Human Resources Department

Human Resource Management
Human Resources Department (1) Introduction to HR
Created on 09/07/2011
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Introduction
Human resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting things done through people, is an essential part of every manager's responsibilities, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that the human resource function is performed efficiently. "People are our most valuable asset" is a clich, which no member of any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for many organizations are that their people remain under valued, under trained and under utilized. The rate of change facing organizations has never been greater and organizations must absorb and manage change at a much faster rate than in the past. In order to implement a successful business strategy to face this challenge, organizations, large or small, must ensure that they have the right people capable of delivering the strategy. The market place for talented, skilled people is competitive and expensive. Taking on new staff can be disruptive to existing employees. Also, it takes time to develop 'cultural awareness', product/ process/ organization knowledge and experience for new staff members. As organizations vary in size, aims, functions, complexity, construction, the physical nature of their product, and appeal as employers, so do the contributions of human resource management. But, in most the ultimate aim of the function is to: "ensure that at all times the business is correctly staffed by the right number of people with the skills relevant to the business needs", that is, neither overstaffed nor understaffed in total or in respect of any one discipline or work grade. Functional overview and strategy for HRM These issues motivate a well thought out human resource management strategy, with the precision and detail of say a marketing strategy. Failure in not having a carefully crafted human resources management strategy, can and probably will lead to failures in the business process itself.
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Human Resource Management These sets of resources are offered to promote thought, stimulate discussion, diagnose the organizational environment and develop a sound human resource management strategy for your organization. We begin by looking at the seven distinguishable functions human resource management provides to secure the achievement of the objective defined above. Following on from this overview we look at defining a human resource strategy. Finally, some questions are posed in the form of a diagnostic checklist for you to consider, which may prove helpful for you to think about when planning your development programs for the human resources in your organization, if they are truly "your most valuable asset."
It plays an important in any organizational success and failure. Human resources act as a gateway for an employee into the company by interviewing their professional qualifications, skills and qualities. It consistently updates not only performance details and appraisals of an employee but also focus whether the company policies and procedures are met. If not then disciplinary actions has been taken against the defaulter employee Let me brief you some facts and roles of Human Resources Department in a company.
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Human Resources Department (2) Introduction to Company
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M.H. AlShaya Co. LLC. , Dubai UAE Company Profile Leading retailer in the Middle East, Cyprus Russia, India, etc. More than 700 stores in Middle East, with almost 7000 employees. Franchisee of almost all the major UK brands inclusive of Debenhams, Next, Mothercare, River Island, Claires, Mac, Laura Ashley, Topshop, Liz Claiborne, Oasis, Evans, Wallis, Starbucks Coffee etc. The company was founded by Mr. Ali Hamoud Alshaya, a Kuwaiti businessman in 1982 with its first garment trading stores in Bombay, India. Today, the company has shown an outstanding success in just two decades. The key to this huge success goes to the Human Resources Department within the company where they are constantly developing their workforces in such a way with all state of technology and training programs, seminars, performance workshops, etc. They believe in a proverb The real asset of company is its workforce. Operating Countries Throughout the Middle East, Turkey, Cyprus, India and Russia, Alshaya Retail operates more than 40 international retail concepts. These include many of the world's leading Fashion, Health & Beauty and Casual Dining Brands all carefully chosen to bring the highest quality products to the region's premier retail locations. We currently operate over 700 stores across eleven countries. Our wide geographical spread is supported by a sophisticated infrastructure, professional management and a long-term investment in state-of-the-art M.I.S. and logistics
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Management structure Structured along internationally recognized lines, the Retail Division is headed by a Chief Executive Officer and operated on a daily basis by Two Chief Operating Officers with geographical responsibility for the Middle East and Europe. Within the Middle East, reporting to the COO, there are a number of Key Business Units: Fashion & Footwear, Food, Health & Beauty and Optics, each headed by a Managing Director focusing solely on their own businesses with full Divisional responsibility and a complete P&L accountability. Within the Business Units, there is no common management structure as each has evolved according to its own needs. That said, there are a number of generic roles such as Business Directors, Brand Managers and Operations Managers. It is the Business/Brand Managers responsibility to deliver the business proposition in a manner that is both in keeping with the Franchise partner framework and is in line with Alshayas Retail strategy. All businesses within the Middle East and India remain closely aligned to a single corporate identity by sharing the support of Central HR, Finance, Property, Supply Chain, Audit, Loss Prevention and I.T. A similar infrastructure has also been established within the individual countries in our European Division. Reporting to the COO-Europe, each country is headed by a Managing Director and a dedicated team of Directors responsible for the management of the individual business units and support functions. Its clearly recognized that People are our major resource and play an absolute key role in the success of our business. Our remit is to become Employer of Choice offering clear career opportunity in a market with dynamic socio/economic demographics.
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Infrastructure: Logistics Retail is dynamic - buying habits, markets and trends can change almost overnight. That's why we have a far-reaching infrastructure to support our retail outlets. Systems are in place to ensure that our fastest selling lines are continually replenished. We've made multi-million dollar investments in automated hanging distribution centers in Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. In addition, we have recently invested in a 70,000 sq. meter central distribution center in Dubai Free zone, which has a capacity to fulfill our growing requirement throughout the region. Information technology From our base in Kuwait, we support all areas of our retail and warehouse operations. At the close of each trading day, all sales figures and stock movements are downloaded to our head office and to our partners via our secure state-of-the-art IT system. Careful analysis allows the correct decisions to be taken for each individual business unit. EPOS technology is installed in every outlet in each country, and a web enabled communications network is in place. Each international brand has its own dedicated management team to service their particular requirements. Human resources We believe that the strength of our company comes from within. Our workforce is focused, dedicated, and trained to the highest industry standards. By selecting the best people, providing resources, opportunities and direction as well as our own ongoing training programmes, you can be sure that customers receive the highest levels of service. Created on 09/07/2011 Page 7
Human Resource Management Our dedicated multi-national workforce offers a rich variety of backgrounds and culture. Pooling the resources of such a diverse and talented personnel base gives us tremendous advantages when it comes to understanding the requirements of our customers. Currently, our employees are a mix of more than 35 different nationalities; our management team has expertise with major brand names in the retail industry all over the world. This ability not just to offer the best brands and products, but also to understand the needs and desires of a particular market and our customers expectations that is key to our success.
Finance & Audit Our finance and treasury functions are operated to international standards, and are audited annually by globally renowned accounts and advisors. This helps to ensure that every element of our retail operation is of the highest caliber. Strong financial resources, high standards of financial controls and management through a centralized financial department and detailed business planning that is carried out under the umbrella of a long term corporate plan.
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The Alshaya Group The Alshaya Group is currently divided into four business divisions:
Real Estate: owns and manages a wide portfolio of land and properties, with a special focus on GCC countries. Hotels : including the Kuwait Sheraton (www.sheraton-kuwait.com) and the Medina Oberoi, Saudi Arabia (www.oberoihotels.com/htmls/medm) Automotive : includes the exclusive dealerships of Mazda and Peugeot, in Kuwait, as well as distributing Michelin tyres and Mobil lubricants (www.kaico.net)
M. H. Alshaya Co. : M.H. Alshaya Co. is itself divided into a retail division (www.alshaya.com) and a trading division and also owns, or is in joint venture with, a number of other companies, including computer software, advertising, and engineering & maintenance contracting. The trading division is involved in a variety of trading activities in heavy equipment, sanitary-ware, food-services equipment, and building materials.
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Alshaya management structure chart

CEO
Director Of Operations
Operations Manager (Retails)
Operations Manager (Hotels)
Operations Manager (Real Estate)
Operations Manager (Automobile)
Retail Store Manager
Merchandiser
Hotel Manager
Branch Manager
Showroom Manager
Health & Safety Manger Visual Merchandising Manager Created on 09/07/2011
Chief Project Engineer
Logistics & Warehouse Manager
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Human Resources Department (3)Companys HR Policies
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Corporate Mission
"We share the vision and belief that by improving our performance through innovative spirit and dedication, we shall serve our customers and stakeholders satisfactorily.
Alshaya believes that unconventional and innovative thinking will be the key ingredients to attain leadership in the emerging retail sector where the rules of the game are still evolving. Whereas serving the customers satisfactorily is the core focus, the company also believes in adequately rewarding its shareholders though concerted efforts on reducing cost and improving profitability. To implement the corporate mission, has penned a well thought of corporate strategy and policy which will ensure rapid growth in the coming years.
HR Vision statement
Human Resources at the Alshaya will be a leader known for high quality, responsive and customer-focused service. HR will shape the Alshayas workforce through motivation, empowerment and recognition, and removing obstacles that hinder creativity. All HR representatives will serve strategically to promote professionalism and development, while enhancing the delivery of contemporary and effective HR services within the Company. Proactive, simplified processes will be developed, utilized and continually refined. Overall, HR at Alshaya will serve as partners in strategy execution, administrative experts, employee champions and change agents in order to develop and nurture cooperative ties, which will facilitate the achievement of the Companys goals and objectives.
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Developing a strategy - Overview

Faced with rapid change organizations need to develop a more focused and coherent approach to managing people. In just the same way a business requires a marketing or information technology strategy it also requires a human resource or people strategy. In developing such a strategy two critical questions must be addressed.
What kinds of people do you need to manage and run your business to meet your What people programs and initiatives must be designed and implemented to
strategic business objectives?
attract, develop and retain staff to compete effectively? In order to answer these questions four key dimensions of an organization must be addressed. These are:

Culture: the beliefs, values, norms and management style of the organization Organization: the structure, job roles and reporting lines of the organization People: the skill levels, staff potential and management capability Human resources systems: the people focused mechanisms which deliver the
strategy - employee selection, communications, training, rewards, career development, etc. Frequently in managing the people element of their business senior managers will only focus on one or two dimensions and neglect to deal with the others. Typically, companies reorganize their structures to free managers from bureaucracy and drive for more entrepreneurial flair but then fail to adjust their training or reward systems. When the desired entrepreneurial behavior does not emerge managers frequently look confused at the apparent failure of the changes to deliver results. The fact is that seldom can you focus on Created on 09/07/2011 Page 13
Human Resource Management only one area. What is required is a strategic perspective aimed at identifying the relationship between all four dimensions. If you require an organization, which really values quality and service you not only have to retrain staff, you must also review the organization, reward, appraisal and communications systems. The pay and reward system is a classic problem in this area. Frequently organizations have payment systems, which are designed around the volume of output produced. If you then seek to develop a company, which emphasizes the products quality, you must change the pay systems. Otherwise you have a contradiction between what the chief executive is saying about quality and what your payment system is encouraging staff to do. There are seven steps to developing a human resource strategy and the active involvement of senior line managers should be sought throughout the approach.
Developing a strategy - Steps

Step 1 Get the 'big picture' Understand your business strategy.
Highlight the key driving forces of your business. What are they? E.g. technology, What are the implications of the driving forces for the people side of your What is the fundamental people contribution to bottom line business
distribution, competition, the markets.
business?
performance? Step 2 Develop a Mission Statement or Statement of Intent That relates to the people side of the business. Do not be put off by negative reactions to the words or references to idealistic statements - it is the actual process of thinking through the issues in a formal and explicit manner that is important. Created on 09/07/2011 Page 14
What do your people contribute?
Step 3 Conduct a SWOT analysis of the organization Focus on the internal strengths and weaknesses of the people side of the business.
Consider the current skill and capability issues.
Vigorously research the external business and market environment. Highlight the opportunities and threats relating to the people side of the business.

What impact will/ might they have on business performance? Consider skill shortages? The impact of new technology on staffing levels?
From this analysis you then need to review the capability of your personnel department. Complete a SWOT analysis of the department - consider in detail the department's current areas of operation, the service levels and competences of your personnel staff. Step 4 Conduct a detailed human resources analysis Concentrate on the organizations

Culture, Organization, People and COPS (culture, organization, people, systems (HR))
Consider: Where you are now? Where do you want to be? What gaps exists between the reality of where you are now and where you want to be? Exhaust your analysis of the four dimensions. Step 5 Determine critical people issues Go back to the business strategy and examine it against your SWOT and COPS Analysis Created on 09/07/2011 Page 15
Identify the critical people issues namely those people issues that you must Prioritize the critical people issues. What will happen if you fail to address them?
address. Those, which have a key impact on the delivery of your business strategy.
Remember you are trying to identify where you should be focusing your efforts and resources. Step 6 Develop consequences and solutions For each critical issue highlight the options for managerial action generate, elaborate and create don't go for the obvious. This is an important step as frequently people jump for the known rather than challenge existing assumptions about the way things have been done in the past. Think about the consequences of taking various courses of action. Consider the mix of HR systems needed to address the issues. Do you need to improve communications, training or pay? What are the implications for the business and the personnel function? Once you have worked through the process it should then be possible to translate the action plan into broad objectives. These will need to be broken down into the specialist HR Systems areas of:

Employee training and development Management development Organization development Performance appraisal Employee reward Employee selection and recruitment Manpower planning Communication
Develop your action plan around the critical issues. Set targets and dates for the accomplishment of the key objectives.
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Human Resource Management Step 7 Implementation and evaluation of the action plans The ultimate purpose of developing a human resource strategy is to ensure that the objectives set are mutually supportive so that the reward and payment systems are integrated with employee training and career development plans. There is very little value or benefit in training people only to then frustrate them through a failure to provide ample career and development opportunities.
HRM diagnostic checklist

The following checklists present some questions, which may prove helpful for you to think about when planning your development programs for human resources (your people) in your organization. Use them to provoke thought and to stimulate discussion. Consult with others in your organization. They will help you to identify the critical human resource issues facing your organization. The aim is to begin to explore how a considered and planned approach to people management can improve business performance, to the benefit of all. Use this checklist in conjunction with our team building diagnostic instrument. It will, via your team members responses identify critical issues they perceive as important. These issues may be at odds with your own perceptions and analysis and therefore any such discrepancy will need to be addressed.
WARNING DIAGNOSTICS
Your organization is more than likely in trouble if any of the following holds true:
Chronic No
industrial relations problems / erratic employee turnover number of customer complaints Page 17
means of resolving employee grievances
Increasing Increasing No
pride in the organization Created on 09/07/2011

Inter-group No
conflicts with pay and conditions
career paths for ambitious talented employees job roles is unimportant
Dissatisfaction Unclear No
clear performance measures product service / delivery records recruitment standards / practices
Quality Bad
Poor No No
management development programs induction training for new employees skill shortages conflict
Critical
inter-departmental You
do not know if any of the above are applicable
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Culture, Organization, People, System (COPS), Checklist

Culture
Direct Do
benefit to themselves? group? Is there a strong team spirit?
your staffs see themselves as having common interests with their work colleagues and work allocated on the basis of individual expertise rather than position in the sufficient skills / power bases in the organization? appropriate leadership skills within the organization? staffs encouraged to say what they think about the organization?
Is
organization?
Are there Are there Are your Does Do Is
your organization encourage innovation and creativity amongst staff?
your staffs feel a sense of personal responsibility for their work?
quality emphasized in all aspects of the organization?
Organization
Does Is Is
the structure of your organization encourage effective performance?
the organization structure flexible in the face of changing demands? the structure too complex? If so in what areas? your organization structure tend to push problems up rather than resolve them at the
Does
point where they occur?

Do Do
your procedures and management practices facilitate the accomplishment of tasks? you constantly seek to challenge your organization structure?
People
Do
your staffs have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their jobs in the most your staffs understand their jobs and how they contribute to overall business your staffs have a customer service orientation? with potential spotted and developed for the future?
effective manner?
Do
performance i.e. have clear goals and objectives?

Do Are people
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Are
your staffs encouraged to perform well through the giving of recognition, feedback,
etc.?
Do
your people know what their expected performance standards are?
Systems
Do
your organization's systems (e.g. employee selection and recruitment, promotion,
planning, management, information and control) encourage effective performance among your staff?
Are these Are there Does
systems consistent across the organization? clear rewards for effective performance within your work group?
the organization review its systems frequently and ensure they mutually support
each other? You may now wish to consider and write down:
What What
are the three critical people issues facing your business? plans /actions can you take to address these issues?
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Human Resources Department (4) Main functions of Human Resources
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Function 1 | Manpower planning

The penalties for not being correctly staffed are costly. Understaffing loses the business economies of scale and specialization, orders, customers and profits. Overstaffing is wasteful and expensive, if sustained, and it is costly to eliminate because of modern legislation in respect of redundancy payments, consultation, minimum periods of notice, etc. Very importantly, overstaffing reduces the competitive efficiency of the business. Staffing level planning requires that an assessment of present and future needs of the organization be compared with present resources and future predicted resources. Appropriate steps then be planned to bring demand and supply into balance. Thus the first step is to take a 'satellite picture' of the existing workforce profile (numbers, skills, ages, flexibility, sex, experience, forecast capabilities, character, potential, etc. of existing employees) and then to adjust this for 1, 3 and 10 years ahead by amendments for normal turnover, planned staff movements, retirements, etc, in line with the business plan for the corresponding time frames. The result should be a series of crude supply situations as would be the outcome of present planning if left unmodified. (This, clearly, requires a great deal of information accretion, classification and statistical analysis as a subsidiary aspect of personnel management.) What future demands will be is only influenced in part by the forecast of the personnel manager, whose main task may well, is to scrutinize and modify the crude predictions of other managers. Future staffing needs will derive from:
Sales The
and production forecasts
effects of technological change on task needs in the efficiency, productivity, flexibility of labor as a result of training, work
Variations
study, organizational change, new motivations, etc.

Changes
in employment practices (e.g. use of subcontractors or agency staffs, hiving-off
tasks, buying in, substitution, etc.) Created on 09/07/2011 Page 22

Variations,
which respond to new legislation, e.g. payroll taxes or their abolition, new
health and safety requirements

Changes
in Government policies (investment incentives, regional or trade grants, etc.)
What should emerge from this 'blue sky gazing' is a 'thought out' and logical staffing demand schedule for varying dates in the future which can then be compared with the crude supply schedules. The comparisons will then indicate what steps must be taken to achieve a balance. That, in turn, will involve the further planning of such recruitment, training, retraining, labor reductions (early retirement/redundancy) or changes in workforce utilization as will bring supply and demand into equilibrium, not just as a oneoff but as a continuing workforce planning exercise the inputs to which will need constant varying to reflect 'actual' as against predicted experience on the supply side and changes in production actually achieved as against forecast on the demand side.
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HR Function 2 | Recruitment and selection of employees

Recruitment of staff should be preceded by: An analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage;
In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all Effectively, selection is 'buying' an employee (the price being the wage or salary
(replacement should rarely be an automatic process).
multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection. Equally some small organizations exist to 'head hunt', i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the 'cost' of poor selection is such that, even for the mundane day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants. The main sources of recruitment are:
Internal promotion and internal introductions (at times desirable for morale Careers officers (and careers masters at schools) University appointment boards Agencies for the unemployed Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local media
purposes)

(e.g. commercial radio) Where the organization does its own printed advertising it is useful if it has some identifying logo as its trade mark for rapid attraction and it must take care not to offend the sex, race, etc. anti discrimination legislation either directly or indirectly. The form on which the applicant is to apply (personal appearance, letter of application, completion of a form) will vary according to the posts vacant and numbers to be recruited. Created on 09/07/2011 Page 24
Human Resource Management It is very desirable in many jobs that claim about experience and statements about qualifications are thoroughly checked and that applicants unfailingly complete a health questionnaire (the latter is not necessarily injurious to the applicants chance of being appointed as firms are required to employ a percentage of disabled people). Before letters of appointment are sent any doubts about medical fitness or capacity (in employments where hygiene considerations are dominant) should be resolved by requiring applicants to attend a medical examination. This is especially so where, as for example in the case of apprentices, the recruitment is for a contractual period or involves the firm in training costs. Interviewing can be carried out by individuals (e.g. supervisor or departmental manager), by panels of interviewers or in the form of sequential interviews by different experts and can vary from a five minute 'chat' to a process of several days. Ultimately personal skills in judgment are probably the most important, but techniques to aid judgment include selection testing for:

Aptitudes (particularly useful for school leavers) Attainments General intelligence
(All of these need skilled testing and assessment.) In more senior posts other techniques are:

Leaderless groups Command exercises Group problem solving
(These are some common techniques - professional selection organizations often use other techniques to aid in selection.) Training in interviewing and in appraising candidates is clearly essential to good recruitment. Largely the former consists of teaching interviewers how to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to xratex the candidates. For consistency (and as an aid to checking that) rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. (according to the Created on 09/07/2011 Page 25
Human Resource Management needs of the post). Application of the normal curve of distribution to scoring eliminates freak judgments.
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Function 3 | Employee motivation

To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise. Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels. As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation. Hence while the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others, the outcome of them is a matter of great concern to human resource management. Increasingly the influences of behavioral science discoveries are becoming important not merely because of the widely-acknowledged limitations of money as a motivator, but because of the changing mix and nature of tasks (e.g. more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs). The former demand better-educated, mobile and multi-skilled employees much more likely to be influenced by things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation, etc. than the economically dependent employees of yesteryear. Hence human resource management must act as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of drawing the attention of senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy. Created on 09/07/2011 Page 27
Function 4| Employee evaluation

An organization needs constantly to take stock of its workforce and to assess its performance in existing jobs for three reasons:
To improve organizational performance via improving the performance of
individual contributors (should be an automatic process in the case of good managers, but (about annually) two key questions should be posed:

What has been done to improve the performance of a person last year? And what can be done to improve his or her performance in the year to
come?).
To identify potential, i.e. to recognize existing talent and to use that to fill
vacancies higher in the organization or to transfer individuals into jobs where better use can be made of their abilities or developing skills.
To provide an equitable method of linking payment to performance where there
are no numerical criteria (often this salary performance review takes place about three months later and is kept quite separate from 1. and 2. but is based on the same assessment). On-the-spot managers and supervisors, not HR staffs, carry out evaluations. The personnel role is usually that of:
Advising top management of the principles and objectives of an evaluation Developing systems appropriately in consultation with managers, supervisors and
system and designing it for particular organizations and environments.
staff representatives. Securing the involvement and cooperation of appraisers and those to be appraised.
Assistance in the setting of objective standards of evaluation / assessment, for

example: Defining targets for achievement; Explaining how to quantify and agree objectives; Introducing self-assessment; Eliminating complexity and duplication. Page 28
Publicizing the purposes of the exercise and explaining to staff how the system Organizing and establishing the necessary training of managers and supervisors
will be used.
who will carry out the actual evaluations/ appraisals. Not only training in principles and procedures but also in the human relations skills necessary. (Lack of confidence in their own ability to handle situations of poor performance is the main weakness of assessors.)
Monitoring the scheme - ensuring it does not fall into disuse, following up on exchange etc. recommendations, reminding managers of their
training/job
responsibilities. Full-scale periodic reviews should be a standard feature of schemes since resistance to evaluation / appraisal schemes is common and the temptation to water down or render schemes ineffectual is ever present (managers resent the time taken if nothing else). Basically an evaluation / appraisal scheme is a formalization of what is done in a more casual manner anyway (e.g. if there is a vacancy, discussion about internal moves and internal attempts to put square pegs into 'squarer holes' are both the results of casual evaluation). Most managers approve merit payment and that too calls for evaluation. Made a standard routine task, it aids the development of talent, warns the inefficient or uncaring and can be an effective form of motivation.
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Function 5| Industrial relations

Good industrial relations, while a recognizable and legitimate objective for an organization, are difficult to define since a good system of industrial relations involves complex relationships between: (a) Workers (and their informal and formal groups, i.e. e. trade union, organizations and their representatives); (b) Employers (and their managers and formal organizations like trade and professional associations); (c) The government and legislation and government agencies l and 'independent' agencies like the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Oversimplified, work is a matter of managers giving instructions and workers following them but (and even under slavery we recognize that different 'managing' produces very different results) the variety of 'forms' which have evolved to regulate the conduct of parties (i.e. laws, custom and practice, observances, agreements) makes the giving and receipt of instructions far from simple. Two types of 'rule' have evolved:
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'Substantive',
determining basic pay and conditions of service (what rewards workers
should receive);
'Procedural,'
determining how workers should be treated and methods and procedures.
Determining these rules are many common sense matters like: Financial, policy and market constraints on the parties (e.g. some unions do not have the finance to support industrial action, some have policies not to strike, some employers are more vulnerable than others to industrial action, some will not make changes unless worker agreement is made first, and rewards always ultimately reflect what the market will bear); The technology of production (the effect of a strike in newspaper production is immediate -it may be months before becoming effective in shipbuilding); The distribution of power within the community - that tends to vary over time and with economic conditions workers (or unions) dominating in times of full employment and employers in times of recession. Broadly in the Western style economies the parties (workers and employers) are free to make their own agreements and rules. This is called 'voluntarism'. But it does not mean there is total noninterference by the government. That is necessary to:
Protect Outlaw
the weak (hence minimum wage); discrimination (race or sex); minimum standards of safety, health, hygiene and even important conditions
Determine
of service;
To
try to prevent the abuse of power by either party.
The personnel manager's involvement in the system of industrial relations varies from organization to organization, but normally he or she is required to provide seven identifiable functions, thus: 1. To keep abreast of industrial law (legislation and precedents) and to advise managers about their responsibilities e.g. to observe requirements in respect of employing disabled persons, not Created on 09/07/2011 Page 31
Human Resource Management to discriminate, not to disclose 'spent' convictions of employees, to observe codes of practice etc. in relation to discipline and redundancy, and similarly to determine organizational policies (in conjunction with other managers) relevant to legal and moral requirements (see also 4.). 2. To conduct (or assist in the conduct) of either local negotiations (within the plant) or similarly to act as the employer's representative in national negotiations. This could be as a critic or advisor in respect of trade etc. association policies or as a member of a trade association negotiating team. Agreements could be in respect of substantive or procedural matters. Even if not directly involved the personnel manager will advise other managers and administrators of the outcome of negotiations. 3. To ensure that agreements reached are interpreted so as to make sense to those who must operate them at the appropriate level within the organization (this can involve a lot of new learning at supervisory level and new pay procedures and new recording requirements in administration and even the teaching of new employment concepts like stagger systems of work - at management level). 4. To monitor the observance of agreements and to produce policies that ensures that agreements are followed within the organization. An example would be the policy to be followed on the appointment of a new but experienced recruit in relation to the offered salary where there is a choice of increments to be given for experience, ability or qualification. 5. To correct the situations which go wrong? 'Face' is of some importance in most organizations and operating at a remote staff level personnel manager can correct industrial relations errors made at local level without occasioning any loss of dignity (face) at the working level. 'Human resource management' and the obscurity of its reasoning can be blamed for matters which go wrong at plant level and for unwelcome changes, variations of comfortable 'arrangements' and practices and unpopular interpretation of agreements. 6. To provide the impetus (and often devise the machinery) for the introduction of joint consultation and worker participation in decision-making in the organization. Formal agreement in respect of working conditions and behavior could never cover every situation likely to arise. Moreover the more demanding the task (in terms of the mental contribution by the worker to its completion) the more highlyeducated the workers need to be and the more they will want to be Created on 09/07/2011 Page 32
Human Resource Management consulted about and involved in the details of work life. Matters like the rules for a flexi time system or for determining the correction of absenteeism and the contents of jobs are three examples of the sort of matters that may be solely decided by management in some organizations but a matter for joint consultation (not negotiation) in others with a more twenty-first-century outlook and philosophy. Human resource management is very involved in promoting and originating ideas in this field. 7. To provide statistics and information about workforce numbers, costs, skills etc. as relevant to negotiations (i.e. the cost of pay rises or compromise proposals, effect on differentials and possible recruitment/retention consequences of this or whether agreement needs to be known instantly); to maintain personnel records of training, experience, achievements, qualifications, awards and possibly pension and other records; to produce data of interest to management in respect of personnel matters like absentee figures and costs, statistics of sickness absence, costs of welfare and other employee services, statements about development in policies by other organizations, ideas for innovations; to advise upon or operate directly, grievance, redundancy, disciplinary and other procedures.
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Function 6 | Provision of employee services

Attention to the mental and physical well - being of employees is normal in many organizations as a means of keeping good staff and attracting others. The forms this welfare can take are many Created on 09/07/2011 Page 34
Human Resource Management and varied, from loans to the needy to counseling in respect of personal problems. Among the activities regarded as normal are:
Schemes for occupational sick pay, extended sick leave and access to the firm's Schemes for bereavement or other special leave; The rehabilitation of injured/unfit/ disabled employees and temporary or The maintenance of disablement statistics and registers (there are complicated
medical adviser;

permanent move to lighter work;
legal requirements in respect of quotas of disabled workers and a need for 'certificates' where quota are not fulfilled and recruitment must take place);
Provision of financial and other support for sports, social, hobbies, activities of Provision of canteens and other catering facilities; Possibly assistance with financial and other aid to employees in difficulty Provision of information handbooks, Running of pre-retirement courses and similar fringe activities; Care for the welfare aspects of health and safety legislation and provision of first-
many kinds which are work related;

(supervision, maybe, of an employee managed benevolent fund or scheme);

aid training. The location of the health and safety function within the organization varies. Commonly a split of responsibilities exists under which 'production' or 'engineering' management cares for the provision of safe systems of work and safe places and machines etc., but HRM is responsible for administration, training and education in awareness and understanding of the law, and for the alerting of all levels to new requirements.
Function 7 | Employee education, training and development

In general, education is 'mind preparation' and is carried out remote from the actual work area, training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a Created on 09/07/2011 Page 35
Human Resource Management person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is 'the growth of the individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness'. Within an organization all three are necessary in order to:

Develop workers to undertake higher-grade tasks; Provide the conventional training of new and young workers (e.g. as apprentices, Raise efficiency and standards of performance; Meet legislative requirements (e.g. health and safety); Inform people (induction training, pre-retirement courses, etc.);
clerks, etc.);

From time to time meet special needs arising from technical, legislative, and knowledge need changes. Meeting these needs is achieved via the 'training loop'. (Schematic available in PDF version.) The diagnosis of other than conventional needs is complex and often depends upon the intuition or personal experience of managers and needs revealed by deficiencies. Sources of inspiration include:
Common sense - it is often obvious that new machines, work systems, task Shortcomings revealed by statistics of output per head, performance indices, unit
requirements and changes in job content will require workers to be prepared;
costs, etc. and behavioral failures revealed by absentee figures, lateness, sickness etc. records;

Recommendations of government and industry training organizations; Inspiration and innovations of individual managers and supervisors; Forecasts and predictions about staffing needs; Inspirations prompted by the technical press, training journals, reports of the The suggestions made by specialist (e.g. education and training officers, safety
experience of others;
engineers, work-study staff and management services personnel). Designing training is far more than devising courses; it can include activities such as: Created on 09/07/2011 Page 36

Learning from observation of trained workers; Receiving coaching from seniors; Discovery as the result of working party, project team membership or attendance Job swaps within and without the organization; Undertaking planned reading, or follow from the use of selfteaching texts and Learning via involvement in research, report writing and visiting other works or
at meetings;

video tapes;
organizations. So far as group training is concerned in addition to formal courses there are:

Lectures and talks by senior or specialist managers; Discussion group (conference and meeting) activities; Briefing by senior staffs; Role-playing exercises and simulation of actual conditions; Video and computer teaching activities; Case studies (and discussion) tests, quizzes, panel 'games', group forums,
observation exercises and inspection and reporting techniques. Evaluation of the effectiveness of training is done to ensure that it is cost effective, to identify needs to modify or extend what is being provided, to reveal new needs and redefine priorities and most of all to ensure that the objectives of the training are being met. The latter may not be easy to ascertain where results cannot be measured mathematically. In the case of attitude and behavioral changes sought, leadership abilities, drive and ambition fostered, etc., achievement is a matter of the judgment of senior staffs. Exact validation might be impossible but unless on the whole the judgments are favorable the cooperation of managers in identifying needs, releasing personnel and assisting in training ventures will cease. In making their judgments senior managers will question whether the efforts expended have produced:

More effective, efficient, flexible employees; Faster results in making newcomers knowledgeable and effective than would
follow from experience; Created on 09/07/2011 Page 37

More effective or efficient use of machinery, equipment and work procedures; Fewer requirements to implement redundancy (by retraining); Fewer accidents both personal and to property; Improvements in the qualifications of staff and their ability to take on tougher Better employee loyalty to the organization with more willingness to innovate and
roles;
accept change.
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Function 8 | Employee Motivation, Organizational environment and Productivity

Application of ergonomics to physiological problems Physiology is about the way the body functions. Physiological problems occur when the body is required to do too much work, to work awkwardly or to work under bad environmental conditions. Fatigue results from most work. The worker should be not more than healthily tired at the end of his working day. Thus the rest allowances built into the task should be adequate without being excessive and uneconomic. Agronomists assess physical work by measuring oxygen breathed, heart rate change etc, but are usually handicapped by only being able to measure individuals under semi-natural conditions. However, in a similar way they can measure recovery from fatigue. This has a direct connection with rest allowances; for instance, it has been confirmed that although learners need more rest than qualified workers, they are apt to tire themselves out by not resting adequately during the early part of their work. There is a natural balance between work periods and rest periods for every day whereby quality and quantity of work are at an optimum. This is not yet being adequately exploited by the employment of industrial ergonomics at the actual workplace. Work measurement, in management services, involves rating for effort. A worker on piecework performs at 25 per cent more output than on day rate, and a work-study person can assess within fairly close limits the rate at which an operator is working. In the past there have been many attempts at using ergonomics to measure effort more accurately; unfortunately such successes as have been achieved in the laboratory tended not to have been repeated in the rigors of the actual workplace. But with the transistorized miniaturization of equipment now available, improved accuracy of shop floor studies will increase substantially, eventually leading to the point where rates can easily be set by using simple standard physiological measuring equipment.
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Human Resource Management In jobs where anatomical restrictions result in postural difficulties, extra physiological effort and fatigue occur. Often work is aided by using momentum from part of the body, and the value of this depends on exactly how it is done. Performed inexpertly it can result in permanent damage to the back. By assessing the effect on the affected muscle groups, ergonomics can determine which of several postures is less fatiguing and make recommendations of how to improve matters at least cost. The physiological effects of environmental factors have been traditionally catered for by increased rest allowances. Ergonomics have shown this practice to be erroneous; it now contravenes health and safety legislation. Actually by giving workers an increased rest allowance, indirectly translatable into cash, vulgarly but accurately called 'dirt money', management formally acknowledges the health hazard by bribing the worker not to make a fuss about it. Thus there is cause for saying that both management and workforce become liable to prosecution where poor environments are compensated for in increased wages, however sophisticated the payment system may appear. Application of ergonomics to psychological problems Psychology is about the theory of the human mind. The difficulty with the application of psychology in management services departments is in its vagueness. Psychology is concerned with the analysis and classification of various states of the human mind. Because human beings vary so much between each other and in such complex ways, all attempts at classifying people into groups merely results in the statement of broad principles that may or may not be relevant to the individual worker on the shop floor or in the office. We know each other more or less superficially. Psychology attempts to improve this knowledge and is therefore useful. But because psychologists are trying to describe what goes on in the mind and this cannot be actually seen, touched, heard, smelt or tasted, their published works are more often expressions of opinion than checkable fact. So management services is in the difficult position of needing to know but not being able to judge what is worthwhile. Management is not really concerned with what people think; management is very involved in what people may do as a result of thinking. So the branch of Created on 09/07/2011 Page 40
Human Resource Management psychology called 'occupational' or 'applied' psychology is of more relevance as much of its research is concerned with the worker's reaction to working conditions. For example, in an inexpensive Pelican paperback (War (1971)) called Psychology at Work, there are 17 chapters which include the topics of: shift work, skill performance and stress, the learning curve, person-machine interface problems, accidents, ageing, worker selection, job appraisal, decision-making, management of managers, worker motivation, worker participation, negotiating behavior, organization relationships. The book might equally have included chapters on language, the five senses, behavioral disorders, alertness and fatigue, individual differences, speed versus accuracy, information acquisition, information processing, knowledge of results and feedback, frustration, leadership, attitudes and opinion gathering, informal organization within formal organizations, short-longterm memory, imagery, role-playing mediation, forgetting, etc. All these topics, and there are more, are of direct interest to both the ergonomics and to the management services department as occurring within any typical organization. In addition there is the psychology of society as a whole influencing people at their workplace. This is social psychology, an even more opinionated subject than occupational psychology, and a separate study in itself. The main difficulty is that so many people are professionally involved in introspective mind searching; so much has been written and so many laws, theories and hypotheses propounded that separating all grain from the chaff has become impossible. What may be fashionable in psychology today may be discredited tomorrow yet heralded as a fundamental truth in 20 years' time. Frequently, in new ideas there is a small amount of truth encapsulated in a proliferate of transient justifying jargon. Knowing what to peel off and discard is very difficult. Many new psychological theories are presented in the form of case histories that may seem very convincing. Whilst there should always be misgivings as to whether the new theory will fit into one's own circumstances, a word of caution is necessary concerning the case history itself. For example, the well known Hawthorne Experiment, conducted by Elton Mayo, in which five female workers were studied over a period of five years from 1927 under a variety of working Created on 09/07/2011 Page 41
Human Resource Management conditions, has been widely reported as showing that active and benevolent interest by management brings about increases in production. What is not usually reported was that the method of choosing subjects was a little odd; two women, who were reported to be skilled at relay assembly, were asked to choose four others to work with them and the whole lots were segregated from the other 100 or so who were working on this particular job. Then, when a 'talking problem', occurred, and although they had been told to work 'as they felt; two of the girls were dropped from the experiment. Two replacements were found, and conditions were temporarily as the experimenters desired. However, when production began to fall, the supervisor used the technique of reprimand and threat, including the threat that the current working conditions which the women disliked so much would be continued for a much longer period.
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Human Resource Management Function 9 | Performance Appraisals What Is an Appraisal? An appraisal is a formal evaluation of the extent to which the worker has achieved the objectives established in the performance plan. Managers typically conduct the appraisal within a month of the closing of the appraisal period (but not before the end). The appraisal is formally written, but presented in a face-to-face meeting with the worker (even workers who work at different locations than their managers). An appraisal typically presents statements that describe how the worker performed on each objective, numerical assessments of the performance in each area, and a numerical assessment of overall performance evaluation.. The numerical assessment usually indicates whether or not the employee met expectations. Most appraisal systems also indicate the extent to which the worker exceeded expectations (sometimes, usually, or always). Appraisals also provide workers with feedback on their strengths and areas in which they should focus improvement efforts. Purpose of an Appraisal As an evaluation tool, an appraisal is part of a long-term process of helping workers assess their performance and enhance performance in the current job. Most companies also use appraisals as a tool to make decisions about human resources issues. Because many organizations use pay scales that tie salary increases to the performance on the job, managers use appraisal ratings to determine the size and timing of a salary increase. Generally, the stronger the performance, the larger the raise and the sooner the worker receives it. When employees have sustained a level of appraised performance for several appraisal periods, managers use this sustained performance to justify a promotion. When hiring an internal candidate for a job, the hiring manager might review a prospective worker's recent appraisals as part of a background check on the worker.
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Issues in Writing an Appraisal
Regency effect. That is, the manager might focus on the most recent performance (strong or weak) rather than consider the entire performance period. History effect. That is, one event that happened early in the appraisal period might color the manager 's opinion throughout the appraisal period. Sole opinion. That is, the manager does not seek input from others (such as co-workers, team mates on projects, and others) when reviewing the worker's performance.
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Human Resources Department (5) Bibliography
Page 45
Bibliography
1) K. Aswathapa; second edition; Human Resource and Personnel Management; Text and Cases; Tata McGraw Hill Pulishing Co. Ltd 1997 2) C.B. Mamoria ; Industrial Relations. 3) A.M. Sharma; Aspects of Labour Welfare and Social Security; Himalaya Publishing house, fourth edition; 1991.
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