The objectives of job evaluation are to: - Establish sound salary differentials between jobs requiring different skills - Identify and eliminate salary inequities - Establish a foundation for variable pay like incentives and bonuses - Maintain consistent career growth guidelines - Create a method of job classification for union negotiations - Collect job facts for tasks, employee selection, promotion, and work simplification There are quantitative and non-quantitative methods for conducting job evaluation scientifically, such as ranking systems, point systems, and factor comparison systems.

1. MB0043
Q. What are the objectives of job evaluation?
Objectives of Job Evaluation:
The decision to measure or rate jobs should only be made with the intent to reach certain objectives which are
important to both management and the employee. Although there are many side benefits of job evaluation, the
purpose is to work towards a solution of the many wage and compensation related administrative problems which
confront the industry. The below-mentioned are some of the important objectives of a job evaluation programme:
Establishment of sound salary differentials between jobs differentiated on the skills required.
Identification and elimination of salary-related inequities.
Establishment of sound foundation for variable pay such as incentive and bonus.
Maintenance of a consistent career and employee growth policy/ guidelines.
In organizations with active unions, creation of a method of job classification, so that management and
union officials may deal with major and fundamental wage issues during negotiations and grievance
meetings.
Collection of job facts
1. Selection of employees
2. Promotion and transfer of employees
3. Training of new employees
4. Assignment of tasks to jobs
5. Improving working conditions
6. Administrative organization, and
7. Work simplification.
There are many established methods to carry out job evaluation in a scientific manner. A four-fold system of
classifying evaluation systems is presented here. Two are described as non-quantitative and two as quantitative.
1. Non-quantitative evaluation measures,
a) The ranking system.
b) The job-classification system.
2. Quantitative evaluation measures.
a) The point system.
b) The factor-comparison system.
5Q. What are the factors that impact recruitment in organizations?
Factors Affecting Recruitment
All organizations, whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though not to the same intensity. Few
factors that impact the nature of recruitment:
1. The size of the organization- the smaller the organization the more the need to carefully scrutinize the
candidate for a job and the fitment to the organizational culture. The risk in case of job-candidate mismatch
can prove equally expensive for a smaller organization as compared to the larger one.
2. The employment conditions in the country where the organization is located- critically impacts the
recruiting strategy. The methods for recruiting, the selection tools that are most suited and the legal
framework that bear on the employer are some aspects that need to be considered.
3. The affects of past recruiting efforts which show the organization‟s ability to locate and keep good
performing people- constantly reviewing the effectiveness of the recruiting methods and the selection tools
used, evaluating the success at-work of the new recruits are some methods used by organizations to ensure
that quality hiring practices are in-place.
4. working conditions and salary and benefit packages offered by the organization – this may influence
turnover and necessitate future recruiting; (v) The rate of growth of organization- the phase in the life-cycle
of the firm is a measure of the recruiting effort
5. The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production programmes – ensuring that the
recruitment numbers come from a well-planned Human Resource Plan is critical to ensure that there is no
over-hiring or under-hiring of the required talent to achieve the organizational objectives.
3Q. State the major career development activities found in organizations.?
Career Development Activities (Career Planning) in Organizations:
A broad view of career is defined as an “individually perceived sequence of attitudes and behaviour work-related
activities and experiences over the span of a person‟s life.” In normal parlance the term career has both an internal
and an external focus. An internal focus and refers to the way an individual views his/her career and the external or

2. MB0043
objective focus and refers to the actual series of job positions held by the individual. The dynamics of career
development in an organizational context has two dimensions:
How individuals plan and implement their own career goals (career planning), and
How organizations design and implement their career development programs (career management).
Career planning is a deliberate attempt by an individual to become more aware of their skills, interests, values,
opportunities and constraints. It requires an individual thinking to identify career-related goals and establishing plans
towards achieving those goals. Often it is a self-driven process, which every professional (irrespective of the nature
of employment) spends some time to dwell on and discuss it with peers or superiors and frame it. It is also viewed
from time to time that the individual looks for possible new career options. Having a career plan builds a
commitment towards achieving it and is viewed as an excellent personal goal-setting exercise for self motivation.
Career management is considered to be an organizational process that involves preparing, implementing and
monitoring career plans undertaken by an individual alone or within the organizations career systems. Organizations
establish policies that provide for multiple career path options that an employee can choose from and pursue. This is
supported with a lot of training and development activities that are agreed to with the manager and planned carefully
and executed.
A variety of career development activities and tools exists for use in organizations. HR managers should be familiar
with these components because the managers often serve as internal consultants responsible for designing the career
development systems. Some of the activities described are individual career planning tools and others are commonly
used for organizational career management. In general the most effective career development programs will use both
types of activities.
A variety of career development activates are available for use. Some of the more popular ones include:
1. Self assessment tools: these are usually technology enabled on-line (on the corporate intranet) tools that form
part of the performance appraisal system and allow the individual to identify areas of strengths and parallelly
identify career paths that would leverage these strengths the best. E.g. Career Planning Workbooks, Career
Workshops hosted by the organizations from time to time.
2. Individual Counseling: formally the process allows for individuals to discuss this as part of the performance
management process with their immediate managers and share and take feedback on the appropriateness of the
choices and how to go about pursuing it. Often managers recommend relevant other managers and leaders who the
employee can link with to seek advice and support. Organizations also provide for formal mentoring programs to
which an employee can enroll and sign up a mentor who can then provide the support and counseling on the best
career option and how to go about it achieving it.
3. Information Services: organizations have established policies on what skills and experiences that each job in the
organization requires. Jobs with similar skills and experiences are clubbed together to create parallel career paths.
For example in a software development firm the career path options for the software engineering team can be
designed as follows:

3. MB0043
Figure: Career Paths in a software company
These are typically called career ladders or career paths and they help an employee identify what his options are for
future growth and identify the appropriate one based on his personal skills and capabilities/ limitations. These career
paths would be supplemented with additional information on skills and experience that one must have for each
role/job in the career path. It would also specify the particular qualification or special certifications that the positions
demands. An employee aspiring to pursue a career option would need to dedicate time and effort and the expenses
towards acquiring the same. Large MNCs (multinational companies) also encourage the reimbursement of these
expenses as an annual fixed amount on successfully clearing the exam/certification. The employee however needs to
find the time and expend the effort away from work. The actual move of the employee to the new role would
however depend on the existence of a job vacancy in that role. The employee can also approach career resource /
talent management centers supported by the HR teams for more information on how to plan careers and apply for
new roles sand jobs. Organizations usually have formal job posting systems through which the employee receives
this information and applies for the job after discussing with his manager.
4. Initial employment Programs Organizations also run internship and apprenticeship programs wherein the
individuals aspiring to do a particular job can spend some time as a temporary employee to explore interest and skill
fitment for the job/role. (e. g. Anticipatory socialization programs, realistic recruitment, and employee orientation
program)
5. Organizational Assessment programs: organizations can proactively establish formal processes wherein an
employee can volunteer to participate and understand himself/herself and his/her strengths. Through the use of
Assessment Centers organizations can help an employee identify areas for improvement and means of building those
skills. So he can achieve his career plans. Certain organizations offer Psychological Testing instruments which
profile the employee‟s strengths and roles and responsibilities he / she will best fit into.
6. Developmental programs focus the effort of the employee towards helping the employee to achieve his career
goals. The Assessment Centers, Job rotation programs, in-house training, tuition refund plans, and mentoring, all
prove effective tools to help the individual along.No matter what tools are used for career development, it is

4. MB0043
important that employees develop and individualized career plan. For example Raychem requires every person to
have a learning or development plan.
6Q. Assume yourself as an HR Manager. You have been given the responsibility of promoting the rightful
employees. For this, performance appraisal of the employees must be carried out. What appraisal method
would you choose? Justify.
A performance appraisal, employee appraisal, performance review, or (career) development discussion is a method
by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost, and time)
typically by the corresponding manager or supervisor. A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing
career development. It is the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth of
an employee to the organization. Performance appraisal is an analysis of an employee‟s recent successes and
failures, personal strengths and weaknesses, and suitability for promotion or further training. It is also the judgment
of an employee‟s performance in a job based on considerations other than productivity alone.
Aims
Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to:
Give employees feedback on performance
Identify employee training needs
Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards
Form a basis for personnel decisions: salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions, bonuses, etc.
Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development
Facilitate communication between employee and employer
Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity
requirements.
To improve performance through counseling, coaching and development.
Methods
A common approach to assessing performance is to use a numerical or scalar rating system whereby managers are
asked to score an individual against a number of objectives/attributes. In some companies, employees receive
assessments from their manager, peers, subordinates, and customers, while also performing a self assessment. This
is known as a 360-degree appraisal and forms good communication patterns.
The most popular methods used in the performance appraisal process include the following:
Management by objectives
360-degree appraisal
Behavioral observation scale
Behaviorally anchored rating scales
Trait-based systems, which rely on factors such as integrity and conscientiousness, are also used by businesses but
have been replaced primarily by more objective and results-oriented methods. The scientific literature on the subject
provides evidence that assessing employees on factors such as these should be avoided.
The reasons for this are twofold:
1. Trait-based systems are by definition based on personality traits and as such may not be related directly to
successful job performance. In addition, personality dimensions tend to be static, and while an employee
can change a behavior they cannot change their personality. For example, a person who lacks integrity may
stop lying to a manager because they have been caught, but they still have low integrity and are likely to lie
again when the threat of being caught is gone.
2. Trait-based systems, because they are vague, are more easily influenced by office politics, causing them to
be less reliable as a source of information on an employee‟s true performance. The vagueness of these
instruments allows managers to assess the employee based upon subjective feelings instead of objective
observations about how the employee has performed his or her specific duties. These systems are also more
likely to leave a company open to discrimination claims because a manager can make biased decisions
without having to back them up with specific behavioral information.
People differ in their abilities and their aptitudes. There is always some difference between the quality and quantity
of the same work on the same job being done by two different people. Performance appraisals of Employees are
necessary to understand each employee‟s abilities, competencies and relative merit and worth for the organization.
Performance appraisal rates the employees in terms of their performance. Performance appraisals are widely used in
the society.

5. MB0043
The history can be dated back to the 20th century and then to the second world war when the merit rating was used
for the first time. An employer evaluating their employees is a very old concept. It is an indispensable part of
performance measurement. Performance appraisal is necessary to measure the performance of the employees and the
organization to check the progress towards the desired goals and aims.
The latest mantra being followed by organizations across the world being – “get paid according to what you
contribute” – the focus of the organizations is turning to performance management and specifically to individual
performance. Performance appraisal helps to rate the performance of the employees and evaluate their contribution
towards the organizational goals. If the process of performance appraisals is formal and properly structured, it helps
the employees to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and give direction to the individual‟s
performance. It helps to align the individual performances with the organizational goals and also review their
performance.
Performance appraisal takes into account the past performance of the employees and focuses on the improvement of
the future performance of the employees. Here at naukri hub, we attempt to provide an insight into the concept of
performance appraisal, the methods and approaches of performance appraisal, sample performance appraisal forms
and the appraisal softwares available etc. An attempt has been made to study the current global trends in
performance appraisal.
4Q. Explain the need for human resource planning.
Answer:
Need for Human Resource Planning:
Human Resource Planning is a mandatory part of every organization‟s annual planning process. Every organization
that plans for its business goals for the year also plans for how it will go about achieving them, and therein the
planning for the human resource:
To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary qualifications, skills,
knowledge, work experience and aptitude for work.
Since employees exit and organization both naturally (as a result of superannuation) and unnaturally (as a
result of resignation), there is an on-going need for hiring replacement staff to augment employee exit.
Otherwise, work would be impacted.
In order to meet the need for more employees due to organizational growth and expansion, this in turn calls
for larger quantities of the same goods and services as well as new goods. This growth could be rapid or
gradual depending on the nature of the business, its competitors, its position in the market and the general
economy.
Often organizations might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a result of its changing
needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet the challenge of the changed needs of
technology / product/service innovation the existing employees need to be trained or new skill sets induced
into the organization.
Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce its workforce. In
situations where the organization is faced with severe revenue and growth limitations it might need to plan
well to manage how it will reduce its workforce. Options such as redeployment and outplacement can be
planned for and executed properly.
2Q. What are the major problems faced in benefits management?
Major Problems in Benefits management
The challenge in managing benefits is that while it costs a lot it is often taken for granted by the employees. The
dilemma of finding the right balance of benefits and cash compensation is an on-going one. Like for Compensation,
Benefits too are benchmarked by organizations and implemented keeping the market practices and trends in view.
The key to leveraging the investment made by organizations on benefits can be got by adequate communication
making employees aware of them. It includes, providing clarity on how to apply for and claim benefits, as well as
hold road-shows show-casing the benefits and what the employee can avail of. It focuses on to remind the
employees that they are part of the total compensation package.
Most large and medium sized organizations manage compensation and benefits through state-of-the-art HRMS
(Human Resource Management Systems) and the corporate intranet portals. Employee can enroll on-line for the
benefits, ask queries, look up the policies and review the outstanding and balance status of the various benefits. They
can view deadlines, apply for the various benefit claims and track reimbursement status on-line. This brings a lot of
empowerment to the employee as well as awareness of the total benefits that he/she and their dependents are eligible
for.

6. MB0043
SET2
6Q. Assume yourself as an HR Manager of a publishing house. You find that the morale of the employees is
generally low. What steps would you take to improve employee morale?
There are a number of measures which can be used to control the warning signals of low morale. The following are
the positive measures to be taken to bring job satisfaction to the employees and reconcile individual interests with
the interests of the organization.
I take following steps to improve employee morale:
1. Creation of whole jobs: Under this method, complete jobs are assigned to the employees. The complexity of a
job should be increased so that it may appeal to their higher needs.
2. Job enrichment: Job enrichment tries to deal with dissatisfaction by increasing job depth. Under this, individual
employees may be given responsibility for setting their own work pace, for concerning their own errors, and/or for
deciding on the best way to perform a particular task
3. Building responsibility into a job: Employees should be encouraged to participate and if possible be held
responsible for taking decisions. Some delegation of responsibility from the manager to the employee could be
useful in improving employee ownership
4. Managerial effectiveness: This can be achieved by:
Developing work groups;
Improving the social contacts of the employees- time away from work in team building and fun activities;
Managerial coaching discussed above
Employee stress management activities
5. Flexing working hours: Flex time / work from home provisions allow employees to arrange their work hours to
suit their personal needs and life-styles. This is particularly suited to situations with fluctuating workloads. Flex time
employees are responsible for co-ordinating their functions with other employees and thereby have more
responsibility and autonomy.
6. Rotation of jobs: This reduces employee‟s boredom which arises out of the monotonous nature of his work.
7. Incentive and Profit-sharing plans: Morale can be improved by effective incentive and profit-sharing schemes.
Incentive schemes are effective in improving workplace morale. They need to carefully designed (preferably by
experts) well communicated and implemented to be effective. In addition to its economic aspects, profit-sharing has
also psychological aspects relating to friendly move by the management in providing the employees an opportunity
to participate in the profits.
Morale can also be improved by adapting several other measures such as employee contest, special recognition and
awards to long service employees and training the managers in how to manage people.
5Q. Trace out the growth of Human Resource Management in India.
Evolution of the Human Resource Management
The historical background to the management techniques of human resources are in vogue since ancient times. It‟s
only in the past 100 odd years that the techniques and study of human behaviour at work has become formal and
structured with certain basic practices established as core and a host of other practices left to each organization to
design and implement as per their individual business driven practices. As per Fisher, Schonfeldt and Shaw, in their
book titled Human Resources Management, they have characterised the history of HRM as having evolved through
four broad phases, the Craft system, the scientific system, the human relations approach and the prevalent
organizational science-human resources approach.
The Craft system refers to early trends noticed in Egypt and Babylon, where skills based training was provided to
people to ensure a steady flow of craftsmen required to build huge monuments. By the 13th century, subsequently
the trend was noticed in Europe and later craft guilds evolved to ensure not only the skill acquisition but regulate the
conditions of employment, level of skill and improved production techniques. Most relevant in the domestic industry
where generations of skilled workers trained and became experts in a particular skill.
The Scientific Management approach was a key part of the industrial revolution typical of the nineteenth and
early twentieth century. It was instilled in the principles of mass production and organization of work – simple work
skills and supervisory/managerial skills. This rapidly emerged as the assembly line approach to managing workflow,
which later Fredrick Taylor (1856-1915) pioneered based on the philosophy that employees wanted to be used
efficiently and money being the primary motivator. Over a period of time this was proved wrong as employee
dissent grew and union issues surfaced. It was during this phase that employee welfare as a key HR practice
emerged which redressed employee issues like recreational facilities, medical program and employee grievance
systems.

7. MB0043
The Human Relations approach was an outcome of the famous studies undertaken by US social scientist Elton
Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger at the Western Electric‟s Hawthorne plant in Chicago.
The Hawthorne Studies: As described in virtually every book written about management, the human relations or
behavioral school of management began in 1927 with a group of studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant of
Western Electric, an AT&T subsidiary. Curiously, these studies were prompted by an experiment carried out by the
company‟s engineers between 1924 and 1932. Following the scientific management tradition, these engineers were
applying research methods to answer job-related problems.
Two groups were studied to determine the effects of different levels of illumination on worker performance. One
group received increased illumination, while the other did not. A preliminary finding was that, when illumination
was increased, the level of performance also increased. Surprisingly to the engineers, productivity also increased
when the level of illumination was decreased almost to moonlight levels. One interpretation made of these results
was that the employees involved in the experiment enjoyed being the centre of attention; they reacted positively
because management cared about them. The reason for the increase in the production was not the physical but the
psychological impact of the employee‟s attitude towards the job and towards the company. Such a phenomenon
taking place in any research setting is now called the Hawthorne effect.
Leadership Style and Practices: As a consequence of the Hawthorne Studies, worker attitudes, morale, and group
influences became a concern of researchers. A notable development of the nature occurred shortly after World War
II at the University of Michigan. A group of social scientists formed an organization, later to be called the Institute
for Social Research, to study those principles of leadership that were associated with highest productivity.
Concurrent with the growth of human relations in work organizations, has been the burgeoning of techniques and
programmes to foster human growth off the job. In the last two decades, millions of people seeking personal growth
(or sometimes simply emotional arousal) have participated in programmes such as encounter groups, marriage
enrichment groups, seminar training, couples groups, and transactional analysis.
Career development programmes in industry are more prevalent today than at any time in the past. Although varying
widely in content, all these programmes are designed to help the individual make career decisions that will move
him or her toward self-fulfillment. In the process, it is assumed that the person will make a better contribution to the
organization.
Finally the Organizational Sciences approach to human resources management has brought the focus to the scientific
process within organizations that can impact employee experience, and less on just the individual. Today‟s
organizations focus on building their processes and policies and compete to emerge as “preferred employers” (best
employer). It is not uncommon for competing organizations to woo the employees through advertising more and
better employee-friendly initiatives like work-from-home jobs, careers for married couples, global work assignments
and internal job postings and world class workplace infrastructures from in-campus cricket grounds to gymnasiums
for employee wellbeing.
4Q. Explain the general procedures followed in the case of a disciplinary action.
Though there is no specific procedure to be followed. Different organizations use a variety of formal and informal
methods to resolve these matters. The following steps are recommended
a) An accurate statement of the disciplinary problem.
b) Collection of data or facts supporting the report of the offence.
c) Review policy and past similar incidents.
d) Identify corrective action to implement; take legal counsel to ensure that the local laws of the land are not in
conflict
e) Apply the action
f) Follow-up on the disciplinary action.
(A) Accurate Statement of the Problem: The first step is to ascertain the problem by seeking answers to the
following questions:
1. Does this case call for a disciplinary action?
2. What, exactly, is the nature of the violation or offence?
3. Under what-conditions did it occur?
4. Which individual or individuals were involved in it?
5. When, or how often, did the violation occur?
In other words, an executive must first find out that a violation has occurred and that is entirely the fault, or at least
partially the fault, of one or more subordinates. The next step is to determine and state the nature of the alleged
violation of a rule, a regulation, a policy; to determine whether a request or order has been ignored or broken, and
assess the seriousness of the specific offence which has been committed. It is also necessary to know exactly who

8. MB0043
and what was involved in the violation-whether a particular individual or group. Finally, it is desirable to know
when and/or how often the violation occurred.
(B) Collection of data or facts support the report of the offence: Before any action is taken in a case, it is
essential to gather all the facts about it. A thorough examination of the case should be made within the stipulated
time limit. The facts gathered should be such as can be produced before a higher authority, if and when needed.
(C) Review policy and past similar incidents: The kind of penalty to be imposed for an offence should be
determined beforehand. Should it be simple reprimand, a financial or non-financial penalty? Or should it be
demotion, temporary lay-off or outright discharge?
(D) Identify corrective action to implement; take legal counsel to ensure that the local laws of the land are not
in conflict: When a decision has been taken to impose a penalty, the punishment to be awarded should be such as
would prevent a recurrence of the offence. If the punishment is lighter than it should be, it may encourage the
violation of the same rule or another; if it is greater than it should be, it may lead to a grievance.
(E) Apply the action: The application of the penalty involves a positive and assured attitude on the part of the
management. “If the disciplinary action is a simple reprimand, the executive should calmly and quickly dispose of
the matter. But when severe action is called for, a fortnight, serious and determined attitude is highly desirable.
(F) Follow-up on Disciplinary Action: The ultimate purpose of a disciplinary action is to maintain discipline, to
ensure productivity, and avoid a repetition of the offence. A disciplinary action should, therefore, be evaluated in
terms of its effectiveness after it has been taken. In other words, there should be a more careful supervision of the
persons against whom a disciplinary action has been taken.
3Q. How can we evaluate the effectiveness of training programs conducted in organizations?
Evaluation of Training Effectiveness
An objective of training evaluation is to determine the payoff from the training investment. It focuses on the
improvement of the participant in the training programme to perform jobs for which they were trained, what was
effective and what was not, whether the trainees required any additional on the job training, and the extent of
training not needed for the participants to meet job requirements.
There are various approaches to training evaluation. To get a valid measure of training effectiveness, the manager
should accurately assess trainee‟s job performance two to four months after completion of training. However this
focus is not easy to establish and track in most organizations.
Per Kirkpatrick’s study, training effectiveness of outcomes can be measured:
Reaction: Evaluate the trainee‟s reaction to the programme. Did he like the programme? Did he think it
worthwhile?
Learning: Did the trainee learn the principles, skills and fact that the supervisor or the trainer worked them
to learn?
Behaviour: Whether the trainee‟s behaviour on the job changed because of the training programme.
Results: What final results have been achieved? Did he learn how to work on machine? Did scrap page
costs decrease? Was turnover reduced? Are production quotas now being met? etc.,
Structured interviews with the immediate supervisor of the trainees are acceptable methods for obtaining feedback in
training. The supervisor is asked to rate the former trainee on job proficiency directly related to the training
objectives. Another approach is to involve the use of experimental and control groups. Each group is randomly
selected, one to receive training (experimental) and the other not to receive training (control). The random selection
helps to assure the formation of groups quite similar to each other. Measures are taken of relevant indicators of
success (e.g. words typed per minute, units of work produced per hour etc.) before and after training for both groups.
If the results shown by the experimental group are significantly greater than those of the control group, the training
can be considered as successful.
Another common method is the longitudinal or time series analysis. A series of measurements are taken before the
programme begins and continues during and post completion of the programme. The results are then plotted on a
graph to ascertain changes if any, have occurred and continue to remain as a result of the training investment that
was made. In addition, pre-and-post tests are administered to the training groups. Prior to the training, a test related
to the training material is applied, and the results of this pre-test are compared with results on the same or similar
test administered after the programme has been completed.
2Q. Why is it important to handle grievances carefully?
Importance of Grievance Handling
What might happen if an organization does not provide some method by which an employee can voice his
complaints and obtain an explanation? The employee will be unhappy, his productivity is impacted, he openly
begins to share his discontent with not just his colleagues but also outsider‟s, friends, relatives, maybe even

9. MB0043
customers and vendors. Just as the employee has all the right to voice a grievance, as employer (or the management)
owes it to the employee to respond suitably to the grievance. It is but commonsense that the resolution of a problem
rests on management. The earliest and clearest opportunity for issue resolution is found at the first stage, before the
grievance has left the jurisdiction of the manager. For this reason, many firms have specifically trained their
managers on how to handle a grievance or complaint properly. If the dispute or grievance constitutes a managerial
problem it can often be resolved by the manager himself with the help of the HR team. The following steps discuss
how a grievance can be redressed:
Receiving the grievance: The manner and attitude with which the manager receives the complaint of
grievance is important. The basic premise is that the manager should at the outset assume that the employee
is fair in presenting his/her opinion/complaint. The complaint should not be prejudged on the basis of past
experience with this or other employees. When a employee approaches the manager with a issue the
manager needs to make himself available to listen it all out and provide him/her the undivided attention.
Research confirms that managers who were more task-oriented, as contrasted with managers who were
more people-oriented, tended to experience a significantly higher number of grievances being filed in their
units.
Reviewing the grievance: Once a complaint is received all facts supporting the issue needs to be gathered.
Proper record keeping such as performance ratings, job ratings, attending records, and suggestions are
reviewed. In addition, with the increasingly legal implications of modern labour-management relations, the
manager should keep records on each particular grievance. All action taken, discussions with the employee,
summary and what is agreed to all of it needs to be recorded.
Analysis and decision: With the problem defined and the facts in hand, the manager must now analyze and
evaluate them, and come to some decision. It is important for the manager to involve others in the process
to ensure that it is fair and is the best solution. The manager must include the views of his own manager as
he might not be aware of all the implications of the problem and its resolution. Involving HR too is a
recommended process in all organizations. HR can then seek finance or legal counsel if required, before
any decision is taken. All involved in the decision making process need to be aware that the decision may
create an undesirable precedence within the department as well as the company.
Response: Often it might not be possible to provide a positive resolution to the problem. If the solution
decided is adverse to the employee‟s views, attention needs to be given to the method of communication.
Employees dislike managers who will take no stand, good or bad. Clearly communicating the message and
sharing as much information as possible about the decision making process helps in establishing credibility
to the process used to make the decision. The manager can also invite HR or his manager to sit-in on the
conversation with the employee. As far as possible this should happen in a face-to-face meeting. In the
event an employee wishes to take the appeal beyond to the next stage of the procedure he must be allowed
to do so. The manager must have the opportunity to explain his decision to the other members so they can
take a well-informed decision.
Follow up: The objective of the grievance procedure is to resolve a disagreement between an employee
and the organization. Open communication is important for this process. The purpose of phase is to
determine whether the employee feels that the problem has been sufficiently redressed. If follow up reveals
that the case has been handled unsatisfactorily, then redefinition of the problem, further fact-finding,
analysis, solution and follow up are required. At this stage the manager can step aside and allow someone
else in a position of authority like the HR or the manager‟s manager to lead the process and close it.
1Q. What are the objectives of human relations?
Objectives of Human Relations:
A human Relations Programme thereby attempts at enhancing employee motivation and workplace morale through
an improved three-way communications and through employee participation in the decision making processes.
Human relations seek to emphasise „employee‟ aspects of work rather than technical or economic aspects. For
example while it might be in the best interest of an organization to have a employee skilled and completely
proficient in one job/ set or responsibilities, today‟s organization provides opportunities for employees to multi-skill
and acquire knowledge of new yet related jobs/responsibilities. These acts as a motivator for employees as they
benefit by learning new skills / jobs and given an opportunity can perform and excel in another job. It also seeks to
make employment and working conditions less impersonal. The human relations approach emphasises policies and
techniques designed to improve employee morale and job satisfaction. For example it is common place in
organizations to provide for / encourage employee empowerment where-in the team brings about creative measures
to reduce cost/ improve customer satisfaction. Such teams design and implement self-driven initiatives to bring

10. MB0043
about the business result. It is believed that this is accompanied by increased employee efficiency and reduction in
employee dissatisfaction.
An understanding of emerging workplace human behaviour can be summarised as:
Assist the manager to develop a better realization of how his own attitudes and behaviour play a part in
everyday affairs of the team and its morale;
Assist the manager to develop a keener sensitivity towards the team members and interpersonal dynamics
Partner with the managers in helping him drive the business goals and take part ownership of work
challenges and how best to resolve them
Enable him to anticipate and prevent problems, or at least to resolve more effectively those that he cannot
avoid; and
Network with other teams with related dependencies and help resolve inter-team business impacting
challenges
This Scope of Human Relations springs up from the problems which have many different causes and
perspectives. Halloran has stated these as:
Every person brings a unique set of talents, ambitions and work experience to a job. These personal
attributes change over time, often as a result of the degree of success or failure the person experiences in
the work world. Matching so many unique sets of personal qualities to a standardized technology can create
problems.
The organizational aspects of a company, such as its size, geographic location, economic health, and degree
of automation, define the scope of work and the activity in each work division. These frequently arbitrary,
structural definitions often cause difficulties in human relations.
Innovations in technology and production methods generally require the restructuring of job roles and
responsibilities. Radical changes in basic organizational structure can cause severe strains between
employees and management and create intense problems in human relations.
Promotion of individuals to positions of greater responsibility and authority generally creates a need for
changed behaviour patterns between the new supervisors and their former peers, which in time, can create
human relations problems.
Inexperienced employees may not be able to perform their roles or tasks in work groups in a competent
manner. The time they take to adjust can not only create problems with production schedules, but can also
create particular kinds of human relations problems between them and their co-employees and supervisors.
The variety of causes of human relations problems lead to the conclusion that no one programme or single approach
can create conditions for good human relations. Therefore, as shared earlier it in common for organizations and
individuals in organization to constantly innovate and resolve challenges that will benefit both the organization as
well as the employee.
This helps understand the key HR objectives which can be best illustrated by understanding the functions
that HR attempts to fulfill in any organization:
Human Resource Planning – estimating the need for resources in order achieve the desired business
results. HR plans can be both short term/immediate as well as long term / strategic. The HR team partners
with the line managers to understand the business goals and targets for the year and then together plan the
HR needs in order to meet the goals.
Acquisition of human resources – staffing the organizations with the right mix of skills and competencies
at the right time. It also includes HR initiatives like promotions and internal job posting to fulfill this
requirement for human resources. Staffing teams in organizations are usually a separate group of specialists
who work closely with the line managers to understand the skills and competencies needed for the job and
engage together to select the best talent for the open positions.
Training and employee development – focuses on managing training activities to upgrade skills and
knowledge as well as soft skills like team building and leadership. The training team is again a group of HR
specialists who propose the training program and consult with the line managers to ensure that the program
achieves the desired outcomes.
Building performance management systems – focuses on the right processes to set goals for performance
as individuals/teams and related measurement methods. This is a core HR activity and is supported by the
HR generalist.

11. MB0043
Reward systems – establishing appropriate compensation systems and reward mechanisms that would
reward the desired outcome and results in accordance with the corporate values. This again forms a part of
the HR generalist‟s tasks. How employees progress in a organization how they are paid w.r.t. internal and
external market factors, what employee benefits are offered, are some aspect that this function redresses.
Human Resources Information Systems that would take care of the operational transactions from the time
an employee joins till the time the employee exits, like personnel files, compensation administration,
payroll, benefits administration and issuing letters and testimonials. This task is supported by as separate
HR operations team who act as a HR helpdesk and provide information to the employees/managers.