HR Strategies, Ethics and On-The-Job-Training

Human Resource Management

 

Part (a)

Question 1

• HRM Functions

A company’s human resources department consists of seven interrelated functions (see below Figure). This comprises eight external forces: legal, economic, technical, global, environmental, cultural/geographic, political, and social (Mondy, 2005).

 

Further explanation of the seven HR management functions is provided in the following paragraphs:

HR Staffing

As a result of staffing, a sufficient number of qualified people are available to fill positions in a given organization’s hierarchy. Staffing begins with job analysis, which identifies what individuals perform in their employment. Recruiters utilize these analytics to find qualified candidates for job vacancies. Selected candidates are chosen to fill the positions.

HR Talent Management

New workers begin their careers with orientation. Talent management and development, on the other hand, encompass a variety of trainings. To prepare workers and managers for the future, HR development is essential. Planned advancement of workers is defined by career planning. Performance management, on the other hand, focuses on assessing how effectively people execute their jobs.

Total Rewards

Employees are rewarded for their efforts via salary, incentives, and perks. Employers must create a fair overall rewards plan and improve their basic compensation system in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. They may utilize variable compensation schemes such as profit sharing and productivity incentives. A significant concern for most businesses will continue to be the fast rise in the cost of benefits, particularly health care benefits.

Employee and Labor Relations.

Managerial-employee relationships must be handled properly. As a result, employee rights and privacy must be addressed. Certain companies must also deal with the union-management relationship. HR rules and procedures must be developed, communicated to workers and updated so that everyone is on the same page.

Legal frameworks and practices

The variety of a workforce adds to the complexity of the situation. As a result, ensuring compliance with employment regulations has an impact on other HR activities. A free-flowing talent economy, for example, will have some detrimental effects on the local social fabric, even if the workers come from distant nations.

Risk management and worker protection

Employers have had to comply with workplace laws and regulations for many years, as well as pay greater attention to their workers’ health and safety. For their workers’ safety, companies must also handle a growing variety of workplace hazards. Also, workplace security and disaster recovery planning are becoming increasingly important.

Research of Human Resources

Conceiving and organizing a research team to study human resource issues is crucial to creating the most productive and happy staff. In the case of job satisfaction, for example, a research may indicate a worker’s dedication to the company

• Importance of Ethics in HRM field

Right and improper behaviour are defined by ethics. ‘Ethics’ comes from the Latin word ethos, which signifies character. Ethics is a social science that deals with ideas such as right and wrong, moral and immoral, and good and poor ways of interacting with one another (Dessler, 2013).

In addition, HRM ethics are essential for the following reasons:

1. Satisfying fundamental human needs is one of basic and ethical requirements. Every employee aspires to be such a person and to work for a fair and ethical company.
2. Creating Credibility: Those in society who have little knowledge of an organization’s workings and commercial practices appreciate an organization that is considered to be motivated by moral principles. When it comes to strong corporate governance and social responsibility efforts, Infosys, for example, is regarded as a leader in the industry. Even people who have no idea what the organization does have this opinion.
3. Uniting people and leadership: A company that is motivated by principles is respected by its workers as well. Because of them, workers and decision makers have common ground. As a result, actions throughout the company may be aligned towards a shared objective.
4. Improving Decision Making: A man’s fate is determined by his choices throughout his life. The same is true for companies, as well as for individuals. Values are the driving force behind decision-making. If, for example, a company doesn’t value competition, it will be aggressive in its operations, seeking to eliminate its rivals and create a monopoly in the market.
5. Long term gains: Ethics-driven organizations are lucrative in the long term, despite the fact that they seem to lose money in the short run. One of India’s biggest corporations, Tata, was feared to be on the brink of collapse as the 1990s began. As anticipated, the Tata NANO was a flop, but sales are coming up lately.
6. Securing society: Ethics often succeeds law in ensuring society’s well-being. The legal system is frequently seen as a passive observer, unable to intervene to preserve society and the planet. When it comes to technological advancements, for example, newer technologies with new dangers replace the previous ones by the time legislation is passed. Lawyers and public interest lawsuits may not be of much assistance, but ethics may be able to make a difference.

When the law fails, it is frequently ethics that prevents companies from causing damage to society and the environment.

 

Question 2

Uses of Job analysis

Sound human resource management begins with a job analysis. It’s a great tool for making informed decisions regarding the organization’s human resource management.

Human resource management relies on a variety of papers and processes that result from job analysis. Job analysis offers information that may be used for almost every aspect of Human Resource Management operation.

Job analysis is a systematic method for gathering and reporting information that characterizes a particular job. There are numerous and diverse applications for job analysis in human resource management.

1. Recruitment and Selection: When identifying what type of individual is needed to execute a specific job, Job Analysis may be helpful. On this page, you’ll find a list of the education and experience needed to do a job in a desired manner, as well as a list of technical, physical, emotional, and personal abilities. The goal is to find the appropriate individual for the right job.
2. Performance Appraisal: The purpose of a job analysis is to determine whether or not the job’s goals and objectives have been fulfilled. As a result, it is easier to decide on performance standards, assessment criteria, and individual output while using it. On this basis, an employee’s entire performance is evaluated, and he or she is given a rating.
3. Training and Development: It is possible to evaluate the training and development requirements of workers using job analysis. What is the difference between the anticipated and actual output? Determining the training materials, tools and equipment to be utilized for training and training techniques is also aided by this information.
4. Compensation Management: Certain aspects of employee compensation, such as salary packages, additional benefits, and fixed and variable incentives, are determined by the job analysis conducted. Suffice it to say, a person’s salary is determined by his or her job position, title, and tasks. The method helps HR managers determine the value of a candidate for a specific job vacancy based on the employee’s skills and experience.

Part B

Question 1

SWOT Matrix in Strategic Management Process

Management can identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses using SWOT analysis and the SWOT Matrix. Using a company’s strengths is crucial to the company’s success. Since improved business operations in the market lead to market success, it seems sense that a firm would be able to do so (OPenTextBc, 2018).

Strengths

It’s easy to say that a company’s strengths are the things it’s excellent at. When it comes to sports goods, Nike excels, McDonald’s excels at producing food quickly and cheaply, and Ferrari excels at building beautiful, fast vehicles. It’s common for a company to create a list of its capabilities and assets as part of its strength analysis process. How much cash does the company have on hand? That’s a plus for you. Is the company staffed by highly qualified individuals? Another plus. When a company knows precisely what it excels at, it can devise strategies to capitalize on those capabilities. For example, Nike may want to make goods for a sport it does not currently service in the future. Its experience in sports marketing will help it launch that new product line effectively.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are things that a company isn’t very good at. Weaknesses aren’t always a bad thing. After all, not every company can excel at everything. Understanding your company’s shortcomings can help you avoid attempting to accomplish things you don’t have the skills or assets to succeed at, or you’ll discover methods to address your deficiencies before you try anything new. A company’s weaknesses are just gapping in skills, and such gaps don’t necessarily have to be addressed inside the organization.

For example, a SWOT analysis may assist companies identify their weaknesses so that they can either work around them, get support in those areas, or create skills to cover the gaps in their capabilities. The company Paychex, for example, manages the payroll for over 600,000 companies.

Employers may outsource Paychex’s processing of hours, pay rates, tax and benefit deductions, and direct deposit to Paychex if they choose not to. When it comes to big companies, they’ll require a committed team of workers who’ll be armed with a variety of software tools to get the job done. Paychex relies on these skills as a competitive advantage. Other businesses who do not have the means to create this capacity or may not be interested in doing so, may pay Paychex to accomplish it for them.

Opportunities

While a company’s strengths and weaknesses are internal, its opportunities and dangers are always external to the organization. Opportunities are possible situations that a company may take advantage of if it is well-prepared to do so. The market is a great place to look for possibilities since it’s always changing. However, sometimes a company is not prepared to take advantage of an opportunity, which is why examining the whole SWOT before choosing what to do is essential before deciding. For example, when cities grow in population, parking becomes increasingly difficult to find. Youths in cities are beginning to wonder if owning a vehicle makes sense at all when public transit is readily accessible and parking spaces are few. When travelling outside of the city or transporting an important acquisition, a person may need the use of an automobile. Automobile maker Daimler has launched Car2Go in Europe and North America to cater to this new segment of drivers who only drive part-time. Daimler has discovered a method to sell the use of its goods to individuals who wouldn’t purchase them outright by creating Car2Go

Threats

An external competitive environment assessment by management identifies everything that might make it difficult for her company to be successful as a threat to her firm’s success. Numerous circumstances and scenarios may jeopardize a company’s success, from an economic slump to a competitor’s better-performing product. To prepare for these threats, a competent threat assessment looks at the external and internal environments carefully to identify potential hazards to the company’s operations and prepares the firm for them. Opportunities and threats may also be a question of perspective or interpretation: the Car2Go service that Daimler created to serve young urban consumers who don’t own vehicles might also be seen as a defensive reaction to the move away from automobile ownership in this client group. As a result of declining sales among young urban professionals, Daimler may have conceived of Car2Go as a means to recoup income from these consumers (OPenTextBc, 2018).

 

Question 2

Four Steps to ensure success of On-The-Job-training

On-the-job training (OJT) is training that is given while a person is doing activities or procedures relevant to their profession. Under the supervision of a manager, coach, or mentor, the employee usually performs activities that are important to their job functions.

In OJT training, the 4-Step Method is generally considered as the most effective approach. It was first used in the military during World War II, when a huge number of personnel needed to be trained rapidly and efficiently (Jolly, 2019).

Since then, hundreds of companies have embraced the 4 Step Method as the preferred method for completing OTJ training.

For an OJT that is successful, consider the following procedures.

1. Preparation

Preparation is vital to any successful company plan. This is what you must do in the first phase of training:

• Be ready to act (the trainer)
• Know what you’re there to train and how you’re going to train them.
• Prepare a training material

When training workers, make sure they have access to everything they’ll need to do the job. This includes everything from instructional materials to the instruments necessary to do the task at hand.

• Set up the training environment.

Environments for training must be as realistic as feasible, while also being as favourable for absorbing information as possible. Avoid any distractions in the workplace that may impede the workers’ ability to learn.

• Prepare the trainees.

In the beginning, prepare your trainees for what they will be learning. In this section, you may provide a short summary of the training, explain how you plan to teach them (e.g., “I’ll show you XYZ and then you can have a try”), and remind them of any applicable Workplace Health and Safety regulations.

2. Demonstrate

This is one of the greatest ways to make sure an employee knows what to anticipate.

When you explain how to use the cash register, showing them how it works from the beginning to the end will help them grasp the concept.

Follow these three stages when presenting a job to a coworker:

• Provide training materials
• Show me how to do the job.
• Make sure the learner understands and answers any questions they may have.

3. Tryout

Having prepared and shown the work, stand back and let your staff ‘tryout’ the job on their own.

It may be tough to take a step back but trusting your workers to perform their duties properly is crucial to their learning process and the development of your company.

Follow these steps:

• Ensure that the trainees have enough time and space to practice.
• Watch the trainees as they work.
• Give trainees comments.
• improve the pace and accuracy of the learners.

4. Follow-up

An important component of training is the follow-up phase. This ensures that activities are done to your standards and gives the employee the opportunity to explain any areas of doubt.

• Work with a single trainee.
• Assign trainees a “buddy.”
• Check that the learner understands the assignment.
• Evaluate the training method

 

Question 3

1. Importance of Appraisal of Subordinates performance

Regular performance appraisals assist establish a company culture that encourages personal achievement, as well as cooperation. As a result, workers need to be reassured that their efforts are appreciated by their superiors. The appraisals process has a number of advantages for a company, such as creating a culture of excellence. Performance appraisal enable subordinates to set criteria for pay increases, monitor employee strengths and shortcomings, identify the best candidates for promotion, provide comments for improvement, and encourage training programs (BenefitCorp, 2020).

2 Reasons of importance of Appraisal of Subordinates performance

1. Establishing compensation guidelines

Subordinates compensation is based on their performance. Subordinates who go above and beyond the call of duty usually earn larger yearly raises than those who accomplish the bare minimum. Compensation is the most effective method to recognize outstanding performance on the job. It is only via an evaluation procedure that it is possible to continuously monitor exceptional achievement. Discussing a subordinate’s work performance on a regular basis, one-on-one, aids in evaluating the year for individuals in various pay bands.

• Track strengths and weaknesses

A company’s success is not determined by one person. subordinates with different backgrounds and skills contribute to the success of a project, enabling it to be completed in a short timeframe. Succeeding in management relies heavily on selecting the right candidates for the right teams. Keep an eye on individual strengths and limitations to ensure the appropriate people are brought together. This information is easily accessible when it comes time to give out new assignments thanks to regular performance appraisals (Learn_that, 2020).

 

• Behaviorally Anchored Rating scale

To rate workers’ performance, the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) is used. Through the use of a quantitative scale and particular narratives ranging from excellent to acceptable to bad performance, it attempts to combine the advantages of narratives, crucial events and quantifiable evaluations.

As a result of BARS’ design, employee appraisals will benefit from both quantitative and qualitative data.

Using numerical ratings of 5 to 9, it evaluates an individual’s performance against particular examples of behavior. BARS is often displayed as a vertical rating graph. Criteria for Documenting Significant Human Behavior in a Specific Area are used to gather these behavioral anchor points (HRzone, 2020).

It takes five stages for one go about developing the BARS. They include:

To write critical incidents: Employers and/or supervisors should be asked to provide detailed accounts of excellent or bad performance on the job during an interview, if possible.

In develop performance measurements: Ask the jobholders and/or supervisors to categorize the key events into five or ten performance measures, such as “selling abilities.”

To reallocate the critical incidents: These groups should be confirmed by a second group of experts in the field. Critical incidents must be reallocate to the group they believe is most appropriate. It is possible to keep the critical incident even if a second team assigns it to a different cluster than the first one did.

To scale the critical incidents: To do this, they evaluate how well or how badly a critical incident defines behaviour in terms of performance on a measuring scale (typically, 7-to-9-point scales).

To develop final instrument: To determine the measurement’s behavioral anchors, choose six to seven significant events.

For example, Three researchers established a BARS for supermarket clerks. A number of significant incidents were gathered and then categorized into eight performance measures, according to the study. These are the measurements:

1. Knowing what to do.
3. The ability to communicate with others.
4. Operating a register.
5. The ability to bag things in a hurry
6. Ability to work on a stand.
7. Financial transactions skills; and
8. Ability to observe.

In the next step, they created a BARS including a scale (1-10) for evaluating performance from “very bad” to “extremely excellent.” Then, a particular important event (such as knowing the item’s price, this checker would be required to search for mismarked and unmarked goods) helped define what was meant by “very excellent” (rating 10).

There were also several anchors along the performance spectrum, from (rating 1) up to (rating 10) (Mondy, 2005).