SMU BBA 4 BB0018 ASSIGNMENT SOLVED

Bachelor of Business Administration-BBA Semester 4

BB0018 – Human Resource Management – 2 Credits

(Book ID: B0079 & B0080)

Assignment Set- 1 (30 Marks)

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q1. After completing MBA from a premium business school, Mr. Ravi joined Simax, a medium sized leather manufacturing company, as an Assistant HR Manager. As an HR Manager he has various roles and responsibilities.

List out all the possible roles and responsibilities of Mr. Ravi and relate it with the Organizational functioning. Also, what are the expected qualities he should posses to accomplish his job successfully? (10 marks)

A1. As an asst. HR manager Mr. Ravi has some specific roles and responsibilities in his position.

·         He must plan for recruitment, manpower planning search for the sources for future manpower and to take action accordingly

·         He will be responsible for training and development programs ,executing them and evaluate

·         Promotion, transfers and lay offs

·         Welfare functions like canteen, recreation, benefits and other facilities

·         Wages and salary administration

·         Maintaining a congenial environment

·         Designing schemes for performance appraisal

·         Keeping records of leave absenteeism etc.

·         Maintaining good industrial relations by keeping in touch with unions and other external parties

·         Audit research regarding human resource and human relations

These above mentioned roles have a great effect on organizational functioning as human resource is the most important component of any organization. Functions of production, marketing finance and other services mainly depend on efficiency of a person doing it. If the human resource is strong the whole organisation  progresses well If the HR department satisfies the needs of the employees they give maximum to the organization

·         He should possess

·         Planning skills

·         Organizing qualities i.e. who will do what and how

·         Leading qualities

·         Controlling qualities i.e.  to monitor and take corrective actions if necessary

·         Communication qualities

·         Decision making skills human relation skill

Q.2 Human Resource Planning (HRP) is a crucial process in an Organization. Explain what

is HRP. And list out around 10 external and internal factors affecting HRP. (10 marks)

A.2 Human resource planning refers to the process by which organizations determine

their current and future requirements of human resources in terms of number of people as well as the kind of people needed, and determine the ways and means of meeting these requirements. It is a process which enables the organization to have the right people at right time and right place. It involves determining the manpower requirements of the organization in light of its operations, plans and strategies and organization structure. Specific steps of human resource planning process include:

1. Establishing the total manpower requirements for different planning horizons.
2. Taking inventory of current manpower availability.
3. Anticipating changes in current manpower availability due to normal process such as improvement in abilities through skill, promotion, retirement and resignations.
4. Establishing net shortage anticipated in case no specific action is taken to influence the availability of manpower.
5. Determine the nature of actions such as recruitment, and training to be taken to meet the total manpower requirement. These actions also cover changes in policies and practices of conditions of employment to attract and retain the right number of employees in the company.

Human resource planning is influenced by many factors both within and outside the organization. These include:

Internal factors

o    Organizational plans which determine the overall level of operations or activities of the organization.

o    Organizational strategy and structure.

o    Current manpower availability in the organization.

o    Human resource policies and practices of the organization. Among others this includes the policies and practices relating to remuneration and other conditions of employment.

o    Organizational culture.

External factors

o    General availability of kind of manpower required by the organization.

o    General employment policies and practice and policies followed in the industry and in economy.

o    Government regulation governing conditions of employment.

o    Rate of changes in different factors in the environment including in marketplace that determine the nature of challenges faced by the company.

o    General culture of the society within which the organization operates including any sub-culture that may exist for different groups of prospective employees.

Q.3 Write short notes on: (10 marks)

a) Job description

b) Job design

c) Job enlargement

d) Job enrichment

A.3 Job Description A job description is a list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range. Job descriptions are usually narrative, but some may instead comprise a simple list of competencies; for instance, strategic human resource planning methodologies may be used to develop a competency architecture for an organization, from which job descriptions are built as a shortlist of competencies. A job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis considers the areas of knowledge and skills needed for the job. A job usually includes several roles. The job description might be broadened to form a person specification or may be known as Terms of Reference A job description may include relationships with other people in the organization: Supervisory level, managerial requirements, and relationships with other colleagues. A job description need not be limited to explaining the current situation, or work that is currently expected; it may also set out goals for what might be achieved in future. Prescriptive job descriptions may be seen as a hindrance in certain circumstances: Job descriptions may not be suitable for some senior managers as they should have the freedom to take the initiative and find fruitful new directions. Job descriptions may be too inflexible in a rapidly-changing organization, for instance in an area subject to rapid technological change Other changes in job content may lead to the job description being out of date. The process that an organization uses to create job descriptions may not be optimal.

Job Design- Definition - Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. Through job design, organizations try to raise productivity levels by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of one's work. Job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, and job simplification are the various techniques used in a job design exercise.

Job Enlargement - Job enlargement expands job horizontally. It increases job scope; that is, it increases the number of different operations required in a job and the frequency with which the job cycle is repeated. By increasing the number of tasks an individual performs, job enlargement, increases the job scope, or job diversity. Instead of only sorting the incoming mail by department, for instance, a mail sorter’s job could be enlarged to include physically delivering the mail to the various departments or running outgoing letters through the postage meter.  Efforts at job enlargement have met with less than enthusiastic results. As one employee who experienced such a redesign on his job remarked, “ Before I had one lousy job. Now, through enlargement, I have three!”. So while job enlargement attacks the lack of diversity in over specialised jobs, it has done little to provide challenge or meaningfulness to a workers’ activities

Job Enrichment - Job enrichment, as it is currently practiced in industry, is a direct outgrowth of Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of motivation. It is, therefore, based on the assumption that in order to motivate personnel, the job itself must provide opportunities for achievement recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth. The basic idea is to restore to jobs the elements of interest that were taken away under intensive specialisation. At this stage it may be necessary to draw a distinction between job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. Job enrichment tries to embellish the job with factors that Herzberg characterised as motivators: Achievement, recognition, increased responsibilities, opportunities for growth, advancement and increased competence. There is an attempt to build into jobs a higher sense of challenge and achievement, through vertical job loading. Vertical job loading entails redesigning jobs to give:

 1. Greater responsibility,

 2. Greater autonomy,

 3. More immediate feedback to the individual or group. This might include transferring some of the superior’s activities to subordinates.

Horizontal job loading might be applied by having workers perform some of the steps that precedes and follow them in the work flow. A single operator might fit on all four fenders, be responsible for the car’s entire front end, or do both rough and finished painting

 

Bachelor of Business Administration-BBA Semester 4

BB0018 – Human Resource Management – 2 Credits

(Book ID: B0079& B0080)

Assignment Set- 2

Q.1 Explain training. Why is training needed? What are the various training methods used by organizations?

Ans. Training: After an employee is selected placed and introduced he or she must be provided with training facilities. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job. Training is a short term educational process and utilising a systematic and organised procedure by which employees learn technical knowledge and skills for a definite purpose.

Dale S. Beach defines the training as “the organised procedure by which people learn knowledge and or skill for a definite purpose”.

Importance of Training: Training is the most important technique of HRD. No organisation can get a candidate who exactly matches with the job and the organisational requirements. Hence training is important to develop the employee and make him suitable to the job. Job and organisational requirements are not static, they are changed from time to time in view of technological advancement and change in the awareness of the Total Quality and Productivity Management (TQPM). The objectives of the TRPM can be achieved only through training as training develops human skills and efficiency trained employees would be valuable asset to an organisation. Organisational efficiency, productivity, progress and development to a greater extent depend on training. Organisational objectives like viability, stability and growth can also be achieved through training. Training is important as it constitutes significant part of management control.

The training programmes commonly used to train operative and supervisory personnel. The programmes are classified into on the job and off the job training programmes. On the job training methods: This is also called as job instruction training. Under this method, the individual is placed on a regular job and taught the skills necessary to perform that job. The trainee learns under the supervision and guidance of a qualified worker or instructor. On the job training methods include –

a) Job Rotation: This type of training involves the movement of the trainee from one job to another.

b) Coaching: The trainee is placed under particular supervisor functions as a coach in training the individual.

c) Job Instruction: Under this method, trainer explains the trainee the way of doing the jobs, job knowledge and skills and allows him to do the job.

Q.2 Explain the salient features of “Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972”.

Ans. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

A) Coverage: The Act implies to every factory, mine oilfield, plantation, port and Railway Company and to every shop or establishment in which 10 or more persons are employed, or were employed, on any day of the preceding 12 months. The Act makes all persons employed in the above establishments eligible for gratuity irrespective of their wages.

B) Administration: The Act is administered by a controlling authority appointed by the appropriate Government.

C) Benefits under the Act: Gratuity is payable to an employee on the termination of his employment after he has rendered continuous service for not less than 5yrs. The compensation of continuous service of five years is however, not necessary where the termination of the employment due to death or disablement. Gratuity is payable at the rate of  5 days wages based on the rate of wages last drawn by the employee for every completed year of service or part thereof in excess of six months. But the amount of gratuity payable to an employee shall not exceed Rs.3.5 lakhs.

D) Source of Funds: Under the Act, gratuity is payable entirely by the employer. For this purpose he is required either (I) to obtain insurance with the Life Insurance Corporation, or (ii) to establish a gratuity fund. Thus it is his liability to pay the premium in the first case and to make contribution in the second case.

Q.3 ‘Maslow’s Need Hierarchy’ is an important theory of motivation. Explain this theory by taking the example of a fresher who joins a company and wants to move ahead in his career and life. Try to arrange his level of needs according to this theory.

Ans. Maslow's theory of need hierarchy holds that that all human motivation can be divided in five categories arranged in a hierarchical levels of needs in terms of development of their strength and importance in influencing behaviour. These five types of needs are:

·         Physiological need

·         Security need

·         Affiliation need

·         Self esteem (ego ) need

·         Self actualization need.

Any individual is initially motivated by a lowest level need in the hierarchy, till that need is reasonably satisfied. The next level need develops or becomes strong only when all the previous level needs have been satisfied.

Thus, a person whose physiological needs such as that for food, shelter and clothing are not met, will be predominantly motivated by these needs. However once these needs are satisfied, the person is no longer motivated by such needs. The individual is then become concerned with satisfying the security needs, which is the need to preserve and protect the self including life as well as other possessions.

The next level needs for affiliation that is needed to become part of social groups and be accepted as member such groups. Begins to influence behaviour only when the needs at two lower levels have been satisfied. Similarly the need at fourth level in the hierarchy, the self esteem need grows strong enough to influence behaviour only when the needs at three lower levels have been satisfied. With the development of this need the person becomes motivated by the desire to feel important and better than others among the eyes of other. This can also be described by saying that the ego of the person becomes stronger.

At the highest level of need hierarchy is the self actualization need, which develops only when all lower level needs have been satisfied. When self actualization needs develops a person seeks pleasure in achieving his potential. An individual motivated by self actualization need, is no longer dependent on appreciation from others to feel happy. The individual feels happy by his or her personal assessment of job performed, or for having done something worthwhile, or for becoming what one is capable of becoming - that is actualizing the potential of the self.

Maslow's theory applies to all the activities of an individual that often span his or her entire life, not to a small part in life of a person in a limited role. However, to illustrate the theory, we will try to build an example based on a fresher joining a company.

A fresher joining a company is initially concerned about what kind of physical life he or she will have, and how difficult the work routine will be. He will thus be concerned about things that affect how comfortable and convenient the work will be.

When reasonably assured about these matters, he or she will become concerned about maintaining his or her position, in terms his position and earnings in the company. After spending some time in the company he will start developing personal relationship with some of the people in the company to meet the affiliation needs. Next the employee will try to impress people in the organization just to feel important and be admired by them. Once the ego needs have been sufficiently satisfied in this way, he or she is likely to engage in the same old activities not to impress other but because he or she enjoys those activities, and for the purpose of producing something worthwhile.