Modern Organizations and Role of Leaders

Organizations are indispensable to human and civilization progress and in meeting societal needs. Organization and civilization are interdependent twins; one could not develop without the other. Today in modern societies, organizations shape values, set structural roles and norms in civilization directions, change and determine human destinies, and perform a wide range of functions from integration and human fulfillment to disintegration and individual alienation. From their birth, organizations were simple in structure and management, but as they grew larger they became sophisticated and complex in structure and function, requiring managerial skills and techniques beyond the comprehension of many people. In modern day organization the workload is designed to promote and maintain health aspects of employees. Additionally, much importance is given to contextual factors such as the technology and the environment of the organization and the professional level of the employees. In today’s era, an organization or a workplace is not confined Continue reading

Type of Tests Taken in the Selection Process

Job seekers who pass the screening and the preliminary interview are called for tests. Different types of tests may be administered, depending on the job and the company. Generally, tests are used in the employee selection process to determine the applicant’s ability, aptitude and personality. The following are the type of tests taken in the employee selection process: 1). Ability tests: Assist in determining how well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. An excellent illustration of this is the typing tests given to a prospective employer for secretarial job. Also called as ‘ACHEIVEMENT TESTS’. It is concerned with what one has accomplished. When applicant claims to know something, an achievement test is taken to measure how well they know it. Trade tests are the most common type of achievement test given. Questions have been prepared and tested for such trades as asbestos worker, punch-press operators, electricians and Continue reading

Job Rotation – Definition, Objectives, Benefits and Importance

Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights. Job rotation is a well-planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job everyday and explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose of both the management and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent of employees and determining what he or she is best at. On the other hand, it gives an individual a chance to explore his Continue reading

Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health

Perhaps more than any other HR activity, health and safety offer HR manager an opportunity to be more proactive than reactive. Read: The Concept of Occupational Safety and Health There are a number of strategies that can be used by organizations to ensure a healthy and safe workplace and ensure compliance with legal requirements. Some are: Design Safe and healthy systems of work Exhibit Strong management commitment Inspect Workplace for health and safety problems Establish Procedures and controls for dealing with health and safety issues Develop Training programs Set up Health and safety committees Monitor Safety policies Draw up Action plan and checklist 1. Design safer systems of work: The most direct approach to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace is to design systems of work that are safe and without risk to health. This can often only be done satisfactorily at the design, planning or purchasing stage. It may Continue reading

Effective Ways of Handling Employee Grievances

The word employee grievance is often used in a generic form to indicate various forms and stages of an employee’s dissatisfaction while at work. While the dissatisfaction could be defined as anything that disturbs an employee, a complaint is spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of the manager or to the HR department/team member. Often employees view the HR team as the custodian of employee content/discontent and take up their grievances with the HR team. Grievance could also be voiced by a group of employees; it need not necessarily be a single employee with a complaint. What might happen if an organization does not provide some method by which a employee can voice his complaints and obtain a explanation? The employee will be unhappy, his productivity is impacted, he openly begins to share his discontent with not just his colleagues but also outsider’s, friends, relatives, maybe even customers Continue reading

Industrial Disputes – Meaning, Prevention and Settlement

Industrial disputes are organised protests against existing terms of employment or conditions of work. According to the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, an Industrial dispute means “Any dispute or difference between employer and employer or between employer and workmen or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or terms of employment or with the conditions of labor of any person” In practice, Industrial dispute mainly refers to the strife between employers and their employees. An Industrial dispute is not a personal dispute of any one person. It generally affects a large number of workers’ community having common interests. Prevention of Industrial Disputes: The consequences of an Industrial dispute will be harmful to the owners of industries, workers, economy and the nation as a whole, which results in loss of productivity, profits, market share and even closure of the plant. Hence, Industrial disputes need to be averted Continue reading