Research on Prime Bank (Rajshahi) free essay sample

RESEARCH ON PRIME BANK (RAJSHAHI) 1. 1INTRODUCTION Banking system in Bangladesh comprises nationalized commercial banks, denationalized commercial banks, private commercial banks, foreign banks, development financial institutions etc. Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a vital role in the growth and development activities to the banking system. HRM adheres to human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and management development, compensation, performance appraisals and satisfaction. HRM has the highest coverage even in the global perspective due to international growth strategic, degree of decentralization, firm’s size need for expatriate compensation etc. 1. 2ORIGIN OF THE REPORT Dr. M. Saiful Islam Professor of the Department of Management assigned this report to me as a part of MBA Program. This MBA program was introduced by IBA, Rajshahi University in 2009 in order to prepare graduates with specialization in Business and Financial sector in Bangladesh. This program has been designed to equip the participant the fresh students with basic theoretical knowledge and desk wise practical aspects of business in the context of Bangladesh. We will write a custom essay sample on Research on Prime Bank (Rajshahi) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since MBA Program is an integrated and practical as well as theoretical course on financial sector, the students of this program are required to have a practical exposure in job sector 1. 3OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT: The broad objectives of the study are to investigate the practices of Human Resource Management of the Prime Bank Limited. The major objectives of the study are stated bellow: . To fulfill the course requirement of the 5th term of MBA Program. 2. `What are the main factors in the human resource management environment? 3. How do these factors impact upon the respective human resource management? 4. To identify the different aspects of HRM practices in Prime Bank Limited. 5. What are the different personnel policies in banks to utilize human resources properly? 6. To measure the deviation between the existing policies and practices. 7. To identify the problem areas of HRM practices in the banking sector. 8. To make recommendations for the improvement of HRM practice in the said sector. 9. To have some practical exposure in banking that will be helpful for coming years 10. To learn desk-wise activities in a branch of a bank. 11. To gather knowledge about the functions of different department of bank branch and to compare ongoing practices with theory. 1. 4NEED OF THE STUDY: HRM process is continuous process due to inter relatedness of all the human resources functions more specificity is important. Right number of people in right places in right time is made available through Human Resources Planning (HRP*). Selection process adapted to the organizations culture and working environment is more helpful for the purpose, with the organization change over time. Employee training and management development are duly emphasized for the same purpose. Effective performance depends on extrinsic factors like achievement, recognition on responsibility from the work etc. This study would be helpful for our policy makers, researchers and other decision makers in banking areas. 1. 5METHODOLOGY : 1. 5. 1Meaning of methodology Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of study how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that will generally adopt by researched. In studding his research problems are along with the logic behind them. Researches not only need to know how to develop certain in deeps or test how to calculate the mean, the mode, the medium on the standard deviation or chi-square, how to apply particular research techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods on technique are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate and why. . 5. 2 Source of data As a part of my internship program I had been working in Prime Bank Limited, Rajshahi Branch. For a period of 12 weeks during July 21,2009 to September 20th, 2009. To make the report more meaningful and presentable, two sources of data and information have been used widely. Both Primary and secondary data sources were used to generate the report The Primary sources are as follows- a)Face to Face co nversation with the respective officers and staffs of the branch b)Informal conversation with the clients. )Practical work exposures from the different desks of the three departments of the Branch d)Study of the relevant files as instructed by the officers concerned. e)My Diary The Secondary Sources of data and information are a) Annual Reports of Prime Bank Limited published so far b) Periodicals published by Bangladesh Bank. c) Various books, articles, compilations etc. 1. 5. 3 Sample Size The sample size was 23. The sample was comprised of both executive and non executive employees of Rajshahi Branch 1. 5. 4Analysis and inspection of Data Very simple statistical techniques: such as frequency distribution, average, histogram etc. were used to analyze collected data. 1. 5. 5Techniques of collecting data Data collection method is one kind of process of collecting data. To prepare report, I used the following methods of collecting data in complying with my study objectives. 1. 6 SUMMARY Theoretical knowledge is acquired for the applying in the practical life. For the propensity of application of theatrical knowledge in practical life successfully internship program is absolutely necessary. Internship program is the way of implementing the theatrical knowledge practically. However, the importance of internship may be described in the following ways: 2. 1 INTRODUCTION Human resource management (HRM) encompasses those activities designed to provide, motivate and coordinate the human resources of an organization. The human resources of an organization represent its largest investment. Human resource management is a modern term for what has traditionally been referred to as personnel administration or personnel management. Human resource functions are no longer specialized functions, merely confined to the HR/personnel department. Rather, management of human resources is the responsibility of every manager in the present business scenario. 2. 2 CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human resource management (HRM) is concerned with the people. Since every organization is made up of people, acquiring their services, developing their skills, motivating them to high levels of performance, and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to the organization are essential to achieving organizational objectives. This is true regardless of the type of organization—government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action. Getting and keeping good people is critical to the success of every organization, whether profit or nonprofit, public or private. Those organizations that are able to acquire, develop, stimulate, and keep outstanding workers will be both effective (able to achieve their goals) and efficient (expending the least amount of resources necessary). Those organizations that are ineffective or inefficient risk the hazards of stagnating or going out of business. Survival of an organization requires competent managers and workers coordinating their efforts toward an ultimate goal. HRM can be defined as a process consisting of four functions—acquisition, development, motivation, and maintenance—of human resources. In less-academic terms, we might describe these four functions as getting people, preparing them, activating them, and keeping them 2. 3ACQUISITION OF HUMAN RESOURCES The acquisition function of HRM begins with planning. Relative to human resource requirements, we need to know where we are going and how we are going to get there. This includes the estimating of demands and supplies of labor. Acquisition also includes the recruitment, selection, and socialization of employees. The development function can be viewed along three dimensions. The first is employee training, which emphasizes skill development and the changing of attitudes among workers. The second is management development, which concerns itself primarily with knowledge acquisition and the enhancement of an executives conceptual abilities. The third is career development, which is the continual effort to match long-term individual and organizational needs. The motivation function begins with the recognition that individuals are unique and that motivation techniques must reflect the needs of each individual. Within the motivation function, alienation, job satisfaction, performance appraisal, behavioral and structural techniques for stimulating worker performance, the importance of linking rewards to performance, compensation and benefits administration, and how to handle problem employees are reviewed. The final function is maintenance. In contrast to the motivation function, which attempts to stimulate performance, the maintenance function is concerned with providing those working conditions that employees believe are necessary in order to maintain their commitment to the organization. Within the confines of the four functions—acquisition, development, motivation, and maintenance—many changes have occurred over the years. What once was merely an activity to find a warm body to fill a vacancy has become a sophisticated process of finding, developing, and retaining the best-qualified person for the job. But this metamorphosis did not occur overnight. It is the result of many changes in management thought, society, and the workers themselves. Let us now look at this transition of personnel. ( DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:03- 05) FIGURE 3-1: HRM Components Source: Adapted from Meg Isaac Sternberg, â€Å"Organizational Model For Human Resource Planning (Unpublished paper, Baltimore, 1984). cited in (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:13) 2. 4 SCOPE OF HRM The scope of HRM is indeed vast. All major activities in the working life of a worker—from the time of his or her entry into an organization until he or she leaves—come under the purview of HRM. Specifically, the activities included are—HR planning, job analysis and design, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement, training and development,, performance appraisal and job evaluation, employee and executive remuneration, motivation and communication, welfare, safety and health, industrial relations (IR) and the like. For the sake of convenience, we can categories all these functions into seven sections—(i) introduction to HRM, (ii) employee hiring, (iii) employee and executive remuneration, (iv) employee motivation, (v) employee maintenance, (vi) industrial relations, and (vii) prospects of HRM. Aswathappa,2005: 05-06) Figure3. 2: Scope of HRM Source:† Human Resource Management† Aswathappa, 2005:6 2. 5 HUMAN RESOURCE FUNCTION Human resource functions refer to tasks performed in an organization to provide for and coordinate human resources. Human resource functions are concerned with a variety of activities that significantly influence almo st all areas of an organization and aim at: 1. ensuring that the organization fulfills all of its equal employment opportunities and other government obligations, 2. carrying out job analysis to establish the specific requirements for individual jobs within an organization, 3. orecasting the human resource requirements necessary for the organization to achieve its objectives both in terms of number of employees and skills, 4. developing and implementing a plan to meet these requirements, 5. recruiting and selecting personnel to fill specific jobs within an organization. Orienting and training employees. Designing and implementing management and organizational development programmers. Designing systems for appraising the performance of individuals. Assisting employees in developing career plans. Designing and implementing compensation system for all employees. (Pattanayak, 2002: p. -9) 2. 5. 1 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING The planning process is essential to meet the staffing needs that r esult when complex and changing organizations encounter a dynamic business environment. The planning process involves forecasting HR needs and developing programs to ensure that the right numbers and types of individuals are available at the right time and place. Organizations depend on what-if scenarios that look at future needs in the context of work force demographics, economic projections, anticipated technological changes, recruitment success, retention goals, and shifts in organizational strategy. Careful descriptions and analyses of current jobs are needed to plan for future selection systems and training programs and to ensure that appraisal and compensation systems are rationally based on job demands. 2. 5. 2 RECRUITMENT In simple terms, recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs, from among whom the right people can be selected. A formal definition of recruitment is: In simple terms, recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs, from among whom the right people can be selected. A formal definition of recruitment is: it is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selected} Though, theoretically, recruitment process is said to end with the receipt of applications, in practice the activity extends to the screening of applications so as to eliminate those who are not qualified for the job. (Aswathappa, 2005: p. 32) 2. 5. 3PURPOSE IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT The general purpose of recruitment is to provide a pool of potentially qualified job candidates. Specifically, the purposes are to: 1. Determine the present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its personnel-planning and job-analysis activities. 1. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost. 2. Help increase the success rate of the selection process by reducing the number of visibly un der qualified or overqualified job applicants. 3. Help reduce the probability that job applicants, once recruited and selected, will leave the organization only after a short period of time. 2. Meet the organization’s legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce. 3. Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates. 4. Increase organizational and individual effectiveness in the short term and long term. 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants. (Aswathappa, 2005: p. 132) 2. 5. FACTORS GOVERNING RECRUITMENT Given its key role and external visibility, recruitment is naturally subject to influence of several factors. These include external as well as internal forces. Those are as follows: (Aswathappa, 2005: p. 133) Fig3. 3: Factors Influencing Recruitment Source:† Human Resource Management† Aswathappa, 2005:133 2. 5. 5RECRUITMENT PROCESS As was stated earlier, recruitment refers to th e process of identifying and attracting job seekers so as to build a pool of qualified job applicants. The process comprises five interrelated stages, viz. (i) planning, (ii) strategy development, (iii) searching, (iv) screening, and (v) evaluation and control. The ideal recruitment program is the one that attracts a relatively larger number of qualified applicants who will survive the screening process and accept positions with the organization, when offered. Recruitment programmers can miss the ideal in many ways: by failing to attract an adequate applicant pool, by under/ over selling the organization, or by inadequately screening applicants before they enter the selection process. Thus, to approach the ideal, individuals responsible for the recruitment process must know how many and what types of employees are needed, where and how to look for individuals with the appropriate qualifications and interests, what inducements to use (or avoid) for various types of applicant groups, how to distinguish applicants who are unqualified from those who have a reasonable chance of success, and how to evaluate their work. (Aswathappa, 2005: . 135) Source: Herbert G. Heneman III, et al. , Personnel/Human Resource Management, p. 226. cited in † Human Resource Management† Aswathappa, 2005:136 2. 6 SELECTION Selection is the process of discovering the qualifications and characteristics of the job applicant in order to establish their likely suitability for the job position. Effective selection decisions are those where the candidate was predicted to be successful and later did prove to be a successful performer on job. There could be two types of errors in selection decisions: Reject errors. Rejecting candidates who would have performed successfully on the job. Select errors. Selecting candidates who later perform poorly on the job. An effective selection system should endeavor to minimize both these errors. This is possible if the system is impartial, has a degree of objectivity and a fairly uniform standard of assessment. Though the benefits of good selection are clear, demerits in poor selection are not so obvious. The cost of advertising, management time involved in selection and training and expense of dismissal are relatively easy to calculate as compared to long-term effects such as lowering of morale, reduced quality of products and services which are difficult to be quantified. Many organizations focus their attention on only the can do element—assessing the knowledge and skills needed for job performance. This is not adequate as a person competent to perform the job may not be interested in doing it Therefore, for selection to be effective, we need to also assess their will do motivation component. Good selection requires a methodical approach to the problem of finding the best matched person for the job. A framework can be built by answering the following questions: What am I looking for? —Analyze the job. How do 1 find out? —Recruit through agencies and consultancy. How can I recognize when I see it? —Select through application forms, interviews, lists and references. Selection is a chain which is as strong as its weakest link. The selection involves a series of complex decisions concerning the choice of person, choice of methods to use, and the choice of information. 2. 6. 1STAGES IN SELECTION PROCESS There are four stages in the selection process—screening of application forms, tests, selection interview, and selection decision. These stages have been discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. Stage 1: Screening of Application Forms Before detail selection can take place, it is necessary to reduce the applicants to manageable proportions. This may be done by initial screening of the information received through letters, curriculum vitae (CV) or application forms or a combination of these. In the case of CVs, applicants tell us what they think we want to know, whereas the application form will provide us with uniform and precise information about each candidate. CVs are frustrating to work with because they invariably have different layouts and omit vital pieces of information should the applicants consider them damaging to their cause. CVs are as important for what they fail to say as for the information they contain. Application forms are for data gathering only; they are not test instruments in themselves. It is unwise to assess applicants, for example, on the quality of their handwriting or creativity of their replies. The information contained in an application may have to be taken on trust at the screening stage, but inconsistent or ambiguous information should be checked during the interviews or later through references. The application form contains a wealth of information which if interpreted correctly, will significantly reduce the number of applicants required for interview. The two primary purposes of the application form are to . liminate applicants failing to meet minimum qualifying requirements, and for the remaining applicants to formulate a hypothesis about their personality and motivation to be explored at the interview. The most appropriate screening method will depend on the type of job to be filled and seniority of the likely applicants. Senior managers are generally reluctant to complete application forms and will probably have a CV available. Application forms should vary in their design according to the level of the job. The following guidelines may be used while interpreting information from an application form: Access quantifiable factors. Check factual data from the application form against the minimum acceptable requirements set out in the person specification such as age, qualification, and experience. Check for consistency. Skilled selectors soon develop a feel about good applicants based on the consistency of the data contained in their application forms. Are there any gaps between school and higher education and if so what happened during this time? Does the career record contain a series of jobs running consecutively one to the next or are there periods unaccounted for? Check the form in this way for ambiguous information and follow this up at the interview stage. Stage 2: Tests These include tests of-intelligence, aptitude, ability and Interest. Tests in intellectual ability, spatial and mechanical ability, perceptual ability and motor ability have shown to be moderately valid predictors for many semi-skilled and unskilled operative jobs in the industrial organizations. Intelligence tests are reasonably good predictors for supervisory positions. But the burden is on management to demonstrate that any test used is job related. There are two sets of tests—performance and psychological. These are discussed below: Performance simulation tests. These tests are aimed to find out if the applicant can do the job successfully by asking him to do it. They have become very popular these days. The enthusiasm for these tests lies on the fact that they are based on job analysis data and, therefore, easily meet the requirements of the job relatedness as compared to the written tests. The two of the known performance simulation tests are: (i) Work Sampling. It is an effort to create a miniature replica of a job. Applicants demonstrate that they possess the necessary skills by actually doing the tasks. By carefully devising work samples based on job analysis, the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for each job can easily be evaluated. Studies almost consistently demonstrate that the validity of work samples is superior to aptitude and personality tests. Standard trade tests have been developed for electricians, machinists, and host of other trades. (ii) Assessment Centers. In assessment canters, line executives, supervisors and/or qualified psychologists evaluate candidates as they go through two to four days of exercises that simulate real problems that the candidates are likely to encounter on the job. Based on the requirement that the actual job incumbent has to meet, activities might include interviews, in-basket problem solving exercises, group discussions, and business games. The evidence on the effectiveness of assessment canters is extremely impressive. Psychological test. Psychological tests are regarded by some as having almost magical properties but can easily be misused and misinterpreted by untrained people. These tests tend to be used as an easy option in the decision making process with managers becoming over-dependent on the test results. Good tests are useful in the right circumstances because they can provide an objective measure of peoples abilities. However, as they are precise and objective measuring instruments, they tend to be very specific in what they measure. Tests, therefore, should be validated, that is, proved to predict future performance, before they are used in the selection process. This is important because tests may unfairly discriminate against certain population groups. All this makes testing an expensive business, it is better not to test at all than to test badly. Psychological tests have a time limit but questions asked become progressively difficult. These tests are a most sophisticated tool for measuring human characteristics and are unbiased as compared’ to other tests, and are therefore extensively used in selection decisions. Various psychological tests are described below: (i) Intelligence Tests. One of the first intelligence tests, the Benet Simon test, assumed that intelligence was a general trait a capacity for comprehension and reasoning. Thurston differentiated primary mental abilities from the general trait of intelligence and created more specialized types of intelligence tests for reasoning, word fluency, verbal comprehension and arithmetical ability. While the Wechsler Bellevue Intelligence Scale utilizes a multiple measurement of factors such as digit span, information known comprehension, vocabulary, picture arrangement and object assembly. (ii) Aptitude Tests. These tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or latent ability to learn a given job if given adequate training. The use of aptitude test is advisable when an applicant has had little or no experience along the line of the job opening. Specific aptitudes which are usually tested are mechanical, clerical, musical and academic aptitudes, dexterity (finger, hand), hand-eye co-ordination, etc. Some of the tests under this category are: †¢ MATRIX (Management Trial Exercise) designed by Proctor and Gamble. †¢ CAT (Clerical Aptitude Test) to assess vocabulary, spelling, arithmetical ability, details checking, etc. †¢ PAT (Pilot Aptitude Test)—to assess coordination between hands and feet movements. †¢ Computer Aptitude Test—to assess power of reasoning and analysis. (iii) Interest Tests. These tests are designed to find out the interest of an applicant in the job he has applied for. Two of the most widely used tests are: †¢ Strong Vocational Interest Blank—in which the applicant is asked whether he likes, dislikes or is indifferent to many example of school subjects, occupations, amusements, peculiarities of people and particular activities. The answers given are compared with the answers earlier given by successful people in specific professions and occupations. †¢ Kuder Preference Record—in which a questionnaire tests the interest in mechanical, scientific, clerical, social service, computation, persuasive, artistic, literary and musical abilities. Kuder has also designed techniques to differentiate between honest answers and those designed to make a good impression. The system is reported to be 90 per cent accurate in detecting dishonest answers, (iv) Personality Test. The importance of personality to job success cannot be denied. Individuals possessing intelligence, aptitude and experience for a certain job have often been found unsuccessful because of their inability to get along with others. Personality tests are similar to interest tests in that they also have a serious problem of obtaining honest answers. Such tests have been of great use in counseling situations. In order to obtain a more realistic assessment of personality, projective tests have been designed. Such tests invoke from the candidates a response which is indicated in their private world and personality process. Some of the personality tests are given below: †¢ Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT): This is one of the most popular projective tests in which the candidate is shown a series of pictures, one at a time, and asked to write a story for each of the pictures. Examples of such scenes are a short elderly woman standing with her back turned to a tail young man, or a boy lying on the floor next to a couch with a revolver by his side. The candidate is supposed to include in the story— what has led up to the current scene, what is happening at the moment, what are the characters feeling and thinking, and what will be the outcome of the situation? The psychologist analyzes the story in terms of such factors as length, vocabulary, bizarre ideas, plot, mood, etc. He then tries to integrate his findings into a general personality description of the subject in terms of his needs, pressure upon him, defense and ego activities, etc †¢ Rorschach Ink Blot Test. In this test, the candidate is asked to organize unstructured inkblots into meaningful concepts. The resulting projections are analyzed in terms of use of color and shades, use of part or whole of a blot, seeing of movement, definiteness and appropriateness of forms seen, etc. An integrated picture of the candidates personality is then formulated. Some organizations use polygraphs or lie detector test in an attempt to reduce dishonesty among employees. Though such tests appear to be different from those that purport to measure ability and knowledge, their use is ordinarily justified by organization on the basis of trying to obtain the best whole person. William H. Whyte Jr. observes that personality testing constitutes an invasion of privacy. In his popular book, The Organization Man, he provides a psychological set to enable the applicants to pass any personality test, thereby evading the organizations invasion of his privacy. Justification for use of any test must first rest on proved contribution to selection effectiveness in terms of productivity and positive contribution to organization goals. Stage 3: Selection Interview Interviews are designed to probe into areas that cannot be addressed by the pplication form or tests. These areas usually consist of assessing candidates motivation, ability to work under stress, inter-personal skills, ability to fit-in the organization. Where these qualities are related to job performance, the interview should be a very valuable tool. For example, these qualities have demonstrated relevance for performance in upper managerial positions. So the use of the interview in selecting executives make s sense. But its use in identifying good performance for most lower level jobs appears questionable. The interviews often turn out to be catch-all, that is, if no other stage can adequately extract the desired information, the task is automatically assigned to the interview. For many managers, the selection process begins and ends with the interview. Interview seems to carry a great deal of weight. Its results tend to carry a disproportionate amount of influence in the selection decision. There is no doubt that the interview is the most widely used selection device that organizations rely on to differentiate candidates. It plays a vital part in about ninety per cent of selection decisions. But an interview should be planned well to decide the parameters for selection. The following steps are recommended to improve the validity of interviews: †¢ Structure the interview so that it follows a set procedure. Unstructured interviews have too much variability to be effective decision guides. †¢ Provide training to interviewers. †¢ Interviewers should have detailed information about the job for which the candidates are being interviewed. †¢ Standardize the evaluation form. †¢ Interviewers should take down the notes during the interview. Knowledge of pseudo-sciences such as Physiognomy study of face—can provide a valuable help to the interviewer. Stage 4: Selection Decision In practice, the final decision will probably be between three or four candidates, since most will have been eliminated during the earlier stages, or at the application form stage, through failing to meet the quantitative requirements. The rest will be eliminated after the int erview, again on the quantitative evidence or through failure to meet requirements based on personality or motivation. It is unlikely that any of the three or four emaining applicants will meet the person specification in every way. The personnel specialist together with line management will now have to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. One may have more experience while another may have greater development potential and so on. In the end making the right decision depends on management judgment; the evidence must be assessed and the best match made of person to specification; whilst taking into account the present and future demands of the job. (Pattanayak, 2002: p. 56-62) CONCLUSION Recruitment and selection is a vital function of HR in the organization. Slightest mistake will lead to a square peg in round hole. In the long run, these people would be a liability to their organization, becoming problem children. The role of HR manager is very crucial in sleeting and recruiting the right kind of people who can be an asset for the company. Instead of following a blind elimination process, focus should be on selecting. People based on the skills and competencies required for the job. 2. 7: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 2. 7. 1 WHAT IS CAREER? The term career has a number of meaning in a popular usage it can mean advancement (â€Å"his career progressing nicely†), a profession (â€Å"she has chosen a career in medicine†) or a lifelong sequence of jobs (his career has included fifteen jobs in six different organizations). For our purposes, we will define career as a sequence of positions occupied by a person during the course of a lifetime. Utilizing this definition, it is apparent that we all have or will have careers. The concept is as relevant to transient, unskilled laborers as it is to engineers or physicians. Importantly, it does not imply advancement nor success or failure. For our purposes, therefore, any work, paid or unpaid, pursued over an extended period of time, can constitute a career. In addition to formal job work, it may include schoolwork, homemaking, or volunteer work. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:277) 2. 7. 2 INDIVIDUAL VERSUS ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE The study of careers takes on a very different orientation depending on whether it is viewed from the perspective of the organization or the individual. A key question in career development, then, is, With whose interests are we concerned? From an organization or managerial standpoint, career development involves tracking career paths. Management seeks information so it can direct and monitor the progress of minorities and women, and to ensure capable managerial and technical talent will be available to meet the organizations needs. In contrast, individual career development focuses on assisting individuals to identify their major career goals and to determine what they need to do to achieve these goals. Notice, in the latter case, the focus is entirely on the individual and includes his or her career outside the organization as well as inside. So while organizational career development looks at individuals filling the needs of the organization, individual career development addresses each individuals personal work career irrespective of where this work is performed. For instance, an excellent employee, when assisted in better understanding his or her needs and aspirations through interest inventories, life planning analysis, and counseling, may even decide to leave the organization if it becomes apparent that career aspirations can best be achieved outside the employing organization. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:277-278) 2. 7. CAREER DEVELOPMENT VERSUS PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT Given the extensive discussion in the previous chapters on personnel development, you may be wondering what, if any, differences there are between career development and employee or management development. These topics have a common element, but there is one distinct difference—their time frame. Career development looks at the long-term career effectiv eness and success of organizational personnel. In contrast, the kinds of development discussed in the preceding chapter focus on work effectiveness or performance in the immediate or intermediate time frame. These two chapters are closely linked; employee training and management development effort should be compatible with an individuals career development in the organization. But a successful career program should look toward developing people for the long-term needs of the organization and be capable of dealing with the dynamic changes that will take place, over time, in attempting to match individual abilities and aspirations with the needs of the organization. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:278) 2. 7. THE VALUE OF EFFECTIVE CAREER DEVELOPMENT Assuming that an organization already provides extensive employee and management development programs, why should it need to consider a career development program as well? A long-term career focus should increase the organizations effectiveness in managing its human resources. More specifically, we can identify several positive results that can accrue from a well-designed career development program. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:278) Ensures Needed Talent Will Be Available. Career development efforts are consistent with, and a natural extension of, human resource planning. Changing staff requirements over the intermediate and long term should be identified in human resource planning. Working with individual employees to help them better align their needs and aspirations with those of the organization will increase the probability that the right people will be available to meet the organization’s changing staffing requirements. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:279) Improves the Organizations Ability to Attract and Retain High-Talent Personnel. Outstanding employees will always be scarce, and they usually find there is considerable competition to secure their services. Such individuals may give preference to employers who demonstrate a concern for their employees future. If already employed by an organization that offers career advice, these people may exhibit greater loyalty and commitment to their employer. Importantly, career development appears to be a natural response to the rising concern by employees for the quality of work life and personal life planning. As more and more people seek jobs that offer challenge, responsibility, and opportunities for advancement, realistic career planning becomes increasingly necessary. Additionally, social values have changed so that a larger segment of the work force no longer look at their work in isolation. Their work must be compatible with their personal and family interests and commitments. Again, career development should result in a better individual-organization match for such individuals and lead to less turnover. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:279) Ensures That Minorities and Women Get Opportunities for Growth and Development. As discussed in previous chapters, equal employment opportunity legislation and affirmative action programs demand that minority groups and women get opportunities for growth and development that will prepare them for greater responsibilities within the organization. Minorities and women are asking for career development assistance. Furthermore, the courts frequently are looking at an organizations career development efforts with these groups in ruling on discrimination suits. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:279) Reduces Employee Frustration. As the educational level of the work force has risen, so have its occupational aspirations. Unfortunately, the late 1970s and early 1980s were characterized by a slowing of economic growth and reduced advancement opportunities. The result was increased frustration by employees when they saw a significant disparity between their aspirations and actual opportunities. Career counseling can result in more realistic, rather than raised, employee expectations. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:279) 2. 7. 5 EXTERNAL VERSUS INTERNAL DIMENSIONS TO A CAREER Every individuals career has two dimensions or components. One, called the external dimension, is realistic and objective while the other, the internal dimension, represents the individuals subjective perceptions. Let us briefly describe each, consider the value in distinguishing between the two, and the importance of achieving a successful match. The external dimension in a career represents the objective progression of steps through a given occupation. It may be very explicit, as it is for the physician who moves from an undergraduate program, to medical school, and then through an internship, residency, licensing, hospital affiliation or private practice, and so forth. But it need not be an upward progression. For instance, an automobile factory worker achieves visible progression, though not necessarily upward. He gets a higher rating or classification, an increase in pay, greater seniority, less physically demanding work, or the opportunity to train new employees. The relevant point is that each of these steps is objective and explicit. The internal dimension in a career is a subjective concept of progression. This concept of a career may be very vague, as when one has the general ambition to get ahead. Of course, it might also be a very specific ambition of being a vice-president at Alcoa, making $100,000 a year by the age of forty. Importantly, the internal and external dimensions may equate; that is, ones perceptions align with reality. But the two frequently diverge. What is the importance of viewing a career along these two dimensions? We have to recognize that the major influence on individuals attitudes and behavior will not be objective r eality, but rather their subjective perception of their career relative to their expectations. Complaining about ones work, demonstrating strong commitment, exhibiting high motivation, having a number of absences, or resigning from the organization are frequently responses to ones subjective perceptions about work and career development. The actual reality means little. The internal-external dichotomy can explain, for example, how one twenty-five-year-old woman can be enthusiastic and highly satisfied with a $20,000-a-year job as a cost accounting supervisor while another twenty-five-year-old woman, in the same job and earning the same pay, feels trapped. The first may perceive the job as a natural step in her long-term goal to senior management while the other perceives this same job as a dead end. Though both may have identical external career patterns, they react in response to the internal or subjective perception. So, regardless of what an organization may be objectively doing to develop the careers of its employees, successful career development demands that attention also be given to how employees perceive their career relative to their expectations. A career development program must consider the aspirations of each employee and the organizational opportunities that realistically can be expected to evolve for each. Failure to match the internal career sought by the employee and the external career offered by the organization will result in suboptimal management of human resources. A twenty-one-year-old college graduate who joins General Motors with the aspiration of some day reaching the presidency will have to get a promotion every two or three years to achieve that end. General Motors has a responsibility to make this reality clear to ambitious junior employees. In contrast, another twenty-one-year-old entering a medium-sized supermarket chain with his eyes on the firms presidency may need only three or four promotions to reach his goal. With realistic career counseling, the GM employee should understand that failure to obtain a promotion within three years may be a serious threat to his ultimate ambition. Similarly, realistic career counseling should indicate that the lack of a promotion within the same time period at the supermarket chain in no way hinders ones chances to reach the presidency. Since progression timetables differ from organization to organization, the successful matching of internal and external careers should result in the more effective management of human resources(DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:279-281). 2. 7. 6 CAREER STAGES The most popular way for analyzing and discussing careers is to look at them as made up of stages. In this section, we will propose a five-stage model that is generalizable to most people during their adult years, regardless of the type of work they do. We begin to form our careers during our elementary and secondary school years. Our careers begin to wind down as we reach retirement age. We can identify five career stages that most of us have gone through or will go through during these years: exploration, establishment, mid-career, late career, and decline. These stages are depicted in For most of us, the age ranges for each stage in are generally accurate. Of course, for some individuals, pursuing certain careers, this model is too simplistic and must be significantly modified. The key is to give your primary attention to the stages rather than the age categories. For instance, someone who makes a dramatic change in a career to undertake a completely different line of work at age forty-five will have many of the same establishment-stage concerns as someone starting at age twenty-five. On the other hand, if the forty five-year-old first started working at age twenty-five, he or she now has twenty years experience as well as interests and expectations that differ from those of a peer who is just starting a career at middle-age. To illustrate, a thirty-five-year-old full professor is more like a fifty five-year-old full professor than a thirty-five-year-old graduate student! However, for the large majority of us, the model in will have considerable relevancy. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:281-282) Exploration Many of the critical choices individuals make about their careers are made prior to ever entering the work force on a paid basis. Our relatives, teachers, and friends, as well as what we see on television and in films, very early in our lives begin to narrow our alternatives and lead us in certain directions. Certainly the careers of our parents, their interests, their aspirations for their children, and their financial resources will be heavy factors in determining our perception of what careers are available or what schools, colleges, or universities we might consider. The exploration period ends for most of us in our mid-twenties as we make the transition from school to work. From an organizational standpoint, therefore, this stage has the least relevance, since it occurs prior to employment. It is, of course, not irrelevant. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:282-283) Establishment The establishment period begins with the search for work and includes getting your first job, being accepted by your peers, learning the job, and gaining the first tangible evidence of success or failure in the real world. It is a time that begins with uncertainties and anxieties. Additionally, it is marked by the making of mistakes, the learning from these mistakes, and the gradual assumption of increased responsibilities. However, individuals in this stage have yet to reach their peak productivity, and rarely are they given work assignments that carry great power or high status. DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:283) Mid-Career Most people do not face their first severe career dilemmas until they reach the mid-career stage. (This is a time where individuals may continue their prior improvements in performance, level off, or begin to deteriorate. At this stage, the first dilemma is accepting that one is no longer seen as a learner. Mistakes carry greater penalties. At this point in a career, one is expected to have moved beyond apprenticeship to journeyman status. To those who make the successful transition go greater esponsibilities and rewards. For others, it may be a time of reassessment, job changes, adjustment of priorities, or the pursuit of alternative life styles (such as making a major geographical move or going back to college). (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:283) Late Career For those who continue to grow through the mid-career stage, the late career usually is a pleasant time when one is allowed the luxury to relax a bit and enjoy playing the part o the elder, statesman. It is a time where one can rest on ones laurels and bask in the respect given by younger employees. During the late career, individuals are no longer Teaming nor is it expected that they should be trying to outdo their levels of performance from previous years. Their value to the organization lies heavily in their judgment, built up over many years and through varied experiences, and sharing with and teaching others based on the knowledge they have gained. For those who have stagnated or deteriorated during the previous stage, the late career brings the reality that they will not have an everlasting impact or change the world as they had once thought. It is a time when individuals recognize that they have decreased work mobility and may be locked into their current job. One begins to look forward to retirement and the opportunities of doing something different. Life off the job is likely to carry far greater importance than it did in earlier years. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:283) Decline The final stage in ones career is difficult for everyone but, ironically, is probably hardest on those who have had continued successes in the earlier stages. After several decades of continued achievements and high levels of performance, the time has come for retirement. These individuals are forced to step out of the limelight and give up a major component of their identity. For the modest performers or those who have seen their performance deteriorate over the years, it may be a pleasant time. The frustrations that have been associated with work will be left behind. Adjustments, of course, will have to be made regardless of whether one is leaving a sparkling career or a dismal career. The regimentation that work provided will no longer be there. Responsibilities will be fewer and life will be less structured. As a result, it is a difficult stage for anyone to confront. (DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:284) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 Fig 3. 5 Stages in Career Development Source: Adapted from D. E. Super and D. T. Hill. â€Å"Career Development: Exploration and Planning,† in Annual Review of Psychology, ed. M. R. Rosenzweig and L. W. Porter(Palo Alto, Calif. Annual Reviews, Inc. , 1978),xxIx, 35 cited in(DeCENZO ROBBINS,1999:282) 2. 8 CONCEPT OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT In simple terms, training and development refer to the imparting of specific skills, abilities and knowledge to an employee. A formal definition of training and development is It is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by increasing an employees ability to perform through learning, usually by changing the employees attitude or increasing his or her skills an d knowledge. The need for training and development is determined by the employees performance deficiency, computed as follows: Training and development need = Standard performance Actual performance. We can make a distinction among training, education and development. Such distinction enables us to acquire a better perspective about the meaning of the terms. Training, as was stated earlier, refers to the process of imparting specific skills. Education, on the other hand, is confined to theoretical learning in classrooms. Table 3. 1 draws a distinction between training and education more clearly. (Aswathappa, 2005: p. 194) |Table 3. : Training and Education Differentiated | |Training |Education | |Application |Theoretical orientation | |Job Experience |Class Room Learning | |Specific Tasks |General Concepts |Narrow Perspective |Broad Perspective | Source:(Aswathappa, 2005: p. 194) 2. 8. 1 NATURE OF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT Though training and education differ in nature and orientation, they are c omplementary. An employee, for example, who undergoes training, is presumed to have had some formal education. Furthermore, no training programme is complete without an element of education. In fact, the distinction between training and education is getting increasingly blurred nowadays. As more and more employees are called upon to exercise judgment and to choose alternative solutions to the job problem, training programmes seek to broaden and develop the individual through education. For instance, employees in well-paid jobs and/or employees in the service industry may be required to make independent decisions regarding their work and their relationships with clients. Hence, organizations must consider elements of both education and training while planning their training program Though it is useful to know the difference between training and education, it is not emphasized in this chapter. Rather, elements of both education and training are assumed to be a part of the organizational training programme. Development refers to those learning opportunities designed to help employees grow. 4 Development is not primarily skills-oriented. Instead, it provides general knowledge and attitudes which will be helpful to employees in higher positions. Efforts towards development often depend on personal drive and ambition. Development activities, such as those supplied by management developmental programmes, are generally voluntary. To bring the distinction among training, education and development into sharp focus, it may be stated that training is offered to operatives, whereas developmental programmes are meant for employees in higher positions. Education, however is common to all the employees, their grades notwithstanding. (Aswathappa, 2005: p-194-195) 2. 8. 2INPUTS IN TRAINING DEVELOPMENT Any training and development programme must contain inputs which enable the participants to gain skills, learn theoretical concepts and help acquire vision to look into the distant future. In addition to these, there is a need to impart ethical orientation, emphasise on attitudinal changes and stress upon decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Skills Training, as was stated earlier, is imparting skills to employees. A worker needs skills to operate machines, and use other equipment with least damage and scrap. This is a basic skill without which the operator will not be able to function. There is also the need for motor skills. Motor skills (or psychomotor skills, as they are sometimes called) refer to performance of specific physical activities. These skills involve learning to move various parts of ones body in response to certain external and internal stimuli. Common motor skills include walking, riding a bicycle, tying a shoelace, throwing a ball, and driving a car. Motor skills are needed for all employees—from the janitor to the general manager. Employees, particularly supervisors and executives, need interpersonal skills popularly known as the people skills. Interpersonal skills are needed to understand oneself and others better, and act accordingly. Examples of interpersonal skills include listening, persuading, and showing an understanding of others feelings. Education The purpose of education is to teach theoretical concepts and develop a sense of reasoning and judgement. That any training and development programme must contain an element of education is well understood by HR specialists. Any such programme has university professors as resource persons to enlighten participants about theoretical knowledge of the topics proposed to be discussed. In fact, organisations depute or encourage employees to do courses on a part-time basis. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are known to attend refresher courses conducted by business schools. The late Manu Chabria, CMD, Shaw Wallace, attended such a two-month programme at the Harvard Business School. Education is more important for managers and executives than for lower-cadre workers. Development Another component of a training and development programme is development which is less skill-oriented but stresses on knowledge. Knowledge about business environment, management principles and techniques, human relations, specific industry analysis and the like is useful for better management of a company. An organisation expects the following from its managers when they are deputed to attend any training and development programme:6 1. How do we make our managers self-starters? How do we imbibe them with a sense of commitment and motivation so that they become self-generating? 2. How do we make them subordinate their parochial, functional loyalties to the interests of the organization as a whole? 3. How do we make them result-oriented? How do we help them see and internalize the difference between activity and results, and between efficiency and effectiveness? 4. How do we make them sensitive to the environment in which they function, both at the workplace and outside? 5. How do we make them aware of themselves—their potential and their limitations? How do we help them see themselves as others see them and accept this self-image as a prelude to change? 6. How do we teach them to communicate without filters, to see and feel points of view different from their own? 7. How do we help them understand power and thereby develop leadership styles which inspire and motivate others? 8. How do we instill a zest for excellence, a divine discontent, a nagging dissatisfaction with the status quo? Surely, the above must form part of any training and development programme. Ethics There is need for imparting greater ethical orientation to a training and development programme. There is no denial of the fact that ethics are largely ignored in businesses. Unethical practices abound in marketing, finance and production functions in an organisation . They are less seen and talked about in the personnel function. This does not mean that the HR manager is absolved of the responsibility. If the production, finance or marketing personnel indulge in unethical practices the fault rests on the HR manager. It is his/her duty to enlighten all the employees in the organisation about the need for ethical behaviour. (Aswathappa, 2005: 195-196) 2. 8. 3 DESIGNING TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Every training and development programme must address certain vital issues—(i) who participates in the programme? (ii) who are the trainers? (iii) what methods and techniques are to be used for training? (iv) what should be the level of training? (v) what learning principles are needed? (vi) where is the programme conducted? (see Fig. 3. 6). Fig. 3. 6 Steps in Training Programme. Source:(Aswathappa, 2005: p. 206) 2. 8. 4 WHO ARE THE TRAINEES? Trainees should be selected on the basis of self nomination, recommendations of supervisors or by the HR department itself. Whatever is the basis, it is advisable to have two or more target audiences. For example, rank-and-file employees and their supervisors may effectively learn together about a new work process and their respective roles. 20 Bringing several target audience together can also facilitate group processes such as problem solving and decisionmaking, elements useful in quality circle projects. (Fisher,Schoenfeldt,Showâ€Å"HumanResource Management†2008-2009:832) 2. 8. 5 WHO ARE THE TRAINERS? Training and development programmes may be conducted by several people, including the following: 1. Immediate supervisors, 2. Co-workers, as in buddy systems, 3. Members of the personnel staff, 4. Specialists in other parts of the company, 5. Outside consultants, 6. Industry associations, and 7. Faculty members at universities. Who among these are selected to teach, often, depends on where the programme is held and the skill that is being taught. For example, programmes teaching basic skills are usually done by the members of the HR department or specialists in other departments of the company. On the other hand, interpersonal and conceptual skills for managers are taught at universities: Large organizations generally maintain their own training departments whose staff conducts the programmes. 1 In addition, many organizations arrange basic-skills training for computer literacy. (Aswathappa, 2005: p. 206-207) 2. 8. 6 METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF TRAINING A multitude of methods of training are used to train employees. The most commonly used methods are shown in Table 3 . 2. Table 3. 2 lists the various training methods and presents a summary of the most frequent uses to which thes e methods are put. As can be seen from Table 3. 2, training methods are categorized into two groups—(i) on-the-job and (ii) off-the-job methods. On-the-job methods refer to methods that are applied in the workplace, while the employee is actually working. Off-the-job methods are used away from workplaces. Training techniques represent the medium of imparting skills and knowledge to employees. Obviously, training techniques are the means employed in the training methods. Among the most commonly used techniques are lectures, films, audio cassettes, case studies, role playing, video-tapes and simulations. Table 3. 3presents the list of training techniques along with their ranking based on effectiveness. Hide higher the ranking (1 is the highest rank), the more effective the technique is. the list of training techniques |Orienting New |Special Skills |Safety Education |Creative, Technical |Sales, Administrative | | |Employees, Introducing |Training | | Professional |Supervisory Managerial| | |Innovations in Products| | |Education |Education | | | Services | | | | | | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |A. On-the-job Methods | | |Orientation Training | | |Job-instruction training | | |Apprentice training | | |Internships assistantships | |Job Rotation | | |Coaching | | | |v |_ |_ |_ |_ | | |v |v |_ |_ |_ | | |v |v |_ |_ |_ | | |_ | | | | | | |v |_ |_ |_ |v | | |_ |v |v |v |v | |B Off the Jon Training | | |Vestibule | | |Lecture |