OBHRM Assignment 30 marks

Question No 1. Explain what is Organisational Behaviour and state why it is

importance to study Organisational Behaviour? (15 marks)

Question No 2. What are the various challenges faced by H R Managers in

managing employees in today’s Industrial Organisation (15 marks )

What Is Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior has included two terms in it. Therefore, these two terms
should be detailed first before diving into the title in question.

→ Organization: It is a group of people who are collected to work for a common

goal with collective efforts. Organization works through two concepts i.e
coordination and delegation among its group members. Delegation is necessary to
allocate group members with equal work according to their capability, and
coordination is required to achieve organizational goal with precision.

→ Behavior: It is a verbal or physical response shown by a person as a consequence

of the impact of his/her surroundings. Individual Behavior varies in accordance with
their mental reactivity to particular circumstances because of their deeply imbibed
morals and value system.

→ Organizational Behavior: Organizational Behavior is the observation of

individual and/or group Behavior in response to the other individuals or group as a
whole. It studies Behavior of people or group to know their attitude towards
particular circumstances.

∗ Fundamental Aspects Of Organizational Behavior: There are various

aspects of Organizational Behavior which it has to deal with, to know the soul of
particular Organization. Below mentioned are some of the fundamental aspects of
Organizational Behavior-
1) People: This element is the soul of the Organization because people work to
achieve the target of Organization and Organization works to fulfill the needs of
individual or group of individuals. The word ‘people’ can be anyone who is working
inside the Organization, like employees or any external person like supplier,
customer, auditor, or any government official.

2) Structure: It is the body of the Organization which is to be taken care of to bring

coordination between different levels of Organization, because Organization does not
work aloof and is dependent on people which again work on the concept of division
of labor. So, there is always a hierarchy in Organization which if not properly dealt
with can mess the system because of nil scrutiny and flow of control.

Sponsored

3) Technology: Organizations work on technologies to help people in efficiently

doing their work. Same technology does not apply to each Organization but different
Organizations demand different technologies for their different line of businesses e.g
bank needs mediating technology which connects customers and bankers,
Manufacturing companies need long linked technology because of their assembly line
process, and hospitals work on intensive technology because of their responsibility to
provide specialized services in terms of doctors and medical equipments.

4) Environment: Organizations are influenced by the environment in which they

work, at a substantial level. Environment is important to Organizations because of
the following factors:

# Supply and demand comes from this environment.

# Human resource, competitors, government agencies, unions, and political parties

comes from environment in which Organization is surviving.

# The Organizations have to follow rules and regulations fostered by this

environment.
 Importance of Organizational
Behavior:
1. It builds better relationship by achieving people’s, organizational, and social
objectives.
2. It covers a wide array of human resource like behavior, training and
development, change management, leadership, teams etc.
3. It brings coordination which is the essence of management.
4. It improves goodwill of the organization.
5. It helps to achieve objectives quickly.
6. It makes optimum utilization of resources.
7. It facilitates motivation.
8. It leads to higher efficiency.
9. It improves relations in the organization.
10. It is multidisciplinary, in the sense that applies different techniques, methods,
and theories to evaluate the performances.

Limitations of Organizational
Behavior:
1. Behavioral bias: It further causes dependence, dis-contentment,
indiscipline, and irresponsibility.
2. Law of diminishing returns: It says that beyond a certain point, there is a
decline in output even after each additional good or positive factor.
3. Unethical practices and manipulation of people: Knowledge of
motivation and communication acquired can be used to exploit subordinates
in an Organization by the manipulative managers.

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organizational behavior.
Organizational behavior deals with the study of human behavior within groups or organizations and how
this behavior can be modeled through analysis to impact the organizations in a positive way.

An organization in itself is composed of a group of people working individually or often within teams. The
disposition of people towards each other in an organization remains the contributing factor towards
shaping the organization. Organizational Behavior is an interdisciplinary field, in that it draws greatly from
other subjects such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science and economics, to mention a
few.

The success of an organization is largely dependent on effective management of its people. Behavior
of people within an organization is governed by their ideas, feelings and activities. For
effective management of people, it is crucial to perceive their requirements. However, since human
behavior can differ with each individual, it becomes almost impossible to come with a unique solution to
the organizational problems. For this reason, it is important to consider psychological and social aspects
to design solutions focused on solving organizational issues.

The behavior of individuals within an organization can either defile the organization or aid in its
overall improvement. For instance, certain employees may be compassionate and helpful towards their co-
workers which helps to create a supportive work culture. This selfless attitude can be a result of
the employee’s faith in the management and their satisfaction and commitment towards the organization.

However, an employee who no longer trusts the management or is left unsatisfied at the work front, may
show antisocial behavior which can be harmful for the organization. Organizational culture is defined by
the company parameters such as values, beliefs, norms and principles, visions, and behavioral expectations
among many other things. Behavior of employees is highly impacted by work culture, as such it can affect
them either positively or negatively.

A pro-social and supportive culture at work can be a major influence and also encourage and build an
environment of selflessness. When people are encouraged, they feel more confident towards contributing
ideas that might eventually benefit the organization. On the contrary, employees are more likely to hold up
or not suggest any ideas at all if they feel they are going to face criticism or embarrassment.
Generally, employees gain an understanding of the company’s culture through socializing with other
people.
In order to solve the organizational problems, it is necessary to first understand the reason for
its occurrence. If the problems faced are due to damaging organizational behavior, it becomes crucial
to recognize the purpose behind such a behavior. Only then can measures be taken to counter it and
guide the organization in a progressive direction. Incorporation of new and encouraging behaviors in
the company culture might prove rewarding to the employees and as such profit the company as a whole.

There are many factors that promote constructive organizational behavior, such as accomplishments, self-
actualization, encouragement, affiliation etc. Management should try to figure out the driving force that
stimulates such a behavior and try to integrate more such factors in the work culture.

This can be in the form of promotions, new incentives, plans or rewards. It does not make sense to hire
capable people and expect complete dedication in the absence of pro-social and rewarding company
culture. In fact, people are more likely to lose interest in their work if they don’t feel recognized and
rewarded.

Organizational Behavior is a social science as it is mostly concerned with people and behavior. It
takes into account individual and group behavior and the factors that impact these behaviors. It is
necessary to first understand the behavior of people constituting the organization in order to figure out how
these work. The first and foremost importance of organizational behavior lies in understanding
human behavior.

If the management can interpret properly the human needs within an organization, it can work towards
fulfilling those needs and also chalk out new plans and incentives to satisfy the employees and boost them.
In addition, the management has to understand also the reason for problematic behavior within
organizations and take measures to eliminate the causes.

Influencing human behavior is another important aspect of studying organizational behavior. It helps
the management to assess the reaction of employees beforehand, prior to making any changes in policies
or schemes.

This way the management can come up with ways to alleviate any conflicts that may arise as a result of the
change. Also, certain measures such as perks, promotions etc., can help in creating a content workplace
which directly impacts employee performance in a positive way. As a whole, the organization gains hugely
through analyzing and understanding organization behavior.

According to (Robins & Judge, 10th, p.2), Organizational Behavior studies the
influence and impact that individuals, groups, and organizational structure have on
behavior within organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward
improving an organization’s effectiveness.
In the business world today, Organizational Behavior is an essential tool for
managing effective teams and it helps to understand and predict human behavior in
an organization. It studies on how organizations can be structures more accurately,
and how several events in their outside situations effect organizations. It has become
more significant today than in previous years because organizations must master to
adapt to the rapidly changing business cultures that have stemmed from a
competitive market.

In order to know how to handle a new workforce, and cope with the challenges of
the new environment, the employers need to deliver their message about behavior
and attitude of groups, and individuals in corporation. According to Graham and
Krueger (1996), soft skills were never a part of management training and it was
precious that employers were advised for possessing those skills. If employer can
understands on an employee’s adaptability, personality, and creativity, motivating
that employee the way he need to be motivated is never a gray area and a
guaranteed success.

Question (A): Why it is important to

study Organizational Behavior?
The study of organizational behavior is one of the most significant elements in the
management sciences, as it makes management learn from what has succeeded
elsewhere. Generally, financial strength is a measure of the organizations past
success. What determines whether the organization will continue to deliver sought-
after products, will continue to develop cutting edge technology, will continue to
make the right options about which direction the market is going to go, will continue
to make sound investments, is the people and the organizational culture and
structure.

According to Casey Reader (2010), different organizational structures will show

different types of organizations that each has strengths and weaknesses. There are
four main elements which are Motivation, Culture, Change, and System. According to
Motivation, it draws that individual behave differently when they are in groups. Major
of the study of organizational behavior has aimed on how best to motivate group of
individuals. Professionals have figure that it often doesn’t matter exactly what you
do, but merely that employees are aware of your efforts to motivate. Based on
Culture, when individual communicate with one another over an extended period of
time they intentionally to deliver a selective culture that determines how tasks get
completed and common attitudes. Organizational theorists tend to practice this
culture and how it influences behavior. Strong cultures align with the overall goals of
an organization, such as having an emphasis on innovation. On the other hand, weak
cultures degrade from business goals, and cause conflicts, such as overemphasizing
bureaucratic rule-following. Today, Motivation and Culture are important to practice
with Organizational Behavior because major organizations are encouraging team
approach to solve difficulties. Today’s post-industrial hi-tech organization requires
knowledge intensive work environment and demands creativity from its own
employees. Employers gave awareness to Organizational Behavior or soft skill
training. The industrial revolution created the wants for hard skills. Employees who
work in production line and were not required thinking or communicating to each
other. But now, instead of standing behind the production line, employees need to
sit in front of a computer, and control machine equipment who works in the
production line. Now, employees are not only required to learn new technical skills
but also how to communicate, negotiate, decentralize, and motivate within each
other.

Based on (Morgan, 1997: 5), we have to accept that any theory or perspective that we
bring to the study of organization and management, while capable of creating
valuable insights, is also incomplete, biased, and potentially misleading.
Organizational behavior shows the important key points as Regulatory, and Radical.
Basically, Regulatory helps to draw what goes on in organizations, possibly to
present minor changes that might improve them, but not to make any basic
judgment about whether what happens is correct or incorrect. Radical tends to make
judgments about the way that organizations ought to be and provide
recommendations on how this could be accomplished. Traditional organization used
to practice Regulatory while new modern organization tends to act Radical. To well
organize in budget controlling, new modern organization in today doesn’t willing to
give a long time for bank credit card’s salesperson to hit their sales target. New
modern organizations urge to get the results from salesperson whereas the
salesperson should hit their monthly sales on time and accurately, if the salesperson
failed to hit the target continuously in few months, employers reserved the rights to
terminate the employee. Conversely, traditional organizations used to act Regulatory
whereas Hire and Fire policy will never be the options for a traditional organization
to behave. Employers are patient enough and they’re willing to spend times to
educate, guide, and monitor an employee’s performance.

Based on (Taylor, 1911: Fayol, 1949), the orthodox view in organization theory has
been based predominantly on the metaphors of machine and organism. The
metaphor of a machine underwrites the work of the classical management theorists.
According to Figure 1, it draws the three concepts for understanding the nature and
organization of social science, which is Paradigms, Metaphors, and Puzzle Solving.
Metaphor plays an important role in organization behavior. Metaphor is frequently
regarded as no more than a literary and descriptive device for embellishment, but
more fundamentally is a creative form which generates its effect though a crossing of
images.
Based on Figure 2, by Burrell and Morgan (1979), functionalist paradigm, which is
also named as objective-regulation, is the first paradigm for organizational study. It’s
also a strong outline for the study of organizations and assume that rational human
actions and believes one can be understand through the hypothesis testing. Due to
the problem-solving orientation which is leads to rational explanation. It seeks to
provide rational explanations of human affairs and it’s pragmatic and deeply rotten
in sociological positivism. Relationships are concrete and can be identified studied
and measured via science. Functionalist paradigm is based on upon the assumption
that society has a concrete, real existence, and a systemic character oriented to
produce an ordered and regulated state of affairs, it encourages an approach to
social theory that focuses upon understanding the role of human begins in society.
Behavior is always seen as being contextually bound in a real world of concrete and
tangible social relationships. The functionalist perspective is primarily regulative and
pragmatic in its basic orientation, concerned with understanding community in a way
which arise useful empirical knowledge.

According to Figure 2, by Burrell and Morgan (1979), interpretative paradigm, which

is also called as subjective-regulation, is the paradigm whether organizations exist in
any real sense beyond the conceptions of social actors, so understanding must be
based on the experience of people who work in them. Basically, individuals seek to
explain the stability of behavior from the selective viewpoint. Interpretative also
explain the behavior from the individual’s viewpoint. It emphasized the spiritual
nature of the world. The interpretative social theorist tends to understand the
process through which shared multiples realities arise, are sustained and changed.
Like the functionalist, the interpretative approach is based on the assumption and
belief that there is an underlying pattern and order within the social world. However,
the interpretative theorist looks the functionalist’s attempt to institute an objective
social science as an unattainable end.

Question (B): How this learning may be

useful to you in the future?
According to (Krech, Cruthfield and Ballachey, 1962), leadership draws as a
personality trait. Leadership has traditionally been seen as a distinctly interpersonal
phenomenon demonstrated in the interactions between leaders and subordinates.
The differential characteristics and career experiences likely to influence the
development of these selected skills also are considered along with the implications
of these observations for leadership theory and for the career development of
organizational leaders. Due to (Jeroen P.J. de Jong, and Deanne N. Den Hartog,
1990), the leadership abstract’s purpose is to provide an inventory of leader
behaviors likely to enhance employee’s innovative behavior, and including idea
generation and application behavior. In order to be most effective, leaders in an
organization must have a clear vision and understanding of the organizational
structure. With the well observation of Organizational Behavior, individuals can built
a good and high quality of leadership throughout this selected observation.
Individuals able to own a good personality traits, and known well with the own roles
and responsibilities of a leader.

Human beings encourage seeking satisfaction in every phase of their life. From
satisfying their basic primal needs and wants, which is hunger, thirst, rest and social
interaction, the complex community today has its benchmark of goals and fulfillment
that should be accomplished by individuals. This selective set of fulfillment and goals
encloses securing a good job, preferably with a good pay and hopefully, with a high
level of job satisfaction. There is no fixed and formal guideline on how to overcome
challenges at work into a motivation for individuals to reach job satisfaction, so that
with the good practicing of Organizational Behavior, individuals are able to well
handle the task pressure, and overcome the variety of challenges. Due to the
research and learning of Organizational Behavior, individuals will be able to present
and well-practiced a positive working attitude towards his own task and job
responsibilities. This selected learning of Organizational Behavior helps individual to
create self-awareness all the times. Individuals will be able to draw and execute his
own action plan, and well known the current position of him, and be aware of where
is the next position he is going to reach.

CONCLUSION
Organizational Behavior is the application of knowledge about how peoples,
individuals, and groups act and react in an organization, in order to reach and
accomplish the highest quality of performances, and dominant results. One way for
an organization to become more innovative is to capitalize on its own employee’s to
innovate. All organizations and groups experience the direct relationship between
job satisfaction, and performance. In order to maximize the performance of those
within a system, it is significant important to develop an optimal interpersonal
chemistry. There is more evidence that the teaching and implementation of soft skills
should get higher emphasis in education and organization training process, but it
should only complement hard skills, not substitute for it.

Organisational behaviour refers to the study of individual, group performance, and activity within
an organisation. It is an attempt to create the business organisation in a creative manner. It helps
to provide an understanding to examine the factors that are necessary to create an effective
organisation.

Importance of Organisational
Behaviour
It is very important to study the Organisational behaviour. It gives the direction to an organisation
and also helps to understand the organizational life. Let’s discuss the importance of
Organisational behaviour:

skill development

Helps to develop the skills of the employees and gain of knowledge to enhance the performance
of the employees. Employees should remain up to date with new technology and use existing
one in a better way. Training also improves the required skills of the employees and teach them
to perform the tasks independently.

Understanding customer behaviour

The behaviour of the customer helps the organisation to decide what products and services to be
offered. When an organisation builds a strong connection with the customer, an organisation will
get an idea about the customer needs. For understanding the customer behaviour the
organisation must conduct surveys and one on one interviews.

Employee Motivation

Motivating your employees is not a big task. In fact, itschedule to have a conversation with them.
It is the level of energy, commitment and the creativity that helps the organisation. Use employee
reviews on a regular basis to discuss the improvements.

Goals of Organisational behaviour

Every organisation uses a structure that will help to promote the business performance. The
organisation guru Drucker has identified 8 key elements which will explain the goals of
organisation behaviour briefly. The elements are:

Innovation

Innovation means the positive change in the implementation of organisation by providing the
relevant solutions to the customers or full fill their needs in the unique ways.
 Productivity

Productivity is “anything that makes an organisation function better.” It is one of the most
important goal, i.e. to produce the large output with small inputs. It requires the active
participation between the employer and employee on a regular basis.

Development and the management performance

Management training is important because it is the key to organisational success. Most of the
activities within the company are organised for the development of an employee and
organisation. Some companies provide special training programs to the managers. IBM
organises 15 days training management program every year.

Models of organizational behaviour

Autocratic

This model depends on power. Power is given to the employees those who complete their task
on time. The penalty is charged for not completing the task on time. Those who are in command
have the power to say “you do it or else.”

 Depends on power
 Employees result is depended on the boss
 Employee need is subsistence
 Performance result is minimal

Custodial

This model depends upon economic resources. The employees are oriented towards the
benefits, security and depend upon the organisation. In this, employees won’t work as a team.

 -Depends on economic resource

 -Employee orientation is security and benefit
 -Employees are self-dependent
 -Performance result is passive cooperation

Supportive

This model depends on leadership. Managers motivate their employees to perform better. They
spend time with their employees in order to understand them in a better way.

 Depends on leadership
 Employee orientation is security and benefit
 Employee result in participation
 Employee needs status and recognition

Collegial

In this model, employees are dependent on each other and work as team management.

 Depends upon partnership

 Employee orientation is responsible behaviour
 Employee needs is self-actualization
 Performance result is moderate enthusiasm

System

This model is based on the performance and on the trust factor. It reflects the values where
managers focus their attention to help the employees by developing the feelings of hope and
courage.

 Depends upon trust and understanding

 Employee orientation is ownership
 Employee result is self-motivation
 Performance result is passion and organisational goal

Relation of models to human needs

 These five models are related to human needs
 Each model performance is connected with each other

List of organisational behaviour

concepts
 The main concepts of organisational behaviour are:-

 -The nature of the people

 -The nature of organisation

The nature of the people includes

Individual differences:

Individual difference is the reality that makes every individual different from another individual.
The difference can take place in many ways for example likes, dislikes, physical appearance,
interest, etc.

Example- Manager should not judge anyone apart from their work, and all the
employees should be equally treated.

Perception

Perception tells about their behaviour in the organisation. It helps in noticing the information and
categorizing this information. After categorizing apply this information within the framework.

Example- Rohit thinks that late night parties will spoil the youth. Whereas, Neha thinks that late
night parties are a way of making new friends. Here you can see that both Rohit and Neha

Motivational behaviour

It is the force which helps the employees to achieve the goals. Managers should apply
motivational techniques to help the employees in achieving the desired goals.

The motivational behaviour approaches are:

Intrinsic Approach

In this, the employees enjoy their work. Employees enjoy their job’s challenges because they get
personal satisfaction out of it.
 Extrinsic Approach

In this, employees participate in an activity for reward. These rewards are the benefits which are
provided to the workers in return for work.

Values

Employees should be valued and appreciated for their skills. So, it is important to pay attention
and actively look for the opportunity to reward all the employees.

Nature of organisation

Organisations include different types of activities to achieve organisational goals and objectives.
In an organisation, work is assigned to every individual according to their skills and efficiency.

The nature of organisation includes-

Social System

It is a system in which human interaction takes place in different ways. A system which interacts
with the surrounding.

Types of social system

Formal

 Organisation, in which the job of each employee is clearly defined.

 Focuses on work experience
 Purpose is to fulfill the ultimate objectives of the organisation
 -Example- Success party after getting a job

Informal

Organisation formed within the formal organisation as network of relationship. In this people
interact with each other.

 Focuses on personal relationships

 Purpose is to satisfy their social and psychological needs
 Example- Birthday party

Mutual Interest

It is a coordination which takes place between the organisation and employees. Every
organisation needs employees or vice-versa. So, it’s a mutual understanding between
organisation and employees, that helps the organisation to achieve respective goals and
objectives.

Morals and Ethics

They are the principles concerned with group, individual and organisation. Leaders use ethics in
an organisation to manage employees. Leaders use code of ethics to determine discipline
procedures and acceptable behaviour for all workers in organisation.
Theories of Observational Behaviour
Observational behaviour includes different types of theories. Each theory has its own importance
and functions.

Theories of Personality

Personality type A and B

The theory describes the two different personality types.

Type A

That’s why they are not able to relax properly and they make sure that everything is done
properly.

Type B

Type B is totally different from the type A. At the time of competition their focus is not on loosing
or winning the task, their focus is to enjoy the task.

Predicting job performance

There is two criticism which takes place. The important factors predicting the job performances
are leadership, creativity, attendance and cooperation. But every organisation demands different
performances. Some organisation wants the employees to be creative and liable while social
firms require creativity.

Theories of Intelligence

Emotional intelligence theory:

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage emotions of yourself and the
people around you. It is a way of identifying and choosing the way we think and react. The aim of
the leader is to finish the task successfully.

One general Theory

It is the ability of a person to perform the certain tasks and skills. The other general factor which
Sperman developed is the concept of the G factor which underlies all intelligent behaviour.

Theory of Multiple Intelligence

According to Gardener

We can improve education by addressing the intelligence of our students. An intelligence is a

process to information that can be activated in cultural setting to solve problems.
 Theories of Motivation

Common Sense Theory

It is believed that every individual has a different perception of doing the job and earning money.

Common Sense Approach 1

 Trust factor is not there

 If they are not controlled, they will pursue their own goals
 They are lazy or unreasonable

Common Sense Approach 2

 They are independent and creative in their work

 They work for the betterment of the organisation

Goal setting theory

It is a technique used to increase the incentives for the employees to complete the work quickly
and effectively. It results in the better performance of the employees by increasing motivation
and the efforts.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

The theory states that some factors cause job satisfaction and other cause dissatisfaction.
According to Herzberg, intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators have an inverse relationship.

Theory of Attitude and Behaviour

Organisational Behaviour Modification

It is the system used to improve the performances of individuals and group in organisations.

Five steps of Organisational Behaviour Modification are:

Identification

Identify the task which is related to the behaviour performed; critical behaviour is observed and
measured.

Measurement

After identification, the next step for a manager is to measure the frequency of critical behaviour
over time.

Analysis

After measurement, the manager has to do an analysis of the behaviour which requires the
modification.
 Develop

After analysis, the manager will develop an effective strategy. As there are many strategies
which can be used at this stage. But the strategy will depend upon the type of situation.

Evaluate

The last step is to evaluate whether the strategies are working properly or not.

Single loop learning

In this, the organisation basically modifies its result in order to achieve the desired outcomes. In
this, if we are facing problems then we can add up our own ideas and actions to improve the
situation accordingly.

Double loop learning

In this, you are forced to think about your actions. This is an important thing because we need to
start and analyze our own processes. It will lead you to deeply understand and analyze your
work.

Benefits of observational behaviour

The study of observational behaviour is beneficial in many ways

 It encourages the social interaction within their

 Helps in improving the functional behaviour within the organisation. Helps in achieving the higher
productivity.
 Helps in motivating the people in the organisation
 Observation behaviour implies the effective management of human resources
 Observation behaviour delivers the job satisfaction to employees and creates the positive
environment in the organisation.
 Observational behaviour develops the interaction between the individual and organisation.
 It maintains the relationships between the individual and organisational

Why study Organisational behaviour

Study of observational behaviour is important to understand how to build and maintain a strong
and cooperative work force. It is not only important for the organisation but also for the students
and managers perspective also.

Let’s just discuss it

Why managers require the knowledge of organisational behaviour

Managers in the organisation have different and important roles. That’s why manager must have
organisation skills to run the department smoothly.
 Time Management

Time Management helps the managers to establish department goals and determine the
objectives to reach those goals on deadline. There are “Three Ps” for the effective time
management. They are planning, and procrastination with the help of these three Ps. Managers
can divide their task. The “to-do list” is also important to keep the records and to priorities the
task accordingly. He must ensure that goal has been achieved efficiently to the business
standards.

Professional development

The managers should maintain a professional decorum between his staff and himself. The rules
and regulators should be the same for everyone. The manager should interact with employees
on a regular basis to provide the feedback to help them. He must be aware of his responsibilities.

Communicate with executive leadership

There should be a regular communication between the managers and employees. Managers
should have the learning skills in order to see career progression with the company.
Communication will also help the organisation to convey the status and contribution made to an
overall business.

Importance of organizational behavior

in management
Organisational behaviour provides solutions as well the challenges which are faced by
organisations. The importances are:

 Organisations are mix of people in terms of age, gender and race etc. Managers have to deal
with the groups and the employees belongs to the different cultures. They have to exercise
control and channelize the behaviour in each direction.
 Organisations behaviour helps in better management as it helps in improving the skills.
 Organisational behaviour helps the management to become flexible and enable to execute the
organization on global scale.
 Management has to ensure that employees do everything to satisfy the customer needs.
 Management has to effectively deal with work force by promoting its awareness.

Many organisational behaviour projects are available online. Students can take help from these
projects. Many times the student gets such projects in their school and colleges. These
organisational practices will help you in job fit purposes as well. So, with the help of these
projects they can complete their organisational behaviour revision notes and lecture notes.
Human Resource Management Challenges

The rapidly transforming business landscape means that there are

currently many human resource management challenges which will
continue to evolve for years to come. Tom Marsden, Director of
Professional Services at Alexander Mann Solutions said that HR
departments really need to be adding real business value to their
organizations. "Although the restrictions of the recession aren't over
yet, companies are recognizing that they will need to take steps to
retain their workforce. This could be through an increased emphasis
on training and engagement programs or by investing in areas that
will optimize expenditure, such as integrated technology systems or
improved candidate attraction schemes. The signs are that HR
departments are preparing to maximize their resources and staff as
organizations look to grow."

The Evolution of HR Professionals

Coach. Counselor. Employee advocate. Business strategist. As the
business world changes, so does the role of HR professionals. Since
human resources is a business-driven function, effectiveness
depends on a thorough understanding of the strategic corporate
direction, as well as the ability to influence key policies and decisions.
In addition, human resource management challenges must be defined
and solutions determined in order to succeed.

Today's Top 10 Human Resource Management Challenges

Due to the fluctuating economy as well as local and global
advancements, there are many changes occurring rapidly that affect
HR in a wide range of issues. In the Survey of Global HR Challenges:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, conducted by
PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the World Federation of
Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA), several challenges
for human resource management were revealed. This survey, which
concluded that "despite national and regional differences, there was
remarkable unanimity," disclosed the following top 10 human resource
management challenges:

Challenges % of Companies

1. Change management 48%

2. Leadership development 35%

3. HR effectiveness measurement 27%

4. Organizational effectiveness 25%

5. Compensation 24%

6. Staffing: Recruitment and availability of skilled local 24%

labor

7. Succession planning 20%

8. Learning and development 19%

9. Staffing: Retention 16%

10. Benefits costs: Health & welfare 13%

Taking a Closer Look at the Top 3 Human Resource

Management Challenges
1. Change Management

Since this is generally not a focal point for HR professional training

and development, change management represents a particular
challenge for personnel management. The WFPMA finds that "This
may also be the reason why it is cited as the foremost issue as HR
continues to attempt to help businesses move forward. An intensified
focus on training may be needed to develop added competencies to
deal with change management."
2. Leadership Development

As the second of the biggest challenges for human resource

management, leadership development needs to be a critical strategic
initiative. HR professionals are faced with being expected to provide
the essential structures, processes, tools, and points of view to make
the best selection and develop the future leaders of the organization.
The WFPMA reports that, "Across the globe leadership development
has been identified as a critical strategic initiative in ensuring that the
right employees are retained, that the culture of the organization
supports performance from within to gain market position, and that
managers are equipped to take on leadership roles of the future so
that the organization is viable in the long term."
3. HR Effectiveness Measurement

How can improvement happen without the right tools to measure HR

effectiveness? As with many other areas of business, this profession
also needs to be able to measure results in terms of transaction
management, as well as in terms of the positive influence on
business. "Utilizing metrics to determine effectiveness is the beginning
of a shift from perceiving HR's role as purely an administrative
function to viewing the HR team as a true strategic partner within the
organization," the WFPMA says. "In fact, the next section reports that
survey participants believe a critical future issue for HR will be
 organizational effectiveness - again supporting HR's critical role as a
strategic partner to management."
This world federation also notes that, "Where HR departments have
traditionally focused on measuring their own effectiveness, there is an
evolving recognition that they can provide organizational value by
measuring the effectiveness of the entire business organization. The
shift is significant as it represents movement from simply counting the
numbers hired to determining the ROI of collective and individual hires
on a long-term basis. Going beyond measuring turnover, this new
approach considers 'bad' turnover and 'good' turnover along with the
overall cost of replacement hires."

The Numbers Speak Volumes

When you start looking at the numbers, you realize the significant
impact of trends and challenges in human resource management.
There are many variables that influence human resource
management. To give you a glimpse at some of the upcoming
changes, the HR Leadership Council has released the following
statistics:
o One in four high potentials plans to leave their organization in the next year

o By effectively developing employees, managers can be better coaches and improve

performance by up to 25%

o Three out of five organizations have either restructured or plan to restructure within the next
six months

o Recent declines in employee engagement further decreased overall productivity by 3 to 5%

o Leaders with strong people development skills are 50% more likely to outperform revenue
expectations

o Delivering on critical onboarding activities boosts new hire performance by 11.3%

o 77% of midsized companies use (or plan to use) wellness to reduce costs

o 46% of midsized-company CFOs anticipate a merger or acquisition in less than six months

o Implement strategic organizational change for increased quality, productivity and employee
satisfaction

o Construct an effective training program

o Design a compensation system that motivates employees

o Structure benefit packages and measure their success

o Identify principles for developing, utilizing and conserving human resources

o Use data and statistics to make informed business decisions

o Leverage technology to enhance the contributions of the human resource function to an

organization

o Develop financial management and budgetary skills

Major Challenges Affecting a Human Resources Manager

Managing human resources can be especially challenging for small businesses that lack the resources of
larger organizations. Some small-business owners handle human resources challenges on their own or with
the help of one other staff member, even though HR duties include complying with labor law, developing
relationships with employees, budgeting and accessibility. Develop a strategy for addressing these
challenges in your small business.
Compliance With Laws

Obeying the laws on business management, tax administration and employment are a top concern for
human resources management. The laws governing small businesses are many, so the human resources
manager has to stay abreast of which ones apply to your particular business and legal changes that affect
how you deal with employees, report income or pay taxes. The Affordable Care Act, for instance, will
change the way small businesses provide health insurance coverage for their employees. When the act
takes full effect, your business will be responsible for complying with its provisions or you could face
fines or employee lawsuits.

Relationships With Employees

HR managers are sounding boards for employee concerns. Once seen as a place where employees go when
they're in trouble, the HR department can be a forum for employees to air their concerns with management,
the organization or co-workers without fear of discrimination or retaliation. A major challenge faced by
HR managers in small businesses is maintaining neutral relationships with employees. HR managers need
to hear the concerns of employees and investigate problems they raise.

Budgeting

The human resources department of a small business is interested in money, just as most other parts of the
business are. But HR is generally considered a costly department to run because it's not revenue producing.
Instead, it spends money by hiring new staff, managing expensive benefits programs and consuming
valuable employee work hours to deal with complaints and concerns. The challenge for HR managers is to
convince your small business that having happy employees and hiring the "right" people can earn your
business more money in the long run.

Accessibility

Accessibility can be thought of as having an "open door policy." Your HR office, whether it consists of a
team of professionals or just one person, should be open to hearing employee concerns, quick to provide
feedback and neutral when resolving conflicts. Accessibility can be especially challenging to small
businesses when the HR manager is the owner of the company, as it can be hard to put personal feelings
aside and not take things to heart when an employee complains about how you're operating the company.
Because HR in a small business helps determine strategy for the company's growth and development,
small-business owners should embrace this function as an integral part of the company's success.

The Top 7 HR Challenges and

How To Face Them
by Nikos Andriotis

1 year ago

Humans have always been complex and having to manage people has always been tricky.
Now, the digital age has added even more complexity to human resource management, like
the transparency of social media, the persistence of software updates, and the remoteness of
international teams.
This makes human resources a difficult job that’s faced by many challenges. It also
means that identifying and overcoming human resource challenges is time, money and effort
well spent, since the greatest asset a business can boast are its employees.
But what are the top human resources challenges in the workplace? Well, having tons of
experience working with HR, we’ve managed to narrow down the list to the seven most
common challenges faced by HR professionals, along with practical solutions.

1. Attracting top talent

Attracting and retaining the best talent takes discernment, time, and a whole lot of work.
That’s why this human resource challenge features so high up on the list.
Attracting and retaining the best talent takes
discernment, time, and a whole lot of work.
To attract the right individuals, you need to know the requirements of the job and the
organization. But as job roles and expectations keep changing, and organizational culture
keeps adapting, this task becomes increasingly difficult.
So, we suggest that you start with how and where you market vacancies. Use the
platforms that are most likely to be frequented by your target talent, depending on their skills,
industry, and job level. Attracting the right candidates means you’ve got less work to do in
thescreening phase.
Then, when you do start screening your candidates, focus more on their fit with the
organization, than with the job. Look for evidence that they enjoy learning, that they’re up for
a challenge, and that they’re comfortable with change. Find out how technologically savvy
they are, and how they deal with feedback.
By looking out for these qualities, you’ll be creating a team of employees who are likely to
achieve the business’ training and development objectives, even as these transform over time
(which is more important than knowing that they can perform the job well today).
2. Embracing change with grace and ease
Change is a shapeshifter, influencing our environment, competitors, customers, and
workplace. But whether managerial, structural, procedural or technological, it’s well-known
that humans are afraid of change. The unknown brings about feelings of uncertainty and
anxiety.
This makes the large responsibility of adapting employees for change, one of the most
recurring challenges faced by HR professionals. Human resources are tasked not only with
managing employee morale, happiness, and cooperation through change but also with
constantly upskilling employees to meet the changing needs of the business.
The solution? There’s no single right answer. But an effort to communicate frequently and
transparently before, during, and after times of change is a good place to start. Provide fair
warning of changes to come, and equip staff with the competencies they’ll need to deal with
change.
By providing training on the hard and soft skills they’ll need to cope with the change,
employees will feel more secure and capable, and be more likely to embrace change.
3. Developing the leaders of tomorrow
Not all teams perform at the same level, and this is usually because of the team
leader. Many employees consider leaving their jobs because of a poor relationship with their
direct manager. That’s why it’s critical to source and develop talented and inspiring
leaders.
But this is easier said than done. Because grooming current employees for leadership
positions doesn’t work when the leaders-in-the-making keep leaving – which is a regular
occurrence in a Millennial-heavy workforce. That’s why this is one of the most
common human resource challenges today.
Of course, you could handcuff your future leaders to their desks (we’re joking, you can’t do
that), or, you could find ways to motivate them to stay.
Like providing regular training that aligns with a clear career progression path. This shows
talented employees that you value them, see their potential for leadership growth, and are
actively investing in that growth.
4. Fostering a culture of continuous learning
Today, crowds of employees leave their jobs with the key reason being a lack of
development opportunities. Yes, training is the golden drawcard for keeping employees
stimulated, engaged and loyal.
But this is only true when training is relevant to their jobs, includes engaging content and is
available in formats that enable flexible learning. Training must happen continuously in order
for the business to remain competitive, so employees can often become bored or overloaded.
Of all the human resource challenges, this one is arguably the most simple to address.
Because Learning Management Systems enable us to train with eLearning courses. Online
training can take place at home, on the weekends, or even on a mobile phone while waiting
for a taxi. And it gets better.
Some LMSs, like eFront, offer advanced gamification and microlearning features, so
that employees remain engaged in their training, and enjoy the flexibility of consuming
bite-sized chunks of learning at times that are most convenient to them.
5. Managing diversity with local in mind
Globalization. It’s affecting every business, in every part of the world. Our customer reach is
expanding beyond the traditional Head Offices, and talent can be sources across seas and
borders. This means more sales, and a diversity of employee experiences, ideas, and
perspectives.
However, with this diversity comes with a few human resource challenges, like managing
diverse cultures in a local team. While adhering to local policies and procedures, HR must
also create a workplace that is comfortable, welcoming, and free of conflict – for everyone.
Cultural awareness programs can help employees recognize the benefits of diversity, like
better ideas and innovations, and a wider customer reach. Team building activities are also an
effective approach for integrating employees of different cultures and uniting them towards a
common business objective.
6. Looking After Health and Safety
Health and safety standards are probably one of the more obvious human resource challenges.
Not only does labor law govern these concerns, but they’re also of great importance to
general employee wellbeing. Because health in the workplace isn’t just about hygiene and
safety.
Today, the psychological well-being of employees can deteriorate due to high demands,
limited time, and general employee burnout. Sure, periods of stress are normal, and under
times of pressure, employees can often produce their best work. But high levels of stress
cannot be sustained.
This means that HR professionals need to keep a close eye on escalating workloads and stress
levels. An open-door policy to discuss anxiety, working hours and unfair expectations is
critical.
Training managers in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) can help them recognize the benefits of a
healthy mental state. Other training, in mindfulness and general stress coping techniques, can
help build a resilient workforce. And then, there are those progressive companies that allow
mental sick leave when employees are feeling burnt out.
7. Creating a Quality Employee Experience
It’s not uncommon to find high staff turnover in fast-paced companies. Because even
though they might manage to hire the best employees, keeping them around becomes the next
obstacle and one of the greatest human resource challenges.
But if your employees are satisfied with their job, their workplace and the people they work
with, then they’re far less likely to consider other employers. We’re talking about the modern
concept of employee experience.
So, focus on creating an employee experience that’s a notch above the competition. You can
do this by offering engaging online training, gym facilities, flexi-time, work-from-home
arrangements or other incentives. Build a culture that is inspiring and welcoming, and
encourage your leaders and managers to lead by example.

Face Your Challenges

The ultimate challenge for HR professionals is understanding the corporate landscape
of the future. As industries and technologies evolve, new generations enter the workforce,
and globalization creates increased competition, it will be the human resource issues that
make or break a company.
By remaining relevant, and continuously identifying and addressing human resource
challenges, companies will empower their greatest asset, their people, towards sustainable
success.

9 Real Challenges Facing HR in the Future

Complaints… Complaints… Complaints!

Has your job just become the one where you are at the receiving end of every
complaint, from employees, from management and even from the CEO himself?
If you are the HR manager in your company, then you are most likely to hear
more complaints about recruiting. While at one side, unemployment is hovering
over the economy, companies are mourning over not being able to find the skilled
workforce and sometimes, filling a single vacancy may take months of head
hunting.

HR professionals have more than one reason to explain this, but the problem
doesn’t end here, there are various other challenges that the industry is likely to
face in the coming years. With that in mind, here are the 9 major responses by
different HR professionals on being asked, “What will be the “real” HR
challenges in the coming years?”

1) Retaining and Rewarding Talented Candidates:

Around 59% seasoned HR professionals believe that in the next few years, major
battle will be retaining talented and well-performing candidates. Moreover, it is
going to become even worse to recognize and reward the real performers as the
market competitiveness is growing and that needs more collaborated efforts to
establish loyalty among employees.

2) Developing Future Leaders:

With growing options for top performing candidates, employers are in a great
jitty over how will they build the future pillars of the organization. The rising
employee turnover rate is giving recruiters really a tough time with implementing
practices to enhance employee engagement and make them stay for long in the
organization. Over 52% HR people have a serious concern over building next
generation organizational leaders.

3) Establishing Healthy and Cooperative Corporate

Culture:
Corporate culture has become one of the deciding factors lately. Elevating market
demands makes companies work more to grow, expand and sustain within the
volatile market scenarios. This, thus directly or indirectly affects the
organizational culture, as every resource is over-occupied with loads of work that
may affect the healthy work culture at office leading more to clashes or office
chaos.

4) Attracting Top Talent to Organization:

During any job interview, a candidate’s job is to sell himself to the recruiters.
Similarly, the recruiters also need to sell themselves before the candidate. It is
now more important as the talent shortage is making every organization strive to
bring in the best talent and become the most preferred choice among available
options. Around 36% recruiters feel that it is the need of the hour to establish a
corporate culture that will attract best candidates to your organization.

5) Elevating Human Capital Investments:

Around two-fifth of HR professionals indicate that the biggest challenge for the
coming decade will be acquiring human capital and optimizing human capital
investments. On deeply analyzing the challenges, one thing that is clear is that the
most difficult challenge that’ll crop up is retaining good employees and attracting
best candidates. This entails that HR professionals need to develop talent
management tactics that can effectively contribute in attracting, retaining and
rewarding top performing employees. But what the organizations can do for
countering this skills shortage and ensure that they find right candidates? Here
are the major responses to this…

6) Flexible Work Arrangements:

Millennials just love it! The coming generation of employees emphasizes on
working in flexible set-ups and the major concern must be kept on giving results
and not on working in a traditional 9 to 6 set-up. This does not disrupts the
company decorum or discipline, it will just allow individuals to work the way
they want and exhibit better productivity. Even 40% HR pros believe that this can
be a wining factor.

7) Clear & Transparent Work Culture & Open

Leadership:
Employees demand it greatly, but are seen rarely! That’s a fact! Maximum
organizations fail to establish a culture of clear and transparent work
communication or open leadership that somewhere affects the employee morale
and his dedication to work. 37% have indicated that if communication barriers
are removed, then the organization can attract more candidates.

8) Career Advancement Opportunities for

Employees:
If the company takes employee career development seriously and strives to work
for it as well, then definitely you can shine out over your competitors who are
also looking to grab talented prospects for the same jobs. Around 26%
professionals have indicated this as a problem and major factor for increased
attrition rate.

9) Better Compensations:
Undoubtedly, money matters! If you have a start performer, you need to take
good care of the compensation you offer. These days employers are largely
playing on this factor with awarding employees lucrative reward packages and
attracting more talent towards them. Thus, recruiters need to fold up their sleeves
to attract the real talent to themselves to stay ahead of their counterparts.

Recruitment processes are the first interface of candidates with the company and
this need to be the best of all. The employer must sell the organization to the
candidate and the boarding candidate must also feel elated on joining the same.
Apart from other factors, one is that of technology upgraded-ness. Now is the
time of the cloud and one has to be up on technology as every candidate wants to
get smoother recruitment application and processing. An effective Recruitment
Management System must be there that can take care of channelized processing
from application to on-boarding while the HR people can work on other retention
and acquisition tactics!

Challenges of Human Resource Management in borderless world

The responsibilities of HR manager have gradually become broader and more strategic since

the organisation realised the importance of HR. The Globalisation put together the world as a

Global village. The concept of global village resulted in exchange of cultures across the globe

as a single country, producing the components in one country, assembling the products in

second country, market the product in the third country, the banks in the fourth country to

finance the operations, insurance companies in the fifth country to provide insurance

facilities, all the countries provide human resources and so on so forth. Thus, the global

businesses employ the people from various countries and manage the people of multi-cultures

and multi-skills.

Issues coming on the radar of an HR Manager today are diverse; from micro level issues

where an individual employee needs hand holding to the macro issues pertaining to a global

workforce and virtual teams. HR managers are expected to offer instant solutions for these

issues and strategies.

As companies move around the world setting up offices, service delivery centres and

manufacturing hubs, there will be an even greater movement of people and that is the big

challenge while moving forward. Managing diverse workforce is another important problem

that HR managers need to tackle. For which cross cultural training is essential.

The Researcher has stressed some of the issues pertaining to challenging situations the HR

manager is likely to come across.

Introduction:
It is strange that the HR function is not much appreciated in our country. For decades, the HR

activity has remained a staff function (advisory) as opposed to a line (decision making)

function. To be specific the HR department does not enjoy the status of wield power equal to

that of a production department or a finance department. The trend was to changing now; the

organisations are putting more power and responsibilities on HR department.

The world of HRM is changing more rapidly than we can imagine. Constant environmental

changes mean that HR managers face constant challenges. They must respond by taking

advantage of gradual yet reflective changes in the nature of the field, current practices, and

overall human resource management policies, mission and vision.

As companies move around the world setting up offices, service delivery centres and

manufacturing hubs, there will be an even greater movement of people and that is the big

challenge while moving forward.

In case of India, IT industry alone has a potential to create about 5 million jobs and by 2015,

it will account for about 50 percent of the total outsourcing pie of about $300 billion. Recent

study by Times group figure out 49000 vacancies in retailing, 112000 in manufacturing

sector 51000 in service sector by this year. To achieve this, India needs to tackle its biggest

challenge of ensuring steady flow of employable workforce.

The HR managers have to adopt proactive strategy which helps them to foresee events and

take appropriate actions before the events occur. Proactive strategies call for awareness about

the likely challenges the HR managers will face in the days to come.

Challenges ahead:

1. Rework the vision and mission of the company

HRM is becoming increasingly involved with strategic planning and the development of

means by which people can work proactively toward the achievement of organizational

objectives. This means a broader perspective focused on objectives and results. It implies
personal commitment by each worker to the company's goals. The need for this personal

commitment means that employee education, communication, and involvement now become

fundamental. This being the case, companies develop and emphasize an HRM philosophy to

which top management is deeply committed, and which is clearly articulated and practiced by

all employees. HR planning is closely linked with strategic planning, so as to support the

company mission and give incentives to support its achievement.

2. Information & Knowledge age

Information and knowledge have replaced manufacturing as the source of most new jobs.

Work performed in factories by machines is being replaced by work in offices or at computer

terminals. And instead of working with things, people increasingly work with ideas and

concepts. The information age made knowledge the most important organizational resource.

The traditional factors of production - nature, capital, and labour - have already exhausted

their contributions. Now the important activities are the generation, structure, development,

spreading, sharing and application of knowledge; belongs to the people, the human capital.

Successful companies are becoming learning organizations. Organizational effectiveness will

increasingly depend on attracting, utilizing and retaining people who can use their knowledge

to solve problems, create services, develop new work processes and satisfy customer needs.

3. Attracting and Retaining Talent

One of the greatest challenges of human resource management today is to create HR

Capabilities that increase and sustain organizational performance. The ability to attract and

retain talent is a core HR capability that is critical to achieving sustainable business

performance. Retaining the employees has become more crucial. One can retain the

employees in current situation only when a company creates a good employer brand,

internally as well as externally, by ensuring that people have good jobs which make them feel

proud of working for the organization. Employees can be given opportunities to make

presentations at international forums, or made members of academic institutes or industry

associations. Today, IT companies are facing a shortage of knowledge workers because the

rate at which they lose employees is almost double the rate at which they hire. A major

proportion of the turnover issue is attributed to the movement of manpower to the 'land of

opportunities' - USA. The average stay of a software consultant of IT Company has dropped

to one year. Compensation has been, and will continue to be, the big driver in retaining

people so organization need to re-evaluate the pattern of compensation time to time, This will

increase retention.

4. Empowering Employees

Empowering is mutual influence; it is the creative distribution of power; it is shared

responsibility; it is vital and energetic, and it is inclusive, democratic, and long-

lasting.

Empowering enables people to use their talents and capabilities, fosters accomplishment,

invests in learning, finds the spirit in an organization and builds effective relationships,

informs, leads, coaches, serves, creates, and liberates. Becoming an empowering manager,

therefore, involves both who you are and what you do.

In an empowering organization, managers should believe leadership derives from all its

employees not a select few. Managers of an empowering organization should know that the

company is most likely to succeed when employees have the tools, training, and authority to

do their best & understand that information is power and they share it with all employees.

Managers of an empowering organization should value employees enough to build a culture

that values and supports individuals. They crave to make sure that everyone feels an

ownership of that culture and a responsibility for its perpetuation to create opportunities for

finding solutions and for designing what can be not searching for problems and what should

have been. Lastly the managers understand that fostering empowerment is a continuing effort

not an endpoint to be checked off a list of objectives.

5. Managing Global Workforce

The biggest challenge the organization around the globe facing is to know the social classes
and categories from which the new global workers are recruited, and to understand the
systems of education and training that shape them so that they can be made socially and
culturally fit to serve customers. Educational institutes are particularly crucial in this context,
not only in providing the raw material for the virtual service economy, but also in producing
upward mobility among the new professional classes. For this we require to redefine the
employee status. Talented people will be unwilling to sign on as employees hence companies
will have to maintain a fine balance between career planning and free agent ship.
going global in the inorganic way. Indian business has spread its roots to countries as diverse
to set up shop. One of the fallouts of this expansion has been a clash of cultural mindsets and
behaviourisms.

6. Enhancing the supplementary Services

In today‟s competitive world the workforce are heavily loaded with work and
stress associated with it i.e. mental stress as well as physical stress. To have a
sound body and sound mind it is necessary to develop certain competencies to
survive with the stressful situations. The growth of an supplementary industry
like computer training institutes, manpower consultants, „soft skills‟ and „cultural
training‟ consultants, psychological counsellors, spiritual guides, stress and time
management trainers, gyms, recreational facilities and health-related services,
yoga teachers, suggest that new forms of subjectivity are being produced not only
through the work itself, but also through the deliberate shaping of personalities and
bodies to be „fit‟ for the global Challenges.

7. Managing Workplace Diversity -

The future success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of

talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge

and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset

if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. With the mixture

of talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can

respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena,

which must be one of the important organisational goals to be attained. More importantly, if

the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to

competitors.

This is especially true for multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a

global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus,

a HR manager needs to be mindful and may employ a 'Think Global, Act Local' approach in

most circumstances. Thus, many local HR managers have to undergo cultural-based Human
Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional

that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure

the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement.

In many ways, the effectiveness of workplace diversity management is dependent on the

skilful balancing act of the HR manager.

One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the

predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their

diversity profile. In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those

organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad

workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.

8. Challenges of Mergers & Acquisitions -

Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG), is as dangerous as beneficial.

Increasing competition has forced the organisations to device ways and means to
grow,
perform and achieve excellence. Mergers and acquisition are being accepted as one of the
technology to gain competitive advantage over other organisations. The business situation
alters day by day. Before one know the ownership of company‟s changes hands, starting off a
wave of uncertainty of acquired company, suddenly the employees starts feeling that their
bosses are changed, if not physically, at least attitudinally. Some of them find themselves
grave danger of losing their jobs. A general de-motivating feeling perpetrate organisation.
The HR professionals have to perform certain activities with set of skills and competencies.
These includes:-
1. Creating transition teams, especially those that will:
Develop infrastructure for new organization
Process and design systems
Address cultural issues
Provide training
Managing the activities associated with staffing, in particular, developing and overseeing
Selection processes
Retention strategies
Separation strategies

2. Managing the learning processes, e.g.,

Building learning into the partnership agreement
Setting up learning-driven career plans
Using training to stimulate the learning process

3. Re-casting the HR department itself:

Develop new policies and practices consistent with vision of new organization
 Develop HR structure and staffing.

4. Identifying and embracing new roles for the HR leader, namely,

Partnership
Change Facilitator
Strategy Implementer
Strategy Formulator
Innovator
Collaborator
Counsellor

5. Identifying and developing new competencies,

6. Providing input into managing the process of change - HR managers are the change
champions providing the change management skills to align the right people with
the appropriate knowledge and skills base to meet the shared goals of the enterprise

9. Managing Cross Cultural Communication -

"There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all." – Anonymous

Culture is „Software of mind‟, it is concerned with beliefs and values on the basis of

which people interpret experiences and behave, individually and in groups. Cultural

statements become operationalised when executives articulate and publish the values of their

firm which provide patterns for how employees should behave. Firms with strong cultures

achieve higher results because employees sustain focus both on what to do and how to do it

Cross- cultural communication is becoming increasingly important as organizations

expand their business operations beyond their national boundaries. Cross-cultural factors like

connotations, semantics, tone difference & difference in perceptions create potential for

increased communication problems. Managers doing business in other countries should

sensitize themselves to the cultures of those nations and avoid making mistakes while

performing their work or interacting with customers. This is possible by nurturing the

corporate culture. For this, greater interdependence in work processes and less stand-alone

work should be assigned, since work force today demands greater autonomy in their own

work and greater inter-linkage and inter-dependence with the work of others.
The above mentioned factors are going to change the face of HR functions in
the coming years. Therefore the HR managers need to be well acquainted &
well equipped to face these challenges

Some real-time hurdles faced by the Indian

HR industry are elucidated below.
It might come as a surprise, but the history of human resources (HR) in India can actually
traced by to the 4th century BC, in Kautilya’s (Chanakya’s) seminal work
the Arthashashtra, where he divided the workforce into ‘shrenis’ or groups.

However, today the scenario has undergone several changes and India is more strategically
positioned in the global corporate map and HR management (HRM) has become quite
complex, especially after digital disruption invaded the domain. Industries are facing
umpteen number of HR challenges that need to be addressed.

Global opinions see India’s human resource as a low-cost, highly skilled, dedicated and
erudite workforce hence it has also become a major outsourcing ground.

On the other hand, it goes without saying that, the overall domain of HR is not without its
problems and trials. The HR in India, especially in the 21st century, does face certain
challenges, despite its three major roles of—transactional, transformational, and transitional.
With an ever changing corporate India, HR challenges are all set to increase manifold and
needless to say that HR managers have to be aware of this fact.

#1. Managing globalisation

It is important that HR personnel learn proper people management practices before planning
to implement them, especially the ones that are global in nature. These days it has become
quite challenging for the HR to educate its workforce on how globalisation can be leveraged
and how a single employee benefits or is affected by it. Instead of imposing new practices
upon them, it is best to study the prevailing practices which are in place.

#2. Retaining talent, especially millennials

Retaining is probably one of the most significant HR challenges that the domain will have to
deal with in 2017. And retaining millennials is the most Herculean task for present day HR.
Talent poaching and cut-throat competition has given an impetus of high remuneration to the
deserving candidate. Job seekers have gained lot of exposure and have become highly
ambitious as well. Which is why they are always on a lookout for better opportunities. This
kind of a trend is observed mainly in the IT/ITeS sector. HR personnel in this domain
actually finds it a challenge to retain its employees.

#3. Developing leadership skills

Developing future leaders is essentially a difficult task. It is not just about developing right
soft skills in order to shape future leaders. Since the global economic scenario is very
volatile, and dynamic, what is required now is a skillset in the workforce that distinguishes
them as future leaders. Developing future leaders is a major HR challenge that needs to be
addressed in the future.

#4. Managing organisational change

Change management is yet another challenge that the HR continues to face in the 21st century.
With big organisations integrating Six Sigma practices in their businesses, dealing with
change management is becoming even difficult with each passing day. The industrial growth
scenario is such that, there is a huge demand for ‘change’ that has to be brought about within
all the fragments of the society. However, there’s resistance from various sides. It is a huge
challenge for the HR to curb those resisting forces and finally implement new organisational
changes.

Also Read: Setting Itself Apart from Others – How Should a Staffing Firm Do That

#5. Developing work ethics

With the global economy undergoing ups and downs, India also has to bear the brunt of the
same somewhat—if not to a great extent. Employee morals and loyalty are being tested
almost every day. In such trying times, it is becoming rather difficult for the HR management
to ensure proper development of work ethics. Re-instilling values like empathy, work-
ethics, respect for the weak and elderly are becoming a matter of concern for all—even HR
personnel within organisations.

#6. Developing and nurturing accountability

Since the invention of Six Sigma methodologies, the tolerance levels in organisations for
errors and major mistakes have gone down considerably. It is a challenge which HR
management in India is facing like its global counterparts. It is not easy to train people to
shoulder responsibility.
#7. Managing workforce stress and employment relations
HR management is the face of an organisation. They not only hire people but also ensure that
they nurture employees, so that latter chooses to remain with an organisation for a longer
period of time. If the HR management is not empathetic towards its workforce then, it does
not help in employee relations. This fact is fast becoming a challenge for all HR
communities in India in the present times.

#8. Managing workforce diversity

With globalisation and India’s economy witnessing an accelerated growth, organisations are
now forced to depend on hiring people from all kinds of backgrounds, ethnicities and even
countries. Needless to say that this has led to a completely new dimension to workplace
diversity. Managing a diverse workforce is truly a demanding task for HRM in India in the
present times.

The above mentioned HR challenges are something that the HR community in India really
needs to sort out. However, there are other challenges such as retrenchment and downsizing
in certain industries such as the BPO, finance and PSUs where the HR has to be pretty strong
enough.