RECRUITMENT: Recruitment refers to the process of screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm, or for

a vacancy in a volunteer-based organization or community group. While generalist managers or administrators can undertake some components of the recruitment process, mid- and largesize organizations and companies often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. External recruitment is the process of attracting and selecting employees from outside the organization. The recruitment industry has four main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, "headhunters" for executive and professional recruitment, and in-house recruitment. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, and screening and selecting potential candidates using tests or interviews. PROCESS: Job Analysis The proper start to a recruitment effort is to perform a job analysis, to document the actual or intended requirement of the job to be performed. This information is captured in a job description and provides the recruitment effort with the boundaries and objectives of the search. [1] Often times a company will have job descriptions that represent a historical collection of tasks performed in the past. These job descriptions need to be reviewed or updated prior to a recruitment effort to reflect present day requirements. Starting a recruitment with an accurate job analysis and job description insures the recruitment effort starts off on a proper track for success. Sourcing Sourcing involves 1) advertising, a common part of the recruiting process, often encompassing multiple media, such as the Internet, general newspapers, job ad newspapers, professional publications, window advertisements, job centers, and campus graduate recruitment programs; and 2) recruiting research, which is the proactive identification of relevant talent who may not respond to job postings and other recruitment advertising methods done in #1. This initial research for so-called passive prospects, also called namegeneration, results in a list of prospects who can then be contacted to solicit interest, obtain a resume/CV, and be screened (see below). Screening and selection

Suitability for a job is typically assessed by looking for skills, e.g. communication, typing, and computer skills. Qualifications may be shown through rsums, job applications, interviews, educational or professional experience, the testimony of references, or in-house testing, such as for software knowledge, typing skills, numeracy, and literacy, through psychological tests or employment testing. In some countries, employers are legally mandated to provide equal opportunity in hiring. Business management software is used by many recruitment agencies to automate the testing process. Many recruiters and agencies are using an Applicant tracking system to perform many of the filtering tasks, along with software tools for psychometric testing Onboarding "Onboarding" is a term which describes the introduction process. A wellplanned introduction helps new employees become fully operational quickly and is often integrated with a new company and environment. Onboarding is included in the recruitment process for retention purposes. Many companies have onboarding campaigns in hopes to retain top talent that is new to the company, campaigns may last anywhere from 1 week to 6 months. (See the Wikipedia entries on onboarding or executive onboarding or the book "Onboarding - How To Get Your New Employees Up To Speed In Half The Time [1]" (George Bradt & Mary Vonnegut, Wiley 2009)) Internet Recruitment / Websites Such sites have two main features: job boards and a rsum/curriculum vitae (CV) database. Job boards allow member companies to post job vacancies. Alternatively, candidates can upload a rsum to be included in searches by member companies. Fees are charged for job postings and access to search resumes. Since the late 1990s, the recruitment website has evolved to encompass end-to-end recruitment. Websites capture candidate details and then pool them in client accessed candidate management interfaces (also online). Key players in this sector provide e-recruitment software and services to organizations of all sizes and within numerous industry sectors, who want to e-enable entirely or partly their recruitment process in order to improve business performance. The online software provided by those who specialize in online recruitment helps organizations attract, test, recruit, employ and retain quality staff with

a minimal amount of administration. Online recruitment websites can be very helpful to find candidates that are very actively looking for work and post their resumes online, but they will not attract the "passive" candidates who might respond favorably to an opportunity that is presented to them through other means. Also, some candidates who are actively looking to change jobs are hesitant to put their resumes on the job boards, for fear that their current companies, co-workers, customers or others might see their resumes. Job search engines The emergence of meta-search engines, allow job-seekers to search across multiple websites. Some of these new search engines index and list the advertisements of traditional job boards. These sites tend to aim for providing a "one-stop shop" for job-seekers. However, there are many other job search engines which index pages solely from employers' websites, choosing to bypass traditional job boards entirely. These vertical search engines allow jobseekers to find new positions that may not be advertised on traditional job boards,

COMMUNICATION Communication is the process of transferring information from one source to another. Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs". [1] Communication can be perceived as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas towards a mutually accepted [clarification needed] goal or direction. Overview: Communication is a process whereby information is encoded and imparted by a sender to a receiver via a channel/medium. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. Communication requires that all parties have an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speaking, singing and sometimes tone of voice, and nonverbal, physical means, such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, by using writing. Communication is thus a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. if you use these processes it is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur. [3] Cion skills directly through education, and by practicing those skills and having them evaluated. There are also many common barriers to successful communication, two of which are message overload (when a person receives too many messages at the same time), and message complexity. Types of communication: There are three major parts in human face to face communication which are body language, voice tonality, and words. According to the research: [5]

55% of impact is determined by body language--postures, gestures, and eye contact, 38% by the tone of voice, and 7% by the content or the words used in the communication process.

Although the exact percentage of influence may differ from variables such as

the listener and the speaker, communication as a whole strives for the same goal and thus, in some cases, can be universal. System of signals, such as voice sounds, intonations or pitch, gestures or written symbols which communicate thoughts or feelings. Dialogue or verbal communication A dialogue is a reciprocalconversation between two or more entities. The etymological origins of the word (in Greek (di,through) + (logos, word,speech) concepts like flowing-through meaning) do not necessarily convey the way in which people have come to use the word, with some confusion between the prefix -(di-,through) and the prefix - (di-, two) leading to the assumption that a dialogue is necessarily between only two parties. This is confusing Nonverbal communication: Nonverbal communication is the process of communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, or symbols and infographics, as well as through an aggregate of the above, such as behavioral communication. Nonverbal communication plays a key role in every person's day to day life, from employment to romantic engagements. Visual communication Visual communication as the name suggests is communication through visual aid. It is the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon. Primarily associated with two dimensional images, it includes: signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colour and electronic resources. It solely relies on vision. It is form of communication with visual effect. It explores the idea that a visual message with text has a greater power to inform, educate or persuade a person. It is communication by presenting information through visual form. Other more specific types of communication are for example:

ollective Bargaining: Collective agreements are agreements that cover two or more employees who are union members. Only registered unions and employers can bargain for collective agreements. If you are involved in bargaining for a collective agreement, you will need to check that you follow the correct procedures. The Employment Relations Act 2000 requires employers and unions to bargain in good faith over collective agreements. This includes requirements to meet, and to consider and respond to each other's proposals. It also means that employers and unions must conclude a collective agreement unless there is a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds not to conclude the agreement. Who needs this information?

Anyone who has a paid job or who employs other people in paid work Employers, employees and unions negotiating new collective employment agreements Anyone who wants to know what can be included in collective employment agreements Anyone who wants to know about when collective agreements expire Anyone who wants to find out about sending in a copy of their collective agreement to the Department of Labour Anyone who wants to know about their rights and obligations regarding strikes and lockouts. OR

Collective Bargaining is the process whereby workers organize together to meet, converse, and compromise upon the work environment with their employers. It is the practice in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract. [1] In various national labor and employment law contexts, collective bargaining takes on a more specific legal meaning. In a broad sense, however, it is the coming together of workers to negotiate their employment. A collective agreement is a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (represented by management, in some countries by employers' organization) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions and grievance-procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the

negotiation as a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or as a Collective Employment Agreement (CEA). Theories A number of theories from the fields of industrial relations, economics, political science, history and sociology (as well as the writings of activists, workers and labor organizations) have attempted to define and explain collective bargaining. One theory suggests that collective bargaining is a human right and thus deserving of legal protection. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifies the ability to organise trade unions as a fundamental human right. Item 2(a) of the International Labor Organization'sDeclaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work defines the "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining" as an essential right of workers. In June 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada extensively reviewed the rationale for considering collective bargaining to be a human right. In the case of Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, the Court made the following observations: The right to bargain collectively with an employer enhances the human dignity, liberty and autonomy of workers by giving them the opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thereby gain some control over a major aspect of their lives, namely their work. Collective bargaining is not simply an instrument for pursuing external endsrather [it] is intrinsically valuable as an experience in self-government. Collective bargaining permits workers to achieve a form of workplace democracy and to ensure the rule of law in the workplace. Workers gain a voice to influence the establishment of rules that control a major aspect of their lives. Economic theories also provide a number of models intended to explain some aspects of collective bargaining. The first is the so-called Monopoly Union Model (Dunlop, 1944), according to which the monopoly union has the power to maximise the wage rate; the firm then chooses the level of employment. This model is being abandoned by the recent literature.The second is the Right-toManage model, developed by the British school during the 1980s ( Nickell). In this model, the labour union and the firm bargain over the wage rate according to a typical Nash Bargaining Maximin (written as = U 1-, where U is the utility function of the labour union, the profit of the firm and represents the bargaining power of the labour unions). The third model is called efficient bargaining (McDonald and Solow, 1981), where the union and the firm bargain over both wages and employment

Training and Development In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names, including employee development, human resource development, and learning and development. Harrison observes that the name was endlessly debated by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development during its review of professional standards in 1999/2000. "Employee Development" was seen as too evocative of the master-slave relationship between employer and employee for those who refer to their employees as "partners" or "associates" to be comfortable with. "Human Resource Development" was rejected by academics, who objected to the idea that people were "resources" an idea that they felt to be demeaning to the individual. Eventually, the CIPD settled upon "Learning and Development", although that was itself not free from problems, "learning" being an overgeneral and ambiguous name. Moreover, the field is still widely known by the other names. Training and development encompasses three main activities: training, education, and development. Garavan, Costine, and Heraty, of the Irish Institute of Training and Development, note that these ideas are often considered to be synonymous. However, to practitioners, they encompass three separate, although interrelated, activities: Training This activity is both focussed upon, and evaluated against, the job that an individual currently holds education This activity focusses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in the future, and is evaluated against those jobs. development This activity focusses upon the activities that the organization employing the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost impossible to evaluate. The "stakeholders" in training and development are categorized into several classes. The sponsors of training and development are senior managers. The clients of training and development are business planners. Line managers are

responsible for coaching, resources, and performance. The participants are those who actually undergo the processes. The facilitators are Human Resource Management staff. And the providers are specialists in the field. Each of these groups has its own agenda and motivations, which sometimes conflict with the agendas and motivations of the others. The conflicts with perhaps the most devastating career consequences are those that take place between employees and their bosses. The number one reason people leave their jobs is conflict with their bosses. And yet, as author, workplace relationship authority, and executive coach, Dr. John Hoover points out, "Tempting as it is, nobody ever enhanced his or her career by making the boss look stupid." Training an employee to get along well with authority and with people who entertain diverse points of view is one of the best guarantees of long-term success. Talent, knowledge, and skill alone won't compensate for a sour relationship with a superior, peer,

INTRODUCTION I. Overview The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), (1) the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), (2) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (3) ban discrimination against protected groups in compensation and terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The Equal Pay Act (EPA) (4) prohibits sex-based wage discrimination. These laws require that all employee benefits be provided in a non-discriminatory manner unless a statutory exception provides otherwise. Many charges alleging discrimination in employee benefits -- including leave, profit sharing, and educational stipends -- can be resolved using standard theories of disparate treatment and disparate impact. The issues with regard to these types of benefits will typically be whether the differential was based on a protected classification or had the effect of discriminating, and whether the employer has a defense to that discrimination. This Section of the Compliance Manual focuses on employee benefits that raise unique issues: life and health insurance benefits, long-term and short-term disability benefits, severance benefits, pension or other retirement benefits, and early retirement incentives. Based on explicit statutory provisions in the ADEA and the ADA, these benefits raise issues that cannot be resolved through standard disparate treatment or impact analyses. This Section addresses in depth specific issues that are likely to arise when discrimination in these benefits is alleged. II. Benefits Covered :

Life insurance benefits

Life insurance benefits provide a monetary benefit for the insured and/or the insured's beneficiaries in the event of the insured's death. The benefits usually are paid in a lump sum or, occasionally, in the form of an annuity, through which the beneficiary gets periodic benefit payments for life.

Health insurance benefits

Health insurance benefits cover all or part of costs incurred for medical care.

Coverage may be limited to the employee or may be extended to others who have a relationship with the employee, including the employee's spouse and/or dependent children. The amounts or types of coverage available may also be capped or limited.

Long-term and short-term disability benefits

Disability benefits provide salary replacement for employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury. Some employers also provide a right of recall so that disabled employees can return to their jobs once they have recovered. Long-term benefits are typically paid for an extended period of time, although many plans differentiate between mental and physical impairments in determining the duration of the benefit program. Short-term benefits are those available for more temporary conditions where the employer anticipates that the employee will be able to work again in a relatively short period of time. There is no precise amount of time that differentiates long-term from short-term disability benefits, and their purpose is the same.

Disability retirement benefits

Like long-term and short-term disability benefits, disability retirement benefits are paid to employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury. Unlike other disability benefits, however, disability retirement benefits are typically payable until death, unless the employee is able to resume working. Therefore, they operate as a retirement benefit for former employees. Disability retirement benefits should be distinguished from service retirement benefits, which are paid to employees who have reached retirement age, have the requisite number of years of service, and/or meet the employer's other eligibility criteria.

Severance benefits

Severance benefits are benefits offered to employees who are terminated from their jobs. In many instances, severance benefits will be provided when an employee is terminated for reasons other than his/her performance or conduct -- that is, most typically, in reductions-in-force or downsizing due to

economic or business concerns. Severance benefits can be provided based on a unilateral decision by the employer or through the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. The amount of severance benefits paid also varies by employer. For example, some employers pay a set amount to all separated employees. Others may pay a week's salary for each year of service rendered by separating employees.

Service retirement benefits

Retirement benefits provide former employees with a source of income after completion of their employment. These benefits are called service retirement or pension benefits. They can be distributed in a lump sum or as annuities that are paid periodically for life. Among other criteria, employers typically require employees to reach a "normal retirement age," and/or to have rendered a particular number of years of service, in order to receive full -- "unreduced" -- retirement benefits. Employers sometimes permit employees who leave the work force before reaching the required age or years of service to retire with reduced pension benefits. In most cases, retirement benefits are offered through defined benefit or defined contribution plans (or through a combination of the two). Under a defined benefit plan, the employer applies a specific formula to calculate each employee's retirement benefit and promises to pay that benefit once the employee becomes eligible. Formulas vary by employer and can be based on an employee's age, years of service, salary level, or some combination of these or other criteria. Under a defined contribution plan, the employer makes set contributions to individual accounts for each plan participant. The amount of the retirement benefit then depends on the earnings of the employee's account. A "401(k)" plan is an example of a defined contribution plan. As is true of defined benefit plans, the amount of the employer's contributions, as well as the formula by which those contributions are calculated, will depend on the particular employer.

Early retirement incentives

In some cases, employers may offer employees the opportunity to retire early

-- that is, before they have reached normal retirement age or served the requisite number of years - in exchange for additional benefits to which those employees would not otherwise have been entitled. Employers sometimes offer these incentives, which are intended to encourage employees to take early retirement voluntarily, as a means of addressing financial concerns that might otherwise lead to layoffs.

How Do I Evaluate an Employee's Performance? You need to create a performance plan for a new position or get a "snap shot" of a current employee's performance. Principle: As a supervisor, it is most important to establish performance requirements for each employee, and manage employee performance. Performance appraisal ratings are very important to the career of a Federal civil service employee. They are used in a variety of critically important ways. For example, performance ratings have an impact during a reduction-in-force ( RIF ). A performance rating is also a factor in making promotion selections and in determining who will receive a performance award. A performance rating provides a basis for taking adverse action because of poor performance, which can mean a reduction in grade or even removal from Federal service. In short, the performance rating that you give an employee can have a major impact on the employee's career. Further, employees have a right to know how they are performing. Consequently, establishing performance requirements, and appraising employee performance is a job that must be taken seriously. See specific guidance under Performance Management. Where Do I Start? Performance requirements must be stated in a performance plan tailored to each employee's position and work assignments. Since all employees are required by Government-wide regulation to have a performance plan, plans may already exist for the positions in your organization. However, even if plans do exist, they need to be reviewed and reissued every year even if no changes are necessary. If there is no previously established plan, work with your human resources management specialist who can help you develop a plan, often by drawing on existing performance plans for similar positions elsewhere in the organization. Since this document is meant to clarify for both you and the employee the work to be accomplished for the year, obtain as much input from the employee as possible. Greater employee input leads to greater employee "buy in" of the goals and tasks to be accomplished. Some organizations have specific or suggested procedures contained in policy issuances or collective bargaining unit agreements that provide guidance on obtaining employee input. Check with your SHRO to see if any exist for your organization. Rules and Flexibilities: Government-wide requirements and USDA policy provide that employees should be rated on an annual basis. The results of the appraisal process are to be

used as a basis for training, rewarding, reassigning, promoting, reducing in grade, retaining, or removing employees. Employees must perform their duties under established performance elements and standards for a minimum period of time before they may be evaluated. USDA agencies have some flexibility to set this minimum time, but under no circumstances can it be less than 60 days. Timeframes can also be negotiated and included in the collective bargaining unit agreement. The standard time frame in FFAS agencies is generally 90 days but check with your SHRO to see what the minimum time is for your agency in your location Also see specific guidance under Performance Management. Basic Steps:

Identify the major responsibilities of the position known as performance elements. (See "Glossary"). Generally, two to five performance elements are appropriate. Some agencies have generic and/or required elements for you to use or adapt. Determine which performance elements are so important that unacceptable performance in one of those elements would constitute overall unacceptable performance by the employee. Those elements are considered "critical." Some critical elements may be required. For example, the Department may require that a diversity element is required for all SES and management and supervisory employees. Check with your SHRO for any requirements in your organization. Develop or review existing performance requirements (known as performance standards) for each element. These describe how well an employee must accomplish each performance element in terms of quality, quantity, manner of performance and timeliness. In USDA, for non-SES employees, agencies are authorized to have performance standards at either five or two rating levels. For agencies using five rating levels, the standards are generic and cannot be changed. However, a manager may supplement them with more specific standards. Agencies using two rating levels have developed generic standards tailored to their own unique appraisal systems. Some of these latter agencies allow for supplemental standards. Consult with your SHRO to see which system your agency uses. Communicate final performance elements and standards (performance plans) to each employee. Ensure that you and your employee understand what is expected and the procedures of the appraisal process. The plan

must be signed (maybe electronic in some agencies) by both the manager and employee, even if it has not changed from the last appraisal cycle. In most agencies, plans also must be approved by the second-level supervisor. Plans should be provided to employees within 30 days of the beginning of the appraisal period, or within 30 days after transferring into a new position. Conduct progress reviews at least once during the appraisal cycle (midyear) and ocument the meeting on the appraisal form. Some organizations require more than one progress review. At the end of the appraisal cycle, evaluate (rate) each employee by using the established standards to assess how well each element has been performed. Ratings below "fully successful" (or "meets or exceeds expectations" in two-level systems) always must be justified individually. Provide the completed appraisals for review and approval by the appropriate reviewing official(s) (normally one's second line supervisor). Some agenices with two-level systems require only ratings below the "meets/exceeds expectation" to be reviewed. When required, the final rating cannot be presented or discussed with the employee ntil it is reviewed, approved, and signed by the appropriate higher level management official(s). Perform additional reviews throughout the year to facilitate communication with your employee. At any time during the appraisal period when performance on any critical element falls below "fully successful" or "meets/exceeds expectations", you should discuss the performance with the employee and take the necessary steps to provide assistance. However, at any time an employee's performance is determined to be "unacceptable" or "below meets or exceeds expectations" in one or more critical elements, special requirements exist and assistance in improving that performance must be provided. In this situation, refer to Section, "How Do I Deal With An Employee's Unacceptable Performance?" and consult with your SHRO.

Forms Needed: Performance elements and standards are recorded on standardized performance appraisal forms or in i*CAMS. Time Frames:

Most agencies have an October 1 to September 30 appraisal cycle. New performance plans should be developed and communicated to employees within 30 days of the beginning of a cycle. Each employee should receive at least one mid-year review and receive a final appraisal within 30 days after the end of the cycle. Check with your SHRO to find out your organization's timeframe for mid-year reviews. Good Management Practices:

Maintain an ongoing file documenting an employee's work throughout the year. Give employees regular and frequent feedback.

While managers are only required to give employees progress reviews once a year and conduct one mid-point progress review, quarterly midpoint reviews are recommended.

When developing supplemental (additional, more specific) performance standards, to the extent possible, ensure they are measurable and address performance instead of conduct.

Modify the performance plan whenever work requirements warrant. Remember, before you can evaluate your employee, the employee must have performed under the performance plan for a minimum period of time (usually 90 days).

Checklist

Identify performance elements Develop or supplement existing measurable performance standards Communicate elements and standards to employee Conduct progress reviews during the appraisal cycle Evaluate employee at end of cycle Present and discuss appraisal with employee

A NOTE ON SES

SES performance standards are pending final review and approval.) In addition to the performance elements that you develop, all SES employees and employees in comparable positions are required to have a "diversity critical element" in their plans. SES performance appraisals must be reviewed by a "Performance Review Board," (See "Glossary") comprised of agency or Department officials, before ratings are finalized. Every third year, career SES employees are also subject to a process known as "recertification," whereby performance over the preceding three years is evaluated and a decision is made to retain or separate the employee from the SES. Recertification is andled at the same time the annual performance rating is given using criteria prescribed by OPM (These criteria are described in a Department-wide recertification plan made available to supervisors of SES employees near the end of the rating cycle in recertification years.)

Employee Performance Management Simply put, performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Information in this topic will give you some sense of the overall activities involved in employee performance management. The reader would benefit from reviewing closely related topics referenced from the section , including basics concepts in performance management, organization performance management and group performance management.

Human resource management (HRM)is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisation's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. [1] The terms "human resource management" and "human resources" (HR) have largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations. [1] In simple sense,Human Resource Management(HRM) means employing people,developing their resources, utilizing maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job and organizational requirement. OR The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have. Features: Its features include:

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ( HRM)

Organizational management Personnel administration Personnel management Manpower management Industrial management

But these traditional expressions are becoming less common for the theoretical discipline. Sometimes even industrial relations and employee relations are confusingly listed as synonyms, although these normally refer to the relationship between management and workers and the behavior of workers in companies. The theoretical discipline is based primarily on the assumption that employees are individuals with varying goals and needs, and as such should not be thought of as basic business resources, such as trucks and filing cabinets.

The field takes a positive view of workers, assuming that virtually all wish to contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main obstacles to their endeavors are lack of knowledge, insufficient training, and failures of process. HRM is seen by practitioners in the field as a more innovative view of workplace management than the traditional approach. Its techniques force the managers of an enterprise to express their goals with specificity so that they can be understood and undertaken by the workforce, and to provide the resources needed for them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, HRM techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall. HRM is also seen by many to have a key role in risk reduction within organizations. Synonyms such as personnel management are often used in a more restricted sense to describe activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing its members with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. So if we move to actual definitions, Torrington and Hall (1987) define personnel management as being: a series of activities which: first enable

working people and their employing organisations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled" (p. 49). While Miller (1987) suggests that HRM relates to: ".......those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all levels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage" (p. 352).

Academic theory: The goal of human resource management is to help an organization to meet strategic goals by attracting, and maintaining employees and also to manage them effectively. The key word here perhaps is "fit", i.e. a HRM approach seeks to ensure a fit between the management of an organization's employees, and the overall strategic direction of the company (Miller, 1989). The basic premise of the academic theory of HRM is that humans are not machines, therefore we need to have an interdisciplinary examination of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, industrial engineering, industrial, Legal/Paralegal Studies and organizational psychology, industrial relations, sociology, and critical theories: postmodernism, poststructuralism play a major role. Many colleges and universities offer bachelor and master degrees in Human Resources Management. One widely used scheme to describe the role of HRM, developed by Dave Ulrich, defines 4 fields for the HRM function:

Strategic business partner Change management Employee champion Administration

However, many HR functions these days struggle to get beyond the roles of administration and employee champion, and are seen rather as reactive than strategically proactive partners for the top management. In addition, HR organizations also have the difficulty in proving how their activities and processes add value to the company. Only in the recent years HR scholars and HR professionals are focusing to develop models that can measure if HR adds value. Critical Academic Theory Postmodernism plays an important part in Academic Theory and particularly in Critical Theory. Indeed Karen Legge in 'Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities' poses the debate of whether HRM is a modernist project or a postmodern discourse (Legge 2004). In many ways, critically or not, many writers contend that HRM itself is an attempt to move away from the modernist traditions of personnel (man as machine) towards a postmodernist view of HRM (man as individuals). Critiques include the notion that because 'Human' is the subject we should recognize that people are complex and that it is only through various discourses that we understand the world. Man is not Machine, no matter what attempts are made to change it i.e. Fordism / Taylorism, McDonaldisation (Modernism). Critical Theory also questions whether HRM is the pursuit of "attitudinal shaping" (Wilkinson 1998), particularly when considering empowerment, or perhaps more precisely pseudo-empowerment - as the critical perspective notes. Many critics note the move away from Man as Machine is often in many ways, more a Linguistic (discursive) move away than a real attempt to recognise the Human in Human Resource Management. Critical Theory, in particular postmodernism (poststructualism), recognises that because the subject is people in the workplace, the subject is a complex one, and therefore simplistic notions of 'the best way' or a unitary perspectives on the subject are too simplistic. It also considers the complex subject of power, power games, and office politics. Power in the workplace is a vast and complex subject that cannot be easily defined. This leaves many critics to suggest that Management 'Gurus', consultants, 'best practice' and HR models are often overly simplistic, but in order to sell an idea, they are simplified, and often lead Management as a whole to fall into the trap of oversimplifying the relationship. Business practice Human resources management comprises several processes.

Together they are supposed to achieve the above mentioned goal. These processes can be performed in an HR department, but some tasks can also be outsourced or performed by line-managers or other departments. When effectively integrated they provide significant economic benefit to the company.

Workforce planning Recruitment (sometimes separated into attraction and selection) Induction and Orientation Skills management Training and development Personnel administration Compensation in wage or salary Time management Travel management (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM) Payroll (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM) Employee benefits administration Personnel cost planning Performance appraisal

Careers: The sort of careers available in HRM are varied. There are generalist HRM jobs such as human resource assistant. There are careers involved with employment, recruitment and placement and these are usually conducted by interviewers, EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) specialists or college recruiters. Training and development specialism is often conducted by trainers and orientation specialists. Compensation and benefits tasks are handled by compensation analysts, salary administrators, and benefits administrators. Professional organizations : Professional organizations in HRM include the Society for Human Resource Management, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the International Public Management Association for HR (IPMA-HR), Management Association of Nepal MAN and the [[International Personnel Management Association of Canada (IPMA-Canada), Human Capital Institute (HCI).

Safety and Health Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment. It may involve interactions among many subject areas, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, chemistry, health physics, ergonomics, toxicology, epidemiology, environmental health, industrial relations, public policy, sociology, and occupational health psychology. The reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards are frequently identified as: Read more: Safety and Health http://www.friendsmania.in/forum/showthread.php?t=30341#ixzz1tvvI9fyy REWARDS & COMPENSATION REWARDS:

Something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior or in retribution for evil acts. Money offered or given for some special service, such as the return of a lost article or the capture of a criminal. A satisfying return or result; profit. Psychology. The return for performance of a desired behavior; positive reinforcement

COMPENSATION: 1. The act of compensating or the state of being compensated. 2. Something, such as money, given or received as payment or reparation, as for a service or loss. 3. Biology The increase in size or activity of one part of an organism or organ that makes up for the loss or dysfunction of another. 4. Psychology Behavior that develops either consciously or unconsciously to offset a real or imagined deficiency, as in personality or physical ability

Read more: Rewards & compensation http://www.friendsmania.in/forum/showthread.php?t=30343#ixzz1tvvOZb8T SELECTION , STEPS & TYPES

SELECTION: - Selection is a process in which members of a population

reproduce at different rates, due to either natural or human-influenced factors. The result of selection is that some characteristic is found in increasing numbers of organisms within the population as time goes on. Steps in Selection process : 1. initial screening interview . 2. completion of the application form. 3. employment tests. 4. comprehensive interview 5. background investigation. 6. conditional job offer . 7. medical/physical exam. 8. permanent job offer Types of Selection Artificial selection, which is even older than agriculture, refers to a conscious effort to use for future breeding those varieties of a plant or animal that are most useful, attractive, or interesting to the breeder. Artificial selection is responsible for creating the enormous number of breeds of domestic dogs, for instance, as well as high-yielding varieties of corn and other agricultural crops. Selection also occurs in nature, but it is not conscious. Charles Darwin called this natural selection. Darwin saw that organisms constantly vary in a population from generation to generation. He proposed that some variations allow an organism to be better adapted to a given environment than others in the population, allowing them to live and reproduce while others are forced out of reproduction by death, sterility, or isolation. These genetic variations gradually replace the ones that fail to survive or to reproduce. This gradual adjustment of the genotype to the environment is called adaptation. Natural selection was not only Darwin 's key mechanism of evolution for the origin of species, it is also the key mechanism today for understanding the evolutionary biology of organisms from viruses to humans. Natural selection leads to evolution, which is the change in gene frequencies in a population over time. The concept of selection plays an increasingly important role in biological theory. New fields such as evolutionary psychology rely heavily on natural selection to explain the evolution of human behavioral traits, such as mate choice, aggression, and other types of social behavior. A great difficulty in such a theoretically based science is the paucity of experimental or direct evidence for presumed past environments and presumed behavioral responses that were genetically adaptive.

Variation The variation that selection requires arises from two distinct sources. The ultimate sources of variation are gene mutation, gene duplication and disruption, and chromosome rearrangements. Gene mutations are randomly occurring events that at a molecular level consist mostly of substitutions or small losses or gains of nucleotides within genes. Gene duplication makes new copies of existing genes, while gene disruptions destroy functional copies of genes, often through insertion of a mobile genetic element. Chromosome rearrangements are much larger changes in chromosome structure, in which large pieces of chromosomes break off, join up, or invert. Individually, such mutations are rare. Most small mutations are either harmful or have no effect, and they may persist in a population for dozens or hundreds of generations before their advantages or disadvantages are evident. The second source of variation arises from the shuffling processes undergone by genes and chromosomes during reproduction. During meiosis, maternally and paternally derived chromosome pairs are separated randomly, so that each sperm or egg contains a randomly chosen member of each of the twenty-three pairs. The number of possible combinations is over eight billion. Even more variation arises when pair members exchange segments before separating, in the process known as crossing over. The extraordinary variety in form exhibited even by two siblings is due primarily to the shuffling of existing genes, rather than to new mutations. The Importance of the Environment A disadvantageous trait in one environment may be advantageous in a very different environment. A classic example of this is sickle cell disease in regions where malaria is common. Individuals who inherit a copy of the sickle cell gene from both of their parents (homozygotes) die early from the disease, whereas heterozygotes (individuals who inherit only one copy of the gene) are favored in malarial areas (including equatorial Africa) over those without any copies, because they contract milder cases of malaria and thus are more likely to survive it. Even though homozygotes rarely pass on their genes, because of their low likelihood of surviving to reproduce, the advantage of having one copy is high enough that natural selection continues to favor presence of the gene in these populations. Thus a malarial environment can keep the gene frequency high. However, in temperate regions where malaria is absent (such as North America ), there is no heterozygote advantage to the sickle cell gene. Because heterozygotes still suffer from the disease, they are less likely to survive and

reproduce. Thus, selection is gradually depleting the gene from the African American population that harbors it. Artificial Selection One of the first uses of genetic knowledge to improve yields and the quality of plant products was applied to hybrid seed production at the start of the twentieth century by George Shull. Artificial selection today is still done by hobbyists who garden or raise domestic animals. It is done on a more professional level in agriculture and animal breeding. The benefits are enormous. Virtually all commercial animal and plant breeding uses selection to isolate new combinations of traits to meet consumer needs. In these organisms, most of the variation is preexisting in the population or in related populations in the wild. The breeder's task is to combine (hybridize) the right organisms and select offspring with the desired traits. In the antibiotic industry selection is used to identify new antibiotics. Usually, microorganisms are intentionally mutated to produce variation. Mutations can be induced with a variety of physical and chemical agents called mutagens, which randomly alter genes. Some early strains of penicillin-producing molds were x-rayed and their mutations selected for higher yields. Biologists also make use of selection in the process called molecular cloning. Here, a new gene is inserted into a host along with a marker gene. The marker is typically a gene for antibiotic resistance. To determine if the host has taken up the new genes, it is exposed to antibiotics. The ones who survive are those that took up the resistance gene, and so also have the gene of interest. This selection process allows the researcher to quickly isolate only those organisms with the new gene. Selection in Humans Both natural and artificial selection occur in human beings. If a trait is lethal and kills before reproductive maturity, then that gene mutation is gradually depleted from the population. Mutations with milder effects persist longer and are more common than very severe mutations, and recessive mutations persist for much longer than dominant ones. With a recessive trait, such as albinism, the parents are usually both carriers of a single copy of the gene and may not know that they carry it. If a child receives a copy of this gene from both of the carrier parents, the albino child may die young, may find it difficult to find a partner, or may end up marrying much later in life. This is usually considered a form of natural selection. Considerable abuse of genetic knowledge in the first half of the twentieth century led to the eugenics movement. Advocates of eugenics claimed some

people were more fit and others less fit (or unfit), and argued that the least fit should be persuaded or forced not to reproduce. Eugenicists typically defined as unfit those who were "feeble-minded, criminal, socially deviant, or otherwise undesirable." Coerced sterilization , a form of artificial selection, was practiced on some of these individuals. Read more: Selection , steps & types http://www.friendsmania.in/forum/showthread.php?t=30345#ixzz1tvvXHAhH