INTRODUCTION
•
For any dynamic and growth-oriented
organization to survive in a fast-changing environment, HRD activities play a
very crucial role.
•
Recent economic restructuring in
Tunisia at the macro level influenced the need for production restructuring at
unit level and production restructuring necessitated labor restructuring
vis-a-vis restructuring of HRD activities in organisations.
•
The primary goal of HR manager is to
increase a worker’s productivity and a firm’s profitability as investment in
HRD improves a worker’s skill and enhances motivation. The other goal of HR
manager is to prevent obsolescence at all levels.
DESCRIPTION OF LINE AND STAFF FUNCTIONS
•
In a sense, all managers are HR
managers as they all get involved in activities like selecting, training,
compensating employees. Yet most firms, now a days, have the HR department
headed by a person with requisite qualifications in behavioral sciences.
•
Line managers have the final
responsibility for achieving the organization's goals. They also have the
authority to direct the work of subordinates. Staff managers usually help and
advise line managers in achieving organizational goals. HR managers are staff
experts. They assist line managers in areas like recruiting, selecting,
training and compensating.
•
Managing people, in a broader
context, is every manager’s business and successful organisations generally
combine the experience of line managers with the experience of HR specialists
while using the talents of employees to their greatest potential.
•
HR managers have to win the hearts of
employees working alongside line mangers and deliver results in a
cost-effective manner. HR managers as indicated earlier are assuming a greater
role in top management planning and decision making-a trend that indicates the
growing realization among executives that HRM can make significant
contributions to the success of an organization.
•
The functions of human resource
management may broadly be classified into two categories, i.e., managerial
functions and operative functions.
Managerial
Functions
•
The basic managerial functions
comprise planning, organizing, directing and controlling.
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i. Planning: This
function deals with the determination of the future course of action to achieve
desired results. Planning of personnel today prevents crises tomorrow. The
personnel manager is expected to determine the personnel program regarding recruitment,
selection and training of employees.
•
ii. Organizing: This
function is primarily concerned with proper grouping of personnel activities,
assigning of different groups of activities to different individuals and
delegation of authority. Creation of a proper structural framework is his
primary task. Organizing, in fact, is considered to be the wool of the entire
management fabric and hence cannot afford to be ignored.
•
iii. Directing: This
involves supervising and guiding the personnel. To execute plans, direction is
essential for without direction there is no destination. Many a time, the
success of the organization depends on the direction of things rather than
their design. Direction then consists of motivation and leadership. The
personnel manager must be an effective leader who can create winning teams.
While achieving results, the personnel manager must, invariably, take care of
the concerns and expectations of employees at all levels.
•
iv. Controlling: accomplishment
of plans. It makes individuals Controlling function of personnel management
comprises measuring the employee’s performance, correcting negative deviations
and industrial assuring an efficient are of their performance through review
reports, records and personnel audit programs. It ensures that the activities
are being carried out in accordance with stated plans.
•
iii. Directing: This
involves supervising and guiding the personnel. To execute plans, direction is
essential for without direction there is no destination. Many a time, the
success of the organization depends on the direction of things rather than
their design. Direction then consists of motivation and leadership. The
personnel manager must be an effective leader who can create winning teams.
While achieving results, the personnel manager must, invariably, take care of
the concerns and expectations of employees at all levels.
•
iv. Controlling: accomplishment
of plans. It makes individuals Controlling function of personnel management
comprises measuring the employee’s performance, correcting negative deviations
and industrial assuring an efficient are of their performance through review
reports, records and personnel audit programs. It ensures that the activities
are being carried out in accordance with stated plans.
•
iii. Directing: This
involves supervising and guiding the personnel. To execute plans, direction is
essential for without direction there is no destination. Many a time, the
success of the organization depends on the direction of things rather than
their design. Direction then consists of motivation and leadership. The
personnel manager must be an effective leader who can create winning teams.
While achieving results, the personnel manager must, invariably, take care of
the concerns and expectations of employees at all levels.
•
iv. Controlling: accomplishment
of plans. It makes individuals Controlling function of personnel management
comprises measuring the employee’s performance, correcting negative deviations
and industrial assuring an efficient are of their performance through review
reports, records and personnel audit programs. It ensures that the activities
are being carried out in accordance with stated plans.
•
The operative functions of P/HRM are
related to specific activities of personnel management, viz., employment,
development, compensation and industrial relations. These functions are to be
performed in conjunction with managerial functions.
• 1. Procurement function:
•
The first operative function of
personnel management is procurement. It is concerned with procuring and
employing people who possess necessary skill, knowledge and aptitude. Under its
purview you have job analysis, manpower planning, recruitment, selection,
placement, induction and internal mobility.
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i. Job analysis: It is the process of
collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities
pertaining to a specific job.
•
ii. Human resources planning: It is a
process of determining and assuring that the organization will have an adequate
number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which
would meet their needs and provide satisfaction for the individuals involved.
•
iii. Recruitment: It is the process
of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs
in the organization.
•
iv. Selection: It is the process of
ascertaining qualifications, experience, skill and knowledge of an applicant
with a view to appraising his/her suitability to the job in question.
•
v. Placement: It is the process that
ensures a 360º fit, matching the employee’s qualifications, experience, skills
and interest with the job on offer.
•
vi. Induction and orientation: are
techniques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in his new surroundings and
introduced to the practices, policies, and people.
•
vii. Internal Mobility: The movement
of employees from one job to another through transfers and promotions is called
internal mobility.
2. Development:
• It
is the process of improving, molding, changing and developing the skills,
knowledge, creative ability, aptitude, attitude, values and commitment based on
present and future requirements both at the individual’s and organization’s
level. This function includes:
•
i. Training: a continuous process by
which employees learn skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes to further
organizational and personnel goals.
•
ii. Executive development: It is a
systematic process of developing managerial skills and capabilities through
appropriate programs.
•
iii. Career planning and development:
It is the planning of one’s career and implementation of career plans by means
of education, training, job search and acquisition of work experiences.
•
iv. Human resource development: HRD
aims at developing the total organization. It creates a climate that enables
every employee to develop and use his capabilities in order to further both
individual and organizational goals.
3. Motivation and compensation:
•
It is a process which inspires people
to give their best to the organization through the use of intrinsic
(achievement, recognition, responsibility) and extrinsic (job design, work
scheduling, appraisal based incentives) rewards.
•
i. Job design: Organizing tasks, and
responsibilities towards having a productive unit of work.
•
ii. Work scheduling: to motivate
employees through job enrichment, shorter work weeks flexi-time, work sharing
and home work assignments. It is an attempt to structure work, incorporating
the physical, physiological and behavioral aspects of work.apbs
•
iii. Motivation: Managers
generally try to motivate people through properly administered rewards
(financial as well as non- financial).
•
iv. Job evaluation: It is the
systematic process of determining the relative worth of jobs in order to
establish which jobs should be paid more than others within the organization.
•
v. Performance appraisal: is
the process of deciding how employees do their jobs. It is a method of
evaluating the behavior of employees at the workplace and normally includes
both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of job performance.
•
vi. Compensation administration: The
important goals of compensation administration are to design a low-cost pay
plan that will attract, motivate and retain competent employees-which is also
perceived to be fair by these employees.
•
vii. Incentives and benefits: In
addition to a basic wage structure, most organizations nowadays offer incentive
compensation based on actual performance. Unlike incentives, benefits and
services are offered to all employees as required by law including social
security, insurance, workmen's compensation, welfare amenities etc.
4. Maintenance:
•
It aims at protecting and preserving
the physical and psychological health of employees through various welfare
measures.
•
i. Health and safety: They must
ensure a work environment that protects employees from physical hazards,
unhealthy conditions and unsafe acts of other personnel.
•
ii. Employee welfare: Housing,
transportation, education and recreation facilities are all included in the
employee welfare package.
•
iii. Social security measures: These
measures include: (a) Workmen’s compensation to those workers (or their
dependents) who are involved in accidents; (b) Maternity benefits to women
employees; (c) Sickness benefits and medical benefits; (d) Disablement
benefits/allowance; (e) Dependent benefits; (f) Retirement benefits like
Provident Fund, Pension, Gratuity, etc.
5. Integration function:
•
This tries to integrate the goals of
an organization with employee aspirations through various employee-oriented
programs, like redressing grievances promptly, instituting proper disciplinary
measures, empowering people to decide things independently, encouraging a
participative culture, offering constructive help to trade unions etc.
•
i. Grievance redressal:.
Constructive grievance handling depends first on the manager’s ability to
recognize, diagnose and correct the causes of potential employee
dissatisfaction before it converts into a formal grievance.
•
ii. Discipline: It is the
force that prompts an individual or a group to observe the rules, regulations
and procedures, which are deemed necessary for the attainment of an objective.
•
iii. Teams and teamwork: Self-managed
teams have emerged as the most important formal groups in today’s
organisations. They enhance employee involvement and have the potential to
create positive synergy.
•
iv. Collective bargaining: It
is the process of agreeing on a satisfactory labor contract between management
and union. The contract contains agreements about conditions of employment such
as wages, hours, promotion, and discipline; lay off, benefits, vacations, rest
pauses and the grievance procedure.
•
v. Employee participation and
empowerment: Participation means sharing the decision-making power with the
lower ranks of an organization in an appropriate manner.
•
vi. Trade unions and employees
association: Trade union is an association either of employees
or employers or independent workers. It is a relatively permanent a body formed
by workers with the objective of countering exploitation and harassment.
•
vii. Industrial relations: Harmonious
industrial relations between labor and management are essential to achieve
industrial growth and higher productivity.
6. Emerging issues:
•
Effective management of human
resources depends on refining HRM practices to changing conditions. Hence the
need to look at other important issues that can motivate people to give their
best in a dynamic and ever-changing environment.
•
i. Personnel records: such
as papers, files, cards, cassettes and films are maintained to have tangible
record of what is actually happening in an organization and to formulate
appropriate HR policies and programs from time to time.
•
ii. Human resource audit: an
examination and evaluation of policies, procedures and practices to determine
the effectiveness of HRM. Personnel audit (a) measures the effectiveness of
personnel programs and practices and (b) determines what should or should not
be done in future.
•
iii. Human resources research: It
is the process of evaluating the effectiveness of human resource policies and
practices and developing more appropriate ones.
•
iv. Human resources accounting (HRA):
It is a measurement of the cost and value of human
resources to the organization.
•
v. Human resource information system:
HRIS is an integrated system designed to improve the
efficiency with which HR data is compiled.
•
vi. Stress and counseling: At
an organizational level, stress results in burn out, substance abuse in the
form of alcohol or drug use/dependence reduced job satisfaction, increased
absenteeism and increased turnover.
•
vii. International human resource
management: International HRM places greater emphasis on a
number of responsibilities and functions such as relocation, orientation and
training services to help employees adapt to a new and different environment
outside their own country.
ROLE
OF HR MANAGERS
•
Human Resource Managers, nowadays,
wear many hats. They perform mainly three different types of roles, while
meeting the requirement of employees and customers, namely administrative,
operational and strategic.
1/ Administrative RolesThe administrative roles of human resource management include policy formulation and
implementation, housekeeping, records maintenance, welfare administration,
legal compliance etc.
•
i. Policy
maker: helps management in the formation of pol icies governing
talent acquisition and retention, wage and salary administration, welfare
activities, personnel records, working conditions etc.
•
ii. Administrative
expert: heavily oriented to processing and record keeping.
Maintaining employee files, and He related databases, processing employee
benefit claims, answering queries regarding leave, transport and medical
facilities, submitting required reports to regulatory agencies are examples of
the administrative nature of HR management.
•
iii. Advisor:
It The personnel manager performs his functions by advising,suggesting, counseling
and helping the line managers in discharging their responsibilities relating to
grievance redressal, conflict resolution, employee selection and training.
•
iv. Housekeeper: include
recruiting, pre-employment testing, reference checking, employee surveys, time
keeping, wage and salary administration, benefits and pension administration,
wellness programs, maintenance of records etc.
•
v. Counsellor: The
personnel manager discusses various problems of the employees relating to work,
career, their supervisors, colleagues, health, family, financial, social, etc.
and advises them on minimizing and overcoming problems, if any.
•
vi. Welfare officer: As
a Welfare officer he provides and maintains (on behalf of the company)
canteens, hospitals, creches, educational institutes, clubs, libraries,
co-operative credit societies and consumer stores.
•
vii. Legal consultant: Personnel
manager plays a role of grievance handling, settling of disputes, handling
disciplinary cases, doing collective bargaining, enabling the process of joint
consultation, interpretation and implementation of various labor laws,
contacting lawyers regarding court cases, filing suits in labor courts,
industrial tribunals, civil courts and the like.
•
In some organizations, the above
administrative functions are being outsourced to external providers in recent
times, with a view to increasing efficiency as also cutting operational costs.
Technology, is being put to good use to automate many of the administrative
tasks.
2/ Operational Roles
•
These roles are tactical in nature
and include recruiting, training and developing employees; coordinating HR
activities with the actions of managers and supervisors throughout the
organization and resolving differences between employees.
•
i. Recruiter: HR
managers have to use their experience to good effect while laying down
lucrative career paths to new recruits without, increasing the financial burden
to the company.
•
ii. Trainer developer, motivator: Apart
from talent acquisition, talent retention is also important. To this end, HR
managers have to find skill deficiencies from time to time, offer meaningful
training opportunities, and bring out the latent potential of people through
intrinsic and extrinsic rewards which are valued by employees.
•
iii. Coordinator/linking pin: between
various divisions/departments of an organization. The whole exercise is meant
to develop rapport with divisional heads, using PR and communication skills of
HR executives to the maximum possible extent.
•
iv. Mediator: in
case of friction between two employees, groups of employees, superiors and
subordinates and employees and management with the sole objective of
maintaining industrial harmony.
• v.
Employee champion: HR managers have traditionally been viewed as ‘company
morale officers’ or employee advocates. Liberalization, privatization
and globalization pressures have changed the situation dramatically HR
professionals have had to move closer to the hearts of employees in their own
self interest. To deliver results they are now seriously preoccupied with:
•
Placing people on the right job.
•
Charting a suitable career path for
each employee.
• Rewarding
creditable performance.
•
Resolving differences between employees
and groups smoothly.
• Adopting
family-friendly policies.
•
Ensuring fair and equitable treatment
to all people regardless of their background.
•
Striking a happy balance between the
employee's personal/professional as also the larger organizational needs.
•
Representing workers’ issues,
problems and concerns to the management in order to deliver effective results
HR managers have to treat their employees as valuable assets. Such an approach
helps to ensure that HR practices and principles are in sync with the
organization’s overall strategy. It forces the organization to invest in its
best employees and ensure that performance standards are not compromised.
3/ Strategic Roles
•
An organization’s success
increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities of its employees,
particularly as they help establish a set of core competencies (activities that
the firm performs especially well when compared to its competitors and through
which the firm adds value to its goods and services over a long period of time,
e.g. ONGC 's oil exploration capabilities and Dell's ability to deliver low
cost, high-quality computers at an amazing speed) that distinguish an
organization from its competitors.
•
When employees’ talents are valuable,
rare, difficult to imitate and organized, a firm can achieve sustained
competitive advantage through its people. The strategic role of HR management
focuses attention on how to enable ordinary employees to turn out extraordinary
performance, taking care of their ever-changing expectations. The key areas of
attention in this era of global competition include effective management of key
resources (employees, technology, work processes), while delivering cost
effective, value enhancing solutions
• i.
Change agent:
•
Strategic HR as it is popularly
called now aims at building the organization’s capacity to embrace and
capitalize on change. It makes sure that change initiatives that are focused on
creating high-performing teams, reducing cycle time for innovation, or
implementing new technology are defined, developed and delivered in a timely
manner. The HR manager in his new avatar would help employees translate the
vision statements into a meaningful format (Ulrich, 1998).
• HR's
role as a change agent is to replace resistance with resolve, planning with
results and fear of change with excitement about its possibilities. HR helps an
organization identify the key success factors for change and assess the
organization’s strengths and weaknesses regarding each factor. It may not
decide what changes the organization is going to embrace, but it would
certainly lead the process to make them explicit. In helping to bring about a
new HR environment there needs to be clarity on issues like who is responsible
for bringing about change? Why do it? What will it look when we are done? Who
else needs to be involved? , How will it be measured? How will it be
institutionalized? How will it be measured? How will it get initiated,
developed and sustained?
• ii.
Strategic partner:
•
HR’s role is not just to adapt its
activities to the firm’s business strategy, nor certainly to carry out
fire-fighting operations like compensating employees. Instead, it must deliver
strategic services cost effectively by building a competent, consumer-oriented
work force. It must assume important roles in strategy formulation as well
strategy implementation.
•
To this end, it must identify
external opportunities from time to time, develop HR based competitive
advantages and move in to close the gaps advantageously (like excellent
training centre, design centre, automation centre etc. which could be used by
others as well). While implementing strategies, HR should develop appropriate
ways to restructure work processes smoothly.
TO SUM UP
•
HR can initiate systematic efforts to
enhance skill levels of employees so that the firm can compete on quality.
Globalization, deregulation and technological innovations have, in recent
times, created the need for rather, faster and more competitive organisations.
•
The basic managerial functions
comprise planning, organizing, directing and controlling. The administrative
roles of human resource management include policy formulation and
implementation, housekeeping, records maintenance, welfare administration,
legal compliance etc. Operational roles are tactical in nature and include
recruiting, training and developing employees; coordinating HR activities with
the actions of managers and supervisors throughout the organization and resolving
differences between employees.
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