PREFACE The scope of Human Resources management is indeed vast. All major activities in the working life working life of a worker ± form the time of his or her entry into an organization until he or she leaves ± come under the purview of HRM. Specifically the activities included are ± HR planning, job analysis and design, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement, training and development, performance appraisal a nd job evaluation, employee and executive remuneration, remuneration, motivation a nd communication, welfare, safety and health, Industrial Relations etc. HRM differs from Personnel Management both in scope and orientation. HRM views people as an important source or asset to be used for the benefit of organizations, employees and the society. HRM is being integrated into the overall strategic management of business. Different departments of the organization are internal customers of one another. In every industry there exists web of individual, group and organizational relationships. These relationships are complex because economics and business are involved in it. These premises prepare the ground for the study as to what is the perception regarding HR department and its s ervices by the other departments. This research constitutes real feedback and perceptions from 60 employees from managerial and executive level from different departments of the organization regarding to the functions of the HR HR department. Whatever
the HR personnel personnel and HR department think of of the value
and contribution of HR, it is very important to know what the internal customers believe. Their perceptions, whether justified or not, form the most important half of the reality of the department¶s relationships with them. t hem. This study will help to understand the perception of HR department in the organization and also to get the feedback from the employees from different departments regarding to the functions of HR department to find out avenues for improvement in the services and to prepare an action plan to contribute more effectively.
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to my research guide, Dr. Leena Singhvi for her constant and valuable support, guidance and encouragement. Her valuable guidance was ever a positive force behind me. My sincere thanks to all the respondents for making this study possible with their frank and true opinions. I would like to express my indebted gratitude to L&T for granting me the permission to conduct the study. I am very grateful to all of them who helped me in conducting my study successfully. Finally my sincere appreciation to my family, friends and all other who helped me in r esearch work.
Baroda th
30 March, 2011
Aserkar Shirin
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to my research guide, Dr. Leena Singhvi for her constant and valuable support, guidance and encouragement. Her valuable guidance was ever a positive force behind me. My sincere thanks to all the respondents for making this study possible with their frank and true opinions. I would like to express my indebted gratitude to L&T for granting me the permission to conduct the study. I am very grateful to all of them who helped me in conducting my study successfully. Finally my sincere appreciation to my family, friends and all other who helped me in r esearch work.
Baroda th
30 March, 2011
Aserkar Shirin
2
INTRODUCTI NTRODUCTION: HRM has come a long way from its good old days of Personnel and Administration functions. What started as a welfare and administration oriented activity, has now assumed significance as the employees started getting recognized more as live resources with their own minds and hearts than as inanimate objects or robots.
DEFI DEFINING HRM: Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can a lso be performed by line managers. Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and traini ng. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or non-profit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have²and are aware of²personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have. There is a long-standing argument about where HR-related functions should be organized into large organizations, e.g., "should HR be in the Organization Development department or the other way around?" The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone tremendous change over the past 20±30 years. Many years ago, large organizations looked to the "Personnel Department,"
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mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organizations consider the "HR Department" as playing a major role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organization are performing at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner. Although the strategic dimension has been an integral part of the HRM literature from the start onwards, this strategic focus has been str essed more and more in the literature during the last decades. Human Resource Management has become St rategic Human Resource Management as witnessed by many introductions to the field. In doing this the added value of HRM is stressed. In much of the recent literature the contribution of HRM to the business performance is studied and the assumption seems to be that a more strategic focus of HRM will contribute to added value and/or performance. The strategic focus of HRM asks for an integration of HRM issues within senior management issues. In other words senior managers must be aware of the importance of HRM issues, and include HR considerations within their decision making. Despite getting redefined as HRM, it continued to retain is ³SUPPORT ONLY´ tag, rarely finding a place in the decision making process. Fortunately, things are changing for the better and HR Department is no longer seen myopically as cost centers only, but as strategic business partner too. More so in the present difficult economic environment, CEOs in a volte face are turning to their HR heads to save costs, in terms of retaining the key employees and motivating them to deliver their best. Thus the HR professional has to fulfill business aspirations and at the same time, meet the employee expectations«.
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CHALLENGING ROLE INDEED«.. Employees may join the organization for pay, brand or any other reason, but they will stay for the care, concern and sensitivity the organization shows towards them as they move along. Even laying off or parting with some could be handled with compassion as the key lies in keeping the communication open, free and transparent. Going an extra mile in extending a helping hand in their outplacements shall go a long way i n boosting the image of the organization. For this, the HR professional, apart from their functional knowledge need to develop an innate desire to understand the business, its intricacies and challenges. There is no denying of the fact that HRM is a vital organizational function and the line between success and failure of any organization generally owes its origin to the HR Department. The workplace is changing fast with knowledge industry ruling the roost and the HR function is getting more complex by the day. Thus it is in a state of transition from mere support function to an almost an operational or a line one, to say the least. Understanding and managing people will assume a totally new dimension in the sense; employer pays well and expects high contribution from the employees at the same time: which by itself is a tall order for HR to handle. There may arise a situation where many routine HR activities could be outsourced and the vital few with a strategic orientation only continues to remain in the HR¶s domain. Talent management may have to cross the traditional HR boundaries to align with other unconventional disciplines. Of all, the changing role of HR Professional also demands them to educate the top echelons, in social responsibility, public policy and ethics etc., to that extent they may have to redefine their own role now along with the perception prevalent within the organization about their role and functions.
The
ind epend ent variabl es t ak en for study pur pose ar e as follows:
Satisfaction with operational and strategic HRM activities . The strategic contribution to the
organization is contingent on the operational contribution. One wonders whether it is also the other way round: is the operational contribution also contingent on the strategic one? We do not think ± at least not in the perception of managers. It is believed so because for many
5
managers fulfilment of specific operational HR tasks is paramount. Fulfilment of strategic activities is a nice extra, but the day-to-day operations will not be much affected by it. On the other hand, their perception of role effectiveness of strategic roles will be affected by the dayto-day operations carried out by HRM. Organizational
culture . Organizational culture affects the perception of HR role
effectiveness. Looking at public organizations one can discern a more traditional, hierarchical organizational culture, and a more modern organizational culture oriented on flexibility and the individual employee. The former (hierarchical) culture is more oriented towards the traditional personnel management function, the latter more towards H RM. With respect to the operational roles, the employee will not be valued so much in a hierarchical culture. Hence one would expect that a hierarchical culture will be positively related HR role as administrative expert, and negatively to the other three r oles. Leadership style. Managers will use different leadership styles. Some styles have a better fit
with HRM roles than others. Especially a coaching leadership style fits with the HR role as employee champion. However, to operate effectively one also needs some basic information. Therefore, it is expected that managers with a more coaching leadership style will more positively evaluate both operational HR r oles. Trained in HRM . Some managers are trained in HRM, and are therefore familiar with the
HRM id eology, others are not, and will therefore be less familiar with HRM ideas. One can assume that those who are trained in HRM will know that HRM should also have a strategic focus. Managers who are trained in HRM will be mor e positive about the role performance of the HR roles as strategic partner and change agent. In recent times, the HR professionals need to achieve qualitative and quantitative results in all basic sub-functions of human resource management. The challenge is managing and achieving quality results in situations which are dema nding better time management, resource management and growth of the organization. HR professionals need to play a balancing role. The role being referred to is that of driving task performance at the same time caring for the needs to the employee. Management is happy if employees can achieve more than expected and employees are happy with employers go extra mile to see employee needs are understood and taken care of... The extra mile needs to be ±
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1.
Career opportunities.
2. Welfare policies. 3. Training policies. 4. Reward policies. The above policies need to take care of minimum legal requirements and also should be able to manage the expectations of employees and management. Duly considering the fact that Talent is a scarce resource and that the future competitiveness of any company will be related with the capacity that an organization will have in hiring, retaining, capacitating and motivating them and much needed to ensure business continuity. To achieve this goal is needed full commitment from Senior Management and a targeted communicational strategy to overcome any behavior of resistance to change on the part of employees.
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PERCEPTIONS OF EMPLOYEES In the process of finding a job, almost everyone's first point of contact with a company is its human resources department. Resumes are sent to their attention, interviews are scheduled through them, and a large part of the hiring proc ess ² from the first call to the offer letter ² is managed by them. And after being on a first-name basis with everyone in the HR department for months, most employees have almost no interaction with them until it's time for the perfunctory exit interview. Unless of course, there's a problem such as a conflict with a supervisor or colleague, issues of harassment or improper conduct in the workplace or a smaller-than-hoped-for raise or bonus. In fact, human r esources professionals play a vital rol e in how well (or poorly) a company functions, even if most of their work is behind the scenes. They perform an almost unfathomably large range of tasks, including managing diversity initiatives, resolving interpersonal work-related conflicts and managing compensation and benefits issues. As a result, HR jobs can be some of the most challenging and diverse. One of the reasons the profession is so exciting is because it's so varied. You can be a generalist, which means you handle every aspect of the employee relationship from designing discipline systems to analyzing future needs based on where the company wants to go with recruitment and hiring. Even though most of us think of HR experts only when it comes to hiring, HR is not all staring at resumes and dealing with the dotting of I's and crossing of T's on employee benefits paperwork. "One of the things an HR specialist spends their time on is converting the strategy of an organization into action through people. Many HR positions involve large amounts of interaction with employees and managers throughout a company in order to determine what the skills of the current workforce are, and to determine which skills are needed in the future to manage growth. HR also involves doing a lot of industry research in order to take advantage of any trends or changes in a given industry so that the company can run as efficiently as possible.
F or exampl e,
if a company is
losing employees and potential new hires to a competitor, it's up to the human resources group to figure out why it's not able to be as competitive. The answer may be as simple as a salary discrepancy, but other issues such as commute times, work culture and perks might also be factors that must be addressed. One of the mandates of any HR team is to evaluate and analyze current situations in order to keep the company running as best it can with few wasted resources. HR specialists have roles in functional areas such as benefits, diversity, compensation, recruiting and organizational
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development. Watching the wa nt ads, you'll notice more and more jobs are looking for people who have an organizational development background, which is one of the most important roles that HR groups play today, is based on "talent management, looking at jobs and figuring out what skill sets people need to move around in jobs and how to develop those skill sets, job analysis, workforce planning and analysis ² really looking at the whole of the organization and what is needed in the workforce. Change management initiatives are in that arena, and so at the pace companies are changing these days that's why people with organizational development backgrounds are in such high demand." In what might seem like a blast of sweet irony, HR professionals need to apply for (and interview for) their jobs just like everyone else. While there is no set list of skills that guarantees employment, a mix of the right work and academic experience is key to getting hired. Historically, and as late as
10
to
15
years ago, degree programs in HR weren't
available, so you didn't have folks in college saying I'm going into Human Resources, most often, you came from other disciplines in the organization and you gravitated toward HR either because of a desire or skill. Today, many universities offer undergraduate and graduate-level programs in HR, and there are also part-time and online certificate programs for people who want to build their human resources skills. In addition to having the right academic pedigree, analysis, strategy and strong people skills are important in human resources. Even today, it is more common for someone to enter HR mid-career from another functional area because the skills needed to perform the job are best cultivated with experience. While many employers now seek applicants who hold degrees in human resources, the experience of working in other positions in a company gives a greater understanding of what those jobs are like, and that empathy can be particularly valuable when evaluating job structure and performing other duties in HR. HR is really an umbrella that covers many different jobs within a company, and as such there are jobs for people with just about any personality type or skill set. For those who enjoy meeting new people, an ideal job might be in campus recruiting. These positions can involve quite a bit of travel, and typically require back-to-back meetings with eager young applicants at school-sponsored job fairs. For people who enjoy number crunching, working on the benefits side of the fence can be a good career option. In short, no matter what kind of abilities one may possess, there's a good chance.... that there's a good match in an HR department. I think what's most important about someone going into HR today is not so much the traditional HR background but having good business skills is just as important as the HR knowledge of employment laws.
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STRATEGIC HR How different is it from the conventional administrative HR? The current HR function is very much configured like the company¶s purchasing department. People, like parts and supplies, are requisitioned by user departments bas ed on depletion and growth rat es of their operations. Both resources are screened for quality control and cost or budget constraints. The only slight difference is that unlike purchased parts, people are trained or prepared before they are sent t o the requisitioning parties which may train them further before actual deployment or usage. HR is also involved in the replacement, termination and retirement process of unusable people assets, much like the handling of depreciated equipment. In short, most HR systems exist not only for replenishment and maintenance of a resource called people; they also tend to be engaged in developing, nurturing and grooming them. Strategic HR does not abandon these administrative responsibilities. Otherwise, no other department in the company will carry out these ³operations-sustaining´ activities. But its main task is to participate in corporate strategy rather than support administration. Strategic HR is more proactive rather than reactive in its relationships with the other functional areas. It is more concerned about what its internal customers need in the future to compete globally. Strategic HR managers do not wait for instructions, requisition or complaints. It does its homework, does research on the future, and offers proactive solutions and strategic a dvice. Strategic HR is preventive rather than corrective or punitive. It is developmental in orientation. The conventional HR function is the dispenser or implementers of justice and protector of corporate assets. It views employees as resources not are wasted rather than strategic resources to be developed. Strategic HR aims to create a working environment conducive for employees to do things right the first time. It aims to prevent mistakes rather than punish them. Strategic HR is output driven rather than input oriented. For instance, training results are measured not in terms of training hours or number of trainees per year, but in terms of improvement in the trainee performance attributable to the training. Performance improvement can be in terms of productivity, efficiency, Quality of Production (defects), customer satisfaction or conversely, number of customer complaints received. Strategic HR personnel are concerned with these results as much as the operating departments it serves. In spite of the fact that output results are more difficult to measure than input deployed, strategic
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HR aims to find ways and means to directly and indirectly measure these more accurate metrics of its success and effectiveness. Strategic HR is mainly pre-occupied in moulding the employees of the future today. For organizations to survive and excel in the future, its needs to develop or acquire employees who are multi-skilled, cross-functional, empowered, team players. In addition, they have to have high emotional intelligence (EQ) and capable of thinking ³Out of the Box´ about the future. They should be capable not only of improving their work, but reengineering or reinventing it if necessary. Front liners, who are engaged in millions of ³Moments of Truth´ meeting customers, must have superior flexibility, resourcefulness, and excellent memories especially if their task requires greeting customers by their first or last names. Strategic HR keeps these employee attributes as its goals while conducting its basic processes of recruitment, training, job rotation, career mapping, and performance appraisal. Strategic HR aligns performance criteria systems with corporate goals and strategies rather than traditional functional concerns. It includes in performance criteria of both rank and file employees and managers those that will enable them to contribute to corporate goals. Most traditional HR performance appraisal systems basically gauge how well a subordinate satisfied his boss or superior during the appraisal period. This degree of satisfaction may or may not be related to how well the employee contributed to corporate goals. Most of the time, it does not. For this reason, conventional performance appraisal has become a highly politicized, controversial, wasteful exercise that creates more disharmony than teamwork in the organization. Strategic HR appraises people on the more relevant output performance like quality, productivity, internal and external customer satisfaction. If negative criteria are used, these become defects or rework, wastes, and internal and external customer complaints or returns. In banking, performance appraisal may include lost calls, closed accounts, queuing time, and clerical errors, ATM downtime, improvement projects. Strategic HR aims to change employee behaviour and attitude by directly connecting his appraisal (and eventually his pay) to what actually matters to corporate performance and customer satisfaction. It puts less weight on nebulous criteria like teamwork, attendance, boss satisfaction, and neatness. HR is no longer a backroom or support function. It is in the forefront of corporate strategy, much like sales and marketing. It provides and determines competitiveness to an ever increasing degree. All other things being equal ± financial, physical, and product assets ±
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people will make the difference between two competing companies. Strategic HR can make this difference happen. Looking at all these aspects, there is spurring need to recognize the importance of HR and value of the intangible assets, particularly people. A few years ago, Infosys did a human capital accounting exercise which valued each employee at more than 70 lacs, the total value of human capital far exceeding the revenues of the organization. Any manager who only looks at the financials in a balance sheet, audited by chartered accountants, and does not understand the value of intangible assets like human capital, has to start learning the ABC of business.
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RESEARCH TITLE: A
Study of Perception of employees about the role of HR department of 56 employees at L&T.
SIGNIFICANCE AND NEED OF THE STUDY:
Many HR positions involve large amounts of interaction with employees and managers throughout a company in order to determine what the skills of the current workforce are, and to determine which skills are needed in the future to manage growth. HR also involves doing a lot of industry research in order to take advantage of any trends or changes in a given industry so that the company can run as efficiently as possible. In every industry there is a web of relationships which consists of the relationship between individuals, groups and between the organizations. In an organization different departments are internal customers for the HR department. This study is to understand the perceptions of the internal customers towards the functions of HR department which will help to understand the image of the department and also to find out the areas in which there is a need for improvement to contribute more effectively to the organization. This study was aimed to understand perception of HR department¶s functions by different departments and to find out avenues for improvement in the services provided by the HR department in order to contribute more effectively in the organization. This study will help to understand the perception of HR department in the organization and also to get the feedback from the employees from different departments regarding to the functions of HR department to find out avenues for improvement in the services and to prepare an action plan to contribute more effectively. There has been a genuine effort to make the tool for the data collection as relevant as possible to the particular organization and the target group for data collection. This study would help students and to professional practitioners to understand the perceptions of the internal customers towards the functions of HR department in a manufacturing set up. This will help them to find out the areas on which they should focus as HR professionals to be more effective in the organization.
13
Company Profile
Larsen & Toubro Power LTD, Baroda
14
Larsen & Toubro Vadodara: Larsen & Toubro (L&T), whi h is setting up Knowledge Cit , wants to develop Vadodara as country¶s largest engineer ing hub. While inaugurating an engineer ing campus at Waghodia on the outsk ir ts of the city on Fr iday, L&T¶s chairman and managing director AM Naik said that Vadodara will act as headquar ters of three out of 18 operating companies of the group, including L&T Power, L&T Hydrocar bon and E-engineer ing. ³City will have 12,000 to 15,000 engineers by 2020 at a single location,´ said Naik, adding that Knowledge City will act as headquar ters of the three companies. L&T also wants to set up an engineer ing college for its employees for which it has already approached state government.
Naik said that former ABB India head R avi Uppal has already been appointed as CEO and managing director of L&T Power, a 100 percent subsidiary of L&T. ³In engineer ing services, we will create 10,000 new jobs over next four years, of which half will be in Gujarat,´ he said, adding, ³In hydrocarbon space, it will cater to needs of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors and in power, design suppor t for complete projects. We expect to generate project expor ts revenue of over R s 2,000 crore within f ive years and generate employment to around 5,000 technical professionals in next f ive years,´ he said. Integrated campus will enable L&T to extend and fur ther develop its existing capabilities in process engineer ing, product development, mechanical design and analysis, process evaluation and technology adaptation.Apar t from that, L&T is also setting up Institute of Project Management to develop project managers across domains of engineer ing, procurement, construction and manufactur ing at µKnowledge City¶. The campus that presently houses three buildings will see investment wor th R s 500 crore in infrastructure and buildings alone spread over a per iod of f ive years. L&T plans to have 11 buildings constructed across 112 acres in f irst phase which will also house convention centre, employees hostel, residential colony, food cour ts and enter tainment facilities. ³We have utili ed only par t of the capacity and it has potential for expansion ten times over,´ said Naik, adding that in next f ive years, over 2,000 employees will live on the campus.
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HR Depar t ment :
Eff iciency, Prof itability and in fact the very existence of the under tak ing will depend on this constituents. Co-operation and dedication in performance on the par t of its personnel ends in the accomplishment of its objectives. Therefore human resource is of immense impor tance since it involves matters such as identifying, placing, evaluating, and developing individuals at work and maintaining effective multilateral communication systems. Human resources along with f inancial and mater ial resources contr ibute to production of goods and services in an organi ation.. In shor t HRM may be def ined as the ar t of procur ing, developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an organi ation in an effective and eff icient manner. T
y
Larsen & Toubro Limited is the largest engineer ing f irm in South Asia. Our Net sales stood at R s.248531 million, PBT at R s.27392.20 million and PAT at R s.21734.20 st million (All f igures are as on 31 March 2008)
Determined to become a professionally managed multinational, dedicated in providing optimum satisfaction to both internal and external customers, L&T conducts business in line with its Corporate Vision statement. L&T is being led forward in the path of change, by a team of dedicated professional leaders, whose vision and constant str iving for excellence has helped the organi ation reach greater heights.
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L & T Structure :
Board Members
Sr. Executive Vice President/ Sr. Vice President
Executive Vice President (EVP)
M4A, M4B
Tier 4 (Cov)
M3A, M3B, M3C
Tier3 (Cov)
M2A, M2B, M2C
Tier 2 (Cov)
Tier 1(Cov)
M1A, M1B, M1C
E1, E2, E3
Executive (E)
S1, S2, S3
Supervisor (S)
17
JSA, JSB, JSC
T
ju nior Super isor
Vi i
Strategi Mi i
- L
SHYA
To compete and grow in a globalised business environment, L&T is implementing a strategic plan (LAKSHYA) for 2005-10. The plan has been drawn up in consultation with a leadinginternational strategy consultant. It has set ambitious growth targets for each business. Also included are oppor tunities for diversif ication of L&T's business por tfolio. Values
The company views success not as an end in itself but a means of attaining the greater good for the society. The company is built around the pursuits of adding values to employees, stakeholders, and the society at large. The excellence lies in what the company does/produce to make India proud. The company believes its true success to be in the transformation of people through continuous enr ichment of their minds and the quality of their lives.
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OBJECTI ES OF THE STUDY y
To study P ercept ion of Rol e of HR in Ot her Depar t ments of t he organizat ion
y
To study the views of the employees, their experiences, grievances towards the HR Department.
y
To study the perceptions of the
employees at managerial and executive levels
from different departments regarding the contribution of HR department in the organization and towards their department y
To study the perception through 8 subsystems of HR through which it contributes to the organization
y
To study the image of the HR department in the organization
y
To study the areas for improvement for the HR department
Universe:
The universe of the study was the total employees at staff level including managers and executives at all levels from all the departments at L&T, which has
59
employees at staff
level out of which 56 employees are from other than HR department. Sample Size:
For the purpose of the study all the 56 employees at staff level were considered. Only the HR department personnel were exempted from the universe. Sampling Technique:
For the purpose of selecting the sample for the study, the census inquiry technique was used. All the employees from staff level which work in the departments other than the HR department were covered. Research design ±Explorator and Descriptive in nature Reference period ± Ma 2010 to March 2011 Sample Size- 56 emplo ees Data Collection: The information has been collected with the help of the questionnaire tool,
which will consist of the closed ended questions only. 19
Treatment of data: The intended method for analysis of the data shall be done through SPSS
software. Results Presentation: Along with the theoretical presentation, the findings and conclusions are shown in the form of Pie charts and Tables.
The technique used was questionnaire to derive the perceptions of the employees on different aspects. A
five point scal e is used from st rongly di sagr ee t o st rongly agr ee.
1.
Strongly Agree
2.
Agree
3.
Partially agree
4.
Disagree
5.
Strongly Disagree
Along with the five pointer scale, a 3 pointer scale is also used: 1.
Yes
2. No 3. Can¶t say
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The responses taken from the respondents may not be accurate on account of: a) Lack of understanding on part of the respondent b) Indifference towards the survey process c) Though the great efforts were put to convince the respondents for the study, the responses received were not real but biased one as the employees had the fear that management will take actions against them based on the opinion given by them. d) Another limitation of the study is the time factor. The respondents did not have much time to fill up questionnaire seriously and they filled the questionnaire just for the sake of filling it. e) The study is to a certain extent limited by the vastness of the canvas and the time available with the researcher for t he study.
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PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY:
The study is presented in the following manner. Chapterisation: Chapter 1
-
Introduction & Research Methodology
Chapter 2
-
Review of Literatures
Chapter 3
-
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Chapter 4
-
Findings, Conclusion and Suggestions
Annexure:
1. Bibliography
2. Questionnaire
21
22
Review of literature is necessary for scientific approach and is regarded important for scientific research. It gives the researcher the insight into various facts of problem. It also gives researcher the understanding of work done in past one cannot precede with research in proper direction with various theories until he has gone through various related literature and is well acquainted. The review of literature is the most important component of the research. It prepares the researcher to formulate a researchable problem as well as helps in avoiding any duplication of work done earlier. A careful review of literature enables the researcher to collect and synthesize prior studies related to the present study. It also gives insight regarding the possible methods which can be persuaded for the undertaking of similar investigation . A retrospective survey of literature was undertaken to investigate the related researches conducted in that area. The review of literature has been collected from various sources such as books, previous researches and websites. In this chapter discussion on various aspects of the perception of the employees about the role of HR was done. It included the expert views on different roles assumed by HR and important factors that help HR to gain and retain its niche in the organization. In order to make the review clear and understanding, it had been broadly divided into different sub- topics. Comparing Line and HR Executives' Perceptions of HR Effectiveness: Services, Ro les, and Contributions A Stud b Patrick M. Wright, School of ILR, Cornell Universit , 2003.
This study compares HR and line executives' evaluations of the effectiveness of the HR function in terms of its service delivery, roles, and contributions to the fir m. Survey responses from 44 HR and
59
line executives from
14
companies indicated that (a) HR executives
consistently rated the functions' effectiveness higher than did line executives, and (b) the greatest differences were observed on the more important and/or strategic aspects of HR.
23
Emplo ee perceptions and their inf luence on training effectiveness Amalia Santos, Ro al Botanic Gardens, Kew , Universit of Leeds
Studies of the benefits of human resource development (HRD) for organizations have assumed a direct connection between training strategy and a hierarchy of performance outcomes: learning, behavioral change and performance improvement. The influence of workplace practices and employees' experiences on training effectiveness has received little attention. This study investigates evaluation strategies designed to elicit greater training effectiveness, and explores the influence of trainees' perceptions and work environment factors on this. Drawing on detailed case study findings, the authors highlight the importance of management practices, trainees' perceptions of the work environment and systems of reward in explaining behavior change aft er training. A stud on Focus of HR functions shifts from internal operations to a more direct role in corporate performance b G lobal
HR Transformation Study b Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006
The human resource (HR) function around the world continues to change as it shifts its focus from enhancing internal operations to maximizing contribution to the corporation¶s business performance. According to the 2006
Global
HR
T ransformat ion
Study b Mercer Human
Resource Consulting, half (50%) of organizations are in the midst of transforming their HR
functions, while 12% completed a transformation within the past year and another 10% plan to begin the process within the next year. HR transformation is the process of recreating or reinventing the HR function with the specific intent of enhancing HR¶s contribution to the business. Mercer¶s study, which builds on a similar one conducted in 2003, includes responses from nearly
1,400
organizations in all
industries across Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand and North America. It provides insights about the current realities, trends, obstacles and opportunities facing organizations¶ HR functions around the world. The stud shows a clear shift in HR priorities. While 40% of survey respondents listed
human capital strategy as a principal function of HR today, 64% expect it to become a key function within two to three years. Leadership development and talent management are other areas expected to become more important. Conversely, 46% of survey respondents listed 24
operational excellence within the HR function as a priority today, while only 32% see it as a key function in the next few years. ³HR transformation is clearly a continuous process. The first wave of transformation, which started
5
to
10
years ago, focused on improving technology and service delivery with the
expectation that HR would transition to a more strategic role within the organization,´ said Karen Piercy, a principal and HR effectiveness expert in Mercer¶s Human Capital business. ³Today, HR functions around the world are challenged with delivering on this expectation ² to make human capital strategies a reality rooted in improving competitiveness and profitability.´
The Importance of Being in HR
With just one swipe of Budget 200 5, the Finance Minister has made life difficult for HR professionals. The Fringe Benefit Tax threatens to nullify all the creativity and innovation displayed by the HR fraternity over the last 10 years to offer improved benefits t o employees. It's time for the profession to rework its strategies. In the
1960s
and
1970s,
creativity, ingenuity, innovation and resourcefulness were terms that
were not normally associated with the HR fraternity. Gerald G. D'Souza, Senior VicePresident HR, The UB Group, says that it's only in the last 10 years that HR has come into its own. "Hardcore organisation development, organisational behaviour and training have become centre-stage." It's also true that HR as we know it today dominates IT and other knowledge-based industries. "Earlier what we called 'welfare activities' is now being championed by HR," says D'Souza, adding, "and activities that are part of normal work are called HR interventions. This is how jargon gets built up." Rahul Varma of Accenture says that the HR department, over the years, has become more
strategic to an organisation's success. High-performing companies focus on building human capital that comprises core HR processes such as recruiting, career development and competency management, as well as broader issues such as workplace design, learning and training, and knowledge management.
25
"Our research has shown that there is a strong link between the maturity of an organisation's human capital processes and its overall financial performance. Effective human capital management practices do matter," he adds.
What Needs to Be Done
There are a lot of things that need to be accomplished in HR before HR programs and practices can begin supporting the corporate brand. The list is immense, but some recommended starting points follow: Stop executing HR in a vacuum. Managing the most valuable corporate asset in a world-class way requires cooperation with marketing and f inance. Identify where your standard operating procedures, policies, and reward systems contradict the customer experience your corporate brand depends upon, and fix them. (Every company should find at least one major contradiction. If you are having problems, look at how you provide bonus compensation.) Measure the success of your recruiting and training initiatives based on the customer perception of the quality of your workforce; aft er all, it is their opinion that matters most!
Identify how your employees perceive your organization, and compare that to how you want customers to perceive your organization. If there is a disconnect, it must be resolved. (Note that resolution does not mean telling the employee they are wrong! Branding relies upon their perception, not yours.)
Conclusion
You and I both know that corporate branding initiatives are created in a vacuum, and not always based upon reality, or the ability of our firm to live up to the image created. Unfortunately, failing to follow through on a promise put forth by our brand, either stated or implied, is one of the easiest and most effective ways to drive customers away and revenues down.
26
Branding initiatives should always have the customer as their primary focus, and focus on their needs and wants. In some cases, the customer is internal, in other cases external. Branding can be used to a ccomplish a variety of challenges, but success depends upon follow through, and that depends upon the quality of your workforce and their ability to deliver. As people become the key competitive advantage in any industry the human resource (HR) development function will and should play a more strategic role. It should go beyond its mere administrative support function to operations and front line departments. Whether or not company views HR strategically may decide whether market share, sales, or profits would increase or not. An effective HR strategy becomes equally decisive as the company¶s marketing strategy. Technology too is changing HR roles. As industries, and the way they compete become knowledge-based, HR performance indicators will shift from manpower and man-hours supplied to brainpower and brain hours delivered. The key result areas in people management will also shift from production and quantity to productivity and quality. Capability, measured in employee ideas generated and implemented, and productivity gained, will be more important than capacity, measured in man-hours available, man-hours lost, absent eeism, etc. KEY FINDINGS
DEMOGRAPHICS The HR pul se survey attracted a strong respondent sample of 1816 individuals. Some notable facts about the sample include: 1378
HR managers and 438 non HR managers responded to the survey
Nine out of 10 respondents are from organizations that have a n HR function Three quarters of respondents hold an HR position in the organization Nine out of 10 HR respondents hold a formal quali¿cation in HR.
27
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS SIX KEY FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY: 1. Understanding the HR role: A considerable number of HR respondents (63. 5%) believe
that employees in the business do not understand or are unsure about what the human resources department does or what it should be doing. Of non-HR respondents to the survey, that number stands at 80.4%. 2. Effectiveness of HR: On the related question of whether HR is seen as effective, 4 5.9% of
HR respondents believe it is not effective or they are unsure, and 73. 5% of non-HR respondents take the same view. That should come as no surprise. If people in the business do not know what HR should be doing, they are not going to be well placed to determine whether they are effective in doing it. 3. Whose interests should HR serve? A further disparity in the data relates to the question
about whose interests HR should be serving. While nine out of 10 respondents quite properly expect HR to serve µthe business¶ as its ¿rst priority, they also report that HR is perceived to serve the interests, in order, of µsenior management¶ (72%), µemployees¶ (60%) and µthe CEO¶ (59%). Those ¿gures are not conducive to a good look for the HR profession. 4. Is HR necessary? With only one in 10 non-HR respondents ( 11%) believing that HR is not
a necessary function in the business, there is clearly a signi¿cant divide between the high expectations placed on the HR function and what it¶s seen to deliver. 5. Responsibility of the business. Notwithstanding the strong belief in the necessity of the
HR function, survey respondents report that the most senior HR person in their organization is a direct report to the CEO in only 54% of cases. That relatively low number suggests that a great many businesses largely fail to understand and adequately recognize a part of the business that is critical to their success. If the HR function matters, and this survey says it does, the onus is on both the business and the HR practitioners within it, to accord the function an appropriate standing and to resource it accordingly. 6. An image makeover? Not surprisingly, approximately three quarters (7 5%) of respondents
surveyed believe the HR function in business needs an image makeover, a conclusion from which at least three things can be inferred: y
HR practitioners need to behave differently, and that includes being more highly
28
trained to perform the roles for which they claim expertise. y
HR practitioners need to explain their value to the business more effectively, and have good reason to expect that value to be endorsed from the top.
y
The business needs to assume responsibility for properly recruiting, training and developing HR staff to enable them to exercise leadership and strategic thinking, and to accord staff at that level appropriate standing within the business.
HR: PERCEPTION AND REALITY 1. UNDERSTANDING THE HR ROLE
Nearly two thirds of HR respondents believe that their colleagues in the business do not understand what they do or what they should be doing, or are unsure on the question (36% and 27. 5% respectively). With approximately eight out of 10 non-HR respondents (80.4%) taking similar views ( 51.3% and 29.1% respectively); the task for HR to be transparent and articulate is inescapable. Clearly there is a case for HR practitioners within business to market their skills more effectively. At the same time it is incumbent on the business to make that accountability a key performance indicator of a staff member with sufficient clout as an internal communicator to realize that marketing objective. There may also be a case for the business to train HR staff in t he skills required to more effectively articulate the areas of their expertise that create value to the business.
2. EFFECTIVENESS OF HR
Effectiveness relates to impact and the capacity to make a difference. If HR is widely seen within the business to be ineffective, as the survey ¿ndings indicate, that perception goes directly to the issue of image. It may also be a reÀection of competence. With three quarters of non-HR respondents, believing HR is not effective or are unsure of its effectiveness, there clearly exists a crisis of con¿dence from key stakeholders. Because the answers to the question on effectiveness are linked to the issue of understanding about what HR does in the business, it¶s almost certain that in a number of cases HR is not receiving credit for work that it undertakes and brings to fruition. An intervention is necessary at that point to ensure credit is accorded to the appropriate function where value
29
has been given, if for no other reason than to enable those in the business to know from whom they should be requesting that function in the future. Conversely, the confusion about understanding and effectiveness of the HR role no doubt leads to HR being on the wrong end of the blame chain with respect to matters for which it has little or no responsibility. That is, while in a blurry business environment HR may get inadvertent credit for positive things it did not do, it may also be falsely accused of contributing to undesirable results or failing to contribute to desired ones. Unless there are sound strategic reasons for doing so, HR leaders should not easily agree to wear the dirty linen for the business. If the business makes hard but unpopular decisions, those decisions need to be communicated as decisions of the business. HR must support them, of course, but not agree to be perceived as the powerless handmaiden of the CEO or other sectional interests who are looking for corporate martyrs or scapegoats. Where HR makes input into decision making or has a role in implementation, it is incumbent on both the business and the HR leaders to ensure that accountabilities are articulated clearly and openly. As a ¿nal observation on the data in it¶s worth noting that many HR respondents are under no illusions about the extent to which their role is misunderstood. A total of 63. 5% HR respondents doubt whether the business understands what they do and 4 5.9% doubt whether they are seen to be effective. The point here is that those HR respondents are a sizeable proportion of the sample in each case and they are not in denial on the matter. That¶s got to be a good starting point. 3. WHOSE INTERESTS SHOULD HR SERVE?
In terms of image, the HR function must ensure it is not simply seen as looking after its own patch. The survey respondents clearly indicate that primary role of HR is to contribute to the achievement of results for the business as a whole. One respondent put it this way: ³HR
need s t o work on solving business probl ems, not HR probl ems´.
That too few respondents in the survey ¿ ¿ndings see HR actually serving the business is a clarion call when 90% of respondents are saying HR should be doing exactly that. Similarly, that HR is seen by
59%
of respondents to be looking after the interests of the CEO
instead, suggests that HR practitioners need to make signi¿cant adjustments, either to how 30
they are perceived or to how they are actually behaving, or more likely to both. That may be a challenge for a HR department in a business where the CEO or a group director is keen to use HR as a cover to convey unpopular business decisions. The HR leaders in those cases need to persuade the executives concerned that it¶s not in the long-term interests of the business to behave that way. If persuasion is not enough, the exercise of appropriate leverage may be necessary or even the exercise of raw courage as a last resort. Whatever means are used; HR must consistently adopt the position of serving the interests of the business and be seen to do so, as indicated by the great majority of survey respondents. They must also resist attempts to have them positioned as serving sectional interests, including their own interests. 4. IS HR NECESSARY? Hammonds is in no doubt about the centrality of HR with respect to business performance,
so much so that his scorn arises from the gap he sees between the potential of HR and his claims about its record of non-delivery. While Hammonds doesn¶t go to the issue of image, he raises the issue of competence and, in his estimation, HR doesn¶t measure up: ³HR people are, for the most part, neither strategic nor leaders´, he says. To the extent Hammonds has hit on a kernel of truth, the challenge for HR practitioners is to ensure they measure up, and are seen to be measuring up. Very often that will mean more training or a refocusing of the character of training. In answer to the survey question on the importance of formal training, with t he exception of a specialist HR quali¿cation, both HR and non-HR respondent groups nominated subject areas in exactly the same order; namely, business, psychology, law, ¿nance, marketing and economics. Business was a standout ¿rst choice for both groups which is a strong indicator that HR and other business unit managers are talking the same language. That ¿nding is also an indication that HR formal quali¿cations need to be rigorous and reÀect the business priorities indicated in the data; i.e. that they contain adequate content in business, psychology and law, for example. The development of quality HR training relies on a concerted effort to consult with relevant parties in the workplace, and is a role typically played by a professional association. The 31
Australian Human Resources Institute, for its part, has undertaken that role with some degree of success, but clearly more work needs to be done. 5. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BUSINESS
While HR practitioners and the professional association need to assume responsibility for the standing of their own profession, on the basis of this survey business itself needs to face up to its obligation to play a leadership role with respect to the standing of a professional group that can make a critical contribution to business performance. This HR pulse surve reveals that in only 54% of cases does the most senior HR person in the business report to the CEO, with 16% reporting to the corporate services director. While there is a case to say that HR needs to earn the respect required to become a direct CEO report, it is also true that organizations which recruit HR staff exclusively from the junior or middle management ranks all but ensure that the function remains without clout and without a voice at the executive level. For HR to get the leadership it deserves, initiative from the CEO and executive level in the business is critical, ¿rst in recruiting candidates who are capable of providing frank and fearless advice at executive level but also those who are capable of providing leadership and cohesion to the team that brings business-driven HR expertise to the enterprise. 6. AN IMAGE MAKEOVER?
While the survey respondents agree strongly that an image makeover is in order for HR, the data suggests it is not going to be a simple public relations campaign that will bring about a fresh look. Three interconnected things need to occur to bring that about, namely the way in which HR professionals go about their practice, how effectively they communicate their areas of expertise within the business, and the extent to which the business can be made to recognize that it needs to take a level of responsibility for boosting the stocks of a necessary occupational group which is to some extent under siege. In addition to working on its perception within the business, there is an imperative for HR to more positively position itself with respect to the wider community in the public arena. Entry level recruits into the profession will come from members of the general public and one way to attract the best talent is to more competitively position HR as an occupation of ¿rst choice.
32
DOES HR CREATE MORE WORK FOR MANAGERS?
We
asked:
³Does
your
HR
department
produce
unnecessary
µred
tape¶?´
Some 34 per cent of HR professionals admitted that it does. But 46 per cent of managers said they experienced unnecessary red tape from HR. Challenge the need for form-filling, for additional levels of authorization at every stage. When making every choice think µhelp¶ not µhinder¶. How many of your processes exist simply because they do? WHAT IS HR GOOD/BAD AT?
We asked HR professionals and managers to rate HR on
13
disciplines that typically fall
under HR¶s remit. HR rates itself as less than fairly good in two areas: employer branding and succession planning. Managers¶ bottom two scores are for change management and succession planning. The latter averages little more than not very good. It was not all bad news for HR, though. When respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed with a list of statements, managers rated HR more highly on some aspects of the job than HR professionals themselves. Against the statement, ³The HR department produces too much paperwork´, HR scored itself 3.6 5 (tending towards agree slightly), while managers scored 3.22 (nearer neither agree nor disagree). And against the statement, ³Managers within the company associate HR with bad news´, HR scored 3.28, while managers scored 3.08.
HOW IS HR PERCEIVED?
We asked: ³How well do you think your HR department is perceived in your organization?´ HR professionals scored 3.38 and managers scored 2.62, proving there are some r ose-tinted spectacles on the noses of many HR professionals. We also asked: ³How approachable is your HR department?´ HR scored itself a more than very approachable 4.2 9 while line managers reported 3. 5 ± midway between very and fairly approachable. Ask yourself: what are we doing to make ourselves accessible to staff? How visible are we? How secretive do we appear? DO YOU OFFER VALUE FOR MONEY?
We
asked:
³Does
your
HR
department
offer
good
value
for
money?´
Turkeys don¶t vote for Christmas, and HR professionals would not suggest they are a waste 33
of money. A healthy 80 per cent declared their HR department offered good value, and only 10
per cent said no. However, a shockingly low 3 1 per cent of managers said their HR
department offered good value for money, and 48 per cent said it did not. If that view is shared by your chief executive or finance director, it may be worth considering how you pitch the work that HR does. However, a breakdown of this research reveals the more senior a manager is (both inside and outside HR), the more they value the HR function, so it seems HR has friends in high places. REFLECTIONS ON BUILDING CREDIBILITY
³Credibility has to be earned. But it¶s so simple: build a real partnership by listening and understanding what the business does and the challenges it has, then deliver tailored, practical, quality solutions on time, every time,´ says Gill Hibberd, corporate director, Buckingham Count
Council . ³This is what the business has to deliver to clients ± if it
doesn¶t, it fails. The business expects the same from you. ³Understanding also means knowing what the business does for clients, so why not spend a little time with them on the frontline seeing how they work? This would improve your knowledge, build your network, demonstrate your commitment, and would be a great first step to real partnership. HR should also work with the business with confidence,´ he says. ³HR serves business¶s needs, but that doesn¶t mean being treated like a servant. If you act as a servant you will be treated like one, and then you will lack real credibility.´ ³HR directors must ensure that their department¶s contribution is not purely focused on policy or administrative functions, but is also proactive in offering advice and opinions to help managers make the right decisions,´ he says. ³HR representation at every level ± from headquarters through to small regional offices ± is key to ensuring a two-way dialogue.´
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY IS AR ISING
It is no secret that success in business relies upon excellence in execution. While corporate leaders have historically looked to other functions, such as product development, marketing, and sales, to drive corporate success, today more and more eyes are looking to HR for help. The reason for this newfound reliance on HR stems from a decrease in the effectiveness of the traditional levers marketing organizations used to differentiate a firm and their products. Marketers have traditionally used "the 4 P's" (product, price, position, and promotion) to set 34
the products of their f irm apar t from those of the competitor in the market place. However, in the new economy, product features, pr icing, and positioning become almost irrelevant as competitors can now mimic and upstage your effor ts in very shor t per iods of time, thanks in par t
to
innovations
in
technology
and
reductions
in
global
barr iers.
While this development forces marketing to become more and more branding or iented, it also forces corporate attention on other avenues that can be used to establish and maintain a corporate brand in the marketplace. Most corporate leaders and professional marketers now admit that one of the few (if not the only) channels lef t to communicate the corporate brand to customers is the employee, and the customer exper ience they are capable of providing. Customer service is a factor that is largely inf luenced by the quality of the workforce, which in turn is largely inf luenced by the quality of recruiting and workforce management systems developed and maintained by HR . .Above review of lit erat re descr ibes d iff erent researches which have been done at var ious ¡
pl aces and in d iff erent types of indust ri es which prepares a ground f or t he anal ysis of dat a Table : Age of the respondents
Age
Frequency Percentage (%)
21-30
4
7.1
31-40
40
71.4
41 and above
12
21.4
Total
56
100.0
Percentage 71.4
The above table and char t shows the
21.4 7.1
21-30
31-40
41 and above
distr ibution of the workforce as per the age group. It can be inferred that out of total 56 35
respondents, 40 (71.4%) belong to the 31-40 age group, which constitute the major ity of the response. 4 (7.1%) belong to the 21-30 age group and 12 (21.4%) be long to the41 and above group. We can infer from the above data that the major ity of the workforce falls between the age group of 31-40 years.
Table
: Gender of the respondent
Gender
Frequency Percentage (%)
Male
54
96.4
Female 2
3.6
Total
100.0
56
Per entage £
96.4
3.6
¢
ale
Female
The above table and char t shows the distr ibution of the workforce as per the gender. It can be inferred that out of total 56 respondents, 54 (96.4%) are ma le, which constitute the major ity of the response. And only 2 (3.6%) are female. We can infer from the above data that the major ity of the workforce is male.
36
Table III: Department
Department Frequency
Percentage (%)
Production
15
26.8
Tool Room
13
23.2
Marketing
4
7.1
Finance
4
7.1
Stores
8
14.3
QA/QC
10
17.9
IT
2
3.6
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows the distribution of the workforce as per the departments... It can be inferred that out of total 56 respondents,
15
(26.8%) belong to the Production Department,
which constitute the majority of the response. 13 (23.2%) belong to the Tool room. 4 (7. 1%) are absorbed in the marketing and finance. 8 employees work in the stores.
10 (17.9%)
people
are engaged in QA/QC and 2 (3.6%) staff member serves in IT department. We can infer from the above data that the maximum people working in the company are absorbed in the Production Department.
Table IV: Educational Qualification
Educational Qualification Frequency
Percentage (%)
Technical
35
62.5
Non-Technical
21
37.5
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows the distribution of the workforce as per their educational qualification. It can be inferred that out of total
56
respondents, 3 5 (62. 5%) possess technical educational
background, which constitute the majority of the response. Whereas 2 1 (37.5%) belong to non-technical academic background. We can infer from the above data that the majority of the workforce possesses the basic technical knowledge.
37
The HR department helps the organization to reach its objectives
Response
Frequency Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
25
44.6
Good
12
21.4
Very good
4
7. 1
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table represents that out of total
56
respondents, 2 5 (44.6%) said they were
satisfied, which absorbed the major part of the response. 14 (2 5%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 12 (21.4) said they felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 4 (7%) ranked it as very good and only
1 (1.79%)
rated it as excellent. We can infer from the above data that
majority of the respondents feel that HR¶s role in helping the organization in reaching its objectives by providing information and details at the right time, making proactive moves and suggesting newer developments to the management, is quite satisfactory only. HR department helps to improve the effectiveness of the organization
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
8
14.3
Satisfactory
18
32. 1
Good
24
42.9
Very good
5
8.9
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 24 (42. 9) said they felt it was
moderately good, i.e., average, which absorbed the major part of the response. 8 ( 14.3%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 18(32. 1%) said they were satisfied, very good and only
1 (1.8%)
5 (8.9%)
ranked it as
rated it as excellent. It can be concluded that the HR¶s role in
organizational effectiveness by taking proper measurements like performance appraisal on the right time and by right people, overall productivity maintenance and improvement, introduction of various programs and policies, is only moderate or average.
38
HR department helps the organization consider emplo ees¶ views.
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
8
14.3
Satisfactory
20
35.7
Good
20
35.7
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
5
8.9
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 20(3 5.7%) said they were satisfied and another 20 (3 5.7) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average, which absorbed the major part of the response 8 ( 14.3%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as very good and 5 (8.9%) rated it as excellent. We can infer that majority of the respondents feel that the employee¶s views considered in the organization are satisfactorily and moderately. HR¶s efforts in making the employees voice heard by suggestion schemes, employee representations, transparent and open communication etc not effective totally but they have scored average and satisfactory both. HR department helps the organization to prepare for change
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
30
53.6
Good
8
14.3
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 30( 53.6%) said they were satisfied which absorbed the major part of the response. 14(25%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 8 (14.3%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average, 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as very good and
1
(1.8%) rated it as excellent. It can be inferred that the majority of the respondents feel that HR has only an average role to play in the change management. HR¶s role in sensitizing people for the upcoming change, making them unfreeze from the current condition and making the whole process of change comfortable by adequate training and communication is only satisfactory.
39
HR department helps in the formulation of the strategy for the organi ation:
R esponse
Frequency Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
8
14.3
Satisfactory
26
46.4
Good
9
16.1
Very good
12
21.4
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
Per entage ¤
46.4
21.4 16.1
14.3
1.8
Unsatisfa tory ¤
Satisfa tory ¤
Good
Very good
¥
x ellent ¤
The above table and the char t represent that out of total 56 respondents, 26 (46.4%) said they were satisf ied which absorbed the major par t of the response. 8 (14.3%) were unsa tisf ied with this statement, 9 (16.1%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average, 12 (21.4%) rated it as very good and 1 (1.8%) ra ted it as excellent. We can infer from the above data that major ity feel that HR has a very satisfactory role to play in strategy formulation and implementation, i.e., mak ing the organi ation¶s plans and policies keeping in mind the vision and mission, the long term developments and external inf luences has a verylimited scope for HR . HR department is involved in the execution of HR process and practice
R esponse
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
2
3.6
Satisfactory
31
55.4
Good
16
28.6
Very good
6
10.7
40
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 3 1 (55.4%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 2(3.6%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 16
(28.6%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average 6 ( 10.7%) rated it as very good and
1
(1.8%) rated it as excellent. We can conclude that majority of the respondents feel that execution of HR processes and policies regarding the recr uitment, terms and conditions of the employment, performance appraisal and management, training and development, exit procedures etc. has very satisfactory performance by HR. HR department is involved in improving commitment of the emplo ees
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
9
16.1
Satisfactory
24
42.9
Good
19
33.9
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 24 (42. 9%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. statement,
19
good and
1
9
(16.1%) were unsatisfied with this
(33.9%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as very
(1.8%) rated it as excellent. We can conclude that majority feel that HR¶s
performance in improving commitment, by creating the organizational culture that fosters high morale and improved employee satisfaction, valuing the human assets a nd treating them with dignity etc, in of the employees is satisfactory.
HR¶s involvement in change management and organizational Culture
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
12
21.4
Satisfactory
33
58.9
Good
9
16.1
Very good
1
1.8
41
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 33 ( 58.9%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. statement,
9 (16.1%)
12
(21.4%) were unsatisfied with this
felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. Only
1 (1.8%)
rated it as very
good and as excellent. It can be inferred that majority feels that HR¶s role in change management and culture development is satisfactory only. HR department motivates the emplo ees
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
30
53.6
Good
5
8.9
Very good
6
10.7
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 30 ( 53.6%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 14 (25%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 5
(8.9%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 6 ( 10.7%) rated it as very good and
1
(1.8%) rated it as excellent. We can infer from this that majority feels that HR¶s role i n motivating employees by linking the performance and rewards in a fair manner, giving everyone the opportunity to grow and develop, creating career path and goal setting and treating everyone equally, is satisfactory only.
42
HR strategies and organi ational strategies are aligned
R esponse
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
10
17.9
Satisfactory
28
50.0
Good
12
21.4
Very good
5
8.9
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
50
¦
1.4
17.9 8.9
1.8
Unsatisfa tory §
Satisfa tory §
Good
Very good
¨
x ellent §
The above table and char t show that out of total 56 respondents, 28 (50%) said they were satisf ied which absorbed the major par t of the response. 10 (17.9%) were unsatisf ied with this statement, 12 (21.4%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 5 (8.9%) ra ted it as very good and 1 (1.8%) ra ted it as excellent. It can be inferred that major ity feels that alignment of the organi ational and HR strategies by mapping the HR strategies for the development in alignment with the organi ational plans, vision and objectives, drawing the blue pr int of the organi ation form the current as well as future perspective etc., is done satisfactor ily only.
43
HR processes are efficiently managed
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
11
19.6
Satisfactory
16
28.6
Good
20
35.7
Very good
6
10.7
Excellent
3
5.4
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 20 (3 5.7%) felt it was moderately
good, i.e., average which absorbed the major part of the response.
11
(19.6%) were
unsatisfied with this statement, 16 (28.6%) said they were satisfied. 6 ( 10.7%) rated it as very good and 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as excellent. It can be concluded that majority feels that HR¶s performance in managing the HR processes efficiently, i.e., the functions and modalities of HR like time office, training and development, compensation and benefits, recruitment, performance management, career development etc., is good or average. HR policies meet the interests and demands of employees
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
21
37.5
Good
15
26.8
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
3
5.4
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 2 1 (37.5%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 14 (25%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 15
(26.8%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as very good and as
excellent. We can infer that majority feels that HR policies have only satisfactory role to play in meeting the interests and demands of the employees, i.e., the policies devised by HR do not exactly meet with the expectations of the employees, how they want them to be or how they wish them to be seen as.
44
HR processes improve the change capacity of the organi ation
R esponse
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
11
19.6
Satisfactory
30
53.6
Good
9
16.1
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
3
5.4
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 30 (53.6%) said they were satisf ied which absorbed the major par t of the response. 11 (19.6%) were unsa tisf ied with this statement, 9 (16.1%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 3 (5.4%) rated it as very good and as excellent. We can conclude that major ity feels that HR policies¶ role in improving change capacity of the organi ation is mere satisfactory. HR as advisor for strategic HRM / Strategic management
R esponse Frequency
Percentage (%)
Yes
29
51.8
No
12
21.4
Can't say 15
26.8
Total
100.0
56
51.8
2 .8 ©
21.4
Yes
No
Can't say
45
The above table and the chart represent that out of total 56 respondents, 2 9 (51.8%) answered in affirmation, which absorbs major part of the response.
12
(21.4%) answered negatively.
While 15 (26.8%) remained neutral. We can conclude from the above data that majority feels that HR has a role to play as advisor for strategic HRM, i.e., HR¶s advices and suggestions regarding the strategies for the overall organizations are welcomed and accepted, the strategies devised for the human assets of the organization are well defined and well coordinated and are capable of yielding better results. HR as expert in administrative processes
Response Frequency
Percentage (%)
Yes
38
67.9
No
11
19.6
Can't say 7
12.5
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 38 (67. 9%) answered in affirmation which absorbs major part of the response.
11 (19.6%)
answered negatively. While 7 ( 12.5%)
remained neutral. We can conclude that majority sees HR as administrative expert, i.e., HR has proficiency in the administrative functions such as time keeping, coordination with internal as well as external clients, security and estate upkeep etc. HR as a stress buster for employees
Response Frequency
Percentage (%)
Yes
10
17.9
No
25
44.6
Can't say 21
37.5
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response
respondents, 2 5 (44.6%) answered negatively
10
(17.9%) answered in affirmation. While 2 1
(37.5%) remained neutral. We can infer that majority don¶t consider HR as a stress reliever, i.e., HR doesn¶t undertake the activities that relieve the employees from stress, there are not much things done for employee engagement or fun-at-wok etc.
46
HR as a change agent
Response Frequency
Percentage (%)
Yes
34
60.7
No
12
21.4
Can't say
10
17.9
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 34 (60.7%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 12 (21.4%) answered negatively. While 10 (17.9%) remained neutral. We can conclude that majority see HR as a change agent and a change advisor. HR department devotes maximum time to strategic issues
Response Frequency
Percentage (%)
Yes
29
51.8
No
5
8.9
Can't say 22
39.3
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 2 9 (51.8%) answered in affirmation which absorbs major part of the response.
5
(8.9%) answered negatively. While 22 (3 9.3%)
remained neutral. We can conclude that majority thinks that HR does spend maximum time for strategic issues.
47
HR department devotes maximum time in operational issues
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
38
67.9
No
8
14.3
Can't say
10
17.9
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 38 (67. 9%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 8 ( 14.3%) answered negatively. While 10 ( 17.9%) remained neutral. Majority thinks that HR spends maximum time in operational issues, i.e., HR has a good consideration for the basic issues or formal procedure and main stream issues along with the strategic issues in the organizat ion maximum time in listening to employee and answering their queries
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
27
48.2
No
14
25.0
Can't say
15
26.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 27 (48.2%) answered in affirmation 14
(25%) answered negatively. While
15
(26.8%)
remained neutral. We can infer that majority feels that HR spends maximum time in listening to employees and solving their queries, i.e., HR keeps both the eyes and ears open for the employee suggestions as well as grievances and their problems are governed quite efficiently by creating win-win solutions for the a ggrieved parties.
48
motivate employees to get a better organizational performance
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
29
51.8
No
13
23.2
Can't say
14
25.0
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 2 9 (51.8%) answered in affirmation 13
(23.2%) answered negatively. While 14 (2 5%)
remained neutral. We can conclude that majority see HR as a motivating agency to the employees for a better performance by making the policies that support the growth of the organization, creating the climate which provides scope for more productivity and high employee morale and healthy industrial relations. Most decisions are taken by higher ups in the organization
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
52
92.9
Can't say 4
7.1
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 52 (92.9%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs the majority of response. And the rest 4 (7. 1%) have remained neutral. No one has responded negatively. We can infer fr om the above table that majority of t he respondents agree that most decisions are taken by higher ups in the organization, i.e., the decision making system is quite centralized and revolves around the leadership bench in the organization.
49
In my organization f lexibility is important
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
38
67.9
No
11
19.6
Can't say 7
12.5
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 38 (67.8%) answered in affirmation
11 (19.6%)
answered negatively. While 7 ( 12.5%)
remained neutral. It can be concluded that majority feels that flexibility is important in their organization, i.e., organization supports the participative management thereby making it congenial for the employees to have good working environment. In my organization loyalty and obedience are important
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
22
39.3
No
13
23.2
Can't say 21
37.5
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 22 (3 9.3%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response.
13
(23.2%) answered negatively. While 2 1
(37.5%), which is relatively a major portion, remained neutral. It can be inferred that majority feels that loyalty and obedience ar e important in the organization.
50
Employees need to follow strict rules and procedure
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
37
66.1
No
6
10.7
Can't say
13
23.2
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 37 (66. 1%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 6 ( 10.7%) answered negatively. While 13 (23.2%) remained neutral. We can conclude that majority feels that employees are made to follow stringent rules and procedures. Qualities of every employee is associated with the tasks in the organization
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
32
57.1
No
6
10.7
Can't say
18
32.1
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 32 ( 57.1%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 6 ( 10.7%) answered negatively. While 18 (32. 1%) remained neutral. We can conclude that majority feels that their qualities are in congruence with the tasks in the organization, i.e., the task allotment is done based on the competence and skills of the individual employees.
51
In my organization linking performance and reward is important
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
27
48.2
No
21
37.5
Can't say
8
14.3
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 27 (48.2%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 2 1 (37.5%) answered negatively. While 8 ( 14.3%) remained neutral. We can infer that majority thinks that the organization puts a lot of emphasis on linking rewards with performance, i.e., the employees are rewarded in proportion with the level of performance exhibited by them and a transparent system of the same is followed across the organization. Employees need to learn new competencies
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
39
69.6
No
12
21.4
Can't say
5
8.9
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 3 9 (69.6%) answered in affirmation 12
(21.4%) answered negatively. While
5
(8.9%)
remained neutral. We can infer that majority feel that employees are expected to learn new competencies.
52
Employees enjoy their jobs
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
27
48.2
No
18
32.1
Can't say
11
19.6
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 27 (48.2%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 18 (32. 1%) answered negatively. While
11 (19.6%)
remained neutral. It can be concluded that majority feels that employees love their jobs in the company. Reward system clearly shows what type of attitudes and behavior is expected
Response Frequency Percentage Yes
25
44.6
No
20
35.7
Can't say
11
19.6
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 2 5 (44.6%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 20 (3 5.7%) answered negatively. While
11 (19.6%)
remained neutral. It can be inferred that majority see that reward system shows explicitly the kind of behavior and attitude expected out of employees.
53
Mobility of personnel is accepted and normal (both internal & external)
Response Frequency Percentage Yes
26
46.4
No
7
12.5
Can't say 23
41.1
Total
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
56
respondents, 26 (46.4%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 7 ( 12.5%) answered negatively. While 23 (4 1.1%) remained neutral. We can infer that majority feels that internal and external mobility is accepted and normal for the organization, i.e., HR makes a point that the job rotation of the employees give them opportunities to discover other areas of operation in their jobs as well as external mobility to let the employees switch on to something else when they find themselves not comfortable with the organization. Key advices to organization
Response
Frequency Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
8
14.3
Satisfactory
36
64.3
Good
10
17.9
Very good
1
1.8
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 36 (64.3%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 8 ( 14.3%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 10 (17.9%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 1(1.8%) rated it as very good and excellent. We can infer that majority thinks that HR¶s performance in giving key advices to the organization is only satisfactory.
54
Integrated managerial information
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
1
1.8
Satisfactory
35
62.5
Good
12
21.4
Very good
7
12.5
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 3 5 (62.5%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 12
1 (1.8%)
were unsatisfied with this statement,
(21.4%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 7( 12.5%) rated it as very good and
1
(1.8%) rated it as excellent. We can conclude that majority thinks that HR¶s performance in Integrated Managerial information i.e., dissemination of the vital internal as well external information at the right time, in t he right quantum, to the right people, is satisfactory only.
55
Developing a strategic vision
R esponse
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
15
26.8
Satisfactory
21
37.5
Good
14
25.0
Very good
5
8.9
Excellent
1
1.8
Total
56
100.0
37.5
26.
25
.9
1.
Unsatisfa tory
Satisfa tory
Good
Very good
x ellent
The above table and the char t shows that out of total 56 respondents, 21 (37.5%) said they were satisf ied which absorbed the major par t of the response. 14 15 (26.8%) were unsa tisf ied with this statement, (25%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 5(8.9%) rated it as very good and 1 (1.8%) rated it as excellent. We can conclude that major ity thinks that HR doesn¶t help a lot to the organi ation in developing a strategic vision, i.e., providing a strong and convincing roadmap for the future courses of action for the organi ation etc.
56
Management of diversity
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
23
41.1
Good
13
23.2
Very good
3
5.4
Excellent
3
5.4
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 23 (4 1.1%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 14 (25%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 13
(23.2%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 3 ( 5.4%) rated it as very good and
excellent. We can infer that the majority sees HR¶s performance as satisfactory in managing diversity, i.e., the cultural diversity, and changes in the mind sets of the people etc. Employee friendly policy formulation
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
15
26.8
Satisfactory
23
41.1
Good
10
17.9
Very good
6
10.7
Excellent
2
3.6
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 23 (4 1.1%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response.
15
(26.8%) were unsatisfied with this
statement, 10 (17.9%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 6 ( 10.7%) rated it as very good and 2 (3.6%) rated it as excellent. It can be concluded that majority thinks that HR¶s role is only satisfactory in employee friendly policy formulation.
57
Basic information about personnel
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Satisfactory
14
25.0
Good
30
53.6
Very good
5
8.9
Excellent
7
12.5
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 30 ( 53.6%), which absorbed the
major part of the response felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. with this statement,
5
14
(2 5%) were satisfied
(8.9%) rated it as very good and 7 ( 12.5%) rated it as excellent. We can
conclude that HR can be rated as good in providing basic personnel information like leaves, attendance etc. Recruitment and selection
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
7
12.5
Satisfactory
26
46.4
Good
9
16.1
Very good
9
16.1
Excellent
5
8.9
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 26 (46.4%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 7 ( 12.5%) were unsatisfied with this statement,
9
(16.1%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average and very good, whereas
5
(8.9%) rated it as excellent. We can infer that majority feels that HR¶s performance in recruitment and selection i.e., man power planning process, availing best talent to the needed department within shortest possible time frame etc., is satisfactory.
58
Juridical Advice
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
3
5.4
Satisfactory
26
46.4
Good
18
32. 1
Very good
7
12.5
Excellent
2
3.6
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 26 (46.4%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 3 ( 5.4%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 18
(32.1%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 7 ( 12.5%) rated it as very good and 2
(3.6%) rated it as excellent. It can be concluded that majority feels that HR¶s performance in juridical advice is satisfactory. Working condition of your employees
Response
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Unsatisfactory
14
25.0
Satisfactory
18
32. 1
Good
13
23.2
Very good
7
12.5
Excellent
4
7.1
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 18 (32. 1%) said they were satisfied
which absorbed the major part of the response. 14 (25%) were unsatisfied with this statement, 13
(23.2%) felt it was moderately good, i.e., average. 7 ( 12.5%) rated it as very good and 4
(7.1%) rated it as excellent. We can infer that majority thinks that HR¶s performance in providing working conditions, i.e., taking care of the ergonomics, hygienic facilities availabilities etc., to the employees is satisfactory.
59
60
Main objective is the alignment with interest, needs and values of employees
Response Frequency Percentage (% ) Yes
30
53.6
No
17
30.4
Can't say
9
16.1
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 30 ( 53.6%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response. 17 (30.4%) answered negatively. While
9 (16.1%)
remained neutral. It can be inferred that majority thinks that HR¶s main focus has to be interest, needs and values of the employees. Gives new and inexperienced employees ample time to learn the organization and develop
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
46
82.1
No
8
14.3
Can't say 2
3.6
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total 56 respondents, 46 (82. 1%) answered in affirmation which absorbs arguably major part of the response. 8 ( 14.3%) answered negatively. While 2 (3.6%) remained neutral. This concludes that majority feels that HR does give the novice enough time to learn and get adjusted t o the new organization.
61
When there are frictions and conf licts among employees, tries to solve these by communication
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
33
58.9
No
9
16.1
Can't say
14
25.0
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 33 ( 58.9%) answered in affirmation 9 (16.1%)
answered negatively. While 14 (25%)
remained neutral. This infers that majority thinks that HR solves the friction among employees by communication, i.e., HR tries not to take radical actions or steps I the first place and try to come out to amicable solutions by communicating and interacting with those in grievances and try to implement the solution promptly. Participation of employees is valued while taking decision
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
20
35.7
No
13
23.2
Can't say 23
41.1
Total
100.0
56
The above table shows that out of total
56
respondents, 20 (3 5.7%) answered in affirmation
which absorbs major part of the response.
13
(23.2%) answered negatively. While 23
(41.1%), which is arguably high response rate for this category, remained neutral. This can conclude that majority thinks that their opinions are considered while taking decision.
62
Regularly visits employees on the work-f loor to support with their tasks
Response Frequency Percentage (%) Yes
25
44.6
No
17
30.4
Can't say
14
25.0
Total
56
100.0
The above table shows that out of total
56
which absorbs major part of the response.
respondents, 2 5 (44.6%) answered in affirmation 17
(30.4%) answered negatively. While 14 (2 5%)
remained neutral. We can conclude that majority thinks that HR does takes shop-floor visits regularly and support the employees.
FINDINGS: Following are the Findings of the study conducted about
P ercept ions
of employees about rol e
of HR at L&T. Performance of HR:
It was found that 4 5% respondents feel that role of HR Dept. in helping the organization reach its objectives is very satisfactory. And 2 5% rated it as unsatisfactory.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 43% respondents feel that performance of HR Dept. in improving the effectiveness of organization is good or average. where as another 32% have rated it as only satisfactory.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 36% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in taking into account the interest and wishes of the employees as good and satisfactory both.
It was found that 54% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in preparing for change as satisfactory. Whereas 2 5% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
It was found that 46% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in formulation of the strategy for the organization as satisfactory. Whereas 2 1.4% have rated it as very good.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
55%
respondents have rated HR¶s performance in the
execution of the HR process and practise as satisfactory. Whereas 2 9% have rated it as good.
63
It was found that 43% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in improving commitment of employees as satisfactory. Whereas 34% have rated it as good.
It was found that
59%
respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Implementing change
in organisational cultural as satisfactory. Whereas 2 1% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
54%
respondents have rated HR¶s performance in
Motivating employees as satisfactory. Whereas 2 5% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
It was found that
50%
respondents have rated HR¶s performance in taking care that HR
strategies and organizational strategies are aligned as satisfactory. Whereas 2 1% have rated it as good.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 36% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in taking care that HR processes ar e efficiently managed as good. Whereas 2 9% have rated it as satisfactory.
It was found that 38% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in taking care that HR policies meet the interests and demands of employees as satisfactory. Whereas 27% have rated it as good.
It was found that
54%
respondents have rated HR¶s performance in taking care that HR
processes improve the change capacity of the organization as satisfactory. Whereas 20% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 52% respondents have agreed that HR department is seen as Advisor for strategic HRM/strategic management, whereas significant 27% have remained neutral about this.
It was found that 68% respondents have agreed that HR department is seen as an expert in administrative processes, whereas 20% have negatively rated t his statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 4 5% respondents have said that they don¶t see HR as a stress buster for them whereas 38% have remained neutral and only
18%
have agreed that
HR is a stress buster for them.
It was found that 6 1% respondents have agreed that HR department is seen as a change advisor/agent, whereas 2 1% have negatively rated this statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
52%
respondents have agreed that The HR department
devotes maximum time for Strategic issues, whereas 3 9% have remained neutral about this.
It was found that 68% respondents have agreed that The HR department devotes maximum time for operational issues, whereas only
14%
have negatively rated this
statement.
64
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 48% respondents have agreed that The HR department devotes maximum time for Listening to employees and answering their questions, whereas 27% have remained neutral about this and rest 2 5% have negatively rated this statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
52%
respondents have agreed that The HR department
devotes maximum time for Motivating employees to get a better organizational performance, whereas 2 5% have remained neutral about this and rest 23% have negatively rated this statement.
Organizat ional cul tur e:
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
93%
respondents have agreed that most decisions are
taken by higher ups in the organization whereas only 7% have remained neutral about this.
It was found that 68% respondents have agreed that in the organization flexibility is important whereas 20% have negatively rated this statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 3 9% respondents have agreed that in the organization loyalty and obedience are important whereas 23% have negatively rated this statement and very significant 38% have remained neutral about this.
It was found that 66% respondents have agreed that Employees need to follow strict rules and procedures whereas 23% have remained neutral about this.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
57%
respondents have agreed that Qualities of every
employee is associated with the tasks in the organization whereas 32% have remained neutral about this.
It was found that 48% respondents have agreed that in the organization linking performance and rewards is i mportant whereas 38% have negatively rated this statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 70% respondents have agreed that Employees need to learn new competences whereas 2 1% have negatively rated this statement.
It was found that 48% respondents have agreed that Employees enjoy their jobs whereas 32% have negatively rated this statement a nd 20% have remained neutral about this.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 4 5% respondents have agreed that by using a reward system it is made clear to employees what type of attitudes and behaviour is expected of them whereas 36% have negatively rated t his statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 46% respondents have agreed that Mobility of personnel is accepted and normal (both internal & external) whereas significant 42% have remained neutral about this.
65
HR Act ivit ies:
It was found that 64% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Key advices to organisation as satisfactory, whereas only 18% have rated it as good.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 63% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in integrated managerial information as satisfactory, whereas only 2 1% have rated it as good.
It was found that only 38% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in developing a strategic vision as satisfactory, whereas only 23% have rated it as good and 27% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., only 4 1% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Management of diversity as satisfactory, whereas only 23% have rated it as good and 25% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
It was found that only 4 1% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Employee friendly policy formulation as satisfactory, whereas only
18%
have rated it as good and
27% have rated it as unsatisfactory.
Majority of the r espondents, i.e., 54% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Basic information about personnel (sickness, leave) as good whereas 2 5% have rated it as satisfactory.
It was found that 46% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in Recruitment and selection as satisfactory, whereas only 16% have rated it as good and very good both.
Majority of the respondents, i.e., 46% respondents have rated HR¶s performance in juridical advice as satisfactory, whereas 32% have rated it as good.
Behavioral
att ributes of t he HR P er sonnel :
It was found that 66% respondents have agreed that Main characteristic of an HR personnel in the organization is competence for empathy and motivation of others whereas 21% have negatively rated this statement.
Majority of the respondents, i.e.,
54%
respondents have agreed that Main objective of an
HR personnel in the organization is the alignment with interests, needs and values of employees whereas 30% have negatively rated this stat ement.
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It was found that 82% respondents have agreed that HR in their organi ation gives new and inexper ienced employees ample time to learn the organisation and develop themselves whereas only 14% have negatively rated this statement.
Major ity of the respondents, i.e., 59% respondents have agreed that When there are fr ictions or conf licts among employees,
HR tr ies to solve these by communication
whereas only 16% have negatively rated this statement and 25% have rema ined neutral about this.
It was found that 36% respondents have agreed that Par ticipation of employees is valued while tak ing decisions whereas 23% have negatively rated this statement and signif icant 41% have remained neutral about this.
Major ity of the respondents, i.e., 47% respondents have agreed that HR personnel R egular ly visits employees on the work-f loor to give suppor t with their tasks if necessary, whereas 30% have negatively rated this statement and 25% have remained neutral about this.
CU MULATIVE FI
1.
Performance
DI GS:
of the HR Dept.
45
25 19
8
Unsatisfa tory
Satisfa tory
Good
Very good
x ellent
The above char t shows the cumulative response of the employees about the Performance of HR Depar t ment.
Major ity of the respondents, 45% have rated the performance of HR as satisfactory.
25% have rated the performance as good.
19% have rated the performance as unsatisfactory. 67
8% feel the performance of HR is very good.
Only 3% have rated the performance as excellent.
68
2.
HR activities:
41
24 18 11 6
Unsatisfa tory
Satisfa tory
Good
Very good
x ellent
The above pie char t shows the cumulative response of the employees about the HR activities.
Major ity of the respondents, 41% have rated the HR activities as satisfactory.
24% have rated the HR activities as good
18% have rated the HR activities as unsatisfactory.
11% feel that the HR activities are very good.
Only 6% feel that the HR activities are excellent.
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3.
Contribution
of HR in building and maintaining Organi ational culture:
58
20
Yes
N
22
Cant sa
The above pie char t shows the cumulative response of the employees about the involvement and contr ibution of HR in building and maintaining the organi ational culture.
Major ity of the respondents, 52% have agreed that HR does help build and maintain the organi ational culture.
25% have remained neutral about HR ¶s contr ibution in building and maintaining Organi ational culture.
23% have negatively responded about the HR ¶s contr ibution in building and maintaining Organi ational culture.
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4.
Favorable behavioral attribute of the HR personnel.
58
22
Yes
No
20
Cant Say
The above pie char t shows the cumulative response of the employees about favorable behavioral attr ibutes of HR personnel.
Major ity of the respondents, 58% have agreed that HR personnel have shown a very favorable and positive behavioral pattern.
22% have negatively responded about the same.
20% have remained neutral about the HR ¶s behavior.
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CONCLUSION: After evaluating the collected data, it can be inferred that most of the employees have responded in the category of satisfactory, good and unsatisfactory, these are the areas which need to be taken care of by HR Department by making process improvement and efficiency enhancement. Being visibly active and efficient in organizational strategies, implementation of change, motivating employees, creating vision for the organization, executing policies and procedures, careful recruitment and selection, career development , working condition of the employees, provision of training and educational facilities etc. are the areas where in employees want to see more efficient services by HR. Training and development is one such area where HR can make even more efficient mark as the employees have responded that they are not highly satisfied with the training being provided. Employees have rated the recruitment and selection function which is considered the basic forte of HR as just good, which can be improved upon drastically. Maximum employees have responded that most decisions are taken higher up in the organization, which lead to lesser participation from the employees in decision making. This makes the organizational climate centralized and less autonomous. HR can suggest some ideas to bring the management a nd employee pockets together. HR has not been seen as a stress buster which connotes that the employees don¶t find the HR activities to be employee friendly. There can be activities arranged for the employee to overcome their stress and HR should address this grave issue at the earliest. Apart from the above stated areas, the HR personnel¶s conduct and behavior has been very welcoming and liked by the employees as they have shown a very highly positive response for the behavioral attributes of the HR personnel in the organization.
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SUGGESTI SUGGESTIONS:
HR department must ensure that their department¶s contribution is not purely focused on policy or administrative functions, but is also proactive in offering advice and opinions to help managers make the right decisions.
HR department should participate more effectively in decision making process rather than playing a suggestive role.
Informal gatherings and meeting should be arranged frequently to foster team spirit as well as employee engagement so as to lessen their stress and improve the employee morale.
Further improvement in HR activities should be done to recruit and retain talent through proper career planning, succession planning and leadership development measures.
Periodic meetings with different departments should be arranged regularly to discuss HR issues.
There is a scope for improvement in the area of Workers¶ training. There should be a proper system for training need identification to find out the areas in which employees need to enhance their knowledge and skills to perform their jobs more effectively and for their professional growth. Provision of training, development and educational faculties can be improved and enhanced.
Career development plan should be prepared for the employees providing clear picture of one¶s growth opportun opportunities ities with respect r espect to time in t he organization.
Performance appraisals, recruitment and training need identification could also be made on the basis of competencies.
HR department should increase its shop floor presence to understand the business priorities and needs of each department so that they can add the value more effectively.
There should be a proper system for training need identification to find out the areas in which employees need to enhance their knowledge and skills to perform their jobs more effectively and for t heir professional growth.
Training programs should be conducted on the topics such as Process ownership, Leadership, Team work for workers to enhance productivity
Creative Creati ve methods like Group work and role play could be used in such training traini ng programs progra ms
Self managing groups could be created at plant level to foster team spirit, improve performance and develop competitivene competitiveness ss
73
REFERENCES
Books:
I.
Agarwal .R.D.(1978), Dynamics of P er sonnel Manag ement in India, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi.
II.
Armstrong, M and Baron, a. (2002) strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance. Developing practice. London: chartered institute of personnel and development
III.
Aswathappa.K. (200 5), H uman Resource P er sonnel Manag ement, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi.
IV.
Flippo.E.B.( 1988) P rinci rincipl es es of P er sonnel Manag ement , Vth Ed. McGraw Hill Pub.
V.
Gokhale.S.K. ( 1981),
P er sonnel
Manag ement and Organiza t ional ional Behavior . Susheel
Prakashan, Pune. VI.
et hodology & Kothari C.R. (2004) Research M et
T echniques,
New Age International
Pub. Articl Articles:
I.
Dileep Kumar M., Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM): An Over View Rob Willock , Time for HR to reflect on its image problem,
II. II.
URLs Visited:
I. II.
http://www.citehr.com/93037-personnel-administration.html http://www.coollavenues.com/know/hr/sumanth_2.php http://www.coo
III.
http://industriallre http://industria rellations.naukrihub.com/emp loyee-we ee-wellfare.htm fare.htmll
IV.
http://www.rtdonline.com/BMA/GM/1.html
V. VI. VII. VIII. IX.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_tra i/Corporate_training ining http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/artic les http://www . ahri.com.au http://www . personneltoday.com personneltoday.com www.humanresourcesmagazine.com
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PGDM Program, Royale Business School, Baroda Questionnaire PERCEPTION OF THE EMPLOYEES ABOUT THE ROLE OF HR
Section A- Background Information of the Respondent I.
Name:____________________________________________________________________________
II.
Age:____________________ Age:_________ ______________________ ______________________ _______________________ _____________________ ______________ _______________
III.
Gender: ______________________ _____________________________________ ____________________________ __________________________ _______________________ __________
IV.
Designation:____________ Designation:_ ______________________ _______________________ ________________________ _____________________ ______________________ ________ ___
V.
Department:______________ Department:___ ______________________ _______________________ _______________________ ____________________ ____________________ ________ ___
VI. VII.
Educational Qualifications:
technical
non-technical
Work Experience: Total experience: _______________ _______________ With the current company: _______________
VIII.
Monthly income(approx.): __________________________________________________
DATA COLLECTED THROUGH THE SURVEY SURV EY SHALL BE USED STRICTLY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSE AND SHALL BE B E KEPT CONFIDENTIAL. CONFIDENTIAL.
Shirin Aserkar
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Section B- Questions for the department other than HR Dept. s
A. Rate the performance of the HR Dept. on the following parameters: 1. Unsatisfactory 3. Good 5. Excellent 2. Satisfactory
4.
Very good
Particulars
1
2
3
4
5
Yes
No
Cant say
Yes
No
Partially
The HR department helps the organization To reach its objectives To improve the effectiveness of organization To take account of the interest and wishes of the employees To prepare for change
The HR department is involved in The formulation of the strategy for the organization The execution of the HR process and practise Improving commitment of employees Implementing change in organisational cultural Motivating employees
The HR department takes care that HR strategies and organizational strategies are aligned HR processes are efficiently managed HR policies meet the interests and demands of employees HR processes improve the change capacity of the organization Particulars
The HR department is seen as Advisor for strategic HRM/strategic management An expert in administrative processes A help as a stress buster for employees A change advisor/agent
The HR department devotes maximum time to Strategic issues Operational issues Listening to employees and answering their questions Motivating employees to get a better organizational performance
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B. Rate the following in terms of your organizational culture Particulars
Yes
No
Cant say
Most decisions are taken by high er ups in the organization In my organization flexibility is important In my organization loyalty and obedience are important Employees need to follow strict rules and procedures
Qualities of every employee is associated with the tasks in the organization In my organization linking performance and rewards is important Employees need to learn new competences Employees enjoy their jobs By using a reward system it is made clear to employees what type of attitudes and
behaviour is expected of them Mobility of personnel is accepted and normal (both internal & external)
C. Rate the activities of HR from the following parameters
1. 4.
Unsatisfactory Very Good
2. 5.
Satisfactory Excellent
Particulars
3.
1
Good
2
3
4
5
Strategic activities y
Key advices to organisation
y
Integrated managerial information
y
Developing a strategic vision
y
Management of diversity
y
Employee friendly policy formulation
Operational activities y
Basic information about personnel (sickness, leave)
y
Recruitment and selection
y
Juridical advice
y
Working conditions of your employees
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