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Human Resource Management Question Answer Bank MBA-
Q.1 What is Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management is a process, which consists of four main activities,
namely, acquisition, development, motivation, as well as maintenance of human
resources.
Scott, Clothier and Spriegel have defined Human Resource Management as that branch of management which is responsible on a staff basis for concentrating on those aspects of operations which are primarily concerned with the relationship of management to employees and employees to employees and with the development of the individual and the group.
Human Resource Management is responsible for maintaining good human relations in the organization. It is also concerned with development of individuals and achieving integration of goals of the organization and those of the individuals.
French Wendell, defines ―Human resource management as the recruitment, selection, development, utilization, compensation and motivation of human resources by the organization‖.
According to Edwin B. Flippo, ―Human resource management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, resources to the end that individual and societal objectives are accomplished‖. This definition reveals that human resource (HR) management is that aspect of management, which deals with the planning, organizing, directing and controlling the personnel functions of the enterprise.
Q. 2 What is the nature of Human Resource Management?
The emergence of human resource management can be attributed to the writings of the human relation thinkers who attached great significance to the human factor. Lawrence Appley remarked,
the personnel department in discharging this responsibility.
The nature of the human resource management has been highlighted in its following features :
1. Inherent Part of Management : Human resource management is inherent in the process of management. This function is performed by all the managers throughout the organization rather that by the personnel department only. If a
manager is to get the best of his people, he must undertake the basic responsibility of selecting people who will work under him.
2. Pervasive Function : Human Resource Management is a pervasive function of management. It is performed by all managers at various levels in the organization. It is not a responsibility that a manager can leave completely to someone else. However, he may secure advice and help in managing people from experts who have special competence in personnel management and industrial relations. 3. Basic to all Functional Areas : Human Resource Management permeates all the functional area of management such as production management, financial management, and marketing management. That is every manager from top to bottom, working in any department has to perform the personnel functions. 4. People Centered : Human Resource Management is people centered and is relevant in all types of organizations. It is concerned with all categories of personnel from top to the bottom of the organization. The broad classification of personnel in an industrial enterprise may be as follows : (i) Blue-collar workers (i.e. those working on machines and engaged in loading, unloading etc.) and white-collar workers (i.e. clerical employees), (ii) Managerial and non-managerial personnel, (iii) Professionals (such as Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, Lawyer, etc.) and non- professional personnel. 5. Personnel Activities or Functions : Human Resource Management involves several functions concerned with the management of people at work. It includes manpower planning, employment, placement, training, appraisal and compensation of employees. For the performance of these activities efficiently, a separate department known as Personnel Department is created in most of the organizations. 6. Continuous Process : Human Resource Management is not a ‗one shot‘ function. It must be performed continuously if the organizational objectives are to be achieved smoothly. 7. Based on Human Relations : Human Resource Management is concerned with the motivation of human resources in the organization. The human beings can‘t be dealt with like physical factors of production. Every person has different needs, perceptions and expectations. The managers should give due attention to these factors. They require human relations skills to deal with the people at work. Human relations skills are also required in training performance appraisal, transfer and promotion of subordinates.
Personnel Management VS Human Resource Management :
Contemporary Human Resource Management, as a part and parcel of management function, underscores strategic approach to management in areas of acquisition, motivation, and management of people at work.
(vii) Social security and welfare of employees.
Q.4 Discuss the functions of human Resource Management with relevant examples?.
The main functions of human resource management are classified into two categories: (a) Managerial Functions and (b) Operative Functions
(a) Managerial Functions Following are the managerial functions of Human Resources Management.
1. Planning : The planning function of human resource department pertains to the steps taken in determining in advance personnel requirements, personnel programmes, policies etc. After determining how many and what type of people are required, a personnel manager has to devise ways and means to motivate them. 2. Organization : Under organization, the human resource manager has to organise the operative functions by designing structure of relationship among jobs, personnel and physical factors in such a way so as to have maximum contribution towards organizational objectives. In this way a personnel manager performs following functions :
(a) preparation of task force; (b) allocation of work to individuals; (c) integration of the efforts of the task force; (d) coordination of work of individual with that of the department.
3. Directing : Directing is concerned with initiation of organised action and stimulating the people to work. The personnel manager directs the activities of people of the organization to get its function performed properly. A personnel manager guides and motivates the staff of the organization to follow the path laid down in advance. 4. Controlling : It provides basic data for establishing standards, makes job analysis and performance appraisal, etc. All these techniques assist in effective control of the qualities, time and efforts of workers.
(b) Operative Functions : The following are the Operative Functions of Human Resource Management
1. Procurement of Personnel : It is concerned with the obtaining of the proper kind and number of personnel necessary to accomplish organization goals. It deals specifically with such subjects as the determination of manpower requirements, their recruitment, selecting, placement and orientation, etc.
2. Development of Personnel : Development has to do with the increase through training, skill that is necessary for proper job performance. In this process various techniques of training are used to develop the employees. Framing a sound promotion policy, determination of the basis of promotion and making performance appraisal are the elements of personnel development function.
- Compensation to Personnel : Compensation means determination of adequate and equitable remuneration of personnel for their contribution to organization objectives. To determine the monetary compensation for various jobs is one of the most difficult and important function of the personnel management. A number of decisions are taken into the function, viz., job-evaluation, remuneration, policy, inventive and premium plans, bonus policy and co-partnership, etc. It also assists the organization for adopting the suitable wages and salaries, policy and payment of wages and salaries in right time. 4. Maintaining Good Industrial Relation : Human Resource Management covers a wide field. It is intended to reduce strifies, promote industrial peace, provide fair deal to workers and establish industrial democracy. It the personnel manager is unable to make harmonious relations between management and labour industrial unrest will take place and millions of man-days will be lost. If labour management relations are not good the moral and physical condition of the employee will suffer, and it will be a loss to an organization vis-a-visa nation. Hence, the personnel manager must create harmonious relations with the help of sufficient communication system and co-partnership. 5. Record Keeping : In record-keeping the personnel manager collects and maintains information concerned with the staff of the organization. It is essential for every organization because it assists the management in decision making such as in promotions. 6. Personnel Planning and Evaluation : Under this system different type of activities are evaluated such as evaluation of performance, personnel policy of an organization and its practices, personnel audit, morale, survey and performance appraisal, etc.
Q.5 Describe the importance of HRM.
Human Resource Management has a place of great importance. According to Peter F. Drucker, ―The proper or improper use of the different factors of production depend on the wishes of the human resources. Hence, besides other resources human resources need more development. Human resources can increase cooperation but it needs proper and efficient management to guide it‖.
Importance of personnel management is in reality the importance of labour functions of personnel department which are indispensable to the management activity itself. Because of the following reasons human resource management holds a
becoming more conscious of their rights.
2. Increase in Education Level : The governments of various countries are taking steps to eradicate illiteracy and increase the education level of their citizens. Educated consumers and workers will create very tough task for the future managers. 3. Technological Advances : With the changes coming in the wake of advanced technology, new jobs are created and many old jobs become redundant. There is a general apprehension of immediate unemployment. In the competitive world of today, industry cannot hope to survive for long with old technology. The problem, of unemployment resulting from modernization will be solved by properly assessing manpower needs and training of redundant employees in alternate skills. 4. Changes in Political Environment : There may be greater
Government‘s interference in business to safeguard the interests of workers, consumers and the public at large. Government‘s participation in trade, commerce and industry will also pose many challenges before management. The Government may restrict the scope of private sector in certain areas in public interest. It does not mean chances of co-operation between the Government and private sector are ruled out. In fact, there will be more and more joint sector enterprises.
5. Increasing Aspirations of Employees : Considerable changes have been noted in the worker of today in comparison to his counterpart of 1950s. The workers are becoming more aware of their higher level needs and this awareness would intensify further in the future workers. 6. Changing Psychosocial System : In future, organizations will be required to make use of advanced technology in accomplishing their goals while satisfying human needs. In the traditional bureaucratic model, the organizations were designed to achieve technical functions with a little consideration given to the psychosocial system. But future management would be required to ensure effective participation of lower levels in the management of the organization system. 7. Computerized Information System : In the past, the automation of manufacturing processes had a major effect upon the systems of production, storage, handling and packaging, etc. More recently, there has been and in the future there will be the impact of revolutionary computerised information system on management. This revolutionary development would cover two primary areas of personnel management which are as follows :
(a) The use of electronic computers for the collection and processing of data, and
(b) The direct application of computers in the managerial decision making process.
8. Mobility of Professional Personnel : Organizations will expand the use of ―boundary agents‖ whose primary function will be achieving coordination with the environment. One interesting fact will be an increase in the mobility of various
managerial and professional personnel between organizations. As individuals develop greater technical and professional expertise, their services will be in greater demand by other organizations in the environment.
- Changes in Legal Environment : Many changes are taking place in the legal framework within which the industrial relations systems in the country are now functioning. It is the duty of the human resource or personnel executive to be aware of these changes and to bring about necessary adjustments within the organizations so that greater utilisation of human resources can be achieved. This, indeed, is and would remain a major challenge for the personnel executive. 10. Management of Human Relations : On the ‗industrial relations‘ front, things are not showing much improvement even after so many efforts by the government in this direction. Though a large number of factors are responsible for industrial unrest but a very significant cause is the growth of multiunions in industrial complexes having different political affiliations. Under the present conditions, it appears that inter-union rivalries would grow more in the coming years and might create more problems in the industry.
Management of human relations in the future will be more complicated than it is today. Many of the new generation of employees will be more difficult to motivate than their predecessors. This will be in part the result of a change in value systems coupled with rising educational levels. Greater skepticism concerning large organizations and less reverence for authority figures will be more common. Unquestioning acceptance of rules and regulations will be less likely.
New Role of Human Resource Management Human Resource Management in the ‗New Millenium‘ has undergone a great revolution by questioning the accepted practices and re-inventing the organizations as well as structures. Many traditional practices have been thrown out. As an example, it can be seen that hierarchies are vanishing and there is greater emphasis on flat organizations. It means a great deal of specialisation and skills. It also means upgrading the norms and standards of work as well as performance.
The new role of human resource management is much more strategic than before. Some of the new directions of the role of HRM can be summed up as follows :
1. A Facilitator of Change : To carry people through upheaval requires the true management of human resources. 2. An Integrated Approach to Management : Rather than being an isolated function, human resource is regarded as a core activity, one which shapes a company‘s values. In particular, this can have an impact on customer service.
(xi) Eliminate the culture of valuing positions as career goals in favour of portraying a career as a succession of bigger projects, achievements and new skills learned. The concept of ―position‖ is part of the outside static concept of the organization. Positions are out. Processes and projects are in.
(xii) Abandon top-down performance appraisal in favour of self-appraisal based on internal customer satisfaction surveys and assessing people as you would suppliers.
(xiii) Replace top-down assessment processes with self-assessment techniques and measure performance in term of results.
Functions of a Human Resource Manager A human resource manager, charged with fulfilling the objectives of an organization, should be a leader with high intellectual powers, a visionary and a philosopher who provides the initiative to shape the future in terms of leading the human beings in an organization towards more prosperous and progressive policies.
1. Human Resource Man as an Intellectual : The basic skill in the human resource field as compared to technologists or financial experts is the skill to communicate, articulate, understand and above all, to be an expert when it comes to putting policies and agreements in black and white. The personnel man‘s skill lies in his command over the language. A personnel man has to deal with employees and he must possess the skills of conducting fruitful and systematic discussions and of communicating effectively. He should also be in a position to formulate principles and foresee the problems of the organization. This means that he would require the mental ability to deal with his people in an intelligent manner as well as to understand what they are trying to say.. 2. Human Resource Man as an Educator : It is not enough that a human resource man has command-over the language, which, however, remains his primary tool. He should be deeply interested in learning and also in achieving growth. Basically, human beings like to grow and realise their full potential. In order to harmonise the growth of individuals with that of the organization, a personnel administrator must not only provide opportunities for his employees to learn, get the required training and assimilate new ideas but also he himself should be a teacher. A personnel man who simply pushes files and attends labour courts for conciliation purposes and other rituals of legal procedure for the settlement of industrial disputes is not a personnel administrator of the future. 3. Human Resource Man as a Discriminator : A human resource administrator must have the capacity to discriminate
between right and wrong, between that which is just and unjust and merit and non- merit. In other words, he should be a good judge when he sits on a selection board, a fair person when he advises on disciplinary matters and a good observer of right conduct in an organization.
4. Human Resource Man as an Executive : The human resource man must execute the decisions of the management and its policies with speed, accuracy and objectivity. He has to streamline the office, tone up the administration and set standards of performance. He has to coordinate the control functions in relation to the various other divisions and, in doing so he should be in a position to bring unity of purpose and direction in the activities of the personnel department. He must ask relevant questions and not be merely involved in the office routine whereby the status quo is maintained. He should have the inquisitiveness to find out causes of delay, tardy work and wasteful practices, and should be keen to eliminate those activities from the personnel functions which have either outlived their utility or are not consistent with the objectives and purposes of the organization. 5. Human Resource Man as a Leader : Being basically concerned with people or groups of people, and being placed in the group dynamics of various political and social functions of an organization, a Human resource man must not shirk the role of leadership in an organization. He, by setting his own example and by working towards the objectives of sound personnel management practices, must inspire his people and motivate them towards better performance. He should resolve the conflicts of different groups and build up teamwork in the organization. 6. Human Resource Man as a Humanist : Deep faith in human values and empathy with human problems, especially in less developed countries, are the sine qua non for a Human resource man. He has to deal with people who toil at various levels and partake of their joys and sorrows. He must perform his functions with sensitivity and feeling. 7. Human Resource Man as a Visionary : While every leading function of an organization must evolve its vision of the future, the primary responsibility for developing the social organization towards purposive and progressive action fall on the personnel man. He should be a thinker who sets the pace for policy-making in an organization in the area of human relations and should gradually work out new patterns of human relations management consistent with the needs of the organization and the society. He must ponder on the social obligations of the enterprise, especially if it is in the public sector, where one has to work within the framework of social accountability. He should be in close touch
Q.8 What is the process of HRP?
Ans. It is the HRP process which helps the management of the organization in meeting the future demand of human resource in the organization with the supply of the appropriate people in appropriate numbers at the appropriate time and place. Further, it is only after proper analysis of the HR requirements can the process of recruitment and selection be initiated by the management. Also, HRP is essential in successfully achieving the strategies and objectives of organization. In fact, with the element of strategies and long term objectives of the organization being widely associated with human resource planning these days, HR Planning has now became Strategic HR Planning.
Though, HR Planning may sound quite simple a process of managing the numbers in terms of human resource requirement of the organization, yet, the actual activity may involve the HR manager to face many roadblocks owing to the effect of the current workforce in the organization, pressure to meet the business objectives and prevailing workforce market condition. HR Planning, thus, help the organization in many ways as follows:
HR managers are in a stage of anticipating the workforce requirements rather than getting surprised by the change of events Prevent the business from falling into the trap of shifting workforce market, a common concern among all industries and sectors Work proactively as the expansion in the workforce market is not always in conjunction with the workforce requirement of the organization in terms of professional experience, talent needs, skills, etc. Organizations in growth phase may face the challenge of meeting the need for critical set of skills, competencies and talent to meet their strategic objectives so they can stand well- prepared to meet the HR needs Considering the organizational goals, HR Planning allows the identification, selection and development of required talent or competency within the organization.
It is, therefore, suitable on the part of the organization to opt for HR Planning to prevent any unnecessary hurdles in its workforce needs. An HR Consulting Firm can provide the organization with a comprehensive HR assessment and planning to meet its future requirements in the most cost-effective and timely manner.
An HR Planning process simply involves the following four broad steps:
Current HR Supply: Assessment of the current human resource availability in the organization is the foremost step in HR Planning. It includes a comprehensive study of the human resource strength of the organization in terms of numbers, skills, talents, competencies, qualifications, experience, age, tenures, performance ratings, designations, grades, compensations, benefits, etc. At this stage, the consultants may conduct extensive interviews with the managers to understand the critical HR issues they face and workforce capabilities they consider basic or crucial for various business processes. Future HR Demand: Analysis of the future workforce requirements of the business is the second step in HR Planning. All the known HR variables like attrition, lay-offs,
foreseeable vacancies, retirements, promotions, pre-set transfers, etc. are taken into consideration while determining future HR demand. Further, certain unknown workforce variables like competitive factors, resignations, abrupt transfers or dismissals are also included in the scope of analysis. Demand Forecast: Next step is to match the current supply with the future demand of HR, and create a demand forecast. Here, it is also essential to understand the business strategy and objectives in the long run so that the workforce demand forecast is such that it is aligned to the organizational goals. HR Sourcing Strategy and Implementation: After reviewing the gaps in the HR supply and demand, the HR Consulting Firm develops plans to meet these gaps as per the demand forecast created by them. This may include conducting communication programs with employees, relocation, talent acquisition, recruitment and outsourcing, talent management, training and coaching, and revision of policies. The plans are, then, implemented taking into confidence the mangers so as to make the process of execution smooth and efficient. Here, it is important to note that all the regulatory and legal compliances are being followed by the consultants to prevent any untoward situation coming from the employees.
Hence, a properly conducted process of HR Planning by an HR Consulting Firm helps the organization in meeting its goals and objectives in timely manner with the right HR strength in action.
Q.9 What is the concept of Recruitment?
Ans. E ffect recruitment is the next big process after human resource planning is to develop applicant polling called recruiting. The more application you have , the more selective you can be in your hiring. If only two candidates apply for two openings , you can use techniques like interviews and tests to screen out all but the best. Some employees use a recruiting yield pyramid to calculate the number of applicants they must generate to hire the required number of new employees. In the company knows it needs 50 new entry-level accountants next year then they use this recruitment yield pyramid. It is a historical arithmetic relationships between recruitment leads and invitees , invitees and interviews , interviews and offers made , and offers made and offers accepted. Therefore for getting the 50 recruits the firm must generate 1, leads to be able to invite 200 viable candidates to its offices for interviews. The firm will then get to interview about 150 of those invited and from these it will make 100 offers. Of those 100 offers , about 50 will accept. A effective recruitment is carried out by something called recruitment policy which is derived from personnel policy of the same organization. Recruitment practices vary from organization to organization , some follow centralized way such as commercial banks and others such as railways follow decentralized process for various grade of jobs.
Q. 10 What is the process of recruitment?
Ans. The recruitment process consists various steps:
b. Mechanical aptitude test :- This test deals with the ability of the candidate to do mechanical work. It is used to judge and measure the specialized knowledge and problem solving ability. It is used for technical and maintenance staff.
c. Psycho motor test:- This test judges the motor skills the hand and eye co- ordination and evaluates the ability to do jobs lie packing, quality testing, quality inspection etc.
II. Intelligence test:- This test measures the numerical skills and reasoning abilities of the candidates. Such abilities become important in decision making. The test consists of logical reasoning ability, data interpretation, comprehension skills and basic language skills.
III. Personality test :- In this test the emotional ability or the emotional quotient is tested. This test judges the ability to work in a group, inter personal skills, ability to understand and handle conflicts and judge motivation levels. This test is becoming very popular now days.
IV. Performance test :- This test judges and evaluates the acquired knowledge and experience of the knowledge and experience of the individual and his speed and accuracy in performing a job. It is used to test performance of typist, data entry operators etc.
Q. 12 What is HRIS?
Ans HRIS, which is also known as a human resource information system or human resource management system (HRMS), is basically an intersection of human resources and information technology through HR software. This allows HR activities and processes to occur electronically.
To put it another way, a HRIS may be viewed as a way, through software, for businesses big and small to take care of a number of activities, including those related to human resources, accounting, management, and payroll. A HRIS allows a company to plan its HR costs more effectively, as well as to manage them and control them without needing to allocate too many resources toward them.
In most situations, a HRIS will also lead to increases in efficiency when it comes to making decisions in HR. The decisions made should also increase in quality—and as a result, the productivity of both employees and managers should increase and become more effective.
Q. 14 What is strategic HRM?
Ans Strategic human resource management is a complex process which is constantly evolving and being studied and discussed by academics and commentators. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is an area that continues to evoke a lot of debate as to what it actually embraces. Definitions range from 'a human resource system that is tailored to the demands of the business strategy' (Miles and Snow 1984) to 'the pattern of planned human resource activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals' (Wright and McMahan 1992).
Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is a concept that integrates traditional human resource management activities within a firm's overall strategic planning and implementation. SHRM integrates human resource considerations with other physical, financial, and technological resources in the setting of goals and solving complex organizational problems (Legnick-Hall & Legnick-Hall, 1988) SHRM also emphasizes the implementation of a set of policies and practices that will build employee pool of skills, knowledge, and abilities (Jackon and Schulerm 1995) that are relevant to organizational goals. Thus a larger variety and more complete set of solutions for solving organizational problems are provided and the likelihood that business goals of the organization will be attained is increased (Mechelin, 1996).
Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is an area that continues to evoke a lot of debate as to what it actually embraces. Definitions range from 'a human resource system that is tailored to the demands of the business strategy' (Miles and Snow 1984) to 'the pattern of planned human resource activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals' (Wright and McMahan 1992). Although the difference between these two seems subtle, the implications of the difference are considerable. Where in the first definition human resource management is a 'reactive' management field in which human resource management becomes a tool to implement strategy, in the latter definition it has a proactive function in which human resource activities actually create and shape the business strategy (Sanz-Valle et al. 1999).
Strategic HRM can be regarded as a general approach to the strategic management of human resources in accordance with the intentions of the organization on the future direction it wants to take. It is concerned with longer-term people issues and macro-concerns about structure, quality, culture, values, commitment and matching resources to future need. It has been defined as:
All those activities affecting the behavior of individuals in their efforts to formulate and implement the strategic needs of business. (SCHULER, R.S., 1992)
The pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the forms to achieve its goals. (WRIGHT, P.M. and MCMAHAN, G.C. (1992)
Q. 15 What are the approaches of the SHRM?
o attempts to link Human Resource activities with competency based performance measures o attempts to link Human Resource activities with business surpluses or profit
These to approaches indicate two factors in an organizational setting. The first one is the human factor, their performance and competency and the later is the business surplus. An approach of people concern is based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important in sustained business success. An organization gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. Integration of the business surplus to the human competency and performance required adequate strategies. Here the role of strategy comes into picture. The way in which people are managed, motivated and deployed, and the availability of skills and knowledge will all shape the business strategy. The strategic orinetation of the business then requires the effective orinetation of human resource to competency and performance excellance.
Q 16 Discuss the Benefits and barriers to SHRM
- Identifying and analyzing external opportunities and threats that may be crucial to the company's success.
- Provides a clear business strategy and vision for the future.
- To supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in the strategic planning process.
- To recruit, retain and motivate people.
- To develop and retain of highly competent people.
- To ensure that people development issues are addressed systematically.
- To supply information regarding the company's internal strengths and weaknesses.
- To meet the expectations of the customers effectively.
- To ensure high productivity.
- To ensure business surplus thorough comopetency
Barriers of SHRM
Barriers to successful SHRM implementation are complex. The main reason is a lack of growth strategy or failure to implement one. Other major barriers are summarized as follows:
- Inducing the vision and mission of the change effort.
- High resistance due to lack of cooperation from the bottom line.
- Interdepartmental conflict.
- The commitment of the entire senior management team.
- Plans that integrate internal resource with external requirements.
- Limited time, money and the resources.
- The statusquo approach of employees.
- Fear of incomopetency of senior level managers to take up strategic steps.
- Diverse work-force with competitive skill sets.
- Fear towards victimisation in the wake of failtures.
- Improper strategic assignments and leadership conflict over authority.
- Ramifications for power relations.
- Vulnerability to legislative changes.
- Resistance that comes through the legitimate labour institutions.
- Presence of an active labour union.
- Rapid structural changes.
