Evaluating the Importance of Decision Making Successful decision making is one that is devoid of any ambiguity or tentativeness. Although there is a wide range of choice and alternative techniques to arrive at a decision, timely decision making is what adds value to the decision. The objective is to execute the action plan immediately to avoid delays that might prove costly in terms of productivity. Defensive behavior of managers: Managers who are the key figures to make decisions sometimes play defense to avoid action, blame or change. They exhibit a variety of defensive behaviors which is a wasted effort; this also makes the workers lethargic in their attitude. Avoiding action is considered to be the best political strategy. Some managers always talk about the rules and regulations that have been followed for ages in that company and want every action to be rigidly adhered to the precedence and neither allows nor admits the need to consider the nuances of a particular case. Policies and Procedures: Policies and procedures are of course the prerogative of the top level management, but it is the duty of the manager to suggest reforms in those policies that are obsolete by bringing it to the perusal of the ultimate authorities. How long will you sing the same song “The rules clearly state that”! Also don’t try to pass the buck or play duals, that clearly showcases your inability to handle things and nobody nowadays is prepared to believe false pretense. Expectation of Sub-Ordinates from the Superiors: Subordinates look up to their superiors for support as well as quick solutions for problems of any kind that comes their way; only a person who is quick in reacting to situations with presence of mind and consideration is well liked by and approved of. If you distance yourself from problems or try to prolong a task in lieu of your inability to make a decision, in the short run it might prove helpful in covering up making you look busy and productive. But what happens in the long run? It leads to organizational rigidity and stagnation in terms of productivity and a sag in the morale of the employees. Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking  Playing it Safe is not Always Safe: Playing safe is not always safe. Some managers always like to lead a team that has taken up viable projects with a high probability of success. There is no pain but lots of gain. This tactics makes you devoid of risk taking -which according to me is the prime and supreme quality that a manager or a team leader must possess or at least try to develop. Also taking a neutral position in #conflict situations makes you a dull leader and not a person to be much sought after. What is the result of Poor Decision Making? The first and foremost thing that managers have to understand and admit is that, poor decision making is the root cause of failed course of action. They should have the guts to admit and take up the responsibility for the negative outcome and not to seek some strategically helpless defense mechanisms. Making others a scapegoat for your helplessness doesn’t shield you for long but puts you in the defending territory forever. Ddefensiveness delays decisions, affects organizational success, sets a bad precedence, increased group conflicts, interpersonal tensions and leads to unreliable evaluations. The long and short of the discussion clearly highlights the importance of recruiting not only a qualified manager but a committed and reliable person who has the ability to take risks and tackle crisis situations with ease and steer the organization smoothly without any hitches by greasing it...

Changing Trends and Challenges in HRM The very conception of Human resource management has changed tremendously in the recent past as it has taken a new form and shape that embraces each and every activity of the organization, as every action requires human intervention. Human resource has become the most important of all the resources from the point, where it was merely one of the many resources. What has caused this great transformation? What has made firms recognise that manpower is the most important of all resources to the extent of including human resource in their accounting as assets! Evolution of HRM: A thorough analysis of the evolution of human resource management clearly indicates the exceptional quality of manpower, especially managers to tackle the very many challenges that come on their way. A manager who was merely a reporter to the top level management has now become indispensable. The laborers whether skilled or unskilled cannot be treated the way they were treated earlier, as the introduction of many labor laws support their cause. The legal framework guides the organization in terms of pay scale, bonus and increments and supports the workers in their welfare, security and safety. Globalization, Privatization and Liberalization: With the initiation of globalization, privatization and liberalization the firms are exposed to more competition and the managers have to put their think tanks to the best use in order to sustain and succeed in the market. People from various background work together in a multinational firm; their language, dress code, food habits, style of working and adaptability are quite different from one another. A human resource manager must go for a “culture” that is unique to the organization. He has to be proactive in order to safeguard the employees from a “culture shock”, by training them sufficiently before induction.   Human behavior: Management of human resources by itself is complex and it needs people with special skills. The unpredictable nature of human behavior makes the job more difficult. In the task of managing the emotions and behavior of his employees, a manager must not lose his composure at any point of time for which he has to be a balanced personality. How many of us are gifted with a balanced state of mind and especially in a crisis situation many of us scream our lungs out and blame others for our own faults. Employee Motivation: Motivating the employees to do the job and steer them in the right direction is a Himalayan task for most of the managers. For this they have to adopt a participative style of leadership that will make the employee come closer to them in terms of trust and openness and also it enhances the productivity by improving the efficiency. A relaxed mind is more efficient than one with tight cords. It thinks and acts freely and gives its best. Now a days employees are more educated and informative, so you cannot take them for granted. They are aware of their rights and privileges regarding their jobs and work environment and managers need to handle them very cautiously and intelligently when it comes to satisfying their needs, sentiments and attitude. Handling a large number of employees, allotment of employees to shifts, managing the turnover and keeping the morale high are some of the challenges that the management has to face up to. Achieving the Desired Results: The biggest challenge of any modern manager would be to show results by managing his team. Achieving targets in the specified time is a herculean task; also making people working for the firm realize and understand that unless and until their products and services are of international standards and customer satisfying,...

Managing Critical Factors of HR The prerequisite for an organization to excel in all aspects of its business activities is absolute strategic management of its HR functions.Human resource management is an extensive term that covers various aspects of personnel function. This discussion is focused on three main aspects that constitute human resource management. Personnel administration Human resource development Industrial relations Personnel administration: It can be also called as the HR module where policies and programmes are laid down by the HR department for the benefit of the human resource personnel. Employment and compensation are chiefly dealt with in personnel administration. While business firms in the corporate environment are in constant demand of man power, finding the right person for the right job is always a testing task for them. Right from job analysis to HR planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and orientation, HR department is held accountable to define and develop these operative functions. Mere acquisition and incorporation of human resource is not adequate, the organizations have to engage themselves in empowering their employees through competent training, motivation and refining their social relations. Job Assessment: Job assessment has to be done for fixing compensation that includes wages and salary administration, incentives, bonus, fringe benefits and social security measures. The shifting business environment and consumer requirements compel the organizations to restructure and re-engineer their organizational functions. These moves can be viewed as strategic responses reflecting from all domains of an organization, namely product, marketing, manufacturing etc., where people are the centre of focus. Human resource development: This is easier said than done. Firms are trying to evolve and employ various methodologies of training to enhance the performance levels to the desired standards. Performance cannot be achieved by coercion or bureaucracy, as the work force is protected by numerous enactment of labor laws enforced by various governments. Training and development is a separate entity by itself and is a continuous process that aims at the development of the organization as a whole and also facilitates employee career planning and development. Industrial relations: The following factors have to be scrutinized by the management to maintain good personal relations with the employees. Motivation Morale Job satisfaction Communication Grievance handling Discipline procedure Quality of work life Employee participation All said and done, the organizational health can be measured by checking the effectiveness of HR management through aspects like HR audit and research that aid the firms to analyze and understand the extent to which they are efficient in utilizing human resource for the benefit of their organization. The experience of a human resource manager comes in handy at situations like these, where he has to don different roles to suit the occasion. Personnel role-advisor for top management, policy maker, counselor to employees, spokesman of the company, change analyst, liaison Welfare role-researcher, catering man, motivator Clerical role-time keeping, wages and salary administration, record maintenance, human engineering Fire fighting legal role-negotiator, trouble shooter, peace maker, problem solver, grievance handling. The management employs scientific, analytical, psychological and social techniques to build the business around human resource, who are the real value additions to the...

Recruitment Process Recruitment refers to that process carried on by the company to attract suitable candidates possessing the appropriate characteristics to help the organization reach its objectives. According to Byars and Rue, “recruitment involves a pool of people from which qualified candidates for job vacancies can be chosen.” The basic purpose is to develop a group of potentially qualified people. Recruitment Policy: The policies of recruitment are derived from the personnel policies of the organization where the company has to give due importance to government reservations, quotas, policies regarding sons of the soil, personnel policies of other organizations regarding merit, internal sources, social responsibility in absorbing minority sections, women etc. Sources of Recruitment: INTERNAL SOURCES: This include 1.       Present permanent employees 2.       Present temporary/ casual employees 3.       Retrenched or retired employees 4.       Dependents of deceased, disabled, retired and present employees. Why internal source is considered to be a better choice? To motivate the present employees To improve the morale aspect “Known devils are better than unknown angels”-The credibility of the present employees are well known and they can                be judged easily  Loyalty and sense of belongingness is there on the part of current employees  The employees become highly committed when they are given a chance as they tend to shoulder more responsibility  Employees’ psychological needs, economic needs for promotion and higher income can be satisfied  Cost of selection can be minimized  Similarly cost of training, induction, orientation, period of adaptability to the organization gets reduced  Trade unions are happy  Social responsibility towards the employees are discharged  Good understanding and co-operation extended by co-workers  Stability of employment is assured EXTERNAL SOURCES: 1.       Educational and training institutes 2.       Private employment agencies/exchanges 3.       Public employment exchanges 4.       Professional associations 5.       Data banks 6.       Casual applicants 7.       Similar organizations 8.       Trade Unions 9.       Social media networking sites like Facebook and Linked in offer a huge platform for both recruiters and job seekers to find the best possible match.  Why external source is considered to be a better choice? · The suitable candidates with skill set, knowledge and talent are generally available · Latest knowledge, skill, innovations or creative talent can be infused into the organization · Candidates can be selected without any pre- conceived notions or reservations · The cost shelled out for these external sources are minimum since they are placed in minimum pay scale · Expertise, excellence and experience in other organizations can be easily brought into the organization · Human resources mix can be balanced with different background, experience, skill etc. · Existing personnel will also broaden their personality · Quality of human resource will improve in the long run by development of unique culture RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES: The management has to contact the prospective employees through various means and stimulate them for applying to the post prescribed. A. Promotions: This is a good technique to stimulate internal employees as they will be willing to shoulder more responsibilities if they are assured of promotions B. Transfer: If employees are transferred to the places of their choice, it will stimulate them C. Recommendations of the present employees: Management can contact, persuade the outsiders to apply for job in the organization through the recommendations to the candidates by the present employees, trade unions etc. D. Scouting: This is another way of recruiting where the representatives of a particular organization are sent to various sources of recruitment to motivate the prospective candidates to apply for the jobs. The representatives provide the necessary information about the company and clarify doubts of the candidates. E. Advertising: Though the popular and widely accepted way of recruitment, still it proves to be one-way communication. Newspapers, Magazines of all types, television and internet are the possible sources of advertising channels and internet marketing leads the rest. The technique of advertising should...

Motivation- Process and Theories “We can take a horse to water but cannot make it to drink”, so goes a saying. A motive is the inner drive or desire that causes a person to act. What is the importance of motivation in management? Well, I will say motivation is “the thing” and understanding human motivation is crucial in managing people. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory with 10 Free Motivational Quotes Some definitions on motivation: 1. This is a total system of study which analyses human needs, motives, drives which cause a person to act or behave in a particular manner he/she does. 2. It is the stimulation of any emotion or desire operating upon one’s will and prompting or driving it to action-Guillerman 3.”Motivation represents a satisfied need which creates a state of tension or dis-equilibrium causing the individual to move in a goal directed pattern towards restoring a state of equilibrium by satisfying the needs.”-Herzberg It has been accepted by psychologists world over that all behavior is motivated and revolves around a desire for satisfying certain needs. Motivation process:   NEEDS->DRIVES->GOALS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION:  Theories of Motivation are classified into · Content theories and · Process Theories CONTENT THEORIES: A. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs B. Herzberg two factor theory C. Theory ‘X’ and Theory ‘Y’ D. McClelland’s achievement motivation theory E. Clayton Alderfer’s ERG theory PROCESS THEORIES: A. Vroom’s expectancy model B. Porter-Lawler’s model C. Adam’s equity theory Content theories seek to determine what motivates people at work. Priorities are taken into consideration backed up by incentives or goals. Maslow Need Hierarchy Theory (1943) Abraham Maslow postulates that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy of prepotency with the physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top. He states that as each need gets satisfied the person gets motivated to reach the next higher level. As the person moves up the hierarchy, one finds that esteem needs and self-actualization are more of internal in nature and it solely depends on the individual’s drive. Basic needs -85 % Security or safety needs-70% Social needs- 50% Esteem needs-40% Self-actualization-mere 10% This is the statistics that represents the percentage ratio of satisfaction and once a need is satisfied it “CEASES TO BE A MOTIVATOR.” · PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS-Basic needs for the maintenance of body processes such as hunger, thirst, sex and sleep. When these are satisfied, the higher order needs emerge, which dominate a person’s behavior. · SAFETY NEEDS– Needs like freedom from physical harm, need for orderly life and economic security · SOCIAL NEEDS– These emerge when the basic needs are satisfied and denote love, affection and belongingness. · ESTEEM NEEDS– Needs referring to strength, achievement, adequacy and also needs which pertain to recognition, appreciation and achievement. Man values self esteem based on one’s own abilities on one hand, and recognition and reputation on the other. · NEED FOR SELF–ACTUALISTION– When all the above mentioned needs are satisfied the need for self actualization arises. This need is described as the need to become everything that one is capable of becoming. CRITICISM: · There is little empirical evidence to support this theory though it is very popular. · This theory talks only about the needs from an individual’s perspective and does not link it with organizational...