Enrollment No.

: MBISMCT11118178

MBA
Information
Assignment

Systems

1st

Year

Annamalai University

5: Human Resource Management

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Question #1: What are all the roles of HR Manager? Explain line
and staff function.
Answer:-

Introduction

Organisations are made up of people and functions through people. Without

people organisations cannot exists. The resources of men, money, material
and machinery are collected, coordinated and utilised through people.
Therefore people are the most significant resources of any organisation.
Business houses are made or broken in the long run not by markets or
capital, patents or equipment but by men L. F. Urwick
The total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes of an
organisations workforce, as well as the values, attitudes and beliefs of the
individuals involved Megginson
Thus, human resources represent the quantitative and
measurement of the workforce required in an organisation.

qualitative

In order to bind people and the organisation together to achieve their

objectives an effective Human Resource Management (HRM) is required by
every organisation.
Planning, organizing, directing, controlling of procurement,
development,
compensation,
integration,
maintenance
and
separation of human resources to the end that individual,
organizational and social objectives are achieved. Edwin Flippo
defines
HR Manager who leads this critical department of an organisation is one of
the most important key to open a lock hanging on the door of success. If
he/she is efficient enough to handle and to take out best from his/her team
members any organisation can achieve more from his target goals. He/she
plays a very important role in hierarchy, and also in between the higher
management and low level employees.

Qualities of HR Manager
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The job of Human Resource Manager is quite complex and challenging. In
order to be successful, several qualities are required in an HR Manager. Some
of these qualities are

1. Educational Qualifications:
Degree of recognized university.
Postgraduate degree/diploma in sociology or social work or human
resource management/industrial relations/labor welfare/labor law, or
MBA with specialization in HRM.
Degree in law will be an additional/desirable qualification.
2. Personal Attributes:
The HR manager, as in case of any other manager, must have
initiative, resourcefulness, depth of perception, maturity in judgment,
and analytical ability.
Freedom from bias would enable the HR manager to take an objective
view of both of management and workers. He must thus have
intellectual integrity.
HR manger should be thorough with labor laws.
The HR manager must be familiar with human needs, wants, hopes
and desires, values, aspirations, etc., without which adequate
motivation is impossible.
The HR manager should also possess other personal attributes like:
Intelligence: This includes skills to communicate, articulate, moderate,
and understand, etc., command over language, mental ability and tact
in dealing with people intelligently, ability to draft agreements, policies
etc.
Educational skills: HR manager should possess learning and teaching
skills as he has to learn and teach employees about organizational
growth, need for and mode of development of individuals.
Discriminating skills: HR manager should have the ability to
discriminate between right and wrong, between the just and unjust,
merit and demerit.
Executing skills:
o HR manager should execute HR issues with speed, objectivity
and accuracy.
o He should also be able to streamline the office, set standards of
performance Co-ordinate and control, etc.
o He should also have leadership qualities, deep faith in human
values, empathy with human problems, foreseeing future needs
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of employees, organization, government, trade unions, society,
etc.
3. Experience and Training:
Previous experience is an added advantage, provided the experience
was in an appropriate environment and in the same area.
Training in psychological aspects, labor legislation and in HR
management.
Experience in an enterprise in some other executive capacity can also
help towards an appreciation of the general management problems
and a practical approach in meeting HR problems.
4. Professional Attributes:
HR manager should have patience and understanding, ability to listen
before offering advice.
HR manager should have the knowledge of various disciplines like
technology, engineering, management, sociology, philosophy and law.
He must be able to couple his social justice with a warm personal
interest in people which must be secured by an uncommon degree of
common sense.
5. Commitment
A manager is committed to the success of the project and of all team members. She
holds the vision for the collective team and moves the team closer to the end result. It's
the manager's commitment that pulls the team forward during trying times.
6. Versatility
Flexibility and versatility are valuable qualities in a manager. Beneath
the flexibility and versatility is an ability to be both non-reactive and
not attached to how things have to be. Versatility implies an openness
this openness allows the leader to quickly *change on a dime* when
necessary. Flexibility and versatility are the pathways to speedy
responsiveness.

Role of HR Manager
The role of Human Resource manager may be analyzed as
1. As a specialist:
HR Manager is an expert. As a specialist, he advices the heads of different functional
departments on various aspects of human resource management, such as human resource
planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal, compensation, etc. with his
counsel and suggestions, functional managers can perform these functions successfully. The
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human resource manager should provide information, suggestions and assistance in such a
way that he is considered a source of help rather than a source of threat to line managers. He
should earn their confidence and goodwill. Staff assistance is likely to be effective when it is
wanted rather than when imposed. HR Manager must analyze different classification studies
related to job audits and other activities to identify duties and responsibilities assigned to
employees; develops job descriptions, job specifications, organization charts and other
materials to describe positions and duties performed by employees; determines appropriate
classifications for individual positions.

2. An a Information Source:
The HR Manager provides valuable information about labor market, laws
and other related areas. Such information is necessary for the formulation
of proper policies and procedures about human resources. He serves as a
record keeper and researcher to provide the required information.
3. As a Change Agent:
The HR Manager can serve as an internal change agent to initiate and
spearhead necessary improvements in human resource practices. As a
consultant, he can provide necessary infrastructure and support for
institutional changes in the organization. He is an innovator in human
resource matters. To be an effective consultant, the HR Manager should
be familiar with the needs and changing environment of the organization.
As a controller:
The HR Manager assists line managers in effective implementation of
human resource policies and programs. His advice and service is essential
for monitoring and controlling the progress. As an arm of the top
management, the human resource manager ensures that the human
resource policies and procedures approved and adopted by the
management are being consistently carried out in all the departments.
4. As a liaison Man:
Very often the human resource manager is asked to act as a linking pin
between different departments/divisions of an organization.
5. As a Housekeeper:
The HR Manager looks after safety, health, welfare, etc. of employees.
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6. As a Fire Fighter:
In union-management relations, the HR Manager acts as a shock absorber.
He is the managements defense against trade union activities. He acts as
a trouble shooter.
Thus a HR Manager plays a variety of roles depending on the needs of the
particular organization. He is basically an advisor or controller rather than a
decision-maker. He is there to assist, advice, counsel and guide the line
executives in the performance of human resource function.

Ethical Duties of HR Manager

Respecting people and not using them solely as means to ones own ends.
Not doing any harm providing equal pay for equal work.
Telling the truth being truthful in recruitment.
Interprets and communicates laws and regulations to ensure the agency
is aware of its legal responsibilities; in conjunction with the Legal
Department.
Develops and implements personnel rules and regulations, and interprets
and administers human resources-related provisions of collective
bargaining agreements.
Analyses processes and procedures in assigned functional areas including
conducting
research
and
statistical
analyses,
and
makes
recommendations for improvement.
Trains and evaluates subordinates and prepares preliminary budget
reports in assigned functional areas.
Keeping promises taking responsibility for occupational diseases.
Treating people fairly and without discrimination avoiding discriminatory
practices in selection, appraisal etc.
Not depriving people of basic rights, such as the right to free speech and
association.

Staff and Line Function of HR Manager

HR: No More a Staff But a Line Function Sidharth Nahata & K. Snehapriya
"All managers are, in a sense, HR managers, since they all get involved in
activities like recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and training." Gary Dessler
HR managers are, in most of the cases even now in this modern world,
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generally staff managers. They are responsible for advising line managers
(like those for production and sales) in areas like recruiting, hiring, and
compensation.
The human resource department provides this specialized assistance. Thus,
an HR manager will perform three distinct functions: 1. A Line Function :
An HR manager possesses a line authority over his own department to accomplish the task
and roles assigned to each employee of the department. Line manager is the one who is
responsible for getting effective performance, for ensuring adequate training and
development, for welfare and discipline, counseling, and hiring, and firing; responsible for
the planning, control and organization of work, for motivating staff and generally for getting
the job done through people.

2. A Coordinative Function:
An HR manager is also a coordinator of all the decision, activities in the
personnel area. This is referred to as functional control. Whatever, policies
procedures and objectives are set for the HR manager implements on
employees in the organization. HR Develops and implements a recruitment and
selection system that is suitable to the nature of the business.

3. A Staff Function:
This is basically an advisory role played by the manager whereby he only
assists line managers, but that does not mean his advice shall be taken
finally. It all depends on the discretion of the line manager. Such a
function involves assisting on areas such as training, evaluating,
rewarding, counselling, promoting, and firing of employees, etc. Many a
times, HR managers also update the line managers as well as top
management regarding the current trends and new methods of solving
problems. The staff function is advisory but owns the responsibility for the
results and in accountable for non-performance.

HR Manager Activities between the Line and the Staff

Duties
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Department Supervisors Personnel Specialists
(Line) Activities
(Staff) Activities
Assist job analyst by listing
specific
duties
and
responsibilities of the job in
question and explain to HR
future staffing needs and
sorts of people needed to be
hired.
Describe
"human
requirements" of job so HR
can develop selection tests
Interview
candidates
and
make final selection decision
Training
& Orient employees regarding
Development the company and job and
instruct
and
train
new
employees.
Evaluate and recommend
managers'
developmental
activities.
Provide the leadership and
empowerment that builds
effective work teams.
Use the firm's appraisal forms
to
appraise
employee
performance.
Assess subordinates' career
progress and advise them
regarding career options.
HR
by
providing
Compensatio Assist
information
regarding
the
n
nature and relative worth of
each job to serve as the basic
for compensation decisions.
Don the nature and amounts
of incentives to be paid to
subordinates.
Decide on the package of
benefits and services the firm
is to pay
Recruitment
& Selection

Labour
Relations

Write job description and

job specification based on
input
from
department
supervisor.
Develop
personnel plans showing
promo table employees.
Resorting
of
qualified
applications.
Conduct
initial
serving
interviews
and
refer
feasible
candidates
to
department supervisor.
Prepare training materials
and orientation documents
and outlines. Advise CEO
regarding development plan
for managers based on
CEO's stated vision of firm's
future needs.
Providing
information
regarding how to institute
and
operate
quality
improvement programs and
team building efforts.
Develop
performance
appraisal
tools
and
maintain
records
of
appraisals
Conduct
job
evaluation
procedures
aimed
at
determining relative worth
of each job in the firm.
Conduct salary survey for
same job type in the
market.
Serve as a resource in
advising line management
regarding
financial
incentives and pay plan
alternatives
Establish
the
day-to-day Diagnose underlying causes
climate of mutual respect and of labour discontent with an
trust needed to maintain eye
toward
anticipating

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Employee
Security
Safety

healthy labour management

relations.
Consistently apply the terms
of the labour agreement.
Ensure
that
the
firm's
grievance
process
is
functioning in a manner
consistent with the labour
agreement and make final
decisions on grievances after
investigating same.
Work with HR in negotiating
the
collective
bargaining
agreement
Keep
the
lines
of
open
& communication
between
employees
and
managers so employees are
kept abreast of important
company matters and have a
variety of vehicles they can
use to express concerns and
use to express concerns and
gripes.
Sure
employees
are
guaranteed fair treatment as
it
relates
to
discipline,
dismissals and job security.
Continually direct employees
in the consistent application
of safe work habits.
Prepare
accident
reports
promptly and accurately.

with the sorts of moral and

lead to unionization efforts.
Train
line
managers
regarding the interpretation
of contract terms and the
legal pitfalls to be avoided
during the union organizing
effort.
Advise managers regarding
how to handle grievances
and assist all parties in
reaching
agreement
regarding grievances
Advise line management
regarding
the
communication techniques
that can be used to
encourage
upward
and
downward communication.
Develop a fair treatment
process and train line
managers in its use.
Analyze jobs to develop
safe practice rules and
advise on design of safety
apparatus
such
as
machinery guards.
Promptly invest accidents
analyze
causes,
make
recommendations
for
accident presentation and
submit necessary forms to
occupational safety and
health administration

Question #3:
a) Write short note on:
i) job specification
ii) job analysis
iii) job evaluation
b) Explain the types of interviews
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Answer:-

a) Short note on
i) Job Specification
Job Specification is the delineation of the knowledge, skills, and abilities
along with the associated education, training, and experience required to
successfully perform within a position. The stipulated criterion normally
constitutes the minimum recruiting criteria or minimum qualifications for the
position.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Job Specification contains or consists of the following information:Personal characteristics such as education, job experience, age, gender,
extracurricular activities, etc.
Physical characteristics such as height, weight, vision, hearing, fitness,
health, etc.
Mental characteristics such as general intelligence (IQ), memory, judgment,
foresight, etc.
Social and Psychological characteristics such as emotional ability,
flexibility, manners, creativity, group behavior, etc.
Job specification tells what kind of person is required for a given job. It serves
as a guide in the recruitment and selection process. It also helps in training
and appraisal of the employee. Organizations generally tend to specify
relatively high requirements for formal education and training with the result
that highly qualified personnel end up doing routine jobs. Despite these
problems, it is necessary to specify for every job the minimum acceptable
human qualities.
Advantages of Job Specification
1. It is helpful in preliminary screening in the selection procedure.
2. It helps in giving due justification to each job.
3. It also helps in designing training and development programmes.
4. It helps the supervisors for counseling and monitoring performance of employees.
5. It helps in job evaluation.

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6. It helps the management to take decisions regarding promotion, transfers and giving extra
benefits to the employees.
For Example:
Job specification
Position:
Department:
Education
and
training:

Experience:
Age:
Other attributes:

of Compensation Manager
Manager, wage and administration.
Human Resource division.
a. A good bachelor degree with at least 50 percent
marks
b. MBS
with
specification
in
HRM/MA
Social
Work/Diploma in HRM or other equivalent qualification
c. A degree or diploma in labour law will be an additional
desirable qualification
At least five years experience in a similar position in a
large organisation of repute.
Preferably above 30 years and below 45 years
a. Good health
b. Pleasing manners
c. Fluency in speaking and writing
d. Analytical and decision making skills
e. Ability to work long hours
f. Innovative approach
g. Good knowledge of computer applications

ii) Job Analysis

Organizations consist of positions that have to be staffed. Job analysis is the
procedure through which you determine the duties of these positions and the
characteristics of the people to hire for them. Job analysis produces
information used for writing job descriptions (a list of what the job entails)
and job specifications (what kind of people to hire for the job).
The supervisor or HR specialist normally collects one or more of the following
types of information via the job analysis:

Work activities. First, he or she collects information about the jobs actual
work activities, such as cleaning, selling, teaching, or painting. This list may
also include how, why, and when the worker performs each activity.
Human behaviors. The specialist may also collect information about human
behaviors like sensing, communicating, deciding, and writing. Included here
would be information regarding job demands such as lifting weights or
walking long distances.
Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids. This category includes
information regarding tools used, materials processed, knowledge dealt with
or applied (such as finance or law), and services rendered (such as

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counseling or repairing).
Performance standards. The employer may also want information about
the jobs performance standards (in terms of quantity or quality levels for
each job duty, for instance). Management will use these standards to
appraise employees.
Job context. Included here is information about such matters as physical
working conditions, work schedule, and the organizational and social context
for instance, the number of people with whom the employee would
normally interact. Information regarding incentives might also be included
here.
Human requirements. This includes information regarding the jobs human
requirements, such as job-related knowledge or skills (education, training,
work experience) and required personal attributes (aptitudes, physical
characteristics, personality, interests).

Uses of Job Analysis Information

Job analysis information is the basis for several interrelated HR management
activities.
Recruitment and Selection Job analysis provides information about what
the job entails and what human characteristics are required to perform these
activities. This information, in the form of job descriptions and specifications,
helps management decide what sort of people to recruit and hire.
Compensation Job analysis information is crucial for estimating the value of
each job and its appropriate compensation. Compensation (such as salary
and bonus) usually depends on the jobs required skill and education level,
safety hazards, degree of responsibility, and so onall factors you can
assess through job analysis. Furthermore, many employers group jobs into
classes (say, secretary III and IV). Job analysis provides the information to
determine the relative worth of each joband thus its appropriate class.
Performance Appraisal A performance appraisal compares each employees
actual performance with his or her performance standards. Managers use job
analysis to determine the jobs specific activities and performance standards.
Training The job description should show the activities and skillsand
therefore the trainingthat the job requires.
Discovering Unassigned Duties Job analysis can also help reveal unassigned
duties. For example, your companys production manager says shes
responsible for a dozen or so duties, such as production scheduling and raw
material purchasing. Missing, however, is any reference to managing raw
material inventories? On further study, you learn that none of the other
manufacturing people are responsible for inventory management, either. You
know from your review of other jobs like these that someone should be
managing inventories. Youve uncovered an essential unassigned duty,

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thanks to job analysis.

iii) Job Evaluation

Job evaluation is an orderly and systematic technique of determing the
relative worth of the various jobs within the organization so as to develop an
equitable wage and salary structure. It is a process which is helpful even for
framing compensation plans by the personnel manager. Job evaluation as a
process is advantageous to a company in many ways:

Reduction in inequalities in salary structure - It is found that people

and their motivation is dependent upon how well they are being paid.
Therefore the main objective of job evaluation is to have external and
internal consistency in salary structure so that inequalities in salaries are
reduced.
Specialization - Because of division of labor and thereby specialization, a
large number of enterprises have got hundred jobs and many employees to
perform them. Therefore, an attempt should be made to define a job and
thereby fix salaries for it. This is possible only through job evaluation.
Helps in selection of employees - The job evaluation information can be
helpful at the time of selection of candidates. The factors that are
determined for job evaluation can be taken into account while selecting the
employees.
Harmonious relationship between employees and manager - Through
job evaluation, harmonious and congenial relations can be maintained
between employees and management, so that all kinds of salaries
controversies can be minimized.
Standardization - The process of determining the salary differentials for
different jobs become standardized through job evaluation. This helps in
bringing uniformity into salary structure.
Relevance of new jobs - Through job evaluation, one can understand the
relative value of new jobs in a concern.
Due to increasing mechanization and automation, perofmance
depends in many cases more on the machine than on the worker. Job
evaluation is a realistic basis of wage fixation in these cases.
Job evaluation represents an effort to determine the relative value of every
job in a plant and to determine what the fair basic wage for such a job should
be. Kimball and Kimball
Thus, job evaluation is different from performance appraisal. In job
evaluation, worth of a job is calculated while in performance appraisal, the
worth of employee is rated.
Job Evaluation Methods

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There are 4 basic and traditional systems of job evaluation.It grouped as
under:
Non quantitative methods
1. Ranking or job comparision
2. Grading or job classification
1. Ranking - This method is one of the simplest to administer. Jobs are
compared to each other based on the overall worth of the job to the
organization. The 'worth' of a job is usually based on judgements of skill,
effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and
working conditions.

Advantages:
Simple.
Very effective when there are relatively few jobs to be evaluated (less than
30).
Disadvantages:
Difficult to administer as the number of jobs increases.
Rank judgements are subjective.
Since there is no standard used for comparison, new jobs would have to be
compared with the existing jobs to determine its appropriate rank. In
essence, the ranking process would have to be repeated each time a new job
is added to the organization.
2. Classification - Jobs are classified into an existing grade/category
structure or hierarchy. Each level in the grade/category structure has a
description and associated job titles. Each job is assigned to the
grade/category providing the closest match to the job. The classification of a
position is decided by comparing the whole job with the appropriate job
grading standard. To ensure equity in job grading and wage rates, a common
set of job grading standards and instructions are used. Because of
differences in duties, skills and knowledge, and other aspects of trades and
labour jobs, job grading standards are developed mainly along occupational
lines. The standards do not attempt to describe every work assignment of
each position in the occupation covered. The standards identify and describe
those key characteristics of occupations which are significant for
distinguishing different levels of work. They define these key characteristics
in such a way as to provide a basis for assigning the appropriate grade level
to all positions in the occupation to which the standards apply.

Advantages:
Simple.
The grade/category structure exists independent of the jobs. Therefore, new

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jobs can be classified more easily than the Ranking Method. Disadvantages
Classification judgments are subjective.
The standard used for comparison (the grade/category structure) may have
built in biases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or
minorities).
Some jobs may appear to fit within more than one grade/category.
Quantitative Methods
3. Factor Comparison
4. Point Rating
3. Factor Comparison - A set of compensable factors are identified as
determining the worth of jobs. Typically the number of compensable factors
is small (4 or 5). Examples of compensable factors are:
Skill, Responsibilities, Effort
Working Conditions Next, benchmark jobs are identified. Benchmark jobs
should be selected as having certain characteristics.
Equitable pay (not overpaid or underpaid)
Range of the factors (for each factor, some jobs would be at the low end
of the factor while others would be at the high end of the factor). This
process establishes the rate of pay for each factor for each benchmark
job. Slight adjustments may need o be made to the matrix to ensure
equitable dollar weighting of the factors. The other jobs in the
organization are then compared with the benchmark jobs and rates of pay
for each factor are summed to determine the rates of pay for each of the
other jobs.
Advantages:
The value of the job is expressed in monetary terms.
Can be applied to a wide range of jobs.
Can be applied to newly created jobs. Disadvantages
The pay for each factor is based on judgements that are subjective.
The standard used for determining the pay for each factor may have build
in biases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or
minorities).
4. Point Method - A set of compensable factors are identified as
determining the worth of jobs. Typically the compensable factors include the
major categories of:
Skill, Responsibilities, Effort, Working Conditions
These factors can then be further defined.
Skill, Experience, Education, Ability, Responsibilities, Fiscal, Supervisory,
Effort, Mental, Physical, Working Conditions, Location, Hazards, Extremes in

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Environment
The point method is an extension of the factor comparison method. Each
factor is then divided into levels or degrees which are then assigned points.
Each job is rated using the job evaluation instrument. The points for each
factor are summed to form a total point score for the job. Jobs are then
grouped by total point scores and assigned to wage/salary grades so that
similarly rated jobs would be placed in the same wage/salary grade.
Advantages
The value of the job is expressed in monetary terms.
Can be applied to a wide range of jobs.
Can be applied to newly created jobs. Disadvantages
The pay for each factor is based on judgements that are subjective.
The standard used for determining the pay for each factor may have build
in biases that would affect certain groups of employees (females or
minorities).

b) Types of interviews
Introduction
Interview is a face to face interaction between two persons for a particular
purpose. It is widely used not only in employee selection but for placement,
orientation, appraisal, disciplinary action, exit or separation, counselling and
general problem solving. It is also employed to screen candidates for
admission into the institution of higher learning. Thus, an interview is a
purposeful exchange of views, the answering of questions and
communication between two or more persons.
The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the
meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects. The
main task in interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the
interviewees say -(Kvale,1996)
Types of Interview
1. Formal Interview - The course of the interview is pre planned. Also, the
fixing of value, time limit, panel of the interview, intimating the candidate
officially of selection / rejection etc is decided. The questions to be asked
to the candidate are pre decided and the panel of experts will be allotted
the areas they are required to probe the interviewee. The panel generally
does not deviate from the objective set for the interview.
2. Informal Interview - This type of interview is more casual in approach. The interviewer
may ask the candidate basic questions related to the job. They might change their mind about
questions and carry on a conversation with the candidate, e.g. Tell me something about your
family background. In this type of interview, the interviewer tries to bring the candidate at
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ease before probing deeper into the job related field.
3. Structured Interview - This type of interview is perfectly planned and
the course of action is defined. The panel is not given room to go beyond
the formulated structure of the interview. Here a list of questions to be
asked is prepared and the questions are asked in a particular cycle. This
type of interview is very similar to Formal Interview.
4. Unstructured Interview - In this type of interview, the candidate is
given full freedom to talk about the areas he is comfortable with. These
areas are normally restricted to academics, family backgrounds, self,
previous work experience, etc. The course of action is not decided. The
interviewer may ask questions based on the candidates answer to
previously asked questions. To probe further the interviewer may assist
the candidate to open up on various areas to understand the candidate
better.
5. Panel Interview - In this type of interview, the candidate is interviewed
by more than 1 person. This is done because 1 interviewer may not be
able to judge the candidate in different areas/ skills owning to lack of
knowledge and competence in multiple disciplines and areas. Hence most
organizations invite a panel of experts, specialized in different areas /
fields / disciplines, to interview the candidates. A panel of experts can
judge the candidate on his / her performance and prepare a consolidated
report of the performance. The panel may be employees of the
organization or experts in the field maybe invited to conduct the
interview.
6. Group Interview - Group interview could be of 2 types
i)
Group interview: Here, a group of candidates, say 4-5 candidates, are
brought in the room and interviewed in turns. The question may keep
snowballing or different questions may be asked to different
candidates as they are carefully observed who will lead this
discussion and how each will make his presentation and how well
they react to each others views.. This method helps a busy executive
to save valuable time and gives a fair account of the objectivity of the
interview to the candidates.
ii)
Discussion Interview: Here, the group of candidates is called in a
room and given 1 topic to discuss. Every candidate in the room has
an opportunity to bring forward his views on the topic. This method is
usually adopted for college admissions. But now it has become a
trend in job selections also. This type of interview helps the
interviewer in appraising, certain skills of the candidates like
initiative, inter-personal skills, etc.
7. Stress Interview - This type of interview tries to judge the candidates
patience levels and also his behaviour towards a problem / situation when
under stress. Interviewer tests the candidate by putting him under stress
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and strain by interrupting the applicant from answering, criticizing his
opinions, asking questions pertaining to unrelated areas, keeping silent
for unduly long period after he has finished speaking etc. Usually,
stressing the candidate in the middle segment of the interview will
generate effective results. But the interviewer must be very careful and
tactful.
8. Depth Interview - In this type of interview, the candidate is asked
questions extensively in the particular field to extract as much
information possible related to the candidates skills and knowledge in
that area. Experts in that particular field examine the candidates by
posing relevant questions as to extract critical answers from them,
initiating discussions regarding critical areas of the job, and by asking the
candidates to explain even minute operations of the job performance. This
will help the expert judge the candidate easily because of the minute
details expected to be shared by the candidate. Depth Interview is the
opposite of discussion interview.
9. Telephonic Interview - Interviews that are conducted via telephone.
This type of interview generally takes place when the organization and
the candidate are based in different locations, where travelling might
incur cost for the company. Now-a-days to save time and resources a lot
of organizations are taking up telephonic interviews. While job hunting the
candidate should be prepared for a telephonic interview at any moment.
10. Video Interviews - In this type of interview, the candidate is
interviewed via a video conferencing call. This is possible due to
advancement in technology. Similar to the telephonic interview, the
candidate is interviewed using the internet connection based in different
countries altogether. The candidate may be called to the organizations
country office or he may be contacted directly at a pre specified time. The
candidate should make sure he is on time and not keeps the interviewer/s
waiting.
This is the first part of the article, where we have tried to cover the basic
and widely known types of interview. In the coming article, we shall
consider other types that are employed across the globe but the
organizations might not have named them.

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