Manpower Planning The need for companies to take a searching look at their future manpower requirements has become more and more evident, and manpower planning is more important for management than it has ever been. There are three main arguments in favour of manpower planning. Firstly, there is considerable evidence to indicate that for some time to come there will be a shortage of quality manpower, particularly technological and scientific manpower, the demand for which is steadily increasing. Secondly, changes in manpower requirements in skill terms are likely to be much more rapid in the future than they have been in the past. No longer is a man able to learn a skill in his youth which will carry him through the whole of his working life; it is probable that the young and the not so young man will have to change his skill once, or even twice, in the course of his working life. Thirdly, the ever increasing costs of manpower. Demands for higher standards of living and increased leisure are tending to push these up at an even faster rate.

Assuming that the average stay in a company of a newly recruited graduate engineer is three years, and that such a recruit is normal, but not exceptional; then the cost in salary alone over the three-year period is likely to be (at current values) of the order of Rs. 8,000/- per month. If, however, one adds on the other costs of staff pensions, various fringe benefits, accommodation and office services, etc. then the total cost is of the order of Rs. 20,000/- per month.

No one contemplating the purchase of a piece of plant or equipment, with a similar life-span, costing that amount would do so without the most careful study of its suitability for the purpose for which it was intended, its capacity, the means by which that capacity could be utilized to the full, its place in the scheme of production, and the expected return on the investment. Few companies apply the same level of criteria of consideration to manpower. The reason for this difference in approach lies in the traditional attitude to manpower as a cost rather than as an investment. Yet while machinery depreciates and eventually become obsolete, properly developed manpower can continue to grow in usefulness and capacity.The view that there is likely to be a shortage of quality staff over the longer term, or in the one that presently exists, is not universally shared. Some take the view that there is considerable under-use of talents and abilities, and that there is a large, as yet untapped, potential for the exercise of higher skills if only adequate training and education can be made available. This, in itself, is a very large subject. The objective of manpower planning is, and must be, to improve manpower utilisation and to ensure that there is available manpower of the right number and the right quality to meet the present and future needs of the organisation. It must, therefore, produce, a realistic recruitment policy and plan and must be very much concerned with costs and productivity.

Role and Content of Manpower PlanningManpower planning, in its broadest sense, covers all those activities traditionally associated with the management of personnel – records, recruitment, selection, training and development, appraisal, career planning, management succession and so on. But it is important, both for analytical purposes and ultimately for executive purposes, to disentangle these activities and to think of them as a number of sequential phases. The three main phases as illustrated in Figure 1 (below) are:

Phase 1: The development of manpower objectives: This is concerned with the development of forecasts of the manpower necessary to fulfill the company’s corporate objectives, with looking at the totality of situations rather than at individuals. It is concerned with detailed analysis in order to identify and foresee problem areas, to assess future demands and to establish how those demands may be met. It is directed towards the development of manpower strategy as an integral part of company strategy.

Phase 2: The management of manpower: In this phase, the question is one of managing manpower resources to meet objectives and the development, in more specific and individual terms, of recruitment plans, training and development plans, succession plans, appraisal systems, etc.

Phase 3: Control and evaluation: This concerns the continual evaluation and amendment of plans in the light of achievement and changing circumstances. Planning starts from a given factual position and tries to look ahead through a range of possibilities. Evaluation in this context means thoroughly checking forecasts and forecasting methods against what eventually happens, and making such revisions as may prove necessary. Any planning activity must have a system for this regular checking built into it. In other words, planning must be a continuing process. The components of the second phase are fairly familiar in industry and are often taken to be synonymous with manpower planning.

It is the ultimate aim of any complete system of manpower planning that all three phases should be fully integrated. Manpower planning must be fully integrated with the company plan. Indeed without a company plan, there can be no realistic manpower planning.

Figure 1: A procedure for a manpower planning

Company Objectives , Policies and Plans

Economic Organisation Strategic Forecasts objectives plans

Manpower Analysis(Current situation)InventoryEmploymentProductivityOrganisation

Manpower forecasts(Future situation)

Overall Unit Budget Managementmanpower Manpower agreement manpowerforecast forecast estimates

Top Management Approval

Manpower objectives and Policies

Manpower Plans and Programs Recruitment and selectionRedundancyRetirement and remunerationTrainingAppraisal and developmentEfficiency investigation

Control and Evaluation

Phaseone

Phasetwo

Phase three

The present position and the analysis of trendsIn manpower planning there are three basic elements to be considered the present stock of manpower; wastage, and future requirements for manpower. Information will be needed in a series of permutations and combinations according to the needs of the company. The following are the basic ‘building blocks’ that will probably be needed in most circumstances:

Present total manpower. Manpower resources by appropriate planning groups, for example, sex, grade,

function/department, profession/skill, qualification, age group, and length of service. Total manpower costs. Total costs by appropriate component elements, for example, salaries, wages, pension

contributions, welfare, canteen, etc. Costs by functions/departments. Costs indices and ratios (see control and evaluation below). Total numbers related to sales, production or such other criteria as may be appropriate, in

physical and financial terms. Attrition and retention rates by appropriate groups, that is, overall, by function/department,

profession, sex, age group, etc. Recruitment patterns by age, education, etc. for each function/department. Resources of promotable staff.

Forecasting future manpower movementsFuture manpower requirements are self-evidently governed by the company’s corporate plan and they can only be considered in that context. Indeed, without a corporate plan there can be no realistic manpower plan. It follows that no forecast for the forward demand of manpower can be more precise than the formulation of the company’s overall objectives. Clearly, it is also important that a company’s objectives should be so stated as to be interpretable in terms of manpower involvement. The factors affecting manpower demand fall into two main groups: trading and production patterns and technological change. Some indication of the extent to which volume and patterns of trade, and technological change affect manpower will have been gathered from the analyses.

Control and Evaluation Two broad and complementary approaches to the control and evaluation of the manpower plan are necessary, one in terms of numerical trends and the other in terms of costs criteria.

Assuming that the planning period is of five years, then the plan prepared in 1992 would go through to the end of 1997. In the autumn of 1993, the plan should have been reviewed and up-dated where necessary and extended to include 1998. The first step is, as has been stated, the review and up dating of the corporate plan. This normally takes the form of a package of expectations and objectives, all of which are considered mutually consistent and feasible. The strategy for achieving these objectives determines the form of organisation to be used and the amount and form of resources required, including manpower.

In this review, management will want to question the degree to which the various specific goals of the manpower plan were achieved. This can be shown by the use of a number of numerical controls and gauges, such as change in numbers by total/department/function, changes in wastage (turnover) rates and the reasons for wastage, changing age structures and their implications, all related to the original targets set.

Another approach, which has been found useful in giving a comparative picture of the contribution being made by personnel to the operation of the company, is the development of cost ratios.

ConclusionIn a world of rapidly changing technology with an ever-growing demand for more and different skills, the need to plan manpower is as great as the need to plan any other resource. The prosperity and growth of any company rests, in the end, on the quality of its manpower and the extent to which their talents are utilized to the full.

Manpower planning is concerned with safeguarding the future, with preventing the loss of opportunities through lack of appropriate human abilities and the wastefulness of ‘over-braining’ the organisation. It emphasizes the need for rationalization in keeping with modern needs and technological capabilities and the development of organisation structures to match.

Job Analysis – A Definition

Job analysis is the process of collecting, analyzing and setting out information about jobs in order to provide the basis for a job description or role definition and data for job evaluation, performance management and other human resource management purposes.

A distinction should be made between a job description and a role definition. A job description sets out the purpose of a job, whether it fits in the organisation structure, the context within which the job holder functions and the principal accountabilities of the job holders, or the main tasks they have to carry out. A role definition additionally describes the part to be played by individuals in fulfilling their job requirements. Role definitions refer to broader aspects of behaviour, for example, working flexibly, working with others and styles of management. They may incorporate the results of skills or competence analysis.

Job Analysis in Practice Job analysis is an analytical process involving gathering facts, analyzing and sorting these facts and re-assembling them into whatever consistent format is chosen. Job analysis gets the facts about a job from jobholders, the jobholder’s manager (preferably both) and the jobholder’s colleagues or team mates. It is not a matter of obtaining opinions or making judgments. What goes into a job description should be what actually happens and why, not what people would like to think happens, or what they feel people should be like to make it happen. Thus judgmental statements such as ‘Carries out the highly skilled work of…’ should be avoided (who is to say that the work is highly skilled and in comparison with what?)

The facts can be obtained by interviews (the best but time-consuming way) or by asking jobholders and/or their managers to write their own job descriptions in a structured format. It is helpful in both cases to be quite clear about the questions to be asked and answered and it is essential in the latter case to provide guidance on how the analysis should be carried out and expressed on paper. Alternatively questionnaires can be used – either universal questionnaires or those designed for job families:

Universal questionnairesUniversal questionnaires are designed to cover all the jobs to be analyzed. They are typically used in association with computer-assisted job evaluation. They should be tailored to the particular organisation and the range and type of jobs to be covered, and they should focus on those aspects of performance and values which are considered to be important in the organisation concerned.

Job family questionnairesJob family questionnaires are designed to establish the main factors which differentiate between jobs at different levels in a job family. A job family consists of jobs in a particular function or discipline such as research scientist, development engineer or personnel specialists which are related in terms of the fundamental activities carried out but are differentiated by the levels of responsibility, skill or competence required. A job family questionnaire is designed with the advice of an expert team of managers from the organisation.

Job analysis interview check lists What is your job title? To whom are you responsible? Who is responsible to you? (An organisation chart is helpful). What is the main purpose of your job? i.e. in overall terms, what are you expected to do? To achieve that purpose, what are your main areas of responsibility (e.g. principal

accountabilities, key result areas or main tasks)? Describe what you have to do and also

indicate why you have to do it? i.e. the results you are expected to achieve by carrying out the task.

What are the dimensions of your job in such terms as output or sales targets, numbers of items processed, numbers of people managed, and number of customers?

Is there any other information you can provide about your job to amplify the above facts, such as:- how your job fits in with other jobs in your department or in the company;- flexibility requirements in terms of having to carry out a range of different tasks;- how work is allocated to you and how your work is reviewed and approved; - your decision-making authority;- the contacts you make with others, inside and outside the company – the equipment, plant

and tools you use;- other features of your job such as traveling or unsocial hours or unusual physical

conditions;- the major problems you meet in carrying out your work;- the knowledge and skills you need to do your work.

The aim is to structure the job analysis interview or questionnaire in line with these headings.

Analyzing the factsHowever carefully the interview or questionnaire is structured, the information is unlikely to come out neatly and succinctly in a way which can readily be translated into a job description or role definition. It is usually necessary to sort out, rearrange and sometimes rewrite the information.

Management By Objectives (MBO)Management by Objectives is basically a process whereby the superior and the subordinate managers of an enterprise jointly identify its common goals, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members. A number of companies have had significant success in broadening individual responsibility and involvement in work planning at the lowest organisational levels. The concept rests on a philosophy on management that emphasizes an integrated between external control (by managers) and self-control (by subordinates). It can apply to any manager or individual no matter what level or function, and to any organisation, regardless of size.

The smooth functioning of this system is an agreement between a manager and subordinate about that subordinate’s own or group performance goals during a stated time period. These goals can emphasize output variables or intervening variables, or a combination of both. The important thing is that goals are jointly established and agreed upon in advance. This is followed by a review of the subordinate’s performance in relation to accepted goals at the end of the time period. Both superior and subordinates participate in this review and in any other evaluation that takes place. Consultation and participation in this area tend to establish personal risk for the attainment of the formulated objective by those who actually perform the task.

Prior to settling individual objectives, the common goals of the entire organisation should be clarified, and at this time, any appropriate changes in the organisation structure should be made: changes in titles, duties, relationships, authority, responsibility, span of control, and so forth.

Throughout the time period what is to be accomplished by the entire organisation should be compared with what is being accomplished; necessary adjustments should be made and inappropriate goals discarded. At the end of the time period a final mutual review of objectives and performance takes place. If there is discrepancy between the two, efforts are initiated to determine what steps can be

taken to overcome these problems. This sets the stage for the determination of objectives for the next period.

Theories of MotivationThere is no simple formula to motivate people. But if you look at the theoretical emphasis of the behavioural scientists who have been studying motivation, there is a surprising degree of agreement.

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs or Deficient Theory of MotivationNeeds are arranged in a definite sequence of domination i.e., unless the needs of lower order are reasonably satisfied, those of the higher order do not dominate.

Lower/primary order needs includes basic physiological needs & safety and security. Higher/secondary needs are belonging or social needs, esteem and self-actualization needs.

Self-actualizationEsteem

Belonging Safety

Physiological

McClelland Achievement Theory of Motivation

We have three basic social needs: affiliation, power & achievement. Need for achievement : The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive

to succeed. Need for affiliation : The drive for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. Need for power : The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved

otherwise.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of MotivationIn the first category are Maintenance or Hygiene factors, which are necessary to maintain a reasonable level of job satisfaction. Absence of these factors may dissatisfy the employee but will not demotivate them. In the Second category are the Motivators since they seem to be effective in motivating people to superior performance.

Hygiene/Maintenance Motivators

Company policy & Adm. Relationship with supervisor Working conditions Salary Relationship with peers Personal life Relationship with subordinates Status Job security Technical supervision

Achievement Recognition Work Responsibility Advancement Growth

McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X emphasizes on discipline, incentive programs, welfare measures, close supervision, pension and other benefit programs.

Theory Y represents the democratic approach and gives to the employees scope for creativity and responsibility. It stresses man’s need for work, responsibility and involvement in serious endeavour; work force is a reservoir of untapped imagination, intelligence and commitment.

Motivating Climate

Even if all your subordinates have high potential for self motivation, a climate should be provided to flourish it. Some suggestions on how to develop such an atmosphere: Establish clear-cut objectives and standards. The individual must know what is expected of him. Evaluate the employee’s progress against these yardsticks. Discuss his progress with him as often as possible - help him to make necessary adjustments. Take prompt corrective action - including disciplinary action when necessary. Good discipline is

essential to any healthy environment. Use rewards promptly. Rewards must be tied to the specific result and commensurate with the

contribution. There must be some differentiation between those who contribute and those who do not. Otherwise, there is no advantage in turning out a superior performance.

Encourage and appreciate excellence among your people. Frequently when you expect great things of people, they will deliver beyond their own expectations.

Try to assign intermediate goals to give the feeling of achievement. A series of small successes can build confidence and expand their horizons.

Give a man difficult challenges on occasion, particularly in less critical areas and after he has had a few successes to build his ego.

Give him an understanding of the organisation’s total goal and the part that he is contributing. This provides him with a sense of involvement essential to his need to grow and develop.

Non-Financial MotivatorsAppraisal, Praise or RecognitionPraise has its greatest value when it is given and received as recognition. An employee would naturally want to be praised by his boss and his colleagues for any work done well. Recognition satisfies human need for esteem by others and his self-esteem. It can be shown in the form of:- Pat on the back- Recommendation for a pay raise- Promotion- Assignment of more interesting tasks- Awards- Banquets honoring certain individual- Certificates, Plaques etc

Status and Pride Pride is regarded as a powerful and valuable motivator towards higher productivity. Status refers to “the social rank of a person”. It satisfies the social and egoistic needs. Management can satisfy this need by establishing status symbol and distinctions in the organisation by providing:- Good furniture/artistic curtains for the office- Private lockers- Separate cabins/chambers- Suitable desks with drawers etc.

Competition

Competition to certain extent should be encouraged in the organisation. It may be in regards to sales, production or safety measures. However, competition leading to jealousy and hostility among the competing members and giving rise to a sense of frustration should not be encouraged.

Delegation of AuthorityAn individual entrusted with authority has the right to act, to direct and to requisition resources needed to perform a designated activity. The delegation of substantial amount of responsibility to execute a given task often proves to be a strong motivating force.

ParticipationManagement must encourage its employees to participate in areas such as decision making to improve the working conditions. This will satisfy the employee’s ego and self-esteem. It will also give an outlet to creativity and initiatives.

Job SecurityJob security implies that an employee would continue on the job in the same plant or elsewhere and that he shall enjoy economic, social security through health and welfare programs. The welfare programs should provide security against sickness, unemployment, disability, old age and death. Job security should make arrangements to accommodate surplus manpower in the organisation.

Job EnlargementIt is a process of increasing the complexity of job in order to appeal to the higher-order needs of the employees. Job enlargement implies that the employee performs more varied tasks, which are all on the same level. The idea is to make the job less monotonous. The basic principle in job enlargement is to provide employees with opportunities to make greater use of their minds and skills so that they are able to satisfy their need for self-esteem and dignity.

Job RotationThe basic objective of job rotation is to increase the skill and knowledge of an employee about related jobs. It is basically shifting an employee from one job to another so that monotony and boredom is reduced. An employee learns to do all the different activities necessary for an operation or unit of work.

Job LoadingTo make a job more interesting Horizontal or Vertical job loading is done. In Horizontal job loading, the employee is given more work at the same level at which he is currently performing. In Vertical job loading, jobs are restructured to include larger areas of responsibility and make it intrinsically more interesting.

Job EnrichmentJob Enrichment is usually more successfully in improving quality of the work than its quantity. The job to be performed should be less structured and less routine. The quality of work is of prime consideration for enriching a job. The goal of this exercise is not merely to make the work more varied but to make “every employee a manager”. The job is made to deal with the higher order needs of an employee such as need for advancement, recognition, growth and responsibility.

Quality of Work Life

The term “Quality of Work Life” means different things to different people. In reference to the work and its environment in which the employee performs his job, the following are few factors which will improve the quality of work life:- Adequate and fair compensation- Security and growth opportunity- Safe and healthy working conditions- Opportunity to use and develop creativity- Respect for the individual’s personal rights- Work and family life

Job Sharing or TwinningIt is novel system, in which two employees prefer to divide one full-time job, especially:

- mother and father who want to spend more time with their families- the older people - who want to retire gradually- those with physical limitations- Students

In such system, the hours of work, salary and other fringe benefits are shared between both the parties.

Flexitime or Flexible Working HoursFor flexitime employees have the freedom to choose within certain limitations, what time they begin and finish their job each day. It wipes out the 9 to 5 syndrome faced by many employees and enables them to enjoy hours that closely match their personal styles. It improves morale, increases productivity and gives employees a greater sense of control over their own lives.

Change Management

“To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often”.

- Winston Churchill

Change

Change is the name of the game in management today. Market, product and competitive conditions are rapidly changing. Change is an alteration in the existing field of forces (external & internal) that tends to affect the equilibrium of an organization.

In an era of accelerating change, organization’s degree to excellence is judged by its ability to cope with these changes. Organizations either become more adaptive, flexible and anticipative or they become rigid, stagnant and react to change after the fact, often when it is too late. Therefore, Managers must do more than just react; they must be able to anticipate the changing patterns of people, markets, products, services and technology.

Levels of Change

1. Knowledge Changes2. Attitudinal Changes3. Individual Behaviour Changes4. Group or Organisational Performance Changes

Changes in knowledge tend to be the easiest to make; they can occur as a result of reading a book or an article or hearing something new from a respected person. Attitude structures differ from knowledge structures in that they are emotionally charged in a positive or a negative way. Changes in individual behaviour seem to be significantly more difficult and time consuming. While individual behaviour is difficult enough to change, it becomes even more complicated when you try to implement change within groups or organisations.

Types Of Changes in OrganizationsMacro level Change in Structure: e. g., amendments to the Constitution; nationalization of banks. Change in Methodology: e.g., Automation in industry: irrigation, chemical fertilizers and crop

rotation in agriculture. Change in Behaviour : e.g., family planning program; patriotism and social discipline in time of

war or emergencies. Change in Assumptions and Values: e. g., desire for socialistic pattern of society; liberation

movements.

Cycles of Change

The levels of change become very significant when you examine two different change cycles

- Participative Change Cycle - Directive Change Cycle

Participative Change

A participative change cycle is implemented when new knowledge is made available to the individual or group. It is hoped that the group will accept the data and will develop a positive attitude and commitment in the direction of the desired change. The next step will be to attempt to translate this commitment into actual behaviour. This step is significantly more difficult to achieve. An effective

strategy may be to identify the informal and formal leaders among the work group(s) and concentrate on gaining their behavioral support for the desired change.

Once this is accomplished, organisational change may be effected by getting other people to begin to pattern their behaviour.

Directive Change

This change cycle begins by change being imposed on the total organisation by some external force, such as higher management, the community, new laws. The new contacts and modes of behaviour create new knowledge, which tend to develop predispositions towards or against the change.

Three Dimensions of Change

1. Logical Dimension: Based on the technical evidence of economics and science. This evidence needs to be presented to employees so that they can understand the technical and economic reasons for change.

2. Psychological Dimension: Based on the fact that change is logical on terms of the human values and feelings in the situation.

3. Sociological Dimension: Based on change logical from the point of view of social values. Is the change consistent with norms of the group? Does it maintain group teamwork? These questions need to be resolved keeping in mind society norms.

Change ProcessManaging change means managing the conversation between the people leading the change effort and those who are expected to implement the new strategies. The critical factors of a change process are : Skill to identify and analyze the objectives of change (knowledge of understanding what the

problem is & finding solutions to it.) Skill to devise successful methods to accomplish the objectives and solve the problems. Skill to enlist the support of people involved and affected by change.

A Model Of Adaptive Orientation

Low

Anticipative Reactive

Management Management

Environmental

Stability

Satisficing Conservative

Management Management

High

High Low

Adaptive

Orientation

Strategies For Dealing With Change

In some cases where change is forced the new behaviour engaged in creates the kind of knowledge that develops commitment to the change and therefore, begins to approximate a participative change as it reinforces the individual and group behaviour. The hope is that “if people will only have a chance to see how the new system works they will support it.” Planned change according to Benne and Chin can be divided into three basic types of strategies.

Empirical – Rational Strategies:The fundamental assumption underlying empirical-rational strategies is that human beings are rational and will follow their self-interest once this is revealed to them. This strategy is basically straightforward and uncomplicated. Since the person is rational and motivated by his self-interest, he will obviously adopt the proposed change if the logic can be effectively communicated.

Normative Re-educative Strategies :The normative re-educative strategies believe that human beings are guided in their actions by sociocultural norms and their commitment to these norms. Consequently, change is not exclusively at the cognitive or intellectual level but is often at a more personal level : habits, attitudes, and values.

Power-Coercive Strategies :

Power-coercive strategies are based on the assumption of compliance of those with less power to the will of those with more power.

Resistance to Change

Managers in every company must be alert to problems and opportunities, because the perceived need for change is what sets the stage for subsequent actions that create a new product or technology. Big problems are easy to spot. Sensitive monitoring systems are needed to detect gradual changes that can fool managers into thinking their company is doing fine. An organization may be in greater danger when the environment changes slowly, because managers may fail to trigger an organizational response. Failing to use planned change to meet small needs can place the organization in hot water, as illustrated in the following passage:

When frogs are placed in a boiling pail of water, they jump out – they don’t want to boil to

death. However, when frogs are placed in a cold pail of water, and the pail is placed on a

stove with the heat turned very low, over time the frogs will boil to death.

Psychologists have studied the phenomenon of resistance to change during the past few decades. Several explanations have been given for resistance to change. Some of these are as follows:

1. The change itself produces disequilibrium 2. There exists a deep seated human characteristic to go against change3. The basic anxieties aroused by the working conditions4. Insecurity created by the ambiguity related to change

Resistance has a protective function for the individual. All behaviour which opposes change is not necessarily resistance. Some opposition to change may be perfectly logical.

Tactics for Overcoming Resistance to Change

ApproachWhen to Use

Communication, education Change is technical. Users need accurate information and analysis to

understand change.Participation Users need to feel involved.

Design requires information from others. Users have power to resist.

Negotiation Group has power over implementation. Group will lose out in the change.

Coercion A crisis exists. Initiators clearly have power. Other implementation techniques have failed.

Top management support Change involves multiple departments or reallocation of resources.

Users doubt legitimacy of change.

Techniques for initiating Change

Strategies for overcoming resistance to change typically involve two approaches: the analysis of resistance through the force field technique and the use of selective implementation tactics to overcome resistance. Organisations may be in a state of equilibrium, with forces pushing for change on one hand and forces resisting change by attempting to maintain the status quo on the other. Kurt Lewin expressed this phenomenon in his field force theory, which suggests that an equilibrium is maintained by driving forces and restraining forces. When a change is introduced, some forces drive it and other forces resist it. To implement a change, management should analyze the change forces. By selectively removing forces that restrain change, the driving forces will be strong enough to enable implementation.

Another approach, and one that is usually more effective, is to reduce or eliminate the restraining forces and then move to a new level of equilibrium. In organizations, therefore, a change in policy is less resisted when those affected by it participate in the change. The change process involves three steps:

1. unfreezing2. moving or changing3. refreezing

The first stage, unfreezing, creates motivation for change. If people feel uncomfortable with the present situation, they may see the need for change. However, in some cases an ethical question may arise regarding the legitimacy of deliberately creating discomfort that may initiate change. The second stage is the change itself. This change may occur through assimilation of new information exposure to new concepts, or development of a different perspective. The third stage, refreezing, stabilizes the change. Change, to be effective, has to be congruent with a person’s self-concept and values. If the change is incongruent with the attitudes and behaviors of others in the organization, chances are that the person will revert back to the old behaviour. Thus, reinforcement of the new behaviour is essential.

JOB DESCRIPTION

“Job description” is an important document, which is basically descriptive in nature and contains a statement of job analysis. It provides both organizational information (location is structure, authority, etc.) and functional information (What the work is). It defines the scope of job activities, major responsibilities, and positioning of the job in the organization.

Job Description describe ‘jobs,’ not ‘job holders.’ It is a vehicle for organizational change and improvement.

Uses of Job DescriptionAccording to Zerga, who analyzed 401 articles on job description about 30 years ago, a job description helps us in :

Job grading and classification Transfers and promotions Adjustments of grievances Defining and outlining promotional steps Establishing a common understanding of a job between employers and employees Investigating accidents Indicating faulty work procedures or duplication of papers Maintaining, operating and adjusting machinery Time and motion studies Defining the limits of authority Indicating case of personal merit Facilitating job placement Studies of health and fatigue Scientific guidance Determining jobs suitable for occupational therapy Providing hiring specifications Providing performance indicators

Components of Job Description: Job identification, or Organizational position Job duties and responsibilities Relation to other jobs Supervision Machine, tools and equipment Working conditions Hazards

Guidelines for Writing a job Description A paragraph is allocated to each major task or responsibility. Paragraphs are numbered and arranged in a logical order, task sequence or importance. Sentences have to begin with an active verb, e.g. “types letters,” “interviews the candidates,”

“collects, sorts out, routes and distributes mail.” Accuracy and simplicity are emphasized rather than an elegant style. Brevity is usually considered to be important but is largely conditioned depending on the type of

job being analyzed and the need for accuracy. Examples of work performed are often quoted and are useful in making the job description

explicit.

Job descriptions, particularly when they are used as bases for training, often incorporate details of the faults which may be encountered in operator tasks and safety check-points.

Statements of opinion, such as “dangerous situations are encountered,” should be avoided. When job descriptions are written for supervisory jobs, the main factors (such as manning, cost

control, etc.) are identified and listed. Each factor is then broken down into a series of elements with a note on the supervisor’s responsibility.

The British Institute of Management Publication adds four more guidelines. Give a clear, concise and readily understandable picture of the whole job. Describe in sufficient detail each of the main duties and responsibilities Indicate the extent of direction received and supervision given. Ensure that a new employee understands the job if he reads the job description.

Recruitment “Recruitment is a process of searching for prospecting employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”

Steps on Recruitment process

Personnel recruitment process involves three elements viz. A recruitment policy The development of sources of recruitment Different methods / techniques used for utilising these sources

Recruitment Policy

A good recruitment policy must contain these elements: (a) Organisation’s objectives (b) Identification of the recruitment(c) Preferred sources of recruitment.(d) Criteria of selection and preferences. (e) The cost of recruitment and financial implications of the same.

Prerequisites of a good recruitment policy

The recruitment policy of an organisation must satisfy the following conditions: It should be in conformity with its general personnel policies; It should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of an organisation. It should be so designed as to ensure employment opportunities for its employees on

a long-term basis so that the goals of the organisation should be achievable; and it should develop the potentialities of employees.

It should match the qualities of employees with the requirements of the work for which they are employed; and

It should highlight the necessity of establishing job analysis.

Sources of recruitment:

Internal sources External sources

Methods or Techniques of Recruitment Direct Methods Indirect Methods

Factors Affecting Recruitment All organisations whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though not

to the same extent. This differs with: The size of the organization. The employment conditions in the community where the organisation is located. The effects of past recruiting efforts which show the organisation’s ability to locate

and keep good performing people Working conditions and salary benefit packages offered by the organisation – which

may influence turnover and necessitate future recruiting. The rate of growth of organization. The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production

programmes. Cultural, economic and legal factors etc.

Steps on Recruitment processPersonnel recruitment process involves three elements viz. A recruitment policy The development of sources of recruitment Different methods / techniques used for utilizing these sources

Prerequisites of a good recruitment policy

The recruitment policy of an organization must satisfy the following conditions.

It Should: Be in conformity with its general personnel policies Be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of an organisation. Be so designed as to ensure employment opportunities for its employees on a long-term basis so

that the goals of the organization should be achievable; and it should develop the potentialities of employees.

Match the qualities of employees with the requirements of the work for which they are employed; and

Highlight the necessity of establishing job analysis.

Selection Selection procedure is concerned with securing relevant information about an applicant. The information is secured in a number of steps or stages. The objective of selection process is to determine whether an applicant meets the qualifications for a specific job and to choose the applicant who is most likely to perform well in the job. The formal definition of selection is:“ It is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify (and hire) those with the greater likelihood of success in a job.”

Role of selection:The role of selection in an organisation’s effectiveness is crucial for at least, two reasons:

1. Work performance depends on individuals2. Cost incurred in recruiting and hiring personnel.

Selection process involves the following steps:1. Environmental factors affecting selection2. Preliminary interview3. Selection tests4. Choosing tests5. Employment interview6. Reference and background checks7. Selection decision8. Physical examination9. Job offer10. Contracts of employment and 11. Evaluation of selection program

Barriers to effective selection: Perception Fairness Validity Reliability Pressure

Four approaches to selection Ethnocentric selection Polycentric selection Regiocentric staffing Geocentric staffing

Job - Satisfaction

What Is Job - Satisfaction?There are three important dimensions to Job - Satisfaction:

1. Job satisfaction refers to one’s feelings towards one’s job.2. Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations.3. The term Job - satisfaction and job attitude is often used interchangeably.

Some definitions of Job - satisfaction: “Job - satisfaction is the amount of pleasurable or contentment associated with a job. If you like your job intensely you will experience high job satisfaction. If you dislike your job intensely, you will experience job dissatisfaction.”“ …. Job – satisfaction will be defined as the amount of overall positive affect (or feelings) that individuals have towards their jobs.”

Consequences Of Job - Satisfaction: High Job – satisfaction may lead to: Improved productivity Decreased employee turnover Improved attendance Reduced accidents Less job stress Lower unionisation

Sources Of Job – Satisfaction

Several job elements contribute to Job – satisfaction they are: Wages Nature of work Promotion Supervision Work group Working conditions

Benefits of Job – Satisfaction Study

1. They give management an indication of general levels of satisfaction in a company2. Improved communication3. Improved attitude4. It can help to discover the cause of indirect productivity problems, such as absenteeism,

turnover etc.5. They help management asses training needs6. It is an indicator of the effectiveness of organisational reward systems.7. It evaluates the impact of organisational change on employee attitudes.8. They are useful to the unions

Ways of Measuring Job – Satisfaction

Rating Scales Critical Incidents Interviews Action Tendencies Use Of Existing Information

Training needs

The Determination of Training Needs with an Enterprise

There is a great difference between the way in which training needs would be determined in a perfect world and an ideal company, and the way in which it is often done in the normal working circumstances.

Let us consider an example - on one hand, there is a progressive company with highly organized central personnel and training departments, and a plan for integrated manpower development. At the other extreme, there is a company where the personnel and training responsibilities are not very clearly defined, and where the function, if it can be identified at all, is one of a number of general responsibilities carried out by an official whose main responsibility is something quite different.

In the first type of company, the determination of training needs is something, which is constantly being carried out and reviewed as circumstances, policies, markets, and company objectives change. In the second type of company, the training is much less likely to be planned ‘globally’ for the company as a whole. The initiative is often left to one particular department manager who happens to realize the potential benefits of training and is keen to do something about it. He may nominate one member of his staff as training officer and activities may be launched which are related only to the specific needs of that particular department at that particular time. They may even conflict with the needs of the organisation as a whole.

At the one extreme, training needs are carefully analyzed and reviewed and, the other displays a piecemeal haphazard approach, unplanned, unsystematic, and often unrelated to the needs of the company. In between these two extremes there are all the permutations and combinations.

The approach of each company will vary from that of other companies and so it should, but fundamentally there are a number of common basic steps:

Take an inventory: The present manpower should be taken stock of both quantitatively and qualitatively. Information related to manpower will be available in the personnel department, i.e., information about qualifications and previous experience and training already given by the company. Information about how effective the people are in their present job and about their promotion ability should also be included.

Forecasts of future requirements: Normal ‘wastage’ through retirement, transfers, resignations, etc. and the possible effects of changes in the company’s policies and objectives, e.g. expansion, re-organisation, contraction, etc. should be considered here.

To decide where one is going to find the people: Some of the people can be found within the organisation unless there is a well-planned scheme for ‘spotting’ talent. It is in this third step that the results of steps one and two are combined. Step two forecasts all future requirements but in particular it highlights key jobs, which will need to be filled during the review period. Step one has mentioned what type of people organisation has and what their potential is. The two can be then matched by allocating people to ‘target’ jobs. If it is unlikely to fill all vacancies from within the organisation then sources outside the company can be tapped.

Decide what one is going to do to develop the manpower: Both those who are there and those who are going to be recruited in order to help them to be fully effective in their present posts and to prepare them for their ‘target’ jobs’. In practice it is a good idea to prepare people wherever possible for two target jobs. This is because some personnel development programs are quite lengthy and in the meantime company objectives – and therefore organisations may change. The ‘two-target-job’ approach ensures greater flexibility.

This, in a nutshell, is the raison d’etre of the training officer’s job. The training needs, both short term and long term, will be spotlighted by the development program. The training officer’s task will be to advise on what is to be done within the company to meet these training needs and also what use, if any, is to be made of ‘external’ facilities offered by training institutions, consultants, technical and commercial colleges, universities, etc. In order to do this, the training officer needs to keep himself well informed about the work of these organisations and its quality.

The Training and Consultancy Cycle

There is a marked difference between the knowledge of a management technique and the ability to use it properly in a practical management situation. This ability can be defined as a management skill. Knowledge of the technique can be acquired through theoretical study and through simulation exercises in the classroom or laboratory. But the essential skills in practical use and application of the technique cannot be acquired in the same way as the theory. Acquisition of these skills involves identification of practical situations to which the technique can be applied; the adaptation of the technique to the requirements of these situations; co-ordination of the efforts of those people concerned with introduction of the technique, and the overcoming of diverse obstacles. Such skills are only developed and refined through practice and first-hand experience. The aptitudes and efforts of the individuals concerned as well as opportunities provided by the environment greatly influence the process of acquiring management skills.

The first activity in which the managers, or young people trained for future jobs participate, are training courses.The next activity in the development cycle is guided practical application of the new techniques and concepts. In some cases, this is done during the training program concerned, which consists thus of two major phases: the first, phase of classroom or laboratory training is followed by a phase during which the participants work as individuals or in groups on practical projects. In other cases, the formal training program does not include this second phase. But it is almost invariably followed by a follow-up period, which is very similar in objectives and scope. Before the end of the course, each participant is assisted in selecting a practical problem-solving task in which he will apply, in the conditions of his own enterprise, what he has learned in the course.

The professional training staff keeps in touch with the participants and work with them in their enterprise enough to ensure that each participant does, in fact, produce practical results. It is considered that this approach is the only way to ensure that participants receive adequate training in, and exposure to, practical management skills. Further, top management is unlikely to accept any alternative approach to training which excludes the practical application of new techniques.

At the end of this practical in-plant application phase (whether part of a general course or follow-up phase after the completion of a course) participants return to the training center for a few more days, so that each can present to the group the description of the problem he tackled, the methods used to solve it and the obtained or expected results. Through such “evaluation seminars” everyone has a further opportunity to learn about additional practical applications.

The Determination of Training Needs with an Enterprise

There is a great difference between the way in which training needs would be determined in a perfect world and an ideal company, and the way in which it is often done in the normal working circumstances.

Let us consider an example - on one hand, there is a progressive company with highly organized central personnel and training departments, and a plan for integrated manpower development. At the other extreme, there is a company where the personnel and training responsibilities are not very clearly defined, and where the function, if it can be identified at all, is one of a number of general responsibilities carried out by an official whose main responsibility is something quite different.

In the first type of company, the determination of training needs is something, which is constantly being carried out and reviewed as circumstances, policies, markets, and company objectives change. In the second type of company, the training is much less likely to be planned ‘globally’ for the company as a whole. The initiative is often left to one particular department manager who happens to realize the potential benefits of training and is keen to do something about it. He may nominate one member of his staff as training officer and activities may be launched which are related only to the specific needs of that particular department at that particular time. They may even conflict with the needs of the organisation as a whole.

At the one extreme, training needs are carefully analyzed and reviewed and, the other displays a piecemeal haphazard approach, unplanned, unsystematic, and often unrelated to the needs of the company. In between these two extremes there are all the permutations and combinations.

The approach of each company will vary from that of other companies and so it should, but fundamentally there are a number of common basic steps:

Take an inventory: The present manpower should be taken stock of both quantitatively and qualitatively. Information related to manpower will be available in the personnel department, i.e., information about qualifications and previous experience and training already given by the company. Information about how effective the people are in their present job and about their promotion ability should also be included.

Forecasts of future requirements: Normal ‘wastage’ through retirement, transfers, resignations, etc. and the possible effects of changes in the company’s policies and objectives, e.g. expansion, re-organisation, contraction, etc. should be considered here.

To decide where one is going to find the people: Some of the people can be found within the organisation unless there is a well-planned scheme for ‘spotting’ talent. It is in this third step that the results of steps one and two are combined. Step two forecasts all future requirements but in particular it highlights key jobs, which will need to be filled during the review period. Step one has mentioned what type of people organisation has and what their potential is. The two can be then matched by allocating people to ‘target’ jobs. If it is unlikely to fill all vacancies from within the organisation then sources outside the company can be tapped.

Decide what one is going to do to develop the manpower: Both those who are there and those who are going to be recruited in order to help them to be fully effective in their present posts and to prepare them for their ‘target’ jobs’. In practice it is a good idea to prepare people wherever possible for two target jobs. This is because some personnel development programs are quite lengthy and in the meantime company objectives – and therefore organisations may change. The ‘two-target-job’ approach ensures greater flexibility.

This, in a nutshell, is the raison d’etre of the training officer’s job. The training needs, both short term and long term, will be spotlighted by the development program. The training officer’s task will be to advise on what is to be done within the company to meet these training needs and also what use, if any, is to be made of ‘external’ facilities offered by training institutions, consultants, technical and commercial colleges, universities, etc. In order to do this, the training officer needs to keep himself well informed about the work of these organisations and its quality.

The Training and Consultancy Cycle

There is a marked difference between the knowledge of a management technique and the ability to use it properly in a practical management situation. This ability can be defined as a management skill. Knowledge of the technique can be acquired through theoretical study and through simulation exercises in the classroom or laboratory. But the essential skills in practical use and application of the technique cannot be acquired in the same way as the theory. Acquisition of these skills involves identification of practical situations to which the technique can be applied; the adaptation of the technique to the requirements of these situations; co-ordination of the efforts of those people concerned with introduction of the technique, and the overcoming of diverse obstacles. Such skills are only developed and refined through practice and first-hand experience. The aptitudes and efforts of the individuals concerned as well as opportunities provided by the environment greatly influence the process of acquiring management skills.

The first activity in which the managers, or young people trained for future jobs participate, are training courses.

The next activity in the development cycle is guided practical application of the new techniques and concepts. In some cases, this is done during the training program concerned, which consists thus of two major phases: the first, phase of classroom or laboratory training is followed by a phase during which the participants work as individuals or in groups on practical projects. In other cases, the formal training program does not include this second phase. But it is almost invariably followed by a follow-up period, which is very similar in objectives and scope. Before the end of the course, each participant is assisted in selecting a practical problem-solving task in which he will apply, in the conditions of his own enterprise, what he has learned in the course. The professional training staff keeps in touch with the participants and work with them in their enterprise enough to ensure that each participant does, in fact, produce practical results. It is considered that this approach is the only way to ensure that participants receive adequate training in, and exposure to, practical management skills. Further, top management is unlikely to accept any alternative approach to training which excludes the practical application of new techniques.

At the end of this practical in-plant application phase (whether part of a general course or follow-up phase after the completion of a course) participants return to the training center for a few more days, so that each can present to the group the description of the problem he tackled, the methods used to solve it and the obtained or expected results. Through such “evaluation seminars” everyone has a further opportunity to learn about additional practical applications.

Strategic Training System (Planned training)

Planned training, as defined by Kenney and Reid (1994), is a ‘deliberate intervention aimed at achieving the learning necessary for improved job performance’ the process of planned training consists of the following steps (as shown in the figure below): Identify and define training needs – This involves analysis of corporate, team, occupational and

individual needs to acquire new skills or knowledge or to improve existing competencies. The analysis covers problems to be solved as well as future demands. Decisions are made at this stage on the extent to which training is the best and the most cost-effective way to solve the problem.

Define the learning required – It is necessary to specify as clearly as possible what skills and knowledge have to be learnt, what competences need to be developed and what attitudes need to be changed.

Define the objectives of training – Learning objectives are set, which define not only what has to be learnt but also what learners must be able to do after their training program.

Plan training programs – These must be developed to meet the needs and objectives by using the right combination of training techniques and locations.

Decide who provides the training – The extent to which training is provided from within or outside the organisation needs to be decided. At the same time, the division of responsibility between the training department, managers or team leaders and individuals has to be determined.

Implement the training – Ensure that the most appropriate methods are used to enable trainees to acquire the skills, knowledge, level of competence and attitudes they need.

Evaluate training – The effectiveness of training is monitored during programs and, subsequently, the impact of training is assessed to determine the extent to which learning objectives have been achieved.

Amend and extend training as necessary – Decide, on the basis of evaluation, the extent to which the planned training program needs to be improved and how any residual learning requirements should be satisfied.

Identification of Training NeedsTraining must have a purpose and that purpose can be defined only if the learning needs of the organisation and the groups and individuals within it have been systematically identified and analyzed.

Training needs analysis – AimsTraining needs analysis is partly concerned with defining the gap between what is happening and what should happen. This is what has to be filled by training i.e. the difference between what people know and can do and what they should know and be able to do.

The Training Gap

Training needs analysis – Areas

Training needs should be analyzed, first, for the organization as whole – corporate needs; second, for departments, teams, functions or occupations within the organization – group needs. And third, for individual employees – individual needs. These three areas are interconnected, as shown in the above figure. The analysis of corporate needs will lead to the identification of training needs in different departments or occupations, while these in turn will indicate the training required for individual employees. The process also operates in reverse. As the needs of individual employees are analyzed separately, common needs emerge which can be dealt with on a group basis. The sum of group and individual needs will help to define corporate needs, although there may be some super ordinate training requirements which can be related only to the company as a whole to meet its business development needs – the whole training plan may be greater than the sum of its parts.

What is

Corporate or functional results

Knowledge and skill possessed

Actual performance of individuals

Training gap What should be

Corporate or functional standards

Knowledge and skill

required

Training needs analysis – Areas and Methods

Methods of analyzing training needs

The four methods of training needs analysis are: Analysis of business and human resource plans Job analysis Analysis of performance reviews Training surveys

Business and human resource plansThe training strategy of an organisation should largely be determined by its business and HR strategies and plans from which flow human resource plans. The plans should indicate in fairly general terms the types of skills and competences that may be required in the future and the number of people with those skills and competencies who will be needed. These broad indicators have to be translated into more specific plans which cover, for example, the outputs from training programs of people with particular skills or a combination of skills (multi-skilling).

Corporate

Performance & development reviews

Job and role

analysis

Trainingsurveys

Analysis of human

resource plans

Analysis of strategic

plans

Group Individual

HRD – An Overview

IntroductionIn recent times, particularly with liberalization of the Indian economy and its gradual and halting integration with the world economy, the Human Resources (HR) function in India has finally acquired the importance that it has in the developed world. Perhaps, due to the abundant manpower available and relatively low cost, this did not merit undue consideration earlier. But now it is realized that with equal opportunities to acquire technology, finance, systems, the cutting edge of an organisation will be its Human Resources. That is, the difference between one company and another in the market place, other things being equal, will be the quality, skill, attitudes and commitment of the Human Resources, which will either see the company achieve good results – profits – or, decline – losses.

Human Resource Development is incorporated in organisations to cope with the corporate cultural change. It is important to make the implicit explicit: to continually examine the culture through a variety of feedback mechanisms, mapping out the culture, assessing where the organisation is, where it wants to go and thus carefully identifying strategies for change. Thus, HRD is a continuous process, which matches organisational needs for human resources and the individual needs for a career development. It enables the individual to gain their best human potential by attaining a total all round development. It promotes dignity of employment of every employee of an organisation, and provides opportunities for teamwork, personal development and career development. Hence a well-planned HRD system must be a part of human resource management of every organisation.

Evolution of The HRD Function HR management tries to focus on “people” in the workplace, the need to understand their contribution to the organization’s purpose. Consequently, there is now an emphasis on trying to build on HR systems and processes. The evolution of the HRD function went through the following phases:

The Initial Phase: This was characterized by a labor welfare approach. The feature of this approach was that the function was basically concerned with maintaining records of employees – such as attendance records, leave of different sorts – Casual Leave / Earned Leave / Sick Leave / Extraordinary Leave / Study Leave / Restricted Holiday and so on and this data was fed to calculate the wages. Besides the basic wage, other wage components like PF were also recorded. Records were also maintained of PF loans and other retirement benefits, and implementation of safety measures as per the Factories Act. In addition there was some amount of monitoring and providing information to the employee, the accounts department and for the concerned department head.

With the advent of trade unions, dealing with the union was an add-on function. This involved receiving the charter of demands from union leaders and interpreting it.

Fire Fighting: In this phase, the function was frequently, “dousing fires” i.e. resolving conflicts and keeping the wheels of production moving (union demands, dissatisfaction etc.) Management was preoccupied with keeping the engines of production moving at all times, and so work stoppages and discord was an aberration to be speedily got over with, so that the ‘fundamental’ business of production was not held up. The major policy decisions and negotiating was done by the Top Management, the Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (PMIR) function played a supportive/informative role and was more preoccupied with backroom discussions and negotiations.

Such an approach is also referred to as the maintenance role and the obverse is the development role. If the HR position is in the lower rung of the management hierarchy, for example, in the production

department or in a labour welfare-oriented department, the HR person would be playing more of the reactive role – if there is a problem, he reacts and the problem is sought to be solved. Production should receive the first priority and all industrial disputes should be settled. With the emphasis on the current issues, aspects like long-term strategy, planning, etc. are given low priority. The PMIR function was in the unenviable position of having to douse fires all the time. The major decisions were taken at the factory manager or the managing director level. When the fire or strife erupted the function got some attention, but when the fire was put out, it got no time anymore.

Third Phase: This stage in the evolution of the function came about due to the influence of a variety of factors: the increasing cost of human resources due to the increased number of benefits, increased cost of living, higher expectations and higher costs of scarce skilled manpower. The increased HR cost became more pronounced in the service industry than in the manufacturing industry as the Human Resource was the main input in the service sector. The other major influence was that of the behavioral scientists and their contribution to understanding the nature of human behavior at work focusing on issues like leadership, work motivation, participation and factors influencing work productivity. The third factor was the attempt to integrate the Trade Unions/Workers with management’s vision of the enterprise, that survival and prosperity was common to both. In fact the market was such that in many products there was more of rationing distribution, due to either capacity or input constraints. Monopoly or dominant market share remained the major concern rather than production cost and technological efficiencies.

Integrated HR FunctionAt the end of the Third Phase organizations soon began focusing on their human resources. Human Resource was in abundant supply and not a very significant cost in the total operating cost, but working in industry itself was a new experience for most people in the initial phase. The PMIR function was thus playing a reactive maintenance role, because of a combination of market, cost, supply and finance factors. But with a few corporations experimenting with innovative approaches to combat the negative fall-out of the traditional approaches to labour, they focused on the positive and the significant contribution they could make to a congenial working environment and consequently, smooth production, including changeover to new technology, flexible manning and increased productivity.

The significant shift was that management now began to take the initiative and introducing HR systems and procedures, rather than reacting to a particular problem or a demand. HR issues of major policy initiatives e.g. new products, new plants, and so on, were discussed taking to account the HR implications, which hitherto was not the case. Top managers reviewed and took stock of the situation. Finally, the HR position itself was upgraded to come on par with the other functions in terms of status and salary.

A Broad perspective of Personnel, IR and HRD FunctionsThe Management process is made up of four steps embracing the ‘people’ dimension-‘getting them, preparing them, activating them and keeping them.’ The Management of human resources is a very complicated and challenging task for those who are entrusted with the successful running of an organization; and this implies considerable knowledge of various aspects of “Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.” The Personnel Function– The nervous system of the organisation structurePersonnel management may be conveniently described as the part of the management process, which is primarily concerned with the human constituents of an organisation. Its object is the maintenance of human relationships on a basis by which, consideration of well-being of the individual, enables all those engaged in the undertaking to make their maximum personal contribution to the effective working of that undertaking.

The personnel function has two aspects: there is, in the first place, this responsibility attaching to all managers and supervisors for the way in which they manage their people and weld this human material into the team that carries out effectively the activities of the operating departments or sections. While this is primarily a matter of the exercise of leadership, it is also linked up with the carrying out of the established personnel policy and the smooth application of the procedures designed to secure the fulfillment of that policy. It necessarily entails on the part of the managers and supervisors an understanding of the principles of personnel management as well as close acquaintance with the personnel procedures and methods of the organisation itself.

A “Service’ facilityThe second aspect is the specialized responsibility, which falls to the charge of the personnel specialist. His task includes advising the company’s Managing Director or General Manager, and through him the Board of Directors, on the formulation of personnel policy and planning and supervising the procedures by which that policy is to be carried into effect. The Personnel Manager is an expert retained to deal with all policy, planning and methods concerning the management of people, parallel, for instance, to the engineering expert who has to deal with production policy, process layouts, engineering methods, tooling or the chemist who is responsible for formulation of quality standards. The Personnel Officer’s responsibility entails mainly rendering a service to other managers, as well as advising them in the discharge of their own human responsibilities. He serves the other managers by many of the activities which are carried out within his own specialist department: the procedures of selecting and engaging, the records and returns, the statistics and study of absenteeism, the provision of canteen and medical services, and numerous other facilities. In the language of organisation theory, he holds a “functional responsibility” for all personnel matters.

The nearest analogy is in the human body. Personnel management is not the brain, the controller, not only just a limb, a member, nor yet the bloodstream, the energizing force. It is the nervous system. It is centered in the controlling unit of the brain, for personnel policy is a Board responsibility and interpreted through the Managing Director. It is a two-way channel of information reaching out to every part of the body i.e. organisation: it is a live channel, not just a duct, and in some respects has automotive force. It is used in every action; if it atrophies, partial paralysis results; if it gets out of balance, there ensues instability, chaotic action, dis-equilibrium, which can be found in all stages of advancement, in close parallel with neurosis. But, above all this, it is inherent in the whole body and intimately associated with its every movement. The nervous system can never be thought of as an adjunct of the body – no more can personnel management be an extraneous or superimposed element on the structure of organisation. The personnel function lies embedded in the structure, is inherent in the dynamism of that structure, an integral part of the process of management itself.

INDUCTION AND PLACEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Whenever new employees join an organisation there is always a period of learning and adaptation before they become fully effective. Partly, this involves finding out about the practicalities of the job and facts about pay, other employee benefits and the organisation’s rules and regulations. But there is also the need to understand the less tangible but very powerful influence of ‘the way we do things around here’. Every organisation has its own style or culture and new employees are unlikely to be fully effective or feel comfortable in their work until they have absorbed this cultural influence and adjusted to it.

In a very general sense, induction is this process of initial learning and adjustment, whether or not the process is planned or structured by the employer. In organisations that provide no form of induction, many new staff may eventually settle in, relying on their own efforts to learn about the organisation and with informal help from their colleagues. But there are two major risks involved in leaving induction to chance.

The process is likely to take far longer than if induction was planned, and this slow learning period carries hidden costs.Not all new entrants will learn and adapt.Not all new entrants will learn and adapt successfully, and the organisation is them likely to experience the significant disruption and costs of replacing early leavers.

The costs of early leavingMany employees who leave soon after joining an organisation do so because they have not been helped either to understand their role or to adapt to the organisational culture – both aspects being central to effective induction.

An organisation that experiences a high incidence of employees leaving during their first few months may also acquire a reputation as a poor employer. Early leavers are often disillusioned and tend to put all the blame on the organisation – even if in some cases they may themselves have failed to put sufficient effort into making a success of their new jobs. Most are likely to tell friends and family that the organisation as a bad employer, and a reputation of this kind will spread and make it increasingly difficult to recruit good-quality staff. One aim of an effective induction policy is to generate enthusiasm for working for the organisation, and this enhances its employment reputation.

Elements of Induction Induction is a planned and systematic process, structured and implemented by the organisation, to help new employees settle into their new jobs quickly, happily and effectively. There is much more to it than the running of formal induction courses, useful though these are. The longer-term process of tuning in to the style of the organisation and understanding its aims and values cannot be achieved by simply attending a course. New employees bring with them expectations about the job and the organisation, gained through the organisation’s reputation and by contact during the recruitment and selection process – so parts of that process need to be treated as pre-induction. How the new employee is received on the first day at work creates a strong first impression and so requires particular attention. Also, the way supervisors and managers behave in their day-to-day contacts with their staff has a major influence on how well and how quickly new employees settle in.

It is also important to recognise that existing employees who transfer or who are promoted within the organisation require help in settling into their new jobs, as do those returning to work after lengthy career breaks. Home-based employees and part-timers are often omitted from formal induction programmes, but their needs for assistance in adjusting to new working circumstances can be

considerable. So induction should not be limited to new recruits to full-time jobs. It is necessary, too, for induction to reflect the specific characteristics of different types of work and of different economic sectors. A thorough and well-planned approach to induction carries dividends to the employer in helping to secure a competent, motivated workforce; and it benefits the individual employee by contributing positively to career development.

An Induction ChecklistTopicReceptionInitial receptionInitial documentationBank account detailsNext of kinIssue of : ID/security passCar park permitStaff handbookIntroduction to supervisor or manager

TopicSite geography and facilitiesGeneral tour of the siteCloakrooms and lavatoriesStaff restaurant and vending machinesCar/motor cycle/bicycle parkingNotice boardsEmployee’s work locationFire exitsFirst aid room/first aid boxesTime recording equipmentIssue of equipmentProtective clothingPager/mobile phone

TopicHeath and safetyFire and emergency drillsSecurity alertsGeneral safety rulesSpecific hazards (e.g. toxic chemicals0Smoking regulationsAccident proceduresHygiene regulationsIntroduction to workplace safety representativeIntroduction to workplace first-aiderOccupation health service

TopicPayPay system Basic payBonus schemes

Grading/job evaluationAllowances (shift, overtime, standby, etc.) Deductions (savings schemes, etc.)Explanation of payslipMethod of payment

TopicOther conditions, benefits and employment policiesAttendance : hours of work, flexitime, meal/restBreaksLeave : entitlement, notificationSick pay : notification of absence, entitlementsExtra-statutory holidaysPension scheme and life assuranceCompany carsExpenses : entitlements and claims procedurePrivate medical/dental insuranceStaff purchase/discounts etc.Maternity/paternity leaveCompany loans (season tickets, mortgages, etc.)Any flexibility in choice of benefitsSocial sports, fitness facilitiesCounselling and welfare schemeDisciplinary rules and procedureGrievance procedureEqual opportunity policyAlcohol/substance abuse policyDisability policy and equipmentAnti-harassment/bullying policy and procedureCustomer care and contact policies and proceduresCode of conduct (organisational ethics, anti-corruption, etc.)

HR ChallengesAs companies rush to become global, HR professionals are being asked to navigate through the white-water rapids of a multicultural workplace, complex markets, and a new global competitors. Beneath the turbulent water are the hidden challenges of lost talent, inequities, and the unknown. The signals, the warnings, are often not seen or heard until it is too late, and the damage is done. Moreover, navigating one river successfully is no guarantee of success on another just as one new global business experience rarely resembles another.

Technology and HRIt’s become a cliché to talk about the accelerating pace of change in the business environment . Every commentator on any business trend pays homage to it. But undeniably, today’s organization seems to experience change like never before. Over the past decade, HR professionals task was simple - attract, retain, and motivate good people. Certainly nothing was said or expected about creating work environments that encourage interconnecting people, knowledge, and markets. The winds of change are heralding the emergence of the new economy, the information economy, and the digital economy. Seamlessly creating new work environments, shaping new corporate cultures and dictating new business ethics. A new breed of professionals have raised the challenge sweepstakes for the HR managers.

The technology of the business exerts a major influence on the internal environment how work is organized, managed and carried out. The introduction of new technology may result in considerable changes to systems and processes. Different skills are required, new methods of working are developed. The result may be an extension of the skills base of the organization and its employees, including multi-skilling . But it could result in downsizing. Technology can therefore present a considerable threat to employees.

The consequences of changing technology Smaller, more productive organizations Growing need for training on how to use technology Increasing need for people to cope with the expectation that they can perform

anytime or anywhere Increased productivity Flatter organizations Increased efficiency Reduced interpersonal contact

Threats of changing technology and the role of HR Increased productivity Technology offers the greatest opportunity for improved productivity

and will continue to change abilities and expectations for how and where work is done and who does work. Changing technology necessitates changes in organizational structures, job design, hiring practices, compensation structures, training, and employee relations. As technology changes faster, so too must ways of managing the people who work in technologically dependent work. That responsiveness will require increasingly flexible HR efforts and increasingly rapid HR decision making.

Changes in the way work is doneThe ability to share information is escalating exponentially with personal computers in virtually every office and in many residences and connected to a network. The ability to perform work anywhere and at any time - the “virtual office” calls for new performance measurement systems and different managerial skills.

Increased need for Training To keep pace with changing technology, organizations must increasingly devote resources to training employees on how to use it. Organisations meet this demand by providing continuous retraining to help employees keep pace with changing technology. The human element is key to taking full advantage of technological change, and managing that human element is essential if any benefits of technological change are to be realized. HR can take the leadership role by directing the formulation of systematic action plans or strategies developed to enable people to deal with technological change.

Attraction and Retention of talentBetter talent is worth fighting for. At senior levels of an organization, the ability to adapt, to make decisions quickly in situations of high uncertainty, and to steer through wrenching change is critical. But at a time when the need for superior talent is increasing, big US companies are finding it difficult to attract and retain good people. Executives and experts point to a severe and worsening shortage of the people needed to run divisions and manage critical functions, let alone lead companies. Everyone knows organizations where key jobs go begging, business objectives languish, and compensation packages skyrocket.

THE RETENTION MEASURES

Increasing the organization’s level of professionalism Moving from family to professional management Making performance appraisals objective Involving employees in the decision making process Ensuring a match between authority and accountability Measuring employee satisfaction Achieving a match between individual and organizational goals Designing a competitive compensation package Increasing organizational transparency Promoting employees from within Helping employees acquire new skills Offering stock options Focusing on welfare measures proposition

Increasing the organization’s level of professionalismEmployees leave companies where intra-organizational interactions are unstructured, and decisions, ad-hoc and driven more by personal prejudice rather than professional consideration. By adopting systems that introduce an element of objectivity into its internal operations, a company can create a better workplace.

Moving from family to professional management In most family managed organizations, professional managers leave because they cannot see themselves holding key positions, or functioning with the level of independence that their designations merit. By inducting professionals into senior management positions, a company can lower its attrition rate.

Making performance appraisals objectiveEmployees like to know how, when and by whom their performance is going to be measured. An appraisal process that lists objective and measurable criteria for performance appraisal removes the uncertainty in the minds of employees that their superiors can rate their performance any which way they please.

Involving employees in the decision making processPeople like to work in organizations where their opinions count. The higher an employee’s involvement in decision-making, the higher the organization’s retention level. A participative decision-making process is good; total empowerment, better.

Ensuring a match between authority and accountabilityMost companies fall into the trap of holding an employee accountable for a specific activity without empowering him/her with the authority to perform it well. Often, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that they vest another employee with the same authority, but do not hold him accountable.

Measuring employee satisfactionObsessed with catering to the demands of their external customers, companies ignore their internal customers. Periodic employee satisfaction surveys can highlight the potential flashpoints, and enable the company to take corrective action.

Achieving a match between individual and organizational goalsMany companies fall into the trap of expecting their employees to subsume their individual objectives before the organizations one, which forces the employee to leave. The best companies achieve a balance between the two.Designing a competitive compensation package

Money isn’t a motivator, but it is an effective de-motivator. While organizations that pay best-in-industry salaries may find themselves unable to use that fact to motivate their employees, those that could not find their best employees leaving.

Increasing organizational transparencyPeople do not like to work in black box like organizations, where information is rationed out on a need-to-know basis. They prefer a transparent organization that is willing to share every aspect of its functioning with its employees.

Promoting employees from withinA company that constantly fills vacancies by hiring from outside is certain to face retention problems. Employees who realize that they are unlikely to be promoted to fill the vacancies will leave the organization. Growing your own is a sound retention strategy.

Helping employees acquire new skillsAs the job-profiles and desired skills-sets for a particular job change, companies may feel the need to hire employees with new skills, or retrain their existing employees. Companies that choose to do the latter will find it easier to retain their people since the training signals that the organization values their contribution, and is willing to invest in upgrading their skills.

Offering stock optionsESOPS are a sign that the organization recognizes the role of the individual in its performance, and is willing to share the benefits with her.

Focusing on welfare measures propositionEmployees are not just warm bodies; they are individuals with families and lives of their own outside the workplace. Organizations that recognize this, and help employees achieve a better balance between life work are likely to face fewer problems than those that do not.

ATTRACTING TALENT FROM CAMPUSNever before has it been more important for companies to recruit the best and brightest from the campuses of India’s business and engineering schools. The days are over when companies used to recruit raw talent, train and polish them all the facts they needed. This is the day of attracting readymade knowledge worker. As campuses are being the natural filter of intelligence and managerial prowess, the entry barrier to the business & engineering schools for students ensure the major source of top talent from their campuses.

We know that Campuses are the major sources of talent. But it is not that easy to select the talent from that pool as there are more than 200 companies try scouting for management trainees from the campuses. Hence it is essential for the companies to prepare themselves adequately before entering any campuses. Here are some insights for the organizations intend to hire talent from campuses.

Shortlist campusesGather the curricula and specialization of the business and engineering schools, mode of selection of students; also find out the faculty at the schools and the mix of teaching staff and visiting faculty. Concentrate on the schools whose curricula and specialization matches the needs of your organization.

Choose recruiting team carefullyIt is essential for the organization to develop a recruiting team from within. Most companies usually send a team of one senior HR Manager, one or more middle managers and senior executives. But according to research, the team should comprise of a Line Manager rather than a General Manager and

have thorough knowledge of the company and the job. It is also advisable to have a team within the age group of 30-45 Years.

Composition of the team also reflects the seriousness of the Campus Recruitment. When you are competing with bigger companies to hire on campuses, if possible ask your CEO or MD to address a pre-placement talk to the students and also include the alumni in the talk. This would help in getting the favourable response.

Pay smartly not highlyIn the present era wherein the compensation of a fresh recruitee from campus is touching new high every year, it is not possible for every company to match that salary. In the last five years the highest annual salary has risen to almost 500%. As for startup and other companies it is not possible to match the figure, they should add ESOP, foreign placement, entrepreneurial options in their compensation package.

Present a clear imageYou cannot meet the requirements of all the people all the time. Instead of being something to everybody, offer something unique or special. It is better to have a focused USP - A Learning Environment OR Chance to Work Abroad. These will immediately attract some of the students.

Showcase corporate cultureBusiness School Graduates are more interested in Culture than Cash. Their highest priorities are

Level of responsibility Degree of autonomy Extent of elbow room Potential and scope for learning

Don’t oversell yourselfThe first flush of wide eyed MBAs eager for the best paying and most glamorous jobs has been replaced by hard nosed job seekers who can see through inflated claims. You must make a bang at the PPT where your opening pitch to students will determine your place in the order in which companies will get the chance to hire MBAs from the campus.

Present all the facts to the students. Not just Living room include even your kitchen- and nothing but facts. Don’t promise what you cannot deliver. Campuses have long memories. You can lie and hire good people once. But you won’t be taken seriously for many years to come.

Get in earlyInstead of waiting for the annual battle for the best brains, try identifying your target students as early as possible and forge a bond between them and your company. Proctor & Gamble uses a rigorous selection process to pick summer trainees from B-School campuses every year ahead of placement time and putting them to work on live projects. It assesses early and makes job offers on the spot. Flattered MBAs often remember and accept the offers when placements are conducted.

Building special relationships with particular B-Schools or Engineering-Schools could also get head-start in the hiring race. Offering scholarships to students, endowing chairs, or sending your managers to teach on campuses will help build bridges with students earlier than your rivals.

Not everyone fits the bill

The competition to hire on campus may camouflage the fact that you could still end up recruiting an unsuitable MBA. Screen the applicants as carefully as those apply to ads. Identify the candidates’ orientation towards work by asking questions like “Just why do you want to work for us”. The group discussions and interviews that follow must validate the initial impression.

Remember that toppers are often too narrowly specialized to be good general managers or too theoretical to enjoy managing. Besides toppers are hot property, making competition tougher. Target all-rounders instead.

Sometimes, ensuring that your selected candidate actually joins you can be tough since you could be competing with academic opportunities abroad. To avoid losing them, stay in touch with recruit elects, invite them for visits, tracking changes in their career plans and offering counseling.

“Today’s mba or engineer is looking for excitement and challenge as much as compensation and learning. Offering him those qualities could well become your strongest point in campus hiring war”

The best practices can be summed up as:Build possibility of Stock Ownership into compensation package.Highlight your corporate culture as a good reason to work for your companyFocus on career growth opportunities that your company offers to recruits.Include young line managers and B-School alumni in the recruiting team.Build relationships with institutes and students to grab them before rivals.

Job Evaluation Job evaluation means to produce a fairly defensible rating of various jobs on which a rational and acceptable pay structure can be built. To do this job evaluation heavily depends upon the description and sometimes job specification also provided by job analysis. Though job evaluation attempts to assess jobs and not people, the methods used for it are highly similar to those used to assess people.

Some of the features of job evaluation are : The standards of job evaluation are relative and not absolute. Job evaluations are generally carried out by groups and not by individuals. Job evaluation does not determine pay scales but merely guides on the ways in which they may be

devised.

Methods of Job Evaluation:The methods of job evaluation can be categorized into two categories: Non-analytical or non-quantitative methods

Job Ranking MethodWhile using this method, we don’t break jobs into small components. We put them in order of merit according to their worth them as a whole. The jobs are ranked by a panel of experts simply from highest to lowest. Generally for each department separate rank orders are developed based on job description of the jobs within that department. There are two ways in which ranking order can be given by the panel-one by simply allotting continuous ranks, the other is by using paired comparison method. While using this method two jobs are compared at a time and score is allotted on the basis of whether the first job is estimated to be less important, more important or of the same importance than the job is being compared with. Each judge from the panel does the comparing and ranking individually and later on scores are totally up to enable a composite rank order to be drawn up. This method reduce the subjectively element. Once the rank orders for the departments are prepared they are combined with the rank orders prepared by other department and a final rank order for the entire organization covering all the jobs is prepared.

Job Classification Method:In this method, major classes or grades are first established and then various jobs are assigned by rankers to those grades. The raters read the jobs description and depending upon their personal interpretation of the relative difficulty of tasks, responsibilities involved, knowledge and experience required decide in which of the classes each job should be placed.

Analytical or quantitative methodsTwo of most known methods are factor comparison method and point system method.

Factor comparison method.This method was initally developed by Benge, Burke and Flay. The jobs are examined componentwise and not as whole entities. The major steps consist of:

Determining the key jobs i.e. those jobs in which there is no disagreement between the management and the union on the amount of salary paid and the jobs which have been described accurately.

Second step will be to determine the common factors among all the jobs Then these jobs are rank ordered on each of these common factors.

Ranking should be done by a panel of atleast ten raters and these rankings should be done atleast three times with an interval of about a week between every two rankings.

The next step will be to assign money value to the factors into which key jobs are divided. This is done by dividing the present salary into the amount being paid for each of the factors. This assigning is done independent of ranks given before.

Then both rank orders are compared for all the factors on each job. The jobs whose rankings show lot of disagreement are removed from the list.

Now all other jobs in the organisation are compared with the key job factor by factor and wages are determined for them.

Point SystemPoint system is like job classification approach to some extent. Just like in job classification method different grades are developed for different types of jobs, point systems are also developed separately for different categories of jobs. It is similar to factor comparison method also as jobs are evaluated factorwise. The number of factors and types of factors differ from organisation to organisation and also within the organisation sometimes.

Evaluation TrainingDefinition “Evaluation of training means any attempt to obtain information (feedback) on the effects of a training programme, and to assess the value of the training in the light of that information.”

Why Evaluate?Evaluation has two purposes. First, it can be used for assessing training effectiveness. Secondly, it can itself be used as a training aid.

ObjectivesObjectives of training evaluation is to determine the ability of the participant in the training programme to perform jobs for which they were trained, the specific nature of training deficiencies whether the trainees required any additional on the job training and the extent of training not needed for the participants to meet job re- quirements. There are various approaches to training evaluation. To get a valid measure of training effectiveness, the personnel manager should accurately assess trainee’s job performance two to four months after completion of training.

Types of training evaluationIt is helpful to distinguish between four types of training evaluation. These are context, input, process and outcome evaluation. They are of differing importance, depending upon whether we are talking about the training of managers or of operatives.

Context evaluationObtaining and using information about the current operational context – that is, about individual difficulties, organisational deficiencies and so on. In practice, this mainly the assessment of training needs as a basis for decision.

Input evaluationDetermining and using facts and opinions about the available human and material training resources in order to choose between alternative training methods.

Process evaluationMonitoring the training as it is in progress. This involves continuous examination of administrative arrangements and feedback from trainees.

Why Training Fails ?The following factors have been regarded as the main reasons for failure of training programmes. : The benefits of training are not clear to the top management. The top management rarely plans and budgets systematically for training. The middle management, without proper incentives from top management, does not account for

training in production scheduling. Without proper scheduling from above, first line supervisors have difficulty production norms if

employees are attending training programmes. Behavioural objectives are often in precise. Training external to the employing unit sometimes teaches techniques on methods contrary to

practices of the participants organisation. Timely information about external programmes may be difficult to obtain. Trainers provide limited counselling and consulting services to the rest of the organisation.

ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTThe Role of HRD in BusinessA business enterprise is created and managed by people. It is not managed by “forces.” Economic forces set limits to what management can do. They create opportunities for management’s action. But they, by themselves, do not determine what a business is or what it does. Management not only finds these ‘forces”; management creates them by its own action. Secondly a business cannot be defined or explained in terms of profit. The basic factor in an economy’s development must be the rate of “brain formation,” the rate at which a country produces people with imagination and vision, education, theoretical and analytical skill.

At least as important but unexplored is the increase in productivity achieved by replacing manual labour, whether skilled or unskilled, by educated, analytical, theoretical personnel – the replacement of ‘labour’ by managers, technicians and professionals, the substitution of “planning” for “working.” Obviously this substitution must take place before capital equipment is installed to replace man’s animal energy; for someone must plan and design the equipment – a conceptual, theoretical and analytical task.

The planning, design and installation of capital equipment is also only a part of the increase in productivity through the substitution of “brain” for “brawn.” At least as important is the contribution made through the direct change of the character of work from one requiring the theoretical analysis and conceptual planning of men of vision and education without any investment in capital equipment whatsoever.

Productivity is vitally affected by the business structure and by the balance between the various activities within the business. If, for lack of clear business objectives, managers waste their time trying to find out what they are supposed to do rather than doing it, the company’s scarcest resource is being wasted. If top management is interested only in engineering (perhaps because that’s where all the top men came from) while the company needs major attention to marketing, it lacks productivity; and the end result is likely to be more serious than a drop in output per man-hour.

Business is crucial to growth and development. A businessman is a person who perceives new economic opportunities and creates a new venture or directs an existing one to seize these opportunities. Today, due to the downtrend of business New HRD techniques need to be evolved so as to encourage development activity in the workmen and managers.

The need for human resource planningAccording to Prof. D. Quinn Mills of Harvard Business School, more and more managers are finding that systematic human resource planning can give their businesses a competitive edge. It has become a standard operating procedure in many of the top businesses. Innovative efforts to manage morale and improve individual and organizational performance complement traditional practices such as staffing forecasts and succession planning at their businesses. Links between human resource activity and strategic planning process are being rapidly forged.

A survey of randomly selected 291 companies, each with a sale of $ 50 million or more, had found that among the respondents about 40 per cent included a human resource component in their long term business plan, about 50 per cent drew formal management succession plan and prepared training and development plans for their employees. Only 15 percent respondents reported that they do not do any people planning. In addition, 27 per cent of the survey respondents, who practice human resource planning, are certain that it improves profitability. And 39 per cent, or more than half of the human resource planners, insist that they can measure the difference on the IR balance sheet.It may be recommended that human resource planning, with an intention to introduce a competitive edge for the business in the market place, may be introduced in them.