Question No.

-1

What do you mean by human resource management? Describe the functions of human resource
management.

Answer
Definition of human resource management-
Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is a function in organizations designed to
maximize employee performance in service of their employer's strategic objectives. HR is primarily
concerned with how people are managed within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.
Functions of human resource management-

There are the two main functions of human resource management
(i) Managerial,
(ii) Operative

(i) Managerial functions of human resource management-

1. Planning:
To get things done through the subordinates, a manager must plan ahead. Planning is necessary to
determine the goals of the organization and lay down policies and procedures to reach the goals. For
a human resource manager, planning means the determination of personnel programs that will
contribute to the goals of the enterprise, i.e., anticipating vacancies, planning job requirements, job
descriptions and determination of the sources of recruitment.
The process of personnel planning involves three essential steps-
Firstly, a supply and demand forecast for each job category is made. This step requires knowledge to
both labor market conditions and the strategic posture and goals of the organization.
Secondly, net shortage and excess of personnel by job category are projected for a specific time
horizon.
Finally, plans are developed to eliminate the forecast shortages and excess of particular categories
of human resources.

2. Organizing:
Once the human resource manager has established objectives and developed plans and programs to
reach them, he must design and develop organization structure to carry out the various operations.
The organization structure basically includes the following:
(i) Grouping of personnel activity logically into functions or positions;
(ii) Assignment of different functions to different individuals;
(iii) Delegation of authority according to the tasks assigned and responsibilities involved;
(iv) Co-ordination of activities of different individuals.

3. Directing:
The plans are to be pure into effect by people. But how smoothly the plans are implemented
depends on the motivation of people. The direction function of the personnel manager involves
encouraging people to work willingly and effectively for the goals of the enterprise.
In other words, the direction function is meant to guide and motivate the people to accomplish the
personnel programs. The personnel manager can motivate the employees in an organization
through career planning, salary administration, ensuring employee morale, developing cordial
relationships and provision of safety requirements and welfare of employees.
The motivational function poses a great challenge for any manager. The personnel manager must
have the ability to identify the needs of employees and the means and methods of satisfy those
needs. Motivation is a continuous process as new needs and expectations emerge among employees
when old ones are satisfied.

4. Controlling:
Controlling is concerned with the regulation of activities in accordance with the plans, which in turn
have been formulated on the basis of the objectives of the organization. Thus, controlling completes
the cycle and leads back to planning. It involves the observation and comparison of results with the
standards and correction of deviations that may occur.
Controlling helps the personnel manager to evaluate the control the performance of the personnel
department in terms of various operative functions. It involves performance appraisal, critical
examination of personnel records and statistics and personnel audit.

(ii) Operative functions of human resource management-

1. Employment: The first operative function of the human resource of personnel department is the
employment of proper kind and number of persons necessary to achieve the objectives of the
organization. This involves recruitment, selection, placement, etc. of the personnel.
Before these processes are performed, it is better to determine the manpower requirements both in
terms of number and quality of the personnel. Recruitment and selection cover the sources of
supply of lab our and the devices designed to select the right type of people for various jobs.
Induction and placement of personnel for their better performance also come under the
employment or procurement function.

2. Development:Training and development of personnel is a follow up of the employment function.
It is a duty of management to train each employee property to develop technical skills for the job for
which he has been employed and also to develop him for the higher jobs in the organization. Proper
development of personnel is necessary to increase their skills in doing their jobs and in satisfying
their growth need.
For this purpose, the personnel departments will device appropriate training programs. There are
several on- the-job and off-the-job methods available for training purposes. A good training program
should include a mixture of both types of methods. It is important to point out that personnel
department arranges for training not only of new employees but also of old employees to update
their knowledge in the use of latest techniques.

3. Compensation: This function is concerned with the determination of adequate and equitable
remuneration of the employees in the organization of their contribution to the organizational goals.
The personnel can be compensated both in terms of monetary as well as non-monetary rewards.
Factors which must be borne in mind while fixing the remuneration of personnel are their basic
needs, requirements of jobs, legal provisions regarding minimum wages, capacity of the organization
to pay, wage level afforded by competitors etc. For fixing the wage levels, the personnel department
can make use of certain techniques like job evaluation and performance appraisal.

4. Maintenance (Working Conditions and Welfare): Merely appointment and training of people is
not sufficient; they must be provided with good working, conditions so that they may like their work
and workplace and maintain their efficiency. Working conditions certainly influence the motivation
and morale of the employees. These include measures taken for health, safety, and comfort of the
workforce. The personnel department also provides for various welfare services which relate to the
physical and social well-being of the employees. These may include provision of cafeteria, rest
rooms, counseling, group insurance, education for children of employees, recreational facilities, etc.

5. Motivation: Employees work in the organization for the satisfaction of their needs. In many of the
cases, it is found that they do not contribute towards the organizational goals as much as they can.
This happens because employees are not adequately motivated. The human resource manager helps
the various departmental managers to design a system of financial and non-financial rewards to
motivate the employees.

6. Personnel Records: The human resource or personnel department maintains the records of the
employees working in the enterprise. It keeps full records of their training, achievements, transfer,
promotion, etc. It also preserves many other records relating to the behavior of personnel like
absenteeism and labor turnover and the personnel programs and policies of the organization.

7. Industrial Relations: These days, the responsibility of maintaining good industrial relations is
mainly discharged by the human resource manager. The human resource manager can help in
collective bargaining, joint consultation and settlement of disputes, if the need arises. This is
because of the fact that he is in possession of full information relating to personnel and has the
working knowledge of various labor enactments.
The human resource manager can do a great deal in maintaining industrial peace in the organization
as he is deeply associated with various committees on discipline, labor welfare, safety, grievance,
etc. He helps in laying down the grievance procedure to redress the grievances of the employees. He
also gives authentic information to the trade union leaders and conveys their views on various labor
problems to the top management.

8. Separation: Since the first function of human resource management is to procure the employees,
it is logical that the last should be the separation and return of that person to society. Most people
do not die on the job. The organization is responsible for meeting certain requirements of due
process in separation, as well as assuring that the returned person is in as good shape as possible.
The personnel manager has to ensure the release of retirement benefits to the retiring personnel in
time.

Question No.-2

Discuss the elements of a career planning programme. Explain the some of the benefits of a career
planning program of an organisation.

Answer
Elements of a career planning programme- There are the following elements of career planning
program-
A. Individual Assessments -Individual assessment of abilities, interests, career needs, and goals is
basically a process of self-exploration and analysis. Individuals are frequently guided by self-
assessment exercises.
The self-assessment process is basically viewed as an individual responsibility; however,
organizations can aid in this process by providing the employee with materials and opportunities for
self-exploration and analysis. A variety of self-assessment materials are available commercially, but a
number of organizations, including IBM, Xerox, General Motors, and General Electric, have
developed tailor-made workbooks for employee career planning purposes. Individual career
planning exercises can be done independently by employees or in workshops sponsored by the
organization. Workshops have the advantage of combining a number of career planning elements
including self-assessment, communication of organizational career and development opportunities,
and one-on-one counselling to ensure that career goals are realistic.

B. Organizational Assessments- A key issue in career counselling sessions is whether an employee's
goals are realistic in terms of organizational possibilities and organizational assessments of employee
abilities and potential. Accurate assessments of employee abilities and potential are important to
both the organization and the individual.
Organizations have several sources of information for making assessments of employee abilities and
potential. First is selection information, including ability tests, assessment center test, interest
inventories, and biographical information such as education and work experience. Second is current
job history information, including performance appraisal information, records of promotions and
promotion recommendations, salary increases, and participation in various training and
development programs. Organizations have traditionally relied on performance appraisal data as the
primary basis for assessing employee potential.

C. Career Information within an Organization- Before realistic goals can be set, an employee need
information about career options and opportunities. This includes information about possible career
directions; possible paths of career advancement; and specific job vacancies. In organizations with
informal career planning programs, employees learn about career options and opportunities from
their supervisors within the context of developmental performance appraisal interviews.
Organizations with more established career planning programs make greater use of workbooks,
workshops, and even recruiting materials to communicate career options and opportunities. Career
paths have been defined as logical progressions between jobs or from one job to a target position.
They can be either traditional or behavioural.
Traditional career paths are based on past patterns of actual movement by employees. They tend to
be limited to advancement within a single function or organizational unit, such as purchasing, sales,
or customer relations. Years of service to the organization largely determine the rate at which
advancement can occur. For example, a salesman might expect to advance to the position of
account supervisor after five years, to sales supervisor after 10, to district manager after 15, and to
regional manager after 25 years of service.

D. Career Counselling- It is in counselling sessions, typically with supervisors and managers in
developmental performance appraisal interviews, that most employees explore career goals and
opportunities in the organization. Supervisors and managers need accurate assessments of
employee abilities and potential, as well as information about career options and opportunities in
the organization. HR professionals may be involved in some informal career counselling activities,
but basically their role is to support career counselling activities of supervisors and managers. This
means providing supervisors and managers with needed information as well as with the necessary
training to function effectively as counsellors.

There are the following benefits of career planning program-
Career planning helps the individual have the knowledge of various career opportunities, his
priorities etc.
It helps him select the career which is suitable to his life style, preference, family
environment, scope for self-development etc.
It helps the organisation identify talented employees who can be promoted.
Internal promotions, up gradation and transfers motivate the employees, boost their morale
and also result in increased job satisfaction.
Each employee will await his turn of promotion rather than changing to another
organisation. This would lower employee turnover.
It improves employee's performance on the job by tapping their potential abilities and
stimulating their personal growth.
Increased job satisfaction enhances employee commitment and creates a sense of
belongingness and loyalty to the organisation.
Being an integral part of the manpower planning and corporate planning, career planning
contributes towards individual development and organisational development and effective
achievement of corporate goals.
An organisation with well-designed career plans is able to have a better image in the
employment market, and it will attract and retain competent people.
Question No.-3

What do you mean by HRIS? Explain the components of HRIS. Describe the different applications of
HRIS in human resource management.

Answer

Definition of HRIS-

A 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.

Components of HRIS-

HRIS has major three functional components as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Components of Human Resource Information Systems
1. Input- Input function provides the capabilities needed to get human resource data into the HRIS. It
enters personnel information into the HRIS. First of all procedures and processes are required to
gather necessary data, once collected, these datas must be entered into the system. Edit tables can
be used to determine if the data are acceptable. These tables contain approved values against which
the data are automatically checked. The system should have the capability to easily update and
change the edit tables. Now days scanning technology permits scanning and storage of an actual
image of an organization document including signatures and handwritten notes.

2. Data maintenance- Data maintenance function is responsible for the actual updating the data
stored in the various storage devices. As changes occur in human resource information, this
information should be incorporated into the system, as new data are brought into the system it is
often desirable to maintain the old data in the form of historical information. It updates and adds
new data to the data base after data have been entered into the HRIS.
3. Output- This function of HRIS is most visible one because the majority of HRIS uses are not involved
with collecting, editing, and updating human resource data; rather they are concerned with
information and reports to be used by the systems. In order to generate valuable output for
computer users, HRIS processes output, makes necessary calculations and formats the presentation.
Applications of HRIS in human resource management-
1 Application(s) of HRIS in technical and strategic HRM" on which six variables were loaded. There
variables were HR planning, job analysis and design, recruitment, training and development,
disciplining procedures and strategic management.
2. Application(s) of HRIS in performance and reward management" on which again four variables
were loaded. These variables were performance appraisal and review, promotion, employment
reward and compensation management.
3. Application(s) of HRIS in pay roll" had loading of three variables out of which one variable was
common with application in performance and reward management. These variables were
compensation management, payroll service and pay roll benefits.
4. Application(s) of HRIS in corporate communication" on which other three variables were
loaded. These variables were corporate communication, self-service web portal and internal and
external communication.
5. Application(s) of HRIS in employee record had loading of three variables. These variables were
historical record of employees, current employees information and employment leave.
Question No.-4

Discipline is the board sense means orderliness the opposite of confusion. What do you mean by
Discipline? Explain the basic guidelines of a Disciplinary policy.

Answer

Meaning of Discipline-

Discipline is employee self-control which prompts him/her to willingly cooperation with the
organisational standards, rules, objectives, etc.
Discipline is best defined as the observation of principals, rules or any other laid down procedure,
particles, written or otherwise in the organisation by the employees or group of employees, to
whom these apply, for smooth and effective functioning of organisation.

Basic guidelines of a Disciplinary policy-

1. Location of responsibility-
The responsibility of creating the awareness regarding discipline is entrusted with every individual in
the organisation. In case of employee undisciplined, the line manager issues on verbal and written
warning.
2. Proper formulation and communication of rules-
The employees are expected to confirm to rules and regulations, and behave in a responsible
manner. It is essential that these rules and regulations are carefully formulated, communicated
clearly and properly documented by organisation.
3. Rules and regulations should be reasonable-
Todays organisation pay a lot of attention, and rightly so, towards formulating equitable policies
that protect employee as well as the organisations values and rights.
4. Equal treatment-
An employee should realise the consequence of this/her inappropriate behaviour and if he/she is
going against the norms or the rules. The rules applies for a particular act should reflect the offence
and not the person who committed it.
5. Actions should be taken in private-
This is to ensure that a wrong behaviour is corrected and not that the wrongdoer be punished. At all
times the organisation needs to be watchful of remaining respectful of its employees and carry out
any action in a respectful and in a confidential manner.
6. Get the facts-
Before taking any action it is important to ensure that the records of the offence and any previous
warnings are reviewed closely.
7. Action should be taken in not threating atmosphere-
Based on appropriate evidence management can take proper action against the accused employee.
8. Innocence is presumed-
As per the fundamental rights of human being, an individual is presumed to be innocent until he is
proven to be guilty. It is the organisations responsibility and therefore the HR teams responsibility
to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that a violation or an offence has been committed before any
punishment is awarded.


Question No.-5

Supposed you have joined as an HR and you have been assigned a task to carry out the grievance
handling procedure in your organisation. What according to you are the causes of grievance?
Describe in detail the grievance handling procedure.

Answer

Causes of Grievances
Grievances generally arise from the day-do-day working relations in the undertaking, usually an
employee or trade union protest against an act or omission or management that is considered to
violate workers rights. There are certainly some of the causes that can lead to grievance. Some of
them are listed below:
1. Morality: there are some rights which must be provided by the company. Which shows morality
for the company:
It gives an opportunity to the workers to express their feelings.
The management comes to know that what the workers think.
It highlights the morale of the people.
There may be some complaints, which cannot be solved at supervisory level.
They must have been resolved by a systematic grievance handling procedure.
It improves the policies and practices of the company.
2. Working environment: an fulfill environment means so many thing for each staff, they always
wants a perfect and wonderful work place for them and to create a manageable work place,
company has to be persuade, and some effective steps are:
Poor working conditions
Faulty machines and equipment
Attitude of supervisor
Behavior of top management
Favoritism and nepotism
Strained relations
Excessive discipline
Defective promotion
Lay off and retrenchment
Inadequate health and safety devices
3. Economic manners: its an effective motivator for the staffs almost all staffs get motivated for
good amount of wages and other relative facilities and some factors are given below:
Wage fixation and revision
Payment of overtime
Inadequate bonus
Demand for welfare and equipment
Incentive
Allowances
Increments
4. Supervision:
some staffs likes to take responsibilities in different situation, specially, project management,
promotion, and other exiting activities, its attributed by the interest of the individual staffs, and
supervisory is also can be a motivator.
5. Work group:
many employees are unable to adjust with colleagues
Suffer from feeling of neglect
Victimization an object of ridicule and humiliation.
6. Maladjustment of the Employee:
Improper attitudes towards work
Lack of interest
Victimization an object of ridicule and humiliation.
7. Management Policies
The policies and procedures adopted by management give rise to grievance. The autocratic or
bureaucratic style of management, for instance, is hardly liked by educated masses. But they favor
rather a participative style of management. Similarly, management practices also lead to employee
grievance at work as the want to exploit employees through reduction in pays and other benefits.
Grievances resulting from management policies are:

- Wages rates or scale of pay
- Overtime
- Leave
- Transfer improper matching of the worker with the job
- Seniority, promotion and discharge
- Lack of career planning and employee development
- Lack of regard for collective agreement
- Hostility towards a labour union
- Autocratic leadership style of supervisors.

9. Personal Factors
Personal factors are related to the personality traits of individuals. Sometimes, these personality
traits also cause the emergence of grievances at work. Some important personality traits that result
into grievance are:

- Over ambition
- Narrow attitudes
- Excessive self esteem
- Gambling and fault finding attitude
- Mental tension
Grievance handling procedure-
Identify the grievance and acknowledge the same. Listen carefully to the complainant. Define the
grievance clearly. Gather the complete information with facts and figures. Analyse and search for
multiple solutions to the grievance and finally select the best feasible and possible solution and
implement the same. Ensure that there is follow-up at each stage for successful grievance
procedure.
Prescriptions During Grievance Procedure:

If you are not the appropriate person, refer to the right person.
Spend adequate time with the complainant.
Be cool and composed during the process.
Check for facts and figure rather than hearsay.
Practice attentive listening skills.
Find out what bugs the complainant.
Dont have any preconceived notions about the involved parties.
Dont threaten people.
Always try to settle the grievance at the lower level amicably rather than dragging to the higher
levels where it might become more complicated.
Conduct the grievance hearing privately.
Make necessary changes, if there are any irregularities in policies and procedures.
Keep the entire grievance process confidential.
Always make the process win-win.

Conclusion:
Language alters our perception of reality, because we see the world through word. It is essential to
use the right language during the entire grievance handling procedure to ensure successful
outcomes.

Managers must address and redress the grievances in the initial stage itself. The grievance should
not only be addressed and redressed but also seems to be redressed in the eyes of the involved
parties.

Every management should have efficient handling employee grievances to ensure organizational
excellence and effectiveness. Right mechanism, procedures and practices help ensure organizational
culture and climate leading to better productivity and performance.
Question No.-6

Write short notes on the following-
a) Competency mapping
b) Flexi time

Answer

a) Competency mapping-
Definition: Competency mapping identifies an individual's strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to
enable the person to better understand himself or herself and to point out where career
development efforts need to be directed.
METHODS OF COMPETENCY MAPPING
There are some following methods by which we can detect the competency of employee-
1. Group Discussions:
In these, candidates are brought together as a committee or project team with one or a number of
items to make a recommendation on. Candidates may be assigned specific roles to play in the group
or it may be structured in such a way that all the candidates have the same basic information. Group
discussion allows them to exchange information and ideas and gives them the experience of working
in a team.
2. Interview Simulations/Role Plays:
In these exercises candidates meet individually with a role player or resource person. Their brief is
either to gather information to form a view and make a decision, or alternatively, to engage in
discussion with the resource person to come to a resolution on an aspect or issue of dispute.
Typically, candidates will be allowed 15 -30 minutes to prepare for such a meeting and will be given
a short, general brief on the objective of the meeting. Although the assessment is made mainly on
the conduct of the meeting itself, consideration are also be given to preparatory notes.



3. Case Studies / Analysis Exercises:
In this type of exercise the candidate is presented with the task of making a decision about a
particular business case. They are provided with a large amount of factual information which is
generally ambiguous and, in some cases, contradictory. Candidates generally work independently on
such an exercise and their recommendation or decision is usually to be communicated in the form of
a brief written report and/or a presentation made to the assessors. As with the other exercises it is
important with this kind of exercise to ensure that their thought processes are clearly articulated
and available for the scrutiny of the assessors
4. Questionnaires
Questionnaires are written lists of questions that users fill out questionnaire and return. You begin
by formulating questions about your product based on the type of information you want to know.
The questionnaire sources below provide more information on designing effective questions. This
technique can be used at any stage of development, depending on the questions that are asked in
the questionnaire.
5. Psychometric test
A psychometric test is a standardized objective measure of a sample of behaviour. It is standardized
because the procedure of administering the test, the environment in which the test is taken, and the
method of calculating individual scores are uniformly applied. It is objective because a good test
measures the individual differences in an unbiased scientific method without the interference of
human factors.

b) Flexi time-
Under flexi time, there is normally a core period of the day when employees must be at work (eg
between 10 am and 4pm), whilst the rest of the working day is "flexi time", in which staff can choose
when they work, subject to achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours. An employee must work
between the basic core hours and has the flexibility to clock in / out between the other hours. An
example of a typical flexi time day is below:
Begin work between 0700 1000 (flexitime)
Must be there between 1000 1200 (core time)
Lunch break between 1200 1400 (flexible lunch hour)
Must be there from 1400 1600 (core time)
Leave between 1600 1900 (flexitime)
The hours you work between these times are credited to your flexi time balance. Most schemes
allow you a credit or debit margin, often of about 8 hours. For example, if you work a 35-hour week,
then, over four weeks, you will be obliged to work for 140 hours. If you work more than the required
hours in those four weeks then you will be in credit. If you work fewer hours then you will be in
deficit. If you exceed a stipulated credit level you might lose those extra hours you have worked, but
if you go into excess deficit you might lose pay, have to use up annual leave to make the difference
or be disciplined.
If you have enough flexi time credit you can turn that into time off, and this is one of the best liked
features. This could be one or maybe 2 days a month depending on your scheme.

Benefits of Flexi time
Utilising a flexi time policy in your organisation can benefit everyone involved, employers,
employees and their families.