Module - 1

Perspectives in HRM
 Introduction
Human Resources – “Total knowledge, Skill, Creative
abilities, talents & aptitudes of an organization’s
workforce, as well as the values, attitudes & beliefs of
the individuals involved”.

HR / People is one of the valuable & unique assets of any

organization.

The success & survival of any organization depends on the

quality of workforce.

Competent managers & employees are essential for reaching

It is the key for Competitive advantage.

But it is one of the most complex & challenging fields of Modern

management.
Definitions of HRM –

“HRM is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and

compensating employees, and attending to their labour
relations, health and safety, benefits, motivation and fairness
concerns.”

According to Ivancevich & Glueck – “HRM is the function

performed in organizations that facilitates the most effective
use of employees to achieve organizational & individual goals”.

“A distinctive approach to employment management which

seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic
deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce,
using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel
techniques.”
HRM deals with issues related to people – ‘People or Personal
aspects’.

“HRM is responsible for how people are treated in

organizations. It is responsible for bringing people into the
organization, helping them perform their work,
compensating them for their labors, and solving problems
that arise".
Objectives of HRM –

To create and utilize an able and motivated workforce, to

accomplish the basic organizational goals.

To establish and maintain sound organizational structure

and desirable working relationships among all the
members of the organization.

To secure the integration of individual or groups within the

organization by co-ordination of the individual and group
goals with those of the organization.
To create facilities and opportunities for individual or
group development so as to match it with the growth of the
organization.

To attain an effective utilization of human resources in the

achievement of organizational goals.

To identify and satisfy individual and group needs by

providing adequate and equitable wages, incentives,
employee benefits and social security and measures for
challenging work, prestige, recognition, security, status.
To maintain employees morale and sound human relations
by sustaining and improving the various conditions and
facilities.

To strengthen and appreciate the human assets

continuously by providing training and development
programs.

To consider and contribute to the minimization of socio-

economic evils such as unemployment, under-employment,
inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth and to
improve the welfare of the society by providing
employment opportunities to women and disadvantaged
sections of the society.
To provide an opportunity for expression and voice

management.

To provide fair, acceptable and efficient leadership.

To provide facilities and conditions of work and creation of

favorable atmosphere for maintaining stability of

employment.
Good HR practices helps to:

Attract and retain talent.

Train people for challenging jobs.

Develop skills and competencies.

Promote team spirit.

Develop loyalty and commitment.

Increase productivity and profits.

Enhance standard of living.

Improve job satisfaction.

Generate employment opportunities.

Lack of HR management / People Management skills
leads to –

Hire the wrong person for the job

Experience high turnover

Have people not doing the best

Waste time with useless interviews

Company cited under occupational safety laws for unsafe practices

Some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable

Allow a lack of training to undermine effectiveness

Commit any unfair labour practices

Qualities of HR Professional –

Personal Attributes / General Attributes– Initiative, Creative

thinking, problem solving skills, Leadership qualities, Professional Ethics,
Decision making, Communication skills, Co-operation, Forecasting,
Environmental Sensitivity, Personal Credibility, Business Etiquettes,
Intelligence
Educational Skills – Learning & Teaching skills
Discriminating Skills
Executing Skills

Expertise in Personnel Administration – Knowledge of Relevant

laws, procedures, techniques & developments in theory & practice in
economies, behavioural sciences.
Experience & Training

Professional Attitudes

Qualifications

Business Mastery

Change Mastery

Business Networks
All managers have certain basic HR functions -

1. Planning :
Establishing goals and standards.
Developing rules and procedures.
Developing plans and forecasting.

2. Organising :
Giving each subordinate specific task.
Establishing departments.
Delegating authority and responsibility to subordinates.
Establishing channels of authority and communication.
Coordinating the work of subordinates.
3. Staffing:
Determining what type of people should be hired.
Recruiting prospective employees.
Setting performance standards.
Compensating employees.
Counselling employees.
Training and developing employees.

4. Leading :
Getting others to get the job done
Maintaining morale
Motivating subordinates
5. Controlling :

Setting standards such as sales quotas, quality standards, or production

levels.

Checking to see how actual performance compares with these standards.

Taking corrective action as needed

 Changing Business
Increased Business partnerships Changing Business principles

Team based organizations Use of IT

Competition in public sector Increase in production /

Efficiency productivity

Transparency Decrease in number of employees

Increased Quality concerns Flexibility in policies

Accountability New experiments

Customer Focus

People participation
Structure of HR Department (For Big Organization)
Vice President
Human Resources

Administrative
assistant

Employee relations
Director - Employee Wage / Salary Recruitment & Director- Training Director - Benefit Labour
services
Health services administration placement and education services relations

Manager
Manager Employee
Manager Orientation / Manager
Manager Appraisal and Counselling /
Personal records, Training / Benefit payroll /
Safety Performance Employee
/ mgmt search Management Employee benefit
Management / Recognition
development
Payroll Processing programs
HR Organisational chart (Small Company) :

Manager
Labour Relations &
Human Relations

Human Resources
Administrative
coordinator

Human Resource
Office Generalist
Coordinator
 HR Manager’s Responsibilities

1. Involvement in the strategic planning process

2. Forecasting the labour requirement

3. Recruitment

4. Selection

5. Induction

6. Training

7. Prepare information and input for the salary budgets

8. To develop the HR team, to ensure the provision of a

professional HR service to the organization.

9. Motivation

10. Performance Appraisal

11. Rewarding employees

12. Managing Carrier Growth of employees / Promotions

13. Managing Redundancy

14. Managing employee grievance

15. Oversee the central HR Administration

16. Vendor Management

17. Administration Activities

18. Change Management

 HR Policy
HR policies are systems of codified decisions, established by an
organization, to support administrative personnel functions,
performance management, employee relations and resource
planning.

Each company has a different set of circumstances, and so

develops an individual set of human resource policies.

HR policies provide an organization particularly to HR

department with a mechanism to manage risk by staying up to
date with current trends in employment standards and
legislation.
 The HR policies must be framed in a manner that the

companies vision & the human resource helping the company to

achieve it or work towards it are at all levels benefited and at the

same time not deviated from their main objective.

Subordinates expect that the superior should have integrity, higher

.
performance skill, commitment, guidance and leadership qualities, support and
patronising tendencies, accessibility, wider vision, sense of empowerment, and
credibility.

Boss expects commitment to job, integrity, competence, reliability, initiative,

loyalty to the organisation, self-discipline, accountability and job involvement.

A good HRM environment ensures balanced interaction between the two set
of expectations and harmony.

HRM strategies in India have to focus on better individual-organisation

interface and greater emphasis on organisational effectiveness than on personal
success.
HRM in IT Industry:

Researches suggested that -

‘In majority of IT companies, new hires came as a result of internal referrals’.

Formal development and learning needs analysis system was found among high
tech firms.

IT industry in India provides formal career path and development processes for
their employees.

Sources of recruitment are – Campus, and through advertisements.

Challenges are – scarcity of supply, retention of talents, computer vision

syndrome (CVS).
Compensation in IT industry :

Leader in changing traditional compensation practices – more cash oriented

than perquisites oriented.

Large number of employees and their spouses work at the same industry.

Workforce is young and coupled with high expectations, performance

management - combines development and reward.

Leading in 360 – degree appraisals

ESOP (employee stock option plan) : Offered by IT companies- Infosys,

Wipro, Mastek, etc.,
 Strategic HR /
Distinction
Traditional HR Emerging HR
Point
Practice
Focus Employee relations Partnership with
internal and external
customers
Role of HR Transactional change follower and Transformational
respondent change leader & initiator
Initiative Slow, reactive, fragmented Fast, proactive and
integrated
Time Horizon Short-term Short, medium & long
(as required)
Control Bureaucratic-roles, policies, Organic- flexible, as
procedures applicable
Job design Tight division of labour, Broad, flexible, cross-
independence, specialization training teams
Key investments Capital, products People, knowledge

Accountability Cost centre Investment, centre

 CONTEXT OF HRM
The environment in which HR Professionals
need to work -
 Impact of Globalisation on HRM

Globalisation is ‘the tendency of firms to extend their sales, ownership

and /or manufacturing to new market in abroad’.

Ex – Toyota Produces in India, Dell produces and sell PCs in China.

Free trade areas, agreements reduce tariff / barriers and encourage

international trade - NAFTA / EU / etc.,

Globalisation - increase in competition – world class.

Globalisation – employee to be more productive

Technological advances have resulted in saving cost and HR faces the

challenge of quickly applying technology to the task of improving its own

operations.

Exporting jobs: Outsourcing / ex – Call centres, BPO, KPO, Banking,

Pharmaceuticals.

The nature of work: Changing technology demand changing skills of the

employees – ‘from brawn to brains’.

Workforce demographics: Changing demographics due to entry of women,

minority group, older workers, etc.,

Implications of New Economic Policy on HRM in
India
Right Sizing

Down – Sizing

Redundancy Management

Outsourcing

M&A

TQHRM

Changes in design of jobs

Career planning programs

Implications of New Economic Policy on HRM in
India

Diversity of workforce

Dis-investment

Global HR Standards

Irrelevance of Trade Unions

Performance based reward systems

Collective Bargaining
HR Job Roles / Designations –
Recruiters
Compensation / Payroll Executives
Training specialists / Training coordinators
Labour relation specialists / Mediator
Equal employment opportunity coordinators
Career Counsellors / General Counsellors
OD Consultants
Payroll Executives
Visa Processing executives
Appraisal / Performance Management executives
Administrative executives
Induction / Exit management executives
HRIS Executives
Employee Welfare Officers
Compliance Management executives
Employee Relationship Officers
Functions of HRM –

Conducting job analysis

Planning labour needs and recruiting job candidates
Selecting job candidates
Orienting and training new employees
Training and developing
Appraising employees
Managing wages and salaries (Compensating)
Providing incentives, bonus and fringe benefits
Communicating (Interviewing, counselling, & Discipline)
Building employee commitment
Career Planning & Development