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Mb 106, 43 important questions

SECTION A

MCQS ANSWERS ARE HIGHLIGHTED WITH YELLOW MARKS

Answers are given in yellow marks

1. Which function in HRM includes performance appraisal, developing new skills and travelling
policies?

a. Personnel management

b. Employee welfare

c. Industrial relations

d. Training & development


2. Who proposed the Scientific management approach?

a. Hawthorne

b. Abraham Maslow

c. Fredrick Taylor

d. Elton Mayo

3. As per the human resources approach, employees are _ to an organisation.

a. Capital

b. Expense

c. Skill-sets

d. Assets

4. From being considered as compliance checking body, human resource managers are now
being considered as _ _ to the organisation.

a. Strategic partners

b. Key functional units

c. Operational resources

d. Controllers and auditors

5. Managing means establishing a heterogeneous workforce to perform to its


potential in an equitable work environment where no member or group of members has an
advantage or a disadvantage.

a. Status quo

b. Equality

c. Diversity

d. Human capital
6. Which method is essentially a group process used to achieve a consensus forecast ?

a. Expert forecasting

b. Nominal group method

c. Scenario forecasting

d. Regression analysis

7. The ratio of the business index to the workforce size is called _.

a. Productivity ratio

b. Personnel ratio

c. Book value ratio

d. Employee requirement ratio

8. Which of the following HR forecasting technique, forecasts the requirement for additional
manpower by projecting trends of the past and present to the future?

a. Delphi technique

b. Index/Trend Analysis

c. Regression Analysis

d. Time Series

9. is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them


to apply for the jobs in the organisations.

a. Recruitment

b. Placement

c. Selection

d. Interviews
10. _ form a very good source of recruitment especially for middle and lower
level management.

a. Advertisement

b. Employment agencies

c. Employee referrals

d. Educational institutes

11. The process of choosing the most suitable candidate for a job from among the
available applicants is called _.

a. Recruitment

b. Placement

c. Induction

d. Selection

12. _ checks whether the training has had the preferred outcome.

a. Management development

b. Training evaluation

c. On the job training

d. Off the job training

13. helps in the development of the intellectual, managerial and


people management skills of managers.

a. Training

b. Competition

c. Management development

d. Skills
14. In method, the actual work conditions are simulated and the equipment used
by the trainees is similar to what is used in job.

a. Experiential exercise

b. Computer modelling

c. Role playing

d. Vestibule training

15. Companies are design to increase employee productivity, control


attrition, prevent job burnout and obsolescence and improve the quality of employees’ work
lives.

a. Employee growth programmes

b. Management development programmes

c. Employee training programmes

d. Career planning programmes

16. Succession planning includes a review of the data on all who might be
able to move to these positions either right-away or in the near future.

a. Potential candidates

b. Skilled candidates

c. Deserved candidates

d. Employees

17. _ include flexitime, job sharing, part time work, working from home,
compressed workweeks, temporary workweeks, etc.

a. Work-family programmes

b. Flexible work schedules

c. Fast track employees


d. Outplacement programme

18. Performance management is a process of aligning with the employee goals.

a. Roles and responsibilities

b. Organisation’s goals

c. Organisation's productivity

d. Employee's capabilities

19. What does 'A' in SMART principle for performance appraisal stand for?

a. Accountable

b. Added value

c. Attributes

d. Achievable

20. A person’s job performance is a combination of ability, __ and opportunity.

a. Effort

b. Role

c. Efficiency

d. Time management

21. Wage earners are designated as:

a. Green-collar

b. Blue-collar

c. White-collar

d. Red-collar
22. Which one of the following employee stock plan is also known as "performance-vesting
options"?

a. Employee stock purchase plan

b. Employee stock option scheme

c. Restricted stock plan

d. Premium price options plan

23. plan tries to eliminate the limitations of time and piece rate
system while trying to combine their merits.

a. Task bonus

b. Rower

c. Halsey

d. Distribution

24. determines the position and place of the job in the


organisational hierarchy.

a. Market price of the job

b. Trade Union

c. Compensation fixed for the job

d. Job Evaluation

25. In which method of job evaluation, each factor is ascribed a money value. Key jobs,
representing the various levels or grades are ranked factor-by-factor and upon this ranking,
a scale of pay/money value is prepared?

a. Ranking method

b. Single factor ranking method


c. Factor-comparison method

d. Grading Method

26. Under Non-Quantitative techniques, the two methods of job evaluation are:

a. Ranking and Grading method

b. Ranking and Factor-comparison method

c. Point rating and Factor-comparison method

d. Point rating and grading method

27. HRIS is a key management tool which collects, maintains, _ and


reports information on people and jobs.

a. Analyses

b. Directs

c. Modifies

d. Controls

28. The objective of HRIS is to ensure efficient collection, storage and of HR-
related information in a paperless environment.

a. Allocation

b. Dissemination

c. Decentralisation

d. Distribution

29. Which application of HRIS does HR serve when we talk of computing salaries of the
employees?

a. Application tracking system


b. Succession planning system

c. Compensation management system

d. Performance appraisal system

30. HRIS performs three inter-connected activities as a database. They are receiving inputs,
storing and processing data and _.

a. Analysing data

b. Distributing data

c. Generating output

d. Transforming data

31 _ is a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties and
requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job.

a. Job design

b. Job description

c. Job evaluation

d. Job analysis

32. The various aspects of a job such as the tasks involved, the responsibilities of the job and the
deliverables are best described through .

a. Job description

b. Job analysis

c. Job evaluation

d. Job design

33. Good employee conduct is usually catalysed by_ .


a. External factors

b. Rules of the organisation

c. The orders of their supervisors

d. Effective leadership

34. A disciplinary policy should be preventive rather than .

a. Offence

b. Punitive

c. Action-penalties

d. Biased

35. The broadest interpretation of the term ‘grievance’ would include any discontent
or dissatisfaction that affects .

a. Organisational performance

b. Individual performance

c. Individual growth

d. Team performance

36. arises when an employee’s dissatisfaction is not because of any valid reason
but because of a wrong perception.

a. Grievance

b. Factual grievance

c. Imaginary grievance

d. Disguised grievance
37. Employee welfare measures are one of the key inputs to bring about the desired level
of employee satisfaction, _ and productivity of the organisation.

a. Job responsibility

b. Job security

c. Motivation

d. Compensation

38. Who is empowered to make rules to protect the health, safety and welfare of the
employees working in factory premises?

a. Central government

b. State government

c. Employers

d. Trade unions

39. is a process of identifying key competencies for an organisation and/or


a job and incorporating them throughout the various processes of the organisation.

a. Competency mapping

b. Job analysis

c. Competency analysis

d. Job evaluation

40. Under flexi time, there is normally a _ _ of the day when employees
must be at work.

a. Non-Core period

b. Core period

c. Flexible period

d. Small period
41. In which method of job analysis, incumbents of a particular job make immediate note of the
activities they perform?

a. Individual interview technique

b. Questionnaire methods

c. Functional job analysis

d. Diary method

42. HRIS refers to software packages that address HR needs with respect to planning,
_ and employer regulatory compliance.

a. Employee data security

b. Employee information access

c. Employer organisation guidelines

d. Welfare and growth plans of employees

43. Competency can be thought of as a tool that can be used to map ‘best-in-class’
performance where the best performer is always called as:

a. Competent performer

b. Best in class performer

c. Best performer

d. Competitor

44. The principles for determining minimum wages were evolved by the Government and have
been incorporated in _ _.

a. The Minimum Compensation Act, 1948

b. The Minimum Wages Act, 1958

c. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948


d. The Minimum Compensation Act, 1958

45. In which evaluation system, the manager and the employee to be evaluated jointly
set objectives/targets in advance for the employee to achieve during a specified
period?

a. Graphic scale rating

b. Forced choice

c. Essay evaluation

d. Management by Objectives

46. Which appraisal method is used to assess personality or personal characteristics such
as loyalty and communication skills?

a. Trait-based appraisal

b. Behaviour- based appraisal

c. Results-based appraisal

d. Graphic rating scale

47. HR Specialists work with the _ to review the employees’ performance


and maintain the records.

a. Top management

b. Staff managers

c. Line managers

d. Middle management

48. includes positions that are critical for the business and for its
continuity and not just the senior level positions.

a. Career planning

b. Succession planning
c. Development planning

d. Task planning

49. In method the trainee is placed on various jobs across different functions in
the organisation.

a. Job instruction training

b. Committee assignments

c. Job rotation

d. Apprenticeship and coaching

50. A successful programme improves the performance of an employee


which in turn enhances organisational performance.

a. Education

b. Management

c. Training

d. Development

51. Consider the following statements:

(i). The of employees is dependent on how they are perceived and treated in
the organisation based on their performance, abilities and skills.

(ii). _ _ functions of HR department are those core functions that only the
HR department is assigned to perform.

a. (i)-Induction, (ii) Personal

b. (i) -Suitable knowledge, (ii) Personnel

c. (i) -Retention, (ii) Operative

d. (i) -Performance appraisal, (ii) Employee Welfare


52. Consider the following statements:

(i). __ benefits are monetary and non-monetary benefits given to


employees during their employment. (ii). _ is a systematic determination of the value of
each job in relation to other jobs in the organisation, in the industry and in the market.

a. (i)-Wage and salary administration , (ii)Performance appraisal

b. (i)-Induction, (ii) Management development

c. (i) Incentives, (ii) Wage and salary administration

d. (i) Fringe, (ii) Job Evaluation

53. Talent management decisions are often driven by a set of _ _ as well as .

a. Skills, Knowledge

b. Organisational core competencies, Position-specific competencies

c. Skills, Experience

d. Organisational core competencies, business goals

54. Consider the following statements:

(i) After Indian independence, the government resorted to protectionism in order to nurture
the country’s fledgling industries.

(ii). The critical HR issues today in India are performance management, employee motivation
and retention, career and succession planning.

State True or False:

a. (i)- True, (ii) True

b. (i) False, (ii) False

c. (i) False, (ii) True

d. (i) True, (ii) False


55. Employee requirement ratio is the ratio of _ _ and
.

a. Business index, workforce size

b. Work load , number of people

c. Work load, workforce size

d. Workforce size, number of units produced

56. Productivity ratio is the ratio of __ and .

a. Work load ,number of units produced

b. Business index, Work load

c. Business index , number of units produced

d. Work load , number of people

57. and_ _ tests are used to measures the general mental ability
of individuals and job related proficiency and knowledge of the applicants respectively.

a. Intelligence test, Aptitude test

b. Aptitude test , Achievement test

c. Intelligence test, Achievement test

d. Interest test, Personality test

58. Consider the following statements with respect to the types of interviews:

(i). Preliminary interviews are brief, first round interviews that aim to eliminate the applicants
who are obviously unqualified for the job.

(ii). In-depth interview is very rigid in its structure and contents. It is based on a thorough job
analysis.

State True or False:

a. (i)-False, (ii)-False
b. (i) True, (ii)-True

c. (i)- True, (ii)- False

d. (i)- False, (ii)-True

59. Which of the following two sources of recruitment comes under external sources of
recruitment?

a. Employee exchanges, Employee referrals

b. Promotions, transfers

c. Advertisement, Employee referrals

d. Employee exchanges, Advertisement

60. _ is the failure to adopt new methods and processes that can improve
employee and organisational _.

a. Motivating employees, performance

b. Managerial obsolescence, responsibility

c. Managerial obsolescence, performance

d. Motivating employees, growth

61. Training is a process of assisting a person in enhancing his _ _ and


in a particular work area by acquiring more knowledge and practices.

a. Efficiency, responsibility

b. Skills, effectiveness

c. Efficiency, performance

d. Efficiency, effectiveness

62. For an employee’s goals and aspirations to be fulfilled, a basic requirement is that the goals
must be and _.
a. Realistic, suitable

b. Appropriate, realistic

c. Appropriate, achievable

d. Realistic, achievable

63. The full cycle of performance management includes planning, , _,


appraising and rewarding.

a. Directing, controlling

b. Monitoring, directing

c. Developing, controlling

d. Monitoring, developing

64. According to wage fund theory, after __ and are paid for, a definite
amount remains for labour.

a. Rent, Raw materials

b. Rent, Interest

c. Interest , Raw material

d. Interest, Profit shares

65. In job classification or Grading Method are formulated on the nature of tasks and
of the job.

a. Grades, Responsibilities

b. Responsibilities, Grades

c. Classifications , Responsibilities

d. Responsibilities, Classifications
66. Consider the following statements:

(i).The _ must clearly decide the need for an HRIS in the organisation and
assess the present HR operations that require system-enabled support.

(ii) The main task of HRIS specialised team is to supervise the entire operation from planning to
execution of the project, including _ monitoring.

a. (i)-Consulting Staff, (ii) HR software

b. (i)-Project manager, (ii) Project costing

c. (i)-HR, (ii) Pre-installation

d. (i)-Management, (ii) Post-installation

67. Job analysis plays a key role in and _ the


performance appraisal system in an organisation.

a. Recruiting, Planning

b. Judging, Determining

c. Developing, Evaluating

d. Designing, Managing

68. Conditions contributing to poor discipline can be caused by weaknesses within the
_or by __ _.

a. Management, internal factors

b. Business organisations, external factors

c. Organisational structure, external factors

d. Business organisations, internal factors

69. In job-related issues such as promotions, compensation and merit hikes,


today’s organisations provide for a transparency in its policies and practices.

a. Practices, rules
b. Profit, policies

c. Policies, practices

d. Profit, practices

70. Employee welfare measures increase the of the organisation and


promote healthy industrial relations, thereby maintaining .

a. Productivity, industrial peace.

b. Profits, stablility.

c. Wages, lesser attrition.

d. Health measures for workers, industrial health.

71. Consider the following statements with respect to components of HRIS.

1. One of the components of HRIS is to receive inputs in the form of data from different
sources.

2. Another component of HRIS is to develop and store data with the purpose of transforming
them into meaningful information and sharing it with other organisations.

State True or False.

a. 1- True, 2- True

b. 1- False, 2- False

c. 1- False, 2 - True

d. 1- True, 2- False

72. Consider the following statements:

1. Developing a job description is the first step in the process of job analysis.
2. Job analysis process helps to maintain the right quality of employees, measure their
performance on realistic standards, assess their training and development needs and
increase their productivity."

State True or False

a. 1- True, 2- False

b. 1- False, 2- True

c. 1- True, 2- True

d. 1- False, 2- False

73. Consider the following statements with respect to procedure for disciplinary action:

1. When the management of an organisation wants to initiate an enquiry against an


employee for alleged misconduct, the concerned employee is issued a charge sheet.

2. After administering disciplinary action, there should be proper follow-up. The punishment
for misconduct should be conveyed to the employee.

State True or False:

a. 1-True, 2-True

b. 1-True, 2-False

c. 1-False, 2-False

d. 1-False, 2-True

74. Match the following sets:

Part A

1. Discipline

2. Suspension

3. Charge sheet
Part B

A. It is employee self-control which prompts him/her to willingly co-operate with the


organisational standards, rules, objectives, etc.

B. It is the proposed statement of charges against an employee.

C. It is the official prohibition of someone from holding their usual post or carrying out their
usual role for a particular length of time

a. 1B, 2A, 3C

b. 1A, 2C, 3B

c. 1B, 2C, 3A

d. 1C, 2A, 3B

75. Match the following:

Part A

1. Point Rating Method

2. Single factor ranking

3. Factor-Comparison Method

Part B

A. In this method each factor is ascribed a money value. Key jobs

B. The most important factor of a job is identified and is compared with the most
important factor of other jobs.

C. In this method a quantitative point scale is developed to evaluate the jobs.

a. 1A, 2B, 3C

b. 1C, 2B, 3A
c. 1B, 2A, 3C

d. 1B, 2C, 3A

SECTIONS B

2. Explain the functions of HRM.

ANSWER –

Functions of HRM

HRM functions can be broadly classified into the following two categories:

1. Managerial functions

2. Operative functions

Managerial functions of HR department

The managerial functions of HR department include the following:

 Planning – Future course of action; it also includes identifying human resource requirements and forecasting
personnel needs.
 Organising – Division of labour; assignment of responsibility is part of the organisation’s functions.
 Staffing – It is the process of obtaining and maintaining capable and competent personnel in various positions
at all levels, i.e., manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement and induction.
 Directing – It is the process of directing all the available resources towards the common organisational goals.
 Controlling – It is the measurement and rectification of activities to ensure that the events conform to plans.

Operative functions of HR department

Operative functions of HR department are those core functions that only the HR department is assigned to perform.
These include functions such as employment of new personnel, developing their skill sets, compensating them for their
efforts and maintaining employee relations.

The operative functions of HRM are

Employment – Employment involves procuring and employing individuals with suitable knowledge, skills, experience
and aptitude necessary to perform various jobs. It includes functions such as job analysis, human resource planning,
recruitment, selection, placement and induction.
HR development – HR development concentrates on developing the workforce so that both the employees and the
organisation in turn can achieve their goals. It focuses on strengthening the skills, knowledge and aptitudes of the
employees. This includes functions starting with evaluating the performance of the employees, providing necessary
training and development programmes to fill the gaps between current performances to the optimum performance of
employees. HR development involves functions such as:

a) Performance appraisal

b) Training

c) Management development

d) Career planning and development

Compensation – Compensation includes all the rewards that an employee receives during the course of his or her job–
for his or her contributions to the organisation. Compensation encompasses base salary, incentives, bonus and benefits,
and is based on job evaluation.

Employee relations – Employee relations deals with the employees, in the organisational context, as a social group that
contributes to the organisation. It includes:

a) Increasing employee productivity.

b) Keeping the employees satisfied and motivated.

c) Developing team building, team management, leadership skills in employees.

d) Designing and implementing a fast and suitable grievance management system.

e) Ensuring discipline among the employees by prompt action to correct deviations.

f) Supporting employees by counselling and developing them into complete individuals and responsible citizens.

g) Enhancing the quality of both work and personal life of the employees.

3. DISCUSS THE CONCEPT OF HRM IN INDIA.

ANSWER –

The viewpoint of HRM in India has shifted in the last two decades. The economic liberalisation of 1991 has created a
massive change in the HRM perspective in India. It not only led to the creation of a very competitive market situation
but also in turn forced Indian organisations to think and implement innovative measures to attract and retaining
employees.

The Indian workforce is now being globally acknowledged as a dedicated, intelligent and a well-informed
workforce. This is the result of the strong foundation provided by the Indian education system at the primary,
secondary, technical and at professional levels. It is an undisputed fact that the Indian Institutes of Technology, the
National Institutes of Technology and the famed India Institutes of Management are among the world-class
institutions to name a few. Quality education and research are encouraged on these campuses and across the country,
which mould and contribute to the practices in Indian organisations.

We will discuss a few distinct differentiators that impact HRM practices in Indian organisations:

 The Indian culture is one that is deeply rooted in its societal and collectivistic values whereby there is a natural
urge to collaborate at the workplace, work in teams and groups with ease.
 Work culture-wise, the natural ability to work hard and long hours, perseverance and the need to earn money
impact the way the work is organised in Indian organisations. It is not uncommon for the Indian to
compromise personal time with family/friends and instead attend to work and satisfy a customer. There is an
overwhelming sense of ‘service’ that manifests itself at the workplace.
 Indians are quick at accepting diverse views and ideas as a result of its diverse religious and regional culture.
Tolerance for diversity is high among Indians and therefore not much HR efforts are needed to practice
tolerance towards others points of view.
 The tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty however is low in the Indian workforce, which requires a lot more
detailing of jobs and roles and responsibilities. There is need therefore to establish definite boundaries of
authority and responsibility.
 Availability of a large educated group of individuals of different calibre of knowledge and skill allows the
country to undertake different nature of work beginning with lower skilled activities such as BPOs (Business
Process Outsourcing) and moving up the value curve to far more advanced activities like KPOs (Knowledge
Process Outsourcing).
 Due to the availability of large employable individuals, compensation and benefits costs continue to provide a
competitive advantage for India.
 There is a naturally expressed need ‘to belong’. This again is typical of the Indian population and has brought
about a significant amount of customisation of the workplace and its norms to allow for cultural events and
activities through the year. There is a lot more scope for socialising that exists in the Indian organisations.
 Current trend is that the overpopulated urban part of the country is quickly moving to tire 2 and tire 3 cities,
and towns where the cost of living and wage levels are not as competitive, further expanding the

Indian resource base for hiring and building talent, contributing to the overall gain of the country.

4. Describe the process of human resource planning.

ANSWER - Answer-

Human resource planning, or HRP, is the ongoing, continuous process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of
an organization's most valuable asset — its human resources. The objective of human resource planning is to ensure the
best fit between employees and jobs while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. The four key steps of the human
resources planning process are analyzing present labor supply, forecasting labor demand, balancing projected labor
demand with supply and supporting organizational goals.

1. Process of HR Planning:-
The process of Human Resource Planning is one of the most critical, difficult and continuing managerial functions which,
according to the Tata Electric and Locomotive Company (now known as Tata Motors), "embraces organisation
development, management development, career planning and succession planning."

'Manpower planning consists of projecting future manpower requirements and developing manpower p lans for the
implementation of the projections.'

HRP is used for determining long term needs, rather than for momentary replacement needs. It has to take into account
the career planning for individual employees and succession planning in the organisation.

The basic steps of HRP include the following:

1. Considering the effect of organisational strategy and objectives on different units of the organisation in terms of the
human resource requirement.

2. Forecasting the manpower requirements of the organisation by involving the line managers to decide and finalise the
human resource needs of their respective department. Forecasting may be carried out using mathematical projection tools
or judgements.

3. Forecasting the quality and quantity of human resource required by each department/division.

4. Creating an inventory of present manpower resources.

5. Matching the current human resources position incumbents in the organisation with the numbers required in the future.

6. Developing an action plan to meet the future requirements in terms of addition or separation, in a planned and phased

manner. It involves planning the necessary programmes of recruitment, selection, training, development, utilisation,

transfer, promotion, motivation and compensation to ensure that future manpower requirements are properly met.

5. Discuss the types of interview.

ANSWER -

Interviews can be broadly classified under two-sub headings governed by the :

1. The purpose of the interview

2. The Setting of interview

Purpose based Interviews According to the BBC, there are three categories under this:

1. Hard Exposure interviews, which investigate a subject thoroughly

2. Informational Interviews, which are more interacting and absorb the audience

3. Emotional Interviews, which aim at revealing the interviewee’s state of mind.


Setting Based Interviews

Under this category of interviews, there are eight variations while the first three are often refered to (
Shrivastava,1989), the other five are equally distinct.

Eye witness: Also referred to as spot interviews, they are conducted under tremendous pressure of time. At the place
of happening, the reporter must identify those willing to talk for the camera. The focus here is not on eliciting facts or
ideas but on gathering facts.

Doorstepper: As the name suggests these “hit “ or “miss” affairs are virtually snatched at the doorstep of the
interviewee. Disliked by both the interlocutors, the reporter could consider himself happy if he gets just a sentence or
even a couple of phrases in reply.

Set Piece: This variety is always in demand when government annnounces major policy matters such as the
presenatation of annual budget, cabinet formation etc.These interviews are usually conducted in the interviewee’s
office (to provide authenticity to context)and can have monologues for replies.

Studio: These are live interviews where interviewees are invited to the studio. The live shots are inserted into the
bulletin.

Down the line: Rapidly growing in popularity, in this format, the journalist is linked telephonically to the interviewee
who could be in another part of the world. This is not preffered by the viewers as the interviewer and interviewee
both face the audience instead of maintaining eye-contacts with each other.

Car Interview: In this type, interviewer shoots the questions. The interviewee while driving or travelling replies.
Though strain on both, car interviews become unavoidable, when the subject involved is extremely busy.

Walking Interview: These are common when making documentaries or when different facets of an individual have to
be captured. However, they pose a great challenge to technical staff.

News Conferences: These sesions begin with a formal address,after which the house is thrown open. The journalists
present can shoot their questions without waiting for a logical development of the question line. Sessions like these
make excellent materials for radio and TV news.

6. What is training? What are its objectives?

ANSWER –

Training enhances the skills and capabilities of employees in an organisation. A successful training programme
improves the performance of an employee which in turn enhances organisational performance.

Training is an essential part of the orientation programme for new recruits in an organisation.
The main objectives of training are:

 Improving employee performance: When an employee is recruited by an organisation, he might not have all
the skills required to carry out his job. Training at this stage helps him learn his job faster and ensures better
performance.
 Updating employee skills: It is important for the management to continuously evaluate and adopt any
technological advances that can help the organisation function more effectively and efficiently.
 Avoiding managerial obsolescence: Managerial obsolescence is the failure to adopt new methods and
processes that can improve employee and organisational performance. Rapid changes in technical, legal and
social environments have an impact on the way managers perform their jobs.
 Preparing for promotion and managerial succession: Training helps an employee acquire the skills required to
assume greater responsibilities.
 Retaining and motivating employees: One way to motivate and retain employees is through a systematic
programme of career planning and development. Employees feel cared.
 Creating an efficient and effective organisation: A manager who has well trained and well equipped employees
needs to spend less time supervising them.

7. What is succession planning? What are the benefits of having a formal Succession Planning System in an
organisation ?

ANSWER –

1. Meaning of Succession Planning:

Identification and development of potential successors for key positions in an organization, through a systematic
evaluation process and training. Unlike replacement planning (which grades an individual solely on the basis of his or
her past performance) succession planning is largely predictive in judging an individual for a position he or she might
never have been in.

A strategy for passing each key leadership role within a company to someone else in such a way that the company
continues to operate after the incumbent leader is no longer in control. Succession planning ensures that businesses
continue to run smoothly after the business’s most important people move on to new opportunities, retire or pass
away.

Succession planning involves an examination of strategic (long-range) plans and HR forecasts for all identified key
positions in an organisation. It includes positions that are critical for the business and for its continuity, and not just
the senior level positions. It includes a review of the data on all potential candidates who might be able to move to
these positions either right-away or in the near future. The objective is to identify employees with potential and
managerial depth as well as promoting from within the company.

A succession planning exercise concludes with an organisation chart of all key positions with listing of possible
potential candidates and the readiness rating for each potential candidate.
2. Benefits:

Following are the benefits of having a formal Succession Planning System:

 Provides a clear framework to strategic business planning as the key positions for the business’s success are
what are being planned for.

 Aligns strategic goals and human resources to enable the “right people in the right place at the right time” to
achieve desired business results.

 Develops qualified pools of candidates ready to fill critical or key positions.

 Provides stability in leadership and other critical positions to sustain a high-performing service.

 Identifies workforce renewal needs as a means of targeting necessary employee training and development.

 Helps individuals realise their career plans and aspirations within the organisation.

 Improves employees’ ability to respond to changing environmental demands.

 Provides opportunity for timely corporate knowledge transfer.

 Regardless of what type of succession planning programme is used (formal or informal), most successful
programmes obtain the support of top management.

Section C ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS

(10 Marks each) [Please answer Any Three essay type questions in a separate page answer sheet especially
provided for the purpose] (10*3=30 Marks)
8. Globalisation has resulted in making major economic and policy changes in most of the organisations across the
world. In what ways have globalization impacted HRM in India?

ANSWER –

The tendency of firms is to extend their sales and/or manufacturing to new markets abroad, and for business
everywhere. The one element that is unique about every nation or company is its workforce.

A workforce that is knowledgeable and skilled at doing complex things keeps a company competitive and attracts
foreign investment. Well-trained workers attract global corporations, which invest and provide employment
opportunities to the workers, which in turn generate additional training and experience.

Technology

The most important use of technology in HRM is in an organisation’s Human Resource Information system.

Trends in the nature of work

Technological and globalisation trends are in turn producing changes in the nature of jobs and work. Following are a
few trends in the nature of work:

 Information technology and personal computers have allowed companies to relocate operations to locations
with lower wages.
 Increased use of part time and temporary workers.

A service society

 An enormous shift from manufacturing jobs to service jobs.


 For service jobs new types of knowledge workers and new HRM method to manage them.

Knowledge work and human capital

 The distinguishing characteristics of companies today and tomorrow is the growing emphasis on human
capital–the knowledge, education, training skills and expertise of a firm's workers.
 This growing emphasis on education and human capital reflects several social and economic factors.
 Now companies are relying more on employee’s creativity and skills.

Other trends affecting HRM

 Equal employment opportunity laws that bar discrimination on the basis of race, age, disability, religion, sex or
national origin, have been passed.
 Virtually all managers are thus now legally bound to uncover and correct instances of discrimination.
 Mandated health benefits, occupational safety and health requirements.
 Union-management relations.
 HR managers have to deal with all these legal constraints.

Workforce diversity

Diversity in the field of HRM can be defined as the situation that arises when employees differ from each other in
terms of age, gender, ethnicity, education, etc.
Managing diversity means establishing a heterogeneous workforce to perform to its potential in an equitable
work environment where no member or group of members has an advantage or a disadvantage.

9. Define Training. Explain the evaluation process of a Training programme .

ANSWER - Training enhances the skills and capabilities of employees in an organisation. A successful training
programme improves the performance of an employee which in turn enhances organisational performance.

The process of examining a training programme is called training evaluation. Training


evaluation checks whether the training has had the preferred outcome. Training evaluation makes sure whether
candidates are able to implement their learning in their respective workplaces, or to the regular work schedules.

Purpose of Training Evaluation

Feedback: It helps in giving feedback to the candidates by defining the objectives and linking it to learning outcomes.

Research: It helps in determining the relationship between acquired knowledge, transfer of knowledge at the work
place, and training.

Control: It helps in managing the training programme because if the training is not effective, then it can be dealt with
accordingly.

Power games: At times, the top management (higher authoritative employee) uses the evaluative data to manipulate
it for their own benefits.
Intervention: It helps in determining whether the actual outcomes are aligned with the expected outcomes.

Process of training evaluation

The process of training evaluation entails the following:

Before training: The trainee's skills and knowledge are assessed before the training programme. During the start of
training, candidates generally perceive it as a waste of time and resources because at most of the times candidates are
unaware of the objectives and learning outcomes of the programme. Once aware, they are asked to give their
opinions on the methods used and whether those methods confirm to the candidates preferences and learning style.

During training: It is the phase at which instruction is started. This phase usually consists of short tests at regular
intervals.

After training: In this phase trainee’s skills and knowledge are assessed again to measure the effectiveness of the
training. This phase is designed to determine whether the training has had the desired effect at individual, department
and organisational levels. There are various evaluation techniques for this phase.

10. A. Define Job Evaluation and discuss its techniques .

ANSWER –

The techniques of job evaluation are:

1. Quantitative

2. Non-quantitative

I. Quantitative techniques

There are two types of quantitative techniques:

 Point Rating Method


 Factor-Comparison Method

a) Point rating method In this method a quantitative point scale is developed to evaluate the jobs. The different
steps in the point rating method are:

 Determine the job factors or compensable factors.


 Determine the sub factors.
 Define the degree statement or profile statements.
 Assign points to factors, sub factor and degree.
 Preparation of a chart.
 Applying the point system.
b) Factor-comparison method

This method is associated with the name of E. J. Benge. Each factor (as in the point method) is ascribed a money value.
Key jobs, representing the various levels or grades are ranked factor-by-factor and upon this ranking, a scale of
pay/money value is prepared. The sum of the values for each factor is taken to be the money value of the job.

II. Non-quantitative techniques There are two types of non-quantitative techniques:

 Ranking Method
 Job Classification or Grading Method

a) Ranking method In this method the jobs in an organisation are assessed based on the knowledge, skills effort and
other job dimensions associated with each job.

Several techniques of ranking are:

i) Relative ranking – In this method a key job (representative) is identified and its worth is determined, also the
relative importance of each job in comparison with the representative is determined and then ranked.

ii) Paired comparison: – Each job is compared with every other job in the organisation.

iii) Single factor ranking :– Single most important factor of a job is identified and is compared with the single most
important factor of other jobs.

b) Job classification on Grading Method – In this method jobs are classified and graded based on their significance and
their worth to the organization. Grades are formulated on the nature of tasks and responsibilities of the job.

11. Explain the various long-term and short-term incentive plans adopted by companies.

Answer –

Incentive plans are of two types: Short-term incentive, Long-term incentive. Short-term incentive: Halsey plan, Rower
Plan, Task Bonus system, Point-rating system, Progressive Bonus. Long term plan: Annual bonus, Profit sharing,
Distribution plan, Combination Plan, Gain sharing, Employee Stock plans, etc.

I. Short term incentive Short term incentives include the following plans: 1. Halsey plan – This plan tries to eliminate
the limitations of time and piece rate system while trying to combine their merits. A certain amount of work is fixed as
standard output. A worker receives a percentage of wages as extra earning if he is completing in a prescribed time. If
hourly rate is 5 and the plan percentage of wages is fixed at 50%. Plan percentage x Time saved x hourly rate

2. Rower plan – Standard Time is fixed also minimum wage on time basis.
Time saved x Time taken x Hourly rate/Standard rate

3. Barth system of wages - No guarantee of a minimum rate.

Wages = √ Standard time x Time taken x Hourly rate

4. Task bonus system – This method of incentive payment is generally used for a group. In this method the task of each
group member is predetermined and he has to achieve it to earn a bonus in his standard pay.

5. Point-rating system – Each job is rated in terms of a standard time. At the end of a specified period, the output of
each worker is assessed.

Example: an organisation fixes its standard time value as 10 units of production per hour. Let the number of working
hour per day be 8 and the hourly rate is Rs 5. At the end of the day if any worker produces 100 units, it is equivalent to
10 hours production.

6. Progressive bonus – Under this system of incentive payment, the earnings increase at a progressive rate once the
output crosses the minimum or standard out.

Long term incentives Long term incentives include the following plans:

1) Annual bonus – The most common type of annual incentive plan is the annual cash bonus.

2) Profit sharing: In the profit sharing incentive method, employees earn a share of the company’s profit, which is
normally calculated as a percentage of local profit.

o Distribution plan: Annual or quarterly basis bonus is paid according to a pre-determined formula and based on the
company profits.

o Deferred plan: Employees earn profit sharing credits instead of cash payment, which are distributed when the
employee parts with the organisation.

o Combination plan: Employees are allowed to receive a portion of each period’s profit in case bonus.

3) Gain sharing: Rewarding groups for their successful performance. Groups are rewarded for the team work,
coordination and other characteristics that have determined their success.

4) Employee stock plans: - This is a scheme in which employees are given a part of ownership at a price lower than
market price in consideration of their duration and meritorious performance in the job. Few of the employee stock
plans are:

o Employee stock purchase plan: The employees are given the right to acquire stocks of the company immediately
after they earn them, normally at a price lower than the prevailing market price.

o Employee stock option scheme: The company grants an option to its employees to acquire shares at a future date.
o Stock appreciation right: Under this scheme, the employee does not have to put in any money and has the right to
withdraw the stock. The employee is given the appreciation in the value of shares from the date the option was
granted.

o Restricted stock plan: In this type of stock plan, the employees need not put in money. Some restriction is there -
one of them is that shares may be forfeited if they are not “earned out” over a specific period of time. The employees
are forced to continue their employment with the organisation over this specific period.

Phantom Stock: Phantom Stock is a special type of employee stock option plan that protects the holder against any
depreciation in the value of stock.

Premium price options: These are also called performance-vesting options. These options can be exercised only if the
market price of the stock reaches or exceeds the predetermined exercise price, which is significantly higher than
within the stipulated time, the option would be forfeited.

Non-monetary incentives:- Giving non-monetary incentives to employees for their performance and contribution is
one of the best methods of motivating them.

Non-monetary incentives are:

 Recognition of an employee’s contribution.


 A challenging assignment would assure an employee of the management’s confidence in his ability.
 Giving additional responsibility.
 Rewarding an employee for his performance through free gifts or free vacations.

Q1. What do you mean by Human Resource Management? Describe the functions of Human Resource
Management.
(Definition of Human Resource Management, Explaining the functions of Human Resource Management)

Definition of HRM
HRM involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people or Human resources
who work for the organization. Human resource manager has to build an effective workforce, handle the expectations of
the employees and ensure that they perform at their best. He or she also has to take into account the firm’s responsibilities
to the society that it operates in.

Function of Human Resource Management


Human resource management involves blending the traditional administrative functions along with the changing concepts
of employee welfare in the organisation. Organisations now regard employees as a precious resource and spend more
efforts to retain them. The retention of employees is dependent on how they are perceived and treated in the organisation
based on their performance, abilities and skills. Human resource managers are involved right from identifying potential
candidates for jobs to their separation from the organisation. They encourage communication amongst the employees and
also promote better employer – employee relationship. Figure depicts the major functions that an HR manager has to carry
out in any organisation. The extent of activities carried out by the HR is dependent on the size and scope of the
organisation, the nature of operations and the attitude of management towards the employees.
HRM functions can be broadly classified into the following two categories:
1. Managerial functions
2. Operative functions

Managerial functions of HR department


The managerial functions of HR department include the following:
Planning – Future course of action; it also includes identifying human resource requirements and forecasting personnel
needs.
Organising – Division of labour; assignment of responsibility is part of the organisation’s functions.
Staffing – It is the process of obtaining and maintaining capable and competent personnel in various positions at all levels,
i.e., manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement and induction.
Directing – It is the process of directing all the available resources towards the common organisational goals.
Controlling – It is the measurement and rectification of activities to ensure that the events conform to plans.

Operative functions of HR department


Operative functions of HR department are those core functions that only the
HR department is assigned to perform. These include functions such as employment of new personnel, developing their
skill sets, compensating them for their efforts and maintaining employee relations. Figure 1.3 depicts the operative
functions of HRM.

Let us now discuss the operative functions of HRM.


Employment – Employment is the first operative function of HRM. This involves procuring and employing individuals
with suitable knowledge, skills, experience and aptitude necessary to perform various jobs.
HR development – HR development concentrates on developing the workforce so that both the employees and the
organisation in turn can achieve their goals. It focuses on strengthening the skills, knowledge and aptitudes of the
employees.
Compensation – Compensation includes all the rewards that an employee receives during the course of his or her job–for
his or her contributions to the organisation.
Employee relations – Employee relations deals with the employees, in the organisational context, as a social group that
contributes to the organisation. It includes:
a) Increasing employee productivity.
b) Keeping the employees satisfied and motivated.
c) Developing team building, team management, leadership skills in employees.
d) Designing and implementing a fast and suitable grievance management system.

Q2 Give an overview of the Human Resource Management (HRM) in India. Explain the HRM challenges faced by
HR Managers.
(Give a brief description of the HRM practices in India, Explaining the HRM challenges faced by HR Managers)
Answer.
HRM practices in India
There are arguments that HRM practices in India are a simple extension of the HR practices from the established western
organisations and the developed countries. They argue that much of the changes in the employment perspectives in India
have changed only after the economic liberalisation. However, there is an equally strong cultural impact on the hiring
practices, compensation standards, benefits and statutory benefits, performance linked rewards and pay-out, which though
in-step with international HRM practices have a flavour of their own. We will discuss a few distinct differentiators that
impact HRM practices in Indian organisations:
 The Indian culture is one that is deeply rooted in its societal and collectivistic values whereby there is a natural
urge to collaborate at the workplace, work in teams and groups with ease.
 Work culture-wise, the natural ability to work hard and long hours, perseverance and the need to earn money
impact the way the work is organised in Indian organisations. It is not uncommon for the Indian to compromise
personal time with family/friends and instead attend to work and satisfy a customer. There is an overwhelming
sense of ‘service’ that manifests itself at the workplace.
 Indians are quick at accepting diverse views and ideas as a result of its diverse religious and regional culture.
Tolerance for diversity is high among Indians and therefore not much HR efforts are needed to practice tolerance
towards others points of view.
 The tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty however is low in the Indian workforce, which requires a lot more
detailing of jobs and roles and responsibilities. There is need therefore to establish definite boundaries of authority
and responsibility.

HRM challenges faced by manager


One of the challenges HR managers face is the issue of upgrading the skill set of employees through training and
development. Indian companies are recognising their responsibilities to enhance the employee’s opportunity to develop
skills and abilities for full performance within the position and for career advancement. The fast pace in which the global
business environment is changing has kept HR managers in India also on toes. Every little change in the business
environment bring along with it subsequent changes in the workforce. This has become a challenge for the HR personnel
to handle several complex issues such as attracting the right talent who meets international work standards, designing
work teams, creating faster communication patterns, creating innovative employee recognition strategies and devising
measures to ensure that the top quality talent is retained.

Managing changes in technology is also one of the challenges that an HR of any organisation in India faces. Technology
is changing rapidly, and every day we are witnessing innovative technological advancements. All organisations want to
be technologically oriented.

Q3 What do you mean by HRIS? Explain the components of HRIS. Describe the different applications of HRIS in
Human Resource Management.
(Definition of HRIS , Brief about the components of HRIS , Explain the different applications of HRIS )
Answer.

HRIS
A quality planning effort cannot be done without proper and adequate information. Information is provided in an
organisation by an inter-related set of procedures and process known as an information system. An information system
especially developed for the human resource management function is called an HRIS–Human Resource Information
System.
HRIS refers to software packages that address HR needs with respect to planning, employee information access and
employer regulatory compliance. The following text begins with a discussion of human resource planning, followed by
human resource management systems.

Components of HRIS

Let us now discuss the components of HRIS.


HRIS performs three interconnected activities as a database:
i) receiving inputs in the form of data from different sources.
ii) storing and processing data with the purpose of transforming them into meaningful information
iii) generating output in different forms, as required by the users.
Figure depicts the three activities that an HRIS performs.

Input
Input refers to all employee-related data. HR policies, procedures, corporate goals and information about the statutory
provisions entered into HRIS for conversion into the desired form of output.
Data processing
Data processing refers to the storing and processing of data by a computer with the help of the software that issues
instructions for processing.
Output
Output refers to the generation of reports in the form desired by the users. This is the final stage of an HRIS process.

Different applications of HRIS

It became important for many organisations to bring almost all HR activities under HRIS.
Different applications of an HRIS are as follow:
 Applicant tracking system – Many organisations are now gradually adopting and installing applicant tracking
system software. The purpose of this system is to give support to recruitment process and to streamline the overall
recruitment process.
 Training and development system – The purpose of a training and development system is to help the employees
gain new knowledge. HRIS facilitates workplace e-learning by the employees as part of their training programme.
 Compensation management system – The compensation management system aims at computing employee
payments through an integrated payroll system. This compensation system normally considers employee working
hours, attendance and productivity for computing the salary of the employees.
 Performance management system – The main goal of the performance management system is to track employee
performance reviews and due dates for next reviews.
 Manpower planning system – The manpower planning system manages the employee inventory and supports
several HR activities.
 Succession planning system – The succession planning module brings the identified and selected employees into
the succession channel.
 Grievance management system – The grievance management assists the management in pre-empting employee
grievance by analysing the nature, sources and frequency of earlier grievances.
Q4 “Discipline in the broad sense means orderliness-the opposite of confusion.” What do you mean by Discipline?
Explain the basic guidelines of a Disciplinary policy.

(Meaning of Discipline, Explain the basic guidelines of a Disciplinary Policy)


Answer.
Meaning of Discipline
Discipline is employee self-control which prompts him/her to willingly cooperate with the organisational standards, rules,
objectives, etc. Discipline is best defined as the observation of principles, rules or any other laid down procedures,
practices, written or otherwise in the organisation by the employees or group of employees, to whom these apply, for
smooth and effective functioning of the organisation.

Basic guidelines of a Disciplinary Policy

The basic principles discussed remain as the guiding framework. The principal ingredients of a sound disciplinary system
in organisations are:
1. Location of responsibility: The responsibility of creating awareness regarding discipline is entrusted with every
individual in the organisation. In case of employee indiscipline, the line manager issues only verbal and written warnings.
In serious cases, which warrant discharge or suspension, the Industrial Relations Officer and other independent legal
consultants need to be consulted.
2. Proper formulation and communication of rules: The employees are expected to conform to rules and regulations, and
behave in a responsible manner. It is essential that these rules and regulations are carefully formulated, communicated
clearly and properly documented by organisations. This should be easily accessible for employees. In many organisations
the employees need to read it and sign it once in a year. This acts as an effective preventive mechanism to ensure that
employees are aware of it and have committed to abide by it.
3. Rules and regulations should be reasonable: Today’s organisations pay a lot of attention, and rightly so, towards
formulating equitable polices that protect employee as well as the organisation’s values and rights. Often organisations
involve employee representatives in formulating these policies and guidelines. Sometimes companies conduct workshops
and training programmes to help their employees to get a good and clear knowledge about company policies.
4. Equal treatment: An employee should realise the consequence of his/her inappropriate behaviour and if he/she is going
against the norms or the rules. The rule applied for a particular act of indiscipline should reflect the offence and not the
person who committed it. Discipline should be enforced and ensured across every employee and every situation.
5. Disciplinary action should be taken in private: While the policies governing the acceptable code of conduct are
communicated publicly, the reprimand for non-compliance needs to be carried out in private.
This is to ensure that a wrong behaviour is corrected and not that the wrongdoer be punished, or ridiculed. At all times
the organisation needs to be watchful of remaining respectful of its employees and carry out any action in a respectful and
in a confidential manner.
6. Importance of promptness in taking disciplinary action: As goes the popular saying – justice delayed is justice denied.
If the action for review and reprimand is taken long after a violation of a policy/rule has happened, it loses its positive and
corrective influence. The employees lose trust in the system and assume that the organisation lacks
commitment to it. It might even lead to resentment, which may not have developed if the corrective action had been
imposed on time.
8. Get the facts: Before taking any disciplinary action, it is important to ensure that records of the offence and any previous
warnings are reviewed closely.
9. Action should be taken in a non-threatening atmosphere: Based on appropriate evidence management can take proper
action against the accused employee.

Q5 Suppose you have joined as an HR and you have been assigned a task to carry out the grievance handling
procedure in your organization. What according to you are the causes of Grievance? Describe in detail the
Grievance handling procedure
(Causes of Grievance , Explain the Grievance handling procedure)
Answer.
Causes of Grievance

Grievances can arise out of the day to day working relations in an organisation. Relations with supervisors and
Colleagues also determine employee’s job satisfaction. Grievances may occur for a number of reasons:
(a) Economic: Wage fixation, over time bonus, wage revision etc.
Employees may feel that they are paid less when compared to others.
(b) Work environment: Poor physical conditions of workplace, tight production norms, defective tools and equipment,
poor quality of materials, unfair rules, lack of recognitions etc.
(c) Supervision: Relates to the attitude of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notion of bias,
favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations, regional feelings etc.
(d) Work group: Employee is unable to adjust with his colleagues, suffers from feelings of neglect, humiliations.
(e) Miscellaneous: These include issues related to certain violations with respect to promotions, safety methods, transfer,
disciplinary rules, fines, granting leave, medical facilities, etc.

Grievance handling procedure


The following guidelines may help a supervisor while dealing with grievance:
 Treat each case as important and get the grievance in writing.
 Talk to the employee directly. Encourage him/her to speak the truth. Give him/her a patient hearing.
 Discuss in a private place. Ensure confidentially if necessary
 Handle each case within a time-frame
 Examine company provisions in each case, Identify violations, if any, Do not hold back the remedy if the company
is wrong. Inform your supervisor about all grievances.
 Get all relevant facts about the grievance, examine the personal records of the aggrieved worker. See whether any
witnesses are available. Visit the work area. The idea is to find where things have gone wrong and who is at fault.
 Gather information from the union representative, what he has to say, what he wants etc. Give short replies,
uncovering the truth as well as provisions. Treat him properly.
 Control your emotions, your remark and behavior
 Maintain proper records and follow up the action taken in each case The essential requirements of a good
grievance procedure are:
 Legality sustainable
 It should be ensured by the organisation that its grievance procedure is in conformity with the existing laws of
nation.
 The procedure cannot violate any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by the law.
 Mutually acceptable
 In order to be effective, the grievance procedure must enjoy the confidence of all the relevant parties, i.e., the
management and the unions. It should not be like a battleground. Procedure must ensure equity, justice and
openness.

6 Write short notes on the following :


a)Competency Mapping
b)Flexi Time
(Competency Mapping , Flexi Time)
a) Competency mapping
Competency mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for an organisation and/or a job and incorporating
those competencies throughout the various processes (i.e., job evaluation, training, recruitment) of the organisation. We
would define competency as a behaviour (i.e., communication, leadership) rather than a skill or ability. The steps involved
in competency mapping with an end result of job evaluation include the following:
1) Conduct a job analysis by asking incumbents to complete a Position Information Questionnaire (PIQ). This can be
provided for incumbents to complete or you can conduct one-on-one interviews using the PIQ as a guide. The primary
goal is to gather, from incumbents, what they feel are the key behaviours necessary to perform their respective jobs.
2) Using the results of the job analysis, you are ready to develop a competency based job description. A sample of a
competency based job description generated from the PIQ may be analysed. This can be developed after carefully
analysing the input from the represented group of incumbents and converting it into standard competencies.
3) With a competency based job description, you are on your way to begin mapping the competencies throughout your
human resources processes. The competencies of the respective job description become your factors for assessment on
the performance evaluation. Using competencies will help guide you to perform more objective evaluations based on
displayed or not displayed behaviours.
4) Taking the competency mapping one step further, you can use the results of your evaluation to identify in what
competencies individuals need additional development or training. This will help you focus your training needs on the
goals of the position and the company and help your employees develop to achieve the ultimate success of the
organisation.
b) Flexi Time

Flexi time is a scheme where an organisation gives its employees the opportunity of a flexible working hours arrangement.
Under flexi time, there is normally a core period of the day when employees must be at work (e.g., between 10 A.M. and
4 P.M.), whilst the rest of the working day is "flexi time", in which the staff can choose when they work, subject to
achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours. An employee must work between the basic core hours and has the
flexibility to clock in/out between the other hours.
An example of a typical flexi time day is below:
 Begin work between 0700 – 1000 (flexitime)
 Must be there between 1000 – 1200 (core time)
 Lunch break between 1200 – 1400 (flexible lunch hour)
 Must be there from 1400 – 1600 (core time)
 Leave between 1600 – 1900 (flexitime)
The hours employees work between these times are credited to their flexi time balance.
For example, if the employees work a 35-hour week, then, over four weeks, they will be obliged to work for 140 hours.
If they work more than the required hours in those four weeks then they will be in credit. If they have enough flexi time
credit they can turn that into time off, and this is one of the best liked features. This could be one or maybe 2 days a month
depending on their scheme.

Q7. What do you mean by Human Resource Management? Describe the functions of Human Resource
Management.
(Definition of Human Resource Management, Explaining the functions of Human Resource Management)

Definition of HRM
HRM involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people or Human resources
who work for the organization. Human resource manager has to build an effective workforce, handle the expectations of
the employees and ensure that they perform at their best. He or she also has to take into account the firm’s responsibilities
to the society that it operates in.

Function of Human Resource Management


Human resource management involves blending the traditional administrative functions along with the changing concepts
of employee welfare in the organisation. Organisations now regard employees as a precious resource and spend more
efforts to retain them. The retention of employees is dependent on how they are perceived and treated in the organisation
based on their performance, abilities and skills. Human resource managers are involved right from identifying potential
candidates for jobs to their separation from the organisation. They encourage communication amongst the employees and
also promote better employer – employee relationship. Figure depicts the major functions that an HR manager has to carry
out in any organisation. The extent of activities carried out by the HR is dependent on the size and scope of the
organisation, the nature of operations and the attitude of management towards the employees.
HRM functions can be broadly classified into the following two categories:
1. Managerial functions
2. Operative functions

Managerial functions of HR department


The managerial functions of HR department include the following:
Planning – Future course of action; it also includes identifying human resource requirements and forecasting personnel
needs.
Organising – Division of labour; assignment of responsibility is part of the organisation’s functions.
Staffing – It is the process of obtaining and maintaining capable and competent personnel in various positions at all levels,
i.e., manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement and induction.
Directing – It is the process of directing all the available resources towards the common organisational goals.
Controlling – It is the measurement and rectification of activities to ensure that the events conform to plans.

Operative functions of HR department


Operative functions of HR department are those core functions that only the
HR department is assigned to perform. These include functions such as employment of new personnel, developing their
skill sets, compensating them for their efforts and maintaining employee relations. Figure 1.3 depicts the operative
functions of HRM.

Let us now discuss the operative functions of HRM.


Employment – Employment is the first operative function of HRM. This involves procuring and employing individuals
with suitable knowledge, skills, experience and aptitude necessary to perform various jobs.
HR development – HR development concentrates on developing the workforce so that both the employees and the
organisation in turn can achieve their goals. It focuses on strengthening the skills, knowledge and aptitudes of the
employees.
Compensation – Compensation includes all the rewards that an employee receives during the course of his or her job–for
his or her contributions to the organisation.
Employee relations – Employee relations deals with the employees, in the organisational context, as a social group that
contributes to the organisation. It includes:
a) Increasing employee productivity.
b) Keeping the employees satisfied and motivated.
c) Developing team building, team management, leadership skills in employees.
d) Designing and implementing a fast and suitable grievance management system.

Q8 Give an overview of the Human Resource Management (HRM) in India. Explain the HRM challenges faced by
HR Managers.
(Give a brief description of the HRM practices in India, Explaining the HRM challenges faced by HR Managers)
Answer.
HRM practices in India
There are arguments that HRM practices in India are a simple extension of the HR practices from the established western
organisations and the developed countries. They argue that much of the changes in the employment perspectives in India
have changed only after the economic liberalisation. However, there is an equally strong cultural impact on the hiring
practices, compensation standards, benefits and statutory benefits, performance linked rewards and pay-out, which though
in-step with international HRM practices have a flavour of their own. We will discuss a few distinct differentiators that
impact HRM practices in Indian organisations:
 The Indian culture is one that is deeply rooted in its societal and collectivistic values whereby there is a natural
urge to collaborate at the workplace, work in teams and groups with ease.
 Work culture-wise, the natural ability to work hard and long hours, perseverance and the need to earn money
impact the way the work is organised in Indian organisations. It is not uncommon for the Indian to compromise
personal time with family/friends and instead attend to work and satisfy a customer. There is an overwhelming
sense of ‘service’ that manifests itself at the workplace.
 Indians are quick at accepting diverse views and ideas as a result of its diverse religious and regional culture.
Tolerance for diversity is high among Indians and therefore not much HR efforts are needed to practice tolerance
towards others points of view.
 The tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty however is low in the Indian workforce, which requires a lot more
detailing of jobs and roles and responsibilities. There is need therefore to establish definite boundaries of authority
and responsibility.

HRM challenges faced by manager


One of the challenges HR managers face is the issue of upgrading the skill set of employees through training and
development. Indian companies are recognising their responsibilities to enhance the employee’s opportunity to develop
skills and abilities for full performance within the position and for career advancement. The fast pace in which the global
business environment is changing has kept HR managers in India also on toes. Every little change in the business
environment bring along with it subsequent changes in the workforce. This has become a challenge for the HR personnel
to handle several complex issues such as attracting the right talent who meets international work standards, designing
work teams, creating faster communication patterns, creating innovative employee recognition strategies and devising
measures to ensure that the top quality talent is retained.

Managing changes in technology is also one of the challenges that an HR of any organisation in India faces. Technology
is changing rapidly, and every day we are witnessing innovative technological advancements. All organisations want to
be technologically oriented.

Q9 What do you mean by HRIS? Explain the components of HRIS. Describe the different applications of HRIS in
Human Resource Management.
(Definition of HRIS , Brief about the components of HRIS , Explain the different applications of HRIS )
Answer.

HRIS
A quality planning effort cannot be done without proper and adequate information. Information is provided in an
organisation by an inter-related set of procedures and process known as an information system. An information system
especially developed for the human resource management function is called an HRIS–Human Resource Information
System.
HRIS refers to software packages that address HR needs with respect to planning, employee information access and
employer regulatory compliance. The following text begins with a discussion of human resource planning, followed by
human resource management systems.

Components of HRIS

Let us now discuss the components of HRIS.


HRIS performs three interconnected activities as a database:
i) receiving inputs in the form of data from different sources.
ii) storing and processing data with the purpose of transforming them into meaningful information
iii) generating output in different forms, as required by the users.
Figure depicts the three activities that an HRIS performs.

Input
Input refers to all employee-related data. HR policies, procedures, corporate goals and information about the statutory
provisions entered into HRIS for conversion into the desired form of output.
Data processing
Data processing refers to the storing and processing of data by a computer with the help of the software that issues
instructions for processing.
Output
Output refers to the generation of reports in the form desired by the users. This is the final stage of an HRIS process.

Different applications of HRIS

It became important for many organisations to bring almost all HR activities under HRIS.
Different applications of an HRIS are as follow:
 Applicant tracking system – Many organisations are now gradually adopting and installing applicant tracking
system software. The purpose of this system is to give support to recruitment process and to streamline the overall
recruitment process.
 Training and development system – The purpose of a training and development system is to help the employees
gain new knowledge. HRIS facilitates workplace e-learning by the employees as part of their training programme.
 Compensation management system – The compensation management system aims at computing employee
payments through an integrated payroll system. This compensation system normally considers employee working
hours, attendance and productivity for computing the salary of the employees.
 Performance management system – The main goal of the performance management system is to track employee
performance reviews and due dates for next reviews.
 Manpower planning system – The manpower planning system manages the employee inventory and supports
several HR activities.
 Succession planning system – The succession planning module brings the identified and selected employees into
the succession channel.
 Grievance management system – The grievance management assists the management in pre-empting employee
grievance by analysing the nature, sources and frequency of earlier grievances.
Q10 “Discipline in the broad sense means orderliness-the opposite of confusion.” What do you mean by Discipline?
Explain the basic guidelines of a Disciplinary policy.

(Meaning of Discipline, Explain the basic guidelines of a Disciplinary Policy)


Answer.
Meaning of Discipline
Discipline is employee self-control which prompts him/her to willingly cooperate with the organisational standards, rules,
objectives, etc. Discipline is best defined as the observation of principles, rules or any other laid down procedures,
practices, written or otherwise in the organisation by the employees or group of employees, to whom these apply, for
smooth and effective functioning of the organisation.

Basic guidelines of a Disciplinary Policy

The basic principles discussed remain as the guiding framework. The principal ingredients of a sound disciplinary system
in organisations are:
1. Location of responsibility: The responsibility of creating awareness regarding discipline is entrusted with every
individual in the organisation. In case of employee indiscipline, the line manager issues only verbal and written warnings.
In serious cases, which warrant discharge or suspension, the Industrial Relations Officer and other independent legal
consultants need to be consulted.
2. Proper formulation and communication of rules: The employees are expected to conform to rules and regulations, and
behave in a responsible manner. It is essential that these rules and regulations are carefully formulated, communicated
clearly and properly documented by organisations. This should be easily accessible for employees. In many organisations
the employees need to read it and sign it once in a year. This acts as an effective preventive mechanism to ensure that
employees are aware of it and have committed to abide by it.
3. Rules and regulations should be reasonable: Today’s organisations pay a lot of attention, and rightly so, towards
formulating equitable polices that protect employee as well as the organisation’s values and rights. Often organisations
involve employee representatives in formulating these policies and guidelines. Sometimes companies conduct workshops
and training programmes to help their employees to get a good and clear knowledge about company policies.
4. Equal treatment: An employee should realise the consequence of his/her inappropriate behaviour and if he/she is going
against the norms or the rules. The rule applied for a particular act of indiscipline should reflect the offence and not the
person who committed it. Discipline should be enforced and ensured across every employee and every situation.
5. Disciplinary action should be taken in private: While the policies governing the acceptable code of conduct are
communicated publicly, the reprimand for non-compliance needs to be carried out in private.
This is to ensure that a wrong behaviour is corrected and not that the wrongdoer be punished, or ridiculed. At all times
the organisation needs to be watchful of remaining respectful of its employees and carry out any action in a respectful and
in a confidential manner.
6. Importance of promptness in taking disciplinary action: As goes the popular saying – justice delayed is justice denied.
If the action for review and reprimand is taken long after a violation of a policy/rule has happened, it loses its positive and
corrective influence. The employees lose trust in the system and assume that the organisation lacks
commitment to it. It might even lead to resentment, which may not have developed if the corrective action had been
imposed on time.
8. Get the facts: Before taking any disciplinary action, it is important to ensure that records of the offence and any previous
warnings are reviewed closely.
9. Action should be taken in a non-threatening atmosphere: Based on appropriate evidence management can take proper
action against the accused employee.

Q11 Suppose you have joined as an HR and you have been assigned a task to carry out the grievance handling
procedure in your organization. What according to you are the causes of Grievance? Describe in detail the
Grievance handling procedure
(Causes of Grievance , Explain the Grievance handling procedure)
Answer.
Causes of Grievance

Grievances can arise out of the day to day working relations in an organisation. Relations with supervisors and
Colleagues also determine employee’s job satisfaction. Grievances may occur for a number of reasons:
(a) Economic: Wage fixation, over time bonus, wage revision etc.
Employees may feel that they are paid less when compared to others.
(b) Work environment: Poor physical conditions of workplace, tight production norms, defective tools and equipment,
poor quality of materials, unfair rules, lack of recognitions etc.
(c) Supervision: Relates to the attitude of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notion of bias,
favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations, regional feelings etc.
(d) Work group: Employee is unable to adjust with his colleagues, suffers from feelings of neglect, humiliations.
(e) Miscellaneous: These include issues related to certain violations with respect to promotions, safety methods, transfer,
disciplinary rules, fines, granting leave, medical facilities, etc.

Grievance handling procedure


The following guidelines may help a supervisor while dealing with grievance:
 Treat each case as important and get the grievance in writing.
 Talk to the employee directly. Encourage him/her to speak the truth. Give him/her a patient hearing.
 Discuss in a private place. Ensure confidentially if necessary
 Handle each case within a time-frame
 Examine company provisions in each case, Identify violations, if any, Do not hold back the remedy if the company
is wrong. Inform your supervisor about all grievances.
 Get all relevant facts about the grievance, examine the personal records of the aggrieved worker. See whether any
witnesses are available. Visit the work area. The idea is to find where things have gone wrong and who is at fault.
 Gather information from the union representative, what he has to say, what he wants etc. Give short replies,
uncovering the truth as well as provisions. Treat him properly.
 Control your emotions, your remark and behavior
 Maintain proper records and follow up the action taken in each case The essential requirements of a good
grievance procedure are:
 Legality sustainable
 It should be ensured by the organisation that its grievance procedure is in conformity with the existing laws of
nation.
 The procedure cannot violate any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by the law.
 Mutually acceptable
 In order to be effective, the grievance procedure must enjoy the confidence of all the relevant parties, i.e., the
management and the unions. It should not be like a battleground. Procedure must ensure equity, justice and
openness.

12 Write short notes on the following :


a)Competency Mapping
b)Flexi Time
(Competency Mapping , Flexi Time)
c) Competency mapping
Competency mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for an organisation and/or a job and incorporating
those competencies throughout the various processes (i.e., job evaluation, training, recruitment) of the organisation. We
would define competency as a behaviour (i.e., communication, leadership) rather than a skill or ability. The steps involved
in competency mapping with an end result of job evaluation include the following:
1) Conduct a job analysis by asking incumbents to complete a Position Information Questionnaire (PIQ). This can be
provided for incumbents to complete or you can conduct one-on-one interviews using the PIQ as a guide. The primary
goal is to gather, from incumbents, what they feel are the key behaviours necessary to perform their respective jobs.
2) Using the results of the job analysis, you are ready to develop a competency based job description. A sample of a
competency based job description generated from the PIQ may be analysed. This can be developed after carefully
analysing the input from the represented group of incumbents and converting it into standard competencies.
3) With a competency based job description, you are on your way to begin mapping the competencies throughout your
human resources processes. The competencies of the respective job description become your factors for assessment on
the performance evaluation. Using competencies will help guide you to perform more objective evaluations based on
displayed or not displayed behaviours.
4) Taking the competency mapping one step further, you can use the results of your evaluation to identify in what
competencies individuals need additional development or training. This will help you focus your training needs on the
goals of the position and the company and help your employees develop to achieve the ultimate success of the
organisation.
d) Flexi Time

Flexi time is a scheme where an organisation gives its employees the opportunity of a flexible working hours arrangement.
Under flexi time, there is normally a core period of the day when employees must be at work (e.g., between 10 A.M. and
4 P.M.), whilst the rest of the working day is "flexi time", in which the staff can choose when they work, subject to
achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours. An employee must work between the basic core hours and has the
flexibility to clock in/out between the other hours.
An example of a typical flexi time day is below:
 Begin work between 0700 – 1000 (flexitime)
 Must be there between 1000 – 1200 (core time)
 Lunch break between 1200 – 1400 (flexible lunch hour)
 Must be there from 1400 – 1600 (core time)
 Leave between 1600 – 1900 (flexitime)
The hours employees work between these times are credited to their flexi time balance.
For example, if the employees work a 35-hour week, then, over four weeks, they will be obliged to work for 140 hours.
If they work more than the required hours in those four weeks then they will be in credit. If they have enough flexi time
credit they can turn that into time off, and this is one of the best liked features. This could be one or maybe 2 days a month
depending on their scheme.

QNo 13. Explain the objectives and methods of Training.

ANSWER - Training is a process of assisting a person in enhancing his efficiency and effectiveness in a particular work
area by acquiring more knowledge and practices. Training is important to establish specific skills, abilities and
knowledge for an employee. For an organisation, training and development is important for organisational growth.
Acccordingly following are the main objectives of training -

Improving employee performance: When an employee is recruited by an organisation, he might not have all the skills
required to carry out his job. Training at this stage helps him learn his job faster and ensures better performance.

Updating employee skills: It is important for the management to continuously evaluate and adopt any technological
advances that can help the organisation function more effectively and efficiently.

Preparing for promotion and managerial succession: Training helps an employee acquire the skills required to assume
greater responsibilities.

Retaining and motivating employees: One way to motivate and retain employees is through a systematic programme
of career planning and development. Employees feel cared.

Creating an efficient and effective organisation: A manager who has well trained and well equipped employees needs
to spend less time supervising them.

Methods of Training -

Following are a few methods of training:

On-the-job training

Off the job training


ON-THE-JOB TRAINING - The major advantage of this method is that the trainee gets hands-on experience of the job
that has to be performed. The different types of on-the-job training are:

 Job instruction training: In this method trainees can discuss the problems in performing the job immediately
with the trainer.
 Apprenticeship and coaching: Individuals seeking to enter skilled trades, like those of carpenters, electricians
etc, are required to go through formal apprenticeship under experienced employees, before they join their
regular job.
 Job rotation: In this method the trainee is placed on various jobs across different functions in the organisation.
The trainee gains cross-functional knowledge and is equipped to take up different jobs.
 Committee assignments: In this method, a group of employees are assigned an actual organisational problem
and are asked to find a solution. The trainees develop their team-management skills, interpersonal skills,
communication skills, problem-solving skills and leadership skills while solving the problem as a group.

Off the job training

When training is performed on the job, any mistake by the trainee might result in damage to the organisation. Hence,
off the job training can be conducted to minimise this damage. The different types of off the job training are:

Classroom lectures: This approach is widely used for helping the employees. The trainer should actively involve the
trainees and make the session more interactive.

Simulation exercises: In this method of training, the trainee is exposed to an artificial work situation that closely
resembles the actual situation. Simulation exercises are of great help to the employee to learn the task on hand.
Following are a few types of simulation exercises:

 Case exercise – In case study a real life problem encountered in the organisation is presented to the trainees.
 Experiential exercise – In this method, the trainer simulates situations where the employees are exposed to
actual work problems. The trainer can create a situation where employees are asked to work in teams. After
the exercise is complete, the trainer discusses the behaviour of the employees during the exercise, with the
group.
 Computer modelling – Computer modelling is a technique whereby the dimensions of the job are
programmed into the computer. Computer modelling helps in learning directly.
 Vestibule training – In this method, the actual work conditions are simulated and the equipment used by the
trainees is similar to what is used in job.
 Role playing – Roleplay is described as a method of human interaction involving realistic behaviour in an
imaginary situation.

QNO 14. Discuss the elements of a Career Planning Programme. Explain some of the benefits of a Career Planning
program to an organization.

 Elaborate the elements of a Career Planning Programme


 Explaining the benefits of a Career Planning Programme

ANSWER - Elements of a Career Planning Programme - HR departments of almost all large companies and most
medium sized companies have taken a greater interest in employee development programmes. It is the employee’s
responsibility to manage his or her own career, while it is the employers’ responsibility to provide employees with the
tools and opportunities to enhance their skills. There are four distinct elements of career planning programme:
Individual assessment and need analysis - An assessment of the career path and their abilities is needed.on the
contrary it is a career drift.

Organisational assessment and opportunity analysis

For an employee’s goals and aspirations to be fulfilled, a basic requirement is that the goals must be realistic and
achievable. They have to be realistic not only in terms of the employee’s own capabilities, but also in terms of the
organisation’s possibilities.

Need – opportunity alignment

The organisation plays an important role in helping the employee make this alignment. The organisation also has to
make its own alignments to match the aspirations with the organisational opportunities.

Career counselling This is the final stage of career planning. The supervisor as well as the HR department, has to
counsel the employee regarding the available opportunities, the employee’s aspirations and of course, his
competencies

Following are the benefits of career planning to an organisation:

Ensures availability of resources for the future: Career development in an organisation should be in alignment with
the HRP. HRP determines the changing requirements of an organisation and career development helps in meeting the
resource requirements.

Handles employee frustration: Today’s workforce is more knowledgeable and has greater expectations. They desire
more responsibility and greater challenges. A good career development programme can help in handling the
expectations of the employees.

Career management : Career development programmes help in the achievement of career objectives.

Career anchors: It is attitudinal characteristics that guide people throughout their careers.

Enhances organisational ability to attract and retain talent: In a competitive market environment, talented
employees have career opportunities.

Autonomy/Independence: Desire to have freedom and not to be bossed over.

Security/Stability:Individuals who want to be free from any anxiety of uncertainty or insecurity prefer to remain in
the same kind of job and with the same employer.

Technical/Functional competence:-Those with a technical/functional competence exhibit a strong inclination to


develop something which they can call their own, e.g., engineers, scientists, technologists etc.

General management: Have good planning, organising, managing and controlling skills. They have a broader view of
things and play a facilitating role.

Entrepreneurial creativity: Individuals with creativity as an anchor are more often successful as artists, free lancers,
entrepreneurs.
Service: Service as a career anchor drives individuals to take up jobs in not for profit service organisations.

Pure challenge: People who just love to solve difficult problems.

Life-style: For some people, nothing is more important than enjoying life. They have a disinclination to sacrifice life-
style solely for career advancement.

QNO 15.Explain the process of Job Analysis. Discuss the methods of Job Analysis

ANSWER - Job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills,
outcomes and the work environment of a particular job. It is a process of determining and recording all the pertinent
information about a specific job, including the tasks involved, the knowledge and skill set required to perform the job,
the responsibilities attached to the job and abilities required to perform the job successfully. The process of job
analysis involves the execution of a series of related steps. a) Information gathering b) Job-specific competency
determination c) Developing a job description d) Developing a job specification

The following are the methods of job analysis:

Observation methods - In this method, individuals performing the job are observed and relevant points are noted. In
this method, the observer knows what has to be noted and what can be ignored.

Individual interview method : This method is employed when the job in question is complex and has varied tasks.

Group interview method - In this method the employees performing the same job are interviewed in groups.

Questionnaire methods - In this method, the analyst gives a long structural questionnaire to be filled by the
employees.

Technical conference methods - This is a method of gathering all the job related information from ‘Experts’
(Supervisors) and not from the employee(s).

Diary method In this method, incumbents of that particular job make immediate note of the activities they perform.

Functional job analysis - Beginning in the 1940s, Functional Job Analysis (FJA) was used by U.S. Employment Service job
analysts to classify jobs. The most recent version of FJA uses seven scales to describe what workers do in jobs: (1)
Things, (2) Data, (3) People, (4) Worker Instructions, (5) Reasoning, (6) Math, and (7) Language. Like other job analysis
instruments, FJA is a methodology for collecting job information.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) PAQ is another standard method of job analysis that describes jobs in terms of
worker activity.

Critical incident method. Behaviours and specific situations contribute to the success or failure of individuals or
organisation. Interviews and questionnaires can be used to collect and compile information about these critical
incidents and is suitable for middle and top management jobs.

QNO17 Discuss the objectives of Discipline. Explain the Action –penalties of Discipline .

Objectives of Discipline
Explaining the action-penalties of Discipline

ANSWER - Objectives of Discipline - Discipline refers to the employees’ observance of standards set by the
organisation. Webster's Dictionary gives the meanings of the word ‘discipline as follows: "First, it is the training that
corrects, moulds, strengthens or perfects. Second, it is the control gained by enforcing obedience. The third meaning
is punishment or chastisement."

If we analyse various definitions about discipline then we can set the following objectives f discipline:

 To ensure and enable employees to work in accordance with the rules and regulations of the organisation.
 To ensure that employees follow the organisational processes and procedures in spite of their different
personalities and behaviour.
 To provide direction to the employees and fix responsibilities.
 To improve organisational performance by improving the efficiency of each employee.
 To maintain a sense of orderliness and confidence in the employees towards each other and towards the
management.
 To maintain common feelings of trust and confidence in the employees towards each other and towards the
management.

Disciplinary Action and Penalties - There are varying penalties for first, second, and third offences of the same rule.
Following are the commonly practiced actions in business organisations:

Oral reprimand: - The penalties are listed in the general order of severity, from mild to severe. For most cases, an oral
reprimand is sufficient to achieve the desired result. The supervisor must know his or her personnel in determining
how to give a reprimand.

Written warning: When an oral warning or counselling to the employee does not produce the desired result, the
manager may issue a written warning to the employee.

Denial of increments, promotions and pay hikes: On some incidents the management may refuse promotions,
increments or pay hike by blacklisting the employee for a specific period of time.

Pay reductions and disciplinary demotion: This is usually more severe than the denial of pay hikes and promotions
because the employee loses part of existing benefits and privileges received by him from the organisation.

Suspension: A few offences normally require the direct suspension of the employee without any prior warning,
depending upon the nature of the misconduct committed by the employee.

Discharge or dismissal:

Both discharge and dismissal culminate in termination of employment. When the conduct of an employee is deemed
to be mismatched with the faithful discharge of his duties, and undesirable or against the interest of the employer to
continue him in employment, dismissal will be justified.

Mc. Gregor’s Red Hot Stove Rule: It suggests that administering discipline is more like touching a hot stove. According
to Mc. Gregor, action should be immediate, impartial and consistent with a warning such as the results of touching a
red hot stove.

 Immediate: The burn happens as soon as a person touches a red hot stove; like that an employee should be
made to realise immediately if he/she is going against the norms or the rules.
 Impersonal: Regardless of who touches it, the stove causes burns. In the same way the rule applied for a
particular act of indiscipline should reflect the offence and not the person who committed it.
 Consistent: Every time a person touches a red hot stove he receives burns. That is, the result is consistent. In
the same way discipline should be enforced and ensured across every employee and for every situation.
 Foreseeable: The red hot stove warns the individual through the heat it generates, that it will burn if touched.
In the same way employees should be made aware that poor conduct or indiscipline will result in specific,
predetermined consequences.

QNO17. Suppose you have joined as an HR and you have been assigned a task to carry out the grievance handling
procedure in your organization. What according to you are the causes of Grievance? Describe in detail the
Grievance handling procedure.

Causes of Grievance

Explain the Grievance handling procedure

ANSWER - The broadest interpretation of the term ‘grievance’ would include any discontent or dissatisfaction that
affects organisational performance.

Grievances may occur for a number of reasons:

 Economic: Wage fixation, over time bonus, wage revision etc. Employees may feel that they are paid less
when compared to others.
 Work environment: Poor physical conditions of workplace, tight production norms, defective tools and
equipment, poor quality of materials, unfair rules, lack of recognitions etc.
 Supervision: Relates to the attitude of the supervisor towards the employee such as perceived notion of bias,
favoritism, nepotism, caste affiliations, regional feelings etc.
 Work group: Employee is unable to adjust with his colleagues, suffers from feelings of neglect, humiliations.
 Miscellaneous: These include issues related to certain violations with respect to promotions, safety methods,
transfer, disciplinary rules, fines, granting leave, medical facilities, etc.

We can show it from the following diagrm -

Economic

Work Supervision
enviroment
Causes of
Grievences

Workgroup Miscellaneous

In job-related issues such as promotions, compensation and merit hikes, today’s organisations provide for a
transparency in its policies and practices. The increasing focus on skills and competencies for employee reward and
growth do not allow for personal biases that can lead to grievances.
Explain the Grievance handling procedure –

The following guidelines may help a supervisor while dealing with grievance:

Treat each case as important and get the grievance in writing.

Talk to the employee directly. Encourage him/her to speak the truth. Give him/her a patient hearing.

Discuss in a private place. Ensure confidentially if necessary

Handle each case within a time-frame

Examine company provisions in each case, Identify violations, if any, Do not hold back the remedy if the company is
wrong. Inform your supervisor about all grievances.

Get all relevant facts about the grievance, examine the personal records of the aggrieved worker. See whether any
witnesses are available. Visit the work area. The idea is to find where things have gone wrong and who is at fault.

 Gather information from the union representative, what he has to say, what he wants etc. Give short replies,
uncovering the truth as well as provisions. Treat him properly.
 Control your emotions, your remark and behavior
 Maintain proper records and follow up the action taken in each case
 Activity

The essential requirements of a good grievance procedure are:

Legality sustainable

 It should be ensured by the organisation that its grievance procedure is in conformity with the existing laws of
nation.
 The procedure cannot violate any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by the law.

Mutually acceptable

 In order to be effective, the grievance procedure must enjoy the confidence of all the relevant parties, i.e., the
management and the unions

Easily understandable

 The grievance procedure must be reasonably simple and easily understandable.


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

Highly flexible

 The grievance procedure should be flexible enough to respond to the reported grievance quickly. The number
of stages in the grievance procedure should be kept to the minimum.

18 Write a short note on the following :

a)Index /Trend Analysis

b)Delphi Technique
Meaning and steps involved in Index /Trend Analysis 5

Meaning and procedure of Delphi Technique 5

ANSWER – The success of HR plans depends on the accuracy of the HR forecasts that are needed to implement the
organisational strategies. In fact, the accuracy of HR forecasting largely depends on the ability of the forecasting
techniques in rightly projecting the future. Index and trend analysis Delphi Technique are both H R forcasting
techniques.

Index /Trend Analysis - Trend analysis forecasts the requirement for additional manpower by projecting trends of the
past and present to the future. It makes use of operational indices for this. Trend analysis can be used for forecasting
overall Organisation, Aub-units, or Indirect (Staff) and Direct (Line) Manpower requirements.

The Index/Trend analysis involves the following steps:

 Select the appropriate business/operational index – Select a readily available business index, sales level that
is known to have direct influence on the organisational demand for labour.
 Track the index over time – Once the index has been selected, it is necessary to go back in time for at least
four or five most recent years.
 Track the workforce size over time – Record the historical figures of the total number of employees.
 Calculate the average (or most recent) ratio of the business index to the workforce size (‘Employee
Requirement Ratio’) – In this step, the ratio of number of employees required for each thousand rupees of
sales is obtained by dividing each year’s number of employees by the level of sales.
 Calculate the forecasted HR demand – Multiply the annual forecasting for the business index times the
average employee requirement ratio for each future year to arrive at forecasted annual demand for labour.

Expert forecasting or Delphi technique: This method calls for selection of a panel of experts either from within or
outside the organisation.

The procedure of Delphi technique involves the following steps:

 To start with, it requires selection of a coordinator and a panel of experts from both within and outside the
organisation.
 The coordinator then circulates questions in writing to each such expert.
 The experts then write their observations.
 The coordinator then edits those observations and summarises, without however disclosing the majority
opinion in his summary.
 On the basis of his summary, the coordinator develops a new set of questionnaire and circulates those among
the experts.
 Experts then answer such set of questions
 The coordinator repeats the process till such time he is able to synthesise from the opinion of the experts.

The below figure shows the Delphi technique

Q1. Flexi time is a scheme where an organization gives its employees the opportunity of a flexible _________
arrangement.
ANS - working hours

Q2. Employee skill, knowledge and abilities are not sufficient to achieve the desired goals. Additional
__________belief and commitment are required by employees to achieve the desired performance.

ANS - Skills, such as mind-set, values,

Q2.___________, skills, attitude and personality of an individual as required performing current and future
organization.

ANS - Competency is the sum of knowledge

3. __________ is a process that identifies key competencies for an organization and/or a job and incorporating those
competencies of the organization.

Ans - Competency Mapping

4. To conduct a __________ by asking incumbents to complete a position information questionnaire (PIQ) is the first
step in competency mapping.

Ans - Job analysis

05. _______ is contracting with another company or person to do a particular function.

Ans - Outsourcing

6. Business process outsourcing is the assignment of one or more important business processes to ___________.

Ans - External providers

7. The outside firms that are providing the outsourcing services are _______.

Ans - Third-party providers

8. _________ refers to employing and maintaining exact number of employees with required skills, abilities and
knowledge to perform the existing number of jobs in an organisation.

Ans - Right sizing of workforce

9. ___________ results in high labour cost, high cost of production in addition in organisational policies.
Ans - Overstaffing

10. Indian organisations retrench the employees through various schemes like___________ and ______________.

Ans - Voluntary retirement schemes, golden handshakes

10. ________ is a scheme where an organisation gives its employees the opportunity of a flexible working hours
arrangement.

Ans - Flexi time

12. Flexi time increases employee ____________ and ______________

Ans - Satisfaction, production

13. Flexi time benefits employees to avoid the _______of commuting at peak times if their start and finish times are
staggered.

Ans - Stress

14. __________ refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of
knowledge.

Ans - Knowledge Management

15. Knowledge management focuses on processes such as ________, _____________ and _____________ knowledge
and the cultural and technical foundations that support them.

Ans - Acquiring, creating, sharing

16. _______ needs to be chosen only after all the requirements of a knowledge management initiative have been
established.

Ans - Technology

17. ___________ term is usually associated with competency-based HRM practices.

Ans - Talent management


18. Matching the __________ to the right job is an acknowledged need in organisations.

Ans - Right person

17. People are not _________; they cannot be owned or controlled.

Ans - Organisational asset

19. __________ is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organisation and its
values.

Ans - Employee engagement

21. The ______ has gained a lot of importance in employee engagement and it seems to fit into the Indian scenario
very well.

ANS – Hewitt model

22. Organisations can introduce _______ for the employees who outdo themselves for the sake of the business
organisation.

ANS - Spotlight awards

23. According to Section 49, The Factories Act, _______________,every factory having five hundred or more workers
shall employ in the factory such number of Welfare officers as may be prescribed

Ans - 1948,

24.Organisations are obliged to provide employees with a ___ and ____ environment.

Ans - Safe, healthy

25.Main purpose of health and safety _______ is the protection of people and the work environment.

Ans - Policies

25.The objective of labour welfare is to make people _____ and _______.


Ans - Better workforce

26. The purpose of labour welfare is to bring about the development of the whole personality of the workers to make
a _______.

Ans - Better workforce

27. Employee welfare measures increase the _______ of an organisation.

Ans - Productivity

28. 6. Facilities such as housing schemes, medical benefits, and education and recreation facilities for workers’ families
help in raising their ________.

Ans - Standards of living

29. 7. Two types of welfare measures are ________ and ___________.

Ans - Statutory, non-statutory

30. 8. _______ offered by the organisations in compliance with the central and state government regulations.

Ans - Statutory welfare

31. ________ are to be provided by the employer so as to provide hygienic and nutritious food to the employees.

Ans - Canteens

32.Proper and sufficient _____ are to be provided for employees so that they can work safely during the night shifts.

Ans - Lights

33.. ______ have the direct responsibility to provide welfare facilities to the employees.

Ans - Employers

34.The ___________ is empowered to make rules to protect the health, safety and welfare of the employees working
in factory premises.

Ans - Central government

3514. When attrition rate is low in an organisation then the employer needs to earn employee ___________ and
___________.

Ans - Goodwill and loyalt

36.An organisation is made up of its ________.


Ans - People

37. Profitability of an organisation has a direct relationship with the employees’ ____________.

Ans - Productivity

38. ___________ of the employee affects the business as a whole

Ans - Welfare benefits

39. The broadest interpretation of the term grievance ould include any discontent or dissatisfaction that affects
________________________.

Ans - Organisational performance

40. In the language of the labour management relations, a grievance is a complaint formally presented by the
_______________________ to the management.

Ans - Employee or employees

41. The __________________________ states that complaints affecting one or more individual workers in respect of
their wage payments, overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, work assignment and discharges would
constitute grievances.

Ans - Paid less

42Employees may feel that they are _____ when compared to others.

Ans - Paid less

43.Poor physical conditions of _________, tight production norms, defective tools and equipment, poor quality of
materials, unfair rules, lack of recognitions, etc. are the work environment causes of grievance.

Ans - Workplace

44.Employee is unable to adjust with his _________ suffers from feelings of neglect, humiliations.

Ans - Colleagues

45.A _________ arises when legitimate needs of the employees remain unfulfilled.

Ans - Factual grievance

46._______ is when an employee’s dissatisfaction is not because of any valid reason but because of a wrong
perception.
Ans - Imaginary grievance

47.Grievances, if not identified and redressed, may affect ____ the workers, managers and the entire organisation

Ans - Conformity

48. It should be ensured by the organisation that its grievance procedure is in _________ with the existing laws of
nation.

Ans - Conformity

49. The grievance handling procedure cannot __________ any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by the law.

Ans - Violate

50.The number of stages in grievance procedure should be kept to the _______ .

Ans - Minimum

51. When a grievance arises, it has to be settled at the _______ level in the redressal procedure.

Ans - Lowest possible

52. The grievance committee consists of two representatives from the _______, two from the union and one from the
same department in which the concerned employee works.

Ans - Management

53. Grievance procedures keep a check on __________.

Ans - Arbitrary action

54. Good employee conduct might be described as orderly behaviour based on definite standards catalysed
by_______.

Ans - Effective leadership


55. Rules should be uniformly __________if they are to be effective.

Ans - Enforced

56. A disciplinary policy should be preventive rather than__________.

Ans - punitive

57.Conditions contributing to ______________________ are caused by weaknesses within the organisational


structure or by external factors.

Ans - Poor discipline

58. As far as possible, all the rules should be framed in cooperation and collaboration with the ___________ of
employees.

Ans - Representatives

59 ___________ should be uniformly enforced if they are to be effective.

Ans - Rules

60.A disciplinary policy should be __________ rather than punitive.

Ans - preventive

61.The ___________________ should issue only verbal and written warnings.

Ans - Line Executive

62.While finalising the rules, _________________ should be given the opportunity to express freely their views.

Ans - Everyone

63. An employee should realise the ___________ of his/her inappropriate behaviour.

Ans - Consequence

64.The supervisor must know his or her employee in determining how to give a ________________.

Ans - reprimand

65. Since a written reprimand is more permanent than a ________________ one, it is considered a more severe
penalty
Ans - Oral

66. Both discharge and dismissal culminate in __________ of employment.

Ans - Termination

67. When the management of an organisation wants to initiate an enquiry against an employee for alleged
misconduct, the concerned employee is issued a ________.

Ans - charge sheet

68. The _________ should clearly indicate the charges against the employee and seek an explanation for the
employee’s misconduct.

Ans - Charge sheet

69. In case the employee feels that the enquiry is ____________ and that the disciplinary action is unjust, he should be
given a chance to make an appeal.

Ans - biased

70. One of the most useful definitions of Human Resources Management (HRM) is provided by Fisher, Schoendfelt and
Shaw in their book “______________,“

Ans - Human Resources Management

71. A HR Manager has to build an effective ____________, handle the expectations of the employees and ensure that
they perform at their best.

Ans – Workforce

72.One of the major objectives of HRM is to act as a link between the ____________ and __________.

Ans - Top management and the employees

73. HRM examines the various HR processes that are concerned with attracting, managing, ______ and ______
employees for the benefit of the organisation.

Ans - motivating, developing


74. _________ is considered to be the father of scientific management.

Ans - Fredrick Taylor

75. __________ suggested that employee productivity was not only influenced by the way the job was designed and
the economic rewards but also by certain social and psychological factors.

Ans - Hawthorne studies

76. __________ approach states that HR policies and practices should be in alignment with the goal of balancing
individual and organization’s needs.

Ans - Human Resource

77.__________ is the future course of action that includes identifying human resource requirements and forecasting
personnel needs.

Ans - Planning

78. ___________ are the rewards that an employee earns in addition to regular wages or salary based on the
performance of the individual, team or the organisation.

Ans - Incentives

79. ____________ are monetary and non-monetary benefits given to employees during their employment.

Ans - Fringe benefits

80. The administrative role of the HR involves record keeping and ____________.

Ans - Legal compliance

81.Ans ___________ HR employees link the top management and employees.

Ans - Employeee Advocate

82. As an _______ HR specialists are responsible for ensuring that all members of the management perform their
respective roles concerned with the effective use of HR.

Ans - Auditor

83. The scope of HRM can be divided into___________, HR in employee welfare, HR in industrial relations.

Ans - HRM in personnel management


84. HRM in India is structurally well-researched.

Ans - False

85. The tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty is high in the Indian workforce.

Ans - False

86. Tolerance for diversity is high among Indians and therefore not much HR efforts are needed to practice tolerance
towards others points of view.

Ans - True

87. Indian employees require cultural events and activities in the organisation.

Ans - True

88. There is a natural urge for Indian employees to collaborate at the workplace, work in teams and groups with ease.

Ans - True

89. The challenges HR managers face is the issue of upgrading the skill set of employees through ________ in the face
of high attrition.

Ans - Training and development

90. 7. Most of Indian companies are committed to provide ___________ opportunities for all.

Ans - Equal employment

91.Human Resource Management has taken a leading role in encouraging ________ activities at all levels.

Ans - Corporate Social Responsibility

92. Organisations are changing their HR policies to retain their _________.

Ans - Valuable employees

93. The most important use of technology in HRM is an organisation’s __________.


Ans - Human Resource Information system

94. Technological and ___________ trends are in turn producing changes in the nature of jobs and work.

Ans - globalisation

95. ___________ means establishing a heterogeneous workforce to perform to its potential in an equitable work
environment where no member or group of members has an advantage or a disadvantage.

Ans - Managing diversity

96. An enormous shift from manufacturing jobs to _____ is observed in workforce diversity.

Ans - Service jobs

97. HRP has to take into account the __________ for individual employees and ___________ in the organisation.

Ans - Career planning, succession planning

98. Human resource planning helps to __________ the turnover/attrition rates.

Ans - Forecast

99. Manpower planning consists of ___________future manpower and developing manpower plans for the
__________ of the projections.

Ans - Projecting, implementation

100.Human Resource Planning is essential because of frequent _________ which is unavoidable and even beneficial.

Ans - Labour Turnover

111. Manpower Planning is required in order to meet the needs of _________ programmes that become necessary
because of increase in the demand for goods and services.

Ans - expansion

112. Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify areas in which there is a __________ of personnel.

Ans - Surplus

113.The success of HR plans depends on the accuracy of the ________ that are needed to implement the
organisational strategies.
Ans - HR forecasts

114. ______ calls for selection of a panel of experts either from within or outside the organisation.

Ans - Delphi Technique

115. In __________ past staffing levels (instead of work load indicators) are used to project future human resource
requirements.

Ans - Time series

116. Successful HR planning calls for establishing HRP as an integral part of the _______________ activities.

Ans - Corporate planning

QNO117. A HR Manager has to build an effective ____________, handle the expectations of the employees and
ensure that they perform at their best.

ANSWER – Workforce

QNO118. One of the major objectives of HRM is to act as a link between the ____________ and __________.

ANSWER - Top management and the employees

QNO119.HRM examines the various HR processes that are concerned with attracting, managing, ______ and ______
employees for the benefit of the organisation.

ANSWER - motivating, developing

QNO120. Match the following:

 . Personnel management (a) working conditions and workplace amenities


 ANSWER - c) direct manpower management
 . Employee welfare (b) promotes industrial democracy

 ANSWER - (a) Working conditions and workplace amenities


 . Industrial relations (c) Direct manpower management

 ANSWEER - (b) promotes industrial harmony

QNO121. Fill in the blanks:

. _________ is considered to be the father of scientific management.

ANSWER - Fredrick Taylor

8. __________ suggested that employee productivity was not only influenced by the way the job was designed and
the economic rewards but also by certain social and psychological factors.

ANSWER - Hawthorne studies

122.__________ approach states that HR policies and practices should be in alignment with the goal of balancing
individual and organisation’s needs.

ANSWER - Human Resource

123. __________ is the future course of action that includes identifying human resource requirements and forecasting
personnel needs.

ANSWER - Planning

124. ___________ are the rewards that an employee earns in addition to regular wages or salary based on the
performance of the individual, team or the organisation.

ANSWER - Incentives

125. ____________ are monetary and non-monetary benefits given to employees during their employment.

ANSWER - Fringe benefits

126.The administrative role of the HR involves record keeping and ____________.

ANSWER - Legal compliance

127. As an ___________ HR employees link the top management and employees.


ANSWER - Employee Advocate

128.An _______ HR specialists are responsible for ensuring that all members of the management perform their
respective roles concerned with the effective use of HR.

ANSWER - Auditor

129. The broadest interpretation of the term grievance ould include any discontent or dissatisfaction that affects
________________________.

Answer - Organisational performance

130. In the language of the labour management relations, a grievance is a complaint formally presented by the
_______________________ to the management.

Answer – Employee or employees

131. The __________________________ states that complaints affecting one or more individual workers in respect of
their wage payments, overtime, leave, transfer, promotion, seniority, work assignment and discharges would
constitute grievances.

Answer - National Commission of Labour

132. Employees may feel that they are _____ when compared to others.

Answer – Paid less

133. Poor physical conditions of _________, tight production norms, defective tools and equipment, poor quality of
materials, unfair rules, lack of recognitions, etc. are the work environment causes of grievance.

Answer - Workplace

134. Employee is unable to adjust with his _________ suffers from feelings of neglect, humiliations.

Answer - Colleagues

135. A _________ arises when legitimate needs of the employees remain unfulfilled.

Answer – Factual grievance


136. _______ is when an employee’s dissatisfaction is not because of any valid reason but because of a wrong
perception.

Answer - Imaginary grievance

137. Grievances, if not identified and redressed, may affect ____ the workers, managers and the entire organisation

Answer – Adversely

138. It should be ensured by the organisation that its grievance procedure is in _________ with the existing laws of
nation.

Answer - Conformity

139. The grievance handling procedure cannot __________ any of the rights of the employees guaranteed by the law.

Answer - Violate

140. The number of stages in grievance procedure should be kept to the _______ .

Answer - minimum

141. When a grievance arises, it has to be settled at the _______ level in the redressal procedure.

Answer - Lowest possible

142. The grievance committee consists of two representatives from the _______, two from the union and one from
the same department in which the concerned employee works.

Answer - Management

143. Grievance procedures keep a check on __________.

Answer - Arbitrary action

144. ________________ is the observance of principles, rules or any other laid down procedures, practices, written or
otherwise in the organisation by the employees or group of employees, to whom these apply, for smooth and
effective functioning of the organisation.

Answer - Discipline
145. According to ____________________, "discipline may be considered as a force that prompts individuals or
groups to observe the rules, regulations and procedures which are deemed to be necessary for the effective
functioning of an organisation.”

Answer - Richard. D. Calhoon

146. Conditions contributing to ______________________ are caused by weaknesses within the organisational
structure or by external factors.

Answer - Poor discipline

147. As far as possible, all the rules should be framed in cooperation and collaboration with the ___________ of
employees.

Answer - Representatives

148. ___________ should be uniformly enforced if they are to be effective.

Answer - Rules

149 A disciplinary policy should be __________ rather than punitive.

Ans - preventive

150.The ___________________ should issue only verbal and written warnings.

Answer - Line Executive

151. While finalising the rules, _________________ should be given the opportunity to express freely their views.

Answer - Everyone

152. An employee should realise the ___________ of his/her inappropriate behaviour.

Answer - Consequence

153. The supervisor must know his or her employee in determining how to give a ________________.

Answer - reprimand

154. Since a written reprimand is more permanent than a ________________ one, it is considered a more severe
penalty.

Answer - Oral

155. Both discharge and dismissal culminate in __________ of employment.

Answer - Termination
156. When the management of an organisation wants to initiate an enquiry against an employee for alleged
misconduct, the concerned employee is issued a ________.

Answer - charge sheet

157. The _________ should clearly indicate the charges against the employee and seek an explanation for the
employee’s misconduct.

Answer - Charge sheet

158. In case the employee feels that the enquiry is ____________ and that the disciplinary action is unjust, he should
be given a chance to make an appeal.

Answer - biased

159. ________ is a recording of all the activities involved in a job and the skill and knowledge requirements of the
performer of the job.

ANSWER - Job analysis

160. Job analysis helps in identifying the _________ for a position.

ANSWER - key responsibility area

161. Job analysis plays a key role in ______ and ______ the performance appraisal system in an organisation.

ANSWER - designing, managing

162. First stage in job analysis is to gather all the necessary ___________.

Answer - information

163. In ________ the tasks, responsibilities, duties and functions of the job are prepared.

ANS - Job description

164. In ___ method individuals performing the job are observed and relevant points are noted. It includes what was
done and how was it done

ANSWER - Observation

165. ___________ is a method of gathering the job related information from ‘Experts’ (Supervisors) and not from
employee.

ANSWER - Technical conference method

166. In _________ method incumbents of that particular job make immediate note of the activities they perform.

ANSWER - Diary Method

167. A ________ is a written statement of the minimum acceptable qualifications, knowledge, skill traits, and physical
and mental characteristics that an employee can perform the job successfully.
ANSWER - . Job specification

168. The _________ describes in detail the various aspects of a job such as the tasks involved, the responsibilities of
the job and the deliverables. It also describes the setting and work environment of the job.

ANSWER - Job description

169. _________ Include stability, adaptability and flexibility, social specifications include ability to work in a team, lead
a team, maintain interpersonal relationship.

ANSWER - Emotional specifications

170. According to _________ approach job should be designed taking a holistic view of both physical and social
environments.

ANSWER - Sociotechnical Approach

171. ______ enhances employee motivation by periodically assigning the employee to alternative jobs.

ANSWER- Job rotation

172. ______ involves increasing the length and hence the operating time of each cycle of work for the job holder.

ANSWER - Job enlargement

173. ________ is done by redesigning jobs so as to increase both their scope and their depth.

ANSWER - Job enrichment

174. HRIS has three elements, namely _________, ___________ and_______.

ANSWER - Input, process, output

175. Objective of HRIS is to increase the ability of the ________________ to influence new opportunities.

ANSWER - Human resource management

176. ________ facilitate the HR managers to devote more time to strategic issues.

ANSWER - Human resource information system

177. ________ refers to all employee-related data. HR policies, procedures, corporate goals and information about the
statutory provisions entered into HRIS for conversion into the desired form of output.
ANSWER - INPUT

178. __________ helps in storing and processing of data by a computer with help of the software that issues
instructions for processing.

ANSWER - Data Processing

179. ______ is the final stage of an HRIS process.

ANS - OUTPUT

180. The purpose of HRIS at the _______ level is collecting, storing, manipulating, and analyzing retrieving and
distributing relevant information of human resources in the organization.

ANSWER - Electronic data processing

181. _________ is a system that provides information to managers, who use it for decision making.

ANSWER - Management Information System

182. __________ helps users in simulating situations and making decisions.

ANSWER - Decision Support System

183. Fill in the blanks

10. ____________ is to give support to recruitment process and to streamline the overall recruitment process.

ANSWER - Applicant tracking system

184. The ________ aims at computing employee payments through an integrated payroll system.

ANSWER - Compensation management system

185. The ______ module brings the identified and selected employees into the succession channel.

ANSWER - Succession planning

186. ________ must clearly decide about the need for an HRIS in the organization.

ANSWER - Management

187. Implementation of HRIS is __________ for an organization.

ANSWER - Expensive

188. ________ projects are typically quoted either on daily rate basis or by project basis.

ANSWER - HRIS Implementation


189. HRIS _____ the processes for key HR functions which ensure that there is uniformity in the performance of HR
activities in the entire organization.

ANSWER - Standardizes

190. HRIS has an ability to reduce the _________ in the HR department significantly.

ANSWER - Labor requirement

191. HRIS enable its users to have anytime, anywhere access with __________ channels.

ANSWER - Multiple channels

192. _______ has a deep effect on organization that implements them.

ANSWER - HRIS

193. Some companies depend too much on _________ to perform HRIS implementation.

ANSWER – Consulting firms

194. __________ help employees to understand the HRIS well.

ANSWER - Training programmer

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