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

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

Corrective Disciplinary Actions to Employees Taken by Organizations

For repeated but relatively minor incidents of substandard performance, misconduct, or rule violations, corrective counseling and discipline should be progressive. The normal sequence of action is: Initial discussion; Oral Warning; Written Reprimand; Suspension; Discharge. Depending on the severity of the case, the action may begin at any of these steps. Any action involving suspension or discharge requires prior review by the Director of Human Resources or his/her designated representative. Initial Discussion: Normally, initial disciplinary action should be in the form of an oral discussion, especially for minor rule violations. If it appears that an employee has failed to perform his/her work or conduct him/herself according to requirements, the supervisor should first talk to the employee about the matter and informally inquire further into the situation. If facts indicate that the employee may have been at fault, the supervisor should discuss the matter with him/her and the expectations of the supervisor Continue reading

Reasons for Employee Turnover

For employers, a challenge to deal with, in order to improve retention, are the common reasons for which the employees tend to migrate towards better positions. Here are some of them: Expectations not Met Expectations play a large part in determining whether an employee is satisfied or dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. On joining the firm the individual will have a range of expectations covering areas such as the style of management, the working hours, holidays, pay, and bonus and so on. It is not unusual for employees to leave within the first six months when they discover that things aren’t quite as they imagined they would be. Their expectations may have been unrealistic from day one, but each departure is yet more disruption, harming productivity, adding extra unnecessary costs and making it more difficult to reach goals for sales, revenue and profitability. Few firms seem to appreciate Continue reading

Manpower Planning

It is very natural that, the continual positive development of any business owe to its effective planning. Making all the necessary preparations and appropriate arrangements proactively basing upon what is expected to happen in future and performing a series of tasks and activities accordingly in a systematic and organized way is one of the important functions of management, which necessitates an effective and proactive planning process. Proper planning and designing an effective organizational structure by assigning an assortment of responsibilities to the concerned employees may help the business organizations to accomplish their set of objectives. Putting the right person at the right place and at the right time is essentially much important to any business as it comprises of a wide and comprehensive range of activities in relation to “the management of man“. Manpower planning, not only focuses on the effective utilization of existing human elements but also concern in Continue reading