Concept of Human Capital

Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization all over the world, has created the need for quality products and quality service. It in turn necessitated organizations to compete with one another to improve the quality and device cost reduction measures to exist in the industry. That could be done only with the development of human capital which is evidenced by the rapid economic growth of Japan and other East Asian countries. The investment in human capital cannot be easily measured as it differs from one person to another. Basically, when we talk of human capital it refers to the human knowledge, their inner capabilities and creativity. The development of technology cannot be fully utilized without knowledge and skill. The capabilities of the human capital in relation to the needs of the organization should be improved by creating a climate in which the human knowledge, skill, capabilities and creativity can be developed. How do Continue reading

Pluralist Perspective of Industrial Relations

The Pluralist perspective of  industrial relations is just as the name suggests, they see organisations as constellations of different groups. The organisation is seen as multi-structured in terms of groups, leadership, authority and loyalty. A miniature democratic state composed of sectional groups with divergent interests over which the government tries to maintain some kind of dynamic equilibrium. The main groups within this perspective that find themselves at the opposite ends of the scales often are the workers and managers. This can be down to a number of issues such as pay, working conditions, bonuses and working hours and it is over issues like these that conflict often occurs. The pluralist perspective during the twentieth century include a widespread distribution of authority and power in society, ownership separation from management, political separation and industrial conflict and an acceptance and institutionalization of conflict in both spheres. The priciple assumption of pluralist perspective Continue reading

Necessity for Alignment between Corporate Strategy and HR Strategy

Current business environmental forces such as competition, innovation, globalization, technological advancement etc has created major impact on organizational behavior. These changes come in different forms. Sometimes it required to reorganize the structure of the organization and due to this organization may have to introduce new roles and new people. Sometimes it may require to change the culture of the organization. In all these situations HRM function plays a major role. Further recent development of new concepts such as knowledge workers has increased the complexity of HRM function. Nowadays HR has become strategic assets for organizations. From an IT company’s view point intellectual property that is knowledge of the software developers is crucial for their business than the physical asset of the company. This importance has heightened due to the transition of old economic conditions to knowledge based economy where it considers the intellectual property as one of key success factors Continue reading

Career Development – Meaning, Definition and Stages

The concept of career development is of growing concern to organizations since it matches the needs of a business with the career goals of employees. Formulating a career development plan can help employees to do their jobs more efficiently. Additionally, these plans can be beneficial for employees who might want to move up in a company or look for other jobs in the future. Today, challenging organizations have developed new concerns for the career development of their employees. They put greater emphasis on ‘career’ with coherent induction, training and development, increased job security by the accrual of experience and qualifications valued in the labor market. Since a high majority of workers change their careers at midlife, it becomes evident that career development programs are needed throughout the life cycle. Other major reasons for this concern are: The growth and productivity of organizations depend on the effectiveness of employee performance. A Continue reading

Analytical Approaches to Cultural Factors

The reason cultural factors are a challenge to global marketers is that they are hidden from view. Because culture is learned behavior passed on from generation to generation, it is difficult for the inexperienced or untrained outsider to fathom. Becoming a global manager means learning how to let go of cultural assumptions. Failure to do so will hinder accurate understanding of the meaning and significance of the statements and behaviors of business associates from a different culture. For example, a person from a culture that encourages responsibility and initiative could experience misunderstandings with a client or boss from a culture that encourages bosses to remain in personal control of all activities. Such a boss would expect to be kept advised of a subordinate’s actions; the subordinate might be taking initiative on the mistaken assumption that the boss would appreciate a willingness to assume responsibility. 1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs The Continue reading

Best Practices in Recruitment and Selection

A company with the right people with the right skills at the helm can achieve wonders. Conversely, poor or uniformed hiring and recruitment decisions at the top most level can cost a company not only financially, but will have a negative bearing on the organization’s reputation with the stakeholders. Keeping this in mind, the likelihood of future problems can be eliminated if best practices are followed for recruitment and selection activities. Successful businesses are only built by establishing a robust recruitment process as hiring mistakes can be extremely costly and time consuming. The use of best practices in   recruitment and selection helps furnish an organization with highly skilled, flexible and motivated employees. The best practices in recruitment and selection processes bring forth systems that are modern, proficient, professional and effective, and ensure that individuals who are recruited demonstrate commitment, ethics, and motivation, eagerness to grow and develop and most Continue reading