lasoon
Ashish PIPARA
CHAPTER HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING/MANPOWER PLANNING
Def. of human resource planning Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
From human resource planning the organization identifies how many people it has currently and how many people will be required in future. Based on this information major human resource decisions are taken.
Process of HRP/MP//steps in HRP/MP
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
The process of HRP involves various steps they can be explained with the help of the following diagram.
Human resource planning
Personal requirement Forecast Personal supply forecast
Yes No
Requirement = supply
Personnel (100=125) Personnel (100=75)
Surplus Shortage
Layoff Overtime
Termination Recruitment/hiring
VRS Subcontracting
1. Personnel requirement forecast :-
This is the very first step in HRP process. Here the HRP department finds
out department wise requirements of people for the company. The requirement
consists of number of people required as well as qualification they must
posses.
2. Personnel supply forecast :-
In this step, HR department finds out how many people are actually available
in the departments of the company. The supply involves/includes number of
people along with their qualification.
3. Comparison:-
Based on the information collected in the 1st and 2nd step, the HR department
makes a comparison and finds out the difference. Two possibilities arise from
this comparison
a. No difference :-
It is possible that personnel requirement = personnel supplied. In this
case there is no difference. Hence no change is required.
b. Yes, there is a difference :-
There may be difference between supply and requirement. The
difference may be
i. Personnel surplus
ii. Personnel shortage
4. Personnel surplus :-
When the supply of personnel is more than the requirement, we have
personnel surplus. We require 100 people, but have 125 people. That is we
have a surplus of 25 people. Since extra employees increase expenditure of
company the company must try to remove excess staff by methods of
i. Layoff
ii. Termination
iii. VRS/CRS
5. Personnel shortage :-
When supply is less than the requirement, we have personnel shortage. We
require 100 people; we have only 75 i.e. we are short of 25 people. In such
case the HR department can adopt methods like Overtime, Recruitment, Sub-
contracting to obtain new employee
Advantages of HRP/need/importance/role/benefits
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
The process of HRP plays a very important role in the organization. The importance of HRP can be explained as follows.
1. Anticipating future requirement :-
Through this process of HRP, the company is able to find out how many
people will be required in future. Based on this requirement the company
could take further actions. This method also helps the company to identify the
number of jobs which will become vacant in the near future.
2. Recruitment and selection process :-
The recruitment and selection process is a very costly affair for a company.
Many companies spend lakhs of rupees on this process. Therefore recruitment
and selection must be carried out only if it is extremely necessary. HRP
process helps to identify whether recruitment and selection are necessary or
not.
3. Placement of personnel :-
Since the HRP process is conducted for the entire organization, we can
identify the requirements for each and every department. Based on the
requirement, we can identify existing employees and place them on those jobs
which are vacant.
4. Performance appraisal :-
HRP make performance appraisal more meaningful. Since feedback is
provided in performance appraisal and employee is informed about his future
chances in same company, the employee is motivated to work better.
Information for all this is collected from HRP process.
5. Promotion opportunity :-
HRP identifies vacancies in the entire organization including all the branches
of all the company. Therefore when the company implements promotion
policy it can undertake its activities in a very smooth manner.
Limitations of human resource planning
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
Although HRP is a very advantageous method it has some limitations which can be explained as follows
1. The future is uncertain :-
The future in any country is uncertain i.e. there are political, cultural,
technological changes taking place every day. This effects the employment
situation. Accordingly the company may have to appoint or remove people.
Therefore HRP can only be a guiding factor. We cannot rely too much on it
and do every action according to it.
2. Conservative attitude of top management :-
Much top management adopts a conservative attitude and is not ready to make changes. The process of HRP involves either appointing. Therefore it becomes very difficult to implement HRP in organization because top management does not support the decisions of other department.
3. Problem of surplus staff :-
HRP gives a clear out solution for excess staff i.e. Termination, layoff,
VRS,. However when certain employees are removed from company it mostly
affects the psyche of the existing employee, and they start feeling insecure,
stressed out and do not believe in the company. This is a limitation of HRP i.e.
it does not provide alternative solution like re-training so that employee need not be removed from the company.
4. Time consuming activity :-
HRP collects information from all departments, regarding demand and
supply of personnel. This information is collected in detail and each and every
job is considered. Therefore the activity takes up a lot of time.
5. Expensive process :-
The solution provided by process of HRP incurs expense E.g. VRS, overtime,
etc. company has to spend a lot of money in carrying out the activity. Hence
we can say the process is expensive.
Reasons for increased importance for HRP/Factors affecting HRP in the organization.
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
1. Employment :-
HRP is affected by the employment situation in the country i.e. in countries
where there is greater unemployment; there may be more pressure on the
company, from government to appoint more people. Similarly some company
may force shortage of skilled labour and they may have to appoint people
from other countries.
2. Technical changes in the society :-
Technology changes at a very fast speed and new people having the
required knowledge are required for the company. In some cases, company
may retain existing employees and teach them the new technology and in
some cases, the company have to remove existing people and appoint new
people.
3. Organizational changes :-
Changes take place within the organization from time to time i.e. the
company diversify into new products or close down business in some areas
etc. in such cases the HRP process i.e. appointing or removing people will
change according to situation.
4. Demographic changes :-
Demographic changes refer to things referring to age, population, composition
of work force etc. A number of people retire every year. A new batch of
graduates with specialization turns out every year. This can change the
appointment or the removal in the company.
5. Shortage of skill due to labour turnover :-
Industries having high labour turnover rate, the HRP will change constantly
i.e. many new appointments will take place. This also affects the way HRP
is implemented.
6. Multicultural workforce :-
Workers from different countries travel to other countries in search of job.
When a company plans its HRP it needs to take into account this factor also.
7. Pressure groups :-
Company has to keep in mind certain pleasure. Groups like human rights
activist, woman activist, media etc. as they are very capable for creating
problems for the company, when issues concerning these groups arise,
appointment or retrenchment becomes difficult.
Definition of VRS VRS refers to voluntary retirement scheme, when company faces the problem of surplus labour, they have to remove the extra workers. This needs to be done to avoid increase in cost. One of the methods used by the companies is the methods used by companies is the VRS scheme.Under this scheme people have put in 20 or more number of years of service are given an option to opt for early retirement benefits and some other amount which is due to them are paid when they leave the company.
CHAPTER : JOB ANALYSIS, JOB DESIGN, JOB EVALUATION
Define job analysis
A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It can be explained with the help of the following diagram
Job analysis
Job description Job specification
Job title/ name of the job Qualification
Working hours Qualities
Duties and responsibilities Experience
Working conditions Family background
Salary and incentives Training
Machines to be handled on the job Interpersonal skills
As mentioned in the above table job analysis is divided into 2 parts
a) Job description -where the details regarding the job are given.
b) Job specification -where we explain the qualities required by people applying for the job.
Need/importance/purpose/benefits of job analysis
Def: - A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
The following are the benefits of job analysis.
1. Organizational structure and design :-
Job analysis helps the organization to make suitable changes in the organizational structure, so that it matches the needs and requirements of the organization. Duties are either added or deleted from the job.
2. Recruitment and selection :-
Job analysis helps to plan for the future human resource. It helps to recruit and select the right kind of people. It provides information necessary to select the right person.
3. Performance appraisal and training/development :-
Based on the job requirements identified in the job analysis, the company decides a training program. Training is given in those areas which will help to improve the performance on the job. Similarly when appraisal is conducted we check whether the employee is able to work in a manner in which we require him to do the job.
4. Job evaluation :-
Job evaluation refers to studying in detail the job performance by all individual. The difficulty levels, skills required and on that basis the salary is fixed. Information regarding qualities required, skilled levels, difficulty levels are obtained from job analysis.
5. Promotions and transfer :-
When we give a promotion to an employee we need to promote him on the basis of the skill and talent required for the future job. Similarly when we transfer an employee to another branch the job must be very similar to what he has done before. To take these decisions we collect information from job analysis.
6. Career path planning :-
Many companies have not taken up career planning for their employees. This is done to prevent the employee from leaving the company. When we plan the future career of the employee, information will be collected from job analysis. Hence job analysis becomes important or advantageous.
7. Labour relations :-
When companies plan to add extra duties or delete certain duties from a job, they require the help of job analysis, when this activity is systematically done using job analysis the number of problems with union members reduce and labour relations improve.
8. Health and safety :-
Most companies prepare their own health and safety, plans and programs based on job analysis. From the job analysis company identifies the risk factor on the job and based on the risk factor safety equipments are provided.
9. Acceptance of job offer :-
When a person is given an offer/appointment letter the duties to be performed by him are clearly mentioned in it, this information is collected from job analysis, which is why job analysis becomes important.
Methods of job analysis
Def: - A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
There are different methods used by organization to collect information and conduct the job analysis. These methods are
1. Personal observation :-
In this method the observer actually observes the concerned worker. He makes a list of all the duties performed by the worker and the qualities required to perform those duties based on the information collected, job analysis is prepared.
2. Actual performance of the job :-
In this method the observer who is in charge of preparing the job analysis actually does the work himself. This gives him an idea of the skill required, the difficulty level of the job, the efforts required etc.
3. Interview method :-
In this method an interview of the employee is conducted. A group of experts conduct the interview. They ask questions about the job, skilled levels, and difficulty levels. They question and cross question and collect information and based on this information job analysis is prepared.
4. Critical incident method :-
In this method the employee is asked to write one or more critical incident that has taken place on the job. The incident will give an idea about the problem, how it was handled, qualities required and difficulty levels etc. critical incident method gives an idea about the job and its importance. (a critical means important and incident means anything which takes place in the job)
5. Questionnaire method :-
In this method a questionnaire is provided to the employee and they are asked to answer the questions in it. The questions may be multiple choice questions or open ended questions. The questions decide how exactly the job analysis will be done. The method is effective because people would think twice before putting anything in writing.
6. Log records :-
Companies can ask employees to maintain log records and job analysis can be
done on the basis of information collected from the log record. A log record is
a book in which employees record /write all the activities performed by them
on the job. The records are extensive as well as exhausted in nature and
provide a fair idea about the duties and responsibilities in any job.
7. HRD records :-
Records of every employee are maintained by HR department. The record contain details about educational qualification, name of the job, number of years of experience, duties handled, any mistakes committed in the past and actions taken, number of promotions received, area of work, core competency area, etc. based on these records job analysis can be done.
Job design
Definitions: - (2marks)
Job design is the process of
a) Deciding the contents of the job.
b) Deciding methods to carry out the job.
c) Deciding the relationship which exists in the organization.
Job analysis helps to develop job design and job design matches the requirements of the job with the human qualities required to do the job.
Factors affecting job design: - There are various factors which affect job design in the company. They can be explained with the help of diagram.
Factors affecting job design
Organizational factors Behavioral factors Environmental factors
Task characteristics Feed back Employee availability and ability
Process or flow of work Autonomy Social and cultural expectations
Ergonomics Variety
Work practices
I] Organizational factors :-
Organizational factors to refer to factors inside the organization which affect job design they are
a) Task characteristics :-
Task characteristics refer to features of the job that is depending on the type of job and the duties involved in it the organization will decide, how the job design must be done. Incase the company is not in a position to appoint many people; a single job may have many duties and vice versa.
b) The process or flow of work in the organization :-
There is a certain order in which jobs are performed in the company. Incase the company wishes it could combine similar job and give it to one person this can be done if all the jobs come one after the other in a sequence.
c) Ergonomics:-
Ergonomics refers to matching the job with physical ability and characteristics of the individual and in providing an office environment which will help the person to complete the jobs faster and in a comfortable manner.
d) Work practices :-
Every organization has different work practices. Although the job may be the same the method of doing the job differs from company to company. This is called work practice and it affects job design.
II] Environmental factors :-
Environmental factors which affect job design are as follows
a) Employee availability and ability :-
Certain countries face the problem of lack of skilled labour. They are not able to get employees with specific education levels for jobs and have to depend on other countries due to this job design gets affected.
b) Social and cultural expectations :-
The social and cultural conditions of every country is different so when an MNC appoints an Indian it has to take into account like festivals, auspicious time, inauspicious time, etc. to suit the Indian conditions. This applies to every country and therefore job design will change accordingly.
III] Behavioral factors :-
Job design is affected by behavioral factors also. These factors are
a) Feedback :-
Job design is normally prepared on the basis of job analysis and job analysis requires employee feedback based on this employee feedback all other activities take place. Many employees are however not interested in providing a true feedback because of fear and insecurity. This in turn affects job deign.
b) Autonomy :-
Every worker desires a certain level of freedom to his job effectively. This is called autonomy. Thus when we prepare a job design we must see to it that certain amount of autonomy is provided to the worker so that he carries his job effectively.
c) Variety :-
When the same job is repeated again and again it leads to burden and monotony. This leads to lack of interest and carelessness on the job. Therefore, while preparing job design certain amount of variety must be provided to keep the person interested in the job.
Methods of job design
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out .these methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job Rotation :-
Job rotation involves shifting a person from one job to another, so that he is able to understand and learn what each job involves. The company tracks his performance on every job and decides whether he can perform the job in an ideal manner. Based on this he is finally given a particular posting.
Job rotation is done to decide the final posting for the employee e.g. Mr. A is assigned to the marketing department whole he learns all the jobs to be performed for marketing at his level in the organization .after this he is shifted to the sales department and to the finance department and so on. He is finally placed in the department in which he shows the best performance
Job rotation gives an idea about the jobs to be performed at every level. Once a person is able to understand this he is in a better understanding of the working of organization
Advantages of job rotation
1. Avoids monopoly :-
Job rotation helps to avoid monopoly of job and enable the employee to learn
new things and therefore enjoy his job
2. Provides an opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge :-
Due to job rotation the person is able to learn different job in the organization
this broadens his knowledge.
3. Avoiding fraudulent practice :-
In an organization like bank jobs rotation is undertaken to prevent employees
from doing any kind of fraud i.e. if a person is handling a particular job for a
very long time he will be able to find loopholes in the system and use them for
his benefit and indulge ( participate ) in fraudulent practices job rotation
avoids this.
Disadvantages of Job Rotation
1. Frequent interruption :-
Job rotation results in frequent interruption of work .A person who is
doing a particular job and get it comfortable suddenly finds himself shifted to
another job or department .this interrupts the work in both the departments.
2. Reduces uniformity in quality :-
Quality of work done by a trained worker is different from that of a new
worker .when a new worker I shifted or rotated in the department, he takes
time to learn the new job, makes mistakes in the process and affects the
quality of the job.
3. Misunderstanding with the union member :-
Sometimes job rotation may lead to misunderstanding with members of the
union. The union might think that employees are being harassed and more
work is being taken from them. In reality this is not the case.
Job enlargement
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out .these methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job enlargement is another method of job design when any organization wishes to adopt proper job design it can opt for job enlargement. Job enlargement involves combining various activities at the same level in the organization and adding them to the existing job. It increases the scope of the job. It is also called the horizontal expansion of job activities.
Job enlargement can be explained with the help of the following example - If Mr. A is working as an executive with a company and is currently performing 3 activities on his job after job enlargement or through job enlargement we add 4 more activities to the existing job so now Mr. A performs 7 activities on the job.
It must be noted that the new activities which have been added should belong to the same hierarchy level in the organization. By job enlargement we provide a greater variety of activities to the individual so that we are in a position to increase the interest of the job and make maximum use of employee’s skill. Job enlargement is also essential when policies like VRS are implemented in the company.
Advantages of job enlargement
1. Variety of skills :-
Job enlargement helps the organization to improve and increase the skills of the employee due to organization as well as the individual benefit.
2. Improves earning capacity :-
Due to job enlargement the person learns many new activities. When such people apply foe jobs to other companies they can bargain for more salary.
3. Wide range of activities :-
Job enlargement provides wide range of activities for employees. Since a single employee handles multiple activities the company can try and reduce the number of employee’s. This reduces the salary bill for the company.
Disadvantages of job enlargement
1. Increases work burden :-
Job enlargement increases the work of the employee and not every company provides incentives and extra salary for extra work. Therefore the efforts of the individual may remain unrecognized.
2. Increasing frustration of the employee :-
In many cases employees end up being frustrated because increased activities do not result in increased salaries.
3. Problem with union members :-
Many union members may misunderstand job enlargement as exploitation of worker and may take objection to it.
Job enrichment
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out. These methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job enrichment is a term given by Fredric Herzberg. According to him a few motivators are added to a job to make it more rewarding, challenging and interesting. According to Herzberg the motivating factors enrich the job and improve performance. In other words we can say that job enrichment is a method of adding some motivating factors to an existing job to make it more interesting. The motivating factors can be
a) Giving more freedom.
b) Encouraging participation.
c) Giving employees the freedom to select the method of working.
d) Allowing employees to select the place at which they would like to
work.
e) Allowing workers to select the tools that they require on the job.
f) Allowing workers to decide the layout of plant or office.
Job enrichment gives lot of freedom to the employee but at the same time increases the responsibility. Some workers are power and responsibility hungry. Job enrichment satisfies the needs of the employees.
Advantages of job enrichment
1. Interesting and challenging job :-
When a certain amount of power is given to employees it makes the job more challenging for them, we can say that job enrichment is a method of employee empowerment.
2. Improves decision making :-
Through job enrichment we can improve the decision making ability of the employee by asking him to decide on factory layout, method and style of working.
3. Identifies future managerial caliber :-
When we provide decision making opportunities to employees, we can identify which employee is better that other in decision making and mark employees for future promotion.
4. Identifies higher order needs of employees :-
This method identifies higher order needs of the employee. Abraham
Maslow’s theory of motivation speaks of these higher order needs e.g. ego
and esteemed needs, self actualization etc. These needs can be achieved
through job enrichment.
5. Reduces work load of superiors :-
Job enrichment reduces the work load of senior staff. When decisions are
taken by juniors the seniors work load is reduced.
Disadvantages of job enrichment
1. Job enrichment is based on the assumptions that workers have complete knowledge to take decisions and they have the right attitude. In reality this might not be the case due to which there can be problems in working.
2. Job enrichment has negative implications ie. Along with usual work decision making work is also given to the employees and not many may be comfortable with this.
3. Superiors may feel that power is being taken away from them and given to the junior’s. This might lead to ego problems.
4. This method will only work in certain situations. Some jobs already give a lot of freedom and responsibility; this method will not work for such jobs.
5. Some people are internally dissatisfied with the organization. For such people no amount of job enrichment can solve the problem.
JOB EVALUATION
Defn : Job evaluation is defined as “ a procedure for determining the worth of the job and to determine the level of compensation for the job”
The objective of job evaluation is
1.to provide a standard procedure for fixing salary
job evaluation aims to provide a standard procedure for fixing salary of employees
doing a particular job and belonging to a particular level in the organization . This
is required so that the employee is remunerated according to his capabilities and
therefore feels satisfied on the job
2. to determine the rate of pay:
Job evaluation determines how much to pay the employee according to his efforts in
the organization . the rate of pay is decided by looking into various factors on the
job .
3. to ensure that wages and salaries are paid according to the qualification and work
Job evaluation recognizes the importance of qualification of the employee and the
efforts put in by him on the job and decides the salary based on these factors. This
ensures that the employees are judged on similar factors and there is no bias.
4. to decide salary using scientific methods of evaluation:
The job evaluation methods are scientific in nature, i.e they have been decided after
looking into the issues concerned with a scientific approach. Thus it is obvious that
the results too will be very much appropriate. Job evaluation is not based on
personal bias or personal choice.
5. Involves a fair study of the job factors to avoid ambiguity
Job evaluation studies the job factors in a fair and just manner so that ambiguity
can be avoided and the factors for judging the job are very clear and accurate. This
gives more credibility to the entire job evaluation process
Advantages of Job Evaluation
1. Job evaluation is a very logical method which uses common factors to decide the salary therefore there is no inequality
2. new jobs are adjusted in the existing structure. They are added to the old jobs and evaluated on the same factors
3. There is greater simplification and uniformity in Job evaluation
Disadvantages of Job evaluation
1. The job factors fluctuate and evaluation on these factors does not reflect the true value in future
2. Job evaluation creates doubts and fear in the minds of the employees. They feel that their efforts may not be evaluated properly
3. Job evaluation program/procedures takes a long time to be installed . It requires specialized study by technical personnel so that it is accurate . Any evaluation for namesake will not do.
Methods/Types of Job evaluation:
There are various types of Job evaluation. They can be shown with the help of the following diagram
JOB EVALUATION
Analytical methods non- analytical methods non- conventional methods
1. Point ranking mehtod 1. Ranking method
2. factor comparison 2. job grading method
method
I NON- ANALYTICAL METHODS
These methods do not use detailed job factors. Every job is determined as a whole in determining its relative ranking. This non-analytical methods includes two types
A] ranking method
B] job grading method
Ranking method : This is the most inexpensive and the simplest methods of evaluation . The evaluation committee assess the worth of each job on the basis of its title or its contents , if the contents are available. Each job is compared with others and its place is determined. The method has several drawbacks Job evaluation may be subjective as the jobs are not broken into factors. Its difficult to measure entire jobs.
Job-grading method: It is also called job classification method. Like the ranking method this method also does not call for a detailed or quantitative analysis of job factors. It is based on the entire job. The difference between the ranking method and this method is that this method uses job classes or grades to decide the salary. The number of grades is decided first and factors corresponding to the grades are decided later. Facts and information about the job are collected and matched with the grades.
The advantages are – it is simple and inexpensive, the companies where the number of jobs is small can use this method.
The disadvantages are – job description is not very clear, it becomes difficult to convince an employee as to why a particular job is put in a particular grade, the same schedule cannot be used for all jobs
II ANALYTICAL METHODS:
This includes the point ranking and the factor comparison method. These methods can be explained as follows:
A] Point ranking method: This method starts with the selection of job factors, construction of degrees for each factor and assignment of points to each degree. Different factors are selected for different jobs and every job has different degrees and different points
The advantages are
1. a job is split into a number of factors. The worth of each job is determined on the basis of each factor
2. The procedure adopted is systematic and can be easily explained to the employee
3. the method is simple to understand and easy to administer
Atleast two defects are noted in this method
1. Employees may not agree with the points allotted or the factors selected
2. serious doubts are expresses about the point system and how it is assigned to the factors
B] factor comparison method: This method is yet another approach to job evaluation. It is an analytical method. The method is started by selecting factors usually 5 factors are selected
i] mental requirement
ii] skill requirement
iii] physical exertion
iv] responsibility
v] job condition
These factors are assumed to be constant for all jobs. Each factor is ranked individually with the other jobs. For ex: A manager’s job will have more mental requirement than physical exertion. So mental requirements will have a higher rank.
The total point values are assigned to each factor. The worth of the job is obtained by adding together the point value.
The advantages of this method is that jobs which are different in nature are evaluated with the same set of factors but the method is complicated when applied on a large scale.
Def. of human resource planning Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
From human resource planning the organization identifies how many people it has currently and how many people will be required in future. Based on this information major human resource decisions are taken.
Process of HRP/MP//steps in HRP/MP
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
The process of HRP involves various steps they can be explained with the help of the following diagram.
Human resource planning
Personal requirement Forecast Personal supply forecast
Yes No
Requirement = supply
Personnel (100=125) Personnel (100=75)
Surplus Shortage
Layoff Overtime
Termination Recruitment/hiring
VRS Subcontracting
1. Personnel requirement forecast :-
This is the very first step in HRP process. Here the HRP department finds
out department wise requirements of people for the company. The requirement
consists of number of people required as well as qualification they must
posses.
2. Personnel supply forecast :-
In this step, HR department finds out how many people are actually available
in the departments of the company. The supply involves/includes number of
people along with their qualification.
3. Comparison:-
Based on the information collected in the 1st and 2nd step, the HR department
makes a comparison and finds out the difference. Two possibilities arise from
this comparison
a. No difference :-
It is possible that personnel requirement = personnel supplied. In this
case there is no difference. Hence no change is required.
b. Yes, there is a difference :-
There may be difference between supply and requirement. The
difference may be
i. Personnel surplus
ii. Personnel shortage
4. Personnel surplus :-
When the supply of personnel is more than the requirement, we have
personnel surplus. We require 100 people, but have 125 people. That is we
have a surplus of 25 people. Since extra employees increase expenditure of
company the company must try to remove excess staff by methods of
i. Layoff
ii. Termination
iii. VRS/CRS
5. Personnel shortage :-
When supply is less than the requirement, we have personnel shortage. We
require 100 people; we have only 75 i.e. we are short of 25 people. In such
case the HR department can adopt methods like Overtime, Recruitment, Sub-
contracting to obtain new employee
Advantages of HRP/need/importance/role/benefits
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
The process of HRP plays a very important role in the organization. The importance of HRP can be explained as follows.
1. Anticipating future requirement :-
Through this process of HRP, the company is able to find out how many
people will be required in future. Based on this requirement the company
could take further actions. This method also helps the company to identify the
number of jobs which will become vacant in the near future.
2. Recruitment and selection process :-
The recruitment and selection process is a very costly affair for a company.
Many companies spend lakhs of rupees on this process. Therefore recruitment
and selection must be carried out only if it is extremely necessary. HRP
process helps to identify whether recruitment and selection are necessary or
not.
3. Placement of personnel :-
Since the HRP process is conducted for the entire organization, we can
identify the requirements for each and every department. Based on the
requirement, we can identify existing employees and place them on those jobs
which are vacant.
4. Performance appraisal :-
HRP make performance appraisal more meaningful. Since feedback is
provided in performance appraisal and employee is informed about his future
chances in same company, the employee is motivated to work better.
Information for all this is collected from HRP process.
5. Promotion opportunity :-
HRP identifies vacancies in the entire organization including all the branches
of all the company. Therefore when the company implements promotion
policy it can undertake its activities in a very smooth manner.
Limitations of human resource planning
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
Although HRP is a very advantageous method it has some limitations which can be explained as follows
1. The future is uncertain :-
The future in any country is uncertain i.e. there are political, cultural,
technological changes taking place every day. This effects the employment
situation. Accordingly the company may have to appoint or remove people.
Therefore HRP can only be a guiding factor. We cannot rely too much on it
and do every action according to it.
2. Conservative attitude of top management :-
Much top management adopts a conservative attitude and is not ready to make changes. The process of HRP involves either appointing. Therefore it becomes very difficult to implement HRP in organization because top management does not support the decisions of other department.
3. Problem of surplus staff :-
HRP gives a clear out solution for excess staff i.e. Termination, layoff,
VRS,. However when certain employees are removed from company it mostly
affects the psyche of the existing employee, and they start feeling insecure,
stressed out and do not believe in the company. This is a limitation of HRP i.e.
it does not provide alternative solution like re-training so that employee need not be removed from the company.
4. Time consuming activity :-
HRP collects information from all departments, regarding demand and
supply of personnel. This information is collected in detail and each and every
job is considered. Therefore the activity takes up a lot of time.
5. Expensive process :-
The solution provided by process of HRP incurs expense E.g. VRS, overtime,
etc. company has to spend a lot of money in carrying out the activity. Hence
we can say the process is expensive.
Reasons for increased importance for HRP/Factors affecting HRP in the organization.
Human resource planning can be defined as the process of identifying the number of people required by an organization in terms of quantity and quality. All human resource management activities start with human resource planning. So we can say that human resource planning is the principle/primary activity of human resource management.
1. Employment :-
HRP is affected by the employment situation in the country i.e. in countries
where there is greater unemployment; there may be more pressure on the
company, from government to appoint more people. Similarly some company
may force shortage of skilled labour and they may have to appoint people
from other countries.
2. Technical changes in the society :-
Technology changes at a very fast speed and new people having the
required knowledge are required for the company. In some cases, company
may retain existing employees and teach them the new technology and in
some cases, the company have to remove existing people and appoint new
people.
3. Organizational changes :-
Changes take place within the organization from time to time i.e. the
company diversify into new products or close down business in some areas
etc. in such cases the HRP process i.e. appointing or removing people will
change according to situation.
4. Demographic changes :-
Demographic changes refer to things referring to age, population, composition
of work force etc. A number of people retire every year. A new batch of
graduates with specialization turns out every year. This can change the
appointment or the removal in the company.
5. Shortage of skill due to labour turnover :-
Industries having high labour turnover rate, the HRP will change constantly
i.e. many new appointments will take place. This also affects the way HRP
is implemented.
6. Multicultural workforce :-
Workers from different countries travel to other countries in search of job.
When a company plans its HRP it needs to take into account this factor also.
7. Pressure groups :-
Company has to keep in mind certain pleasure. Groups like human rights
activist, woman activist, media etc. as they are very capable for creating
problems for the company, when issues concerning these groups arise,
appointment or retrenchment becomes difficult.
Definition of VRS VRS refers to voluntary retirement scheme, when company faces the problem of surplus labour, they have to remove the extra workers. This needs to be done to avoid increase in cost. One of the methods used by the companies is the methods used by companies is the VRS scheme.Under this scheme people have put in 20 or more number of years of service are given an option to opt for early retirement benefits and some other amount which is due to them are paid when they leave the company.
CHAPTER : JOB ANALYSIS, JOB DESIGN, JOB EVALUATION
Define job analysis
A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It can be explained with the help of the following diagram
Job analysis
Job description Job specification
Job title/ name of the job Qualification
Working hours Qualities
Duties and responsibilities Experience
Working conditions Family background
Salary and incentives Training
Machines to be handled on the job Interpersonal skills
As mentioned in the above table job analysis is divided into 2 parts
a) Job description -where the details regarding the job are given.
b) Job specification -where we explain the qualities required by people applying for the job.
Need/importance/purpose/benefits of job analysis
Def: - A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
The following are the benefits of job analysis.
1. Organizational structure and design :-
Job analysis helps the organization to make suitable changes in the organizational structure, so that it matches the needs and requirements of the organization. Duties are either added or deleted from the job.
2. Recruitment and selection :-
Job analysis helps to plan for the future human resource. It helps to recruit and select the right kind of people. It provides information necessary to select the right person.
3. Performance appraisal and training/development :-
Based on the job requirements identified in the job analysis, the company decides a training program. Training is given in those areas which will help to improve the performance on the job. Similarly when appraisal is conducted we check whether the employee is able to work in a manner in which we require him to do the job.
4. Job evaluation :-
Job evaluation refers to studying in detail the job performance by all individual. The difficulty levels, skills required and on that basis the salary is fixed. Information regarding qualities required, skilled levels, difficulty levels are obtained from job analysis.
5. Promotions and transfer :-
When we give a promotion to an employee we need to promote him on the basis of the skill and talent required for the future job. Similarly when we transfer an employee to another branch the job must be very similar to what he has done before. To take these decisions we collect information from job analysis.
6. Career path planning :-
Many companies have not taken up career planning for their employees. This is done to prevent the employee from leaving the company. When we plan the future career of the employee, information will be collected from job analysis. Hence job analysis becomes important or advantageous.
7. Labour relations :-
When companies plan to add extra duties or delete certain duties from a job, they require the help of job analysis, when this activity is systematically done using job analysis the number of problems with union members reduce and labour relations improve.
8. Health and safety :-
Most companies prepare their own health and safety, plans and programs based on job analysis. From the job analysis company identifies the risk factor on the job and based on the risk factor safety equipments are provided.
9. Acceptance of job offer :-
When a person is given an offer/appointment letter the duties to be performed by him are clearly mentioned in it, this information is collected from job analysis, which is why job analysis becomes important.
Methods of job analysis
Def: - A job is defined as a collection of duties and responsibilities which are given together to an individual employee. Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
There are different methods used by organization to collect information and conduct the job analysis. These methods are
1. Personal observation :-
In this method the observer actually observes the concerned worker. He makes a list of all the duties performed by the worker and the qualities required to perform those duties based on the information collected, job analysis is prepared.
2. Actual performance of the job :-
In this method the observer who is in charge of preparing the job analysis actually does the work himself. This gives him an idea of the skill required, the difficulty level of the job, the efforts required etc.
3. Interview method :-
In this method an interview of the employee is conducted. A group of experts conduct the interview. They ask questions about the job, skilled levels, and difficulty levels. They question and cross question and collect information and based on this information job analysis is prepared.
4. Critical incident method :-
In this method the employee is asked to write one or more critical incident that has taken place on the job. The incident will give an idea about the problem, how it was handled, qualities required and difficulty levels etc. critical incident method gives an idea about the job and its importance. (a critical means important and incident means anything which takes place in the job)
5. Questionnaire method :-
In this method a questionnaire is provided to the employee and they are asked to answer the questions in it. The questions may be multiple choice questions or open ended questions. The questions decide how exactly the job analysis will be done. The method is effective because people would think twice before putting anything in writing.
6. Log records :-
Companies can ask employees to maintain log records and job analysis can be
done on the basis of information collected from the log record. A log record is
a book in which employees record /write all the activities performed by them
on the job. The records are extensive as well as exhausted in nature and
provide a fair idea about the duties and responsibilities in any job.
7. HRD records :-
Records of every employee are maintained by HR department. The record contain details about educational qualification, name of the job, number of years of experience, duties handled, any mistakes committed in the past and actions taken, number of promotions received, area of work, core competency area, etc. based on these records job analysis can be done.
Job design
Definitions: - (2marks)
Job design is the process of
a) Deciding the contents of the job.
b) Deciding methods to carry out the job.
c) Deciding the relationship which exists in the organization.
Job analysis helps to develop job design and job design matches the requirements of the job with the human qualities required to do the job.
Factors affecting job design: - There are various factors which affect job design in the company. They can be explained with the help of diagram.
Factors affecting job design
Organizational factors Behavioral factors Environmental factors
Task characteristics Feed back Employee availability and ability
Process or flow of work Autonomy Social and cultural expectations
Ergonomics Variety
Work practices
I] Organizational factors :-
Organizational factors to refer to factors inside the organization which affect job design they are
a) Task characteristics :-
Task characteristics refer to features of the job that is depending on the type of job and the duties involved in it the organization will decide, how the job design must be done. Incase the company is not in a position to appoint many people; a single job may have many duties and vice versa.
b) The process or flow of work in the organization :-
There is a certain order in which jobs are performed in the company. Incase the company wishes it could combine similar job and give it to one person this can be done if all the jobs come one after the other in a sequence.
c) Ergonomics:-
Ergonomics refers to matching the job with physical ability and characteristics of the individual and in providing an office environment which will help the person to complete the jobs faster and in a comfortable manner.
d) Work practices :-
Every organization has different work practices. Although the job may be the same the method of doing the job differs from company to company. This is called work practice and it affects job design.
II] Environmental factors :-
Environmental factors which affect job design are as follows
a) Employee availability and ability :-
Certain countries face the problem of lack of skilled labour. They are not able to get employees with specific education levels for jobs and have to depend on other countries due to this job design gets affected.
b) Social and cultural expectations :-
The social and cultural conditions of every country is different so when an MNC appoints an Indian it has to take into account like festivals, auspicious time, inauspicious time, etc. to suit the Indian conditions. This applies to every country and therefore job design will change accordingly.
III] Behavioral factors :-
Job design is affected by behavioral factors also. These factors are
a) Feedback :-
Job design is normally prepared on the basis of job analysis and job analysis requires employee feedback based on this employee feedback all other activities take place. Many employees are however not interested in providing a true feedback because of fear and insecurity. This in turn affects job deign.
b) Autonomy :-
Every worker desires a certain level of freedom to his job effectively. This is called autonomy. Thus when we prepare a job design we must see to it that certain amount of autonomy is provided to the worker so that he carries his job effectively.
c) Variety :-
When the same job is repeated again and again it leads to burden and monotony. This leads to lack of interest and carelessness on the job. Therefore, while preparing job design certain amount of variety must be provided to keep the person interested in the job.
Methods of job design
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out .these methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job Rotation :-
Job rotation involves shifting a person from one job to another, so that he is able to understand and learn what each job involves. The company tracks his performance on every job and decides whether he can perform the job in an ideal manner. Based on this he is finally given a particular posting.
Job rotation is done to decide the final posting for the employee e.g. Mr. A is assigned to the marketing department whole he learns all the jobs to be performed for marketing at his level in the organization .after this he is shifted to the sales department and to the finance department and so on. He is finally placed in the department in which he shows the best performance
Job rotation gives an idea about the jobs to be performed at every level. Once a person is able to understand this he is in a better understanding of the working of organization
Advantages of job rotation
1. Avoids monopoly :-
Job rotation helps to avoid monopoly of job and enable the employee to learn
new things and therefore enjoy his job
2. Provides an opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge :-
Due to job rotation the person is able to learn different job in the organization
this broadens his knowledge.
3. Avoiding fraudulent practice :-
In an organization like bank jobs rotation is undertaken to prevent employees
from doing any kind of fraud i.e. if a person is handling a particular job for a
very long time he will be able to find loopholes in the system and use them for
his benefit and indulge ( participate ) in fraudulent practices job rotation
avoids this.
Disadvantages of Job Rotation
1. Frequent interruption :-
Job rotation results in frequent interruption of work .A person who is
doing a particular job and get it comfortable suddenly finds himself shifted to
another job or department .this interrupts the work in both the departments.
2. Reduces uniformity in quality :-
Quality of work done by a trained worker is different from that of a new
worker .when a new worker I shifted or rotated in the department, he takes
time to learn the new job, makes mistakes in the process and affects the
quality of the job.
3. Misunderstanding with the union member :-
Sometimes job rotation may lead to misunderstanding with members of the
union. The union might think that employees are being harassed and more
work is being taken from them. In reality this is not the case.
Job enlargement
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out .these methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job enlargement is another method of job design when any organization wishes to adopt proper job design it can opt for job enlargement. Job enlargement involves combining various activities at the same level in the organization and adding them to the existing job. It increases the scope of the job. It is also called the horizontal expansion of job activities.
Job enlargement can be explained with the help of the following example - If Mr. A is working as an executive with a company and is currently performing 3 activities on his job after job enlargement or through job enlargement we add 4 more activities to the existing job so now Mr. A performs 7 activities on the job.
It must be noted that the new activities which have been added should belong to the same hierarchy level in the organization. By job enlargement we provide a greater variety of activities to the individual so that we are in a position to increase the interest of the job and make maximum use of employee’s skill. Job enlargement is also essential when policies like VRS are implemented in the company.
Advantages of job enlargement
1. Variety of skills :-
Job enlargement helps the organization to improve and increase the skills of the employee due to organization as well as the individual benefit.
2. Improves earning capacity :-
Due to job enlargement the person learns many new activities. When such people apply foe jobs to other companies they can bargain for more salary.
3. Wide range of activities :-
Job enlargement provides wide range of activities for employees. Since a single employee handles multiple activities the company can try and reduce the number of employee’s. This reduces the salary bill for the company.
Disadvantages of job enlargement
1. Increases work burden :-
Job enlargement increases the work of the employee and not every company provides incentives and extra salary for extra work. Therefore the efforts of the individual may remain unrecognized.
2. Increasing frustration of the employee :-
In many cases employees end up being frustrated because increased activities do not result in increased salaries.
3. Problem with union members :-
Many union members may misunderstand job enlargement as exploitation of worker and may take objection to it.
Job enrichment
There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out. These methods are as follows
I. Job rotation
II. Job enlargement
III. Job enrichment
Job enrichment is a term given by Fredric Herzberg. According to him a few motivators are added to a job to make it more rewarding, challenging and interesting. According to Herzberg the motivating factors enrich the job and improve performance. In other words we can say that job enrichment is a method of adding some motivating factors to an existing job to make it more interesting. The motivating factors can be
a) Giving more freedom.
b) Encouraging participation.
c) Giving employees the freedom to select the method of working.
d) Allowing employees to select the place at which they would like to
work.
e) Allowing workers to select the tools that they require on the job.
f) Allowing workers to decide the layout of plant or office.
Job enrichment gives lot of freedom to the employee but at the same time increases the responsibility. Some workers are power and responsibility hungry. Job enrichment satisfies the needs of the employees.
Advantages of job enrichment
1. Interesting and challenging job :-
When a certain amount of power is given to employees it makes the job more challenging for them, we can say that job enrichment is a method of employee empowerment.
2. Improves decision making :-
Through job enrichment we can improve the decision making ability of the employee by asking him to decide on factory layout, method and style of working.
3. Identifies future managerial caliber :-
When we provide decision making opportunities to employees, we can identify which employee is better that other in decision making and mark employees for future promotion.
4. Identifies higher order needs of employees :-
This method identifies higher order needs of the employee. Abraham
Maslow’s theory of motivation speaks of these higher order needs e.g. ego
and esteemed needs, self actualization etc. These needs can be achieved
through job enrichment.
5. Reduces work load of superiors :-
Job enrichment reduces the work load of senior staff. When decisions are
taken by juniors the seniors work load is reduced.
Disadvantages of job enrichment
1. Job enrichment is based on the assumptions that workers have complete knowledge to take decisions and they have the right attitude. In reality this might not be the case due to which there can be problems in working.
2. Job enrichment has negative implications ie. Along with usual work decision making work is also given to the employees and not many may be comfortable with this.
3. Superiors may feel that power is being taken away from them and given to the junior’s. This might lead to ego problems.
4. This method will only work in certain situations. Some jobs already give a lot of freedom and responsibility; this method will not work for such jobs.
5. Some people are internally dissatisfied with the organization. For such people no amount of job enrichment can solve the problem.
JOB EVALUATION
Defn : Job evaluation is defined as “ a procedure for determining the worth of the job and to determine the level of compensation for the job”
The objective of job evaluation is
1.to provide a standard procedure for fixing salary
job evaluation aims to provide a standard procedure for fixing salary of employees
doing a particular job and belonging to a particular level in the organization . This
is required so that the employee is remunerated according to his capabilities and
therefore feels satisfied on the job
2. to determine the rate of pay:
Job evaluation determines how much to pay the employee according to his efforts in
the organization . the rate of pay is decided by looking into various factors on the
job .
3. to ensure that wages and salaries are paid according to the qualification and work
Job evaluation recognizes the importance of qualification of the employee and the
efforts put in by him on the job and decides the salary based on these factors. This
ensures that the employees are judged on similar factors and there is no bias.
4. to decide salary using scientific methods of evaluation:
The job evaluation methods are scientific in nature, i.e they have been decided after
looking into the issues concerned with a scientific approach. Thus it is obvious that
the results too will be very much appropriate. Job evaluation is not based on
personal bias or personal choice.
5. Involves a fair study of the job factors to avoid ambiguity
Job evaluation studies the job factors in a fair and just manner so that ambiguity
can be avoided and the factors for judging the job are very clear and accurate. This
gives more credibility to the entire job evaluation process
Advantages of Job Evaluation
1. Job evaluation is a very logical method which uses common factors to decide the salary therefore there is no inequality
2. new jobs are adjusted in the existing structure. They are added to the old jobs and evaluated on the same factors
3. There is greater simplification and uniformity in Job evaluation
Disadvantages of Job evaluation
1. The job factors fluctuate and evaluation on these factors does not reflect the true value in future
2. Job evaluation creates doubts and fear in the minds of the employees. They feel that their efforts may not be evaluated properly
3. Job evaluation program/procedures takes a long time to be installed . It requires specialized study by technical personnel so that it is accurate . Any evaluation for namesake will not do.
Methods/Types of Job evaluation:
There are various types of Job evaluation. They can be shown with the help of the following diagram
JOB EVALUATION
Analytical methods non- analytical methods non- conventional methods
1. Point ranking mehtod 1. Ranking method
2. factor comparison 2. job grading method
method
I NON- ANALYTICAL METHODS
These methods do not use detailed job factors. Every job is determined as a whole in determining its relative ranking. This non-analytical methods includes two types
A] ranking method
B] job grading method
Ranking method : This is the most inexpensive and the simplest methods of evaluation . The evaluation committee assess the worth of each job on the basis of its title or its contents , if the contents are available. Each job is compared with others and its place is determined. The method has several drawbacks Job evaluation may be subjective as the jobs are not broken into factors. Its difficult to measure entire jobs.
Job-grading method: It is also called job classification method. Like the ranking method this method also does not call for a detailed or quantitative analysis of job factors. It is based on the entire job. The difference between the ranking method and this method is that this method uses job classes or grades to decide the salary. The number of grades is decided first and factors corresponding to the grades are decided later. Facts and information about the job are collected and matched with the grades.
The advantages are – it is simple and inexpensive, the companies where the number of jobs is small can use this method.
The disadvantages are – job description is not very clear, it becomes difficult to convince an employee as to why a particular job is put in a particular grade, the same schedule cannot be used for all jobs
II ANALYTICAL METHODS:
This includes the point ranking and the factor comparison method. These methods can be explained as follows:
A] Point ranking method: This method starts with the selection of job factors, construction of degrees for each factor and assignment of points to each degree. Different factors are selected for different jobs and every job has different degrees and different points
The advantages are
1. a job is split into a number of factors. The worth of each job is determined on the basis of each factor
2. The procedure adopted is systematic and can be easily explained to the employee
3. the method is simple to understand and easy to administer
Atleast two defects are noted in this method
1. Employees may not agree with the points allotted or the factors selected
2. serious doubts are expresses about the point system and how it is assigned to the factors
B] factor comparison method: This method is yet another approach to job evaluation. It is an analytical method. The method is started by selecting factors usually 5 factors are selected
i] mental requirement
ii] skill requirement
iii] physical exertion
iv] responsibility
v] job condition
These factors are assumed to be constant for all jobs. Each factor is ranked individually with the other jobs. For ex: A manager’s job will have more mental requirement than physical exertion. So mental requirements will have a higher rank.
The total point values are assigned to each factor. The worth of the job is obtained by adding together the point value.
The advantages of this method is that jobs which are different in nature are evaluated with the same set of factors but the method is complicated when applied on a large scale.