HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

1. What is human resource?

Human Resource Management is the process of recruitment and

selecting Employee, providing orientation and induction, training and
development, Assessment of employee (performance of appraisal),
providing compensation and Benefits, motivating, maintaining proper
relations with employees and with trade Unions, maintaining employee’s
safety, welfare and healthy measures in Compliance with labour laws of
the land.
Human: refers to the skilled workforce in organization.
Resource: refers to limited availability or scarce.
Management: refers how to optimize and make best use of such limited
and a scarce resource so as to meet the ordination goals and objectives.
The core purpose of the human resource management is to make
efficient use of existing human resource in the organisation. The Best
example at present situation is, construction industry has been facing
serious shortage of skilled workforce. It is expected to triple in the next
decade from the present 30 per cent, will negatively impact the overall
productivity of the sector, warn industry experts.

2. What is strategic human resource management?

SHRM is part of strategic planning.

Strategic human resource management is the practice of attracting,
developing, rewarding, and retaining employees for the benefit of both the
employees as individuals and the organization as a whole.
In a management context, the word ‘strategy’ has now replaced the more
traditional term – ‘long-term planning’ – to denote a specific pattern of
Decisions and actions.
SHRM can be defined as linking the human resource with strategic goals
and objectives of the organization in order to improve the overall business of
the organization.

3. Explain line and staff functions.

Line Positions:
 Line positions have the responsibility and authority for achieving the
major goals of the corporation.
 Typically, these goals are targets for revenues and profits.
 Line employees are directly involved in the daily operations of a
business by selling or producing a product or service.
 These positions include production, marketing and sales. They are
the primary activities of a company and are essential to the basic
operations of a business.
 Because of the importance of producing and selling, managers of
line positions have the responsibility for making most of the
decisions of a company.
 Staff Functions:
 The primary purpose of staff positions is to provide assistance and
specialized advice and expertise to line positions.
 Staff functions include human resources, maintenance, legal,
accounting and public relations.
 Staff positions can be further defined as technical or support people.
 Staff employees are not directly involved in producing and selling
activities.

4. What is employee testing?

 Employment testing and selection procedures are aptitude tests
and examinations that help a business predict the success of a job
candidate.

TYPES:
 Personality tests are just one tool available to businesses to screen
their applicants.
 Other common tests include skills and aptitude testing for areas that
directly relate to the job, such as reasoning and interpretive tests,
and computer knowledge.

For small businesses, employee testing is essential to reducing employee

turnover. Also, small businesses can usually afford the same employment
testing and big business.
5. What is interview?
Interview refers to a formal, in-depth conversation between two or
more persons, wherein exchange of information takes place, with a
view of checking candidate’s acceptability for the job.
• To evaluate applicant’s suitability.
• To gain additional information from the candidate.
• To provide general information about the company to the applicant.
• To create a good image of the company, among applicants.
It is an effective tool for selection. It is a two way communication
between interviewer and interviewee.

6. What is recruitment?
 It is a process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an
organisation.
 The job-seekers too, on the other hand, are in search of
organisations offering them employment.
 Recruitment is a linkage activity bringing together those with jobs
and those seeking jobs
 The term recruitment refers to discovering the source from where
potential employees may be selected.
 The scientific recruitment process leads to higher productivity,
better wages, high morale, reduction in labour turnover and
enhanced reputation.
7. Define employment planning and forecasting:
 The basic purpose of having a human resource plan is to have an
accurate estimate of the number of employees required, with
matching skill requirements to meet organisational objectives.
 It would also give an indication of the lead time that is available to
select and train the required number of additional manpower

8. What is development orientation?

 This reconceptualises and integrates concepts such as growth
needs, personal mastery, learning goals, and development
orientation and provides a unique understanding of these concepts
in human resource development.
 This orientation is posited to be a motivational state that depends on
the degree to which learning and development are relevant to the
self.

9. What is management development?

 Management development is the overall concept that describes the

many ways in which organizations help employees develop their
personal and organizational skills, either as managers in a
management job or with an eventual management job in mind.
 Organizations need a process for developing the skills of their
managers as these employees direct and organize the work of all of
your other employees.
10. What is MBO approach?

 Management by Objectives (MBO) is a personnel management

technique where managers and employees work together to set,
record and monitor goals for a specific period of time.
 The technique was first championed by management expert Peter
Drucker and became commonly used in the 1960s.
 The core concept of MBO is planning, which means that an
organization and its members are not merely reacting to events and
problems but are instead being proactive.
 MBO requires that employees set measurable personal goals
based upon the organizational goals.

11. CD-ROMs?
 Stands for "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory."
 A CD-ROM is a CD that can be read by a computer with an optical
drive.
 The "ROM" part of the term means the data on the disc is "read-
only," or cannot be altered or erased. Because of this feature and
their large capacity, CD-ROMs are a great media format for retail
software.

15 marks:
1. Explain changing environments in HRM
 The five factors involved in the changing environment of HRM are as
follows:
1. Work force Diversity: Some of the key characteristics of workforce
diversity include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, ability, and sexual
orientation. A company that embraces diversity can broaden its skill base
and become more competitive and innovative. Workforce diversity also
brings with it a number of issues and challenges. With the increasing number of
women entering the work force, additional pressures of managing a different set of
problems at the work place have arisen.

2. Economic and Technological Change: The explosive growth of

information technology linked to the internet has ushered in many
changes throughout the organisation.

3. Globalization: There has been a growing tendency among business

firms to extend their sales or manufacturing to new markets aboard.
Globalization increases competition in the international business. Firms
that formerly competed only with local firms, now have to compete with
foreign firms/ competitors. This has underlined the need for studying and
understanding HRM of multinational organisations or international
organisations separately.

4. Organisational Restructuring: Organisational restructuring is used to

make the organisation competitive. Downsizing is yet another form of
organisational restructuring. One of the challenges that HRM faces with
 organisational restructuring is dealing with the human consequences of
change.

5. Changing Nature of Work: Along with changes in technology and

globalization, the nature of jobs and work has also changed. There is also
a trend toward increased use of temporary or part-time workers in
organisations. One most significant change in the nature of work is that it
has changed from manual to mental/ knowledge work.

6. Job Security.
7. Arrival of the GIG economy: Work from home, People handling
branches from different places. Agile, Job Rotation, Mobile apps.

2. How HRM can be used to attain competitive advantage?

 Relying on your human resource department to recruit the best
employees, design appropriate and effective training programs and
institute successful retention programs can give your company a
competitive advantage.
 Hire Professionals with Experience: You can upgrade your HR
department to include recruitment specialists who also understand
your company’s strategic roles and can play an integral part in
shaping your business success.
 Give HR Leadership Positions: The human resource department
often is given job descriptions and told to fill the positions. Allow HR
to play a role in determining appropriate recruitment pay and tactics,
 let you know how much it takes to recruit top talent, and how
company policies can be amended to recruit the best.
 Let HR determine training programs:
 Provide HR Tools to Monitor Employee Performance: The
human resource department can build programs to track those
employees who stand out. When your human resource
professionals are involved in designing and providing employee
reviews, they can help you spot talent and advise you on how you
can best groom employees for promotions.

3. HRM Trends:
 Companies get social
 From PTB to EI: The tide is slowly turning, from
PTB (please the boss) to EI (employee intimacy).
Really understanding the wishes, needs and
capabilities of employees is getting more
important.
 Focus on productivity: When focusing more on
productivity, the benefits for the organisation and the
employees can be big. You need to hire less people,
and the potential of the employees is better used.
 The end of fixed jobs: The jobs become more flexible,
and employees get the opportunity to craft their own job, to
make the best fit with their wishes, needs and capabilities.
 Learning in real time: Employees will have easy access
to learning material when they need it (just in time).
Knowledge and skills can be learned in a playful manner
(gamification), and VR and AR learning solutions make
learning more real (and fun).
 Technology moves work beyond the office.
 Some companies are making the switch to a biometric time
and attendance system that ensures no one can cheat.
 Chat Bots
4. Explain the organisations of HR departments.

 Recruitment: Recruitment is a vital task for HR department because it

determines what kind of people will work for the company – whether they have
the right knowledge and skills.
 Compensation and Benefits: HR manager needs to establish strategic
compensation plans, ensuring wages and reward programs are administrated
equally throughout the workforce. They need to provide employees with benefit
options, including health insurance, retirement planning, life insurance, etc.
 Employee Relations: solving employee complaints, conflicts and concerns.
Negotiation.
 Training and Development: Through effective training, employees could
enhance their knowledge, skills and work abilities, so that they can improve
their job performance.
  Workforce Safety: HR department needs to ensure every staff working in a
safe environment.

5. Explain career planning and development.

A career may be defined as ‘a sequence of jobs that

constitute what a person does for a living’.
Features of Career Planning and Career
Development:
 It is an ongoing process.
 It helps individuals develop skills required to fulfill
different career roles.
  It strengthens work-related activities in the
organization.
 It defines life, career, abilities, and interests of the
employees.
 It can also give professional directions, as they relate
to career goals.

Objectives of Career Planning:

 To identify positive characteristics of the employees.
 To develop awareness about each employee’s
uniqueness.
 To respect feelings of other employees.
 To attract talented employees to the organization.
 To train employees towards team-building skills.

Benefits of Career Planning:

 It can always create a team of employees prepared
enough to meet any contingency.
 Career planning reduces labour turnover.
 Career planning encourages an employee’s growth
and development.
6. Explain selection process and techniques.
 Preliminary interview: The selection process generally

starts with this step where the totally unsuitable applicant is

eliminated.
 Receiving applications: after passing the preliminary

interview the candidate is asked to fill the standard

application form. The application form generally consists the
information about the age, qualification, experience etc.
 Screening of applications: after receiving the applications

the screening committee screens the applications. Only the

candidates who qualify the criteria of the screening
committee are called for the interview.
 Employment test: after getting the interview letter and

before going to the interview there is one more step and that
is the employment tests. These tests are done to check the
ability of the candidate. These tests are intelligence tests,
aptitude tests, trade tests, interest test, personality tests etc.
 Employment interview: the candidates who qualify the

above tests are called for the employment interview. This

interview is done to get more information about the
candidate.
 Checking references: To check about the candidate’s

past record, reputation, police record etc.

 Physical examination: medical examination
  Final selection: after all these steps the candidate is

selected finally. He is appointed by issuing appointment

letter.

7. How to design and conduct effective interviews?

 Prepare your questions: Before you meet candidates face-to-

face, you need to figure out exactly what you’re looking for in a
new hire so that you’re asking the right questions during the
interview.
 Reduce stress: Candidates find job interviews stressful because

of the many unknowns. Tell people in advance the topics you’d

like to discuss so they can prepare.
 Involve (only a few) others: When making any big decision, it’s

important to seek counsel from others so invite a few trusted

colleagues to help you interview.
 Assess potential: Look for signs of the candidate’s curiosity,

insight, engagement, and determination.

 Ask for real solutions: how the candidate would handle real

situations related to the job.

 Consider “cultural fit,” but don’t obsess: Think about your

company’s work environment and compare it to the candidate’s

orientation.
 Sell the job: If the meeting is going well and you believe that the

candidate is worth wooing, spend time during the second half of

the interview selling the role and the organization.