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Another string of Heart...My poem

2010-01-18T22:25:00.001-08:00

THE ARCANE FACT!!

Whenever during the daytime i look at the azure sky;
my heart ponders and tries to leap so high,
For it is such a callow toddler
cant get off its innocence any further.

Whenever during the evening,i look at the orange sky,
The beats of my heart are in a cadence; though shy
it cant think of anything but u and i
simply wants to be the cynosure of your eye

Whenever during the bizarre night i look at dark sky with twinkling stars
I realize how intimate u r to me though so far
My heart wishes to open up and tell u the arcane mystery
You are the one for whom my heart has sketched an enchanting story!

The world now seems to me so remote and far
nothing can stop me;no walls no bar
One day my leaps will reach to you finally
and our story will begin with an soothing melody

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS TO HR FRESHERS

2010-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone!!

The placement season has begun.....

A real crucial phase in life...As they say "Take off the blinders. You have to see opportunity before you can seize it." Hence make the best utilization for all the opportunities that come your way....

Very honestly for HR management people, the opportunities are scarce. Hence taking the full advantage of whatever comes your way should be a wise decision. Dear Friends, Clearing the Gd or solving a case study (it is part of the recruitment process for many companies) will help you to make it to the Personal Interview round. But then again it is equally important that you make it through this round as well. However I have seen many HR fresher taking the PI round quite lightly with the notion that after a strenuous GD, a PI should be a facile win...However it holds true but SELDOM. As it is rightly said "An everyday lucky man is as rare as a white crow... :))” Moral of the story....You always have to be very well prepared to face the interview panel. Hence in my post I am putting away the entire important questions that an HR fresher needs to prepare to face the panel....

What is Human Resource Management?
What is Human Resource Development?
What was your favorite subject in HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT?
What do you mean by Organizational behavior?
What is the latest amendment to the Bonus Act of 1965?
What are the various Performance Management Systems?
What do you mean by KPA'S and KRA'S ?
Elaborate more about the MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE (MBO)
What do you know about a balanced scorecard and how can an HR manager effectively implement a balanced scorecard?
What do you about Competency Mapping?

A case study to solve

2010-01-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

I am posting this case study especially for a discussion so that people interested can up with their own views over the case. The case is as follows

A company XYZ pvt ltd uses Graphical Rating System for the evaluation of performance of its employees.This system of performance appraisal is carried out for many years now and is done by the supervisors and the Engineers.The various criterion used to evaluate a person consists of various competencies like initiative, performance at work, responsibility, regularity and punctuality, leadership qualities, potential to develop community activities and so on. Community activities refer to the activities an employee carries out with a purview of betterment of the society beyond the office hours. However Mr.A and Mr.B who were at the bottom of the graphical scale (indicating low performance) went to see the Chairman of the company showing away their dissatisfaction with the present system of appraisal. Their main points for argument were as follows

The present system of rating is not the true indicator of their performance
Community Activities should not be a part of the appraisal system because what an employee does beyond office hours is none of the company's business
Salary hike should be automatic and not based on such graphical ratings.

The Chairman sensed their dissatisfaction and their inclination towards Union.Hence in order to control the situation the chairman contacted the HR Manager.

Q .1 Place yourself in the role of the HR Manager and prepare a communication to chairman mentioning your comments ion this incident and your recommendations to handle this situation.

Q.2 Offer your comments on inclusion of Community Activities as a factor for appraisal.

Performance Management Systems

2009-12-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Another most important arena for any Human Resource Professional is

Performance Management system. So what is a PMS all about?

As the name itself implies a Performance Management system is a system...it is a process of setting or creating such a system in which employees are enabled to perform to the best of their capabilities. In lay man's terms, A performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner.

WHY NECESSARY??

Often we have heard that performance management system lies at the heart of "people management" of any organization. Why is it so?? It is so because any organization exists to perform. The success of any organization is a direct variable of its human resource. If the people of any organization perform to their peak such organization is sure to succeed and gain profit in the long run.

HOW DOES A PMS WORK??

A PMS includes following set of actions

Develop clear job descriptions.This includes establishing KPA and KRA.

Select appropriate people with an appropriate selection process.

Negotiate requirements and accomplishment-based performance standards, outcomes, and measures.

Provide effective orientation, education, and training.

Provide on-going coaching and feedback.

Conduct quarterly performance development discussions.

Design effective compensation and recognition systems that reward people for their contributions.

Provide promotional/career development opportunities for staff.

Assist with exit interviews to understand WHY valued employees leave the organization.

JOB EVALUATION

2009-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

JOB EVALUATION

DEFINITION:

According to Edwin b. Flippo, “Job evaluation is a systematic and orderly process of determining the worth of job in relation to other jobs”.

Job evaluation means determining the relative worth of a job in an organization by comparing it with other jobs within an organization and with job market outside jobs are evaluated on the basis of their content and are placed in the order of their importance. In this way, job evaluation helps in establishing job hierarchy. It is a process by which jobs in an organization are appraised. It suggests comparative importance of different jobs. A wage structure hierarchy is based on such job evaluation.

In job evaluation the jobs are ranked on the basis of their relative importance and not the job holders. They are rated through performance appraisal. Job evaluation is the output provided through job analysis.

Features:

1. It determines the relative worth of jobs in an organization. Jobs are evaluated as per their content and place in the order of their importance.

2. It is based on the analysis of the facts about the job collected through job analysis.

3. It helps to bring a balanced wage structure in an organization. This is possible as job hierarchy is established. The purpose is fixation of satisfactory wage differentials among various jobs.

Objectives:

To establish by impartial judgement the logical and accurate relationship of each job to other jobs within the firm.
To establish satisfactory wage and salary differentials.
To select employees more accurately and train, promote or transfer them within the firm objectively and impartially.
To provide them information for work organization, employees selection, placement and other similar problems.
To promote employee goodwill, strengthen and maintain morale and loyalty and provide an incentive for efficiency.
To determine the rate of pay for each job that is fair and equitable in relation to other jobs in the plant.

Advantages / Importance:

Job evaluation clearly indicates the relative worth of different jobs in the organization.
It establishes a hierarchy of jobs and evolves a graduated wage scale for employees.
It is useful for introducing a satisfactory, rational and balanced wage structure in an organization. It is also useful for simplifying wage administration.
It promotes employees goodwill, strengthens and maintains high morale and loyalty of workers and also provides incentives for raising efficiency.
It provides a scientific base for promotions and transfers of workers in an organization.
It avoids injustice to workers as regards wage payment, promotions and transfers.
It simplifies wage administration and facilitates merit rating and training programmes for employees.
It removes grievances and disputes among employees over relative wages and makes the wage system acceptable to all employees.

Methods of job evaluation:

1. The Ranking or grading method:

This method is considered to be the simplest and the last formal of all the job evaluation methods. Here the aim is to judge the job as a whole and determine its relative value by ranking one whole job as against another whole job. Under this method, the jobs are arranged in order to their importance with the most important job at the highest end and the least important job at the lowest end. The remaining jobs are arranged as per their relative importance through suitable evaluation techniques. The ranking is conducted through a committee of experts’ job raters. The committee is supplied with the necessary information (job description and job specification) for the ranking of available jobs. The ranking is done at the departmental level and for every department, the jobs are ranked I order of importance. This creates a hierarchy of jobs within the department. In this method which is non analytical, the ranking of jobs is based on the nature and importance of the job, responsibilities involved, qualities and qualifications required and the working conditions connected with the job.

Advantages:

Simplicity - it is easily understood to all the concerned and also to operate/ administer.
It is inexpensive.
It can be used conveniently in small establishments.
It does not indicate the degree of difference between the jobs. It merely shows that one job is more or less important than other job.

Disadvantages:

In most cases, the rankings are not based on job description but on the rater’s general knowledge of the jobs.
It is complex for a large firm with a complex organization structure.

2. The factor comparison or weight in money method:

It is an analytical method. The rating process consists of delineation of common key factors of different jobs and assessment of monetary values thereto with a view to assessing their relative worth on the basis of sum total of the monetary values. Job description provides the data required for indicating the major job elements or factors found in greater or lesser degree in the activities of the entire enterprise.

It is a qualitative method of job rating involving complicated procedure. As a result, the services of experts are required for actual job rating.

This method begins by selecting the crucial or critical components or elements characterizing the business operations of the firm. In other words, a schedule of job factors is drawn up by careful analysis of the operations.

The factors under this method are:

Mental requirements
Skill requirements
Physical requirements
Responsibility range
Working conditions.

After the key elements are selected for analyzing the jobs, the weights are applied tot job elements. Assessment of weights is done by an expert committee. As per such weights, the jobs are ranked. A monetary value is assigned to each factor of all jobs. All these values of individual jobs are weighted and then the total value of each job is arrived at or is readily available.

Advantages:

It is more accurate and systematic than the simple ranking method. The dissimilar jobs can be rated on the basis of common factors.
The services of experts are used and this makes the system realistic and accurate.

Disadvantages:

It is complicated, expensive, laborious and not easily explainable to employees.
Application of weightages and monetary values may involve the bias of experts.
This method is difficult to install and is not used extensively.

3. The Point Rating method:

This method is one popular and extensively used method of job evaluation. In this method, each job is evaluated separately, appraising each of the factors such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions and combining the separate evaluations into a single point score for each job.

In this method a series of rating scales is constructed one for each of the factors which have been selected as important in the work of the position. A certain number of points are allowed for each scale. In this way, differences among jobs are reflected in the different values which are assigned to the factors. By the use of point rating method, each job is reduced to a numerical value so that similarity and differences in work and difficulty are discovered.

The straight point system in which each factor has the same number of degrees and corresponding points is indicated in the following chart:

FACTORS

DEGREES

EDUCATION

EXPERIENCE

PHYSICAL DEMAND

RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROCESS

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY

RESPONSIBILITY FOR MATERIALS

WORKING CONDITIONS

HAZARDS

The weighted point system the number of degrees is shown in the chart given below:

FACTORS

DEGREES

EDUCATION

EXPERIENCE

120

150

PHYSICAL DEMAND

100

RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROCESS

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY

RESPONSIBILITY FOR MATERIALS

WORKING CONDITIONS

HAZARDS

Advantages:

This method is analytical in its approach.
It gives a quantitative value for each job. This makes it easy to explain to a worker who has some doubt in his mind about the absolute and relative wages fixed for his job.
The outstanding feature of this method is the use of a manual. Basis and guidelines of valuation are standardized by experts and are codified in this manual.

Limitations:

This method may suffer from inequities if listing and weighting of points are defective due to indifference on the part of rater.
The manual used for ranking the jobs needs periodical revision. If not revised it may become outmoded and evaluation based thereon would be out of tune with the changed trends.
It is difficult for application and may prove to be unintelligible to the workers.

COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT

2009-11-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

MEANING OF FRINGE BENEFITS:

Fringe benefits may be defined as wide range of benefits and services that employees receive as an integral part of their total compensation package. They are based on critical job factors and performance. Fringe benefits constitute indirect compensation as they are usually extended as a condition of employment and not directly related to performance of concerned employee. Fringe benefits are supplements to regular wages received by the workers at a cost of employers. They include benefits such as paid vacation, pension, health and insurance plans, etc. Such benefits are computable in terms of money and the amount of benefit is generally not predetermined.

The purpose of fringe benefits is to retain efficient and capable people in the organisation over a long period. They foster loyalty and acts as a security base for the employees.

FEATURES OF FRINGE BENEFITS:

Different from regular wages: Fringe benefits are different from regular wages as such benefits are those payments, which an employee enjoys in addition to wages he receives. It is a supplementary payment and provides support to an employee.
Employee motivation: Fringe benefits are not given to employees for performing certain jobs. The purpose is to encourage them to take more interest in the assigned work.
Useful but avoidable expenditure: Fringe benefits constitute a labour cost for the employer.
Not directly linked with efforts: Fringe benefits are not direct reward for the efforts made or the production given by an employee.
Beneficial to all employees: Fringe benefits are a labour cost but its benefits should be made available to the entire labour force and not to a small group of employees.

OBJECTIVES OF FRINGE BENEFITS:

To supplement direct remuneration: Fringe benefits supplement regular pay of employed. It raises the total earnings of an employee and provides better life and welfare to him.
Employers prefer fringe benefits: employers prefer this indirect remuneration to direct pay increase.
To retain competent employees: Fringe benefits create satisfied labour force. In addition, the management can attract and retain competent personnel in the organisation by offering liberal packet of fringe benefits.
To develop good corporate image: Fringe benefits help to develop a good corporate image.
To raise employee morale: Liberal package of Fringe raises the morale of employees.

LIMITATIONS OF FRINGE BENEFITS:

There are some limitations of Fringe Benefits. These are:

Fringe Benefits may lead to unhealthy competition among employees
The expected benefit may not be available if the monetary benefits are not adequately attractive to employees.
The motivation may not be as per expectation if the implementation of the benefits scheme is not transparent.

ADVANTAGES OF FRINGE BENEFITS

There are certain advantages of Fringe benefits. These are:

Fringe benefits provide support to remuneration paid to employees.
Fringe benefits improve efficiency and productivity of employees.
Fringe benefits act as an added attraction to the employees.
Fringe benefits reduce monotony and fatigue of employees. They make employees efficient and co-operative for whatever organisational changes required to be introduced.
Fringe benefits raise morale of the employees. They develop affinity for the organisation.
Fringe benefits develop good corporate image and raise market standing of the organisation.
Fringe benefits act as a motivating force. They motivate employees and induce them to work for the progress and prosperity of the organisation.

TYPES OF FRINGES/ FRINGE BENEFITS:

Payment for time not worked by the employee:

Holidays.
Vacations.
Leave with pay and allowances.

2. Contingent and deferred benefits:

Pension payment.
Group life insurance benefit.
Group health insurance.
Sick leave, maternity leave, child care leave, etc.
Suggestion/service award
Severance pay.

3. Legally required payments:

Old age, disability and health insurance
Unemployment compensation
Worker's compensation.

4. Misc. benefits:

Travel allowances.
Company car and membership of clubs, etc
Moving expenses.
Child care facilities.

Hope of Life...

2009-08-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hey frends These are some of my own poems written wen I was 11.Just thought of sharing with you....

Life is full of perils and mystery,

No one knows it's enchanting story.

It can be as soothing as a blooming flower

or of difficulties and sorrows ,He will send a shower.

Once life becomes thorny and dark,

people go wild like a bloody shark

Then for themselves we cannot decide

Then the only boulevard left is that of sucide.

But always remember oh! my Dear

'Hope' is apt for everyone here.

Hope is everything,Hope is life,

It is par better than poison or knife.

Lets go on hoping for best in our life

In the ocean of optimism,let us take our dive!

Hope not to become rich by fortune and money

But hope to be the nectar of someones life,Honey

Hope makes one's life worthwhile

It encourages one to walk miles ans miles.

Simply Let all our hearts and brain utter

I'm good today but i HOPE to be better!

MBA CET.......

2009-07-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well , This blog comes especially for those MBA aspirants who would be taking up CET inorder to get into an MBA college in Maharashtra. A lot of things are heard and said about CET but the most common of all is that "CET stands no where in front of CAT".Well the statement for me personally is cent percent true.However that doesnt mean that u do not need any preparation at all.Take it from me...the very first step towards cracking the CET is the fact that u do not under estimate the test itself and hence get inflated with overconfidence! I have seen a lot of intellectully overdozed brains not performing well is CET solely for the reason that they took the test very lightly and did not take enough efforts to make a strategy of their own to hit the bull's eye.Well, the most important consideration over here is that CET holds no negative marking and that there are 200 questions to be solved in 150 mins .Practice is the key to success.speed and accuracy are the most important aspects for CET.The reading comprehension paragraph is comparatively easier hence enough practice will help cracking the entire RC easily.

For Data Interpretation questions again a lot of practice for speed and accuracy is necessary.

In short, clear vision, passion and a lot of hard work will help cracking the exam easily

The Emergence of HR

2009-06-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to an IT guy with over 10 years of experience in the sector.When the discussion went to the topic of HR managers and the role that these guys play in the company....he had only one statement to say...These people are there becoz the company have extra bucks to afford this overhead!! With my habitual policy of defending the HR personnel (with an assumed responsibility of being the representative of the HR community) It disturbed me greatly.Though the discussion had to be wrapped for petty reasons ....it created turbulence in my otherwise calm mind! Hence the reason of writing this blog!!
Looking at the facts.... it has dawned upon me that the responsibilities and the functions that the HR guys discharge are overlooked so facilely. The value of certain things can be realized only after flashing a light upon the history of its emergence!Many of us are not aware that with the Industrialization that happened in India during the first world war (1914-1919), the capitalists class who were more concerned about earning big bucks always had a deaf ear and a blind eye towards the labourers. This resulted in the exploitation of the already afflicted class.To avoid this exploitation, the Government introduced many labour legislation after independence.This led to the establishment of the labour dept which was responsible for formulating and implementing various schemes and policies for the welfare of this class.Hence this Era is known as the "personnel management" era.
However this during the 60's and 70's such favourable conditions led to the formation and growth of trade unions which was phenomenal.They had a powerful weapon called strike which was like a boon bestowed upon them legally. Strikes resulted in under utilization of man and machinery and huge wastage of "man-hours". This has resulted in the lockouts of many leading industries.In such situations the prime focus of the personnel department was "negotiations" This era is called as an "industrial relations" era. Have we ever wondered that why do we not often get to hear the news of stikes ,gheraos and bands which so very frequently prevailed in the past.All thanks to the HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. The brainstorming sessions amongst the eminent industrialists and management experts led to the conclusion that "If management treats the workers well,understands their problems and difficulties and further motivates them to perform better,the workers would no longer go to the union".Thus the HR department was established in the companies which had its own duties to perform. Thus whatever peaceful industrial relations we see these days..it is all due to the independent and efficacious HR department.... :).I know the entire article reflected the scenario of a manufacturing sector However the IT and other services also needs an efficient HR department.Why and How......that is what i intend to write in the next blog.

Why HR management

2009-06-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

For me the most difficult part of doing my MBA was taking up a specialization! Many of the MBA candidates are well aware of the specialization that they intend to take ...but for me it was rather a difficult decision to make.With a Mechanical engineering background and a short experience in IT,many suggested me to take up SYSTEMS.However it no where matched my arena of interest.Then came the state which muddled me between Finance and Marketing.Looking at the current global conditions and the tough time the Finance folks were confronting it again became an obvious decision to cutoff that option too (to be very honest I did a SWOT analysis of myself and for me my biggest weakness was my Finance ka database.It stood to almost nothing hence it was easier to wipe out that option too).Believe me the most addlepated part was to make a decision between Marketing and HR...Both bundled of the things I would like to pursue as my career....But then What do I take up. When out of my inquisitiveness I consulted a number of friends and aquantances I reached the final decision of taking HR ...(by that time I had already attended a couple of marketing lectures).My final decision depended solely upon my interest,My strengths and weaknesses and my intuit and the insight I got from others. My intention of briefing the entire background of taking up a specialization is solely for the reason that many of us are not really aware of what actually interests us and what we would like to pursue in future.Take my word...looking at the packages and previous placement record is a b*llshit parametre of deciding the specialization that one would like to take.Instead go with your interests and your own strengths ..they are much more instrumental in shaping your career than anything else.In my case ...when many of my peer thought that my decision of taking HR was becoz I wanted a stress free and easy going job...for me the reason was quite different .When many thought I am underestimating my potential with this decision (they arrived at this thought from the fact that I was a COEPian and also a topper for one trimester!!!) However for me it meant solely to go with what intrests me.That time I neither looked at tha packages nor at the previous records of HR placement.So may it be whichever specialization ...just go for what You feel will help you unleash your potential and calibre to the fullest becoz it will be something that you would be loving to do!