Department of Vocational Courses , A.S.College, Deoghar: Manpower Planning Part-1 for BBA D-III

Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time, doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. Human Resource Planning has got an important place in the arena of industrialization. Human Resource Planning has to be a systems approach and is carried out in a set procedure. The procedure is as follows:

Analysing the current manpower inventory

Making future manpower forecasts

Developing employment programmes

Design training programmes

Steps in Manpower Planning

Analysing the current manpower inventory- Before a manager makes forecast of future manpower, the current manpower status has to be analysed. For this the following things have to be noted-

Type of organization

Number of departments

Number and quantity of such departments

Employees in these work units

Once these factors are registered by a manager, he goes for the future forecasting.

Making future manpower forecasts- Once the factors affecting the future manpower forecasts are known, planning can be done for the future manpower requirements in several work units.

The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are as follows:

Expert Forecasts: This includes informal decisions, formal expert surveys and Delphi technique.

Trend Analysis: Manpower needs can be projected through extrapolation (projecting past trends), indexation (using base year as basis), and statistical analysis (central tendency measure).

Work Load Analysis: It is dependent upon the nature of work load in a department, in a branch or in a division.

Work Force Analysis: Whenever production and time period has to be analysed, due allowances have to be made for getting net manpower requirements.

Other methods: Several Mathematical models, with the aid of computers are used to forecast manpower needs, like budget and planning analysis, regression, new venture analysis.

Developing employment programmes- Once the current inventory is compared with future forecasts, the employment programmes can be framed and developed accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and placement plans.

Design training programmes- These will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programmes,etc. Training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers.

Importance of Manpower Planning

Key to managerial functions- The four managerial functions, i.e., planning, organizing, directing and controlling are based upon the manpower. Human resources help in the implementation of all these managerial activities. Therefore, staffing becomes a key to all managerial functions.

Efficient utilization- Efficient management of personnels becomes an important function in the industrialization world of today. Seting of large scale enterprises require management of large scale manpower. It can be effectively done through staffing function.

Motivation- Staffing function not only includes putting right men on right job, but it also comprises of motivational programmes, i.e., incentive plans to be framed for further participation and employment of employees in a concern. Therefore, all types of incentive plans becomes an integral part of staffing function.

Better human relations- A concern can stabilize itself if human relations develop and are strong. Human relations become strong trough effective control, clear communication, effective supervision and leadership in a concern. Staffing function also looks after training and development of the work force which leads to co-operation and better human relations.

Higher productivity- Productivity level increases when resources are utilized in best possible manner. higher productivity is a result of minimum wastage of time, money, efforts and energies.This is possible through the staffing and it's related activities ( Performance appraisal, training and development, remuneration)

Need of Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning is a two-phased process because manpower planning not only analyses the current human resources but also makes manpower forecasts and thereby draw employment programmes. Manpower Planning is advantageous to firm in following manner:

Shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken wherever required.

All the recruitment and selection programmes are based on manpower planning.

It also helps to reduce the labour cost as excess staff can be identified and thereby overstaffing can be avoided.

It also helps to identify the available talents in a concern and accordingly training programmes can be chalked out to develop those talents.

It helps in growth and diversification of business. Through manpower planning, human resources can be readily available and they can be utilized in best manner.

It helps the organization to realize the importance of manpower management which ultimately helps in the stability of a concern.

Following are the main obstacles that organizations face in the process of manpower planning:

Under Utilization of Manpower: The biggest obstacle in case of manpower planning is the fact that the industries in general are not making optimum use of their manpower and once manpower planning begins, it encounters heavy odds in stepping up the utilization.

Degree of Absenteeism: Absenteeism is quite high and has been increasing since last few years.

Lack of Education and Skilled Labour: The extent of illetracy and the slow pace of development of the skilled categories account for low productivity in employees. Low productivity has implications for manpower planning.

Manpower Control and Review:
1. Any increase in manpower is considered at the top level of management
2. On the basis of manpower plans, personnel budgets are prepared. These act as control mechanisms to keep the manpower under certain broadly defined limits.
3. The productivity of any organization is usually calculated using the formula: Productivity = Output / Input . But a rough index of employee productivity is calculated as follows: Employee Productivity = Total Production / Total no. of employees
4. Exit Interviews, the rate of turnover and rate of absenteesim are source of vital information on the satisfaction level of manpower. For conservation of Human Resources and better utilization of men studying these condition, manpower control would have to take into account the data to make meaningful analysis.
5. Extent of Overtime: The amount of overtime paid may be due to real shortage of men, ineffective management or improper utilization of manpower. Manpower control would require a careful study of overtime statistics.

Few Organizations do not have sufficient records and information on manpower. Several of those who have them do not have a proper retrieval system. There are complications in resolving the issues in design, definition and creation of computerized personnel information system for effective manpower planning and utilization. Even the existing technologies in this respect is not optimally used. This is a strategic disadvantage.

Human Resource Management is very important for the survival and prosperity of an organisation. Procurement of right kind and right number of employees is the first operative function of Human Resource Management. Before selecting the right man for the right job, it becomes necessary to determine the quality and quantity of people required in the organisation. This is the primary function of Human Resource Planning.

Human Resource Planning is the planning of Human Resources. It is also called manpower planning/ personnel planning/ employment planning. It is only after Human Resource Planning that the Human Resource department can initiate the recruitment and selection process. Therefore Human Resource Planning is a sub-system of organisational planning.

Definition

“Human Resource Planning is a strategy for the acquisition, utilisation, improvement and preservation of an organisation’s human resource” – Y.C. Moushell

“Human Resource Planning is a process of forecasting an organisation’s future demand for human resource and supply of right type of people in right numbers” – J.Chennly.K

Features of Human Resource Planning

It is future oriented: – Human Resource Planning is forward-looking. It involves forecasting the manpower needs for a future period so that adequate and timely provisions may be made to meet the needs.

It is a continuous process: – Human Resource Planning is a continuous process because the demand and supply of Human Resource keeps fluctuating throughout the year. Human Resource Planning has to be reviewed according to the needs of the organisation and changing environment.

Integral part of Corporate Planning: – Manpower planning is an integral part of corporate planning because without a corporate plan there can be no manpower planning.

Optimum utilisation of resources: – The basic purpose of Human Resource Planning is to make optimum utilisation of organisation’s current and future human resources.

Both Qualitative and Quantitative aspect: – Human Resource Planning considers both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of Human Resource Management, ‘Quantitative’ meaning the right number of people and ‘Qualitative’ implying the right quality of manpower required in the organisation.

Long term and Short term: – Human Resource Planning is both Long-term and short-term in nature. Just like planning which is long-term and short-term depending on the need of the hour, Human Resource Planning keeps long-term goals and short-term goals in view while predicting and forecasting the demand and supply of Human Resource.

Involves study of manpower requirement: – Human Resource Planning involves the study of manpower availability and the manpower requirement in the organisation.

Objectives of Human Resource Planning

Optimum utilisation of human resources currently employed in the organisation.

To reduce imbalance in distribution and allocation of manpower in organisation for various activities.

To ensure that the organisation is well-equipped with the required Quantity and Quality of manpower on a sustained basis.

To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and resources.

To control cost of Human Resources employed, used and maintained in the organisation.

To provide a basis for management development programmes.

To ensure optimum contribution and satisfaction of the personnel with reasonable expenditure.

To recruit and retain human resource of required Quantity and Quality.

Need for Human Resource Planning

Shortage of Skills: – These days we find shortage of skills in people. So it is necessary to plan for such skilled people much in advance than when we actually need them. Non-availability of skilled people when and where they are needed is an important factor which prompts sound Human Resource Planning.

Frequent Labour Turnover: – Human Resource Planning is essential because of frequent labour turnover which is unavoidable by all means. Labour turnover arises because of discharges, marriages, promotion, transfer etc which causes a constant ebb and flow in the workforce in the organisation.

Changing needs of technology: – Due to changes in technology and new techniques of production, existing employees need to be trained or new blood injected into an organisation.

Identify areas of surplus or shortage of personnel: – Manpower planning is needed in order to identify areas with a surplus of personnel or areas in which there is a shortage of personnel. If there is a surplus, it can be re-deployed, or if there is a shortage new employees can be procured.

Changes in organisation design and structure: – Due to changes in organisation structure and design we need to plan the required human resources right from the beginning.

Problems with Human Resource Planning

Resistance by Employers: – Many employers resist Human Resource Planning as they think that it increases the cost of manpower for the management. Further, employers feel that Human Resource Planning is not necessary as candidates will be available as and when required in the country due to the growing unemployment situation.

Resistance by Employees: – Employees resist Human Resource Planning as it increases the workload on the employees and prepares programmes for securing human resources mostly from outside.

Inadequacies in quality of information: – Reliable information about the economy, other industries, labour markets, trends in human resources etc are not easily available. This leads to problems while planning for human resources in the organisation.

Uncertainties: – Uncertainties are quite common in human resource practices in India due to absenteeism, seasonal unemployment, labour turnover etc. Further, the uncertainties in the industrial scenario like technological changes and marketing conditions also cause imperfection in Human Resource Planning. It is the uncertainties that make Human Resource Planning less reliable.

Time and expense: – Human Resource Planning is a time-consuming and expensive exercise. A good deal of time and cost are involved in data collection and forecasting.

Guidelines for making Human Resource Planning effective

Adequate information system: – The main problem faced in Human Resource Planning is the lack of information. So an adequate Human resource database should be maintained/developed for better coordinated and more accurate Human Resource Planning.

Participation: – To be successful, Human Resource Planning requires active participation and coordinated efforts on the part of operating executives. Such participation will help to improve understanding of the process and thereby, reduce resistance from the top management.

Adequate organisation: – Human Resource Planning should be properly organised; a separate section or committee may be constituted within the human resource department to provide adequate focus and to coordinate the planning efforts at various levels.

Human Resource Planning should be balanced with corporate planning: – Human resource plans should be balanced with the corporate plans of the enterprise. The methods and techniques used should fit the objectives, strategies and environment of the particular organisation.

Appropriate time horizon: – The period of manpower plans should be appropriate according to the needs and circumstances of the specific enterprise. The size and structure of the enterprise as well as the changing aspirations of the people should be taken into consideration.

Factors affecting Human Resource Plans

External factor:

They are the factors which affect the Human Resource Planning externally. They include:-

Government policies: – Policies of the government like labour policy, industrial policy, policy towards reserving certain jobs for different communities and sons-of-the-soil etc affect Human Resource Planning.

Level of economic development: – Level of economic development determines the level of human resource development in the country and thereby the supply of human resources in the future in the country.

Information Technology: – Information technology brought amazing shifts in the way business operates. These shifts include business process reengineering, enterprise resource planning and Supply Chain Management. These changes brought unprecedented reduction in human resource and increase in software specialists. Example: – Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided technology (CAT) also reduced the existing requirement of human resource.

Level of Technology: – Technology is the application of knowledge to practical tasks which lead to new inventions and discoveries. The invention of the latest technology determines the kind of human resources required.

Business Environment: – Business environment means the internal and external factors influencing the business. Business environmental factors influences the volume of mix of production and thereby the supply of human resources in the future in the country.

International factors: – International factors like the demand and supply of Human resources in various countries also affects Human Resource Planning .

Internal factors:

Company Strategies: – The organisation’s policies and strategies relating to expansion, diversification etc. determines the human resource demand in terms of Quantity and Quality

Human Resource policies: – Human Resource policies of the company regarding quality of human resources, compensation level, quality of working conditions etc. influence Human Resource Planning.

Job analysis: – Job analysis means detailed study of the job including the skills needed for a particular job. Human Resource Planning is based on job analysis which determines the kind of employees to be procured.

Time Horizon: – Company’s planning differs according to the competitive environment i.e. companies with stable competitive environment can plan for the long run whereas firms without a stable environment can only plan for short term. Therefore, when there are many competitors entering business/ when there is rapid change in social and economic conditions of business/ if there is constant change in demand patterns/ when there exists poor management practice, then short term planning is adopted or vice-versa for long-term planning.

Type and Quality of Information: – Any planning process needs qualitative and accurate information about the organisational structure, capital budget, functional area objectives, level of technology being used, job analysis, recruitment sources, retirement plans, compensation levels of employees etc. Therefore Human Resource Planning is determined on the basis of the type and quality of information.

Company’s production and operational policy: – Company’s policies regarding how much to produce and how much to purchase from outside in order to manufacture the final product influences the number and kind of people required.

Trade Unions: – If the unions declare that they will not work for more than 8 hours a day, it affects the Human Resource Planning. Therefore influence of trade unions regarding the number of working hours per week, recruitment sources etc. Affect Human Resource Planning.

Organisational Growth Cycles: – At starting stage the organisation is small and the need of employees is usually smaller, but when the organisation enters the growth phase more young people need to be hired. Similarly, in the declining/recession/downturn phase Human Resource Planning is done to re-trench the employees.

Human resource planning is the responsibility of all managers. It focuses on the demand and supplyrecasting

: – Forecasting the overall human resource requirement in accordance with the organisational plans is one of the key aspects of demand forecasting. Forecasting of quality of human resources like skills, knowledge, values and capabifont-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">> organisation before setting out on fulfilling its tasks.

2. Demand forecasting: – Forecasting the overall human resource requirement in accordance with the organisational plans is one of the key aspects of demand forecasting. Forecasting of quality of human resources like skills, knowledge, values and capabilities needed in addition to quantity of human resources is done through the following methods: -

a. Executive or Managerial Judgement: – Here the managers decide the number of employees in the future3A justify;">
1. Analysing the Corporate Level Strategies: – Human Resource Planning should start with analysing corporate level strategies which include expansion, diversification, mergers, acquisitions, reduction in operations, technology to be used, method of production etc. Therefore Human Resource Planning should begin with analysing the corporate plans of the organisation before setting out on fulfilling its tasks.

a. Executive or Managerial Judgement: – Here the managers decide the number of employees in the future. They adopt one of the three approaches mentioned below: -

Bottom-Up approach: – Here the concerned supervisors send their proposals to the top officials who compare these with the organisational plans, make necessary adjustments and finalise them.

Top-Down approach: – Here the management prepares the requirements and sends the information downwards to the supervisory –level who finalises the draft and approves it.

Participative Approach: – Here the supervisors and the management sit together and projections are made after joint consultations.

Drawbacks

The chief drawback of these methods is that estimation of manpower is made using guesswork.

b. Statistical Techniques: – These methods use statistical methods and mathematical techniques to forecast and predict the supply and demand of Human Resources in the future.

Ratio-Trend analysis: – In this method depending on the past data regarding number of employees in each department, like production department, sales department, marketing department and workload level, etc ratios for manpower are estimated. Past values are plotted and extrapolated to get fairly accurate future projections.

c. Work Study method: – This technique is suitable to study the correlation between volume of work and labour i.e. demand for human resources is estimated based on the workload. Work study method is more appropriate for repetitive and manual jobs when it is possible to measure work and set standards.

d. Delphi Technique: – ‘Delphi’Technique is named after the Greek Oracle at the city of Delphi. In this method, the views of different experts related to the industry are taken into consideration and then a consensus about the Human Resource requirement is arrived at. Delphi technique is used primarily to assess long-term needs of human resource.

3. Analysing Human Resource Supply: – Every organisation has two sources of supply of Human Resources: Internal & External. Internally, human resources can be obtained for certain posts through promotions and transfers. In order to judge the internal supply of human resources in future human resource inventory or human resource audit is necessary. Human resource inventory helps in determining and evaluating the quantity of internal human resources available. Once the future internal supply is estimated, supply of external human resources is analysed.

4. Estimating manpower gaps: – Manpower gaps can be identified by comparing demand and supply forecasts. Such comparison will reveal either deficit or surplus of Human Resources in the future. Deficit suggests the number of persons to be recruited from outside, whereas surplus implies redundant employees to be re-deployed or terminated. Employees estimated to be deficient can be trained while employees with higher, better skills may be given more enriched jobs.

5. Action Planning: – Once the manpower gaps are identified, plans are prepared to bridge these gaps. Plans to meet the surplus manpower may be redeployment in other departments and retrenchment. People may be persuaded to quit voluntarily through a golden handshake. Deficit can be met through recruitment, selection, transfer and promotion. In view of shortage of certain skilled employees, the organisation has to take care not only of recruitment but also retention of existing employees. Hence, the organisation has to plan for retaining of existing employees.

6. Modify the Organisational plans: – If future supply of human resources form all the external sources is estimated to be inadequate or less than the requirement, the manpower planner has to suggest to the management regarding the alterations or modifications in the organisational plans.

7. Controlling and Review: – After the action plans are implemented, human resource structure and the processes should be controlled and reviewed with a view to keep them in accordance with action plans.

Benefits/ Advantages of Human Resource Devolopment:

Development of current employees reduces the company’s dependence on hiring new workers.

If employees are developed, the job openings are more likely to be filled internally.

Promotions and transfers also show employees that they have a career, not just a job.

The employer benefits from increased continuity in operations and from employees who feel greater commitment to the firm.

Increase the productivity of employees.

It helps in the career development of organization and employees too.

Human resource development is also an effective way to meet several challenges, includes:

1. Employee obsolescence

Obsolescence results when an employee no longer possesses the knowledge or abilities needed to perform successfully.Or

It may results from a person’s failure to adapt to new technology, new procedures, and other changes. The more rapidly the environment changes, the more likely it is that employees will become obsolete.

Employers are reluctant to take strong action and fire obsolete employee, particularly employees who have been with the company a long time.

Proactively assessing the needs of employees and giving them programs to develop new skills can avoid employee obsolescence.

If these programs are designed reactively, after obsolescence occurs, they are less effective and more costly.

When an employee reaches a career plateau, obsolescence may be more likely.

A career plateau occurs when an employee does well enough no to be demoted or fired but not so well that s/he is likely to be promoted.

Motivation to stay current may be reduced when an employee realizes that s/he is at career plateau.

2. International & Domestic Workforce Diversity:

Workforce diversity causes many organizations to redesign their development programs.

Role-playing and behavior modeling are more effective ways to train and develop employees for facing the challenges the workforce diversity.

3. Technological change:

Rapid changes in technology require the firms to engage in nearly continuous improvement.

Technological changes having profound impact on training and development, increases the need to assess the developmental requirements of current and future managers, professional and technical peoples.

4. Development, EEO and affirmative action:

Training and development activities must be conducted in such a way that they do not discriminate against protected classes.

5. Employee Turnover:

Turnover – the willingness on employees to leave one organization for another.

Departures are largely unpredictable, development activities must prepare employees to succeed those who leave.

Some employer with excellent development programs finds that training programs contribute to employee turnover. Therefore, they are reluctant to invest money in workers who may then take their new skills to a new job at a higher-paying competitor.

After evaluate the importance of training and development programs, the organizations realize that it is better to have some trained employee who may leave than to have an untrained workforce that says.

Organizations change from time to time. Changes with respect to continuous improvements, diversity, and work process engineering require the organization to move forward through a process called organizational development.

Organization Development:

Definition: Organization development is a process that addresses system wide change in the organization.

Change agent:

Change agents are individuals responsible for fostering the change effort and assisting employees in adapting to changes

They are may be internal employees, or external consultants.

What is change?

Organization development efforts support changes that are usually made in four areas:

The organization’s systems

Technology

Processes

People

Two metaphors clarify the change process.

The calm waters metaphor: It describes unfreezing the status quo, change to a new state, and refreezing to ensure that the change is permanent. Kurt Lewin describes the status quo can be considered an equilibrium state. Unfreezing, necessary to move from this equilibrium, is achieved in one of three ways:

The driving forces, which direct behavior away from the status quo, can be increased.

The restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decreased.

The two approaches can be combined.

Lewin’s three steps process treats change as a break in the organization’s equilibrium state. The status quo has been disturbed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium.

The white-water rapids metaphor: The white-water rapids metaphor recognizes today’s business environment that is less stable/dynamic and not as predictable/uncertain.

Organization Devolopment Methods:

Organizational development facilitates long-term organization-wide changes.

Its focus is to constructively change attitudes and values among organizational members so that they can more readily adapt to and be more effective in achieving the new directions of the organization.

One fundamental issue of OD is its reliance on employee participation to foster an environment of open communication and trust.

Persons involved in OD efforts acknowledge that change can create stress for employees.

OD attempts to involve organizational members in changes that will affect their jobs and seeks their input about how the innovation is affecting them.

Organization Devolopment techniques:

Any organizational activity that assists with implementing planned change can be viewed as an OD technique.

OD techniques include:

Survey feedback

Process consultation

Team building

Intergroup development

1. Survey Feedback:

Survey feedback assesses organizational members’ perceptions and attitudes about their jobs (satisfaction with their job, coworkers, supervisors, and management etc) and organization (decision making, communication effectiveness, and leaderships etc).

The summarized data are used to identify problems and clarify issues so that commitments to action can be made.

2. Process consultation:

Process consultation uses outside consultants to help organizational members perceive, understand, and act upon process events.

Consultants coach managers in diagnosing interpersonal processes that need improvement.

3. Team Building:

Organizations are made up of individuals working together to achieve same goals. They frequently interact with peers.

The primary function of OD is to help them become a team.

Team building may include:

Goal setting

Development of interpersonal relationships

Clarification of roles

Team process analysis

Team building attempts to increase trust, openness towards one another, and team functioning.

4. Intergroup development:

Intergroup development attempts to change attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that one group may have towards another group.

It attempts to achieve cohesion among different work groups or helping members of various groups become a cohesive team.

It builds better coordination among the various groups.

Human Reaction To Organisational Change

There is a very close relationship between change and human attitudes. Every individual reacts to the change according to their individual attitude. Human reaction to change does not depend upon logic. Generally, depends upon how a change will affect ones needs and satisfaction in the organization. Attitudes are very important in determining the resistance to change.

The employees reaction to organization change any occur in any of the following forms,

1. Acceptance

Acceptance of the change depends on the perception of the employees towards the change. So, all the changes are not necessarily restricted. If an employee perceives that the change will affect his/her favorably, then he/she will accept the change. For example if workers have to stand before a machine throughout the shift, they will like the introduction of new machine which will allow them to sit while working.

2. Resistance

All the changes are not necessarily resisted. Resistance to change arises due to deferring perception, personalities and needs. If the employee perceives the change is unfavorable to them, they resist to the change. Individual generally feel comfortable in the environment that they are habituated to. So, when the change arises, the thought of moving from the environment they are accustomed to become a source of resistance. Human resistance to change may be in any of following forms,

Hostility or Aggression. Hostility or aggression is the immediate reaction if an individual to change. Hostility can be expressed verbally, but the combined form of hostility and aggression is of a more intense character and can also take physical forms.

The individual may develop lack of interest towards has work. If individual do not like the change it may result to spoilage of materials, idling of time and decline in performance. This will alternately decrease this efficiency in work.

Employee remains absent in their work as well slow performance in their work.

Employee find themselves uncomfortable, shaky and tensed on the job. Resistance develops anxiety and tension in the employee.

Strikes are usual symptoms of the group resistance.

3. Indifference

In some cases changes in the organization or environment fails to bring the reaction of the employee. There are two reaction to change, acceptance & resistance, but in some cases there is no reaction. This is because sometimes employee fails to realize the impact of change or some people feel that they will not be affected by the change. In both these cases there is no reaction to the change, so they will remain indifferent to change.

4. Forced Acceptance

Employee or the people may resist to the change in initial state but if he changes force are stronger the resistance force, then they have to accept the change. This is known as forced acceptance of the change. This is known as forced acceptance of the change. KEITH DAVIS absorbed that “People develop an established set of relations with their environment. They learn how to deal with each other, how to perform their job and what to expect next. Equilibrium exists, individuals are adjusted when change comes along, and it requires individuals to make new adjustments, as the employee seeks a new equilibrium. When employees are unable to make adequate adjustment to change which occur, the organization is a state of imbalance or disequilibrium. Managements general human relations objective regarding change is to restore and maintain the group equilibrium and personal adjustment which change upsets.”

Job analysis in Determining ManPower requirements

The information produced by job analysis is used extensively in HRM. It is difficult to imagine how an organisation could effectively hire, train, appraises, compensate or utilise its human resources without the kinds of information derived from job analysis”

Job Descriptions – job descriptions define what a job is by identifying its content, requirements and context. Because job descriptions provide a written summary of the duties and responsibilities of the job, they help managers and current and prospective employees understand what the job is and how it is to be performed.

Job Specification – job specifications focus on the personal characteristics and qualifications that an employee must possess to perform the job successfully.

Job Design – job design identifies what work must be performed, how it will be performed, where it is to be performed and who will perform it. Job analysis information is invaluable in determining which tasks should be grouped together to form a job and structuring jobs so that employee satisfaction and performance can be enhanced.

Organisational Structure and Design – job analysis by clarifying job requirements and the inter relationships among jobs means content and tasks duties and responsibilities at all levels can be specified, thus promoting efficiency by minimising overlap or duplication. Job analysis information is invaluable in determining which tasks should be grouped together to form a job and structuring jobs so that employee satisfaction and performance can be enhanced.

HR Planning – HR or personnel planning involves “getting the right number of qualified people into the right job at the right time”. Job analysis information is essential for this if the number and types of employees to be recruited or exited from the organisation are to be accurately determined.

Recruitment – job analysis information helps the HR Manager attract better qualified candidates by identifying who to recruit and how and where to recruit them by establishing the job requirements that must meet. In addition, job analysis permits the HR Manager to provide realistic job previews by highlighting irrelevant and or distorted job information.

Selection – job analysis information identifies what the job is by defining what duties and responsibilities must be performed. This facilitates the development of job related selection techniques, helps ensure that EEO requirements are met, and increases the likelihood of a proper matching of an applicant with a job. Finally, job analysis information can be used to validate the selection techniques.

Orientation – Effective job orientation requires a clear understanding of the work to be performed. A new employee cannot be properly taught how to do a job if job duties and responsibilities are not clearly defined.

Performance Appraisal – Job analysis information is essential to the establishment of performance standards. Through job analysis a thorough understanding of what the employee is supposed to do is obtained. Without this, acceptable levels of performance cannot be determined or an accurate measure of actual performance obtained.

Training and Development – Job analysis information is used to design and implement training and development programs. The job specification defines the knowledge, skills and abilities required for successful job performance. This allows the HR Manager to establish training and development objectives, design programs and determine whether or not a current or potential employee requires training.

Career planning and Development – HR Managers are better placed to offer career guidance when they have a good understanding of the types of jobs existing in an organisation. Similarly, by identifying jobs and job requirements, employees become aware of their career options and what constitutes a realistic career objective for them in the organisation.

Compensation and Benefits – the job description is the foundation of job evaluation. It summarises the nature and requirements of the job and permits its evaluation relative to other jobs. Once the relative worth of a job has been determined an equitable level of compensation and benefits can be assigned.

Health & Safety – job analysis information helps create a healthy and safe working environment. Jobs with hazardous conditions methods or procedures can be identified and redesigned to eliminate or reduce exposure to health and safety hazards.

Industrial Relations – Misunderstandings and disagreement among managers, employees and unions over job content is a major source of grievance and demarcation disputes. Job analysis information can help avoid such disputes by providing a clear description of tasks and responsibilities and identifying the formal qualifications, skills, abilities, knowledge and experience required to successfully perform the work.

Performance appraisal may be defined as a structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview (annual or semi-annual), in which the work performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skills development.

In many organizations – but not all – appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions.

By the same token, appraisal results are used to identify the poorer performers who may require some form of counseling, or in extreme cases, demotion, dismissal or decreases in pay. (Organizations need to be aware of laws in their country that might restrict their capacity to dismiss employees or decrease pay.)

Whether this is an appropriate use of performance appraisal – the assignment and justification of rewards and penalties – is a very uncertain and contentious matter.

The major objectives of performance appraisal are;

Salary Increase: Performance appraisal plays a role in making decision about salary increase. Normally salary increase of an employee depends upon on how he is performing his job. There is continuous evaluation of his performance either formally or informally. This may disclose how well an employee is performing and how much he should be compensated by way of salary increase.

Promotion: Performance appraisal plays significant role where promotion is based on merit and seniority. Performance appraisal discloses how an employee is working in his present job and what are his strong and weak points. In the light of these, it can be decided whether he can be promoted to the next higher position.

Training and Development: Performance appraisal tries to identify the strengths and weakness of an employee on his present job. This information can be used for devising training and development programmes appropriate for overcoming weaknesses of employees.

Feedback: Performance appraisal provides feedback to employees about their performance. A person works better when he knows how he is working. This works in two ways, firstly, the person gets feedback about his performance. Secondly, when the person gets feedback about his performance, he can relate his work to the orgaisational objectives.

Pressure on Employees: Performance appraisal puts a sort of pressure on employees for better performance. If the employees are conscious that they are being appraised in respect of certain factors and their future largely depends on such appraisal.

Others

Identifying systemic factors that are barriers to, or facilitators of, effective performance.

To confirm the services of probationary employees upon their completing the probationary period satisfactorily.

To improve communication. Performance appraisal provides a format for dialogue between the superior and the subordinate, and improves understanding of personal goals and concerns. This can also have the effect of increasing the trust between the rater and the ratee.

To determine whether HR programmes such as selection, training, and transfer have been effective or not.

Determination of Performance is composed of four main stages:

Planning Performance

Managing Performance

Reviewing Performance

Rewarding Performance

1. Planning Performance

As with the introduction of any process, there first needs to be clarity about the primary reason for introducing performance management and a clear view about what it is expected to deliver in terms of results. There also needs to be strong commitment from the top to the introduction of process, as without this commitment it will be difficult to gain support from the lower echelons of organizations and insufficient resources may be allocated to achieve the desired result.

The next logical step in designing a performance management system is the setting of objectives. Typically, these will derive from the organization’s overall direction and strategy and from broad statement of intent which will be gradually refined, cascading down the organization, until they are translated into individual targets. This is known as the top-down approach. An alternative to this is bottom-up approach. In this case, as the name suggests priorities and targets would be identified by those lower down in the organization. In some respects this might seem illogical as it runs counter to the theory that jobs exist for a particular purpose is determined by the organization’s management. Certainly in most situations it would be expected that the targets of individual employee would be dependent on the overall objectives. However, there are circumstances in which the bottom-up approach can be useful means of determining overall objectives. This will normally arise in large organization in which senior management may be a long way removed from the customer or client base. In such circumstances the employees at the ‘coal-face’ may well have a sounder appreciation of the needs of those customer or clients and be therefore better able to decide on the kinds of priorities that are likely to result in greater customer satisfaction.

When consideration is given to target setting for individuals, it should also be borne in mind that those individuals will have aims that are not just work related. Indeed their priorities are much more likely to revolve around such issues as promotion prospects, pay, recognition, time-off, lifestyle, relations with colleagues and the boss.

Objective setting:

An objective may be defined as a “clear statement indicating how a particular output will be achieved in both quantitative and qualitative terms”. Good objectives should conform to what have been described as “SMART’ criteria, i.e. they should be:

Specific- As precise as possible and relating to only one identifiable output.

Measurable- Or it will be difficult, if not impossible, to judge when they have been achieved.

Achievable- Or they will lose credibility, be demoralizing and serve no useful purpose.

Result oriented- Be related to the end result which is to be achieved.

Time related- Objectives without a clear timescale give no guidance on priorities.

There are a number of other factors to be taken into account when setting objectives. It has already been stated that they should be achievable., but it should also be borne in mind that the extent to which someone will be motivated to achieve a particular objective will depend on the extent to which they are able to influence it.

In a manufacturing environment, for example, an individual may well have a higher degree of control over the number of units produced. Similarly sales representative will usually have a high degree of control over the visits they might make to potential customers. In these case objectives can be set which can contain, among other things, certain target volumes to be achieved, and the individuals will usually regard these as being logical, although they might debate the actual numbers selected.

On the other hand, setting targets over which a person has little control will be demoralizing and will be unlikely to result in the set target being reached. There are numerous examples of this; supervisors may often be held accountable for the motivation and morale of employees under their control. However, this motivation and morale can suffer for reasons that are totally beyond the control of the supervisor, such as poor business performance, weak senior management, redundancies, etc.

While it is crucial that objective and targets should be those that individuals can influence, it is also important that they are significant ones for the organization. Almost anyone who works in an office, for example, has a considerable amount of influence over the way in which they organize their paperwork, but setting targets for them to attain is hardy likely to make a significant contribution to the organization unless that is the organization’s business, such as a company which processes credit card transactions on behalf of Barclay card or American Express. The overriding consideration is that any objective should, as far as possible, both give the organization some kind of competitive advantage or have the impact on the direction and performance of the business, and also be those over which the individual has a high degree of control. The higher degree of control and the more significant the attainment of a specific objective, the more desirable it is for the organization.

It is very important to ensure that any objective set relate to corporate objectives and that they align well with those set for other posts. For this reason objective setting should not be done in isolation for one post only but should take account of all other posts in a particular team or group and all the other individuals and teams with which they interact.

Although objectives have to be achievable, they should also be stretching to ensure that the organization performs well and grows where possible and to develop the individual post holder. Objectives that will be attained in any case and with the little discernible effort on the part of post holder are of little value.

Objectives should be set in all the important areas of the job and should not be too numerous, otherwise it will dilute the impact and divert the individual’s attention from the matters that are really important. While the precise number will depend on the type of job and the kind of objectives set, any number significantly greater than ten is likely to be too many for one person to cope with realistically.

Obviously some objectives will be more important than others and the priorities should be made clear. Those which should be given greatest priority are ones which will have most significant impact on the organization and give the greatest competitive advantage.

A surprisingly difficult aspect of measuring actually knows when someone has attained his or her targets. Even when clear and concrete targets are available this can still be difficult. For example, if someone has set a sale target of Rs.100, 000 in a year but achieves Rs.97, 000 only, is that on target or not? A strict literal interpretation would be that individual is below the target. However it is more likely that any figures within what may be regarded as an acceptable range would be treated as on-target performance.

It all depends on he circumstances in which he results are obtained and the way in which the performance process operates. What is important is that wherever possible numerical targets are set. Obviously most jobs have certain aspects to them that are not easily measurable and for others the output may be very difficult indeed to define. How, for example, can you measure the outputs of a scene of a crime officer in a police force? Or a researcher? In such cases performance objectives may have to relate more to competencies than measurable outputs, and this is considered further below.

Competency based objectives:

It has been stated that objective should, as far as possible, be specific and measurable. This means using clear output measures wherever possible. For many jobs, however, outputs are not all clear. While generally it is easy to determine the performance measures for the most senior management posts in the organization, usually based on overall organization performance and including such parameters as earning per share, and for the most junior posts which are likely to be task based, it is much more difficult for those posts in the middle where there is a less direct link with outputs. Similarly even where there are clear measures, to focus on unit of production alone could neglect the qualitative and development aspects of any role.

Any performance management scheme should therefore have a mixture of quantifiable outputs and more behaviorally based competencies. The important points in using competencies as performance measures are:

They must be worded in such a way that they can be objectively assessed, otherwise they run the risk of becoming just shopping list of desirable traits.

They must be relevant to the job.

There should be a common core of competencies for jobs operating in same environment; otherwise it will be difficult to establish common standards.

They should mot be too numerous otherwise the same thing may be measured more than once.

2. Managing Performance

Once performance objectives have been set and action plan agreed, the next stage of the performance management process is to ensure that those plans are acted on and the required results produced. ‘Management’ in this sense means more than conducting an annual appraisal, although such actions will inevitably form an important part of the process. What it is really about is giving employees the necessary support and create the appropriate conditions for them to be able to deliver required results, in effect ‘empowering’ them. In particular terms that is likely to mean:

Giving necessary practical support, such as providing the appropriate resources.

Ensuring that employees are clear about the results and giving any advice or clarification that may be needed.

Giving employees the necessary training and development to ensure that they are able to achieve their accountabilities.

Adjust targets, priorities and performance measures according to changes in organizational priorities, markets, government, policies, etc.

In essence this involves adopting a management style approach that helps to develop a performance culture in which results are perceived as more important than traditional conventions of behaviors within the organization. For example, there should be less emphasis on ensuring that people are in the office between certain hours and more on what they produce while they are there, although of course in many environments good timekeeping would be an essential requirement for effective performance.

An important part of managing performance is also taking responsibility for one’s own performance. This requirement applies equally to managers and subordinate, but it’s particularly important for managers to lead by examples.

It is over simplifying to suggest that there is any one management style that is the best. The most appropriate style in any particular situation will depend on a number of factors, including personality of the individual, the nature of the task, the timescale and the culture of organization. For example, in any organization such as fire services, because of consequences of not acting as a team and responding quickly to direct instructions could be fatal, a directive style of management is most appropriate, at least for operational staff. This is reinforced by strict rules, drills and uniforms. On the other hand, with a team of professional engineers, a more participative style is more appropriate to ensure the fullest consideration of ideas and views and because the nature of the role is to reach agreement through discussion (in most cases). Similarly some individuals prefer to be directed while others loathe it. Jobs that have to be completed against a very tight deadline require strong direction and control.

Except where tasks are very prescribed, and possibly even then, the most effective management style is likely to be one that empowers individuals to make decisions that are within there competence and that gives them all the necessary support and encouragement. The aim in effectively managing performance, therefore, should be to adopt a style which gives coaching and assists in people’s development, but with the option held in reserve of becoming more directive should be the need arise. At the end of day it’s the role of the manager to ensure that the results within his control are obtained, and the delegation or empowerment of subordinates does not absolve that manager of that responsibility. There may be the danger that subordinates may not be able to cope with the ambiguity that could arise from the use of different styles at different times. The way round this problem is to make it very clear just what the ground rules are i.e. “the way things are done round here”. Over the years organizations have written down what their philosophy of management.

3. Reviewing Performance

Strictly speaking that performance review is part of the process of managing performance. However, in view of specific considerations that apply to this aspect of the process it is convenient to examine it as a separate element.

Where performance appraisal exists, it typically centers round interview held once or twice a year, between the post holder and his or her boss. Sometimes the outcomes of this interview can have a direct bearing on pay or promotion, whereas in other cases the emphasis is on training and development. Often performance issues are raised that may not have been discussed at any time during the year.

Some interviews can be bland, with the employee left with the impression that he or she is performing satisfactorily even though that may not be the manager’s true view, this is because large number of managers find it uncomfortable to be openly critical of their subordinates’ performance, even though they may be prepared to make such criticism to third parties. At the other extreme, interviews can degenerate into sessions for apportion blames for past failures.

What is ideally required is a process that is constructive and supportive and that gives advice that can help individual improve and develop. Able and well-motivated staff will usually welcome constructive criticism. To achieve this there are certain principles that need to be adhered to:

The appraisal interview should not contain any surprises. The appraisee should be well aware of his/her level of performance before the interview because of the regular feedback given by managers.

The process should be applied to everybody. Every employee has the right to know how well he/she is doing and it is an obligation on the part of management to let him/her know.

Employee should be encouraged to review their own performance and give the opinions about how they think they have done.

The discussion should be focused on the targets that have been set and the achievements against those targets.

Appraisers should remember the rule that they have two ears and one mouth, to be used in that proportion when conducting an appraisal interview.

Rating performance

A crucial part of performance appraisal is judging how well an individual has performed against identified targets. Generally, assessing the results will be easier than judging the quality of those results, but it can be far from straightforward even when the measure seems obvious. In making judgments about performance there are a number of key principles to be adhered to:

The performance should be judged against overall objectives, which may have been broken down into separate targets which together contribute to the overall objective. For example, an objective of reaching a certain level of sales may be comprised of target figures for individual products.

As far as possible, objectives should be quantifiable, although for most jobs there will be a mixture of hard objective measures and competencies.

Unfortunately there are few short cuts when it comes to assessing performance. Careful consideration has to be given to each of the objective and targets and account has to be taken of the circumstances in which they were achieved. There is rarely any easy formula that can be used for a particular measure.

In rating performance, the appraiser should take account of every aspect of the job, give an overall rating for the job as a whole and not be unduly influenced by extremes of performance in one part of it.

In considering individual performance, emphasis should be placed on what are regarded as priority objectives and the overall performance should be measured against the post holders’ accountabilities.

Account should be taken of any internal factors affecting performance, such as changes to the organization, the availability of resources, the degree of challenge built into the accountabilities in first place.

One of the greatest difficulties any manager experiences in appraising staff is being objective about the individual. There is a tendency, naturally, to want to give better ratings to people we like than to those we are less keen on. Similarly, judgments can be influenced by the “halo effect” in which one impressive attribute can tend to make the appraiser rate the others more highly than they perhaps deserve. The converse could be described as the “horns effect”, in which poor performance in one area could color judgments about other aspects.

The appraiser should also take account of external circumstances, particularly in terms of market conditions, changes to the law or in government policies, and economic conditions. There are several examples of large divisionalised companies where some divisions are buoyant and managers are hitting their targets or exceeding them with ease, whereas in other divisions of the company, because of a difficult market, managers with similar targets struggle to get even close. In such circumstances account has to be taken of the prevalent market conditions, even at the risk of undermining what might be perceived as internal equity.

There are a number of different ways of describing the performance rating. Some organizations use a standard verbal description, others may assign an alphabetical or numerical rating, while yet others may describe performance as ‘on target’, ‘above target’, etc. Similarly the number of levels varies, with five being about the most commons.

The key to successful performance appraisal probably lies in ensuring that line managers have ownership of the process, that they are fully trained in it, and that there is general acceptance of the principle of appraisal by the employees concerned. The one thing that is certain is that is individuals’ performance will be appraised anyway. The issue is that whether it should be done informally or formally and in an open and systematic way which can develop and reinforce a performance culture. However, once implemented, the process must be the only one in existence. There is at least one organization in which in addition to the formal scheme there was another, informal one through which manager could qualify any comments they might have made in face-to-face discussion with the appraisee. These qualified comments could be made unofficially to senior members of management and would be placed on individual’s files. Obviously such an approach undermines the whole principle of performance management.

4. Rewarding Performance

Rewarding performance is the element of the performance management process which seeks to give employees some kind of return for achieving their targets. This is wider than just financial recompense and includes such things as praise, greater opportunities for training and development, and promotion. Very often one of the things most sought by an employee is the recognition that he or she is doing a good job and where, for example, this is expressed in terms of bonus it is very often the recognition rather than the cash that really matters. It is only when money enters the equation that rewarding performance become very tricky and the emphasis her is therefore on the financial aspects.

People very often consider performance management solely in terms of performance related performance related pay (PRP). When there are business pressures to improve performance a common reaction of many managers is to want to pay for the results, even though the organization may have no comprehensive system of performance management. However, it is never appropriate to introduce PRP unless there is already such system in place. It is very difficult to get this aspect of process right, and there are numerous examples of PRP schemes, which may be called, ‘merit pay’, ‘performance bonuses’, ‘incentive bonuses’, etc that have fallen into disrepute.

Recruitment and selection of employees

An analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage;

In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all (replacement should rarely be an automatic process).

Effectively, selection is 'buying' an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection.

Equally some small organizations exist to 'head hunt', i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the 'cost' of poor selection is such that, even for the mundane day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants.

The main sources of recruitment are:

Internal promotion and internal introductions (at times desirable for morale purposes)

Careers officers (and careers masters at schools)

University appointment boards

Agencies for the unemployed

Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local media (e.g. commercial radio)

Where the organization does its own printed advertising it is useful if it has some identifying logo as its trade mark for rapid attraction and it must take care not to offend the sex, race, etc. antidiscrimination legislation either directly or indirectly. The form on which the applicant is to apply (personal appearance, letter of application, completion of a form) will vary according to the posts vacant and numbers to be recruited.
It is very desirable in many jobs that claim about experience and statements about qualifications are thoroughly checked and that applicants unfailingly complete a health questionnaire (the latter is not necessarily injurious to the applicants chance of being appointed as firms are required to employ a percentage of disabled people).
Before letters of appointment are sent any doubts about medical fitness or capacity (in employments where hygiene considerations are dominant) should be resolved by requiring applicants to attend a medical examination. This is especially so where, as for example in the case of apprentices, the recruitment is for a contractual period or involves the firm in training costs.
Interviewing can be carried out by individuals (e.g. supervisor or departmental manager), by panels of interviewers or in the form of sequential interviews by different experts and can vary from a five minute 'chat' to a process of several days. Ultimately personal skills in judgment are probably the most important, but techniques to aid judgment include selection testing for:

Aptitudes (particularly useful for school leavers)

Attainments

General intelligence

(All of these need skilled testing and assessment.) In more senior posts other techniques are:

Leaderless groups

Command exercises

Group problem solving

(These are some common techniques - professional selection organizations often use other techniques to aid in selection.)
Training in interviewing and in appraising candidates is clearly essential to good recruitment. Largely the former consists of teaching interviewers how to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to xratex the candidates. For consistency (and as an aid to checking that) rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. (according to the needs of the post). Application of the normal curve of distribution to scoring eliminates freak judgments.
Meaning and definition of motivation

To the behavioural scientists, the word motivation is something stemming from within a person. According to them, motivation refers to a dynamic driving force, which stems from within. It is an “inner striving condition, which activates or moves individual into action and continues him in the course of action enthusiastically”. Thus, motivation is defined as an inner state that activates, energizes or moves behaviour towards goals. And, the forces inside the individual that inspire him to continue work are variously called as wishes, drives, needs etc.

According to Rensis Likert motivation is the “core of management.” Motivation is an important function performed by manager for actuating the people to work for the accomplishment of organisational objectives. Issuance of well-conceived instructions and orders does not mean that they will be followed. A manager has to make appropriate use of various techniques of motivation to enthuse the employees to follow them. Effective motivation succeeds not only in having an order accepted but also in gaining a determination to see that it is executed efficiently and effectively.

Motivation is an effective and dynamic instrument in the hands of a manager for inspiring the workforce and creating confidence in them. Through the motivation of the workforce, management creates ‘will to work’ which is necessary for the achievement of organisational goals and objectives. Motivation is the process of getting the members or the group to pull weight effectively, to give their loyalty to the group and to carry out properly the purpose of the organisation.

The term ‘motivation’ has its origin in the Latin word “mover” which means to “move”. Thus, motivation stands for movement. One can get a donkey to move by using a “carrot or a stick”, with people one can use incentives, or threats or reprimands. However, these only have a limited effect. These work for a while and then need to be repeated, increased or reinforced to secure further movement. The term motivation may be defined as “the managerial function of ascertaining the motives of subordinates and helping them to realize those motives”.

According to Dubin motivation could be defined as “the complex of forces starting and keeping a person at work in an organisation. Motivation is something that moves the person to action, and continues him in the course of action already initiated”. Motivation refers to the way a person is enthused at work to intensify his/her desire and willingness to use and channelise his/her energy for the achievement of organisational objectives. It is something that moves a person into action wand continue him in the course of action enthusiastically. The role of motivation is to develop and intensify the desire in every member of the organisation to work effectively and efficiently in his position.

In the words of Dalton E. McFarland, motivation is the way in which urges, desires, aspiration, striving or needs direct, control or explain the behaviour of human being”. Motivation has very close relationship with the behaviour. It explains how and way the human behaviour is caused. According to McFarland motivation is a form of tension occurring within individual, with resulting behaviour aimed at reducing, eliminating or diverting the tension. Understanding the needs and drives and their resulting tensions helps to explain and predict human behaviour ultimately providing a sound basis for managerial decision and action.” Thus, motivation is the term, which applies to the entire class of urges, drives, desires, needs and similar forces.

Maslow's Theory

Introduction:
The basis of Maslow's motivation theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs "deficiency needs." As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly.Maslow's model indicates that fundamental, lower-order needs like safety and physiological requirements have to be satisfied in order to pursue higher-level motivators along the lines of self-fulfillment. As depicted in the following hierarchical diagram, sometimes called 'Maslow's Needs Pyramid' or 'Maslow's Needs Triangle', after a need is satisfied it stops acting as a motivator and the next need one rank higher starts to motivate.
Self-actualization: Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow's motivation theory. It is about the quest of reaching one's full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as one grows psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow.

Self-actualized people tend to have motivators such as:

Truth

Justice

Wisdom

Meaning

Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are energized moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.

Esteem Needs:

After a person feels that they "belong", the urge to attain a degree of importance emerges. Esteem needs can be categorized as external motivators and internal motivators.

Internally motivating esteem needs are those such as self-esteem, accomplishment, and self respect. External esteem needs are those such as reputation and recognition.

Some examples of esteem needs are:

Recognition (external motivator)

Attention (external motivator)

Social Status (external motivator)

Accomplishment (internal motivator)

Self-respect (internal motivator)

Maslow later improved his model to add a layer in between self-actualization and esteem needs: the need for aesthetics and knowledge.

Social Needs:

Once a person has met the lower level physiological and safety needs, higher level motivators awaken. The first level of higher level needs are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with others and may include:

Friendship

Belonging to a group

Giving and receiving love

Safety Needs:

Once physiological needs are met, one's attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by:

Living in a safe area

Medical insurance

Job security

Financial reserves

According to the Maslow hierarchy, if a person feels threatened, needs further up the pyramid will not receive attention until that need has been resolved.

Physiological Needs:

Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as:

Water

Food

Sleep

According to this theory, if these fundamental needs are not satisfied then one will surely be motivated to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not recognized until one satisfies the needs basic to existence.

Employee motivation
To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.
Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels.
As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation.
Hence while the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others, the outcome of them is a matter of great concern to human resource management.
Increasingly the influence of behavioral science discoveries are becoming important not merely because of the widely-acknowledged limitations of money as a motivator, but because of the changing mix and nature of tasks (e.g. more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs).
The former demand better-educated, mobile and multi-skilled employees much more likely to be influenced by things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation, etc. than the economically dependent employees of yesteryear.
Hence human resource management must act as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of drawing the attention of senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy.
Employee evaluation
An organization needs constantly to take stock of its workforce and to assess its performance in existing jobs for three reasons:

To improve organizational performance via improving the performance of individual contributors (should be an automatic process in the case of good managers, but (about annually) two key questions should be posed:
- what has been done to improve the performance of a person last year?
- and what can be done to improve his or her performance in the year to come?).

To identify potential, i.e. to recognize existing talent and to use that to fill vacancies higher in the organization or to transfer individuals into jobs where better use can be made of their abilities or developing skills.

To provide an equitable method of linking payment to performance where there are no numerical criteria (often this salary performance review takes place about three months later and is kept quite separate from 1. and 2. but is based on the same assessment).

On-the-spot managers and supervisors, not HR staffs, carry out evaluations. The personnel role is usually that of:

Advising top management of the principles and objectives of an evaluation system and designing it for particular organizations and environments.

Developing systems appropriately in consultation with managers, supervisors and staff representatives. Securing the involvement and cooperation of appraisers and those to be appraised.

Assistance in the setting of objective standards of evaluation / assessment, for example:
- Defining targets for achievement;
- Explaining how to quantify and agree objectives;
- Introducing self-assessment;
- Eliminating complexity and duplication.

Publicizing the purposes of the exercise and explaining to staff how the system will be used.

Organizing and establishing the necessary training of managers and supervisors who will carry out the actual evaluations/ appraisals. Not only training in principles and procedures but also in the human relations skills necessary. (Lack of confidence in their own ability to handle situations of poor performance is the main weakness of assessors.)

Monitoring the scheme - ensuring it does not fall into disuse, following up on training/job exchange etc. recommendations, reminding managers of their responsibilities.

Full-scale periodic reviews should be a standard feature of schemes since resistance to evaluation / appraisal schemes is common and the temptation to water down or render schemes ineffectual is ever present (managers resent the time taken if nothing else).
Basically an evaluation / appraisal scheme is a formalization of what is done in a more casual manner anyway (e.g. if there is a vacancy, discussion about internal moves and internal attempts to put square pegs into 'squarer holes' are both the results of casual evaluation). Most managers approve merit payment and that too calls for evaluation. Made a standard routine task, it aids the development of talent, warns the inefficient or uncaring and can be an effective form of motivation.

Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS, EHRMS), Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), HR Technology or also called HR modules, shape an intersection in between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the planning and programming of data processing systems evolved into standardised routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible.

Human Resource Information System refers to the system of collecting, recording, classifying, presenting, processing, storing and disseminating various information, required for efficient and effective management of human resources in an organization. In order to manage diverse, expensive, and human resource information in complex environment, human resource department of various organizations have increasingly used computer based human resource information system. Human Resource Information System ( HRIS ) supports strategic and operational use of the human resource.

HRIS is required for the following purposes.

(1) Planning human resource requirements of organization

(2) Employee training & development to increase efficiency

(3) Formulation of policies and programmes relating to human resource

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software package that provides a complete management system for human resource activities in small-to-medium-sized businesses. They help streamline administrative procedures, manage employee benefits, reduce the need for paperwork and manual records, and keep track of all personal and job-related employee data. The Human Resources Information System is helpful for different organizations to set measurable benchmarks to acquire, train and retain the best employees, co-ordinate employee job descriptions with areas of responsibility, schedule training for recertification, safety, and revised work procedures, provide incentives to motivate and improve employee performance, track accident statistics and implement corporate strategies to improve overall health and safety. While the database provides quick access and track for the entire work history, every employee can be able to view only their personal information over systematic human resource information system.
HRIS can handle management of benefits for both HR personnel and company employees. HR directors can import payroll and benefits data into HRIS from in-house and outside sources. This allows them to manage all facets of HR from a single location. It also provides employees with self-service access to their accounts. With a secure system that requires a log in ID and password for each user, employees can check vacation balances, review benefits data, and update personal information without having to first contact HR staff.
Basic Features of HRIS

In lieu of standardized paperwork, HRIS allows employees to fill out forms online, make changes based on life events, and get information on their benefits at any time. Rather than “pulling an employee’s file,” HR personnel can refer any information about an employee through the system, including personal information, benefits, number of dependents, emergency contacts, and job history.
HRIS includes both standardized and customized reports. Standard reports feature templates for various administrative purposes including employee reviews, record keeping, workers’ compensation, employment history, and absence tracking. Customized reports are created that incorporate categories and information unique to business. Most HRIS applications have a comprehensive tracking system. HRIS tracking capabilities can maintain grievances filed by or against the employee stemming from discipline, disputes, and complaints.

Quick reference guides can be available relating to all areas of the Human Resources Information System, including staff benefits, benefit contribution rates, calendars, personnel change reason codes, and the payroll process flowchart. Detailed instructions regarding establishing and changing employee benefit and deduction information, including retirement, pension, health care, flexible spending accounts and employee selected deductions. Documentation on the human resource accounting structure can be possible; including staff benefit calculations and charges, review and correction of human resource accounts. Documentation is helpful for payroll issues, including time reporting requirements, check and auto deposit distribution, taxable benefits, terminations, review and correction of employee pay and leave, and tax forms. Instructions and forms for employees to establish or change their employee information related to the Human Resources system, including name, address, retirement, pension, and health care.

Improving business performance is a journey, not a destination. Business performance rises and falls with the ebb and flow of human performances. HR professionals lead the search for ways to enhance the effectiveness of employees in their jobs today and prepare them for tomorrow. Over the years, training programmes have grown into corporate with these goals in mind. Training programmes should enhance performance and enrich the contributions of the workforce. The ultimate goal of training is to develop appropriate talent in the workforce internally.

Training has made significant contributions to development of all kinds. Training is essential; doubts arise over its contribution in practice. Complaints are growing over its ineffectiveness and waste. The training apparatus and costs have multiplied but not its benefits. Dissatisfaction persists and is growing at the working level where the benefits of training should show up most clearly. This disillusionment shows in many ways – reluctance to send the most promising people for training, inadequate use of personnel after training etc. With disillusionment mounting in the midst of expansion, training has entered a dangerous phase in its development.

Training is neither a panacea for all ills nor is it a waste of time. What is required is an insight into what training can or cannot do and skill in designing and carrying out training effectively and economically.

The searchlight of inquiry may make the task and challenges stand out too starkly, too simply. Using experience with training in India and other rapidly developing countries has this advantage at similar risk. The contribution that training can make to development is needed acutely and obviously. At the same time, the limited resources available in these countries make this contribution hard to come by. These lines are sharply drawn; on the one hand, no promise can be ignored; on the other, no waste is permissible.

Much of the training provided today proceeds as if knowledge and action were directly related. This assumption is itself a striking illustration of the wide gulf that separates the two. On a continuum with personal maturation and growth at one end and improvement in performance of predetermined tasks at the other, education lies near the former, and training near the later. Focusing training on skill in action makes the task wide and complex. Training embraces an understanding of the complex processes by which various factors that make up a situation interact.

For every training strategy, no matter which, the proper focus right from the very outset is on one or more people – on-the-job-in-the-organization – this whole amalgam. Wherever the focus moves during the training programme, the starting point becomes the focus again at the end. The difference lies in what people have learned that they now apply. That difference, in terms of more effective behavior is the measure of the efficacy of training.

The training process is made up of three phases:

Phase 1: Pre-training. This may also be called the preparation phase. The process starts with an understanding of the situation requiring more effective behavior. An organization’s concerns before training lie mainly in four areas: Clarifying the precise objectives of training and the use the organization expects to make of the participants after training; selection of suitable participants; building favorable expectations and motivation in the participants prior to the training; and planning for any changes that improved task performance will require in addition to training.

Phase 2: Training. During the course of the training, participants focus their attention on the new impressions that seem useful, stimulating and engaging. There is no guarantee that the participants will in fact learn what they have chosen. But the main purpose remains: participants explore in a training situation what interests them, and a training institution’s basic task is to provide the necessary opportunities.

Having explored, participants try out some new behavior. If they find the new behavior useful, they try it again, check it for effectiveness and satisfaction, try it repeatedly and improve it. Finally, they incorporate this new facet into their habitual behavior in the training situation. If they do not find it useful, they discard it, try some variant, or discontinue learning in this direction. The intricate process of selection and testing is continuous and more or less conscious. It is important that work organizations meanwhile prepare the conditions for improved performance by their participants upon their return.

Phase 3: Post-training. This may be called the “follow up” phase. When training per se concludes, the situation changes. When the participants return back to work from the training, a process of adjustment begins for everyone involved. The newly learned skills undergo modification to fit the work situation. Participants may find their organizations offering encouragement to use the training and also support for continuing contact with the training institution. On the other hand, they may step into a quagmire of negativity.

More effective behavior of people on the job in the organization is the primary objective of the training process as a whole. In the simplest training process, improvement is a dependent variable, and participants and organizations independent variables.

Training can be defined as the process of “Transferring information and knowledge to employers and equipping employers to translate that information and knowledge into practice with a view to enhancing organization effectiveness and productivity, and the quality of the management of people.” It also means that in organizational development, the related field of training and development deals with the design and delivery of workplace learning to improve performance. The common topics for employee training and development programs are;

Corporate ethics: This covers the value of good manners, courtesy, consideration, personal decor and good rapport. It also shows why and how to discourage gossip, controversies, personal work at office, rush jobs etc.

Communications: The increasing diversity of today’s workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. Right from the way the receptionist handles a call to how the CEO deals with a customer gives a glimpse of the image of an organization. Such training encompasses oral, written and presentation skills. It stresses the importance of communication being clear, concise, concrete and colorful.

Career and life planning: A primarily employee-oriented training objective u undertaken to help employees plan for their lives, career, retirement, redundancy etc. Such training imparts the values of life skills that employees need under different and difficult circumstances.

Computer skills: Computer skills are becoming a necessity for conducting administrative and office tasks.

Customer service: Increased competition in today’s global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers.

Diversity: Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity

Staff management and team building: Such training shows the importance and benefits of good management and how everyone can achieve more through teamwork.

Stress management: Stress is an individual’s response to threats and challenges in the environment. Manifested physiologically and physically, it may occur due to role conflict, role ambiguity, role incompatibility, role overload or role under load. Stress management techniques are covered under this objective.

Time management: Time management skills covered here showcase the importance of being specific, delegation and prioritization. They also show how to set measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals.

Human relations: The increased stresses of today’s workplace can include misunderstandings and conflict. Training can people to get along in the workplace. It also includes interpersonal relationship skills. Communication is a two-way exercise and this objective covers the importance of listening, concentrating, showing empathy and self-awareness.

Quality initiatives: Initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Quality Circles, benchmarking, etc., require basic training about quality concepts, guidelines and standards for quality, etc.

Safety: Safety training is critical where working with heavy equipment , hazardous chemicals, repetitive activities, etc., but can also be useful with practical advice for avoiding assaults, etc.

Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment training usually includes careful description of the organization’s policies about sexual harassment, especially about what are inappropriate behaviors.

Memory skills: This objective highlights techniques for better reception, retention and recall through audio and visual learning techniques. It helps to improve skills by employing all senses, associating and following systematic review plans.

Special skills: Besides the above, organizations also impart special job-related skills. These may include technology training, report writing, technical training, quality assessments etc.

An organization may choose to impart training in any or many of the objectives mentioned above. But before one invests it is important to choose a trainer who is good and capable of making a positive difference with his or her training methodologies. Also organizational training needs to be undertaken keeping the mission and the vision statement of the organization in view.

Many more topics coming soon.......................

Department of Vocational Courses , A.S.College, Deoghar

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Manpower Planning Part-1 for BBA D-III

Maslow's Theory

Physiological Needs: