required to perform the job, method of performing the job, so that organizational and technological requirements as well as psychological and social requirement of the job holder will be fulfilled. A well-designed job leads the organization rising in the Apex.

Basis of Job Design

The factors affecting job design are:
1. Job Analysis Factors: Job analysis forms an intensive, direct technique for identifying the crucial information regarding the job. It is the process of determining the tasks involves in the job and personnel qualities of the individuals required to perform the job. It defines duties, responsibilities and accomplish of a job. The components of job analysis are job and description and job specifications. Job analysis is used as an important input in job design to determine the contents of the job.

2. Organizational Factor: These factors are concerned with efficiency aspect in the job design. They focus on specialization. The factors are:

Job Cycle: Job cycle is time allotted to complete every task in the job. Every task in the job are arranged to minimize the time and effort of worker on the basis of time and motion studies. Specialized jobs lead to short job cycles. Assembly lines present an example of short job cycle.
Work Flow: The nature of the product influences work flow. Job design is based on determining the sequence of jobs and establishing balance between the jobs.
Work Practices: They are set ways of performing jobs. They arise from tradition or the collective wishes of the employees. Job design is based on work practices.
Ergonomics: It is the study of how human beings physically interface with their job. The job design is based on physically relationship between the worker and the work. Handling of the job is the prime consideration in job design.

3. Environmental Factors: The external environmental factors are considered for job design. The factors are:

Employee Abilities and Availability: Efficiency considerations for job design are balanced against the abilities and availability of employees. The focus is on who will actually do the job.
Socio-cultural Expectations: Jobs are designed to meet the socio-cultural expectations of the workers. Expectation of worker may differ as to hours of work, holidays, attitudes, religious beliefs and management styles.

4. Behavioral Factors: Behavioral factors are concerned with satisfactions of human needs especially higher level of need. The factors are:

Autonomy: It is having responsibility for what one does. Job design is based on autonomy factors, especially for decision making and responding to environment.
Variety: It refers to variety in the use of different skills and abilities. Lack of variety leads to boredom. Boredom leads to fatigue. Variety is injected in job design.
Task Identity: It refers to doing the whole piece of work to get a sense of accomplishment. Job design is done to provide task identity.
Task Significance: It is the feeling of does anyone cares. Job design is based on task significance to give a feeling that the work has meaning to people inside and outside the organization.
Feedback: It refers to information on performance. Job design incorporates feedback aspect to tell workers feedback aspect to tell workers how well they are doing.

Value of Written Job Requirement

Job requirements are the demand of the jobs to be performed by the job incumbents. Job description and job specification constitute written job requirement in an organization. Written job requirements are used as criteria for the evaluation of individual jobs. These requirements play an important role in the process of preparing job description, job specification, job evaluation, and job design. For an organization, written job requirements are valued criteria for making HRM policy. Job requirements are an important input for conducting the following human resource management activities.

Developing a compensation package based on job evaluation.
Welfare safety and health schemes for employed retention.
Grievance handling
Preparation of human resource, inventory, development of human resource information systems, formulation of human resource plan. Job requirement provide a deeper understanding of the behavioral requirements of jobs. It plays an important role in the defense of employment practices. However, for some jobs it is difficult to describe their job requirements. Especially for top level executive managers who are performing multi-skilled jobs, it is difficult to describe their job requirements. For them, a broad scope of the job will be provided so that they can work according in different areas under different working conditions and challenges.

Distinguish between Job Description and Job Specification

Job description is important documents that are basically descriptive in nature and contains a statement of job analysis. It is an organized, written and financial statement of job contents in the form of duties and responsibilities of a particular job. It describes the scope and functions of a job and summarizes the nature and type of the job. The sample of job description is shown as below.

A Sample of Job Description

Job title	: Director of wage and salary Administration.
Job Summary	: Responsibility for company wage and salary programs including job and analysis, job evaluation, wage surveys, and benefit administration.
Job Duties	: 1. Supervisor job analysis studies and approves final form of job description. 2. Develops, executes and monitors job evaluation procedures in cooperation with operating management. 3. Acts as chairman of the company-wide job evolution committee. 4. Conducts periodic wage and salary surveys in the community and industry. 5. Administers the company’s supplementary benefit programme. Recommends changes in and additions to existing benefit. 6. Supervises members of the wage and salary division.

Working conditions: Normal working condition eight hours per day.

It describes the job title, job summary, job duties and working conditions. According to Earnest Dale, following demerits for writing the job description.

The job descriptions should be clear regarding the work of the position, duties etc.
The job descriptions should indicate the scope and nature of work including all important relationships.

Job Specification: Job specification also called as man specification, are a written statement of qualification, traits, physical and mental characteristics that an individual must posses to perform the job duties and discharge responsibilities effectively. The specimen of job specification is as follows:

A sample of Job Specification

Physical Requirement	: Good health, muscular energy.
Education-Knowledge	: Must be graduate in any discipline.
Work Experience	: No previous work experience necessary, however a history of work performed in any capacity would be desirable.
Aptitudes	: Should have the ability to learn and retain instruction.
Personal Characteristics	: Should be emotionally stable and have the ability to adapt himself to varying conditions and work harmoniously with other individuals.

Job specification specifies the knowledge skills, background, aptitude and experience which an individual should possess in order to perform job effectively. Job specification serves as a guide for the selection, training in development of employees.

Contents of Job Description

The following are the contents of job description statement

Job title: It explains the title of the job. It means, what the particular job is about identified under this contents.
Job location: It refers to the name of the department where the job under consideration exists in the organization.
Job summary: It tells about a brief history of job. It is a short paragraph which explains the tasks and activities to be performed by an incumbent.
Duties: Duties refers to the tasks performed by an employee. It is necessary to mention simply because it helps how much time is devoted by an incumbent.
Machines, tools and equipments: Under this head, the machines tools and equipments used by an incumbent for the performance of task are included. From the type of machines and equipments involved in the job, we can find the riskiness or complexity necessarily maintained.
Nature of supervision: This explains what kind of supervision does the job require? For example, unskilled job requires intensive supervision, whereas other jobs required less supervision.
Working environment: The working environment is concerned with the actual work place. It defines working conditions in terms of heat, light, noise level etc.
Job hazards: Job hazards are obstacles and obstructions that may arise during actual performance of the task.

Impact of Job Design on Motivation of the Employees

Employee needs in terms of autonomy, variety, task identifies, task significance, and feedback are considered. The methods are:
1. Job Enrichment: It adds new sources of satisfaction to jobs. Jobs are made challenging and meaningful by increasing responsibility, autonomy and control. More planning and control responsibilities are added to the job usually with less supervision and more self-evaluation. Workers get greater autonomy in planning and controlling their performance. It is also known as “vertical loading” of job. The steps in job environment are

Select Jobs, which are suitable for enrichment; identify changes needed.
Change contents of the job to provide autonomy, control, responsibility, achievement, and advancement.
Train and guide employees
Integrate enriched jobs into work schedule.

2. Autonomous Team (self-directed team): Autonomous teams are a group of employees with widely defined jobs and responsibilities to achieve specific goal. Team members are highly committed, decide collectively, interact continuously, work closely, determine work assignments and working methods and practice self-supervision.

3. Modified works schedule: The work schedule should be modified. The techniques can be:

Shorter workweek; worker work ten hours each day for four days. It provides mere leisure to employees. Turnover and reduced absenteeism.
Flexible time
Job sharing
Homework

The Impact of Job Design on Productivity of the Employees
1. Work Simplifications: The job is simplified by breaking down the tasks of the job. The task contained in one job may be assigned to two jobs. The outcome of work simplification is more specialization.

2. Job Rotation: Employees are allowed to move from job to job. The jobs are not changed; only the employees are rotated.

3. Job Enlargement: The tasks assigned to a job are increased by adding similar tasks. The scope of the job is enlarged horizontally. It is also known as “Horizontal loading” of job.

Economic Environment as the Most Significant of all External Forces

Business is one unit of the total economy and whole business transaction are surrounded by economic scenario. Macro or broad economic factor influences the resource allocation, cost and revenue of business organization. The economic system, economic conditions, economic policies and economic blocks are the components influencing business heavily. Next to

the political environment, the economic environment is probably the most significant which exerts considerable influence on business. The business environment and operation would have effects of economic growth strategy pursued by the government in its development economic planning. Similarly, economic system also determines fate of private entrepreneur. Free market economy liberally motivates private capital mobilization where as central planned economy is controlled and regulated by the government.

Economic planning (especially five years plan) of the government fixed policies about production, priorities and employment generation. The development of agricultural industries, infrastructure also influences activities of the business. The economic policies have unavoidable effects on business activities. Monitory policy concentrates on money supply, interest rate and credit availability. Fiscal policy is related to taxation, revenues expenditure of the government. The subsidies, donation, aid also influences business. The economic condition represented by income level, business cycle, inflation, stage of economic development also have dominants role on business activities. The regional development like SAARC, SAFTA, ASEAN, EU etc. and global business group organization also have pressure of business.

The development of fiscal and financial sector also helps to boost-up economic condition of the society. The control of price and distribution channels, economic reforms package pursued by the government, population, per capita income also affect business. Hence in this ways, economic environment considered as the most significant of all external forces.

Needs of Continuous Monitoring of Changing Forces in the Environment

HRM should anticipate and predict environmental changes, major trends should be identified through environment scanning. HRM environment consists of forces that influence HRM’s ability to achieve goals. Environmental forces greatly affect HRM. HRM should continually monitor the changing forces in the environment. It should be proactive by adapting to the anticipated environmental changes.

Elements of External Environment

Economic and labor market elements of the external environment greatly affect HRM.

Economic conditions and its elements: The economic development of a country indicates that there is a high GDP growth, a number of business activities are ongoing, worldwide business networks are established, information technology is widely used, substantial investment in R and D is made, foreign direct investment (FDI) is increasing. The level of income, the stage of business cycle (i.e. prosperity, recession, recovery, inflationary pressures and fiscal policies of the government affect the compensation and benefit packages of employees. Economic groupings, such as European Union facilitate cross border mobility of human resources. This affects acquisition aspect of HRM.
Labor Market: A labor market is a geographical area within which people looking for work interact with employers looking for people. The supply of number of educated and trained workforce, number of employed and unemployed people, number of economically active population, increasing number of aging people etc. are some of the characteristics of labor market.

Effect of Social and Technological Environments in Nepalese Organization

Technology is the most dynamics of all the environmental forces with which the organization must interact. It requires the organization to remain aware of relevant advancements in the state of the art and continually to consider whether they apply to the organization’s current mix of goods and services and to those under development.

Of all the environment forces, technology is the most likely to penetrate the permeable boundaries of the organization and to effect a change in the technical system. Changes in technology can be sudden and dramatic. New technologies can change the very process of management, as the increasing use of computers for information handling problem solving, and decision making.

Human perception limits the ability of management and the professional group in high technology organizations to interpreter the meaning of technology change for the technical systems in their organizations. The dynamic nature of technology makes it very difficult for management and the professional group to comprehend the meaning of scientific breakthrough and to determine their direction and momentum. As a general rule, the more complex the technology, the more dynamic the environment texture within which the organization must operate.

Another environmental aggregates that expert a significant influence on formal organizations is the social system. Managers must be mindful of and responsive to the environmental forces of the social system. Uneven distribution of resources to different sectors of the society harbors the seeds of conflict between the organizations and the various groups that compose society. The part of the population that is relatively affluent and well educated demands more that an economic livelihood and those emerging from deprivation and disadvantages will make their social demands felt through pressure.

External Environment of an Organization Influence HRM

“HRM Environmental” is the process by which strategies monitor the environmental sectors to determine opportunities for and threats to their firm regarding human resource.

Environment refers to all external forces, which have a bearing on the functioning of business. The environment includes factor outside the firm, which can lead to opportunities or threats to the firm. The external forces are physical, technological, social, political and legal, labour market and economic elements. The internal forces or elements are unions, organizational culture and conflict, professional bodies.

External Forces

External forces include political-legal, economic, technological and cultural factors that influence of which on HRM is considerable.
1. Political-legal Forces: The political environment covers the impact of political institutions on the HRM department. In a democratic political set up, there are three institutions, which together constitute the total political environment. They are;

The legislature-also called parliament at the central level and Assembly at the state level is the lawmaking body. The plethoras of labour acts, which are in force, are enacted by the legislature. The executive popularly known as the government is the law-implemented body. The legislature decides and the executive acts. Above these two is judiciary, which has the role of a watchdog. The main function of the judiciary is to ensure that both the legislature and the executive work within the confines of the constitution and in the public interest.

The interface between political environment and labour takes place through an array of labour laws. All HR planning, recruitment and selection, placement, training and development, remuneration, employee relations, and separation are conditions constitutional provisions.

2. The Economic Forces: The current state of the economy, can affect how a company performs. The rate of growth in the economy is a measure of the over all change in demand for goods and services. Other economic influences include;

Taxation level
Inflation rate
The balance of trade and exchange rate
The level of unemployment
Interest rates and availability of credit government subsidies.

One should also look at international economic issue, which could include:

The extent of projectionist measurer
Comparative rate of growth, inflation, wages and taxation.
The freedom of capital movement
Economic agreement
Relative exchange rate.

3. Technological Forces: With the advent of technology, jobs tend to become more intellectual or upgraded. A job hitherto handled by an illiterate or unskilled worker now requires the services of an educated and skilled worker. The introduction of new technology dislocates worker unless they become well equipped to work on new machines. This makes it obligatory on the part of HRM to train worker and to rehabilitate those who are displaced or cannot be trained. Those employees who pick up and acquaint themselves with new technology, the job will be challenging and rewarding. Worker class, in general, stands to gain through increased productivity, reduced prices and increased real wages all by-products of technological advancement.

Along with upgrading jobs, technology has its impact on Human relations. Technology lays down the requirements for much of the human interaction in organizations. The arrangement of production set up determines who will be near to whom. The workflow determines who need to talk to whom. And since interaction and activity affects sentiments, technology indirectly determines what individuals in large groups will fell and think about one another and about their work situation.

Jobholders will become highly professionalized and knowledgeable. An organization that has adopted the latest technology is flush with scientists.

4. Cultural Forces: Culture creates the type of people who become members of an organization. Culture trains people along particular lines, tending to put a personality stamp upon them. When people with different cultural backgrounds promote, own and manage organizations, they themselves tend to acquire instinct cultures. The attitudes of workers towards work are the result of their cultural background. HRM people in societies that focus on the present, care more for employees on the rolls. Employees are hired and maintained as long as they are useful to the organization and are dispensed with once they cease to be so. American society is an example of this.

Work ethics, achievement needs and effort-reward expectations, which are significant, inputs determining individual behavior, are the results of culture. In the context of an organization, ethics implies hard work and commitment to work. A strong work ethics ensures motivated employees whereas the opposite is true when work ethics is weak.

Achievement needs; too, have a behavioral implication. A person, with a high need to achieve tends to seek a high degree of perusal responsibility, sets realistic goals, takes moderate risks and uses personal performance feedback in satisfying his or her need to achieve.

Changing Role of HRM in Nepalese Organization

HRM plays a vital role in any organization. However, the changing role of HRM in Nepalese organization is mentioned below:
1. HR and boosting productivity: Productivity, improvement is crucial at today’s globally competitive environment, and HR plays a pivotal role in lowering labour costs. For many forms, instituting tough headcount control are the first line of attack on lowering labour cost; the HR department generally plays the central role in planning and implementing corporate downsizing and then taking steps to maintain the morale of the remaining employees.

2. HR and responsiveness: Making the enterprise more responsive to product innovations and technological change is the basic aim of many of the management changes. Thus, downsizing, flattening the pyramid, empowering employees, and organizing around teams are aimed at facilitating communications and making it easier for decisions to be made and for the company to respond quickly to its customer’s needs and its competitor’s challenges. HR plays a crucial role in accomplishing this.

3. HR and services: Employee behavior is particularly important in service firms like banks and retail establishments. If a customer is confronted by a salesperson who are tactless or unprepared to discuss the pros and cons of the different product or (even Norse) downright discourteous, all the firm’s other efforts will have been wasted. Service organizations have little to sell their good service, and that makes them uniquely dependent on their employee’s attitudes and motivation and on HR management.

Therefore, HR plays a crucial role in service companies. A recent study of service firms illustrates the HR- service link. The researcher found that progressive HR practices such as facilitating employee career progress, developing orientation/ training/ socialization programs for new employees, and eliminating conditions on the job that inhibit task performance appear to improve employees’ customer service as well as the overall quality of that service from the customer’s point of view. It is better to use progressive HR practices to build employee commitment and morale; employee will then provide excellent customer service, which in turn will generate profits.

4. HR and employee commitment: Intense global competition and the need for more responsiveness put a premium an employee commitment. Building employee commitment and creating a synthesis of employee and employer’s goals so that employees what to do their jobs as if they own the company takes multi-pronged effort, one of which HR plays the central role. Two-way communications foster commitment. High commitment firms also tend to engage in actualizing practices, which aim to ensure their employees have every opportunity to fully use all their skills and gifts at work and become all they can be. HR practices are crucial here, for instance, in establishing career-oriented performance appraisal procedures and open job posting and job transfer practices. Convincing employees that the company and all its managers care about them is important too.

5. HR and corporate strategy: The most striking change in HR’s role is its growing importance in developing and implementing strategy. Traditionally, strategy the company’s plan for how it will balance its internal strengths and weakness with external opportunities and threats in order to maintain a competitive advantage was a job primarily for the company’s operating line managers. Then the president would more or less leave the personnel implications of that plan (i.e. hiring or firing new workers, hiring out placement firms for those fired, and so on) to be carried out by HR management.

Today things are different. Strategies increasingly depend on strengthening organizational responsiveness and on building work teams and these put HR in a central role. In a fast changing world, globally competitive and quality oriented industrial environment. It is often the firm’s employees themselves who provide the competitive key. It is thus now increasing common to involve HR in the earliest stages of developing and implementing the firm’s strategic plan, rather than letting HR just react to it.

Elements/ Components of HRM Environment

Environment literally means the surrounding external objects, influences or circumstances under which someone or something exists. The environment of any organization is “the aggregate of all conditions, events and influences that surround and affect it”. In simple words, environment comprises all those forces which have their bearing on the functioning of various activities including human resource activities. Environment scanning helps HR (Human Resource) manager become proactive to the environment which is characterized by change and intense competition.

Human resource management is performed in two types of environments that is internal and external.

Internal Environment: These are the forces internal to an organization. Internal forces have profound influences on HR functions. The internal environment of HRM consists of unions, organizational culture and conflict, organizational objectives, policies etc.

Unions: Trade unions are formed to safeguard the interest of its members like recruitment, selection, training, compensation, industrial relations and separations are carried out in consultation with trade union leaders.
Organizational culture and conflict: As individuals have personality organizations have culture. Each organization has its own culture that distinguishes one organization from another. Culture may be understood as sharing of some core values or beliefs by the members of the organization. “Value for time” is the culture of Reliance Industries Limited. The culture of the Nepal Tourism board is “Naturally Nepal once is not enough”. HR practices need to be implemented that best fit the organizations culture. There is often conflict between organizational culture and employed attitude. Conflict usually surfaced because of qualities such as personal goal Vs organizational goal, discipline Vs autonomy, right Vs duties etc. Such conflicts have their bearings on the HR activities in an organization.

External Environment: External environment includes forces like economic, political, technological, socio-culture etc. These exert considerable influence on HRM.

Economic Environment: Economic forces include growth rate and strategy, industrial production, national and per capita incomes, money and capital markets competitions, industrial labour and globalization. All these forces have significant influence on wage and salary levels. Crowing unemployment and reservation in employment also affect the choice for recruitment and selection of employees in organizations.
Political Environment: Political environment covers the impact of political institutions on HRM practices. For example, democratic political system increases the expectations of workers for their well being. The total political environment is composed of three institutions.

Legislature: This is called parliament at the central level and assembly at the country level. A plethora of labour laws are enacted by the legislature to regulate working conditions and employment relations.
Executive: it is the government that implements the law. In other words, the legislature decides and the executive acts.
Judiciary: This is like a watch dog above the two. It ensures that both the legislature and the executive work within the confines of the constitution and also in the overall interest of the people.

Technological Environment: Technology is a systematic application of organized knowledge to practical tasks. Technological advance affect the HR functions in more than one way. First, technology makes the job more intellectual or upgraded. Second, it renders worker dislocated if they do not equip themselves to the job. Third, job becomes challenging for the employees who cope with the requirements of technology. Fourth, technology reduces human interaction at the work place. Finally, jobholders become highly professionalized and knowledgeable in the job they perform.
Socio-Cultural Environment: Socio-cultural environment differs from country to country. It mainly comprises the customs, values and demographic characteristics, often reflected in laws, rules and regulation of a country. There are four dimensions of national culture which effect employee’s work-related attitudes.

Power distance: Managers operating in such value systems feel powerful and remain distant from the subordinate employees.
Uncertainty avoidance: In countries with a low level of uncertainty avoidance, people are encouraged to take risk and to work in ambiguous situations.
Individualism-collectivism: In individualistic cultures, managers are very individualistic. They work behave from an individual perspective.

HRM System in an Organization

Human resource management deals with people dimension in organization. If focuses on management of human abilities.

To understand what human resource management is, first we should review what manager do most experts agree that there are five basic functions manager perform: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. In total, these management process functions represent the management process. Some of the specific activities involved in each function include;

Planning: Establishing goals and standards; developing rules and procedures; developing plans and forecasting predicting or projecting some future occurrence.
Organizing: Giving each subordinate a specific task; established departments; delegating authority to subordinates; establishing channel or authority and communication; coordinating the work of subordinates.
Staffing: Deciding what type of people should be hired; recruiting prospective employees; selecting employees; setting performance standard; counseling to employees; training and development of employees.
Leading: Getting order to get the job done; maintaining morale; motivating to subordinates.
Controlling: Setting standards such as sales quotas, quality standards, or production levels; checking to see how actual performance compares with these standard; taking corrective action as needed.

Human resource management refers to the practices and policies you need to carry out the people or personnel aspects of your management job. These includes:

Conducting job analysis (determining the nature of each employee’s job)
Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates
Orientating and training new employee
Managing wages and salaries (i.e. how to compensate employees)
Providing incentives and benefits
Performance Appraisal
Communicating (interviewing, counseling, disciplining)
Training and development
Building employee commitment
And a manager should know that about

Equal opportunity and affirmative action
Employee health and safety
Grievances and labor relations

Why are these concepts and techniques important to all managers?
Perhaps, it is easy answer by listing some of the personnel mistakes you doesn’t want to make managing. For example, you don’t want:

To hire the wrong person for the job
To experience high turnover
To find your people not doing their best
To waste time with unless interviews
To have you company taken to court because of your discriminatory actions
To commit any unfair labour practices
To have your company cited under federal occupational safety for unsafe practices
To have some of your employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to others in the organization.
To allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness.

Line Manager’s Human Resource Management Responsibilities
According to one expert, “the direct handling of people are and always has been an integral part of every line manager’s responsibility, from president down to the lowest level supervision.” For example, one major company outlines its line supervisor’s responsibilities for effective human resource management under the following general headings.

Placing the right person on the right job
Starting new employees in the organization (orientation)
Training employees for job that are new to them
Improving job performance of each person
Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working condition
Interpreting the company’s policies and procedures.
Controlling labour cost
Developing the abilities to each person
Creating and maintaining departmental moral.
Protecting employee’s health and physical condition

In small organizations, line managers may carry out all these personnel duties unassisted. But as the organization grows, they need the assistance, specialized knowledge, and advice of a separate human resource staff.

Rising Interest of HRM

Today, environment is changing rapidly. Changes have made the role of HRM more crucial in changing environment. To achieve organizational goal requires committed and competent manpower. They are the outcome of effective and efficient human resource management. Since 1990s, the interest in human resource management has been rising. Specially, the following factors responsible for the rising interest in HRM are:

Work Force Diversity: Diversity means different. In the context of HRM, different regards in the sense of sex, color, age, culture, religion and language etc. today composition of work force has been quite diversified. The involvement of people from different culture, need, race, religion, sex, age are increasing day by day. All over Europe, western countries and including Nepal, environment of women in organization are sharply increasing. Different people have different need and interest. They have different perception, experience learning habits, personality etc. to understand the need of different people, to manage different people, to develop the feeling of team work, HRM plays the vital role through its activities. It is a most significant task done by HRM which other management cannot perform.
Technological change: Technology is changing rapidly. With scientific movement, new technologies were developed. Human resource in organization need to require new competencies to cope with the rapid technology change, which helps in increasing productivity. To increase productivity, an efficient utilization of technology skillful manpower is required. The need is growing for computer and information technologies are considered as friendly human resources. This all necessities have increased the interest in HRM.
Globalization: There’s no doubt that the world of work as we know, it is rapidly changing. Even as little as fifteen years ago, the time was calmer than they are today. Globalization has led to operations in several countries. The human resources in organizations have also assumed global dimensions. Globalization of markets and manufacturing has vastly increased international competition. In global competition, some firms are doing well others are failed. HRM policies and practices need to be adapted to varying socio cultural forces to carryout hot country operation. This has led to rising interest in HRM.
Increasing competitions: Today most of organizations are facing both internal and external competition. As part of an organization then, HRM must be prepared to deal with the effects of the changing world of work. For them, this means understanding the implications of globalization, technological changes, work force diversity, changing skill requirement continuous improvement initiatives, the contingent work force, decentralized work sites, and employee involvement.
Changes in nature of works: Technological and globalization trend has changed the nature of jobs and work. Technological changes including fax machine, internet, and personal computers have allowed companies to reallocate operations to location with lower wage.
Others: There are other changes also shaping human resource management. Many laws are passed to limit manager’s action and to protect the interest of workforce. Equal employment opportunity, mandated health benefit, union management relation law etc. manager has to deal frequently with the help of HRM. Due to this, the interest of almost all managers is increasing in HRM.

Benefits of strategic HRM and the rising interest of HRM

Strategic human resource management is to ensure that human resource management is fully integrated into strategic planning, that HRM policies cohere both across policy areas and cross hierarchies and that HRM policies are accepted and used by line managers as part of their every day work. Strategic management is that set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-term performance of a corporation. It includes environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation and evaluation and control.

Benefits of Strategic HRM
Fred R. David has listed the following benefits that strategic HRM brings for an organization.

Allows identification, prioritization and exploitation of opportunities.
Provides an objective view of management problems.
Represents a framework for improved coordination and control of activities.
Minimizes the effects of adverse conditions and change.
Allows major decisions to better support established objectives.
Allows more effective allocation of time and resources of time and resources to identified opportunities.
Allows fewer resources and lesser time to be devoted to correcting erroneous or adhoc decisions.
Creates a framework for internal communication among personnel.
Helps to integrate the behaviors of individuals into a total effort.
Provides a basis for the classification of individual responsibilities.
Gives encouragement to forward thinking.
Provides a co-operative, integrated and enthusiastic approach to tackling problems an opportunity.
Encourages a favorable attitude towards change.
Gives a degree of discipline and formality to the management of a business.

Personnel Management is clearly a management function

The personnel manager has to perform the managerial function such as planning, organizing, directing, motivation and controlling personnel working in his department. In addition to the usual managerial functions, he has also operative function in the personnel field covering the entire enterprise.

Functions of Personal Management

Managerial functions

Planning: Planning is deciding in advance what to do in future. In the context of personnel management, it is concerned with manpower planning, studying turnover rate, forecasting the future requirement of personnel and planning for selection and training procedures etc.
Organizing: Organizing involves the establishment of interrelationship within organization. It provides a structure for the company for identifying the various subgroups heated by individuals in managerial jobs as well as operative jobs.
Directing: Directing includes instruction to workers developing communication network, interpreting various industrial laws and integrating workers.
Motivating: Motivating function involves motivation of employee through financial and non-financial incentives to increase productivity.
Controlling: Personnel department provides basis data for establishing standards, makes job analysis and performance appraisal etc.

Operative Functions

These are service or routine functions of personnel management. These are

Procurement of personnel: It covers human resource planning and forecasting and the process of recruitment, selection, placement and introduction of newly appointed employee.
Development of personnel: Development of workers and managers demand systematic programmes for employee training and management development, programmes of performance appraisal, promotion, transfer, etc. are also included under this function. Development function yields synergic effect viz, 2+2=5.
Compensation of personnel: Equitable remuneration in the form of wages, salaries, bonuses assume great significance, as compensation is the main motivator because our wants are satisfied with money in the market for goods and services. Economic compensation involves varied and complex problems. It governs labour management relations.
Integration: Individual, social and organizational goals and interest are diverse and conflicting. They have to be reconciled and properly coordinated or integrated. Then only employees can offer their willing cooperation for united and joint enterprises. Democratic management reduces conflicts and assures effective morale and motivation.
Maintenance: It covers personnel activities relating to employee health and safety, favorable work environment, employee benefits and services, labor welfare work, worker participation on management etc.

Strategic Roles of Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management is to ensure that human resource management is fully integrated into strategic planning, that HRM policies cohere both across policy areas and cross hierarchies and that HRM policies are accepted and used by line managers as part of their every day work. Strategic management is that set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-term performance of a corporation. It includes environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation and evaluation and control.

Fred R. David has listed the following benefits that strategic HRM brings for an organization.

Allows identification, prioritization and exploitation of opportunities.
Provides an objective view of management problems.
Represents a framework for improved coordination and control of activities.
Minimizes the effects of adverse conditions and change.
Allows major decisions to better support established objectives.
Allows more effective allocation of time and resources of time and resources to identified opportunities.
Allows fewer resources and lesser time to be devoted to correcting erroneous or adhoc decisions.
Creates a framework for internal communication among personnel.
Helps to integrate the behaviors of individuals into a total effort.
Provides a basis for the classification of individual responsibilities.
Give encouragement to forward thinking.
Provides a co-operative, integrated and enthusiastic approach to tackling problems and opportunities.
Encourages a favorable attitude towards change.
Gives a degree of discipline and formality to the management of a business.

Strategic Role Played by

Strategies are the long-term plan of every organization. Each and every business firm is moved with strategies to achieve their goals. Strategic human resource management is concerned with the development and implementations of people strategies which are integrated are integrated with organizational strategies to attain long-term goals. Generally, business manager have three strategic decisions

Corporate strategy
Business strategy
Functional strategy

Strategy helps in balancing two sets of forces i.e. internal environment and external environment. However following factors are considered to be strategic role of HRM.

Development of quality management: It can be developed by assisting with the introduction of total quality management approaches through education and training processes and involving people in quality improvement programmes.
Development of Reward policies: Using the reward management system to define performance expectations to reward people according to their contribution.
Development of Employee relation policies: Developing a cooperative climate of employee relations, which allows direct communication to employees but, where appropriate, recognized the role union play in a pluralist organization.
Development of cultural management policies: Influencing behavior and thereby, attitudes through researching, performance management, development and reward strategies, and helping to get the mission and values of the organization designed understood, accepted and acted upon.
Performance management strategy: Introducing system, which clarify objectives at all levels in the organization and measure performance against those objectives, in order to agree improvement and development plan.

Objectives of Human Resource Management (HRM)

The primary objective of any organization is to maximize profits and wealth attribution to the owners of the firm. The main objective of human resource management is to manage the workers and employees in an enterprise in the best manner. Following are the important objectives of human resource management in an organization:

1. To increase the welfare of human resource: personnel management is to increase the welfare of workers and employees engaged in an enterprise. Best working conditions should be provided and many other welfare programmes must be launched so that employees may get the facilities of health and recreation.

2. To establish harmonious relations between labour and capital: The objective of personnel management is to establish harmonious and friendly relations between labour and capital in the enterprise. The philosophy of modern management is that the contribution of labour is not less important than that of the capital. “Managers realize that they cannot make the best of capital without co-operation of the labour. Therefore, it stresses upon the development of trust and faith between employees and employers.

3. To arrange effective communication with employees: Another very important of personnel management/ Human Resource Management is to maintain effective communication with employees so that the orders and directions of management may be passed to the employees and the problems and grievances of workers may also be communicated to the management.

4. To develop the employees: The objective of human resource management is the development of employees working in an enterprise. Employees are provided the facilities of training and education so that the efficiency and ability of the employees may be increased.

5. Other objectives: Other objectives of human resource management/ personnel management are:

To arrange for the sufficient number of efficient, capable and expressed employees in all the departments and at all the levels of management.
To motivate the employees so that the productivity of enterprise may be increased
To increase the moral of employee
To provide the best working conditions to the employees so that they may complete their work in most efficient manner.
To integrate HR policies with business plans and reinforce and an appropriate culture or as necessary, reshape an inappropriate culture.

HRM in System Prospective

Management is a system which involves interrelated activities necessary to achieve goals. Human resource management is a part of management which focuses on the workforce. It also involves a system consisting of input, processing, output and feedback. It is affected by both internal and external environment.

Human Resource Management System

1. Input: The input of human resource management includes those components necessary for organizational functioning to achieve a defined goal. The input factors of HRM include the following components:

Organizational Plan
Human Resource Plan
Organizational Strategy
Human Ability and Competency
Labor Market and Technology
Human Resource Inventory

As an input in a system, the workforce provides both administrative and technical support to the management to complete the assigned job at the proper time. Therefore, input component is most essential in human resource management system.

2. Processing: Processing involves all human resource functions necessary to convert input into output. The following are the components of human resource processing.

Acquisition: It involves the employment of the right number and kind of workforce to the right job. It includes activities of manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement and socialization of workforce. Manpower planning involves determination of current and future workforce requirement in the organization. Recruitment involves identifying the sources of workforce and stimulating them to apply for vacant posts. Selection is the process of making choice of the right workforce. Placement is the assignment of job on the basis of skill. In socialization, employee know about organizational culture, tradition and working environment.
Development: It ensures the required competencies of the workforce to perform assigned task efficiently. On the basis of requirement of an organization, it is essential to develop working efficiency of employees. For this, the management needs to organize many efficiency development programs consisting of training, workshop, seminar, education etc. It also involves the programs necessary to develop competencies and conceptual ability among the managers.
Motivation: It is a psychological aspect and ensures the optimum utilization of human resource. It develops a sense of belonging among the workforce and encourages them to do the given job in accordance with their best ability. Employees work in the organization for the satisfaction of their needs. For this, the management needs to consider both extrinsic and intrinsic factors that satisfy and motivate them. Extrinsic factors include job design, working environment, supervision, financial incentives, promotion etc. Intrinsic factors include achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, growth etc.
Maintenance: It ensures retaining productive employees in the organization for a long time. It is possible only by maintain good relation with employees and providing better working environment in the organization. Therefore, it is essential to consider health, safety and comfort of employees. It helps to satisfy employees and makes them committed towards their job.

3. Output: The output component of human resource management includes goal achievement, quality of work life, productivity, commitment, efficiency, readiness for change etc. The effectiveness of human resource management is measured on the basis of its output. We can only say that the system developed in human resource

management is appropriate only when output is achieved effectively.

Human resource management is a continuous process and lasts till the existence of the organization. As such, it is essential to evaluate the feedback of the system. The implementation of HRM system is affected by environmental changes; therefore, if the present system is not effective for future performance, it is necessary to modify the system.

Major Roles of HRM

Human resource management is a vital function of management in organizational settings. HRM performs the following roles in an organization.
1. Line Function Role: HR managers perform the line authority role within the human resource management department. They have right to make decision to direct the work of subordinates. And given order to their own department.

2. Staff Function Role: HR managers perform the staff authority role by assisting and advising line managers on HRM matters. HR managers are generally staff managers. They assist and advise line managers in acquisition, development, utilization and maintenance of human resources. They also administer various benefits and services for employees. They also assist line managers to comply with legal provision related to human resources in the organization.

3. Functional Control Role: HR managers perform the functional control role by coordinating all activities related to human resources management. They ensure that human resources objectives, policies, procedures, programmes and laws are being consistently carried out by line managers throughout the organization.

4. Strategies Role: HR managers are concerned with the development and implementation of people strategies to attain organizational goals. Such strategies are integrated with overall organizational strategies.

Responsibilities of HRM

According to the expert, “The direct handling of people is and always has been an integral part of every line manager’s responsibility, from president down to the lowest level supervision.” For example, one major company outlines its line supervisors’ responsibilities for effective human resource management under the following general headings.

Placing the right person on the right job.
Starting new employees in the organization (orientation).
Training employees for job that are new to learn
Improving job performance of each person.
Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working condition.
Interpreting the company’s policies and procedures.
Controlling labor cost.
Developmental moral
Protecting employee’s health and physical condition.

In small organizations, line managers may carry out all these personnel duties unassisted. But as the organization grows, they need the assistance specialized knowledge, and advice of a separate human resource staff.

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