Readings in Human Resources Management

Readings in Human Resources Management
Chapter 1
Introduction and Overview
1.1. Importance of Human Resources

With the increase in the size and complexity of business organizations,
man has become the most important factor in business. Business
needs people as owners, employees, and consumers. Organizations
need people to make them operate. Business may be operated
differently and the objectives of business may differ, but the universal
element in all business activities is people. An organization is nothing
without human resources. Any human organization- a factory, a
hospital, or and association- consists of people working together.
According to economists, the factors of production are land, labor,
capital and entrepreneurship. Of all the resources, the most important
one is human resource, because human beings play a dual role- as
resource, as well as a motive force for all other resources by
manipulating them, by way of developing, utilizing, commanding and
controlling. It is the most important of all other resources. This is
because manpower is that resource through which management wants
to control and direct all other resources like machines, materials,
money and others. An organization is nothing without people.
It is true that capital; technology and human force are the important
elements for production. In fact, productivity is the function of a set of
interrelated factors (e.g., political, social, economic, educational and
cultural). Experts on productivity improvement emphasize more on
people factor for enhancing productivity. They are of the view that
relatively human resource is the most important of all the factors of
production. Resources other than human beings could produce
nothing. Physical resources by themselves cannot improve efficiency or
contribute to an increased rate of return on investment. It is through
the combined and concerted efforts of people that monetary or
material resources are harnessed to achieve organizational goals. Why
is human resource superior to other elements of production? Capital
can be borrowed and technology can be imported, but people cannot

be bought. All the factors of production other than the workforce skills
can be duplicated anywhere in the world. It is all fungible- capital,
technology, raw materials, information- all except for one thing, the
most critical part, the one element that is unique about a nation: its
workforce (Griffin, 1994). Fred Luthans (2000), an Organizational
Behavior, rightly argues that it is not technology, which separates
the Saturn plant of GM from other manufacturing facilities. Rather the
Saturn plant represents a profound change in the way people are
managed.
Productivity is basically people-based. It is for this reason the
developing countries in spite of acquiring modern technologies could
not achieve higher level of productivity. The rapidity of technology
transfer, access to world wide capital markets and global competition
reduce the traditional advantages of superior technology and isolated
markets. Technology becomes inactive without work forces. It
is man who works behind machine. Even in a highly automated
plant, people are nevertheless required to co-ordinate, and control the
plants operation. Workers must use them effectively. They must be
motivated to provide the best quality and customer service possible.
Sakurai (1989), an advisor of the Japan Productivity Center has rightly
pointed out that improvement of productivity through the
introduction of new technology depends, by and large, on how
people in the organization accepts the change. To obtain
desired result from the introduction of change in technology,
the change must be acceptable to them. That is, acceptance of
change will lie with the behavioral level of the workforce.
Needless to say, machine increases the muscle power of man. Man
without the machine is also less productive. They are inseparable.
Labor and technology combined generate the outputs that are priced
and sold to customers. As Morita, the founder and chairman of Sony
corporation and the author of Made in Japan remarks, assets
make things possible but people make things happen.
Organizations depend on people to make them operate. No change
occurs without efficient human beings. Improved productivity through
people is ultimately the fountainhead of all human progress. In the

ultimate analysis, it is the human factor, which will determine the final
productivity of enterprise. People supply the talents, skills, knowledge
and experience to achieve the organizations objectives. Let us now
explain some inherent qualities that a human being is endowed with.
1.2 Why Employees are Superior to Other Factors of Production
Human being is the best creature of God. Management experts have
tried to identify the basic qualities possessed by a human being (Davis,
1989; Werther, 1992; Griffin, 1993).
Firstly, human beings can think, imagine, and feel. They have
creative and innovative power. They have problem-solving ability.
People contribute to new ideas, which are the foundation for any
technological innovation. Human beings offer competitive edge a
country or a firm needs to achieve the desired economic development.
Secondly, human beings can be motivated and stimulated.
Experts believe that employee satisfaction leads to better
performance. Happy workers are usually productive workers. A
motivated worker works hard, and sustains that pace and is selfdirecting toward meeting challenging goals.
There is a positive
relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction
or customer loyalty. Profit and growth are primarily stimulated by
customer loyalty. Loyalty is a direct result of customer satisfaction.
Satisfaction is largely influenced by the values of services provided to
the customers. The satisfied, loyal and productive employees create
value of services. Productivity improvement can only occur through
such motivated employees. This is why; literature on employee
motivation is quite rich.
Finally, human beings have synergetic power. Synergy means the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. From organizational point of
view, synergy means that departments that interact co-operatively are
more productive than they would be if they operate in isolation.
Human beings can work together as a team and team performance is
usually better than individual performance. Effective employee teams

can bring a wide range of individual skills and work backgrounds to
projects delivering better quality results. Synergy is an important
concept for managers because it emphasizes the importance of
working together in a co-operative and co-ordinated fashion. Morita
(1982) rightly says, your competitiveness is your ability to use
the skills and knowledge of people most effectively and team
are the best way to do that.
These qualities as stated above are not found or existed in any factors
of production other than human resources. In view of these qualities of
people, it is felt that business firms must adopt the method of
productivity through people. It is not a slogan; rather it is a reality. The
people and the will of the people to grow economically are the pivotal
for the economic development of every country.
Take the case of Japan, for example. Japan lacks virtually all types of
resources except human ones. The World War Two had almost crippled
its economy but it could not destroy the creativity and ingenuity of its
people. Japanese companies have been placing increased emphasis on
the quality of human resources. Morita (1982) says that there is no
magic in the success of Japanese companies in general and Sony
Company in particular. The secret of their success is simply the way
they treat their employees. Highly educated, skilled and motivated
human resources have made extreme contribution to the robust
economic growth of Japan. It achieves success mainly by involving its
people in the development process.
1.3. Employee
Bangladesh
may
be
the
Key
to
Productivity
in
From the demographic point of view, Bangladesh is the ninth largest

country in the world. Neither natural resource nor technology is her
greatest asset. It is people, which constitute the most precious
resource. Tapping that wellspring may be the best hope for the
economic success of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, most of its people are
illiterate, unskilled and inefficient. Manpower shortage exists both in
quantitative and qualitative terms and includes not only engineers and
technicians but also managers. In many cases, the manpower
shortages are aggravated by the brain drain. The lure of better
living condition is causing brain drain among the third world countries.
Another aspect is the supply of required mix of manpower resources.
Bangladesh falls into the category of LDC with human development
rank of 143 among the 174 nations (Haque, 1997). Our working force
is simply not keeping pace with the kinds of skills required in the new
economy. Until now most of its people could not become productive
resources, rather they are liabilities for the nation. A person is said to
be resourceful when he or she has attained problem-solving ability. It
is evident that many people are ignorant, unskilled and cannot sustain
themselves, and become a factor of degradation and backwardness for
the society. As a result, they are becoming liability for Bangladesh.
Thus, although wages are lower in Bangladesh than in the western
countries, it is suggested that the actual labor cost to the industry is
above the levels in the western countries because of the higher labor
efficiency in such countries. They are liabilities because of our failure
to handle them well. They are becoming a source of corporate distress,
not a competitive advantage.
Most of the scholars believe that Bangladesh is lagging behind in
economic spheres largely because of its inability to handle human
resources. We are poor in managing human resources. The real
difference between Bangladesh and developed countries lies not in the
volume of capital but in the knowledge gap (Kibria, 1999). There is a
shortage of knowledge, skill and technological know-how to utilize
human and natural resources. Although information technology and
communication have shortened the geographical distance among the
countries, the knowledge gap between a developed country and a
developing country like Bangladesh is increasingly widening. The
developed countries are basically knowledge and information - based
societies. The people of the developed countries are becoming more
educated and knowledgeable so they can easily solve all the problems
that a human society is likely to face. Peter. F. Drucker (1990), the
prolific management scholar, rightly observed that productivity
depends on knowledge and its application The phenomena of
globalization calls for increased labor productivity which in turn will call
for a greater emphasis on human resource development as a means of
enhancing the capacity of labor for productive work. So in order to
develop Bangladesh economically, her human population must be
transformed into human resources.
1.4. Definition of Human Resources Management (HRM)
Management and human resources management are one and the
same. They should never be separated. Management is personnel
administration. Management has three jobs, two of which are directly
related to personnel- -managing, a business, managing managers and
managing workers and work. The word management has three
syllables- Manage-Men-T. If T is taken for tact, then etymologically
management means how to manage men with tact. Management is
the process of efficiently getting things done with and through other
people. HRM deals with the design of formal systems in an
organization to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talents
to accomplish organizational goals.
There are many definitions about human resource management (HRM).
One of the well-known definitions offered by Michael Jucious (1984). He
defined human resources management or personnel management as
the field of management involves planning, organizing, directing, and
controlling the functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and
motivating a labor force. It is the process of acquiring, retaining,
terminating, developing and properly using the human resources in an
organization. The acquisition function begins with planning. It includes
the recruitment, selection and socialization of employees. Through HR
planning, managers attempt to anticipate forces that will influence the
future supply of demand for employees.
The development function includes employee training, management
development and career development. As jobs evolve and change,
ongoing retraining is necessary to accommodate technological
changes. Encouraging development of all employees is necessary to
prepare organizations for future challenges. Career planning identifies
paths and activities for individual employees as they develop within

the organization.
The motivation function begins with the recognition that individuals are
unique and the motivational techniques (job satisfaction, employee
performance appraisal and compensation) must reflect the needs of
each individual. Assessing how employees perform their jobs is the
focus of performance appraisal.
Compensation rewards people for
performing organizational work through pay, incentives and benefits.
The maintenance function is concerned with providing those working
conditions that employees are necessary in order to maintain their
commitment to the organization. The relationship between managers
and employees must be handled effectively if both the employees and
the organization are to prosper together. HRM deals with the design of
formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficient
use of human talents to accomplish organizational goals. There is a
growing recognition that effective use of people in the organization can
provide a competitive advantage.
It pervades the organization. Every person in an organization is
involved with personnel decisions. The responsibility for human
resource management activities rests with each manager. If managers
throughout the organization do not accept their responsibility, then
human resources activities may be done only partially or not at all. It is
concerned with managing people at work. It covers all types of
personnel. It is a continuous function.
It draws on a number of related disciplines, such as industrial
psychology, Sociology, Social Psychology, Anthropology and
Economics. The function of HRM is advisory in nature. In management
terminology, it is a staff function. The personnel manager advises the
operating departments on matters relating to personnel. He does not
issue orders to them but gives them advice.
1.5. Personnel Management VS Human Resource Management
Although on some key issues- a natural concern for people, and their
need, together with finding efficient means to select, train, appraise,
develop and reward them, there are some points of dissimilarities
between Personnel Management (PM) and Human Resource
Management (HRM). Traditional Personnel Management tends to be
parochial, striving to attend line managers, whereas HRM is integrated
into the role of line managers, with a strong proactive stance and a
bias towards business. PM has a history of placing emphasis on
bureaucratic control often in a reactive sense, i.e., control of manpower
and personnel systems. Some would argue that PM represented a
highly compartmentalized system.
By contrast, HRM makes a determined effort to be a more integrative
mechanism in bringing people issue into line with business issues, with
a pronounced problem-seeking and problem-solving orientation, and a
determination to build collaborative organizational systems. The role of
top management in setting the agenda for change and development is
very much in evidence in HRM.
Some personnel managers will no doubt see the growing influence of
HR managers as a threat fearing that they may just become custodians
of personnel systems. Beer (1997) identified major obstacles in
transforming the traditional administrative personnel function and
moving to a fully-fledged HRM system. He contends that one of the
greatest problems in the transformation of HR function is that most HR
professionals do not possess the requisite analytical and interpersonal
skills.
In HRM there is a greater emphasis on strategic issues and on the way
which the human resource contributes to the achievement of corporate
objectives. HRM underlines the importance of flexibility and the ability
to react and adapt quickly to changes in the organizational
environment.
PM can be described as a series of activities related to various aspects
of an employees relationship with the organization. HRM is also
concerned with these issues, but in addition stresses the primacy of
business needs. Other points of departure are that HRM embraces

individual flexibility and congruency between individual and
organizational goals, Whereas PM is concerned with systems applied to
individuals and collectivism.
1.6. The philosophy of Human Resources Management

The basic guide to HR management action in any company derives
from its philosophy toward people. A philosophy exists in every
company, although it is not written down. It guides to personnel
policies. There are two contrasting views regarding employee at work:
a) Labor is viewed as technical factor-a factor of production. They are
treated as a commodity and they can be bought and sold. They are
considered as cogs in the machine. They are hired and fired at will.
Writings of Taylor and Adam Smith reinforced these concepts.
Employees must be controlled and closely supervised by
management to attain company goals. This approach treats
employees with limited potentiality. This is consistent with theory X
as suggested by Douglas McGregor.
b) Labor has been viewed as a human factor with a lot of positive
potentials. So they must be treated with respect and dignity. People
are assets- not cost. Investment on people is very rewarding.
Management must develop and utilize the talent of people to
achieve common goals. Japan is the first country who realized the
importance of human beings in its attempt to improve productivity.
When Japan realized this truth and recognized human values, it
achieved unprecedented progress in all fields. Stagnation in
economic progress of Bangladesh compared to Japan is again
attributed to this lack of focus on human resources development
and utilization. Although we are endowed with fertile land, rich in
natural gas, possess large population.
1.7. Basic Principles of Human Resources Management
A principle is a basic statement of truth explaining cause and effect
relationship between two or more variables. Every subject is guided by
its principles. HRM is not an exception. The fundamental principles of
HR management, according to M. Jucious, 1992; Memoria, 1998;
Flippo, 1986), are as follows:
Deal with people as complete individuals. Consider employee as a

whole person. For example, the family life of an employee may
have an effect on his working life.
Make people feel worthwhile and related. People are the most
valuable asset of the organization.
Treat all employees with justice, there should be no discrimination.
Human resources management is not personal. The uniqueness of

the human resource must be recognized, and cannot be treated like
any other resource. After all, people have feelings and emotions.
Rewards should be earned, not given. If it is given, it becomes a gift

or donation.
Supply employees with relevant information. Because secrecy may

create confusion and misunderstanding. Information should be
shared with employees. Commitment by employees to the
organization is nurtured when the organization informs them of
important matters, such as the mission statement, the values it
cherishes and trading prospects.
Do not underestimate the intelligence of people. People have a lot

of positive potentiality.
Treat people with respect and dignity. This will enhance peoples
motivation and commitment to the organization.
People ought would to be considered as social capital capable of

development.
Provides opportunities for growth within the organization.
Group interest predominance over individual interests.
Sell the personnel program. It must be sold. This follows because

employees will learn by themselves or from others if management
does not teach them.
1.8. Objectives of Human Resources Management

All the functions of the organization should contribute to the objectives
of the organization. This means that the determination of objectives is
of prime importance and is a prerequisite to the solution of most
management problems. Objectives are predetermined goals at which
individual or group activity in an organization is aimed. The formulation
of the objectives of an organization is necessary for the following
reasons:
Human beings are goal directed. People must have a purpose to

do some work. Announced organizational goals invest work with
meaning.
Objectives serve as standards against which performance is

measured.
The objectives stand out as guidelines for organizational

performance. They help in establishing the character of an
organization.
The central focus for HR management must be on contributing to

organizational success. The objectives of Human resources
management can be described as follows:
To maintain and sustain industrial peace. Without peace,

prosperity is not possible. It is true for a nation as well as for a
business organization. Without industrial peace, all resources
remain under-utilized.
To improve the productive contribution of people to the

organization.
In
a
competitive
environment,
productivity
improvement is very significant. Productivity is the function of
ability and motivation. Training and education can improve ability.

The HR managers must take measures to increase employees
willingness to put more effort. Excellent companies of USA also
encourage productivity through people.
To attract and secure appropriate people capable of performing

effectively and efficiently the organizations specific tasks. This
important for obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage.
To generate maximum individual development of the people within

the organization. Individuals get internally developed through
training and experience. It is a motivating factor according to
human behavior experts Maslow and Hezberg. It should be kept in
mind that todays industries are knowledge-based and skillintensive.
To recognize and satisfy individual needs.
To maintain a high morale and better human relationships inside

the organization.
M.W. Cumming (1989) has described the objectives of HR management

in these words: HR management aims to achieve both efficiency and
justice, neither of which can be pursued successfully without the other.
It seeks to bring together and develop into an effective organization,
the men and women who make up an enterprise enabling each to
make his own best contribution to its success both as an individual and
as a member of a working group.
According to Mathis and Jackson (1999), the main goal of HR
management is to enhance human capital of the organization. Human
capital is the total value of human resources to the organization. It is
composed of the people in the organization and what capabilities they
have and can utilize in their jobs. AS a part of strategic role, HR
managers are often seen as responsible for expanding the capabilities
of the human resources in the organization.
1.9. Functions of HRM

HR managers are performing a variety of functions. The functional areas of HR
managers are changing as the time goes on. The main HRM functions include:
Human resource planning is an important activity that involves estimating

the size and makeup of the future work force. It is a process by which an
organization ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people, at
the right places, at the right time. Capable of effectively and efficiently
completing those tasks that will aid the organization in achieving its
overall objectives. Planning of human resources is the life-blood of the
firm. Without the right people in the right place at the right time, the firm
could go out of business.
Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting qualified or suitable

applicants to fill vacancies. Recruiting is important because the bestqualified applicants must be found to fill vacancies. The methods and
procedures used to acquire an understanding about jobs are called job
analysis. This is discussed next. There are mainly two sources of
recruitment: internal and external. Promotion from within an organization
is called internal source and recruiting new people from outside the
organization is known as external source.
Job analysis is the process of determining the tasks that make up

the job ands the knowledge and skills and abilities an employee
needs to successfully accomplish the job. From job analysis, job
description and job specification can be prepared. Job description is
a written statement of what the jobholder does how it is done and
why it is done. Job specifications state the qualifications necessary
for a job.
Selection is a process of hiring suitable people for job. Right man

for right job is the main goal of selection. The selection process
involves many steps such as preliminary reception of application,
interviewing, test, medical test, references and final decision of
hiring.
Placement is the assignment or reassignment of duties to

employee. It may take different forms such as promotion, transfer,
demotion, and termination.
Orientation is a process of getting new employees acquainted with

the organization, its culture, rules and regulation, objectives and
supervisors and other employees. It is the act of introducing new
employees to organization and their work units. It is important
because it helps new employee to adapt with new situation.
Training is a continual process of helping employees to perform at a

high level. It is a process of acquiring new skills to do job properly.
Training changes and modifies employee attitudes and behaviors
that will improve his ability to perform on the job. To be effective, a
training program must accomplish a number of objectives. First, it
must be based on both organizational and individual needs.
Second, the objectives of training should spell out what problems
will be solved. Third, all training should be based on sound theories
of learning. Finally, a training program must be evaluated to
determine whether it is working.
Job evaluation is a process of measuring and determining the value

of each job in relation to all jobs within the organization. Jobs are
ranked in order to arrive at each jobs appropriate worth. It is the
basis of designing a well- balanced compensation program. The
widely used methods of job evaluation are ranking method,
classification method, point rating method, and factor comparison
method.
Performance appraisal is a process in an organization whereby

each employee is evaluated to determine how he or she is
performing. Employee may be appraised against absolute
standards, relative standards, and objective. The appraisal process
consists of six steps: establish performance standards,
communicate performance expectations to employees, measure
actual performance, compare actual performance with standards,
discuss the appraisal with the employee, if necessary, initiate

corrective action.
Compensation is the reward or price for labor. The goal of

compensation administration are to design the lowest-cost pay
structure that will attract, motivate and retain competent
employees, and that also will be perceived as fair by these
employees.
Discipline refers to a condition in the organization when employees

conduct themselves in accordance with the organizations rules and
standard s of acceptable behavior. For the most part, employees
discipline themselves. But not all employees will accept the
responsibility of self-discipline. Some are problem employees. These
employees require some degree of extrinsic disciplinary action. This
extrinsic is labeled punishment. The most frequent discipline
problems can be classified as related to attendance, on-the-job
behavior, dishonesty, and outside criminal activities. Disciplinary
actions available to the manager include oral warning, written
warning, suspension, demotion, pay cut, and dismissal.
Trade union is an organization of workers, acting collectively, who

seek to protect and promote their mutual interests through
collective bargaining. The goals of unions include
Influencing the wage and effort bargain,
Establish a security system for members,
Influencing the administration of rules,
Obtaining political power in the state and over the economy.
Collective
bargaining
is
negotiation,
administration
and
interpretation of a written agreement between two parties; at least
one of, which represents a group that is acting collectively, that,
covers a specific period of time.
1.10.
Tests of the Efficiency of the HR Department
The personnel man is concerned with staffing, motivating, maintaining

good employer-employee relationships and running welfare services.
The performance achieved in all these spheres will have to be
assessed by the general management to ascertain the efficiency and
quality of personnel man. Biswanath Ghosh (1997) used the following
criteria to measure the efficiency of personnel man:
a) Recruitment cost t report
This report will indicate the recruitment cost for different categories of
employees and compare such costs with results over the time. If
recruitment cost has increased over the year, it reflects inefficiency of
the personnel department. If it has reduced, it is an index of successful
personnel policy.
b) Labor productivity report
Although labor productivity depends not only on the efficiency of labor
but also on many other factors which lie outside the jurisdiction of
personnel department, yet the personnel department is mainly
responsible for maintaining an efficient workforce. A comparison of
labor productivity and efficiency of different departments and between
different periods is a good index of labor productivity. It the total
productivity falls, personnel department is inefficient; it rises,
personnel department will be considered efficient.
c) Labor turnover report
Labor turnover may be used as an index to judge the efficiency of the
personnel department. Excessive labor turnover indicates a failure of
personnel policy while lower turnover reflects the success of such
policy.
d) Discipline
Discipline is an indication of success or failure of the personnel policy
concern. Discipline is good when employees follow willingly the rules of
the company and discipline is said to be bad when employees disobey
them.
e) Morale
The effectiveness of the personnel policy determines the morale of the
employees. Morale is the sate of mental health. An individuals morale
is high when he is happy with his work, his surroundings and his fellowbeings. High morale indicates the efficiency of personnel
administration while poor morale reflects its failure. Poor morale is
reflected in high rate of absenteeism, turnover, accident records,
grievances and the low level of output.
f) Welfare provisions
The personnel department looks after welfare activities within the
organization. When workers feel that the company has an adequate
labor welfare policy, their tendency to grouse and grumble will
disappear. Welfare activities will reduce labor turnover and
absenteeism and will increase the efficiency of the work force.
1.11. Proactive versus Reactive Approaches to HRM
HR department cannot always wait for feedback and then respond. HR
managers must be proactive. HRM can increase its contribution to
employees, managers and the organization by anticipating challenges
before they arise. Proactive HRM occurs when HR problems are
anticipated and corrective action begins before the problem exists.
Reactive approach occurs when decision- makers respond to HR
problems. If efforts are reactive only, problems may be compounded
and opportunities may be missed. A proactive approach to HRM is a
major step in enhancing organizational productivity.
1.12. Specific Challenges of Modern HRM

HRD managers are facing many challenges these days. The field of HR
management is undergoing transition because organizations
themselves are changing. Flippo (1992), a renowned expert on
personnel management, has identified four challenging problems of
personnel department:
-
(1) Changing mix of the workforce,

(2) Changing values of the workforce,
(3) Changing demands of employees, and
(4) Changing demands of the environment.
Among the major changes in the mix of personnel entering the

workforce are (1) increased numbers of minority entering occupations
requiring greater skills, (2) increasing levels of formal education for the
entire workforce, (3) more female employees, (4) more married female
employees, and (5) more working mothers.
Discussion Questions
1. Define Human Resources Management.
2. Why is employee the key to productivity?
3. Assets make things possible but people make things happen.
Justify
4. Why is managing employee at work so complex?
5. Productivity is through people. Explain.
6. Discuss the following statement: In many ways, all managers are
and must be HR managers.
7. A HR manager must be effective and efficient. Why?
8. Management is getting things done with and through others. Do
you agree or disagree? Why?
9. What are the objectives of HRM?
10.Distinguish between proactive and reactive approach to HRM.
11.What are the challenges faced by HRM?
12. HRD has grown importance in globalization. Explain.
Human resource Planning (HRP)

2.1. Meaning of Human Resource Planning
Planning is the most important and primary function of management. It is a process of
selecting the organizational objectives and taking action to achieve those objectives.
Planning must be realistic and workable. Planning of human resources is a major
managerial responsibility. It is important because human resources provide a firm the
competitive advantage. In the age of competition, firms are focusing their attention on
employee knowledge and skill. Obviously, human resources are going to occupy the
central stage of human activities, especially in the field of industry and business. In view
of its importance in the organizational effectiveness, separate HRP departments have
been set up in most of the important business organizations. Certainly, many
organizations have voiced the idea that their human resources differentiated them from
their competitors. The significance of human resources as a core competency was
confirmed in a study of 293 U.S. firms. The study found that HR management
effectiveness positively affected organizational productivity, financial performance and
stock value ( Huselid 1997).
Human resource planning is the major task of HRM because it is concerned with utilizing
manpower resources. An organization does not own person as it does capital and physical
assets; this resource is seldom given proper attention. Many managers gave failed
because they have taken their human resources for granted. It is one of the most critical
management undertakings of this decade. Some popular definitions of HRP are given
below.
Robbins(1998) defines HRP as the process by which an organization ensures
that it has the right number and kinds of people at the right places, at the right
time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help
the organization achieve its overall objectives.
In the words of Coleman Bruce (1997), HRP is the process of determining
manpower requirements and the means of meeting those requirements in order to
carry out the integrated plan of the organization.
It, then, translates the organizations objectives and plans into the number of people
needed to meet those activities. Through planning management makes a balance between
demand for and supply of right number and kinds of people at the right time. It is a
supply and demand calculation. Manpower is an asset, it is an asset which appreciateswhich grows over time. Machines depreciate as time goes on.
According to the above definitions, HRP consists of the following elements:
-
Establishing and recognizing the future job requirements,

Identifying deficiency in terms of quantity,
Identifying deficiency in terms of quality and specification,
Identifying the sources of right type of man,
Developing the available manpower and
Ensuring the effective utilization of work force.
A manpower plan must be a set of two plans: a manpower demand plan and a manpower
supply plan.
2.2. Benefits of Human resource planning
If HR planning is done well, the following benefits should result:
- Upper management has a better view of the human resource dimensions of business
decisions.
- HR costs may be lower because management can anticipate imbalances before they
become unmanageable and expensive.
- More time is available to locate talent because needs are anticipated and identified
before the actual staffing is required.
-
Development of managers can be better developed.

Improving the utilization of human resources,
Achieving economies in hiring new employees,
Expanding the personnel management information base to assist other personnel
activities and other organizational units,
Coordinating different personnel program.
Rapid technological changes makes manpower planning more important as the
demand for new skills is increasing.
Proper manpower policy will reduce wastage rate. There are two types of wastagevoluntary (marriage, pregnancy, immigration, early retirement and involuntary
(death, retirement and dismissal).
Manpower planning stresses the value of human resources as corporate assets.
Interest in manpower planning is increasing because the size of the organization is
gradually increasing.
2.3. Human resources planning methods

Four methods are used to determine the requirements of personnel:
-
Annual estimate of expected vacancies,
Long range estimate of expected vacancies,
Man specification requirements,
Job requirements.
Personnel manager will examine the organizational structure regularly to anticipate its
manpower requirements. A job analysis must be made to know the requirements of a
particular job. What does the job analysis mean?
2.4. Job Analysis
Employee turnover is a very serious problem in most of the industries. Turnover is
harmful because causes serious inconveniences, high costs, wastage of trained
manpower, reduces morale and motivation. It occurs mainly due to frustration on the
following:
Mismatch between expectation and reality in the nature of work,
Mismatch between requirements in the job and capabilities,
Mismatch between responsibility and compensation.
This mismatch has arisen because the actual work has not been properly defined,
designed and disclosed. This leads to the concept of job analysis. Job analysis defines
the jobs within the organization and the behaviors necessary to perform these jobs.
Mathis and Jackson (1999) view job analysis as a systematic way to gather and
analyze information about the content and human requirement of jobs, and the
context in which jobs are performed.
Dale Yoder (1983) defines job analysis as a process in which jobs are studied to
determine what tasks and responsibilities they include their relationships to other jobs,
the conditions under which work is performed, and the personnel capabilities required for
satisfactory performance.
In the opinion of Strauss and Sales, Job analysis consists of two parts, a statement of
work to be done (Job description), and the skills and knowledge which must be possessed
by anyone filling the job (Job Specification).
It involves developing a detailed description of the tasks involved in a job, determining
the relationship of a given job to other jobs, and ascertaining the knowledge, skills and
abilities necessary for an employee to successfully perform the job. Job analysis includes
the following information:
Work activities and behaviors,

Interaction with others.
Performance standards.
Job relationships.
Personal attributes.
Machines and equipment used,
Working conditions.
Work methods.
Supervision given and received,
Knowledge, skills and abilities needed.
Job Analysis Methods
Job analysis information can be gathered in a variety of ways. Common job analysis
methods are:
Observation Method. The job analyst observes the individual performing the job and
takes notes to describe the tasks and duties performed. He keenly observes the work
connected with a job. It is a direct method. Its main limitation is that when the work
of employee is being observed, the employee becomes conscious. In certain job like
managerial, observation method is impossible.
Work sampling. Under this method, a manager can determine the content and pace
of a typical workday through statistical sampling of certain actions rather than
through continuous observation and timing of all actions.
Individual interview. Here a manager or job analyst visits each job site and talk with
employees performing each job. A standardized interview form is used most often to
record the information. Frequently, both the employee and the employees supervisor
must be interviewed to obtain a complete understanding of the job.
Structured questionnaire. A survey instrument is developed and given to employees

and managers to complete. The main advantage of this method is that information on
a large number of jobs can be collected inexpensively in a relatively short period of
time.
Diary method. Under this method, the employees observe their own performance by
keeping a diary of their job duties, noting how frequently they are performed and the
time needed for each duty.
Uses of job analysis

Job analysis obtains information about the jobs and it uses that information to
Develop job description,
Job specification,
Conduct job evaluation.
04.design compensation program
These, in turn, are valuable in helping managers identify the kinds of employees they
should recruit, select, and develop, as well as providing guidance for decisions about
training and career development, performance appraisal and compensation
administration.
2.5. Differentiating between Job Analysis and Job Design
Job analysis is different from job design. Job design is broader in nature and its main
thrust is matching the productivity needs of the organization with the needs of the
employees performing the various jobs. It is concerned with changing, simplifying,
enlarging or enriching or otherwise making jobs such that the efforts of each worker fit
together better with other jobs. Job analysis has a much narrower focus in that it is a
formal system for gathering data about what people are doing in their jobs. Its main
purpose is to get a clear understanding of what is done on a job and what capabilities are
needed to do a job as it has been designed.
2.6 Job Description
The record that keeps all the relevant information about a job is called job description. It
is a written statement of what a jobholder does how it is done, and why it is done. It
should accurately portray job content, environment and conditions of employment. A
common format for a job description includes
the job title,

the duties to be done,
the main features of the job,
the authority and responsibilities of the jobholder.
It must be kept in mind that working environment changes because of changes in

production technology, market demand and customer choices and competitors strategies.
So job description needs to be reviewed and updated. HR managers must appraise the
changes that are likely to occur over time.
2.7 Job Specification or Man Specification
After the job description is prepared, man specification or job specification should be
prepared. It is of utmost importance to determine the characteristics of suitable person
who will do the job effectively and efficiently. Based on the information acquired
through job analysis, the job specification identifies the knowledge and skills needed to
do the job effectively. Man specification is a statement giving the details of the physical
make-up, education, training, intelligence, aptitudes, and other relevant specifications
required in the applicant to perform the job satisfactorily. Some of these attributes are
measured through tests like intelligence test, aptitude tests, and others. Examples include
SAT, GMAT, TOEFL for admission for graduate studies in the USA universities. Job
specification can include minimum desirable score for selection in such tests.
2.8 Job Evaluation
The final use of job analysis is job evaluation. Job analysis is valuable in providing
information that makes comparison of jobs possible. Job evaluation is the process of
finding and specifying the relative value or worth of each job in the organization. Job
evaluation is an important part of compensation administration. Compensation is one of
the important elements in the condition of employment. Compensation must be fair and
equitable. In the meantime we should keep in mind that job evaluation is made possible
by the data generated from job analysis. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of job
analysis as it permeates most of the organizations activities.
2.9. Stages or Steps of HR planning
Human resource planning is a process involving few stages. Thee are as follows:
- HR planning process begins with considering organizational objectives and strategies.
The first stage of HR planning is to integrate it with corporate planning. All manpower
planning stems from business plans in relation to a corporate strategy.
The second stage in the HR planning is to forecast or assess the internal and external
environmental factors that affect demand and supply of labor. Some of the more
significant environmental factors include government influences; economic,
geographic and competitive conditions; technological factor, workforce composition,
management philosophy, and work patterns. There are a number of techniques now
available for doing HR forecast. Among the important these are : Delphi technique,
Brain Storming. Committee board, expert opinion. Constancy, Trend analysis,
Regression and correlation analysis, PERT and CPM.
The next stage is the preparation and analysis of internal inventory of HR

capabilities. Assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses as a part of HR
planning requires that current jobs and employees capabilities are audited and
organizational capabilities are inventoried.
The information gathered from external environmental scanning and assessment of

internal strengths and weaknesses is used to predict or forecast HR supply and
demand in light of organizational objectives and strategies. Forecasting periods may
be short (less than one year), intermediate (one to five years), and long range (beyond
five years). Forecasts of demand may be either judgmental or mathematical. The HR
forecast is concerned with anticipating the number of replacements required due to
resignations, retirements, death, dismissals, transfer and promotions, and
technological changes resulting in increased productivity. This will highlight shortage
and overstaff positions.
Once the demand for HR has been forecasted, then their availability must be
identified. The fourth stage of HR planning is to locate the sources from where
personnel required will be available. The source may be internal and external.
Although the internal supply may be easier to calculate, it is important to calculate
the external supply as accurately as possible.
The final stage of HRP is concerned with allocation of human resources within an
organization over time.
Questions for Discussion

1. What do you mean by the term Human Resources Planning?
2. What is job analysis?
3. Distinguish between job description and job specification.
4. Mention different job analysis techniques.
5. Outline the steps in the human resource planning process.
6. Mentions the steps of human resource planning.

7. Describe the benefits of human resource planning.
Chapter 3
Recruitment and Selection of Employee
3.1. Meaning of Recruitment
Successful human resource planning should identify human resource needs. Once these
needs are identified, we are able to do something to meet them. The next step is the
acquisition function of human resource management. Recruitment forms the first stage of
acquisition function. This is the process of locating potential candidate for selection.
Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. It
is the discovering of potential candidates for actual or anticipated organizational
vacancies. Dale Yoder (1986) defines recruitment as a process of searching for
prospective employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an
organization. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their
applications are submitted. The result is pool of qualified applicants from which new
employees are selected.
3.2. Recruitment functions
Responsibility for recruitment usually belongs to the HR department. This department
works to find and attract capable applicants. Job descriptions and specifications provide
the needed information upon which the recruitment process rests. Line and staff
cooperation in recruitment is essential. The HR manager who recruits and initially
screens for the vacant job is seldom the one responsible for supervising its performance.
So he needs the help of line personnel. Functions of the recruitment office are given
below:
Assessing recruitment
Fixing standards.
Advertisement and publicity
Making initial contact with prospective candidates.
Preliminary perusal and assessment of applications.
Short-listing of probable candidates for selection.
Selection Process like interviewing or testing.
Recording and documentation.
3.3 Objectives of recruitment policy

Objectives are targets and goals. According to Yoder, following are the main objectives of
recruitment policy:
To find and employ the best qualified person for each job.
To retain the best and most promising ones.
To offer promising careers and security.
To provide facilities for growth and development.
To minimize the cost of recruitment.
To reduce scope of favoritism and malpractice.
3.4 Factors affecting recruitment

There are many factors affecting recruitment. These factors may be considered into two
broad groups:
Internal factors: These are the factors within an organization. These factors are listed
down here:
Image of the organization. An organization with poor image cannot attract a large
number of applicants. For example, among most university graduates Dhaka
university has a positive image.
Image of job or attractiveness of the job. If the job to be filled is unattractive,

recruiting a large and qualified pool of applicants will be difficult.
Size and growth potential of the organization. Higher the size and growth potentials,
higher the advancement opportunities.
Internal polices. Internal organizational policies such as promote from within will
give priority to individuals inside the organization. Such a policy will usually ensure
that all positions will be filled from within the ranks.
Trade union requirements.
Recruiting budgets.
a) External factors: These are the factors over which organization has little or no
control. Some of these are given below.
Demographic factors: Gender ratio, age group, and educational level. Economic
condition of people and their per capita income, proximity of other organizations
offering employment.
Government requirements.
Industrialization: Industrialization within the geographical area and geographical

concentration will have influence on employment market in recruitment.
Labor market: Supply of labor may be plenty or shortage. In Bangladesh, supply of

labor of unskilled labor is abundant but there is shortage of skilled labor. The right
type is difficult to find.
The recruitment process involves several steps. Personnel managers or specialists known
as recruiters identify job openings through human resource planning or requests by
managers. They make a through analysis of job information, particularly job descriptions
and specifications. This information tells the human resource specialist the features of
both the jobs and the people who will fill them. They may also collect information from
the concerned managers.
3.5. Sources of Recruitment
There are basically two sources of supply from where potential employees can be drawn.
These are internal sources and external sources. Internal sources indicate recruiting
qualified people from within the organization itself (from the present working force).
When reference is made to the number of employees already employed by the
organization we speak of the internal supply. Whenever any vacancy occurs, someone
from within the organization is upgraded, promoted or transferred to another department.
Advantages and disadvantages are associated with promoting from within the
organization and hiring from outside the organization to fill openings.
Advantages of Internal Recruiting
The people responsible for selecting internal candidates for vacant positions have
access to more comprehensive information relating to their abilities, track record and
potential achievement than they would have if they were selecting people originating
from the external labor market.
It is motivating to employees, as they are preferred over outsiders when the vacancies
occur. Employees tend to be committed to firms that are committed to them.
It provides an opportunity for advancement.
It is economical in terms of time and money.
It improves employee morale.
It improves image of the organization.
It improves the probability of better performance as the candidate is in a better
position in knowing the objectives and expectations of the organization.
The demerits of the internal source are the following:
The promotion may be biased in nature and may be based on seniority rather than
merit. Promotion from within should be aided by careful employee selection. The
employment process should favors those applicants who have potentials for
promotion.
Possible morale problems of those who are not promoted.
Political infighting for promotions.
Option may be limited in locating right talents.
This channel of recruitment discourages new blood from entering the organization.
Inhibits innovation and creativity.
Subjectivity in promotion.
Promotion from within should be aided by careful employee selection. The employment
process should favors those applicants who have potentials for promotion. Effective
promotion from within also depends on other HR actions. It depends on providing the
education and training needed to help employees identify and develop their promotion
potential. It also requires career-oriented appraisals.
External sources
Recruiting from outside the organization is known as external source. All firms more or
less rely on external sources. Advantages of external sources are:
Bringing some new and fresh ideas into the organization. It offers the organization
the opportunity to inject new ideas into its operations by utilizing the skills of
external candidates.
Improving the knowledge and skill of the organization by recruiting from outside
sources.
Improving and sustaining competitive advantage.
Economical in the long run.
External recruitment is a form of communication, whereby the organization projects

its image to potential employees, customers, and others outside the organization.
Recruitment from internal source creates vacancy at the lower level, and these
positions need to be filled by the outsiders.
Disadvantages of external sources are as follows:
Costly.
Cause brain drain due to fear of lack of growth potential.
Higher probability of employee turnover.
Demoralization of existing employee for alleged double standard and favor shown
towards new recruitment from outside by offering better position and pay.
The most widely used channels by applicants and recruiters are:

Walks-ins and write-ins: Walk-ins are job seekers who arrive at the personnel
department in search of a job. Write-ins are those who send a written inquiry. Both
groups are asked to complete an application blank to determine their interests and
abilities.
Employee referrals: Employees may refer job seekers to the personnel department.
Advertising: it is the most widely used method as it can reach a wider audience . It
describes the jobs and the benefits, identify the employer and tell those who are
interested how to apply. Various media are used for advertisement such as newspapers,
journal, TV, Radio, etc. The construction of ad is important. Experienced advertisers use
four-point guide called AIDA to construct their ads:
Attraction of interest to the ad,
Development of interest in the job,
Creation of desire by amplifying the jobs interest factors plus extra such as job
satisfaction and career development and other advantages.
Prompt action.
Proper design of advertisement will have the following merits:
Encourage right persons to apply.
Discourage unsuitable persons from applying.
The advertisement copy must contain such information as
Job description,
Job specification,
Job pricing.
Blind advertisement is another technique used by some organization. The blind ad is a
want ad that does not identify the employer. Interested applicants are told to send their
resume to a mailbox number at the post office or to newspaper. Reputed and well-known
organization seldom uses blind advertisement. Want ads have some severe limitations.
They may lead to thousands of job seekers for one popular job opening.
Many suitable candidates may not apply because they feel that the company may be
of poor reputation in withholding their identification.
Many consider such advertisement is regularization action in which recruitment has
already been made.
Very few may apply for less attractive jobs.
State employment agencies: Every government has a state employment security agency
often called the employment service or employment exchange. It is designed to help job
seekers to find suitable employment. This agency matches job seekers with job
openings. When an employer has a job opening, the personnel department voluntarily
notifies the employment service of the job and its requirements.
Private placement agencies: Private employment agencies developed in the vacuum
created by the poor image of the public employment service. They do charge fees either
from potential employee, or from employers, or from both for their services. Placement
firms take an employers request for recruits and then solicit job seekers, usually through
advertising or among walk-ins. Candidates are matched with employers request and then
told to report to the employers personnel department for an interview. Some of the
agencies become specialized in certain categories of employment like the following:
Security guards,
Clerical or computer operators.
Engineers
Salesmen.
Accountants.
Professional or executive Search Firms: Professional search firms are much more
specialized than placement agencies. Certain firms have built up good reputation on
efficiency, productivity an industrial peace. Many firms attempt to locate suitable
candidates from such firms for filling up vacancies. Search firms usually recruit
only specific types of human resources for a fee paid by the employer. Search firms
actively seek out recruits among the employees of other companies. These search
firms are also called headhunters.
Educational institutions: Schools and vocational training institutes are another common
sources of recruits for many organizations. Many universities, colleges and vocational
schools offer their current students and alumni placement assistance. This assistance
helps employer and graduates to meet and discuss employment opportunities and the
applicants qualifications. The placement cells of educational institutions collect data
regarding potential vacancies and call for students who are interested in such positions.
Thereafter placement cells do preliminary screening and recommend those candidates
who have done well in their studies. There is no charges or fees for such services in
majority of institutions.
Professional associations: Recruiters find that professional associations can also be a
source of job seekers. Many associations conduct placement activities to help new and
experienced professionals get jobs, especially at job fairs during meeting and
conventions.
Labor Unions: Labor unions are a source of certain types of workers. When recruiters
want people with trade skills such as construction, the recruiters can contact local labor
organizations, which maintain rosters of members who are looking for employment. The
local union of plumbers, for example, keeps a list of plumbers who are seeking jobs.
Voluntary organization: Certain voluntary organizations can assist in recruitment.
Examples are schools for handicaps like deaf dump and blind.
Departing employees: Two often-overlooked sources of recruits are retirees and
departing employees. In both cases, there is a time saving advantage, because something
is already known about the potential employee.
Internet recruiting: Some employers are conducting employment interviews on-line.
Employers often begin the Internet search process by establishing an organization
website and listing jobs on it. Advantages for such Internet recruiting by employers
include:
Reaching more applicants.
Having lower costs and faster response time frames.
Tapping an applicant pool conversant with the Net.
Open house
A relatively unusual technique of recruiting involves holding an open house. People in
the adjacent community are invited to see the company facilities, have refreshments,
and maybe view a film about the company.
Thus it clear from the above discussion that there are mainly two sources of recruitment.
Both sources have merits and demerits. Criteria for adopting a given source depends on
cost and effectiveness, A source is effective it is capable of attracting maximum number
of potential candidates. In addition, it must involve minimum cost. A recruitment policy
Should be well defined

Should have a proper organization structure.
Should have a well -known procedure for locating potential candidates.
3.6. Employee Selection
Recruitment and Selection: A comparison
Recruitment and selection are not synonymous. Recruitment means announcing job
opportunities to the public in such a way that a good number of suitable applicants will
apply for them. Once a pool of suitable applicants is created through recruiting, the
process of selecting applicants begins. Selection means choosing from those applicants
who are most likely to succeed in the new job. Recruitment is the process of attracting a
pool of candidates for a vacant position, and selection is the technique of choosing a new
member of the organization from the available candidates. The selection process is a
series of steps used to decide which recruits should be hired. Dale Yoder (1972) defines
selection as a process by which candidates are divided into class- those who will be
offered employment and those who will not. The process begins when recruits apply for
employment and ends with the hiring decision. In this sense recruitment is a positive
process while selection is a negative process of rejecting most of the candidates leaving
only a few who are considered suitable.
The objectives of selection process are to select a candidate whose success probability in
the job is the highest, and motivate right candidates to opt for vacancy by proper
presentation of the organization to the potential candidates. Cost of selection is another
important aspect. It should be the endeavor of the organization to minimize the cost. Cost
is incurred in advertisement, calling for interviews, arranging interview, and tests.
In many personnel departments, recruiting and selection are combined and called the
employment function. In large personnel departments, the employment function is the
responsibility of the employment manager. In smaller departments, personnel managers
handle these duties. Employment managers use the selection process to find new
workers. The selection process relies on three helpful inputs.
Job analysis information provides the description of the jobs, the human specifications
and the performance standards each job requires. Human resources plans tell employment
managers what job openings are likely to occur. These plans allow selection to proceed in
a logical manner. Finally recruits are necessary so that the employment manager has a
group of people from which to choose. These three inputs largely determine the
effectiveness of the selection process.
3.7 Selection Process
Selection is a decision making process. A process is a number of interrelated activities.
The selection process is a series of steps through which applicants pass. For example, a
candidate who fails to qualify for a particular step is not eligible for appearing for the
subsequent step. Result of each step is crucial. Failure of any step disqualifies the
candidate from attempting the next step. Because of this characteristic, Yoder (1972) has
termed this process as succession of hurdles. It is designed to determine the most likely
candidates to be successful at fulfilling the job requirements by eliminating those
candidates least likely to succeed. A well-designed selection process involves the
following steps:
Reception of application
Screening
Application Blank
Employment tests
Interview
References
Medical examination
Hiring decision or employment
These steps are briefly discussed in subsequent paragraphs.

Preliminary reception of applicants: The selection process is a two way street. The
organization selects employees and the applicants select employers. Selection starts with
a visit to the personnel office or with a written request for an application. On the basis of
how this initial reception is handled, the applicants begin to form opinion of the
employer.
Screening: This step may involve two activities: screening applications and screening
interviews. Screening applications is the verification of applications against the
predetermined requirements of job given in job description and job specification.
Based on such comparison, many applicants can be screened out for their inability to
meet the criteria specified in job specification. Screening interviews is conducted in
which the candidate is asked to present himself for clarifying certain points, which
are not explicit from his application.
Job Application Blank: The job application blank collects information about recruits in a
uniform manner. The application blank usually contains such information as:
Personal data (name, address, phone number, place of birth, sex, race, religion,
national origin, health, height, weight).
Employment status (type of employment sought, position sought, date available for
work, salary desired).
Education qualification and training.
work history or past experience,
Expectation of salary.
Memberships.
Awards and hobbies.
References.
Signature line, etc.
All these information are useful from the point of view of management. Even though the
individual may lie in giving this information, most of it can be checked independently
and verified. It is a source of data bank to the organization of their employees. It helps
draw conclusion about applicants performance or achievement in his previous job.
Employment tests: These tests are devices that assess the probable match between
applicants and job requirements. These tests are conducted in order to improve the
selection decisions. Tests are a screening device. Some are paper-and pencil tests; others
are exercises that stimulate work conditions.
Tests should be valid. Validity means that the test scores significantly relate to job
performance. It measures how successful is selection technique is in predicting the future
performance of the job occupant. When scores and performance are unrelated, the test is
invalid and should not be used for selection. There are five variations of validity. These
are:
Content validity
Predictive validity
Concurrent validity
Construct validity
Criterion validity
A test should be reliable. Reliability means that a test should yield consistent results each
time an individual takes it. Tests are fair because they prevent corruption and favoritism
in the selection and promotion of people. Tests data can be referred to again at a later
stage to see how how good it was in predicting actual success in the job ( Furnham,
1997). There are many tests used to select employees. Among the important of these
tests are:
Psychological (for example, psychological tests are those that measure personality or
temperament.
Knowledge,
Performance,
Interest,
Attitude,
Medical.
Those who argue that tests have disadvantages are likely to cite the following:
-
Those tested may lack the ability to give responses that reflect their true feelings, so
their responses are meaningless.
Questions in the test booklet could be misinterpreted due to lack of understanding on
the part of some subjects and this affects the accuracy of the responses.
There could be some persons who try to confuse the situation by giving irrelevant
and stupid responses.
Test fails to measure certain personality characteristics such as trustworthiness.
Tests are invalid because they do not measure what they are supposed to measure,
and test scores are not good at predicting the testees work performance over time.
Selection interview: Interviews are most widely used device for selection. It summarizes
and integrates all information concerned with the candidate. Strauss and Sayles (1989)
define an interview as a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions and
communication between two or more persons. The interviewers goal in selection is to
match human characteristics and abilities with the demands of the jobs. This objective
can be expressed as to find the right man for the right job. The main objective
objectives of selection interview are to:
Get an opportunity to judge an applicants qualifications and characteristics
Establish a rapport between organizational personnel and applicant,
Promote good will towards the company, and
Get first- hand information about the candidate.
The selection interview is formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the
applicants acceptability. The interview is a face to- face, oral, observational and
personal appraisal method of evaluating the applicant. The interviewer seeks to answer
three broad questions: can the applicant do the job? Will the applicant do the job? How
does the applicant compare with others who are being considered for the job? Selection
interviews allow two way exchange of information: interviewers learn about the
applicant, and the applicant learns about the employer.
Interview may be in the form of individual and group. One form of group interviews is to
have applicants meet with two or more interviewers. They are given a certain problem
and asked to discuss among themselves and come up with an agreed plan of action for
solving the problem. The interviewers are watching the proceedings without actually
taking part or interfering. This allows all interviewers to evaluate the individual on the
same questions and answers. This saves time. It also permits the answers of different
applicants to be compared immediately.
Types of Interview: There are different interview formats. Following are the types:
Structured (questions are predetermined and sequenced).
Unstructured ( non-planned and non-formatted).
Mixed ( a combination of structured and unstructured).
Problem solving or stress producing.
Limitations of interview: Many research findings indicate the limitations of interview.
The main limitations are:
Interview is costly
Inefficient
Invalid.
Biased
Stereotyping
Subjective
Unreliable
Time consuming
Lack of standard for selection
Halo effect
Projection error
Central tendency error.
Towards more an effective interview

In spite of the limitations as pointed out above, the usefulness of interview cannot be
ignored. It is a valuable device for relaying information to prospective employees and can
provide reasonably valid data for selection decisions. Decenzo and Robbins (1999) have
offered the following suggestions in order to r improve interview:
Structure the interview so that the interviewer follows a set of procedure. A fixed set
of questions should be presented to every applicant.
Provide the interviewer with training so that they can follow a similar pattern in their
questioning and evaluate responses using a common standard.
Interviewers should have detailed information about the job for which applicants are
interviewing.
Keep other information of the interviewee away from the interviewer.
Standardize evaluation forms so that all interviewers can use the same frame of
reference to each applicant.
Interviewers should take more notes during the interview. This will lead to increased
accuracy in evaluation.
Avoid short interviews.
Handling the interview

The interviewee must make a plan in order to succeed in interview. What does he have to
do to excel in the interview? Here are some suggestions made by Gary Dessler (1999):
Preparation is essential. Before the interview, learn all you can about the employer,
the job, and the people doing the interview.
Uncover the interviewers needs. Spend as little time as possible answering your
interviewers first questions and as much time as possible getting the person to
describe his needs.
Relate yourself to the persons needs.
Think before answering. Understand, think and speak.
Make a good appearance and show enthusiasm.
First impression count
Interview Process: The interview is a process involving five steps.

Interview preparation: The interviewer needs to prepare before beginning the
interview. Better preparation and pre-planning exercise will improve effectiveness of
selection interview. He should develop objectives, criteria and standards. He should
develop necessary questions to be asked. A review of job specification and employee
specification may help the interviewer prepare specific questions.
Creation of rapport: The burden to establish rapport falls on the interviewer. Ask
easy question to make the applicant feel comfortable. Starting with non-threatening
questions such as, did you have any parking problems? Necessary noting,
recording and grading are done.
Information exchange: The interview process is a conversation that exchanges

information. To help establish rapport while learning about the candidate, some
interviewers begin by asking the interviewee if he or she has any questions. This
establishes two way communications and allows the interviewer to begin to judge the
recruit by the type of questions asked. The interviewer may say, Let us start with
any questions you may have.
Termination: The interviewer must close the interview. The parting of candidates
must be as friendly as their reception. Once again, nonverbal communication is
useful. Sitting erect, turning toward the door or glancing at a watch-all clue the
applicant that the end is near. Some interviewers terminate the interview by asking,
do you have any final questions? The applicant should not be given an indication of
his prospects for getting the job.
Final evaluation: Immediately after the interview ends, the interviewer should
record specific answers and general impressions about the candidate. Interviewer
may commit some errors that may lower the effectiveness of the interview. He may
judge the applicant according to halo effect or personal biases. Leading questions and
domination do not allow the interviewer to learn of the applicants potential. Example
of a leading question: Do you agree that profits are necessary? I prefer sales
personnel who are tall. Evaluation of interview and final scoring be done as
objective as possible by using standard format and statistical means.
Reference and background checks: What type of person is the applicant? Is the
applicant s good, reliable worker? To answer these questions employment specialists use
references and background checks. Bio-data submitted by applicants are scrutinized for
verification with primary and secondary data. Discrepancies are found in the following
areas:
Reasons for leaving previous job.
Date of employment
Salary
Job title.
Tendency is more on over-stating job title, salary and duration of employment. Common
method is to contact the previous employers and get the correct position. In many cases,
candidates are asked to produce letters of recommendations of referees. There are two
type of references:
Character references
Experience reference
Letters of references are of two types: specific and general. References from exemployers are not always effective due to:
Reluctance to pass on negative information about the ex-employees.

Employee quote persons who are well known and familiar.
Exaggerated allegation against ex-employers who quit their firm.
References should be reliable. Reliability can be increased by
Getting opinion from three to four persons and comparing them.
Contacting referees in person or on telephone and getting their views.
Making attempts to contact previous teachers and head of educational institution as
references.
Assuring confidentiality of information disclosed during personal discussion.
Medical evaluation : The selection process may include a medical evaluation of the
applicant before the hiring decision is made. The criteria for medical examination vary
with the nature of job and type of organization. For example, high standard of health is
specified for defense services. Normally the evaluation is a health checklist that asks the
applicant to indicate the health and accident information. A Company nurses or physician
sometimes supplements the questionnaire with a physical examination.
Hiring decision: The final hiring decision marks the end of the selection process,
assuming that the candidate accepts the job offer. Candidate who has successfully
completed the various hurdles of selection process is offered the job. Employment is
complete when the successful candidate accepts the offer and joins the firm. To maintain
good public relations, employers should notify applicants who were not selected.
Employment specialists may want to consider rejected applicants for other openings
since these recruits already have gone through various stages of the selection process.
Retaining these applications can be useful if the employer is charged with employment
discrimination. The applications of those hired should also be retained. The application
blank begins the employees personnel file and contains useful information for studies
that the personnel department may conduct to learn about the source of its applicantssuch as age, sex, race, or other work-force characteristics. If some recruits prove
unsatisfactory after they are hired, for example, personnel experts may be able to
reconstruct the selection process beginning with the application.
Questions for Discussion

1. Distinguish between recruitment and selection.
2. Mention the popular sources of employee recruitment.

3. Selection is viewed to be a decision making process. Discuss.
4. If you were the dean of a business school, what selection devices would you use to
identify effective faculty members?
5. What are the major steps of selection process? Explain with a suitable diagram.
6. Selection is a rejection process. Explain.
7. Why is it important to keep record of unsuccessful applicants?
8. Mention the important rules of a good interviewing.
9. What are the steps of an effective interview?
10. Mention few limitations of interview as a selection device. What can management do
to reduce some of these problems?
11. More emphasis should be placed on the internal supply of employee for meeting
future employee needs because these individuals already know the organization.
Do you agree or disagree? Discuss.
12. What information do applicant blanks contain?
References
Yoder, D. (1972). Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Prentice Hall of India,
New Delhi.
Flippo, E. B (1990). Personnel Management, McGraw Hill, India.
Decenzo, D.A and Robbins, S.P (1999). Human Resources management, Prentice Hall of
India, New Delhi..
Diane, A (1998). Preparing fro the Interview, Personnel, 63. No. 2. February.
Chapter 4
3.4. Socialization or Orientation

HR is much more than just recruiting people. Once employee selection is completed, a
proactive HR department helps the new hire become a productive and satisfied employee.
The process of becoming a productive and satisfied employee is important to the
organization and to the employee. This initial turnover is common. The new comer often
wants to know, Will I be able to do the job? Will I fit in around here? Will the boss like
me? Employees are likely to quit during their first few months than any other time in
their employment. Orientation program familiarizes new employees with their roles, the
organization, its policies, and other employees. It is a process of helping new employees
adapt to their new organizations and work responsibilities. It is a process of adaptation.
New employees suffer from anxiety. Anxiety is high at entry and new employees want to
reduce that anxiety very quickly. Stress is high because the new member feels a lack of
identification. Loneliness and a feeling of isolation are not unusual response. New
employees need special attention to put them at ease. This means providing an adequate
amount of information to reduce uncertainties and ambiguities. Through this program,
personnel department can reduce employee turnover. It can reduce turnover by meeting
personal objectives of employees. Cost of turnover is very high. Costs are associated with
recruiting, training and developing new employees. When employees quit, the loss may
be high because of training, skills that they take with them.
Who will responsible for orienting the new employees? This can be done either by the
new employees supervisor, by the people in the personnel department or some
combination therefor. Formal orientation programs usually depend on the personnel
department and the supervisor. In many medium and large organizations, the personnel
department takes charge of explaining such matters as overall organizational policies and
employee benefits.
In most small firms, new employees will receive their entire orientation from their
supervisor. The orientation program may be formal and informal. New employees may
be put directly into their job, with not effort made to differentiate them from those who
have been doing the job for a long period of time. Such cases represent examples of
informal orientation- it takes place on the job and the new employee gets little or no
special attention.
The issues covered in an orientation program fall into two broad categories: general
topics of interest to most new employee and specific, job-related issues of concern only
to specific jobholders. Topics covered in employee orientation programs are as follows:
Organizational issues: It includes such items as:
Organizational background, history and market standing.

Organizational mission, objectives and philosophies.
Organizational policies and practices.
Names and titles of key executives,
Employees titles and department
Lay out of physical facilities
Probationary period,
Product line or service provided,
Overview of production process,
Company policies and rules,
Safety procedures and enforcement.
Employee benefits:
Pay scales,
Vacation and holidays,
Rest breaks,
Training and education benefits, counseling,
Insurance benefits, retirement benefits, employer provided services to employees,
rehabilitation programs.
Introductions to
Supervisor
Trainers
Coworkers
Employee counselor
Job duties
Job location
Job tasks
Job safety requirements
Overview of job
Job objectives
Relationship to other jobs.
Benefits of orientation programs: Flippo (1990) and Davis (1996), have pointed out the
benefits of a good orientation program:
Reducing the employees anxieties
Reducing cultural shocks.
Providing opportunity to develop favorable attitudes of new employees toward their

new employment and surroundings.
Increasing employee commitment.
Higher self-confidence and satisfaction
Convincing the new employee that what is good for the company is also good for the
employee.
Improving performance as well oriented workers need less attention from coworkers
and supervisors
Reducing employee turnover.
Helping the new employee understand the social, technical and cultural aspects of the
workplace.
Questions for discussion

1. Why is orientation
organization?
program so important
both to the
employee and to
the
2. What are the common issues usually included in the orientation program?
3. Who will be responsible for orienting new employees?
4. If you were the head of a business school, how would you describe your
organizations orientation program?
References
Flippo, ( 19 ).
Davis, K (1996). Human Resources Management.
Robbins, S. P (1999). Human Resource Management.Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi,
India.
Chapter 5
Employee Placement
Introduction
Once employee is hired, he should be placed on a suitable job. Just recruiting an
employee to an organization is not enough. Putting the right man at the right job is
equally important. A misplaced employee is a disgruntled and frustrated man. A
misplaced employee cannot give his best to the organization. Lack of interest in the job
will be reflected in lower productivity. Placement plays an important role so that the new
recruits are recognized, acknowledged and welcome by existing workers. Proper
placement will go a long way to reduce employee turnover, accident, and absenteeism
and improve morale of the employee. It improves new recruits chance of building
rapport with his colleagues and strengthens his bond with the organization.
What is placement? Placement is the assignment or reassignment of an employee to a
new or different job. Pigors and others have defined placement in the following words:
Placement is the determination of the job to which an accepted candidate is to
be assigned, and his assignment to that job. It is the matching of what the
supervisor has reason to think he can do with the job demands; it is a
matching of what he imposes and he offers in form of pay roll, companionship
with others, promotional opportunities, etc.
It includes the initial assignment of new employee and the promotion, transfer and
demotion of present employees.
There are three major classes of placement decisions:
Promotion
Transfer, and
Demotion.
Promotion: Effective utilization of employees involves allocation of additional authority
and responsibility, as and when they acquire adequate expertise and competence.
Secondly, good work of an employee is to be recognized and rewarded. Thirdly,
career development involves vertical movement of employees. Finally, higher
vacancies in the organization are to be filled up progressively. Promotion serves the
above purposes.
A promotion occurs when an employee is moved from one job to another that is higher in
pay, responsibility and status. It is a vertical move in rank and responsibility. Strauss
and Sayles define promotion as a movement to a position in which responsibility
and prestige are increased. It is a job with more prestige and income.
Promotion is different from upgrading. It means advancement of an employee to a higher
status while upgrading means an increase of pay on the same job or moving to a higher
scale without changing the job. Some regard it as a limited promotion.
Open and closed promotional systems: A company is said to have an open promotion
policy if it considers all employees within the organization as potential candidates and
also announces internally such vacancies.
When an organization does not announce vacancies or where the openings are not open
to all employees within the organization for the promotion, the company has a closed
promotion policy.
Basis of promotion: There is a controversy as to what should be the criteria for
promotion-the seniority or merit. Trade unions prefer seniority while management prefers
ability or merit. Promotions usually are based on merit and \ or seniority.
Seniority basis of promotion: Unions demand seniority as a basis of promotion because

layoff and discharges are frequently based on seniority. Seniority refers to the relative
length of service of employees. The seniority promotion plan is as old as civilization. The
oldest son succeeded his father as king. The method of calculating seniority or length of
service is an important part of a seniority plan. It should provide for the following
factors: a) when seniority starts to accumulate b) effects of various interruptions to
employment and c) the effect of promotions upon seniority calculation. Seniority begins
to accumulate as soon as an employee is hired. In the case of union contracts, it is
important to note whether or not new employees have seniority rights during their period
of probation and whether or not the probationary period will be included in the
calculation of seniority. Again, when a large numbers of employees are hired on the same
date, a question of seniority may arise unless a basis for priority is established. In such
cases, priority may be established upon such an arbitrary basis as alphabetical listing.
There are merits as well demerits of considering seniority as the sole criteria for
promotion. The merits are:
Easy and simple.
Focus on individual career prospects and security.
Avoid favoritism and arbitrariness by management.
Risk is reduced.
Policy is more acceptable to majority of employees ad unions.
Reduce employee turnover.
Demerits are:
Merit is devalued. Capable young people are likely to become impatient about
waiting for- dead- mans shoes and will quit to look for better prospects elsewhere.
Promote mediocre performance and inefficiency. Consequently this may mean that
the company comes to be managed by second-grade people who have stated because
they have no enough caliber to make a move.
Limit the influence of manager as their evaluation of performance of individual

employee has little effect on their performance.
There is no guarantee that past experience or length of service increase ability.
No incentive for training and development by employees.
Inability to attract talented hands from outside.
Ability to learn reduces as age catches up.
Goes against obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage.
Merit as a sole basis for promotion: In principle, it is agreed by all that promotion should
be based on merit. Merit-based promotion occurs when an employee is promoted because
of superior performance in the present job. The use of merit as a basis for promotion
causes difficulties because what management regards as merit union may consider as
favoritism and can distrust the sincerity of management when it claims the right to
promote solely on merit. When management adopts merit as a basis for promotion, it
must evolve controls to recognize merit objectively, which will refute the allegations of
favoritism. As far as possible, merit rating or employee evaluation should be based on
operating facts. The plan of employee evaluation should include an arrangement for
consultation and perhaps vocational guidance. By discussing a persons strong and weak
points before vacancies occur, a two-edged weapon is employed. Those who are
ambitious can get suggestions on how to improve themselves. And a record of such
discussions can be cited to those who did not get a desired job because they failed to
follow suggestions. What is important is to discuss the standards before as well as after
application.
Seniority and merit bases: Seniority cum merit should be the basis of promotions where
merit can be objectively tested. Merit is term which includes efficiency, skill, aptitude
etc. When a combination of merit and seniority is desirable, the play of discretion in the
matter of selection cannot be overlooked. A sound management will pursue a policy of
properly balancing these factors. The policy can derive strength if worked in consultation
with the workers. The policy works in the following manner:
As between two employees with equal merit, the one with the greater seniority will
be given preference.
If two employees are of same seniority, give weightage to ability in promotion.
A set of job and employee specifications should be carefully prepared so that
claimant for jobs can be shown that requirements are objective and not capricious.
A complete and thoroughly understood promotion plan should be promulgated.
A good system of merit rating should be installed. Performance standards should be

set as objectively as possible so that measurement of employee productivity and
cooperation may be more readily acceptable by all.
Promotion Policy: A policy is guidelines for action. It varies with organization.
Promotion polices must be clearly stated and widely circulated and explained to all
employees since it is a sensitive issue. A comprehensive and realistic promotion policy
should be evolved covering the following points:
Lines and ladder of promotion should be made clear to all employees so that the
employee know where the possibility of promotion lies.
Policy must specify rules regarding the proportion of internal and external
recruitment for each grade.
Prescribing training and development programs prior to promotion.
Promotion from within the organization should be encouraged.
Top management must clearly lay down their policy regarding weightage given to
seniority and merit. Both merit and seniority should be considered.
Weightage given to the recommendation of immediate superior is very important

policy.
A method of assessing the potentials of employee must be introduced.
It must be fair and equitable.
It must be consistent.
Promotional plans require follow up.
Service records must be maintained to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
Benefits of having a promotion policy

Generally the following reasons for promoting employees are advanced:
Promotion from within fosters inbreeding.
Promotion may increase the effectiveness of the organization in attaining its service
and profit objectives.
It creates an inside market for talent and experience which is sheltered from
competition and readily available as a resource to the company.
It increases interest in training and in self-development as necessary preparation for
promotion.
It creates a feeling of content with the present conditions and encourages ambition to
succeed within the company.
It promotes employee morale and stimulates efficiency.
It increases job satisfaction.
Promotion Practices in Bangladesh: By and large merit and seniority are both considered
for promotion in Bangladesh. However, their exact mix of weightage varies with
organization to organization. In government civil service, more preference is given
to seniority. Outside recruitment is non-existent except in exceptional cases. In the
private sector, more weightage is given on merit. As the level goes up, merit is the
main criteria for promotion. Outside recruitment is encouraged to inject new blood
to the organization, normally, at the higher level. For example, in the case of Dhaka
University, any one having required qualification can apply for any position. The
family-run private sectors often do no follow any well-laid down policy on
promotion. Promotional decisions are made on subjective factors (whims and
fancies of the chairman).
Transfer: Transfer occurs when an employee is moved from one job to another that is
relatively equal in pay, responsibility and status. A transfer is a lateral movement of
an employee, not involving promotion or demotion. A transfer may require an
employee to change his work group, workplace, or organizational unit. Personnel
department must be able to reallocate their human resources to meet internal and
external challenges.
Transfer may be beneficial to jobholders. The main benefits are
The broadening experience of a transfer may provide a person with new skills and a
different perspective that makes him a better candidate for future promotions.
By moving people into jobs, managers may be able to improve the utilization of
their human resources.
Transfer may even improve an individuals motivation and satisfaction, especially

when a person finds little challenge in the old job. The new position may offer new
technical and interpersonal challenges. In turn, these challenges may prove to be a
growth oriented opportunity for the transferee.
Objectives of transfer: Transfers are generally effected to achieve the following

objectives:
a) To satisfy the needs of an organization arising out of change.
b) To meet the request of an employee.
c) To suit the age and health of an employee.
d) To train the employee for lateral advancement and promotion.
e) To supply creative opportunities to deserving employees.
f) To correct erroneous placement.
g) To replace an employee.
h) To utilize the service of an employee in a better manner.
i)
To incase versatility of employee.
j)
To adjust the workforce of one plant or department with that of another when one is
closed down.
Transfer policy: A good transfer policy should have the following features:
i)
Specify the types of transfers and the conditions under which these will be made.
ii)
Locate the authority in some officer who may initiate and implement transfers.
iii)
Indicate the basis for transfer-whether it is based on seniority or any other factor.
iv)
Transfers should be in writing and duly communicated to all employees.
v)
Transfers should not be made frequently.
Demotion: Demotion occurs when an employee is moved from one job to another that is
lower in pay, responsibility and status. Demotion seldom holds positive outcomes
for the individual. Usually they are associated with discipline; the individual is
demoted for poor job performance or inappropriate behavior such as excessive
absenteeism or incompetence. Demotion may also be due organizational factors:
Reduction of workforce due to market condition.
Change of technology and production method.
Change of product mix.
One problem with demotion is that demoted employee may be become de-motivated or
worse, openly antagonistic toward those responsible for the demotion decision.
Sometimes, demotions are intended to be kindly alternative to firing an employee
who cannot do his present job. Rather than severe the employment relationship, a
decision is made to retain the employee but at a lower level of responsibility. All
rules and regulations are to be clearly laid down in writing which include a clause
that violation of the same may result in demotion.
Separations : A separation is a decision for the individual and the organization part.
Separations are choices made by the employers and \ or employees to terminate
employment relationship. Disciplinary, economic, business or personal reasons may
motivate it. Regardless of the reasons behind the decision, the personnel
departments role is to find the most satisfactory method of conducting the
separation in a way that minimizes the harm to the organization and to the
individual. Separations may take different forms such as attrition, layoffs, and
termination. Attrition is the normal separation of people from an organization as a
result of resignation, retirement, or death. It is initiated by the individual worker and
not by the company. Resignations are separation decisions initiated by the employee.
They include quits and retirements. Quits occur when employees choose to leave the
organization for reasons other than retirement. Many researchers and professional
use the term turnover to signify employee quits.
Layoffs occur when employees are put on unpaid leaves of absence. Layoffs are the
separation of employees from the organization for economic or business reasons.
Layoffs occur because of the need to reduce the size of the work force. Employees are
seldom directly responsible for the conditions leading to surpluses. Work force reductions
through layoffs are one response to employee surpluses. Layoffs are unpleasant for both
workers and management. Employers often go to great lengths to avoid layoffs. The first
defense is to cut overtime. Next the company dismiss part-time employees. Then the
company dismisses poor performers. Company considers attempts to share work and
reduce normal work hours. Company may use all these programs before laying off fulltime employees.
Terminations is broad a term that encompasses the permanent separation from the
organization for any reason. An employee may be fired as a form of discipline.
Employees may be terminated for business reason and employer has no plan to rehire
them.
In these cases, the employee may receive severance pay and outplacement
assistance. Outplacement is a group of services provided to displaced employees to give

them support and assistance. Layoffs and termination or dismissals are separations
decisions initiated by the employer. Separations and programs to manage them can be
costly.
Questions for discussion

1. Right man for right job is the principle of employee placement. Explain.
2. What are the benefits of an effective employee placement?
3. Distinguish between among promotion, transfer and demotion.
4. What is dry promotion?
5. Mention the bases of promotion with their merits and demerits.
References
Lewis, C (1985). Employee Selection, London, Hutchinson.
Pigors, P. M (1973). Personnel Administration, McGraw Hill of India, New Delhi.
Flippo, E. B (1996). Personnel Management, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Yoder, D (1982). Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Prentice Hall of India,
New Delhi.
Strauss, G and Sales, L. R (1976). Personnel-The human Problems of Management,
Third edition, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Chapter 6
Employee Training and Development
Introduction
Every organization needs well-trained people to perform the activities that have to be
done. If current or potential job occupants can meet this requirement, training is not
important. At the time of recruitment employees possess a certain amount of knowledge
and skill. As time passes their knowledge becomes obsolete unless it is updated by proper
training. When this is not the case, it is necessary to raise the skill levels and increase the
versatility and adaptability of employee. As jobs are become more complex, the
importance of employee training gas increased. Competent employees do not remain
competent forever. Skills deteriorate and can become obsolete. Skilled and
knowledgeable people are always short in supply. This is why, organizations spend
billions of dollars each year on formal training. Intensified competition, technological
change and the search for improved productivity are motivating management to enhance
expenditures for training. Competitive advantage of a firm depends on the knowledge
and skills possessed by the employees.
Meaning of training
The term training is used here to indicate any process by which the aptitudes, skills and
abilities of employees to perform specific job are increased. Flippo defines training as the
act of enhancing the knowledge and skill of an employee for accomplishing a specific
behavior. Training is a systematic process of changing the behavior, knowledge and
motivation of present employees to improve the match between employee characteristics
and employee requirements. It is the art of increasing the knowledge and skill of an
employee for doing a particular job.
Training, education and development: A comparison
Training is different from education. The purpose of education is to increase the attitude,
understanding and knowledge of employees so that they are better adjusted to their
working environment. Education is the understanding and interpretation of knowledge
( Memoria, 1997). Teaching a worker how to operate a drill press is training whereas
giving a course in economics is education. Education is know- why and training is knowhow. Education is person oriented while training is job oriented. Educational program
contains theoretical and conceptual material aimed at stimulating an individual'
analytical and critical faculties. Education is concerned with increasing the general
knowledge and understanding of the employees total environment (Tripathy, 1989). The
two may go hand in hand.
Development is defined as preparing the individual for a future job. It refers to long term,
future oriented programs and the progress a person makes in learning how to manage.
Development is the process of transition of an employee from lower level of ability, skill
and knowledge to that of higher level. Education, training, work experience and
environment influence this transition. This will improve value of individual employee in
terms of his self-development, career growth, and contribution to the organization.
Training is mostly a short-term activity to help people do their jobs better. Training refers
to instruction in technical and mechanical operations, while development refers to
philosophical and theoretical educational concepts.
Despite differences both training and development are concerned with the development
of human potential or talent. They are complementary parts of the same process and it is
difficult to imagine any training which does not have some educational effect and vice
versa.
Benefits of training: The value of training cannot be over emphasized. Training is an
investment in people so it follows that systematic training is a sound business investment.
Training produces such benefits as:
To improve employee skills which in turn, increases the quality and quantity of
output.
To decrease the relative amount of input needed to produce a unit of output.
To improve quality of life of employees.
To attain and sustain competitive advantage
To bridge the gap between existing performance and desired performance.
To increase the ability of an employee to learn from experience.

McGregor identified three different purposes of training:
Acquiring intellectual knowledge.
Acquiring manual skills.
Acquiring problem solving skills.
Identification of training needs

Identification of training need is the most important step in designing a training program.
This involves a through analysis of entire organization, all operations and all employees.
Identification of training needs of an employee
Methods of determining training needs
Methods of training
Sensitivity training, T-groups

Sensitivity training, also called T-group, is a controversial approach to manager
development. It is concerned with the real problems existing within the group itself. It is
not an imagined problem existing outside the organization. It is not a program of teaching
skills or improving understanding of participants. In this program, an attempt is made to
change attitude and behavior of people in the group. It is used in building team efforts.
This is done by introspection, self-criticism, and open arguments and through free and
frank discussion so that one comes to know how others feel about him and his behavior.
It is a means of providing a mirror in which one can see his mental makeup, attitude and
behavior towards others. This will provide best method of motivation for selfdevelopment. The objective of this training include:
Better insight into ones own behavior and the way one appears to others.
Better understanding of group processes.
Members learn more about themselves especially their weakness and emotional
stability.
Development of skills in diagnosing and intervening group processes.
Find better method and means of behavior for effective interpersonal relationships
without the aid of power over others.
T-group is a small discussion group without any leader. Trainer raises a question and
encourages open discussion, which is unstructured. Focus is on feeling and mutual
respect. Here group members interact and then receive feedback on their behaviors from
the trainer and the group members, who express their opinions freely and openly. The
feedback may be positive and negative. An example may make it clear. Rahim, I do not
get a good feeling when you approach the topic the way you just did. Could we talk about
it? Rahim may accept this comment and resolve to change his behavior. But he may also
feel hurt and withdraw from the group. The T-group process may
Lead to personal anxieties and frustrations.
Lead to mental breakdown.
It may make managers hypersensitive which make them unable to take hard decision
for fear of hurting other.
But if properly managed, it can result in collaborative and supportive behavior.

The following guidelines can help reduce potential harm and increase effectiveness:
Participants in T-group should be voluntary.
They should be screened and those who could be harmful should be expelled from
this experience.
Trainers should be carefully evaluated and their competence clearly established.
Potential participants should be informed about the goals and process before they
commit themselves to sensitivity training.
Determination of training needs of an employee

Why training fails
The reasons for failure of training programs are:
No one-the-job rewards for behaviors learned in training.
Insufficient time to execute training programs.
Work environment does not support new behaviors learned in training.
Lack of motivation among employees.
Insufficient training needs analysis.
Management does not support training programs.
Training needs changed after programs have been implemented.
Insufficient funding of training programs.
Training Practices in Bangladesh

Most of the employees in Bangladesh want to hire trained personnel and very few are
interested in developing people through investing in them. Education over emphasizes
humanities and concentrates less on the type of training, which develops skills for
industrial development. Here are some common problems at the macro level in
Bangladesh:
Training expenditure has a low priority in company budgets.
Aggregate expenditures by business on training are inadequate.
Management training in our country has not accepted as a top management activity.
Corporate commitment about training is lacking. Most companies spend nothing at
all on training.
Training is not viewed as an investment; rather it is treated as an expense.
Business complain that schools award degree, but they are no guarantee that
graduates have been mastered skills. As a result, business must spend large amount of
money to retrain workers in basic skills.
Employer and school must develop closer ties. Schools must learn the needs of
business. They should work with local business to respond to the needs of the
business.

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1.1. Importance of Human Resources