The concept of workers’ participation in management is considered as a mechanism where workers have a say in the decision-making process of an enterprise.

Read Forms of WPM

Read Essential Conditions in Successfull Working Of WPM

Definition

The concept of workers’ participation in management crystallizes the concept of Industrial democracy, and indicates an attempt on the part of an employer to build his employees into a team which work towards the realization of a common objective.

According to Davis, It is a mental and emotional involvement of a person in a group situation which encourages him to contribute to goals and share responsibilities in them.

Within the orbit of this definition, a continuum, of men management relationship can be conceived:

In this continuum, workers control represents one extreme which suggests concentrations of all powers in workers, and management supremacy represents the other extreme, which implies a zealous defense of managerial prerogatives.

Workers’ participation in management is a resounding phrase, bridging the past and the future. It echoes the millennial vision of nineteenth century thinkers while heralding the evolution of new forms of industrial organization under twentieth century pressures. The word ˜workers participation is plentifully supplied with ideas, institutions and opinions.

There are two basic ideas in the concept of workers’ participation in management:
There are two groups of people in an undertaking (managers and workers) and that there are two separate sets of functions to be performed (managerial and operative).

Managerial functions are essentially those concerned with planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling, in contrast with doing or operative work

It is also defined as a system of communication and consultation either formal or informal by which employees of an organization are kept informed about the affairs of the undertaking and through which express their opinion and contribute to management decisions.

Summary of the Definitions

1. The participation results from practices which increase the scope for employees share of influence in decision-making at different tiers of the organizational hierarchy with concomitant assumption of responsibility.

2. The participation has to be at different levels of management: (i) at the shop level, (ii) at the department level, and (iii) at the top level. The decision-making at these different levels would assume different patterns in regard to policy formulation and execution.

3. The participation incorporates the willing acceptance of responsibilities by body of workers. As they become party to the decision-making, the workers have to commit themselves to ensuring their implementation.

4. The participation is conducted through the mechanism of forums and practices which provide for association of workers representatives.

5. The broad goal of participation is to change basically the organizational aspect of production and transfer the management function entirely to the workers so that management becomes Auto management.

According to Bloom, one may classify a limited number of activities that affect the cognitive domain and involve knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This domain is the one most relevant for the mathematics and a scientific study area since it includes the recall or recognition of specific facts procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six major competence categories, which are listed in order below, starting from the simplest behavior to the most complex. These categories can also be thought of as degrees of difficulties and may be used to classify learning objects. Notice that, if a learning module tackles more of them, then the first ones must be mastered before the next ones can take place. Each competence is described by the maths skills demonstrated by it and by some keywords that are likely to appear in the learning module.

1.Knowledge - Recall a definition or a theorem, basic knowledge of e.g. rules of derivation, trigonometric equivalences, terminology and major results in a certain area. Knowledge of values of constants like e. Question Cues: list, define, tell, describe, state, match, select, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, what, etc.

2.Comprehension - Understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words. Understand a definition or a theorem and how they depend on other definitions, grasp the meaning of a certain symbolic expression, use abstract knowledge in concrete examples, derive and predict consequences of assumptions on mathematical objects e.g. given this function, describe its first and second derivative or write an algorithm to compute the greatest common divisor of two polynomials. Question Cues: summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend, give examples, give counter-example

3.Application - Use a theorem or more theorems to show properties of a mathematical object. Describe a concrete example in abstract terms. Apply a solving strategy to solve an exercise in a new domain. Questions Cues: apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover

4.Analysis - Separates definitions and axioms and from theorems. Understands logical structures of proofs and complex mathematical domains. Recognizes hidden consequences following by initial assumptions and components of mathematical objects. Ability to classify abstract structures and objects, e.g. classify a conic. Question Cues: analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer

5.Synthesis - Define a new structure from known elements and derive its properties. Generalize a theorem or prove a new theorem. Relate the results in a certain area to results in a different area. Question Cues: formulate, generalize, rewrite, combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, invent, what if?, compose

6.Evaluation - Compare and discriminate between ideas, assess value of theories, presentations and research. Be able to make hypotheses based on mathematical facts. Verify validity of mathematical claims. Judge usefulness of results. Question Cues: assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize

The Hay method of job evaluation designed for local government has a
number of key features:
• Four evaluation factors (Know-how, Problem-solving, Accountability
and Additional Work Elements) common to all jobs which allow
comparison between jobs
• The step difference principle which is the method of comparison
• The numerical scale for relating different levels of jobs
• The profile

Evaluation Factors
The Local Government HAY scheme contains 10 factors within four core
elements of every job:
• All jobs need "KNOW-HOW"
• To be used in "PROBLEM SOLVING"
• In order to carry out "ACCOUNTABILITIES"
• Some jobs may encounter “ADDITIONAL WORK ELEMENTS”

These 4 core elements are defined within HAY as follows:

1. "Know-How"
The sum of every kind of knowledge, skill and experience required for
standard acceptable performance in the job. Know-how has both breadth and
depth, i.e. the job may require some knowledge about a lot of things or a lot of
knowledge about a few things.
The score for know-how is made up of three factors:

Factor 1
Depth and range of technical know-how: The requirement for
technical/practical skills, expertise and experience however this may have
been acquired.
This factor is judged against a scale of A – H

Factor 2
Planning, Organising and Controlling is made up of:
• Complexity - how complex is the planning, organising and control
function?
• Scale - what is the nature and scale of the relevant organisational unit
(directorate, business unit, section, etc.)
• Organisation Functions – Does the job operate in one function or more
within the organisation and what is the size of this in relation to the
operation of the organisation as a whole?
• Time span - are the operations controlled by the job short, medium or long
term?
• Horizon/influence - how far in advance does planning take place and
what impact does it have?
This factor is judged against a scale of 0 - IV

Factor 3
Communication and Influencing Skills: the level of interpersonal skills
required to properly undertake the full range of duties required by the job.
This factor is judged against a scale of 1 - 3

2. "Problem Solving"
Problem Solving is the "self starting" thinking that is required by the job for
analysing, evaluating, creating, reasoning, arriving at and drawing
conclusions.

The score for problem solving is made up of two factors:

Factor 4
The Thinking Environment: the extent to which the thinking is limited or
determined by standards, precedents, instructions etc
This factor is judged against a scale of A - H

Factor 5
The Thinking Challenge: the range of situations encountered by the jobholder,
i.e. how similar or different are these? This sub-element also takes
account of the thinking involved in determining solutions.
Problem Solving measures the intensity of the mental process which employs
"Know-How" to (1) identify, (2) define, and (3) solve a problem
Everyone thinks with what they know - the raw material
This factor is judged against a scale of 1 - 5

3. "Accountability"
Accountability is the answerability for action and for the consequences of that
action - it is the measured effect of the job on the end results.

The score for accountability is made up of three factors:

Factor 6
Freedom to Act - measured by the existence or absence of personal or
procedural control and guidance
This factor is judged against a scale of A - H

Factor 7
Area of Impact – gauges how much the organisation is impacted by the job
This factor is judged against a five level scale

Factor 8
Nature of Impact (Magnitude)- looks at how directly the job affects end
results
This factor is judged against a four level scale
Area & Nature of Impact
These two dimensions are considered together and cover the impact on
resources and the degree to which the influence over end results, and the
answerability for results, is direct or indirect.

4. “Additional Work Elements”
This factor is likely to apply to a limited number of posts within the current
range of posts being evaluated. It is concerned with additional physical effort
and/or strain beyond normal working requirements or working conditions. The
factor is evaluated through consideration of two elements:

Factor 9
Physical Effort
This element is concerned with any physical effort/strain above what would
normally be incurred in the day-to-day office environment that is required to
perform the job to the required standard. This could include activities such as
lifting, bending, stretching, repeated execution of movements and working in
awkward or uncomfortable positions. The frequency of such requirements in
the achievement of the required performance of the job should be identified
and it is assumed that all health and safety requirements have been met.
This factor is judged against a scale of A - C

Factor 10
Working Conditions
This element is concerned with unfavourable environmental conditions to
which you are exposed in order to perform the job to the required standard.
This could include dust, dirt, heat, cold, fumes, steam, moisture, noise and
direct physical contact with unpleasant substances. The frequency with which
such a requirement occurs should be identified.
This factor is judged against a scale of 1 - 3

The Numerical Scale
Each of the evaluation factors is set out on a grid, with defined levels within
the factors and points scores indicating job size alongside them. The
relationship between these points scores is another distinctive feature of the
Hay Method. The numbers themselves are directly proportional to each other
in a geometric progression, e.g. 100, 115, 132, 152. This avoids the difficulty
that in an ordinary progression, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, the numbers are in a constantly
diminishing relationship to each other. The Hay scale of progression is 15%
and means that each judgment is given this constant relativity wherever it falls
on the scale.

This approach to the numerical scale helps evaluators to compare the size of
different jobs within a structure. Along with other features of the Hay Method,
it also ensures that total job scores tend to cluster, which is important for
creating grades linked to pay ranges.

The evaluators add the scores for the four factors to produce a total job score.
The overall evaluation lines produced by this process make little sense at first
glance as they are a form of language which trained and experienced
assessors become very familiar.

Once the total job score has been produced, there are also consistency
checks that need to be done to ensure the evaluation line describes the type
or shape of the role in a coherent way, and relativity checks, to ensure that the
conclusion makes sense in comparison to evaluations of other roles. Either of
these sets of checks can lead to adjustments in the evaluation.

The Step Difference Check
The HAY evaluation methodology is hierarchical and uses step differences
between the evaluation of different posts. The following information is
intended to provide a general overview and as such, is for guidance only.
One Step difference - this would suggest that the lower role is likely to be the
obvious successor to the higher role as the know-how requirement for the
roles are very similar, therefore the more junior of the two should be able to
make the step up with comparative ease.

Two Steps difference - this would be recognised as a good promotion. The
roles are clearly different in terms of their requirements but it should be
possible for the individual in the lower role to make the step up with some
support.

Three Steps difference - It would be highly unlikely that an individual would
have the expertise to perform the higher role.

The Profile Check
The Hay scheme has a facility for checking the soundness of an evaluation by
considering the shape or profile of the job. This is done by testing the
distribution of the three elements of Know-How, Problem Solving and
Accountability in the evaluation of each job to see if it makes sense, and
relates to the nature of the role (accountable line manager, adviser,
researcher etc).

WPM when expanded is ˜Workers Participation in Management. The success of workers portion in management depends upon the following conditions.

The attitude and outlook of the parties should be enlightened and impartial so that a free and frank exchange of thoughts and opinions could be possible. Where a right kind of attitude exists and proper atmosphere prevails the process of participation is greatly stimulated.

Both parties should have a genuine faith in the system and in each other and be willing to work together. The management must give the participating institution its right place in the managerial organization of the undertaking and implementing the policies of the undertaking.

The labor, on the other hand, must also whole heartedly co-operate with the management through its trade unions. The foremen and supervisory cadre must also lend their full support so that the accepted policies could be implemented without any resentment on either side.

Participation should be real. The issues related to increase in production and productivity, evaluation of costs, development of personnel, and expansion of markets should also be brought under the jurisdiction of the participating bodies. These bodies should meet frequently and their decisions should be timely implemented and strictly adhered to. Further,

1. Participation must work as complementary body to help collective bargaining, which creates conditions of work and also creates legal relations.

2. There should be a strong trade union, which has learnt the virtues of unit and self-reliance so that they may effectively take part in collective bargaining or participation.

3. A peaceful atmosphere should be there wherein there are no strikes and lock-outs, for their presence ruins the employees, harms the interest of the society, and puts the employees to financial losses.

4. Authority should be centralized through democratic management process. The participation should be at the two or at the most three levels.

5. Programs for training and education should be developed comprehensively. For this purpose, Labor is to be given education not to the head alone, not to the heart alone, not to the hands alone, but it is dedicated to the three; to make the workers think, feel and act. Labor is to be educated to enable him to think clearly, rationally and logically; to enable him to feel deeply and emotionally; and to enable him to act in a responsible way. The management at different levels also needs to be trained and oriented to give it a fresh thinking on the issues concerned.

Forms of Workers participation in management are:

1. Works Committee;
2. Joint Management Councils;
3. Joint Councils;
4. Shop Councils;
5. Unit Councils.

Work committees:

These works committees / joint committees are consultative bodies. Their functions include discussion of condition of work like lighting, ventilation, temperature, sanitation etc., and amenities like water supply for drinking purposes, provision of canteens, medical services, safe working conditions, administration of welfare funds, education and recreational activities, and encouragement of thrift and savings. It shall be the duty of the works committee to promote measures for securing and preserving amity and good relation between the employers and workmen and to comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and endeavor to reconcile any material difference of opinion in respect of such matters.

Joint Management Councils (JMCs)

A sub-committee consisting of representatives of employers, workers and government should be set up for considering the details of workers participation in management schemes. This committee should select the undertaking where workers participation in management schemes would be introduced in the first stage on an experimental basis.

Objectives: The objectives of Joint Management Councils are as follows:

1. To increase the association of employers and employee thereby promoting cordial industrial relations;
2. To improve the operational efficiency of the workers;
3. To provide welfare facilities to them;
4. To educate workers so that they are well equipped to participate in these schemes; 5. To satisfy the psychological needs of workers.

Joint Councils

The joint councils are for the whole unit and its membership remains confined to those who are actually engaged in the organization. The tenure of the joint councils is for two years. The Chief executive of the unit becomes its Chairman. Workers members of the council nominate the Vice Chairman. The joint council appoints the Secretary. The Secretary is responsible for discharging the functions of the council.

The joint councils will meet once in four months, but the periodicity of the meeting varies from unit to unit, it may be once in a month, quarter etc. The decisions taken at the joint council meetings are by his process of consensus and the management shall implement the decisions within one month. The scheme was implemented by the major units of the central and State governments. The government enlarged the functions of the councils in 1976.

Shop Councils

The shop council represents each department or a shop in an unit .Each shop council will consist of an equal number of representatives of employers and workers .The employers representatives will be nominated by the management and must consist of persons from within the unit concerned .The workers representative will be from among the workers of the department or shop concerned. The number of members of each council may be determined by the employers in consultation with the recognized union. The total number of members however, may not generally exceed twelve.

The decisions of the shop council are t be taken on the basis of consensus but not by voting .Management has to implement the decisions within one month .The tenure of the shop council is for a period of two years .Members of the shop councils meet at least once in a month .Management nominates the Chairman of the shop council whereas workers members of the council elect the Vice-chairman of the council.

The numbers of shop councils to be established in an organization are determined by the employer in consultation with the recognized trade unions/workers of the organization. The decisions of a shop council which have a bearing on another shop will be referred to joint council for consideration and approval.

Employee Involvement is defined as participative process that uses the input of employees to increase their commitment to the organization’s success. The underlying logic is that by involving workers in the decisions that effect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive and more satisfied with their jobs.

Employee involvement programs differ among countries.

For instance, a study comparing the acceptance of employee involvement programs in four countries, including the United States and India, confirmed the importance of modifying practices to reflect national culture. Specifically, while American employees readily accepted these programs, managers in India who tried to empower their employees through employee involvement programs were rated low by those employees.

In these Indian cases, employee satisfaction also decreased. These reactions are consistent with India’s power distance culture which accepts and expects differences in authority.

Examples of Employee involvement Program:

The three major forms of Employee Involvement – 1.Participative management, 2. Representative participation and 3. Quality circles.

Participative Management:
The distinct characteristics common to all participative management programs is the use of joint decision making. That is, subordinates actually share a significant degree of decision making power with their immediate superiors.

Participative management has, at times, been promoted as a panacea for poor morale and low productivity. But for it to work, the issues in which employees get involved must be relevant to their interests so they’ll be motivated, employees must have the competence and knowledge to make a useful contribution, and there must be trust and confidence between all parties involved.

It is that participation typically has only a modest influence on variable such as employee productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the use of participative management can’t be beneficial under the right conditions. What it says, however, is that the use of participation is not a sure means for improving employee performance.

Representative Participation:

Almost every country in Western Europe has some type of legislation requiring companies to practice representative participation. That is, rather participating directly in decisions; workers are represented by a small group of employees who actually participate.

Representative participation has been called ‘the most widely legislated form of employee involvement and the world. The goal of representative is to redistribute power within an organization, putting labor on a more equal footing with the interests of management and stockholders.

The two common forms which representative participation takes are a) Works Councils and b) Board representatives.

Work council groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decision involving personnel.

Board representatives are employees who sit on a company’s board of directors and represent the interests of the firm’s employees.

The overall influence of representative participation on working employees seems to be minimal. For instance, the evidence suggests that works councils are dominated by management and have little impact on employees or the organization.

Although this form of employee involvement might increase the motivation and satisfaction of the individuals who are doing the representing, there is little evidence that this trickles down to the operating employees whom they represent.

Overall, the greatest value of representative participation is symbolic. If one is interested in changing employee attitudes or in improving organizational performance, representative participation would be a poor choice.

Quality circles became popular in North America and Europe during the 1980s. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, Xerox, Procter & Gamble, IBM, Motorola, and American Airlines used quality circles. tQuality circles are defined as work groups of 8 to 10 employees and supervisors who have a shared area of responsibility and who meet regularly – typically once weeks, on company time and on company premises to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes of the problems recommend solutions, and take corrective actions.

According to Erikson, the socialization process consists of eight phases - the "eight stages of man." His eight stages of man were formulated, not through experimental work, but through wide - ranging experience in psychotherapy, including extensive experience with children and adolescents from low - as well as upper - and middle - social classes. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a "psychosocial crisis," which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. These stages are conceived in an almost architectural sense: satisfactory learning and resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent ones satisfactorily, just as the foundation of a house is essential to the first floor, which in turn must be structurally sound to support and the second story, and so on.

Eight Stages of Development:

1. Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust (Hope)
Chronologically, this is the period of infancy through the first one or two years of life. The child, well - handled, nurtured, and loved, develops trust and security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, he becomes insecure and mistrustful.

2. Learning Autonomy Versus Shame (Will)
The second psychosocial crisis, Erikson believes, occurs during early childhood, probably between about 18 months or 2 years and 3½ to 4 years of age. The "well - parented" child emerges from this stage sure of himself, elated with his new found control, and proud rather than ashamed. Autonomy is not, however, entirely synonymous with assured self - possession, initiative, and independence but, at least for children in the early part of this psychosocial crisis, includes stormy self - will, tantrums, stubbornness, and negativism. For example, one sees may 2 year olds resolutely folding their arms to prevent their mothers from holding their hands as they cross the street. Also, the sound of "NO" rings through the house or the grocery store.

3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt
Erikson believes that this third psychosocial crisis occurs during what he calls the "play age," or the later preschool years (from about 3½ to, in the United States culture, entry into formal school). During it, the healthily developing child learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow. Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in imagination.

4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence)
Erikson believes that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse, during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including some of junior high school. Here the child learns to master the more formal skills of life: (1) relating with peers according to rules (2) progressing from free play to play that may be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal teamwork, such as baseball and (3) mastering social studies, reading, arithmetic. Homework is a necessity, and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The child who, because of his successive and successful resolutions of earlier psychosocial crisis, is trusting, autonomous, and full of initiative will learn easily enough to be industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt the future. The shame - and guilt-filled child will experience defeat and inferiority.

5. Learning Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Fidelity)
During the fifth psychosocial crisis (adolescence, from about 13 or 14 to about 20) the child, now an adolescent, learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily the question of "Who am I?" But even the best - adjusted of adolescents experiences some role identity diffusion: most boys and probably most girls experiment with minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self - doubts flood the youngster, and so on.
Erikson believes that during successful early adolescence, mature time perspective is developed; the young person acquires self-certainty as opposed to self-consciousness and self-doubt. He comes to experiment with different - usually constructive - roles rather than adopting a "negative identity" (such as delinquency). He actually anticipates achievement, and achieves, rather than being "paralyzed" by feelings of inferiority or by an inadequate time perspective. In later adolescence, clear sexual identity - manhood or womanhood - is established. The adolescent seeks leadership (someone to inspire him), and gradually develops a set of ideals (socially congruent and desirable, in the case of the successful adolescent). Erikson believes that, in our culture, adolescence affords a "psychosocial moratorium," particularly for middle - and upper-class American children. They do not yet have to "play for keeps," but can experiment, trying various roles, and thus hopefully find the one most suitable for them.

6. Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation (Love)
The successful young adult, for the first time, can experience true intimacy - the sort of intimacy that makes possible good marriage or a genuine and enduring friendship.

7. Learning Generativity Versus Self-Absorption (Care)
In adulthood, the psychosocial crisis demands generativity, both in the sense of marriage and parenthood, and in the sense of working productively and creatively.

8. Integrity Versus Despair (Wisdom)
If the other seven psychosocial crisis have been successfully resolved, the mature adult develops the peak of adjustment; integrity. He trusts, he is independent and dares the new. He works hard, has found a well - defined role in life, and has developed a self-concept with which he is happy. He can be intimate without strain, guilt, regret, or lack of realism; and he is proud of what he creates - his children, his work, or his hobbies. If one or more of the earlier psychosocial crises have not been resolved, he may view himself and his life with disgust and despair.

These eight stages of man, or the psychosocial crises, are plausible and insightful descriptions of how personality develops but at present they are descriptions only. We possess at best rudimentary and tentative knowledge of just what sort of environment will result, for example, in traits of trust versus distrust, or clear personal identity versus diffusion. Helping the child through the various stages and the positive learning that should accompany them is a complex and difficult task, as any worried parent or teacher knows. Search for the best ways of accomplishing this task accounts for much of the research in the field of child development.
Socialization, then is a learning - teaching process that, when successful, results in the human organism's moving from its infant state of helpless but total egocentricity to its ideal adult state of sensible conformity coupled with independent creativity.

A Skills Matrix is one of the most simple, but highly effective, tools available to assess training needs. It is easily reviewed and updated, and presents the skills of team members in a single chart.

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A Skills Matrix will help you to:
• Review the skills and competences required for roles within the team
• Assess training needs
• Identify gaps in skills within the team
• Build commitment to the development of new skills.

Steps in preparing a Skills Matrix:

1.Identify the job roles in your team

List your team members in the left-hand column of the blank Performa. Identify up to 8 key tasks or roles that your team must fulfill to be effective and achieve its goals.

It may help to use the following tips:

• What are the main things that individuals in the team have to be able to do?”
• Refer to Job Descriptions for the team.
• Use KRA to help compile the key skills required to operate in a wide range of business areas.
• Consider new tasks and skills that may be required of your team in the near future.
• If it becomes too complicated, break the job roles down into some key areas, and create a Skills Matrix for each.

2. Coding and standards of performance

-Another option is to rate the skill level of the individuals with a coding system:
-Can complete the task
-Can complete the task to the required standard.
-Complete the task to the required standard, in the required amount of time.
-Could do all of the above and train others.

3. Assess the requirement for on-the-job training

-You are now in a position to see what requirements you have for new skills to achieve your team objectives.
-You can update training as it is completed by each individual and keep track of progress.
-The maximum number of people required to be able to complete a skill may vary, and will affect your requirement for on-the-job training.

Point to be remembered

-To avoid any unnecessary duplication of skills ,use column to show the maximum number of people requiring this skill.
-Review this number with your team regularly, and according to changing circumstances.
-To update the Skills Matrix regularly. This is a dynamic document that may change due to changes in priority, personnel, time of year.
-To incorporate a review of the matrix into monthly team meetings.
-To gain commitment to training and development by keeping the team involved in updating the matrix and assessing needs.

"Competency mapping is a process an individual uses to identify and describe competencies that are the most critical to success in a work situation or work role."

"A competency map is a list of an individual’s competencies that represent the factors most critical to success in given jobs, departments, organizations, or industries that are part of the individual’s current career plan."

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Competencies are generally defined as the grouping of behaviors that encompass personal traits, skills, attitudes, behaviors and knowledge that are expressed in observable behavior and action, as characteristics of an individual, which underlie performance or behavior at work. These are fundamental building blocks that impact an organization's business results

Competencies are based on
-Knowledge: - information accumulated in a particular area of expertise (e.g., accounting, selling, servicing, management)
-Skills: - the demonstration of expertise (e.g., the ability to make effective presentations, or to negotiate successfully)
-Motive: - recurrent thoughts driving behaviors (e.g., drive for achievement, affiliation)
-Attitude: - self-concept, values and self-image
Traits: - a general disposition to behave in certain ways (e.g., flexibility)

Types of Competencies:

The four major types which are normally evaluated as: -
-Mobilizing innovation and change: - ability to conceptualize, creativity, risk-taking, visioning.
-Managing people and tasks: - coordinating, decision-making, leadership / influencing others, managing conflict, planning, and organizing.
-Communication: - interpersonal relationships, listening to others, oral and written communication.
-Managing self: - learning new things, time management, personal strategies, problem solving.

HR Functional Role lies in:
-Identifying Competencies required by organisations
-Designing the Assessment/Development Center ( For Selection/promotion and development of managers)
-Designing scientific instruments for assessment (Psychological tests, In-Baskets etc)
-Developing Internal Assessor capabilities
-Facilitating Developmental outcomes/action plans
-Institutionalizing the process in the organisation

Objectives of Competency Mapping and Assessment:
-Creating a competency based culture in the organization.
-Identifying and building competencies of individuals as efficient and effective managers.
-To ensure that the right people are identified and placed in the right jobs & employee potential is identified, developed and utilized to the fullest extent.
-Help uplift the competencies of critical groups of managers by providing them insights into their competencies and development opportunities.

Core competencies which every effective HR professional should develop:

Business knowledge - capacity to understand competitive issues impacting the business (e.g., market, products, technology, processes) and to understand how business can create profit and value

Customer orientation - ability in viewing issues from the perspective of customers

Effective communication - the ability to provide both verbal and written information clearly, consistently, and persuasively

Credibility and integrity - to walk what you talk, act with integrity in all business transactions, and honor personal commitments

Systemic perspective - the ability to view problems and issues in the context of the bigger picture and understand the interrelationships among subcomponents

Negotiation and conflict resolution skills - the capacity to reach agreements and consensus in spite of different goals and priorities

An auditor is a person who is trained specially in HRD audit. Both the academy of HRD and TVRLS conduct certificate programs and trainer programs in HRD audit. A trainer auditor should have following knowledge, attitude and skills:

1. A thorough knowledge of various HR systems, their objectives, components, relevance to organizations at different stages, thier functioning, implementation difficulties, indicators of success, world class practices, and beenchmarks wherever applicable and available

2. Knowledge of the HR departments, their role, competencies, and HR competency models

3. Knowledge of the principles of human development and growth.

4. Knowledge of the role of line managers

5. Knowledge of various assessment techniques, methods and tools.

6. Assessment skills in terms of skills in observation, questionnaires, use of secondary data, and interviews

7. A positive attitude to audit-an attitude to view audit as an empowering tool and not a fault-finding tool

8. Communication skills in terms of presentation of the audit report verbally, or in writing using PowerPoint, etc.

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A healthy HR function in an organization is as the physical and mental well being of a human body. Typically the basic reason why organizations prefer to conduct an HR audit is to get a clear judgment about the overall status of the organization and also to find out whether certain systems put in place are yielding any results. HR audit also helps companies to figure out gaps or lapses and the reason for the same. Since every company plans certain systems and targets, an HR audit compares the plans to actual implementation.
The concept of HR audit has emerged from the practice of yearly finance and accounting audit, which is mandatory for every company, to be done by external statutory auditors.
This audit serves as an examination on a sample basis of practices and systems for identifying problems and ensuring that sound accounting principles are followed. Similarly, an HR audit serves as a means through which an organization can measures the health of its human resources functions.
Organizations undertake HR audits for many reasons:
1. To ensure effective utilization of human resources.
2. To review compliance with tons of laws and regulations.
3. To instill a sense of confidence in the human resources department that it is well managed and prepared to meet potential challenges and opportunities.
4. To maintain or enhance the organization’s reputation in a community.
An audit is a systematic process, which examines the important aspects of the function and its management, and is a means to identify strengths, weakness and areas where rectification may be warranted. An audit is done on sampling basis. And in sampling, not every instance or situation can be examined.
An HR audit can be used by an organization for multiple purposes. Some of the more common reasons are:
• To identify and address HR-related problems.
• To seek out HR-related opportunities.
• To conduct due diligence for mergers and acquisitions.
• To support initial public offerings.
How an audit is conducted is very often determined by it’s intended use. For instance the type of audit used to ascertain HR practices may be significantly different from the type of audit used to support an initial public offering. Although the areas examined may be similar, the process used and the depth of inquiry will vary from the intended outcome.
The audit process: HR audit process is conducted in different phases. Each phase is designed to build upon the preceding phase so that the organization will have a very strong overview of the HR function, at the conclusion of the audit. These phases include:

Pre-Audit information: This phase involves the acquiring and review of relevant HR manuals, handbooks, forms, reports and other information. Auditors forward a pre-audit information request to the client who compiles the necessary information for review.

Pre-Audit Self-Assessment: In order to maximize the time spent during subsequent portions of the audit, a pre-audit self- assessment form, if sent to the client can be of use.

Quality Circle (QC) is a group of workers from a shop or department who meet regularly under the leadership of foreman or section head to examine work problems that affect the quality of output, and to recommend solutions to these problems. The number of workers is usually six to eight, and membership is absolutely voluntary. The success of actual quality circle depends on the contribution that can be made by solving the particular problem. QCs have demonstrated that, in the right hands and used in the right way they can work anywhere.

Organizations must adapt to increasingly complex and uncertain technological, economic, political and cultural changes. The awareness on the part of the organization on the need to change and then putting in place the machinery and process to achieve the change is change management. The creation of a change management approach to facilitate an organization to create effective responses to these changes and, in many cases proactively influence the strategic direction of the film is a must. After all organizations are in the midst of unprecedented uncertainty and chaos and nothing short of a management revolution will save them. Three major changes are shaping change in organizations globalization, information technology and managerial innovation.
Change agent is the term for anybody whose role in some management development program, or possibly in some wider corporate context, is to facilitate change. In many of the cases it is the outside consultant who is a change agent till the change is put in place subsequent to which it is an internal person who takes over. In recent times it is argued and expected that every good manager must be a change agent

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a systematic way of storing data and information for each individual employee to aid planning, decision-making submitting of returns and reports to the external agencies. Information is needed for internal control, feedback and corrective actions and statutory compliances. In the pre-IT era HR departments used to share hardware and files with other departments use to share hardware and files with others departments. Later, companies began to develop information systems devoted exclusively to human resource applications. These systems came to be known as Human Resources Information systems. A HRIS system should be designed around a data base consisting employees and their positions records, salary review reports, and employee profiles could be use to facilitate the functions such as personnel and salary administration, leave and absence recording, skill inventory, medical history, accident monitoring, performance appraisal, training and development, manpower planning, recruitment, career planning, collective bargaining.

Personnel management represented a phase in the growth of the profession when its role was as a mere caterer of man power, taking care of the routine and maintenance aspect of manpower, involve in fire fighting, comply with welfare objectives more of a legislative compulsion rather with any concern orientation and manage the industrial relations. This was a phase in which both the internal and external customers were not assertive and the grains of computer revolution had not made much of an impact. In contrast the human resources management phase that started around the 1990s signifies a substantial change in the profile of an employee. He was found to be the most crucial element for organization’s prosperity and growth. Consequently quality recruitment, management of his performance, training and development, appropriate reward for recognition and retention were the instruments used under the movement termed as human resources management, which has now come to stay.

Paradigm means a broad model, a framework, a way of thinking or a scheme for understanding reality. The impact of internationalization, information technology, diversity, ethics and composition of manpower consisting of traditional baby boomers, emancipated genXers and techies raised on computers has laid to a paradigm shift. This means today‘s and tomorrow’s organizations and management are to adapt to new roles with different boundaries requiring new and different behavior within the organization limits for them to achieve success. Paradigm shift implies a quantum shift in just learning ,but also how we learn; not just doing things differently ,but questioning whether we should be doing many of the things which are otherwise termed as “time tested”.

McGregor’s theory X and theory Y: Douglas McGregor (1960) summarized two possible views of management in worker motivation. Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control. It states that the worker dislikes work and tries to avoid it. The function of management, therefore, is to force the employee to work, through coercion and threats of punishment. The worker prefers in most cases to be directed and wants to avoid responsibility. The main motivator for the worker, therefore, is money.

Theory Y is the humanistic/self-actualization approach to human motivation. Sometimes called the human resources model, it states that work is natural and can be a source of satisfaction, and that when it is; the worker can be highly committed and motivated. Workers often seek responsibility and need to be more fully involved with management to become motivated. Theory Y is most likely to be used when management utilizes worker participation in organizational decisions. In their book In search of Excellence, Peters and Waterman (1982) stated that one of the chief differences between American and Japanese management is that American managers tend to use Theory X and Japanese managers tend to use Theory Y. This difference may be lessening, as evidenced by the practices of the management of the General Motors Saturn plants.

In his book Theory Z, William Ouchi (1981) described the characteristics of the Japanese companies that produce high employee commitment, motivation, and productivity. Many Japanese employees are guaranteed a position for life, increasing their loyalty to the company. Careful evaluation occurs over a period of time, and the responsibility for success or failure is shared among employees and management. Most employees do not specialize in one skill area, but work at several different tasks, learning more about the company as they develop. And Japanese companies are often concerned about all aspects of their employee’s lives, on and off the job. According to Ouchi, Type Z organizations tend to have stable employment, high productivity, and high employee morale and satisfaction.

Yes, organizations need to have an exit interview system. If done professionally it gives to the organizations the reasons for an employee’s decision to exit. In an era where many of the organizations are having their back to the walls in employee retention the exit interview provides solid insight into the reasons enabling the organizations to do the necessary course correction. The exit interview consists of an intense tete-a-tete with the quit employee by his departmental superior or if not by the HR head. Also the employee leaving needs to fill up the Exit Form. The exit feedback is consolidated and researched. Once in a quarter to establish the root causes of employee turnover and ensuring appropriate plan to correct them. It has been observed that between success and failure of the exit interview system is the commitment of management to make a genuine implementation of the interview feedback and also timely implementation of the action plan on the findings.

Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS) is a tool which a reasonable estimation of the employees’ attitude towards their job is elicited. Organizations drive towards its final destination of creating highest customer satisfaction is dependent on the extent of employee satisfaction. Satisfied employees perform and the only way to find out that is through a survey. Organizations in fitness of things should conduct the employee satisfaction surveys once a year. This regularity and frequency is important since such an exercise enjoys credibility only if the areas of weakness thrown upon by the previous surveys have been acted upon. If you are not willing to act, it is better not to conduct an ESS. It is imperative that the top management involvement is a must. ESSs are normally custom-designed, using about 10 dimensions along which employee satisfaction is measured. Every employee gets a standard questionnaire of around 97 questions relating to the management, quality of supervision, communication, relationships, work environment, performance, job, recognition, quality, pay and benefits. The ESS is based on the philosophy of confidentiality and anonymity. The employee is advised not to mention the name or employment number but mention the department to which he belongs. Usually, it takes a week to 10 days to complete a company-wide survey, which has a five-point rating scale: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree and neutral. Ultimately the top three areas of weaknesses thrown up by the ESS become the basis of a yearlong HR Action Plan. ESS is like taking preventive action and is also a proactive tool, which gives to the top management a view of the organization state of health.

Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS) is a tool which a reasonable estimation of the employees’ attitude towards their job is elicited. Organizations drive towards its final destination of creating highest customer satisfaction is dependent on the extent of employee satisfaction. Satisfied employees perform and the only way to find out that is through a survey. Organizations in fitness of things should conduct the employee satisfaction surveys once a year. This regularity and frequency is important since such an exercise enjoys credibility only if the areas of weakness thrown upon by the previous surveys have been acted upon. If you are not willing to act, it is better not to conduct an ESS. It is imperative that the top management involvement is a must. ESSs are normally custom-designed, using about 10 dimensions along which employee satisfaction is measured. Every employee gets a standard questionnaire of around 97 questions relating to the management, quality of supervision, communication, relationships, work environment, performance, job, recognition, quality, pay and benefits. The ESS is based on the philosophy of confidentiality and anonymity. The employee is advised not to mention the name or employment number but mention the department to which he belongs. Usually, it takes a week to 10 days to complete a company-wide survey, which has a five-point rating scale: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree and neutral. Ultimately the top three areas of weaknesses thrown up by the ESS become the basis of a yearlong HR Action Plan. ESS is like taking preventive action and is also a proactive tool, which gives to the top management a view of the organization state of health.