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M.S.-02

Management of Human Resources

ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2013-2014)
Disclaimer / Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Tutor for the help of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the questions of the Assignments. Sample answers may be Seen as the Guide/Reference Book/Assignment Guide. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult you Teacher / Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer.

Q. 1. What are the primary objectives, focus, and purpose of Selection Tests and Interview in the whole process of Hiring in organizational set up? Critically examine their usefulness, and importance in the short term and long term functioning and culture of the organization. Draw from the experiences you are familiar with. Describe the organization and the situation you are referring to. Ans. SELECTION TESTS When looking for a job it is very easy to concentrate entirely on what you can get out of a new position, and how you should prepare. Instead try looking at the recruiting process from an employers point of view. Recruiting personnel is a long and expensive process. It is very important that a company gets it right, if the company hires someone that turns out to be unsuitable then it costs time, money and potential new clients. Individuals differ in many respects including job related abilities and skills. In order to select a right person for the job, individual differences in abilities and skills to be adequately and accurately measured for comparison. According to Lee J. Groobach, A test is a systematic procedure for comparing the behaviour of two or more persons. Milton M. Blum defines test as A sample of an aspect of individuals behaviour, performance and attitude. In simple words, test is a systematic procedure for sampling human behaviour. Tests may be for psychological testing and for testing specific abilities and skills. Psychological tests may be conducted for various purposes: (i) Guiding and counselling (ii) Career guidance (iii) Research on human behaviour and personality (iv) Employment selection for placement (v) For appraising employees promotional potentials (vi) For counselling to perform better in their jobs.

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Types of Tests: Broadly there are two types of tests viz., (a) Ability tests, and (b) Personality tests. (a) Ability Tests 1. Aptitude tests 2. Achievement tests 3. Intelligence tests 4. Judgement tests (b) Personality Tests 1. Interest tests 2. Personality inventory tests 3. Projective tests 4. Attitude tests Ability Tests Aptitude Test: Aptitude tests measure ability and skills of the candidate. These tests measure and indicate how well a person would be able to perform after training. Thus, aptitude tests are used to predict the future ability. There are two objectives of the aptitude tests. (i) To advice youth or job seekers regarding the field where they are likely to succeed. This is called vocational guidance. (ii) To select best persons for jobs where they may succeed. This is called vocational selection. There are specific aptitude tests for mechanical aptitude test, clerical aptitude test, management aptitude test etc. Achievement Test: Achievement test measures the persons potential in a given area or job. In other words, these tests measure what a person can do based on skill or knowledge already acquired. Intelligence Test: Intelligence tests measure general ability for intellectual performance. The core concept underlying the intelligence test is mental age. It is presumed that with physical age, intelligence also grows. There may be exceptions to this rule. If a five year old child does the test for six years or above, his or her mental age would be determined accordingly. Mental age is generally indexed in terms of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and is calculated using the following formula: IQ = Mental age/ Actual age100 It means that IQ is a ratio of mental age to actual age multiplied by 100. IQ levels may vary because of culture and exposure. Intelligence testing in industry is based on the assumption that if organization can get bright, alert employees quick at learning, it can train them faster than those who are less endowed. Judgement Test: These tests are designed to know the ability to apply knowledge in solving a problem.

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Personality Tests Interest Tests: These tests discover a persons area of interest and to find the kind of work that would satisfy him. The most widely used interest test is Kuder Reference Record. It consists of three forms. The first form measures vocational interest such as mechanical, computational, artistic, literary, music and clerical interest. The second form measures vocational interest such as group activities, avoiding conflicts etc. The third form of interest measures preference to particular occupations such as accountants, salesman, managerial position etc. Personality Tests: These tests are also known as personality inventories. These tests are designed to measure the dimensions of personality i.e. personality traits such as interpersonal competence, dominance, submission, extroversions introversions, selfconfidence, ability to lead and ambition. Projective Tests: These tests are based on pictures or incomplete items. The candidate is asked to narrate or project his own interpretation on these. The way in which the candidate responds, reflects his or her own values, motives, attitude, apprehensions, personality etc. These tests are called projective because they induce the candidate to put him or her into the situation to project the test situation. Aptitude Tests: These tests are designed to know the candidates tendencies towards favouring or otherwise to people, situations, actions and a host of such other things. Test of social responsibility, authoritarianism, study of values, employees morale are the wellknown examples of attitude tests. Advantages of Testing: The merits of testing for selection are many. (i) Such tests predict future performance of personnel and for transfer, promotion etc. (ii) It is a method of diagnoses of the situation and behaviour. (iii) Cost effective as test administered to a group saves time and cost. (iv) Uncovers qualifications and talents, which cannot be detected from application blanks and interviews. (v) Tests serve as unbiased tools of selection process. (vi) Tests being quantifiable yield themselves to scientific and statistical analysis. Developing Test Programme The main steps are: (a) Deciding the Objectives: The objectives of the test programme may be hiring, promoting and counselling of people. (b) Analyzing Jobs: Jobs are duly analysed to identify as to which human traits and skills are necessary for the job. (c) Choosing Tests to Measure Characteristics: reliability, validity, ease of administration, costs involved are important criteria in the choice. (d) Administration of tests (e) Test results and evaluation.

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Interview Selection Interview: The next step in the selection process is employment interview. Interview is the widely used selection method. It is a face-to-face interaction between interviewer and the interviewee. If handled properly, it can be a powerful technique in having accurate information of the interview otherwise not available. Four types of interview for selection have been identified. They are: 1. Preliminary Interview: This process would be initiated to screen the applicants to decide whether further detailed interview will be required. The candidate is given freedom by giving job details during the interview to decide whether the job will suit him. This method saves time and money for the company. 2. Patterned Interview: In this type of interview, the pattern of the interview is decided in advance. What kind of information is to be sought or given, how the interview is to be conducted and how much time is to be allotted, all these are worked in advance. In case the interviewer drifts he or she is swiftly guided back to structural questions. Such interviews are also called as standardized interviews. 3. Depth Interview: Under this method, the interview tries to portray the interview in depth and detail. Accordingly the life history of the applicant along with his or her work experience, academic qualifications, health, attitude, interest and hobbies are all analysed. 4. Stress interview: Such interviews are conducted for the jobs which are to be performed under stressful conditions. The objective of stress interview is to make deliberate attempts to create stressful or strained conditions for the interview to observe how the applicant behaves under stressful conditions. The common methods used to induce stress include frequency interruptions, keeping silent for an extended period of time, asking too many questions at a time, making derogatory remarks about the candidate, accusing him that he is lying and so on. The purpose is to observe how the candidate behaves under the successful conditions whether he looses his temper, gets confused or frightened. How to make successful Interview? 1. The interview should have a definite time schedule. This should be let known both to the interviewer and interviewee. 2. Interview should be conducted by the competent, trained and experienced interviewers. 3. The interviewers should be supplied with specific set of guidelines for conducting interview. 4. A resume for all the candidates to be interviewed should be prepared and the same be made available to the interviewers before the interview starts. 5. The interview should not end abruptly but it should come to close tactfully providing satisfaction to the interviewer. 6. The interviewers should show their sensitivity to the interviewees sentiments and also sympathetic towards him or her. 7. The interviewers should also evince emotional maturity and a stable personality during the interview session.

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Arrangements for Interviews: The manager is responsible for scheduling dates and times for interviews directly with the short listed candidates and notifying the candidates of any selection tests that will be used. The manager must then notify HR of these arrangements and HR will confirm via letter or email to the short-listed candidates the following details: Date, time and place of the interview. Instructions on how to find their way to the interview venue. A request that they contact the author of the letter/message if they have any special requirements in relation to the interview (related to access to the venue or any other special need related to a disability). If appropriate, details of any test or presentation they will be required to take or anything they should bring with them (e.g. examples of work or proof of qualifications that are essential to the post). At the time of interview the purpose of interviewing is to appoint the best person for the job based solely on merit and suitability. The recruitment and selection framework achieves this by using methods that are systematic, thorough, fair, unbiased and based on rational, objective, job related criteria. At the interview, each candidate should be treated consistently. To achieve this, the panel should: Ask the same initial questions of each candidate. Supplement their understanding of the candidates responses by following up questions as appropriate. Be consistent in allowing access to presentation material, notes and so on. Not allow any discriminatory questions, harassment, or any other conduct which breaches the equal opportunities policy or code of conduct. Ensure that in the case of disabled candidates, the necessity for any reasonable adjustments that would be required on the job are explored in a positive manner. Assessment of disabled candidates should be based on their expected performance in the job, given that any reasonable adjustment required was provided. Keep in mind that information obtained throughout the selection process is treated as confidential and is known only to parties involved in the selection process. Keep records of interviews and the reasons for decisions returning this information to HR for filing (and disposal six months later). Panel members must be aware that it is their responsibility to ensure recruitment/interview documentation is stored securely and confidentially whilst in their possession. Advantages of Interview Useful for determining if the applicant has requisite communicative or social skills which may be necessary for the job. Interviewer can obtain supplementary information. Used to appraise candidates verbal fluency. Can assess the applicants job knowledge. Can be used for selection among equally qualified applicants.

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Enables the supervisor and/or co-workers to determine if there is compatibility between the applicant and the employees. Allows the applicant to ask questions that may reveal additional information useful for making a selection decision. The interview may be modified as needed to gather important information. Disadvantages of Interview Subjective evaluations are made. Decisions tend to be made within the first few minutes of the interview with the remainder of the interview used to validate or justify the original decision. Interviewers form stereotypes concerning the characteristics required for success on the job. Research has shown disproportionate rates of selection between minority and nonminority members using interviews. Negative information seems to be given more weight. Not much evidence of validity of the selection procedure. Not as reliable as tests. Q. 2. What are the problems usually encountered in the Performance Appraisal in organizations? How are and whether these problems taken care of at the ground level reality in organizational set up? Critically examine and substantiate your answers with examples you are familiar with. Briefly explain the situation, you are referring to. Ans. The problem with subjective measure is the rating which is not verifiable by others and has the opportunity for bias. The rate biases include: (a) Halo effect, (b) The error of central tendency, (c) The leniency and strictness biases, (d) Personal prejudice, and (e) The recent performance effect. (a) Halo Effect: It is the tendency of the raters to depend excessively on the rating of one trait or behavioural consideration in rating all others traits or behavioural considerations. One way of minimizing the halo effect is appraising all the employees by one trait before going to rate on the basis of another trait. (b) The Error of Central Tendency: Some raters follow play safe policy in rating by rating all the employees around the middle point of the rating scale and they avoid rating the people at both the extremes of the scale. They follow play safe policy because of answerability to management or lack of knowledge about the job and person he is rating or least interest in his job. (c) The Leniency and Strictness: The leniency bias crops when some raters have a tendency to be liberal in their rating by assigning higher rates consistently. Such ratings do not serve any purpose. Equally damaging one is assigning consistently low rates.

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(d) Personal Prejudice: If the rater dislikes any employee or any group, he may rate them at the lower end, which may distort the rating purpose and affect the career of these employees. (e) The Recent Performance Effect: The raters generally remember the recent actions, of the employee at the time of rating and rate on the basis of these recent actions favourable or unfavourable than on the whole activities. Other factors that are considered as problems are: Failure of the superiors in conducting performance appraisal and post performance appraisal interview. Most part of the appraisal is based on subjectivity. Less reliability and validity of the performance appraisal techniques. Negative ratings affect interpersonal relations and industrial relations system. Influence of external environmental factors and uncontrollable internal factors. Feedback and post appraisal interview may have a setback on production. Management emphasizes on punishment rather than development of an employee in performance appraisal. Some ratings particularly about the potential appraisal are purely based on guess work. The other problems of performance appraisal reported by various studies are: Relationship between appraisal rates and performances after promotions was not significant. Some superiors completed appraisal reports within a few minutes. The situation was unpleasant in feedback interview. Superiors lack that tact of offering the suggestions constructively to subordinates. Supervisors were often confused due to too many objectives of performance appraisal. Advantages of Performance Appraisal through Computers: There will be an objective analysis of traits of both the superior and subordinate and a chance to subordinate to express his views even after performance appraisal. An employee shall express his emotional needs and his value system which may not be possible direct face to face with superior. Commun-ication through computer overcomes the communication barrier between the superior and subordinate. Computer based appraisal will remove the inherent weakness of the appraisal system that is subjective assessment of vague and abstract performance targets, unclear guidelines for appraisal etc. Improving Performance Appraisal 1. Post appraisal is necessary. This will afford appraises opportunity to get feedback from their superior officers, (Appraisers) on reasons for either good or bad performance. Relevant ideas could be cross-fertilized or exchanged with a view to improving on their job performance. 2. Realistic targets should be set by both supervisors and their sub-ordinates. Effective Performance Appraisal An effective performance appraisal programme has the following:

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Design Factors (a) Provide for rater and ratee participation in the design process. (b) Aim for simplicity, fairness, objectivity, openness, usefulness. (c) Aim to be inclusive of all behaviours and results that should be performed. (d) Questions to be addressed in designing a system. (e) What is purpose what are supervisors attitudes toward PA. (f) What are appropriate job criteria who should conduct the appraisals; when should they occur; how often. (g) What format instruments are appropriate what type of performance records should be kept. Company Reward System 1. Accurately and thoroughly assessing subordinate performance. 2. For completing the forms conscientiously. 3. For communicating their judgments to subordinates. Evaluators Skills 1. With subordinate set specific goals; identify paths to reach goals, analyze job, problems. 2. Continuously monitor and improve subordinate performance. 3. Be trained in conducting effective PA; trained in setting objectives, giving feedback, conducting problem solving interviews. 4. Be aware of potential for bias and counteract tendencies-stereotype, halo, central tendency, etc. 5. Need to have extensive information about ratee. 6. Need to effectively observe, recall, assimilate, weigh. The Forms need to be Job related, as simple as possible, easy to administer, valid, and reliable Individuals need to be able to influence measures. Eliminating the sources of bias Organizational Support must support and reinforce time spent on these activities; organization from top to bottom must show PA is taken seriously must tie results of appraisals to decisions such as promotion, salary designing effective performance appraisal systems. Q. 3. Do you agree with the statement that Training is not fulfilling its proper role in various organizations? Briefly describing the roles the Training is expected to play, substantiate your answer with suitable examples. Critically, examine the expected contribution of training and its status at the ground level in the corporate sector, referring to credible information sources and findings in Indian context. Ans. The Present Status of Training Traditional Approach: Most of the organizations before never used to believe in raining. They were holding the traditional view that managers are born and not made. There were also some views that training is a very costly affair and not worth. Organizations used to believe more in executive pinching. But now the scenario seems to be changing.

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The modern approach of training and development is that Indian organizations have realized the importance of corporate training. Training is now considered as more of retention tool than a cost. The training system in Indian Industry has been changed to create a smarter workforce and yield the best results. Towards Learning Organization An organization that learns and encourages learning among its people and it promotes exchange of information between employees hence creating a more knowledgeable workforce. This produces a very flexible organization where people will accept and adapt to new ideas and changes through a shared vision. The Learning Organization is a concept that is becoming an increasingly widespread philosophy in modern companies, from the largest multinationals to the smallest ventures. What is achieved by this philosophy depends considerably on ones interpretation of it and commitment to it. The quote below gives a simple definition that we felt was the true ideology behind the Learning Organization. A Learning Organization is one in which people at all levels, individuals and collectively, is continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about. Some Issues in Training 1. Training versus Awareness Creation: The unclear distinction between training and awareness creation in project design has a diminishing effect on project effectiveness. This is because training and awareness creation have different objectives and their achievement requires different approaches. The lack of definition, and at the same time, reconciliation of these approaches can undermine the coherence of the project strategy. 2. Needs Assessment: Effective training should be based on proper needs assessments. Such assessments refer both to the demand for trained individuals in the concerned substantive areas as well as the level of knowledge of prospective trainees. 3. Selection of Trainees: Selection of trainees tended to be more rigorous for longterm training. For short-term training of workshops, criteria of selection were less well defined or inconsistently applied. As a consequence, the technical background of participants in the latter tended to vary quite significantly with resulting unevenness in the assimilation of knowledge imparted. 4. Content of Training: Linking training content to the job descriptions of trainees is essential to ensure that they acquire the appropriate skills. 5. Training of Trainers: Experience showed that: (a) The strategy of training a permanent cadre of trainers is preferable to the training in cascade approach. (b) The competence and qualification of trainers in population topics should be ascertained and strengthened, as necessary, before implementing a training programme. 6. Training Methods: The effectiveness of training depends to a large extent on the quality of the methodology should take into account both the socio-cultural characteristics of trainees and the specificities of the subject matter. The use of participatory approaches should be explored, where feasible, especially with regard to training that aims ultimately to effect behavioural changes.

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7. Training Materials: Innovative and effective teaching methods need appropriate teaching materials for better impact. 8. Impact of Training: An impact evaluation provides significant information on the extent to which the training content and methodology and should be integrated in the project design. 9. Institutional Environment: The capacity of the institutional setting to meet training needs is related to exogenous factors such as political decisions, economic conditions and institutional resources. In most cases, these factors are beyond the control of managers of training programmes. Q. 4. How is the function of Reward Management being applied/used/effectively used/ by the organized sector and other organizations in Indian context? Explain with suitable examples, and base your answer on the credible studies and findings available in this regard. Give proper references and details wherefrom you draw your answers. Ans. Reward systems and their role in an organization have a great importance in attracting and marinating the employees. Rewards are great. But remember that, people are enjoying their rewards and having a good life because rewards were offered to them for working the way the company wanted them to work in the past. Now the company wants them to work differently and to behave differently. So it will require rewarding them differently. First, to reward them for the change, and then to reward them to work the way for the future. To reward them for changing getting the right skills and behaving the right way. And then reward them for going a bit further than average and doing things really right. Is it worth the effort to change? So before plunging ahead with a change project, you need to answer a few questions about the current and future reward systems. First, concerning the current system What are the current rewards? What is currently rewarded? How do you give the reward? And then about the future system Why do you want rewarded? What are the rewards going to be? What's the scoring system going to be? Who's going to be doing the scoring? How will rewards be given? Who is going to be rewarded? Who will do the rewarding? In this chapter different aspect of reward system is clearly mentioned to get a clear picture of the reward systems. Reward Systems The only way employees will fulfil your dream is to share in the dream. Reward systems are the mechanisms that make this happen. However, reward systems are much more than just bonus plans and stock options. While they often include both of these incentives, they can also include awards and other recognition, promotions, reassignment, nonmonetary bonuses (e.g. vacations), or a simple thankyou. The journey is the reward, says Steve Jobs. The greatest management principle is that the things that get rewarded get done. You get more of the behaviour you reward. You dont get what you hope for, wish for or beg for. You get what you reward. When your employees do hit the target and meet a stretch standard you set for them, reward them immediately.

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Never stall. By doing this, you help employees directly connect the reward with behaviour and higher performance theyve attained. Fail to reward the right behaviour and you will most likely get the wrong results. Team-based Rewards Team rewards present a great opportunity to help foster team bonding. With the proper application of a reward and recognition programme, you can help build a high-performance team, and foster cross-organizational co-operation. But team rewards are not to be treated carelessly: misapplication could lead to unhealthy competition, lack of co-operation, and ultimately severe financial consequences for the organization. Team-based rewards are shared among the members of team in accordance with a scheme or ad hoc basis for exceptional achievements. Rewards for individuals may also be influenced by assessments of their contribution to team results. Team based rewards are payments or other forms of non financial rewards provided to members of a formally established team which are linked to the performance of that teams. To develop and manage team rewards it is necessary to understand the nature of teams and how they function. Team based rewards are not always easy to design or manage.

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