Efficient Use of Human Resources

The Human Resources of an organization represent one of its largest investments. The term human resources at the macro level indicate the sum of all the components (like skill, creative ability) possessed by all the people. Human resources at the organizational level include all the component resources of all employees from rank and file to top level management. So, it includes the resource, of all people who contribute their services to the attainment of organizational goals. Human resources play a crucial role in the development process of the present economy. It is often felt that though the exploitation of natural resources, availability of physical and financial resources and international aid play prominent roles in the growth of modern economies, none of these factors is more significant than efficient and committed manpower. A country with abundance of physical resources will not benefit itself unless human resources make use of them. Only Continue reading

Ranking Method of Job Evaluation

Ranking Method  is the simplest form of job evaluation  method. The method involves ranking each job relative to all other jobs, usually  based on some overall factor like ‘job difficulty’. Each job as a whole is  compared with other and this comparison of jobs goes on until all the jobs have  been evaluated and ranked. All jobs are ranked in the order of their importance  from the simplest to the hardest or from the highest the lowest. The importance  of order of job is judged in terms of duties, responsibilities sand demands on the  job holder. The following steps are involved in ranking jobs. Obtain job information – The first step of ranking method of job evaluation is the job analysis. Job descriptions  for each job are prepared and these are the basis on which the rankings  are made. The job ranking method usually ranks jobs according to ‘the  whole Continue reading

Nepotism in the Workplace

Nepotism can be defined as the practice of making employment decisions on the basis of relationship. It can also be defined as hiring or promoting a relative or friend, even if there are other qualified candidates for the position. Nepotism at work refers to favoring relatives in employment or economic terms as opposed to them being judged on ability and/or merit in a specific organisation. This could include a position over somebody else who may be more suitable for the position, whereby the organization would be paying a relative more money than somebody doing the same job or granting them special favors. However, nepotism can be viewed in terms of people giving somebody a boost up to allow them to get into an organisation but will be treated in the same manner as everybody else. Although nepotism is in the sense of the word, refers to relatives, it can also Continue reading

Human Resources as a Strategic Partner in an Organization

The general scenario in most companies is as follows. HR management teams have  well-developed visions of their departments, their roles and responsibilities. But, the  senior management is generally skeptical of HR’s role in the firm’s success. They  generally consider HR to just be another necessary appendage but not something that  can contribute to the success of the company. Even if the senior management does  believe that human capital is their most prized possession and asset, they cannot  understand how the HR team can make this belief come alive. There is one reason for all of this. Human capital is an intangible asset and HR’s  influence on firm performance is difficult to measure. The standard elements of a firm’s  resource architecture that are measured include total compensation, employee turnover,  cost per hire, percentage of employees that undergo performance appraisals and  percentage employee satisfaction. The question to be asked is: Are these Continue reading

Understanding the Talent Cliff

The talent cliff is a looming challenge facing organizations across a variety of industries. The phrase refers to the coming shortage of experienced, knowledgeable workers as the baby boomer generation retires en masse. This large cohort of workers has played a central role in driving the U.S. economy for the past several decades, and their absence could lead to a significant talent gap that could prove detrimental to many industries. This essay will explore the talent cliff, its causes and effects, and the potential strategies and solutions that organizations can adopt to mitigate the talent cliff’s impact on their operations. Causes of the Talent Cliff The baby boomer generation, which includes individuals born between 1946 and 1964, has played a central role in the U.S. economy for many years. As this generation reaches retirement age, a significant portion of the workforce is expected to retire in the coming years, leading Continue reading

Training and Development – Meaning, Definition and Need

Meaning of Training and Development Training typically involves providing the employees the knowledge and skills needed to do a particular task or a job through attitude change. It is concerned with imparting and developing specific skills for a particular purpose. For example, Flippo has defined training as “the act of increasing the skills of an employee for doing a particular job”. Thus, training is a process of learning a sequence of programmed behavior. This behavior, being programmed, is relevant to a specific phenomenon, that is, a job. The term development refers broadly to the nature and direction of change induced in employees, particularly managerial personnel through the process of training and educative process. National Industrial Conference Board has defined development as “Managerial Development is all those activities and programmes when recognized and controlled, have substantial influence in changing the capacity of the individual to perform his assignment better and in Continue reading