Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
REPORT
Submitted for the partial fulfillment of the
degree of Masters of Business
Administration
Supervised By
By
Submitted
Avina Mathur
Surabhi Agarwal
Mentor,DEI
MBA 3rd Sem
D.E.I
CONTENTS
Acknowledgement2
A Case Study of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)...3
Preface..4
Review of literature.6
Major HR challenges faced by the Indian organizations..7
Objectives of the study9
Stress management system10
The problem of stress12
Managing stress at work14
Causes or sources of stress...16
Organizational stressors17
How stress is caused.18
Workplace factors causing stress.20
Consequences of stress21
Stress management techniques22
Indian methods of managing stress.24
Stress management techniques applied in some companies..25
Individual stress management.28
Organizational stress management..30
A risk assessment strategies- six stages..31
A study of stress management in tata group..33
Tips on coping with stress...42
Stress control workshops and Employee assistance programmes.45
Stress management training programs highlights46
Tips for managing stress in the workplace..47
Conclusion48
Bibliography49
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have had considerable help and support in making this project reality.
First and foremost, gratitude goes to Mrs. Avina Mathur (Facilitator for HRM)
who provided me all the guidance and support in realizing the dissertation.
Last but not the least I also convey my regards to my parents and friends,
without their co-operation this project could not have been thought of.
SURABHI AGARWAL
PREFACE
In the fast changing world the success of an organization very much depends upon
the quality, capacity and utility of men power. The human beings are the most
important assets in an organization which represents heavy investment, hence their
utilization require very careful handling as well as most efficient and proper
managing (i.e.) planning, organizing, leadership and evaluation.
The role of human resources or personnels is to keep the wheel that is the
organization moving. Human being also put needed objects otherwise useless into
productive use. Here the innovation power, skill and capacity of human resources
are utilized.
In present scenario the importance of HRM is growing very fast in every
organization, since there is a change in social climate, value & norms, the
employees who join now are more educated, competent & informed. While they
are great assets yet can become problem if the organization fails to manage,
motivate & meet their aspiration.
As I have discussed above with the changing trends the idea of personnel
management which was confined to recruitment, salary, administration &
industrial relation has become the thing of past & is replaced with HRD which
besides above involves placement, selection for promotions providing financial
rewards or incentives & other actions as motivation & encouragement, but above
all the human welfare in order to achieve, smooth harmonious comprehensive
progress of organization.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1
INTRODUCTION
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and
coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valued assets-the
people working there who individually and collectively contributes to the
achievement of the objective of the business. The terms human resource
management and human resource (HR) have largely replaced the term
personnel management as a description of the process involved in managing
people in organizations. Human resource management is evolving rapidly. Human
resource management is both an academic theory and a business practice that
addresses the theoretical and practical techniques of managing a work force.
The basic premise of the academic theory of HRM is that
human are not machines: therefore we need to have an interdisciplinary
examination of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, sociology,
industrial engineering, industrial and organizational psychology and industrial
relations and critical theories like post modernism and post structuralism ply a
major role. The key word is fit, i.e. a HRM approach seeks to ensure a fit
between the management of an organizations employees, and the overall strategic
direction of the company.
HRM is concerned with people dimension in management.
Since every organization is made up of people, acquiring their service, developing
their skills, motivating them to higher levels of performance and ensuring that they
continue to maintain their commitment to the organization are essential to
achieving organizational objectives. This is true, regardless of the type of
organization government, business, education, health, recreation or social action.
Competence of HR Managers
As it is more and more accepted that lot of success of organizations depend on
the human capital, this boils to recruiting the best, managing the best and
retaining the best. Clearly HR managers have a role in this process. Often it is
discussed about lack of competence of HR managers in understanding the
business imperative. There is now a need to develop competent HR
professionals who are sound in HR management practices with strong business
knowledge.
Developing Leadership
Managing Change
Business environment in India is volatile. There is boom In terms of
opportunities brought forward by globalization. However this is also leading to
many interventions in terms of restructuring, turnaround, mergers, downsizing,
etc. Research has clearly shown that the success of these interventions is
heavily dependent on managing the people issues in the process. HR has a
pivotal role to play here.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
Stress is not just a personal problem its a business problem that can be solved
in four steps.
Experience shows that stressed employees are treated a bit like radioactive
material no one wants to handle them, and the employee is sent on sick leave for
a month (or several) in the belief that time alone will reduce their stress and that
they will return healthy, motivated and more resilient. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Stressed employees need support not isolation; fear of becoming
unemployed or estranged from colleagues are two of the greatest stressors!
Understanding this requires the spotlight to move from the individual and broaden
to illuminate the whole organization and workforce. This widening of focus also
requires a change in perspective from re-action to pro-action.
A reactive stance is not only resource intensive, it fails to provide any meaningful
understanding of the causes and contributing factors of stress peculiar to an
organization. Having a framework of the right policies, procedures, and resources,
which protects your organization and employees from the impacts of stress, is the
only way to effectively take a proactive stance at reducing the financial and
personal impact of work-related stress.
1. Audit To allocate resources cost effectively requires a deep understanding of
workplace stressors peculiar to your organization; this can be achieved through a
preliminary stress audit, and then continued through a monitoring and assessment
programme. It is prudent at this stage to not only expose the stressors, but also
trace the financial and cultural impacts that result.
Threats to:
Health
Self esteem/confidence
Personal development
conflict
Life is tough and getting tougher by the day! The stress of daily living, especially
as the pressure to excel mounts, impacts everyone, not just on the work front but
in every single area of an individual's life In today's world of doing more with less,
employees find themselves with more work, fewer resources, and less time. With a
tight deadlines and a competitive work environment only the best performers are
guaranteed continued employment.
All of these factors add up to a very stressful work environment. Ultimately
employees take work home and worry about missing deadlines or performing
inadequately and end up working longer hours.
Stress can be caused by many things in life, pressures from work, the family,
social commitments and other everyday events. The word stress is derived from
1
the Latin term 'Stringers' which means "to draw tight". Some define stress as the
non-specific response of the body to any demands made on it. Stress is our
physical, mental, and emotional response to the various demands, changes, and
events in our life. It is an internal phenomenon and a mental attitude.
In some cases, stress motivates and encourages us to complete a task we find
difficult so that we can take pride in ourselves and what we achieve.
Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956,
which holds true today also, was that stress is not necessarily something bad it
all depends on how one takes it. In an ideal world, there should be just enough
stress to keep employees working to their full potential, but not enough to cause
overwhelm or excessive anxiety. Too much or too little stress is where we run into
problems.
Stress symptoms begin to manifest themselves when an individual perceive or feel that life
demands are exceeding their ability to deal with them. When stress begins to take its toll, they
may experience both physical and psychological effects.
Situations that are likely to cause stress are those that are unpredictable or
uncontrollable, uncertain, ambiguous or unfamiliar, or involving conflict, loss
or performance expectations. Stress may be caused by time limited events, such
as the pressures of examinations or work deadlines, or by ongoing situations,
such as family demands, job insecurity, or long commuting journeys.
Historically, the typical response from employers to stress at work has been to
blame the victim of stress, rather than its cause. Increasingly, it is being
recognized that employers have a duty, in many cases in law, to ensure that
employees do not become ill.
Organizational Stressors
1
c) Poor communication
a) Role conflict
d) Restriction on behavior
b) Role ambiguity
f) Lack of
c) Minimum management
opportunity/performance
support
evaluation/pay
d) holding mid-management
position
5. Physical Environment
a) Working conditions like
2. Responsibility
a) with
superiors/subordinates/
colleagues
b) Inability to delegate
3. Job Qualities
a) Time pressures
b) Work over/under load
6. Change
a) Individual life stages
b) Organizational- transfer,
promotion, job expansion
etc.
c) Level of accountability
7. Career Development
4. Organizational Structure
a) Status conflicts
a) Lack of participation
b) No sense of belonging
b) Obsolescence of skill
c) Mid-career stage
HOW STRESS IS
CAUSED
The degree of stress experienced depends on the functioning of
two protective physiological mechanisms:
psychologicalfor
example,
WORKPLACE FACTORS
CAUSING STRESS
The workplace is an important source of both demands and
pressures causing stress, and structural and social resources to
counteract stress.
The workplace factors that have been found to be associated
with stress and health risks can be categorized as those to do
with the content of work and those to do with the social and
organizational context of work. Those that are intrinsic to the
job include long hours, work overload, time pressure, difficult
or complex tasks, lack of breaks, lack of variety, and poor
physical work conditions (for example, space, temperature,
light).
Unclear work or conflicting roles and boundaries can cause
stress, as can having responsibility for people. The possibilities
for job development are important buffers against current
stress, with under promotion, lack of training, and job
insecurity being stressful. There are two other sources of stress,
or buffers against stress: relationships at work, and the
organizational culture. Managers who are critical, demanding,
unsupportive or bullying create stress, whereas a positive social
dimension of work and good team working reduces it.
An
organizational
culture
of
unpaid
overtime
or
Consequences of Stress
Stress Management
Techniques
There are numerous techniques that experts recommend for
relieving the symptoms of stress.
1. Talk about your worries to colleagues, spouses or friends
2. Exercise take up physical activities such as jogging,
walking, and cycling which can relieve the feelings of stress.
Chemicals released in the brain during exercise produce a 'feel
good' mood.
3. Learn biofeedback this is a relaxation method in which a
person learn to consciously control your breathing rate and
heart rate so that stressful situations do not elicit a major
physiological reaction.
4. Take up a new hobby like gardening or join a group so
that you can socially interact with people who have the same
passions.
5. Join a Yoga class yoga is one of the oldest forms of
relaxation known to man.
6. Learn the difference between work and home- By
separating the two main areas of your life you can leave the
stress of work behind when you finish for the day.
others
will
prefer
meditation
and
relaxation
techniques. Find what works for you and have fun doing it.
Indian Methods of
managing Stress
Indian philosophy consisting of Upanishadas, Vedanta, etc, is
very helpful in winning stress. Dr. Satish Chandra Pandey (8m
Journal, JIMS April-June 1997) has given some valid points on
managing
stress,
some
of
which
are
as
follows-
with
their
organizational
environment/stressors.
in
different
areas.
Stress management
techniques applied in
some organization
1
Dell Inc
Dell was founded in 1984 with $1,000 and an idea by Michael
Dell. The idea was to build relationships directly with
customers. Michael Dell, born in February 1965, is presently
the chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive
officer of Dell. Mr. Dell became the youngest CEO ever to
earn a ranking on the Fortune 500. Dell Inc. (Dell) is a
technology company, which offers a range of product
categories, including desktop computer systems, storage,
servers and networking products, mobility products, software
and peripherals, and enhanced services. Dell entered AsiaPacific/Japan in select markets and began investing in regional
facilities, management, service and technical personnel in
1993, with its first operations in Japan and Australia.
Dell direct sales operations are currently in 13 markets in the
region: Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan,
Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and
Thailand. In addition, 38 distributors serve another 31 markets.
Dell was the No. 3 vendor in the industry in the region in 2007.
Dell had a market value of $4 billion (20 Oct, 2007).
Industry Type: BPO/Call Center (Dell)
Average age of employee: 21+
Qualification: HS/Graduation
Work profile: Attending customer calls.
INDIVIDUAL STRESS
MANAGEMENT
Most interventions to reduce the risk to health associated with stress in the workplace
involve both individual and organisational approaches. Individual approaches include
training and one-to-one psychology servicesclinical, occupational, health or
counselling. They should aim to change individual skills and resources and help the
individual change their situation. The techniques listed in fig mirror the active coping
(fight/flight) and rest phases (habituation) of the stress model presented earlier.
coping
techniquesfor
example,
assertiveness,
ORGANISATIONAL
STRESS MANAGEMENT
The prevention and management of workplace stress requires
organisational level interventions, because it is the organisation
A risk assessment
strategysix stages
Hazard identification:
Reliably identify the stressors which exist in relation to work
and working conditions, for specified groups of employees, and
make an assessment of the degree of exposure
Assessment of harm:
Collect evidence that exposure to such stressors is associated
with impaired health in the group being assessed or of the
wider organisation. This should include a wide range of healthrelated outcomes, including symptoms of general malaise and
specific disorders, and of organisational and health related
behaviours such as smoking and drinking, and sickness
absence
A study of stress
management in TATA
Group
Unity: We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and
with our customers and partners around the world, building strong
relationships based on tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.
Titan Industries is not a brick and mortar company. It is built on the passion and emoti
of its proud employees. Titan can be best described as a huge living organism pulsati
with highly motivated and dedicated employees. Every employee is treated with care a
concern and is allowed to grow and blossom. No wonder then that the company has w
the Indias Best Companies to Work For - 2009 award, having bagged the 24th positi
across all industry categories and the first position in the Retail Industry category in
'Great Places to Work' study instituted by The Economic Times.
The company has been recognised for many firsts both in terms of
S Ramadoss, vice president, HR and Administration, says, Titan has always believed
the concept of Human Capital. Putting people first comes naturally to us.
The company provides a host of welfare measures such as a crche facility at
manufacturing units, gymnasium, canteen, medical, transport, etc. Loans for marria
house deposit allowances, an interest subsidy on housing loans, vehicle loans, inter
and external accident benefits, death relief fund, etc are offered to unionised and no
unionised employees.
and special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, long service awards, cultu
programmes, sports competitions, business meets, etc. The company also exten
1
medical facilities and provides highly subsidised food to workers who are not on its ro
an act of kindness that goes beyond statutory requirements.
Family members are also made to feel welcome at Titan by including them in awarene
programmes, factory visits, family picnics, celebrations such as Fathers Day, Spous
Day, Childrens Day and community initiatives. Mr Ramadoss says, More than 1,0
children participate in the Childrens Day programme each year to display their talent
drawing, painting, music, etc.
These occasions are used by the management to communicate the goals and aspiratio
congratulate them and give them gifts, a practice that has helped cement ties between t
organisation and employees and their families.
But it isnt all play at Titan. The company has established a structure consisting of sm
group activities, suggestion schemes such as SEED and Idea Plus, and cross-functio
teams to enable employees to express their ideas for making things better. This enab
employees to play a more active role in their work lives. Employees are recognised a
rewarded for going the extra mile through a well drawn out three-tiered recogniti
programme, namely, Moment of Fame, Outstanding Titanian, and Dream Team awar
Titan has also instituted a special recognition programme for frontline employe
namely, Face of Titan, Super Stars and Look for Stars.
Apart from this,
the company has formed several committees through which employees can express th
talents. These committees are related to the canteen, safety, sports, cultural activities, e
national events, the cultural committee hones employees' talent and encourages them
perform at special events within and outside the company. Employees with a flair
writing are encouraged to contribute to in-house newsletters such as NEWS BOX, Glit
Buzz, Retale, Champions.
The company also has a strong culture of volunteering. Over 300 volunteers particip
in blood donation camps, eye camps, AIDS and environmental awareness, and oth
community initiatives. The efforts of volunteers are actively supported by
management too.
Titans HR structure is designed so as to understand and cater to the needs
of employees at every level. At the local level, there are regional HR
executives and Unit Personnel Executives (UPE). The UPEs are entrusted
with the task of taking care of specific units within the company and acting
as a single point of contact for employees. Mr Ramadoss adds, The UPEs communic
biannual open house interactions to instill confidence in employees that their opinio
and views are important to the company. The open house interactions are typica
presided over by the MD and heads of key functions.
Employees are free to directly communicate with the MD via email or phone. They c
also approach other managers to discuss official and personal issues.
manner. These are centrally monitored by HR. There are other formal structures that d
strongly with issues such as ethical conduct, sexual harassment, etc. In addition,
presence of a formal union, with designated office bearers and executive memb
representing various units, ensures that employee needs are catered to.
The growth and development of its people is very important to Titan. We have a form
structure to impart knowledge and skills through in-house as well as external traini
grooming future leaders in the organisation. The programme ensures that the organisati
performance, address the aspirations of the talent and provide opportunities for car
growth, which will help them, take leadership roles.
The Tata philosophy is quite evident in Titans approach towards its employe
may
lead
to
motivation,
feeling
sence
of
advancement.
A variety
of
career
counseling
to individuals;
(iii)
(iv)
programmes
for
enhancing
the
individuals'
with health problems, and dealing with other kind of personal and family
stresses.
Stress management based on Indian philosophy:
Indian philosophy approach is catching the attention of Western
industrially-developed countries to cope with stress. Meditation and Yoga
are being practiced by more and more countries. Satish Chandra Pandey
has developed a model for stress management based on Indian Philosophy
consisting of Upanishads, Vedanta etc. The model is presented in the
following diagram:
If positive outcomes
Stress Management
Training Program
Highlights
organizational stress
Increased individual
productivity and responsibility
Increased productivity
and
training
processes
or
on
notice
boards
Conclusion
Stress in the work place has
become the black plague of
the present century. Much of
the stress at work is caused
not only by work overload
and time pressure but also by
lack of rewards and praise,
and more importantly, by not
providing individuals with
the autonomy to do their
work as they would like.
Most of the employees were
not
satisfied
grievance
with
the
handling
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ashwathappa K, Human Resource
Management, Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi,
Fifth edition, 2009.