understandable temptation to encourage processes

The organisational point to be made is, of

course, that there is an understandable temptation to encourage processes which bring

good news and a reluctance, if only subconscious, which can still be just as critical, to

discourage processes which bring bad news.

It is important to recognise that any manager is going to prefer to hear good news than

bad news and the temptation for colleagues and subordinates is to tell people what they

want to hear. In the long term this can of course be disastrous, and managers and

political leaders alike need consciously to recognise the distortion that can occur in

channels of communication and beware of succumbing to it. This can be checked if the

danger is consciously recognised and if the ancient Greek tradition of slaying the

messenger who brings news of defeat in battle is avoided. It may also be necessary to

take independent checks to evaluate the information that is received. It was

comprehension of this point which led some Generals, at the time of the First World

War, to say that ‘if you want to know what’s going on you have to go to the trenches.’

The conclusion we came to that one was likely to lose much more

The conclusion we came to that one was likely to lose much more respect if one simply hid from criticism.

The route we chose did at least enable me to get advice before decisions were

finalised. There is a much greater danger of losig respect if one cannot accept critical

but helpful advice, especially if that is then compounded by decisions that are incorrect.

The importance of these points is sadly illustrated by the problems that the advisers to

the late President Lyndon Johnson had in explaining to him that the war in Vietnam was

not progressing as favdurably as he imagined. President Johnson was not renowned for

his senstive handling of people, particularly those who voiced

criticism. Consequently he was more psychologically available to those who reported

favourably on the progress of the war, and who suggested that a military solution was

possible. than to those who. suggested the reverse. It was apparently not until the

spectacular Tet offensive by the Viet Cong in 1968 that President Johnson realised that

all was not as well as he had imagined.

Resistance to criticism

There may be occasions when feedback is sought but resisted if \it turns out to be

unfavourable. One vividly remembers an occasion when one explained to a

subordinate personnel officer that one would always welcome suggestions if she thought

there were ways in which the running of the department could be improved. She took at

the word and one day somewhat hesitantly started to explain how a change we were

pla.l1ning was, in her view, ill-judged. Our immediate response was one of irritation, but

fortunately one was just able to hide this and found to our chagrin ‘that she was right and

one was wrong. One was relatively new in the job and realised in retrospect that in the

moments. when one was seeking to control irritation the future working relationship was

being determined. One was able to show, at least with this person, that one would not

bite her head off if she expressed views that were contrary to mine. After this incident the

personnel officer concerned came when she thought that there was a likelihood of

committing other errors. This meant the occasional swallowing of pride when she picked

up points that one had missed. There is a strong temptation in situations like this to

block off criticism for fear of losing respect amongst subordinates

The culpability of the authority figure can be even

The culpability of the authority figure can be even

worse, than we have so far suggested. Some people may contrive to go through the

motions of obtaining feedback when in fact what they want is simply the pretence and

alibi that people have had a fair opportunity to raise queries. Rhetorical questions may

be used such as ‘is that clear?’ which do not really invite responses. There was

amazement when a person sought to take up a Company’s Managing Director’s written

offer, issued in a standard letter to all new employees, to have an appointment with him

concerning a grievance. The technique can be observed with lecturers, or after-dinner

speakers, who leave the opportunity for questions .until an impossibly late stage in the

proceedings. And also recollect it being used in the services, when orderly officers had

to go through the routine of asking if there were complaints about the food. Some

mastered the technique of asking if there were any queries in such a way that

servicemen would deserve a medal if they actually did make a complaint. This of course

enabled the orderly officer to maintain the fiction that people had been given an

opportunity to complain about the food if they were dissatisfied. The authority figure can

of course use his rank to put the blame firmly on subordinates if things do go wrong.

girl was asked to give the patient a ‘hot pot cit’

As is so often the case, an abbreviation was

used and the girl was asked to give the patient a ‘hot pot cit’. Unfortunately her

interpretation of this instruction led to the patient being sat upon a bedpan of boiling

water! In these cases the students’ guesswork fortunately just led to comic results. That

will of course not always be the case and such errors in the communication process may

be picked up too late or not at all. The errors in the previous examples may be seen as

stupidity or feebleness on the part of the student nurses, but such an interpretation is to

miss the point The fault really lies with the person who gave the instruction not ensuring

that he had made himself properly understood. Either he needed to make a positive

check that the instruction was understood or have a working relationship with the student

nw’se such that queries would be raised if necessary. Tb.e objective with communication

needs to be to see that it is effective rather than being able to lay the blame at someone

else’s door if things go wrong.Nursing examples have been given to illustrate the need to

get accurate feedback. This is not to suggest that nursing is more prone to this type of

problem than other occupations; it is simply that examples come easily to mind from my

experience with nursing. groups.

If discussing this issue with nursing groups

been deluged with examples of when this has happened. One example concerned the

student nurse who was asked to give a patient an airing. She apparently wasn’t quite

sure what to do but guessed that the appropriate interpretation was to move the patient’s

bed on to the verandah and remove the bedclothes. She had in fact been expected to

get an airing so that the patient could sit on it and receive a blanket bath. Another

stude,nt nurse was given te same instruction but with slightly different phraseology-she

was told to go and get an airing. Allegedly she returned three-quarters of an honr later

saying how much she had enjoyed her walk! Pride of place of the many examples we

have been given goes to the case of the student nurse who was expected to give a

patient a warm drink of potassium citrate

You can be very aware of situations when you are on

You can be very aware of situations when you are on

the receiving end of an instruction that you do not understand. It can be very tempting, for

the sorts of reason outlined above, to create the impression by silence that you have

understood something when you in fact know that you have not. The problem is that the

initiator may be left with quite a false impression o his effectiveness. If a message

is particularly important it is up to him to search for more ¬

positive corroboration than mere silence that communication has been effective. He will

need to consider ,other forms of feedback and to. distinguish betwee accurate and

bogus feedback.

Silence is not the only way in which people give false impressions about having

understood explanations. There are occasions when people actually say they have

understood when they have not. A common situation when this arises is when you ask

the way and are so baffled by the instructions on how to get to a particular place that you

may meekly say that you have understood when you have not. This type of breakdown

can happen within organisations and for a variety of reasons. These reasons may be the

same as those given for people remaining silent when they have the opportunity to ask

necessary questions during the rectangles exercise. Another reason can be the fear of

admitting ignorance, to authority figures in particular.

same manager is asked to repeat the exercise

After the results of the attempt to explain the diagram ,using one-way communication

have been recorded, the same manager is asked to repeat the exercise but the second

time facing the group and with unlimited opportunity for questioning. A similar type of

diagram is convened into words and back into a diagram again by the rest of the group.

There is a standard pattern to this second stage of the experiment. It takes longer, the

accuracy is usually much higher, it is rare for there to be no error, and again the

instructor over-estimates the level of accuracy. The assumption is usually made that, if

people have queries, they will raise them. The reality is though that, even in the relatively

placid context of a training course, people may have inhibitions about asking questions.

They may feel embarrassed about their inability to draw the diagram, be confused by the

instructj..Q.n, have wrongly thought that their reconstruction was correct, have failed to

catch the eye of the instructor at the right time, or lost interest. The instructor may fail to

appreciate that there can be this variety of reasons for people not raising queries and

make the common error of assuming that silence means that everyone has accurately

reproduced the diagram.
Bogus feedback

One of the crucial points that emerges from the rectangles exercise is that people

responsib\e for initiating communication need to consider both what the evidence is for

them assuming that communication has been effective and the consequences of

communication being defective. Y

The causes of ineffective communication

Having stressed the importance of the communication process, it is appropriate to

develop further the hypothesis is that communication in organisations is a great deal

worse than most people realise. This will be done by explaining the nature of

communication processes, and the potential for breakdown. Case examples are given

to illustrate some of the major points.

Listening problems

It is appropriate to explain one major misconception about communication at this stage.

This point is not only important in its own right but develops the argument that the

approach of many managers to communication may not be sufficiently sophisticated.

Communication is usually seen as the need to brief other people. The reality is that most

of a manager’s time needs to be concerned with the receiving rather than the imparting

of information and views. The reason for this is simple-in any conversation between two

people there is a need to alternate between talking and listening. There is not much

point in yone talking if the intended recipient is not prepared to listen. If the two people

involved in a discussion take equal turns talking and listening, they will obviously spend

half of their time in the listening role. As much of the communication in organisations

involves face-to-face discussion between more than two people, it follows as a

mathematical fact that most managers will need to spend more time listening than

talking. There will, of course, be exceptions to this, but the very existence of exceptions

reduces the time available for others to do the talking Admittedly managers may often

need to take the lead in explaining things to their subordinates, but a statistically unequal

share of talk in this direction may easily be counter-balanced by the time they have to

spend in discussions and meetings involving a number of people when they talk only for

a minority of the time. The basic point of this argument is that managers may fail to see

that they will normally need to spend more time listening than talking.

Effective listening does not come naturally to all managers, particularly if they do not

recognise the

importance of it. The mistake of assuming that ‘good communication’ is synonymous

with the imparting of information and views is often made by people who set out to

improve the quality of communication in organisations. House magazines, letters from

the chairman, briefing meetings and training in public speaking are based mainly on the

assumption that the problem is in disseminating information. The reality may be that it is

more important to unblock the obstructions to information

and views flowing in to the decision-makers. The problem may be though that, until

such time as communication is effective, managers may not realise that the obstructions

are there. In any case if everyone concentrates on imparting information and views, just

who will be left to receive all these messages?

One case which illustrates this point concerns a nursing officer who attended a review

meeting three months after he had attended a middle management training course.

When asked what had happened as a result of his training, he explained that the area on

which he had been able to concentrate was the developmet of his communication

skills. He had worked on his listening skills and had put a chair by the side of his desk,

on which people were invited to sit when they came into his office. He explained that he

was amazed at the extra amount of information that he obtained this way compared with

his previous pattern of letting people stand up or sit on a chair the other side of the table.

He then realised the limited nature of the information he had been obtaining before and

on which basis he had been taking decisions. Before, being unaware of the information

that was available, he had not tried to get it. It was only after he had discovered his ‘blind

spot’ that he realised that it existed.

Lack of feedback

The problem of effective communication is unfortunately greater than just the recognition

of its scale and importance and the comprehension that one needs to receive

information as well as disseminate it. It is all too easy for people to assume that they

have effectively communicated and be blissfully unaware that their attempts at

communication have been partially successful or, in some cases, totally unsuccessful.

We have often used a simple exercise to demonstrate the undue optimism concerning

the effectiveness of communication..with groups of managers on training courses. This

particular exercise involves’ asking one of the group to tell the rest, withorit any questions

by them, how to draw a diagram consisting of six rectangles. The manager is asked to

sit facing the wall and convert a diagram into words so that the group can reproduce the

diagram from his oral instruction. This exercise is described in detail in Leavity’s

Managerial Psychology. In practice one would not trY to explain how to reproduce a

diagram by oral instruction, but there are advantages in using this artificial example. It is

easy to check the accuracy with which it is reproduced and it is no more complicated

than some of the instructions that people do try to explain orally.

either at the comer or the midpoint. Invariably there is considerable error in the attempts

of the groups to convert te oral instructions bck into the original diagram. Sometimes

the results are devastating. On one occasion a zero score was achieved by a group of

The importance of communication

Managers are likely to spend most of their time engaged directly in some form of

Communication process. Even when they are working alone-for example, studying or

preparing reports-they are relying on other people’s attempts to communicate with them

or they are preparing to communicate with others. Accuracy in decision-making

depends, in particular, on effective communication. If the communication process is

faulty then everything else can be affected.

Experiments, research and sheer personal obselvation show that most people are far

too optimistic about the accuracy of the communication process. This applies not just to

communication processes, -.v.ithin employing organisations but to life in general. Even

when errors are identified, this may be too late, or the inherent faults in the process that

will lead to further errors may not be recognised. The barriers to effective communication

are far greater than most people realise. The effective communication of factual

information can be difficult enough, but often attitudes and feelings need to be

communicated and that can be far more complicated. The number and nature of the

barriers are such that there is a strong case for communication skills training being

given as part of the standard school cmTIculum. This is not yet the case and in this

chapter the attempt is made to give managers practical guidance on how to identify the

communication processes in their organisations with a view first of all to evaluating their

effectiveness. This evaluation can then provide the basis for the development of the

manager’s own practical skills of communication.

In Rosemary Stewart’s study of how manajers spend their time, it was established that

on average the 160 managers in her sample spent two-thirds of their time working with

other people. The rest of tq.ei.r time was mainly engaged in preparing information

reports. It seems reasonable to assume that most managers spend the bulk of their

working day in some type of communication activity. Even the 33 managers in the

sample in

‘backroom’-type jobs spent about half of their time working with other people. This may

be through

attendance at meetings, the giving and receiving of . instructions, discussions with

colleagues and contact with

customers or suppliers. Such contact may be face to face or over the telephone or a

combination of both. Much of the remainder of the time is likely to be concerned with the

assimilation or preparation of written information. If managers are to make the correct

substantive decisions in their jobs, it follows that they need to be able to handle the

communication process effectively.

It is found that managers differ markedly in their ability to communicate effectively. It

follows that the need to develop skills of effective communication may be a critical

priority for many managers. Regrettably this need is often not perceived and managers

may neglect the importance of, and the opportunity for, development in this critical area.

Communication skills tend to be taken for granted and lack of skill far more easily

recognized in others than in 9neself. The process of communication is often far more

complex than people realise and this is a further reason why skills development in this

area tends to be neglected It is only when people realise the subtleties concerning

effective communication that thy may become communication conscious and start to

develop their own skills. The complexities are such that even the person who is good at

communication is likely to become even better if he systematically evaluates and

considers his own effectiveness in this area.

1. As Ivan's Manager, what should your strategy be in handling the performance evaluation interview with Ivan

The strategy behind the performance evaluation interview with Ivan and Ivan's Manager follows 360-degree appraisal.

P 360 degree appraisal:

It is a method of appraisal in which people receive performance feedback from those on all sides of them in the organization - their boss, their colleagues and peers and their own subordinates. Thus, the feedback comes from all around them, 360 degrees. This form of performance evaluation can be very beneficial to managers because it typically gives them a much wider range of performance-related feedback than a traditional evaluation.

P 360 degree feedback:

360-degree feedback is a method and a tool that provides each employee the opportunity to receive performance feedback from his supervisor and four to eight peers, reporting staff members, co-workers and customers. It allows each individual to understand how his effectiveness as an employee, co-worker, of staff member is viewed by others. The feedback provides insight about the skills and behavior desired in the organization to accomplish the mission, vision, and goals and live the values.

2. What remedial measures do you suggest to tackle the situation?

Ans: Ivan's behavioral attributes are not up to the mark. He creates animosity wherever he goes. But he is an excellent worker and his performance in terms of achievement is significant. Therefore Ivan should be given a change in the nature of job he performs with limited mobility amongst sales and promotion department.

3. As an appraiser do you suggest with holding Ivan's increment? Give reasons.

Ans: No, Ivan should be given an increment since his performance in terms of achievement is significant. The change in his environment would aid him the use of better behavioral attributes.

Interpret the various aspects of Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic Leadership is defined by Max Weber as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him". He defines Charisma as "a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader (...). How the quality in question would be ultimately judged from an ethical, aesthetic, or other such point of view is naturally indifferent for the purpose of definition".

Charismatic leadership is leadership based on the leader's ability to communicate and behave in ways that reach followers on a basic, emotional way, to inspire and motivate. We often speak of some sports and political leaders as charismatic (or not) -- an example being John F. Kennedy.

It's difficult to identify the characteristics that make a leader "charismatic", but they certainly include the ability to communicate on a very powerful emotional level, and probably include some personality traits.

Developing "charisma" is difficult, if not impossible for many people, but luckily charismatic leadership is not essential to be an effective leader. Many other characteristics are involved in leading effectively, and there is significant evidence to indicate that it simply is not necessary to have this elusive charisma to lead others well.

The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him." Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out in Weber's tripartite classification of authority, the other two being traditional authority and rational-legal authority. The concept has acquired wide usage among sociologists.

Routinizing charisma:

Charismatic authority almost always evolves in the context of boundaries set by traditional or rational (legal) authority, but by its nature tends to challenge this authority and is thus often seen as revolutionary. [2] However, the constant challenge that charismatic authority presents to a particular society will eventually subside as it is incorporated into that society. The way in which this happens is called routinization.

Routinization is the process by which ‘charismatic authority is succeeded by a bureaucracy controlled by a rationally established authority or by a combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority’ (Turner, Beeghley, and Powers, 1995 cited in Kendal et al. 2000). For example, Muhammad, who had charismatic authority as "The Prophet" among his followers, was succeeded by the traditional authority and structure of Islam, a clear example of routinization.

Some leaders may employ various tools to create and extend their charismatic authority; for example utilizing the science of public relations.

As in the example of Islam, a religion which evolves its own priesthood and establishes a set of laws and rules is likely to lose its charismatic character and move towards another type of authority upon the removal of that leader.

In politics, charismatic rule is often found in various authoritarian states, autocracies, dictatorships and theocracies. In order to help to maintain their charismatic authority, such regimes will often establish a vast personality cult, which can be seen as an attempt to gain legitimacy by an appeal to other forms of authority. When the leader of such a state dies or leaves office and a new charismatic leader does not appear, such a regime is likely to fall shortly thereafter unless it has become fully routinized.

Case Study

Ivan has been working in I.G. Ferns and Advertisers for about 5 years as a copyman. His job as copyman is to design advertisement for use in newspapers and magazines for the company’s clients. He must work closely with the girls in the photography section, with members of the sales and promotion department and with the Vice-president who is in-charge of the whole sales & promotion department.

Ivan is an extremely enthusiastic worker with many good ideas. But he has considerable trouble in dealing with people. He is too impatient with the girls in the photography section and constantly chasing them to finish his own work in time on one occasion he went in to the ladies dressing room where the girls were putting make up and asked them to speed up. The girls were annoyed but through they expressed their displeasure they did not complain.

Grievance Handling Procedure

Principles suggested by the Indian Institute of Personnel Management for addressing the grievance are as follows.

a. A grievance should be dealt within the limits of the first line supervisor.

b. The appellate authority should be made clear to the employee so that if he cannot get satisfaction from his immediate supervisor, he should know the next step.

c. The grievance should be dealt with speedily.

d. In establishing a grievance procedure, if the grievance is against an instruction given by a superior in the interest of order and discipline, the instructions must be carried out first and them only employee can register his protest.

There should be no recourse to official machinery of conciliation unless the procedure has been carried out without reaching any solutions.

Grievance Machinery:

A Grievance machinery is usually thought of in connection with a company that deals with a labour union. Though the union must be given some credit for stimulating the installation of such procedures, all companies, whether unionized or not, should have established and known methods of processing grievances.

To establish a new grievance machinery, workers in each department and each shift shall select, from among themselves and for a period of not less than one year at a time, departmental representatives, and forward the list of persons so selected to the management. Where the unions in the undertaking are in a position to submit an agreed list of names, recourse to election may not be necessary when a works committee is functioning satisfactorily, for the Works Committee’s member of a particular constituency shall act as the departmental representative.

Grievance Handling :

The details of the grievance procedure vary from industry to industry and from trade union to trade union because of the variations in the size of organization, trade union strength, the management philosophy, the company traditions, industrial practices and in the cost factor. An important aspect of the grievance machinery is the reassurance given to an individual employee by the mere fact that there is a mechanism available to him which will consider his grievance in a dispassionate and detailed manner, and that his point of view will be heard and given due consideration. An employee’s conception of his problem(s) may be quite biased. Venting his grievance and being heard gives him a feeling of being cared for. He gets it “off his chest”

Elaborate on Principles for Maintenance of Discipline

The Maintenance of discipline have been outlined by Yoder. Henman, Turnball and Harold Stone. These are:-

1. As far as possible, all the rules should be framed in co-operation and collaboration with the representatives of employees. If the latter have a share in formulating them, will be much more likely to observe them.

2. All this rules should be appraised at frequent and regular intervals to ensure that they are, and continue to be, appropriate sensible and useful.

3. rules should vary with changes in the working conditions of employees. Those framed for office employees, for example, may very well be different from those that are formulated for workers in an industrial concern.

4. Rules should be uniformly enforced if they are to be effective. They must be applied without exception and without bending them or ignoring them in favour of any one worker.

5. A disciplinary policy should have as its objective the prevention of any infringement rather than the simple administration of penalties, however just: It should be preventive rather than punitive.

6. Recidivism must be expected. Some offenders would almost certainly violate rules more often than others. These cases should be carefully considered so that their causes may be discovered.

7. Define and precise provisions for appeal and review of all disciplinary actions should be expressly mentioned in the employees handbook for collective agreements.

Define Morale. Write importance of Morale

Morale has been variously defined by different authors. Professor Ralph C. Davis says, “Good organizational morale is a condition in which individuals and groups voluntarily make a reasonable subordination of their personal objectives of their organization”. According to Dale Yoder and Paul D. Standohar, “ Morale means evident commitment, that is and Paul D. Standohar, “Morale means evident commitment, that is, demonstrated spirit, enthusiasm, and confidence in the organization’s policies, programmes , and accomplishments. Morale is revealed by what individuals and groups say and accomplishments. Morale is revealed by what individuals and groups say and do to show an interest in, understanding of, and personal identification with work-team survival and success”. Edwin B. Filippo has described morale as “ A mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups which determines their willingness to co-operate. Good morale is evidenced by employee enthusiasm, voluntary conformance with regulations and orders, and a willingness to co-operate with others in the accomplishment of an organization’s objectives. Poor morale is evinced by surliness, insubordination, a feeling of discouragement and dislike of the job, company and associates.”

According to Haimann, “It is a state of mind and emotions affecting the attitude and willingness to work, which in turn, affect individual and organizational objectives.” Joseph D. Mooney describes morale as “the sum total of several psychological qualities which include courage, fortitude, resolution, and above all, confidence.

Importance of Morale:

1. The employee’s background-which includes his levels of indigence and education and his type of personality-largely determines the way in which he seeks to fulfill his needs for belonging, esteem, and self realization. High morale hinges on the satisfaction of these needs.

2. An employee’s personal environment encompasses his relations with his family, friends, and neighbors. The employee brings his thoughts of his home and social life with him when he goes to work and they influence his thinking and attitudes while on the job.

Management practices influencing morale include policies on procedures with respect to wages, promotion methods employee services and benefits, working conditions, handling grievances, disciplinary actions

Interpret Human Resource Planning

Human Resource Planning
Human Resource Planning defines project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships. One key result of Human Resource Planning is the Staffing management plan which depicts how and when team members are added to the team, and how the team members are released from the project, the training needs of the team, and several other key components.
The inputs to Human Resource Planning are:
1. Enterprise Environmental Factors – The Enterprise Environmental Factors that comprise of individuals of an organization interact and relate with one another are an input into Human Resource Planning. Items to considers about enterprise environmental factors involving organizational culture and structure are:
o Organizational – Which organizations or departments are going to be engaged in the project? Are there existing working arrangements between them? What are the formal and informal relationships between the departments?

o Technical – What are the areas of expertise needed to successfully complete this project? Do these skills need to be transitioned to the supporting organization?

o Interpersonal – What types of formal and informal reporting relationships exist among the team members? What are team members current job descriptions? What are their supervisor-subordinate relationships? What levels of trust and respect currently exist?

o Logistical – Are people in different locations or time zones? What are other type of distances between team members?

o Political – What are the individual goals and agendas of the stakeholders? Where is the informal power base and how can that influence the project? What informal alliances exist?

In addition to these factors, there are also constraints. Examples of inflexibility in Human Resource Planning are:

o Organizational Structure – An organization with a weak matrix structure is commonly a constraint.

o Collective Bargaining Agreements – Contractual agreements with service organizations can require interesting nuances to certain roles and reporting arrangements.

o Economic Conditions – Hiring freezes, little to no training funds, and a lack of traveling budget can place restrictions of staffing options.


2. Organizational Process Assets - As an organization's project management methods evolve, experience gained from past projects are available as organizational process assets. Templates and checklists reduce the planning time required and the likelihood of overlooking key responsibilities.

3. Project Management Plan - The Project Management Plan contains activity resource requirements and project management activity descriptions which assist in identifying the types and quantities of resources required for each schedule activity in a work package.

With the proper inputs, the results are going to have a good foundation. Project teams use different tools and techniques to guide the Human Resource Planning process. These three tools and techniques are:
• Organization Charts and Position Descriptions - Organization charts and position descriptions are used to communicate and clarify team member roles and responsibilities and to ensure that each work package is assigned. Organization charts can have three formats: Hierarchical-type Organization chart, Matrix-Based Responsibility Chart, and the Text-oriented format.
• Networking – Informal interactions among co-workers in the organization is a constructive way to comprehend the political and interpersonal factors which will affect organizational relations.
• Organizational Theory – Organizational theory portrays how people, teams, and organizational units behave.

The three outputs from Human Resource Planning are found below:
• Roles and Responsibilities - Clarification of roles and responsibilities gives project team members an understanding of their own rules and the roles of others in the project. Clarity is always a key component of project success.
• Project Organization Charts - A project organization chart is a diagram of the reporting relationships of project team members. Project organization charts should be tailored for their audience, they can give a generalize overview or highly granular.
• Staffing Management Plan - The Staffing Management Plan is an important output of the Human Resource Planning process which establishes the timing and methods for meeting project human resource requirements. The components of the staffing management plan are:
1. Staff Acquisition – Staff Acquisition details how the project will be staffed, where the team will work, and the level of expertise needed with the staff.
2. Timetable – The timetable illustrates the necessary time frames for project team to be available. One tool commonly used is a resource histogram.
3. Release Criteria – Release criteria lists the method and timing of releasing team member.
4. Training Needs – Training needs is a plan on how to train the project resources.
5. Recognition and rewards – Recognition and rewards are the criteria for rewarding and promoting desired team behaviors
6. Compliance – Compliance details the strategies for complying with regulations, contracts, and other established human resource policies.
7. Safety – Safety procedures are listed to protect the team members.






Q.4. Discuss Individual Evaluation Methods

Ans. There are five ways to evaluate and employee individually. In these systems, employees are evaluated one at a time without directly comparing them with other employees.

Graphical rating scale:
The most widely used performance evaluation technique is a graphic rating scale. In this technique, the evaluator is presented with a graph and asked to rate employees on each of the characteristics listed. The number of characteristics rated varies from a few to several dozen. A factor analysis of the results indicates that only two traits were being rated; quality of performance and ability to do the present job.
The rating can be is a series of boxes, or they can be on a continuous scale (0-9) or so. In the latter case, the evaluator places a check above descriptive words ranging from none to maximum. Typically, these ratings are then assigned points. For example, outstanding may be assigned a score of 4 and unsatisfactory a score of 0. Total scores are then computed. In some plans, greater weights may be assigned to more important traits. Evaluators are after asked to explain each rating with a sentence of two.

Forced Choice:
The forced-choice method of evaluation was developed because other methods used at the time led to a preponderance of higher ratings, which made promotion decisions difficult. In forced choice, the evaluator must choose from a set of descriptive statements about the employee. The two-,three-, or four-statement items are grouped in a way that the evaluator cannot easily judge which statements apply to the most effective employee.

Essay evaluation:
In the essay technique of evaluation, the evaluator is asked to describe the strong and weak aspects of the employee’s behavior. In some enterprises, the essay technique is the only one used; in others, the essay summarizes the scale, elaborates on some of the ratings, or discusses added dimensions not on the scale. In both of these approaches the essay can be open ended, but in most cases there are guidelines on the topics to be covered, the purpose of the essay, and so on. The essay method can be used be evaluators who are superiors, peers, or subordinates of the employee to be evaluated.

Management by objectives:
Another individual evaluation method in use today is Management by Objectives (MBO). In this system, the supervisor and employee to be evaluated jointly set objectives in advance for the employee to try to achieve during a specified period. The method encourages, if not requires, them to phrase these objectives primarily in achievement of the objectives. The approach combines the superior and self-evaluation systems.

Critical incident technique:
In this technique, personnel specialists and operating managers prepare lists of statements of very effective and very ineffective behavior for an employee. These are the critical incidents. These are the critical incidents. The personnel specialists combine these statements into categories, which vary with the job. Once the categories are developed and statements of effective and ineffective behaviour are provided, the evaluator “records examples of critical (outstandingly good or bad) behaviors in each of the categories, and the log is used to evaluate the employee at the end of the period. It is also very useful for the evaluation interview, since the evaluator can be specific in making positive and negative comment, and it avoids “recently” bias. The critical incident technique is more likely to be used by superiors than in peer or subordinate evaluations.

Behaviourally anchored rating scale:
Anther technique which essentially is based on the critical incident approach is the Behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS). This technique is also called the behavioural expectation scale (BES). This is new, relatively infrequently used technique.
Supervisors give descriptions of actually good and bad performance, and personnel specialists group these into categories (five to ten is typical). As with weighted checklist, the items are evaluated by supervisors (often other than those who submitted the items). A procedure similar to that for weighted checklists is used to verify the evaluations (outstandingly good, for example) with the smallest standard deviation, hopefully around 1.5 on a 7-point scale. These items are then used to construct the BARS.


Case Study
Vinod has been working in I.G. Ferns and Curtains for almost 15 years. He has been a sincere worker. He leaves his house at 7 a.m. and works till 5.30 p.m. every day. If there is heavy orders, he even works till late in the evenings and if necessary even on Sundays. Though other workers leave their work incomplete at 5.00 p.m. the closing time resume their work only the next day, Vinod does not do so. He invariable completes his work before leaving even it is passed the closing time. The Manager thus depends on Vinod to complete the work left incomplete by other tailors. If there is an additional order, the manager invariably gives it to Vinod.
Vinod married Diana about two years back. After his marriage, he has been indulging in alcoholism. Vinod's marital life was in trouble not very successful. He started developing feeling of hatred towards his wife. He was dissatisfied in his sexual relations and started visiting prostitutes. Here he came under the influence of youngsters. Seeing the deteriorating morale and social life of Vinod, his brother approached IG Ferns and certain and asked them not to overburden him with work. She alleged that because of his working for long hours, he does not pay any attention to his family life. His wife has almost rejected him and if these states of affairs continue she has threatened to break the nuptial bondage.
The firm’s policy at present is to redress the grievances of the employees and to deal with only those grievances relating to the terms and conditions of employment and work.
Questions:

1. Does the issue raised by Vinod's mother come under the purview of Human Resource Management?

2. If you were the Manager, how would you redress this grievance?

3. Do you suggest a change in the present HR policy? If so, mention the policy.

Ans: 1. Yes, the issues raised by vinod’s mother totally come under the purview of human resource management as his extra work pressure took a toll on his social life. He was not able to fulfill his household responsibilities. He was always overburdened with his work. Consequently his social life deteriorated to an extent, that he practised immoral activities.
In my perception, had he been working for normal hours, he would have sufficient time to do justice with his social responsibilities towards his mother and wife.


Ans: 2. Had I been the manager, I would have appreciated Vinod’s hard work and his responsibilities towards his job. However I would have distributed his extra work with his Colleagues equally. It is not possible I would have recruited extra staff to fulfill the overburdened work. So that he was ample amount of time to spend with his family and do justice with his household responsibilities. Infect I would have given him some moral support by giving him promotions and extra work allowances.


Ans: 3. Yes, the present HR policy should be change. In my opinion, the firm should not only amend the grievances of the employee relating to the terms and conditions of the employment but also the firm should entertain some social and moral responsibilities towards the employee. According to me the company should have some internal rotation policy to revitalize the employees. Apart from normal job schedule, they should be some extra work allowances as well. According to the talent and caliber of the employee, he should be given promotion and other recreational facilities.

Distinguish amongst Personnel Management and Human Resources Management

Though the two terms ”Personnel Management “ and “Human Resources Management” are interchangeably used by most of the authors, there are some differences between them. Management of Human Resources is a new field of study embodying behavioral science knowledge relating to the working of line and staff officials and union leaders to motivate organizational goals. On the other hand, personnel Management is that phase of management which deals with the effective control and use of manpower. Yodar, Henemen and other agreed that the HRM is a broad concept which covers many personnel aspects and include social, professional and individual enterprise aspects, whereas Personnel Management focuses only on personnel aspects such as leadership, justice determination, task specialization, staffing, performance appraisal, etc. HRM is more growth oriented whereas Personnel Management is slightly narrow, Human Resources planning is very vital in HRM. This is because it leads to the maximum utilization of human resources, reduces excessive labour turnover and high absenteeism; improves productivity and aids in achieving the objectives of an organization. In addition to the above function, HRM emphasizes on training, an important area of personnel, which covers the following aspects:

1. Increasing productivity;

2. Improving quality;

3. Improving organizational climate;

4. Ensuring personnel growth etc.

Write a note on the Human Resources and their importance

Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business.[1] The terms "human resource management" and "human resources" (HR) have largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations.[1] Human Resource management is evolving rapidly. Human resource management is both an academic theory and a business practice that addresses the theoretical and practical techniques of managing a workforce.

Human Resources and their importance:

From the national standpoint, the human resources can be defined as the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents and aptitudes obtained in the population whereas from the viewpoint of the individual enterprise, they represent the total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills as exemplified in the talents and aptitudes of its employees. The human resources have also been designated as human factors. According to jucius, “The human factor” refers to a whole consisting of inter-related, interdependent and inter-acting physiological, psychological, sociological and ethical components. As regards physiological components. It requires several inputs like food, rest and environmental conditions to satisfy the physiological needs. It also requires protection against harmful and destructive conditions and attempts to avoid loss of income as a measure to have physiological security. Psychologically, it is characterized by emotions and impulses. It likes and dislikes certain thing and some things make one happy while making others unhappy. It is inspired as well as depressed by certain situations. It has numerous psychological need such as autonomy, achievement, power, acquisitiveness etc. through interaction with other. Again as an ethical creature, it has concepts of right and wrong. It tends to do what it thinks right obviously the human factor is dynamic in nature as it revealed in motivation and defense mechanism. It is an on-going process involving the above four sub-process.

The human resources are assuming increasing significance in modern organization. Obviously, majority of the problems in organizational setting are human and social rather than physical, technical or economic. The failure to recognize this fact causes immense loss to the nation, enterprise and the individual. It is a truism that productivity is associated markedly with the nature of human resources and their total environment consisting of inter-related, inter-dependent and interacting economic and non-economic (i.e., political, religious, cultural, sociological and psychological factors. Thus the significance of human resources can be examined from at least two standpoint-economic and non-economic.

Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS, EHRMS), Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), HR Technology or also called HR modules, shape an intersection in between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the planning and programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible.
Modern concept of human resources

Though human resources have been part of business and organizations since the first days of agriculture, the modern concept of human resources began in reaction to the efficiency focus of Taylorism in the early 1900s. By 1920, psychologists and employment experts in the United States started the human relations movement, which viewed workers in terms of their psychology and fit with companies, rather than as interchangeable parts. This movement grew throughout the middle of the 20th century, placing emphasis on how leadership, cohesion, and loyalty played important roles in organizational success. Although this view was increasingly challenged by more quantitatively rigorous and less "soft" management techniques in the 1960s and beyond, human resources had gained a permanent role within an organization.

Borrowing Ultra- Vires the Directors but Intra- Vires the Company

Strictly speaking; the terms ‘intra-vires’ and ‘ultra-vires’ should be used to describe the company’s capacity and should not be used with reference to the Directors’ authority. However, where company has a power to borrow as per its Articles and Memorandum but certain limits have been imposed on the authority of Directors, for instance, Articles of a company may provide that: “the director’s power to borrow shall be limited to Rs. 5,00,000 only”. For borrowings beyond this amount they shall have to seek the prior approval of the general body of shareholders. Besides, under Section 293, Directors cannot borrow beyond the aggregate of paid-up capital and free reserves unless approval of the shareholders has been obtained. However, the restriction does not extend to temporary overdraft from a bank in the ordinary course of business. In such a case borrowings beyond the specified amount without general body’s approval shall be ultra-vires the Directors. The legal position in such cases may be noted as follows:

1. If the lender was aware of the lack of authority on the part of Directors, he will have no right of action against the company.

2. But where the Directors, under the Articles could exercise the borrowing powers subject to certain approvals, the lender could rely on the doctrine of indoor management that the necessary approvals would have been obtained [Royal British Bank Vs. Turquand (1956)]. The company shall be bound in such cases.

3. The company shall be held liable if the money borrowed by Directors beyond their authority is used for the benefit of the company [Krishna Kumar Rohtagi V s. State Bank of India (1980) J. The Patna High Court in the said case observed that under general principles of law, when an agent borrows money for a principal without the authority of the principal but the principal takes the benefit of money so borrowed, or when the money so borrowed has gone into the coffers of the principal, the law implies the promise to be paid by the principal. There is nothing in law which makes the principle inapplicable to the case of joint stock companies.

In the aforesaid case, the company borrowed Rs. 5 lakhs from a bank under a promissory note. The repayment of the loan was guaranteed by a person by executing a guarantee. In a suit filed for recovery of the money under promissory note, both the company and the person who had guaranteed the loan denied their liabilities. The company contended that the pronote was executed by the Chairman of the company without there being a resolution of the Board of Directors authorising him to execute the said pronote and as such the company was not liable to pay the amount in question. The court while rejecting the contention of the company directed the company to pay the amount.

Procedure relating to Inter-company Loans

1. Ensure that the Memorandum of Association contains the power to lend funds of the company. If not, then amend it accordingly. The Board’s power to make loans is governed by Sec. 292.

2. Pass a unanimous resolution of the Board of Directors at a meeting of the

Board. 3. Make note of the aggregate of the loans already made to bodies corporate. 4. Arrange to pass a special resolution if the aggregate of loans, guarantees, etc.,

and investments in other bodies corporate including the proposed loan exceeds 60 per cent of the aggregate of the paid-up capital and free reserves or 100 of the free reserves, whichever is higher, of the lending company.

5. Ensure that the notice of the special resolution contains the prescribed details, viz., the specific limits; the particulars of the body corporate to whom loan is proposed to be made; the purpose of the loan; and specific sources of funding and other such details.

6. Where any term loan is subsisting, obtain the prior approval of the concerned public financial institution in case any default was made in repayment of loan or payment of interest to the public financial institution as per the terms and conditions. .

7. If special resolution is passed for making the loans, then file it alongwith the explanatory statement in Form No. 23 with the Registrar within 30 days of its passing after paying the requisite fee prescribed under Schedule X to the Companies Act, 1956.

8. If the loan is to be secured by a charge registrable under the Companies Act, see that the provisions of Section 125 of the Act regarding ‘registration of charges’ are complied with by the borrowing company (that is ensure that the borrowing company has filed with the Registrar of Company a copy of the instrument of charge within 30 days after its creation).

9. In case borrowing company / companies is/ are a FERA company, ensure that the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 are duly complied with.

10. After advancing the loans the particulars of loans should be entered in the Register within 7 days. The Register should comply with requirements of Sec. 372-A (5) of the Act.

4. State the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 regarding maintenance of Register of Loans. What particulars are required to be entered into such Register?

.9l.. Sub-section (5) to Sec. 372-A requires every lending company to maintain a register of loans showing the following particulars regarding every loan made, every guarantee given or every security provided by the lending company:

(i) the name of the borrowing body corporate;

(ii) the amount, terms and purpose of the loan or security or guarantee;

(iii) the date of making the loan; and

(iv) the date of giving the guarantee or providing the security.

Particulars of every loan, guarantee or security must be entered in the register

within 7 days of making such loan or giving such guarantee or providing such security.