Master of Busiess Administration – MBA Semester

Book id: MB0027

Q.1) Mention and briefly explain different sources of recruitment?

The sources of employees can be classified into two types, internal and external. Filling a job
opening from with in the firm has the advantages of stimulating preparation for possible transfer of
promotion, increasing the general level of morale, and providing more information about job
candidates through analysis of work histories within the organization. The firm has number of outside
sources available, among which are following:

Advertising: There is a rend toward more selective recruitment in advertising. This can be effected in
at least two ways. First, advertisements can e placed in media read only by particular groups.
Secondly, more information about the company, the job, and the job specification can be included in
the ad to permit some self- secreening.

Employment agencies: Additional screening can be affected through the utilization of employment
agencies, both public can private.

Employee Referrals: Friends and relatives of present employees are also a good source from which
employees may be drawn.

Schools: colleges and professional institutions: offer opportunities for recruiting their students. They
operate placement services where complete bio - data and other particulars of the students are available.

Labour unions: firms with closed or union shops must look to the union in their recruitment
efforts. One fitfh of the labour force organized in to unions, organized labour constitutes an important
source of personnel.

Professional organization or recruiting firms or executive recruiers: Maintain complete

information records about employed executive.

Indoctrination seminars for colleges professors: They are arranged to discuss the problem of
companies and employees. Professons are invited to take part in these seminars.

Unconsolldated applications: For positions in which large numbers of candidates are not available
from other sources, the companies may gain files of applications received from candidates who make
direct enquiries about possible vacancies on their own. Or may send unconsolidated applications.

Nepotism: The hiring of relatives will be an inevitable component of recruitment programmes in

family- owned firms. Such a policy does not necedessarily coincide with hiring on the basis of merit,
but interest and loyalty to the enterprise are offsetting advantages.

Leasing: To adjust to short term fluctuations in personnel needs, the possibility of leasing personnel by
the hour or day should be considered.

Voluntary organization: Such as private clubs, social organizations might also provide employees-.
Computer data banks: When a company desires a particular type of employee. Job Specifications
and requirements are fed into a computer.

Q2) Write a note on guided and unguided interview:

Interviewing is probably the most widely used single method of selection . A substantial amount of
subjectivity, and therefore. Unreliability, is to be expected from interviewing when used as a tool
evaluation.
The interview consists of interaction between interviewer and applicant. If can be a powerful technique
in achieving accurate information and getting access to material otherwise unavailable.

Preliminary interview: these interviews are preliminary screening of applicants to decide whether a
more detailed interview will be worthwhile. The applicant is given job details during the interview to
afford him freedom to decide whether the job details during the interview to afford him freedom to
decide whether the job will suit him. This method saves the company's time and money.

Stress interview: Stress interviews are deliberate attempts to create pressure to observe how an
applicant performs under stress. Method used to induce stress range from frequent interruptions and
criticism of an applicants opinion, to keeping silent for an extended period of time. The most important
advantages of the stress interview is that helps to demonstrate important personality characteristics
which would be difficult to observe in tension free situations. However stress inducing must be done
carefully by trained and skilled interviewers.

Depth Interview: Depth interviews cover the complete life history of the applicant and include such
areas as the candidate's work experiences. Academic qualifications, health interest and hobbies. It is an
excellent method for executive selection . Performed by qualified personnel .

Patterned interview: Patterned interviews are a combination of direct and indirect questioning of the
applicant. The interview has certain clues and guidelines to areas which should be probed deeply and
the interview also encourages the candidate to express the relevant information freely.
After the patterned interview is complete the interviewer should evaluate the candidate on the basis of
practical experience. According to R.N Mccurry and others , certain factors lead to accurate predictions
of the candidate's suitability for a particular position. The factors are:
1) basic 2) motivation 3) emotional maturity . One advantage of a patterned interview is that
systematic and chronological information is obtained, and hence this yields to statistical
analysis.

Q3) Discuss the techniques to motivate employees?

Following Michael Jucius, let us see how management may proceed to motivate employees. This
activity may be divided into two parts:

A) What is to be done and B) How and why what is done. The former are steps in motivation and the
latter are rules governing the steps. Both are performed simultaneously. The steps of motivation are
listed below:

1) Size up situation requiring motivation: The first stage of motivation is to make sure of
motivational needs. Every emplyees needs motivation. All people do not react in exactly the
same way to the same stimuli.
 2) Prepare a set of motivating tools: Having determined the motivational needs of a particular
person or group an executive must have a list from which he should select and apply specific
tools of motivation.
3) Selecting and applying the appropriate motivation : Proper application of motivational plan
is very important . This involves selection of the appropriate technique , the method of
application and the timing and location of applications.
4) Follow-up the results of the application.: The last stage of motivation is to follow up the
results of the application of the plan. The primary objective is to ascertain if an employee has
been motivated or not. if not , some other technique should be tried.

IN following the steps of motivation a manager should be guided by some fundamental rules which
should be based upon the following principles.

I) Self interest and motivation : motivation is mainly built on selfishness. Psychologically

speaking , selfishness is a part and parcel of life. To deny this is to built the theory on unrealistic
foundation
II) Attainability: Motivation must establish attainable goals . What is prescribed for a particular
person must be attainable by him..
Following ways to motivate plant emplyees: Sorcher and Meyer have made the following
recommendations for improving the motivation of employees in routine jobs.
1) Provide assembly line employees with more than minimum training. Providing some sort of
formal training for a factory employee beyond the required minimum should result in greater
personal involvement in the job.
2) Create sub goals to measure accomplishment . A sense of competition is goals they perform
better. Moreover they are likely to be more interested in the work which will reduce monotony
and mental fatigue.
3) Provide regular feedback on performance . Psychological studies show that people perform
better when they receive positive as well as negative feedback about their performance on a
regular basis.
4) Maintain a neat and orderly work area. If the foreman does not care about neatness,
employees may feel that they need not care about it and this attitude may also afect the quality
of their work.
5) Arrange work situations so that conversation between employees is either easy or
impossible . Experienced workers can do routine jobs with little attention to the task.
Conversation while working may reduce monotony and fatigue and thus have a favourable
effect on output.
6) If possible , increase the number of operations performed by one employee. This can be done by
the simplification of manual operations.

Q4) Explain in detail the disciplinary – action penalties?

There are varying penalties for first, second, and third offences of the same rule . Among the
penalties available in business are:
1) Oral reprimand
2) Written reprimand
3) Loss of privileges
4) Fines
5) Lay off
6) Demotion
 7) Ddischarge
The penalties are listed in the general order of severity, form mild to severe. For most cases, an oral
reprimand is sufficient to achieve the desire result. The supervisor must know his or her
personnel in determining how to give a reprimand. For one person, a severe “chewing out” may
be necessary in order to get attention and co-operation; another person may require only a
casual mention of a deficiency. If the offence is more serious, the reprinmand may be put in
written form.

since a written reprimand is more permanent than an oral one, it is considered a more severe penalty.

For such offences as tardiness or leaving work without permisssion, fines or loss of various privileges
can be used. The fines usually have some relationship to the work time actually lost. The loss of
privileges includes such items as good job assignments, right to select machine or other equipment and
freedom of about the workplace or company.

The more severe penalties of layoff , demotion, and discharge are usually outside the grant of authority
to the immediate supervisor. Disciplinary layoffs can vary in severity from one to several days. Loss of
work without pay. The use of demotions as a penalty is highly questionable. If the employee is properly
qualified for the present assignment he or she will be improperly placed on a lower job. Discharge is
the most severe penalty that a business organization can give and constitutes “ industrial capital
punishment”.

Q5)Explain the importance of grievance handling?

At one or other stage of the grievance procedure, the dispute must be handled by some member of
management . In the solution of a problem, the greater burden rests on management. Many firms have
specifically trained their supervisors as to how to handle a grievance or complaint properly. The
dispute or grievance constitutes a managerial problem and the scientific method is usually most
productive in arriving at a satisfactory solution. The following directions help in handling a grievance:

1) Receive and define the nature of the dissatisfaction: The manner and attitude with which the
supervisor receives the complaint of grievance is important. As a principle applicable to this
step, the supervisor should assume that the employees is fair in presenting the complaint or
grievance . Statements should not be prejudged on the basis of past past experience with this or
other employees.. the supervisor should not be too busy to listen and should not give an
impression of condescension in doing so. Thus supervisors who were nearly task oriented, as
contrasted with people oriented tended to experience a significantly greater number of
grievances being filed in their units.
2) Get the facts : In gathering facts one quickly becomes aware of the importance of keeping
proper records such as performance ratings . Job ratings., attending records, and suggestions. In
addition with the increasingly legalistic bent that is characteristic of modern labour management
relations, the supervisor is wise to keep records on each particular grievance . It is also
important that the supervisor possesses and exercise some skill in interview conference, and
discussion .
3) Analyze and divide: With the problem defined and the facts in hand, the manager must now
analyze and evaluate them, and them come to some decision. There is usually more than one
possible solution. The manager must also be aware that the decision may constitute a precedent
within the department as well as the company.
 4) Analyze the answer: through the solution decided upon be the superior is adverse to the employee,
some answer is better than none. Employees dislike supervisors who will take no stand, good or bad. In
the event of an appeal beyond this stage of the procedure, the manager must have the decision and the
reasons for his decisions should be properly recorded.

5) Follow up: The objective of the grievance procedure is to resolve a disagreement between an
employee and the organization . Discussion and conference are important to this process. The purpose
of its follow up phase is to determine whether the clash of interest has been resolved. If follow up
reveals that the case has been handled unsatisfactorily or that the wrong grievance has been processed,
then redefinition of the problem. Further fact finding, analysis , solution .

Q6) Explain managerial grid in detail?

Robert Blake, an eminent behavioural scientist differentiated the leaders on the basis of their concern to
people and concern to task. He along with Jane Mouton conducted study on 5000 managers. He puts it
on a grid called Managerial Grid as follows.
The managerial grid model 1964 is a behavioural leadership model development by Robert Blake and
Jane Mouton. This model identifies fi e different leadership styles based on the concern for people and
the concern for production. The optimal leadership style in this model is based on theory Y.
as shown in the figures.

1) The impoverished style (1,1) . The indifferent leader (Evade & Elude)
in this style, managers have low concern for both people and production . Managers use this style to
avoid getting into trouble. The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any
mistakes, which results in less innovative decisions. A leader uses a “ delegate and disappear”
management style.
Features
I) Does only enough to preserve job and job seniority.
ii) Gives little and enjoys little.
Iii) protects himself by not being noticed by others.
Examples of leader speak:
“I distance myself from taking active responsibility for results to avoid getting entangled in
problesms.”
2) The country club style (1,9) . The accommodating leader (yield & comply)
This style has a high concern for people and a low concern for production. Managers using this style
pay much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in hopes that this would increase
performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly. But not necessarily that productive.
This person uses predominantly reward power to maintain discipline and to encourage the team to
accomplish its goals. Conversely they are almost incapable of employing the more punitive coercive
and legitimate powers.
Examples of leader speak:
“ I support results that establish and reinforce harmony”
“ I generate enthusiasm by focusing on positive and pleasing aspects of work”
3) The produce or perish style (9,1) . The controlling leader ( direst & dominate)
With a high concern for production, and a low concern for people managers using this style find
employee needs unimportant. They provide their employees with money and expect performance
back. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules based on theory X of
Douglas McGregor, and is commonly applied by companies on the edge of real or perceived failure.
This is used in case of crisis management.
Examples of leader speak:
“ I expect results an take control by clearly stating a course of action “
“ I enforce rules that sustain high results and do not permit deviation “
4) The middle of the road style (5,5) . The status – Quo leader.(Balance & Compromise)
managers using this style try to balance between company foals and workers needs. By giving some
concern to both people and production . Managers who use this style hope to achieve acceptable
performance.
Examples of leader speak:
“ I endorse results that are popular but caution against taking unnecessary risk”
“ I test my opinions with others involved to assure ongoing acceptability”
5) the team style (9,9) , The sound / team leader (contribute & commit)
In this style, high concern is paid both to people and production. As suggests by the propositions
of theory Y . Managers choosing to use this style encourage team work and commitment among
employees. This method relies heavily on making employees feel as a constructive part of the company.
Examples of leader speak:
“ I initiate team action in a way that invites involvement and commitment”
“ I explore all facts an alternative views to reach a shared understanding of the best solution”.
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