BBA HRM Detailed Course Notes
BBA HRM Detailed Course Notes
Effective, consistent, and fair human resource decisions are often made more time
consuming by a lack of written, standardized policies and procedures. When issue:
concerning employee rights and company policies come before courts of law, the
decisions generally regard company policies, whether written or verbal, as being a part
of an employment contract between the employee and the company. Hence, without
clearly written policies, the company is at a disadvantage. It is particularly important for
a business sector to implement and maintain fairly applied human resource policies in
their everyday operations.
Business sectors – and especially the upcoming decentralization – cannot afford to
fritter away valuable time and resources on drawn-out policy disputes or potentially
expensive lawsuits. The government body which takes the time to establish sound,
comprehensive human resource management policies will be far better equipped to
succeed over the long run than will those who deal with each policy decision as it
erupts; the latter ad hoc style is much more likely to produce inconsistent, uninformed,
and legally questionable decisions that will cripple - or even kill - an otherwise
prosperous sector.
In many government agencies, human resource policies that are inconsistently applied
or based on faulty or incomplete data will almost inevitably result in declines in worker
morale, deterioration in employee loyalty, and increased vulnerability to legal penalties.
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To help ensure that HRM policies are fairly applied, business sectors should produce and
maintain a written record of its HR policies and of instances in which those policies came
into play.
In addition, a broad spectrum of other issues can be addressed via human resource
policies, depending on the nature of the sector. Examples of such issues include,
promotion policies; medical/dental benefits provided to employees; use of company
equipment/resources (access to Internet, personal use of fax machines and telephones,
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etc.); sexual harassment; substance abuse and/or drug testing; smoking; flextime and
telecommuting policies; pension, profit-sharing, and retirement plans; reimbursement
of employee expenses (for traveling expenses and other expenses associated with
carrying out the sector's business); child or elder care; educational assistance: grievance
procedures; employee privacy; dress codes; parking; and sponsorship of recreational
activities.
The process for the recruitment, selection and appointment of staff must therefore be
within budget and based on the principles of merit and equal opportunity. The process
must comply with legislative requirements and be equitable, transparent, accountable
and confidential with clearly defined procedures. Recruitment should be treated as a
key public relations exercise as the way it is managed affects the institution's image and
consequently its ability to attract and appoint high caliber staff. Once legislation is in
place and policies have been developed, the organizational guidelines and more specific
policies required to conform to those legislative and larger policies must be considered.
Just as national issues will vary from country to country, institutional issues will vary
nations. Recruitment and selection should include procedures directed to analyze the
need and purpose of a position, the culture of the institution, and ultimately to select
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and hire the person that best fits the position. Recruitment and selection policy should
then, be directed toward the following objectives:
Hire the right person;
Conduct a wide and extensive search of the potential position candidates;
Recruit staff members who are compatible with the college or university
environment and culture;
Hire individuals by using a model that focuses on student learning and education
of the whole person;
Place individuals in positions with responsibilities that will enhance their personal
development.
The government therefore, in order to embrace and support the HR staff in carrying out
their HRM functions, should be equipped with what actually affects successful
implementation of HRM strategies in the various sectors. In the best of worlds
employees would love their jobs, like their coworkers, work hard for their employers get
paid well for their work, have ample chances for advancement, and flexible schedules so
they could attend to personal or family needs when necessary. And never leave. Those
are the words of Aycan, 2001. But then there's the real world. And in the real world,
employees, do leave, either because they want more money, hate the working
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conditions, dissatisfied with career development and promotional procedures,
injustices, hate their coworkers, want a change, or because their turn to leave
(voluntary or otherwise) has come. So, what does all that turnover cost? And what
employees are likely to have the highest turnover? Who is likely to stay the longest?
Establishing Clarity
4. Saying you want employees to be more productive is one thing, telling them how
you expect to measure their productivity in quantitative and qualitative terms is
another. In writing policies and procedures, spell out your expectations, i.e., “25
percent more listings each year” and define the steps to be taken to achieve that
goal, i.e., continuing education classes, and mentoring and peer reviews. Be clear in
procedural manuals what the employee will learn, how it will be learned, how long
Creating a Draft
5. Based on the suggestions and recommendations of the committee, the first draft of
a new policy or procedure should contain six elements: (1) An explanation of why
the new policy or procedure is necessary. (2) Who is affected. (3) The date of
implementation (which is usually "effective immediately"). (4) An explanation of
how the policy or procedure works. (5) The consequences of not adhering to the
new rules. (6) Who the employee is to contact if anything in the policy isn’t clear.
It is important to take care when introducing policies that affect your employees
contracts of employment. If the contract allows you to vary terms such as hours, place
of work and duties, then a minor variation relating to these will generally be legal if you
are reasonable in your demands. Where there is no express or implied right to vary the
contract, you must seek consent from your employees, otherwise they may be entitled
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to sue for breach of contract or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Be careful that
your policies do not unlawfully discriminate against employees. Make sure that your
policies are inclusive (e.g. equity, equality and diversity issues).
The central role of HRM is now recognized by practitioners and business commentators
alike. From the theoretical perspective its contribution flows naturally from the kind of
emphasis now given in mainstream business strategy courses to concepts such as core
competences, intangible assets, intellectual capital, organizational capability and
knowledge management.
The whole idea of the resource based view of the firm inevitably accords a primacy to
the role of people who, fundamentally, are the ultimate source of unique and hard-to-
imitate capabilities. Likewise, the competitive advantage to be derived from learning
also places HEM at centre stage. While business courses on corporate strategy now
routinely cover such ideas in general terms, HR courses are needed in order to explore
their fuller meanings, their dimensions and their complexities. Recruiting and retaining
excellent staff requires sufficient human resource management skills (Bowen &
Schuster, 1986).
This process begins when new recruits are sought, and ends when applicants have
submitted application forms or resumes. The result is a pool of job-seekers from which
the firm can then select the most qualified candidates. Smart organizations recruit
employees they can retain, and retention depends on getting the right people in the
right job in the first place. So, while getting a large pool of applicants is important,
getting the right type of applicant is even more important. This is a very challenging task
for any organization and a critical stage to whereby any slight mistake in decision-
making will cost the organization quite dearly.
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Constraints on the Recruitment Process
Logically, organizations would seek to recruit in a manner that guarantees the greatest
number of qualified applicants. However, there are often constraints on the recruitment
process which prohibit some methods. Some of these constraints are:
Organizational/Institutional Policies
Recruiter Habits
Environmental Conditions
Job Requirements
Internal Recruitment
One question organizations must address early in the recruitment process, is whether or
not to recruit internally or externally. As was mentioned earlier, government policies
may mandate internal recruitment. There is nothing inherently better about either
internal or external recruitment. However, there are some advantages to internal
recruitment.
Recruiting costs: Since the recruiting machinery is focused on an already existing pool of
employees to fill a vacant position, and therefore selection and socializing processes are
Jess time and money consuming, internal recruiting tends to be less expensive than
external recruiting.
Motivation: The prospect of potential promotion or transfers provides a clear sigh to
the current work force that the organization offers room for advancement. This
addresses the employee's need for self-achievement.
Familiarity: The familiarity of the employee has a two-side effect: On the one hand the
employee is familiar with the organization's policies, procedures, and customs.
At the same time, the organization has established an employment history showing the
workers formal and informal skills and abilities. The implication here is a continuous and
effective performance appraisals whose results or outcome are securely recorded and
information readily available. This has to relate to the organization's employment
policies. Whereas the organization saves money by eliminating orientation sessions for
employees recruited internally, other training costs may go up.
This may occur when more than one employee aspires to the job vacancy. Those not
getting the promotion will be disappointed and may be unwilling to grant the new job-
holder the authority required to do the job. Further, the unsuccessful applicants'
coworkers may also resent the successful candidate and demonstrate that resentment
through less than satisfactory work output, and this can be quite disastrous both for the
individual and the institution as a whole.
A succession of internal recruitments may, in fact, result; in- the Peter Principle ("In a
hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
“–The Peter Principle by Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull, 1969).
This can be avoided by initially promoting internal recruits on a temporary
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basis. On the other hand, demotions for incompetence can have a demoralizing
effect on the organization.
To avoid such disappointments, the temporary appointment or contracts serve to
give the internal employee an opportunity to show their worth.
However, it also provides the employer with an opportunity to replace that
employee with a more qualified individual if necessary, in the shortest possible
time.
Another unintended negative consequence of internal recruitment might be
organizational politics.
External Recruitment
The opposite of internal recruitment is external recruitment. The most obvious
advantage of external recruitment is the availability of a greater pool of applicants.
Thus, only those applicants who have the exact qualifications will apply and be
selected. This has consequences for the organization's training budget. Whereas
external recruits will require orientation upon being hired, they will not require any
extra training (assuming they were selected for their capabilities). External recruits
also bring new ideas and external contacts to the institution hiring them. Also, if
political infighting over a promotion might be a possibility, then external recruitment is
one way of eliminating that occurrence. Finally, with external recruitment, an
organization does not have to worn 1 about the "Peter Principle"
Job Posting
One of the most common means of filling open positions within a firm is by using
internal job postings. Job postings have all of the advantages of internal recruitment,
discussed above. Further, job postings help employees feel they have some control
over their future in the institution, insofar as they can decide when to apply for job
openings (and which ones). By permitting employees to choose which jobs to apply
for, the employer avoids being put into the awkward position of promoting an
employee into a job they never wanted. Here are some guidelines for job postings:
Procedure should be clearly explained to all employees
Procedure must be consistent to avoid employee suspicion
Job specifications must be clear - which results in fewer and better applicants
Must be specific with respect to the length of time the positions will be open
Application procedure must be made clear
Ensure that applicants get adequate feedback once a selection is made
o Reasons for non-acceptance
Internet Recruitment
Finding well-qualified applicants quickly at the lowest possible cost is a primary goal for
recruiters. Recent trends indicate that, if you're looking for a job in the technical field
or to fill a technical job, you need to consider using the Internet. The same may well
be true for nontechnical jobs. A majority of firms that have actually used the Internet
for recruiting consider the Internet more cost-effective than most recruitment
methods.
To recruit and hire the best available and most qualified candidate for each position
and provide an equal opportunity for consideration to all qualified and interested
persons, paying particular attention to reach out to suitable candidates for senior
positions is an uphill task. For any organization to gain a competitive edge, it must
have a suitable recruitment policy and there is need -for procedure in place to support
the various sectors of the public. This must include a commitment to transparency,
equality, equity and diversity in all stages of recruitment and to the proper training of
appointment panels. Recruitment initiatives are often influenced by the staffing profile
and staffing needs of any sector.
Therefore, careful consideration of the level and type of posts to be filled is critical
rather than simple replacements of staff who have left. Greater attention must be
given to the balance between achieving the requirements of the service unit, and
providing the flexibility in employment practice that may enable the organization to
respond to changing needs. Hence, in order to develop a recruitment policy to attract
new staff to these business sectors, there is need to pay attention to the retention of
the valued staff who are already in the employment. For legal, ethical, and practical
reasons, it is critical for the recruiter to be acutely aware of the organization's external
environment. All of these factors will play a hand in the recruiter's strategy:
All of the above Recommendations will lead to an efficient and effective recruiting
effort for the HR professional. It should be noted that there are numerous benefits of
expanding recruitment sources to reach a wider group of qualified candidates,
including international applicants, as this will result in a larger pool of qualified
candidates to consider for the vacant position and will assist in the selection of the
best candidate for the position. However, organizations of a specific nation is better
understood by the citizens. Sufficient time should be set aside to carry out a complete
and effective affirmative search;
Ensure that the requirements for the position are not more specialized than
necessary so that the largest possible number of qualified people can be
considered;
Use inclusive language to describe the position so as not to exclude possible
designated group candidates;
Use an "Equal Opportunity" approach while advertising. Consider to contact
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professional and advocacy associations representing the designated group: and
ask them to advertise the position, or to recommend possible candidates;
Use a personal approach in recruiting candidates - often outstanding potential
candidates do not apply for advertised positions and must be approached by
appointments' Boards/Search Committees;
Contact past applicants in order to notify them of the position;
Secure contacts within government departments and agencies, and within
business and industry to circulate your advertisement;
As an on-going process, responsibility for recruiting rests with all members of the
department. Encourage qualified members of staff to apply for present and
future positions;
The external market is another useful resource for determining salary. Look at similar
positions in other organizations by checking - Hiring, Managing and Keeping the Best,
job postings on the Internet, talking to others in the industry, reading career ads in the
newspaper or purchasing salary surveys.
Tips for Conducting a Job Analysis
Ask employees about each position within the business and how they are (or are
not) connected
Ask employees if they think hiring a new employee or creating a new position
would be a good idea
Observe employees at work and earnestly ask for their ideas about better ways to
operate, be prepared to put good suggestions into action
Talk to customers about which employees are easiest to deal with or provide the
best service
Find out and understand why past employees have left - be truthful with
yourself
Talk to customers about their needs
Understand the needs of people the new employee will be working with
Differentiate between "nice to have" and "must have" skills and experiences
If you decide that hiring a new employee is feasible, you are ready to begin the
recruitment process. If not, you might need to revisit your strategic plan or business
objectives. Use the checklist as you carry out the human resource planning process.
Many organizations prefer to hire people who already have the skills in order to avoid
training costs. Will the position be full-time, part-time, or contract? Your decision to hire
full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, peak, contract employees or independent
contractors should depend primarily on the type of work and the timing of the work.
You should also consider the payment structures; full-time employees are more likely to
require benefits than part-time and contract people.
Government creates and changes public, and business policy, programs, to: respond to
the needs and interests of our nation.
Hence, Organizations is the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see
every day." Any unelected, public employee is a public administrator-police
officers, municipal budget analysts, HR benefits administrators, city managers,
Census analysts, and cabinet secretaries are administrators. Administrators are
business persons working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of
government. Business persons and academics like Woodrow Wilson promoted
American civil service Deform in the 1880s, moving organizations into academia.
Multidisciplinary in character human resources, organizational theory, policy
analysis and statistics, budgeting, and ethics are. five pillars of the field
organizations in general, are an extension of governance. Administrators have
been necessary as long as kings and emperors required pages, treasurers, and
architects to carry out the business of government. Administrators may also act as
auditors, border guards, or may work for government agencies in public relations,
research and development, or human resources.
As you can see, there are a wide variety of options available to those who pursue a
degree in organizations.
Recent changes in the field have made the choices even broader. At one time,
administrators worked strictly within local, state, and federal government.
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In recent years, however, this has changed. Many administrators now bring their
expertise to the non-profit sector where they work to improve the services offered
in much the same way as they would if working for a government agency.
Activity: Due to technological advancement that has come along with C1T where
organizations are moving away from paper work and physical interaction through
meetings;
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i) Explain how as an HR practitioner, you intend to advocate for human relations in
the organization and keep the staff motivated?
ii) Using your organization as an example, which particular change has- been resisted
and how have you addressed such resistance?
iii) What do you consider to be critical while introducing any change in an
organization?
iv) How have you attempted to motivate your staff in the recent past and what have
been the results?
Principles of HRM
Modern human resource management is guided by several overriding principles.
Perhaps the paramount principle is a simple recognition that human resources are
the most important assets of an organization; a business cannot be successful
without effectively managing this resource.
Another important principle, articulated by Michael Armstrong in his book A
Handbook of Human Resource Management, is that business success "is most likely
to be achieved if the personnel policies and procedures of the enterprise are
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closely linked with, and make a major contribution to, the achievement of
corporate objectives and strategic plans."
A third guiding principle, similar in scope, holds that it is HR's responsibility to find,
secure, guide, and develop employees whose talents and desires are compatible
with the operating needs and future goals of the company.
Other HRM factors that shape corporate culture – whether by encouraging
integration and cooperation across the company, instituting quantitative consigned
to lower rungs of the corporate hierarchy, despite the fact that its mandate is to
replenish and nourish the company's work force, which is often cited – legitimately
– as an organization's greatest resource.
But in recent years recognition of the importance of human resources
management to a company's overall health has grown dramatically.
This recognition of the importance of HRM extends to small businesses, for while
they do not generally have the same volume of human resources requirements as
do larger organizations, they too face personnel management issues that can have
a decisive impact on business health.
As Irving Burstiner commented, "Hiring the right people – and training them well –
can often mean the difference between scratching out the barest of livelihoods
and steady business growth.... Personnel problems do not discriminate
between small and big business. You find them in all businesses, regardless of size."
a) To construct a fitness centre with a staff club and a cafeteria for its staff worth
Shs.800m;
b) To invest in a Day-Care centre for the young mothers/fathers worth
Shs.400m
c) To introduce a sports' centre for the youth, and; hire trainers in various
disciplines worth Shs.500m;
d) To purchase four executive chauffeured Mercedes Benzes for the CEOs, you
inclusive at Shs.400m
e) Send twelve heads of department to Finland to train in HRM skills for three
months worth Shs. 200m.
f) Due to terror threats, the management has agreed to construct a perimeter wall
to provide and strengthen security worth Shs.300m
g) The organization owes staff arrears for their salary increment of eight month
worth Shs. 500m
The total budget - salary, recurrent, travel, welfare and capital development is Shs.l. 7b.
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You have been consulted in your individual capacity to provide your expertise on the
best option among the above to keep the staff motivated. Basing on your personal
experience in your organization and on the available resources:
i) Which theory would you apply to guide the organization in making a decision on
the engender.
Expectancy Theory
Victor Vroom in 1964 put forward the notion that people are driven by the likelihood
of genuine success in achieving particular objectives. Three barriers need to be
jumped by managers if they want to motivate their people to succeed.
First of all, they need to connect the task to be performed to the likelihood of
better results.
Secondly they need to. Set expectations that there are positive benefits to the
employee in achieving those results, and;
Thirdly they need to ensure that these benefits are of value to the employee-. For
instance, there is no point asking your engineers to be happy about coming in a
half-hour early in future if you can't properly explain how this will lead to eventual
real benefits for the engineers themselves. Telling them that it will increase
senior management's bonuses doesn't tend to work so well.
Conclusion
All the popular motivation theories have their flaws and detractors, but they do
give us an insight into some of the mechanisms at work in day-to-day
organizational life.
Hertzberg went on to state that you can forget about workforce motivation if you
don't get the hygiene factors right first of all.
Fixing the downstairs toilets is not normally a recipe for a 50% productivity
improvement.
Equity Theory
John Stacy Adams posited another theory in 1965, looking at how motivation was
affected by the degree of fairness within an organization, particularly within a group of
peers.
Consider the situation where some members of staff in a given organization are
provided with company houses and other are not, yet all of you are required to
report to the office by 7.30am - even though even those who have to commute
arrive at 7.30am and all of them believe are punctual. How do those without
houses, no company transport feel at the end of the day?
Now there's nothing wrong with the reporting time policy, but by comparing one's
own circumstances to the treatment of others in a similar situation, very intense
feelings can be experienced - believe you me.
This attempt is to recognize the tremendous efforts of the business persons and
the role they have been playing in moving the country forward in spite of political
and governmental instability, characterized by military coups and counter coups,
civil war, emergence of dictators, and in the face of socio-economic problems of
the society as a result of changes in the internal and external environment.
All these challenges therefore, require skilled and competent administrators who
are very well grounded in Human Resource Management. This notwithstanding,
the competence of African business persons should not be underestimated.
The first set of African business persons was trained during the colonial period in
the various metropolitan countries of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium,
Spain and Portugal. They had learned the best skills and values of efficient public
service and had done their best to inculcate such values and ideals.
The subsequent high business persons have been trained at home and abroad in a
continuous basis for improvement of their skills and know how - thus, they have
the skills in organizational policies, rules and regulations to make business persons
compliant and deliver efficient and effective services in line with the direction
specific sectors.
However, these administrators require the "people-management" skill to motivate
and retain employees working in business sectors for the betterment of the
society.
In Africa, and Uganda in particular, it should be acknowledged that governments
do almost everything - providing goods and services, and the
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This theory was developed by DC McClelland and-DG Winteer in 1969. Essentially it
groups people's needs into three different categories
The need for achievement,
The need for affiliation and;
The need for power.
Taking a less hierarchical approach than Maslow, it acknowledges that different strokes
are required for different folks.
Some people will have strong motivations in some or all of the categories, while
others will have little or none.
So, in order to get the most out of people you must make the goals and objectives
fit with each individual's needs.
Don't expect someone with high affiliation needs to be a great team leader or a
conference organizer!
AAP Theory
Maslow divided these objectives into five distinct stages, starting at physiological
needs and ending at self-actualization needs.
Self-Actualization
Self-Esteem
Social/Status Need
Security Need
Physiological Need
In practice, the theory has its application in ensuring that the workforce
have sufficiently comfortable surroundings and working conditions in order
for them to be free to do their best for their company.
If your senior consultants are stuffed four people per desk into a Portakabin
(very small office that has been further partitioned) with no
fan or air conditioner or even sufficient storage of their lecturer materials,
then, you should not expect them to sufficiently prepare for lessons/lectures
for the next session.
Theories of Wages:
Wages refers to “the total emolument paid to a worker for performing services..." In
other words, wage is the payment made to labour for his contribution to the
attainment of the goals of an organization (Eniaiyejuni, 2005). Eniayejuni (2005)
listed three dimensions of wages as follows:
Money Wage: The amount of money received by the employee at the end of the
working period or the amount received per unit of output.
Real Wage: The quantity of goods or services the money can buy.
Average Wage: This takes into consideration the total wage bill and how it
translates to hourly or daily rate for each employer.
Money as a Motivator
This theory states that all workers are motivated primarily by the need for money;
so if you want to get the most out of your workforce, you pay them more. This has
particular effectiveness in areas where payment is directly linked to the
accomplishment of objectives.
This theory is prevalent in many businesses in the form of performance-related pay,
incentives, bonuses and promotion schemes. While few would argue that it does
not have some validity (indeed it is the driver behind most production force – being
goods or services – the world over), it is not an all-encompassing theory. It doesn't
A large body of research has been written attempting-to tackle these issues - some of
which have gained considerable currency inside businesses and other institutions as
they try to get the most from their workforce. This unit introduces a few of the more
established and popular theories.
Motivation Theory
Motivating is the processes of getting people to move in the direction you want
them to. The organization as a whole can provide the context within which high
levels of motivation can be achieved through reward systems and the provision of
opportunities for learning and development.
There exist numerous theoretical postulations on the subject of motivation.
However, the totality if these theories can be grouped into two broad classes:
Types of Motivation:
Motivation at work can take place in two ways viz;
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(i) Intrinsic Motivation:-
The self-generated factors which influence people to behave in a particular way or
to move in a particular direction.
These factors include responsibility (feeling that the work is important and
It requires getting the Business persons involved in such initiatives and adequately
motivating them in order to make them remain service focused and sustain the
service delivery improvement initiative.
Given that each employee's have a motive for joining a given organization and
once these motives, desires or goals are not fully met, it has negative effect on
productivity. This was underscored by Sanzotta (1977) thus:
"An individual employee -will be able to contribute his very best only if he is 'highly ' —
not partially-motivated.”
production.
In the same vein, the human resource represents the active agent who:
accumulates capita,
exploit natural resources,
Build social, economic and political organizations for the development of its
citizenry.
Given the many and varied influence - pressure on this resource - prompted by
socio-economic demand and the twin demands of increased efficiency and
productivity, its active management has indeed become a challenge.
This explains why organizations whether in the public or private domain embark on
deliberate and systemic human resource development (HRD) programme.
This is because the HRD programme is a vehicle for developing personnel
competence, skills, and understanding to enable the organization to achieve its
mission and goals.
However, the level of achievements of these pre-set goals depends on how well the
human element - unarguably the most important asset - is motivated to work.
Thus motivation in modern work environment has become an important aspect of
employer's duty if the organization's set objectives are to be achieved.
provide employees with what they need to be successful. HRM systems and" to61s"can
provide a good structure but will not guarantee success. Effective staff management
hinges on each manager's ability to provide leadership and relate to staff.
The Staff
Effective Human Resource Management will seek success for your institution/sector
through supporting the contribution of each employee. As noted above, your
institution's success is highly dependent on the success of each of your staff.
Many Human Resource Management systems and policies are available to support
each employee to be productive, thereby contributing to your institution's success.
Hence, these three stakeholders (society, the institution and the staff) are beacons
that will help to guide your human resource strategies and day-today activities.
However, not every HRM decision or activity will affect these stakeholders every
time or to the same degree.
HR Managers will often need to find an appropriate balance between the
competing interests of these three stakeholders and will learn when and how' to
compromise appropriately.
Responsibility for HRM
Ultimately, the responsibility for Human Resource Management activities rests with
each MANAGER. If a manager does not accept this responsibility, then HRM activities
Society
The external environment in which you operate can heavily influence HRM. By its
very nature, part of your institution's mandate is to respond to some of society's
needs and challenges.
In your region/location/constituency, these might include issues such as poverty,
high rates of illiteracy, environmental concerns, and high crime rates.
Other external factors that will affect HRM could include competition in the
business sector, and even your relationship with other business organizations. In
addition to dealing with these challenges, you must also understand and comply
with the legal requirements and labour laws in your region.
This will impact your human resource management policies and procedures. Many
informal rules or expectations within society may also have an influence on the
issues must address in staff management.
In Uganda for example, one widespread societal issue that impacts organizations is
corruption.
The Institution
The major aim of Human Resource Management is to contribute to the provision and
success of social services. Therefore;
The mission, strategy and goals of your institution will form the basis of how you
approach human resource issues.
The work of Human Resource Management is to implement HRM practices that will
provide these key elements to help the individuals to be highly motivated and
successful. When individuals are successful, the business sector will surely be successful.
It is also important to include a process of review and evaluation to ensure that your
systems and tools continue to be appropriate as your sector evolves.
Human Resources
Human Resources may be the most misunderstood of all corporate
departments, but it's also the most necessary.
Those who work in Human Resources are not only responsible for hiring and firing,
they also handle contacting job references and administering employee benefits.
It's true that any individual who works in Human Resources must be a "people
person." Since anyone in this department deals with a number of employees, as
well as outside individuals, on any given day, a pleasant demeanor is a must.
Resources must be equal to the task.
Ten or twenty years ago, Human Resources personnel were rarely seen.
Instead they worked behind the scenes to ensure personnel records were in order
and employee benefits were being properly administered, but the job stopped
there.
Today's Human Resources personnel don't only handle small administrative tasks.
They are responsible for staffing major corporations.
The field takes a positive view of workers, assuming that virtually all wish to
contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main obstacles to their
endeavors are lack of knowledge, insufficient training, and failures of process.
the many social, economic and political changes-sweeping throughout the world.
In order to better understand the scope and nature of the changes that are affecting the
way businesses are to operate, this module aims at enhancing awareness of all
administrators on the best way to attracting and retaining the only "immutable"
resource - the people who work in the business organizations at all levels.
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1.2 Definition of Human Resource Management
Human resource management is the strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there
who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of
the business (Armstrong, Michael (2006).
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that
focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people
who work in the organization.
Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers. Human
Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related
to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization
development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication,
administration, and training.
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there
who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of
the business.
Factors That Affect .Human Resource Management
Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management
The Impact of Employment Law and HR Practices
Functions of Human Resource Management
The changing role of the organization as well as new international forces have
resulted in the need for new skills, attitudes and behaviors among business
administrators at all levels.
The core competencies for the business sector of the 21 st century differ in many
ways from the past, especially as the demands placed on businesses, in terms of
skills, knowledge and capacities, and are rapidly increasing and becoming more
complex.
Business leaders in developing countries are still facing old challenges, while at the
same time, they also have to address new ones, which have resulted from
through people-management skills, people-friendly policies that will at the same time
achieve organizational goals.
On the other hand, the module provides an understanding of the HRM functions in an
organization. The organizations service's needs to get the basics right, but the
contextualization and adoption of an integrated HRM is required to allow
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administrators/ leaders to manage the staff effectively so they can manage the future
now. Hence, HRM is a complementary practice to strategically attract, engage, and
retain key and immutable resource - the people. The HRM skill and knowledge
administrators will acquire will assist in repositioning the organizations service as a good
place to work with and create an environment for talent to thrive. More broadly, "...in
every direction good administration seeks the elimination of waste, the conservation of
material and energy, and the most rapid and complete achievement of organization
purposes consistent with economy and the welfare of workers (Leonard White). Hence
the growing complexity of modern conditions and the increasing difficulty of modern
problems make it imperative to attain still higher reaches of HRM to achieve
administrative ability. This is because; efforts are required to combat turnovers as an
imperative in the professionalization of the business service. This requires the
development among workers of a progressive mentality, based on professional
competence, leadership; institutional loyalty and teamwork, to enable the organization
carry out its highly important social mission.
The module covers the following topics:
Introduction
Definition of Human Resource Management
The Concept of Human Resource Management
An overview of Functions of Human Resource Management
Powerful forces as; Globalization, economic competition that cuts across national
borders, social and political upheavals, technological change, threats of terrorism, and a
rapidly changing labour market, all place enormous burdens on states and so require
motivated people. Hence, the success of any government to respond effectively to these
challenges is dictated largely by its ability to recruit and retain a talented work force.
Sectors that fail to compete successfully in the national quest for talent are likely to
suffer dire consequences, while those that excel will be well positioned to succeed. This
challenge is coupled with the need for HRM skills, competencies, attitudes, and
behaviors among managers at all levels in order to respond effectively to the increasing
complexity and number of demands placed on organizations. It is not surprising then,
that the core competencies for organizations of the 21 st century should differ in many
ways from the past. The course therefore aims at providing knowledge and HRM skills
that will enable administrators attract and retain quality employees.
Knowledge Competencies
Identify fundamental values guiding an organizations human resource management
policies and practices, and use examples to illustrate value tradeoffs;
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Discuss the most significant changes and challenges facing an organizations human
resource management;
Achieve a greater understanding of the role of human resource issues in
administration in relation to: recruitment and selection, job analysis and job
descriptions, sourcing candidates, recruitment, 'compensation and benefits,
performance appraisal, training and development-and promotion,
Increase expertise in several Human Resource Management areas including
professional ethics, International HRM and Diversity Management, Conflict
management and
Develop a basic understanding of the objectives and the substance of modern
Management,
Skill Competencies
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of an organization or jurisdiction's human
resource management policies and practices, and develop specific recommendations
for moving the sector towards more strategic human resource management (SHRM);
Locate and use HRM related information gathered through library, electronic, and
field research to improve their organizations;
Develop valid performance criteria as part of a comprehensive performance
evaluation system; and staff, it is impossible to conduct any reform successfully.
Hence, any innovation at every governmental level necessitates modification of the
behavior of administrators in many fields, which requires human resource management
and leadership skills for a successful implementation of any change or innovation.
Therefore, comprehensive knowledge of human resource management skills is needed
for successful operations - there is no short-cut. Hence, human resource management
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for administrators is very critical and it becomes extremely important and timely at this
point.
The goals of the field of any administration are related to the democratic values of
improving equality, justice, security, efficiency, effectiveness of services. For a field built
on concepts (accountability, governance, decentralization, clientele), these concepts are
often ill-defined and typologies often ignore certain aspects of these concepts (Dubois &
Fattore 2009). Hence, one minor tradition- that the more specific term "BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT" refers to ordinary, routine or typical management concerns, in the
context of achieving organization goals. Therefore, given the primary concerns and roles
of administration and its changing trends, this module aims to strengthen and improve
service delivery in organization through effective management of the human resources.
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this module, participants should demonstrate a range of
knowledge and skill competencies. These competencies, which comprise the course
objectives, are listed below.
The Rationale
The modernization- of organization administration requires not only changes in' the
strategy and structure, but also the practice of human resource management. The
process of moving away from administrative bureaucracies to human resource
management should be an organizations learning process that can be implemented only
through institutional efforts and cultural changes. The staff plays a very important role
in the successful delivery of services. Employees can be oriented to output, customer
needs and aims only if they realize that the role of their work in the process of providing
services is appreciated and rewarded. The bureaucracy with its formalization,
specialization and hierarchical structures has caused a massive cultural alienation in the
working process. Not the collective values, but the fixed norms coming from the top
have framed the work. The bureaucracy has been reacting in a bureaucratic way to all
changes in the environment of organizations. Sometimes these bureaucracies demand
changes in the way of thinking. Yet, sometimes, the former employees and managers
are the same who are now responsible for the modernization and they should be one of
the success factors. Without any approval and support of the
than recruiting, hiring and retaining talented people- at work. The module therefore, is
intended to support public &private sector employers and managers to meet these
challenging tasks.
That aside, for over four decades, managerial theory and practice has been preoccupied
with issues related to power, influence, and politics in organizations. The politics of
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management and the management of politics in the workplace have received a great
deal of attention due to their image of pervasiveness, mystery, and the potential
benefits for those who know how to use them in the struggle over resources. Politics in
organizations is thus used to promote interests and gain advantages over competitors in
a market-oriented environment but also in non-market areas such as the non-profit
sector and governmental agencies. Even today, organizational politics (OP) enjoys
popularity in academic research as well as in the discourse on practical management. In
one of the early writings on the OP-HEM nexus, Ferris and King (1991:70) concluded that
"for managers the most appropriate perspective would seem to be to develop a better
understanding of politics and how it affects human resources decisions so that its
dysfunctional consequences can be prevented". This course therefore intends to
respond to this challenge theoretically and practically, through hands on, role plays,
case studies and work experience demonstrations.
Human resource management policies and techniques are developed, implements and
evaluated “in a public (read political) context. An organization's HRM practice affect the
selection and experiences of employees which, in turn, affects the organizations
policy. In order to make and implement effective human resource management policies,
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administrators need an appreciation of the political am historical context in which the
policies have developed to date. In the current environment, a professional
administrator must be prepared to advocate for the strategic importance of human
resources, find ways to be flexible and responsive to change, adapt to changing patterns
of employment and intersect oral relations utilize technology to more effectively
communicate with prospective and existing employees, and develop more sophisticated
and effective methods of measuring and rewarding performance (Ingraham and Rubaii-
Barrett, 2007). This course is designed to help prepare the aspiring and current
administrators and enhance the abilities of the practicing administrators with respect to
the aforementioned challenges.
Service delivery of any organization is becoming more and more crucial for the socio-
economic development of countries. It concurs in fact for the legitimacy of each
Government which embarks in the challenge to meeting the needs of the people. In this
respect, Human Resources as the lively blood of organizations and the key factor for the
revitalization of the Public/private Administration should be properly addressed for a
better service delivery leading to appropriate and cost-effective services following the
population and the various development partners' expectations. Nowadays, whereas
the focus is primarily on the Millennium Development Goals, the excellence of business
services to be delivered by any institution depends on how talented and competent its
human resources are. This is why recruitment, selection and retention of sharp
employees within organizations should stand as top priority for managers and
employers. Hence, there is no greater challenge in organizations today proposed and
assessed until such time as the panel, in general, feels the final score and relative
judgments are representative of the panel's view.
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Interviews as a Method of Selection: A selection procedure designed to predict future
job performance on the basis of applicants' oral responses to oral inquiries.
Advantages
Useful for determining if the applicant has requisite communicative or social skills
which may be necessary for the job
Interviewer can obtain supplementary information
Used to appraise candidates' verbal fluency
Can assess the applicant's job knowledge
Can be used for selection among equally qualified applicants
Enables the supervisor and/or co-workers to determine if there is compatibility
between the applicant and the employees
Allows the applicant to ask questions that may reveal additional information useful
for making a selection decision
The interview may be modified as needed to gather important information
Disadvantages
Subjective evaluations are made
Decisions tend to be made within the first few minutes of the interview with the
remainder of the interview used to validate or justify the original decision
Interviewers form stereotypes concerning the characteristics required for success on
the job
Research has shown disproportionate rates of selection between minority and non-
minority members using interviews
Negative information seems to be given more weight
Not much evidence of validity of the selection procedure
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Not as reliable as tests
This means the accuracy of, the interview and other selection; tools can be cross-
checked. Alternatively, different selection tools can be used to measure different
competencies relevant to the position.
This specialization allows for more in-depth coverage of competencies. A simple
example might be when selecting a computer operator. A test of ability might be
used instead of using the interview or referees' report to get information about past
performance or skill levels.
Similarly, having a lecturer make a presentation may allow for an assessment of
prepared oral presentation skills. The interview and referees' reports can then
concentrate on other critical aspects.
However, they should be focused clearly on objective and independent feedback of
the applicant against the selection criteria. When the results of the application and
interview are added to results of tests and referees' reports, a comprehensive profile
is available for selection decision making.
As with any prediction method, you will sometimes be wrong using past behaviour
to predict future behaviour so care must be taken to find supportive evidence (ie
through referee reports).
Your rate of success will be high, however, if you can gather sufficient valid data
about past behaviour, and if you have an accurate idea of the behaviour to be
required in the future.
Although people do change and develop, major behavioural characteristics tend to
remain basically the same in adults. People who have been honest in the past tend
to be so in the future.
A person who has shown good judgment, or decisiveness, or tenacity, or ability to
learn in the past, is likely to repeat this behaviour in the future.
The key skills of questioning, listening and note taking are central to the success of
the interview.
they have the skills, qualifications and experience required for the post should be short
listed.
At every stage, consistency and transparency are key to the recruitment process. The
Chair of the panel should notify the Human Resources Department of the candidates to
be invited for interview by completing and returning the Short Listed Candidates’ list.
Human Resources should be responsible for checking and approving short lists for
interview. All internal applicants not short listed for interview should be advised and
offered feedback from the short listing panel. On the other hand, external applicants
should have been notified that if not invited for interview within a stipulated period of
time (say, one or two months) of the closing date their application was not successful.
Selection Techniques
There are many possible approaches to conducting a selection interview. Whatever the
approach one point is certain - the interview will be extremely important to both the
applicant and the employer. For most selection situations, the interview provides the
opportunity to evaluate applicants and for applicants to gain an impression of the
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organization at first hand. Major features of the approach to selection interviewing
recommended include:
After-Advertising
Human Resource Department staff should then:
Receive and acknowledge the applications
Circulate applications, via the intranet to the Selection Committee for short listing
Attend short listing meeting for General Staff positions and provide advice on
selection committee procedures, questions, feedback to unsuccessful applicants
and if required attend committee as a member
Co-ordinate the short listing process for Academic Staff, and obtain the appropriate
approval for the recommended shortlist
Contact applicants and arrange interviews, accommodation, travel, etc
Provide membership on selection committees when necessary
Provide advice on interview questions, tasks and selection committee procedures
After interviewing and report processing, prepare a letter of offer to the successful
applicant, and advise unsuccessful applicants of the outcome.
Confirm acceptance, commencement date and induction date;
Conduct the New Staff Induction!
Stages:
Stage One: Approval of Establishment/Authorization
All posts must be approved by the Appointments' Board or authorized through the
Authorization Procedure) before the process of recruitment or appointment can be
commenced. New and upgraded posts must be approved by the Appointments’ Board
or Staffing Committee. Yet, externally funded posts require confirmation of the
availability of funding from the funding body or the Finance Department.
Job Specification is an analysis of the kind of person it takes to do the job, that is to say,
it lists the qualifications. Normally, this would include is an analysis of the kind of person
it takes to do the job, that is to say, it lists the qualifications. Typically, this would
include:
Level of education
Desirable amount of previous experience in similar work
Specific Skills required
Health Considerations
A job specification goes beyond a mere description - in addition, it highlights the mental
and physical attributes required of the job holder. In other words, potential employees
must have the specified "know how". Derived from job analysis, it is a statement of
employee characteristics and qualifications required for satisfactory performance of
defined duties and tasks comprising a specific job or function. Job analysis, description,
and specification can provide useful information to a business in addition to serving as
recruitment instruments. For example, staff appraisal is a means of monitoring staff
performance and is a feature of promotion in modern companies. In some
organizations, for example, employees and their immediate line managers discuss
personal goals and targets for the coming time period (e.g. the next six months).
Once you are aware of the type of person you are looking to fit your job vacancy, you
can now design a "Job Specification" profile. This outlines the "essential" and "desirable"
qualities which would make the ideal candidate. It will act to focus your mind when
advertising for the new job position and remind yourself of the qualities you require
when interviewing. To design this profile, simply summarize your Personal Qualities list
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prioritizing the essential or desirable qualities - an example below. The example is quite
basic, but hopefully you will have a good idea how you might create and utilize one in
your own organization. This is for non-teaching position.
List of Duties or Tasks to be Performed:
The list contains an item by item list of principal duties, continuing responsibilities
and accountability of the occupant of the position.
The list should contain each and every essential job duty or responsibility that is
critical to the successful performance of the job.
The list should begin with the most important functional and relational
responsibilities and continue down in order of significance. Each duty or
responsibility that comprises at least five percent of the incumbent's time should
be included in the list.
Description of the Relationships and Roles
The occupant of the position holds within the company, including any supervisory
positions, subordinating roles and/or other working relationships. When using Job
Descriptions for recruiting situations, you may also want to attach the following:
Job Specifications, Standards and Requirements:
The minimum qualifications needed to perform the essential functions of the job such
as; education, experience, knowledge and skills.
Any critical skills and expertise needed for the job should be included. For example, for a
receptionist, critical skills may be having:
1) A professional and courteous telephone manner
2) Legible hand-writing if messages are to be taken
3) The ability to handle a multiple-lined phone system for a number of staff members
Realistically speaking, many jobs are subject to change, due either to personal growth,
organizational development and/or the evolution of new technologies.
Flexible job descriptions will encourage your employees to grow within their positions
and learn how to make larger contributions to your company. For example: Is your office
manager stuck "routinely ordering office supplies for the company and keeping the
storage closet well stocked " or is she/he "developing and implementing a system of
ordering office supplies that promotes cost savings and efficiency within the
organization?" When writing a job description, keep in mind that the job description will
serve as a major basis for outlining job training or conducting future job evaluations. A
Job Description should include:
Job title,
Job Objective or
Overall Purpose Statement:
This statement is generally a summary designed to orient the reader to the general
nature, level, purpose and objective of the job. The summary should describe the broad
function and scope of the position and be no longer than three to four sentences.
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Uses of job specification:
The uses of a job specification are:
Physical characteristics, which include health, strength, age range, body size,
weight, vision, poise etc.
Psychological characteristics or special aptitudes:- This include such qualities as
manual dexterity, mechanical aptitude, ingenuity, judgment etc.
Personal characteristics or fruits of temperament-such as personal appearance,
good and pleasing manners, emotional stability, aggressiveness or -
submissiveness.
Responsibilities:- Which include supervision of others, responsibility for
production, process and equipment, responsibility for the safety of others and
responsibility for preventing monetary loss.
Other features of a demographic nature: Which are age, sex, education, experience
and language ability.
Job specifications are mostly based on the educated gneisses of supervisors and
personnel managers. They give their opinion as to who do they think should be
considered for a job in terms of education, intelligence, training etc.
Job specifications may also be based on statistical analysis. This is done to
determine the relationship between ;
a) Some characteristics or traits.
b) Some performance as rated by the supervisor
weight, ability to carry weight, health,, age, capacity to use or operate, machines, tools,
equipment etc.
Emotional and social specifications:- Emotional and social specifications are more
important for the post of managers, supervisors, foremen etc. These include emotional
stability, flexibility, social adaptability in human relationships, personal appearance
including dress, posture etc.
Employee Specification:-
Why is Job Description necessary .in an organization? There are several uses of job
description, such as;
Preliminary drafts can be used as a basis for productive group discussion,
particularly if the process starts at the executive level.
It helps in the development of job specification.
It acts as a tool during the orientation of new employees, to learn duties and
responsibilities.
It can act as a basic document used in developing performance standards.
Job identification or Organization Position:- This includes the job title, alternative title,
department, division and plant and code number of the job. The job title identifies and
designates the job properly. The department, division etc., indicate the name of the
department where it is situated and the location give the name of the place.
Job duties and responsibilities:- This gives a total listing of duties together with some
indication of the frequency of occurrence or percentage of time devoted to each major
duty. These two are regarded as the "Hear of the Job".
Relation to other jobs:- This gives the particular person to locate job in the organization
by indicating the job immediately below or above in the job hierarchy.
Supervision:- This will give an idea the number of person to be supervised along with
their job titles and the extent of supervision.
Machines:- These will also give information about the tool, machines and equipment to
be used.
A well-conceived and well-written job description will assist the search committee at
the interview stage by providing the criteria on which interview questions are based.
A job description will set out how a particular employee will fit into the organization.
A job description could be used as a job indicator for applicants for a job. Alternatively,
it could be used as a guideline for an employee and/or his or her line manager as to
his/her role and responsibility within the organization.
2) The job description should be clear regarding the work of the position, duties etc.
It should be recognized that before the collapse of the command economies in the early
1 990s, governments in Africa had become the largest, employer of labour and the main
engine of growth.
The private sector in many instances was seen as mere exploiter of people's
lablour. This perception of the role of government and the private sector is
changing. The role of government is changing from being provider of services and
development to promoter and facilitator of development.
In African countries characterized by hunger, famine, social disorder, war and
conflict, inadequate basic necessities (water, food, health, education, electricity,
telephone, housing), the perception of the citizen of the role of organizations is
bound to be negative and invariably their assessment of public services.
By reading and listening to news and news report coming from Africa, it is enough to
convince one that nothings seems to be working well in the second largest continent of
the world.
Role of organizations
What do bureaucrats do all day in those hives of activity with the alphabet names?
The second one relates to the modernization of the State. This is a challenge that affects
all countries and is related to the adaptation and improvement of administrative
structures, managerial capacities, financial management and technological adequacy to
new needs and demands emerging from societies which are much more complex and
heterogeneous than a few decades ago. In other words, it is a process of readjustment
The third trend has to do with the reconfiguration of the role of the State.
With the spread of globalization and the changes occurring at both the domestic
and international levels, the functions and role of the State have been
transformed substantially. The worldwide trends of globalization and citizen
participation have compelled Governments to debate "the role of the State," to
explore various partnerships with private sector and civil society organizations and
to consider reengineering of government systems, retraining of public officials and
rethinking of public policies.
Given the rapid changes in technology and the global economy, Governments have
also been motivated to learn to continuously re-evaluate government performance
in relation to citizen demands and global pressures.
The general configuration of State responsibilities has changed and this has
introduced important modifications both in the policy arena and in the State's
requirements for high-level skills, qualitatively and quantitatively.
A fourth trend, which has emerged in the past years, is related to a growing demand to
make democracy more meaningful and to allow for more opportunities of participation
in policy-making.
In many advanced democracies, citizens and civil society organizations are showing
increasing dissatisfaction towards how democracies are functioning.
The growing demand for a more open, participatory and efficient government
One of the greatest challenges of our times is therefore to have not only governments
of the people and by the people, but also for the people.
This means greater participation in key spheres of policy-making decisions,
including how taxes should He spent and on what, and better and more effective
services.
Citizens are asking to be more actively involved in public affairs and to be engaged
in many other ways than just at election day every four or five years.
As highlighted in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the promotion of
democracy and good governance, including an efficient and effective
organizations, is among the best ways to ensure that the values of freedom,
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equality, solidarity, environmental protection, and shared responsibility are
respected.
Democracy and good governance are a goal in itself because of the values on which
they rest, but at the same time, they are also the most critical means to achieve
the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which set very precise
objectives, targets and indicators to achieve the broader goal set out in the
Millennium Declaration related to development and poverty eradication.
In fact, although many studies have not been able to show that democracy per se
will lead to greater economic growth, there is evidence that democracy ensures
greater redistribution of resources.
As Amartya Sen has pointed out, one of the consequences of democracy is that it
generates political incentives for decision makers to respond positively to the
needs and demands of society.
The stronger a democracy is the greater and more effective will be the pressure of
these incentives on the decision makers.
Government institutions need to be based on clear and widely accepted rules; to have
committed leaders and qualified people to undertake appropriate reforms in the
economic and social spheres; to be able to mobilize resources and manage expenditure;
and to operate in the most cost-effective way possible by making use of new
information technologies. In other words, the legitimacy of a democratic regime is
based hi great part on the capacity of the State to deliver services that are relevant and
of high quality to all sectors of the population in a society.
The performance of the business sector depends on well functioning institutional
structures as much as on the quality of the people who work in them.
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Skilled, dedicated and highly motivated business persons are essential for carrying
out reforms that are effective and sustainable in the long term, as well as
responsive to the changes that are occurring both at the local and global levels.
The essence of what the business sector is and its guiding principles (rule of law,
serving the citizens, etc.) will shape its choices of how to solve the many challenges
it confronts.
Connecting the mission of the business sector with empowered public officials and
a system that supports innovation and excellence can make a big difference in the
future performance of the business sector.
Therefore, Human resources development is also a critical factor in ensuring that
the development goals outlined in the Road map towards successful human
resource management practices.
Summary of Interviews
In general, interviews have the following weaknesses:
6. Not useful when large numbers of applicants must be evaluated and/or selected
Types of Interviews
I. Unstructured Interview Involves a procedure where different questions may be
asked of different applicants.
II. Situational Interview Candidates are interviewed about what actions they would
take in various job-related situations. The job-related situations are usually
identified using the critical incidents job analysis technique. The interviews are
then scored using a scoring guide constructed by job experts.
III. Behavior Description Interviews Candidates are asked what actions they have
taken in prior job situations that are similar to situations they may encounter on
the job. The interviews are then scored using a scoring guide constructed by job
experts.
IV. Comprehensive Structured Interviews Candidates are asked questions pertaining
to how they would handle job-related situations, job knowledge, worker
requirements, and how the candidate would perform various job simulations.
Interviews tapping job knowledge offer, a way to assess a candidate's current level
of knowledge related to relevant implicit dimensions of job performance (i.e.,
"tacit knowledge" or "practical intelligence" related to a specific job position)
V. Structured Behavioral Interview This technique involves asking all interviewees
standardized questions about how they handled past situations that were similar
to situations they may encounter on the job. The interviewer may also ask
Selection Challenges
Selection then consists of the processes involved in choosing from applicants a suitable
candidate to fill a post. Most scholars however emphasize that essential groundwork
including the internal factors and external factors need to be laid before the recruiting
process can begin. Selection involves procedures to identify the most appropriate
candidates to fill posts. An effective selection procedure will therefore take into
consideration the following:
Minimize stereotypes. To minimize the influence of tribal/regional and sex
stereotypes in the interview process, provide interviewers with a job description
and specification of the requirements for the position. Interviewers with little
information about the job may be more likely to make stereotypical judgments
about the suitability of candidates than are interviewers with detailed information
about the job.
To provide for, the future staffing needs of the enterprise in terms of skills,
numbers and ages.
He focuses on the development of personnel strategies to get the right number of
employees, with the right level of talent and skills, to achieve the right objectives, to
fulfill the corporate purpose.
McBeath (1978) on the other hand stresses human resource planning as the basis of
establishment control; the planner as a "policeman" who checks whether staffing levels
are optimum.
A more recent view of human resource planning seeks to link policy and practice
together in day-to-day decision making, stressing the interrelationship of various
aspects such as;
On what human resource planning should be, Smith (1976) suggests that rather than
producing a detailed blueprint, it should be regarded as a process in which the likely
consequences of the continuation of current policies or the introduction of new policies
can be assessed; action can be expected to forestall undesirable consequences. Hence;
Overall the purpose of the planning is to invoke an organizational learning process and
to generate information which can be utilized to support management decision making
in all staffing areas. The strategic focus provides the unique place of human resource
planning, recognizing that the nature of human beings and their innate flexibility means
that they cannot be planned and managed in a fashion similar to that for other
resources. Furthermore,
The relationships that human resource planners and human resource planning
processes create among groups within the organization serve as the thrust of the
strategic view of the framework. Such relationships give rise to the form of planning
adopted and implementation responsibilities for those involved.
Equally important is the determination of planning inputs, sources of inputs, users of the
outputs, and the types of outputs required. In essence, the strategic view argues for a
joint responsibility for planning between managers and planners and emphasizes that
the transformation stage of the system underpins their relationship.
In the strategy oriented definition, Human resource planning is “A strategy for the
acquisition, utilization, improvement, and retention of an enterprise's human
resources.” This is because, Human resource planning aims to maintain and improve the
ability of the organization to achieve corporate objectives, through the development of
strategies to enhance the contribution of personnel at all times in the foreseeable
future.
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A more recent view of human resource planning seeks to link policy and practice
together in day-to-day decision making, stressing the interrelationship of various
aspects such as training, development and recruitment.
Conclusions
It has been observed that attraction and procurement also depends on the level of
overall demand (whether created by central planning or by labour market forces) and
the opportunities available for particular employees.
Factors contributing to the demand for employees are;
Recruitment and retirement policies,
The place of work,
The physical and mental energy involved,
The advantages and disadvantages of the job,
The work schedule;
The experience or skills required,
The employee's tasks,
Training and development opportunities,
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Contact with other people, and
Salary.
Recruitment techniques are also influenced by; internal search, unsolicited applications,
recommendations and referrals, job fairs, employment agencies, advertising, and
campus recruitment. Economic and social conditions, competition and government
regulations also affect recruitment.
Recommendations
Economic integration, particularly after the onset of globalization, has altered the nature
and functions of the state in two fundamental ways. First, the State is being integrated
more and more with supra-national organizations for the formulation of policies.
Second, the State is delegating and decentralizing more and more powers to the local
level bodies. In fact, it has become a necessity for the business person to imbibe and
learn human resource management and leadership skills, strategic planning skills,
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effective decision making capacities, professionalism, and integrated technology
towards enhancing the effectiveness of delivering goods and service to the clientele.
Hence, reforms that have taken place in the public service should be addressed through
training and development.
In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field
concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals
and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names, including
Training: This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an
individual currently holds.
Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in
the future, and is evaluated against those jobs.
Development: This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing
the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost
impossible to evaluate.
There is always a first time and it's never easy. This is-so true to new employees who set
foot into a new organization with expectations and hopes. It is up to the management to
make them feel at home as soon as possible. The tool that the management uses to
achieve this, is the induction training. An effective induction programme is more than
merely introducing new employees to their roles and co-workers. It is a strategy that is
The training
Different people should be involved at different levels during induction training. Ideally,
an induction training programme is designed by the HR department in consultation with
various line managers and functional heads. There should always be a training
department dedicated for the classroom training for new entrants. This department
should also take care of induction programmes for other administrative and support
staff. For other employees the entire induction is should be conducted by HR. First
impression is the best impression. Hence, it is up to the HR department to design an
induction programme that makes the first day, the best day.
Induction training completes the selection and placement process and involves the
introduction of a new employee or group of employees into a new or changed working
environment. The induction process is particularly important for diverse groups as their
successful integration into a homogeneous workforce is not automatic. The return on
investment of a proper Induction programme is significant since it has an impact, not
only on employee perceptions and morale, but also on their willingness to stay in the
organization. Effective induction training implemented in the right manner helps to:
Assist the new employee to adjust to the university environment
Clarify job requirements and performance expectations
Obtain effective output on the shortest time possible
Establish a favourable attitude to the university in the mind of the employee
Introduce the employee to the culture of the organization
Interest the employee in the job and the organization
Reduce any misunderstanding about the job or the enterprise; and
Facilitate good employee relations.
What should induction practices cover? Core duties and responsibilities of the job, by
reference to the job description, etc.
Current departmental working practices and procedures;
Any work protocols, guidelines or other relevant written information
Supervisory arrangements, including who the employee should approach he or she
has any queries or problems at work
Any training or development needs and/or prospects
Basic terms and conditions or employment, including working hours and who to
contact if unable to come into work for any reason.
The departmental requirements for reporting if sick and requesting annual leave.
a) New Staff
During the first week, the head of unit should meet with the new member of staff and
go through the requirements.
c) Staff Promotion
Often times, when members of staff are promoted to higher ranks/positions within the
university, they are faced with challenges, therefore, they require induction training to
cope with their new positions.
Practicalities
This is useful information, if not the most interesting to participants and it includes:
i) How to conduct common administrative tasks;
1) Cultural Change
New starters are unfamiliar with the environment and processes of the university, so it
is the ideal time to indict them into the "new" way working. In this way, new starters
can be “shaped” in order to achieve cultural change, such as:
Encouraging the agreed on mode of communication
Overcoming the "silos" within the university, by providing a holistic view of a university.
2) Knowledge Transfer
By formalizing knowledge transfer, or providing a more rigorous framework for informal
transfers, new starters can be provided with the information they need to conduct their
work.
Introduction
Quality of working life has been differentiated from the broader concept of Quality of
Life. To some degree, this may be overly simplistic, as Elizur and Shye, (1990)(3)
concluded that quality of work performance is affected by Quality of Life as well as
Quality of working life. However, it will be argued here that the specific attention to
work-related aspects of quality of life is valid. Whilst Quality of Life has been more
widely studied (4), Quality of working life, remains relatively unexplored and
Baba and Jamal also explored reutilization of job content, suggesting that this facet
should be investigated as part of the concept of quality of working life.
Some have argued that quality of working life might vary between groups of workers.
For example, Ellis and Pompli (2002)(10) identified a number of factors contributing to
job dissatisfaction and quality of working life in nurses, including:
Poor working environments, •S Resident aggression,
Workload,
Unable to deliver quality of care preferred,
Balance of work and family,
Shiftwork,
Lack of involvement in decision making,
Professional isolation,
Lack of recognition,
Poor relationships with supervisor/peers,
Role conflict,
Lack of opportunity to learn new skills.
Sirgy et al.; (2001)(11) suggested that the key factors b quality of working life are:
Need satisfaction based on job requirements,
Need satisfaction based on Work environment,
Need satisfaction based on Supervisory behaviour,
Need satisfaction based on Ancillary programmes,
Organizational commitment.
In summary, where it has been considered, authors differ in their views on the core
constituents of Quality of Working Life (e.g. Sirgy, Efraty, Siegel & Lee, 2001 (11) and
Warr, Cook & Wall, 1979) (7).
It has generally been agreed however that Quality of Working Life is conceptually
similar to well-being of employees but differs from job satisfaction which solely
represents the workplace domain (Lawler, 1982) (15).
Quality of Working Life is not a unitary concept, but has been seen as incorporating
a hierarchy of perspectives that not only include work-based factors such as job
satisfaction, satisfaction with pay and relationships with work colleagues, but also
factors that broadly reflect life satisfaction and general feelings of well-being
(Danna & Griffin, 1999) (16).
More recently, work-related stress and the relationship between work and non-
work life domains (Loscocco & Roschelle, 1991) (17) have also been identified as
factors that should conceptually be included in Quality of Working Life.
Staff performance is another area that requires addressing. Hence, in a country where
services are centralized, with an imbalance in personnel and low staff motivation and
poor standards of care, there is poor service delivery. If not addressed, poor human 1
resources policies and management might result into high cost and poor quality of
services. Therefore it is crucial to keep in mind that human resources should become
the central focus in organizations.
Matheson (2002) points out that "the least systematically oriented area of recent public
management reforms has been HRM. There is a danger that the constitutional, legal,
cultural and leadership factors, which together create what is important and distinctive
about public services, are not reflected on, or are dismissed as the bureaucratic problem
which must be 'reformed'.
Hence decentralization of budgets and administrative functions, can affect the sector,
often in negative ways, by reducing resources available, and confusing lines of
accountability for public workers. Governance and regulations of public services, when
delivered by both public and private providers, require new systems of regulations. The
increase decentralization............
case, where-two or more employees are vying for a higher position and all are equally
qualified to be promoted.
On the other hand, transfers are carried out either to get rid of an employee who is not
liked in a specific department, or if s/he is liked, to better place where there are a
multitude of benefits. This basis has destroyed employees morale and motivation and
others have even become rebels and saboteurs due to the equity effects. Hence, this
module addresses the challenges of promotions and transfers in the business sectors.
There has been hot debates on the topic of promotion and transfers in literature.
Research (Kaguhangire, 2006) has found that whatever basis for promotion or transfer,
if it is not well communicated and not based on any established policy, it is likely to
cause a lot of destruction in the organization. Hence, rewarding long-term employees by
promoting them into positions they are not well-suited for is unfair to the employee,
fellow employees and the sector. Another common reason people are promoted is
because they are well liked or favoured by their supervisors.
Others are identifying the behaviours associated with excellent service and rating
against these in the appraisal process. Again the design of the process-will depend on
what is important to the particular business and the achievement of their business
objectives and will therefore be influenced by the wider performance management
process. It is important that people don't achieve their objectives at the expense of their
colleagues' morale.
Research has reported that appraisees seem to have greater acceptance of the appraisal
process, and feel more satisfied with it, when the process is directly linked to rewards.
Such findings are a serious challenge to those who feel that appraisal results and reward
outcomes must be strictly isolated from each other. There is also a group who argues
that the evaluation of employees for reward purposes, and frank communication with
them about their performance, are part of the basic responsibilities of management.
The practice of not discussing reward issues while appraising performance is, say critics,
based on inconsistent and muddled ideas of motivation. In many organizations, this
inconsistency is aggravated by the practice of having separate wage and salary reviews,
in which merit rises and bonuses are decided arbitrarily, and often secretly, by
supervisors and managers.
appraisal result"7 Very likely, in that situation, many people would deny or downplay
their weaknesses. Nor is the desire to distort or deny the truth confined to the person
being appraised. Many appraisers feel uncomfortable with the combined role of judge
and executioner.
Such reluctance is not difficult to understand. Appraisers often know their appraisees
well, and are typically in a direct subordinate-supervisor relationship. They work
together on a daily basis and may, at times, mix socially. Suggesting that subordinate
needs to brush up on certain work skills is one thing; giving an appraisal result that has
the direct effect of negating a promotion is another. The result can be resentment and
serious morale damage, leading to workplace disruption, soured relationships and
productivity declines. On the other hand, there is a strong rival argument which claims
that performance appraisal must unequivocally be linked reward outcomes.
The advocates of this approach say that organizations must have a process by which
rewards - which are not an unlimited resource - may be openly and fairly distributed to
those most deserving on the basis of merit, effort and results. There is a critic need for
remunerative justice in organizations. Performance appraisal - whatever its practical
flaws - is the only process available to help achieve fair, decent and consistent reward
outcomes. It has also been claimed that appraisees themselves are inclined to believe
Between these two extremes lie various schools of belief. While all endorse the use of
performance appraisal, there are many different opinions on how and when to apply it.
There are those, for instance, who believe that performance appraisal has many
important employee development uses, but scorn any attempt to link the process to
reward outcomes - such as pay rises and promotions. The linkage to reward outcomes
reduces or eliminates the developmental value of appraisals. Rather than an
With respect to the public service, the highlighted wage determinants above can be
classified into three broad categories,
Administrative fact: Giving directives on pay through the issuance of circulars to
affected organization,
Wages Commissions: The use of wage commissions to recommend income of
workers.
Collective Bargaining: The use of negotiation between management and workers
union.
Performance Appraisals
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Performance appraisals, performance reviews, appraisal forms, whatever you want to
call them, let's call them gone. As a stand-alone, annual assault, a performance appraisal
is universally disliked and avoided. After all:
Performance appraisal on the other hand is operational, short to medium term and
concerned only with the individual and their performance and development. It is one of
the tools of performance management and the data produced can feed into other
elements of performance management but in itself can never be performance
management. Administrators should therefore stress the importance of a positive
relationship between individual employees and line managers. Carried out sensitively,
the performance appraisal is an important vehicle in developing and maintaining this
relationship.
Sometimes, this basic system succeeded in getting the results that were intended; but
more often than not, it failed. For example, early motivational researchers were aware
that different people with roughly equal work abilities could be paid the same amount
of money and yet have quite different levels of motivation and performance. These
observations however, were confirmed in empirical studies. Pay rates were important
but they were not the only element that had an impact on employee performance. It
was found that other issues, such as morale and self-esteem, could also have a major
influence- As a result, the traditional emphasis on reward outcomes was progressively
rejected.
As time went by, the potential usefulness of appraisal as a tool for motivation and
development was gradually recognized. The general model of performance appraisal as
it is known today, began from that time.
Modern Appraisal
the determination of planning inputs, sources of inputs, users of the outputs, and the
types "of outputs required. In essence, the strategic view argues for a joint responsibility
for planning between managers and planners and emphasizes that the transformation
stage of the system underpins their relationship. Finally, the framework incorporates
key organizational and management variables considered important for the organization
to comprehend and articulate in its pursuit of change.
Manpower refers to the quantity and quality of workforce while, planning involves
anticipation and preparation for the future.
Manpower planning may be defined as forecasting the number and type of
personnel when the organization will have to hire, train and promote in a
particular period in order to achieve its objective.
Manpower planning is the process which includes forecasting, with the developing,
implementing and controlling help of which a firm ensures has the right numbers of
people and the right kind of people, at places, at the right time, doing work for which
they are economically useful.
a deliberate process to ensure that staff are developed who are able to replace senior-
management as required. The process of deciding how and when the management,
ownership and/or control of a business will be transferred to subsequent owners. A
process designed to ensure the continued effective performance of an organization by
making provision for the development and replacement of key people over time.
Succession planning is generally considered to be a strategy of workforce planning.
Succession planning helps you decide where people belong on the bus. Institutions
should find out more. With today's workforce, talent is the key-driver of organizational
success and mobility is common amongst employees. Strategic succession planning is
the process of building a viable talent pool that contributes to the current and future
success of an organization. When implemented well, strategic succession planning
meets the talent needs of any organization.
First, the succession-^systems are easy to use: Winning systems are non-
bureaucratic, uncomplicated processes - with a unified approach to ensure
consistency and maintain objectivity across business units, organizational levels
and geographic areas. They are developmentally oriented, rather than simply
replacement oriented. They become a proactive vehicle for managers and
executives to reflect on the progress of their talent and the opportunities they
require for genuine development. Highly effective systems always actively involve
the very top players in the organization. Senior executives view effective
succession management as a critical strategic tool for attracting and retaining
talent.
Succession systems are also effective at spotting gaps in talent and identifying
important lynchpin positions - the select set of jobs that are critical to the overall
success of the organization.
Succession planning does the job of monitoring the succession process, enabling
the company to ensure that the right people are moving into the right jobs at the
right time and that gaps are being spotted early on. The most successful systems
are built around continual reinvention.
Planning Continuity
This measure is a responsibility of the HR Directorates of the state.
The unit that handles succession management should be in charge of planning
continuity.
This should be put in place for emergencies, in case sudden or unexpected
occurrence or combination of occurrences that may cause injury, loss of life
destruction of property or, cause the interference, loss or disruption of a unit's
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normal business operations to such an extent that it poses a threat to the society
and the community in particular.
An emergency is something that may overwhelm the organization's ability to
resolve the situation.
On the other hand, it could be a disaster that might result in a sudden, unplanned event
with a significant scope of impact involving many people if not an entire community and
is based on the scope of the event, number of lives impacted, and the devastation of
property periodically conduct compensation surveys and review their compensation
system to assure external equity.
Several factors are generally considered in evaluating the market rate of a job. They
include
The cost of living of the area,
Union contracts, and
Broader economic conditions.
Urban areas generally have a higher cost of living than rural areas. For this matter, in
calculating the real pay, a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) should be added to the base
wage or salary. It should be noted however, that during an economically depressed
period, the labor supply usually exceeds the demand in the labor market, resulting in
lower labor rates. The characteristics of an individual employee are also important in
determining compensation.
An individual's job qualifications,
Within the reasonable range of a market rate, Public Service should explore avenues of
generating funds to offer additional compensation to attract and retain competent
employees. In principle, compensation must be designed around the job, not the
person. Person-based pay frequently results in discriminatory practices, which violates
the principle of procedural and distributive justice, and job-based compensation is the
employer's most powerful defense for litigation issues.
With complete and comprehensive data about all the jobs, job analysts must conduct
systematic comparisons of them and determine their relative worth. Numerous
techniques have been developed for the analysis of relative worth, including the simple
point method,
Job classification method,
Job ranking method, and
The factor comparison method.
Giving feedback
Feedback should be based on facts not subjective opinion and should always be backed
up with evidence and examples.
The aim of feedback should be to promote the understanding of the individual so
that they are aware of the impact of their actions and behaviour.
Feedback will work best when the following conditions are met:
Feedback is built in with individuals being given access to readily available
information on their performance and progress.
Feedback is related to actual events, observed behaviours or actions.
Feedback describes events without judging them.
Feedback is accompanied by questions soliciting the individual's opinion why
certain things happened.
People are encouraged to come to their own conclusions about what happened
and why.
There is understanding about what things went wrong and an emphasis on putting
them right rather than censuring past behaviour.
If a company pays its employees below the market rate it may lose competent
employees. In determining adequate pay for employees, a manager must consider the
three major factors:
The labor market,
The nature and scope of the job, and
Characteristics of the individual employee.
Potential employees are recruited from a certain geographic area—the labor market.
The actual boundary of a labor market varies depending on the type of;
Job,
Company, and
Industry.
For example, an opening for a Veterinary Officer of a certain District may attract
candidates from across the country, whereas a secretarial position at a Secondary
School may attract candidates only from the immediate local area of the school. Pay for
a job even within the same labor market may vary widely because of many factors such
as; the industry,
Type of job,
Cost of living, and
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Location of the job.
Compensation managers must be aware of these differences. To help compensation
managers understand the market rate of labor, a compensation survey should be
conducted. A compensation survey should obtain data regarding what other firms pay
for specific jobs or job classes in a given geographic market. Large companies
Incentives or bonuses are re wards offered in addition to the, base wage when
employees achieve a high level of performance.
Benefits are rewards offered for being a member of the organization and can
include paid vacation, health and life insurance, company house or car and
retirement pension.
A company's compensation system must include policies, procedures, and rules that
provide clear and unambiguous determination and ministration of employee
compensation. Otherwise, there can be confusion, diminished employee satisfaction,
and potentially costly litigation.
according to levels and may result in a command structure with decisions only
communicated from the upper levels to the lower ones.
Horizontal integration involves the coordination of human resource planning and the
personal functions such as recruitment, training, and career management. Planning
activities are usually undertaken within a planning cycle, which defines the planning
horizons and stages and specifies various decision points for managers and planners. For
business sector organizations such a cycle may incorporate planning for macro, sectoral
and organizational human resources. The decision needs at the three levels have to be
considered in an iterative and complementary manner even though their time frames
may be different.
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By encouraging "planning parallelism" in this way as part of their thinking organizational
human resource planners become aware of their roles and contributions in sectoral and
macro planning in the economy, particularly for designing public service delivery
systems. Such a planning cycle builds critical linkages and strengthens the
interrelationship of plans, and exemplifies the nature of human resource planning set
within an open systems approach. This is in sharp contrast with a hierarchical view of
planning for the business sector, which isolates planning
The immediate view of this gap or conflict about figures, results in top management
squeezing standards, commonly resulting in an underestimation of the demand, while
line managers in trying to provide themselves with extra cover, or in ignorance of the
potential to improve productivity, overestimate the demand. To resolve the conflict
information exchange and negotiation are necessary, human resource planners having a
mediating role between the parties. The critical consideration in the negotiation is the
"affordability criterion" establishing what size workforce the organization can afford.
Effective planning processes necessarily expose a relevant combination of these
conflicting aspects and reflect a healthy dynamic for problem resolution arising from
different perspectives and needs.
The demand forecast Forecasting human resource demand enables the organization to
gain knowledge about future requirements in response to its objectives. There is
invariably some difference between the data assembled from top management's
assumptions and forecasts built up from the judgments of unit heads and managers.
1) The disruption of critical business activities for some predetermined period of time.
2) The period when government decides to divert from normal schedules and
exercises its disaster recovery plan signified by the beginning of moving from
primary to alternate processing.
an excellent fit for the job they shouldn't be considered-for the promotion - period! The
preceding units will examine promotional basis, channels and avenues, and; the
challenges therein.
The problem in hiring and promoting employees is that gut feelings and subjective
criteria are too often used in judging whether someone can move into a
management role and be effective.
When promoting employees, they should be taken through a rigorous process to
determine their chances for success in a management position. The employee
should be expected to interview with top management and should be put through
the paces to isolate behavioral tendencies that will give some indication about how
they will handle various management situations. And the employee should be
tested and assessed to determine the degree to which they match the profile of a
manager/supervisor.
Most promotional decisions are made too quickly and without sound rationale.
Putting some structure and objectivity into the process will help immensely in
making the right decision.
And it should be realized that some employees will be passed over for promotions
into higher positions simply because they are not qualified to be there.
Job transfers generally fall into one of two categories: those initiated by management 3r
those made in response to an employee's request.
A Promotion
A promotion is a move up the organizational ladder; job rotation and transfers are
lateral moves; demotions are downward moves; and layoffs move employees out.
Layoffs, in contrast to dismissals are terminations, sometimes temporary, required for
business needs unrelated to worker behavior or performance- All of-these changes
bring about shifts in status, and often in pay, of the employees involved.
Promotion by merit: Promotions based on merit advance workers who are best
qualified for the position, rather than those with the greatest seniority. When present
employees are applying for a position, a worker's past performance is also considered.
Effective performance appraisal helps build trust in the system Merit is not
easy to define and measure—it often requires difficult subjective evaluations.
At some point, someone has to make a judgment about an employee's relative
merit. Employees may find it difficult to make a distinction between merit-because it
is so hard to measure in an objective way-and' favoritism.
Disadvantages: Some employees may not be able or want to do certain jobs into which
a strict seniority system would propel them. (Not all tractor drivers would make good
foremen, or would like to be foremen.)
Ambitious workers may not be willing to "wait their turn" for higher level jobs that
they want.
o Employee motivation to work as well as possible is not reinforced Immigrant or
Disadvantages:
Merit and ability are difficult to measure in an objective, impartial way.
When all workers are laid-off at the same time, there is little need to discuss
seniority and merit considerations. But when partial or gradual layoffs take place,
difficult decisions have to be made. Layoffs of year-round employees may require a
different approach than that of seasonal workers.
Decisions involving the layoff of non-seasonal personnel may well be the hardest or
most heart wrenching labor management decision you have to make. The
expectation with year-round employment is that workers will hold on to their
positions as long as they do a good job and the enterprise is economically viable.
Certainly, in considering such a mix, greater weight is probably given to seniority
considerations in layoff than in promotion decisions. Please note that I am not
suggesting that seniority is more important than merit.
Arguments that favor making layoffs in reverse order of seniority, that is, the last
hired, the first to go include:
The longer employees" have worked for an enterprise, the more loyalty they are
due. Other employees will observe and be affected by how senior employees are
treated.
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Senior employees who lose their jobs may have greater difficulty finding
another job at the equivalent pay and benefit level than younger workers.
Layoffs by merit may lead to age discrimination law suits if older workers are
disproportionately terminated. The principal argument favoring merit to
determine layoff decisions is:
Management should retain the best people to do the job, especially when Sanctioning
with fewer employees. Employers sometimes offer special retirement packages to
entice more senior personnel to retire. This is often done in an effort to save money in
situations where senior personnel earn disproportionately higher wages. Promotion
From Within or Outside Hire?
Promotion policies may affect employees' hopes for advancement and the productivity
of your workforce.
Often employers feel compelled to promote from within their workforce, fearing
the loss of the loyalty and enthusiasm of present employees. Promotion from
within encourages employees to view the organization as one offering them career
growth.
Unfortunately, a tradition of promoting from within may also mean forgoing the
most vital management prerogative: filling positions with well-qualified personnel.
It is a mistake to assume that superior performance in one job will always translate
into equivalent success after promotion to a new position.
Personnel who move from technical jobs to supervisory ones, or from "doing" jobs
to managing ones, may not always be skilled in handling the added responsibility
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and power. Policies that all but guarantee promotions to present employees may
discourage worker development. Occasionally, you may have to consider the
demotion of a worker who has not succeeded after being promoted.
In the latter case, the worker can be given different duties or assignments that
constitute a transfer rather than a promotion.
Job Transfers
A transfer refers to horizontal movement of employee from one job position to another
in the same org without any significant change in status and pay. it has been defined as
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"a lateral shift causing movement of individual from one job position to another without
involving any marked change in duties, responsibilities, skills needed or compensation".
The change of an employee from one position to another in the same classification or in
another classification with the same salary-range maximum is termed a transfer.
Transfers within the same department o£ division with no change in job classification
can be approved by the division director or department head. All other transfers must
be approved by the Human Resources Department.
Lateral Transfer: A lateral transfer is a move to a position with the same or similar job
title in the same pay grade. Such transfers provide opportunities to work with new
colleagues, to master a different range of skills, or transfer special skills and experience
to a new environment.
Transfers and job rotation are forms of enlargement entailing movement from one job
to another of comparable responsibility. Transfers usually last for a longer term while
job rotation may imply several short term job changes. In addition, some rotations are
cyclical and involve going through the same set of jobs over and over. In a bank, for
instance, workers may be part of a job rotation cycle from being cashier to distributing
loans. Besides alleviating possible boredom, transfers and job rotations expose workers
to more tasks. When an absence or turnover occurs, it helps to have other
knowledgeable employees who can perform the vacated job. Morale can suffer when
transfers require employees to relocate. A raise in pay may help assignments carry
unique challenges and opportunities.
Employers who feel compelled to promote from within may be forgoing the
management prerogative of filling positions with qualified personnel. A successful
promotion policy should neither stifle present personnel nor eliminate management's
option for outside recruitment. Some employers and workers feel the only evidence of
career success is promotion. Fortunately, there are several other ways to provide
workers more challenges. This can be done through transfers, job rotation, job
enlargement and job enrichment.
promotion policy within an organization again, must be clear, fair and have a
transparent process that applies to all employees within the organization to
comply with the principle of natural justice.
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o The policy should also clear state the criteria for promotion, criteria for salary
progression or scale structures. If creating a new promotion policy, you may need
to check the criteria for promotion and salary progression is not a part of a
collective employment agreement negotiated by the union.
o Promotions can help an organization as it shows the organization values its
promotions.
o The policy must have a clear, fair and transparent process that applies to all
promotion policy within an organization again, must be clear, fair and have a
transparent process that applies to all employees within the organization to
comply with the principle of natural justice.
o The policy should also clear state the criteria for promotion, criteria for salary
progression or scale structures. If creating a new promotion policy, you may need
Introduction
A common problem organizations experience is the high turnover rate of employees.
Tight competition in the corporate world today makes it enticing for unsatisfied workers
to look for better opportunities. We live in an era marked by periods of economic
uncertainty and volatility. At the same time increased responsibility has shifted to
individuals for securing their financial wellbeing in retirement. And with this added
responsibility, retirees may be exposed to a variety of risks that can affect them both as
individuals and members of society.
Two main challenges have surfaced in recent years; the pending wave of retirements
and competitive recruitment pressures from other industries. These create significant
attraction challenges for business sector employers, especially for the skilled trades and
technical professions (such as plumbers, electricians, economists and accountants), as
well as the senior management cadre. Business sector employers should recognize that
in order to attract new workers, they need to market their workplaces and innovative
practices -and then deliver a progressive employment proposition to avoid high rates of
Other industries have initiated aggressive marketing and attraction strategies to acquire
top talent. Senior leaders across the federal business sector understand these
challenges, and are beginning to respond effectively. But before going into details on
how companies should manage their workforce, it pays to take a look at some reasons
why workers leave their present jobs.
In public perception, all are tainted by the same brush of guilt or indolence.
Do societies hold public officials to higher standards of performance and conduct
than for others? If so, why?
putting such a civil, service into place. Although, Uganda has institutions in place,
significant shortcomings exist in civil service legal frameworks, coordination structures
and HR Management. The lack of a co-ordinating, advisory and implementing body for
Human Resource Management has an adverse impact on professionalism and
performance. It can undermine efforts made to make the civil service both more
professional and more efficient. A minimum level of co-ordination could help to prevent
conflicting regulations or policies from being introduced by individual ministries. Co-
ordination could include the implementation of priorities set at the national level, the
matching of resources to objectives and the monitoring of personnel management.
Irrespective of the role given to the co-ordinating body, the role of the HR directorates
within each ministry is crucial.
When such directorates are given the authority, stability and resources required to
exercise their functions, human resources are managed with greater rigour and the
influence of political factors or personal networks is significantly reduced. One
instrument to harmonize HRM and compliance rules consists of the creation of a single
staff register. Computerized management is the most functional method, as it also
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makes it possible to share the register. Providing information on the rules governing
post and career management can be viewed as a highly positive measure, making it
possible to attract larger numbers of applicants. One aspect of this information is the
publication of vacancy notices, which contributes substantially to the improvement of
recruitment exercises. Hence;
The professionalism and efficiency of the administration depend not only on the
quality of recruitment, but also on the organization of career development. The
establishment of a common framework applicable to different administrations and
which sets a hierarchy of functions, grades and career development has a clarifying
and harmonizing effect.
Career development based on the principle of rewarding merit constitutes the
central element for professionalizing the civil service and motivating its officials.
In order to reward merit, it is first necessary to put in place an evaluation system
which makes it possible for decisions relating to career development to be based on
a fair assessment of qualifications and performance, thereby ensuring the promotion
of those officials whose competencies can be objectively recognized.
In the area of training, progress made could be built upon further by introducing an
overall policy that takes account of both immediate requirements and longer-term
needs. Matching the provision of training to the real needs of administrations might
only require a fairly basic mechanism (consultation, surveys or other) to ensure a
dialogue between those providing and those requesting training.
On the subject of professional ethics, a cautious and pragmatic approach needs to be
adopted in drawing any lessons from the experiences of the four countries studied.
Regulations that are too sophisticated have proved to be ineffective.
Most administrative systems have one major characteristic in common: the problem of
matching legislative texts with practices, and the need to narrow the gap between the
two in order to ensure that the administration, and more generally the rule of law,
functions properly.
These determinants of change are challenging the traditional roles of the state
introducing new actors to the development and governance process of a nation, and
introducing new roles and responsibilities for business persons. They are also causing
national and regional problems, such as corruption and its links to organized crime, to
transcend boundaries and spill over into the international arena. These global changes
warrant a re-examination of the role of the public service in sustainable human
development or the process of "expanding the choices for all people in society. At the
same time, there are changes occurring that are more specific to certain regions. To
mention only those regions that are represented in this volume, the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe, as well as those in Africa, face shared challenges that are distinct to
their region, as a result of these changes. Countries must confront these regional
challenges in addition to the global and national challenges.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe has been
characterized by "transition" since the early 1990s. Countries in this region have
Challenges for the business service in development These problems are exacerbated in a
world that may no longer be threatened by the cold war but must cope, instead, with
escalating ethnic conflicts, spreading democratization and its growing pains, a shifting
balance between the state/market/civil society forces, globalization, and increasing
Strong business service leadership and performance are now more critical than ever in
preventing further sub-national disintegration and to slow down the spreading gap in
regional and income inequalities.
Many countries in Africa have been undergoing macro-economic structural adjustment
in the face of burgeoning debts since the 1980s.
Economic decision-making became centralized and public enterprises proliferated. This
resulted in a growing bureaucracy with increasing discretionary power, which was put to
use as a conduit for graft.
However, the attempt to rationalize the business service has not been complemented
by a rapid development of the private sector or civil society in a region where, typically,
these have not been well developed. The net result has been a weakened business
service with no other well-developed local institutions to satisfactorily step into the
vacuum.
In addition to the global and regional challenges, countries also face changes at the
national level. For example, Brazil, as the largest country in Latin America, is
becoming an emerging economic force in the world. Following the examples of many
Many times, they are pressured to become partisan in carrying out their duties or else
are punished upon refusal. On a personal level, they are earning for months or
underemployed, sometimes not allowing them to support their families. There are few
opportunities in their societies for them or their family members to advance
professionally or financially. These conditions breed low morale and make corruption
seem inevitable and a necessary evil. In areas where basic needs of citizens cannot be
met, talking about professionalism and ethics can seem a luxury. Even under the harsh
conditions noted above, a countless number of business persons around the world have
Codes of Ethics
Codes of ethics are the value guidelines that a professional must follow in order to
remain registered as a member of the profession. Codes are not a list of do's and don'ts.
Therefore, to a young professional, they may; appear to ; be vague statements. For
example, a code might state that the professional should hold paramount the safety,
health, and welfare of the public, or that they should act as faithful agents in
professional matters for each employer or client. The emphasis on values is evident
through the terms "public safety" and "faithful."
In some cases, whistle-blowing may be the ethical decision, but in other cases, the
ethical action would be to "swallow the whistle." Making value-laden decisions can be
stressful to the professional.
Research has therefore shown that lack of mutual understanding and respect for others,
mistrust and unfriendly workplace environment undermine interpersonal relationship
(Sandelin, 1997). Further, the absence of health interpersonal relationships causes
stress, frustration and depression in individuals. This leads to;
Reduced motivation,
Low morale,
Poor or low productivity and eventual quitting.
This in the end will disrupt the shared vision of the organization, affect cohesion,
relationship and harmony of the workforce which will impact on the quality of the
products and finally destroy reputation and integrity of the organization. Workplace
conflicts no question, affect interpersonal relationships, and this has an impact not only
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on the individual, but also creates a ripple effect, the repercussions of which are felt
throughout the departments, the faculties and the entire institution. Resolving
personalized conflicts are a real challenge and yet, other than affecting concerned
parties, they tend to stretch to the students, quality of services, retention of qualified
staff and above all, encroaching on the scarce resources as the management institutes
inquiries into matters which are often times an "art" of personalized conflicts and could
be dealt with by HR professionals. Dealing with interpersonal relationships is a complex
subject that is often given inadequate attention by communities, business inclusive.
Each individual in a group has a particular and unique personality style that has been
shaped by the lifetime of their experience.
There are diver types and quiet folk,
Expressive,
Analytical,
Reserved,
Shy,
Reactive and many others.
After you have been working together for a while, an attentive person with training will
recognize members' personalities and styles and then use that understanding to predict
how the individual or group will react to different situations. As the group gets into
conflicts (Sandeline, 1997), the elements of group dynamics and personality style need
to be taken into account by the facilitators of the groups (the line managers). It is
important to note that academics particularly, are complex employees and they require
conceptual as well as human skills in handling such a complex workforce. Resolving
First, they like to fight - every decision that is taken in opposition to a particular person's
view is a threat to that person's status. They tend to have very strong views on almost
everything, regardless of whether they understand the subject or not (Kammrath and
Dweck, 2005). They tend to have very strong views on almost everything, regardless of
whether they understand the subject or not. When people get into conflicts with each
other, one of the fine arts of conflict is to use triangulation to bring people to your side
of the issue. The goal of this type of triangulation is to degrade the person not present.
This kind of malicious gossip can occur very easily and spontaneously, you may not even
realize what it has done until you analyze why you feel a certain way towards someone,
or how you ever got such a wrong notion about someone.
Malicious triangulation is very dysfunctional behaviour and is one of the worst things
that can happen in an, organization or to an individual. Conflicts can lead to anger,
avoidance, sniping, shouting, frustration, fear of failure, sense of personal inadequacy.
It can also lead 4o; withholding of critical information^ lower productivity' from wasteful
conflict, careers can be sidetracked; relationships can be ruined, can create disrupted
patterns of work, and it can also consume huge amount of time-loss of productivity. In
trying to establish effective conflict management to be applied by business managers,
two models have been provided that can assist in resolving personalized conflicts.
In other words, what I want does not match what you want. When conflict occurs in the
workplace, it can reduce morale, lower work productivity, increase absenteeism, and
cause large-scale confrontations that can lead to serious and violent crimes.
Unit Two: The Context of Personalized Conflicts
Effectively dealing with conflict is not as easy as seizing the opportunity and choosing an
appropriate approach. If it were possible, we would all be more successful in doing so.
Some people seem to naturally manage disagreements with confidence and tact while
others become locked in fear or lash out with anger. Our often unconscious personal
reaction to the stress associated with conflict puts us into a "fight or flight" response
which primes our body with energy for this experience and causes us to either compete
or withdraw.
There is a danger with personalized conflicts because they are never a good thing.
Second, because personalized conflict is about emotion-and not issues, problem solving
almost never works, because neither party is really interested in solving a problem - in
fact, in extreme cases, the parties go out of their ways to create new ones, imagined or
real.
Third, personalized conflicts almost always get worse over time, if they cannot be
converted to substantive conflict. That is because each person expects problems, looks
for them, finds them, and gets angrier. In most cases, the failure of two people to reach
Secondly, because individuals are individuals, they differ, in the way they approach
people and problems. Administrators need to understand their own styles and those of
their subordinates and learn how to accept conflicting styles and manage them
appropriately. An example of conflicting styles would be where one worker works best
in a very structured environment while another worker works best in an unstructured
environment. These two workers could easily drive each other crazy if they constantly
work in conflict with one another and do not learn to accept one another's work style.
Fourthly, there are always conflicting goals - where staff may have different viewpoints
about an incident, plan, or goal. Problems in the workplace can occur when staff are
responsible for different duties in achieving the same goal.
Fifthly, there may be conflicting pressures. These can occur when two or more
members of staff or departments are responsible for separate actions with the same
deadline. What is the best solution?
The extent to which we depend on each other to complete our work can contribute
greatly to conflict (Hart, 2002). Conflicting roles can occur when a member of staff is
asked to perform a function that is outside his/her job requirements or expertise or
another member of staff is assigned to perform the same job. This situation can
contribute to power struggles for territory. This causes intentional or unintentional
Conflict is a challenge facing both employers and employees alike. This module
highlights causes and effects of conflicts - including personalized conflicts - which
administrators and employees would likely encounter on a day-to-day basis and what
strategies can be put in place to resolve these conflicts. Interpersonal conflict arises
from a variety of sources. They are:
Organizational change: People hold differing views over the direction to-go, the
routes to take and their likely success, the resources to be used, and the probable
outcomes. With the pace of technological, political, and social change increasing and
the marketplace hurtling toward a global economy, organizational changes will be
ever-present.
Personality clashes: The concept of individual differences is fundamental to
organizational behavior. Not everyone thinks, feels, looks, or acts alike. Some people
simply "rub us the wrong way," and we cannot necessarily explain why Although
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personality differences can cause conflict, they are also a rich resource for creative
problem solving. Employees need to accept, respect, and learn how to use these
differences when they arise.
Different sets of values: People also hold different beliefs and-adhere to different
value systems. Their philosophies may diverge, or their ethical values may lead them
in different directions. The resulting disputes can be difficult to resolve, since they
are less objective than disagreements over alternative products, inventory levels, or
promotional campaigns.
Threats to status: The social rank of a person in a group, is very important to many
individuals. When one's status is threatened, face saving becomes a powerful driving
force as a person struggles to maintain a desired image. Conflict may arise between
the defensive person and whoever created a threat to status.
Contrasting perceptions: People perceive things differently as a result of their prior
experiences and expectations. Since their perceptions are very real to them (and
they feel that these perceptions must be equally apparent to others), they
sometimes fail to realize that others may hold contrasting perceptions of the same
object or event. Conflict may arise unless employees learn to see things as others see
them and help others do the same.
Lack of trust: Every continuing relationship requires some degree of trust-the
capacity to depend on each other's word and actions. Trust opens up boundaries,
provides opportunities in which to act; and enriches the entire social fabric of an
organization. It takes time to build, but it can be destroyed in an instant. When
someone has a real or perceived reason not to trust another, the potential for
conflict rises grow among people who need to coordinate their efforts.
For purposes of analysis of the causes of conflict, it may be useful to identify three
general categories:
Intrapersonal Conflict
Although most role conflict occurs when an employee's supervisor or peers send
conflicting expectations to him or her, it is possible for intrapersonal role conflict to
emerge from within - an individual, as a result of competing roles taken.
For example, Gloria may see herself as both the manager of a team responsible for -
protecting and enlarging its resources and as a member of the executive staff
charged with the task of reducing operating costs.
Interpersonal Conflict
Interpersonal conflicts are a serious problem to many people because they- deeply
affect a person's emotions.
There is a need to protect one's self image and self esteem from damage by others:
When self-concept is threatened, serious upset occurs and relationships deteriorate.
Sometimes the temperaments of two persons are incompatible and their
personalities clash.
Intergroup Conflict
Intergroup conflicts, for example, between different departments, also cause
problems. On a major scale such conflicts are something like the wars between
juvenile gangs.
Each group sets out to undermine the other, gain power, and improve its image.
Conflicts arise from such causes as different viewpoints, group loyalties, and
competition for resources.
Resources are limited in any organization and are increasingly tight as organizations
struggle to be competitive. Since most groups feel that they need more than they
can secure; the seeds of intergroup conflict exist wherever there are limited
resources.
For example, the production department may want -new and, more efficient
machinery while, at the same time, the sales department wants to expand its sales
force, but there are only enough resources to supply the needs of one group.
Effectively dealing with conflict is not as easy as seizing the opportunity and choosing an
appropriate approach. If it were we would all be more successful in doing so.
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Some people seem to naturally manage disagreements with confidence and tact while
others become locked in fear or lash out with anger.
Our often unconscious personal reaction to the stress associated with conflict puts us
into a "fight or flight" response which primes our body with energy for this experience
and causes us to either compete or withdraw. Constructive efforts to manage
interpersonal issues requires the ability to control impulses, engage our cognitive skills
and direct our energy toward a positive outcome. The foundation for our typical
reaction and approach, or "attitude", in dealing with conflict is formed by our
personality and life experiences. Genetic makeup and childhood experiences affect the
development of our personality and orientation toward conflict.
Role modeling by parents, family members, teachers and other significant people is an
important factor in how we learn to handle feelings and solve problems. Sometimes this
is constructive and sometimes it is not. A person's cultural characteristics will also
influence their approach to conflict management. We bring into our adult family and
work life the values, beliefs, and methods of dealing with conflict that we learned in our
youth - be they constructive or destructive. Our education and experiences as an adult
may reinforce these dynamics or begin to alter them. We can gain an understanding of
our conflict related personality characteristics through use of assessment tools such as
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Thomas-Kilmani Conflict Mode Instrument.
Once we begin to understand our personal approach to conflict we can make more
mature and informed choices about ways to deal with problems and concerns. When
such things as money, information, or supplies are limited or riot shared, when task
responsibilities are unclear, and when people are simply pursuing different goals,
With a lucid approach to the specific conflict and a comprehensive understanding of the
nature of conflict, we will have a solid foundation with which to negotiate resolution. To
that end, here are three of the dynamics that usually occur during inharmonious
interactions:
1) Differing perceptions of the conflict,
2) Nondisclosure of common ground, and
3) Seeing the past, rather than the future.
Although we may be aware of the productive results that effective conflict management
can bring most of us still have an aversion to it and prefer not to engage in trying to
resolve conflict with others. We typically want to avoid the stress and emotional
responses that conflict causes. We may perceive conflict as something risky with the
potential for escalation. Some of these reactions are based on the uncertainty of how
the other party will deal with the problem or issue. We also may fear that things will get
worse instead of better.
Sometimes we tell ourselves that we are just too busy to take the time to address the
issue as a way of rationalizing our choice not to get involved. It is often easier to avoid a
problem hoping that it will go away or that someone else will deal with it. Our
perception of conflict as negative, coupled with our lack of experience in successfully
solving almost never works, because neither party is really interested in solving a
problem - in fact, in extreme cases, the parties go out of their ways to create new
ones, imagined or real.
o Third, personalized conflicts almost always get worse over time, if they cannot be
The establishment of new business institutions and the -reform of organizations are
central events in a countries sustainable development systems. However, despite the
diverse composition of most of the countries, diversity principles have not been
integrated into these institutions or have remained largely marginal. This has created a
The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive
market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a
more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their
emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences,
as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their
human resources. This module will highlight on how a public administrator can meet the
challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and
executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and
controlling their human resources.
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Unit One: The Concept of Diversity
With the increase in competition, locally, or globally, organizations must become more
adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in
business environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner,
an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In
order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding
of the organization's big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In
general, the focus of today's HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents
development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession
planners to help motivate organization's members and their loyalty. The HR manager
will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their
organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity.
Why Diversity?
We are constantly reminded that ethno-cultural diversity remains a challenge for
states and communities across the globe.
Innumerable historical and contemporary examples show the risks and grave
repercussions that accompany attempts to eliminate or deny the existence of ethno-
cultural differences. Such efforts can and do provoke bitter resistance, harden
divisions in society, and have long-lasting, destructive effects.
It is also apparent that diversity is not only isolated to a few "multiethnic" states.
With globalization, communities everywhere are experiencing new and complex
challenges for social cohesion: ethno-cultural identity, intersects with other, forms of
difference, such as in income, educational attainment- and lifestyle. In short,
diversity is more the rule than the exception.
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What is Diversity Management?
Diversity management aims at achieving social cohesion through the recognition of
diversity. It is the action an organization undertakes when it recognizes that society
consists of different ethnic groups.
Pro-actively recognizing and addressing the needs and demands of diverse groups
necessitates the strategic use of various policy and governance tools. In effect,
diversity management can be understood as providing a toolbox that combines
several elements:
Consensus now holds that the management of diverse interests and needs is a key
element of good governance.
Diversity management entails the mainstreaming of values of fair, transparent, and
inclusive government.
Diversity management builds on the ideas and practices of effective local democracy.
Diversity management sees international standards of human and minority rights as
positive managerial tools that can facilitate the broader inclusion of all groups at all
levels of governance.
To this end, sessions include several case studies based on concrete examples from
the field. Through analyzing the situation described in the case study exercises as a
policy problem that require further governmental action, participants apply the
conceptual frameworks to the concrete problems.
Moreover, participants also became familiar with various participatory techniques
and skills of policy-making, such as conflict and force-field analysis, mediation,
negotiation and participatory planning.
At central level of government policies of diversity management imply legal
guarantees for the integration, non-discrimination as well as social and political
participation of minorities. But because most of the interaction of diverse groups
happens at the local level on an everyday basis, local authorities must also develop
practices accommodating diversity in all relevant areas of their activity.
They have ample opportunity to effectively represent all citizens in their domain, as
they are at the level closest to them, where policies responsive to the needs of
different groups are best designed and implemented.
The integration of all groups through good governance needs to be addressed in a
holistic manner, cutting across sectoral domains (business, education, housing,
employment, health and welfare) and integration also implies a two-sided process
involving reciprocity, negotiation and democratic contestation among groups. This
process of integration and reinterpretation of common belonging and common good
lays special responsibilities on local governments.
As suggested by Thomas (1992) and Cox (1993), there are several best practices that a
HDR. Manager can adopt in ensuring effective management of workplace diversity in
order to attain organizational goals. They are:
The field also lacked a unifying paradigm. HRM developed in response to the substantial
increase in competitive pressures American business organizations began experiencing
by the late 1970s as a result of such factors as globalization, deregulation, and rapid
technological change. These pressures gave rise to an enhanced concern on the part of
firms to engage in strategic planning-a process of anticipating future changes in the
environment conditions (the nature as well as level of the market) and aligning the
various components of the organization in such a way as to promote organizational
effectiveness. Although the technical aspects of traditional personnel administration are
still an integral component of HRM, strategy formulation and implementation has
become its dominant and integrating paradigm.
Human resource (HR) managers are concerned with designing overall employment
systems that are internal complementary and ultimately contribute to the firm's
attainment of its principal goals. The function is also seen to be much closer to the
strategic apex of the firm than personnel administration.
The strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature envisions HR managers as
utilizing, in effect, a kind of toolkit of HRM methods that can be crafted into an overall
organizational HR system. Schuler (1988), for example, argues that the general
organization strategies firms generate give rise to a need to promote specific behaviors
on the part of employees (e.g., risk-taking vs. risk-avoidance, individual vs. team-based,
innovative vs. conventional); HR strategies are then designed to elicit desired behavioral
repertoires. Issues addressed in HR strategy formulation include:
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Staffing:
Does the firm rely primarily on internal versus external sources in filling jobs? Are
career paths broad versus narrow?
Is there a single or are there multiple promotion ladders?
Are the criteria used in making staffing decisions explicit versus implicit?
Does the firm rely on extensive versus limited socialization?
Are the staffing procedures generally open versus closed and secretive?
Compensation:
Does the firm pay generally low versus high wages in comparison to the market?
Is there an emphasis on internal (task-based) versus external (market-based) equity
in compensation decision? ^ Are there few versus many fringe benefits?
Does the company utilize many versus few performance incentives?
Finally, does the firm offer high employment security, coupled with variable pay,
versus low employment security, coupled with fixed pay (i.e., does the firm lay
people off rather than cut pay in times of adversity)?
An important issue in this research is the extent to which empirical analysis indicates
that certain universal "best practices" are superior to contingency approaches that
utilize HR strategies designed be highly complementary to organizational strategy.
Much of the evidence seems to support the former view, with "high performance" or
"high involvement" work systems seemingly have generally superior effects.
Such systems are typically teamed-based, with lower level employees enjoying
greater autonomy than in conventional organizations. High-involvement HRM
strategies also are characterized by performance-based pay, an emphasis on
training, employee participation.
There is considerable work in HRM on issues related to opportunities for women at
all levels in organizations, including factors the promote the so-called "glass ceiling."
A HR Manager needs to advocate a diverse workforce by making diversity evident at
all organizational levels. Otherwise, some employees will quickly conclude that there
is no future for them in the company.
I have heard mention of some research that has shown that diverse firms (including
those with significant opportunities for women at all levels) have higher levels of
performance than firms that are more homogeneous or those that have high levels of
occupational segregation by gender. Unfortunately, I do not have the specific
references.
International HRM
Work on international HRM breaks down into three major categories:
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HRM practices and expatriate employees in multinational corporations
(MNCs),
HRM practices and host-country nationals as employees of MNCs, and Comparative
employment systems.
The second and, to some extent the third, are. Let me deal primarily with HRM practices
and host-country nationals here, with more on comparative HRM issues in following
section.
A crucial issue in HRM and host-country nationals (HCNs) is the extent to which an
MNC elects to transfer its national or global HRM system to a particular subsidiary or
allow the subsidiary to develop (or maintain existing) employment practices rooted
in indigenous practices.
This seems to depend upon a range of factors, including the structure of the MNCs
market (is it a globally unified or diverse?), the significance of a given subsidiary to
the MNC’s overall operations, the importance of specific employee behaviors
as the MNC's source of competitive advantage, the degree to which the MNC
controls the subsidiary (in joint-venture situations) and the extent to which host-
country culture and employment laws differ from those of the MNC's home country
(the greater the differences, the less likely the transfer of home-country practices)
(Taylor, Beechler, and Napier, 1996). Empirical work on the transfer of HRM
practices is extensive and varied (e.g., Rosenzweig and Nohria, 1994; various articles
in Jain, Lawler, and Morishima, 1998).
There are various dimensions of culture that have been identified and can be measured
(via survey questionnaires) cross-nationally. Hofstede's work focuses on four such
dimensions, all of which are related to work behaviors:
Individualism/collectivism: The extent to which personal versus group objectives
govern a person's life. Most industrialized Western countries have individualist
cultures, while much of the rest of the world is collectivist, including virtually all
developing countries.
Power distance: The extent to which a low-status persons accept and legitimize the
power and influence of high-status persons. Power distance and individualism /
collectivism are correlated, so that individualist cultures are generally low on power
distance (less hierarchical) and collectivist cultures are typically high on power
More quantitative work by Deva and Lawler (1998), using aggregate national data from
the UN database on women, combined with Hofstede's national culture norms, suggests
that culture certainly plays a distal, but perhaps not a proximate, role in generating
employment opportunities for women. Ironically, the masculinity/femininity dimension
seems unrelated to the 'proportion of managers in a country that are women; more
important is the degree to which the country's culture is individualist or collectivist.
Individualist cultures tend to emphasize personal achievement and merit as a basis for
mobility, whereas collectivist cultures are more ascriptive. Thus, individualism is
Unintentional discrimination
Unintentional discrimination (often termed "statistical discrimination") occurs when
neutral selection practices produce a substantial disparity of outcomes between one
group and another. Such practices include the use of standardized tests (which may
disadvantage certain groups) or height (which may disadvantage women and some
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ethnic groups) in the hiring process. If the requirements are job-related and a "business
necessity", the disparity is irrelevant.
Some laws prohibit unintentional as well as intentional discrimination, but may have
different standards for deciding what is acceptable.
Substantial disparities in outcome are not necessarily illegal, if the practices that
produce them are necessary.
Participant Manual
You will receive a detailed participant manual that is designed to stimulate participant
learning and act as a reference point for their future learning. This manual is fully
PowerPoint Slides
We've created the slides so you don't have to. Slides can be opened in Microsoft
PowerPoint. Slides are also customizable so that you can easily make any change you
need to meet the exact needs of your training group.
Course Exercises
Each course comes with carefully created exercises that encourage participants to apply
their learning to their own organizations.
Training Games
21 training games ready-to-use in any training session.
Course Tests
A Pre-Course test will help you evaluate your participants prior to the training and
collect important information on participants needs and their current understanding of
the course topic. A post-course test will evaluate participants learning at the end of the
training.
Further Reading
Provide your participants with a summary of additional materials on the subject matter.
Course Evaluation
Provide your participants with a detailed evaluation tool to evaluate the effectiveness of
the course.
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Action Plan
Provide your participants with an action plan that they can use to maximize their
learning long after the course is over.
Expert Guides
You will also receive three informative expert guides on developing participation,
evaluating training and listening skills that will help you maximize the learning in all your
training sessions.