HRM practices in Bangladesh

HRM is very important as it makes difference between success and failure. People being an animate object have sentiments and feelings and emotions. Unless the manager has a profound and deep understanding of the people, their history and culture, the manager will not be able to analyze the emotional force that motivates the behavior of people. It adds real value to the decision making process of any organization. It is a support activities but it influences and promotes business solution. It contributes to the profitability of the organization.

Scenario in Bangladesh
Traditionally, HR managers had an inferior position in company hierarchy. They occupy a back seat in the company hierarchy. Their main functions were to maintain discipline and promote welfare of the employees. It was welfare and discipline oriented personnel management.

 In some organization, HR managers are called administrative officers or personnel officers.Retired police and army officers were appointed as labor officer to deal with people. Now a days, many organizations have a personnel manager or HR manager. In large organization, it is HR director whose main functions are recruitment, discipline, industrial relations, etc. His role for motivation, communication, productivity, training, and development of people is still not fully understood. Top management spend most of their time on purchase of machinery, production and marketing strategies but thy have no time for human relations. In Bangladesh, many personnel managers do not have the required expertise to play his role effectively to produce sound human relations for the organization.

 The advanced countries have established through research that employee is the most important factor in nay organization and HR manager is trained and developed to play a pivotal role for effective development and utilization of manpower. In fact, the basic function of HR manager is to attract, develop and retain the right kind of people for the right kind of job. But in Bangladesh, personnel director spends most of his time dealing with adversarial relations with employees, not for developing them. He is doing fire fighting with the union. Impediments to the progress of HRM in Bangladesh. HR manager spends most of his time on matters like:

 Talking with union leaders. Attending disputes and grievance of workers. Charge sheeting or investigating into the cases of misconduct. Organizing welfare activities. Looking after transport, security, etc. Talented young people are not coming to the HRM profession. The profession is manned by mediocre who do not have opportunity to make a career in nay other field. Adequate training facilities are not their in the country for the development of these mediocre. People can be converted into resources when they are imparted necessary knowledge and skills. And skills training is neglected in this country.

 The educational institutions which supply materials have still the age-old curriculum which falls far short of equipping the incumbents the desired type of fast changing knowledge and skill. The urge for updating personnel people themselves is also most absent, which keep them form being developed. This lack of initiatives make them obsolete and incompetent for the challenging work. HRM has not yet been accorded the totality of acceptance by all concerned. HRM as a professional has not yet gained acceptance from the employers, employees and government.

 Most of the MBA graduates are reluctant to make a career in HRM for the following reasons in our country: Militant trade unionism. Most of the MBA graduates are reluctant to make a career in HRM for the following reasons in our country: Lack of career progression. Attitudes of employees towards personnel officers has not been favorable. Managers are traditional and does not tale personnel officer into his confidence. In the words of Drucker, the personnel manager tends conceive his job partly as a file clerks job, partly as a house keeping job, partly as a social workers job and partly as a fire fighter to head off union trouble or settle it

 Legal status of a personnel officer requires him to work in the field of welfare and day-to-day personnel administration and industrial relations. But since the personnel function is a line responsibility and staff function, it cannot be properly performed by a personnel officer. Constant conflict due to due to high aspiration of workers and limited resource of employees In many universities, students are not majoring in HRM . Disciplines like finance, marketing and MIS are receiving due attention. Lack of professional training facilities. There is a management vacuum which has been further aggravated by the absence of opportunities for training and development of manages. Trainers do not have the expertise of the working in any industry and naturally they have difficulty to relate theories to the realities of life.

 To eliminate managerial vacuum in respect of HRM, there is a need to take the following steps on an urgent basis: Whole hearted support of the CEO for personnel function, which should be treated on equal footing with production and marketing department. HR managers do not get adequate support from the top. Both personnel department and line managers have a joint responsibility about manmanagement, for which broad parameters have to be drawn by the company so that roles are properly clarified. Arrangement for MBA students to major in HRM. Engagement of talented and highly educated young people for personnel profession. Opportunities for training and development of personnel management so that they can acquire required expertise.

 Clarification of role of HR department vis-a vis that of others, in order to ensure that the personnel man is not required to take a back seat in company hierarchy. Role of personnel department is unclear, man-management problems do not receive due attention. The line managers think that the personnel should dot it, while the personnel thinks that it is the duty of line managers. Line managers are those who have full responsibility for the success or failure of their units in achieving the assigned goals.

 Staffs are those who provide services to line managers and counsel them in the performance of their duties. In a sound company organization, personnel manager is a staff official. He should report directly to the CEO. He should not issue orders to department heads or their subordinates even when personnel matters are involved In the process, the workers suffer grievance keep on mounting, and the pent-up feelings ultimately burst out one day in the form of strike and gherao. Bangladeshi employers are advised to give a serious thought to establish and develop a proper human resources department so that human resources management receive due attention which is a pre-requisite for growth and development of industries. There is a need for a proper HR department staffed with experienced specialists, who should educate the line managers about man-management.

Guideline for selection

HRM is required to take the following steps for making recruitment.
He should have approved establishment for workers as well as management and he should institute the system that when any recruitment is needed, the department concerned should fill up a form and stating how the vacancy has arisen and how it has to be filled up. Prepare a job profile for the position to be filled up in consultation with the departmental manager concerned. Job profile should contain the basic content of the job.

 Develop a man profile with the assistance of the concerned manger of the department. It should contain the minimum qualities needed to perform a job efficiently. Developing a job and man profile is essential before HRM proceeds with the process of selection and interview. It would help HRM to draw up a properly worded advertisement HRM prepares an advertisement for the press and arrange to send it to the newspaper. He should shortlist the applicatioions on the basis of some factors like academic background, desired age group years of experience, etc. Issue letters to the short-listed candidates asking them to appear for an interview which may include written test. For vacancies at senior level, it is advisable not take a written test.

 After the preliminary interview, the suitable candidates should be called for final interview. For selection at entry level, the final interview may include group exercise like individual presentation, group discussion.
Final interview is a day long exercise. The presentation should be followed by group exercises. Selectors should keep on taking notes and making ratings. After the group exercise, the candidates should be interviewed by the selectors on a one-to-one basis. Recording observations and rating by each selector continues at each stage of interview.

 HRM should then call the selected candidates and make offer of the jobs.
If the candidate accepts the offer, the HRM should send him for medical check up and telephone his referee to check up his reference. While checking of reference should be on telephone before the issue of appointment letter, the referee should be issued proper letter seeking their written opinion about the candidates.

 The HRM should immediately hold the selector's conference and during thus conference, the selectors should exchange their views about each candidate and come to a consensus. The HRM should complete the form summing up the ratings and may obtain signature of all the selectors. HRM should then call the selected candidates and make offer of the jobs. Work out an appropriate induction program in consultation with the department head concerned and issue it to all concerned, including the candidate. After the induction, the HRM will place the newly appointed man in the job for which he has been selected.

 HRM will ensure that during the probation period, monthly progress report comes to the HR department, which should be analyzed by him and correct action should be taken. Finally, when the new man is confirmed, the role of HRM regarding selection and recruitment is over.