SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
UCM20D07J HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UNIT-1

INTRODUCTION:
HRM is employee management with an emphasis on those employees as assets of
the business. In this context, employees are sometimes referred to as human capital. As with
other business assets, the goal is to make effective use of employees, reducing risk and
maximizing return on investment (ROI).

MEANING:
Human resource management (HRM) is the practice of recruiting, hiring, deploying
and managing an organization's employees. HRM is often referred to simply as human
resources (HR). A company or organization's HR department is usually responsible for
creating, putting into effect and overseeing policies governing workers and the relationship of
the organization with its employees. The term human resources was first used in the early
1900s, and then more widely in the 1960s, to describe the people who work for the
organization, in aggregate.

OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:

 The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of competent and willing
workforce for an organization. Beyond this, there are other objectives too. Specifically, HRM
objectives are four fold: Societal, Organization, Functional and personal.

Personal Objectives:
To assist Employees in achieving their personal goals, at least in so far as these goals enhance
the individual’s contribution to the organization. Personal objectives of employees must be
maintained, retained and motivated.

Functional Objectives:
To maintain the contribution of department at an appropriate level organization should fulfill
the needs. Resources are wasted when HRM is either more or less sophisticated to suit the
organizations demands.

Organizational Objectives:
To recognize the role of HRM in bringing about organizational effectiveness, HRM is not an
end in itself but it is only a mean to assist the organization with its primary objectives
organization.

Societal Objectives:
To be ethically & socially responsible for the needs and challenges of society while minimizing
the negative impact of such demands upon the organization to use their resources for society’s
benefits in ethical ways may lead to restriction.

Other objectives:

 Accomplish the basic organizational goals by creating and utilizing an able and
motivated workforce.
 To establish and maintain organizational structure and desirable working relationships
among all the members of the organization. 
 Develop co-ordination among individual and group within organization to secure the
integration of organization.
 To create facilities and opportunities for individual or group development so as to match
it with the growth of the organization. 
 To attain an effective utilization of human resources in the achievement of
organizational goals.
 To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by providing adequate and equitable
wages, incentives, employee benefits and social security and measures for challenging
work, prestige, recognition, security, status. 
 To maintain high employees morale and human relations by sustaining and improving
the various conditions and facilities. 
 To strengthen and appreciate the human assets continuously by providing training and
development programs. 
 To consider and contribute to the minimization of socio-economic evils such as
unemployment, under employment, inequalities in the distribution of income and
wealth and to improve the welfare of the society by providing employment
opportunitiesto women and disadvantaged sections of the society.
 To provide an opportunity for expression and voice management.
 To provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership.
  To provide facilities and conditions of work and creation of favorable atmosphere for
maintaining stability of employment. 
 To create & utilize an able & motivated work force Establish & maintain sound
organizational structure Create facilities attain an effective utilization Identify & satisfy
individual & group needs. 
 Maintain high employee morale Training & development Opportunity for expression
Provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership Facilities and conditions

Scope of Human Resource Management

The scope of Human Resource Management refers to all the activities that come under the
banner of Human Resource Management. These activities are as follows.

Human resources planning:-

Human resource planning or Human Resource Planning refers to a process by which the
company to identify the number of jobs vacant, whether the company has excess staff or
shortage of staff and to deal with this excess or shortage.

Job analysis design:-

Another important area of Human Resource Management is job analysis. Job analysis gives a
detailed explanation about each and every job in the company.

Recruitment and selection:-

Based on information collected from job analysis the company prepares advertisements and
publishes them in the newspapers. This is recruitment. A number of applications are received
after the advertisement is published, interviews are conducted and the right employee is
selected thus recruitment and selection are yet another important area of Human Resource
Management.

Orientation and induction :-

Once the employees have been selected an induction or orientation program is conducted. This
is another important area of Human Resource Management. The employees are informed about
the background of the company, explain about the organizational culture and values and work
ethics and introduce to the other employees.

Training and development :-

Every employee goes under training program which helps him to put up a better performance
on the job. Training program is also conducted for existing staff that have a lot of experience.
This is called refresher training. Training and development is one area where the company
spends a huge amount.

Performance appraisal :-

Once the employee has put in around 1 year of service, performance appraisal is conducted that
is the Human Resource department checks the performance of the employee. Based on these
appraisal future promotions, incentives, increments in salary are decided.
Compensation planning and remuneration :-

There are various rules regarding compensation and other benefits. It is the job of the Human
Resource department to look into remuneration and compensation planning.

FUNCTIONS OF HRM:
The primary function of human resource management is to encourage employees
towards achieving organizational objectives. The basic HR functions can be broadly divided
into two categories: Operative Functions and Managerial Functions.
OPERATIVE FUNCTIONS:
The functions of the human resource department performed at the mid-level are
known as the operative functions. Operative functions of human resource management are
directed towards the execution of plans and strategies designed by the senior managers of a
company. Operative Functions of HRM includes the following:
 Hiring Talent: One of the primary functions of the human resources department is to
hire people who are a perfect fit for the organization. Along with quick and effective
hiring, the HR team also ensures smooth onboarding.
 Orientation: Human resources managers ensure that legal formalities are effectively
completed from every employee’s side. After that, they introduce them to the company
policies, principles and working culture.
 Training and Development: The working needs of every company differ from one
another. Employees are provided with adequate training so that they are on track with
the team’s requirements.
  Employee Retention: The HR team ensures that employees stay productive at work and
deliver their best performance. They try to develop a culture of work and fun.
 Feedback and Performance Appraisal: Human resource management team creates a
systematic process to improve productivity and work efficiency. They create a flow
where employees receive feedback from senior managers at regular intervals.
 Provide Actionable Insights: HR insights help the management drive important metrics
for employee engagement. Performance data, employee benefits, their skills, claims,
company turnover and other vital statistics can help an organisation improve its work
culture and stay closer to achieving goals & objectives.

MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS:
These processes provide important insights to help the top management in strategizing and
successfully implementing the designed schemes, It is one of HR’s main functions.
Basic managerial functions of HRM are the following:

 Planning:
Planning is the first and foremost managerial function of HRM. The importance of
human resource planning involves determining the ways to achieve higher productivity.
At the planning stage, leaders in a company also determine the requirement of resources
across different organizations. In brief, HRM planning is fundamental to recruitment,
retention & other skills required to achieve company objectives.
 Organising:
After establishing the objective and setting the plan, managers now jump to the second
stage of managerial functions. The secondary function of HRM is to make available all
possible resources to carry out multiple operations.
The functions of HR managers include setting a framework of operative tasks by
dividing the activities into functions and positions. They also assign activities as per the
groups, delegate authority and responsibility as per the task.
 Directing:
Implementation of a strategy depends on how convinced or motivated the employees
are. Therefore, the third managerial function involved encouraging and directing people
at work so that they are aligned with the organizational goal.
Human resource management functions help in keeping mo employees motivated by
taking care of their career planning and monetary needs.
 Controlling:
The last function of HRM is all about regulating the activities according to the plan.
The managers now can observe and chalk out the progress as per the set standards.

IMPORTANCE OF HRM:
Human resource management is an integral part of any thriving organization. Following
points will do justice to the obviousness of HRM in an organisation.
1. QUALITY OF WORK-LIFE
Quality of work life is the total quality of an employee's work environment in an organization.
It tells about the employee's impression about its physical and psychological wellbeing at an
organization.
The HR Management needs to make conscious efforts to maintain the quality of work-life as
undoubtedly it is directly proportional to the employees' productivity. This can be done by
managing and reducing workplace stress, providing financial reimbursements, recognition,
freedom, and belongingness.
2. MEETING DEMAND-SUPPLY GAP FOR HUMAN RESOURCE
Apart from managing the Resources in an organization, HR is also responsible for ensuring the
availability of sufficient human resources. They are responsible for finding competent
personnel for the job to ensure high performance by putting the right person at the right place.
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one
extraordinary man.”
– Elbert Hubbard
This can be done by conducting recruitment drives whenever needed. Also, they perform the
function of laying-off unproductive employees.
3. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
The training and development department of an organization must put in continued efforts to
boost its employees' performance. Investing in training and development not only increases the
employee's potential and motivation but contributes to the overall growth of the organization.
“Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want
to.”
– Sir Richard Branson

New employees must be welcomed with orientation and training sessions to equip them with
the workflow of the organization. All the employees must be given the training to boost their
job skills and development sessions to work on life skills like communication, decision making,
and leadership.
4. EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND RETENTION
The essential task of Human Resource Management is to build a sense of belongingness in the
employees of the organization. It is also important to motivate each and every person to work
up to their full potential. This can be done either by recognizing and applauding the employees
for their work.
An employee getting recognition increases meaning and purpose in their job, thereby
motivating them to work better the next time. Another method is to provide them with regular
monetary benefits like rewards, compensations, fringe benefits. This not only helps in retaining
employees but also achieving the organization's goals effectively employees but also achieving
the organization's goals effectively.
5. BUILDING A HEALTHY WORK CULTURE
Healthy work culture is important for the employee as well as the organization. It should be the
place when the employees must feel valued, safe and comfortable. It is needed to bring the best
out of the employees.
HR makes sure that there is clean and transparent work culture, leading to employees achieving
individual goals in particular and the organization's goals at large. The more the employees are
happy and motivated, the more productive they are.
6. WAGES AND SALARIES
HR is needed to prepare an extensive and realistic compensation structure with respect to the
job's worth, wages offered by other similar organizations for employees with similar skills. It
may be in the form of direct financial payment like wages, salaries, incentives, bonuses or
indirect like health benefits, paid insurance or vacation packages, etc.
7. MAXIMIZING PROFIT AND PRODUCTIVITY
Human Resources management is responsible for ensuring the right quality and quantity of
personnel in the workplace. Also, to ensure that there are enough opportunities for the existing
employees to grow and prosper in their careers.Such employees who work to achieve their
personal growth directly impact the growth of the organization. Thereby minimizing cost and
maximizing productivity.
8. STRATEGY MANAGEMENT
Human Resource is an essential aspect of any organization. HR Managers work upon and
manage the strategies laid by top-level management to help organizations achieve their goals
and objectives. It also takes part in corporate decision and strategy making for current
employees and predictions for the future based on business demands.
9. BUILDING AND ESTABLISHING CORPORATE IMAGES
Every organization must have a good public image to sustain itself in the market. Here the
HRM is important to build and maintain a strong corporate image in front of its internal as well
as external publics. Moreover, employees would be more willing to work for the organization
having a positive image in the market.
10. CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conflict can destroy a team which hasn't spent time learning to deal with it.
- Thomas Isgar
Conflicts are bound to arise when a group of people are working together, whether it is a small
group or a big team. Conflicts are inevitable and must be resolved quickly as they may hamper
the smooth functioning of the organization. HR management is needed to resolve such conflicts
systematically with an unbiased approach.
So, all in all we can the Human Resource Managers play the role of a balancing wheel in an
organization. They help in keeping the morale and motivation of the employees in the
companies for better productivity and results

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous process of systematic planning to achieve
optimum use of an organization's most valuable asset—quality employees. Human resources
planning ensures the best fit between employees and jobs while avoiding manpower shortages
or surpluses.

OBJECTIVES OF HRP:
STEPS IN HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:
Human resource planning identifies the present and foreseeable demands of
human resources that an organization will require to reach its objectives. It aims to act as a link
between human resource management and an organization’s overarching strategic plan.

It converts the organization’s objectives and plans into an estimated number

of employees required to achieve those goals. Estimating the quantity and type of personnel
the firm will need over the next several months is the primary step in the human resource
process. Businesses that train employees to expand capacity and build skills will see their
workforce grow.

Seven steps can be identified in the process of human resources planning.

1. Analyze Objectives
The human resources planning process starts with the identification of the objectives of the
different departments in the organization. each department such as management, marketing,
production, finance, sales, etc. can have different objectives and they have specific expectations
related to human resources. The objectives can include recruiting new employees for the
process, reducing the number of employees by automating processes or improving the
knowledge and skill levels of existing employees.
By analyzing the objectives of each department of the organization, the human resources
planning team can identify the changes that will be necessary for the future of the organization.
2. Inventory current human resources
Once the necessary changes are identified, the Human resources planning team should create
an inventory of the current human resources available in the organization. This should include
the current number of employees available in the organization, their capacities, capabilities,
and performance abilities. This helps the human resources team to identify the methods of
filling the upcoming job requirements and to create estimates for internal and external
recruitments that will be necessary.
3. Forecast the demand and the supply of employees
Based on the objectives of the different departments of the organization and the inventory of
the available resources, the Human resources planning team can forecast the demand of the
employees. Apart from that, based on the availability in the organization and the employee
market, the supply of the employees should be forecasted.
4. Estimate Gaps
Conducting a comparison between the demand and the supply of the employee availability can
help the human resources team to identify the gaps that can arise in the foreseeable future. The
gaps can arise as employment deficits as well as employment surpluses. Employment deficits
indicate the number of employees that need to be recruited and the employment surpluses
indicates the job terminations or transfers between departments. Apart from that, the gaps can
be used as an indication of the training and development requirements for the employees.
5. Formulate Plan
Once the employment gaps are estimated, the Human resources planning team should
formulate a plan for the recruitment, training, development, termination, interdepartmental
transfers, promotion, or early retirement of employees based on the requirements of the
organization. The employment plan can vary based on the deficit or the surplus estimated in
forecasting the demand and supply stage.
6. Implement Plan
Once the human resources plan is formulated, the human resources department should
implement the plan in the organization. This should be aligned with the goals and objectives of
the organization as well as the goals and objectives of each department of the organization.
7. Monitor, Control, and feedback
Once the human resources plan is implemented, the plan should be monitored continuously to
ensure the alignment of the plan to the objectives of the departments. The necessary controls
should be put in place and the feedback at each level should be obtained to measure any defects
in the implemented human resources plan. The necessary changes should be implemented
according to the feedback obtained in the ongoing process in order to make the human
resources plan a success.

NEEDS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

Sound human resource planning needs to be based on the principles and actions highlighted
in the article below. In the practical world, an external human resource consultant or
employment agency plays an important role in planning the basic requirements for human
resource.
1. Human Resource Planning has to be finally integrated into the other areas of the
organizations strategy and planning.
2. Senior management must give a lead in stressing its importance throughout the organization.
3. In larger organizations a central human resource planning unit responsible to senior
management needs to be established. The main objectives of this are to co-ordinate and
reconcile the demands for human resources from different departments, to standardize and
supervise departmental assessments of requirements and to produce a comprehensive
organizational plan. In practice, the Human Resource and Development department would
normally play a leading role in the task. In smaller organizations these responsibilities would
probably be carried out by a senior manager or even the managing director.
4. The time span to be covered by the plan needs to be defined. Because of the abiding problem
of making forecasts involving imponderable factors, a compromise is often adopted in which
a general human resource plan is produced to cover a period of several years. If the system is
operated as a continuous, rolling plan, the five year period of general forecasting is maintained
and each first year is used in turn for purpose of review and revision for the future.

5. The scope and details of the plan have to be determined. For large organizations separate
human resource plans and forecasts may well be needed for various subsidiary units and
functions. In smaller organizations one comprehensive plan will probably suffice for all
employees. Where particular skills or occupations may pose future problems in recruitment or
training, special provisions will be required in human resource planning.
6. Human resource planning must be based on the most comprehensive and accurate
information that is possible. Such personal information is essential in any case for the effective
management of the organization. Details of format and contents will naturally vary, but they
will normally need to include details of age, sex, qualifications and experience and of trends
likely to effect future forecasts, such as labor wastage, charges in jobs, salaries, etc. Apart from
the routine collection of data for personnel records, special analyses may sometimes be
necessary to provide particular information

ADVANTAGES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

 Building skills. Human resource planning helps your staff to do their jobs better. If you
invest in providing the training and education necessary to build skills and increase
 capacity, your company will be able to achieve more high-quality work with the people
you currently have on staff rather than having to rely on outside contractors.
 Increasing retention. If you show your employees that you value them enough to invest
time and resources in giving them the tools they need to grow, they're more likely to
stay with your company over time. Not only will you make their jobs more interesting,
but you will also show them that you value their work and their tenure.
 Predictability. Your business faces enough day-to-day uncertainties from market
conditions, the economic climate and supply-chain issues. Devoting thought and
planning to giving your employees what they need to do a good job and stay with your
company over time lessens some of these inevitable uncertainties by providing an extra
degree of certainty in scheduling, staffing and handling your ongoing workload.

DISADVANTAGES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

 Expense: It costs money to train and invest in your staff. Whether you're paying for
dedicated training or diverting employee hours from tasks that are more likely to
directly increase your incoming revenue, human resource planning may likely decrease
your bottom line in the short term before it increases your profits in the long term.
 Unpredictability:Although human resource planning has the potential to give your
business a greater degree of stability by building the skills of your workforce, there is
no guarantee that the workers you train will stay with your company long enough for
you to reap the benefits of your investment.
 Illusion of certainty: While human resource planning can make your workforce better
able to do their jobs, you may be training personnel to perform functions that become
obsolete as your company and your industry evolve. This can give you a false sense of
security and may prevent you from reacting quickly enough to developments.

JOB ANALYSIS:
The Job Analysis is a systematic process of gathering complete information about the job duties
and responsibilities required to perform a specific job. The job analysis is concerned only with
the job and not with the job holders, but however, the information about the job is gathered
from the incumbents.

PROCESS OF JOB ANALYSIS:

 Identification of Job Analysis Purpose: Well any process is futile until its purpose is
not identified and defined. Therefore, the first step in the process is to determine its
need and desired output. Spending human efforts, energy as well as money is useless
until HR managers don’t know why data is to be collected and what is to be done with
it.
 Who Will Conduct Job Analysis: The second most important step in the process of
job analysis is to decide who will conduct it. Some companies prefer getting it done by
their own HR department while some hire job analysis consultants. Job analysis
consultants may prove to be extremely helpful as they offer unbiased advice, guidelines
and methods. They don’t have any personal likes and dislikes when it comes to analyze
a job.
  How to Conduct the Process: Deciding the way in which job analysis process needs
to be conducted is surely the next step. A planned approach about how to carry the
whole process is required in order to investigate a specific job.
 Strategic Decision Making: Now is the time to make strategic decision. It’s about
deciding the extent of employee involvement in the process, the level of details to be
collected and recorded, sources from where data is to be collected, data collection
methods, the processing of information and segregation of collected data.
 Training of Job Analyst: Next is to train the job analyst about how to conduct the
process and use the selected methods for collection and recoding of job data.
 Preparation of Job Analysis Process: Communicating it within the organization is the
next step. HR managers need to communicate the whole thing properly so that
employees offer their full support to the job analyst. The stage also involves preparation
of documents, questionnaires, interviews and feedback forms.
 Data Collection: Next is to collect job-related data including educational qualifications
of employees, skills and abilities required to perform the job, working conditions, job
activities, reporting hierarchy, required human traits, job activities, duties and
responsibilities involved and employee behaviour.
 Documentation, Verification and Review: Proper documentation is done to verify the
authenticity of collected data and then review it. This is the final information that is
used to describe a specific job.
 Developing Job Description and Job Specification: Now is the time to segregate the
collected data in to useful information. Job Description describes the roles, activities,
duties and responsibilities of the job while job specification is a statement of
educational qualification, experience, personal traits and skills required to perform the
job.
Thus, the process of job analysis helps in identifying the worth of specific job, utilizing the
human talent in the best possible manner, eliminating unneeded jobs and setting realistic
performance measurement standards.
JOB DRSCRIPTION:
A job description is a tool that explains the tasks, duties, function and responsibilities of a
position. It details who performs a specific type of work, how that work is to be completed,
and the frequency and the purpose of the work as it relates to the organization's mission and
goals.

JOB DESIGN:
Job design" refers to the way that a set of tasks, or an entire job, is organized. Job design helps
to determine: What tasks are done. How the tasks are done.
FACTORS AFFECTING JOB DESIGN:

All the factors that affect job design are broadly classified into three categories:

1. Organisational factors

2. Environmental factors
3. Behavioural factors.

A description of each of these follows:

1. Organisational Factors:

The various factors under organisational factors include task features, work flow, ergonomics,
work practices, etc.

A brief description of these follows:

Task Features:

A job design involves a number of tasks performed by a group of workers. Further, each task
consists of three internal features, namely, (i) planning, (ii) executing, and (iii) controlling. An
ideal job design needs to integrate all these three features of tasks to be performed.

Work Flow:

The very nature of a product influences the sequences of jobs, i.e., work flow. In order to
perform work in an effective and efficient manner, the tasks involved in a job need to be
sequenced and balanced. Consider the car as a product. The frame of a car needs to be built
before the fenders, and similarly the doors will be built later. Thus, once the sequences of tasks
are determined, and then the balance between tasks is established.

Ergonomics:

Ergonomics refers to designing and shaping job in such a manner so as to strike a fit between
the job and the job holder. In other words, jobs are designed in such a way to match job
requirements with worker’s physical abilities to perform a job effectively.

Work Practices:

Practice means a set way of doing work based on tradition or collective wishes of workers.
While designing jobs, these work practices need to be taken into consideration. Evidences are
available to state that ignoring work practices can result in undesirable consequences F.W.
Taylor determined work practices by time and motion study.
Such determination requires repeated observations. However, the accuracy of the determined
work practice is subject to distortions depending on the competence of the observer and
deviations from the normal work cycle. Another limitation of this method is its applicability
only when production is underway.

2. Environmental Factors:

Environmental factors include social and cultural expectations, and employee ability and avail-
ability. These are discussed one by one.

Social and Cultural Expectations:

Gone are days when workers were ready to do any job under any working conditions. But, with
increase in their literacy, education, knowledge, awareness, etc. have raised their expectations
from the jobs. In view of this, jobs for them need to be designed accordingly.

It is due to this reason that the job design now is characterised by the features like work hours,
rest breaks, vacations, religious beliefs, etc. Disregarding these social expectations can create
dissatisfaction, low motivation, high turnover and low quality of working life”.

Employee Ability and Availability:

The various task elements should be included in accordance with the employee abilities and
capabilities. Incorporating job elements beyond the employee ability will be causing mismatch
between the job and the job holder.

Therefore, due consideration should be given to employee ability while determining j ob

design. Henry Ford did follow it. He made job design simple and requiring little training for
assembly line considering that most potential workers lacked any automobile-making
experience.

3. Behavioural Factors:

Behavioural factors are based on the premise that people are influenced to work to satisfy their
needs. Higher the need, more one finds job challenging.

One’s behaviour at work is governed by certain factors are

Autonomy:

Autonomy means freedom to control one’s actions/responses to the environment. Research

studies report that jobs that give autonomy to workers also increase sense of responsibility and
self esteem. On the contrary, absence or lack of autonomy can cause workers apathy to jobs
and, in turn, low and poor performance.

Use of Abilities:

Workers perform jobs effectively that offer them opportunity to make use of their abilities.
Workers find such jobs as interesting and challenging.

Feedback:

Job design should be determined in such a way that workers receive meaningful feedback about
what they did. Feedback helps workers improve their performance.

Variety:

Lack of variety, or say doing the same work, causes boredom which, in turn, leads to fatigue.
Fatigue causes mistakes and accidents. But, by incorporating elements of variety in the job,
boredom, fatigue and mistakes can be avoided and the job can be done in more effective and
efficient manner.

ISSUES IN JOB DESIGN:

1. Telecommuting
2. Team-based work
3. Flexible working hours
4. Alternative work patterns
5. Artificial intelligence

Telecommuting

Almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic has made telecommuting, or working from home,
the normal way of working. While the concept of a virtual office was slowly becoming more
and more popular in the years before this crisis, there was still much resistance from
organizations and workers because of the perceived lack of control and supervision that this
mode of work entails. However, this resistance has now mostly disappeared and organizations
will now consider telecommuting as a normal alternative for many jobs. In the near future, the
rise of telecommuting will have enormous effects on organizations and society in general.

Team-Based Work

Due to the complexity of tasks, the need to integrate multiple perspectives and disciplines into
work products and services, or the sheer volume of work, organizations are increasingly
structuring work around teams. Teamwork involves a set of tasks and activities performed by
individuals who collaborate with each other to achieve a common objective. That objective can
be creating a product, delivering a service, writing a report, or making a decision. Teamwork
differs from individual work in that it involves shared responsibility for a final outcome.

Teamwork requires certain conditions to be in place that will increase the likelihood that each
member’s contributions—and the effort of the group as a whole—will lead to success.
Effective teams share five characteristics:

 Shared values: a common set of beliefs and principles about how and why the team
members will work together
 Mutual trust: confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the
team ahead of individual priorities
 Inspiring vision: a clear direction that motivates commitment to a collective effort
 Skill/talent: the combined abilities and expertise to accomplish the required tasks and
work productively with others
 Rewards: recognition of achievement toward objectives and reinforcement of
behaviour that supports the team’s work

Effective teamwork requires that people work as a cohesive unit. These five characteristics can
help individuals collaborate with others by focusing their efforts in a common direction and
achieving an outcome that can only be reached by working together. There are many enabling
collaborative technologies that support and enhance team-based work models – regardless of
the physical locations of team members..

Flex Time

Flex time allows employees to choose when they will start their work day, and when it will
end. They need to work a required number of hours per day or for the week. Employees there
is likely a standard of time when all employees need to be at the workplace. This would
generally be later in the morning or early in the afternoon. The advantages for the employee
allows them to be flexible in scheduling their work around life activities. Some employees
function better early morning, or later in the afternoon. Therefore, they would be more
productive at work. Advantages for the employer is a longer working day for production. An
example might be the company is open from 8:30am-4:30pm or eight hours. It adopts a flexible
work day and opens at 6:30am and closes at 6:30pm or a twelve hour day of operation. This
increases the company production by four hours or a 1/3 longer day of operation. Employees
would be allowed to come to work anywhere from 6:30am-8:30am and leave anytime from
2:30pm-6:30pm. The core hours would be 8:30am-2:30pm when all employees are expected
to be at work.

Compressed Work Week

An employee’s work week is shortened by the number of days worked per week, and maintains
the same hours. This trend has become popular within organizations. Employees have a set
schedule when they work. Other employees may need a day off during the week. In this case,
they may work longer hours on other days in the week. Examples might include working 4
days a week at 10 hours per day to equal a 40 hour work week. Another example is working a
nine hour day, and having an extra day off every other week. This is often called Happy Fridays
as people take the Friday off after working their 40 hours in nine days. A compressed work
week allows employees a better work-life balance.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is having major implications in how work is performed.
Just like the advent of robotics has allowed for the replacement of physical tasks by machines,
AI can be used to support or even replace mental tasks. For instance, a call centre employee
could get instant intelligence about what the caller needs in order to do their work faster and
better. Voice prompted questions of the caller and corresponding answers can be analyzed to
determine the reason for the call, selection of the appropriate service area and representative,
including synthesized data converted to text, and made available to the service representative.
AI can easily perform the heavy lifting of these reports – and associated steps – could be
generated in a fraction of the time, allowing the accountants to focus on more value-added tasks
such as client management and validation.

JOB ENLARGEMENT:
The definition of job enlargement is adding additional activities within the same level to an
existing role. This means that a person will do more, different activities in their current job. For
example, an employee who will now also manage her own planning where this was formerly
done by her manager.

JOB ENRICHMENT:
Job enrichment is a strategy used to motivate employees by giving them increased
responsibility and variety in their jobs. The idea is to allow employees to have more control
over their work. By doing so, one can tap into their natural desire to do a good job and
contribute to the overall goals of the company.

JOB EVALUATION:
In simple words, job evaluation is the rating of jobs in an organisation. This is the process of
establishing the value or worth of jobs in a job hierarchy. It attempts to compare the relative
intrinsic value or worth of jobs within an organisation. Thus, job evaluation is a comparative
process.
According to the International Labour Office (ILO) “Job evaluation is an attempt to determine
and compare the demands which the normal performance of a particular job makes on normal
workers, without taking into account the individual abilities or performance of the workers
concerned”.
OBJECTIVES OF JOB EVALUATION:
The objectives of job evaluation, to put in a more orderly manner are to:
1. Provide a standard procedure for determining the relative worth of each job in a plant.
2. Determine equitable wage differentials between different jobs in the organisation.
3. Eliminate wage inequalities.
4. Ensure that like wages are paid to all qualified employees for like work.
5. Form a basis for fixing incentives and different bonus plans.
6. Serve as a useful reference for setting individual grievances regarding wage rates.
7. Provide information for work organisation, employees’ selection, placement, training and
numerous other similar problems.
8. Provide a benchmark for making career planning for the employees in the organisation.

PROCEDURE FOR JOB EVALUATION:

Though the common objective of job evaluation is to establish the relative worth of jobs in a
job hierarchy, there is no common procedure of job evaluation followed by all organisations.
As such, the procedure of job evaluation varies from organisation to organisation. For example,
a job e valuation procedure may consist of the eight stages as delineated

1. Preliminary Stage:
This is the stage setting for job evaluation programme. In this stage, the required information’s
obtained about present arrangements, decisions are made on the need for a new programme or
revision of an existing one and a clear cut choice is made of the type of programme is to be
used by the organisation.
2.Planning Stage:
In this stage, the evaluation programme is drawn up and the job holders to be affected are
informed. Due arrangements are made for setting up joint working parties and the sample of
jobs to be evaluated is selected.
3. Analysis Stage:
This is the stage when required information about the sample of jobs is collected. This
information serves as a basis for the internal and external evaluation of jobs.
4. Internal Evaluation Stage:
Next to analysis stage is internal evaluation stage. In the internal evaluation stage, the sample
of bench-mark jobs are ranked by means of the chosen evaluation scheme as drawn up at the
planning stage. Jobs are then graded on the basis of data pending the collection of market rate
data. Relative worth of jobs is ascertained by comparing grades between the jobs.
5. External Evaluation Stage:
In this stage, information is collected on market rates at that time.
6. Design Stage:
Having ascertained grades for jobs, salary structure is designed in this stage.
7. Grading Stage:
This is the stage in which different jobs are slotted into the salary structure as designed in the
preceding stage 6.
8. Developing and Maintaining Stage:
This is the final stage in a job evaluation programme. In this stage, procedures for maintaining
the salary structure are developed with a view to accommodate inflationary pressures in the
salary levels, grading new jobs into the structure and regarding the existing jobs in the light of
changes in their responsibilities and market rates.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER:

Human resources (HR) manager is someone who oversees the administrative and
organizational functions of a company or business. The manager usually heads the HR
department, and they play an important role as a bridge between management and employees.
HR managers work in nearly every industry. As long as a company has employees, an HR
manager is typically needed to oversee hiring, training, and the organization and development
of the company culture.

ROLE OF HR MANAGER:
A human resources manager handles many duties and roles in their position. They provide
guidance and direction to specialists while monitoring and organising the human resources
department. If you are interested in becoming an HR manager, learning more about what they
do can help you prepare. In this article, we review 13 HR manager roles, answer frequently
asked questions and provide helpful tips for finding a job in human resources management.
These are some roles and responsibilities that human resources managers handle in their
position:
1. Hiring and recruitment
One of a human resources manager's primary roles is locating and hiring new talent for their
company. This process can include locating talent through online sources, recruitment agencies
and physical ads. After locating potential hires, the HR manager may screen resumes and read
cover letters to determine which candidates are most viable. They then interview or delegate
interviews to other human resources specialists to gather more information about the
candidates. At the end of the hiring process, the manager collaborates with other professionals
to develop compensation and benefits packages that can influence talented individuals to accept
employment offers.
2. Creating job description and design
Job description and design is the process of determining which professional roles are necessary
for a team or department and defining those roles. To develop cohesive and efficient teams of
professionals, the HR manager determines the skills, qualifications and education for each
person, along with what their responsibilities include. During this process, the HR manager
may consider the leadership structure and how the team can collaborate to produce quality
work and value for the company. For example, the human resources manager may determine
that a department functions best with several teams, each of which contains a team leader.
3. Planning and schedules
Another role that HR managers manage is planning for company events and creating schedules.
Depending on the size of the company, the nature of the work and how many employees there
are in each department, the HR manager may determine when each staff member works, or
they may delegate that task to other leaders within the company. If hours are consistent or the
company primarily employs salaried individuals, the HR manager may not design a weekly
schedule but plan for company holidays and inform staff members about their time off from
work.
4. Onboarding and training
Onboarding is preparing a new hire for integration into the company atmosphere and workflow.
HR managers prepare and plan for onboarding, either creating the material themselves or
overseeing the process. Training is important for new employees, as it ensures they understand
policies and procedures within the organisation. HR managers can prepare documents,
schedule training sessions and determine what each new hire learns during their onboarding
and training. Effective onboarding and training can ready employees and help them reach peak
production faster, which provides the company with more value.
5. Documenting rules and regulations
HR managers create documentation for rules and regulations, communicate this important
information to employees and create procedures for training employees on these policies. An
HR manager may work with other professionals to create an employee handbook and ensure
each employee receives and signs a copy before beginning work with the company. They may
also update and improve rules and regulations as the company grows and develops. For
example, an HR manager may create or oversee the creation of activities involving regulation
review and the production of new materials.
6. Performance management
Performance management allows companies and teams to ensure each of their staff members
is producing value for the company that equals their compensation. To use performance
management, the HR manager may implement systems for monitoring productivity, suggesting
solutions for issues and offering potential improvements in workflow. The HR manager may
gather employee feedback on how to improve performance and use incentives and other
methods for increasing productivity. For example, an HR manager may design a reward system
for the highest performing staff member each month or quarter.
7. Developing workplace atmosphere
HR managers understand that developing a welcoming and conducive workplace atmosphere
is important for improving productivity, employee satisfaction and staff engagement levels. To
do this, they may collaborate with designers to create more open and inspiring layouts for
rooms, offer refreshments and improve communication within the workplace. For example,
they may promote an open layout and plan events for team members to get to know one another
and develop professional relationships. The HR manager may also focus on diversity and
inclusion to create an effective workplace atmosphere.
8. Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is necessary when employees have disputes and disagreements. The HR
manager can develop a standard procedure for settling problems and providing conflict
resolution. They may also supervise HR specialists as they meet with staff members to solve
disputes, acting as mediators during discussions. HR managers ensure their department
responds quickly to conflict and supports the rights of the employees.
9. Ensuring employee health and safety
HR managers support employee health and safety by assessing potential risks and supplying
staff members with protection, depending on the organisation and industry. The manager may
take action to address potential risks by reducing or eliminating them. To promote health among
team members, HR managers may arrange health goals and benefits like gym memberships,
relays or friendly competitions.
10. Positive reinforcement
An HR manager affects positive reinforcement by working directly with staff members and
advising their leaders. Positive reinforcement is the act of providing a reward when a staff
member shows good behaviour or contributes to excellent work. To do this, HR managers can
use employee of the month awards, supply positive verbal feedback or give small rewards like
gift cards or meals to employees.
11. Recording and reporting
Successful HR managers record and report the performance of their department, metrics for
staff productivity and satisfaction, risk analysis and accidents or incidents. Recording and
reporting is an important part of the HR manager's position, as it allows them to protect
themselves and the company in sensitive situations by documenting meetings and incidents.
Tracking performance metrics is also important for HR managers because they can use them
to assess their team and develop goals for improvement.
12. Specialist management
HR managers provide guidance and direction to the specialists within their department. This
can vary depending on the size of the company, but HR managers may lead a team of HR
specialists to complete daily HR tasks. Their management role means HR managers must have
excellent leadership abilities, along with a thorough understanding of human resources topics.
13. Managing compensation and benefits
Compensation and benefits is a subject that HR managers thoroughly understand, and creating
the best compensation and benefits packages for employees can increase retention and bring
more value to the company. Compensation refers to the salary or wage that a staff member
earns, and benefits are additional perks like health insurance, educational assistance and others.
HR managers must assess an employee's value and create a package that attracts and keeps top
talent with their company.

FUNCTIONS OF HR MANAGER:
The Human Resources (HR) department is an important component of every organization's
operations. When it comes to hiring HR specialists, companies are constantly on the hunt.
Everyone interested in Human Resources may expect a rewarding career. If you're considering
a career in HR, it is important to understand the key functions of human resource management.
1. Human Resource Planning
HR's initial role focuses on the company's long-term requirements. How many and what sort
of employees does the company require? Knowing this will influence all aspects of human
resources management, including recruiting, screening, performance evaluation, and training
& development.
Workforce planning and human resources planning are quite similar. There is a lot of emphasis
on the present and the future of the organization.
2. Recruitment and Selection
The second HR function is to recruit and choose the best individuals for the company.
Attracting new employees often begins with developing an employee brand. Being an
appealing employer offers several benefits, just as the reverse is true. The tobacco business is
an excellent illustration of the latter since it struggles to recruit talent owing to its tarnished
image.
You're halfway there with a great employer brand and smart sourcing tactics. The selection
procedure is used by HR to identify the most qualified and promising individuals. Because
recruitment technology has advanced rapidly, there are now recruiting tools for every stage of
the hiring process.
3. Performance Management
Performance management is critical to ensure that employees are both active and motivated at
work. Supervision, defined objectives, and honest feedback are all necessary components of
effective performance management.
The (bi)annual performance appraisal is one of the performance management tools. It involves
the employee being evaluated by his or her boss. Additionally, 360-degree feedback systems
are used to evaluate an employee's performance by colleagues, supervisors, coworkers, and
occasionally even customers. Such tools may be quite beneficial for delivering feedback.
When you use performance management, you're also able to bridge the talent gap between
today's workers and the ones you desire in the future. Learning and development is one of the
finest strategies to establish a strong workforce for the future.
4. Career Planning
HR management is also responsible for providing workers with career advice and development
as part of its fourth function, which is career planning. Employees are more likely to stay with
a firm if they see how their goals connect with the company's long-term vision. A strong
employer brand, better succession planning, and more productive employees are all advantages
for the company.
5. Employee Participation and Communication
As per Dave Ulrich, among the most important functions of human resources is to serve as a
credible activist on behalf of the workers. A variety of issues that are significant to employees
must be communicated to and heard by those who work with them. Information that is
important to workers is conveyed through communication.