1. State any two upcoming HR challenges.

 Organizational pressures to reduce cost of all types – financial, operations,

equipment & manpower. This pressure has increased with the growth of IT.
 Globalization & HR handling global workers - expatriates, host country
nationals & third country nationals.
Expatriate – citizen of one country, working in second country, employed by
first country
Host country national – citizen of one country, working in same country,
employed by second country
Third country national – citizen of one country, working in second country,
employed by third country
Trans-national HR has to take care of global economic (uniform wage rates
& working conditions), political & legal factors (terrorist threats & other
incidents have affected airlines, travel cost, construction, etc.).

2. State any four focus areas of difference between traditional HR and strategic
HR.
FOCUS TRADITIONAL HR STRATEGIC HR
Responsibility Staff Managers Line Managers
Emphasis Employee Relations Partnerships with Internal
& External Customers
Control Bureaucratic–rules, Organic – flexible,
policies, procedures whatever is necessary to
succeed
Time Horizon / Duration Short term Short, Medium, Long (as
reqd.)

3. Define Strategic HRM.

It is a proactive approach which takes HR activities one step further by aligning them
with the goals of other departments & overall organizational goals.

4. Detail any one challenge faced during strategic planning.

Challenge as of questn 7.

5. State four most commonly used HR Metrics used to measure effectiveness of HR

initiatives.
a) HR Metrics – measures tied to HR performance indicators. They are used to assess
HR function & results within the organization over time. Analysis & interpretation of
the data leads to improvement in human capital utilization. Some key HR Metrics:
 HR Staff & Expenses
• Absenteeism rate
• Hr to employee ratio
• HR expenses per employee
Training
Training hrs per employee

Total costs for training

% of employees participating in some program

Staffing
• No. of positions filled
• Time to fill vacancies
• Cost per hire
• Annual turnover rate
b) HR & Benchmarking / Ranking with other similar organizations
c) HR & the Balanced Scorecard
d) Measuring Human Capital effectiveness:
• Revenue per employee: If revenue increases with constant headcount,
productivity increases.
• ROI = C/(A + B)

where; C = Value of gains from productivity improvements

B = One-time cost of acquisition & implementation

A = Operating costs for a new / enhanced system

6. State any one way of measuring human capital effectiveness.

Measuring Human Capital effectiveness:
ROI = C/(A + B)
where; C = Value of gains from productivity improvements
B = One-time cost of acquisition & implementation
A = Operating costs for a new / enhanced system

7. How does Technology pose to be a challenge during strategic planning.

Technology Challenges
 Effect on Organization – reduction in costs, improvement in work process & flow
through BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) but increase in Employee Relations
issues.
  Effect on Communication – Faster communication through social networking,
intranet portals, watsapp, etc.
 Effect on Work Processes – Monitoring of work processes, employees’ actions &
performance (through video surveillance, etc.) has become easier & faster. But,
excessive monitoring can lead to distrust.
 Effect on HR Activities – Recruitment through web-based job boards, online
interviewing; Training with competitive edge through videos, podcasts, webinars,
etc.; easier career & succession planning

8. Name two methods of Job Evaluation. State at least one disadvantage of each
method.
Qualitative Method
• Ranking or Job Comparison
Simplest form, each job as a whole is compared with another and this comparison of
jobs goes on until all the jobs have been evaluated and ranked. All jobs are ranked in
the order of their importance from the simplest to the hardest or from the highest to
the lowest.
DIS-ADVANTAGES:
1. Comparisons can be problematic depending on number and complexity of jobs
2. May appear arbitrary to employees
3. Can be legally challenged
4. Unreliable

• Grading or Job Classification

A job grade is defined as a group of different jobs of similar difficulty or requiring
similar skills to perform them. Job grades are determined on the basis of information
derived from job analysis. The grades or classes are created by identifying some
common denominator such as skills, knowledge and responsibilities.
DIS-ADVANTAGES:
1. The method suffers from personal bias of the committee members.
2. It cannot deal with complex jobs which will not fit neatly into one grade.

Quantitative Method
• Point Rating
Jobs are broke down based on various identifiable factors such as skill, effort,
training, knowledge, hazards, responsibility, etc. Thereafter, points are allocated to
each of these factors. Weights are given to factors depending on their importance to
 perform the job. The sum of points gives an index of the relative significance of the
jobs that are rated.
DIS-ADVANTAGES :
1. Rater has to understand the method fully
2. Time consuming as all job factors are captured, as far as feasible.
3. Taxing & difficult for senior level jobs where the job cannot be quantified fully.

• Factor Comparison
Combination of both ranking and point methods. Instead of ranking complete jobs,
each job is ranked according to a series of factors. These factors include mental
effort, skill needed, responsibility, working conditions, etc. Pay will be assigned in
this method by comparing the weights of factors required for each job. Wages are
assigned to the job in comparison to its ranking on each job factor.
DIS-ADVANTAGES:
1. Rater has to understand the method fully
2. Time consuming as all job factors are captured, as far as feasible.
3. Taxing & difficult for senior level jobs where the job cannot be quantified fully.

9. State two reasons why MPP(Man Power Planning) is required to be done.

• Shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken
wherever required.
• All the recruitment and selection programmes are based on manpower
planning.
• It also helps to reduce the labour cost as excess staff can be identified and
thereby overstaffing can be avoided.
• It also helps to identify the available talents in a concern and accordingly
training programmes can be chalked out to develop those talents.
• It helps in growth and diversification of business. Through manpower
planning, human resources can be readily available and they can be utilized in
best manner.
• It helps the organization to realize the importance of manpower management
which ultimately helps in the stability of a concern.

10. Explain the Delphi technique of manpower forecast.

a. First, the group facilitator selects a group of experts based on the topic being
examined.
 b. Once all participants are confirmed, each member of the group is sent a
questionnaire with the instructions to comment on each topic based on their
personal opinion, experience or previous research.
c. The questionnaires are returned to the facilitator who groups the comments and
prepares copies of the information.
d. A copy of the compiled comments is sent to each participant, along with the
opportunity to comment further.
e. At the end of each comment session, all questionnaires are returned to the
facilitator who decides if another round is necessary or if the results are ready for
publishing. The questionnaire rounds can be repeated as many times as necessary
to achieve a general sense of consensus.

11. Mention any two methods of data collection for job analysis and any two methods.

Any two methods of data collection are :

 Questionnaires
 Interviews

Questionnaire: In this method, the employee is given structured questionnaire to fill in, which
are then returned to the supervisors. The supervisor, after making the required and necessary
corrections in the information contained in the questionnaire, submits the corrected
information to the job analyst. Questionnaire provides comprehensive information about the
job.
Interview:
In this method, the job analyst directly interviews the job holder through a structured interview form to
elicit information about the job. This method is found suitable particularly for jobs wherein direct
observation is not feasible. By way of directly talking to the job holder, the interviewer job analyst may
extract meaningful information from the job holder about his/her job.

12. XYZ Corporation has 1000 employees on 1st April, 2015. 27 employees join during
the financial year in different departments. The Company has 958 employees at the
 end of the financial year. What is the labour turnover Index of XYZ Corporation?
Please answer stepwise.

No. Of employees in the year beginning = 1000

No. Of employees in the year end = 958
Recruitments during the year = 27
No. Of employees leaving = (1000+27-958)
=69
Average no. Of employees employed =(1027+958)/2
= 993(approx)
Therefore, labour turnover= (69/993)*100
= 7% (approx) (ANS)

13. Name the three different phases of a Waste Analysis Curve. State one line of
introduction against each phase.

Manpower wastage is an element of labor turnover. It includes voluntary retirement,

normal exits, deaths, terminations. An absence of wastage analysis can lead to
inaccuracy in MPP / HRP.
 Three Phases in Wastage Analysis
Induction Phase – marginal employees leave
Differential Transit phase – employee learns about the organization and identifies his
role in it.
Settled connection – employee settles down.

14. Name any two methods used to analyze wastage of manpower in an organization.
METHODS in Wastage Analysis…
I. Labour Turnover Index
In the year beginning, no. of employees = 250.
In the year end, no. of employees = 230.
Recruitments during the year = 0
No. of employees leaving = (250-230)=20
Average no. of employees employed = (250+230)/2 = 240
Labor Turnover = No. of employees leaving x 100
Average no. of employees employed
= (20 / 240) x 100 = 8.33%
In case, Recruitments during the year = 5

No. of employees leaving = (250+5-230)=25

Average no. of employees employed = (255+230)/2 = 243
Labor Turnover = (25/243) x 100 = 10%

II. Stability Index indicates stable workforce % for a given period.

Stable workforce % = No. of employees with more than 1 year of service X 100
Total employed one year ago

15. Define Job Description, Job Specification, Manpower Planning, Job Evaluation,
Job Analysis
Job description is an internal document that clearly states the essential job
requirements, job duties, responsibilities, and skills required to perform a specific
role.
Job Specification is a statement of the essential components of a job class including
a summary of the work to be performed, primary duties and responsibilities, and the
minimum qualifications and requirements necessary to perform the essential
functions of the job.
Manpower planning entails getting the right number and type of personnel to do the
required tasks for the fulfilment of the goals and objectives of the organization.
 The manpower planning process is an ongoing and continuous strategy which is
undertaken through a systematic set of procedures.
Job evaluation is a systematic way of determining the value/worth of a job in
relation to other jobs in an organization. It tries to make a systematic comparison
between jobs to assess their relative worth for the purpose of establishing a rational
pay structure.
Job Analysis is a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties
and requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job. Job
Analysis is a process where judgements are made about data collected on a job.

16. Name four techniques of Job Design.

Job Simplification
This requires that jobs be broken down into their smallest units and then analyzed.
Each resulting subunit typically consists of relatively few operations. These subunits
are then assigned to workers as their total job. This is done so that employees can do
these jobs without much specialized training. Many small jobs can also be performed
simultaneously, so that the complete operation can be done more quickly. Time and
motion studies are often used for work simplification.
- Requires less training
- Less costly unskilled labour
- Increase in speed

Job Enlargement
It involves the addition to or expansion of tasks in the job. It is the strategy adopted by
many organizations to combat the ill-effects of division of labour. Its focus is on
enlarging the contents of jobs by adding tasks and responsibilities. It involves expansion
of the scope and width of the job by means of assigning certain closely related operations.
E.g. a clerk in an office doing typing work may be also assigned tasks of drafting simple
letters, sorting mail and filling of papers.
- Reduces boredom, monotony
- Increases efficiency
- Employee develops more no. of skills in a particular job

Job Enrichment
It is based on the assumption that in order to motivate personnel, the job itself must
provide opportunities for achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and
growth. It involves the vertical expansion of jobs by increasing the amount of worker
responsibilities associated with the positions. E.g. a worker who previously only loaded
boxes for delivery into a trailer may be given the responsibility of verifying that the
customer order is correct. Through job enrichment, autonomy, responsibility and control
 becomes part of a worker’s job. This leads to greater feelings of satisfaction, higher
motivation and increased productivity.

Job Rotation
This refers to the movement of an employee from one job to another over a designated
period of time. Jobs themselves are not actually changed, only the employees are rotated
among various jobs. This would relieve the employee from boredom and monotony,
improves the employee’s skills regarding various jobs and prepares the employee to meet
the contingencies. This is also intended to improve worker’s self-image and provides
personal growth. Frequent rotation of employees may cause interruptions in the work
routine of the organization.

17. Name any eight components that must be described in a JD format.

Job title

Organizational location of the job

Supervision given and received

Designation of the immediate superiors and subordinates

Primary & Secondary Responsibilities

Competencies required

Salary levels

Hours of work, shift, etc.

18. State & explain any two HR functions where a JD format is required as an input.

19. What should goals look like? State at least two parameters.
There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives.[1][3] It discussed the importance of
objectives and the difficulty of setting them.
Ideally speaking, each corporate, department, and section objective should be:

 Specific – target a specific area for improvement.

 Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
 Assignable – specify who will do it.
 Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.
 Time-related – specify when the result(s) can be achieved.

20. Name the four steps of Workload Factor Analysis.

A. Job Classification : by identifying job content & time requirement.

Technical job to be divided into different components, time requirement analysis to
be done for each component – this data is available in machine literature.
Time requirement for service jobs, query resolution, managerial jobs, etc. to be
based on past experience & benchmarking with others.

B. Forecasting the no. of jobs : based on demand projection

C. Converting the projected jobs into man hours :

Man hours for jobs = Time requirement of each job component x no. of projected
jobs

D. Converting the man hours into manpower requirement : This is done considering
fatigue allowance, leave reserve, etc.