IGNOU MS-02 Free Solved Assignment 2012

Course Code                      :               MS - 2

Course Title                       :               Management of Human Resources

Assignment Code            :               MS-2/TMA/SEM - I /2012

Coverage                             :               All Blocks

Note: Answer all the questions and submit this assignment on or before April 30, 2012, to the coordinator of your study center.

Q1.How do you see the role of HRM changing in the present day context of business? What are the new mandates of HRM? Explain with the example of the organization you have been working for or familiar with. Quote specific situations to explain your point. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Solution: Human Resource Management is much discussed in today's business world. But how well is it understood? In a world where people's competencies and skill sets are described in paragraphs rather than in a few words and where media reports of salaries make us do a double-take to ensure that seeing is indeed believing, it is becoming increasingly challenging to manage this high potential we consider as the country's asset.

Over the past two decades, the world saw a complete makeover in the way Human Resource Management in organisations was defined, but in India, the change has been more prominent in the last decade or so, after liberalisation.

Today, managing the expectations and motivations of a skilled workforce has brought with it attendant complexities in terms of the need for robust HR practices and organisational procedures.

Earlier considered a support function for any business, HRM today is required to take on a more strategic role in order to align itself with the organisation's business strategies. Hence, the HR manager is expected to take on the mantle of a business partner along with managers of other line functions, in driving the firm's strategies.

The shift in focus from traditional HRM to strategic HRM was inevitable. Competitive advantage for an organisation lies not just in differentiating a product or service or in becoming the low cost leader but in also being able to tap the company's special skills or core competencies and rapidly respond to customer's needs and competitor's moves. HR management can play a role in identifying and analysing external opportunities and threats that may be crucial to the company's success. It is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in the strategic planning process.

Human Resource Accounting

Over the years, some of the traditional HR practices have been revisited and analysed to evaluate their suitability in today's world. One such major practice is the concept of Human Resource Accounting (HRA). Initially, one might hesitate to accept a concept which tries to put a monetary value to human beings. How does one attach a number to a person's capabilities? However, HRA represents a way to gauge how strong and profitable an organisation's workforce is. Organisations have been claiming that their employees are their most valuable assets.

The spate of downsizings and increasing job insecurity notwithstanding, the resurgence of interest in the area of HRA is perhaps testimony to this approach, where investments in human resources are now included as assets in a company's balance sheet, rather than expense heads in their profit and loss statements.

The signals are clear — the employee is an asset who can be groomed to bring in future profitability — an asset which can define the company's image in the market today. HRA also involves accounting for investment in people and their replacement costs, as also the economic value of people in an organisation. A trend yet to catch up in the Indian industry, with a few exceptions such as BHEL, Infosys, SBI and Reliance industries, it has been extensively embraced in the West.

Competency mapping

With the growth of the industries in the `knowledge-verticals', human talent is undoubtedly the most important asset today. To make sure that a company selects the right person for the right job, and manages him/her carefully, processes like competency mapping are gaining ground. Competency mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for a particular position in an organisation, and then using it for job-evaluation, recruitment, training and development, performance management, and succession planning. In conjunction with the balanced scorecard, this can be an extremely robust tool to manage an organisation's performance. Despite the growing level of awareness, however, in India, competency development and mapping still remains in the nascent stages of implementation.

As far as the HR function is concerned, the time has perhaps come where it needs to be treated as a line function with every manager having HR activities as part of his line responsibilities, rather than treating HR as a separate, support-providing activity only. Today's manager is expected to wear multiple hats — that of a leader, internal change agent, coach, counsellor, mentor — in addition to his/her `technical' responsibilities. This would entail that every manager, irrespective of his/her functional area of specialisation, would have to have a thorough grounding in concepts and processes of HR.

At the IIT-Madras Department of Management Studies, the curriculum followed in the HR area of specialisation reflects a response to these changing trends, where, in addition to incorporating the newest trends and best practices in the traditional HR course curriculum, newer courses in cross-cultural management, change management, and international HRM attempt to familiarise the students with new concepts.

It has become fashionable among organisations to use terms such as HRD (Human Resource Development) and HCM (Human Capital Management) as being representative of the changing trends in HR practices. Merely renaming the function is however not going to be sufficient. The need of the hour is for premier institutes such as the IIMs, IITs as well as other professional institutions to rise to the occasion and re-design their curriculum and pedagogical methods in consultation with the industry, in order to train their students to meet the changed expectations of the industry.

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Q2.What are the methods of Job Analysis and techniques of writing Job Description. Take example of a few job descriptions and explain its components as techniques of writing it. Explain the organisation and the context of the job adequately to support your answers.

Solution:  There are several ways to conduct a job analysis, including: interviews with incumbents and supervisors, questionnaires (structured, open-ended, or both), observation, critical incident investigations, and gathering background information such as duty statements or classification specifications. In job analysis conducted by HR professionals, it is common to use more than one of these methods.

For example, the job analysts may tour the job site and observe workers performing their jobs. During the tour the analyst may collect materials that directly or indirectly indicate required skills (duty statements, instructions, safety manuals, quality charts, etc.).

The analyst may then meet with a group of workers or incumbents. And finally, a survey may be administered. In these cases, job analysts typically are industrial/organizational psychologists or Human Resource Officers who have been trained by, and are acting under the supervision of an industrial psychologist.

In the context of vocational rehabilitation, the primary method is direct observation and may even include video recordings of incumbents involved in the work. It is common for such job analysts to use scales and other apparatus to collect precise measures of the amount of strength or force required for various tasks. Accurate, factual evidence of the degree of strength required for job performance is needed to justify that a disabled worker is legitimately qualified for disability status. In the United States, billions of dollars are paid to disabled workers by private insurers and the federal government (primarily through the Social Security Administration). Disability determination is, therefore, often a fairly "high-stakes" decision. Job analysts in these contexts typically come from a health occupation such as occupational or physical therapy.

Questionnaires are the most common methodology employed by certification test developers, although the content of the questionnaires (often lists of tasks that might be performed) are gathered through interviews or focus groups. Job analysts can at times operate under the supervision of a psychometrician.

Writing Effective Job Descriptions

'Getting It Right, The First Time - So You Get The Right Person'

Who Should Attend?

Human Resource personnel, administration staff responsible for Human Resources, and / or line managers involved in staff appraisals, job evaluation, or other organizational changes.

About the Programme

This one-day course is designed to be of highly practical value to delegates. At the end of the programme, they will have the necessary skills to write Job Descriptions and Person Specifications for their organizations.

Course Objectives

To understand the need for Job Descriptions and Person Specifications in the workplace

To understand the difference between Job Descriptions, Person Specifications and Competencies

To understand the key components of Job Descriptions and Person Specifications

To understand how to use Job Descriptions and Person Specifications in the workplace

To provide practice in constructing professional Job Descriptions and Person Specifications

What You Will Gain

Practical experience in writing Job Descriptions and Person Specifications

A guided understanding of the needs, components, and various uses of Job Descriptions and Person Specifications in the workplace

Programme Contents

What Is A Job Description?

Effective Job Descriptions - Background

What Is 'Job Analysis' & Why Is It Important?

The Definitions Used In Job Analysis

The Employee's Role In Job Analysis

Creating A Job Description

Guidelines For Writing Job Descriptions

What To Include In A Job Description

Job Descriptions & Recruitment

What Are 'Key / Core Competencies'?

What Is A 'Person Specification'?

The Seven Point Plan

Guided Practice In Writing Job Descriptions & Person Specifications, For Your Workplace

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Q3.What are the methods of Competency Mapping? Explain briefly with organizational example of the organization you are working for or familiar with. Briefly describe the organization and the context leading to mapping.

Solution: Competency mapping can play a significant role in recruiting and retaining people as it gives a more accurate analysis of the job requirements, the candidate's capability, of the difference between the two, and the development and training needs to bridge the gaps, asserts Martin.

As far as meeting an individual's career aspirations are concerned, once the organisation gives an employee the perspective of what is required from him to reach a particular position, it drives him to develop the competencies for the same. "Competencies enable individuals to identify and articulate what they offer-regardless of the (usually misfit) job they happen to have at the time-so that their organisation (current or future) can see, value and utilise what capability is actually available," says Martin.

Lynette D'Silva, manager, learning & development, HR, Zensar Technologies, points out that competency mapping helps identify the success criteria (i.e. behavioural standards of performance excellence) required for individuals to be successful in their roles. It helps to:

• Support specific and objective assessment of their strengths, and specify targeted areas for professional development.
• Provide development tools and methods for enhancing their skills.
• Provide the basis for a more objective dialogue with their manager or team about performance, development, and career-related issues.

"If an individual is able to discuss the above with his manager, it will help him to chalk out his growth perspectives in the company," states D'Silva.

At Zensar and L&T Infotech

As a result of competency mapping, all the HR processes like talent induction, appraisals and training yield much better results  Ullhas Pagey HR Consultant	Competency mapping helps identify the success criteria required for individuals to be successful in their roles  Lynette D’Silva  Manager Learning & Development, HR Zensar Technologies

Zensar has a behavioural competency model which is based on various job roles in the organisation. D'Silva describes the process of implementation:

• Having defined the various job roles, a focused study was initiated where job role holders were interviewed on the critical incident method and the data of success-critical factors was collated.
• The job roles and deliverables were finalised on the basis of the competencies derived from the data. This data was further analysed, and on the basis of this competencies that had an impact on the job roles and deliverables were finalised.
• After identifying the competencies, a job analysis exercise was carried out where the importance level of every competency was ascertained before freezing the competency model.

For team leaders and project managers, the company also runs development centres in-house; here, individuals are profiled on behavioural competencies required for their position. "This process creates awareness in the individual about his behavioural traits in detail, and helps him chalk out an individual development plan. Development centres help map an individual's potential, which is useful to both the individual and the organisation. All management development programmes are also fine-tuned to address the specific competency needs at different levels," explains D'Silva, adding that the 360-degree feedback has also been designed on the competency model, enabling managers to get feedback from their teams. This feedback is based on the rating of the competencies which are an integral part of their managerial skill-set.

L&T Infotech, a PCMM Level 5 company, has a successful competency-based HR system. Recruitment, training, job rotation, succession planning and promotions-all are defined by competency mapping. Says Dr Devendra Nath, executive vice-president of the company, who had initiated the PCMM process in the parent company (L&T) in 1997, "Nearly all our HR interventions are linked to competency. Competencies are enhanced through training and job rotation." He adds that all people who have gone through job rotation undergo a transformation and get a broader perspective of the company. For instance, a person lacking in negotiation skills might be put in the sales or purchase department for a year to hone his skills in the area.

Dhananjay Savarkar, head of the training department, L&T Infotech, asserts that in no two organisations can competency frameworks be the same; it will vary over time even in one organisation. It is not timeless, it is contextual. "We call it the DNA of success…it is what makes star performers work in a particular way. Isolate the DNA and make it available to ten others," says Savarkar. When the company started competency mapping the whole process took eight months for six roles and two variations. Eventually, 16-18 profiles were worked out. The company uses PeopleSoft for competency mapping. "Behavioural competencies do not change every month. Two appraisals are done subsequently… every project-end for skills, and annual for behavioural competencies." He acknowledges that there was resistance from the line people, but when the numbers started flowing they sat up. Every quarter, an SBU-based skills portfolio is published. Nath says that it has been a very rewarding experience. As far as training and development is concerned, instead of asking people to attend classes, they themselves get pulled to the classes. Introduction of competency mapping has also involved introducing skill appraisals in performance appraisals. This has also led to training people on how to assess subordinates on competencies. Notes Nath, "The best human resources development is when people in the line department do HR. Where the HR department is the enabler, the line people see the advantage and drive us." Competency-based HR makes this almost-utopian dream attainable.

Competency Profile of a Project Manager in an SBU at L&T Infotech

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Q4.Explain the concept of Role and Role systems. Explain them with the help of organizational example. How do you see your role fitting into Role set and Role space, explain. Briefly describe the organisation, you are referring to.

Solution: Role is the position one occupies in a social system, as defined by the functions on

performs in response to the expectations of the 'significant' members of social  system, and one's own expectations from that position or office. Role and office ( or  position), though two sides of the same coin, are, however, two separate concepts.  According to Katz and Kahn, "Office is essentially a relational concept, defining each  position in terms of its relationship to other and to the system as a whole". Each individual occupies and plays several roles. A person X, is a daughter, a  mother, a salesperson, an member of a club, a member of a voluntary organization,  and so on. All these roles constitute the role space of X. At the centre of the role  space is the self. As the concept of role is central to that of an organization, so also  the concept of self is central to the several roles of a person. The term 'self refers to  the interpretations the person makes about the referent' I".. It is a cognitive structure  which evolves from past experience with other persons and objects. Self can be

defined as the experience of an identity arising from a person's interactions with the  external reality - things, persons and systems.  A person performs various roles which are centred the self These roles are at varying  distances from the self (and from each other). These relationships define the 'role  space. Role space, is then a dynamic interrelationship between the self and the

various role an individuals occupies, and also amongst these roles. The Concepts and System of  The distance between a role and the self indicates the extent to which the role is  integrated with the self. When we do not enjoy a particular role or do not get  involved in it, there is a distance between the self and the role. We shall use the term  self-role distance to denote this: Similarly, there may be distance between two roles  that a person occupies. For example, the role of club membership may be,  distant  from the, role of a husband: This we will term as inter-role distance or inter-role  conflict.  

The role space map of an individual can be drawn by location the self in the centre,  an various roles occupied at varying distances from the self. Exhibit 7 presents the  role space of a person "A", who is personnel manger in a company. The numbers 9 to  1, for the various circles, represent distances . from the self 1 denoting the least  distance and 9 the most. The various roles of A are located in the four quadrants  according to the context (i.e., family, organization., profession or recreation).

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Q5.What are the functions, determinants and objectives of compensation in an organizational context? Explain with example whether the compensation structures are essentially based on evaluation programme? Briefly describe the organization, you are referring to.

Solution: Pay satisfaction results in positive work attitude and behavior among employees. This has positive impact on organizational effectiveness and performance. Maximize the potential of compensation impact on organizational effectiveness by giving fair and just pay.None can deny the fact that most people seek employment and expect fair compensation for the work they have done.

There are very few people - possibly none - who are willing and readily do work for free. Those involved in charitable activities are possibly the exceptions.

According to Barber and Bretz (2000), "pay is one of the most important job attributes to job seekers."Employees are interested to know their commencing pay and the pay structure indicating the minimum and maximum pay range. They also want to know the formula for calculating pay increases whether given annually or on the occurrence of certain events such as upon promotion or when additional responsibilities are given. Benefits which are non-cash compensation are also important to employees.

Profit-Oriented Organizations

Maslow's Theory of Needs indicates how compensation impact on organizational effectiveness may apply. Pay allows people to satisfy their needs at the lower levels.

Fairness in compensation systems is important. Employees must not only feel that they are compensated fairly but that they - as well as others - must perceive that the compensation is fair in the circumstances.Money is one of the things that can motivate workers. However, it has its limit in maintaining employee motivation.

Money - that is, compensation - has different effect on different people. Even if this is so, every employee will perform the necessary required work for as long as he or she is fairly compensated.Motivated people perform well. In this way they have impact on the productivity, and thus, profitability, of organizations.

Charitable Organizations

You may want to know the compensation impact on organizational effectiveness in charitable organizations.

You can say that people who involve themselves in charitable works have different motivation in life. They are motivated more by the good resulting from their contribution than by monetary gains. They feel happy that they have participated for the general good and want to continue as long as they possibly can.Their good feeling and joy in giving help freely is a form of "compensation." These people will feel that they have not used their time, energy and talent in vain.However, charitable organizations have full-time employees. Surely, pay is an important motivation for them.

Compensation and Job Satisfaction

There are surveys that indicate compensation affects job satisfaction. It has impact on employee attitude and behavior.

When employees are dissatisfied,

1. The quality of their work will become worse

2. They tend to be late or do things other than their core tasks, and

3. The level of absenteeism and turnover is higher.

These have negative impacts on organizational performance. An organization can lose its capability but only to the degree that negative attitude and behavior are shared by the majority of employees. Delivery of products or services of the required quality and number on time will suffer a setback.

Rampant absenteeism and high turnover, for example, can spell disaster for organizations.

You may have noticed that there are other factors involved. Take for example, the real possibility that fairness in compensation is perceived differently by different people. There are also external forces that influence employees' understanding of what constitutes fairness. Employee unions can sway members' thinking.

Union officials who negotiated a poor pay for members can have negative impact on employees satisfaction with their pay.

Employees who are satisfied with their union's action tend to be satisfied with their pay. They tend to perform better. However, if the union's performance and the negotiated pay is not satisfactory, employees tend to perform poorly. Some surveys had been conducted on this. You can conclude that compensation impact on organizational effectiveness is playing a role here. Employee performance has a corresponding effect on the organization's performance. It is important to remember that different outcomes may result in different organizations.

Strategic Compensation

Since compensation impact on organizational effectiveness is a reality, it is only logical that you optimize its potential by giving your people fair and just compensation for works well done or to motivate employees to perform better.

Again, many factors come into play including union membership, understanding and perception of what constitutes "fair and just" compensation, present conditions, and so on.

A fair compensation framework has the potential of making employees more satisfied. Since pay is one of the important attributes of work, employees will perform well for a fair pay.

This, in turn, impacts on organizational performance and effectiveness.

If you manage to strike a good balance between pay and work, among other things, you will surely achieve some degree of compensation impact on organizational effectiveness.

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