Human Resource Management: Job Analysis And Job Description

DEFINITIONS:

JOB - Collection of tasks, duties, responsibilities, which as a whole comprise the established assignment to an individual employee.

PURPOSE OF JOB ANALYSIS:
Job Analysis (a.k.a Job Study) - Determination through observation and study of comprehensive information regarding a job with a view to specifying tasks and necessary abilities, knowledge and skills required to perform it. It is carried out by the HR Department and aided by the respective departments of the organization.

METHODS EMPLOYED FOR JOB ANALYSIS/JOB STUDY:
1. Interview and Questionnaire with the incumbents, department Managers and other higher officials directly and indirectly related to that particular Job.

2. Observation and Collection of Data regarding the Job.

3. Participation by the HR official directly/indirectly in the Job activity till analysis period and gain information regarding the same first hand.

4. Technical Conference - Here the information regarding the Job is collected from experts, usually supervisors and not procured directly from actual Job incumbents. The drawback of this method is that at time experts might give answers based on past or outdated experiences or abstract perception since they are not in tune with the current and first hand scenario.

5. Self Recording or Diary maintained y the Job Analyst.

6. Positive Analysis Questionnaire - The HR Manager rates a Job on 194 parameters/descriptions by judging the degree to which each count is present in the Job.

7. Management Position Analysis Questionnaire

ADVANTAGES OF JOB ANALYSIS:
1.Provides with First Hand Job Related Information

2.Helps in creating right Job-Employee fit.

3.Helps in establishing effective hiring strategies.

4.Guides through performance evaluation and Appraisal Process.

5.Helps in analysing Training and Development Needs.

6.Helps in deciding compensation and benefits.



LIMITATIONS OF JOB ANALYSIS:
1. It provides only a snapshot of a particular job.
2. Since Jobs change over a period time due to internal and external factors affecting the organisation therefore, Job analysis to be effective and changes accordingly should have an in-built mechanism for periodically assessing jobs via observations, interviews or brief questionnaire/checklist. This will be much more less expensive and time consuming as compared to starting from scratch every time there is a contingency.

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PURPOSE OF JOB DESCRIPTION:
Job Description - Well written duty statements which accurately describe what is being done on a job as well as work functions and reporting relationships helping recruitment policies as well as employees understand their jobs better and approximate performance to desired levels.

Point wise:
1. Recruiting, interviewing and selection
2. Orientation and training
3. Setting performance standards and or goal statements
4. Designing performance appraisal forms
5. Jo evaluation
6. Clarification and renegotiation of roles
7. Career progression ladders

METHOD OF JOB DESCRIPTION:
On the basis of Job Analysis a specific and taut Job Description is prepared.

ADVANTAGES OF JOB DESCRIPTION:
1.It helps specify and clearly cut out roles and performance levels for all that leads to total efficiency in the organization.
2.It helps cost effectiveness and time management and accountability and responsibility fixing in the organisation's employees.
3.Aids maintenance a consistent and rightful salary structure.

LIMITATIONS OF JOB DESCRIPTION:
Prescriptive job descriptions may be seen as a hindrance in certain circumstances^:

• Job descriptions may not be suitable for some senior managers as they should have the freedom to take the initiative and find fruitful new directions;
• Job descriptions may be too inflexible in a rapidly-changing organization, for instance in an area subject to rapid technological change;
• Other changes in job content may lead to the job description being out of date;
• The process that an organization uses to create job descriptions may not be optimal.

Human Resource Planning And Strategy

Human Resource Planning is not an isolated paper exercise but an integral management function. It formally links organisational strategy with human resource practices. HR Planning is necessary to counteract pulls and pressures of globalisation and optimise the efficiency of the HR in an organisation.

HR Planning takes place at several levels :

1) Strategic Manpower Planning: Aggregated workforce Planning.

2) Tactical Planning: It addresses career planning and development needs of personnel in the organisation. Career planning of homogeneous groups of employees to maximise individual and organisational capacities and end the peculiarities and specific career needs of professions within the organisation.

3) Operational Planning System: Posting and deployment planning of individuals.


MANPOWER PLANNING:
Manpower is defined as the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities and aptitudes of an organisation's work force.
It is a process by which an organisation forecasts the quantity and requisite qualifications of persons required by the organisation at some future point and ensures that right number and kind are employed at the right time to ensure unimpeded functioning of the organisation.
It is also a technique of correcting imbalances (problem of excess supply or shortage of manpower) between manpower demand and supply in an organisation at an organisational(micro) as well as country wide economic(macro) level.

The two aspects of Manpower Planning are:
1) Quantitative - Formulation of recruitment plans to avoid unexpected shortages, etc.
2) Qualitative - Identification of training needs to avoid skill shortages.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE MANPOWER PLANNING AT ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL:
1. Adequate planning and consensual personnel policy to eliminate haphazard expansion of personnel so that there is a logical forecasting of manpower needs at least ten years in advance.
2. Personnel policy must be developed at the headquarters or comparable level and better if academic guidance is sought from academic and research institutions.
3. Staffing section must be under the charge of a duly qualified and trained personnel officer who with his/her experience and academic soundness of the specialisation can guide it in the definite direction.
4. Manpower planning should involve proper mix of different categories of workers that is determined by the policy and the socio-economic status of the country.
5. Proper and accurate implementation of the personnel department policy should be facilitated by giving more responsibility to unit chiefs at head offices and in the field levels.
6. Effective evaluating system of individual and staff quantitative as well as qualitative performance.
7. Personnel department must bring in regular researches into various aspects of personnel administration in collaboration with training institutions and universities to identify future requirements and trends(futuristic approach).
8. Training programmes should be need based, task oriented and use practical simulations where trainees work and supply their skills.
9. Role clarity of officers to avoid clashes and overlapping which would only delay policy determination and implementation.
10. Manpower planning is a continuous, networked cyclical process requiring constant review and adjustments to be fruitful.

PROCESS OF MANPOWER PLANNING:
1. Clarity between Manpower plan and objectives of the organisation.
2. Assessment of the Manpower situation in the organisation so that a proper plan is laid out.
3. Projection of Manpower Requirements - Present moment and long term plans of manpower demand and supply in an organisation.
4. Classification and interpretation of information so that a clear cut policy and implementation is chalked out.
5. Developing work standards and performance norms so that each employee is clear about the minimum level of work to be put in as well as the quality of work. Also the employee should be aware of the promotion and appraisal standards so that they may work in a channelized manner and not feel frustrated.
6. Anticipating Manpower problems and resolving them.
7. Supply of Personnel.
8. A well rounded budget to carry out the same.
9. Continuing Research studies.


ASPECTS OF MANPOWER PLANNING:
1. Organisational Planning and Development.
2. Career Development.
3. Terms of Employment.
4. Employee welfare.
5. Personnel records
6. Morale and Motivation
7. Management-Staff relations
8 Personnel Research and Review
9. Effective Communication.
10.Motivation of employees through Decentralisation, Delegation and Job Enlargement.


\One can very well understand the advantages that Manpower Planning possesses for an organisation and the country. Now let us look at its shortcomings.

SHORTCOMINGS OF MANPOWER PLANNING:
1. It stresses more on quantification techniques than education requirements which is less useful to developing countries.
2. Training is need based and more organisation prone rather than the individual. Labour market analysis should be employed as an integral part of Manpower planning to keep up with the changing external and internal environment that helps assess relative priorities for training investments can lead to a training strategy more conducive to long term sustained development.
3. Pay differentiation in public and private sector should be analysed and remedied for an effective manpower planning as the shortage and unplanned exit of staff is a major outcome of this not being done.
4. There should be a greater focus on the educational profile of the workers than their occupational results so that there is a direct impact on the educational institutions of the country and would lead to their betterment as well thus leading to a greater social engineering and development as well as on the organisational level, general training which enhances the overall competencies of the trainee might be more cost effective and safer in the long run.

MANPOWER PLANNING IN THE CIVIL SERVICE:
Bureaucratic right-sizing is imperative in today's times and that calls for a sound Manpower Planning at the civil services level  and a complete overhauling.

Let's take at a few recommendations to carry out the same effectively:
1. The number of ministries should be kept low to contain administrative costs and for political considerations if new ministers are warranted then they should be appointed under Ministers with a major portfolio within an existing Ministry.

2. One administrative structure should be maintained to keep all closely related activities in the context of a government's priorities to retain the validity and integrity of a ministry to help the officials in it carry out their responsibilities effectively and be held accountable.

3. Administrative reforms recommendations should be taken with seriousness to ensure effective service delivery without any leakage or spillage and wastage of natural resources and funds.

4. Skewed staff - line employee ratio should be balanced out immediately and effectively. This can be done by an effective system of Panchayats helping in combining functions of several field departments in a single individual whose work can be supervised by higher functionaries of the Panchayati Raj system.

5. Surplus staff should be eradicates, redeployed and a liberal system of exit should be offered to surplus staff. For the time being recruitment should be limited only to functional posts while vacancies at the secretariat and clerical levels should not be filled.

6. Reduction in number of general holidays as recommended by the 5th Pay Commission should be implemented as it will help in better utilisation of existing staff. Lateral level into civil service on a contractual level should be encouraged to increase mobility and fill shortages at any point. Officers must be encouraged to join voluntary organisations of repute as well as educational and research institutions during mid-career thus help in widening the knowledge base of officers concerned.

7. Instability of tenure of civil servants has lead to a reduction in their autonomy, independence and authority and prone to political influence and coercion as well as an unfruitful and unproductive tenure marked with confusion and frustration. So there should be a mandatory fixed tenure period for all to see the true utilisation of their knowledge, skills and capacities that would lead to the true growth of the country.

Human Resource Management : Public and Private Organisations

To all the enlightened readers and knowledge seekers of this Blog - Thank you for the continued love, respect and support. It is deeply appreciated and valued. Keep it coming.

Here is the latest post on this Blog that will detail and make crystal clear the concept and practice of Human Resource Management that is a pivotal and integral part of every Public and Private Organisation and its robust functioning is the force behind their success.

Here it begins.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
DEFINITION (courtesy Wikipedia)  - Human resource management (HRM or simply HR) is the management of an organization's workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance with employment and labour laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labour union).

 Human Resources is a shift from the mechanical Personnel Administration philosophy and theory that views and treats Personnel or employees as mere cogs in the Organisational machinery.

HRM views employees as "Resources", in that tangible and intangible benefits flow from their best utilisation and how they are resourced in the right manner and at the right time for the benefit of the organisation and the employees, both.

OBJECTIVES OF HRM:
1. Societal Objectives - HRM has to keep in mind while making policies for the organisation the laws of the land, health and safety of workers, morale, ideological bias and issues of societal concern.

2. Organisational Objectives - HRM is at the forefront of organisational strategy, coordinating and harmonising organisation wide efforts and stressing on role of human resource management in contributing towards organisational effectiveness and objective attainment.

3. Functional Objectives - To keep the organisation functional in the best possible pattern by devising sound policies viz. Appraisal, Placement and Assessment polices for the welfare of the employees and their best use of their talents.

4. Personal Objectives - Assistance HRM renders to employees for achieving their personal goals and enhance their contribution to the organisation viz. Training and development, Appraisal, Placement, right compensation and Assessment, etc.


ROLE OF THE HR MANAGER:
The HR Manager has to be both a policy and a process specialist which demands both policy advise and policy implementation specialities.
He/She is the joining line or interface between the organisation and policy stimulators ( govt. strategic partners,etc) and ensure harmonisation and compliance of the two towards each other. He/She can be both a Generalist or a specialist and actual practice of the HR Manager in this regard differs from organisation to organisation.

FUTURE CHALLENGES TO HRM:
In the face of LPG in this global village that we live in today we need to understand its impact on HRM and the issues and solutions to the same.

In the future companies and institutions will invest more in health/welfare of workers and so HRM will be much more in demand.

Emergence of MNCs is bringing cross cultural work force and the consequent need to "manage diversity" in the work force efficiently by the HRM.
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Cost constraint and the resultant emphasis on the necessity of output maximising strategies viz. total quality management, flexible management systems, etc.

Participative management for 'knowledge workers' need an active policy to retain good workers is expected to be increasingly felt in the coming years.

New technology entry, socialistic/welfaristic(reservations) via the govt. macro policies, changing customer preferences, etc, into organisations pose a greater need for training programmes and their effectiveness via the HR Department.

New Technologies (ICT - Information & Communication Technologies) Employed In Public Systems Management For Better Results In Governance

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The 21st Century that we live in is described quite aptly as the "Information Era".  It is an era of Connectivity, Information sharing and Participation between the Public and the respective State/Governments the world over. This leads to a thriving and vibrant Democracy.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) aims at bringing the above mentioned objectives to life along with transparency, accountability, responsiveness in Public Governance and sustainable growth for the people.

The fruitful presence and boons of ICT in Public Systems Management (inter governmental/Intra Governmental, Govt. to business/Govt. to Citizens) is well evident and obvious to each one in the society. It is also regulated from time to time via the laws laid down in the IT Act (2000) to stop nefarious activities routed through the ICT medium.


Let's look at a basic definition of ICT :
Stands for "Information and Communication Technologies." ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT) (which focuses mainly on information access), but ICT primarily focuses on communication technologies which includes use of the Internet ( E-mail, Instant Messaging, etc.), wireless networks, cell phones(SMS services), and other communication mediums between two parties.



INDIAN CASE STUDIES ON ICT INITIATIVES IN STATE GOVERNMENTS:
1) Sachivalaya Vahini: It is the ICT Package made by the National Informatics Centre, Bangalore and employed by the State Secretariat in Karnataka in all its 40 departments connecting 1000 computers and answering the needs of the 6000 employees viz. E-Governance by facilitating policy and decision making process.
Since the State Secretariat is the apex decision making body in the state government therefore it needs to maintain utmost efficiency and accuracy as there is too much at stake ( Public Welfare & limited resources). And to maintain the same, the state Secretariat needs to hold enormous amount of communication, maintaining and processing large volumes of data files or other formats,etc. All this was being done manually in the Karnataka state Secretariat prior to Sachivalaya Vahini stepping in and that is why the work there was very slow and inefficient.

Sachivalaya Vahini's various components are:

a) Patra - Letter Monitoring System - Receives and scans letters received by the Secretariat and transfers to relevant departments of the state Secretariat for its review and action and final disposal.

b) Kadatha - File Monitoring System - maintaining and speedy disposal of files.

c) Mokaddame - Court Case Monitoring System

d) Aayayaya - Budget Monitoring System - Helps estimate Budgets and funds allocation to departments and its monitoring.

e) Sibbandi - Personnel Information System - Maintains all information pertaining to each Personnel working in the Secretariat.

f) Customer Support System - Helps in resolving technical issues of the employees regarding the software and network.





CASE STUDY OF ICT IMPLEMENTATION - INDIAN JUDICIARY (E-JUDICIARY) :
1) COURTIS (Court Information System)- Launched in 1990 for the benefit of the entire legal community and commissioned for streamlining registries of various courts in the country. All High Courts and the Supreme Court of the country have been successfully armed with the following applications through NICNET:

a) Case Status - Helps provide tracking of all pending and disposed cases statuses that can be accessed by advocates as well as litigants and legal scholars.

b) Judgement Information System ( JUDIS) - It is a CD-ROM encompassing complete texts of all reported judgements of the Supreme Court of India from 1950 to 2000. Judgements from 2001 onwards are available on the Internet. NIC markets these CD-ROMs on a membership basis. The Internet display judgements are available within 24 hours of passing of judgement.

c) Cause Lists on the Internet - Displays schedules of cases to be heard b the respective Court the following day.

d) Daily Orders on the Internet - Displays the daily orders of the SC and HC as soon as the orders are signed by the respective Judges.




CASE STUDY OF ICT IMPLEMENTATION - E - PANCHAYAT IN INDIA :
The Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has introduced the E-Panchayat software in Ramachandrapuram Gram Panchaat, Medak District as part of its E- Governance initiatives that is user friendly and citizen centric. This pilot e-panchayat project comprises nearly 20 main modules and nearly 150 sub modules in line with the 30 sectoral functions of the Gram Panchayats. It has been rolled out in several pilot villages and is to be expanded majorly to all of Andhra Pradesh's Panchayats and a National roll out plan for its implementations is also being taken up . It aims to cover all information requirements of the village Panchayat administration.





INTERNATIONAL ICT IMPLEMENTATION CASE STUDY - MALAYSIAN E-GOVT PROJECT:
The Multimedia Support Corridor's advent in Malaysia has helped the Public Service there leverage the potential revolutionising service delivery through seamless and integrated govt. via its e-govt. flagship applications. Smart partnerships between local and international consortia working together with the govt. in developing leading edge e-govt. solutions has produced the first set of e-govt. pilot projects that have been implemented successfully which include: e-services, e-procurement, electronic labour exchange, generic office environment, human resources management information system and project monitoring system.

We will focus on the E-Services Project here in this case study.

E-services is the capability that enables citizens and businesses to conduct transactions through a one-stop service window and provides easier access to govt. agencies such as the Road Transport Dept.,Ministry of Health and utility companies.
It provides the citizens with a multiple delivery channels with 24 hour access that is available anywhere at their convenience;citizens are no longer limited to conducting these transactions at agency branches and utility offices. It also caters to the various languages spoken in Malaysia and is extremely user friendly even to the elderly and physically and visually challenged.
All this has helped in making services more efficient, corruption free and people becoming more participative and responsive as well as sincere in terms of paying bills on time,etc.
A large part of this success comes from the Malaysian government's aggressive encouragement of wider ownership of personal computers,tax deductions and providing IT facilities in rural areas such as the Internet.



PROBLEMS IN ICT APPLICATION:
1) Minimal Internet Penetration n rural areas
2) Computer illiteracy in urban areas
3) Untrained or improper training given to employees working on these softwares in govt. systems and organisations.
4) Govt. not implementing schemes to help the rural areas develop affinity with ICT via services like tele-medicines, tele-marketing and e-commerce.
5) Lack of will to share and disclose information with citizens/beneficiaries of schemes for them.
6) Inadequate infrastructure, language barriers, lack of capacity building initiatives, absence of grievance mechanisms, non-availability of information and variations in utilisation of information.


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Public Systems Management : Socio - Economic Context

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PUBLIC SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT IN INDIA- SOCIETAL CONTEXT:
A country's political life, Constitutional laws, and Administrative rules and regulations and relations are greatly influenced by its societal traditions, culture and values. In Indian society, many Public systems/ Public Organisations are created especially to manage and relate to it with special reference to :

1) RELIGION

2) CASTE

3) LANGUAGE

4) JOINT FAMILY SYSTEM

5) WOMEN

6) GROWING VIOLENCE

7) RURAL - URBAN INTERFACE




PUBLIC SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT - ECONOMIC CONTEXT IN INDIA:

1) AGRICULTURE - BASED ECONOMY

2) POVERTY

3) UNEMPLOYMENT

4) INDUSTRIAL POLICY RESOLUTION AND MONITORING

5) MIXED ECONOMY

6) WEEDING OUT CORRUPTION



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