Version A, Revision 0 MSU-

F-QA-011

MASENO UNIVERSITY

COURSE OUTLINE

COURSE CODE: BHR 209/BHR 211 ACADEMIC YEAR: 2024/2025

COURSE TITLE: FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

PROGRAMME: BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FACULTY / SCHOOL: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICSBBU==BUSBUSINESS USINESS

AND ECONOMICS

Lecturer’s Name: DR CHRISTINE BANDO

Lecturer’s Contacts:
Telephone No. 0723317566 -
Email address: anyangobando@yahoo.com, achristine@maseno.ac.ke
-
No. of Units / Contact Hours:5

Signed by Course Lecturer:

Confirmed by Head of Department: ……………………………………………..

COURSE CODE: COURSE TITLE: FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
Pre-requisite:BBA 101, BBA 102 Contact Hours: 40
Year of Study: YEAR 2 Semester / Term: sem 1 2024/2025

Purpose of the Course: To introduce learners to the basic knowledge required for management of
employees at work place

Expected Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:
1. Describe nature scope of Human Resource Management
2. Explain functions of HRM and explain relevance to organizations
3. Analyze and make sound decisions regarding HR issues.

Course Content / Topics.Nature of personnel management; objectives of personnel management policies;

principles and philosophies of personnel management; personnel functions and employment; employee
compensation: elements; salaries/wages, fringe benefits and collective bargaining; employee welfare: safety
and security; employee maturation: hierarchy of needs, defense mechanism and communication; manpower
planning; recruitment, Factors governing recruitment; recruitment process; alternatives to recruitment;
selection as an alternative to recruitment; selection as a source of competitive advantage; selection process;
barriers to effective selection; orientation programme; problems of orientation, selection; training and
development.

Mode of Delivery: . lectures, group presentations, class discussions

Instructional Materials and Equipment:

Projector, white board , makers

Course Assessment:The course will be assessed through two continuous assessment tests (CATs),
assignments and group work that will account for 30% of the total marks and final exam constituting 70%

1. Core References: Armstrong, M. (2009). Human resource Management Practice, 10th Edition,
Cambridge University Press.

2. Aswathappa, K. (2013). Human resource management: Text and cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

3. Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T. (2007). Human Resource Management, Contemporary Approach 5th
Edition, Prentice Hall. New York
.

Recommended Reference Materials:

4. Bernadian, H. (2008) Human Resource Management – An Experimental Approach McGraw Hill.
 5. Nzuve, S.N.M. (1997) Management of Human Resources, Kenyan Perspective. Tech and Pro
Publishers, Nairobi.

6. Sababu, M. B (2010) Human Resources and Industrial Relations Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Nairobi,
Kenya.

7. Torrington, D., Hall, L and Tayler S. (2008) Human Resource Management, 7th Edition. Prentice Hall.
New York

2.0 LECTURE SCHEDULE (HRS)

WEEK ONE TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURECE

MANAGEMENT……………………………

Practicum / Comments
Sub Topic Hrs. Course Text Readings Assignment(s)
Lab Practicals (by Lecturer)
Nature of Hrm 1 Amstrong’s Torrington, Discussions on Describe the
Handbook in et al, Hrm, meaning of hrm nature of human
hrm’, Text and Class notes resource
cases hrm by https:// management
Aswathappa www.manage
mentstudygui
de.com/
human-
resource-
management.
htm

Principles and 1 ,, ,, Discussion on Explain

philosphy of principles and principles of
hrm philosphy of hr hrm.

Scope of hjm 1 ,, ,, Discussions on Describe the

11 Key HR the functions of scope of hrm
Functions hrm
Explained
[2023]
(youtube.com
)
WEEK 2 TOPIC 2: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Introduction 1 Beardwell and ,, Discussion of Define HRP

and Process of Claydon , Class notes meaning and Describe the
Hrp contemporary processes of hrp process of hrp
Approch to hrm
Factors affecting 1 Beardwell and Class notes Group Explain factors
hrp Claydon , discussions on that affect hrp
 contemporary factors Describe
Approch to hrm affectinghrp and requirement for
requirements effective hp

Job analysis 1 Beardwell and https:// Discussions on Define job

Claydon , www.manage how to conduct analysis.
contemporary mentstudygui Job analysis How to collect
Approch to hrm de.com/ data for job
human-
analysis
resource-
management.
htm
Class notes
WEEK 3,TOPIC 3:HUMAN RESOURCE PROCUREMENT

Recruitment 1 Aswathappa, Torringtong Discussion on Evaluate sources

Hrm et al, sources of hrm of recruitment.
Management, Human recruitment and Explain
text and Cases Resource challenges. challenges in hrm
Techniques of recruitment
Manageme
attracting
nt employees
Selection 1 Aswathappa, Amstrong’s Discussion on Evaluate
Hrm Handbook in techniques of employee
Management, hrm. selection; selection
text and Cases interviews,reffer techniques.
al systems and Explain
tests challenges during
selection
Placement and 1 Aswathappa, Amstrong’s Calss discussion Explain factors
induction Hrm Handbook in on placement in placing
Management, hrm. procedure and employees
text and Cases Class notes induction
procerss
WEEK 4, TOPIC 4: PERFORMANCE APPRISAL

Meaning and 1 Aswathappa, ,, Class Explain uses of

uses of Hrm discussion on performance
Appraisal Management, uses of appraisal appraisal.
text and Cases and procedure Describe
of appraisal procedure of
Appraisal
Appraisal 1 Aswathappa, Class notes Discussions on Evaluate
techniques. Hrm performance employees
Management, appraisal appraisal
text and Cases techniues techniques
Describe
requirements for
effective
appraisal
Cat 1 To test on
nature of hrm,
 planning ,procure
ment and
appraisal.
WEEK 5, TOPIC 5:EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Nature of 1. Aswathappa, Hrm ,, Discussion on Explain

Employee Management, text differences differences
Training and dpt and Cases between training between training
and dvpt, and development.
process of Describe the
employee procedure of
development training and dvpt,
and the benefits Explain the need
for training and
dvpt
Traning and 1 Aswathappa, Hrm ,, Discussions on Research on
Development Management, text traininfg and emerging trend
Techniques and Cases development and techniques of
techniques traing and
development
Employee 1 Aswathappa, Hrm https:// Discussions on Define career.
career Management, text www.manage Career Explain process
Management and Cases mentstudygui Management of career
de.com/ management
workplace-
health-and-
safety.htm

WEEK 6, TOPIC 6: EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

Meaning and 1 Aswathappa, Amstrong’s Discussion on Describe

need for Hrm Handbook in meaning of compensation,
compensation Management, hrm. rewards. Need for
text and Cases compensation
and factors in
cmpensating
employees
Theories of 1 Aswathappa, Class notes. Discussion on Explain theories
compensation Hrm http:// theories of on employee
Management, courseware.c compensation rewards
text and Cases utm.ac.in/
wp-content/
uploads/
2020/06/
Theories-of-
Compensatio
n.pdf

Forms of 1 Aswathappa, ,, Discussions on Describe forms

employee Hrm forms of of employee
compensation Management, compensation compensation
text and Cases such as salary ,
wages, benefits
and services
WEEK 7, TOPIC 7: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Employee 1 Amstrong’s Nzuve, hrm Group work on Explain forms of

Welfare Handbook in hrm kenyan welfare concerns welfare at work.
perspective at work Actities to
Class notes achieve welfare
at work place
Employee 2 Amstrong’s https:// A waltk through Explain how to
Health and Handbook in hrm www.manage the university to achieve health
Safety mentstudygui find out health and safe at work
de.com/ and safety place.
workplace-
concerns and Describe role of
health-and-
safety.htm
give both employee
recommendation and employer
s on how the can towards safety.
be addressed Explain
government
regulations for
health and safety
WEEK8, TOPIC 7: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Employee 1 Amstrong’s ,, Discussions on Explain signs of

Grievances Handbook in hrm common grievances,
employee causes and
grievances management
Employees 1 Amstrong’s ,, Discussion on Explain causes
Discpline Handbook in hrm causes and of ins\discipline
procedure of
discipline
Cat 2 To test on
Training and
dvpt,
compensation
and Relations
WEEK 9, TOPIC 7: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND MOTIVATION

Trade unions 1 Amstrong’s Sababu HR Practical Descrive trade

and collective Handbook in hrm and Industrial examples of unions.
bargaining Relations , trade unions and Explain the role
Nzuve hrm their roles of trade unions
Class notes
Nature of Nature of
collective collective
bargaining bargaining
Classical 1 Amstrong’s ,, Class Explain the
Theories of Handbook in hrm Class notes discussion on relevance of
Motivation the content and Maslow’s,
relevance of the HertzBerg and
theories MerGregor
theories at work
Modern 1 Armstrong’s Class notes Group Relevance of
Theories of handbook, text presentations modern theories
Motivation and cases by of motivation
Awathappa
WEEK 10, EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

Forms of 1 ,, ,, Discussions on Describe forms

Employee forms of of
communication communication communication
Explain the need
for employee
communication
Role and 2 ,, ,, Illustrations on
effectiveComm effective
unication communication
WEEK 11, TOPIC8: EMERGING ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Emerging issues 1 notes Discussions on Explain the

emerging issues emerging issues
in hr
management
Challenges by 2 notes Group work on Describe
hrm challenges how to mitigate challeges and
hr management how to manage
challenges them
WEEK 12 Presentation s On emerging
issues and
WEEK 13 Revision challenges
WEEK 14 EXAMINATION
S

End of Course Remarks / Signatures:

Course Lecturer: …………………………………..

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Head of Department:
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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https://www.whatishumanresource.com/human-resource-management

TOPIC I: INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

NATURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

Human Resource Management is the study of activities regarding people working in an
organization. It is a managerial function that tries to match an organization’s needs to the skills
and abilities of its employees.
Human resource is the labour, worker, human capital.
Management is a process of planning, coordinating, directing and controlling essential activities
of an organization.
Human resources management (HRM) is a management function concerned with hiring,
motivating and maintaining people in an organization. It focuses on people in organizations.
Human resource management is designing management systems to ensure that human talent is
used effectively and efficiently to accomplish organizational goals.
It consists of people related functions such as hiring , training and development, performance
review, compensation, safety and health, welfare, industrial relations and the like.
Hrm involves the application of management principles and functions to doables and
deliverables of people management.
Hrm involves alignment of Human resource policies and practices with organizational
strategies both corporate and functional. Hr executives help to formulate and implement business
strategies.
Human resource fuctions are not confined to business establishments only but are applicable to
non-business organizations such as education, healthcare,sports,etc

Meaning of HRM
- Nzuve(1997) – HRM is a process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling all
human resources activities of an organization.
- Beer et al (1984) – Human Resource Management is an activity that involves all
management decisions and actions that affect the nature of relationships between the
organization and its employees that is human resource.
- Guest (1987) – Human Resource Management comprises a set of policies designed to
maximize organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of
work.
- Dr. Babu (2010) – defines Human Resource Management as the guidance and control of
human resources in a given place, time and environment.
All organization’s are started and run by people regardless of the kind of activities being
undertaken. People are crucial assets of any organization.
The main purpose of Human Resource Management is to ensure that organization is able to
achieve success through people.
Human Resource Management aims at increasing organizational effectiveness and capacity of an
organization to achieve its goals by making the best use of resource available.
Human Resource Management goals in any organization are:
1) Strategic integration – that is the ability of the organization to integrate Human Resource
Management issues into its strategic plans, ensure that various aspects of Human
Resource Management cohere and provide for the line managers to incorporate a Human
Resource Management perspective into their decision.
2) Behavioural commitment to pursue agreed goals and additional commitment reflected in a
strong identification with enterprise.
3) Achievement of high quality of goods and services provided, including management of
employees and investment in high quality employees.
4) Flexibility and the existence of an adaptable organization structure with the capacity to
manage innovation.

Characteristics of Human Resource Management

1) Concerned with organizational members and the general society well being.
2) Covers all levels of personnel and concerns everybody performing an activity in society.
3) Continuous in nature.
4) Attempts at getting willing cooperation of the people for the attainment of desired goals.
5) Human Resource Management is a strategic and ensures that there is collective
contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the organization. Emphasis is on
integration of Human Resource Management policies both with one another and with
business planning.
6) Focuses on mutuality - Human Resource Management composed of policies that promote
mutuality the mutual goals, mutual influence, mutual respect, mutual rewards, mutual
responsibility that yields better performance and greater human development.
Management of people has evolved over year, it stated as people administrative, their personnel
management and currently Human Resource Management.
The personnel management and Human Resource Management are different, some of the
perceptual differences are as follows:

1) Personnel management is reactive, responding to demands as and when they arise. Human
Resource Management is a proactive, anticipating and planning in advance for issues and
events relating to workers.
2) Personnel management is the exclusive responsibility of personnel department; Human
Resource Management is a concern of all managers in an organization and also aims at
developing the capabilities.
3) Personnel management is an independent function with independent sub factor Human
Resource Management follows the system thinking approach.
 4) Personnel management is a traditional, routine maintenance oriented with an
administration function, Human Resource Management is continuous, ongoing
developmental function aimed at improving human process.
5) The scope of Human Resource Management views organization as a whole and aims at
building a dynamic culture, personal management has a narrow focus on administering
people.
6) Important motivators under personal management are compensation, rewards, job
simplification. Human Resource Management motivators are challenges, work groups and
creativity on the job.
7) Labour is treated as a tool which is is expandable and replaceable while for HRM,
employees are assets to be used for the benefit of the organization and society as
awhole
Roles of Human Resource Management
1. Advisory / counseling role.
2. Service role
3. Control role
4. Change agent role / facilitation
5. Strategic partner role

1) Advisory Role – acts as internal consultants to other departments.

- Gather information, diagnose problem and prescribe possible solutions and offer
assistance and guidance on employee related problems.
2) Service Role – offers direct service to all line managers and other staff departments in
recruitment, selections, orientation, training and welfare.
3) Change Agent Role – facilitate change by providing advice and support on its
introduction and management.
4) Strategic partner role- turn strategy into results by building organizations that create
value to owners
5) Control role-come up with policies that guide activities of an organization.

OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOUIRCE MANAGEMENT

The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of competent and willing workforce
to an organization. The specific objectives include the following:
1) Human capital : assisting the organization in obtaining the right number and types of
employees to fulfill its strategic and operational goals
2) Developing organizational climate: helping to create a climate in which employees are
encouraged to develop and utilize their skills to the fullest and to employ the skills and
abilities of the workforce efficiently
3) Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity through effective
job design; providing adequate orientation, training and development; providing
performance-related feedback; and ensuring effective two-way communication.
4) Helping to establish and maintain a harmonious employer/employee relationship
5) Helping to create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment
 6) \Developing programs to meet the economic, psychological, and social needs of the
employees and helping the organization to retain the productive employees
7) Ensuring that the organization is in compliance with provincial/territorial and federal
laws affecting the workplace (such as human rights, employment equity, occupational
health and safety, employment standards, and labour relations legislation). To help the
organization to reach its goals
8) To provide organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees
9) To increase the employees satisfaction and self-actualization
10) To develop and maintain the quality of work life
11) To communicate HR policies to all employees.
12) To help maintain ethical polices and behavior

The above objectives can be summarized in to four as follows;

1) Societal Objectives: seek to ensure that the organization becomes socially
responsible to the needs and challenges of the society while minimizing the
negative impact of such demands upon the organization. The failure of the
organizations to use their resources for the society’s benefit in ethical ways may
lead to restriction.
2) Organizational Objectives: it recognizes the role of HRM in bringing about
organizational effectiveness. It makes sure that HRM is not a stand alone
department, but rather a means to assist the organization with its primary
objectives. The HR department exists to serve the rest of the organization.
3) Functional Objectives: is to maintain the department’s contribution at a level
appropriate to the organization’s needs. Human resources are to be adjusted to suit
the organization’s demands. The department’s value should not become too
expensive at the cost of the organization it serves.
4) Personnel Objectives: it is to assist employees in achieving their personal goals, at
least as far as these goals enhance the individual’s contribution to the
organization. Personal objectives of employees must be met if they are to be
maintained, retained and motivated. Otherwise employee performance and
satisfaction may decline giving rise to employee turnover.

PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

-Principle is a fundamental truth established by research, investigation and
analysis.
Human Resource Management principles,
1. Principle of individual development – to offer full and equal opportunities to
every employee to realise his/her full potential.
2. Principle of scientific selection – to select the right person for the right job.
3. Principle of free flow of communication- to keep all channels of
communication open & encourage upward, downward, horizontal, formal &
informal communication.
4. Principle of participation – to associate employee representatives at every
level of decision making.
5. Principle of fair remuneration- to pay fair & equitable wages & salaries
commiserating with jobs.
6. Principle of incentive – to recognise and reward good performance.
7. Principle of dignity of labour – to treat every job holder with dignity and
respect.
8. Principle of labour management co-operation – to promote cordial industrial
relations.
9. Principle of team spirit – to promote co-operation & team spirit among
employees.
10. Principle of contribution to national prosperity – to provide a higher
purpose of work to all employees and to contribute to national prosperity.

SCOPE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

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 the organizations comes under
the purview of HRM.
Major Functions of Human Resource Management
1. Human Resource Planning- preparing forecasts of future human needs of an organization
in the light of organizations’ environment.
2. Job analysis
3. Procurement recruitment, selection placement and orientation.-ensuring that people with
appropriate skills , abilities , knowledge and experience and obtained within the
organization.
4. Employee training and development
5. Compensation, wage and salary administration
6. Employee health welfare and safety.- ensuring employees are safe and well at wok place
7. Employee performance management
8. Position and responsibility management
9. Record Keeping
10. Industrial labour relations- employee grievances and their settlement.
11. Talent management- developing competencies and skills.

Human Resource Department plays and important role in any organization, it therefore demands
that HR department should be effective and efficient.

PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PRINCIPLES

A policy is a plan of action. Most organizations have human resource policy to guide activities
of the organization. Policy is a benchmark for evaluating performance. The benefits of
personnel policy are:
 Policies build employee motivation and loyalty
 Policies serve as standard for performance as actual results can be compared with policy
to determine how well members of organization are achieving their intentions
  Consistent and fair treatment of all employees
 Policies promote stability even if there are changes in management of organization.

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES

-A policy is a plan of action. It is a statement of intention committing the
management to a general course of action.
Examples of specific HR policies:
1. Policy of hiring people with due respect to factors like reservation, sex,
marital status etc.
2. Policy on terms & conditions of employment- compensation policy &
methods, hours of work, overtime, promotion, transfer, lay-off.
3. Policy with regard to medical assistance-sickness benefits, company medical
benefits.
4. Policy regarding training & development – need for, methods, frequency of
training and development.
5. Policy regarding housing, transport, uniform & allowances
Advantages of Efficient HRM Department
1. Continued hardworking employees are more likely to produce excellent outputs that
genuinely add value to the enterprise.
2. Stability of the company that posses sound employees’ relations but attract more
investors.
3. The existence of common values upheld throughout the organization facilitates the
development of long-term strategies and plans. This would lead to optimum use of
available human resource and will also enhance implementation of changes.
4. It strengthens the organization’s core competition over its competitors.
5. Sound policies help build employee motivation and loyalty
6. Sound policies help to resolve intrapersonal ,interpersonal and intergroup conflicts

Effective human resource management has become more important as

Most business are service oriental and management of people as the critical resource raises
quality and customer service level.
TOPIC TWO: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING(HRP)
Human Resource planning also known as manpower planning is strategy for acquisition,
utilization, improvement and retention of an enterprise’s human resources.

Human resource planning is the process of analyzing and identifying the availability and the need
for human resources so that the organization can meet its objectives. The focus of HR planning is
to ensure that the organization has the right number of human resources, with the right
capabilities, at the right times, and in the right places. In HR planning, an organization must
consider the availability and allocation of people to jobs over a period of time.

HRP is a sub system in the total organizational planning and it is preceded by organizational
strategies planning.
Strategic planning is the process by which top management determines the overall purposes and
objectives of the organization along with how they can be effectively achieved.
Human resource planning is concerned with identifying the organizations demand for human
resources and devising means to ensure that a sufficient supply of labour is available to meet that
demand
Actions may include shifting employees to other jobs in the organization, laying off employees
or otherwise cutting back the number of employees, developing present employees, and/or
increasing the number of employees in certain areas. Factors to consider include the current
employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities and the expected vacancies resulting from
retirements, promotions, transfers, and discharges. To do this, HR planning requires efforts by
HR professionals working with executives and managers.

THE OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

1. Forecasting Human Resources Requirements: HRP is essential to determine the future

needs of HR in an organization. In the absence of this plan it is very difficult to provide
the right kind of people at the right time.
2. Effective Management of Change: Proper planning is required to cope with changes in the
different aspects which affect the organization. These changes need continuation of
allocation/ reallocation and effective utilization of HR in organization.
3. Realizing the Organizational Goals: In order to meet the expansion and other
organizational activities the organizational HR planning is essential.
 4. Promoting Employees: HRP gives the feedback in the form of employee data which can
be used in decision-making in promotional opportunities to be made available for the
organization.
5. Effective Utilization of HR: The data base will provide the useful information in
identifying surplus and deficiency in human resources. The objective of HRP is to
maintain and improve the organizational capacity to reach its goals by developing
appropriate strategies that will result i

Step 1 : analysis of External environment

Variable in the external environment of a business should be known. Elements such as
economic elements such as inflation,technological issues such as automation, social and
demographic concerns Legal requirements and completion should be established before carrying
out strategic planning.

Step 2: analysis of internal environment

Analyze the company workforce. Understanding your workforce and its strengths and
weaknesses allows you to develop plans for short-term and long-term projects. Be sure to analyze
individual personalities, educations and abilities of the employees, as well as any anticipated
company growth in the near future.

Priorities should be set. Human resources directors handle a large range of duties including
personnel, training, benefits, hiring and terminations and workforce coverage. Getting together
with department heads and listening to their needs will help you prioritize your own duties to
provide support to them.
Ask for a list of their needs as well as any problems they perceive within the company. Using the
interviews and lists compile an overall target list of needs for the company. Repeat this process
on an annual basis to maintain touch with current needs.
Scan internal issues. Things that happen within the company, and impact the overall morale,
function and future of the company, should be identified from a human resources perspective.
Correct those that are correctable and develop solutions to work with those that cannot be
changed. An example of internal issues that would need to be monitored by human resources
would be temporary employees. Temporary employees come and go, do not have benefits and
may not have the dedication and company loyalty that permanent employees have. This can
cause morale issues among the permanent workers. One possible solution would be to work
toward hiring the temporary workers full-time so they feel connected to the company's success
Step 3: Strategic planning
It where Goals and aims of the overall organization are formulated Sstrategic plans and reduced
to specific quantifiable and qualitative having resource plans.
Step 4 Human resource planning
It is divided into; forecasting requirements and availability. Forecasting HR requirements is
process of estimating the future numbers of employees required by an organization and the likely
skills and competence they will need.
Forecasting availability is the estimating of supply of human resources

Step 5: Comparing demand and supply

Comparison of demand and supply may result into surplus, shortage or equilibrium
Step 6: Implementation of plans
It is converting hr plan into action. Some of activities that can be done at this stage is
recruitment, training and development redeployment.

Methods for Forecasting HR Requires:

a. Managerial Judgment
Managers are given opportunity to think about future workloads and decide how many
people they will need. It can be “bottom up” basis where departmental managers submit
proposals for agreement by senior management.
It is “top down” it forecasts are done by top management possibly acting on advice from
personnel department.

b. Ratio – Trend Analysis

Carried out by studying past ratios between say number of direct (production) workers
and indirect (support) workers in a manufacturing plant and the units produced and
forecasting future ratios, having made some allowances for changes in the organization.
c. Work Study Techniques:
Used when it is possible to apply work measurements to calculate how long operations should
take and the number of people required. Work study techniques for direct workers can be
combined with ratio-trend analysis to calculate the number of indirect workers needed.
D. Other techniques such as delphi techniques where expert come up with their estimates and
discuss till they agree on the forecasts.

4 Forecasting HR Availability (Supply Forecasting)

Supply forecasting measures the number of people likely to be available from within and outside
organization.

Supply Analysis Areas

- Existing number of people employed by occupation, skills and potential.
- Potential losses to existing resources through attrition/ employee turnover
- Potential changes to existing resources through informal promotions.
- Effects of changing conditions of work and absenteeism.
- Sources of supply from within the organization.
- Sources of supply from outside the organization.

5 Comparison of Availability and Requirement

When supply equal to demand – the condition is optimum. Action should be to motivate the
workers.
When demand is greater than supply then there is deficiency – selection and recruitment should
be done to fill the gaps. Terms can be made flexible.
Increase the internal supply by training and developing employees, retaining employees and
redesigning work.
When demand is less than supply then it is surplus – right sizing should be done by early
retirements, short term contracts, diversification

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

1 HRP must be recognized as an integral part of corporate planning. The lanners should know
corporate objectivex
2. Support of top management is essential
3. There should be some centralization with respect to HRP responsibilities in order to have co-
ordination between different levels of management.
4. Organization records must be complete, up to date and readily available.
5. Techniques used for HR planning should be those best suited to the data available and degree
of accuracy required.
6. Data collection, analysis, techniques of planning and the plan themselves need to be constantly
revised and improved in the light of experience.

FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

1. Type and Strategy of the Organization: HR need is also defined by the strategic plan of
organization. If the organization has a plan for organic growth then organization need to hire
additional employees. On the other hand if the organization is going for mergers and acquisition,
then organization need to plan for layoffs, as mergers can create, duplicate or overlap positions
that can be handled more efficiently with fewer employees.
2. Organizational Growth Cycles and Planning: The stage of growth in which an organization is
determines the nature and extends of HRP. Small organizations in the earlier stages of growth
may not have well defined personnel planning compared to established ones

3. Environmental Uncertainties: Political, social and economic changes affect all organizations
and the fluctuations that are happening in these environments affect organizations drastically.
Personnel planners deal with such environmental uncertainties by carefully formulating
recruitment, selection, training and HRP

4. Time Horizons: HR plans can be short term or long term. The extent of time period depends
upon the degree of uncertainty that is prevailing in an organizations environment. Greater the
uncertainty, shorter the plan time horizon and vice versa

5. Type and Quality of information: The information used to forecast personnel needs originates
from a multitude of sources. The forecast depends to a large extent upon the type of information
and the quality of data that is available to personnel planners. The quality and accuracy of
information depend upon the clarity with which the organizational decision makers have defined
their strategy, structure, budgets, production schedule and so on.
6. Nature of Jobs Being Filled: Personnel planners need to be really careful with respect to the
nature of the jobs being filled in the organization. Employees belonging to lower level who need
very limited skills can be recruited hastily but, while hiring employees for higher posts, selection
and recruitment need to be carried out with high discretion.
7. Outsourcing: Several organizations outsource part of their work to outside parties in the form
of subcontract and this affects the human resource planning.

Uses of Human Resource plans

For recruitment of employees
Developing training and development programs for employees
For compensation purposes
Retirement and pension schemes
Industrial and labour relations
Managing labour turnover
Promotions

JOB ANALYSIS
It’s a process of examining jobs in order to identify their main features like duties to be
performed, results they are expected to achieve. It is the process of collecting job related
information.
Job analysis results into two things: job description and job specification.

Job Description
It is organized factual statement of job contents in the form of duties and responsibilities of each
specific job. It is what is used to advertise a job.
Job descriptive should give the following tithe / designation of a job.
Job Location
Nature and operation to be performed
Nature of activity
Relationship of a job with other jobs
Provision of physical condition on work environment
Limits of Authority
Job descriptive document is a lot used to determine pay of the job orders and the need for
training.

Job Specification
A document which outlines minimum acceptable qualification a job holder should posses in order
to effectively perform a particular job.
It is used to describe the necessary attributes for a job such as
Education, experience, training,judgement, initiative, emotional characteristics.

The following are used for job description

(Rodger 1952) point plant
1. Physique (health, appearance)
2. Attainments (educative, qualifications, expertise
3. General intelligence (intellectual capability)
4. Special aptitude (e.g. knowledge in numbers)
5. Interests (cultural interests, sports, philanthropy
6. Disposition (likable, reliable, persuasive
7. Special circumstances (prepared to work in extra / extra ordinary circumstances)

Munro Fraser (1958) also developed a fire field grading system from job specification as follows:
1. Impact on others through physique, appearance mode of expression etc
2. Acquired qualification (academic training and experiences
3. Inmate (natural attitudes towards learning new things and being guided.
4. Motivation – the kinds of goals set by individual, his or her consistency and determination
in following them up.
5. Adjustments – emotional stability, ability to stand up to stress and ability to get on with
people.

Job specification informs us about the person and provides a bench mark on the desirable
qualities and important qualification below which organization must go.
Recruitment requires that one has idea about the description of the job and the profile of
candidate suitable for the vacant position.
The most important step is attracting the attention of suitable candidates to apply.
Job description and specification is useful in developing an appropriate advertisement to be
posted within the organization on mass media.
Care should be taken so that you do not attract too many applicants as it will be difficult to sort
out.
 Observation Method: A job analyst observes an employee and records all his performed and
non-performed task, fulfilled and un-fulfilled responsibilities and duties, methods, ways and
skills used by him or her to perform various duties and his or her mental or emotional ability to
handle challenges and risks. However, it seems one of the easiest methods to analyze a specific
job but truth is that it is the most difficult one. Why? Let’s Discover.

It is due to the fact that every person has his own way of observing things. Different people think
different and interpret the findings in different ways. Therefore, the process may involve personal
biasness or likes and dislikes and may not produce genuine results. This error can be avoided by
proper training of job analyst or whoever will be conducting the job analysis process.

This particular method includes three techniques: direct observation, Work Methods Analysis and
Critical Incident Technique. The first method includes direct observation and recording of
behaviour of an employee in different situations. The second involves the study of time and
motion and is specially used for assembly-line or factory workers. The third one is about
identifying the work behaviours that result in performance.

 Interview Method: In this method, an employee is interviewed so that he or she comes up

with their own working styles, problems faced by them, use of particular skills and techniques
while performing their job and insecurities and fears about their careers.

This method helps interviewer know what exactly an employee thinks about his or her own job
and responsibilities involved in it. It involves analysis of job by employee himself. In order to
generate honest and true feedback or collect genuine data, questions asked during the interview
should be carefully decided. And to avoid errors, it is always good to interview more than one
individual to get a pool of responses. Then it can be generalized and used for the whole group.

 Questionnaire Method: Another commonly used job analysis method is getting the
questionnaires filled from employees, their superiors and managers. However, this method also
suffers from personal biasness. A great care should be takes while framing questions for different
grades of employees.

In order to get the true job-related info, management should effectively communicate it to the
staff that data collected will be used for their own good. It is very important to ensure them that it
won’t be used against them in anyway. If it is not done properly, it will be a sheer wastage of
time, money and human resources.

Uses of job analysis information

Designing jobs, recruitment of employees, job evaluation

TOPIC 3: HUMAN RESOURCE PROCUREMENT
Human Resource Procurement involves looking for right persons to fill in the vacant positions in
the organization. Procurement involves recruitment, selection , placement and induction

RECRUITMENT
Recruitment process is concerned with identification of possible sources of human resource
supply and tapping those sources.
Acoording to Whether and Davis “Recruitment 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
In most medium sized and large organizations human resource department is responsible for
recruitment process however in smaller firms; recruitment is likely to be handled by individual
managers.
When human resource planning indicates a need for employees, the firm may evaluate alternative
ways to meet the demand through recruitment process.
Recruitment process begins when HR manager places employee requisition
Employee requisition specifies the job tithe, departments, date the employee is needed for work
etc
Recruitment process should be preceded by job analysis. ie
Human Resource Planning
Job Analysis
Recruitment
Selection

Organizations may have a recruitment policy to guide the process while some organizations may
not have. A recruitment policy specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework
for the implementation of the recruitment programme. It also involves the employer’s
commitment to some principles so as to find and employ the best qualified persons for each job,
to retain the most promising of those hired, etc. It should be based on the goals, needs and
environment of the organisation
Sources of Recruitment
Sources can be internal or external
Internal source is suitable where job fairly routine and applicants are plentiful in supply.
Internal recruitment can be done by job positing and bedding.
Job posting is a procedure of informing that vacancy exist.
Job bidding is a technique that permits employees who believe that they posses the required
qualification for the post to apply.
External Sources
- Schools and Colleges
- Universities
- Employment agencies
- Voluntary applicants

Online recruitment
- Corporate websites
- Commercial job boards
- Agency sites

Merits of Internal Sources of recruitment

1. It creates a sense of security among employees when they are assured that they would be
preferred in filling up vacancies.
2. It improves the morale of employees, for they are assured of the fact that they would be
preferred over outsiders when vacancies occur.
3. It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job security and
opportunities for advancement.
4. The employer is in a better position to evaluate those presently employed than outside
candidates. This is because the company maintains a record of the progress, experience
and service of its employees.
5. Time and costs of training will be low because employees remain familiar with the
organisation and its policies.
6. Relations with trade unions remain good. Labour turnover is reduced. · As the persons in
the employment of the company are fully aware of, and well acquainted wit, its policies
and know its operating procedures, they require little training, and the chances are that
they would stay longer in the employment of the organisation than a new outsider would.
7. It encourages self-development among the employees. It encourages good individuals
who are ambitious.
8. It encourages stability from continuity of employment.
9. It can also act as a training device for developing middle and top-level managers.
Demerits of Internal Sources: However, this system suffers from certain defects as:
1. There are possibilities that internal sources may “dry up”, and it may be difficult to find
the requisite personnel from within an organisation.
2. It often leads to inbreeding, and discourages new blood from entering and organisation.
3. As promotion is based on seniority, the danger is that really capable hands may not be
chosen. The likes and dislikes of the management may also play an important role in the
selection of personnel.
 4. Since the learner does not know more than the lecturer, no innovations worth the name
can be made. Therefore, on jobs which require original thinking (such as advertising,
style, designing and basic research), this practice is not followed.

Advantages of External Recruitment: External sources of recruitment are suitable for the
following reasons:
1. It will help in bringing new ideas, better techniques and improved methods to the
organisation.
2. The cost of employees will be minimised because candidates selected in this method will
be placed in the minimum pay scale.
3. The existing employees will also broaden their personality.
4. The entry of qualitative persons from outside will be in the interest of the organisation in
the long run.
5. The suitable candidates with skill, talent, knowledge are available from external sources.
6. The entry of new persons with varied expansion and talent will help in human resource
mix.
Disadvantages of External Sources:
1. Orientation and training are required as the employees remain unfamiliar with the
organisation.
2. It is more expensive and time-consuming. Detailed screening is necessary as very little is
known about the candidate.
3. If new entrant fails to adjust himself to the working in the enterprise, it means yet more
expenditure on looking for his replacement.
4. Motivation, morale and loyalty of existing staff are affected, if higher level jobs are filled
from external sources. It becomes a source of heart-burning and demoralisation among
existing employees.

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

The factors affecting recruitment can be classified as internal and external factors.
The internal factors are:
1. Wage and salary policies;
2. The age composition of existing working force;
3. Promotion and retirement policies;
4. Turnover rates;
5. The nature of operations involved the kind of personnel required;
6. The level and seasonality of operations in question;
7. Future expansion and reduction programmes;
8. Recruiting policy of the organisation;
9. Human resource planning strategy of the company;
10. Size of the organisation and the number of employees employed;
11. Cost involved in recruiting employees, and finally;
12. Growth and expansion plans of the organisation.
The external factors are:
1. Supply and demand of specific skills in the labour market;
 2. Company’s image perception of the job seekers about the company.
3. External cultural factors: Obviously, the culture may exert considerable check on
recruitment.
4. Economic factors: such as a tight or loose labour market, the reputation of the enterprise
in the community as a good pay master or otherwise and such allied issues which
determine the quality and quantity of manpower submitting itself for recruitment.
5. Political and legal factors also exert restraints in respect of nature and hours of work for
women and children, and allied employment practices in the enterprise, reservation of Job
for SC, ST and so on.

SHORT LISTING
- Short list is a small number from larger list. The outcome of recruitment process is to
produce a short list of candidates whose background and potential are in accordance with
profile contained in job specifications.
- Short listing involves eliminating applicants who do not meet the required specifications
to arrive at only those candidates who qualify for the selection process.

Selection
Selection is a process which involves deciding on the degree to which the characteristics of
applicants informs of their competencies, experiences, qualification, education and training
match the person specification.
It involves using assessment to make a choice between candidates.
Selection should be impartial and objective.

Selection Technique
1. Interviews: the candidate presents himself or herself before an individual, panels or
selection boards, panels is where two or more are gathered together to interview one
candidate.
Selection board is a larger interview panel with different people who have a look at
applicants and compares notes on the sport.

Interviews play three important roles:

a. Verification of identity
b. Authentication of five ownership of supporting documents.
c. Opportunity for judging candidates social aspects.
The selection interview can be: One to one between the candidate and the interviewer: , Two
or more interviewers by employers representatives-sequential; By a panel of selections, i.e.,
by more than representative of the employer.
Types of interview
(1) Unstructured or non-directive: in which you ask questions as they come to mind. There is
no set format to follow.
(2) Structured or directive: in which the questions and acceptable responses are specified in
advance. The responses are rated for appropriateness of content. Structured and non-
 structured interviews have their pros and cons. In structured interviews all applicants are
generally asked all required questions by all interviewers. Structured interviews are generally
more valid. However structured interviews do not allow the flexibility to pursue points of
interests as they develop.
(3) Semi structured
The interview involves structured and unstructured questions where interviewer is allowed to
ask questions outside

Demerits
1) Likely to be subjective
2) May suffer from hallow effects – making judgments at sight.
3) Biasness
4) Lack of consensus amongst panelists.

Employment Interviews
The employment interview is a vehicle for information exchange between applicant and
interviewer regarding an applicant's suitability and interest in a job the employer seeks to fill.
Information provided in an applicant's application for employment can be probed more deeply in
the interview, and other information relevant to an applicant's qualifications can be elicited. Since
interviews can be rather flexible, any missing pieces of information about an applicant can be
collected at this time.

Interview problems.
As a selection method, interviews are problematic. Research shows that interviews have good
test-retest reliability (same interviewer twice) and good internal consistency reliability, but low
inter-rater reliability (between different raters). The reason for low inter-rater reliability is that
interviews are apt to be unstructured and subjective.
A number of problems result from the unstructured nature of employment interviews. These
include: (1) rater error; (2) talkative interviewer hampers collection of job-related information;
(3) variance in questions asked of applicants during interview; 4) interviewer asks "trick"
questions; (5) interviewer asks inappropriate questions relating to an applicant's race, religion,
sex, national origin, and age.

Rater Error in Interviewing

Central tendency errors result in most applicants being rated as average. Leniency and strictness
errors, on the other hand, result in most applicants being given either uniformly high or uniformly
low ratings. The halo effect has the result of an applicant being seen as generally good or bad
because one characteristic of the applicant overshadows all others. Contrast effects may occur if
an average applicant is rated more highly than he or she deserves because he or she is
interviewed after several poor applicants. Stereotyping is the tendency to compare applicants
with one's stereotype of the "ideal" applicant.

Improving employment interviews.

The value of the employment interview as a selection method will increase if these guidelines are
followed:

1. A structured interview guide containing questions for applicants should be used to increase the
reliability of interviews.

2. Interviewers should be given complete job descriptions and job specifications for each job for
which they are interviewing. This tends to reduce interviewer bias because actual requirements
are spelled out in detail.

3. Interviewers should be trained in interviewing and know how to avoid errors such as talking
too much and making hasty judgments.

4. Interviewers should be trained to deal with all applicants, regardless of level of qualifications,
since the interview is also a public relations vehicle.

5. Interviewers should receive special instructions in properly and legally interviewing women
and minorities.

Psychological Tests
Main aim of testing psychological is to obtain data about the applicant that would help predicting
probable success in respective duties. Source of the benefits of psychological test is to:
a. Find best person for the job.
b. Obtain high degree of job satisfaction for the applicant.
c. Reduce labour turnover.
Such tests attempt to uncover likely behaviour with questions such as “would you agree to be
successful through luck or by hard work”?

Psychological Tests include:

a. Intelligence Tests – measure a range of mental abilities which enable a person to
succeed at variety of intellectual tasks using facilities of abstract thinking and
reasoning.
b. Ability Tests – establish what people are capable of knowing or doing. Primary it may
mean reasoning ability.

British psychological society (2007) – refers to ability tests as capacity for:

1) Verbal reasoning – ability to comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions from oral or
written information.
2) Numerical reasoning – ability to comprehend, interpret and drain conclusions from
numerical information.
3) Spatial reasoning – ability to understand and interpret spatial between objects.

2. Personality Tests - personality tests predict behaviour of individuals.

The key five personalities to be tested are:
Extraversion / introversion - Being Outgoing, assertive / reserved, inward looking.
Emotionally stable – resilient, independent, confident.
Agreeableness – courteous, cooperative
Consciousness – hardworking, perseverance, careful, openness to experience – curious,
imaginative, willingness to learn, broad

3. Aptitude Tests
Job specific tests designed to predict the potential an individual has to perform tasks within a job.
It takes a form of work sample which replicate an important aspect of the actual work.

4. Assessment Centre
A process that incorporates multiple forms of assessment. Observers rate performance on asset of
activities and make references regarding such candidate’s managerial skills and abilities.
Assessment center must be planned well and should take care of the following:
a. Competencies on other qualities to be assessed.
b. Appropriate use of an assessment centre.
c. Standards of performance to be looked at.
d. Who will be assessor?
e. Measures to be incorporated into assessment to ensure so far as practicable that results
are consistent.
f. How to give feedback etc.

Assessment centers provide opportunities for indicating the extent to which candidates match the
culture of the organization. This is indicated by observation of their behaviour in different but
typical situations and the range of the tests and structured interviews that are part of assessment
centre.

5. Bio Data
It is individual’s biographical information which is related to age, education personal history,
current and past employment questionnaires used to collect such information regarding
applicants. These aspects are weighted according to their relative importance as products of
future behaviour.
6. Use of Referees
The use of reference is to obtain the confidence factual information about prospective employer.
Referees will provide the following information:
a. Provide information that confirms allegations information regarding the candidate.
b. Provide information on character.
c. Provide candidates track record.
The main disadvantage is that referees choice is stage managed and may not give true
information about job candidates.
7. Graphology
It is a method of drawing conclusions for candidate’s handwriting about his or her personality as
a basis for making products about future performance in a role.
A trained graphologist uses a handwritten page by a candidate on unruled paper he/she will
examine size of letters, slant, within and even pressure to draw conclusions.

PLACEMENT
Placement is a process of assigning a specific job to each of the selected candidates. It involves
assigning a specific rank and responsibility to an individual. It involves matching requirements of
a job with qualification of candidate.

An employee should be placed on the job according to the requirements of the job. The job
should not be adjusted according to the qualifications or requirements of the employee. Job first;
man next, should be the principle of placement.

While introducing the job to the new employee, an effort should be made to develop a sense of
loyalty and cooperation in him so that he may realise his responsibilities better towards the job
and the organisation
It secures to:
1. Improve employees morale
2. Helps in reducing employee turnover
3. Reduces absenteeism
4. Reduces accident rules.
At times human judgment in placement may prove incorrect and follow up measures may be
required in the form of transfer, promotions and demotions.
Recruitment, selection and placement are consecutive steps in an employment programme and
they can be improved through follow up.

INDUCTION
Induction is a method by which new employee is rehabilitated into the changed surrounding and
introduced to the purposes, policies and practices of the organization, job and working
conditions, salary etc.
Induction should be done due to the following reasons:
1. When an employee joins an organization, he is a stranger to the organization and vice
versa.
He may feel insecure, shy, nervous in the strange situation. He/she may have anxiety
because of lack of adequate information about the job, work procedures, organization
policies and practices. Induction is needed so that relevant information can be provided
regarding work procedures and even other members of staff.
2. Induction serves to minimize reality shock some new employees may undergo. Some
employees come in with high:
General organizational induction training checklist
a. Safety and emerging procedures
b. Wash rooms
c. Food and drink
d. Smoking area
 e. Mission statement
- Organization Overview and Structure
- Dress codes
- Facilities and washrooms
- Absenteeism and lateness