Master of Business Administration- MBA-Semester 1

MB 0043- Human Resource Management

Answer the following questions. Each question carries 10 marks. (6 X 10=60)
1).What do you mean by Human Resource Management?
Describe the functions of Human Resource Management.
ANSWER:
Definition of Human Resource Management:
Todays organizations constantly mould itself to meet the business challenges despite
economic, political and social patterns in which it exists. The efforts made by
organizations to sustain business metrics like revenue, profits and growth, market
share is possible only through the people in the organization who work towards
making this happen within the enterprise.
One of the most useful definitions of Human Resources Management (HRM) is
provided by Fisher, Schoendfelt and Shaw in their book Human Resources
Management HRM involves all management decisions and practices that directly
affect or influence the people or Human resources who work for the organization.
The concept of human resources entails:
Total knowledge
Skills
Creative abilities
Talents
Aptitudes of an organizations workforce
Values
Attitudes
Belief of the individuals involved.
A human resource manager has to build an effective workforce, handle the
expectations of the employees and ensure that they perform at their best. He or she
also has to take into account the firms responsibilities to the society that it operates
in.
The functions of Human Resource Management:
Human resource management involves blending the traditional administrative
functions along with the changing concepts of employee welfare in the
organization. Organizations now regard employees as a precious resource and
spend more efforts to retain them. The retention of employees is dependent on
how they are perceived and treated in the organization based on their
performance, abilities and skills.
Human resource managers are involved right from identifying potential

candidates for jobs to their separation from the organization. They encourage
communication amongst the employees and also promote better employer
employee relationship.
Organizational performance depends directly on how efficiently and effectively
the HR department functions. It is the quality of the human resources available to
the organization that primarily determines the quality of the products and
services produced by the organization. The HR personnel are the key link
between the top management and the employees. Today, HRM operates in tune
with other essential organizational requirements and co-exists with the topmost
management cadre. It thrives on the strength of the relationship between the
management and the workers of the company.
HRM functions can be broadly classified into the following two categories:
Managerial functions
Operative functions
Managerial functions of HR department:
The managerial functions of HR department include the following:

Planning Future course of action; it also includes identifying human resource

requirements and forecasting personnel needs.

Organizing Division of lab our; assignment of responsibility is part of the

organizations functions.

Staffing It is the process of obtaining and maintaining capable and

competent personnel in various positions at all levels, i.e., manpower planning,
recruitment, selection, placement and induction.

Directing It is the process of directing all the available resources towards the
common organizational goals.

Controlling It is the measurement and rectification of activities to ensure

that the events conform to plans.

2). Discuss the elements of a Career Planning Programmer. Explain some of

the benefits of a Career Planning program to an organization

Answer:
Elaborate the elements of a Career Planning Programmer:
There are four distinct elements of career planning programmed:
Individual assessment and need analysis
Organizational assessment and opportunity analysis
Need opportunity alignment
Career counseling
Individual assessment and need analysis
Many people begin their careers without any formal assessment of their abilities,
interests, career needs and goals. This phenomenon of people entering their jobs,
occupations and careers with little attention to career planning and then feeling
disengaged is known as career drift.
Organizational assessment and opportunity analysis
For an employees goals and aspirations to be fulfilled, a basic requirement is that the
goals must be realistic and achievable. They have to be realistic not only in terms of the
employees own capabilities, but also in terms of the organizations possibilities.
Need opportunity alignment
The organization plays an important role in helping the employee make this alignment.
The organization also has to make its own alignments to match the aspirations with the
organizational opportunities.
Career counseling
This is the final stage of career planning. The supervisor as well as the HR department,
has to counsel the employee regarding the available opportunities, the employees
aspirations and of course, his competencies

Explaining the benefits of a Career Planning Programmer:

Career can be defined as a sequence of positions, roles or jobs held by one person over
a relatively long time span and over his/her life-time. Managing career planning may
include the following aspects:
Career path: It is the sequential pattern of jobs that form a career.
Career goals: They are the future positions that an individual strives to reach as part
of a career.
Career planning: It refers to the process by which an individual selects career goals
and the path to these goals. The process whereby each employee personally plans
careers goals is known as individual career. Planning and the process whereby the
organization plans career goals for its employees is known as organizational career
planning.
Following are the benefits of career planning to an organization:
Ensures availability of resources for the future: Career development in an
organization should be in alignment with the HRP. HRP determines the changing
requirements of an organization and career development helps in meeting the resource
requirements.
Enhances organizational ability to attract and retain talent: In a competitive
market environment, talented employees have career
Opportunities. Therefore, an organization that shows concern for the employees future
by providing them the best opportunities can attract and retain talented people.
Ensures growth opportunities for all: A comprehensive planning exercise by the
organization ensures growth opportunities for all the employees.
Handles employee frustration: Todays workforce is more knowledgeable and has
greater expectations. They desire more responsibility and greater challenges. A good
career development programmed can help in handling the expectations of the
employees.
Career management: is the process of designing and implementing goals, plans and
strategies that enable HR professionals and managers to satisfy workforce needs and
allow individuals to achieve their career objectives.
Career development programmers help in the achievement of career objectives.
Career anchors: It is attitudinal characteristics that guide people throughout their
careers.
Autonomy/Independence: Desire to have freedom and not to be bossed over.

3). What do you mean by HRIS? Explain the components of HRIS. Describe the
different applications of HRIS in Human Resource Management.
ANSWER:

Definition of HRIS:
HRIS, HR Technology or HR modules are an intersection between HRM and IT. It
merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes
with the IT field, whereas the planning and programming of data processing
systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin in
software that integrates information from different applications into one universal
database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one
database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietarily
developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and
flexible.
HRIS has become significant for decision-making and policy formulation as well as
for ensuring fairness and equity in HR policies and practices. There is an increasing
realization that for organizational survival and growth in a competitive
environment, human resource is the most critical resource.
This coupled with the increase in the cost of hiring, retaining, developing and
motivating people to perform at their best has pushed organizations to base their
HR decisions on sound logic and thereby, on proper information. HRIS becomes a
major asset from this point of view. The growing need for transparency among the
employees and the society is another factor that is compelling organizations
towards proper management of information in all areas, including HR.
Brief about the components of HRIS:
Let us now discuss the components of HRIS.
HRIS performs three interconnected activities as a database:
I) Receiving inputs in the form of data from different sources.
ii) storing and processing data with the purpose of transforming them into
meaningful information
iii) Generating output in different forms, as required by the users.
Input
Input refers to all employee-related data. HR policies, procedures, corporate
goals and information about the statutory provisions entered into HRIS for
conversion into the desired form of output.
Data processing
Data processing refers to the storing and processing of data by a computer with
the help of the software that issues instructions for processing.
Output
Output refers to the generation of reports in the form desired by the users. This
is the final stage of an HRIS process.
Explain the different applications of HRIS
Let us now discuss the types of HRIS.
Some organizations may use HRIS only for data storage and report generation,
while some others may use it in decision making processes and in simulation.

HRIS supports management at three levels of an organization.

1. The electronic data processing level The purpose of HRIS at the electronic
data processing level is collecting, storing, manipulating, analyzing retrieving and
distributing relevant information of human resources in the organization.
2. The Management Information System (MIS) level MIS is the next level of
HRIS in which HRIS has much wider and advanced applications. It is a system that
provides information to managers, who use it for decision making.
3. The decision support system level The last level of an HRIS is decision
support system. The primary users of this level are mainly top management and
executives. It helps users in simulating situations and making decisions.

4). Discuss the objectives of Discipline. Explain the Action penalties of

Discipline
ANSWER:
Objectives of Discipline:
The aims and objectives of discipline are:

To ensure and enable employees to work in accordance with the

rules and regulations of the organization.

To ensure that employees follow the organizational processes and

procedures in spite of their different personalities and behavior.

To provide direction to the employees and fix responsibilities.

To improve organizational performance by improving the efficiency

of each employee.

To maintain a sense of orderliness and confidence in the employees

towards each other and towards the management.

To maintain common feelings of trust and confidence in the

employees towards each other and towards the management.

Good employee conduct is usually catalyzed by effective leadership.

Leaders by being examples, prevail upon their teams to willingly follow the
applicable policies, rules and procedures. Similarly employee misconduct
exists when employees fail to observe the rules of the organization or the
orders of their supervisors. Conditions contributing to poor discipline can
be caused by weaknesses within the organizational structure or by
external factors.

Explaining the action-penalties of Discipline:

There are varying penalties for first, second, and third offences of the same rule.
Following are the commonly practiced actions in business organizations:
1. Oral reprimand
2. Written warning
3. Denial of increments, promotions and pay hikes
4. Pay reductions and disciplinary demotions
5. Suspension
6. Discharge or dismissal
Oral reprimand: The penalties are listed in the general order of severity, from mild
to severe. For most cases, an oral reprimand is sufficient to achieve the desired
result. The supervisor must know his or her personnel in determining how to give a
reprimand. For one person, a severe "session" may be necessary in order to get
attention and cooperation; another person may require only a casual mention of a
deficiency. If the offence is more serious, the reprimand may be put in written form.
Written warning: When an oral warning or counseling to the employee does not
produce the desired result, the manager may issue a written warning to the
employee. The employee is normally asked to acknowledge the receipt of written
reprimand, irrespective of whether he agrees with the content of the letter or not.
Since a written reprimand is more permanent than an oral one, it is considered a
more severe offence and the penalty levied accordingly.
Denial of increments, promotions and pay hikes: On some incidents the
management may refuse promotions, increments or pay hike by blacklisting the
employee for a specific period of time. This is usually treated as a punishment for a
certain period of time.
Pay reductions and disciplinary demotion: This is usually more severe than the
denial of pay hikes and promotions because the employee loses part of existing
benefits and privileges received by him from the organization.
In the case of demotion, an employee loses social status.
Suspension:
A few offences normally require the direct suspension of the employee without any
prior warning, depending upon the nature of the misconduct
Discharge or dismissal:
This is the severest punishment of all. Both discharge and dismissal culminate in
termination of employment.
When the conduct of an employee is deemed to be mismatched with the faithful
discharge of his duties and undesirable or against the interest of the employer to
continue him in employment, dismissal will be justified.

5).Suppose you have joined as an HR and you have been

assigned a task to carry out the grievance handling procedure
in your organization. What according to you are the causes of
Grievance? Describe in detail the Grievance handling
procedure
ANSWER:
Causes of Grievance:
Grievances can arise out of the day to day working
relations in an organization. Relations with supervisors
and colleagues also determine employees job
satisfaction.
Grievances may occur for a number of reasons:

(a) Economic: Wage fixation, over time bonus, wage

Revision etc. Employees may feel that they are
paid less when compared to others.
(b) Work environment: Poor physical conditions of
workplace, tight production norms, defective tools and
equipment, poor quality of materials, unfair rules, lack of
recognitions etc.
(c) Supervision: Relates to the attitude of the
supervisor towards the employee such as perceived
notion of bias, favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations,
regional feelings etc.
(d) Work group: Employee is unable to adjust with
his colleagues, suffers from feelings of neglect,
humiliations.
(e) Miscellaneous: These include issues related to
certain violations with respect to promotions, safety
methods, transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting
leave, medical facilities, etc.
Explain the Grievance handling procedure:
The following guidelines may help a supervisor while dealing with grievance:
Treat each case as important and get the grievance in writing.
Talk to the employee directly. Encourage him/her to speak the truth. Give
him/her a patient hearing.
Discuss in a private place. Ensure confidentially if necessary
Handle each case within a time-frame

 Examine company provisions in each case, Identify violations, if any, Do not

hold back the remedy if the company is wrong. Inform your supervisor about
all grievances.
Get all relevant facts about the grievance; examine the personal records of
the aggrieved worker. See whether any witnesses are available. Visit the
work area. The idea is to find where things have gone wrong and who is at
fault.

Gather information from the union representative, what he has to say, what he
wants etc. Give short replies, uncovering the truth as well as provisions. Treat him
properly.

Control your emotions, your remark and behavior

Maintain proper records and follow up the action taken in each case
The essential requirements of a good grievance procedure are:
Legality sustainable
It should be ensured by the organization that its grievance procedure is in
conformity with the existing laws of nation.
The procedure cannot violate any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by
the law.

mutually acceptable

In order to be effective, the grievance procedure must enjoy the confidence of

all the relevant parties, i.e., the management and the unions. It should not be like a
battleground. Procedure must ensure equity, justice and openness.

Easily understandable

The grievance procedure must be reasonably simple and easily understandable.

Known to all the employees of the organization.
If someone has some grievance, and then he/she should know who is to be
contacted.

Highly flexible

The grievance procedure should be flexible enough to respond to the reported

grievance quickly. The number of stages in the grievance procedure should be kept
to the minimum.

6).Write a short note on the following :

a).Index /Trend Analysis
b).Delphi Technique
ANSWER:
Meaning and steps involved in Index /Trend Analysis:
Trend analysis forecasts the requirement for additional manpower by projecting
trends of the past and present to the future. It makes use of operational indices for
this.
Historical relationship between the operational index and the Demand for
Labor.
Operational indices used are:
Sales
Number of units produced
Number of clients serviced
Production/Direct Lab our Hours
Trend analysis can be used for forecasting overall Organization, Abu-units, or
Indirect (Staff) and Direct (Line) Manpower requirements.
The Index/Trend analysis involves the following steps:
1.Select the appropriate business/operational index Select a readily
available business index, sales level that is known to have direct influence on the
organizational demand for lab our.
2. Track the index over time Once the index has been selected, it is necessary
to go back in time for at least four or five most recent years.
3. Track the workforce size over time Record the historical figures of the total
number of employees.

4.Calculate the average (or most recent) ratio of the business index to the
workforce size (Employee Requirement Ratio) In this step, the ratio of
number of employees required for each thousand rupees of sales is obtained by
dividing each years number of employees by the level of sales.
5. Calculate the forecasted HR demand Multiply the annual forecasting for
the business index times the average employee requirement ratio for each future
year to arrive at forecasted annual demand for labor.

Meaning and procedure of Delphi Technique;

This method is essentially a group process to achieve a consensus forecast. This
method calls for selection of a panel of experts either from within or outside the
organization. A series of questions is prepared from the responses received from a
prior set of questions in sequencing manner.
The procedure of Delphi technique involves the following steps:
1. To start with, it requires selection of a coordinator and a panel of experts from
both within and outside the organization.
2. The coordinator then circulates questions in writing to each such expert.
3. The experts then write their observations.
4. The coordinator then edits those observations and summarizes, without however
disclosing the majority opinion in his summary.
5. On the basis of his summary, the coordinator develops a new set of
questionnaire and circulates those among the experts.
6. Experts then answer such set of questions.
7. The coordinator repeats the process till such time he is able to synthesize from
the opinion of the experts.