ASSIGNMENT - 1

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

UNIT - I & II

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
DR. AJAY PRATAP SINGH HIMANSHU
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MBA TIAS 03317003916
MBA 2ND SEM, DIV-A, 1ST SHIFT
Q1. Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organization together
so that the goals of each other are met. Comment Discuss the operative function of HRM in
light of above statement, emphasizing the need for integration function

Human resource management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so

that the goals of each other are met. The role of HR manager is shifting from that of a
protector and screener to the role of a planner and change agent. Personnel directors are the
new corporate heroes. The name of the game today in business is personnel. Nowadays it is
not possible to show a good financial or operating report unless your personnel relations are
in order. Over the years, highly skilled and knowledge based! Jobs are increasing while low
skilled! jobs are decreasing. This calls for future skill mapping through proper HR"
initiatives. Indian organizations are also witnessing a change in systems, management
cultures and philosophy due to the global alignment of Indian organizations. There is a need
for multi skill development. Role of HR" is becoming all the more important.

Procurement Procurement refers to a string of activities undertaken by the HR managers

for filling the present and future vacancies of the organization. The activities include job
analysis and designing, HR planning, recruitment and, finally, the selection of suitable
employees. Here, job analysis refers to both the determination of specific tasks and
responsibilities connected to a job and identifying the skills, knowledge and abilities required
for the job holder. HR planning involves choosing and placing the right person at the right
job and at the right time. Recruitment involves gathering a pool of applicants from which
suitable employees may be selected. Lastly, selection involves screening, testing,
interviewing and hiring the most suitable employees for the organization.

Development -Development here refers to both employees training and management

development. HR managers are accountable for conducting and supervising training and
development programmes for employees. The very purpose of a training and development
programme is to increase the employees competencies in their job by improving their
knowledge, skills and abilities. Training and development is widely accepted as a method for
enhancing the employee skills, increasing the individual and organizational performance,
improving the employee morale, and achieving the business growth and success.

Compensation - Compensation refers to the determination of the pay scale and other benefits
for the employees. Establishing and maintaining the pay system of an organization is one of
the principal jobs of the HR managers. They must devise ways to ensure fair and equitable
pay rates. In addition, HR managers should regularly manage the performance evaluation
system of the organization, and continuously design reward systems such as performance-
linked incentive plans and bonus and flexible work schedules.

Maintenance - The maintenance function aims at retaining efficient and experienced

employees in the organization. This calls for creative HR practices. In this regard, HR
managers are responsible for offering a wide range of HR programmes covering occupational
safety, health promotion and physical fitness, canteen facilities, recreation
activities, transportation programmes, employee suggestion schemes, career counselling and
growth for creating a positive work environment.

Integration - It consists mainly of industrial relations and aims at ensuring good relations
between the management and the employees.HR managers have to implement industrial
relations programmes that would ensure ethical and fair treatment in disciplinary action,
grievance redressal, and career management processes. They should also counsel the
employees and the management to prevent and, when necessary, resolve disputes over labour
agreements or other labour relation issues. It is to be understood here that the functions of
HRM can vary widely from one organization to another, depending upon its nature, size, and
objectives.

For instance, a smaller organization may follow a shorter HRM process with a greater
emphasis on functions like procurement and compensation and little or no priority for
activities like training and development and industrial relations maintenance. On the contrary,
large organizations may pursue a longer and more comprehensive HRM process to meet the
requirements of both the management and the workforce.

Q2. Discuss the nature, scope, objectives and importance of HRM. Differentiate between
personal management and human resource management.

The nature of the human resource management has been highlighted in its following
features:

1. Inherent Part of Management: Human resource management is inherent in the process

of management. This function is performed by all the managers throughout the
organisation rather that by the personnel department only. If a manager is to get the best
of his people, he must undertake the basic responsibility of selecting people who will
work under him.
2. Pervasive Function: Human Resource Management is a pervasive function of
management. It is performed by all managers at various levels in the organisation. It is
not a responsibility that a manager can leave completely to someone else. However, he
may secure advice and help in managing people from experts who have special
competence in personnel management and industrial relations.
3. Basic to all Functional Areas: Human Resource Management permeates all the
functional area of management such as production management, financial management,
and marketing management. That is every manager from top to bottom, working in any
department has to perform the personnel functions.
4. People Centered: Human Resource Management is people centered and is relevant in all
types of organisations. It is concerned with all categories of personnel from top to the
bottom of the organisation. The broad classification of personnel in an industrial
enterprise may be as follows: (i) Blue-collar workers (i.e. those working on machines and
 engaged in loading, unloading etc.) and white-collar workers (i.e. clerical employees), (ii)
Managerial and non-managerial personnel, (iii) Professionals (such as Chartered
Accountant, Company Secretary, Lawyer, etc.) and non- professional personnel.
5. Personnel Activities or Functions: Human Resource Management involves several
functions concerned with the management of people at work. It includes manpower
planning, employment, placement, training, appraisal and compensation of employees.
For the performance of these activities efficiently, a separate department known as
Personnel Department is created in most of the organisations.
6. Continuous Process: Human Resource Management is not a one shot function. It must
be performed continuously if the organisational objectives are to be achieved smoothly.
7. Based on Human Relations: Human Resource Management is concerned with the
motivation of human resources in the organisation. The human beings cant be dealt with
like physical factors of production. Every person has different needs, perceptions and
expectations. The managers should give due attention to these factors. They require
human relations skills to deal with the people at work. Human relations skills are also
required in training performance appraisal, transfer and promotion of subordinates.

Scope
The scope of HRM is, indeed, very vast and wide. It includes all activities starting from
manpower planning till employee leaves the organisation. Accordingly, the scope of HRM
consists of acquisition, development, maintenance/retention, and control of human resources
in the organisation (see figure 1.1). The same forms the subject matter of HRM.

The scope of HRM as follows:

1. The Labour or Personnel Aspect:

This is concerned with manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, transfer,
promotion, training and development, lay-off and retrenchment, remuneration, incentives,
productivity, etc.

2. Welfare Aspect:
It deals with working conditions, and amenities such as canteen, creches, rest and lunch
rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation
facilities, etc.

3. Industrial Relations Aspects:

This covers union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance
and disciplinary actions, settlement of disputes, etc.

Objectives
The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of right people for right jobs so as
the organisational goals are achieved effectively.

This primary objective can further be divided into the following sub-objectives:
1. To help the organisation to attain its goals effectively and efficiently by providing
competent and motivated employees.

2. To utilize the available human resources effectively.

3. To increase to the fullest the employees job satisfaction and self-actualisation.

4. To develop and maintain the quality of work life (QWL) which makes employment in the
organisation a desirable personal and social situation.

5. To help maintain ethical policies and behaviour inside and outside the organisation.

6. To establish and maintain cordial relations between employees and management.

7. To reconcile individual/group goals with organisational goals.

HRM Objectives and Supporting Functions:

 Importance of human resource management
The significance of human resource management can be discussed at four level

1) Corporation
2) Professional
3) Social
4) National

Significance

1) An enterprise:

a) Attracting and retaining the required talent through effective human resource planning,
recruitment, selection, placement, orientation, compensation and promotion policies.
b) Developing the necessary skills and right attitudes among the employees through training,
development, performance appraisal, etc.
c) Securing willing co-operation of employees through motivation, participation, grievance
handling, etc.
d) Utilizing effectively the available human resources.
e) Ensuring that the enterprise will have in future a term of competent and dedicated employees.
 2) Professional significance

Effective management of human resource helps to improve the quality of work life. It permits
term work among employees by providing a healthy working environment. It contributes
professional growth in the following ways:

a) Providing maximum opportunities for personal development of each employee.

b) Maintaining healthy relationships among individuals, and different work groups.
c) Allocating work properly.

3) Social significance

Sound human resource management has a great significance for the society. It helps to
enhance the dignity of labour in the following ways:

a) Providing suitable employment that provides social and psychological satisfaction to people.
b) Maintaining a balance between the jobs available and the jobseekers in terms of numbers,
qualifications, needs and aptitudes.
c) Eliminating waste of human resources through conservation of physical and mental health.

4) National significance:

Human resources and their management plays a vital role in the development of a nation.
The effective exploitation and utilization of a nations natural, physical and financial
resources require an efficient and committed manpower.

There are wide differences in development between countries in the quality of their people.
Countries are underdeveloped because their people are backward. The level of development in
a country depends primarily on the skills, attitudes and values of its human resources.
Effective management of human resources helps to speed up the process of economic growth
which, in turn, leads to higher standards of living and fuller employment.

As the central subsystem, HRM interacts closely and continuously with all other subsystems
of an organization. The quality of people in all subsystems depends largely upon the policies,
programmes and practices of the HRM subsystem. The quality of human resources
determines in turn the success of an organization.

Management is primarily dealing with human beings and human problems are present
everywhere. According to Lawrence apply, management is the development of people, not
the direction of things. In the modern era of automation and competent people to run it.
Personnel management v/s Human resource management
Human resource management is the new version of personnel management. There is no any
watertight difference between human resource management and personnel management.
However, there are some differences in the following matters.

1. Personnel management is a traditional approach of managing people in the organization.

Human resource management is a modern approach of managing people and their strengths
in the organization.

2. Personnel management focuses on personnel administration, employee welfare and labor

relation. Human resource management focuses on acquisition, development, motivation and
maintenance of human resources in the organization.

3. Personnel management assumes people as an input for achieving desired output. Human
resource management assumes people as an important and valuable resource for achieving
desired output.

4. Under personnel management, personnel function is undertaken for employee's

satisfaction. Under human resource management, administrative function is undertaken for
goal achievement.

5. Under personnel management, job design is done on the basis of division of labour. Under
human resource management, job design function is done on the basis of group work/team
work.

6. Under personnel management, employees are provided with less training and development
opportunities. Under human resource management, employees are provided with more
training and development opportunities.

7. In personnel management, decisions are made by the top management as per the rules and
regulation of the organization. In human resource management, decisions are made
collectively after considering employee's participation, authority, decentralization,
competitive environment etc.

8. Personnel management focuses on increased production and satisfied employees. Human

resource management focuses on effectiveness, culture, productivity and employee's
participation.

9. Personnel management is concerned with personnel manager. Human resource

management is concerned with all level of managers from top to bottom.

10. Personnel management is a routine function. Human resource management is a strategic

function
Q3. What are the challenges available for HR manager of today? What are the coping
strategies?
Challenges faced by HR Managers Because of continuous changing socio-economic,
technological and political conditions, the human resource managers of the future shall have
to face more problems in the management of labour. The human resource managers of today
may find themselves obsolete in the future due to changes in environment if they do not
update themselves some of the important challenges which might be faced by the managers in
the management of people in business and industry. Some of the challenges are as follows:
A. HR Collaboration with Line Managers HRM function is a joint responsibility for all
managers within the enterprise i.e. both HR or staff and line managers must be involved. HR
professionals should become a partner with senior and line managers in strategy execution,
helping to move planning from the conference room to the market place (Ulrich, 1998).
B. HR Exhibition of Expertise in the Organization of Work As trained administrators, the HR
professionals will have to explore and design means of carrying out HR functions in a better,
faster and cheaper ways to reduce costs. Beside cost reduction, efficiency and quality have to
be maintained in service delivery.

C. HR as Vanguard of Employees Welfare. The HR professionals will be held accountable

for ensuring that employees show commitment and add value to the business of the
organization irrespective of attending to their social needs.
D. HR as an Innovative Agent The HR professionals must work towards initiating change
that are focussed on creating high performing teams, reduce cycle time for innovation or
implementing new technology.
E. Upgrading the Skills of HR Professional to be able to cope with the global challenges and
be relevant in the current century, the quality of HR staff need to be improved. The enterprise
need people who know the business, understand the theory and practice of HR.
F. HR Creating Value in the Organization to meet the increased expectations of the
organisation, the HR professionals must articulate their role in terms of creating value. They
must measure their effectiveness in terms of business competitiveness and success rather than
employee comfort or satisfaction.
G. Business Challenges and Globalization Due to globalization, enterprise now face business
challenges which require the organization to build new capabilities. This innovation has
created opportunity for the HR professionals to play leadership role in assisting the
organization to meet the competitive challenges.
H. The Effect of Information Technology in Workplaces Information technology has made
the world smaller and faster through internet. Ideas and large amount of information now
move freely and constantly. The challenge for the HR Managers is to make good use of what
information technology offers and to make it to be a viable productive part of work setting
and tool.
I. The Challenge of Privatization and Liberalization The privatization of government
companies involves the divestment of public holdings in these enterprises for the benefit of
single or multiple private shareholders or owners. The exercise will usher in a lot of changes
within the privatized organization and the HR professionals must brace up to the challenges
posed by the exercise as it relates to HR planning and management.
J. HR and Political Process With the democratic changes occurring all the world over, the
populace in which the work community is inclusive must internalize democracy and
discharge their civic duties to the country.
K. Multi-Skilling Process The pace of change in the HR environment in this era of
globalization will require the HR professionals to be multi-skilled. They must devote more
attention to core strategic issues in HR management and be facilitator or change initiators and
internal consultant to the organization.

Coping strategy
Human Resource Management used to be considered as other conventional administrative
jobs. But over a period of time, it has evolved as a strategic function to improve working
environment, plan out human resources needs and strike a balance between the organization
and employers in order to increase organizational productivity and meet organizational goals.
Not to exaggerate but in todays highly competitive world it has gradually become one of the
most important functions of an organization.

It is really a huge challenge to understand the psychology of workforce, retain the best talents
of the industry, motivate them to perform better and handle diversity while maintaining unity
simultaneously, especially in countries like India, where it is still evolving. Globalization has
resulted in many positive developments but it has left many concerns for HR managers.

In todays tough world and tight job market, coordinating a multicultural or diverse
workforce is a real challenge for HR department. Human resource managers are on their toes
to strike a balance between employer and employees keeping in mind the recent trends in the
market. They may find themselves in dire consequences if they are not able to handle the
human resource challenges efficiently.

To remain in business, human resource managers need to efficiently address following

human resource challenges:
Handling Multicultural / Diverse Workforce: Dealing with people from different
age, gender, race, ethnicity, educational background, location, income, parental status,
religious beliefs, marital status and ancestry and work experience can be a challenging
task for HR managers. With this, managing people with different set of ideologies,
views, lifestyles and psychology can be very risky. Effective communication,
adaptability, agility and positive attitude of HR managers can bind the diverse
workforce and retain talents in the organization.
Managing Change: Who wants to change their ideology or way of working? Neither
you nor I. How can we expect others to change then? Bringing change in
 organizational processes and procedures, implementing it and then managing it is one
of the biggest concerns of HR managers. Business environment is so volatile.
Technology keeps changing every now and then. All thanks to globalization.
Upgrading the existing technology and training people for them is a real headache for
HR department. The success rate of technology change depends how well HRD can
handle the change and manage people issues in the process.
Retaining the Talents: Globalization has given freedom to working professionals to
work anywhere in the world. Now that they have endless lucrative opportunities to
work, hiring and retaining the best industry talent is no joke. Maintaining harmonious
relations with them, providing excellent work environment and offering more
remuneration and perks than your competitors can retain and motivate them.
Conflict Management: HR managers should know how to handle employee-
employer and employee-employee conflicts without hurting their feelings. Although it
is almost impossible to avoid conflicts among people still handling them tactfully can
help HR managers to resolve the issues. They should be able to listen to each party,
decide and communicate to them in a convincing manner in order to avoid future
conflicts.
HR professional must be proactive with all strategies and action plans in order to meet the
changing needs of the organization. They must be thorough with the basic functions of HR
including planning, organizing, leading and controlling human resources.

Q4. (a) Discuss the HRM models. (b) Explain the evolution of HRM.
The Human Resource Management model contains all Human Resource activities. When
these activities are discharged effectively, they will result in a competent and willing
workforce who will help realize organizational goals. There is another variable in the model
environment. It may be stated that the Human Resource function does not operate in vacuum.
It is influenced by several internal and external forces like economic, technological, political,
legal, organizational, and professional conditions.
1. The hard and soft HRM models:
Storey distinguished between the hard and soft versions of HRM. He wrote that: the hard
one emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business-strategic aspects of managing
human resources in as rational a way as for any other economic factor. By contrast, the soft
version traces its roots to the human-relations school; it emphasizes communication,
motivation and leadership. However, it was pointed out by Keenoy that hard and soft HRM
are complementary rather than mutually exclusive practices. Research in eight UK
organizations by Truss indicated that the distinction between hard and soft HRM was not as
precise as some commentators have implied.

2. Contextual model of HRM:

The contextual model of HRM emphasizes the importance of environmental factors by
including variables such as the influence of social, institutional and political forces that have
been underestimated in other models. The latter, at best, consider the context as a
contingency variable. The contextual approach is broader, integrating the human resource
management system in the environment in which it is developed. According to Martin-
Alczar: Context both conditions and is conditioned by the HRM strategy. A broader set of
stakeholders is involved in the formulation and implementation of human resource strategies
that is referred to by Schuler and Jackson as a multiple stakeholder framework. These
stakeholders may be external as well as internal and both influence and are influenced by
strategic decisions.

3. The matching model of HRM:

Fombrun proposed the matching model, which indicated that HR systems and the
organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with organizational
strategy. This point was made in their classic statement that: The critical management task is
to align the formal structure and human resource systems so that they drive the strategic
objectives of the organization. Thus they took the first steps towards the concept of strategic
HRM.

4. European model of HRM:

Brewster described a European model of HRM as follows:
Environment established legal framework;
Objectives organizational objectives and social concern people as a key resource;
Focus cost/benefit its analysis, also environment;
Relationship with employees union and non-union;
Relationship with line managers specialist/line liaison;
Role of HR specialist specialist managers ambiguity, tolerance, flexibility.

The main distinction between this model and what Brewster referred to as the prescribed
model was that the latter involves deregulation (no legal framework), no trade unions and a
focus on organizational objectives but not on social concern.
As set out by Maybe the characteristics of the European model are:
Dialogue between social partners;
Emphasis on social responsibility;
Multicultural organizations;
Participation in decision-making;
Continuous learning.

5. The 5-ps model of HRM:

Philosophy: Expressed in statements defining business values and culture. It expresses
how to treat and value people.
Policies: Expressed as shared values and guidelines. Policies establish guidelines for
action on people related business issues and HR programs.
Programs: Articulated as human resource strategy. These coordinate efforts to
facilitate change to address major people related business issues.
 Practices: For leadership managerial and operational role practices motivate needed
role behaviours.
Processes: For the formulation and implementation of other activities these define
how activities are carried out.

Evolution and Development of Human Resource Management (HRM)!

HRM activities have probably been performed since ancient times. The pioneering work of
Peter Drucker and Douglas McGregor in the 1950s laid its formal foundation. Modern
concept of HRM has developed through the following stages (Gupta, 1997).

a) The Commodity Concept: Before industrial revolution, the guild system was the
beginning of personnel management. Guild was a closely knit group concerned with
selecting, training, rewarding and maintaining workers. Labour began to be considered a
commodity to be bought and sold.

b) The Factor of Production Concept: Employees were considered a factor of production

just like land, materials, machinery. Taylors scientific management stressed proper selection
and training of employees so as to maximize productivity.

c) The Paternalistic Concept: Employees organized together on the basis of their common
interest and formed trade unions to improve. Also employers began to provide schemes to
workers. Employers assured a fatherly and protective attitude towards their employees.

d) The Humanitarian Concept: It is based on the belief that employees had certain
inalienable rights as human beings and it is the duty of the employer to protect. Rather social
and psychological satisfaction was equally important. Hawthorne Experiments of Douglas
McGregor also generated considerable interest in human problems of work place. This is also
known as human relations concept.

e) The Behavioral Human Resource Concept: It aimed at analyzing and understanding

human behavior in organization. Motivation, group dynamics, organizational climate,
organizational conflict etc. became popular under this concept. Employees began to be
considered as valuable assets of an organization. Efforts were made to integrate employee
with the organization so that organizational goals and employees aspirations could be
achieved simultaneously. Focus shifted towards management practices like two way
communication, management by objectives, role of informal groups, quality circles etc.

f) The Emerging Concept: Now employers are considered as partners in industry. They are
given share in companys stock membership. Slowly and steadily, HRM is emerging as a
discipline. Next slide discusses the differences between traditional personnel management
and emerging HRM.
Q5. HR planning has 2 stages- planning for manpower requirement and planning to
manpower supplier. Comment and explain the steps involved in process in light of above
statement.

Human resource planning is a process through which the company anticipates future business
and environmental forces. Human resources planning assess the manpower requirement for
future period of time. It attempts to provide sufficient manpower required to perform
organizational activities. HR planning is a continuous process which starts with identification
of HR objectives, move through analysis of manpower resources and ends at appraisal of HR
planning. Following are the major steps involved in human resource planning:

1. Assessing Human Resources

The assessment of HR begins with environmental analysis, under which the external (PEST)
and internal (objectives, resources and structure) are analyzed to assess the currently
available HR inventory level. After the analysis of external and internal forces of the
organization, it will be easier for HR manager to find out the internal strengths as well as
weakness of the organization in one hand and opportunities and threats on the other.
Moreover, it includes an inventory of the workers and skills already available within the
organization and a comprehensive job analysis.

2. Demand Forecasting
HR forecasting is the process of estimating demand for and supply of HR in an organization.
Demand forecasting is a process of determining future needs for HR in terms of quantity and
quality. It is done to meet the future personnel requirements of the organization to achieve the
desired level of output. Future human resource need can be estimated with the help of the
organization's current human resource situation and analysis of organizational plans an
procedures. It will be necessary to perform a year-by-year analysis for every significant level
and type.

3. Supply Forecasting
Supply is another side of human resource assessment. It is concerned with the estimation of
supply of manpower given the analysis of current resource and future availability of human
resource in the organization. It estimates the future sources of HR that are likely to be
available from within an outside the organization. Internal source includes promotion,
transfer, job enlargement and enrichment, whereas external source includes recruitment of
fresh candidates who are capable of performing well in the organization.
4. Matching Demand and Supply
It is another step of human resource planning. It is concerned with bringing the forecast of
future demand and supply of HR. The matching process refers to bring demand and supply in
an equilibrium position so that shortages and over staffing position will be solved. In case of
shortages an organization has to hire more required number of employees. Conversely, in the
case of over staffing it has to reduce the level of existing employment. Hence, it is concluded
that this matching process gives knowledge about requirements and sources of HR.

5. Action Plan
It is the last phase of human resource planning which is concerned with surplus and shortages
of human resource. Under it, the HR plan is executed through the designation of different HR
activities. The major activities which are required to execute the HR plan are recruitment,
selection, placement, training and development, socialization etc. Finally, this step is
followed by control and evaluation of performance of HR to check whether the HR planning
matches the HR objectives and policies. This action plan should be updated according to
change in time and conditions.

Q6. What is Job analysis? Discuss the significance of Job analysis. Prepare the job
description of a manager working in a company of your chosen area.

Job analysis is a process of collecting information regarding the nature, operation and
responsibilities of a specific job so that the personnel department become aware of the
knowledge, skill and experience that an individual prospective employee should possess in
order to perform that particular job Armed with the knowledge gained from an accurate job
analysis, the personnel department become successful in their task of recruiting the right
people for a specific job.

Significance of Job-Analysis:
Since job analysis clearly defines the labour needs of an organization, it is very helpful in
organizational planning by co-ordination the activities of the workforce and facilitating the
recruitment and selection of personnel by matching the jobs with their qualities. By
specifying the job requirements, job analysis aids not only in hiring personnel, but also in
their training and placement. It also facilitates transfer and promotion of personnel. By
matching the requirements of a job with the workers aptitudes, interests and abilities, the
process of job-analysis provides information enabling the management to transfer personnel
from a job not matching with their qualities to a job more appropriate for their aptitude. Job-
analysis lays the standards for job performance thereby aiding job- evaluation and
consequently evaluating the salary and wage administration on the basis of qualifications and
the risks/hazards involved in a job. By setting standards, it aids in the performance appraisal
by comparing individual performance with clear cut performance standards for every job. By
providing specifications about job requirements, job analysis helps to develop the content for
training and development programmes and the extent of training needed to be provided to a
specific individual for a specific job.
The job description of a manager working in a market research company

Research Manager

The Market Research Manager is responsible for selecting the appropriate research
methodology and supporting techniques to meet a defined business objective. Depending
upon the selected methods, the Research Manager develops or assists in the development of
the research instrument. The Research Manager works closely with vendors or Market
Research Project Directors ensuring the successful execution of the fieldwork. Upon
completion, the Market Research Manager reviews the collected data, authors reports and
makes business-oriented recommendations to the sponsoring client.

Responsibilities:
Communicating with clients to understand and document the business objectives
Selecting the most appropriate research methodology and techniques
Designing qualitative and quantitative research plans for products in all stages of the
Product Life Cycle
Designing research questionnaires and moderator guides
Working with Project Directors to oversee the fieldwork initiative
Interpreting data, writing reports, and making actionable recommendations
Requirements:
A minimum of 5 to 7 years within the custom Market Research industry
1 to 3 years of industry/sector experience
Academic and practical experience with a wide array of new product, brand,
advertising and customer satisfaction research methodologies
Exceptional written and oral communication abilities
Strong analytic skills with experience in statistical modelling and analysis
Proficient with Excel, PowerPoint, and SPSS/SAS
Bachelors or advanced degree in business, mathematics, or the sciences

Q7. Define Job design. Discuss the behavioural and ergonomics consideration while
designing jobs.

Job design follows job analysis i.e. it is the next step after job analysis. It aims at outlining
and organising tasks, duties and responsibilities into a single unit of work for the achievement
of certain objectives. It also outlines the methods and relationships that are essential for the
success of a certain job. In simpler terms it refers to the what, how much, how many and the
order of the tasks for a job/s.

Job design essentially involves integrating job responsibilities or content and certain
qualifications that are required to perform the same. It outlines the job responsibilities very
clearly and also helps in attracting the right candidates to the right job. Further it also makes
the job look interesting and specialised.

Behavioural considerations are:

Behavioural factors are based on the premise that people are influenced to work to satisfy
their needs. Higher the need, more one finds job challenging.
Ones behaviour at work is governed by certain factors are:

Autonomy:
Autonomy means freedom to control ones actions/responses to the environment. Research
studies report that jobs that give autonomy to workers also increase sense of responsibility
and self-esteem. On the contrary, absence or lack of autonomy can cause workers apathy to
jobs and, in turn, low and poor performance.

Use of Abilities:
Workers perform jobs effectively that offer them opportunity to make use of their abilities.
Workers find such jobs as interesting and challenging.

Feedback:
Job design should be determined in such a way that workers receive meaningful feedback
about what they did. Feedback helps workers improve their performance.

Variety:
Lack of variety, or say doing the same work, causes boredom which, in turn, leads to fatigue.
Fatigue causes mistakes and accidents. But, by incorporating elements of variety in the job,
boredom, fatigue and mistakes can be avoided and the job can be done in more effective and
efficient manner.

Ergonomics considerations are:

Safety and health
There can be no disagreement about the desirability of safety and health objectives. The
difficulty stems from the fact that neither is directly measurable: their achievement is
assessed by their absence rather than their presence. The data in question always pertain to
departures from safety and health.
In the case of health, much of the evidence is long-term as it is based on populations rather
than individuals. It is, therefore, necessary to maintain careful records over long periods and
to adopt an epidemiological approach through which risk factors can be identified and
measured. For example, what should be the maximum hours per day or per year required of a
worker at a computer workstation? It depends on the design of the workstation, the kind of
work and the kind of person (age, vision, abilities and so on). The effects on health can be
diverse, from wrist problems to mental apathy, so it is necessary to carry out comprehensive
studies covering quite large populations while simultaneously keeping track of differences
within the populations.

Productivity and efficiency

Productivity is usually defined in terms of output per unit of time, whereas efficiency
incorporates other variables, particularly the ratio of output to input. Efficiency incorporates
the cost of what is done in relation to achievement, and in human terms this requires the
consideration of the penalties to the human operator.

In industrial situations, productivity is relatively easy to measure: the amount produced can
be counted and the time taken to produce it is simple to record. Productivity data are often
used in before/after comparisons of working methods, situations or conditions. It involves
assumptions about equivalence of effort and other costs because it is based on the principle
that the human operator will perform as well as is feasible in the circumstances. If the
productivity is higher than the circumstances must be better. There is much to recommend
this simple approach provided that it is used with due regard to the many possible
complicating factors which can disguise what is really happening. The best safeguard is to try
to make sure that nothing has changed between the before and after situations except the
aspects being studied.

Reliability and quality:

As explained above, reliability rather than productivity becomes the key measure in high
technology systems (for instance, transport aircraft, oil refining and power generation). The
controllers of such systems monitor performance and make their contribution to productivity
and to safety by making tuning adjustments to ensure that the automatic machines stay on
line and function within limits. All these systems are in their safest states either when they are
quiescent or when they are functioning steadily within the designed performance envelope.
They become more dangerous when moving or being moved between equilibrium states, for
example, when an aircraft is taking off or a process system is being shut down. High
reliability is the key characteristic not only for safety reasons but also because unplanned
shut-down or stoppage is extremely expensive. Reliability is straightforward to measure after
performance but is extremely difficult to predict except by reference to the past performance
of similar systems. When or if something goes wrong human error is invariably a
contributing cause, but it is not necessarily an error on the part of the controller: human errors
can originate at the design stage and during setting up and maintenance. It is now accepted
that such complex high-technology systems require a considerable and continuous
ergonomics input from design to the assessment of any failures that occur.
Q8. Define absenteeism and turnover?

Absenteeism
Absenteeism is what happens when an employee begins to chronically miss work.
Absenteeism is expensive to employers, bosses and co-workers and can cost repeat offenders
their job. But while absenteeism is often perceived as an employee issue, newer research
reveals it can also be a symptom of a much larger employer-based issue.
In this post, learn more about absenteeism, including the many reasons why it happens and
what can be done to remedy the situation.

Here are some of the most common reasons why employees begin to be chronically absent
from work:

Harassment. If an employee is being singled out by co-workers or a supervisor in a way that

is perceived as bullying or harassing, that employee is more likely to engage in absenteeism.

Chronic illness. Issues as diverse as allergies and cancer can take a toll on an employees
energy level and ability to perform well at work. But by far the most common health reasons
for absenteeism centre on ergonomic issues such as hand, back and neck pain (to the tune of
100 million work days annually).

Lack of motivation. An employee stuck in a boring job or even an interesting job that is
overly challenging can easily slide into dis-engagement and then into absenteeism.

Stress. High stress in the workplace is a major cause of absenteeism (not surprisingly, stress
and chronic health issues are now known to be linked). Stress can take the form of burnout,
lack of motivation and other work-averse conditions.

Family issues. This can be an especially prominent cause of absenteeism in households

where both parents work. If the parents are shift-workers, the possibility of absenteeism rises
still further as caregivers struggle to supervise children or elders living under their roof.
Job interviews. While less of a long-term cause of absenteeism, employees that begin to
become chronically absent or late due to job interviews disguised as traffic jams or
illness are often soon gone for good as well.

Depression. Depression is still the reigning cause of absenteeism in the American

workforce today. Yale researchers report that depression (whether work-related or not) makes
an employee twice as likely to miss work.
TURNOVER
In a human resources context, turnover or labour turnover is the rate at which an employer
gains and loses employees. Simple way to describe it are "how long employees tend to stay"
or "the rate of traffic through the revolving door." Turnover is measured for individual
companies and for their industry as a whole. If an employer is said to have a high turnover
relative to its competitors, it means that employees of that company have a shorter average
tenure than those of other companies in the same industry. High turnover may be harmful to a
company's productivity if skilled workers are often leaving and the worker population
contains a high percentage of novice workers.
Excessive turnover can be a very costly problem, one with a major impact on productivity.
One firm had a turnover rate of more than 120% per year! It cost the company $1.5 million a
year in lost productivity, increased training time, increased employee selection time, lost
work efficiency, and other indirect costs.

But cost is not the only reason turnover is important. Lengthy training times, interrupted
schedules, additional overtime, mistakes, and not having knowledgeable employees in place
are some of the frustrations associated with excessive turnover. Turnover rates average about
16% per year for all companies, but 21% per year for computer companies.54 Computer
Companys average higher turnover because their employees have many opportunities to
change jobs in a hot industry.

Many studies show that companies with low turnover rates are very employee oriented.
Employee oriented organizations solicit input and involvement from all employees and
maintain a true "open-door" policy. Employees are given opportunities for advancement and
are not micro-managed. Employees believe they have a voice and are recognized for their
contribution