8/8/2019 Question Bank With Solution http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/question-bank-with-solution 1/21 Question Bank with solution (T.Y.B.M.S) Subject : Human Resource Management Q 1. Describe the HRP process? Or What do you understand by manpower planning? Explain the steps in manpower planning? The objectives of HR plan must be derived from organizational objectives. Specific requirements in terms of number and characteristics of employees should be derived from the organizational objectives. Organizational objectives are defined by the top management and the role of HRP is to sub serve the overall objectives by ensuring availability and utilization of human resources.
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Q 2. What is personnel manual and how is it designed?
MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF PERSONNEL POLICIES:
Personnel policies are the principles and rules of conduct which "formulate, redefine,
break into details and decide a number of actions" that govern the relationship with
employees in the attainment of the organization objectives. The scope of personnel
policies is vast arid employees from all departments are covered by personnel policies.
(1) According. to Edwin B. Flippo, "A policy is a man-made rule: or pre-determined
course of action that is established to guide the performance of work toward the
organization objectives. It is a type of standing plan that serves to guide subordinates in
the execution of their tasks."
(2) According to Calhoon, "Personnel policies constitute guides to action. They furnish
the general standards or bases on which decisions are reached. Their genesis lies in anorganization’s values, philosophy, concepts and principles."
HOW TO PREPARE A PERSONNEL POLICY MANUAL?
Preparation of personnel policy manual is a lengthy, costly and time-consuming activity. Itinvolves lot of administrative work. Many persons are involved in this joint/collective
activity.
(1) Lengthy procedure involved: The steps to be taken for the preparation of personnel
policy manual depend on the material on policy manual already available. If personnel
policies on various aspects of personnel management have already been written, the
task consists of gathering the policies together, arranging them in a logical order and
writing them according to some acceptable format. Each policy needs to be placed
properly so that the manager using the manual will understand all aspects (objectives,
application, etc.) of the policy easily, quickly and correctly.
(7) Circulating first draft for review and recommendations: Copies of the first draft
should be taken and circulated among the supervisors and others directly concerned
with the use of the manual. Their opinions should be collected for the preparation of
final draft of the manual.
(8) Final printing of manual: The manual maybe large in the case of a large organization
manufacturing and marketing wide product line.. A manual should have printed pages
with proper binding so as to make it available in a book form. Sometimes, it is
prepared in a loose-leaf form. A printed manual in book form can be used for a longer
period of three to five years. Thereafter, new updated and revised manual can be
introduced by discarding the old one.
(9) Periodical revision and updating of the manual: Periodical revision and updating of personnel policy manual is necessary due to organizational and other changes. The
jobs of manual preparation are never finished as conditions inevitably and
continuously change.
A personnel manager /HR manager or a manual coordinator should be appointed for this
job Here, he can draft the manual by using the steps noted above. The steps serve as
Q 3. Why and how does job rotation take place? (Concept question)
Job rotation implies movement of employees from one job to another.With job rotation, a given employee performs different jobs, but more or less of the same
nature. When an activity is no longer challenging, the employee would be rotated to
another job at the same level that has similar skill requirements.
Advantages of Job Rotation-
• Job rotation is a way to overcome boredom and monotony.• It is likely to increase intrinsic reward potential of a job because of different skills
and abilities needed to perform it.
• Workers become competent in several jobs rather than only one, which in turn
benefits the organization.• Knowing a variety of jobs improve the worker’s self-image, provides personal
growth and makes the worker more valuable to the organization.
• Periodic job changing can also improve interdepartmental co-operation, employees
become more understanding of each other’s problems.
Disadvantages of Job Rotation
• An employee does not gain a particular specialization.
• Moving from one job to another also gets irritating because the normal routine of an
employee is disturbed and also time is wasted in adjusting to the new job. The employee
may feel alienated when he/she is rotated from job to job.• Training costs are increased
Firstly what is a transfer? A transfer involves a change in the job (accompanied by a
change in the place of the job) of an employee without a change in responsibilities or remuneration. A transfer differs from a promotion in that the latter involves a change in
which a significant increase in responsibility, status and income occurs, but all theseelements are stagnant in case of a transfer. Another difference is that transfers are regular
and frequent, as in banks and other government establishments, but promotions areinfrequent.
Reasons for transfers
The reasons for transfers vary from organization to organization and from individual to
individual within an organization. Broadly speaking, the following are the reasons for transfers:
There is a shortage of employees in one department or plant because of a heavydemand, which necessitates a requirement of more employees. In another department or
plant, employees may be surplus because of slackened demand for the productsmanufactured by the company. This will lead to workers being idle and wastage of
manpower. Workers are thus transferred from the surplus department to another
department or plant where there is shortage of staff. Incompatibilities between the worker and his or her boss or between one worker and
another worker.
Correction of a wrong initial placement of an employee.
A change has taken place in the interests and capacities of an individual, compellinghim to transfer to a different job.
Over a period of time, the productivity of an employee may decline because of themonotony of his or her job. To break this monotony, the employee is transferred.
The climate may be unsatisfactory for an employee’s health. He or she may request
a transfer to a different place where his or her health will not be affected by the climate.
Family related issues cause transfers, especially among female employees like whenthey get married and want to join their husbands.
Types of transfers
1)Production transfers – as mentioned earlier, a shortage or surplus of the labour force is
common in different departments in a plant or several plants in an organization. Surplus
employees in a department have to be laid off, unless they are transferred to another department. Transfers effected to avoid such imminent lay-offs are called production
transfers.
2)Replacement transfers – replacement transfers are too intended to avoid imminent lay-offs, especially of senior employees. A junior employee may be replaced by a senior
employee to avoid laying off the senior one. A replacement transfer usually takes place
when all the operations are declining and it is carried out to retain long-service employeesas long as possible.
3)Versatility transfers – versatility transfers are done to make employees versatile and
competent in more than one skill. Clerical employees in banks, for example are
transferred from one section to another sthat they acquire the necessary skills to attend tothe various activities of the bank. Versatile transfers may be used as a preparation for
production or replacement transfers.
4)Shift transfers – generally speaking, industrial establishments operate more than one
shift. Transfers between shifts are common, such transfers being made mostly on a
rotation basis. Transfers may also be effected on special requests from employees. Somerequest a transfer to the second shift or the night shift in order to avail the free time
during the day to take up part time jobs.
5) Remedial transfers – remedial transfers are effected at the request of employees andare therefore called personal transfers. Remedial transfers take place in instances like:
• The initial placement of an employee may have been faulty or
• The worker may not get along with his or her supervisor or with other
workers in the department• He or she may be getting too old to continue in his or her regular job or
• The type of job or working conditions may not be well adapted to his or her personal health
• If the job is repetitive, the worker may stagnate and in all such instances
the employee would benefit by transfer to a different kind of work.
Q 2. Difference between: personnel management and HRM
1] PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
DEFINITIONS OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT/ HRM
The term personnel management is defined in different ways. The following definitions
are worth noting:
(1) According to Edwin Flippo" Personnel management is the planning, organizing,directing, and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration,
maintenance, and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational
and societal objectives are accomplished".
(2) According to George R. Terry, "Personnel management is concerned with theobtaining and maintaining of a satisfactory and satisfied, work force".
(3) According to Walter D. Scott, "Personnel management is concerned with the attaining
of maximum individual development; desirable working relationship between employer and employees, and an effective moulding of human resources as contrasted with
physical resources".
(4) According to British Institute of Personnel Management, London, "Personnel
Management is that part of management which is concerned with the people at work and
with their relationship within an enterprise".
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSES OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT / HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
The objectives of HRM are derived from the basic objectives of an organization. In order
to achieve organizational objectives, integration of employer's interest and employeeinterests is necessary.
The objectives of personnel management/HRM in any industrial organization can be
summarized as under.
(1) To attain maximum individual development (self-development) of the members of anorganization and also to utilize available human resources (with the organization) fully
and effectively.
(2) To mould effectively the human resources.
(3) To establish desirable working relationships between employer and employees and between groups of employees.
(4) To ensure satisfaction to the workers so that they are freely ready to work.
(5) To improve the service rendered by the enterprise to the society through better
employee morale, which leads to more efficient individual and group performance.
(6) To establish and maintain a productive and self respecting relationship among all the
members of an organization.
(7) To ensure the availability of a competent and willing workforce to the organization
for its progress and prosperity.(8) To help organization to achieve its goals by providing well trained, efficient and
properly motivated employees.
(9) To maintain high morale and good human relations within the organization for the
benefit of employer and employees.(10) To secure the integration of all the individuals and groups with the organization by
reconciling individual/group goals with those of an organization
2] HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
MEANING AND DEFINITION
Personnel refers to the employees working in an organization at different levels.
Personnel management (also called human resource management) is that aspect of total business management, which deals with human relationships within an organization.
Personnel represent human resource, which is different from material resources.
Human resource is the most productive and most versatile. In addition, the manpower in
an organization needs human treatment. Employees have a capacity to feel, think and
even to react. Management has to deal with the employees in a careful and tactful
manner. Material resources such as land, machines, raw materials, equipment, etc. are
easy to manage. This is because they have no capacity to feel or think or react. This is not
the case with human resource i.e. manpower. Man and machines are not on par and must
not be treated in the same manner. This is because of all the resources manpower is the
only resource, which does not depreciate, with the passage of time. According to Peter F.
Druckert UtIle prosperity, if not the survival of any business depend on the performance
a team of efficient and capable employees for the benefits of the organization. Even
promotions and transfers are covered by this broad personnel function.
(2) Development of manpower: Development of manpower (human resource
development) means planning and execution of the training programmes for all
categories of employees in order to develop new skills and qualities required for working
at the higher level. Manpower development is possible through training and career
development programmes and not simply by offering attractive wages to workers.
Executive development programmes are introduced for the benefit of higher-level
managers Similarly; future manpower requirement will be, met internally through HRD
programmes. It aims at educating and training employees for the improvement of overall performance of an organization. HRD (HumanResource Development) programmes are
for education, training and development of existing manpower in an organization. This is
for facing new problems and challenges likely to develop in the near future.
(3) Compensation payment to manpower employed: One function of HRM is to pay
compensation (in monetary form) to employees for the services rendered. For this, a fair
system of remuneration payment (wages and salaries) needs to be introduced.
Remuneration to employees should be attractive so that the labour force will be satisfied
and disputes, etc. will be minimized. Fair wage payment acts as a motivating factor.
(4) Integration of interests of manpower and the organization: Manpower is interested in
wage payment while organization is interested in higher profits, consumer loyalty, market
reputation and so on. HRM has to reconcile the interests of the individual members of the
organization with those of the organization.
(5) Maintenance of manpower: This manpower function relating to maintaining satisfied
manpower in the organization through the provision of welfare facilities. For this,
attention needs to be given to health and safety measures, maintenance of proper working
conditions at the work place, provision of welfare facilities and other non-monetary
1) What are the challenges facing HRM? / Explain the changing role of HRM?
The 1990s have brought a revolutionary change in our business. Post- liberalisation is
marked by a shift from command economy to market driven economy; from sheltered
market to competitive market; from monopoly to competition; and from domestic trade toglobal trade. Such a shift calls for a different approach to HR activities. During the pre-
economic liberalization, the HR managers had aopted a reactive strategies to people’s
problems. The need of the hour is proactive approach, a strategy which helps HR
managers foresee events and take appropriate actions before the events occur.
The major challenges are:
Globalisation
Globalisation is increasingly viewed as a growth strategy by several companies. Growing
internalisation of business has its impact on HRM functions. The HR department is
required to cope with the problems of unfamiliar laws, languages, practices,
competitions, attitudes, management styles, work ethics and more. HR managers are
required to know that international operations have:
More functions, such as taxation and co-ordination of departments.
More heterogenous functions, such as co-ordination of multiple salary currenciesMore involvement in the employee’s personal life, such as housing, health, education and
recreation.
HR functions such as planning, staffing, remuneration and the like, therefore, will be
affected by globalisation. Corporate Reorganisations
The past three to four years brought us news about corporate mergers, takeovers and
massive reorganizations to fend off hostile take-over bids. It is difficult to imagine
circumstances that pose a greater challenge for HRM than reorganization resulting from
acquisition, merger, divestiture or a take-over threat.
The reorganization will have impact on organizational levels and employees. The
employees of both the ‘taking over’ as well as the ‘taken over’ companies will haveanxious moments because of:
1. Fear of loss of jobs
2. Job changes, including new roles and assignments3. Transfers to new geographic location4. Changes in remuneration
5. Changes in career possibilities
6. Changes in organisational power, status, an prestige,7. Staff changes, including new peers, supervisors, and subordinates, and
8. Changes in corporate culture and loss of identity in the company.
There is little indication that the pace of mergers and acquisitions will slacken in the
future. But an important key to the success of almost any merger or acquisition is the
management of HR.
New organisational forms
The practice of HRM is shaped by the organisational forms in which people areemployed. But the employment potential of these giant corporations is declining. Large
production units have become increasingly a thing of the past, and large companies now
tend to consist of business units managed relatively independently.
The consequence has been a higher profile of medium size and small sized firms as
employers. A majority of the population are employed in units with fewer than 200
employees.
This trend affects HRM in various ways
Smaller firms and establishments means a more personalised style- not necessarily more
progressive, but more fsce-to –face.
Smaller units may require less complex and sophisticated systems of personnel
management, but may also be less able to sustain them in areas like management
development.
Smaller unit are less able to sustain a specialist personnel management function.
On the other hand, the business and human challenges of operating in this kind of
environment are becoming greater. The contribution of HRM will then be in facilitating
the processes, which support the development of the enterprise, rather than, as traditional
personnel management has one, in administering systems for controlling people.
The basic challenge to HRM an enterprise management comes from the changing
character of competition. Competition in many sectors is no longer between individual
firms, large or small, but between constellation of firms.
Changing demographics of workforce
The major challenge that has resulted from changing workforce demographics concerns
dual career couples, couples where both partners are actively pursuing professional
careers. Organizations have been accustomed to using job moves and physical relocationas an important means of developing talent. The increasing number of dual career
professionals limits individual flexibility in accepting such assignments.
Another change in the workforce demographics relates to the growing number of
employees who are young. Dormitories, gymnasium, breakfast, these are the kind of
facilities that need to be provided to the workforce which has more of young employees.
With changes in work-force demographics, employee expectations and attitudes also
have shifted. Traditional allurements such as job security, attractive
remuneration,housing and the like do not attract and motivate today’s workforce.
Employees demand empowerment and expect quality with the management. Previousnotions about managerial authority are giving way to employee influence and
involvement along with mechanisms for upward communication and due process.
Another expectation by the employee is that the electronic and telecommunication
revolution will improve the quality of work life. Innovations in communication and
computer technology will accelerate the pace of change, and as a result, lead to many
innovations in HRM. Also, today’s average worker demands better treatment,
challenging jobs and career advancement.
The HR manager must, therefore, redraw the profile of the worker and discover new
methods of hiring, training, remunerating and motivating employees.
Proactive industrial relations strategy
There is almost a metamorphosis at the industrial relations front. Strikes, lockouts and
loss of mandays are declining considerably. This transformation is the result of socio-
economic and political reasons.
The challenge to the labour movement comes not so much from any destructive potential
intrinsic in HRM but from its capacity to co-opt and integrate workers into the enterprise
by building a relationship with them.
Not having to compete with the management for worker’s loyalty, trade unions behave
towards their members exactly as any monopolistic organisation would. HRM comes as a
threat to this cosy arrangement, for management is not only seeking to get back to the
neglected employee, but doing so in an environment where there own unions had taken
them for granted.
The need now is to adopt a proactive strategy towards industrial relations, an approach
which should enable HR specialists to look into the challenges unfolding in the future and
to be prepared to convert them into opportunities.
Contribution to the success of the Organization
The biggest challenge to an HR manager is to make all employees contribute to the
success of the organization in an ethical and socially responsible way. The society’s well
being, to a large extent depends on its organisations, particularly business organisations.
It must be the endeavour of everybody to ensure success and stability of organizations.
Responsibility is more on the HR manager as it is he who co-ordinates people’s activities
and it is the people who make or mar organizations.
Need for attitudinal change in PSUs
While success of organizations in general is vital for society’s well being, public sector undertakings tell a different story. It may be asserted that although most PSUs are strong
in manpower, R&D, systems, manuals, principles, and procedures, they fail to use it and
incur losses.
Behind this phenomenon is the role of the personnel. Employees of loss making units
have wrong attitudes towards their work and their organizations. Consequences are low
productivity, absenteeism, militancy and other similar evils.
These issues must be addressed by the HR manager.
Renewed focus on people
The good news for HR managers is that there is renewed focus on people in
organizations. For too long, managers believed in structures, strategies and systems. But
over the last decade, technological, competitive and market changes have eroded its
effectiveness.
The top management must therefore nurture the ideas of the frontline engineers and sales
representatives, encourage interpersonal relationship and self monitoring and develop
personal communications with key people.
The role of HR manager in the unfolding scenario is clear. He or she must make the focuson people justifiable and sustainable.
Managing the mangers
Managing the managers is another challenge before the HR manager. Mangers believe
they are a class apart and expect remuneration which may be unreasonable and highly
expensive.
Managers instead of managing their allotted functions, assume the role of the employer and fire those whom they feel are too smart.
Yet, managers are the individuals who run the show and an organisation cannot do
without them Protect the interests of weaker sections
Another important challenge for HRM is to protect the interest of weaker sections of the
society. The dramatic increase of women, minorities and other backward communities in
the workforce has resulted in the need for organisations to re-examine their policies,
The role of HRM in formulating and implementing strategies is crucial. It is the people
who formulate and implement strategies and the people are supplied by HRM. Role in Strategy Formulation :
HRM is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may beuseful in strategy formulation. Details regarding advanced incentive plans used by
competitors, opinion survey data from employees that give information about customer
complaints and information about pending legislation like labour laws or mandatory
health insurance are some examples.
The strengths and weaknesses of a company’s human resources can have a
determining effect on the viability of a company’s strategic options. A company may
build its new strategy around a competitive advantage stemming from its human
resource.
Role in Strategy Implementation:
HRM supplies the company with a competent and willing workforce, which is
responsible for executing strategies. HRM supports strategy implementation in other
ways too. For example, human resource today is heavily involved in the execution of the
company’s downsizing and restructuring strategies, through out placing employees,
instituting performance-linked pay plans, reducing health-care costs and retraining
employees. And, in an increasingly competitive global market place, instituting HR
practices that build employee commitment can help improve an organisation’s
responsiveness.
A well-designed strategy can fail if sufficient attention is not paid to the HR dimension. HR problems that arise when executing strategies may be traced to one of
the following 3 causes:
a. Disruption of social and political structures
b. Failure to match individuals’ aptitudes with implementation tasks; and
c. Inadequate top-management support for implementation activities.
Strategic implementation poses a threat to many managers and employees in an
organisation. Guidelines which help ensure that human relationships facilitate but not
disrupt strategy implementation include open communication, co-opting as manymanagers and employees in the strategic management process and matching managers
with strategies through transfers, promotions, job enlargement and job enrichment.