.Year 2HRM Review Questions 2010/2011Introduction/Recruitment & Selection

Introduction to HRM/HR Planning

1 Describe in detail four key differences that might be used to explain Whether a company demonstrates a Personnel Management approach Or a HR Management approach within the firm.

Contrasting HRM and Personal Management TPM HRM1. INPUT INTO CORPORATE PLANING

ISSUE SPECIFIC INTEGRETED "to put together parts or elements and combine them into a whole"When HRM is contrasted with what might be termed Traditional personnel management, a number of key differences to emerge as outlined by Guest.First it is argued that workforce management considerations are fully INTEGRETED with strategic decision making in the HRM model, while in traditional personnel model the”Personnel” input is less obvious and is only noticeable when it comes to issue – specific. 2.TIME ANDPLANING PROSPECTIVE

SHORT TERM REACTIVE LONGTERM PROACTIVE MARGINAL STRATEGICA second contrast is that HRM is seen as essentiality proactive and long term, while traditional personal management is more reactive and adopts short term perspective.

3.PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT COMPLIAIENCE COMITMENTIn Terms of desire mode Psychological contract, HRM is seen as facilitating employee commitment. While Traditional personnel management model is more in terms of managerial control over employees.

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4.EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PLURALIST COLLECTIVE UNITARIST INDIVIDUAL LOW TRUST HIGH TRUSTIn regard to employee relations HRM is viewed as essentially in perspective seeing no conflict between employees and employers trying to improve a communication and trust between employees and employers on daily basis.

In contrast “Traditional Personnel management is grounded in pluralist traditions (controlling no unions) involving acceptance that conflict of interest exists between employers and workers a related factors or is that HRM is seen as focusing on relations between (line) management and the individual worker while traditional model is seen as operating primarily through collectivist relations between management and employee representatives normally trade unions.

5.ORGANISATION STRUCTURES/SYSTEM

BUREAURCRATIC ORGANIC FLUID DEVOLVED MECHANISTIC CENTRALISED FLEXIBLE ROLES FORMALLY DEFINED RULLES

Another area of contrast is that HRM is seen as operating most effectively in organic, fluid, company structure while personal management is felt to characterize more bureaucratic organization structure.

6. PRINCIPAL DELIVERYMECHANISM SPECIALIST PERSONEL LINE MANAGEMENT FUNCTION MANAGMENT

HRM is seen operate primarily through line management while in traditional personnel management model primarily responsibility is vested in the specialist personnel functions. 7.AIMSGOALS MAXIMAISE MAXIMAISE HR COST- EFFECTIVNES UTILISATIONThe final perceived differences is that HRM is seen as essentiality focused on maximizing the HR contribution to overall company effectiveness, while personnel management focuses on the more limited goal of improving cost effectiveness.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Despite all the arguing and listing the differences between HRM and personal management the true is that HRM is not necessarily better then personal management its more likely either HRM or PM approaches may be more suitable for particular organization context.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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2. (a) Explain the functions of a Human Resource department in a modern organisation.

(b) Choosing any two of these functions, indicate how these functions addValue to the organisation.

HRM is an aspect of organisational management concerned with the management of an organisation’s workforce.

- It is one of the most difficult aspects of organisational management as it means dealing with people who differ physically and psychologically

There are seven main functions of HRM .

They are:

Function 1: Manpower planning

The penalties for not being correctly staffed are costly.

Understaffing loses the business economies of scale and specialization, orders, customers and profits.

Overstaffing is wasteful and expensive, if sustained, and it is costly to eliminate because of modern legislation in respect of redundancy payments, consultation, minimum periods of notice, etc. Very importantly, overstaffing reduces the competitive efficiency of the business.

Future staffing needs will develop from:

Sales and production forecasts The effects of technological change on task needs Variations in the efficiency, productivity, flexibility of labor as a result of training,

work study, organizational change, new motivations, etc. Changes in employment practices (e.g. use of subcontractors or agency staffs, hiving-

off tasks, buying in, substitution, etc.) Variations, which respond to new legislation, e.g. payroll taxes or their abolition, new

health and safety requirements Changes in Government policies (investment incentives, regional or trade grants, etc

Function 2: Recruitment and selection of employees

Recruitment of staff should be preceded by:

An analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know

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what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage;

In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all (replacement should rarely be an automatic process).

Effectively, selection is 'buying' an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection.

Equally some small organizations exist to 'head hunt', i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the 'cost' of poor selection is such that, even for the mundane day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants.

Function 3: Employee motivation

To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise.

Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels.

As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation.

Function 4: Employee evaluation:

An organization needs constantly to take stock of its workforce and to assess its performance in existing jobs for three reasons:

To improve organizational performance via improving the performance of individual contributors (should be an automatic process in the case of good managers, but (about annually) two key questions should be posed:

what has been done to improve the performance of a person last year?

and what can be done to improve his or her performance in the year to come?).

To identify potential, i.e. to recognize existing talent and to use that to fill vacancies higher in the organization or to transfer individuals into jobs where better use can be made of their abilities or developing skills.

To provide an equitable method of linking payment to performance where there are no numerical criteria (often this salary performance review takes place about three

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months later and is kept quite separate from 1. and 2. but is based on the same assessment).

Function 5:Industrial relations

Good industrial relations, while a recognizable and legitimate objective for an organization, are difficult to define since a good system of industrial relations involves complex relationships between:

(a) Workers (and their informal and formal groups, i. e. trade union, organizations and their representatives);

(b) Employers (and their managers and formal organizations like trade and professional associations);

(c) The government and legislation and government agencies l and 'independent' agencies like the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

Function 6: Provision of employee services

Attention to the mental and physical well-being of employees is normal in many organizations as a means of keeping good staff and attracting others.

The forms this welfare can take are many and varied, from loans to the needy to counseling in respect of personal problems.

Among the activities regarded as normal are:

Schemes for occupational sick pay, extended sick leave and access to the firm's medical adviser;

Schemes for bereavement or other special leave; The rehabilitation of injured/unfit/ disabled employees and temporary or permanent

move to lighter work; The maintenance of disablement statistics and registers (there are complicated legal

requirements in respect of quotas of disabled workers and a need for 'certificates' where quota are not fulfilled and recruitment must take place);

Provision of financial and other support for sports, social, hobbies, activities of many kinds which are work related;

Provision of canteens and other catering facilities; Possibly assistance with financial and other aid to employees in difficulty

(supervision, maybe, of an employee managed benevolent fund or scheme); Provision of information handbooks, Running of pre-retirement courses and similar fringe activities; Care for the welfare aspects of health and safety legislation and provision of first-aid

training.

The location of the health and safety function within the organization varies. Commonly a split of responsibilities exists under which 'production' or 'engineering' management cares for the provision of safe systems of work and safe places and machines etc., but HRM is

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responsible for administration, training and education in awareness and understanding of the law, and for the alerting of all levels to new requirements.

Function 7: Employee education, training and development

In general, education is 'mind preparation' and is carried out remote from the actual work area, training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is 'the growth of the individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness'.

Within an organization all three are necessary in order to:

Develop workers to undertake higher-grade tasks; Provide the conventional training of new and young workers (e.g. as apprentices,

clerks, etc.); Raise efficiency and standards of performance; Meet legislative requirements (e.g. health and safety); Inform people (induction training, pre-retirement courses, etc.);

From time to time meet special needs arising from technical, legislative, and knowledge need changes. Meeting these needs is achieved via the 'training loop’.

3. a) As HR Manager, you have been given the task of undertaking a HR Planning process for your organisation. Describe the four main stages of the planning process.

(b) Comment on three factors that may impact on your planning process and over which you are likely to have little control.

(c) Taking one of the above factors explain what action you might take to reduce the impact of this factor on your planning process.

a) Human Resource Planning

Definition

• Meaning – Assessment of Human Resource requirements and time and stages of requirement.

• Right person ---At Right place ---At Right time.

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• Definition – HRP is defined as the process by which management determines how an organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower position.

• HRP is also called manpower planning, personnel planning or employment planning.

Objectives of HRP

• To ensure maximum use of existing HR.• To forecast future requirement for HR.• To provide control measures to ensure that necessary HR are available as and

when required.• To asses the surplus and shortage of HR. (Downsizing).• To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and HR.• To determine the level of Recruitment and Training.• To estimate the cost of HR and Housing needs of employees. • To meet the needs of expansion and diversification programmes.

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• Creates a bridge mechanism that allows corporate plans to be translated into actionable HR requirements

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• Involves forecasting HR needs (number of people & KSAs – Knowledge , skills, Abilities.) for the organisation & developing appropriate plans to achieve those needs

• Should be linked to other organisational functions e.g. strategic & operational, economic & market forecasting & investment planning

Arguments in favour of HR Planning– Facilitating the reduction of HR costs– Basis for planning employee development– Improving overall business planning process– Providing equal opportunities for all categories of

employees – Promoting greater awareness of the importance of having

well-integrated HR management policies & activities

Human Resource Planning Process

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Forecasting

Determine Gap

Planning

Implementation Of Action PlansMonitor &

Review

Change asRequired

HumanResourcePlanning

Stocktaking

External Environment

Internal Environment

Demand for Labour

Supply of Labour

Stocktaking

• First stage involves the identification of a range of variables that impact upon organisational operations

• 2 particular categories of influencers– The external environment– The internal environment

• Involves developing an accurate HR profile, job analysis, skills audit & inventory, & a performance review

Forecasting• Involves forecasting both the supply of labour and demand for labour• Most difficult aspect of HR planning• Demand forecasting can be improved by knowledge of:

– Changes in requirements for management– New subsets of the organisation that may be required or no longer required in

the future– Changes in the number of particular types of jobs– KSAs & experiences required for types of jobs– Requirements for joint ventures & collaborative mgt

Changes needed in career structures

he human resource manager needs to be able to forecast the organisation’s future HR requirements and determine from where they will be obtained. Three sets of forecasts are required:

a forecast of the demand for human resources

a forecast of the supply of external human resources

a forecast of the supply of human resources available within the organisation

These forecasts are an attempt to predict changes in the organisation’s needs for human resources. Sophisticated techniques have been developed, but HR forecasting is not an exact science and organisations use extremely varied forecasting techniques. Two approaches to HR planning can be identified

Quantitative Qualitative.

Quantitative forecasting includes trend projection, econometric modelling and multiple predictive techniques. Such techniques require specialised know-how, so the HR manager may have to rely on staff experts or outside consultants.

Qualitative approach to HR planning uses expert opinion (usually a line manager) to predict the future (for example, the marketing manager will be asked to estimate the future personnel requirements for the marketing department).

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• Types of models developed in forecasting supply of labour:– “Renewal” or “pull” models– “Linear programming” models for recruitment & deployment– “Camel” models – assessing promotion chances– “Markov” or “push” models

• These approaches have focused on 3 key supply indices – *wastage, *absenteeism *age profile

Labor Turnover

• The survival curve – 3 distinct phases– The Induction crisis (time wastage/turnover is very high)– The differential transit (likelihood of employee suddenly leaving is

reduced as they settle in)– Settled Connection (employees tend to be viewed as “quasi-permanent”&

perceived greater incentive to stay with the organisation)

Absenteeism• Function of 2 variables:

– Ability to attend (concerned with illness or incapacity…usually involuntary absence)

– Motivation to attend (linked with the employee’s feelings about the organisation & job itself & whether the employee feels pressure to attend)

Correlation between absenteeism & labour turnover

Age Profile

• Creation of an organisational age profile facilitates:– Identification of imminent retirement patterns– Planning recruitment policies– Identifying career & succession paths

Planning

• On foot of forecasting, the organisation can estimate if it is faced with labour shortage or surplus

• Labour Shortage: can plan for recruitment or retraining as appropriate• Labour Surplus: can plan for redundancies, redeployment, retraining, lay-offs• Implications for employee relations, structuring of work, reward package

offered, etc.

Implementation

• Once HR plans are complete, the organisation implements its decision & the cycle begins again

• HR plans need to be regularly monitored & reviewed

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(b) Comment on three factors that may impact on your planning process and over which you are likely to have little control.

The human resource manager needs to be able to forecast what the organisation's future human resource requirements will be and from where they will be obtained. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are used. To do this, three sets of forecasts are required: * 1. Forecast of the demand for human resources * 2. Forecast of the supply of external human resources * 3. Forecast of the supply of human resources available within the organisation.

Once the human resource manager has estimated the personnel needs of the organisation, the next challenge is to fill the projected vacancies. Present employees who can be promoted, transferred, demoted or developed make up the internal supply. The external supply in contrast consists of personnel who do not currently work for the organisation. Techniques for forecasting the internal supply of personnel include turnover analysis, skill inventories, replacement charts and Markov analysis.

For HR planning to be a success, the HR manager must ensure that:

Human resource personnel understand the HR planning process

Top management is supportive

The organisation does not start with an overly complex system

The communications between HR personnel and line management are good

The HR plan is integrated with the corporate plan

There is a balance between the quantitative and qualitative approaches to HR planning.

What is the relationship between HR planning and strategic management? As part of the strategic planning process, HR planning must consider the environmental influences on an organisation, its objectives, culture, structure and HRM. This is because HR planning must reflect the environmental trends and issues that affect an organization’s management of its human resources. Government regulations relating to conditions of employment, EEO, industrial relations and occupational health and safety, for example, must be integrated with an organization’s HRM strategies. Similarly, changes in social values and in the demographic composition of the population can affect the type and availability of labor. This, in turn, can have an impact on an organization’s EEO and AA objectives.

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Factors affecting HR PLANING process

Environment - : Economic factors Technological Changes Demographic changes Political and legislative issues Social concerns

Major demographic changes are likely to affect organisations in the near future? How are these changes likely to affect organisations? How can HR planning help organisations successfully deal with these changes?

Changes in social values and in the demographic composition of the population can affect the type and availability of labour. This, in turn, can have an impact on an organisation’s EEO and AA objectives.

• Organizational objectives and policies-:• HR plans need to be based on organizational objectives. • Specifics requirements in terms of numbers and characteristics of employees must be

derived from organizational objectives.• HR need or demand forecast-:• The process of estimating the future quantity and quality of people required.• The basis of forecast will be annual budget and long term corporate plans.• Demand forecasting must consider several factors like • Internal (Budget constraints, employee separations, production level etc.) • External (Competition, laws, change in technology).

The growing role of women in the work force, for example, depends on improved child-care facilities, availability of part-time work, job security after an absence for child bearing, maternity leave and special parental leave. The workforces of Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA, for example, are all ageing. The ageing of the work force combined with a global shortage of skilled personnel will force employers to employ larger numbers of older workers. Fortunately, the use of technology will make work less physically demanding, permitting older people to work longer. ‘An ageing work force,’ says one expert, ‘will compel companies to rethink virtually every aspect of how they organise business in order to tap into the knowledge and experience of their older workers while keeping promotion opportunities open for younger employees.’

In response to these types of changes organisations might choose to introduce different work practices such as flexible work hours, job sharing, outsourcing, increased use of part-time and casual workers, tele-working, working from home. All of which will have an impact on a range of HR practices.

What can an organisation do when it is faced with (a) a surplus of human resources? (b) a shortage of human resources?

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(a) If a surplus of human resources exists an organisation can use one (or more) of the following options: stop recruiting, reduce casual and part-time employment, start early retirements, start retrenching or reduce work hours.

(b) If a shortage of human resources exists an organisation can use one (or more) of the following options: increase overtime, increase casual and part-time employment, postpone retirements, start recruiting, accelerate training and development, and use outsourcing.

What can organisations do to better utilise older, unskilled workers?

To make better use of older workers organisations could use a variety of different work practices including job sharing, and working from home. Mentoring would also be a valuable approach to ensure the transfer of knowledge or experience to younger employees. Better use can also be made of unskilled employees by introducing further training and development, multi-skilling, or mentoring.

Factors Affecting HRP

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HRP

Organisational growth cycle and planning

Environmental

Uncertainties

OutsourcingNature

of job

Type and Quality of forecastingInformation

Time horizons

Type and strategy of

organization

Making theAppointment

Selecting Candidates

Attracting and Managing Applications

Job Description

Person Specification

Job Analysis(

What is the Job)

1. The type of organization determines the production process, type of staff, (supervisor and manager). And the strategy plan of the organization defines its HR needs.

2. Organizational growth cycle and planning – start up, growth, maturity, decline 3. Environmental uncertainty – political, social and economical change affect all

organizations. 4. Outsourcing – the process by which employees transfer routine or peripheral work to

the another organizations. 5. Nature of job – job vacancies, promotions and expansion strategies.6. Type and quality of forecasting information - organizational structure, budgets,

production.7. Time horizons – long term plans and short term plans, the greater the uncertainty the

shorter the plan. Example computers and university

Recruitment & Selection

4.In undertaking a selection interview, please comment on any four different types of questions that may be used and in the case of each one list one advantage and one disadvantage of using each type of question

What is a selection interview?

It is a situation in which a personnel selector, through personal contact provides himself with behaviour to observe - in order to assess the candidate's suitability for a position.

By eliciting as much as possible of the candidates life history the main aim of the selection interview should therefore be to look at say, twenty or thirty years behavior, much of which is bound to be highly characteristic of the individual concerned.

It is important to remember, however, that there are two additional objectives of the selection interview. Thus we may say that the aim of the interview is three fold:

• To assess the candidates appropriateness for the position

• To give information to the candidate

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• To present the company in a good light to the applicant

The Selection Interview

– Can be an accurate means of selection– Structured interviews are more valid than unstructured ones– More accurate if based on detailed job analysis techniques– Appropriate & fairly reliable method for assessing job-relevant social skills– Interviewer accuracy varies & recruitment decisions should always be

validatedErrors & Biases in Selection

1. Expectancy effect a. Positive or negative impression based on biographical information from CV. b. Bearing on subsequent decisions. 2. Information Seeking Bias a. Based on initial expectations: seek information to confirm them. 3. Primacy effect a. Impressions about candidate’s personality with the first 5 minutes b. More influenced by what is said earlier in the interview 4. Stereotyping a. Based on gender, race, family circumstances, etc...

5. Horns / Halo effect a. Information received influences the rating b. Negative influence more than positive (even with balance)

6. Contrast and Quota effect a. Influence by decisions about earlier candidates b. The last ones are compared with the ones interviewed before.

7. Evaluate „Personality‟ and not Job Skills and Experience a. Not recruiting the best candidate as interviewer may not like him/her. b. Tendency to hire people similar to themselves (+ comfortable).

Types of interview questions

1. Open questions These are questions to which it is impossible to give a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Candidates will often not only reply with the facts and issues but also with their feelings and attitudes. Thus, the interviewer can form a picture about the person sitting in front of him/her and can either explore certain topics further or ask them to expand on their feelings. The only disadvantage about these questions is that you could say too much or you could start to dominate the interview.

Examples of open questions are given below.WhatWhat are your duties?What have you learnt from the situation?What type of management brings out the best in you?

WhyWhy was that a problem for you? Why did that irritate you? Why did you decide to do …?

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WhenWhen did that happen? When do you get bored?

WhereWhere do you expect your next move to be? Where was that?

Similar open questions might start with openings such as:Please explain why that was important to you.In what way did you benefit from your training?

Some useful open-ended questions are given below.What prompted this decision?What kind of advice did you take?Why did you leave such and such a job?How do you intend to achieve …?Have you any questions you would like to ask me?How much notice do you have to give your current employer?What activities are you involved in just now?How would you respond if you were offered the job?Looking back, what would you have done differently?What do you think the reason was for your dismissal?

2. Closed questions

At the other extreme are closed questions, which usually only produce a 'yes' or a 'no' answer. These are useful for checking pure facts and eliciting a direct response. They can also be used to stop the interviewee doing all the talking, or they can be used to limit the relevant parts of the interview.

Examples of closed questions are given below.I see you worked for ... I see you have ...Do you like ...?Do you have good health?Do you get on with ...?

Expect a few closed questions during the interview. However, if they become the norm you need to change the way you reply. Offer more than the straight 'yes' or 'no' answer, perhaps by adding a bit more as well as giving the interviewer what he/she wants. Try to communicate as many positive and relevant facts about yourself as you can.

3. Probing questions

Probing questions are the interviewer's most sophisticated and useful tool. They are used to clarify, to justify or to reveal strengths or weaknesses - areas that the interviewee may wish to hide. The questions tend to be quite specific and predictable, and they are normally used when the interviewee is being over-talkative or when the conversation is drifting a bit.

Examples of probing questions are given below.What is your reason for saying that?Why does that concern you?Who else affected your decision?How did you resolve the situation?How did you react to ...?

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4. Hypothetical questions

Interviewers often ask the 'What if?' question. It may be because this is an actual situation which you will have to face in the job, or it could be asked just to test your ability to think on your feet. Answer the question as best you can and be able to back up your answer.

Examples of hypothetical questions are given below. What would you do if you were short-staffed?What would you do if you had to deal with an angry customer? What would you do if two important people demanded your attention at the same time?

5. Leading questions

On the whole these questions suggest the answer to give. Interviewers may wish you to disagree with the suggestion in order to hear your point of view, or the interviewer may be advising you of the company's rules and expectations. You can either agree or disagree depending upon how truthful it is. The choice is yours. However, try to put your point across logically but not emotionally. These questions may help you to make your final choice about the company.

Examples of leading questions are given below.The company has this philosophy; do you hold this philosophy?I wouldn't want to do ..., what about you?I suppose you got on with your previous boss?

6. Complicated questions

These questions take two forms: the alternative question and the multiple question. The alternative question is in fact a closed question, but has two conflicting parts.

For example:What part-time jobs did you have or didn't you bother because of your studies?

The tip with these questions is to ignore the bit that doesn't apply and respond only to the bit that does apply. The multiple question leads to confusion and vagueness because the interviewee doesn't know where to begin the answer.

For example:Did you pick up new skills in your last post and what did you think of the facilities?

It is best that your reply acknowledges the two parts perhaps by saying something along the lines of: 'I will answer … first and the … second.'

7. Summarising questions

These are used by the interviewer to clarify and confirm what you have said.

So what you are saying is ... I understand that what you have said is ... These are often used in technical professions, but remember the summarising question is a tool that you too can use if you feel that a question needs further clarification.

8. Reflecting what has been said

The interviewer may reflect back what has been said in order to encourage less confident or more reticent interviewees to expand further.

For example:

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So, you learnt a lot from that role?I expect that you did find it quite stressful.

This technique is used to show that the interviewer is listening but not making judgements on what has been said. Whichever combination of questions is used, try to communicate as much positive information as you can. Avoid reading too much into a question and try instead reflecting back on what you think has been asked, for greater clarity. Never be afraid to ask for the question to be rephrased or repeated. If you are not up to date or don't have in-depth knowledge on a subject, never bluff your way through the answer hoping for the best. Probing questions will be asked and that could be embarrassing for you. If you are uncertain about how to answer any questions please email them to us.

Remember that everything the interviewer knows about you has been taken from the information you have supplied on your CV. Your CV is your very own press release about yourself and it forms the script for the interview. So, if you find yourself experiencing some tough interviews and tough interview questions, it may well be that you need to change the way you are presenting yourself on paper. If you would like us to take a look at your CV and advise you on how to improve your presentation please

(a) The Selection Interview is the most commonly used selection tool but may not always be the most reliable. Comment on why this statement may be true and describe 2 ways in which its reliability may be improved.

(b) Describe any two other tools which may be used as part of the selection process.

(c) Comment on the reasons why an application form may be used in preference to a CV in the Recruitment Process.

What is a selection interview?

The selection interview takes many forms; it can be

One to one Video conference interview Situational interview- a structured series of predetermined, hypothetical, job-related

questions Evaluated against a set of example answers Biographical interview- this is the traditional approach which either moves forward

through a candidate’s education and career or backwards from the present or most recent job. The latter is often preferred for more experienced candidates. The biographical interview is logical and easy to conduct but it may not produce the information required as effectively as a referenced or structured approach.

Selection boards (interviewing panel) Telephone interview Competency Based Interview a also known as behaviourally based interview - A

structured series of questions aimed at eliciting behavioural information against specific job-related competencies

Organisations quite commonly hold more than one interview, and interviews at different stages of the selection process, or with different interviewers, may well have varying objectives. This diversity in format and objectives no doubt contributes to some of the

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reported inconsistencies across interviews. This also has an impact on the interview’s value in predicting future job performance.

The objectives of the selection interview

Much research has focused on the interview as a selection instrument, with the emphasis on the interviewer obtaining information from candidates in order to assess their ability to do the job. However, in practice, interviewers and candidates place considerable importance on the interview as an exchange of information and less tangible (and more subjective) issues such as the fit of the candidate with the organisation and its culture, or the candidate’s personal fit within the team. These variations in the objectives will influence the type of interview carried out and the selection procedure may include several interviews with different objectives, format and content.

It is important to remember, however, that there are two additional objectives of the selection interview. Thus we may say that the aim of the interview is three fold:

• To assess the candidates appropriateness for the position

• To give information to the candidate

• To present the company in a good light to the applicant

The Selection Interview

Interviews can be more accurate than many recruiters may believe if :

– Structured interviews are more valid than unstructured ones.– Interviews are more accurate if based upon detailed job analysis techniques,

where the interview decision reached is based on the application of both job description and person specification.

– Appropriate & fairly reliable method for assessing job-relevant social skills– Interviewer accuracy varies & recruitment decisions should always be

validated, that is interviewers should check their decisions against subsequent job performance.All well structured interview can provide very usefully information of the individuals job experience job knowledge, cognitive ability and social/behavioural skills that when combined can be used to determine person organisation fit.

Errors & Biases in Selection

While the central question of whether interviewers are born not made remains unanswered, there is considerable evidence to suggest that the process of interviewing is all too often subject to number of underlining biases and errors that adversely affect the selection decision. While it is untrue to suggest that all interviews are biased or error-prone, based on existing research Anderson and Shackleton have classified some of the more common errors and biases, a number of which are consider below.

• Expectancy effect – interviewers can form either a positive or negative impression of candidate based on biographical information from the application form /CV and

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this tends to have a bearing on all subsequent decision( often termed gut instinct or snap decision)

• Information-seeking bias( prejudge information) – based on their initial expectations , interviewers can actively seek information that will confirm this initial expectation

• Primacy effect – interviewers may form impression about candidates personality within the first five minutes of meeting him/her and tend to be more influenced by what is said early in the interview

• Stereotyping – can often be ascribed to particular groups of individuals may be based on gender, race, family circumstances etc. and decision based on stereotypes may be breach of the current Equality Legislation

• Horns/halo effect – based on information received an interviewer may rate a candidate either universally favourable or universally unfavourably. Furthermore, negative information tends to be more influential than positive information, and thus, even where there is a balance between positive and negative information, the overall impression will tend to be negative.

• Contrast and quota effects – interviewer decision can be naturally effected by decisions candidates have been selected for interview, those who are interviewed later are invariably compared with those who went before them( rather than being assesses specifically against pre- determined criteria)

There has been a considerable amount of research undertaken into the selection interview. Much of the early research was concerned with the overall outcome of the interview in terms of its reliability and validity. More recent research has focused on specific aspects of selection interviews such as non-verbal behaviour of the interviewer and interviewee, and the influence of personal perception on decision making in the interview.The following sections in this guide explore the reliability and validity of selection interviews and outline factors which influence decision-making Before, during and after the interview.

Reliability

Reliability refers to the consistency of judgements made by an interviewer if she/he were to interview the candidate afresh on a second occasion or if someone else were to interview the same candidate. In practice, greater emphasis is placed on inter-ratter reliability; that is, the extent to which different interviewers make the same assessment of the candidate they have seen, either separately or together at a panel interview. Studies usually show quite low levels of consistency between raters. Reasons for low inter-interviewer reliability could be that interviewers are not in fact basing their judgements on the same information, or that they hold different perceptions of the candidate requirements. Good job analysis, providing selection criteria and interviewer training tend to increase reliability.

Validity

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Although it is essential to achieve a reasonable level of reliability for the interview before it can be used as an assessment technique with anyconfidence, it is also necessary to show that it is valid, i.e. that it can predict training and/orjob success. Over the years, many studies have investigatedthe ability of the interview to predict job success. Statistical techniques (meta-analysis) have allowed the summarisation of many different studies to produce general conclusions about theValidity of interviews. Interviews appear to offer low but positive validity in relation to work success. Early studies showed low but positive validity for the interview in general. More recent studies suggest that different types of interviewmay have different validities. Structured interviews, with job relevant criteria derived from detailed job analysis carried out by trained experienced interviewers, are better at predicting future job performance.

Many factors have been found to influence the decisions made by interviewers. The basis for many decisions, however, stems from factors outside the interview as well as those during it.The following sections examine factors before, during and after the interview which influence the resulting decision.

Before the interviewBefore the interview takes place, there are several Factors which will affect the way it will precede.

Lack of clear job information – Research suggests that the more information interviewers have about the job, the more consistency there is between interviewers.

Inappropriate person specification stereotypes- Interviewers selecting for the same post tend to share part of their stereotype of a “good candidate” with their colleagues, but also tend to hold additional personal views.Insufficient preparation - Interviews which are not well planned and structured tend to have poorer results.

Limited interview skills training - The absence of some form of interviewer training, before the interview takes place, is likely to increase any effect the above factors may have.

Ignorance of the law - Equal Opportunities Legislation (Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act, Fair Employment Act [Northern Ireland], Rehabilitation of Offenders Act) covers all selection procedures. Interviewers should be aware of the implications of these Acts for their behaviour at an interview.

Lack of diversity awareness - Training in diversity awareness will help interviewers avoid being biased by stereotypical views of members of different groups and to interpret interview information in the relevant context.

What are the problems? During the interview

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The factors highlighted as potential problems before the interview serve also as problems during the interview itself. For example:

First impressions - These are usually lasting impressions. Decisions tend to be made early on in the interview. Webster (1964) demonstrated that in a series of 15 minute interviews the average ‘decision time’ was just under four minutes. After that, the decision predisposed the interviewer to perceive and accept information that supported their “decision”.

Visual cues - Several researchers suggest that non-verbal sources of information are more important than verbal ones. For example, it has been shown that successful candidates look the interviewer in the eye more, smile more, gesture more, and generally appear more enthusiastic. With reference to candidates, it was also found that interviewees who ‘liked’ their interviewer, were more likely to accept offers. Visual cues are therefore important to both parties.Hearing what they want to hear – Seeking information which supports initial impressions suggests that interviewers are selectively listening.The outcome could lead to information being weighted differently by different interviewers.

Overweighting negative information - A number of studies suggest that interviewers give more weight to unfavourable information than to positive. This suggests that negative information presented early in the interview will be of considerable importance to the final decision.

Overweighting academic qualifications -Interviewers generally seem to give most weight to academic achievement, even in jobs where it is not as relevant as other factors, for example, manual skill, flexibility, motivation etc.

Attitudinal, gender and racial similarity – A number of studies suggest interviewers give higher ratings on some traits to candidates who are like themselves. For example, a study demonstrated that females were given lower evaluations than males by male interviewers. Also, both male and female candidates were more likelyto be recommended for traditional role stereotyped jobs.

Cross cultural issues - Where interviewer and interviewee approach the interview with different cultural assumptions, there is a risk of poor assessment of skills, unless the interviewer is aware of the potential dangers and how to dealwith them.

Questioning style - Asking open questions and sensitively probing responses will enhance the amount and quality of information obtained from the interviewee.

After the interview- Following the interview, additional factors can affect how the information gathered is evaluated and selection decisions made.

Contrast effects - Studies suggest that assessment of a candidate partially depends upon the other individuals being rated at the same time,I.e. assessments seem to come from person-to person comparisons, rather than from comparing each applicant thoroughly with the person specification for the job. Although this may mean that the “best” candidate is selected, in essence the decision

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has been made between the available candidates. The “best” candidate from a poor bunch may not be good enough!

Pressure to select - In studies where interviewers are required to rate candidates on a range of different criteria, it has been found that the average level of ratings increases when there is a strong pressure to fill a post urgently (regardless of the quality of the candidates).

Intuitive decision making - Interviewers are human. Despite repeated calls for interviewers to base their decisions on the objective evidence they have collected, there remains a constant temptation to make overall judgements based on intuition. The “gut-feel” school of interviewing still has a few ardent supporters, as does the“I can spot them when they walk through the door” school!

Structured interview guides and note taking -There is some evidence to suggest that interviewers who work to a structure and who takes notes during the interview have more accurate recall of applicants after the interview. Considering all the potential problems associated with selection interviews, it seems rather surprising that the procedure remains the most popular method for assessing candidates for jobs. If it was abolished there would be chaos: employers want the opportunity to meet potential recruits prior to making selection decisions and candidates expect to be interviewed, feeling cheated if they are not. Hence it looks like the interview is here to stay, so how can it be improved?

Before the interviewAnalysing the job - In order to conduct an interview effectively it is imperative to establish what the job involves and the specific skills and attributes needed to perform successfully in the role. (Interviewers working from a good job description are more likely to focus on key areas and pay less attention to irrelevant information.)

Structuring the interview - The more structured the interview the better. Following a structure is probably the single technique which is most likely to help in improving the reliability of a selection exercise. Adherence to a structure helps to ensure that for each candidate broadly the same areas are covered. With a structure, the interviewer can more easily monitor the progress of the interview, ensuring that the discussion remains job-related. Moreover, adherence to a structure exposes gaps in the evidence collected, which might otherwise be overlooked.

Planning the interview - Careful consideration of pre-interview information, application forms or CV’s is critical in identifying relevant areas to explore further. Some standard questions for all candidates can be prepared in advance where this is appropriate.

Training the interviewer - Trained interviewers will not only be more likely to demonstrate the appropriate skills of effective interviewing, but they will also be more aware of the potential pitfalls of interviewing as a selection technique. Maintaining a healthy scepticism and an alertness to the possibility of bias and stereotyping serves as an excellent defence against the subjectivity and personal preferences, which can so easily undermine the quality of evidence collected.

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Overcoming the problem

During the interviewObtaining evidence - The interview should be planned and conducted to collect relevant information about the candidates, in order to make an assessment against the selection criteria.Effective interviewing skills such as questioning techniques, developing rapport, controlling and summarising also contribute to ensuring that sufficient and appropriate information is collected.

Taking notes - It is difficult for an interviewer to remember accurately everything that an interviewee has said during the course of an interview. If the interviewer relies solely on his or her memory, points will almost certainly be forgotten or distorted. In order to limit this risk, note-taking during the interview is strongly recommended. This will enable interviewers to check that they have elicited all the information they require against their predetermined interview plan, and to check their understanding with the interviewee. In addition, gaps in written information are much more visible (and therefore difficult to ignore), than gaps in information which is stored solely in the memory of the interviewer.An accurate record of the interview is useful evidence (of the objectiveness of decisions) should a candidate challenge the selection process under Equal Opportunities Legislation at an industrial tribunal.

More than one interviewer? - In terms of perceived fairness, involving more than one interviewer, such as in a panel interview may, particularly in the eyesof the candidates, increase their confidence that the selection decision is not based on one face-to-face encounter, which may be subject to interview bias.Where no other selection techniques are involved this may be particularly important. However, facing more than one interviewer can be a rather intimidating experience for some candidates.

More than one interview? - An alternative to panel interviews is to conduct further interviews with different interviewers, who may see the candidates in a different light. In discussion after the interview, the interviewers should be able to compare evaluations and challenge each other’s biases.After the interview

Recording the evidence - Note-taking during the interview should be supplemented by note-taking after the interview. During the interview, it is of course not possible to fully cover all that is discussed, and therefore interviewers should add to their notes immediately after the interview has finished. Once this process has been completed, the interviewer is then in a position to undertake their final write-up of the interview. This should be structured against the pre-determined selection criteria.

Evaluating the findings effectively – Clear descriptions of the selection criteria, withBench marks of either detailed behavioural description and/or numerical ratings, encourage interviewers to evaluate specific aspects of required performance, rather than make a generalised judgement of “I liked that person”. Ratings should be completed after the interview on each candidate, together with written evidence to support the rating.

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Using other assessment techniques – Interviews can be an efficient and cost-effective means of collecting certain types of information (for example, about past work experience or personal presentation). However, they are a less reliable technique for gathering information about other potentially important characteristics, such asAptitude. It is recommended that information collected from interviews should be supplemented by the use of other assessment techniques such as ability tests or personality questionnaires, which can provide objective and reliable evidence about the suitability of the candidate. The use of multiple assessment techniques in assessment centres has been repeatedly demonstrated to improve the validity of a selection procedure.

There is no evidence to suggest that organisations will reduce their use of the interview, although there are indications that additional selection techniques are being used alongside interviews.

Therefore, organisations need to direct their attention more closely to what they expect the interview to achieve for them in the selection process. Other selection techniques may focus on assessing the candidate’s match with the skills and abilities required to do the job, but the interview can explore wider issues such as why the candidate wants this job in your organisation. It also provides an opportunity for the candidate to meet people in the organisation and seek information from them to help in his/her decision making. A professional, well conducted selection interview can have a significant impact on the candidates’ perception of your organisation and whether they wish to work for you or even, in some circumstances, do business with you in the future.

Reviewing selection interviewingConsideration of the following will help to ensure that your interviews are conducted effectively and that interviewers and candidates have confidence in them.

Do interviewers have? Up-to-date job descriptions, selection criteria or competency frameworks

available?

A clear objective for their interview?

Training in interviewing skills?

Awareness of equal opportunities legislation?

Adequate time to prepare: alone or with others?

An interview schedule which allows time to explore information thoroughly?

Knowledge of other selection methods being used?

Interview record forms for interview notes and final decisions?

Feedback on the outcome of their decisions

(c) Comment on the reasons why an application form may be used in preference to a CV in the Recruitment Process.

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There are different ways in which a company can sift through their applicants to determine if they should go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. The most common approach is by requesting CVs from the applicants or to have a job-specific application form, which all applicants are required to complete

Benefits of CVs

CV provides a chance for the candidate to promote and sell themselves in a creative and unrestricted way, which is highly appropriate for some fields where, for instance, creativity and selling skills are essential

a single CV can be used for many job applicationso Limitations of CVs

although CVs allow for applicants to be creative in promoting themselves, applicants are limited by the length of the CV

applicants can include irrelevant and unnecessary information, which in turn makes it more difficult to assess all candidates on an equal basis

CVs can reveal group identities, for example ethnicity age and so on, which can allow for discrimination

putting together a CV could in itself demonstrate a particular skill that might not be relevant to the job

Benefits of application forms

application forms can provide a more accurate basis for comparison of candidates and help by asking candidates to provide appropriate and relevant information about their various skills

using application forms rather than CVs can be more appropriate for certain jobs as with a CV, the applicant's style can give an insight to their suitability, for example their presentation skills and writing style. However, be aware of the possibility of disability discrimination

applications provide information regarding the applicant's experiences, capabilities, skills, and qualifications (see ACAS website)

Back to top Limitations of application forms

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they can be used to extract too much information, which may not be relevant to the job

applicants can be put off, due to: application forms being too time-consuming (one CV can be used to apply for many

jobs); thus, candidates find vacancies elsewhere more quickly candidates do not like to fill in application forms application forms can be inadvertently discriminatory as they require candidates to

have well-developed literacy skills when that might not be relevant to the job. Also, candidates whose first language is not English could struggle with completing application forms

experienced candidates may find the application form inadequate, not allowing them to express all their experience

less experienced candidates could struggle completing an application form application forms can stifle creativity Back to top

TipsWhether a company uses CVs or application forms as means of assessing its candidates, there are points to bear in mind in the process:

Only information relevant to the job (eg experience, knowledge, competencies) should be asked for.

do not ask for information on CVs or application forms that could lead to discrimination by ethnicity, religion, gender (name or title), age, sexual orientation etc; asking for marital status could suggest heterosexuality

photographs of candidates should not be requested, unless relevant to the job (e.g. if the applicant is applying for a modelling job)

Be aware of discrimination (eg asking for years of experience in former employment or year of education, could be interpreted as discrimination). Requiring such information should be justifiable, for example if applicants are working with children (Criminal Records Bureau checks)

Provide candidates with information regarding the application process and how it is related to the company's diversity policy. For example, how are religious requirements going to be accommodated?

ensure the equal opportunities form and candidate's personal information are separated and handled by those not involved in the selection process

it is advisable to acknowledge solicited and preferably unsolicited applications

If application forms are used:

they should be available in multiple formats e.g. electronic brochure, Braille, large print

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guidance regarding how to fill out the application should be provided as well as examples of how to address various parts of the application form (eg person specification)

Be aware that the form could in itself suggest personal preference by using gendered terms (eg 'caring', 'frontline', 'competitive'). They could also use other terminology which implies a cultural/age/class preference (eg 'energetic', 'like-minded')

(a) Discuss the main reasons why an effective induction is an essential Element of any Recruitment & Selection process.

(b) Comment on the main preparations that you would make in relation To the induction of a new employee in advance of his/her commencement Date.

Induction is :A)

The process of helping a new employee settles quickly into their job so that they soon become an efficient and productive employee.

The process whereby people who are new to an organisation are assisted to integrate with the help of a carefully planned programme

May include, but not limited to a training event Starts before the person’s first day at work

Why use Induction activities?

• Early days with new employer quite daunting - sink or swim?• Require employees to learn about various aspects of organisational life, to facilitate

the development of useful employees• Need to learn about the organisation’s values and culture• To help newcomers develop a commitment to their new employer

Why use induction activities?

• Need to avoid expensive mistakes• May need to minimise staff turnover- try to maintain the staff we have cause more to

retrain new staff training and cost of loosing new staff due to not effective induction.

We have all started working at places that just expect us to "hit the ground running" and become productive extremely quickly. Many of us will have worked at places that regard an induction as a waste of time, or think a quick tour of the building should be sufficient!

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The benefits of induction training

The benefits of induction training are huge and include: increased retention of newly hire employees, improved employee morale and increased productivity. A properly crafted induction plan will save you time and money in the long run that might have ended up being spent on covering absences and hiring replacements.

An induction is the first point of contact between you and your new employee, so why not spend some time making sure you get it right?

Ideally an induction should include:

Make sure to create induction check list to not omit anything.

Prepare contract of the employment and explain slowly job duties.

a) Introduction to important staff (not just a quick hello but sufficient time to get acquainted and identify their exact job role)

b) Tour of the building, pointing out fire exits, bathrooms, meeting rooms, boardrooms, useful offices such as IT support staff, administration staff etc. Don't forget to show them where to find office stationery and the position of photocopiers / faxes.

c) Health and safety training as necessary dependent on job role; may include items such as manual handling and where to find the health and safety notice board.

d) How to complete day to day tasks and where to find the necessary folders / files

The fourth task is the most important but often the most likely to be overlooked. It should take place over a number of days dependent on the availability of the staff carrying out the training. Ideally each task should be explained, then the trainee should be left for a short while to practice. Following this, the trainer should then return to check progress, check misunderstandings and then start the next task.

Induction Trainer Guidelines

1) Give the trainee your details to get hold of you by any method they choose - telephone, email, face to face.

2) Provide training materials, at least a quick reference guide - ideally a full manual explaining the task.

3) Call back regularly to check on progress. Just because you haven't hear from them doesn't mean they are okay - they may just be the type that doesn't like asking questions.

4) Ensure you ask your manager for sufficient time to carry out your role effectively - point out you need to provide training materials and be available to answer questions at short notice.

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5) Consider asking your manger to attend a "train the trainer" course if induction training is something they enjoy and would like to make it a bigger difference to your organisation.

Higher Cert in Business/Financial Services/Equine Studies & Office Managing Performance

Employee Motivation/Job Design

1. (a) Outline 2 different methods of job evaluation with which you are familiar. Include in your answer a brief explanation of whether the method outlined would be acceptable as a method of determining similar importance in an equal cost case. (10 marks)

(b) Describe the factors that you would consider in choosing a job evaluation scheme for a large organization.

a) Types of Job Evaluation methods• Non-analytical schemes

– Making comparisons between whole jobs without analysing them into constituent parts or elements

• Job ranking, job classification & paired comparison• Analytical schemes

– Breaks down jobs into critical factors that are analysed & compared using quantitative measure

• Points rating, Hay method, competence-based job evaluation

There are two basic types of job evaluation schemes, known as "non-analytical" and "analytical". We offer advice on both non-analytical and analytical job evaluation

Non-analytical Method

The defining feature of non-analytical evaluation schemes is that whole jobs are compared with each other without any attempt to break down and analyse jobs under their various demands or components. These types of job evaluation schemes are particularly prone to sex discrimination because where whole jobs are being compared (rather than scores on components of jobs) judgements made by the evaluators can have little objective basis other than the traditional value of the job.

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Analytical Method

Analytical evaluation schemes are schemes where jobs are broken down into components (known as factors) and scores for each component of the job are awarded with a final total giving an overall rank order.

Analytical job evaluation is a process for putting a value on jobs and establishing a job

hierarchy through an objective system assessing important elements of work. Information

on other alternatives of job evaluation (non-analytical methods) can be found in the Main

Guide.

Job evaluation is conducted to compare jobs in order to provide a basis for determining pay.

It may be part of a sophisticated pay system or it may be an informal assessment to rank

different positions in a small business in order to decide how much to pay for a particular

job. The major difference between analytical job evaluation and non-analytical job

evaluation is that the former measures jobs by considering a range of factors with

established yardsticks and the latter compares jobs as a whole based on some pre-set

criteria. In the context of equal pay, analytical job evaluation is preferred as the

mechanism is more objective (despite the inherent subjectivity involved in making

judgements). With non-analytical methods, traditional views on jobs undertaken by men

or women may affect the assessment when jobs are compared as a whole, sometimes

resulting in undervaluation of female dominated jobs. Well-defined criteria should be set

when using non-analytical methods.

Types of Non-Analytical Schemes

There are 4 types of non-analytical job evaluation method

Job Ranking

Ranking is the process of comparing whole jobs with one another and arranging them in order of their perceived value to the organisation. Job ranking is a simple process which reflects what people tend to do when comparing jobs, but:

there are no defined standards for judging relative worth and there is therefore no rationale to defend the rank order - it is simply a matter of opinion

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ranking is not acceptable as a method of determining comparable worth in equal value cases

it may be hard to justify slotting new jobs into the structure or to decide whether or not there is a case for moving a job up the rank order, i.e. re-grading

1.4.2 Matching Comparisons

This is also a relatively simple technique. Each job is evaluated as a whole with each other job in turn, and points (0, 1 or 2) awarded according to whether its overall importance is judged to be less than, equal to, or more than the other jobs. Points awarded for each job are then totalled and a rank order produced. This method of job evaluation has all the advantages of job ranking and is slightly more systematic. However, it is best limited to organisations with a maximum of 30 jobs in a particular job population and, like job ranking; it does not involve any analysis of jobs nor indicate the extent of difference between them. Paired comparisons is not acceptable as a method of determining comparable worth in equal value cases

1.4.3 Internal Benchmarking or Job Matching

Job evaluation by internal benchmarking or job matching simply means comparing the job under review with any internal benchmark job which is believed to be properly graded and paid and slotting the job under consideration into the same grade as the benchmark job. The comparison is usually made on a whole job basis without analysing the jobs factor by factor. Internal benchmarking is a simple and quick method of job evaluation, but:

it relies on judgements which may be entirely subjective and could be hard to justify it is dependent on the identification of suitable benchmarks which are properly graded

and such comparisons may only perpetuate existing inequities it is not acceptable as a defence in equal value cases

1.4.4 Job Classification

Job classification is the process of slotting jobs into grades by comparing the whole job with a scale in the form of a hierarchy of grade definitions. It is based on an initial definition of the number and characteristics of the grades into which jobs will be placed. The grade definitions may refer to such job characteristics as skill, decision making and responsibility. Job classification is the most used form of non-analytical job evaluation because it is simple, easily understood and at least, in contrast to whole-job ranking, it provides some standards for making judgements in the form of the grade definitions. But:

it cannot cope with complex jobs which will not fit neatly into one grade the grade definitions tend to be so generalised that they may not be much help in

evaluating border-line cases it fails to deal with the problem of evaluating and grading jobs in dissimilar

occupational or job families where the demands made on job holders are widely different

grade definitions tend to be inflexible and unresponsive to changes affecting roles and job content

the grading system can perpetuate inappropriate hierarchies it does not provide a defence in equal value cases.

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1.5 TYPES OF ANALYTICAL JOB EVALUATION Methods

1.5.1 Points Rating

This is the most commonly used method. The key elements of each job, which are known as 'factors', are identified by the organisation and then broken down into components. Each factor is assessed separately and points allocated according to the level needed for the job. The more demanding the job, the higher the points value. This scheme has the following advantages:

it provides a rationale why jobs are ranked differently it may be entered as a defence to an equal value claim it will be seen generally as less subjective than non analytical techniques.

However, it is time consuming to introduce and can be complex and costly to undertake. In addition it can be seen to be an inflexible form of job evaluation in times of rapid change and can imply an arithmetical precision which is not justified.

1.5.2 Factor Comparison

Factor Comparison is similar to Points Rating job evaluation scheme, being based on an assessment of factors, though no points are allocated. Use of the Factor Comparison method of job evaluation is not as widespread as the Points Rating systems, because the use of points enables a large number of jobs to be ranked at one time.

1.5.3 'Tailor Made' or 'Off the peg'

A prime consideration in deciding which analytical job evaluation scheme to select lies in the choice of factors and weightings. The benefit of proprietary 'off the peg' evaluation schemes is that they normally have been well tried and tested and there is therefore a saving in time. In addition, many schemes are linked to mechanisms for checking salary levels. The benefit of 'tailor made' schemes is that the factors and definitions more accurately reflect the range of jobs to be evaluated and are arrived at through consensus; consequently they are more likely to be acceptable to the workforce. The Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method is the most widely used evaluation scheme.

1.6 Basic Characteristics of Job Evaluation Methods

The diagram below highlights the main differences between the extremes of job evaluation schemes.

Job ranking:very

subjectivesimple Quick

difficult to defend, equal value claim, difficult to do with lots of

jobs 

Factor Analysis:

least subjective

complextime

consuming

easy to defend, equal value claim,

Easy to do with lots of jobs

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Despite their complexity and the amount of time required to complete them, analytical methods are much more popular than non-analytical methods. Most companies obviously prefer more objective methods which can easily defend an equal pay claim.

If you wish to adopt analytical job evaluation in your organization, you can consider

choosing proprietary systems in the market if you do not have the required expertise

in-house. For sizeable organizations, a proprietary system may be more suitable as you

have access to professional advice and the systems are more universal and well tested.

Some systems also support external comparison of jobs with linkage to pay levels in the

market. Alternatively, you can start by developing a simple system of your own if your

organization structure is simple and you do not have the resources to acquire proprietary

• b) 5 suggested factors– Skill requirements– Mental requirements– Physical requirements– Responsibility– Working conditions

• Each factor may then be broken down into sub-factors

Choosing a job evaluation scheme

• Purpose ? Is it to meet equal pay legislation requirements ?• How many jobs to be evaluated ?• How complex is the pay structure?• What organisational factors should attract monetary value?• Is scheme intended for market comparison ?• Advantage in using a computerised scheme?

As well organizations and the Human Resource Management team need to carefully consider which job evaluation approach to select before embarking on the evaluative process.

Firstly, the organization needs to carefully consider if they are going to implement an existing commercial package, such as

Cost Effort External comparison

and more:

• Hay Guide Chart Profile system – measures know-how, problem solving and accountability with each factor being scored on a two dimensional matrix• Cullen Egan Dell system – measures cognition, education and decision making. Like the

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Hay system each of these factors is broken down into a further eight sub factors.• Wyatt System – there are two systems FACTORCOMP™ and MULTICOMP™.• Weighted Job Questionnaire (WJQ) – this measures five factors (skill and knowledge, contacts, working conditions, problem solving and scope of responsibility) through a multiple choice job analysis questionnaire.

Or design their own system in accordance with one of the non-analytical or analytical methodologies. Building a job evaluation system from the ground up can increase the probability of measuring the nominated factors, but it can be expensive and time consuming. While a commercial system is proven and has a large sample size to draw on for analysis.

In determining how to progress in job evaluation schemes Strong (1995:312) maps out a clear set of questions. These serve as a helpful starting place for a human resource management team and should be considered before undertaking any extensive job evaluation project -

• ‘What are the organisation’s objectives in introducing a job evaluation scheme? Will the expected benefits outweigh the time and costs involved?• What is the size of the organization? As a general rule the smaller the organization the easier it will be to implement a simple ranking system.• Are the personnel and expertise available to develop an internal plan? How much can the organization afford to spend on introducing and maintaining a plan?• What do similar organizations in the same industry do?• Is the selected job evaluation plan in harmony with the organization’s culture?’

2. (a) Describe any two theories of motivation with which you are

familiar. (14 marks)

(b) You have recently been employed as HR Manager with a Financial Services Company and you note that staff absenteeism is above an acceptable level. Describe what action(s) you might take to reduce the level of absenteeism.

1. Motivation is

Motivation is the set of forces that leads people to behave in particular ways’(Griffin and Moorhead, 2006)

People are motivated by many things in the workplace. The most basic motivation is the need for money. Many people find their work uninteresting or worse, but continue because they need the money. Receiving a raise or bonus can be a motivator, too. Additional motivations include co-workers with whom you have a good relationship, the general environment of the workplace, tasks that are interesting or challenging, and recognition by co-workers or managers that you are contributing toward reaching a common goalA manager needs to motivate workers to behave in ways that are in the best interests of the organisationMaslow believed that:

• People have an innate desire to work their way up the hierarchy

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• A need is not a motivator until those before it are satisfied

• A satisfied need is not a motivator

• Managers need to assess workers’ needs at each level and then provide incentives that correspond to those needs

Expectancy Theory (VIE)Victor Vroom presented the Expectancy theory in 1964 he proposed the idea that people are influence by expected results of their actionsExpectancy refers to the belief that effort will lead to performanceDo you believe that if you work hard enough you will reach your sales target?Do you believe that if you study hard enough you will be able to pass the exams? Managers need to:

• Understand what rewards employees value• Ensure that employees trust that they will get a promised reward if they perform well

enough• Ensure that employees see a link between their effort and performance• Ensure that targets are attainable

2. Describe the maintenance factors

Herzberg's research proved that people will strive to achieve 'hygiene' needs because they are unhappy without them, but once satisfied the effect soon wears off - satisfaction is temporary. Then as now, poorly managed organisations fail to understand that people are not 'motivated' by addressing 'hygiene' needs. People are only truly motivated by enabling them to reach for and satisfy the factors that Herzberg identified as real motivators, such as achievement, advancement, development, etc., which represent a far deeper level of meaning and fulfillment.

Examples of Herzberg's 'hygiene' needs (or maintenance factors) in the workplace are:

policy relationship with supervisor work conditions salary company car status security relationship with subordinates personal life

Herzberg's research identified that true motivators were other completely different factors, notably:

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achievement recognition work itself responsibility advancement

N.B. Herzberg identified a specific category within the study responses which he called 'possibility of growth'. This arose in relatively few cases within the study and was not considered a major factor by Herzberg. Where referring to 'growth' or 'personal growth' in terms of Herzberg's primary motivators, 'growth' should be seen as an aspect of advancement, and not confused with the different matter of 'possibility of growth'.

5. What are the motivation Factors?

HERZBERG'S MOTIVATION - HYGIENE THEORY

Frederick Herzberg studied and practised clinical psychology in Pittsburgh, where he researched the work-related motivations of thousands of employees.  His findings were published in "The Motivation to Work" in 1959.  He concluded that there were two types of motivation:

Hygiene Factors that can demotivate if they are not present - such as supervision, interpersonal relations, physical working conditions, and salary.  Hygiene Factors affect the level of dissatisfaction, but are rarely quoted as creators of job satisfaction.

Supervision Working condition Interpersonal relationship Pay and job security Company Polices

Motivation Factors that will motivate if they are present - such as achievement, advancement, recognition and responsibility.  Dissatisfaction isn't normally blamed on Motivation Factors, but they are cited as the cause of job satisfaction.

Achievement Recodnision The work it self Responsibility Advancment & Growth

So, once you've satisfied the Hygiene factors, providing more of them won't generate much more motivation, but lack of the Motivation Factors won't of themselves demotivate.  There are clear relationships to Maslow here, but Herzberg's ideas really shaped modern thinking about reward and recognition in major companies.

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b) Absenteeism There are two types of absenteeism, each of which requires a different type of approach.

1. Innocent Absenteeism

Innocent absenteeism refers to employees who are absent for reasons beyond their control; like sickness and injury. Innocent absenteeism is not culpable which means that it is blameless. In a labour relations context this means that it cannot be remedied or treated by disciplinary measures.

2. Culpable Absenteeism

Culpable absenteeism refers to employees who are absent without authorization for reasons which are within their control. For instance, an employee who is on sick leave even though he/she is not sick, and it can be proven that the employee was not sick, is guilty of culpable absenteeism. To be culpable is to be blameworthy. In a labour relations context this means that progressive discipline can be applied.

For the large majority of employees, absenteeism is legitimate, innocent absenteeism which occurs infrequently. Procedures for disciplinary action apply only to culpable absenteeism. Many organizations take the view that through the process of individual absentee counselling and treatment, the majority of employees will overcome their problems and return to an acceptable level of regular attendance.

– Ability to attend (concerned with illness or incapacity…usually involuntary absence)

– Motivation to attend (linked with the employee’s feelings about the organisation & job itself & whether the employee feels pressure to attend)

Correlation between absenteeism & labour turnover

While some employees are absent for unavoidable reasons, such as injury or sickness, many take time off when they could otherwise attend. Employees can do much to manage this form of absenteeism

Create an absence policy. These are written guidelines ideally compiled with the input of line managers, employee representatives and possibly trade unions. Inform every employee about the need to comply with the policy by including it in the staff handbook or their employment contract. The policy should include holiday entitlements, procedures for reporting absence and provision for sick pay. Consider putting disciplinary measures in place for frequent absentees. But be sure to act within the law and ethically.

Implement "return to work" interviews for employees who have been absent for a fixed number of days. This will provide a platform for employers and employees to talk about the reasons for absence and uncover ways to improve the situation.

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Reward excellent attendance. Some companies give bonuses to employees with 100 per cent attendance. Or you could let employees with great attendance leave work early one Friday of every month.

Improve the physical working environment. Nobody likes working in an old, smelly office or building that is too hot or too cold. You might consider renovating the environment so that it is bright, clean and welcoming. Something as simple as buying an employee a comfortable new chair might make them feel valued. This will give them more incentive to attend. Consider updating old, slow technology, which can be very frustrating for employees.

Improve your management's style. Often absenteeism is due to stress caused by poor relations with management. Authoritarian bureaucratic management styles tend to foster high levels of absenteeism. Employees under these managers feel they are being ordered around and that no one listens to them. Identify the managers whose teams have high levels of absenteeism. Send these managers for management training or give them a job that does not require people management.

4) (a) Describe three main approaches that have traditionally been used in the

area of job redesign and comment on the potential limitations of adopting each approach.

Task Specialisation Job enlargement Job enrichment

Task Specialisation• Classical approach to job design• Reflects traditional approach to the organisation of work to maximise the efficiency of

the technical system• Scientific management or Taylorism focuses on:

– Bureaucratic work structure– Top-down supervisory control– Task fragmentation– Clearly defined jobs– Payment-by-results

• Suggests employees must be coerced to work productively • Org. Advantages

– Improved efficiency– Promoted systematic approach to selection, training, work measurement & pay

systems • Org. Disadvantages

– Led to high turnover & absenteeism– Low motivation– Long-term reductions in organisation effectiveness

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Job enlargement• Job enlargement makes one’s job bigger to make jobs more varied & less repetitive• It refers to the combination of more than two tasks into one • Doesn’t deal with motivation issues • Job enlargement studies have ignored external variables & people’s differing attitudes

to workJob enrichment

• Developed for the advancement of the dual-factor theory of work motivation• Job enrichment adds something to the job to increase the employees’ psychological

growth• Suggests employees gain most satisfaction from work itself• Vertical loading• The Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) is the basis of the

expectancy theorists’ job enrichment strategy

(b)Write a brief note explaining what is meant by any two of the following approaches(i) Quality of Working Life(ii) High Performance Work Systems(iii) Lean Production

(i) Quality of Working Life - Focuses on the overall quality of employees’ experiences in the workplace

– Embraces job design– Embraces broader issues such as autonomy, participation, justice, working

conditions, job security• Seeks to increase employees’ influence & involvement in work organisation & job

design• Involves the change of role of supervisor from controlling to advising & facilitating

Quality of Working Life (QWL)Low QWL

Low levels of significance, variety, identity & feedback

Little involvement

Top-down communications

Inequitable rewards

Poor terms & conditions

High WQL

Fair rewards systems Good working conditions Opportunities to use capabilities Opportunities for personal growth & development, Pride in work

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(ii) High Performance Work Systems

• Motive behind HPWS is desire & need to improve overall competitive position of the organisation

• Adopts a culture of continuous improvement and innovation• Main aim is to generate high levels of commitment & involvement of employees &

managers• Progressive HR systems to support• Involves new/different approaches to management of employees & structure of jobs

& systems• Organic and flexible structures

INCLUDES BOTH SYSTEM AND VALUE CHANGES

• bundles of work practices and policies that are found more extensively in high performing organisations

• A survey of 130 leading Irish companies by the National Centre for Partnership and the Equality Authority (Jan 08) showed gains in productivity, sales revenue, workplace innovation and employee retention.

QWL & HPWS Compared

QWL HPWS

More strategic focus Concentrates on reducing absenteeism & turnover

Improve organisation competitiveness through increased flexibility & quality

Focus on performance r rather than job

experience

Rationale was based on improving the job experience of employees

Strong focus on performance criteria

Major change in management style

More limited … involves only a re-orientation in the role of first line

supervisors

Requires fundamental overhaul of management style

Long-term comprehensive strategy

Quick fix applied to isolated & problematic work groups

Major change initiative affecting the whole org. & involving a long-term

commitment by all parties

Representative of strategic HRM

More of a personnel administration technique

Key element of strategic HRM

(iii) Lean Production

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• Contemporary development associated with HPWS• Rests on principle of eliminating anything that does not add value to the end product • Main characteristics of “Toyotism”:

– Teamwork with leader who undertakes assembly work & fills in for absent workers & does additional jobs e.g. simple machine maintenance, materials ordering, clean-up

– Zero defect approach to production– Lean product development techniques reduce time & effort in manufacturing– Production in small batches– Absence of vertical integration

• Berggren (1990) suggests lean production simply represents another stage in the evolution of mass production

• Has many of the core characteristics of that system:– Pre-defined work processes– Short job cycles– Repetitive tasks & intense supervision– Intense demands on workers in areas such as working time, flexibility, effort

levels & attendance Reward Management

1. (a) Describe briefly the essential characteristics of an effective reward system as suggested by Lawlor (1977). (10 marks)

Essential characteristics of an effective reward system by Lawlor (1977).

• Reward level• Individuality• Trust• Internal Equity • External Equity

Reward Level – The reward package must satisfying basic needs for surviwal, seciurity and self development.Trust –management and employees must believe in the reward system: employees accepting that certain rewards will be forthcoming when the relevant criteria are meet.Individuality – a part from satisfying basic needs the reward system must be flexible enough to meet the varying individual needs of the organizations employees.

• Internal Equity – • Internal equity

– Rewards must be seen as fair when compared to others in the organisation:Criteria for the allocation of rewards should be equitable and clear these should be communicated and accepted by all parties and applied consistently throughout the organisation

External Equity – External competitiveness Package must be seen as fair when compared to those offered for comparable work outside the organisation

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(b) Outline five criteria that should be considered when choosing a job evaluation scheme. (10 marks)

• Purpose? Is it to meet equal pay legislation requirements?• How many jobs to be evaluated?• How complex is the pay structure?• What organisational factors should attract financial value?• Is scheme intended for market comparison?• Advantage in using a computerised scheme?

2. (a) Discuss the main purposes to be served by an effective reward system.- Attract- Maintain- Motivate

(12 marks)Objectives of Reward Package

• It serve to Attract potential employees: in conjunction with the organisation’s human resource plan and its recruitment and selection efforts, the reward package and its mix of pay incentives and benefits serves to attract suitable employees

• It Assist in retaining good employees: unless the reward package is perceived as internally equitable and externally competitive, good employees may potentially leave.

• It should serve to Motivate employees: the reward package can assist in the quest for high performance by linking rewards to performance i.e. having a incentive element

• Contributes to human resources & strategic business plans: an organisation may want to create a rewarding and supportive climate, or it may want to be an attractive place to work so that it can attract the best applicants. The reward package ca assist these plans and also further other organisational objectives such as rapid growth, survival or innovation

• Advance other organisational objectives e.g. rapid growth, survival or innovation• Relevance for employees

– Provides means to satisfy basic needs– Allows them to satisfy less tangible desires

- Attract- Maintain- Motivate

(b) Comment on whether you believe pay acts as an effective motivator. Justify your opinion with reference to relevant theory, where appropriate.

(8 marks)Pay as a motivator

• 4 key issues– Pay as an incentive will be influenced by existing pay scale & value placed on

money

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– If money is valued, employees must believe good performance will allow them to realise that reward

– Equity is important– Employees must believe performance levels necessary to achieve reward are

attainable • Other issues

– May be a means for managerial manipulation– Herzberg – too little money will demotivate but more money will not

necessarily increase satisfaction or motivation– Role of money as a motivator – questionable after employee has joined

organisation– Once basic needs are satisfied, more intrinsic factors become the prime

motivator

Herzberg's research proved that people will strive to achieve 'hygiene' needs because they are unhappy without them, but once satisfied the effect soon wears off - satisfaction is temporary. Then as now, poorly managed organisations fail to understand that people are not 'motivated' by addressing 'hygiene' needs. People are only truly motivated by enabling them to reach for and satisfy the factors that Herzberg identified as real motivators, such as achievement, advancement, development, etc., which represent a far deeper level of meaning and fulfillment.

Examples of Herzberg's 'hygiene' needs (or maintenance factors) in the workplace are:

policy relationship with supervisor work conditions salary company car status security relationship with subordinates personal life

Herzberg's research identified that true motivators were other completely different factors, notably:

achievement recognition work itself responsibility advancement

N.B. Herzberg identified a specific category within the study responses which he called 'possibility of growth'. This arose in relatively few cases within the study and was not considered a major factor by Herzberg. Where referring to 'growth' or 'personal growth' in terms of Herzberg's primary motivators, 'growth'

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should be seen as an aspect of advancement, and not confused with the different matter of 'possibility of growth'.

5. What are the motivation Factors?

HERZBERG'S MOTIVATION - HYGIENE THEORY

Frederick Herzberg studied and practised clinical psychology in Pittsburgh, where he researched the work-related motivations of thousands of employees.  His findings were published in "The Motivation to Work" in 1959.  He concluded that there were two types of motivation:

Hygiene Factors that can demotivate if they are not present - such as supervision, interpersonal relations, physical working conditions, and salary.  Hygiene Factors affect the level of dissatisfaction, but are rarely quoted as creators of job satisfaction.

Supervision Working condition Interpersonal relationship Pay and job security Company Polices

Motivation Factors that will motivate if they are present - such as achievement, advancement, recognition and responsibility.  Dissatisfaction isn't normally blamed on Motivation Factors, but they are cited as the cause of job satisfaction.

Achievement Recodnision The work it self Responsibility Advancment & Growth

So, once you've satisfied the Hygiene factors, providing more of them won't generate much more motivation, but lack of the Motivation Factors won't of themselves demotivate.  There are clear relationships to Maslow here, but Herzberg's ideas really shaped modern thinking about reward and recognition in major companies.

4(b) Outline five factors that may influence pay levels within an organization.

• Pay Equity: External & Internal• Competition e.g.

– External comparisons – factors in business environment• Economic climate• Labour turnover• Labour market (labour unemployment recession no work)• Government policy ( legislation min wages)• Inflation rate National wage agreement

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Managing and Appraising Performance

1. (a) Explain the purposes of Performance Appraisal. (10 marks)

• Performance Appraisal is a systematic approach to evaluating employee performance, characteristics and/or potential, with a view to assisting decisions in a wide range of areas such as pay, promotion, employee development and motivation

Performance appraisal is a method used by management in ascertain that workers are utilized in achieving corporate objectives

Purpose of performance appraisal

1. Career Development

• This provides an opportunity for discussion of career objectives, and creation of a strategy designed to maximize career potential.• To provide an opportunity for career counseling• To help in succession planning.• To assess training needs• To plan for career development• To assess and develop individual abilities• To provide an objective basis on which to base decisions about training and promotion

2. Feedback

• As well, feedback is encouraged in both directions: as such, employees are encouraged to prepare ratings of their supervisors.• To provide constructive feedback to the individual regarding how their performance is seen.• This provides a structured format for the discussion of performance issues• on a regular basis.• Feedback either reinforces performance strengths, or provides the opportunity to discuss resolution of performance deficiencies.

3. Administrative Uses of Performance appraisal

• Salary• Promotion• Retention/termination• Recognition of performance• Layoffs• Identification of poor performers

4. Performance History

• This provides a performance history which is not dependent upon human memory, and which may be useful in the full range of personnel decisions, including compensation decision-making.• To review past and present performance, identifying strengths and weaknesses.

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5. Organizational Goals

• To clarify, for the individual, organizational expectations• This provides an opportunity to view one’s performance in the context of broader organizational goals.• To assess future promotion prospects and potential• To set objectives for the next period

6. Job Standards

This provides an opportunity for clearer articulation and definition of performance expectations.

7. Documentation use of of Performance appraisal

• Documentation for HR decisions• Helping to meet legal requirements

•As much as possible, judgments and discussions must be seen to be objective•Performance appraisal is not for fault-finding but to find out how and why an employee performed and to help improve performance

Why carry out a staff appraisal

measure and judge performance relate individual performance to organizational goals foster the increasing competence and growth of a subordinate stimulate subordinate’s motivation •enhance communication serve as a device for organizational control and integration discover training needs place staff in the right posts/positions Plan for manpower needs and succession.

Functions of Performance Appraisal• Performance evaluation and target setting• Establishment of work standards• Identification of skills gaps• Facilitation of communications and motivation

Performance of the employees has to be managed to enable the company to meet its goals and objectives•Target setting and evaluation of employees performance is important in this regard.•However, in setting performance target you should:set targets that are not too high or too lowSet specific ways to measure accomplishment

Make sure that the employees have been trained, coached and have supplies and equipment to meet the targets

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Give allowance for modificationsReview and evaluate•But ensure that you follow the target setting process already stated.•Lastly, carry out a staff appraisal based on the reasons already given.

(b) Evaluate two methods of Performance Appraisal. (10 marks)

Performance appraisal methods

(Tools of ) Performance appraisal methods include 11 appraisal methods / types as follows:

1. Critical incident method

The critical incidents for performance appraisal is a method in which the manager writes down positive and negative performance behavior of employees throughout the performance period

Strengths - Job related more objective

Weaknesses – Needs good observational skills: time-consuming

2. Rating method characteristicsAppraiser specifies on a scale to what degree relevant characteristics (normally related to job related behavior or personality) are possessed by appraise

Strength - Easy of comparison range in complexity from very simple to very involved, using description of behavior or performance.Weaknesses – Subjective: personality or behavioral traits difficult to measure.

3. Performance ranking method

Ranking is a performance appraisal method that is used to evaluate employee performance from best to worst.Manager will compare an employee to another employee, rather than comparing each one to a standard measurement.

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Strength- Simple facilitates comparisons

Weaknesses – Little basis for decisions degrees of difference not specified: subjective

4. Paired comparison analysis Two workers compared at a time and decision made on which is superior resulting in final ranking order for full group.

Strength- Easy of decision making

Weaknesses – Difficult with large numbers together with weakness attributed to ranking.

5. Free- Form method apprise

General free written appraisal by appraiser

Strength- Flexible

Weaknesses – Subjective: difficulty of comparison

6. Graphic rating scales

The Rating Scale is a form on which the manager simply checks off the employee’s level of performance.This is the oldest and most widely method used for performance appraisal.

7. Essay Evaluation method

This method asked managers / supervisors to describe strengths and weaknesses of an employee’s behaviour. Essay evaluation is a non-quantitative techniquethis method usually uses with the graphic rating scale method.

8. Self AssessmentAppraises evaluate themselves using a particular format or structure

Strength- Participative, facilitate discussion promotes self analysis

Weaknesses- Danger of lenient tendency: potential source of conflict between appraiser and appraise

9. Management By Objectives (MBO) method

MBO is a process in which managers / employees set objectives for the employee, periodically evaluate the performance, and reward according to the result.MBO focuses attention on what must be accomplished (goals) rather than how it is to be accomplished (methods)

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10. 360 degree performance appraisal

360 Degree Feedback is a system or process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them. This post also include information related to appraisal methods such as 720, 540, 180…

11. Performance or objective oriented systemAppraiser evaluates degree to which specific job targets or standards have been achieved

Strength- Job related: objective participative

Weaknesses- needs measurable targets: danger of collusion

12. Assessment centre Appraisal method Appraises undergo a series of assessments ( interviews, test simulation , etc.) undertaken by trained assessors.

Strength- Range of dimensions examined: objective

Weaknesses- Expensive: not necessarily job specific

2. (a) Evaluate three methods of performance appraisal and comment on the types of job or organisation they are most suitable for. (10 marks)

Different performance appraisal methods differ in suitability and effectiveness. Adopt the right methods for maximum results.

The methods stated here are some of the many methods used in employee performance appraisal

Management by Objectives Management by Objectives (MBO) is one of the more popular performance appraisal methods among organizations.

MBO requires you to establish the objectives of the job.

The questions asked in performance appraisal is whether these objectives are achieved by employees and to what extent.

This method is suitable for assessing the performance of managers on any level of the organisation very suitable for Manufacturing supervisors ,line managers but also Retail managers and financial institution like banks credit unions etc.

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1. Critical incident method

The critical incidents for performance appraisal is a method in which the manager writes down positive and negative performance behavior of employees throughout the performance period

Strengths - Job related more objective

Weaknesses – Needs good observational skills: time-consuming

Another appraisal method is the critical incidents method.

This is similar to essay appraisal method. It requires the supervisor to keep a log on employee’s performance.

The assessor will submit an essay on the poor or outstanding performance of the employee. The problem is that he or she may come to one-sided conclusions.

The most suitable is a small to medium organisations like Hotels Staff convenience store or Retail chain where the manger have a chance to observe the employees performance the disadvantage is that the manager can be prejudging and stereotyping employees when incident happen or poor performance are noticeable on one occasion.

Self AssessmentAppraises evaluate themselves using a particular format or structure

Strength- Participative, facilitate discussion promotes self analysis

Weaknesses- Danger of lenient tendency: potential source of conflict between appraiser and appraiseThis method is used in most big organization where is large number of staff and it safe time for managers. My own experience in my work Aldi which is large organization and have 1000 of employees or more the form of appraisal is used we self asses our performance by answering set of question based on our job description and set goals for the organization for example.How you finding work with deliveries in the morning

1. Need to improve2. Good3. Very Good4. Excellent

Can you compete with in the time frame to complete merchandising?1. Need to improve2. Good3. Very Good4. Excellent

After we go true entire questions, we have confrontation with our store manager who have the same set of questioners and we exchange the answers and discuss performance and set the goals and the areas where we need to improve. in my own opinion this method is most sutibla

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for store assistant sales assistants with in a big companies and organization like insurance companies , retail, factories

9 Common Appraisal Errors• Contrast effect• First impression error• Halo/horns effect• Similar-to-me-effect• Central tendency • Negative and positive skew• Attribution bias• Stereotyping

(b) Discuss the possible contributor to the appraisal process. (10 marks)ManagersCustomersSuppliersCo workersShareholdersState holders e.g. students

3. (a) You have recently been appointed to the position of HR Manager with a medium-sized financial institution that currently does not use a formal performance management system. Write a report to the Managing Director of the company highlighting the benefits of introducing a performance management system within the company.

Investment in a structured performance management system

The benefits of using a structured approach for enhancing employee performance are as follows:

Improved business profits

The bottom line of an organization improves significantly by increasing employee productivity and quality of work.

Increased employee responsibility

Communicating realistic but challenging job expectations and making employees accountable for their decisions and actions result in noticeable improvements in employee tardiness, absences, and organizational commitment.

Equitable treatment of employees

All employees are treated fairly by implementing standardized procedures that promote consistency throughout an organization.

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Enhanced quality of work life

Employees experience greater job satisfaction because they become more successful. In addition, employee conflict is kept to a minimum.

Effective performance management tools help you get the job done right

Give employees what they need to be successful on the job. Provide accurate performance feedback to help employees succeed.

Performance Management and the Performance Appraisal

Performance management is a critical component contributing to the success of an organization.  It is a process that sets out to establish a clear and common understanding of an organization’s goals and how these goals will be achieved.  The performance appraisal is a tool used by human resource (HR) departments allowing them to manage its employees.  It is a mechanism that increases the likelihood of achieving success.

The performance appraisal should not be threatening or adversarial.  It should not be seen by employees as a mechanism for discipline.  To have an effective performance management process, it is important this be clearly communicated to all employees prior to the actual appraisal.  Employees should view the performance appraisal process as an opportunity to discuss and acknowledge their contributions to an organization and how these contributions have contributed to successes realized.  It is an opportunity for individual employees to align their goals closer to that of the organization and should be seen as an enabler of both career advancement of the employee and success of the organization.

If used effectively in the performance management process, the performance appraisal will empower employees.  It will act as a catalyst for success.  People are motivated to perform well when they believe the work they are performing is meaningful and worthwhile.  Using performance appraisals to engage employees and establishing a direction for their work in line with that of the organization improves performance.

Many organizations make the mistake associating pay increases with their performance management process.  Pay is not a motivator for all employees.  In fact, pay can be seen as a de-motivator, especially if there is a perception pay levels are inequitable.  In general, employees feel their contribution is as valuable to the organization as any ones.  Conducting a performance appraisal to evaluate worthiness for pay increases will do nothing but contribute to the stress of employees.  If performance is the only mechanism to evaluate progress in an organization, many employees will have a tendency to focus on what they perceive as being important, rather than what the organization has identified as being important.  Focusing on money during the appraisal process interferes with what the employees hear.  Talks of money lessen understanding of feedback being given.

The performance management process and the performance appraisal should be kept simple.  Avoid the many formalities traditionally associated with performance appraisals.  Focus on being clear and concise.  Identify objectives that provide direction for the employee and enables reaching attainable goals.  This will contribute to the success of the organization.

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It is true that a performance appraisal may identify problems with an employee’s performance.  This should not be seen as a negative thing nor should it be seen as a reason not to complete a performance appraisal.

There should be very few things revealed during the appraisal process that employees have not heard before.  Things uncovered at the time of the appraisal should never be a surprise to the employee or to the employer.  The performance management process itself should provide ongoing feedback throughout the year.  Feedback and improvement opportunities exist at all times.  These should be identified and utilized to ensure ongoing development and improvement of employees.

It is important that issues with performance be identified in a timely fashion.  This allows for both the employer and employee to determine what actions are required to address and mitigate the problem.  Lack of communication about organization expectations or misunderstandings of the task assigned may be resulting in poor performance.  For this reason, continual feedback throughout the year helps identify and correct any behaviour not in line with the goals of the organization.

It is obvious that providing employees with a clear understanding of what is expected of them in the organization and how their actions are an important factor contributing to the overall success.  For this reason, the performance management process that utilizes performance appraisals constructively will benefit all parties involved.

(b) Outline five characteristics of an effective performance management system.

(10 marks)

Characteristics of an Ideal Performance Management System

Performance management is a vital part of ensuring efficiency and stability at the workplace

Companies use performance management systems to evaluate employees' efficiency at work and ability to perform certain tasks, either by automated or human processes. These systems come in many varieties, and every company will tailor its performance management system to fit its specific needs. However, there are certain aspects common to all effective performance management systems.

Characteristics of good Performance management system

Tailor - made to fit the particular needs and circumstances of the organisation.

Matching with the existing culture insofar as they support the achievement of high performance standards but will help to change or reshape that culture if necessary.

Support the achievements of the organisation mission and the realisation of its values.

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Define the critical success factors which determine organisational and individual performance.

Provide an integrated approach to increasing motivation and commitment, which combines the impact of the results - orientated performance appraisal and PRP system with the action that management and individuals managers can take, such as carrier development and succession planning programmes to develop attitudes and planning programmes to develop attitudes and behaviours which lead to better performance. relationship

4. Describe the different approaches to the appraisal interview. In your answer, outline the advantages and disadvantages of adopting any of the three approaches.

(20 marks) Appraisal Interview Styles

There are 3 main interviewing styles:

Tell-and-sell approach– Directive and authoritative in nature, top-down– Manager telling employee– Attempting to convince employee of the fairness of the assessment– Little opportunity for the employee to participate– Little commitment to follow-up action

– Not recommended as good HR practice Tell-and-listen approach– Similar to above but some attempt made to involve the employee– Manager communicates his/her evaluation of performance to

employee & actively encourages employee’s response– Still ineffective

Problem-solving approach– Appraisal process is jointly conducted by the manager and the

employee– Manager asks the employee to discuss his/her performance against

agreed targets & to express any problems that may be affecting work behaviour

– Evaluation takes place at the end of the interview & takes account of the employee’s contribution

– Most effective approach

Ethical Dilemmas of the Appraisal Process

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• Problematic use of trait-oriented and subjective evaluation criteria• Difficulties in the preparation and writing of performance standards and measurement

indicators• Deployment of different appraisal systems in the same organisation• How results of appraisal will be used• Who determines the “objective standards”

Learning, Training & Development

Q1. DESCRIBE, USING SUITABLE EXAMPLES, FOUR STAGES OF TRAINING EVALUATION AS PROPOSED BY KIRKPATRICK. (1959)

Levels of Learning evaluation1. Reaction- seeks opinions of trainees , How do people feel?2. Learning – seeks knowledge, principles and facts learning by trainees before training,

What new things do people know? 3. Behaviour – seeks to determine positive changes in behavior, how do people act

differently?4. Results – seeks to determine contribution to organizational objectives, what is the

effect on the business?

The model has 4 levels, each of which measures different kind of feedback. Kirkpatrick claimed that in order to properly evaluate the effectiveness of training all four levels should be measured.There are multiple ways of assessing each level.

1. Reaction can be measured by participants filling out “smiley sheets” short questionnaires that ask them how do they feel.

2. Learning can be tested as in school, tests exams.3. Behavior this can be observed by management and peers. 4. Results can be tracked by Key Performance Indicators, or in the financial accounts.

level

evaluation type (what is measured)

evaluation description and characteristics

examples of evaluation tools and methods

relevance and practicability

1 Reaction Reaction evaluation is how the delegates felt about the training or learning experience.

'Happy sheets', feedback forms.

Verbal reaction, post-training surveys or questionnaires.

Quick and very easy to obtain.

Not expensive to gather or to analyze.

2 Learning Learning evaluation is the measurement of the increase in knowledge - before

Typically assessments or tests before and

Relatively simple to set up; clear-cut for quantifiable skills.

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and after. after the training.

Interview or observation can also be used.

Less easy for complex learning.

3 Behavior Behavior evaluation is the extent of applied learning back on the job - implementation.

Observation and interview over time are required to assess change, relevance of change, and sustainability of change.

Measurement of behavior change typically requires cooperation and skill of line-managers.

4 Results  Results evaluation is the effect on the business or environment by the trainee.

Measures are already in place via normal management systems and reporting - the challenge is to relate to the trainee.

Individually not difficult; unlike whole organization.

Process must attribute clear accountabilities.

Q.2 A) DISCUSS THE PREPERATION THAT SHOULD TAKE PLACE BEFORE A TRAINING PROGRAMME IS CARRIED OUT.

Why the training should be carried out within the workplace? Training is provided to overcome change within the workplace. The need for change could be due to decrease in sales, increase in accidents at work, high turnover, new technology. Basically there could be a any need for any type of changes within the workplace and managers need to provide staff with the necessary training, to help them to overcome the changes needed. To plan traditional training of work skills and capabilities that links to organizational performance improvement you must first identify the organizational performance needs, gaps, and prioritiesStage 1 Assessing the need for training, Determine the type of training your staff needs and why. There are number of drivers of training

Customer satisfaction surveys Business performance statistics and reports, financial reports, ratios Competitor analysis and comparison, e.g. SWOT Management feedback on employee needs, including appraisals Staff feedback on training needs Legislative purposes, qualification and certification.

Stage 2 Planning the trainingHere are things that every manager should do before training.

Set out goals that need to be achieved by the training, do not set out unrealistic expectations

Develop a budget

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Decide who will run the program Give out people necessary information- be open describe the training that your staff

will undergo. Give them sufficient time to prepare. Stage 3. Carry out the Training

Stage 4. Measure results . Without measurable results, it's almost impossible to view training as anything but an expense. Determine exactly how you will assess and quantify the return on a training investment

Q.2 B) EVALUATE 2METHODS OF TRAINING THAT CAN BE USED BY AN ORGANIZATION

On-the-job training is delivered to employees while they perform their regular jobs. In this way, they do not lose time while they are learning. After a plan is developed for what should be taught, employees should be informed of the details. A timetable should be established with periodic evaluations to inform employees about their progress. On-the-job techniques include orientations, job instruction training, apprenticeships, internships and assistantships, job rotation and coaching.

Off-the-job techniques include lectures, special study, films, television conferences or discussions, case studies, role playing, simulation, programmed instruction and laboratory training. Most of these techniques can be used by small businesses although, some may be too costly.

Orientations are for new employees. The first several days on the job are crucial in the success of new employees. This point is illustrated by the fact that 60 percent of all employees who quit do so in the first ten days.

HC Business/Equine/Fin Services/Office Management Y2Employee Relations & Employment Law

Review Questions 2010/11

Employee Relations

Q.1 a) DESCRIBE 4 FUNCTIONS OF THE LABOUR COURT. (LR)

The Labor court provides a free, comprehensive service for the resolution of industrial disputes and deals also with matters arising under employment equality, organization of working time, national minimum wage, part-time work, fixed-term work and safety, health and welfare at work legislation.Key Functions of LC:

– Investigate trade disputes under the industrial relations acts– Registration & variation and interpretation of employment agreements– Establishment & servicing of Joint Labour Commissioners ( JLC’s) and

deciding on questions concerning their operation– Provision of secretaries for JICs

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– Hearing appeals against RC’s recommendation & appeals against equality officer’s decision

b) DESCRIBE 5FUNCTIONS OF THE LABOUR RELATIONS COMMISION. (LRC)

The commission has an advisory role on industrial relations in general, and provides conciliation service in the case of trade disputes. Most importantly is responsible for rights commission service. LRC also offers the Workplace Mediation Service, which aims to resolve disputes and disagreements, particularly between individuals or small groups.

– Conciliation service, parties are encouraged to cum up with settlement– Commission research– Reviewing & monitoring Industrial Relations Commissioners (IRQ)

developments– Prepare codes an practices & provide guidance on them– Advisory service– Appoints Rights Commissioners

Q.2 DESCRIBE FULLY EACH OF THE PHASES INVOLVED IN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATION PROCESS.

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements which regulate working conditions. Collective agreements usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance, mechanisms and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. There ar 3levels of CB- national, sectoral or industry, company enterprise. There are 3 phases in the negotiation process.Phase 1, PREPERATIONGreat preparation is important to achieve great success in employee relations negotiations. You must be familiar with the details of the case and have clear idea of the objectives (they should include specific targets) before entering the bargaining area. Flexible objectives are more appropriate than rigid ones. A central issue in agreeing negotiating objectives includes establishing bargaining range, including the limits within each party. Its good idea to establish ideal settlement point, realistic settlement point and fall back settlement point. Fall-back Realistic Ideal1---------------------------!-----------------!------------------------------!-----------------------------------------------!-------10Phase2 BARGAININGOpening Phase normally involves both parties articulating their respective positions. At this stage both parties normally attempt to find out more about each other’s positions and assess the degree to which movement is possible.

Expectation StructuringThis is a stage where parties attempts the convincing the other of the logic behind the logic of their own position and the depth of it. And tries to convince to accept what ever is offered.

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The offers, concession, movement Generally follows the process of expectation structuring, it involves some initial offers and acknowledgments by their party. This is crucial stage in the over all negotiating process. You must make the right offer at right time. After some time both parties will be in a position to evaluate the likelihood of reaching agreement, or extent of implications of a breakdown in negotiations’.

OutcomeThere are two possible outcomes for bargaining so far. One that the two sides agree on the best option for both. And the other is that the both sides walk away from the bargaining table with some sort of agreement as to how communication will be started over and by whom. At this point both parties should be keen to avoid damaging conflict.

Closing PhaseBoth parties normally would recognize and expect- anticipate the closing phase. Here the agreement finalizing will happen, issues for further negotiation. Agreement breakdown and interpretation.

Phase 3 POST-NAGOTIATION At the end of negotiations, the parties involved will usually report back on the outcome, the employee or union side reporting back to the workers they represent, and the management team back to senior. This usually involves reviewing the implementation of any agreement reached.

ADVANTAGES of CB– Seen as more flexible than other methods– Helps redress the disparity in bargaining power between the individual employee

&his/hers employer– Allows works an opportunity to participate in discussions on the conditions of

employment under which they operate – Provides mechanism for identifying & handling grievances & differences

Employment Law Employment LawQ.1 a) Based on current legislation; explain briefly each of the 9grounds on which a case for discrimination may be taken against employer. Support your answer with at least 3 examples of relevant case law.

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9grounds of discrimination

The Age GroundThis applies to all ages above the maximum age at which a person is statutorily obliged to attend school (currently 16).

The Family Status Ground

A parent of a person under 18 years or the resident primary carer or a parent of a person with a disability.

The Gender Ground

A man, a woman or a transsexual person (specific protection is provided for pregnant employees or in relation to maternity leave). This works two ways for E.g. If in a store they want to employ a person that will work there, they can not employ a man, just for the reason that he will be able lift to lift the heavy lifting for all the women that work in the same store. The other scenario is if it’s a hardware store they will preferably wish to employ a man because he would be better at the job because of he’s gender.

The Civil Status Ground

Single, married, separated, divorced or widowed.

The Membership of the Traveller Community Ground

The community of people who are commonly called Travellers and who are identified (both by themselves and others) as people with shared history, culture and traditions including, historically, a nomadic way of life on the island of Ireland.

The 'Race' Ground

A particular race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin E.g. We say it is an Italian restaurant, and they are requiting for a waitress, they cannot employ her because she’s not Italian.

The Religion Ground

Different religious belief, background, outlook or none.

The Sexual Orientation Ground

Gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. E.g. If an employer finds out that one ore more of he’s/her employees has a different sexual orientation than being straight, they can not discriminate them at

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work bully them into leaving, because they don’t accept their sexual orientation. Also you can not let them go based on this reason.b) Write a brief note on the role of Equality Tribunal.

The Equality Tribunal is the independent state body in Ireland set up to investigate or mediate complaints of discrimination. The Equality Tribunal deals with all complaints of discrimination in employment and access to goods and services which come under the following equality legislation:

The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2008 outlaw discrimination at work including recruitment and promotion; equal pay; working conditions; training or experience; dismissal and harassment including sexual harassment.

The Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2008 outlaw discrimination outside the workplace, in particular in the provision of goods and services, selling renting or leasing property and certain aspects of education.

Discrimination occurs when you are treated less favorably than another person is, has been or would be treated because of your:

Gender Civil status Family status Religion Sexual orientation Age Disability Race (including color, nationality, ethnic or national origins) or Membership of the Traveler community.

Q.2 a) Outline the main provisions of the organizations of Working Time Act 1997

The Organization Of Working Time Act, 1997 transposed the European Council Directive on certain aspects of working time into Irish law. The Act is thus to be viewed, primarily, as a piece of safety, health and welfare at work legislation, designed to protect and maintain employees’ health and safety against excessive hours and to provide for breaks, rest periods and holidays to allow for rest and recovery.  The majority of organized workers already enjoyed hours, breaks and rest periods in line with or better than the Act. The impact has been most acute, however, in the area of hour’s reductions and overtime.

The Organization Of Working Time Act, 1997 provides statutory rights for employees in respect of rest, maximum working time and holidays. Some of these include -

– Maximum average weekly working time can not exceed 48hrs. Generally the average is calculated over minimum 4 months.

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– Entitlements of 15min break after more than 4hrs 30min and to a further break of 15mins after more than 6hrs of work. Also the employer doesn’t have to pay for such breaks

– Employee is entitling 11 consecutive hours of rest in any 24 hrs that you work. Alternatively, instead of giving the 1*24-hr in the 1st rest period in the first 7days, an employer may grant 2*24hr rest periods following the seven day period. They don’t need to be combined. The rest day should include a Sunday unless you’re your contract says otherwise.

– Maximum hours of work for night workers engaged in work involving special

hazards or a heavy physical or mental strain – an absolute limit of 8 hours in any 24 hour period. Night work is between midnight and 7a.m.

– A employee is generally entitle to a premium on a Sunday *reasonable allowance or *reasonable pay increase *reasonable paid time off.

B) Outline the main provisions of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977

The Unfair Dismissals Acts were first introduced in 1977 to provide employees with statutory protection from being unfairly dismissed from their jobs, to lay down criteria by which dismissals are to be judged unfair, and to provide an adjudication system and redress for any employee who is found to be unfairly dismissed. In action If you are dismissed from your employment in Ireland you may, under certain conditions, bring a claim for unfair dismissal against your employer. Apart from a case involving constructive dismissal a dismissal is presumed to be unfair unless your employer can show substantial grounds to justify it.

So if you qualify to bring a claim and there was a dismissal, your employer has to prove that the dismissal was a fair one, that is, that there were fair grounds for the dismissal and that fair procedures were followed.

If you are dismissed from your job you are entitled to a statutory minimum period of notice if you have worked at least 13 weeks for your employer. Your written contract of employment may provide for a longer period of notice.

Under the unfair dismissals legislation you may ask your employer for a written statement of the reasons for your dismissal. Your employer should provide this within 14 days of your request.

Your Employer: In order to justify the dismissal your employer:

Must show that your dismissal was connected with one or more of the potentially fair grounds set out in the legislation

Must show that fair procedures were followed and must have acted fairly

Will have to disprove any allegation by you that your case involves any of the automatically unfair reasons for dismissal

The main provisions:

It outlines procedures employer must adhere to if dismissing an employee

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Outlines fair reasons and unfair reasons for dismissalsOffers redress to unfairly dismissed employeesNot all categories of employees are covered by the actYou must have 12months continuous service to take a claim, exceptions TU, pregnancy etcClaim to a Rights commissioner within 6months of the date of the dismissal, exceptions TU, pregnancy.

C) Give two examples of circumstances in which the dismissal of an employee under the act is deemed to be fair.

Capability dismissals -

This includes issues such as lateness, absenteeism and persistent absence through illness or injury, either short-term or long-term.

If lateness or absenteeism is at issue, your employer will be expected to have documentary proof of this allegation, such as clocking-in records or documented absences on file that are not medically certified. In addition, your employer will also be expected to show that you were made aware of the problem and that you were warned as to the consequences for your continued employment.

Incompetence- Competence refers to your ability to do your job. In the first place, you need to be made aware of the standards that are expected of you, and these must refer to the job you were hired to do.

Secondly, if you fall short of the required standard, this must be clearly explained to you. This should be done through a formal set procedure. Your employer should also specify what improvements are necessary. These should be achievable and a reasonable timeframe must be allowed for the improvement. Ultimately, your employer should give you a final warning setting out the likelihood of dismissal.

Qualifications- Fair dismissal on grounds of qualifications can happen in two ways. One situation is where you misled your employer about qualifications you had when applying for the job. The other is where your employer made continued employment conditional upon your obtaining further qualifications and you failed to achieve this, having been given a reasonable opportunity to do so.

Breaking another statue- Your employer may dismiss you if your continued employment would contravene the law. For example, you need a current driving license to work, but you have lost your license on a drunk driving charge. You cannot continue to work without breaking the law and dismissal may be justified. However, your employer might be expected to look at alternatives depending on all the

Industrial Action- dismissal by lockout is offered reinstatement or re-engagement from the date of resumption of work. Must measure equal treatment. You can only dismiss all employees; you can not rehire only one back if you do that you must rehire everyone back.

Other substantial grounds – This category is designed to include any situations not covered above. Your employer will be required to establish that there were other substantial grounds and that they justify your dismissal.

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Redundancy- dismissal caused by either employer has ceased business, or they no longer require to work carried out by a particular employee or are reducing the scope of their workforce. In this case you get one paid week for each year you have worked for the employer, but that only works after 2years of employment.

Conduct- As a ground for fair dismissal the term conduct covers a very large area of behavior.

Gross misconduct- may give rise to instant (summary) dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Examples of gross misconduct include assault, drunkenness, stealing, bullying or serious breach of your employer's policies and practices. Your contract of employment may contain further information concerning gross misconduct.

Q.3 Explain what is meant by “unfair dismissal” under the following headings:

A) Provisions under the unfair dismissal

Reasons considered for Unfair Dismissal. These include: membership or proposed membership of a trade union or engaging in trade union

activities, whether within permitted times during work or outside of working hours religious or political opinions legal proceedings against an employer where an employee is a party or a witness race, colour, sexual orientation, age or membership of the Traveller community pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding or any matters connected with pregnancy or

birth availing of rights under legislation such as maternity leave, adoptive leave, carer's

leave, parental or force majeure leave unfair selection for redundancy

B) The importance of fair procedures.

When dismissal is being considered your employer is expected to have disciplinary procedures in place and to follow them. Disciplinary procedures set out the stages and process the employer will follow in relation to alleged shortcomings of an employee. Generally, the procedure allows for informal warnings leading to written warnings and ultimately to dismissal. The Labour Relations Commission has published a Code of Practice on grievance and disciplinary procedures

Your employer must follow fair procedures and is required to give you appropriate warnings, make you fully aware of the allegations against you and give you an opportunity to present your side. You must also be allowed the right to be represented in any disciplinary procedures by, for example, your trade union official.In deciding a case, the body hearing it must take into account the reasonableness or otherwise of your employer's conduct. In addition, the question as to whether or not your employer had a dismissal procedure in place will also be taken into account.

In order to justify the dismissal your employer:

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Must show that your dismissal was connected with one or more of the potentially fair grounds set out in the legislation

Must show that fair procedures were followed and must have acted fairly

Will have to disprove any allegation by you that your case involves any of the automatically unfair reasons for dismissal.

C) Relevant Case Law

Case law: how relevant are previous incidents to unfair dismissal?

Employers will welcome guidance on whether a previous incident, which did not trigger disciplinary proceedings, can be taken into account when assessing whether a subsequent dismissal of an employee following a similar incident is fair, in the light of a recent ruling.

In this case, an employee was dismissed as a consequence of an incident at work. Her employer cited, as one of the grounds for dismissal, a previous similar incident that had not led to disciplinary proceedings. The employee claimed unfair dismissal, and her claim was accepted by an employment tribunal.

However, the employer appealed on the grounds that the tribunal had wrongly regarded the earlier incident as involving a warning which had not been conducted through the appropriate procedure, and that the tribunal was wrong to find that the employer had rolled up the two incidents in considering the seriousness of the employee's behaviour.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) allowed the employer's appeal, ruling that the earlier incident was relevant to the later one: even though the employee was not disciplined for the first incident, she was dismissed for the second, and the background to it was the earlier incident. As a result, the tribunal had been wrong to criticise the employer for paying attention to it.

In substituting its own judgment for that of the employer's management, the tribunal had erred in reaching its decision, and so the EAT overturned the finding of unfair dismissal

Q.4 A) Outline the main provisions of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977

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See Above

B) Give two examples of circumstances in which the dismissal of an employee under the Act is deemed to be fair.See Above

C) Outline any circumstances in which an employee with six months continuous service with an organization would be eligible to seek protection under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.

Normally you must have at least 12 months' continuous service with your employer in order to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. However there are important exceptions to this general rule. If you have less than 12 months' continuous service you may bring a claim for unfair dismissal if you are dismissed for:

Trade union membership or activity Pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding or any matters connected with pregnancy or

birth Availing of rights granted by the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, the

Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006 and the Career’s Leave Act 2001

If you wish to make a claim for unfair dismissal you should do so within six months of the date of dismissal. This time limit may be extended to 12 months in cases where exceptional circumstances have prevented the lodgment of the claim within six months.

5.An employee who reports directly to you has been up to 20 minutes late for work on four occasions within the last month. You have taken no action to date but have now decided that you should deal with this matter under the company’s disciplinary procedure.

(a) Describe the main stages (up to and including dismissal if necessary) that should be followed by you as manager in order to deal with this matter effectively.

As a HR manager it is our responsibility to have first friendly chat with a employee and find out the reason why he/she was late on 4 different occasion sometimes its genuine reason behind e.g. childcare problems or travel to work circumstances change or family circumstances change we have to give the employee a chance to explain himself so I say the very first stage will be disciplinary meeting and based on findings then make decision to fallow the disciplinary actions or try to resolve problem by

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changing employee hours and if there reason behind is not genuine or he/she just decide to be late couldn't be batter to be on time try to find out why his her motivation to work in organisation is affected try to solve the issues carry out investigation issue friendly warning first and if that not going to help introduce proper disciplinary action listed below.

DISCIPLINE AND GRIEVANCE

Employers must include within the written statement of employment particulars details of:-

Any disciplinary rules; The name or description of the person to whom the employee may apply if

dissatisfied with any disciplinary decision and the name of any person to whom a grievance may be taken.

The way in which any grievance will be proceeded with.

Disciplinary Action

It is important that any disciplinary action taken against an employee can be demonstrated to have been carried out fairly.  The procedure used should therefore contain the following elements

Investigation – The employer must carry out a proper investigation without unreasonable delay to establish the facts of the case.  This may involve an investigatory meeting with the employee.

Information – the employer must notify the employee in writing of the case against him or her.  This notification must contain sufficient information about the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences to enable the employee to prepare to answer the case at a disciplinary meeting.

Meeting -  A meeting with the employee should be held without unreasonable delay whilst allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare his or her case. The employer should explain the complaint and go through the evidence. The employee should be given a reasonable opportunity to ask questions, present evidence, call witnesses and raise points about about any evidence provided by witnesses.  Where either party wishes to call witnesses they must give the other party advance notice of this. The employee is entitled to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.

Decision – This can be the taking of no action, giving a written warning, a final written warning or dismissing the employee. The decision should be given to the employee in writing who should also be notified of the reason for the dismissal, the date on which the employment contract will end, the appropriate period of notice (if any) and  that he or she may appeal against that decision.

Appeal – This will take the form of a further meeting and should be  conducted by a manager who was not previously involved in the case.  The person conducting the appeal should do so conscientiously and should look at all of the evidence and if

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necessary make further enquiries.  The employee should be notified of the result of the appeal in writing.

This may lead to:-

No action; Verbal warning; First written warning; Final written warning; Dismissal.

It is not always necessary to follow all of these stages. Serious misconduct may lead directly to a final written warning while gross misconduct could lead to dismissal without notice.

Any employer considering disciplinary action should take legal advice at the outset.

It is important to keep written records of all investigations and all disciplinary interviews.

(b) Briefly outline the rights of the employee which should be observed by the employer during any disciplinary process.

If the misconduct where more serious such as fighting breaking a work rules or sleeping on duty - going through every stage of the procedure might be unnecessary.

However the employer would need to observe the rules of natural justice, which are:

The Employee has a right to be told the facts of the case against him/her: The employee has the right to a hearing (to tell his/her side of story): The employee has the right to representative of his/ her choice: The employee has the right to appeal to higher level of his/her choice within the

company

Failure to comply with the riles of natural justice may turn into dismissal unfair!!!!

An employer should also:

Enquire into matter to find out what happened. If fact-finding is going to take some time it may be necessary to suspend the employee on full pay

Interview the employee to get his/her side of the story, advising him/her of the right to be represented if appropriate.

Decide on the basis of the information what action is reasonable in the circumstances.Did the employee know the rule that was broken? Was he/she aware of its impact?

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Would clearly stated warning of dismissal for reappearance be more reasonable than dismissal for first time offence? How have similar cases been treated in the past ,i.e. is the employer being consistent with pervious "custom and practice"?

Make clear to the employee what action is to be taken and how he/she can appeal against the decision if the procedure allows this.

7. (a) Outline the main provisions of the Organization of Working Time Act 1997.

he Working Time Act, 1997Since the 7th May, 1997 the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 has become

law. This piece of legislation will have a serious impact on the conduct of all businesses.Its main terms are:-

1. All workers shall be entitled to 11 consecutive hours rest in any twenty-four hour period.

2. All workers shall be entitled to a rest break of fifteen minutes for each consecutive working period of four hours and thirty minutes, and a rest break of thirty minutes for each consecutive working period of six hours, which latter period may include the forementioned fifteen minute break.

3. All workers shall be entitled to a minimum uninterrupted rest period of twenty four hours plus 11 hours for each seven-day period, which rest period shall in principle include Sunday. The employer may refuse to grant his employee the required rest period in one week, provided he gives the employee two rest periods of twenty-four hours in the following week.

4. All workers shall be prohibited from working on average in excess of 48 hours for each seven day period. The reference period for calculation of this rest period must be 4 months, in certain limited circumstances 6 months, or where agreed in a collective agreement, up to 12 months.

5. An employer must take an employee's "double-jobbing" into account when calculating points 1 - 4 above.

6. All workers shall be entitled to four weeks paid holidays.

7. All night workers' normal hours of work shall not exceed on average eight hours in any 24 hour period.

8. The employer is required to give 24 hours notice prior to the start of the working week of the times at which the employee will be required to start and finish his work for that working week, and of working days on which the employee will be required to work additional hours.

9. In respect of "zero-hour" contracts (where the employer requires the employee to make himself available for work, even though he may not be called in for work), an employee

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is entitled to be paid a minimum of 25% of either the contract hours, if specified, or the normal hours of work in a working week for that type of work.

10. In respect of working on Sunday, the employer is obliged to give the employee an increased rate of pay, allowance or paid time in lieu, such as is reasonable.

The legislation does not specify the body upon whom shall rest the obligation to supervise and enforce these regulations, merely granting the Minister the power to appoint inspectors. However, it seems likely that the controlling authority will be the Health and Safety Authority.

The key point for employers to note is that they will be obliged to carry out the additional bureaucratic work to create and maintain the records which will demonstrate compliance with these regulations for a period of three years. However, it may gladden the hearts of already overworked employers that the proper maintenance of these records will afford them the only likely successful defence to establish compliance with these regulations.

Inspectors have been given the right to enter upon premises, make enquiries and request sight of these records, and failure to comply is an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine of £1,500.00 and £500.00 for each day the offence continues. An Inspector may only exercise his right to enter upon an employer's premises on consent, or by production of a District Court warrant. In every case, the employer should require that the Inspector produce his certificate of appointment from the Minister prior to permitting him to enter. However, effectively, these provisions mean that the employer's own records can be used against him, and his right to silence is gone.

Proceedings under the legislation are by way of complaint by an employee or, on the employee's consent his trade union, to a Right Commissioner within 6 months of the alleged breach of the legislation, with an appeal to the Labour Court within 6 weeks of the decision. The Rights Commissioner may declare the complaint well founded and/or require the employer to remedy the breach and/or compensate the employee by up to two year's remuneration. An intransigent employer who does not abide by the decision of the Rights Commissioner or Labour Court, will be compelled to do so upon application to the Circuit Court.

The provisions which will have the most intrusive effect on employers are the 48 hour week. Ireland has not availed of the seven year derogation period in respect of the 48 hour week, and this provision has the full power of law. Presently, no additional funding has been provided by the Government for the enforcement of these provisions. Employers may choose to continue their present practises in contravention of the law, or attempt to contract out of the provisions of the Directive, but they shall do so at their peril. Any attempt to avoid the 48 hour week provisions, as with the other provisions in the legislation, will be void. If a dispute should arise between an employer and an employee, neither party will be able to rely on the terms of the contract or agreement between them as they relate to the hours of work. The employee is given some protection by a provision stating that the employee shall not be penalised for his refusal to co-operate with the employer in activities which breach the employer's obligations under this Act.

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Unfortunately, the legislation states that if the penalisation by the employer constitutes a dismissal of the employee, the employee is not entitled to remedies under the Unfair Dismissals legislation. This is somewhat curious. Undoubtedly it was intended that the employer should not be entitled to dismiss the employee by reason of the employee's refusal to co-operate with the breach of the regulations. In that case, a preferable approach would be to deem such a dismissal an unfair dismissal, with the most appropriate remedies being re-instatement or re-engagement.

The legislation makes no provision for a very important provision in the grounding directive. Article 13 of Council Directive 93/104 requires that employers will need to adapt the working environment to alleviate monotonous work and work at a pre-determined rate. This obligation of the employer to adapt the workplace to the worker represented a clear shift in the emphasis of health and safety legislation to date. Thus far, employers have been obliged to carry out risk assessments designed to disclose potential risk of physical injury or other accidents, and to draft a Safety Statement which addresses these potential risks. However, the concern of the directive in this respect is for the mental and psychological well-being of the worker. It was intended that the employer will not have to concern himself merely with whether a repetitive task has a potential risk of physical injury, but will have to implement measures to ensure that the functionality of the workplace encourages the psychological and mental welfare of the worker. Implied in this new duty of course is an obligation on the employer to consult with employees. Unfortunately, the legislation does not carry this proposal forward, and its wording in the directive is too imprecise to be directly effective. Hopefully, this will not be another example of the good intentions of the Commission floundering on the rocks of imprecision in wording and indecision in enacting.

Another noteworthy emphasis in the legislation is that it uses collective agreements as instruments to flesh out detail or provide exemptions. This indicates a clear preference in the legislation for dealing with trade unions. The relevant provisions are points 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9 as set out above. While there is not an obligation to recognise trade unions in order to negotiate with them (the Government may legislate in default), this is the clear intention.

The Garda Siochana and Defence Forces are exempt entirely from the legislation. The following areas are excluded from the working time sections of the regulations, but are subject to the provisions in relation to holidays:-

1. Persons with autonomous decision-taking powers in respect of their working time.2. Family workers.3. Persons engaged in sea fishing, other work at sea, or doctors in training. The Minister choose to exempt following areas from certain parts or the entire

legislation:- 1. Transport industry.2. Security, surveillance and civil protection industry. Force majeure is also an exception. Employees will welcome the implementation of this legislation, but employers will

face the difficulties of managing the paperwork to comply with its provisions. It signals yet again, the advance of employee's conditions at the behest of the E.U.

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    (b) Outline the main provisions of the Protection of Young Persons Employment Act 1996

PROTECTION OF YOUNG PERSONS (EMPLOYMENT) ACT 1996

1. SUMMARY OF THE ACT AND ITS SCOPE

1.1 Purpose Of The Act

This Act consolidates the law on young workers and gives effect tointernational rules on protecting young workers drawn up by theInternational Labour Organisation (I.L.O.) and the European Union(E.U.). The law is designed to protect the health of young workers and toensure that work during the school years does not put a young person’seducation at risk. The law sets minimum age limits for employment, setsrest intervals and maximum working hours, and prohibits theemployment of under 18s on late night work. Employers must keepspecified records for their workers who are under 18.

1.2 Who Is Covered By The Act?

The Act applies generally to young employees under 18 years of age.Under the Act (as amended by Section 31 of the Education Welfare Act2000)

– a “child” means a person who has not reached the age of 16years.

– a “young person” means a person who has reached 16 years buthas not reached the age of 18 years.

To make it simpler, this Guide refers to these as “under 16s and “16 and17 year olds”.1.3 The Minimum Age For Employment

Employers may not employ those aged under 16 in a regular full-timejob. Employers may take on 14 and 15 year olds on light work -• during the school holidays• part-time during the school term (over 15 years only) or

- 6 -• as part of an approved work experience or educationalprogrammewhere the work is not harmful to their safety, health, or development.Rules on maximum working hours, early morning and night work, andrest periods for this age group are set out in Section 2 below.Children under 16 may be employed in film, cultural, sport or

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advertising work under licences issued by the Minister for Enterprise,Trade and Employment which set out specific protection for this agegroup.

2. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT, HOURS OF WORK ANDREST PERIODS

2.1 Maximum Weekly Working Hours For Under 16s14 15

Term-time Nil 8 hours

Work experience 40 hours 40 hours

Where the maximum week is 35 hours, the maximum day is 7hours. A maximum 40 hours week means a maximum 8 hour day.

During the summer holidays, under 16s must have at least 21 daysfree from work.

2.2 Time off and rest breaks for under 16sHalf hour rest bread after 4 hours workDaily rest break 14 consecutive hours offWeekly rest break 2 days off, as far as practicable tobe consecutive

2.3 Working hours, time off and rest breaks for 16 and 17 year oldsMaximum working day 8 hoursMaximum working week 40 hours- 7 -Half hour rest break after 4½ hours workDaily rest break 12 consecutive hours offWeekly rest break 2 days off, as far as practicable tobe consecutive

2.4.1 Limits on night and early morning workUnder 16s may not be required to work before 8 a.m. in themorning or after 8 p.m. at night

In general, 16 and 17 year olds may not be employed before 6 a.m.in the morning or after 10 p.m. at night.

During school holidays, and on weekend nights where the youngperson has no school the next day, 16 and 17 year olds may workup to 11 p.m. at night (however, please note that night workbeyond 10pm requires Ministerial approval by regulation). The banon early morning work then moves forward to 7 a.m.These rules follow the I.L.O. Convention on Night Work ofYoung Persons which has been ratified by Ireland.

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2.4.2 Additional regulations on night work for young persons.Regulations have been made which permit young persons to workbeyond 10pm in certain circumstances as follows :

(i) Protection of Young Persons Act, 1996 (Employment inLicensed Premises) Regulations, 2001 - (S.I. 350 of 2001).These Regulations concern the employment of youngpersons (16 or 17 year olds) employed at any time in licensedpremises (as defined) be it summer, other holidays orpart-time work on general duties in a licensed premises,which premises is used in whole or in part to sell food orintoxicating liquor or both for consumption on thosepremises. For the purposes of these Regulations, "generalduties" does not include supplying intoxicating liquor frombehind the bar counter in a licensed premises or supplying itfor comsumption off those premises.- 8 -

These Regulations provide that the young person may berequired to work up until 11p.m. in such premises on a day,which is not immediately preceding a school day, during aschool term where the young person is attending school.The regulations also require the young person not tore-commence work before 7a.m. on the following day.These Regulations also provide that the employer of a youngperson employed on general duties in a licesed premisesshould have regard to the terms of the Code of Practiceconcerning the Employment of Young Persons in LicensedPremises. The terms of the Code of Practice are set out in aSchedule to the Regulations and are available on requestfrom the Department

(c) Write a brief note explaining the requirements for record keeping under the two Acts above.

Organisation of Working Time Act, [1997.] RecordsAn employer shall keep, at the premises or place wherehis or her employee works or, if the employee works at two or morepremises or places, the premises or place from which the activitiesthat the employee is employed to carry on are principally directedor controlled, such records, in such form, if any, as may be prescribed,as will show whether the provisions of this Act are beingcomplied with in relation to the employee and those records shall beretained by the employer for at least 3 years from the date of theirmaking.

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Records.Refusal by an employee to cooperate with employer in breaching Act. Complaints to rights commissioner.

(2) The Minister may by regulations exempt from the applicationof subsection (1) any specified class or classes of employer and regulationsunder this subsection may provide that any such exemptionshall not have effect save to the extent that specified conditions arecomplied with.

(3) An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to complywith subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), where an employer failsto keep records under subsection (1) in respect of his or her compliancewith a particular provision of this Act in relation to anemployee, the onus of proving, in proceedings before a rights commissioneror the Labour Court, that the said provision was compliedwith in relation to the employee shall lie on the employer.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROTECTION OF YOUNG PERSONS (EMPLOYMENT) ACT 1996

5. DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS5.1 Evidence Of Age And Written Permission Of ParentsBefore employing a young person or child, an employer must see acopy of the birth certificate or other evidence of age and, beforeemploying under 16s, an employer must get the written permissionof a parent (or guardian)

5.2 Records To Be Kept By EmployerAn employer must keep a register of similar record, with thefollowing details in relation to every employee aged under 18;(i) full name,(ii) date of birth,(iii) starting and finishing times for work,(iv) wage rate and total wages paid to each employee.To show the Act is being complied with, an employer must keeprecords for at least three years at the place of employment.- 11 -

5.3 Summary of Act To Be Given To Workers Under 18Regulations made under the Terms of Employment (Information)Act, 1994 require employers to give to their workers aged under 18a copy of the official summary of the Protection of Young Persons(Employment) Act together with the other details of their terms ofemployment within one month of taking up a job.5.4 Summary Of Act To Be DisplayedEvery employer who has employees aged under 18 must display

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the official summary (abstract) of the Act at the work place whereit can easily be read. Copies of the abstract in both leaflet andposter format are available from the Information Unit of theDepartment of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Davitt House,Adelaide Road, Dublin 2.

6. OFFENCES AND PENALTIES6.1 Summary ProceduresThe Minister can take a summary prosecution for any offenceunder this Act. An employee’s trade union may also take asummary prosecution for offences other than those under section19 (conduct of an employer at the Employment Appeals Tribunal)or section 22 (obstruction of inspectors etc.) of the Act.

6.2 Time LimitProceedings for an offence under this Act may be started within 12months of the date of the offence.

6.3 FinesA person guilty of an offence under the Act is liable on summaryconviction to a fine of up to Euro 1,904.61 (£1,500). Continuingcontraventions can attract a fine of up to Euro 317.43 (£250) per

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