Leadership and Group Dynamics

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Leadership and Group Dynamics

Meaning of Leadership

Leadership is the process of which influence the behaviour of others to workenthusiastically for achieving predetermined goals. Leadership is often regarded as

the important modifier of organizational behaviour. It is regarded as primarilypersonal in character as being founded upon individual pre-eminence oraccomplishment in a particular field of behaviour. Thus leadership is the ability toinfluence individuals or groups towards the achievement of goals. A person is bornwith the talent for personal leadership but he must learn group leadership.

Definition of Leadership

It is really very difficult to attempt a definition of leadership, or in other wordsit is difficult to define what makes certain persons leaders.

(i) Peter Drucker defines leadership as follows, Leaderhship is the lifting of

mans vision to higher sights, the raising of a mans performance to a higherstandard, the building of a mans personality beyond its normal limitations.

(ii) Reuter has defined leadership in the following words:

Leadership is an ability to persuade or direct man without use of prestige orpower of formal office o external circumstances.

Such leadership is a very complex phenomena. Several kinds of leadershipmay merge. Leadership may be demanded din the field of art, science, philosophy,writing politics, poetry, speaking or culture.

Characteristics of LeadershipThe following main elements in the concept of leadership.

(i) Firstly, leadership is a two way affair. The followers influence the behaviour ofthe leader in as much as the leader influence their behaviour.

(ii) Secondly, leadership involves the element of willing and voluntary obedienceby the followers leadership is based on co-operation and goodwill. Sheerthreat and force cannot maintain one a leader for long.

(iii) Thirdly, leadership denotes a mutual behaviour pattern between the leaderand his followers.

(iv) Fourthly, the concept of leadership can be understood only in the context offollowers. Without followers there can be no leader.

(v) Lastly, leadership is specific to a specific situation. A person cannot be aleader in all the fields.

Function of Leadership

According to Bernard, a leader performs four main functions:

(i) the manipulation of means

(ii) the stimulation of co-ordinated action

(iii) the determination of objectives and

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(iv) the control the instrumentality of action

Styles of Leadership and their Relationship with Group Performance

1. Authoritarian leadership

2. Democratic leadership

3. Free-rein leadership

1. Authoritarian leadership : Authoritarian leadership is also known asautocratic style. In autocratic leadership style, a manager centralizes decisionmaking power in himself. He structures the complete situation for hisemployees and they do what they are told. Here the leadership may benegative because followers are uninformed, insecure and find of the leadersauthority.

2. Democratic leadership : Under the democratic style the leader encourageparticipation by members in deciding group matters and behaves in a friendly,helpful manner to the members, giving technical assistance and suggestingalternative procedures.

3. Free-rein leadership : In the Laissez-Faire style the leader allows completefreedom for decision and activity, keeping his own intiative and suggestions toa minimum.

Finding

The important findings of the study regarding behaviour of groups working underthe varying tyes of leaders are as followers:

(A) Authoritarian styles(i) Amount of work done was more in authoritarian groups.

(ii) Motivation for work was greater in democratic groups; for example boys wouldnot stop work when the leader left the room.

(iii) Originality and initiative of members were greater in democratic condition.

(B) Autocratic leadership created

(i) Much hostility and aggression amongst group members, both against oneanother and against the leader.

(ii) Much dependence on leader and less individual initiative among the members.

(iii) The discontent and hostility against the leader was very often hidden andunder surface.

(C) Laissez-Faire leadership

(i) There were more task irrelevant and playful activities under laissez-faire.

(ii) Less and poorer work was done under Laissez-Faire condition.

(iii) Boys preferred the democratic leader

The democratic group were more friendly and group minded; and most of theboys preferred this style of leadership to other two.

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Theories of Leadership

Various theories have been advanced on leadership behaviour. These theoriescan be classified into the following broad headings:

1. Charismatic leadership theory

2. Trait Theory

3. Behavioural Theory

4. Situational Theory

1. Charismatic Leadership Theory : This theory is quite old. Charisma is aGreek word meaning gift. In this type of theory the basic leadership isexplained in terms of great man theory. According to this, it is asserted thatparticular individuals are naturally endowed with characteristics that cause

them to stand out from the many others. These intellectually and sociallygifted people are able to lead, guide and direct the majority. They belong tothe class of divine rights theory of beings. On the basis of this theory, leadersare endowed with insight and unusual foresight by virtue of which they bringsocial and intellectual changes in the society. Nature brings such intelligentpeople into society and it is t heir responsibility to lead their society.

2. Trait Theory : Trait is enduring quality of an individual. The trait approach todetermines what makes a successful leader fro the leaders own personalcharacteristics. The early studies focused their attention on certain traits tocompare leaders with non-leaders. Later studies, however, revealed the

fallacy of the traitist approach. Gibb remarked that the leader traits arerelative to a specific social situation and are not exhibited in isolation. Hepointed out that attempts to find a consistent pattern of traits thatcharacterized leaders had failed and said that the attributes of leadership areany or all of these personality characteristics said that the attributes ofleadership are any or all of these personality characteristics that in anyparticular situation make it possible for a person either to contribute toachievement of a group goal or to be seen as doing so by other groupmembers. Researches accepted the fact that leadership traits are notcompletely in born. These can also acquired through learning and experience.

Various trait theories studied have suggested these traits in a successfulleader.

Following are the major traits essential for leadership

(i) Social skill

(ii) Emotional control

(iii) Technical knowledge

(iv) Communication

(v) Motivational skill

(vi) Dealing with people

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(vii) Administrative skill

(viii) Intelligence

3. Behavioural Theory : Behavioural theory of leadership suggests that strongleadership is the result of effective role behaviour. Leadership is shown by a

persons more than by his traits.

Behavioural theory of leadership may be viewed in two wasy, functional anddysfunctional. Function behaviour includes functions such as setting cleargoals, for motivating employees, achieving goals, raising the level of morale,building team spirit, effective two way communication, etc. Dysfunctionalbehaviour is unfavourable to the followers, such a emotional immaturity, poorhuman relations etc.

(i) Employee Centered Behaviour : When the leader is interested indeveloping a cohesive work group and in ensuring employees are satisfiedwith their jobs.

(ii) Production Centered Behaviour : When a leader plays close attention tothe work of subordinates, explains work procedures, and is keenly interestedin performance.

Likert found that employee centered leader behaviour generally tended to bemore effective.

(i) Consideration behaviour

(ii) Initiating structure behaviour

Unlike the Michigan studies, these two behavours were not viewed as oppositeends of a continuum, but as independent variables. Thus the leader can exhibitvarying degree of both initiating structure and consideration at the same time.

4. Situational Theory (Contingency Theory) : Situational leadershipapproach was applied in 1920 in the armed forces of Germany to get goodgenerals under different situations. The main attention in situation theory ofleadership (also known as contingency theory) is given to the situation inwhich leadership is exercised. The various factors affecting leadership areclassified into two major categories; situational factors and leadersbehaviours.

(i) Situational Factors : Leadership effectiveness is affected by followingsituational factors:

(a) Leader follower relations

(b) Group situation

(c) Leaders situation

(d) Organizational factors

(ii) Leader Behavior : It is affected by the following behavioural factors;

(a) Leaders position

(b) Leaders characteristics

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Group Dynamics

Concept of Group Dynamics

The term group dynamics contains two terms group and dynamics. Group isbasically a collectivity of more persons. The word dynamics comes from the Greekword meaning force

Meaning of Group

Group is social units of interacting personality who thinks, feel, and acttogether and who have some common aims, interest, stimulations, emotions andloyalties. In the words of Edward Sapir, Any group is constituted by the fact thatthere is some interest, which holds its members together.

Definition of Groups : Some of the important definition of groups are the following:

(i) A group always consists of people who are in interaction and whoseinteraction is affected by the sense that they constitute a unit.

Tuner and Killian

(ii) Groups are aggregates or categories of people who have a consciousness ofmembership and of interaction.

Horton & Hunt

Meaning of Dynamics

The meaning of dynamics is used in physical sciences and engineering which

explains the phenomenon of university by some immanent energy : operation offorce.

Thus, Group dynamics refers to the interaction of forces between groupmembers I a social situation.

Classification of Groups

Groups may be classified into different types

Formal Groups : Formal Groups are deliberately created by the organization inorder to help the organizational members achieve some of the importantorganizational goals. Such groups may be either permanent in the form of topmanagement team such as board of directors or management committees, workunits in staff groups or the formal groups may be constituted on temporary basis forfulfilling certain specified objectives. When such objectives are fulfilled theydisappear. These may be in the form of temporary committee, tasks force etc.

There are various types of forma groups that are found in an organization. Theseare.

(i) Command Groups : which is determined by the organizational chartdepicting the approved formal connections between individuals in anorganization. Examples of command group are director and the faculty

members in a business school, school principal and teachers, productionmanagers and supervisors, etc.

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(ii) Tasks Groups : A tasks group is comprised of employee who work togetherto complete a particular tasks or project. A task group is usually formed tosolve a problem or perform an activity that involves a number oforganizational units. Thus membership of the task group may extend beyondthe hierarchical command of a supervisor.

(iii) Committee Groups : There are two types of committee one is standingcommittee and other is adhoc committee. Standing committee is a permanentcommittee in an organization to deal with some specific types of problemsthat may arise more or less on regular basis. Examples of standing committeeinclude the standing committee in a university to discuss various academicand administrative issues. Adhoc committee, in contrast, is a temporarycommittee formed by organization members from across various functionalareas for a specific purpose. Meetings can also come under this category.

Informal Group : Informal groups are created in the organization because ofoperation of social and psychological forces operating at the workplace. Membercreate such groups for their own satisfaction and their woking is not regulated bythe general framework of organizational rules and relations. It is well appreciatedthat beneath the network of formal sole relationships in every organization, there isin existence a more complex system of social relationships called the informalorganization consisting of informal groups. These informal groups exist at all levelsand functions and exert powerful influence on productivity and job satisfaction.Various ty8pes of informal groups are:

(i) Interest Groups : Interest Groups are formed when a group of employees bandtogether to seek some common objectives, like protesting some organizationalpolicy or joining the union to achieve a higher amount of bonus.

(ii) Friendship Groups : Friendship groups develop among the organizationalmembers when they share some common interest like participating in somesports activities or staging the office drama etc.

(iii) Reference Group: man is an imitative animal. The desire to imitate otherindividuals or group is instinctive in him. When one finds another personprogressing in life, he also desire to progress likewise. He compares himselfwith others and begins behaving like them in comparison with other is calledReference Behaviour. Under such behaviour one relates one self to the otherindividuals or groups and tries to adopt their values or standards. The

individual or groups whose behaviour is imitated by him are known asReference Group. Such imitation of behaviour is found at both the individualand group levels.

Difference between Formal Group and Informal Group

The following are the chief points of difference between the formal and informalgroup.

(i) Origin: the reasons and circumstances of origin of both formal and informalorganizations are quite different.

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The formal groups are created deliberately and consciously by the framers ofthe organization.

While informal organizations are created because of the operation of socio-psychological forces at the workplace, that is people while working togetherdevelop certain linking and disliking for other and interact in a way notprescribed by the framers of the organization.

(ii) Size: Formal group the membership is widespread. It may contain thousandsof members scattered in different parts of the world as is the case with a co-operation. Sometimes formal groups are constituted to give representation tovarious interest groups in the organization and their size had to be kept large.

The informal groups tend to be small in size so as to maintain the groupcohesiveness which is essential for the informal groups to be attractive for themembers concerned.

(iii) Types of groups : Since the whole organization is divided into so manygroups and sub-groups, their number may be many in single organization.Thus the number of formal groups is decided to serve the organizationpurpose. Similarly, a large number of informal groups may also be found in theorganization. Moreover, in individual may become number of several informalgroups. Therefore, there is overlapping of membership.

(iv) Kind of co-operation: The formal groups are stable and may continue for along period. Their membership is specified through organizational process.

The informal groups are quite unstable in nature. Since their formation andfunctioning depend upon the value systems, general liking and disliking, and

other personality features of the members concerned, they may disappearvery quickly because of the change in the membership or they may cease tobe attractive for the members and the members may form alternative groups.

(v) Goal oriented: Since formal groups are deliberate creation, they are createdfor achieving the legitimate objectives of the organization.

Informal groups are the basic product of formal organization structure. Theinformal groups are created by organizational members of their social andpsychological satisfaction. Thus they serve the purpose of organizationalmembers which formal groups are not able to satisfy.

(vi) Organization of authority : The formal groups can be abolished at anytime. Since these are created by organizational process. Many of the formalgroups are constituted for certain specific purpose or period.

The formal groups are difficult to abolish by organizational process. In fact,any attempt by management to abolish the informal groups may lead to theformation of many more groups. Management does not have control overthem as the informal groups are by product of natural desire of human beingsto interact.

(vii) Relationship of members :The relationship of members with each other inthe formal group is regulated by formal rules which means a substitution of

impersonal for personal relationship.

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In the informal groups, the behaviour of the members is direct by norms,beliefs and values of the groups. The kind of behavior that is expected of amembers is a specified by these factor. If any member defies these, he isdisliked by other members and for the person, the group does not remainattractive and he leaves it.

(viii) Communication : All communication in the formal groups are expected topass through that channel.

Function of Informal Groups

(i) They provide social satisfaction to the group members through recognitionstatus, and provide further opportunity to relate to others. The formalorganization by its vary nature, is not expected to provide such satisfactionthat are often impersonal.

(ii) They develop systems and channels of communication in order to meet wantsand to keep the members informed of what is taking place that may affecttheir satisfaction.

(iii) A groups integrity as a group is preserved by maintaining its culture valuethrough the informal organization.

(iv) They exert social control, internal to the group, by binging conformity inbehaviour of the group members. They also exert external control towardsmanagement, union leadership, or other informal groups.

Influence of Group in Organization

The recognition of the social organization of informal groups was first made in

industry in the studies at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company.These studies were initiated to evaluate the effect of factors such as lighting,temperature, and wages on the output of the group. Informal group relationshipemerged group relationships.

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Work Environment & Engineering Psychology

Work Environment Factors Affecting Human Performance

The work environment affects the worker in both ways a pleasantenvironment increase turnover by reducing boredom or monotony by reducingabsenteeism whereas an unpleasant work environment contributes to frustration,fatigue and promotes absenteeism.

The measure outlined in this section contribute to the general workingenvironment of people in workplace.

1. Work in Hot or Cold Environment : The risk of the health of workersincreases as conditions more further away form those generally accepted ascomfortable. Risk of heat stress arises, for example from working in coldstores, food preparation areas and in the open air during winter. Assessment

of the risk to workers health from working in either a hot or cold environmentneeds to consider both personnel and environmental factors include bodyactivity, the amount and type of clothing, and duration of exposure.Environmental factors include ambient temperature and radiant heat; and ifthe work is outside, sunlight, wind velocity and the pressure of rain or snow.

2. Noise at work : Noise is a menace created by mans technology and itsproducts like machines, automobiles, trains, airplanes all seems to contributeto an environment that has been become too noisy. Noise is one of theinevitable accompaniments in some industrial situations.

The impact of noise at work : Exposure to noise at work can harm workershealth. The most well-known effect of noise at work is loss of hearing. However, itcan also exacerbate stress and increase the risk of accidents. Some researchindicate that simple automatic and repetitive type of tasks are relatively insensitiveto the effects of noise but performance on the tasks requiring constant attention andalertness are adversely affected. There are :

(i) Hearing impairment

(ii) Noise-induced hearing loss

(iii) Tinnitus

(iv) Noise and chemicals

(v) Noise and pregnant workers

(vi) Increased risk of accidents

(vii) Disturbance of speech communication

(viii) Stress etc.

3. Ventilation : Workplace to be adequately ventilated. Fresh, clean are shouldbe drawn from a source outside the workplace, uncontaminated by dischargesfrom flues, chimneys or other process outlets, and be circulated through the

workrooms. Circulations also events the formation of warm and moist airpockets and creates a favorable atmosphere for work.

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4. Temperature in Indoor workplace : Environment factors (such as humidityand source of heat in the workplace) combine with personal factors (such asthe clothing a worker is wearing and how physically demanding their work is)to influence what is called someones thermal comfort.

Individual personnel preference makes it difficult to specify a thermalenvironment which satisfies everyone. For workplaces where the activity ismainly sedentary, for example offices, the temperature should normally be atleast 160 C (unless other laws require lower temperatures) becomes animportant factor in influencing the functioning of the body.

5. Lighting : Lighting should be sufficient to enable people to work and moreabout safety. If necessary, local lighting should be provided at individualworkstations and at places of particular risk such as crossing points on trafficroutes. Lighting and light fittings should be create any hazard.

Automatic emergency lighting, powered by an independent source, should be

provided where sudden loss of light would create a risk.6. Room Dimensions and Space: Workrooms should have enough free space

to allow people to move about with ease. The volume of the room whenempty, divided by the number of people normally working in it, should be atleast 11 cubic metres. All or part of a room over 3.0 m high should counted as3.0 m high 11 cubic metres per person is a minimum and may be insufficientdepending on the layout, contents and the nature of the work.

7. Music : The use of music in industry as an accompaniment of work is not anew thing. It is doubtful whether music, his any effect on the efficiency ofwork. Although music may lead to general pleasantness in atmosphere, which

may in turn affect the worker favourably. It is doubtful, however, whethermusic can be introduced in industry for increasing work efficiency.

8. Colour : Colour is a factor in influencing the work efficiency. In industrial andbusiness set-up the controversy centres round the colour that is used forpainting the walls, machines, tools etc. The present day trend is towardsintroducing colour scheme in factories, which have effective value inproducing pleasantness in the minds of the worker and contributing to generalcheerfulness to the atmosphere.

The research work that is more concerned with the colour scheme on the walls

show that some colours may have depressing impression on the mind, but it isnot definitely known if colour has any correlation with the efficiency of work.

Engineering Psychology

Engineering Psychology or human engineering is the study of people at workand their methods of working. It includes increasing the efficiency of work methodby introducing improvements in them. Management can encourage the workers tosuggest ways of improving the work and work environment.

Engineering Psychology is an applied field of psychology concerned withpsychology factors in the design and use of equipment. Human factors are broader

than engineering psychology, which is focused specifically on designing systemsthat accommodate the information-processing capabilities of the brain.

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The Concept of Engineering Psychology

Engineering is concerned is concerned with adapting the equipment andenvironment to people, based upon their psychological capabilities and limitations

with the objective of improving overall system performance involving human andmachine elements. Ackoff (1961) has defined man-machine systems as an entity,conceptional parts.

The Need of Engineering Psychology

Engineering Psychology needs to consider all aspects of the human-technology system. According to Wickens (1992) the role of engineering psychologyis distinct from both psychology and engineering in that it arises from intersection oftwo domains. He suggests that the aim of engineering psychology is not simply to

compare two possible designs for a piece of equipment but to specify the capacitiesand limitations of the human from which the choice for a better design should bedirectly deductible.

Human engineering emphasizes that machinery, equipment and toolsshould be designed to suit the human operator and not vice-versa. It includes thefollowing:

(i) Machine control should be installed in the working area so that it is within thereach of the machine operator.

(ii) Good working conditions should be provided to the operators so to maintain

their psychical mental health.(iii) The machine operator should be permitted to while on the job unless the

nature of job requires him to stand.

(iv) Tools and materials should be arranged at workplace in such way that theoperator can reach them easily.

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Industrial Fatigue and Boredom

Meaning of Fatigue

Fatigue can be defined as a progressive decline in alertness and performancethat results in sleep. Fatigue is an everyday occu9prrence and in a ideal world would

not pose a significant health and safety risks. The 24/7 society in which we live,however, insists that many people work outside of standard office hours and thusexperience an elevated level of fatigue. Shift work, long work hours andinternational travel can all promote fatigue. Other causes of fatigue include medicaldisorders, such as sleep disorders, medications, drugs and alcohol.

Definition

The terms fatigue may be defined as physical and/or mental weariness realor imagined, existing in a person and adversely affecting the ability to performwork.

In another study fatigue is defined as an altered psychological andphysiological state in relation to the status of recovery normal capacity.

Types of Fatigue

1. Physical Fatigue : It is due to lack of use of machine and tools and due totheir improper arrangement in such a way that max human energy is wasted.Secondly due to long working hours without any rest pauses results in physicalfatigue.

2. Mental Fatigue : It has been in the people who often doing a lot of workwithout any rest shows sings of mental fatigue, which are seen in physicalexertion. Mental fatigue is basically due to tension, e.g. A student who hasgone to sleep after reading several hours and feeling mentally exhausted,may dress up quickly and rush for a party, if someone calls him at a moment.

Causes of Industrial Fatigue

It is caused by one or more of the followings :

1. Poor Working Conditions : It includes such as noise, lighting, ventilation,temperature and humidity and physical equipment design.

2. Job Demands: It includes physical and psychological demands.3. Unfavorable Conditions on the Job: It includes inefficient work spaces,

inefficient work methods, inefficient tools and insufficient people to do thework cause much necessary fatigue.

4. Physiological Fatigue: The attitude of individual to their job is veryimportant as it determines their motivation.

5. Mental Fatigue : It tension, working stressfully, doing a lot of work for hourstogether.

Other factors that causes fatigue are :

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General irregularity of habits, nervous and strain, constant use of eyes, socialfactors in environment, consumption of coffee and alcohol in large amount,exposure to toxic fumes and gases, economic insecurity, high degree of alertnessand attention, shift work etc.

Meaning to Reduce Industrial Fatigue

The various ways to reduce industrial fatigue are:

1. Overtime Limitations : Regular and steady overtime increases fatiguelowering production as well as adding disproportionate costs to production.

2. Improving work Condition : Better lighting, colours used, noise control,ventilation, furnishings design, smoke and flash, etc are examples ofimprovements in physical working conditions that can reduce fatigue.

3. Hiring Suitable Employees: They should be proper qualified, for minimizationof fatigue. For e.g. A college student will be bored doing office work for long

hours, while under-qualified employee will be tired/pressurized working formore than his/her capabilities.

4. Working Hours : These should be proper working hours as an eight hour daywith a lunch break of 60 minutes is an ideal situation. In general the highestproductivity per hour and less fatigue is obtain with small number of workinghours per day.

5. Type of Work : Fatigue also depends upon nature or type work. E.g. Complex muscular work may preferably be done with help of suitable materialhandling devices.

6. Psychological Motivation : Employee who are satisfied with their jobs andworking conditions are subject to fatigue.

7. Shift work : Shift work is restored to many industries nowadays due toincrease in capital cost of equipment and to reduce overheads. Most peopleprefer to work in day shift as it is providing lot of advantages such as betterhealth, better output, and better social life. Feeling of fatigue is greater innight shift as failure to sleep during, the day seems to be the major cause.

8. Better Ergonomics : Work involving and abnormal posture tends to increasefatigue. Better ergonomically designed furniture and machines, equipmentand tools can do the large extent reduce fatigue.

Measurement of Fatigue

Although fatigue, cannot be directly measured. Because there is no chemicalin the blood or any biological specimen that can give an accurate indication of howtired someone is.

But still there are three ways of measurement of fatigue:

(a) Mechanical measurement using various electronic and other instrumentsdesigned to measure fatigue.

(b) Observation and statistical measurement to determine the degree of fatigue in

a given performance area, such as hand-eye coordination.

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(c) Comparison of actual fatigue factors with variables previously measured,including greater amount of time required to complete a given task once anundesirable level of fatigue is reached.

Environmental Factors Affecting Fatigue

Fatigue is increased by environmental factors like, heat, noise, insufficient light etc.

1. Heat : Temperature levels effect productivity, health and comfort. Extremetemperature and high humidity affect efficiency. It is for this reason that theenvironmental temperature has a more unfavourable effect on the personsdoing heavy work, if it exceeds beyond certain limits.

2. Noise : Noise , also known as unwanted sound increase fatigue. Noisepollution caused due to some industrial activities in even known to causedeafness. The harmful effects of noise on human health and work havereceived attention, for a long time, though the term nose pollution hasbecome a household work only in recent days.

3. Illumination: The illumination Engineering Society determined level; forvarious tasks for visual performance and visual comfort. Insufficient lighteningcauses fatigue and irritability beside being a souce of errors and industrialaccidents. Unevenly illuminated spaces need constant adjustment andconsequently cause higher visual fatigue and eye strain. Ensuring properillumination is a paying preposition for the management as it results in higheroutput per worker, lower costs of production and generally happier motivatedworkers.

Thus, fatigue cannot reduced capacity to work which arises because of

expenditure of physical or mental effort on the work already done.

Boredom

Definition

OHanlon denies boredom as a unique physiological state possessinginterrelated and inseparable emotional , motivational, cognitive concomitants andperceptual.

According to C.D. Fisher Boredom is an unpleasant, transient affective state

in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of interest in and difficultyconcentrating on the current activity.

Types of Boredom

There are three types of boredom:

1. When we are prevented from engaging in something.

2. When we are forced to engage in something unwanted activity.

3. When for no apparent reason we are asked to maintain an engagement in anyactivity or spectacle.

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Causes of Boredom

1. Intellectual Level of the Person: It depends from person to person thatwhat kind of perceptive a person carries for a particular type of work. What ishis/her intellectual level towards work.

2. The repetitive Nature of Task : This is one of the important causes ofboredom because nowadays the trend has changed in industries, each workerprocesses one part. He rarely has the experience of doing a complete objectas it used to be in the olden days of craftsmanship. Now doing only one jobrepetitively, makes a worker give the feeling of boredom.

3. Nature and Personality of the Person : Boredom also depends fromperson to person. That what kind of person is given what type of work whetherhe has a interest in that particular type of work or not. Whether his personalitymatches with that type of work or not.

Effects of Boredom

1. Complain of Fatigueness : Boredom basically results in complain fromworkers of restlessness. They also cannot give their best shot to the workassigned to them and they often complain that time is passing very slowly.

2. Slow Production : Boredom is one of the main signs of slow production.Since the workers in the industries are tired of doing the same repetitive workall the time. The production in the industries become slow at times than whatactually the production should be.

Ways to Reduce Boredom

1. Short-term Goals : By setting up short-term production goals, the work isgreatly motivated to reach them. This can be use when the goals are set bythe active co-operation of workers. E.g. Often a large part of people thinkthat they are getting bored because they think that the work they are doing isboring. And if they crate short-term goals the work will complete sooner thanever before and they will also not feel bored.

2. Building in the Fun : Boredom can be avoided by building or creating thefun in the job they are doing e.g. By playing the music while working, whichwill give soothing effect to both earns and mind and it even helps at times atincreasing concentration power.

3. Introducing Changes : Another strategy, is to introduce variability or changein the job that are highly repetitive in nature. Job exchanges can be one formfor introducing changes, e.g. By changing work environment, work methodsetc. are some of the common methods to reduce boredom.

4. Reducing Interruptions of Work : It is often seen that workers in theiroffice are interrupted in the work by authorities or their colleagues, e.g. Ifthe tendency to complete a task is fulfilled in a working situation, it mayactually results in motivating worker to complete his task.

Organizations should make sure that workers are least interrupted by theircolleagues foreman or by higher authorities.

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5. By use of Tests : As it is prove that boredom is individual specific, thereforevarious psychological test have been used to determine the degree ofsusceptibility. Often test are used to locate personality factors like IQ,introversion, maladjustment, require level of intelligence etc.

6. To make job Meaningful: Another way to reduce boredom is to make jobsmore interesting by attaching some meaning to them. Adding new perceptionsof the job in the worker and reducing the meaninglessness of work can proveuseful in reducing boredom at workplace.

7. By Keeping End in Mind : This is one of the best way to reduce boredomthat by thinking of getting a reward at the completion of doing the boringwork, employee can inspire themselves to move ahead if they keep the endresult in mind.

For e.g. They can think of partying at the completion of some boring project.

Distinguish between Fatigue and Boredom

In many instance it is difficult to distinguish between boredom and feeling oftiredness. Both are the result of work and both are unpleasant.

The distinguish between the two terms is discussed below:

(i) Fatigue is a decreased capacity for work but boredom is a decreased interestin work.

(ii) Fatigue express itself in the desire for taking rest but boredom expresses itselfin the desire for change.

(iii) Fatigue is usually associated with psychological depletion but boredom isconcomitant of mental dullness.

(iv) Fatigue is to some extent, measurable but boredom is a subjective attitudethat defies objectives evaluation.

(v) Fatigue is conscious inability, but boredom is a feeling of incapacity with orwithout there being a psychological basis for the feeling.

The difficulty of distinguishing between boredom and fatigue has led someinvestigators to suggest that the two be considered as useful in overcoming theother. Nevertheless, sometimes employees can actually distinguish between thetwo.

Industrial Accidents and Safety

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Meaning of Industrial Accidents

Accidents are unplanned and unexpected events which are invariablypreceded by un unsafe act or unsafe conditions or a combination or both. Accidentsresults in, or suggest the possibility of, personal injury, property damage, productioninterruption, diminished health, or environmental damage. The seriousness ofconsequences of accidents occurring in industry and transportation allows to classifythem into broad groups.

(i) Occupational or workplace accidents.

(ii) Industrial accidents

Consequences of an occupational accident always involve harm to one orseveral workers. An accident which did not cause any injury related to workplaceactivities cannot be considered an occupational accident. Accident of latter typemay result in financial losses, property damage and, what is possible harm topopulation living outside the plant where they happened, if these accidents do notinvolve harm to personnel, they are not categorized as occupational ones.

Industrial Accidents causing harm to personnel, plant, population andenvironment accident itself Such sequences are initiated by a failure of systemcomponent, error made by worker or operator, or an external event, say an extremenatural phenomenon or a deliberate adverse action of humans.

Definition of Industrial Accidents

The term accident has been used with various shades of meanings. For certain

purposes the national safety council of America considers an accident mean,Any unexpected event that interrupts or interface with the orderly progress

of the production activity or process.

In other words an accident is one in which a person is badly injured or killed,or when a property is damaged or when a person has failed in responsibilities orindulged in some unsafe behaviour.

Major Industrial Accidents

Major industrial accidents are defined as a hazardous event (major emission,fire or explosion) resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of the

operation of any industrial plant [Casal 2008]. This event leads to serious damage tohuman and the environment immediate or delayed, inside or outside or outside theplant, and involves one or mor dangerous substances. Major accidents involve therelease of significant amounts of energy or one or more hazardous materials. Therelease can be instantaneous or occur over a relatively short period of time. Majoraccidents can occur in industrial plants or during the transportation of hazardousmaterials and goods. The accidents on road and rail usually involve rail and roadtankers.

Main Types of Accidents

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Major industrial accidents are associated with one or more of the followingdangerous processes:

(i) Thermal (e.g., thermal radiation of a fire or explosion of a vessel with liquefiedgas).

(ii) Mechanical (e.g., pressure wave (shock front) of a blast or ejection offragments due to a rupture of a pressure vessel).

(iii) Chemical (e.g., an atmospheric dispersion of toxic material).

An accident can involve more than one of these processes. For instance, anexplosion can be followed by a fire, a fire can cause the explosion can cause theatmospheric dispersion of a toxic cloud.

The general types of principal causes that lead to accidents :

1. Mental : Irresponsibility, lack of attention, moral perturbation, lack ofexperience and uninterestingness etc.

2. Physical : Illness (headache, fever, cold and cough, stomachache), fatigue,weakness and dirty environment.

3. Mechanical : Old tools not in good working conditions and defectivemachines etc.

The accidents are also named after the name of the department or factory,e.g., road accidents, mine accidents, railway accidents, ship accidents, aeroplaneaccidents etc. In fact, type of accident are innumerable.

1. Accident Causing Situational : The situational factors differe considerably

from one type of industrial occupation to another. This fact has often impelledmany to classify the various occupation in terms of the degree of hazard orprobability of accident involved in them. There are some main situationalfactors which may lead to accidents:

(i) Operations of machinery

(ii) Handing of material, equipment

(iii) Stumbling, falling

(iv) Acid burns

(v) Electricity(vi) Gas

(vii) Struck by falling material equipment

(viii) Falls from height

(ix) Falls from strains

3. Accident Causing Social Situations : Social situations factors include awide range of social situations such as :

(i) The lack of consistent punishment for tardy (late) behaviour of workers.

(ii) The lack of an employees profit sharing plan.

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(iii) The strong influence of trade union on workers.

(iv) The extreme discomfort experience at workplace.

(v) The possibility of a layoff.

3. Accident Causing Human Factors : Human factors such as the followingmay be the contributing causes of accidents.

(i) Defective vision

(ii) Faulty altitudes

(iii) Irresponsibility, carelessness

(iv) Failure to recognize potential hazards

(v) Nervousness and fear

(vi) Impulsiveness

(vii) Worry and depression

(viii) High blood pressure, etc.

4. Accident Causing Environment : Environment factors are the biggest causeof accidents; These factors include:

(i) Lack of proper ventilation

(ii) Inadequate illumination

(iii) Absence of proper maintenance

(iv) construction defective and unsafe

(v) Mechanical fault

(vi) Congested workplace

(vii) Excessive humidity

(viii) Clumsy arrangements of equipment etc.

5. Accident Causing Physical Factors : The physical characteristics ofemployee are also responsible in causing accidents.

(i) Age and experience

(ii) Getting fatigue very soon

(iii) Organic disease

(iv) Slow reaction

(v) Poor health of the workers

(vi) Working schedules

6. Accident Causing Mechanisms : A first glance, hardware failure appear tobe the dominant cause of accidents. Accidents appear to be inevitable

because they occur in many diverse ways. The organization of plants withpotentially catastrophic hazards has several common features.

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Miscellaneous Causes

There are certain other factors also that become the cause of industrialaccidents. Psychologists have undertaken numerous studies of the workingcondition, the method of working the mental condition of workers, to locate thecauses of accidents such as

(i) Excessive job stress and tension at workplace.

(ii) Boredom and monotonous work.

(iii) Addicted to alcoholism and durgs.

(iv) Young, untrained employees and new workers.

(v) Management behaviour

(vi) Frequently right shift

(vii) Excessive noise

(viii) Machines operating at a high speed etc.

Preventation of Major Industrial Accidents

The term major accident means a sudden occurrence such as major emissionfire or explosion in the course of an activity with in major hazards installation,involving one or more hazardous substances and leading to a serious damage toworkers, the public or the environment whether immediate or delayed.

Having regard to the need to ensure that all appropriate measure are takento:

(a) Prevent major accidents.

(b) Minimize the risk of major accidents.

(c) minimize the effect of major accidents, and

Strategies for Preventing Accident

The important strategies of accident prevention are discussed below:

1. Environmental : The environmental responsibility is integral to producing

world class products. In, manufacturing operation, adverse effect on thecommunity, environment and natural resource are to be minimized whilesafeguarding the health and safety of the public. There are severalenvironmental factors that need to be considered while maintaining anyscientific strategy for accident prevention.

(i) Environmental permits and reporting.

(ii) Pollution prevention and resource reduction.

(iii) Hazardous substance.

(iv) Waste water and solid waste.

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2. Personal Selection : The personnel factors play an important role inaccidents. Today it is possible to test an employees susceptibility to accidentsby using a wide variety of psychological tests. Whether the employee ha easilyfatigued or drug addict or whether he has adequate sensory motor abilities fora job or whether he has the right perceptual style, he is likely to meet with

accident easily and frequently. If these factors are taken into considerationduring the process of personnel selection, the psychological tests shouldadministered carefully.

3. Involving : Employee in Safety : No safety strategy can be successful theemployees are willing to participate in it. There a number of ways in which theemployees can be made involved in safety strategies. They are:

(i) Safety Committee

(ii) Safety Campaigns

(iii) Safety Content

(i) Safety Committee : Safety committee may be constituted in very plant. Itshould consist of the representatives of both the management and theworkers. All the safety programmes should be implemented through the safetycommittee. Today the safety problem is seldom an issue in union-management contract negotiations. Both management and union officialsrealize its importance and are striving for improvements through joint safetycommittees.

(ii) Safety Campaign: Safety campaigns mainly aim at generating andmaintaining continuous safety consciousness. In most such campaigns, the

emphasis is on developing an adequate warning system, particularly whenthere is some programme must be given wide publicity, through posters andhoardings work safety and safety saves are the illustration of the sloganswhich may be displayed at critical point.

(iii) Safely Contest: Safety contests between one plant or one department maybe effective for a time, but psychologically they are not believed to be good inthe long run. The contestant lose interest. It is believed sounder to train toavoid accidents rather than to earn some extraneous reward; this is true ofmotivation in general the reward should be a part of the activity and notforeign to it.

(iv) Safety Habit : There is no substitute of safety habits in the prevention ofaccidents. The fact that inexperienced workers are must likely to be involvedin accidents indirectly supports this views their to make unsafe movements. Itshould however, be noted that if employees are not taught the right way ofperforming their operations, they may routinably acquire some unsafe habitswhich would expose them to accidents. It is in this sense that the right type oftraining acquires a great importance in accident prevention.

(v) Safety Training : Noone can deny the fact that safety training is vital for theprevention of industrial accidents. The best example of how training canreduce the accident rate. The study by the proctor and Gamble company

whose employees were given safety training over a period of 25 years. Duringthis period the very high rate of accident came to minimum.

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Job Analysis

Meaning of Job Analysis

A job description is obtained from a job analysis. Job analysis means thecareful determination of what workers do on a job, as determined by a trained

analyst.

Definition of Analysis

It is necessary to know exactly what a prospective employee will be requiredto do in a particular job. A job analysis is a systematic explanation of activities withina job. It is a basic technical procedure, one that is used to define the duties,responsibilities and accountability of a job.

(i) According to Terry, Job Analysis is the process of critically examining thecomponents of a job, both separately and in relation to the whole, in order todetermine all the conditions and duties.

(ii) According to Blum, A Job Analysis is an accurate study of the variouscomponents of a job. It is concerned not only with an analysis of the dutiesand conditions of work, but also with the individual qualifications of theworker.

(iii) According to Flippo, Job Analysis refers to the process of studying theoperations, duties and organizational aspects of jobs in order to devicespecification s, or as they are called by some-job specifications.

Job Description

A job description is a simple written record of what the job holder does on hisjob. It also shows how it is done, and why it is done. An accurate description of thejob content, environments, and conditions of employment must be provided. A jobdescription is an organized statement of job contents in the form of duties andresponsibilities of a specific job. The preparation of job description is necessarybefore a vacancy is advertise. It tells in brief the nature and type of a job. In otherwords, it emphasizes the job requirements. As the title indicates, the documents isdescriptive in nature and constitutes a record of job facts in an organized way.

Job Specification

The job specification indicates the minimum qualifications that the job holdermust posses to perform the job wee. It identifies the knowledge, skills and abilitiesneeded to do the job effectively. These are based on the information obtainedthrough job analysis.

Job Specification VS. Job Description

In contrast to job description, job specification is a measuring rod of personneland it combines qualities required for acceptable performance of a particular job likeformal education, experience, psychological attitude, physical measurement, etc.

The qualities as assessed and recorded on job specification documents involve anelement of subjectivity. The proper assessment of these qualities depends upon the

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value judgements of a number of people such as job analysis, jobholder and hissupervisor.

Purpose of Job Analysis

The purpose of job analysis is to establish and documents the job relatednessof employment procedures such as training, selection, compensation, andperformance appraisal.

Job analysis is every important aspect of any organization and is useful foroverall management of all personnel activities such as:

1. Human Resource Planning : Human resource planning helps in determiningas to how many and what type personnel will be needed in near future.

2. Recruitment and Selection: Job analysis helps the HR manager to locateplaces to obtain employees for opening anticipated in the future.

3. Training and Developments : Job analysis is used for an HRD manager in asmuch as it helps him/her know what a given job demands from the incumbentin terms of knowledge and skills. The further helps in designing varioustraining and development plans accordingly.

4. Job Evaluation: Job evaluation involves determination of relative worth of eachjob for the purpose of establishing wages and salary differentials.

5. Performance Appraisal : This involves assessment of the actual performanceof an employee against what is expected of him/her.

6. Process of the Analysis : The best guide for developing job analysis involvesthe following steps to steamline the process of job analysis:

According Terry, the make up of a job, its relation to other jobs and itsrequirements for competent performance are essential information needed for a jobevaluation.

Scope of Job Analysis

Job analysis is useful for various activities of the organization, such as

1. Compensation: Job analysis can be used in compensation to identify ordetermine:

(a) skill level

(b) compensable job factors

(c) work environment (e.g., hazards, attention; physical effort)

(d) responsibilities (e.g., fiscal; supervisory)

(e) required level of education (indirectly related to salary level).

2. Selection Procedures :Job analysis can be used in selection procedures toidentify or develop:

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(a) job duties that should be included in advertisements of vacant positions

(b) appropriate salary level for the position to help determine what salary shouldbe offered to a candidate.

(c) minimum requirements (education and/or experience) for screening

applicants;

(d) interview questions

(e) selection tests/instruments (e.g., written tests oral tests; job simulations)

(f) applicant appraisal/evaluation forms

(g) orientation materials for applicants/new hires.

3. Performance Review : Job analysis can be used in performance review toidentify or develop:

(a) goals and objectives

(b) performance standards

(c) evaluation criteria

(d) length of probationary periods

(e) duties to be evaluated

Methods of Job Analysis

Several methods are used for obtaining data for job analysis. These methodsare also often used in developing job description.

1. Questionnaire Methods : Information about a job and its components isobtained from the incumbents (those who are working and know how tooperate) by asking them to provide data about themselves and their ownwords. The method is good for people who can write well and expressthemselves clearly on the various points in the questionnaire. However, thework of analysis the answers and constructing a true picture of the job in all itsaspects if often very labourious and time-consuming.

2. Interview Method : In this method, a representative group of jobincumbents is selected and then interviewed by using a predetermined plan.Another variation is, the interview is conducted at the job site and interviewercollects the data when the incumbent is actually working on the job, by askingquestions. It is a good method, but expensive and time-consuming and usefuloly when the interviewer knows his job well. Sometimes the interview can alsobe carried on in the presence of several job incumbents in a sort of conferencesituation to enhance accuracy. It is through such interview that the essentialelements of the job are determined.

3. Observation : Under this method job analyst carefully observes the jobholder at work and records what individual does and how much time is neededfor completion of the job. This methods is single and the data collected areaccurate as it is the result of direct observation.

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4. Checklists : A long list of tasks performed in relation to a job is given to theworker and he is asked to check the statements that describes his job well.

This is similar to a questionnaire but responses sheet generally have moreobjective questions (like yes/no).

Diary Method

Job incumbents are required to keep a long book or diary concerning theiractivities on the job. Information collected is analyzed later. It is simple method andeffective as well but only if the job nature is not very complex.

Critical Incident Technique

This is very widely used technique. It involves the collection of a serious ofstatements of job behaviour based on direct observation or memory. Suchobservations often bring to light the most critical aspects of the job-the aspectswhich usually lead to an excellent performance on the job, as well as those not so

critical or important.

The method that you may use in job analysis will depend on practical concernsuch as type of job, number of jobs, number of incumbents and locations of jobs.

Main Aspects of Job Analyzed during Job Analysis

Job analyst generally collects information on the following areas:

1. Duties and Tasks : The basic unit of a job is the performance of specifictasks and duties. Information to be collected about these items may included:frequency, duration, effort, skill, complexity,. Equipments, standards, etc.

2. Environment : This may have a significant impact on the physicalrequirements to be able to perform a job. The work environment may includeunpleasant conditions such as offensive odors and temperature extremes.There may also be definite risks to the incumbent such as noxious fumes,radioactive substances, hostile and aggressive people, and dangerousexplosives.

3. Tools and Equipments : Some duties and tasks are performed using specificequipments and tools: equipments may include protective clothing. Theseitems need to be specified in a job analysis.

4. Relationships : Supervision given and received. Relationships with internal

or external people.

5. Requirements : The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required toperform the job. While an incumbent may have higher KSAs than thoserequired for the job. A job analysis typically only states the minimumrequirements to perform the job.

Uses of Job Analysis

(i) Helps in fine grading of jobs and their rational classification on the basis ofsimilarity of operation involved in them.

(ii) Setting up of rational wage policies.(iii) Best guide in hiring employees.

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(iv) Best guide in cases of training and development and promotions.

(v) Increases efficiency due to friction free environment.

(vi) Reduced workers fatigue.

(vii) Higher morale and confidence among workers.

(viii) Creates congenial psychological plant climate.

Online for a Job Analysis Form

The specific items to be included in the study vary from differentorganizations. So, a job analysis form should be such that it readily conforms to theneeds of a particular organization.

1. Identification of the job i.e., Job Title.

2. Number Employed.

3. Statement of duties i.e., hours and shifts.

4. Tools, machines, materials and equipments used.

5. Analysis of operation s i.e., job combination or breakdown.

6. Pay site and other incentives.

7. Working conditions.

8. Social environment.

9. Place in the organization or job relationship to other allied jobs.

10. Output standards.

Job Evaluation

Industrial organization are often concerned with making job evaluation ratherthan job analysis. Logically speaking, job evaluation as well as job description arethe outcomes of job analysis.

According to Bureau of labour Statistics, U.S.A. Job evaluation is theevaluation or rating of jobs to determine their position in the job hierarchy. Theevaluation may be achieved through the assignment of points or the use of thesome other systematic method for essential job requirements, such as skills,experience and reliability.

Objectives of Job Evaluation

The major objectives of job evaluation is to establish equitable or just rates ofsalaries and wages on the basis of the relative work or jobs in an organization.

The main objectives of job evaluation are:

(i) It provides a standard procedure for determining relative worth of each job inan organization.

(ii) It provides information regarding personnel selection, placement, training andvarious other similar issues.

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(iii) It secures and maintains complete, accurate and impersonal descriptions ofeach distinct job or occupation in the organization.

(iv) It ensures that the adequate wages are being paid to all qualified employeesas per their duties and responsibilities.

(v) It determines the rate of pay of each job which is fair and equitable in relationto other jobs in the organization, community and industry.

Process of Job Evaluation

The job evaluation process involves various other steps like:

(i) Job analysis that is breaking down the job into its essential operations and jobdescription.

(ii) Developing a transformation system in which the total weight assigned to ajob can be converted into monetary value.

(iii) Comparing the jobs on the basis of such analysis and placing them inappropriate place in job hierarchies.

(iv) Making such comparisons as far as possible, in numerical terms by assigningappropriate weights to the factors or to the operations involved in each job sothat comparisons are made with great objectivity.

Methods of Job Evaluation

There are four main methods of job evaluation, and various modifications ofthem. These are:

1. The point system

2. The factor comparison system

3. The classification system and

4. The ranking method

Use of Job Evaluation

Job evaluation has continued to become more popular in the United State. In1935 two-thirds of all companies were using some system. Like most personnel

procedures, job evaluation is performed less frequently in smaller companies than inlarger ones. Job evaluation is being used increasingly for salaried employees, forsupervisors and even for executives. A large number of companies have describedsystem of job evaluation which, they report, have been helpful in setting fair payand wage rates.

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Recruitment and Selection

Meaning of Recruitment

The recruitment and selection of employees in a critical first step towardsmain activities:

(1) Recruitment and (ii) Selection

Recruitment and selection of the best qualified applicant to fill a vacancy, jobtenure, position clarification, standardization of pay and promotion and payincreases based on performance evaluation are hallmarks of the system.

According to Dele S. Beach Recruitment is the development and maintenanceof adequate manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of availablelabour upon whom the organization can draw when it needs additional employee.

Classification of Teams

(A) Recruitment and Selection : The terms recruitment and selection are usedinterchangeably with one another. Recruitment immediately precedesselection by paving the way for producing the smallest number of candidateswho appears to be capable of either performing a task or of developing theability to do within a period of time, duties acceptable to the employingorganization. This is according to Tyson and York (1982).

(B) Personnel : This constitutes the manpower employed by an organization tocarry out a specific and assigned task.

(C) Civil Services : A machinery of government used by the executive to assistin policy formulation and implementation directed at achieving happiness andsatisfaction for a greater percentage of the population of a country.

(D) Bureaucracy: This represents an impersonal abstraction that places authorityand legitimacy on an office and not on the person (bureaucrat) occupyingsuch an office. A bureaucrat is guided by rules and formal proceduresstipulated by a system or institution and tailored towards the attainment ofefficiency and best result.

(E) Quota System: This is a device used to check the over-flooding of aparticular job or vacant job opportunities by people from a particular ethnicorigin. If properly applied, it allows for even representation of people fromdifferent back ground and geographical zones of a country or state.

(F) Federal Character : This means the promotion of National Unity and Loyaltywhere a single or few ethnic groups are prevented from highjacking theinstruments of government, spoils of office and government employment atthe disfavour of the groups.

Purpose of Recruitment

According to Rager H. Hawk, The purpose of a recruitment function areprimarily straight forward : to seek out, to evaluate, obtain commitment from, placeand orient the employees to fill positions, required for the successful conduct thework of an organization.

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The main purpose of recruitment process are as under:

(i) To increase the tool of job candidates at the minimum cost.

(ii) To create a talent pool of candidates to enables the selection of bestcandidates for the organization.

(iii) To attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in theorganization.

(iv) To meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding thecomposition of its workforce.

(v) To increase of success rate of selection process by decreasing number ofvisibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants.

(vi) To determine present and future requirements of the organization inconjunction with its personnel planning and job analysis activities.

Source of Recruitment

(i) Internal

(ii) External

Internal Recruitment

The sources within the organization itself (like transfer of employees from onedepartment to other , promotions) to fill a position are known as the internal sourcesof recruitment.

Source of Internal Recruitment: There are two important internal sources

of recruitment, namely

(i) Transfer and promotions

(ii) Referrals from personnels

(i) Transfers and Promotion: The employees are transferred from onedepartment to another according to their efficiency and experience.

Infect, transfer does not involve any drastic change in the responsibilities andstatus of the employee.

(ii) Referrals from Personnels: Referrals from existing personnel may be a

good source of internal recruitment. The present personnel may be in a betterposition to judge the suitability of a candidate with whom they are familiar asthey known the nature of job and organizational culture.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

The advantage of internal recruitment are:

1. Considerable saving can be made. Individuals with inside knowledge of how abusiness operates will need shorter periods of training and time for fitting in.

2. The organization is unlikely to be greatly disrupted by someone who is usedto working with others in the organization.

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3. Internal promotion acts as an incentive to all staff to work harder within theorganization.

4. From the firms point of view, the strengths and weaknesses of an insider willhave been assessed. There is always a risk attached to employing an outsiderwho may only be a success on paper.

The disadvantage recruiting from within are:

1. It creates a need to replace the person who has been promoted.

2. An insider may be less likely to make the essential criticisms required to getthe company working more effectively.

3. Promotion of one person in a company may upset someone else.

External Recruitment

External recruitment makes it possible to draw upon a wider range of talent,

and provides the opportunity to bring new experience and ideas in to the business.Disadvantages are that it is more costly and the company may end up with someonewho proves to be less effective in practice than they did on paper and in theinterview situation. Recruitment candidates from all the other sources (like outsourcing agencies etc.) are known as the external sources of recruitment.

The Recruitment and Selection Process

Recruitment is the process of searching for a finding for a finding applicantsfor jobs from among whom the right people can be selected. The personneldepartment plays a key role in recruitment and selection of employees. This isbecause, it knows the personnel needs of organization as suggested by Makinde(1992). The personnel department prepares a coincise job description andspecification stating clearly the title of the job and responsibility required Fatiregum(1992).

The actual steps involved in recruitment follows a well defined path which are listedbelow:

(i) Advertise/search process.

(ii) Appointment committee membership.

(iii) Exchange information

(iv) Privacy

(v) Shortlist

(vi) Selection planning meeting

(vii) Reference checks

(viii) Whanan or other support

(ix) The interview and selection decision

(x) Appointment

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(xi) Unsuccessful Applicants

Principles of Recruitment and Selection

(i) Be unambiguous in all written material including advertisement, jobdescription, person specification, terms and conditions, application form,

assessments forms.

(ii) Have clear, written policies setting out procedures.

(iii) Train managers in recruitment and selection procedures making them awareof the areas for potential discrimination.

Job Description

This documents should provide a fair objective description of the mainrequirements of the job.

(i) Insure this is clear, certain and relevant.

Describe accurately the requirements and duties of the job.

Distinguish between requirements that are necessary and those which aremerely convenient.

(ii) Ensure no bias towards particular sex, race, age etc unless utterly justifiablee.g. a genuine occupational qualification.

(iii) Ensure no unnecessary conditions or standards are set: use special care ifstating mobility requirements, length or type of experience.

Person Specification

This documents translates the task and duties of the job description intoaptitudes and other essential/desirable characteristics required to carry out the jobsatisfactorily.

(i) Ensure this is a clear, accurate specification of the essential/desirableaptitudes (knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications) andcharacteristics of the person required to carry out the job satisfactorily.

(ii) Ensure you do not set standards which are higher than necessary, wherephysical ability is required (e.g. strength).

(iii) Ensure yo do not set unnecessarily high education standards.

(iv) Ensure you do not include considerations relating to personal circumstancese.g. marriage plans etc.

(v) Use a systematic plan e.g. the Seven Point Plan.

Terms and Conditions

This documents sets out the salary, hours, holidays and benefits etc., providedby the employer :

(i) Ensure this is clear, accurate and relevant

(ii) Ensure it is free from any potential bias.Advertising

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(i) This is a candidates first impression of the organization it needs to be clearand certain.

(ii) Ensure it is not discriminating directly or indirectly. You can legitimatelydescribe what a job does. You cannot legitimately draw conclusions about thegender, marital status, race or disability.

(iii) Ensure it is consistent with actual job.

(iv) Publicise vacancies, wherever possible.

(v) Ensure clear instruction ns are given as to application procedure e.g. whetherto telephone or write for an application form, send in a C.V.

Application Form

This documents provides a tools to enable the employer to find out moreabout the candidate.

(i) Avoid questions which may discriminate on the grounds of sex or marriagee.g. gender, marital status, nationality, family, number/age of children,husbands employment, are you planning to get married, do you suffer frommenstrual disorders?

(ii) Information necessary for personnel records can be obtained after a job offerhas been made.

(iii) Process application forms from men and women in exactly the same way.

(iv) Ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act ensure signed consent forholding of data and give purposes for which it will be used.

Shortlisting

(i) Use the objective standards of the person specification as the basis for shortlisting.

(ii) Use a standard short listing form.

(iii) Dont reject applications on the basis of assumptions about the abilities ofmen or women in general.

(iv) Record the reasons why an applicant has not been selected.

(v) Applications should be treated as confidential. The circulation of paper mustbe restricted to those involved in the recruitment and selection process.Applications must not be passed on to other organizations without firstobtaining the applicants approval.

Interviewing

(i) Structure of the interview should be appropriate to the organization and levelof position to be filled.

(ii) Train all interviewers on the avoidance of sex bias. Issue written guidelines.

(iii) Arrange for more than one interviewer wherever possible.

(iv) Be aware of where you will interview (is it on the top floor? Would it preventthose with a disability)?

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(v) Relate questions to the requirements of the job.

(vi) Candidates must be assessed solely on their qualifications, relevantknowledge, experience and personal qualities. Identical standards shouldapply.

(vii) Ask all candidates the same basic questions irrespective of race, gender,marital status or disability.

(viii) Assessments should be based on part performance, behaviour, selected rolesetc. as far as factual evidence can be obtained.

(ix) All candidates should be assessed on the basis of the same job related criteriaregardless of marital status and domestic responsibilities.

(x) Avoid asking women candidates:

Any intension of getting married?

Any plans for a family?

Tests

(i) Use tests for aptitude, or psychometric from reputable test agencies orreputable I consultancy organizations which specialize in testing. Advice canbe obtained from the IPD.

(ii) Ensure any internally devised test e.g. in tray exercise, case study,presentation is relevant to the job ad free from bias.

Final Selection

(i) Base judgments on facts rather than impressions.

(ii) Match the profile of all the job requirements against the complete profile ofthe individual.

(iii) Check the various job requirements and discuss each in turn. Concentrate onthe facts revealed and the assessments made during the procedure.

(iv) Check the final decision for potential sex and or marriage discrimination,where consensus is not possible.

(v) Systematic consideration of each set of facts and assessments leads to a finaldecision far more objective than ay of the overall or general view. It helps toeliminate the conscious or unconscious prejudices.

(vi) Remember you are looking for the best person for the job and you should beable to justify the decisions you have made o an objective basis. If you arechallenged by the candidate it will be necessary for you to be able todemonstrate the fairness of you decisions, that the criteria are transparent(e.g. everyone can understand them) and justifiable (not discriminatory in anyway). It is important that you keep a written record of the decision makingprocess.

Objectives of Recruitment Policy

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It specifies the objectives of recruitment ad provides a framework forimplementation of recruitment programme. It may involve organizational system tobe developed for implementing recruitment programmes ad procedures by filling upvacancies with best quantified people.

1. The purpose of this framework is to ensure that recruitment and selection isdoe in a fair, efficient, transparent and equitable manner.

2. to achieve equity in the workplace.

3. to promote workplace diversity.

4. to attract score skills and

5. to enhance service excellence.

Recent Trends in Recruitment

The following trends are being seen in recruitment :

(1) Outsourcing : The outsourcing firms help the organization by the initialscreening of the candidates according to the needs of the organization andcreating a suitable pool of talent for the final selection by the organization. Inother words, the companies, rather than employing human resources, candraw then from these organizations on lease basis. This arrangement is calledoutsourcing. Outsourcing firms develop their human resource pool byemploying people for them and make available personnel to variouscompanies as per their needs. In turn, the outsourcing firms or theintermediaries charge the organization s for their services.

Advantage of outsourcing are :

(i) Company can save a lot of its recourses and time.

(ii) Turning the managements focus to strategic level process of humanresources management (HRM).

(iii) Company need not plane for human resources much in advance.

2. E-Recruitment : E-Recruitment also known as Online recruitment it is theuse of technology or thb based tools to assist the recruitment process. Manybig and small organization are using Internet as a source of recruitment.

Advantage of e-recruitment are:

(i) Reduction in time for recruitment.

(ii) Facilitates the recruitment of right selection with the required skills.

(iii) Lower costs to the organization. Also, posting jobs online is cheaper thanadvertising in the news papers.

(iv) Increase in the efficiency of recruitment.

Disadvantages of e-recruitment are:

(i) In India, the employers and the employees still prefer a face-to-face

interaction rather than sending e-mails.

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(ii) There is low Internet penetration, no access and lack of awareness of internetin many locations across India.

(iii) Screening and checking the skill mapping and authenticity of million of CV is aproblem and time consuming exercise for organization.

Selection

The selection process leads to creation of a contractual relation between theemployer and the employee. It involves steps leading to employment of personswho possess the ability and qualifications to perform the jobs which have fallenvacant in the organization. It divides the candidates for employment into twocategories, namely those who will be offered employment and those who will not be.This process could be called rejection since more candidate may be turned awaythan hired. That is why, selection is frequently described as a negative process incontrast with the positive nature of recruitment.

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria should be based on the job description and should focuson the qualifications, experience and skills needed to undertake the Position.

The selection criteria should be split into essential and desirable. Essentialcriteria are those without which it is impossible to perform the job. Desirable criteriaare those which enable the job to be performed more effectively.

Essential criteria for all positions should include:

Provision for recognition of prior lean ring (e.g. on-the-job experience,overseas qualifications, and life experience).

The ability to work positively with people from diverse cultural, linguistic andeducational backgrounds.

Difference between Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and Selection both are the two phases of the employmentprocess. The difference between the two are:

(i) Recruitment means searching for source of labour and stimulating people toapply for job. But selection means to select the right kinds of people forvarious job.

(ii) Recruitment is a positive process as it involves encouraging more and moreemployees to apply. But selection is a negative process as it involves rejectionof the unsuitable candidates.

(iii) Recruitment techniques are requiring high skills, but selection techniques arerequiring only specific skills.

(iv) Recruitment is concerned with tapping the source of human resources. Butselection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate throughvarious interview and test.

(v) Recruitment is a simple process. It involves contacting the various sources of

labour. But selection is a complex and time consuming process. The applicantshave to clear a number of hurdles before they are selected for jobs.

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Selection Process: The basic objective of a selection process is collect asmuch relevant information about the candidate as is possible so that the mostsuitable candidate are selected. A selection process involves a number of steps.

1. Application Pool : Application Pool made through recruitment process is thebase for selection process. The basic objective at the recruitment level is toattract much worthwhile applications as possible so that there are moreoptions available at the selection stage.

2. Screening Form: Application Form are wealth of information and should beused wisely. It should be interpreted correctly. The primary object would be toeliminate applicants failing to meet minimum qualifying requirements.

3. Selection Tests: Many organizations hold different kinds of selection test likeintelligence, aptitude, ability personality and interest etc. to know more aboutthe applicants or to reject the applicants who cannot be called for interview.

4. Interviews : The basis idea behind interview is to find out over all personalityof candidates for the jobs. Its main aim is to rapidly scrutinize applicants andselect the best among them.

5. Reference Checks : Reference are sought only for those candidates who areshort listed or likely to be short listed. Checking may be done orally or inwriting from these people nominated by the candidate.

6. Physical Tests : Physical examination is carried out to ascertain the physicalstandards and fitness or prospective employees.

7. Approval by Authority : Formal approval to create a new position or to fill avacancy must be obtained from the senior manager. Dean/Group director orother authorized line manager. A completed Selection/Appointment Requestmust be used to confirm this in writing the HRM Division with the relevantposition description and person specification attached.

8. Final Selection : After the approval of the competent authority, the selectionis final and the applicant concerned may be informed may be informedaccordingly.

9. Job Offer : Candidates who qualify all the stages are alone given the final joboffer. A minimum time to join the job is given. There after the offer lapses. Ifthe candidate joints the contract of employment commences.

Unsuccessful Applicants : The HRM Division advise candidates who areinterviewed by unsuccessful as soon as appointment has been accepted. Internalcandidates (and some local candidates) are normally advised verbally; othercandidates receive notification in writing.

Meaning of Effectiveness

(i) Feedback from participants in the recruitment and selection process.

(ii) Feedback from clients as part of a regular review process.

(iii) Performance of appointees.

(iv) Length of service/resignation of appointees.

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Techniques of Selection

In olden days the employees, who some how impressed the boss or recruitingmanage of a company was hired. The great importance of sound selection processhas never been recognized as well as it is today because we have now enormousinformation concerning how to refine and perfect the technique of selection so thatthey can be utilized with greater effectiveness.

There are only the two techniques of selection which are most frequently usedin modern industry Application Blanks and interview. The personnel tests as thetools of selection are probably the most sophisticated used in industry today.

Application Blanks : The application blanks and the employment intervieware the two most widely used selection method and they are often used incombination to supplement each other. A recent survey showed that 99.5 percent ofthe companies participating used application Blanks. Application Forms vary fromsmall 3 by 5 cards to many-paged folder containing hundreds of questions about the

applicants history. The main items of information requested on application blanksare:

(i) Identifications : Name, address, age material status, and dependents, sex,family particulars, nationality etc.

(ii) Educational attainments : Educational qualifications schooling, degree anddiplomas obtained, special merits awards and scholarship achieved, etc.

(iii) Experience and Reference : Professional experience, previous workexperience, salary and other benefits drawn, previous designation etc.

(iv) Miscellanies and Reference : Professional experience , previous workexperience, salary and other benefits drawn, previous designation etc.

(iv) Miscellaneous : Other relevant information as interest, hobbies, extra-co-curricular activities, NCC/NSS, workshop, seminar, debates etc.

The Interview and Selection Decision

Members of appointment committees will observe high standards of fairnessthroughout the process. To help eliminate bias, candidates must be treated in aconsistent

Leadership and Group Dynamics

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