Q#1: Explain what Human Resource Management is.

Give two examples of how manager

can use human resource concepts and techniques?

Ans: Background:

Human Resource Management (HRM), a relatively new term, that emerged during the 1930s.
Many people used to refer it before by its traditional titles, such as Personnel Administration or
Personnel Management. But now, the trend is changing. It is now termed as Human Resource
Management (HRM). Human Resource Management is a management function that helps an
organization select, recruit, train and develops.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management is defined as the people who staff and manage organization. It
comprises of the functions and principles that are applied to retaining, training, developing, and
compensating the employees in organization. It is also applicable to non-business organizations,
such as education, healthcare etc. Human Resource Management is defined as the set of
activities, programs, and functions that are designed to maximize both organizational as well as
employee effectiveness.

Scope of HRM without a doubt is vast. All the activities of employee, from the time of his entry
into an organization until he leaves, come under the horizon of HRM.

The divisions included in HRM are Recruitment, Payroll, Performance Management, Training
and Development, Retention, Industrial Relation, etc. Out of all these divisions, one such
important division is training and development.

Examples of how manager can use HR concepts and techniques:

Manager can use HR concepts and techniques to ensure that they get results--through others.
These concepts and techniques also help you to avoid common personnel mistakes such as:
hiring the wrong person; experiencing high turnover; finding your people not doing their best;
wasting time with useless interviews; having your company taken to court because of
discriminatory actions; having your company cited under federal occupational safety laws for
unsafe practices; have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to
others in the organization; allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness,
and commit any unfair labor practices.

1. Recruitment and Selection:

Selecting the right person for the job is extremely important. Hiring mistakes are costly.
Selection decisions impact team performance, customer relationships, stakeholder confidence,
and employee engagement. The selection process itself also tells candidates a good deal about
their potential employer.
Hiring the right employee enhances your work culture and pays you back a thousand times over
in high employee morale, positive forward thinking planning, and accomplishing challenging
goals. This is not a comprehensive guide to hiring an employee. But, these are key steps to hiring
the right employee.
In this scenario if manager can follow the recruitment and selection process they can help them
to avoid all the problems.

Process of Recruitment & Selection:

1. Identify vacancy

2. Prepare job description and person specification

3. Advertising the vacancy

4. Managing the response

5. Short-listing

6. Arrange interviews

7. Conducting interview and decision making

8. Background Check

9. Job Offer

10. Effective Employment Letter

2. Employee Development:

Employee is important for every organization. Employees are the asset or life blood of every
organization. If manager cannot attention to the employees the ultimate impact on the whole
organization.

Manager can use training and development techniques to improve the employee performance and
their behavior and also provide them better growth opportunities. This will uplift the
organization morale and their productivity and at the end organization takes the sustainable
competitive advantage no one can compete in the market.
Q#2: Define the internal and external sources of candidates for recruitment?

Ans: Generally organizations hire the new candidates in two situations:

1. Organization expand the business or install the new machinery

2. When employee retired, resign, terminated and disable

Sources of Recruitment:

Every organization has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment processes from
two kinds of sources: internal and external sources. The sources within the organization itself
(like transfer of employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are
known as the internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment candidates from all the other sources
(like outsourcing agencies etc.) are known as the external sources of the recruitment.

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
Internal Sources of Recruitment

Internal recruitment seeks applicants for positions from within the company. The various internal
sources include:

 Promotions and Transfers: Promotion is an effective means using job posting and
personnel records. Job posting requires notifying vacant positions by posting notices,
circulating publications or announcing at staff meetings and inviting employees to apply.
Personnel records help discover employees who are doing jobs below their educational
qualifications or skill levels. Transfers are also important in providing employees with a
broad-based view of the organization, necessary for future promotions.
 Former Employees: These include retired employees who are willing to work on a
part-time basis, individuals who left work and are willing to come back for higher
compensations. Even retrenched employees are taken up once again. The advantage
here is that the people are already known to the organization and there is no need to find
out their past performance and character. Also, there is no need of an orientation program
for them, since they are familiar with the organization.
 Upgrading and Demotions: In upgrading the role and the responsibilities are increased
but there designation would be the same but in demotion the employee can be demoted or
send to the previous designation.
 Dependents of deceased employees: Usually, banks follow this policy. If an employee
dies, his / her spouse or son or daughter is recruited in their place. This is usually an
effective way to fulfill social obligation and create goodwill.
 Recalls: When management faces a problem, which can be solved only by a manager
who has proceeded on long leave, it may de decided to recall that persons after the
problem is solved, his leave may be extended.
 Retirements: At times, management may not find suitable candidates in place of the one
who had retired, after meritorious service. Under the circumstances, management may
decide to call retired managers with new extension.
External Sources of Recruitment:

External recruitment seeks applicants for positions from sources outside the company. They have
outnumbered the internal methods. The various external sources include:

 Professional or Trade Associations: Many associations provide placement service to its

members. It consists of compiling job seeker’s lists and providing access to members
during regional or national conventions. Also, the publications of these associations carry
classified advertisements from employers interested in recruiting their members. These
are particularly useful for attracting highly educated, experienced or skilled personnel.
 Advertisements: It is a popular method of seeking recruits, as many recruiters prefer
advertisements because of their wide reach. Want ads describe the job benefits, identify
the employer and tell those interested how to apply. Newspaper is the most common
medium but for highly specialized recruits, advertisements may be placed in professional
or business journals. Advertisements must contain proper information like the job
content, working conditions, location of job, compensation including fringe benefits, job
specifications, growth aspects, etc.
 Employment Exchanges: Employment Exchanges have been set up all over the country
in deference to the provision of the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of
Vacancies) Act, 1959. The Act applies to all industrial establishments having 25 workers
or more each. The Act requires all the industrial establishments to notify the vacancies
before they are filled. The major functions of the exchanges are to increase the pool of
possible applicants and to do the preliminary screening. Thus, employment exchanges act
as a link between the employers and the prospective employees. These offices are
particularly useful to in recruiting blue-collar, white collar and technical workers.
 Employee referrals: Employees can refer candidates for any position to Human
Resource Department. These applications will be included in the HR data base and
applicants will be contacted in the occurrence of any vacancy. These applications will be
considered strictly on merit and only those will be contacted, matching the criteria for the
job and their success will depend upon their qualifications, experience, skills and
performance in test/interview.
 Campus Recruitments: Colleges, universities, research laboratories, sports fields and
institutes are fertile ground for recruiters, particularly the institutes. Campus Recruitment
is going global with companies like HLL, Citibank, HCL-HP, ANZ Grind lays, L&T,
Motorola and Reliance looking for global markets. Some companies recruit a given
number of candidates from these institutes every year.
 Walk-ins, Write-ins and Talk-ins: The most common and least expensive approach for
candidates is direct applications, in which job seekers submit unsolicited application
letters or resumes. Direct applications can also provide a pool of potential employees to
meet future needs. From employees’ viewpoint, walk-ins are preferable as they are free
from the hassles associated with other methods of recruitment. While direct applications
are particularly effective in filling entry-level and unskilled vacancies, some
organizations compile pools of potential employees from direct applications for skilled
positions. Write-ins are those who send written enquiries. These jobseekers are asked to
complete application forms for further processing. Talk-ins involves the job aspirants
 meeting the recruiter (on an appropriated date) for detailed talks. No application is
required to be submitted to the recruiter.
 Contractors: They are used to recruit casual workers. The names of the workers are not
entered in the company records and, to this extent; difficulties experienced in maintaining
permanent workers are avoided.
 Consultants: They are in the profession for recruiting and selecting managerial and
executive personnel. They are useful as they have nationwide contacts and lend
professionalism to the hiring process. They also keep prospective employer and employee
anonymous. However, the cost can be a deterrent factor.
 Head Hunters: They are useful in specialized and skilled candidate working in a
particular company. An agent is sent to represent the recruiting company and offer is
made to the candidate. This is a useful source when both the companies involved are in
the same field, and the employee is reluctant to take the offer since he fears, that his
company is testing his loyalty.
 Competitors: This method is popularly known as “poaching” or “raiding” which
involves identifying the right people in rival companies, offering them better terms and
luring them away. From the legal point of view, an employee is expected to join a new
organization only after obtaining a ‘no objection certificate’ from his/ her present
employer. Violating this requirement shall bind the employee to pay a few months’ salary
to his/ her present employer as a punishment. However, there are many ethical issues
attached to it.
Q#3: Discuss and give examples of at least five common interviewing mistakes. What
recommendations would you give?

The job interview is an important part of the process of identifying qualified employees to join
your team. It is crucial that the interviewer conduct the interview in the most efficient and
effective manner possible in order to find the right person for the job. Your job as the interviewer
is to find the right person for the job available in a way that is cost effective for the company. By
overcoming the following interviewing mistakes you will be able to conduct your interview in
the best possible way to fill an open position with best person for the job.

1. First impressions:

One of the most consistent findings is that interviewers tend to jump to conclusions make snap
judgments about candidates during the first few minutes of the interview or even before the
interview starts, based on test scores or resume data. One researcher estimates that in 85% of the
cases, interviewers had made up their minds before the interviews began, based on first
impressions gleaned from candidates application forms and personal appearance. In one study
giving interviewers candidates test scores biased their ultimate assessment of the candidates. For
example, interview result related to hiring decisions only when the candidates had low passing
scores on a previous selection test. For candidates with high test scores, the interview results
were not related to the interviewer’s decisions assumedly because they already made their minds
up.

First impressions are thus especially damaging when the information about the candidate is
negative. In another study, interviewers who previously received unfavorable reference letters
about applicants gave those applicants less credit for past successes and held them more
personally responsible for past failures after the interview. And their final decisions to accept or
reject applicants were always tied to what they expected of the applicants based on the
references, quite aside from the applicant’s actual interview performance.

2. Misunderstanding the Job:

It’s also important what interviewers are looking for in an ideal candidate. Interviewers who
don’t know precisely what the job entails and what sort of candidate is best suited for it usually
make their decisions based on incorrect stereotypes of what a good applicant is. They then
erroneously match interviewees with their incorrect stereotypes.

A classic study involved 30 professional interviewers. Half got just a brief description of the jobs
for which they were recruiting: They were told the eight applicants here represented by their
application blanks are applying for the position of secretary. The other 15 interviewers got much
more explicit job information, in terms of typing speed and bilingual ability, for instance.

More job knowledge translated into better interviews. The 15 interviewers who had more job
information generally agreed among themselves about each candidates potential while those
without complete job information did not. The latter also did not discriminate as well among
applicants they tended to give them all high ratings.

3. Candidate Order (Contrast) Error and Pressure to Hire:

Candidate-order (or contrast) error means that the order in which applicants are seen by
interviewers affects how they rate them. In one study, managers had to evaluate a candidate who
was just average after first evaluating several unfavorable candidates they scored the average
candidates more than they might otherwise have done since, in contrast to the unfavorable
candidates, the average one looked better than he actually was. This contrast effect can be huge:
In some early studies, evaluators based only a small part of the applicants rating on his or her
actual potential.

Pressure to hire accentuates problems like this. Researchers told one group of managers to
assume they were behind in their recruiting quota. They told a second group they were ahead of
their quota. Those behind evaluated the same recruits much more highly than did those ahead.

Interviewers may interview the candidates either jointly or separately. A panel interview is
preferable to individual interview. The number of interviewers is to be decided on the basis of
number and nature of areas to be covered by the interview, number of candidates to be
interviewed and the time available for interviewing

Review of the information must be collected in advance through other selection methods, finding
out the validity of those methods, the score obtained etc. The information available in the
application blank should be thoroughly checked regarding:
  Accuracy and validity;

 Acquainting about the applicant;

 To find out stability, review the number of positions and length of time held in each of
the past jobs;

 Compare the nature of positions in the previous employment with that of proposed
employment;

 Check the employee growth with the organizational progression in the past employment

 Find out discharges etc through unexplained breaks;

This helps in avoiding further evaluation of those areas appraised effectively by other means
through interviews.

4. Non verbal behavior and Impression Management:

The applicant’s nonverbal behavior can also have a surprisingly large impact on his or her rating.
In one study, 52 human resources specialists watched videotaped job interviews in which the
applicants’ verbal content was identical, but their nonverbal behavior differed markedly.
Researchers told applicants in one group to exhibit minimal eye contact, a low energy level, and
low voice modulation. Those in a second demonstrated the opposite behavior. Of the 26
personnel specialists who saw the high eye contact, high energy level candidates, 23 would have
invited him or her for a second interview. None who saw the low eye contact, low energy level
candidate would have recommended a second interview. It certainly seems to pay for
interviewees to look alive.

In another study, interviewers listened to audio interviews and watched video interviews. Vocal
cues (such as the interviewee’s pitch, speech rates, and pauses) and visual cues (such as physical
attractiveness, smile and body orientation) correlated with the evaluator’s judgments of whether
or not the interviewees could be liked and trusted and where credible.

Nonverbal behaviors are probably so important because interviewers infer the interviewee’s
personality from the way he or she acts in the interview. In one study 99 graduating colleges
seniors completed questionnaires both before and after their job interviews; the questionnaires
included measures of personality, among other things. The seniors then reported their success in
generating follow up job interviews and job offers. The interviewee’s personality particularly his
or her level of extraversion, had a pronounced influence on whether or not he received follow up
interviews and job offers. In part, this seems to be because interviewers draw inferences about
the applicant’s personality based on the applicant’s behavior during the interview. Extraverted
applicants seem particularly prone to self promotion and self promotion is strongly related to the
interviewer’s perception of candidate — job fit.
 5. Interviewer Behavior:

The interviewer’s behavior also has an effect on the interviewee’s performance and rating. For
example, some interviews inadvertently telegraph the expected answers, as in: This job calls for
handling a lot of stress. You can do that can’t you? Telegraphing isn’t always so obvious. For
example, subtle cues (like a smile or nod) can telegraph the desired answer. Some interviewers
talk so many applicants have no time to answer questions. At the other extreme, some
interviewers let the applicant dominate the interview, and so don’t ask all their questions. Neither
is a good situation. Similarly when interviewers have favorable pre-interview impressions of the
applicant, they tend to act more positively toward that person (smiling more, for instance),
possibly because they want to increase the chance that the applicant will accept the job.

Other interviewers play district attorney or psychologists. It’s smart to be alert for
inconsistencies, but uncivil to play “gotcha” by gleefully pouncing on them. Some interviewers
play amateur psychologists, unprofessionally probing for hidden meanings in everything the
applicants say.

The demographic similarity between interviewers and applicants may also have a small effect on
how interviewers rate applicants. For example, a perceived similarity in attitudes may influence
how the interviewer rates the applicant’s competence.

Recommendations how to avoid these mistakes?

In practice, some employers are quite successful without structured interviews. For example, the
Container Store (which often tops the lists of best employers to work for) requires each applicant
to have two to three screening interviews, each of which lasts two to three hours. As one
Container Store human resource manager puts it they are often more like non interview
discussions, so that our interviews do not put people off guard. They put people at ease.

You may not have the time or inclination to create actual structured situational interviews.
However, there is still a lot you can do to make your interviews more effective. Suggestions
include:

Structure your interview: There are several things you can do to help the interviewer ask more
consistent and job relevant questions, without actually creating a structured situational interview.
They include:

1. Base questions on actual job duties. This will minimize irrelevant questions. It may also
reduce the likelihood of bias, because there’s less opportunity to read things into the answer.

2. Use job knowledge situational or behavioral questions, and objective criteria to evaluate the
interviewee’s responses. Questions that simply ask for opinions and attitudes, goals and
aspirations and self descriptions and self evaluation allow candidates to present themselves in an
overly favorable manner or avoid revealing weakness. Structured interview questions can reduce
subjectivity and therefore the chance for inaccurate conclusions and bias.

3. Train interviewers: It is necessary to train interviewers so that they can ask relevant questions
to elicit the required information. Interviewer training is also done to ensure legal compliance
and avoid potentially embarrassing situations.

4. Use the same questions with all candidates. When it comes to asking questions, the
prescription seems to be the more standardized the better. Using the same questions with all
candidates improves reliability and can also reduce bias because of the obvious fairness of giving
all the candidates the exact same opportunity.

5. Use descriptive rating scales (excellent, fair, poor) to rate answers. For each question, if
possible, provide several possible ideal answers and a score for each. Then you can rate each
candidate’s answer against this scale. This ensures that all interviewers are using the same
standards.

6. Use multiple interviewers or panel interviewers. Doing so can reduce bias by diminishing the
importance of one interviewer’s idiosyncratic opinions, and by bringing in more points of view.

7. If possible, use a standardized interview from. Interviews based on structured guides like the
one usually result in better interviews.

8. Control the interview: Techniques here include, limit the interviewers’ follow up questions (to
ensure all interviewees get the same questions), use a larger number of questions, and prohibit
questions from candidates until after the interview.

9. Take brief, unobtrusive notes during the interview. Doing so may help overcome the recency
effect (putting too much weight on last few minutes of the interview). It may also help avoid
making a snap decision based on inadequate information early in the interview, and may also
help jog your memory once the interview is complete. (A study did confirm that note taking
helped interviewers recall the interviewee’s behavior. However, at least in this study those who
did take notes were no more accurate in sizing up interviewees than those who did not. The
bottom line seems to be take notes, but not copious ones, instead noting just the key points of
what the interviewee says).

Does it make sense for employers to ask applicants about their extracurricular activities? In one
study, researchers had 618 college students’ complete online surveys assessing their
extracurricular activities. The researchers then had the students participate in an assessment
center. Here they evaluated the students in terms of four dimensions — communication,
initiative, decisions making and teamwork. The results revealed that extracurricular activities are
significantly associated with each of the four interpersonal skill dimensions.
Prepare for the interview:

The interview should take place in a private room where telephone calls are not accepted and you
can minimize interruptions. Prior to the interview, review the candidate’s application and
resume, and note recent study, about 39% of the 191 respondents said interviewers were
unprepared or unfocused.

Start the interview with an accurate picture of the traits of an ideal candidate, know what you’re
going to ask---and keep an open mind about the candidate! Remember that interviewers often
make snap judgments based on first impressions. Keep a record of the answers, and review them
after the interview. Make your decision then.

Establish Rapport:

The main reason for the interview is to out about the applicant. To do this, you need to put the
person at ease. Greet all applicants’ even drop-ins courteously and start the interview with a
noncontroversial question perhaps about the weather.

Be aware of the applicant’s status. For example, if the person is unemployed, or is coming back
to the workforce after many years, he or she may be exceptionally nervous and you may want to
take additional steps to relax the person.

Ask Questions:

Follow your list of questions. Some do’s and don’ts for actually asking questions include: Don’t
ask questions that can be answered yes or no; don’t put words in the applicant’s mouth or
telegraph the desired answer, don’t interrogate the applicant as if the person is a criminal, and
don’t be patronizing, sarcastic, or inattentive; don’t monopolize the interview or let the applicant
dominate the interview; do ask open ended questions; do listen to the candidate to encourage him
or her to express thoughts fully; and do draw out the applicant’s opinions and feelings by
repeating the person’s last comment as a question (such as “you didn’t like your last job?”)

Finally, when you ask for general statements of a candidate’s accomplishments, ask for
examples. If the candidate lists specific strengths or weaknesses, follow up with “what are
specific examples that demonstrate each of your strengths?”

Close the Interview:

Leave time to answer any questions the candidate may have and, if appropriate, to advocate your
firm to the candidate.

Try to end the interview on a positive note. Tell the applicant whether there is any interest and, if
so, what the next step will be. Make rejections diplomatically: for instance, “Although your
background is impressive, there are other candidates whose experience is closer to our
requirements.” If the applicant is still being considered but you can’t reach a decision now say
so. If your policy is to inform candidates of their status in writing, do so within a few days of the
interview.

Review the Interview:

Once the candidate leaves, and while the interview is fresh in your mind, review your notes and
fill in the structured interview guide (if you used one and if you did not fill it in during the
interview). Whether note taking during the interview is a food idea seems to depend on the
interviewer’s personal preferences. In one study, whether the interviewers took notes didn’t have
too much effect on the interview’s validity. However, when note taking was voluntary, the note
takers did tend to make somewhat more valid ratings then did the non-note takers. For those who
prefer to take notes, the main caution is to do so in a way that doesn’t interfere with the
interview’s flow.

Reviewing the interview shortly after the candidate leaves can also help minimize snap
judgments and negative emphasis. Some interviewers find videotaping interviews helps them
review the top candidates.