1. Que:1
What are the objectives of job evaluation?
Answer:
Job Evaluation
Learning Objectives:
1. To know basic approach to Job Evaluation.
2. to importance of Job Evaluation and its effectiveness.
3. To know the important methods of Job Evaluation.
 Now friends CIQ will discuss about how jobs used to be evaluated in an organization;
if somebody having any idea about it pleases start explaining it; this can be explained
in the following way.
 Job evaluation is the process of analyzing and assessing the various jobs
systematically to ascertain their relative worth in an organization. Job is evaluated on
the basis of their content and is placed in the order of their importance. It should be
noted that in a job evaluation programme, the jobs are ranked and not the jobholders.
Jobholders are rated through performance appraisal. “Job evaluation is a process of
finding out the relative worth of a job as compared to other jobs” Now, who is going to
explain the objectives of job evaluation?
The following objectives are derived from the analysis of the above-mentioned definitions: -
1) To gather data and information relating to job description, job specification and employee
specifications for various jobs in an organization.
2) To compare the duties, responsibilities and demands of a job with that of other jobs.
3) To determine the hierarchy and place of various jobs in an organization.
4) To determine the ranks or grades of various jobs.
5) To ensure fair and equitable wages on the basis of relative worth or value of jobs. In other
words equal wages are fixed to the jobs of equal worth or value.
6) To minimize wage discrimination based on sex, age, caste, region, religion etc. How
many of you know the principles of job evaluation programme? Job evaluation
programme should be implemented carefully.
The following principles help in successful implementation of the programme:
1. Rate the job but not the employee. Rate the elements on the basis of the job demands.
2. The elements selected for rating should be easily understood.
3. The elements should be defined clearly and properly selected.
4. Employees concerned and the supervisors should be educated and convinced about the
programme.
5. Supervisors should be encouraged to participate in rating the jobs.

2. 6. Secure employee cooperation by encouraging them to participate in the rating programme.
7. Discuss with the supervisors and employees about rating but not about assigning money
values to the points.
8. Do not establish too many occupational wages. For, better understanding let us look at the
flowchart given below:
Job
EvaluationProcess Employee Classification Wage Survey Job Evaluation ProgrammeJobSpecific
ation Job Description Job Analysis Objectives of Job Evaluation
Job Evaluation Process:
 The job-evaluation process starts defining objectives of evaluation and ends with
establishing wage and salary differentials. The main objective of job evaluation, as
was stated earlier, is to establish satisfactory wage and salary differentials. Jobanalysis
should precede the actual program of evaluation.
Job analysis
Job analysis, as was discussed earlier, provides job-related data, which would be useful in
drafting job description and job specification. A job-evaluation program involves answering
several questions:
The major ones are:
• Which jobs are to be evaluated?
• Who should evaluate the jobs?
• What training do the evaluation need?
•How much time is involved?
• What should be the criteria for evaluation?
• What methods of evaluation are to be employed? Which jobs are to be evaluated in any
exercise?, where there are more than 30 or 40 jobs to be evaluated?,
It is necessary to identify and select a sample of benchmark jobs, which can be used for
comparisons inside and outside the organs. The benchmark jobs should be so selected to
achieve representative sample of each of the main levels of jobs in each of the principal
occupations.
 The size of the sample depends on the number of different jobs to be covered. It is
likely to be less than about five percent of the total number of employees in the
organization and it would be difficult to produce a balanced sample unless at least 25
percent of the distinct jobs at each level of the organization were included.
Staffing the Evaluation exercise:
 A committee, which consists of Head of several of department’s, as was pointed out
earlier, does representatives of employee unions and specialist drawn from the
National Productivity council Job evaluation.
 HRspecialists
will be normally the chairmen of the committee. Responsibility for the overall
coordination of the job-evaluation programme should be in the hands of a
senior executive who can then report its progress to the board, and advise it on
ensuring wage and salary development.

3. Training for the Committee:
 Members of the job-evaluation committee should be trained in its procedure so as to
make the program successful.
Time Factor:
 Job evaluation should not be conducted in haste. Any rushing through will lead to
appeals against the grading of jobs. Eight jobs in a day can be the ideal pace. After
this, the quality of evaluation tends to drop, and more time has to spend later in
checking and assessing the validity of the grading.
 The final review of all the time should be allowed for re-evaluation, if necessary.
Isolating
Job-evaluation criteria:
 The heart of job evaluation is the determination of the criteria for evaluation. Most job
evaluations use responsibility, skill, effort and working conditions as major criteria. Other
criteria used are difficulty, time-span of discretion, size of subordinate staff, and degree of
creativity needed. It needs no emphasis that job evaluation criteria vary across jobs. So
friends you must have got a fair idea what is job evaluation.

4. Que:2
What are the major problems faced in benefits management?
Answer:
Major problems faced in benefits management
One of the main problems faced by management in organizations is the need to maintain a
competitive advantage.
 With the global economic climate it has been difficult for companies and organizations
to keep up with their rivals, let alone better them. Corporate culture is one
responsibility that management need to adhere to because it is vital when you want to
succeed in business.
 It creates a sense of innovation and productivity as opposed to a more negative
culture which may stifle employees and detrimentally affect job gratification.
 In addition, managers have a huge responsibility for guiding the organization in the
right direction as they are the prime decision makers. Managers have to make the
plans and organize their employees and resources in order to put the organization in a
direction that will grant them success.
 Most modern management take on a strategic management style which initially states
the main aim of the particular mission which follows by the processes that will be
carried out on a day-to-day basis.
 Moreover, one of the most important aspects that a good manager requires is solid
communication skills. It is very likely in business that you are going to come into
contact with conflicting styles of communication, however it is the manager's job to be
aware of this as well as their own style. They need to be able to enforce their own
style of communication while being able to adapt to others, especially if they are
consulting with other organisations and companies.
Some of the basic problems faced by management are
1: How to produce a qualitative product:
This is the first problem faced by management that what is to produce, how much to produce
and where to be produce. And the organization has to decide either they have to produce
different products or to emphasis on one product.
2: How to deal the labour union:
The labour is the group of people working for the betterment of the employees working in the
organization. The management has to decide that how to full fill the demands of the labour
union in respect of salaries, bonuses, insurance, medical allowances, fringe benefits etc.
3:How to compete in the market:
Various decisions for example how to charge the price, how to place the product, how to
promote the product has to be taken by the management and they try to solve these
problems in a best manner.

5. 4: How to utilize the organization resources:
The management made various decisions about the organization resources that is man,
money, material, machinery, market and methodology.
5: To avoid stick out situation:
Stock out situation is that situation when the customer demands for the product and the
company has no product at that time. The management has to decide how to tackle this
problem.

6. Que:3
State the major career development activities found in organizations.
Answer:
Career Development:
Although scholars have defined career development (CD) in a variety of ways, Simonsen’s
(1997) definition will be used as the foundation for the proposed framework:
 Career development is an ongoing process of planning and directed action toward
personal work and life goals. Development means growth, continuous acquisition and
application of one’s skills. Career development is the outcome of the individual’s career
planning and the organization’s provision of support and opportunities, ideally a
collaborative process. . . (Simonsen as cited in Simonsen, 1997, pp. 6-7)
 This definition recognizes that career development is ongoing, that it involves
reciprocal interaction between employee and employer, and that attainment and/ or
enhancement of individual capabilities are not restricted to a particular job, career
path, or organization.
 This definition and the framework that follows are predicated on a few essential
assumptions.
• HRD remains integral to the career-development process. The HRD function is uniquely
positioned to integrate the interests of employees with the needs of the system, staying
attuned to the strategic plans of the organization while remaining cognizant of the free agent
nature of the employer employee relationship (Boudreaux, 2001; Swanson & Holton, 2001;
van Dijk, 2004).
• The return on investment of career development must be considered to gain organizational
interest in expanding CD efforts. However, the potential value of career development to
organizational success depends on how well the system supports the career development
process in terms of resources allotted and priority assigned to career development endeavors.
For example, when small systems find their minimal resources stretched, career development
may languish so that seemingly more urgent needs, like mandatory training, can be
addressed (Kuchinke, 2003).
Larger systems simply may choose to focus on more high profile initiatives, like organization
development, rather than invest resources in career development in this era of uncertain
loyalties. Yet, one of the advantages of less structured learning activities is that they often are
embedded within daily work. As a result, they can be implemented with little financial
investment while contributing to the success of other endeavors, like organization
development.
• Career development should not be restricted to a select few or to those at particular levels
within the system. Conlon (2004) addresses this by noting both the practical as well as the
ethical aspect of this premise. As organizations become flatter, a broad-based, well-developed
workforce will be essential to meet their current and future needs. Ironically, although the
HRD literature has routinely discussed “management development” as separate from “career
development,” much of what traditionally has been described as “career development” has
targeted managerial-level employees and excluded those in non management tracks
(McDonald, Hite, & Gilbreath, 2002).

7. • Career development can be both formal and informal and may take place within and outside
of the organization. For example, Gilley et al. (2002) describe an “effective career
development program” (p. 63) as one that includes a variety of experiences in addition to
classroom training, citing for example, “self-directed learning projects and involvement in
professional organizations and associations” (p. 63).
• Individual life and work priorities influence choices about careers and development
opportunities. In some instances, the choice is one of focusing on intrinsic rather than
extrinsic rewards to define career success and satisfaction (Forret & Sullivan, 2002). In
others, the decision may be based less on a quest for a balanced life and/or work experience
and more on necessity.
 Hite and McDonald (2003) found that women often make career choices based on their
family responsibilities, sometimes choosing to curtail their career progress to
accommodate family roles and expectations.
A Strategic HRD Framework for Career Development:
 Most HRD practitioners and scholars would argue that HRD needs to be represented in
determining the strategic direction of organizations. Fewer would agree that HRD
typically is present at the strategic planning table.
 However HRD’s presence is critical in determining a company’s role and responsibility
regarding employees’ careers. It also is important so career development is not
considered a stand-alone program, but rather as a process that is integrated into the
system such that it influences the strategic direction of the organization (Gilley et al.,
2002). Gutteridge, Leibowitz, and Shore (1993) advocate for companies to incorporate
career development into their strategic plans by recommending a systems approach.
Specifically, they suggest that career development be viewed as a way of achieving
important business objectives and that employee and organizational needs be aligned
when planning career-development processes.
 Hall (2002) reinforces the need for career development endeavors to be “managed and
integrated” to yield maximum benefits to individuals and the system (p. 284).
Simonsen (1997) echoes the recommendation that career development be “driven by
business needs” and proposes that organizations need to develop both a vision and a
philosophy of career development (p. 181).
The overarching question at the strategic planning table is as follows:
 What should the organization’s philosophy be regarding career development and how,
given today’s environment, should this be enacted? Doyle (2000) suggests that a
strategy “based on formalized career structures and systems is unlikely to cope with
the diversity and ‘messiness’ that is likely to characterize career management in the
future”
 Rather, a strategy is needed that is sensitive to the contextual elements that influence
CD and recognizes the need for innovative ways to learn and develop given the current
nature of work and organizations.
 HRD practitioners are well positioned to shape a system that is less paternalistic and
controlling and that focuses more on the partnership approach that fosters employee
self-development while still meeting organizational needs.
 As the planning evolves from developing a philosophy and determining goals, a
framework may help guide professionals as they work to implement and integrate
career development into the organization

8. We suggest three critical elements to consider in this process:
1.organizational support mechanisms,
2.learning activities,
3.evaluation processes.
 It indicates that each component of the framework will influence and be influenced by
the other. For example, the organizational support mechanisms will influence what
learning activities are developed and nurtured in the organization.
 In turn, the learning activities will affect organizational support mechanisms (e.g.,
networks and community-based learning may assist employees in dealing with work-
family conflicts). Organizational support mechanisms will influence what is evaluated
regarding CD and how it is evaluated. The evaluation process also should determine if
organizational support mechanisms assist employees and the organization in achieving
career-development objectives.

9. Que:4
Explain the need for human resource planning.
Answer:
Need for human resource planning
Human resource planning system is a mandatory part of every organization’s annual planning
process. Every organization that plans for its business goals for the year also plan how it will
go about achieving them, and therein the planning for the human resources:
 To carry on its work, each organization needs competent staff with the necessary
qualification, skills, knowledge, work experience and aptitude of work.
 Since employees exit and organization both naturally
(As a result of superannuation) and unnaturally (as a result of resignation), there is an
on-going need for hiring replacement staff to augment employee exit. Otherwise work
would be impacted.
 In order to meet for the more employees due to organizational growth and expansion,
this is turn call for large quantities of the same goods and services as well as new
goods. This growth could be rapid or gradual depending on the nature of the business,
its competitors, its position in the market and the general economy.
 Often organization might need to replace the nature of the present workforce as a
result of its changing needs, therefore the need to hire new set of employees. To meet
the challenges of the changed needs of technology/product/service innovation the
existing employees need to be trained or new skills sets induced into the organization.
 Manpower planning is also needed in order to identify an organizations need to reduce
its workforce. In situation where the organization is faced with severe revenue and
growth limitation it might need to plan well to manage how it will workforce. Options
such as redeployment and outplacement can be planned for and executed properly.

10. Que:5
What are the factors that impact recruitment in organizations?
Answer:
The sources of employee‘s recruitment can be classified into two types:
Internal and external
Filing a job opening from within the firm has advantages of stimulating preparation for
possible transfer of promotion, increasing the general level of morale, and providing more
information about job candidates through analysis of work histories within the organization.
 A job posting has number of advantages. From the view point of employee, it provides
flexibility and greater control over career progress. The jobs posted on notice boards,
group emails and publishing in internal news papers.
 Internal applications often restricted to certain employees, the guidelines
for companies include:
-Good or better in most recent performance review
-Dependable attendance record
-Not under probationary sanction
-Having been in present position for at least one year.
 The personnel department acts as a clearing house in screening applications that are
unrealistic, preventing an excess number of bids by a single employee and counseling
unsuccessful employees in their constant attempt to change their jobs.
 Similarly the firm may go to external sources for recruitment of lower entry jobs, for
expansion, and positions whose specifications cannot be met by the present personnel.
The following external resources are available for firms:
a) Advertising:
 There is a trend toward more selective recruitment in advertising. This can be affected
in at least two ways. First advertisements can be placed in media read only by
particular groups. Secondly, more information about the company, the job, and the job
specification can be included in the ad to permit some self-screening.
b) Employment Agencies:
 Additional screening can be affected through the utilization of employment agencies,
both public and private. Today, in contrast to their former unsavory reputation, the
public employment agencies in several states are well-regarded, particularly in the
fields of unskilled semi-skilled and skilled operative jobs. In the technical and
professional areas, however, the private agencies tend to specialize in a particular
engineer.

11. c) Employee Referrals:
 Friends and relatives of present employees are also a good source from which
employees may be drawn. When the labour market is very tight, large employers
frequently offer their employees bonus or prizes for any referrals that are hired and
stay with the company for a specific length of time. Some companies maintain a
register of former employees whose record was good to contact them when there
are new job openings for which they are qualified. This method of recruitment,
however, suffers from a serious defect that it encourages nepotism, i.e. Persons of
one‘s community or caste are employed, who may or may Not be fit for the job.
d) Schools, colleges and professional institutions:
 These offer opportunities for recruiting their students. They will also have separate
placement cell where the bio data and other particulars of the students are available.
The prospective employers can review credentials and interview candidates for
management trainees or probationers. This is an excellent source of potential
employees for entry-level positions in the organizations.
e) Labour Unions:
 Firms which closed or union shops must look to the union in their recruitment efforts.
This has disadvantage of monopolistic workforce.
f) Casual applicants:
 Unsolicited applications, both at the gate and through the mail, constitute a much-
used source of personnel. These can be developed through attractive employment
office facilities, prompt and courteous reply to unsolicited letters.
g) Professional organizations or recruiting firms or executive recruiters:
 Maintain complete records about employed executives. These firms are looked upon as
headhunters, raiders and pirates by organizations may employ―executive search
firms‖ to help them find talent. These consulting firms recommend persons of
high caliber for managerial, marketing and production engineers‘ posts.
h) Indoctrination seminars for colleges
 Are arranged to discuss the problem of companies and employees. Professors are
invited to take part of these seminars. Visits to plants are arranged so that professors
may be favorably impressed. They may speak well of a company and help it in
getting the required personnel.
i) Unconsolidated applications:
 For positions in which large numbers of candidates are not available from other
sources, the companies may gain keeping files of applications received from candidates
who make direct enquiries about the possible vacancies on their own, or may send
unsolicited applications. This would be helpful to firms for future vacancies.

12. j) Nepotism:
 The hiring of relatives will be an inevitable component of recruitment programmed in
family-owned firms, such a policy does not necessarily coincide with hiring on the basis
of merit, but interest and loyalty to the enterprise are offsetting advantages.
k) Leasing:
 To adjust to short term fluctuations in personnel needs, the possibility of leasing
personnel by the hour or day should be considered. This principle has been particularly
well developed in the office administration field because they can avoid any obligation
in pensions, insurance and any other fringe benefits.
l) Voluntary Organizations:
 Such as private clubs, social organizations might also provide employees – handicaps,
widowed or married women, old persons, retired hands etc. In response
to advertisements.
m) Computer Data Banks:
 When a company desires a particular type of employees, job specifications and
requirements are fed to computers, where they are matched against data stored in.
This method is very useful in identifying candidates for hard-t-fit positions which calls
for unusual combinations of skills.

13. Que:6
Assume yourself as an HR Manager. You have been given the responsibility of
promoting the rightful employees. For this, performance appraisal of the employees
must be carried out. What appraisal method would you choose? Justify.
Answer:
A performance appraisal, employee appraisal, performance review, or (career) development
discussion is a method by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated (generally
in terms of quality, quantity, cost, and time) typically by the
corresponding manager or supervisor.
 A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing career development. It is
the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording information about the relative worth
of an employee to the organization.
 Performance appraisal is an analysis of an employee's recent successes and failures,
personal strengths and weaknesses, and suitability for promotion or further training. It
is also the judgment of an employee's performance in a job based on considerations
other than productivity alone.
Aims
Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to:
 Give employees feedback on performance
 Identify employee training needs
 Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards
 Form a basis for personnel decisions:salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions,
bonuses, etc.
 Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development
 Facilitate communication between employee and employer
 Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal Equal
Employment Opportunity requirements.
 To improve performance through counseling, coaching and development.
Methods
A common approach to assessing performance is to use a numerical or scalar rating system
whereby managers are asked to score an individual against a number of objectives/attributes.
In some companies, employees receive assessments from their manager, peers,
subordinates, and customers, while also performing a self assessment. This is known as
a 360-degree appraisal and forms good communication patterns.

14. The most popular methods used in the performance appraisal process include the following:
 Management by objectives
 360-degree appraisal
 Behavioral observation scale
 Behaviorally anchored rating scales
Trait-based systems, which rely on factors such as integrity and conscientiousness, are also
used by businesses but have been replaced primarily by more objective and results-oriented
methods.
The scientific literature on the subject provides evidence that assessing employees on factors
such as these should be avoided. The reasons for this are twofold:
1) Trait-based systems are by definition based on personality traits and as such may not
be related directly to successful job performance.
In addition, personality dimensions tend to be static, and while an employee can
change a behavior they cannot change their personality.
For example, a person who lacks integrity may stop lying to a manager because they
have been caught, but they still have low integrity and are likely to lie again when the
threat of being caught is gone.
2) Trait-based systems, because they are vague, are more easily influenced by office
politics, causing them to be less reliable as a source of information on an employee's
true performance. The vagueness of these instruments allows managers to assess the
employee based upon subjective feelings instead of objective observations about how
the employee has performed his or her specific duties. These systems are also more
likely to leave a company open to discrimination claims because a manager can make
biased decisions without having to back them up with specific behavioral information.

15. Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 1
MB0038 –Human Resources Managemenrt–
4 Credits
(Book ID:B1127)
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)