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3. Maintaining Human Resources 3.1 Employee Rights and HR Communications: An overview Employer-Employee relations: Definition Employee relations are a set of human resource practices that seek to secure commitment and compliance with organizational goals and standards through the involvement of employees in decision-making and by managerial disciplinary action. Employee Relations: Covers communications, employee participation in management decisions, conflict and grievance resolution, trade unions and collective bargaining. Employee means any person of any age(beyond minors) employed by an employer to do any work for hire or reward under a contract of service; and includes a home worker, or a person intending to work; but excludes a volunteer. Employer means a person employing any employee or employees; and includes a person engaging or employing home worker. The Employment Relations Act may enlarge/restrain definition of employer and it is referred to managers and other people who act on the employer’s behalf. Employee or independent contractor Contract of service- Governs relationship between an employer and an employee. Contract for services- Governs relations between an employer and an independent contractor. Who Constitutes an Employer? • Depending on the applicable statute or provision, an employer is one who employs or uses others to do his work, or to work on his/her behalf. • Most statutes specifically include in this definition employment agencies, labor organizations and t labor-management committees. Why is it Important to Determine Whether A Worker is an Employee?

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There is not merely one definition of who constitutes an employee. The answer will vary depending on the court, the issue and the statute to be applied. The issue, however, must be determined because of the following concerns. Discrimination and Affirmative Action- Anti-discrimination statutes only protect employees from discrimination by employers. Cost Reductions. By hiring employees: 1. Employees are more expensive to employ due to the above regulations that require greater expenditures on behalf of employees, as well as the fact that others must be hired to maintain records of the employees. 2. In addition, by hiring independent contractors, the cost of overtime is eliminated (the wage and hour laws do not apply to independent contractors) and the employer is able avoid any work related expenses such as tools, training or traveling. How Do You Determine Whether a Worker is An Employee? When the following factors are satisfied, courts are more likely to find “employee” status. a. Instructions: A worker who is required to comply with other persons' instructions about when, where, and how to perform the work is ordinarily considered to be an employee. b. Training: Training a worker indicates that the employer exercises control over the means by which the result is accomplished. c. Integration: When the success or continuation of a business depends on the performance of certain services, the worker performing those services is subject to a certain amount of control by the owner of the business. d. Services Rendered Personally: If the services must be rendered personally, the employer controls both the means and results of the work. e. Hiring, Supervising and Paying Assistants

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f. Continuing Relationships g. Set Hours of Work h. Full Time Required i. Doing Work on the Employer's Premises j. Furnishing Tools and Materials k. Payment by Hour, Week, or Month l. Payment of Business and/or Traveling Expenses m. Realization of Profit or Loss n. Right to Discharge o. Right to terminate Employee Responsibilities Employees have moral obligations to: – respect the property of the corporation – abide by employment contracts, and – operate within the bounds of the company’s procedural rules. – It is legally established that an employer has a right to loyalty Contingent or Temporary Workers Contingent Workers – A person who works for an organization on something other than a permanent or full-time basis • Independent contractors • On-call workers • Temporary employees • Contract and leased employees • Part-time workers When utilizing contingent and temporary workers, the advantages and disadvantages must be considered. Although contingency or temporary workers provide a cost savings as a short term benefit, depending on their classification, they could be entitled to protection under the employment laws. WHY FORMING THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

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The employment relationship has both economic and social dimensions. Employers are willing to pay wages and salaries and provide other benefits in order to have work done and workers are willing to accept those rewards as the economic base for their lifestyles. In addition, people’s work provides them with personal identity, and the workplace offers them opportunities for social interaction. - The employment contract or employment agreement, which establishes the formal and legal relationship of employer and employee, and is subject to the requirement of legislation; The psychological contract, which embodies all our assumptions and expectations about employment in a job and organization, and is formed through the process of induction and socialization. At the heart of the employer-employee relationship is a duty of mutual respect Employer’s obligations To pay wages; To provide work; To provide a safe workplace and safe work systems; To reimburse expenses or losses; The employee’s obligations To be present at work; To obey lawful and reasonable orders; To exercise reasonable care; To work faithfully and honestly State sector employment Employees should fulfill their lawful obligations to Government with professionalism and integrity. Employees should perform their official duties honestly, faithfully, and efficiently, respecting the rights of the public and their colleagues. Employees should not bring their employer into disrepute through their private activities.

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Collective employment agreement An agreement that is binding on – - one or more unions, and - one or more employers; and - two of more employees. Law of Agency An agent is subject to his principal to act solely for the benefit of the principal in all matters connected with his agency. Specifically, the agent is also under a duty not to act or speak disloyally, and the agent is to keep confidential any information acquired by him as an employee that might damage the agent or his business. Individual employment agreement. An agreement entered into by one employer and one employee who is not bound by a collective agreement that binds the employer. Individual agreements should contain the following information: The name of the employee and employer; A description of the work to be performed by the employee; An indication of where the employee is to perform the work; An indication of the arrangements relating to the times the employee is to work; The wages or salary payable to the employee; A plain language explanation of the services available for employers and employees to resolve any employment relationship problems. Types of individual agreements:

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Fixed term agreements; Probationary appointments.

Forming the employment contract Agreement; Consideration; Intention to create a contract; Capacity; Consent; Legality. According to the Employment Relations rules, the employer must: - Provide the intending employee with a copy of the agreement; - Advise the intending employee that she or he is entitled to seek independent advice about the agreement; - Give the intending employee a reasonable opportunity to seek such advice. Implied - Hours of work; - Public Holidays; - Annual holidays; - Special leave. Employee-Employer Relations: Two types of employment relationships 1. Independent Contractor - One who contracts to perform some task for a fixed fee but is independent of the control of the other contracting party as to the means by which the contract is performed except to the extent that contract sets forth specifications and requirements to be followed. No principal-agency relationship. ADVANTAGE: Liability avoidance for the Principal. 2. Employer-Employee - One who performs work for an employer and is under the employers control both as to the work to be done and as to the manner in which it is to be done. KEY: Does the employer control the doing of the work. Employment & Employee Rights What rights do employees expect their employers to protect? – Employment at will doctrine: Employees remain employed only if both the employer and the employee want the employment relationship to continue Employment & Employee Rights -

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Exceptions to the at-will rule a. Illegal firing – Public Policy Exception • Refusal to perform illegal act • Acts performed in public interest – Jury duty – Whistle-blowing – Breach of contract • Written employment contract • Implied – Length of employment – Regular promotions – Promise of permanence – Positive reviews and/or lack of warning of poor performance • The importance of the employee handbook – Defamation • Method of firing cannot be defamatory • Loss of ‘good name’ • Impact on employment • Crime, incompetence Right to privacy A. Drug Testing – Privacy v. safety – Federal employees affecting public safety e.g. Transportation – Varying state laws B. Aids Testing – No pre-employment testing C. Information Gathering and use a. Background checks – Arrest data – Credit history – workers compensation b. Necessary Record Keeping – Job related and specific purpose – No release without consent – Right to know Employment Discrimination • Employers are restricted from discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion, region, age, gender, etc. • Disparate Impact Discrimination – Occurs when job requirements result in disproportionate work force composition – No discriminatory intent required – Burden of proof on plaintiff – Focuses on validity of hiring practices Employment Discrimination • Sexual Harassment: – Two types • Quid pro quo – Boss asks for sexual favors in return for promotion • Hostile environment – When there is no exchange sought, but the working environment is characterized by harassment – Reasonable person V. reasonable woman standard • Recovery for a sexual harassment claim does not require the plaintiff to prove that she suffered damage to her psychological well-being • Vicarious Liability - Employer held liable for conduct of employee

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Employment Discrimination • Affirmative Action: – Applicable to federal contractors – Incentives – Employment goals and timetables – compensatory justice – Problems • Reverse discrimination • Poor implementation ( quota system) • Biased towards large corporations • Diversity -An alternative – Demography or ethnicity driven – Advantages of diversity (The Federal Civil Servants Proclamation (No. 515/2007) prohibits discrimination.) Management Concerns • Job Descriptions An employer should: •create a written job description for the position to be filled; and •determine what qualifications are required of the person filling the position. Factors used in considering whether a duty is “essential” include: •whether the position exists to perform the function •whether the function is one that a limited number of employees can perform •whether the function is so highly specialized that the person performing it must have particular expertise or ability to perform the function Management Concerns Job Qualifications In addition to creating written job descriptions, an employer should determine what qualifications are required of the person filling the position. This should be done before the employer begins accepting applications or resumes. Qualifications might include considerations such as: •education •skills •experience •necessary licenses •specialized training Employment-at-will Principle The freedom of the employee to quit, the freedom of the employer to fire, and the right of the employer to order the employee to do his bidding define the essence of the employment contract. Employee Disobedience  An employee’s job is protected under common law if an employee disobeys an employer on the grounds that the employer ordered him to do something illegal or immoral.  Bill of Rights • Employees may be protected against government infringements of the Bill of Rights, but they are not protected against corporate infringement of these rights. • Why? – Inefficient ⇒ breakdown in discipline Employee Rights • Due Process – means by which a person can appeal a decision in order to get an explanation of that action and an opportunity to argue against it. • Procedural Due Process – the right to a hearing, trial, grievance procedure, or appeal when a decision is made concerning oneself. • Employment-at-will Justifications: – Proprietary rights of employers – Defends employee and employer rights equally – An employee voluntarily commits to certain responsibilities and loyalty – Due process rights interferes with efficiency and productivity

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– Legislation and regulation of employment relationships undermine the economy. Problems: – Analogous to considering employees as a piece of property – Arbitrary treatment of employees extends prerogatives to mangers that are not equally available to employees – If there is an expectation of employee loyalty, this should be reciprocated • The institution of due process in the workplace is a moral requirement consistent with rationality and consistency expected in management decision-making. • The Fairness of the Contract at Will – Freedom of contract is an aspect of individual liberty. – The individual parties have better information about their preferences – The contract is sought by both parties – Rules out the use of force or fraud • The Utility of the Contract at Will – The issue is how to maximize the gain form the relationship, which is dependent upon minimizing employee and employer abuse • Monitoring Behavior • Reputational Losses • Risk Diversification and Imperfect Information • istrative Costs • Distributional Concerns – Those who tend to slack off seem to be most vulnerable to dismissal under the at-will rule Is an Employer Morally Entitled to Loyalty? • The duty of loyalty is a prima facie duty • When a corporation is engaged in activity that is seriously wrong, employees may have a higher obligation to be disloyal to their employer and blow the whistle. Whistleblowing There are two sides: – Those who view them as civic heroes, and – Those who view them as finks Whistleblowing: “persons who sound an alarm from within the very organization in which they work, aiming to spotlight neglect or abuses that threaten the public interest • Whistleblowing and its effect on trust – They try to portray themselves as acting on behalf of an interest higher then their own – the public interest. – Believe that there is a substantial audience who will attend to their disclosures – They are leveling an accusation of neglect or abuse at particular persons within the corporation. • The end, not the group per se, commands group ’ loyalty. •

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The wrongness in whistleblowing is found in acting to destroy workplace atmosphere if and when this destruction could have been avoided.

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Responsibilities of the Firm Provide a forum for free and open discussion Examine the tasks they impose on employees Grant employees access to information about company practices Critically examine their actions • Responsibilities of the Whistleblower – Must be willing to come forward and be identified – Critically examine the position they are being asked to assume – Seek out and consider the implications of available information – Critically examine their actions Managers are required to consider all activities to ensure that employees are treated fairly. The laws regulating employee’s rights relate to the following areas of employment. – Fair Labor Standards - prohibits child labor, sets a minimum wage and maximum working hours. – – – –

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Equal Pay - men and women doing equal work will get equal pay. Work Place Safety - mandates procedures for safe working conditions. Unionization- Unions represent worker’s interests in organizations any employee has the right to form and/or to be a member Job Description- receive a written job description for the position to be filled or task to perform

(Refer Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 515/2006 and Labor (Amendment) Proclamation NO. 377/2003, ex. Labor Proclamation No. 42/1993) The Ethiopian Case: Labor rights in the Constitution The Constitution of Ethiopia contains a full chapter (Chapter 3) on fundamental rights and freedoms. The fundamental rights have been grouped under the headings, “Human Rights” and “Democratic Rights”. The Constitution guarantees rights and freedoms, inter alia equality before the law, equal protection under the law, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, belief and opinion, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of person, freedom against jeopardy and ex post facto laws, the right to property. Labor rights in the Constitution The Constitution of Ethiopia contains a full chapter (Chapter 3) on fundamental rights and freedoms. The fundamental rights have been grouped under the headings, “Human Rights” and “Democratic Rights”. The Constitution guarantees rights and freedoms, inter alia equality before the law, equal protection under the law, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, belief and opinion, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of person, freedom against jeopardy and ex post facto laws, the right to property. • Among these fundamental rights, a whole range of general principles of labor rights are firmly anchored in the constitution. The constitution provides four principles such as the right of the security of the person (Article 16 of the Constitution), the prohibition against inhuman treatment and the abolishment of slavery and servitude (Article 18 (2)) and forced and compulsory labor (Article 18 (3) and (4) of the Constitution). • General Freedom of Association is laid down in the Constitution (Article 31, “for any cause or purpose”), and specified in Article 42, “Rights of Labor”, which reads: “Factory and service sector employees, peasants, agricultural workers, other rural workers, government employees below a certain level of responsibility and the nature of whose employment so requires, shall have the right to form associations for the purpose of improving their economic and employment conditions. This right shall include the right to form trade union and other associations, and to negotiate with their employers and other organizations affecting their interests”. The Right to Strike is explicitly mentioned in Article 42 (1) b) of the Constitution. This article, in its paragraph 2, also lays down the right to reasonable limitation of working hours, to rest, to paid leave and to healthy and safe working environment. • Article 35 of the Constitution deals with the rights of women, such as equality with men (Article 35(1)), in particular in employment, promotion, pay and the transfer of pension entitlements (Article 35(7), and 42 (1) d)). The Constitution grants the right to maternity leave with full pay, as well as prenatal leave with full pay, in accordance with the provisions of the law (Article 35(4) a) and b)). • Pursuant to Article 36 on the rights of children, “every child has the right not to be subject to exploitative practices, neither to be required not permitted to perform work which may be hazardous or harmful to his or her education, health or well-being”. Employee Rights: The new Labor Law Labor Proclamation 377/2003 amends the previous Labor Proclamation on the following points: • It defines “managerial employees” in Article 3 (2) c); • It introduces an obligation of employers to maintain records; • It tightens the legal procedure by setting several new deadlines; • It introduces a clear ban for compulsory HIV/AIDS testing (Article 14 (2) d); • It strengthens the workers' position in case of termination (Article 27 (2) and (3); • It clarifies regulations on severance pay and compensation, disablement payment and dependants benefits (Arts. 39, 40, 109, 110); • It creates the full guarantee of freedom of association by abolishing trade union monopoly (Article 114), provided that the number of of the union is not less than ten; • It recommends regulations on trade union property to be included into the constitution of workers' organizations (Article 117 (12) (new)); • It clarifies the cancellation of a union to be effective only after a court decision (new Article 120 (1)); • It introduces a simpler system of collective bargaining and labor dispute settlement, with specified time limits to speed up the resolution of conflict (Articles 130 (2), 142 (3), 143 and 151);

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It intends to improve the efficiency of the Labor Relation Boards (Articles 145, 1474 (4), 149 (6), 150, 153 and 154); • It restricts the definition of “essential services” (Article 136 (2)), excluding railway and inter-urban bus services, filling stations and banks, thereby entitling workers or employers of these undertakings to the right to strike or lockout. Other sources of labor regulation • The major sources of labor law are federal regulations, above all the new Labor Proclamation No. 377/2003, some collective agreements, work statutes and some government's ordinances, for instance in the field of occupational Safety and Health regulations. However, as Article 3 (2) of the Labour Proclamation excludes certain groups of workers from the application of the Proclamation, the following Acts may be considered, too: • The Civil Code (Civil Code Proclamation, No. 165/1960), title XVI, “Contracts for the Performance of Services”, specifically Articles 2515 to 2639, which contain regulations on general employment contracts, specific forms of employment, such as for domestic servants living in, ed alter, and wage regulations; • Proclamation No. 260/1984 and the regulations issued by the Ministry of Education for the employees of public schools, as amended by Proclamation No. 217/2000 . • The Central Personnel Agency and Public Servants Order of 1961 (as amended by Order No. 28/1962) and the Public Service Regulations No. 1/1962 (contemporarily under review), which apply to all public servants and state employees. Contract of employment Permanent and fixed-term contracts of employment • As a rule, the contract of employment is concluded for an unlimited period (Article 9, Labor Proclamation, No. 377/2003),1 except for those listed under Article 10 that allows certain contracts for a definite period of time or a definite piece of work. • The duration of a fixed-term contract must be set according to objective conditions such as a specific end date, the completion of a specific task, or the occurrence of a specific event. It must also in principle be based on the justification, which are specified under Article 10 (1) to (7), which comprises among others motives like the temporary replacement of a permanent worker, urgent and abnormal pressure of work, or seasonal work. • If the employee wants to claim the ineffectiveness of a limitation, he or she must take legal action within three weeks after the agreed ending of the employment contract. An employee who is employed for a fixedterm must be given treatment equal to that given to full-time employees employed to do similar work (Articles 4 (2) and 3 (2)). • Any contract of employment shall meet the requirements of Article 4 (1) to (5), namely it shall be clear, specifying the type of employment, the rate of payment and the duration of the contract. The contract shall not lay down less favorable conditions for the employee than those provided by law, collective agreements or work rules. • There is no specific form requirement, but where the contract of employment is not made in a written form, the employer shall issue a written contract within fifteen days (Article 7(1)). Special Contracts of employment • Home Work Contract Article 46 defines the home work contract, and entitles the Minister to give further directives. These directives are not yet proclaimed and in force. • Contract of Apprenticeship Contracts of apprenticeship, or vocational training, which primarily intend to train young people in a profession, are considered as special contracts of employment. Articles 46 to 51 of the Proclamation not only define the nature of these contracts, but poses a special obligation on the parties related to the nature of this contract, and specifies the grounds for termination. Contracts beyond the scope of Application of the Labor Proclamation • Under Article 3 (1), the Labor Proclamation is applicable to employment relations based on a contract of employment that exists between a worker and an employer. • However, notwithstanding this general definition, Article 3 (2) of the Labor Proclamation excludes certain special groups from the application of the Proclamation, in particular: • contracts for the purpose of upbringing, treatment, care or rehabilitation; • contracts for the purpose of educating or training other than as apprentice;

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contracts relating to persons holding managerial posts who are directly engaged in major managerial functions of an undertaking (...); • contracts of personal service for non-profit making purpose; • contracts relating to persons such as of the Armed Force, of the Police Force, employees of state istration, judges of courts of law, prosecutors and others whose employment relationship is governed by special laws; • contracts relating to a person who performs an act in consideration of payments at his own business or trade risk or professional responsibility under a contract of service. • The Council of Ministers is also given power to determine the applicability of this legislation to workers employed in foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations within the territory of Ethiopia as well as those employed in religious and charitable organizations (Article 3 (3)). Probation When concluding a contract of employment the parties may agree on a probationary period for the purpose of evaluating his or her suitability to the job (Article 11 (1)). Such an agreement needs to be done in writing and shall not exceed forty-five consecutive days (Article 11(3)). During this period, the employee enjoys the same rights and obligations that the other workers have (as defined in Articles 12 to 14), but termination is possible without notice, if he or she fails to meet the requirements (Article 11 (6)). Severance pay or compensation is not to be paid (Article 11(5)). Suspension of the contract of employment • The temporary suspension of a contract of employment is regulated under Articles 17 to 21 of the Labor Proclamation. During Suspension the mutual duties under the contract of employment are suspended, so that the employee does not have to work and the employer is not obliged to pay wages, allowances and other benefits (Article 17 (2)). Article 18 defines the following grounds for suspension: • leave without pay on request of the worker; • leave of absence for the purpose of holding office in trade unions or other social services; • detention for a period not exceeding thirty days (provided that the employer is notified); • national call; • “force majeure” for a period of not less than 10 consecutive days; and • financial problems that require the suspension of the employers' activities for not less then 10 consecutive days. • In the latter two cases of suspension the Ministry has to be informed in writing about the ground of the suspension (Article 19). Articles 20 and 21 then describe the procedure of confirmation by the Ministry. When the Ministry is convinced that the employer cannot resume its activities within the maximum period of suspension of 90 days, the worker shall be entitled to severance pay (Articles 21 (2), 39 and 44). Termination of the contract of employment Grounds for termination and notice • Generally any contract of employment might be terminated by both parties, and in accordance with the provisions of the law or a collective agreement. Article 23 (2) states clearly that the transfer of ownership of an undertaking does not have a terminating effect. • The contract of employment can be terminated on the following grounds: • on expiration of the agreed period of employment (Article 24 (1)); • by death of the worker (Article 24 (2)); • on retirement of the worker (Article 24 (3)); • by the insolvency of the employer; completion of the specified task (Article 24 (4)); • by the impossibility of performance, where the worker becomes partially or permanently unable to perform his or her obligations in of the contract (Article 24 (5)); and • by mutual agreement (Article 25). • Termination at the initiative of the employee • Generally a worker can terminate the contract of employment giving prior notice of fifteen days (Art. 31). Under Art. 32, 1 good causes for termination without notice from the side of the worker are: • criminal assault from the side of the employer against him or her; • if the employer has repeatedly failed to fulfill his basic obligations. • The worker shall give his reasons for the termination in writing (Art. 32, 2). Termination at the initiative of the employer The contract of employment may not be terminated in the absence of a justified reason.

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Article 26 of the Labor Proclamation expressly recognizes the following grounds for termination of the employment contract: • misconduct on the part of the employee; • the employee's poor work performance and/or incapacity; • the operational or organizational requirements of the undertaking. The following grounds do not constitute legitimate grounds for termination and make any dismissal unfair (Article 26 (2)): • hip in a trade union or participation in its lawful activities; • seeking or holding office as a workers representative; • submission of grievance or the participation in proceedings against the employer; • his or her nationality, sex religion, political outlook, marital status, race, color, family responsibilities, pregnancy, lineage or social status. Notice of dismissal The limited grounds for termination without notice are defined in Article 27 (1) a) to k): • repeated and unjustified tardiness despite warning to that effect; • absence from work without good cause; • deceitful or fraudulent conduct; • misappropriation of the property or fund of the employer; • returning output which, despite the potential of the worker, is persistently below the quality stipulated; • responsibility for brawls or quarrels at the work place; • conviction for an offence where such conviction renders him or her unsuitable for the post; • responsibility for causing damage intentionally or through gross negligence; • commission of any of the unlawful activities defined in Article 14, such as reporting for work in a state of intoxication, refusal to be medically examined (except for HIV/AIDS test) or to observe Occupation Safety and Health prevention rules; • absence from work due to a sentence of imprisonment for more than 30 days; • offences stipulated in a collective agreement as grounds for termination without notice. • The new text of the Labor proclamation adds that in these cases, the employer must give written notice specifying the reasons for and the date of termination. Severance pay and compensation • Under Articles 36 to 41 any case of termination provokes payment obligations, such as wages, severance pay and – in the case of Article 32 (1) (the employee's poor work performance and/or incapacity) – an additional compensation which shall be thirty times his or her daily wages of the last week of service, for the first year of work. • If the worker has served for more than one year, payment shall be increased by one-third of the previous sum for every additional year of service, within the limit of a total amount of twelve months wages. Remedies in case of unjustified dismissal • A worker who intends to challenge the validity of his or her termination must file a submission before a regional first instance court, where a specialized labor division shall be set up (Articles 137 and 138 (1) b). (It should be mentioned at this stage that due to a severe shortage of educated legal personnel, these specialized labor divisions do not exist in every case.) • If the termination proves to be unlawful, the proclamation gives the choice of remedies. The court may: • Order the employer to reinstate the employee from any date not earlier than the date of dismissal. • Order the employer to pay compensation to the employee. • The primary remedy in respect of an unlawful termination is to order reinstatement or re-employment (Article 43 (1) and (2)). In the event that the employee does not wish to be reinstated or re-employed or the circumstances are such that a continued employment would be either intolerable or no longer reasonably practical and would give rise to serious difficulties, the court may award compensation rather than reinstatement/re-employment, even in cases the worker wishes to be reinstated (Article 43 (3)). • The compensation will be paid in addition to the severance pay referred to in Articles 39 to 40. There are certain limits on compensation. The compensation will be hundred and eighty times the average daily wages and a sum equal to the remuneration for the appropriate notice period in the case of an unlawful termination of an unlimited contract (Article 43 (4) a)), and a sum equal to the wages that the worker would have obtained until the lawful end of his contract (Article 43 (4) b)). Working time Hours of work

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Normal working hours are 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week (Article 61). They should be distributed evenly, but may be even calculated over a longer period of time (Articles 63 and 64). • Workers are entitled to a weekly rest period of 24 non-interrupted hours in a period of 7 days. Unless otherwise stated in a collective agreement, the weekly rest should be on Sunday, but another day may be chosen for certain services (Article 70). Overtime • Any work exceeding the normal working time of 48 hours a week is overtime. Overtime is only permissible for up to 2 hours a day, or 20 hours a month, or 100 hours a year, in the following cases (Article 67): • Accident, actual or threatened • Force-majeure • Urgent work • Substitution of absent workers assigned on work that runs continuously without interruption • The proclamation defines the overtime payment in Article 68 (1). The overtime payment ranges from a rate of one and one quarter (1 ¼) of the ordinary hourly rate (from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) to two and one half (2 ½) on public holidays. Employee rights Night work • Pursuant to Article 68 (1) b), night work is work realized between 10 PM and 6 AM. • The worker is entitled to a rate of one and a half of the ordinary hourly wage. Paid leave • Annual, uninterrupted leave with pay shall be a minimum of 14 working days, plus one working day for every additional year of service (Article 77). Additional leave is granted for employees engaged in particularly hazardous or unhealthy work. It is forbidden to pay wages in lieu of the annual leave (Article 76). Public holidays • Ethiopia has twelve public holidays – historical memorial days and holidays of Christian and Moslem origin - described by law. • These days are: 7 January (Orthodox Christmas Day), 19 January (Timket), Eid-ul-Adha, 2 March (Battle of Adowa), Orthodox Easter Monday, Coptic Good Friday, Mulud, 5 May (Patriots Day), 28 May (National Day), 11 September (Ethiopian New Year/Coptic New Year), 27 September (Finding of the True Cross), end of Ramadan. • Under Articles 73 to 75, public holidays are paid. A worker who is paid on a monthly basis will not be subjected to a reduction in wages for not working on a public holiday. An employee who works on a public holiday is entitled to the double of his or her ordinary hourly wages. Maternity leave and maternity protection • Ethiopian Labor Proclamation provides one part (Part Six) to the Working Conditions of Women and Young Workers. Maternity leave and maternity protection are regulated in Articles 87 and 88. • There are provisions around the nature of work that a pregnant employee is not permitted to perform where it could be hazardous to her or the child's health (Article 87 (2) to (6)). Night work is generally prohibited, nor shall she be assigned to overtime-work. Moreover she shall not be given an assignment outside her permanent place of work and be granted time off for medical examinations (Article 88 (1)). • Employees are entitled to maternity leave, which is to start from 30 days prior to due date of birth, and end not less than 60 days after birth of the child. Maternity leave is classified as paid leave (Article 88 (3) to (4). • A nursing employee does not enjoy special legal protection. Other leave entitlements • Articles 85 to 86 provide for an entitlement to sick leave after the completion of the probation period. An employee is entitled to a maximum of 6 months of sick leave within 1 year of service. An employer will only be obligated to grant paid sick leave for the first months, whereas the wage is reduced to 50 % for the second and third month, and reduced to zero for the third to the sixth month of sick leave within a year. For any absence for longer than one day the employee has the obligation to produce a valid medical certificate. • Moreover, Article 81 to 84 of the Proclamation provide for special leave for family events, union activities and other special purposes, such as for hearings before bodies competent to hear labor disputes, to exercise civil rights, and for training purposes according to collective agreements or working rules. Minimum age and protection of young workers

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Under Article 89 of the Labor Proclamation the statutory minimum age for young workers is 14 years. Beyond the age of 14 years, no person may employ a child for work that is inappropriate or that endangers his or her life or health (Article 89 (2) and (3)). Special measures of protection of young workers (e.g. work in transport, night work, work in arduous, hazardous or unhealthy activities, such as mining) may be taken by the Minister. Work performed under the regime of a vocational training course is exempted from this protection (Article 89 (5)). As shown above, the Ethiopian Constitution gives children general protection from exploitative labor practices – Article 36 – Rights of Children. Ethiopia ratified the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 (No. 182), in September 2003.

• Equality • The Constitution guarantees the right to equality in employment, promotion, pay and the transfer of pension entitlement (Article 35 (8) of the Constitution). • The Labour Proclamation in its Article 14 (Unlawful Activities) penalizes any discrimination against female workers in matters of remuneration, on the ground of sex (Article 14 (1) b)) and contains a general provision of anti-discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, political outlook “or any other condition” (Article 14 (1) f)). • Even though the Constitution recognizes the given historical disparities, an obligation on certain employers to implement affirmative action measures to advance women participation is not imposed. The world of work is still far from substantive equality. Pay issues • Ethiopian law does not prescribe minimum wages through statute. Usually wages are fixed by the employer or by collective agreements or by the employee's contract of employment. • Articles 53 and 54 of the Proclamation define “Wages” as the regular payment to which the worker is entitled in return for the performance of the work that he performs under a contract of employment. Overtime pay, allowances, bonuses, etc are not considered as “wages”. The Proclamation establishes the principle that wage is only paid for work done, except in cases, when the source of the impossibility to work was in the sphere of the employer (i.e. non supply of working material). • Under Article 162 (2), claims for payment of wages, overtime and other payments shall be barred after six months from the date they became due. In case of bankruptcy of the employer, wages enjoy priority. If an insolvency proceeding has been opened over the employer's assets, the employees' claims of wages are treated with priority over other payments or debts in accordance with Article 167 of the Labor Proclamation and Article 1025 of the Commercial Code, Proclamation No. 166/1966. Workers' representation in the enterprise • At the workplace level, workers may be represented by trade union delegates. • Trade union regulation • Trade union structure under national law • The Constitution recognizes the right to freedom of association, the right to form and a trade union and the right to participate in trade union activities. • Part 8, chapter 1 of the Ethiopian Labour Proclamation stipulates the right of both workers and employers to form organizations of their own and to participate in them. • Article 113 (2) lays down the trade union structure: There are trade unions (formed by workers), employer's associations, federations (organization established by more than one trade unions or employers' associations) and confederations (established by more than one trade union federations or employer federation). • The Proclamation foresees to form federations and confederations and the right to international organizations (Articles 114 (5) and (6)). Collective Bargaining and Agreements • The Ethiopian Labor Proclamation states that one of its central objectives is to promote collective bargaining as a means of maintaining industrial peace and of working in the spirit of harmony and cooperation towards the all-round development of the country. • Collective agreements apply to all parties covered (Article 134(1)) and where their provisions are more favorable to the workers than those provided by law (Article 134 (2)). The collective agreement remains in force even after a trade union, which is party to the agreement, is dissolved. Under Article 133 (3), the duration of an agreement is fixed at three years unless expressly stipulated otherwise. Labor Strikes

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Proclamation specifically excludes from Chapter Five one class of workers, who consequently do not have the right to strike. These are workers who are engaged in “essential public service undertakings”. These services are defined in section 136 (3) to include: • air transport • undertakings supplying electric power • undertakings supplying water and carrying out city cleaning and sanitation services • urban bus services • hospitals, clinics, dispensaries and pharmacies • fire brigade services and • telecommunication services. Unlawful strikes and lock-outs • Article 160 (1) prohibits a strike or lock-out initiated after a dispute has been referred to the Board or to the court and the prescribed 30 days period for decision has not elapsed. It is also unlawful to refuse to obey, or to start or continue to strike or to lock-out against the final order or decision of the Board or the court. However, a strike or lock-out, which is not in conflict with such decision, and which was initiated to seek compliance with this decision, is not unlawful (Article 160 (2)). • Pursuant to Article 160 (3), it is prohibited to use violence or threats of physical force together with a strike or lock-out. Settlement of individual labor disputes Labor Disputes are generally regulated in part nine of the Ethiopian Labor Proclamation. Individual disputes fall under the jurisdiction of labor divisions at the ordinary courts, established “as may be necessary” at each regional first instance court (Article 137(1)). Article 138(1) lists the following individual labor disputes as examples: • disciplinary measures including dismissal; • claims related to the termination or cancellation of employment contracts; • questions related to hours of work, remuneration, leave and rest day; • questions related to the issuance of certificate of employment; • claims related to employment injury; • unless otherwise provided for in this Proclamation, any criminal and petty offences under this Proclamation. • The decision is to be taken within 60 days. Appeal lies with the labor division of the regional court. The jurisdiction of the labor division of the regional court is defined in Article 139. The decision of the Court in matters of appeal is final (Article 140 (2)). The general court procedure follows the Civil Procedure, laid down in the Civil Procedure Code Decree, No.3/1965. HR Communication What is Communication? The transmission of information and understanding with common symbols is termed as communication. Communication is the exchange of information between people; it occurs when one person understands the meaning of a message sent by another person, and responds to it. Two forms of information are sent and received in communications: facts and feelings. Facts are pieces of information that can be objectively measured or described. Examples are the cost of a computer, the daily defect rate in a manufacturing plant, and the size of the deductible payment of the company-sponsored health insurance policy. Feelings are employees' emotional responses to the decisions made or actions taken by managers or other employees. Organizations need to design communication channels that allow employees to communicate facts and feelings about specific aspects of their jobs. Communication is the process of transferring information from one source to another, imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs. Communication is a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur. Communication makes possible our relationships, friendships, work and family closeness. Yet mastering communication requires continuous use and practice to maintain the skill.

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Employee Communication Good communications are essential within a business if it is to prosper. In any business, the communication of information is an essential part of three key business activities: (1) Management decision-making (without relevant, timely and accurate information, decision-making at any level becomes quite tricky!) (2) Co-ordination of departments, teams and groups - e.g. making sure that marketing, production and istration know what each other is doing, when and why (3) Motivation of individuals Examples of communication To illustrate the all-pervasive nature of communication, consider the following list of communication examples: - Exchanging ideas - Announcing investment plans - Producing a report with the monthly management s comparing actual results against budget - Giving instructions to the production and purchasing departments about the new product plans for next year - Delivering a presentation to the marketing department following the results of some quantitative, primary market research - Announcing the annual trading results and future strategy to company investors and analysts Directions of communication in a business Communication flows in three main directions in a business: (1) Vertical Communication E.g. Communication may be from managers to sub-ordinates; from shop floor workers to supervisors; from the Chief Executive to all other management and employees. Vertical communication flows are mainly used for reporting information (e.g. results, plans) and obtaining (e.g. an employee survey summarized for the Board of Directors (2) Horizontal Communication This is between people of the same "level" in a business - usually in the same department, but sometimes communication between departments. This is sometimes known as "peer communication". It is normally used to coordinate work. E.g. sales managers for different regions circulate details of potential customers to each other and allocate based on the customer location; or ing staff in different departments share information to help prepare the annual budget on a consistent basis. (3) Diagonal Communication Less common; this involves interdepartmental communication by people at different levels. A good example would be a project team drawn from different grades and departments. Differences between Information and Communication Communication Perception Interpersonal Pattern or Combination

Information Logic Impersonal Specific or individual

Communication Issues – Encoding of messages can be done verbally or non-verbally • Verbal: spoken or written communication. • Nonverbal: facial gestures, body language, dress. – Sender and receiver communicate based on their perception. • Subjective perception can lead to biases and stereotypes that hurt communication. • Effective Managers avoid communicating based on a pre-set belief. Dangers of Ineffective Communication – Managers spend most of their time communicating so both they and the subordinates must be effective communicators. To be effective: – Select an appropriate medium for each message. – There is no one “best” medium. • Consider information richness: the amount of information a medium can carry. – Medium with high richness can carry much information to aid understanding. • Is there a need for a paper/electronic trail to provide documentation?

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Management Concerns Communication: An employer must exercise reasonable care in hiring applicants who may, as a result of their employment and the employer's negligent failure to obtain more complete information, pose a risk to others. Communication is critical for: • Employee motivation (employee need to share visions, also generate the shared visions); ineffective communication lead to high staff turnover and rope in quality and quantity of work. • Managing organizational change, downsizing, restructuring, etc. • Maintain a casual atmosphere where casual conversation is allowed (leads to creativity and satisfaction) • New management models where employees are empowered and work in teams, information is empowering The Communication Process Communication, a continuous process, is the exchange of information and meaning between people. It occurs when one person understands and responds to the meaning of a message sent by someone else. The communication process includes five main components: the information source, the signal, the transmission, the destination or receiver, and the noise. Communication starts with a sender who has a message to send to the receiver. The sender must encode the message and select a communication channel that will deliver it to the receiver. In communicating facts, the message may be encoded with words, numbers, or digital symbols; in communicating feelings, it may be encoded as body language or tone of voice. Communications that provide for are called two-way communications because they allow the sender and receiver to interact with each other. Communications that provide no opportunity for are one-way. Noise means barriers to effective Communication. Potential barriers include: ambiguous, muddled messages; semantics; physical barriers; loss of transmission; failing to communicate; competition barriers; cultural, linguistic, and diversity barriers; and not listening. The process of communication involves: – Messages are transmitted over a medium to a receiver. • Medium: pathway the message is transmitted on (phone, letter). • Receiver: person getting the message. – Receiver next decodes the message. • Decoding allows the receiver to understand the message. • This is a critical point, can lead to mis-understanding. – is started by receiver and states that the message is understood or that it must be re-sent. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is the non-spoken aspects of communication, such as a person’s manner of speaking, facial expressions, or body posture, that express meaning to others. The nonverbal aspects of communication can especially complicate the task of communicating internationally. Nonverbal communication is communication that is sent without the use of the written or spoken word. This type of communication is quite powerful because people can communicate without speaking with facial expression, body posture, tone of voice, use of space, and touching. Occulesics are facial expressions and eye that people use to communicate. Kinesics is the study of bodies through posture, gesture, head movements, and similar actions. Use of and reaction to facial expressions and body movement vary from culture to culture. Conceptual Perspectives of Communication Defensive Communication (this is bad) • Evaluation - you language, criticize, blaming • Control - don't seek input from others • Strategy - no one want to be a victim of someone else motivation, Superiority - I am better than you behaviors • Neutrality - equal indifferent, this is a problem, when you have a group member who does not care. • Certainty - dogmatism, people who knows the answer, require no additional data, certain they are right, feel as teacher vs co-worker ive Communication • Descriptive - sharing of feelings or perception, general request for information, ie I feel frustrated when you lie on the coach when the house is dirty. • Problem Orientation - seeking solutions to a problem at hand

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• Spontaneity - sense of a person is honest with their intention • Equality - I am OK, you are OK, We are all human, we are equal. • Empathy - caring and binding into the problem • Provisionalism - willing to hear other speaks, willing to experiment with behaviors, attitude and ideas. Organization Communication Networks Organization chart depicts formal reporting channels. • Communication is informal and flows around issues, goals, and projects. • Vertical Communication: goes up and down the corporate hierarchy. • Horizontal Communication: between employees of the same level. – Informal communications can span levels and departments. • Grapevine: informal network carrying unofficial information through the firm. Technological Advances  Internet: global system of computer networks Many firms use it to communicate with suppliers.  World Wide Web (WWW): provides multimedia access to the Internet.  Intranets: use the same information concepts as the Internet, but keep the network inside the firm.  Groupware: software designed to let workers share information and improve communication. Best for team oriented . Communication Skills for Managers as Senders  Send clear and complete messages.  Encode messages in symbols the receiver understands.  Select a medium appropriate for the message AND monitored by the receiver.  Avoid filtering (holding back information) and distortion as the message es through other workers.  Ensure a mechanism is included in the message.  Provide accurate information to avoid rumors. Communication Skills for Managers as Receivers • Pay Attention to what is sent as a message. • Be a good listener: don’t interrupt. – Ask questions to clarify your understanding. • Be empathetic: try to understand what the sender feels. • Understand linguistic styles: different people speak differently. – Speed, tone, pausing all impact communication. – This is particularly true across cultures. – Managers should expect and plan for this. Communication Networks Networks show information flows in an organization. • Wheel Network: information flow to and from one central member. • Chain Network: communicate with people next to them in sequence. – Wheel and Chain networks provide for little interaction. • Circle Network: communicate with others close to them in of expertise, office location, etc. • All-Channel Network: found in teams, with high levels of communications between each member and all others.

Networks in action

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• Wheel • Chain • All-Channel • Macro Networks • Principle – These networks may emerge naturally or be imposed. Either way, they have a similar impact. • Forms of HRM Communication Verbal communication and nonverbal communication involve HRM communication. These two forms are supplementary to each other. Verbal communication In human resources management, verbal communication is to transmit messages orally or in written forms. Generally speaking, oral messages are more easily and quickly transmitted and are less costly than their written counterparts. So under some circumstances, HR executives prefer spoken communications. For example, when they need to acquire information from job applicants, they will make face-to-face conversations, namely, interviews with applicants. Under other circumstances, recognizing that precision and accuracy are usually best achieved through written communiqués, HR executives will employ written forms. For example, to some important decisions, agreements and proposals, HR executives will employ written records. Many HRM messages appear in both forms. They are expressed in both spoken and written forms, usually at two times. The purpose of this is to increase the possibility of message understanding. Generally speaking, whether messages occur in written format or in spoken form is decided by such criteria as cost, expediency, available resources and degree of importance. No matter whether in oral form or in written form, the purpose of HRM communication has always been one----to improve understanding or at least to get understanding within an organization so as to fulfill HRM function. Every HR manager ires effective communication, and the effectiveness lies in some certain techniques. Here we will first discuss how to improve written HRM communication. Then, we will discuss techniques of oral HRM communication such as interviewing employees. Written HRM communication Basically, there are three types of writings in HRM. They are informational, istrative, or progress. Virtually, many reports overlap several categories. The writing process Over the past decades, composition theorists and researchers have begun to view composing not in of isolated problems to be solved or single components that can simply be combined to produce a written text. Instead, writing has come to be understood as a complex and recursive process involving planning, drafting, and revising though there are a variety of terminologies used to discuss the composing. The three phases making up the indiscrete composing process identify three kinds of activities that occur when one writes. Phase1 Planning, also called invention or prewriting, is connected with the mental and written activities that usually take place before a writer attempts a first draft of a text. The planning activities involve (1) Analyzing the purpose or goal of the writing task (whether self-assigned or assigned by another person, such as an employer or and instructor), (2) Determining the characteristics of the audience or potential audience and the writer’s relationship with them, (3) Gathering information necessary to complete the writing task, either through introspection or through formal or informal heuristic procedures, (4) Selecting an organizational pattern or format for the text. When he plans a test, a writer identifies a text’s topic, the purpose or aim, assesses the pertinent knowledge, attitudes, and values of those potential readers to determine the best way to attain the writing purpose, identifies and discovers the content of the text, decides genre and arrangement, and at last chooses different diction and syntax according to different types of discourse. Phase 2 Drafting is the act of writing the text itself. Through invention, writers create series of propositions about a subject. As Woddpwspm (1978:52) says, “Language use has to do with propositions and the acts they are used to perform. But these do not occur in isolation: they combine to form discourse”. Combining then means giving considered shape or form to writing for meaningful communication of the proposition to others; the combining becomes a vital part of the process, which is called drafting in the writing process. Drafting is also called formulation. In the process of drafting writers formulate ideas, link the propositions and develop content. Then the writers shape the content by determining most appropriate and effective form of discourse for the message, considering the specific or nonspecific audience, the writers’ purpose, and the writing context. Then writers continue to apply the linguistic and mechanical principles, or the “surface structures” to the piece. Writers concentrate on clarifying the

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theme and the logical order of ideas and thought. They tighten the unity and coherence of the piece through the use of certain linguistic devices and structural elements from theme to internal paragraph organization. They pay attention as well to the fine-tuning of sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and spelling. In sum, drafting is the production and formulation of material both for writers themselves and for their reader. 1. Rhetorical shaping refers to how writers choose their treatment of content. Writers decide whether to use a descriptive, narrative, expository, or persuasive, literary, or referential form. A lawyer’s purpose for writing a trial brief would probably demand a persuasive form while an engineer’s purpose for writing a project report would call instead for an expository or referential form. So in rhetorical shaping, drafting becomes the part of writing which helps to the formalization of a piece of discourse intended for someone. 2. Linguistic shaping includes the “well-formedness” of the piece---unity, coherence, and cohesion of the piece of writing. In drafting a writer should be able to use the linguistic criteria ranging from clearly stating the thesis or controlling ideas of an essay, a report, a poem to knowing grammatical rules and how to increase the “relative readability” of the text. The text should have a clear division of material into paragraph unit, sentences, and structures that emphasize meaning and effective word choices conveying the theme to readers. Writers must focus on the basic elements to the linguistic shaping of their messages. In addition to the overall structure of the discourse in compliance with the theme and the coherence of the piece evolving from logical connections within and between sentences and paragraphs, linguistic shaping involves the organization of each sentence and its parts, and the cohesion within and between sentences by means of ties and the effective and accurate choice of words. By employing linguistic devices, a writer attempts to create a piece of effective writing that transmits message successfully between them and their audiences. Six-step approach to HRM writing Based on the above writing process suggested by composition theorists and researchers and combined with management practice, the Six-step approach is rather practical for HRM writing. The following is to show, step by step, the process of writing and revising a memo or report on HRM with the method.. First, knowing the readers To have some ideas about the audience will make the choices on words and sentence structures more purposeful. For instance, an HR manager is asked to write a long memo, proposing a merger of the Public Relations department and Publicity department and including some specific suggestions on how to put the two together. He must know the potential readers. Who will be the reader-----the president, employees or the departmental mangers? He will organize the whole writing based on what he knows about the readers. Suppose the executive gets to know that the readers will be the Executive Committee of the company and that they have decided to combine the departments, but they need a written justification before the action is taken. Then, for the writer, the most important purpose of this writing is to make the proposal as convincing as possible. Setting the writing goals and deciding the main point both depend on who will be the reader. If the HR executive does not know who will be his or her reader, he or she had better write for the "average" person. Second, gathering information The executive must gather information to get the ive facts and exact figures for the article. During the information-gathering stage, he may form a tentative outline because he will have more and more material to organize as the information accumulates. To do well in this stage, the writer may need “idea notes,”----scraps of paper that say things he plans to include in his memo such as, “budget of public relations dept. last year” or “job descriptions of Publicity dept. writers.” Third, planning and organizing the writing strategy. As we all know, every piece of writing should have a point, and HRM report should also have a “so what?”---- the reader’s reason for reading it. This is a principle well known to many professional HR executives, who realize that early in an article they must give their readers some reasons for reading on. Often, an article should have an attention-grabbing opening paragraph or two, followed by a statement that tells the reader why he should be interested in the article, what he may hope to gain by reading it. For example, if an executive of a large corporation includes in his 4-page-long memos a statement like, “Before the meeting, this report is to give you some ideas on our company’s bonus adjustment last year,” the readers will have a clear expectation of the reading. So there are three “musts” to decide in this step: 1.What is this about? (The main point.) 2.Why should his reader be interested? (The “so what”---the reader’s reason for reading it.) 3.What should his reader do about this? (The goals or purpose.)

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Referring to the above-mentioned “three musts”, the writer will decide that his main point is that the P. R. and Publicity departments should be merged. His goal is to convince management that this should be done, and the “so what” is that they should want to do this because the merger will make the company more efficient, reduce costs, and thus make the operation more profitable. His strategy is to demonstrate that the merger will accomplish these. Thus, he has to present the problems created by separate departments and show, in detail, how the merger will solve these problems. Chart 1-4 below shows some special methods useful for certain writing purpose. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Methods of Organizing Material Writing purpose 1. To describe how to do something. 2. To classify; to argue for or against something. 3. To predict what effect something will have. 4. To analyze what caused something. 5.To compare something Method to Use For purpose 1. Step-by-step order. Tell how the process is done, giving each step in the order in which it is performed. For purpose 2. Logical order. Arrange the points of your classification or the points of your argument in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence. For purpose 3. Cause and effect. First give the causes or conditions, then discuss the probable effects. (Useful in anticipating future events.) For purpose 4. Effect to cause. First discuss the effects, then suggest possible causes. ( Useful in analyzing a present problem. ) For purpose5. Comparison and contrast. Discuss how two or more things are alike and/or different. (Useful in identifying advantages and disadvantages of something or learning about an unknown by comparing it with something that is known. ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------According to the chart, a point-by-point logical organization and a step-by-step analysis will be used to describe the plan for implementing the merger. Therefore, this memo will have two parts. Part I will be the point-by-point presentation of the problems and their solutions; Part II will describe how the merger should be carried out step by step. Forth, listing ideas. Before working out an outline, to list those “idea notes”, in no particular order, will greatly facilitate the writing later. The writer may finish this step like this: 1. Should save money----three publicity writers and directors under-employed at present. 2. No real reason to have separate publicity department. Only happened because many years ago, R&D was headed by a former newspaperman who sent out press releases on new research and new products. This grew into publicity department. Still under R&D V. P., which doesn’t make sense. Later P. R. dept. was added for producing a house magazine and newsletter. Still later, a magazine for customers was added as a P. R. organ. 3. Many functions of publicity dept. could better be handled by ment agency (better facilities for photos, etc.). This would free some time. 4. Much of what is done now by publicity largely duplicates what ment agency does. 5. Budget of publicity department high because not enough work to keep three writers busy. 6. Present Head of publicity dept. will resist merger. He’ll lose prestige. 7. P. R. people are not knowledgeable about media. Could use input of publicity people. Convenient to have them in same office. 8. P. R. offices nicer. Publicity would gain prestige by move. 9. Need to integrate planning of both departments, especially budget. 10. P. R. department presently hires outside writers and buys outside material for magazines. Could use underemployed publicity writers for that. 11. Could save money by phasing out photo lab. 12. Plenty of room in P. R. department offices for moving in publicity personnel. Other departments could use extra space. Doing so enables the HR executive to test each item for relevance, repetition, and completeness. For example, going over this list, the HR executive will find that Item 6 is true but irrelevant to his set strategy. This fact may be

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considered when he writes up a plan for carrying out the change. Item 3 and 4 are essentially the same and thus can be combined. And all those items with something in common should be grouped together in the outline. For example, items related to saving money either directly or indirectly. Fifth, working out an outline and writing the first draft. After the rearrangements of the material, the writer will come up with an outline that may look like the following, which is an invaluable guide when he writes the first draft. Introduction: Statement of problem and statement of purpose (brief and general). Part I Why the two departments should be merged A. Historical reasons for two departments and why these reasons no longer apply. B. Both departments would benefit from integrated planning. 1. Examples of inefficiency and duplication of effort. 2. P. R. people would benefit from technical skills of publicity people, Give examples. C. The company would save money by merging the two departments. Conservative estimate: $________. 1. Photo lab in publicity department could be phased out; pictures processed outside. 2. Underemployed writers in publicity department could take over writing jobs in P. R. department presently farmed out. 3. Extra space in P. R. department could be taken by transferred publicity personnel, thereby freeing ________ square feet for use by ________ . Part II How merger should take place A. Convince both departments of advantages as outlined in Part I ----from their point of view ( e.g., moving would give publicity people more prestigious officers; money saved could go into salaries). B. Make present head of publicity department, assistant director of P. R., other goodies to soften move, make it seem other than a demotion. C. Involve people in both departments in details of planning physical move. D. Write new job descriptions for transferred personnel. E. Have P. R. dept. head work out details of photo lab phase-out. F. Set a date for accomplishing all this. (Timetable.) G. Two weeks after move, hold a session to see how the changes are working out. The blanks in the outline indicate gaps in the information that must be filled in. Thus HR executive reminds himself more facts under Part I, sections C1,2, and 3 should be gathered so that he can come up with a convincing dollar amount saved. According to the outline, the first draft is worked out. Sixth, revising the first draft This step is very critical for the effectiveness of the whole writing for there are must be some unexpected mistakes in the first draft. I will propose several points for attention in the step, and I will particularly discuss improving syntax effectiveness in HRM rules & regulations writing. A. Several points for attention in the revision We conclude the eight respects calling for attention in the revising process suggested by the composition theorists and researchers as the skeleton, the flesh, the clothing and the grooming. That is, the writer will examine a. the skeleton (structure and method of organization). b. the flesh (details that fill the outline and make it convincing----facts, examples, statistics; presented in sentences organized into paragraphs). c. the clothing (words chosen to express ideas arranged in clear sentence form). d. the grooming (correct grammar, spelling, punctuation). If the structure of the draft is sound, then the writer should take trouble to make the report forceful. In other words, he should fill the draft. A draft, no matter how long it may be, is thin if it doesn’t include enough specific facts, examples, and statistics to the writer’s generalizations. And it is flabby if it is repetitious, wordy, and contains meaningless generalizations and uned opinions. Consider the following sentence, written by an executive in the manufactured housing (trailer) industry: “It is more or less known in the manufactured housing industry that the demand for service is so great that a top-notch serviceman can make a good living as an independent service contractor.” This sentence can be greatly improved by deleting “It is more or less known,” which is not only wordy but gives an impression of indecisiveness. The sentence then becomes, “The demand for service is so great in the manufactured housing industry that a top-notch serviceman can make a good living as an independent service contractor.”

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ive voice is always wordy. Compare “It was voted by the board of directors to declare a dividend” with “The board of directors voted to declare a dividend.” Which is better? So, until it is really needed either to avoid specifying the subject or to emphasize the object as, “It was decided to reject …,” “It has been determined that…,” “The ads were placed in a …”, HRM writers had better use active verbs and write the sentences as "The manager said..." rather than "It was said by the manager that…" Often the writer will pile on modifying phrases and make the sentence redundant in the first draft. For example, “She was given a book by the manager of the office for the sole purpose of keeping records of minor expenditures.” The whole sentence actually is, “The office manager gave her a book to keep petty cash records.” Therefore, when the writer revises, he should keep alert for opportunities to combine two sentences into one by making one sentence into a dependent clause. A wordy sentence is not necessarily a long sentence, and long sentences are not always wordy. A wordy sentence is one that has words that aren’t earning their keep. Cut them or replace them with simple words and phrases. For example, replace “at this point in time” with “now;” use "like" instead of "in a matter similar to that of." Make every word work for the information transmitting. For example, in the sentence "Bad weather conditions prevented yesterday's meeting,” the word "conditions" is an unnecessary one. Say, "Bad weather prevented yesterday's meeting." Generally speaking, using short sentences and paragraphs can help to overcome the wordiness. But just as too many complex sentences or run-on sentences will confuse the readers, too many short, choppy sentences can be dull. “The company was mismanaged, it went bankrupt” is a run-on sentence. But “The Company was mismanaged. It went bankrupt” is not necessarily the way to fix it. It would be better to vary the sentences: “The Company was mismanaged and it went bankrupt” or “Mismanaged, the company went bankrupt” or “The Company, which was mismanaged, went bankrupt.” Whenever the writer notices the same sentence pattern appearing over and over, he should introduce variety to help keep the reader attentive. Some sentences, although grammatical, are extremely sleep-inducing: “These areas should be considered expeditiously because the department may be called upon to answer public and congressional inquiry with respect thereto and this may best be handled outside of the firm because of the involvement of the acting chief inspector.” This example contains language that is vague, abstract, pompous and bureaucratic, and the rhythm is jerky and stumbling. So, trying reading the sentences out loud is necessary sometimes. If like this one, the sentences must be difficult to get through without stumbling and halting, and something must be wrong. When revising the first draft, the writer should also watch for words that may confuse the readers. Pronouns can be among the worst offenders. If the writer writes, “Alemu, our company president, has just hired Selam as our new computer expert, and he will be down to see you next week,” should the reader expect Alemu or Selam? So, the writer should be alert to reduce this kind of confusion. If the first draft contains some technical language or jargon that the readers will not understand, the writer should translate those specialized vocabulary into more general . Similarly, if the first draft contains words that are too complex for the readers, the writer should replace them with short and familiar words, for example, to use "improve" instead of "ameliorate." Finally, just as a person should look his or her best while giving an oral presentation, the HRM writer should make his writing look its best. This means it must be not only neat (well typed with proper margins), but correctly spelled and punctuated as well. Often, correct spelling and punctuation make the difference between saying exactly what the writer means and saying something else. The sentence “His faith in his opinion is unshaken” describes someone who has unshaken faith in his own opinion. But “His faith, in his opinion, is unshaken” makes the statement that this person’s faith (i.e., management belief) is , in someone’s opinion, unshaken. Commas, colons, and periods are intended to be the equivalents of pauses in speech. So reading the sentences out loud will help the writer to identify the places where punctuation is necessary. In HRM writing, capitalization merits an HR executive’s attention most because it is often encountered when an HR executive writes bulletins, memos, reports, and mails. Correct spelling is crucial in English, a language rich in homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). Often, one letter can make all the difference. So when in doubt, the writer should check a dictionary. Generally speaking, once an HR executive has given his revised version of the memo one last check of spelling, grammar and punctuation, he can turn it over to his secretary for a final typing. At this time, the HR executive should pay attention to the last but not least point that the visual impact of the typed page has a great influence on readability. Generally speaking, a good average sentence length is 15-20 words. Long paragraphs are uninviting, and 20 lines are the length most people can cope with. Marginal heads are also very effective devices that aid achieving readability in reports. They serve the same purpose in an HRM report as headlines in a newspaper. First, they tell the readers what to expect in the paragraphs following. Second, they help break up the monotony of paragraph after paragraph of the report. By utilizing the marginal heads, the writer can direct the reader through the report with predetermined purpose.

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Perhaps going through all these above mentioned steps takes a little longer time than usual. However, considering writing itself is a kind of nonverbal communication indicating management quality and whether it is a good one will enhance or decrease the effectiveness of the whole communication effort, HR executive, if an efficiency-pursuing one, should take trouble to practice them. Summary of Methods of HR Communications a. Downward Communication Systems . In-House Publications . Information Booklets . Employee Bulletins . Prerecorded Messages . Electronic Communication . Information Sharing and Open Book Management b. Upward Communication Systems . Grapevine Communication . Electronic Communication . In-House Complaint Procedures . Manager-Employee Meetings . Suggestion Systems . Attitude Survey Communication is critical for: • Employee motivation (employee need to share visions, also generate the shared visions); ineffective communication lead to high staff turnover and rop in quality and quantity of work. • Managing organizational change, downsizing, restructuring, etc. • Maintain a casual atmosphere where casual conversation is allowed (leads to creativity and satisfaction) • New management models where employees are empowered and work in teams, information is empowering (watch film for example) • Essential for individual career success. Interview and relationships (film)

C o m m u n ic a tio ninth ew o rk p la c e O n ew a yc o m m u n ic a tio n

Barriers to communication Barriers to Effective Communication and ways to remove these barriers The complex factors in the communication pose barriers to effective communication. Individual barriers include perceptual biases, which function as noise by affecting how the receiver gathers, organizes, and interprets information. Organizational barriers to effective communication include organizational culture and structure, status differences, and time. Active listening is a good way to minimize both individual and organizational barriers to effective. Specifically the barriers to effective communication include:

S e n d e r

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Inappropriate language; No ;

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Wrong medium; Distractions; Too much communication; Poor listening; Assumptions and conclusions; Too kind Atmosphere Cultural differences; Different roles and perceptions;

Organizational barriers -Distance - Long communications lines - Ineffective process - Specialization - Pressures - Status differences - Filtering. Communication methods - Handbooks - Magazines and newsletters - Manuals - Grapevine - Team briefing Cross-cultural communication - Organizational issues - Job interviews; - New employees - Problems and solutions. Problems with any one of the components of the communication process can become a barrier to communication. These barriers suggest opportunities for improving communication, let describe some of the major barriers of communication as follows: 1. Muddled messages - Effective communication starts with a clear message. Contrast these two messages: "Please be here about 7:00 tomorrow morning." "Please be here at 7:00 tomorrow morning." The one word difference makes the first message muddled and the second message clear. Muddled messages are a barrier to communication because the sender leaves the receiver unclear about the intent of the sender. Muddled messages have many causes. The sender may be confused in his or her thinking. The message may be little more than a vague idea. The problem may be semantics, e.g., note this muddled newspaper ad: "Dog for sale. Will eat anything. Especially likes children. Call 888-3599 for more information." from the receiver is the best way for a sender to be sure that the message is clear rather than muddled. Clarifying muddled messages is the responsibility of the sender. The sender hoping the receiver will figure out the message does little to remove this barrier to communication. 2. Stereotyping - Stereotyping causes us to typify a person, a group, an event or a thing on oversimplified conceptions, beliefs, or opinions. Thus, basketball players can be stereotyped as tall, green equipment as better than red equipment, football linemen as dumb, Ford as better than Chevrolet, Vikings as handsome, and people raised on dairy farms as interested in animals. Stereotyping can substitute for thinking, analysis and open mindedness to a new situation. Stereotyping is a barrier to communication when it causes people to act as if they already know the message that is coming from the sender or worse, as if no message is necessary because "everybody already knows." Both senders and listeners should continuously look for and address thinking, conclusions and actions based on stereotypes. 3. Wrong channel - "Good morning." An oral channel for this message is highly appropriate. Writing "GOOD MORNING!" on a chalkboard in the machine shed is less effective than a warm oral greeting. On the other hand, a detailed request to a contractor for construction of an office should be in writing, i.e., non-oral. Variation of channels helps the receiver understand the nature and importance of a message. Using a training video on cleaning practices

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helps new employees grasp the importance placed on herd health. A written disciplinary warning for tardiness emphasizes to the employee that the problem is serious. A birthday card to an employee's spouse is more sincere than a request to the employee to say "Happy Birthday" to the spouse. Simple rules for selection of a channel cause more problems than they solve. In choice of a channel, the sender needs to be sensitive to such things as the complexity of the message (good morning versus a construction contract); the consequences of a misunderstanding (medication for a sick employee versus a guess about tomorrow's weather); knowledge, skills and abilities of the receiver (a new employee versus a partner in the business); and immediacy of action to be taken from the message (instructions for this morning's work versus a plan of work for 2012). 4. Language - Words are not reality. Words as the sender understands them are combined with the perceptions of those words by the receiver. Language represents only part of the whole. We fill in the rest with perceptions. Trying to understand a foreign language easily demonstrates words not being reality. Being "foreign" is not limited to the language of another country. It can be the language of another business. A brassy day may say much about temperature and little about color. Each new employee needs to be taught the language of the business. Until the business' language is learned, it can be as much a barrier to communication as a foreign language. 5. Lack of - is the mirror of communication. mirrors what the sender has sent. is the receiver sending back to the sender the message as perceived. Without , communication is one-way. happens in a variety of ways. Asking a person to repeat what has been said, e.g., repeat instructions, is a very direct way of getting . may be as subtle as a stare, a puzzled look, a nod, or failure to ask any questions after complicated instructions have been given. Both sender and receiver can play an active role in using to make communication truly two-way. should be helpful rather than hurtful. Prompt is more effective that saved up until the "right" moment. should deal in specifics rather than generalities. There is a need to Approach as a problem in perception rather than a problem of discovering the facts. 6. Poor listening skills - Listening is difficult. A typical speaker says about 125 words per minute. The typical listener can receive 400-600 words per minute. Thus, about 75 percent of listening time is free time. The free time often sidetracks the listener. The solution is to be an active rather than ive listener. One important listening skill is to be prepared to listen. Tune out thoughts about other people and other problems. Search for meaning in what the person is saying. A mental outline or summary of key thoughts can be very helpful. Avoid interrupting the speaker. "Shut up" is a useful listening guideline. "Shut up some more" is a useful extension of this guideline. Withhold evaluation and judgment until the other person has finished with the message. A listener's premature frown, shaking of the head, or bored look can easily convince the other person there is no reason to elaborate or try again to communicate his or her excellent idea. Providing is the most important active listening skill. Ask questions. Nod in agreement. Look the person straight in the eye. Lean forward. Be an animated listener. Focus on what the other person is saying. Repeat key points. Active listening is particularly important in dealing with an angry person. Encouraging the person to speak, i.e., to vent feelings, is essential to establishing communication with an angry person. Repeat what the person has said. Ask questions to encourage the person to say again what he or she seemed most anxious to say in the first place. An angry person will not start listening until they have "cooled" down. Telling an angry person to "cool" down often has the opposite effect. Getting angry with an angry person only assures that there are now two people not listening to what the other is saying. 7. Interruptions - A business is a lively place. Few days are routine. Long periods of calm and quiet rarely interrupt the usual hectic pace. In this environment, conversations, meetings, instructions and even casual talk about last night's game are likely to be interrupted. The interruptions may be due to something more pressing, rudeness, lack of privacy for discussion, a drop-in visitor, an emergency, or even the curiosity of someone else wanting to know what two other people are saying. Regardless of the cause, interruptions are a barrier to communication. In the extreme, there is a reluctance of employees and family even to attempt discussion with a manager because of the near certainty that the conversation will be interrupted. Less extreme but serious is the problem of incomplete instructions because someone came by with a pressing question. 8. Physical distractions - Physical distractions are the physical things that get in the way of communication. Examples of such things include the telephone, a pick-up truck door, a desk, an uncomfortable meeting place, and noise.

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These physical distractions are common. If the phone rings, the tendency is to answer it even if the caller is interrupting a very important or even delicate conversation. A supervisor may give instructions from the driver's seat of a pick-up truck. Talking through an open window and down to an employee makes the truck door a barrier. A person sitting behind a desk, especially if sitting in a large chair, talking across the desk is talking from behind a physical barrier. Two people talking facing each other without a desk or truck-door between them have a much more open and personal sense of communication. Uncomfortable meeting places may include a place on the office that is too hot or too cold. Another example is a meeting room with uncomfortable chairs that soon cause people to want to stand even if it means cutting short the discussion. Noise is a physical distraction simply because it is hard to concentrate on a conversation if hearing is difficult. Overcoming barriers to communication Communication plays a major role in employer-employee relationships. It also affects the relationships among family on the management team. Although effective communication does not guarantee success of a business, its absence usually assures problems. A communication problem may soon become a crisis or it may linger on for years. More specifically, communication influences the effectiveness of the hiring and training of employees, motivation of employees, providing daily instructions, performance evaluations and the handling of discipline problems. These are the obvious roles of communication. Communication also affects the willingness of employees to provide useful suggestions. Employees feeling a part of the business require communication. In fact, for employees to make the important evolution from "workers" to "working managers" requires effective communication between supervisors and employees. Employees typically are hesitant to state their goals, their concerns and their disappointments. Of course, an employee may be a complainer and share views to the point a supervisor silently begs for less "communication." Much more common is the need to better understand what an employee is "really thinking." This paper is about improving communication skills. Removing barriers to communication is one of the easiest ways to improve communication. Removing these barriers starts with an understanding of a communication model. This paper should help managers think about their own communication skills and the way they communicate day-to-day back home. Effective communication - Do I know what I want to communicate? - What do I expect to happen when my message has been ed? - What other interpretations might be put on my message? Can I be misunderstood? If so, how can I prevent that happening? - Is my message complete, correct, and appropriate to the situation under review? - Do I really listen to people? How do I know? - What communication breakdown have I experienced today? Why did it happen? Could it happen again? Ways to Measure the Impact employee communication on Business Outcomes If you are involved in employee communication then you already know that one of the most important aspects of employee communication today is measurement. But so much of that measurement is focused on whether employees access the tools organizations use to communicate with them. You know questions such as do they read the newsletter, do they access the corporate blog, do they find the information sessions interesting. None of these questions prove that your employee communication tools measure engagement which is what every CEO wants to know. There is one key reason; you are measuring the acceptance of communication tools, not measuring employee communication strategy. So here's what you do. 1. Every organization conducts market research surveys. These surveys typically measure customer satisfaction levels across services and products provided by your organization. Sometimes they even ask questions about competitor products and services. Organizations then take that information and work towards improving the rating they received by introducing improvements to services, products and information. Now many organizations have a human resources department that usually conducts a staff survey annually. This survey typically includes questions about communication within the organization, understanding the corporate vision, satisfaction with employee benefits and training and so on. What is suggested is that organizations include a supplementary survey of just 10 questions at the end of this survey. And these questions should be framed by

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selecting key questions from the customer survey and asking staff what do you think customers think about X? These 10 questions in effect become your employee communication engagement measure. 2. Typically the result demonstrates disparity between what customers think and what employees think customers think. Once you have the difference measured between perception and reality then you have the opportunity to commence dialogue about with your employees about what customers really think. Most importantly it allows you to design employee communication strategies specifically to target that business issue. So now you have a business and know the key messages for your employee communication strategy. 3. One year on when the customer survey is conducted, you ask the same questions and again do the same with the staff survey. What you seek to find is that the measure of the perception staff have of what customers think and what customers actually think have moved closer together and towards the organizations desired outcome. This becomes your business measure of whether you have engaged employees. 4. This information is important because your ultimate aim in employee communication has to be to create the "Aha Moment". The Aha Moment is based on information that challenges the employee's belief about an aspect of the business. The information that suddenly helps employees say, "Now it makes sense", "Now I understand", "Now I can do something about it". It is only once you see this gap close between what customers actually think about an issue and what employees think the customer thinks that you have a measure that demonstrates your employee communication engagement strategy has been successful. If the gap still exists then the design of your employee communication strategy is flawed in someway. 5. Finally, it is important that we measure employee communication tools such as readership of our staff magazine, access of our intranet and other tools. However the only way to impact perceptions of the value that the employee communication function contributes to an organization is to measure engagement strategies against business outcomes. This approach to measurement is low cost. The investment in the human resources staff survey and the marketing departments' customer research is already locked in. You are simply adding 10 questions to the end of the human resources survey based on the marketing questions. The engagement strategies are generally low cost because they involve people, not tools. By this it means that employees are involved in doing something differently to bring about change in an organization. The staff newsletter and other information tools already exist; all you do is tailor the articles to reflect the main focus of your employee engagement strategy. This low cost yet highly effective approach will ensure that you can measure your employee communication strategies against business outcomes. 3.2 Establishing the Performance Management System What is Performance management? Performance management comprises the concerted actions an organization takes to apply objective information to management and policy making in order to improve results. • Each aspect of performance management should be related to the organization’s goals. • Business goals should influence the: – kinds of employees selected and their training – requirements of each job – measures used for evaluating results • This means the organization: – identifies what each department must do to achieve the desired results – defines how individual employees should contribute to their department’s goals

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Figure3.3: aProcess

Guidelines to make the performance management system organizational goals: 1. Define and measure performance in precise . 2. Link performance measures to meeting customer needs. 3. Measure and correct for the effect of situational constraints.

Performance Management Framework

M eas Hum a

Steps o FA/HRM/2011

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Tools fo

Performance •

Uses o Measures

indicators.

• Can produ Use 1: Imp timely man

Establishing an Integrated System of Performance Management Goal • Focus on accumulating experience in performance measurement. •

Develop various systems into an integrated full-fledged performance management framework. - Covering all major aspects of government activities, including the financial and human resource management.

•

Instill a results-orientation in the public sector. - Managers and staff constantly asking themselves what the benefits of their activities are supposed to be, how they know, and what they can do to be more effective. Strategies

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Consolidating the diverse systems of performance management • PMS and other systems should eventually be merged into a new framework for performance management. Establishing a sound system of planning and reporting • A system of planning and reporting is a precondition for good performance management. Emphasis on program evaluation • An effective performance management system requires both monitoring and evaluation. • In a country like Ethiopia, which has little experience in evaluation, a formal strategy to introduce the evaluation practice seems desirable. Introducing a program structure in budget s • A program structure will facilitate performance management by aligning the budget s with the mission and strategies of agencies and by helping them to identify the full cost of programs. Greater use of performance contracts • At a later state, a greater use of performance contracts can be encouraged. Employee Performance Management . Simply put, performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Employee Performance Management Process Establishing Performance Goals Performance Plans Observation and Establishing Performance Goals Strategic Planning (employee goals should align with strategic goals) Task and Job Analysis Job Descriptions Competencies Goal Setting with Employees Value Creation and Navigating the Changing Work Place The Workforce Model Businesses regularly measure cash flow, revenue, market capitalization, growth and profitability. Now, human capital can be added to the list of regularly measured variables. In coming years, the term Return on Talent is likely to be as pervasive in the business lexicon as Return on Investment. While organizations measure and evaluate an abundance of employee-related constructs such as output, efficiency, satisfaction and engagement, few companies have systemic ways to assemble these constructs into formal processes that calibrate the long-term relationship between people and organizational performance. Defining Organizational Performance Organizational performance comprises the measured output or results of an organization as measured against its intended goals and objectives. The most common performance measures for business are financial. Other common metrics are customer satisfaction, innovation, reputation, product quality and productivity. The Current State of People Performance/Human Capital Measurement Over the past two decades, new methods of performance measurement have emerged, including activity-based costing, throughput ing and shareholder value analysis. While new measurement frameworks, most notably the balanced scorecard, have taken the business community by storm, we still have a long way to go in of perfecting effective measurements that companies and organizations can utilize for optimal benefit. The following is a broad overview of three of the existing people performance and human capital metrics. The Balanced Scorecard The Balanced Scorecard measures a company's activities in of its vision and strategies to give managers a comprehensive view of the performance of a business. By focusing not only on financial outcomes but also on human issues, the Balanced Scorecard helps provide a comprehensive view of a business, which in turn helps organizations act in their best long-term interests. The four processes Scorecard implementation typically includes:

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• • • •

Translating the organization’s vision into operational goals Communicating the vision and linking it to individual performance Business planning and learning and adjusting the strategy accordingly.

Since the late 1990s, improved versions of balanced scorecard methods have emerged such as The Performance Prism, Results-Based Management and Third Generation Balanced Scorecard. While the Balanced Scorecard approach addresses the link between people and organizational performance, its central premise is not people-based; it is metric- and outcome-based. This allows for the flexibility of having metrics of all types fit into the framework. For organizations where the performance of people is of primary importance, the Balanced Scorecard is likely to under-represent the impact of people-related inputs on overall performance. Even when organizations try to include people-based metrics in performance analysis, the lack of clear and widely accepted standards results in a variety of measures that vary in specificity, relevance and objectivity. An important objective of formal approaches to people management and measurement is the development of standard, systematic metrics that can be applied universally. HCM Scorecard Most traditional HR performance metrics – such as employee turnover rates, average time to fill open positions, and total hours of training provided – don’t predict organizational performance. The HCM (Human Capital Metric) framework addresses this issue with five major categories: leadership practice, employee engagement, knowledge accessibility, workforce optimization and organizational learning capacity. By employing rigorously designed surveys to score a company on the range of HCM practices across the five categories, it's possible to benchmark organizational HCM capabilities, identify HCM strengths and weaknesses, and link improvements or backsliding in specific HCM practices with improvements or shortcomings in organizational performance. Profit per Employee Most measurements of business performance are geared to the needs of 21th-century manufacturing companies. Today, companies need to redesign their financial performance metrics by placing greater weight on “intangible” capital. One such measure is Profit per Employee. The difference between Profit per Employee and traditional financial measures is that viewing Profit per Employee as the primary metric puts the emphasis on the Return on Talent. This approach focuses the minds of managers on increasing profit relative to the number of people a company employs. If a company's capital intensity doesn't increase, profit per employee is a good proxy for the return on intangibles. Another advantage of profit per employee is that it requires no adjustment for ing conventions. Since companies expense their spending on intangibles but not on capital investments (which are usually depreciated over time), profit per employee is a conservative, output-based measure. And since it is based on ing conventions, companies can easily benchmark it against the comparable results of competitors and other companies. Optimal organizational performance comes from increasing either a company's profit per employee (without offsetting reductions in the number of employees or offsetting increases in capital intensity) or the number of employees who earn that level of profit — or both. A New Workforce Measurement Model The Workforce Measurement Model incorporates a set of human capital drivers, gleaned from academic and industry literature, which relates to organizational performance. Those drivers are: 1.

Leadership: The supervisory and executive skills of the managers to eliminate barriers, provide , and inspire confidence.

2.

Communications: Management’s communication is open, relevant and effective.

3.

Learning Capacity: The willingness to learn and pursue excellence, and welcome innovation.

4.

Corporate Values: The core values of the company, that is, something employees can genuinely .

5.

Company Reputation: Good company reputation can facilitate the excellence of human capital.

6.

HR practice: The hiring, selection, and monitoring system. This also includes training, education, career development, and total rewards (benefits, compensation, work-life, and recognition). It also includes HR’s strategic role in human capital, such as acquisition, deployment, retention, attrition rate, and turnover

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7.

Technology: The driver of information sharing and efficiency. This is becoming increasingly important because of intranets and online communities.

When managed properly, these seven drivers generate employee engagement and positive behaviors that directly affect performance. Specific people-based components of the framework serve as the connecting mechanisms between employees and financial outcomes: A) employee engagement; B) employee attitudes and performance; and C) customer satisfaction and loyalty. The survey explores these variables, and their interconnectedness, extensively. The Workforce Measurement Model diagram below shows how human capital drivers affect corporate financial performance through employee engagement, employee performance and attitudes, as well as customer satisfaction and loyalty. The main emphasis on the model is how employee feelings and behavior relate to customer feelings and behavior, and how the behaviors of both link to financial measures of performance. The general flow of the model is from left to right – people drive performance. The framework presents a way to evaluate organizational performance from the perspective of the people-related inputs that drive it.

The workforce model demonstrates that there is a need to establish a set of metrics that can be incorporated into standard financial statements that take into an organization’s intangible assets. Or if the value of these assets is determined independent of the financial evaluation, the establishment of a model that is universally accepted and recognized. In order to achieve this goal, additional research should be conducted on the direct link between employee engagement and corporate financial performance. This will provide business leaders more understanding that in today’s increasingly information and service-based economy, it is not primarily products, technology, or istration that drives results; it is the performance of people in the workforce. Key Factors in Sustaining Performance Management Although this section presents initiating, implementing, and sustaining performance management as a three-part sequence, in fact, the ability to sustain a performance management initiative begins in the two earlier stages. Assuring that the performance management initiative becomes an ongoing effort integrated into the organization’s practices and culture begins with the steps taken in establishing the initiative. The following factors are important to a sustained effort. In the initiating stage, it is important to analyze the extent to which the following factors are present. At that point, if deficiencies exist, there is time to remedy them or create work-around strategies. ive leaders. Performance management initiatives cannot achieve optimum success without energetic and sustained from an organization’s top managers. Leaders need to articulate a vision for performance management that tells stakeholders how they will benefit and encourages involvement. Leadership must also make clear that performance management is not an experiment and is in fact how business will be conducted.

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Elected officials may need to be convinced of the value of implementing and sustaining performance management. Some officials are concerned that instituting a process driven by high-level outcomes and numerical targets may interfere with their authority to set goals and make decisions. Elected officials need to be very involved in their role as policy makers, in the planning stages, where goals are set, and also in later stages, where their oversight responsibilities should be exercised. Elected officials can benefit from performance management, including the following examples in many ways: _ A good performance management system has the potential to improve results, explain or defend the distribution of resources, and, through good management, increase benefits to the entire community. These are positive factors for elected officials. _ The information provided by performance management systems can be used in dealing with powerful organized interests. Officials can use survey data, information on public preferences and priorities, and performance information to counter such interests. _ Performance management systems provide elected officials with objective information they can share with constituents when they discuss the rationale for decisions or votes they have made. _ Good data from performance management systems may help elected officials reach agreement on priorities faster, and with a higher comfort level that they have made the right decision. It is also important that a full explanation and a context be provided when information is made public. Elected officials are likely to be much more comfortable with having performance data be made public if comparative data from the region or similar governments is included, along with an explanation of the context. For example, if a certain type of crime has increased (or decreased), providers of information may report whether this is part of a regional or national trend driven by demographics, and how the government’s performance compares to that of surrounding governments. Internal champions. A small number of internal champions committed to success and to putting in the time it will take to create a sustained effort can make performance management happen. Champions are committed to implementing performance management and are willing to use their time, talents, and resources to help develop, improve, and get others committed to the effort. This includes finding the time to do research, organize meetings, assign staff to projects, and develop fact-based arguments for countering resistance. Sufficient financial resources. Performance management results in greater efficiency and more effective use of resources in the long run. This metrics, which, if implemented may assist the organization to assess its status in HRM effectiveness and standing. It may also assist the company to set standards or to benchmark itself against other companies. Metrics related to practice Valuation is based on company records. 1. Number of qualified applicants per position 2. Percentage hired based on validated selection test 3. Percentage of job filled from within 4. Percentage in a formal HR plan including recruitment, development and succession 5. Number of hours of training for new employees (less than one year) 6. Number of hours of training for experienced employees (working more than one year) 7. Percentage of employees receiving a regular performance appraisal 8. Percentage of workforce whose merit increase or incentive pays is tied to performance 9. Percentage of workforce who received performance from multiple sources 10. Target percentile for total compensation (market rate = 50%) 11. Percentage of workforce eligible for incentive pay 12. Percentage of difference in incentive pay between a low performing and a high-performing employee 13. Percentage of the workforce routinely working in a self-managed cross-functional, or project team 14. Percentage of HR budget spent on outsourced activities (e.g., recruiting, benefits, payroll) 15. Number of employees per HR professional 16. Percentage of the eligible workforce covered by a union contract Metrics related to outcomes Valuation is done over a scale, e.g., from 1 to 5. 1. Extent to which strategy is clearly articulated and well understood throughout the firm 2. Extent to which the average employee understands how his or her job contributes to the firm's success

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3. Extent to which senior management sees employees as a source of value creation versus a cost to be minimized 4. Extent to which the executive leadership is visionary 5. Extent to which the firm attempts to provide job security, even if confronted with declining financial performance 6. Extent to which the firm’s decision making style can be described as participative 7. Extent to which the firm’s HR professionals are generally perceived to be istrative experts 8. Extent to which the firm’s HR professionals are generally perceived to be employee champions 9. Extent to which the firm’s HR professionals are generally perceived to be agents for change 10. Extent to which the firm’s HR professionals are generally perceived to be business partners 11. Extent to which line managers generally believe that effective diversity management is a business imperative 12. Extent to which top management shows a commitment to-and leadership in knowledge sharing 13. Extent to which the firm has developed and communicated measures of financial performance 14. Extent to which the firm has developed and communicated measures of customer reactions 15. Extent to which the firm has developed and communicated measures of key business processes 16. Extent to which the firm has developed and communicated measures of learning and growth Efficiency measures 1. Absenteeism rate by job category and job performance 2. Accident costs 3. Accident safety ratings 4. Average employee tenure (by performance level) 5. Average time for dispute resolution 6. Benefits costs as a percentage of payroll or revenue 7. Benefits costs/competitor's benefits costs ratio 8. Compliance with federal and state fair employment practices 9. Compliance with technical requirements of affirmative action 10. Comprehensiveness of safety monitoring 11. Cost of HR related litigation 12. Cost of injuries 13. Cost per grievance 14. Cost per hire 15. Cost per trainee hour 16. HR department budget as a percentage of sales 17. HR expense per employee 18. HR expense/total expense 19. Incidence of injuries 20. Interviews per offer ratio (selection ratio) 21. Lost time due to accidents 22. Measures of cycle time for key HR processes 23. Number of applicants per recruiting source (by quality) 24. Number of hires per recruiting source (by quality) 25. Number of course taught by subject 26. Number of recruiting advertising programs in place 27. Number of safety training and awareness activities 28. Number of stress related illnesses 29. Number of training days and programs per year 30. Offer-to-acceptance ratio 31. Percentage of and number of employees involved in training 32. Percentage of correct data in HR information system 33. Percentage of employee development plans completed 34. Percentage of employees with access to appropriate training and development opportunities 35. Percentage of new material in training programs each year 36. Percentage of payroll spent on training 37. Percentage of performance appraisals completed on time 38. Response time per information request 39. Sick days per full-time equivalent per year 40. Speed of salary action processing 41. Time needed to orient new employees

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42. Time to fill an open position 43. Total compensation expense per employee 44. Total HR investment/earnings 45. Total HR investment/revenues 46. Turnover by recruiting source 47. Turnover costs 48. Turnover rate per job category and job performance 49. Variable labor costs as percentage of variable revenue 50. Worker's compensation costs 51. Worker's compensation experience rating Performance driver measures 1. Access to business information to facilitate decision making 2. Adherence by the workforce to core values, such as cost consciousness 3. Average change in performance appraisal rating over time 4. Change in employee mindset 5. Climate surveys 6. Consistency and clarity of messages from top management and from HR 7. Customer complaints/praise 8. Customer satisfaction with hiring process 9. Degree of financial literacy among employees 10. Degree to which a "shared mind-set" exists 11. Diversity of race and gender by job category 12. Effectiveness of information sharing among departments 13. Effectiveness of performance appraisal processes for dealing with poor performers 14. Employee commitment survey scores 15. Employee competency growth 16. Employee development advancement opportunities 17. Employee job involvement survey scores 18. Employee satisfaction with advancement opportunities, compensation, etc. 19. Employee turnover by performance level and controllability 20. Extent of cross-functional teamwork 21. Extent of organizational learning 22. Extent of understanding of the firm's competitive strategy and operational goals 23. Extent to which employees have ready access to the information and knowledge that they need 24. Extent to which required employee competencies are reflected in recruiting, staffing, and performance management 25. Extent to which employees are clear about the firm's goals and objectives 26. Extent to which employees are clear about their own goals 27. Extent to which hiring, evaluation, and compensation practices seek out and reward knowledge creation and sharing 28. Extent to which HR is helping to develop necessary leadership competencies 29. Extent to which HR does a thorough job of pre-acquisition soft asset due diligence 30. Extent to which HR leadership is involved early in selection of potential acquisition candidates 31. Extent to which HR measurement systems are seen as credible 32. Extent to which information is communicated effectively to employees 33. Extent to which the average employee can describe the firm's HR strategy 34. Extent to which the average employee can describe the firm's strategic intent 35. Extent to which the firm shares large amounts of relevant business information widely and freely with employees 36. Extent to which the firm has turned its strategy into specific golas/objectives that employees can act on in the short and long run 37. Extent to which top management shows commitment and leadership around knowledge sharing issues throughout the firm 38. Percentage of employees making suggestions 39. Percentage of suggestions made employees that are adopted 40. Percentage of female and minority promotions

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41. Percentage of intern conversion to hires 42. Percentage of workforce that is promotable 43. Percentage of repatriate retention after one year 44. Percentage of employees with experience outside their current job responsibility or function 45. Percentage of retention of high performing key employees 46. Percentage of consistent and equitable treatment of all employees 47. Percentage of newly hired applicants 48. Planned development opportunities accomplished 49. The ratio of HR employees to total employment 50. Requests for transfers per supervisor 51. Retention rates of critical human capital 52. Success rate of external hires 53. Survey results of becoming "the" employer of choice in selected critical Positions Examples of Key Performance Indicators for Chief Executives The key results to be measured will depend on the type of business and the strategic plan. Areas Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are usually set for include human resource development, payroll systems, machinery performance, and distribution of quality products, increased production, sales and marketing to improve prices and health and safety. In a large company with a large management team the senior managers would have ability for these areas – but in a small company he CEO might be charged with these responsibilities. F2F - face to face at monthly discussion meetings, team briefing sessions 1 on 1 = monthly one on one performance discussions A new company might set their CEO the goal of implementing performance frameworks for all staff. Result area

Goal: Human Resource Development

Measures/Targets

Operations

• Effectively manage Performance Review process

• Managers trained in KAO process by • Compliance survey for 1 on 1’s com facility [quarterly] • Staff are given on performa 15/4 (full year)

People

• Improve leadership skills in the business

• PDP process is completed by [ ] • Source best practice leadership progr by 31/5/00 • [One day per month] 1 on 1 coaching

A company employing many labourers might have a particular focus on upgrading payroll systems.

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Result area Finance

Goal – improving Pay Roll functions • Minimise cost of payroll runs

Measures/Targets • No penalty fee (PAYE) [ $0 ]

People

• Contribute to site team goals • Actively contribute to my own performance management process

• F2F [attend 10 out of 12] • Prepare and forward 1 on 1 items to manager [24 hours prior to meeting] • 1 on 1’s [10 out of 12]

Personal Leadership

• Develop personal leadership

• Agree personal leadership development plan by [July 2000] • Implement by [March 2001]

Operational Excellence

• Deliver against service level agreements for businesses

• Pay runs in banks on time [< x% error]

Customers

• Reduce payroll customers complaints

• Customer complaints [60% cf F’00] • Accurate pay slips [error rate] • LCSS - VC

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• • • •

Audit requirements [% rating] [ number of ] new ideas to reduce processing time [zero] manual pays Reduction of payroll errors [1 per month]

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A construction industry might have a particular focus on health and safety. Result areas Financial

Goal – improving Health and Safety • Monitor site health & safety costs and suggest any improvements that could be made

Measures/Targets

Personal Leadership

• Develop personal leadership

Customers

• Improve customers knowledge through education programs

• Agree personal leadership developm • Implement by [March 2001] • Policy compliance • Safety training plan

Operational Excellence

• Deliver site safety plan, adding value to the company

• Safety audits [score of x or greater]

• health and safety cost reports produc

• [x] initiatives raised to optimise h & • Reduce cost of safety management [ (depends on level of influence)

• Compliance with KEA process [ ] People

• Play an active role in being part of the ‘Myrtleford site” team

• F2F [attend 10 out of 12] • Prepare and forward 1 on 1 items to • 1 on 1’s [10 out of 12]

• Increase safety skills and knowledge by mentoring site safety champions

• No. of initiatives for safety projects g

A manufacturing company might want to improve their engineering systems. Result area

Goal Improve machinery performance

Measures/Targets

Operational Excellence

• Improve machine uptime

• Achieve uptime of 92% by 30/9/00 a • Planned monthly shuts completed in • Engineering costs are not more than

Customer

• Improve response to breakdowns

• All machine tenders trained in Basic • Respond to breakdowns in [< 30 mi

A distribution company might want their CEO to focus on improving distribution systems and quality of product Result areas

Goal – Distribution of quality products

Measures/Targets

Financial

• Contribute to EBIT target of x through managing logistics cost budget

• Budget managed within parameters [ • Cost of deliveries do not exceed plan

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Operational Excellence

• Dispatch product as per daily plans

• DIFOT [85%] • Invoice accuracy [ ] • Truck turnarounds [reduced to 25 mi

Customer

• Reduce customer complaints regarding packaging defects

• Variation reports to production are c • Recommendations re corrective actio each non-compliance [ ] • Undamaged goods [98%]

A production company might have particular issues on the production line. Result area

Goal - Increase production

Measures/Targets

Operational Excellence

• Increase machine output

• • • •

People

• Improve operators’ effectiveness

• Complete training skills training pro • All operators completed level 3, TET • Complete quarterly skills audits [ ]

Improve uptime from 90% to 92% Increase tonnes per day to [101.5] Waste [<9%] Reduction in variable costs of $350,0

Sales and marketing might be a focus for one year. Result area

Goal to improve prices

Measures/Targets

Markets

• Increase margins in horticulture

• Achieve 5% price increase by 31/5/0 • Exit avocado market by 30/9/00 • Introduce/sell de-engineered design

People

• Increase effectiveness of sales team

• All sales team trained in SPIN by 30 • Coaching / development calls with a • Kiwi reps have received technical tra • 100% 1 on 1’s

REGIONAL SALES MANAGEMENT - Sample Goals / Measures / Targets Key Result Financial

People

Weight 5%

Goals • Contribute to achieving company goals

35% 5% 5%

• • • •

15%

Achieve planned gross profit for region Operating costs on plan for region Working capital ratios on plan for region Raise performance standards

• Reduce staff turnover

• Complete mont performance ra • Action plans fo • Increase culture Recognition by • Turnover to be

• Improve safety

• Zero doctors ca

• Deliver a great culture

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Measures & Targe • Company CFR • GP$ [ ] • Distribution, se • Stock turn [ ] a

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• Build benchstrength

• Identify succes their developm

Personal Leadership

10%

• Develop personal leadership

• Agree personal 2000 and imple

Operational Excellence

15 %

• Meet our delivery promise to customers.

• Ensure all staff the internal bus April 2000.

• Implement tracking systems to record DIFOT by number of line items in accordance with the delivery promise

• Included mont from May 2000

• Develop xxx category as the lead product bundle in the .xxxx sector.

• Sales people to 1. All reps to 2. Xxx secto 3. Regional • Increase xxx sa

KA5. Customers and Markets

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3.3 Ensuring a Safe and Healthy Work Environment A. Elements of Workplace Safety and Health Safety: Involves protecting employees from injuries due to work-related accidents. Health: Refers to the employees’ freedom from physical or emotional illness. Safety programs may be designed to accomplish their purposes in two primary ways. The first approach is to create a psychological environment and attitudes that promote safety. A strong company policy emphasizing safety and health is crucial. The second approach to safety program design is to develop and maintain a safe physical working environment. • Physical Conditions: Conditions resulting from the workplace environment that includes occupational diseases and accidents, such as: • Repetitive motion injuries • Back pain • Cancer, etc. • Psychological Conditions: Conditions resulting from the workplace environment that result from organizational stress and low quality of working life. These include: • Dissatisfaction, withdrawal • Mistrust in others, irritability I. Safety Programs Today, it has become clear that optimal health can generally be achieved through environmental safety, organizational changes, and different lifestyles. a. Developing Safety Programs—Organizational safety programs require planning for prevention of workplace accidents. Plans may be relatively simple or more complex and highly sophisticated in order to fit the organization’s size. Top management’s is essential if safety programs are to be effective. Tremendous economic losses can result from accidents. 1. Job hazard analysis: The main goal of safety and health professionals is to prevent job-related injuries and illnesses. 2. Businesses are required to communicate more openly about the hazards associated with the materials they use and produce and the wastes they generate. 3. Employee involvement: One way to strengthen a safety program is to include employee input, which provides workers with a sense of accomplishment. b. Accident Investigation—Accidents can happen even in the most safety-conscious firms.

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Each accident, whether or not it results in an injury, should be carefully evaluated to determine its cause and to ensure that it does not recur. The safety engineer and the line manager tly investigate accidents—why, how, and where they occur and who is involved. Main causes that can create accidents at workplace are: • Chance occurrences • Unsafe working conditions • Unsafe acts by employees • Unsafe conditions � Physical conditions • Defective Equipment • Inadequate Machine Guards • Lack of Protective Equipment � Environmental conditions • Noise • Dust, Fumes • Stress • Unsafe behaviors c. Evaluation of Safety Programs—Perhaps the best indicator that a safety program is succeeding is a reduction in the frequency and severity of injuries and illnesses. d. Rationale for Safety and Health Trends—Firms are spending an increasing amount of money on safety. Reasons include; (1) profitability—employees can produce only while they are on the job, (2) employee relations—firms with good safety records can attract and retain good employees, (3) reduced liability—an effective safety program can reduce corporate and executive liability, (4) marketing—a good safety record may well provide companies with a competitive edge, and productivity—(5) an effective safety program may boost morale and productivity while simultaneously reducing rising costs. II. Ways to manage Safe and Healthy environment in organization To cope with physical hazards and other hazards such as stress, unsafe behavior, and poor health habits, employers often design comprehensive safety and health programs. Among these are safety programs, employee assistance programs, and wellness programs. a. Safety Programs A safe working environment does not just happen; it has to be created. The organizations with the best reputations for safety have developed well-planned and thorough safety programs. b. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) EAPs are programs designed to help employees whose job performance is suffering because of physical, mental, or emotional problems. c. Wellness Programs As health care costs have skyrocketed over the last two decades, organizations have become more interested in preventative programs. A complete wellness program has three components: • It helps employees identify potential health risks through screening and testing. • It educates employees about health risks such as high blood pressure, smoking, poor diet, and stress. • It encourages employees to change their lifestyles through exercise, good nutrition, and health monitoring. d. Smoking in The work place Numerous studies have concluded that workplace smoking not only is hazardous to employees’ health, but also is detrimental to the firm’s financial health. Increased costs of insurance s, higher absenteeism, and lost productivity cost huge amount a year. These factors, along with rising opposition from nonsmokers and widespread local and state laws, have spurred many firms into action, and the trend continues. � The rewards of good health habits Effective safety programs share the following features: • They include the formation of safety committee and participation by all departments within the company. Employees participate in safety decision and management carefully considers employee suggestions for improving safety. • They communicate safety with a multimedia approach that includes safety lectures, films, poster, pamphlets, and computer presentations. • They use incentives, rewards, and positive reinforcement to encourage safe behavior. • They communicate safety rules and enforce them. • They use safety directors and/or the safety committee to engage in regular self-inspection and accident research to identify potentially dangerous situations, and to understand why accidents occur and how to correct them.

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III. Policies to prevent workplace violence Every organization should have a two-pronged policy in place to (a) prevent workplace violence and (b) to deal with violent incidents when they occur. An HR manager's major responsibility is to be certain that selection policies include careful screening and reference checking. Furthermore, the HR manager should take the lead to enforce policies pertaining to the fair treatment of employees. This may require training managers to recognize performance problems, refer troubled employees for counseling, and apply disciplinary procedures consistently. IV. Cumulative Trauma Disorders CTDs are also called repetitive stress (or motion or strain) injuries (or illnesses or syndromes). CTDs do not refer to only one disorder but to a wide array of maladies ranging from carpal tunnel syndrome to tennis elbow. The number of workers with CTDs has risen dramatically in recent years. V. Benefits of a Safe and Healthy Workforce • More productivity • Increased efficiency and quality • Reduced medical and insurance costs • Lower workers’ compensation rates and payments • Greater workforce flexibility VI. The HRM Department and Employee Safety and Health HRM department can help organizations and employers by performing tasks like: • Develop safety and health programs. • Select safety and health programs. • Evaluate safety and health programs. • Ensure legal compliance. • Incorporate safety and health concerns in HRM practices. STRESS MANAGEMENT A. Stress Stress is the body’s nonspecific reaction to any demand made on it. For various reasons, programs dealing with stress and its related problems are becoming increasingly popular. Long-term productivity depends largely on the dedication and commitment of the company’s employees. Employees are increasingly holding their employers liable for emotional problems they claim are work related. And, stress-related mental disorders have become the fastestgrowing occupational disease. There is increasing evidence indicating that severe, prolonged stress is related to the diseases that are leading causes of death—coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer, emphysema, diabetes, and cirrhosis; stress may even lead to suicide. Some signs that may indicate problems include impaired judgment and effectiveness, rigid behavior, medical problems, increased irritability, excessive absences, emerging addictive behaviors, lowered self-esteem, and apathetic behavior. I. Sources Of Stress Regardless of its origin, stress possesses the same devastating potential. Some factors are controllable to varying degrees, whereas others are not. Stressor The person or event that triggers the stress response, it can be organizational, personal or environmental actor that can become the source of stress. a. Organizational Factors—Many factors associated with a person’s employment can be potentially stressful. These include the firm’s culture, the individual’s job, and general working conditions. b. Personal Factors—Stress factors outside the job and job environment may affect job performance. Factors in this category include the family, financial problems, and living conditions. c. The General Environment—Stress is a part of everyone’s everyday life and its potential lurks not only in the workplace and the home but also in our general environment. The three-hour commute in rush traffic, the unrelenting rain, the oppressive heat, or chilling cold can all create stress. Excessive noise, wherever it is encountered, can drive some people up the wall. II. Symptoms of Stress: Stress can express following four types of the symptoms: a. Short-term physical symptoms: Short-term physical symptoms include; faster heart beat, increased sweating, cool skin Cold hands and feet Feelings of nausea, or 'Butterflies in stomach' Rapid Breathing, Tense Muscles, dry Mouth, desire to urinate, diarrhea b. Long-term physical symptoms: Change in appetite frequent colds illnesses (such as asthma Back pain digestive problems headaches aches and pains) feelings of intense and long-term tiredness, Risk factors (Heart attacks and strokes Hypertension and headaches Ulcers Allergies)

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c. Internal symptoms: Internal symptoms include Worry or anxiety, Confusion, and an inability to concentrate or make decisions, Feeling ill, Feeling out of control or overwhelmed by events, Mood changes, Depression, Frustration, d. Helplessness, Restlessness, Being more lethargic, Difficulty sleeping, drinking more alcohol and smoking more, Changing eating habits, relying more on medication. e. Behavioral symptoms: Behavioral Symptoms include, talking too fast or, too loud Bad moods being irritable Defensiveness Being critical Aggression, Irrationality, Overreaction and reacting emotionally reduced personal effectiveness Being unreasonably negative Making less realistic judgments Being unable to concentrate and having difficulty making decisions being more forgetful Making more mistakes being more accident-prone Changing work habits Increased absenteeism Neglect of personal appearance g. Outcomes of Organization due to stress: Continuous stress in working environment results in some problem in organizational operations like poorer decision-making, decreased creativity, lost work time, Increased turnover and more sabotage. III. Stress & Job Performance Stress can affect the performance in positive as well as negative ways. Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraints or demand related to what he or she desires, and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. Stress is a complex issue, so let us look at it more closely. Stress can manifest itself both in positive and negative way. Stress is said to be positive when the situation offers an opportunity for one to gain something; for example, the “psychingup” that an athlete goes through can be stressful, but this can lead to maximum performance. It is when constraints or demands are placed on us that stress can become negative. Constraints are barriers that keep us from doing what we desire. Demands, on the other hand, may cause you to give up something. Demands are desires that are backed by the purchasing power or affordability. Managing Stress Experts emphasize that some stress is healthy and moderate stress is the key to survival. a. INDIVIDUAL COPING APPROACHES—There are a number of ways, that individuals may take to control excessive stress. There are several specific techniques that individuals can utilize to deal with stress. These methods include hypnosis, bio, and transcendental meditation. • Hypnosis: An altered state of consciousness that is artificially induced and characterized by increased receptiveness to suggestions. • Bio: A method that can be used to control involuntary bodily processes, such as blood pressure or heart beat rate. • Transcendental meditation (TM): A stress-reduction technique whereby a secret word or phrase (mantra) provided by a trained instructor is mentally repeated while an individual is comfortably seated. b. Organizational Coping Approaches—A number of programs and techniques may effectively prevent or relieve excessive stress. General organizational programs, although not specifically designed to cope with stress, may nevertheless play a major role. Safety Involves protecting employees from injuries due to work-related accidents. Health Refers to the employees’ freedom from physical or emotional illness. Stress: Stress is the body’s nonspecific reaction to any demand made on it. Burnout The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal. Hypnosis An altered state of consciousness that is artificially induced and characterized by increased receptiveness to suggestions. Constraints: Constraints are barriers that keep us from doing what we desire. Demands desires that are backed by the purchasing power or affordability. Bio A method of learning to control involuntary bodily processes, such as blood pressure or heart rate. Transcendental Meditation A stress-reduction technique in which an individual, comfortably seated, mentally repeats a secret word or phrase provided by a trained instructor. A. Burnout Burnout is a pattern of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion in response to chronic job stressors. Individuals lose a sense of the basic purpose and fulfillment of their work in an incapacitating condition Burnout has been described as a state of fatigue or frustration that stems from devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that did not provide the expected reward. It is often found in a midlife or mid-career crisis, but it can happen at different times to different people. Individuals in the helping professions such as teachers and counselors seem to be susceptible to burnout, whereas others may be vulnerable because of their upbringing, expectations, or

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their personalities. Burnout is frequently associated with people whose jobs require close relationships with others under stressful and tension-filled conditions. The dangerous part of burnout is that it is contagious. A highly cynical and pessimistic burnout victim can quickly transform an entire group into burnouts. It is important to deal with it quickly; once it has begun, it is difficult to stop. I. Symptoms of Burnout Following symptoms indicate that a person is suffering through burnout • A feeling of lack-of-control over commitments • A belief (incorrect) that you are accomplishing less • A growing tendency to think negatively • Loss of a sense of purpose and energy • Increased detachment from relationships II. Avoiding Burn-Out Burnout can be avoided by taking the following steps • Re-evaluate goals • Reduce unnecessary commitments • Learn stress management skills • Find out where the stress is coming from (family, job, etc.) • Follow a healthy lifestyle • Get adequate rest • Eat a balanced diet • Get regular exercise • Limit caffeine and alcohol • Develop other interests (hobbies) • Acknowledge your humanity--you have a right to pleasure and relaxation Social at Work & Home: Social at home by friends family and at workplace by supervisor, colleagues subordinates etc can be used to avoid the burnout in the organizations. 3.4 Understanding Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining Developing the employee relations plans Answer these questions first: - How good are working relationships in the organization? - What do the managers think of other staff? - What do employees think of the organization and its management? - How well do HR policies and practices contribute to positive employee relations? - How skilled and knowledgeable are the managers in regard to their employee relations and people management responsibilities? The results of the audit will inevitable lead to discussion of what the ideal state should be. The organization needs to consider: - Organizational factors; - Management factors; - Staff factors; - Environmental factors Managing Employee Relations Open-Door Policy • A policy of encouraging employees to come to higher management with any concerns. Strategic Importance of Employee Relations Good employee relations practices improve productivity . Good employee relations ensure implementation of organizational strategies . Good employee relations practices reduce employment costs . Good employee relations help employees grow and develop Five Key Dimensions of Employee Relations Good Employee Relations:

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• • • • •

Employee Involvement Employee Communication Employee Rights Employee Discipline Employee Counseling

Counseling Functions  Advice. Counselors often give advice to those being counselled in order to guide them toward desired courses of action.  Reassurance. The counseling experience often provides employees with reassurance, which is the confidence that they are following a suitable course of action and have the courage to try it.  Communication. Counselling is a communication experience. It initiates upward communication to management, and also gives the counsellor an opportunity to provide insights to employees.  Release of emotional tension. People tend to get emotional release when they have an opportunity to discuss their problems with someone else.  Clarified thinking. Serious discussion of problems with someone else helps a person to think more clearly about these problems.  Reorientation. Reorientation involves a change in an employee's basic self through a change in goals and values. Deeper counseling of the type practiced by psychologists and psychiatrists often helps employees reorient values. Discipline Management action to encourage compliance with the organization's standards. Preventative Discipline • Action taken prior to any infraction, to encourage employees to follow the rules so infractions are prevented. Corrective Discipline Action that follows a rule infraction and seeks to discourage further infractions. Due Process Established rules and procedures for Disciplinary action are followed and employees have an opportunity to respond to the charges. Hot-Stove Rule • The principle that disciplinary action should be like • touching a hot stove; with warning, immediate, • Consistent, and impersonal Progressive Discipline A type of discipline whereby there are stronger penalties for repeated offences. Positive Discipline Focus on the specific problem rather than the employee's attitude or personality. . Gain agreement with the employee that a performance problem exists and that the employee is responsible for changing his or her behavior. . Approach discipline as a problem-solving process. Document suggested changes or commitments by the employee. . Follow up to ensure that the employee is living up to his or her commitments and to reduce the likelihood of having to take more severe action. Wrongful Dismissal Dismissal without just cause or reasonable notice of termination. Requirements in Dismissing an Incompetent Employee Have evidence of warnings given to the employee. . Show that appropriate training, , time, and have been provided to the employee to enable the employee to learn the tasks. . Demonstrate that the employee concerned had reasonable time to improve performance. Constructive Dismissal Under common law, if an employer commits a major breach of a major term of the Employment relationship, the employee may take the position that dismissal has taken place even though he or she has not received a formal termination notice.

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Employee Rights . Right to Privacy . Right to Fair Treatment . Rights in Business Closings and Workplace Restructuring Employee Involvement QWL and EI Interventions . Quality circles . Socio-Technical Systems . Codetermination . Self-Directed Work Teams or Groups The Employer-Employee Relationship: Definitions and Distinctions A. Basic Principles of Agency Law Origins in Agency Law. The law relating to the employment relationship is based on the traditional law of master and servant, which evolved into the law of agency. It may be helpful to briefly review the fundamentals of the law of agency in order to gain a better perspective on the legal regulation of the employment relationship that follows. B. AGENCY AND EMPLOYMENT a. Generally. When one party known as a principal, appoints another party known as an agent, a contract of agency is formed. Must be three parties, PRINCIPAL, AGENT and THIRD PARTY. Two types of employment relationships: 1)Independent Contractor - One who contracts to perform some task for a fixed fee but is independent of the control of the other contracting party as to the means by which the contract is performed except to the extent that contract sets forth specifications and requirements to be followed. No principal-agency relationship. ADVANTAGE: Liability avoidance for the Principal. 2) Employer-Employee - One who performs work for an employer and is under the employers control both as to the work to be done and as to the manner in which it is to be done. KEY: Does the employer control the doing of the work? b. Classifications of Agents. Agents may be classified as: i. General Agents - One who is authorized to carry out the principals business of a particular kind, or all of the principal's business. (eg., a store manager, Bank cashier) ii. Special Agent - One who is authorized by principal to transact some specific act or acts? Limited powers to be used for a specific purpose. A GENERAL AGENT has authority to transact broad classes of acts, including those w/in his express authority, those customarily within such agents authority, and those clearly outside his express authority, which appear to third parties to APPARENTLY, within the scope of the agents authority. Customary Authority - Authority to act by virtue of custom such agents ordinarily posses such power. Apparent Authority - If the principal acts in a way, which causes the third party to believe that, the agent has the authority to bind the principal. Creation of an Agency a. Appointment / Agreement b. Ratification II.

Why is it Important to Determine Whether A Worker is an Employee? A. There is not merely one definition of who constitutes an employee. The answer will vary depending on the court, the issue and the statute to be applied. The issue, however, must be determined because of the following concerns.

B. Discrimination and Affirmative Action. Anti-discrimination statutes only protect employees from discrimination by employers. 1.

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Additionally, the Labor Relations Act protects only employees and not independent contractors from unfair labor practices.

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2. Note, however, that independent contractors may be considered to be employers, so they may be subject to these regulations from the other side of the fence. E. Cost Reductions. By hiring employees: 1. Employees are more expensive to employ due to the above regulations that require greater expenditures on behalf of employees, as well as the fact that others must be hired to maintain records of the employees. 2. In addition, by hiring independent contractors, the cost of overtime is eliminated (the federal wage and hour laws do not apply to independent contractors) and the employer is able avoid any work related expenses such as tools, training or traveling. By hiring independent contractors: Independent contractors may still be more expensive to hire and maintain than employees. This situation may exist where the employer finds that it is cheaper to have its employers perform certain types of work which are characteristically expensive to contract for. F. Failure to Appropriately Categorize Worker If a worker is found to be classified as an independent contractor, but later found to constitute an employee, the punishment may be harsh. a. The employer is not only liable but also subject to an additional penalty that should have been withheld. b. In addition, the employer is liable for the wages received by the employee. III.

How Do You Determine Whether a Worker is An Employee? Several tests have developed and are commonly used by courts to classify employees and independent contractors. These tests included the common law test of agency, which focuses on the right of control, and the economic reality analysis. Several courts also use a hybrid approach, using one test but combining factors from other tests.

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Courts, regulatory agencies, commentators, and scholars as critical to the determination of the status of an individual worker have consistently and continually articulated the following factors. When these factors are satisfied, courts are more likely to find “employee” status. a.

Instructions: A worker who is required to comply with other persons' instructions about when, where, and how to perform the work is ordinarily considered to be an employee. b. Training: Training a worker indicates that the employer exercises control over the means by which the result is accomplished. c. Integration: When the success or continuation of a business depends on the performance of certain services, the worker performing those services is subject to a certain amount of control by the owner of the business. d. Services Rendered Personally: If the services must be rendered personally, the employer controls both the means and results of the work. e. Hiring, Supervising and Paying Assistants f. Continuing Relationships g. Set Hours of Work h. Full Time Required i. Doing Work on the Employer's Premises j. Furnishing Tools and Materials k. Payment by Hour, Week, or Month l. Payment of Business and/or Traveling Expenses m. Realization of Profit or Loss n. Right to Discharge o. Right to terminate Delimitation of an employee is vague at best, defining an employee as one employed by an employer, with some exclusion related to public office. In addition, while volunteer workers are generally not protected but it does apply to volunteer workers where the employer is otherwise subject to the statute and where the volunteer's position generally leads to paid work with the same employer, i.e. where the work is viewed as a training or apprenticeship program. Contingent or Temporary Workers When utilizing contingent and temporary workers, the advantages and disadvantages must be considered. Although contingency or temporary workers provide a cost savings as a short term benefit, depending on their classification, they could be entitled to protection under the employment laws. V.

Who Constitutes an Employer?

Depending on the applicable statute or provision, an employer is one who employs or uses others to do his work, or to work on her behalf. Most statutes specifically include in this definition employment agencies, labor organizations and t labor-management committees. The Beginning of the Employment Relationship Management Concerns in Recruitment Recruitment Developing an efficient hiring process is an extremely important step for every employer to take. Taking the time to create such, a system not only will help the employer when there is a need to hire new employees, but also can help the employer defend against claims that hiring decisions violate federal or state laws. The following sections discuss the various aspects of the hiring process that an employer should consider when developing or modifying a system for hiring employees.

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Job Descriptions Before applications or resumes are gathered to fill open employment positions, an employer should: • •

create a written job description for the position to be filled; and determine what qualifications are required of the person filling the position.

Creating a written job description before taking applications is especially important for employers. The job description should state in detail the essential functions the person holding the position is required to perform, as well as those duties that are performed only occasionally. The Equal Employment Opportunity define “essential functions” as those that are fundamental to the employment position. Factors used in considering whether a duty is “essential” include: • whether the position exists to perform the function • whether the function is one that a limited number of employees can perform • whether the function is so highly specialized that the person performing it must have particular expertise or ability to perform the function Job Qualifications In addition to creating written job descriptions, an employer should determine what qualifications are required of the person filling the position. This should be done before the employer begins accepting applications or resumes. Qualifications might include considerations such as: • education • skills • experience • necessary licenses • specialized training Employers must report to the concerned authority (labor Office or Civil Servants Agency) each time an employee or independent contractor is hired, rehired, or returned to work. The report must include the following: • • •

the employee’s name, address and date of birth, the date the employee or independent contractor was hired, rehired, or returned to work the employer’s name, address, and identification number

An employer that fails to file a required report may be fined for each failure. If the failure to file a report results from a conspiracy between the employer and the employee, the employer the fine will be significant. Common law regulation of recruitment Misrepresentation: A company representative who makes an intentional or negligent misrepresentation, which encourages an applicant to take a job, may be liable to that applicant for harm, which results. a. Misrepresentations may include claims regarding the of the job offer, including the type of position available, the salary to be paid, the job requirements, and other matters directly relating to the representation of the offer. b. To be actionable, the applicant must show that the employer misrepresented a material fact, either intentionally or with recklessness as to its truth or falsity, that the applicant reasonably relied on this representation in arriving at the decision to accept the offer, or that she or he was damaged by this reliance. 1)The misrepresentation need not actually be a false statement; where a statement creates a false impression, the employer may also be liable for fraud.

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2) Where the employer is aware that the applicant is under a mistaken belief about the position or the company, the employer's silence may constitute misrepresentation. 3)Where the employer hides certain bits of information, the employer's silence may again be considered misrepresentation. Various Recruitment Practices 1.

ments. The employer must insure that ments do not discourage any eligible applicants from applying (such as only encouraging young applicants, as in scenario one), that they are honest about what is required for the position, and that they are disseminated to a broad variety of potential applicants (i.e. one cannot merely in newspapers that are distributed only to certain groups).

2. Word-of-mouth recruiting. Generally, most people know and recommend others similar to themselves. Word of mouth recruiting generally results on a homogeneous work place.

3.

4.

a.

This type of recruiting is not necessarily harmful where precautions are taken to ensure a balanced applicant pool or where it is necessary for insuring hire of the safest and most competent workers.

b.

Benefits to this type of recruitment include the preliminary screening accomplished by the current employees before they even recommend the applicant for the position and the propensity for long-term service and loyalty among the new hires. Since they already have bonds to the company, a family attitude toward the firm resulting in increased productivity is more easily developed.

c.

The practice is only subject to suspicion if it results in adverse impact against of protected classes.

Nepotism. Nepotism is the practice of hiring of the same family; and some employers rely on this to locate the most appropriate candidates. a. This practice may result in homogeneity, as the company becomes a conglomerate of a number of homogeneous families, with greater likelihood of discrimination resulting from a disparate impact. b.

Nepotism policies are not, per se, illegal. When an employee or applicant challenges the policy, the court will determine whether it has an adverse impact on a protected class. If so, it will be found illegal unless the employer has a strong justification in favor of its business necessity.

c.

Courts have consistently upheld general anti-nepotism policies as long as there is no evidence of disparate impact, or the policy applies to employees at all levels of employment.

Promoting from within. While promoting from within the company is not in and of itself, illegal, it also has the potential for discriminatory results, depending on the process used and the make-up of the workforce.

Preferential Treatment

1. Federal law, depending on the employer, the number of employees and the type of position available, may require preferential treatment, or more generally affirmative action.

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2. The difference between preferential treatment and affirmative action: preferential treatment means simply a preference offered to of a certain class that is not offered to of other classes; affirmative action provides for the most equal opportunity possible to of various groups which have historically not been provided equal opportunity, and may include preferential treatment to education programs, referral services, pre-employment preparation or training for certain groups. Background or Reference Check, Negligent Hiring. 1. The more responsibilities a position has, the more likely it is that the employer will all of the qualifications the applicant has listed on her or his application, such as experience and education. 2. It is important, as well, to insure that there is no undiscovered information which would disqualify the applicant from employment or which may subject other employees, clients or customers to a dangerous situation and the employer to a claim of negligent hiring.

a. An employer is liable for negligent hiring where an employee causes damage, which could have been prevented if the employer had conducted a reasonable and responsible background check on the employee. Therefore, this should be a critical area of caution for employers. b. In order to state a claim for negligent hiring, the plaintiff must show: 1) The existence of an employer/employee relationship; ;

2) The employee's incompetence or inappropriateness for the position assumed 3) The employer's actual or constructive knowledge of such incompetence or inappropriateness, or the employer's ability; 4) That the employee's act or omission caused the plaintiff's injuries; and 5) That the employer's negligence in hiring or retaining the employee was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries (i.e. upon investigation, the employer could have discovered the relevant information and prevented the incident from occurring). An employer must exercise reasonable care in hiring applicants who may, as a result of their employment and the employer's negligent failure to obtain more complete information, pose a risk to others. (reasonable employer in similar circumstances.) 3.5 Understanding Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining Union relations Unions do not mean the end of an organization's success or the end of sound human resource practices. Whether a union is present or not, line managers and HR professionals remain responsible for employee relations. Many successful companies have one or more unions and continue to perform the HR activities. Nevertheless, both managers and HR specialists must comply with new rules that emerge from the unionmanagement framework. Law mandates some changes; others come from agreements between the union and management officials. Because unions place constraints on an organization, some companies try to avoid unionization. The labor management system Unions remain a powerful political and economic force, particularly in highly industrialized regions and in industries with a high percentage of unionized workers.

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Electric utilities, telecommunications, manufacturing, trucking, aerospace, and Government is examples. Nevertheless, union-management relations continue to take Place within a well-defined system of laws and past practices that consists of three Principal actors: workers and their representatives (unions), managerial employees (Management), and government representatives in the legislative, judicial, and Executive branches (government). Each of these parties depends on the other. Unions and human resources management The presence of unions formalizes employee relations, often leading to greater centralization of employee relations decisions by the HR department to ensure uniformity of treatment among unionized workers. For example, privileges such as overtime or vacation preferences are decided based on a worker's seniority, determined by length of employment. Management must still manage, and the union does not assume the responsibilities of the HR department. Unions are open social systems that pursue objectives and are influenced by the external environment. The financial strength of the employer, gains of rival unions, inflation and unemployment rates, government, and international competition influence union objectives. Nevertheless, a core of widely agreed on objectives exists. Common Provisions in Union-Management Agreements Union recognition. Normally near the beginning of a contract, this clause states management's acceptance of the union as the sole representative of designated employees. Union security. To ensure that the union maintains as new employees are hired and current employees quit, a union security clause commonly is demanded by the union. Wage rates. The amount of wages to be paid to workers (or classes of workers) is specified in the wage clause. Cost of living. Increasingly, unions are demanding and receiving automatic wage increases for workers when price levels go up. Insurance benefits. This section specifies which insurance benefits the employer provides and how much the employer contributes toward those benefits. Frequently included benefits are life, hospitalization, and surgical insurance. Pension benefits. The amount of retirement income, years of service required, penalties for early retirement, employer and employee contributions, and vesting provisions. Income maintenance. To provide workers with economic security, some contracts give guarantees of minimum income or minimum work. Other income maintenance provisions include severance pay and supplements to the state unemployment insurance. Time-off benefits. Vacations, holidays, rest breaks, wash-up periods, and leave-of absence provisions typically are specified in this clause. Strike/lockouts. It is common to find clauses in which the union promises not to strike for the duration of the contract in return for management's promise not to lock employees out of work during a labor dispute. Seniority clause. Unions seek contract that cause personnel decisions to be made on the basis of seniority. Often senior workers are given preferential treatment in job assignments, promotions, layoffs, vacation scheduling, overtime, and shift preferences. Management rights. Management must retain certain rights to do an effective job. These may include the ability to require overtime work, decide on promotions into management, design jobs, and select employees. This clause reserves to management the right to make decisions that management thinks are necessary for the organization's success. Discipline. Prohibited employee actions, penalties, and disciplinary procedures are either stated in the contract or included in the agreement by reference to the documents that contain the information. Dispute resolution. Disagreements between the union and management are resolved through procedures specified in the contract. The challenges to human resources management Unions are at a crossroads. During recent years, they have experienced a steady decline in hip, political power, and prestige. Nevertheless, unions represent a significant challenge to HR professionals and operating managers. At employers with unions, compliance with labor laws, contract provisions, and past practices limit managers' flexibility. Even when a union is not present, proactive employee relations are needed to assure a productive workforce.

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Whether unions will rebound and reclaim their role as a powerful actor in the economic and political systems of developed nations is uncertain. It does seem certain, however, that unions will seek innovative approaches to reverse these trends. At the same time, many HR managers and union leaders perceive government intervention as a potential threat to the traditional freedoms they have enjoyed. Their common concern arises out of the fear that more government laws will control their affairs. To meet these challenges from increased union innovation and government intrusion into the workplace, HR professionals need to be proactive. Organizationally, when unions are present, the department is expanded by the addition of a labor relations section. This section allows labor specialists to deal with critical areas such as negotiations and contract istration, while HR professionals attend to their more traditional roles. Operationally the HR section seeks sound employee relations through effective practices. The labor relations section has a complementary role. It wants to minimize restrictions on management through diligent negotiations and fair istration of the union contract. Effective HR policies and practices provide the best stance for meeting the challenges of a productive workforce, unions, and government involvement. More specifically, HR specialists must carefully do the following: − Design jobs that are personally satisfying to workers − Develop plans that maximize individual opportunities and minimize the possibility of layoffs − Select workers who are qualified − Establish fair, meaningful objective standards of individual performance − Train workers and managers to enable them to achieve expected levels of performance − Evaluate and reward behavior based on actual performance Guidelines for effective communication The way one organizes and expresses his ideas determines how much he can accomplish and how easily others can recognize and properly evaluate his accomplishments. A well thought-out presentation can provide a basis for decision making; anything less may invite criticism if management simply does not understand it. Clear and logical arguments can make a program; misunderstanding of statements and uned recommendations can break it. Thus, better communication is essential for solid accomplishments that superiors and subordinates can recognize and appreciate. Barriers to Effective Communication Effective communication is in many instances limited by obvious differences in language and experience and by some not so obvious psychological predispositions. To surmount these communication barriers) one must first recognize and understand them. As each branch of science becomes more specialized, it develops its own jargon, which becomes progressively less meaningful to the uninitiated. Successful communication depends upon how much one can translate what he has to say into a language intelligible to his listeners or readers. Another barrier growing out of different background and experience is the occasional conflict between purely scientific and -oriented objectives. Program planners and decision makers may impose specific practical demands in order to get the total job done as they perceive it. A scientist working in the laboratory may fail to appreciate the overall picture, strain for perfection, pursue subjectively desirable lines of inquiry or set unilateral standards. Perhaps the most devastating barrier to communication with management exists with the conscious and subconscious mind of individuals on both sides. One tends to communicate more freely and therefore, more effectively with those individuals who he knows share his personal values and subjective convictions. He instinctively tends to distrust those he thinks do not and as a result introduces varying degrees of informational ambiguity as a precautionary measure against possible personal criticism. Overcoming the Barriers First select - simplify - . Secondly, be accurate - clear - specific. By understanding and using these six basic principles that stand behind this deceptively simple prescription, one can effectively communicate with others. Clear communication starts with clear thinking. One must carefully choose the statements he presents in order to control the complex process that will recreate his ideas accurately in the mind of the reader or

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listener. This is essential if one expects to influence decisions made at the other end of the communication channel. The process of communication however, involves two elements: sending and receiving. Consequently» effective communication depends upon delivery of the message and upon concerning the extent of understanding and accepting this message. Unless this loop is established early in the communication process» there is no way of sensing the receiver's reaction and» therefore» evaluating the effectiveness of one's communication so that he can strengthen his arguments accordingly. It is important to note that the measure of communication effectiveness is not how much can be presented but how much the reader or listener will understand, absorb and use. This demands discipline. When time and effort has been invested in accumulating information and ideas, it comes natural to use them all. But if one really cares about how well he can communicate, he must ruthlessly test each item, as well as the entire presentation against two key questions: − What objectives do I have? and − What s do I have? Communication Checklist The following checklist indicates some of the most important subsets relating to the above questions: Objectives A. To inform 1. Of what value is my message to the ? 2. How can I help him decide in acting now or later? 3. How much background must I include? 4. How much detail will he need? 5. How deep should I make my analysis? 6. How useful to him are my subjective evaluations? 7. How important to him is it to know existing uncertainties? B. To persuade 1. What specific arguments are necessary to influence action in the desired way? 2. What possible objections can arise and how can I handle them best? 3. To present myself, my accomplishments and my potential. 4. How can I be used better, now or later? C. s The people 1. What is their education, background and experience? 2. What are their prejudices, commitments and values? 3. What exactly do they want from me? D. The job 1. What are the job responsibilities of the s? 2. How can my information help them in doing a better job? E. The message 1. What is the best format to save time? 2. What is the best statement, structure and synthesis to prevent uncertainty misunderstanding or ambiguity? BUILDING EMPLOYEE TRUST AND PRODUCTIVITY The most effective way to build trust in the workplace is to work together. There are no magic gimmicks or other simple solutions. Trust cannot be created by excessive wages, great company picnics or wonderful working conditions; it can only be generated through teamwork, honesty and fairness. Although trust and productivity are complex issues and represent only part of the total fabric of interpersonal relationships in small businesses, three attributes appear to have a positive effect on trust in successful businesses: - The manager of the business is open and honest about the day-to-day business operations. - The manager of the business is consistent and fair about personnel policies.

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- The manager spends a great deal of his or her time concentrating on good communications with those working in the firm. Honesty Secrecy breeds suspicion. Whenever information is kept on close hold, the context becomes open to misinterpretation. Total quality improvement is based on the concept that workers care as much about the success of the business as the managers do. Studies of businesses indicate that employees tend to overestimate profits by substantial amounts. These same studies indicate that when true financial information is shared with employees, all of the work force voluntarily initiate substantial cost controls. Whenever in doubt concerning the amount of information to share with employees, experience indicates that too much is better than not enough. Never lie to workers about human relations issues. Institutional memory is long term; any deceit will be ed for many years. Note that employees talk with each other and inconsistencies will be quickly detected and brought to the surface frequently to your embarrassment. The following are suggestions on how to avoid this dilemma: - Take time to talk with your workers. - Find out what they're thinking. - Find out what they'd like to know and tell them whenever possible. - Don't tell only good things. - Allow employees an opportunity to provide you, the owner, with information, questions and suggestions. In this way, communications are two way. Fairness Fairness ranges from consistency in personnel actions and fair market practices to adherence to the various laws governing the workplace. The concept of due process requires that a business follow its own rules and policies. Employees must be treated the same when it comes to personnel issues. Each worker should have an equal chance to perform at his or her best. Decisions concerning rewards, promotions and advancement should always be based on performance, and good performance should be spelled out in the job description. When performance is equal among employees, seniority should be used to break ties. The key to healthy work relations is managing communications within the firm. Most of the communication will flow as orders and instructions to employees. Nevertheless, communicating (and honesty and fairness) is a two-way process. It is difficult for employees to be intelligent and enthusiastic team workers if they do not know the reasons behind orders and instructions. Perhaps even more important is giving employees the opportunity to contribute ideas and opinions before the manager-owner makes a decision. This adds dignity and meaning to the job in the eyes of most employees and their families. Communicating includes telling employees where they stand, how the business is doing and what future plans are being developed. Negative may be necessary at times, but positive should be the primary tool for establishing good human relations. Never forget that employees are people, and that they will quickly detect insincerity. They also will respond to honest efforts to treat them as mature, responsible adults. Some practical human relations techniques that stimulate two-way communications include

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- Periodic performance review sessions (every three months) - Bulletin boards. - Suggestion boxes. - Newsletters. - Regular open meetings. Managing Conflict Conflict Conflict is defined as a process in which an effort is purposefully made by A to offset the efforts of B by some form of blocking that will result in frustrating B in attaining their goals or furthering their interests −Whether conflict exists is a question of perception. If no one is aware that a conflict exists, then no conflict exists −Common elements of most definitions of conflict are the concepts of opposition, scarcity, and blockage – parties are in conflict when one blocks another’s means to a goal −Incompatible interests is another common component of many definitions Transitions in how conflict is viewed −Traditional view assumed conflict was bad −Used synonymously with such as violence, destruction, and irrationality −Viewed as a dysfunctional outcome resulting from poor communication, lack of openness and trust, and the failure of managers to be responsive to the needs and aspirations of their employees −Human relations view argued that conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups and organizations −Advocates accepting conflict −Interactionist view actually encourages conflict −Group leaders are encouraged to maintain an ongoing minimal level of conflict −Whether conflict is good or bad depends on the type of conflict Functional vs. Dysfunctional Conflict Demarcation between functional and dysfunctional conflict is neither clear nor precise −Important criterion is group performance in that it is the impact of conflict on the group rather than any one individual that defines its functionality −Whether individual group perceive conflict as good or bad is irrelevant Functional conflict −Improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group , provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released and fosters an environment of self-evaluation and improvement −Conflict can further the creation of new ideas −Conflict can reduce the chances of groupthink −Conflict can be related positively to productivity −Heterogeneous groups produce high-quality solutions Dysfunctional conflict −Uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent which can dissolve common ties and destroy the group −Conflict retards communication, reduces group cohesiveness, and subordinates group goals Extreme levels of conflict are rarely functional More creative and unprogrammed the decision making process, the greater the probability that internal conflict will be constructive Conflict Process Stage 1: Potential opposition −Conditions often exist that can give rise to conflict including: −Communication: semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, or “noise” in the communication channels −Structure: size, degree of routinization, specialization, and standardization in the tasks assigned to group , heterogeneity of the group, leadership styles, reward systems, and the degree of dependence between groups. Potential for conflict also appears greater when group are younger and turnover is high. −Personal variables: individual value systems, individual idiosyncrasies and differences. Certain personality types such as highly authoritarian, dogmatic, and demonstrate low self-esteem can lead to conflict

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Stage 2: Cognition and personalization −Conflict is felt when you become aware that you and a co-worker are in disagreement and both parties begin to experience anxiety, tension, frustration, hostility, and you become emotionally involved Stage 3: Behavior −The third stage begins when a member takes action that frustrates the attainment of another’s goals or prevents others from furthering their interests. −Overt conflict covers a wide range of behaviors from subtle and indirect to a direct, aggressive, violent, and perhaps uncontrollable struggle −Common conflict-handling behaviors that occur at this stage include: −Competition -- win-lose struggles. You attempt to achieve certain goals regardless of the impact on the other parties to the conflict – your goal is to win −Collaboration -- win-win approach. You try to satisfy the concerns of all parties to the dispute. Thus, cooperation is used to search for a mutually beneficial solution. −Avoidance -- withdrawal from or suppression of conflict. A party may recognize a conflict exists by withdraw from or suppress the conflict −Accommodation -- Self sacrifice. A party may choose to appease their opponent by placing their opponents interests above their own −Compromise -- each party gives up something and there is no clear winner or loser −Important to that an individual’s approach to handling conflict may depend on their cultural background Stage 4: Outcomes −Outcomes may be functional and improve the group’s performance by improving the quality of decisions, stimulating creativity and innovation, encouraging interest and curiosity among group , fostering an environment for airing problems, self evaluation, and improvement −Outcomes may be dysfunctional and hinder the group’s performance by dissolving common ties, creating discontent, destroying group cohesion, creating communication problems, raising individual goals above group goals, and even threatening the group’s survival Managing Conflict Some suggestions for when managers should use different conflict management strategies −Use competition when quick decisive action is needed (e.g., crisis situation), on important issues where unpopular actions are needed (e.g., budget cutbacks), on issues vital to an organization’s welfare when you know you are right, and against people who take advantage of noncompetitive behavior −Use collaboration to find integrative solutions, when your objective is to learn, to merge insights from people with different perspectives, to gain commitment or consensus, to work through feelings that are interfering with a relationship (resolve old problems and move on) −Use avoidance when the issue is trivial, more important issues need addressing, there is no chance of satisfying your concerns, the potential disruption outweighs the benefits associated with resolving the conflict, you want to let people cool down and regain perspective, when others can resolve conflict more effectively, when issues are symptoms of other problems −Use accommodation when you find you are wrong, you want to allow a better position to be heard, to show you are reasonable, when issues are more important to others, to maintain cooperation, to minimize loss when overmatched, when harmony and stability are important, to allow employees to learn from their mistakes −Use compromise when goals are important but not worth the disruption associated with other approaches, opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals, to reach temporary agreement on complex issues, to reach agreement under time pressure, when collaboration or competition are unsuccessful Advice for Handling Employees With Grievances or Those Requiring Disciplinary Action Watch for signs of dissatisfaction and act before problems become serious Get all of the facts - Hear both sides of the story Remain calm and courteous Be positive - Not punitive Be firm when necessary Be consistent

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Stay informed about the quality of your employees’ work Negotiation Negotiation (also called bargaining) is the process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agrees on the exchange rate for them Distributive bargaining operates under zero-sum conditions −Essence is negotiating over who gets what share of a fixed pie −Target point determines what the negotiator hopes to achieve −Resistance point marks the lowest outcome that is acceptable −Area between the target point and resistance point is the settlement range −Example: labor-management negotiations over wages Integrative bargaining occurs when two negotiators agree on a solution that meets both their needs −Operates under the assumption that there is a settlement that creates a win-win solution −All things being equal, integrative bargaining is preferable to distributive bargaining −Most organizational cultures do not integrative bargaining Obstacles to Effective Negotiation Decision-making biases can hinder effective negotiation −Irrational escalation of commitment -- People tend to continue a previously selected course of action beyond what rational analysis would recommend −Mythical fixed pie -- Bargainers assume a zero-sum game −Anchoring and adjustments -- People have a tendency to anchor their judgments on irrelevant information −Framing negotiations -- People tend to be overly affected by the way information is presented to them −Availability of information -- Negotiators rely too much on readily available information while ignoring more relevant data −The winner’s curse -- Winners sometimes have a post-negotiation anxiety that they could have been more successful −Overconfidence -- Many of the previous biases can combine to inflate a person’s confidence in their judgment and choices Personality traits appear to have no significant direct effect on either the bargaining process or negotiation outcomes Negotiating styles vary among national cultures −French like conflict −Americans are known for their impatience and tend to treat deadlines as important −Russians tend to ignore deadlines −Japanese and Chinese negotiate to develop a relationship Ways to improve your negotiation skills Research your opponent −Learn as much as you can about their interests, goals, which constituencies they must appease, their strategies. This will help you predict their behavior and responses to your offers Begin with a positive overture −Concession tends to be reciprocated in a tit for tat fashion Address the problem, not personalities −Concentrate on the negotiation issues and not the personality of your opponent. When things get rough, avoid the tendency to attack your opponent personally. Separate people from the problem Pay little attention to initial offers −Treat initial offers as a point of departure. Everyone has to have an initial position and they tend to be extreme and idealistic Emphasize win-win solutions −Look for integrative solutions and frame options in of your opponent’s interests. Try to find solutions that allow you and your opponent to declare victory Create and open and trusting climate −Be a good listener, ask questions, focus arguments, do not be defensive, and avoid words and phrases that irritate your opponent.

3.6 Creating & Maintaining High-Performance Organizations 57

High-Performance Work Systems • High-performance work system – the right combination of people, technology, and organizational structure that makes full use of the organization’s resources and opportunities in achieving its goals. • To function as a high-performance work system, each of these elements must fit well with the others in a smoothly functioning whole. Elements of a High-Performance Work System • Organizational structure: the way the organization groups its people into useful divisions, departments, and reporting relationships. • Task design: determines how the details of the organization’s necessary activities will be grouped, whether into jobs or team responsibilities. • People: well suited and well prepared for their jobs. • Reward systems: contribute to high performance by encouraging people to strive for objectives that the organization’s overall goals. • Information systems: modern information systems have enabled organizations to share information widely. Outcomes of a High-Performance Work System • Outcomes of a high-performance work system include higher productivity and efficiency. • These outcomes contribute to higher profits. • Other outcomes include: – High product quality – Great customer satisfaction – Low employee turnover • The outcomes of each employee and work group contribute to the system’s overall high performance. • The organization’s individuals and groups work efficiently, provide high-quality goods and services, etc., and in this way they contribute to meeting the organization’s goals. • When the organization adds or changes goals, people are flexible and make changes to as needed to meet the new goals. Conditions that Contribute to High Performance • • •

Teams perform work. Employees participate in selection. Employees receive formal performance and are actively involved in the performance improvement process. • Ongoing training is emphasized and rewarded. • Employees’ rewards and compensation relate to the company’s financial performance. • Equipment and work processes are structured and technology is used to encourage maximum flexibility and interaction among employees. • Employees participate in planning changes in equipment, layout, and work methods. • Work design allows employees to use a variety of skills. • Employees understand how their jobs contribute to the finished product or service. • Ethical behavior is encouraged. Learning Organizations • Learning organization – an organization that s lifelong learning by enabling all employees to acquire and share knowledge. • The people in a learning organization have resources for training, and they are encouraged to share their knowledge with colleagues. • Managers take an active role in identifying training needs and encouraging the sharing of ideas. Key Features of Learning Organizations 1. Continuous learning – each employee’s and each group’s ongoing efforts to gather information and apply the information to their decisions.

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2. Knowledge is shared – one challenge is to shift the focus of training away from teaching skills and toward a broader focus on generating and sharing knowledge. 3. Critical, systemic thinking – is widespread and occurs when employees are encouraged to see relationships among ideas and think in new ways. 4. Learning culture – a culture in which learning is rewarded, promoted, and ed by managers and organizational objectives. 5. Employees are valued – the organization recognizes that employees are the source of its knowledge. It therefore focuses on ensuring the development and well-being of each employee. HRM’s Contribution to High Performance • HRM practices match organization’s goals • Individuals and groups share knowledge • Work is performed by teams • Organization encourages continuous learning • Work design permits flexibility in where and when tasks are performed • Selection system is job related and legal • Performance management system measures customer satisfaction and quality • Organization monitors employees’ satisfaction • Discipline system is progressive • Pay system rewards skills and accomplishments • Skills and values of a diverse workforce are valued and used • Technology reduces time and costs of tasks while preserving quality 3.7 A guide to strategic human resource planning A comprehensive Human Resource Strategy plays a vital role in the achievement of an organization’s overall strategic objectives and visibly illustrates that the human resources function fully understands and s the direction in which the organization is moving. A comprehensive HR Strategy will also other specific strategic objectives undertaken by the marketing, financial, operational and technology departments. In essence, an HR strategy should aim to capture "the people element" of what an organization is hoping to achieve in the medium to long term, ensuring that:• it has the right people in place • it has the right mix of skills • employees display the right attitudes and behaviors, and • Employees are developed in the right way. If, as is sometimes the case, organization strategies and plans have been developed without any human resource input, the justification for the HR strategy may be more about teasing out the implicit people factors which are inherent in the plans, rather than simply summarizing their explicit "people" content. An HR strategy will add value to the organization if it: • articulates more clearly some of the common themes which lie behind the achievement of other plans and strategies, which have not been fully identified before; and • Identifies fundamental underlying issues which must be addressed by any organization or business if its people are to be motivated, committed and operate effectively. The first of these areas will entail a careful consideration of existing or developing plans and strategies to identify and draw attention to common themes and implications, which have not been made explicit previously. The second area should be about identifying which of these plans and strategies are so fundamental that there must be clear plans to address them before the organization can achieve on any of its goals. These are likely to include: • workforce planning issues • succession planning • workforce skills plans • employment equity plans

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• • • •

black economic empowerment initiatives motivation and fair treatment issues pay levels designed to recruit, retain and motivate people the co-ordination of approaches to pay and grading across the organization to create alignment and potential unequal pay claims • a grading and remuneration system which is seen as fair and giving proper reward for contributions made • wider employment issues which impact on staff recruitment, retention, motivation etc. • a consistent performance management framework which is designed to meet the needs of all sectors of the organisation including its people • career development frameworks which look at development within the organisation at equipping employees with "employability" so that they can cope with increasingly frequent changes in employer and employment patterns • policies and frameworks to ensure that people development issues are addressed systematically : competence frameworks, self-managed learning etc. The HR strategy will need to show that careful planning of the people issues will make it substantially easier for the organisation to achieve its wider strategic and operational goals. In addition, the HR strategy can add value is by ensuring that, in all its other plans, the organisation takes of and plans for changes in the wider environment, which are likely to have a major impact on the organisation, such as: • changes in the overall employment market - demographic or remuneration levels • cultural changes which will impact on future employment patterns • changes in the employee relations climate • changes in the legal framework surrounding employment • HR and employment practice being developed in other organisations, such as new flexible work practices. Finding the right opportunity to present a case for developing an HR Strategy is critical to ensuring that there will be for the initiative, and that its initial value will be recognised by the organisation. Giving a strong practical slant to the proposed strategy may help gain acceptance for the idea, such as focusing on good management practice. It is also important to build "early or quick wins" into any new strategy. Other opportunities may present the ideal moment to encourage the development of an HR Strategy:• • •

a major new internal initiative could present the right opportunity to push for an accompanying HR strategy, such as a restructuring exercise, a corporate acquisition, t venture or merger exercise. a new externally generated initiative could similarly generate the right climate for a new HR strategy - e.g. Black economic empowerment initiatives. In some instances, even negative news may provide the "right moment", for example, recent industrial action or employee dissatisfaction expressed through a climate survey.

Making the HR Strategy integral to the organization The human resources practitioner should ensure that the HR Strategy is integrated with broader organizational objectives. Above all, it should ensure that the rest of the organization accepts the Strategy. To achieve this objective, practitioners should:• • • •

consult all stakeholders on the nature of the strategy; cultivate and develop allies and ers of the strategy through the consultation process; focus on the benefits which are being derived from the strategy through talking to and persuading others, and by marketing the benefits of the strategy with concrete examples of how it has helped; check that there is real commitment to the strategy at all levels of the organization;

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•

give regular on the implementation of the plan through employee newsletters, exhibitions etc; • where possible, build into the strategy quantifiable outcomes which can be easily monitored and evaluated, so that it is possible to show the effect; • make the strategy part of the induction process - especially for senior managers. A strategic human resource planning model There is no single approach to developing a Human Resources Strategy. The specific approach will vary from one organization to another. Even so, an excellent approach towards an HR Strategic Management System is evident in the model presented below. This approach identifies six specific steps in developing an HR Strategy:1. Setting the strategic direction 2. Deg the Human Resource Management System 3. Planning the total workforce 4. Generating the required human resources 5. Investing in human resource development and performance 6. Assessing and sustaining organizational competence and performance

Source: A Strategic Human Resource Management System for the 21st Century. Naval Personnel Task Force, September 2000

The six broad interconnected components of this system consist of three planning steps and three execution steps. The top three components represent the need for planning. Organizations must determine their strategic direction and the outcomes they seek. This is usually accomplished with some form of strategic planning. Classic strategic planning is a formal, top-down, staff-driven process. When done well, it is workable at a time when external change occurs at a more measured pace. However as the pace and magnitude of change increases, the approach to strategic planning changes substantially: • First, the planning process is more agile; changes in plans are much more frequent and are often driven by events rather than made on a predetermined time schedule. • Second, the planning process is more proactive. Successful organizations no longer simply respond to changes in their environment, they proactively shape their environment to maximize their own effectiveness.

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•

Third, the planning process is no longer exclusively top-down; input into the process comes from many different organizational levels and segments. This creates more employee ownership of the plan and capitalizes on the fact that often the most valuable business intelligence can come from employees who are at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy. • Lastly, the strategic planning process less reactive and more driven by line leadership. Once strategic planning is under way, a process must be undertaken by the organization to design and align its HRM policies and practices to provide for organizational success. The remaining step in planning is to determine the quality and quantity of human resources the organization needs for its total force. The rest of the HR strategic system exists for and is guided by these plans, policies, and practices. These execution components contain mechanisms that generate the correct skill sets, invest in staff development and performance, and productively employ them in the organization. The last component provides a means to assess and sustain the competence and performance of the organization and the people in it with regard to outcomes that the organization seeks. 4. Analysis Using the process model discussed earlier, the specific components of the HR Strategic Plan are discussed in greater detail below. Setting the strategic direction

This process focuses on aligning human resource policies to the accomplishment of the Company's mission, vision, goals and strategies. The business' goals sit at the heart of any HR strategy and in order to align business and HR you need to answer one key question, "Can your organization’s internal capability deliver the organization’s business goals?" Many organizations cite their people as their primary source of competitive advantage. Successful companies continuously identify and adopt innovative human resource management policies and practices to sustain that advantage. More importantly, they structure work and design training, performance management, pay, and reward policies to help of the organization succeed in achieving desired organizational outcomes. In other words, they integrate and align HRM policies and practices to reinforce employee behaviors that can best realize the leaders' strategic intent. In the most successful companies, the set of policies and practices that collectively make up a company's HRM system is the critical management tool for communicating and reinforcing the leaders' strategic intent. Recommended actions:• Conduct an external environmental scan and evaluate its impact on the organization • Identify the organization’s vision, mission and guiding principles • Identify the mission's outcomes and strategic goals

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• •

Consult all relevant stakeholders Evaluate the impact of legislation on the organization

Deg the Human Resource Management System

This stage focuses on the selection, design and alignment of HRM plans, policies and practices. Various options may be open to the organization such as drawing on industry best practices. Emerging HRM policies and practices range from outsourcing certain non-core functions, adopting flexible work practices (telework, work from home) and the increased use of information technology. Not every industry trend may be appropriate for a specific organization. In addition, it is essential that a cost-benefit analysis of implementing new HRM policies and practices be undertaken. For example, the costs (monetary and in allocation of resources) of implementing a new job grading system may outweigh the benefit of such an undertaking. There may be more cost-effective alternatives available to the organization at this point in time. Particular HRM policies and practices may be necessary to strategic organizational objectives, such as improving the retention of women in the organization or promoting diversity, especially the representation of designated groups amongst senior management. A good approach in selecting the appropriate HRM policies, procedures and practices is to identify the appropriate HRM practices which the organization’s strategic intent as it relates to recruitment, training, career planning and reward management. Recommended actions:• Identify appropriate human resource plans, policies and practices needed to organizational objectives • Identify relevant human resource best practices • Conduct an employment systems review

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Planning the total workforce

Determining future business requirements, especially those relating to manpower requirements, represents one of the most challenging tasks facing human resource practitioners. The development of a workforce plan is a critical component of any human resource strategy and one of the expected outcomes of human resource practitioner’s activities. Despite this, manpower or workforce planning, as well as succession planning, has only recently enjoyed resurgence in popularity. To some extent this has been prompted by the need to develop employment equity and workplace skills plans and set numerical employment equity targets. The failure of many organizations to develop and implement workforce planning is rather indicative of the lack of strategic planning itself. Workforce planning is a systematic process of identifying the workforce competencies required to meet the company's strategic goals and for developing the strategies to meet these requirements. It is a methodical process that provides managers with a framework for making human resource decisions based on the organization’s mission, strategic plan, budgetary resources, and a set of desired workforce competencies. Workforce planning is a systematic process that is integrated, methodical, and ongoing. It identifies the human capital required to meet organizational goals, which consists of determining the number and skills of the workers required and where and when they will be needed. Finally workforce planning entails developing the strategies to meet these requirements, which involves identifying actions that must be taken to attract (and retain) the number and types of workers the organization needs. A workforce plan can be as simple or as complex as the organizational requires. Workforce planning can be conducted for a department, division or for the organization as a whole. Whatever the level or approach being adopted, it must nevertheless be integrated with broad-based management strategies. In addition to workforce planning, ensure that organizational structure and jobs ensure the efficient delivery of services and effective management of the organization as a whole.

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Recommended actions:• Determine the appropriate organizational structure to the strategic objectives • Structure jobs (competencies, tasks and activities) around key activities • Develop a workforce plan designed to the organizations strategic objectives • Compile workforce profiles, identifying designated groups, an inventory of current workforce competencies, competencies required in the future and identified gaps in competencies

Generating the required human resources

This process focuses on recruiting, hiring, classifying, training and asg employees based on the strategic imperatives of the organization’s workforce plan. A comprehensive workplace skills plan will identify appropriate training priorities based on the organizations workforce needs now and in the future. New recruitment practices may need to be adopted to increase the representation of designated groups, or securing essential skills in the organization. A comprehensive "learnership strategy" may assist in developing future workforce needs, identified either in of the organizations workforce plan or required in of industry black economic empowerment charters. Recommended actions:• Evaluate recruitment and selection practices in light of the organization’s strategic objectives • Develop and implement a comprehensive workplace skills plan (with a thorough training needs analysis) • Implement a learnership strategy • Adopt or clarify occupational levels and category classifications

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Investing in human resource development and performance

Traditional approaches to career planning, performance appraisals, reward management and employee development must be re-appraised in light of the vision, characteristics and mission outcomes as reflected in the HRM plans, policies, and practices. Development responses will aim to increase business skills, the application of business skills (sometimes called competencies) and the behavioral elements - all of which contribute to an organization’s effective performance. In many ways, the Skills Development legislation has required organizations to re-engineer their developmental methods and practices. New concepts such as lifelong learning and recognizing prior learning should form an integral component of the process of investing in employees. Clearly, where a workforce planning exercise reveals that there is little projected growth in the workforce or that promotional or career development opportunities are limited, strategies aimed at employee retention will be very different from organizations which are experiencing considerable growth and expansion. Investment initiatives for the individual, team and organization are all geared to achieve high levels of organizational performance. It is important that at an individual level, particularly for senior staff, that they feel their development needs are agreed and those they are provided with the skills to do their jobs. At a team level, it defines the individuals' ability to work flexibly with others and align individual and team

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skills and activities to business goals - all of which ensures that the organization is equipped to achieve its goals. Reward strategies aim to align the performance of the organization with the way it rewards its people, providing the necessary incentives and motivation to staff. Its components can be a combination of base pay, bonuses, profit sharing, share options, and a range of appropriate benefits, usually based on market or competitor norms and the organization’s ability to pay. Recommended actions:Identify appropriate policies, procedures and practices in respect of • Career pathing • Performance appraisals • Employee development and learning • Reward Management (compensation and benefits) • Promotions and job assignments • Separation Assessing and sustaining organizational competence and performance

Finally, few organizations effectively measure how well their different inputs affect performance. In particular, no measures may be in place for quantifying the contribution people make to organizational outcomes or, more important, for estimating how changes in policies and practices, systems, or processes will affect that contribution. Implementing clear quantifiable measures, identifying milestones in the achievement of specific organizational goals, and using concepts such as a "balanced scorecard" will articulate the results of the HR Strategic Plan in measurable . Regular evaluation of the plan will also assist in fine-tuning the HR strategic plan itself. Recommended actions:• Evaluate organization culture and climate • Implement succession planning • Evaluate HR strategy using quantifiable measures, e.g. balanced scorecard • Revise and adapt HR strategy Conclusion

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While HR strategies must be developed to the achievement of the organization’s objectives, it is a two-way process. HR strategies can themselves be critical inputs in determining the strategic initiatives for the organization. A fatal error, however, is to develop and implement HR strategies without having regard for the goals and objectives which the organisation has explicitly or implicitly identified. A common mistake is the development of workplace skills plans which are not linked to any strategic goals or objectives or which have no affirmative action components. Similarly, the isolated identification of affirmative action numerical targets without first conducting a workforce and succession planning exercise is in most instances, simply meaningless. Summary Communication is at the heart of many interpersonal problems faced by farm employers. Understanding the communication process and then working at improvement provide managers a recipe for becoming more effective communicators. Knowing the common barriers to communication is the first step to minimizing their impact. Managers can reflect on how they are doing and make use of the ideas presented in this paper. When taking stock of how well you are doing as a manager, first ask yourself and others how well you are doing as a communicator Performance appraisal measures the qualitative and quantitative aspects of job performance. An appraisal evaluates not only the employee's performance but also his potential for development. The primary objectives of an appraisal are – to assess past performance, to identify training needs, to set and agree on future objectives and standards, and to facilitate the achievement of these goals. In many situations, the appraiser is the supervisor of the person who is to be rated. However, companies may also use multiple raters to evaluate performances (360 degree appraisal). Peer and self-evaluations are on the increase, as are customer or client evaluations. Some appraisal systems use subordinate or reverse appraisals and team rating techniques. Different methods are used for appraising performance. In the straight ranking method, employees are ranked from the best to the worst on the basis of their performance. Management by Objectives involves an agreement between a superior and his employee on the employee's performance objectives for a specified period and a periodic review of the extent to which the employee is able to accomplish those objectives. Under the graphic rating scale method, an employee's performance is rated on a scale ranging from high to low. In the checklist approach, the rater is given a set of positive or negative descriptive statements that best describe employee performance and characteristics. When weights are assigned to each of the items on the checklist, depending on the importance of each item, it is known as a weighted checklist. In the essay method of appraisal, the appraiser writes an essay describing an employee's past performance, strengths, and weaknesses, potential and provides suggestions for future development. Under the critical incident method, the appraiser evaluates performance on the basis of a record of unusually favorable or unfavorable instances of the employee's performance. The forced choice method is a kind of checklist, which requires the appraiser to rank the statements from the one that best describes the employee to the one that describes him least well. Weights (which are unknown to the appraiser) are attached to these statements, which help in evaluation. Under the point allocation method, the rater has to allocate a fixed number of points among all the employees in a group. This method brings out the relative differences in the performance of employees. Each employee is compared with all the other employees in the same group in the paired comparison method. Among the modern methods, BARS or the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale has scale values attached to a group of anchors under each dimension and the employee is rated on the scale.

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This system demands active participation of both the appraiser and the appraisee. The 360 degree appraisal method reduces subjectivity in that the individual is appraised by his peers, customers/clients and subordinates apart from the supervisor. The balanced scorecard method, which is being adopted by more and more corporatism, helps align individual efforts to organizational goals and objectives. The team appraisal system involves the appraisal of each team member by every other member of the team, to improve the overall effectiveness of the team. The appraisal interview is characterized by performancerelated which is intended to improve employee performance and promote development. Some rater biases that impede objective evaluation are the halo effect, the error of central tendency, leniency and strictness biases, cultural bias, stereotyping, perceptual set, and the recency and primacy effects. Such biases can be reduced by providing suitable training and to raters, and through proper selection of performance appraisal techniques. A performance appraisal system also acts as an audit and helps in revamping HR processes and systems for improved performance. A number of workers get injured or even lose their lives because of accidents at the workplace caused by the carelessness of the employer or the employee. It is important to identify the causes of accidents to prevent them from occurring in future. The main causes of accidents are lack of education and training, human errors, technical errors, psychological problems, occupational hazards and risks. After identifying the causes of accidents, organization should take steps to prevent them. Education and training of employees plays an important role in understanding the causes of accidents and preventing them. Further, frequent inspections by the top management will enable them to know the practical problems being faced by the employees so that they can be tackled effectively. This will also enable employees to air their grievances to the management as and when a problem arises. Another important aspect of preventing accidents is analyzing and tabulating the causes for accidents. This analysis will give a clear idea as to the location or situation of a large number of accidents and the steps that an organization should take to reduce these accidents. Other measures to reduce accidents include conducting employee wellness programs, deg and conducting a well organized health program. Stress at the workplace is a serious concern in most organizations. A decrease in productivity and increase in abseentism results in huge losses for organizations. It is the responsibility of the employees as well as the organization to reduce stress at the workplace. When stress reaches an alarming level, it results in burnout where an individual experiences excessive physical or mental exhaustion. It is important to diagonise an individual for stress before it reaches this alarming stage of burnout. These disorders arise because of repeated use of the keyboard and the mouse. In Ethiopia, companies may not recognize the seriousness of these problems. Hence it is high time that legislation is ed regarding occupational health in the service industries A grievance is a sign of an employee's discontentment with his job or his relationship with his colleagues. Grievances generally arise out of the day-to-day working relations in an organization. An employee or a trade union protests against an act or policy of the management that they consider as violating employee's rights. One of the effective ways of minimizing and eliminating the source of an employee's grievance is by having an ‘open door policy'. An ‘open door policy 'facilitates upward communication in the organization where employees can walk into superiors' cabin at any time and express their grievances. The Labor law enumerates the basic Grievance Procedures, which lays down the sequence of steps to be taken whenever a grievance is expressed.

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Conflict occurs when two or more people or parties perceive an incompatibility in their goals or expectations. There are seven methods for achieving reconciliation of conflict. These methods are win-lose, withdrawal and retreat from argument, smoothing and playing down the difference, arbitration, mediation, compromise and problem solving. Of all these methods ‘problem-solving' method is most likely to bring about a win-win situation. Quality of work life (QWL) is viewed as an alternative to the control approach of managing people. The QWL approach considers people as an ‘asset' to the organization rather than as ‘costs'. It believes that people perform better when they are allowed to participate in managing their work and make decisions. This approach motivates people by satisfying not only their economic needs but also their social and psychological ones. To satisfy the new generation workforce, organizations need to concentrate on job designs and organization of work. Further, today's workforce is realizing the importance of relationships and is trying to strike a balance between career and personal lives. Successful organizations and provide facilities to their people to help them to balance the scales. In this process, organizations are coming up with new and innovative ideas to improve the quality of work and quality of work life of every individual in the organization. Various programs like flex time, alternative work schedules, compressed work weeks, telecommuting etc., are being adopted by these organizations. Technological advances further help organizations to implement these programs successfully. Organizations are enjoying the fruits of implementing QWL programs in the form of increased productivity, and an efficient, satisfied, and committed workforce which aims to achieve organizational objectives. The future work world will also have more women entrepreneurs and they will encourage and adopt QWL programs. Trade unions evolved to protect workers’ rights against management's atrocities in the modern industry. They raised a collective voice for the improvement of workers' wages, working conditions, and their social welfare. Basically, workers ed trade unions to protect their economic, social and political interests and to satisfy their need for belongingness. Trade unions have been classified either on the basis of purpose or on the basis of hip structure. Reformist and revolutionary unions are formed on the basis of purpose. Reformist unions are further classified into business and uplift unions. On the other hand, revolutionary unions are further classified into political, anarchist, and predatory unions. Predatory unions can be either hold-up or guerilla unions. Craft unions, industrial unions, and general unions are based on hip structure. Over the years, the power of unionism has weakened due to a shift in the nature of workforce among other factors. Trade unions in Ethiopia have always been plagued by multiple unionism, inter-union rivalry, political interference, financial weakness and uneven growth of unionism. With the advent of globalization and privatization, these unions fear that their importance and power will decline. The survival of these unions largely depends on their adaptability and improvement in their functioning. Their future success depends on their ability to develop healthy relations with employers and the government by redeg their objectives, roles and strategies. Industrial relations concern the relationship between the management and the employees of an industry. With the liberalization of the economy industrial relations in Ethiopia have changed over the last 10-15 years. There are different approaches to industrial relations, psychological, sociological, human relations, socio-ethical, and systems approach. The employees, trade unions and management are the three major players in industrial relations. The government also has a key role to play, but steps in only when the major players fail to maintain harmonious industrial relations. The government also provides the basic framework for industrial relations through its legislation.

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The industrial disputes prevention machinery helps in averting situations of conflict between the management and the workers that might lead to a strike or a lock-out. Some of the basic requirements for prevention of industrial disputes are an effective grievance redressal system, worker participation in management and collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between the management and the worker representatives for resolving differences related to wages, bonus and other benefits, employee working conditions, grievance redressal procedure, collective bargaining procedure etc. The process of collective bargaining has three steps - preparation for negotiation, negotiation and contract istration. If collective bargaining fails, the other stages in conflict settlement are conciliation, arbitration and adjudication, in that order. Worker participation in management is an effective tool for prevention of industrial disputes. The level of workers' participation can vary from organization to organization. The basic objective of worker participation is to provide an opportunity to the workers to participate in the organizational decision-making. By virtue of their participation, employees are bound to abide by all the decisions taken. This also helps in boosting the employee morale and enhancing their commitment to the organization. Some of the common forms of worker participation in management in Ethiopia are works committees, t management councils, t councils, plant councils, shop councils etc. Worker participation in Ethiopia has achieved only partial success due to factors like lack of proper education among workers, lack of understanding between the management and the workers and multiunionism. A good organizational environment built on mutual trust and confidence between the management and the workers would help in effective and successful worker participation in management. Some employees, regardless of an organization's efforts at selection, socialization, job design, performance standards and reward practices, create discipline problems for the management. Handling these discipline problems is a sensitive and challenging task for a human resource manager. Employees of an organization are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the organization's rules and standards of acceptable behavior. Employees who cannot be motivated to maintain such discipline require some degree of extrinsic disciplinary action. The primary objective of disciplinary procedure is to motivate an employee to conform to the organization's performance standards. The disciplinary problems faced by the HR managers can be classified into four categories – attendance, on-the-job behavior, dishonesty, and off-the-job behavior. There are three approaches – incorrect discipline, preventive discipline, and positive discipline – to discipline the employees. One effective way to approach the disciplinary process is to follow the Red Hot Stove Rule, which suggests that istering discipline is more like touching a hot stove. The various disciplinary actions that are istered are verbal warning, written warning, suspension, pay cut, demotion, and dismissal. The severity of the disciplinary action should be in accordance with the severity of the misconduct. The labor law and other laws were issued by the government to ensure uniform and stable conditions of employment. References

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Brewster, C. (2001). HRM: The comparative dimension. In J. Storey (ed.), Human resource management: A critical text (pp. 255–71). London: Thompson Learning. Kamoche, K. (1996). Strategic human resource management within a resource-capability view of the firm. Journal of Management Studies, 33(2), 213–33.

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Monks, K. & McMackin, J. (2001). Deg and aligning an HR system. Human Resource Management Journal, 11(2), 57–72. Scullion, H. (2001). International human resource management. In J. Storey (ed.), Human resource management: A critical text (pp. 288–313). London: Thompson Learning. Fitz-enz, J., & Davison, B. (2002). How to measure human resources management (3rd edn). New York: McGraw-Hill. Truss, C. (2001). Complexities and controversies in linking HRM with organizational outcomes. Journal of Management Studies, 38(8), 1121–49. Buyens, D., & De Vos, A. (2001). Perceptions of the value of the HR function. Human Resource Management Journal, 11(2) 2, 70–89. Peter Drucker, How to measure white-collar productivity, Wall Street Journal, 1985, November 26, p. 28 and quoted by Phillips (1996, p. 5). Becker, B. E., Huselid, M. A. and Ulrich D. (2001), Human Resource Management Metrics.

Review Questions

1. Explain the changing role of HRM in the emerging business scenario in Ethiopia. Compare it with the 2. 3. 4. 5.

western models. Explain the concept of organizational socialization. Discuss socialization factors in organizational setups. Describe the process of performance appraisal. Discuss the significance of assessment centers for improving organizational performance. Discuss role systems. Explain the concept of role efficacy. "A pay packet alone is not adequate to attract and retain competent employees." Elaborate the statement and discuss the related concepts.

Case 3.1 Ato Solomon is a worker employed in the dispatch department of a cement factory. The factory is located in one of the towns of a politically sensitive state. It employs about 1,500 employees besides the managerial staff. The annual turnover of the company is around birr 450 million and its capacity utilization if 75 per cent. The factory has three unions besides a Security Staff Association and Management Association. For eight years, only one union has been recognized, based on its "claim" that it has the largest following of workers. Continued recognition of a single union led to strained relations between the two recognized unions and the Management and among the unions themselves. Ato Solomon is an office bearer of one of the unrecognized unions. The industrial relations situation on the factory has been fluctuating from periods of harmony to periods of disturbances. On December 10, 2010, Ato Solomon dell down from the ladder, while working during the second shift. This accident resulted in serious injury to his right arm. He was itted in a Government hospital for treatment. An accident report was sent to the commissioner under Workmen’s Compensation Act, to determine the amount of compensation, if any, to be paid to Ato Solomon for the loss of any earning capacity. Meanwhile, the union in which he is an officer bearer requested the Management to pay a sum of birr 5,000 as advance to the injured worker for covering medical expenses. It also stated that the above amount might be deducted from the compensation, which Ato Solomon may get, according to the Commissioner’s decision, after obtaining a written undertaking from the union that this amount will be deducted from the compensation payable. The union also agreed to this condition. It also arranged for the release of birr 2,000 from the Labor Welfare Fund. The Medical Officer treating the worker submitted a report in February 2011. The Medical Report did not mention any kind of disablement (Full/Partial, temporary/Permanent) to the workman. The Commissioner, after processing the case and styling the report, ruled that the worker, Ato Solomon should be paid only

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half-monthly wages for these two months against his request for compensation, as there was no permanent or partial disablement. On Receipt of this report from the Commissioner, the Management asked the worker to repay birr 3,000 given as the advance and requested the union to do the needful in this regard. The union, however, contended that since the accident occurred during and in the course of employment, the Management must treat it as ex-gratia payment and payment and that it should not demand its repayment as the money was used for treatment. The Management, however, pointed out that at the time of taking advance, both the union and workman had agreed that this amount will be recovered from the compensation payable and since no compensation is payable, the workman should pay back the advance. The Management further pointed out that it cannot waive the recovery of the above advance as it is bound by the rules. The union however insisted that Management should not proceed on the recovery of advance from the worker. The Management also heard ruinous that the said union may stage a ‘show down" over his issue. Questions: a) What is the problem in the case? b) Analyze the causes, which led to the problem? c) How should one deal with such a situation? d) Discuss the Act under which this case can be dealt. Case 3.2 The National Manufacturing Company reached an agreement with its Union on a production incentive scheme to increase production. The Company had an unprecedented demand for its goods and the Union agreed for the incentive scheme. The management was pleased with the assurance of the Union leader to personally undertake the task of implementing the scheme. The management promised to give him a free hand if he could increase the production. The Union did increase production to almost double the original level. As a result, the Union gained importance. Any problem could be sorted out by the Union by its direct access to the chief executive. The management staff, as d result became wary of its interaction with the Union. Non- of the Union were discriminated by the Union. Its could set special favors like disposal of their grievances, promotions, and so on. The incentive scheme benefited primarily the Union . The scheme was inequitable as some workers got disproportionately large incentives, some low and some no incentive at all. The second feature was that as the incentive was linked to the Consumer Price Index (I) the distortion got further accentuated. However, when the Union tried to misuse its new found powers the management struck back one day by taking disciplinary actions against all the leaders and the Union found all of a sudden that it was without a leader. Another Union arrived on the scene and the leader had established a rapport with the chief executive and this new Union faithfully followed the tenets of the management but as a price extracted some benefits for its exclusively. Ii had a say on all aspects of the management function like recruitment, selection, transfers, job classification, and so on. In return the Union saw to it that production became its exclusive responsibility and it had a hot line with the chief executive for any problem resolution. Again the management became wary that their path should not cross the path of the Union resulting in a confrontation. As the years ed, the Union started agitating for improvement in the wage scales. Because of the incentive scheme, the company found that any improvement in the basic wage would pose greater problems and the primary question before the management was to delink the I from the incentive scheme. The Union refused to delink the I from the incentive scheme as some of its were earning an amount equal to, if not more than the salary as an incentive itself. At the same time workmen with no incentive and being grade barred began to lose. And this resulted in discontentment amongst the workmen. But the dilemma could not be resolved and this led to an explosive situation. A third Union emerged on the scene and this led to intense inter-union rivalry–resulting in indiscipline, loss of production, and violence within the factory premises, as a result of which the company declared a lockout.

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When the plant reopened after four months, the Union in power lost its credibility and the new Union had the complete of the workmen. In the meanwhile, the new HR Manager who ed the company during this period of strife found that a new approach to deal with the problem was very helpful. Normalcy in discipline and production seemed to return when a realistic approach of meeting the workmen for resolving problems and difficulties was made by the HR Manager and the Plant Manager. Simultaneously with workmen led to the formation of committees to look after various matters relating to the canteen, working conditions, and welfare functions. The management also withdrew at the instance of the HR Manager, charge sheets, which were in Force for over two or three years. The abuse of discretion by the old Union leaders was also rectified. This had an immediate effect and the workmen responded favorably and they even itted that there was somebody to look into the problems of the workmen. The new Union leader was happy that the management could develop a rapport not only with the leader but even the workmen and hoped that it could expect the management to rectify the defect of not having revised the wage scales. But this was not an easy task as there were a lot of inequalities that the management wanted to set right. The Union, though agreeing with the management, would not agree for a cut in the wages in any manner to set right the inequalities. The Union not only wanted to cling to the beneficial aspects of the incentive scheme but also insisted that the management somehow give an increase in the basic wages. The management was being drawn into a vicious circle of the incentive scheme being inequitable, but when the Union's attention was being brought to the high incentive categories it reverted to the low basic wage theme. The management remained in a quandary as regards how to convince the workmen, to win over the constituency of workmen, and make managers effective and regain supremacy in production. Questions: (a) Identify the problems and their causes in the case. (b) Under the given situation, how are the problems to be remedied? (c) As a human resource manager, how do you deal with this case, especially when the Union is demanding a settlement? (d) Suggest various principles and strategies the management has to keep in mind while formulating a wage incentive scheme for the employees. Case 3.3 Sami Industries Ltd., is a medium sized engineering factory employing 250 employees. The Factory Manager advised the Personnel Manager of the company to select a right man to fill up the vacancy of a "Time-Keeper". The Personnel Manager inserted an ment for this post in prominent local newspapers and received a large number of applications although specific job description and job requirements were embodied in the ment. After preliminary screening of applications, the Personnel Manager selected only 6 applications out of 197 and sent them "Application Blank" for collecting their detailed information. On receipt of Applications and on further scrutiny, it was observed that two candidates were age-bared, although they had a good experience at their credit and one candidate had a suspicious personal life. The Personnel Manager therefore selected only 3 candidates and sent them call-letters for a personal interview on a stipulated date. Only two candidates out of three appeared for the interview before the Interview consisting of three interviewers. The had therefore to take a decision on selection, of either Moges or Solomon. The personal traits and merits of these two candidates are as follows: Moges, a young man of 30 years, has worked for a year in the Time Office of a reputed company. He is an exceptionally sociable, amicable individual who enjoys mixing with employees. His verbal skills are average. But he has a good degree of hardness. He can sit late in office, prepare payrolls of employees, and complete the checking of pay sheets a day before the actual date of payment. He does not demand extra remuneration or over-time for sitting late hours in office. He is a good sportsman also and has worked as a secretary of a sports club. A glaring weakness as revealed during the interview is that not strong and he may forget a task assigned to him. But he is straight forward and frankly accepts his limitations. Solomon is also a youth, aged 25, and has a good personality, above average communication skills, but at times is "rough" in dealing with people. His clerical and computational skills are excellent. He does not on his own mix with people or takes part in extra curricular activities. He ed a textile mill as a clerk in the

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Time Office and was promoted to the post of Assistant Time Keeper within a period of 5 years. He is against the principle of sitting late in office. His sense of time keeping, punctuality is good and regular. He feels that attendance of employees must be posted in the regular on the same day and paysheets must be kept ready on 1st of every month and sent to A/c Department, for checking before 3rd inst. Similarly, he prepares the required statements and returns in time and submits the same to respective Government authorities in time. However, Solomon is short tempered and at times, he had heated arguments with managerial executives. He limits his existence to his working table and if anybody unconnected with the rime-office work comes near his table, he loses his temper. Questions:

a) In of overall capabilities and job requirements, whom will you recommend out of the two candidates, in your capacity as a Personnel Manager?

b) What are the criteria of your decision? c)

In case the other two of the interview differ from your decision, how will you convince them? d) As a Manager HR, what will you do to improve the interpersonal relations in the organization? Case 3.4 Early in December, Mersha was called in for his annual salary review. Mersha was a staff engineer for ABC Engineering Company, which he had been with for just over 10 years. In the past Mersha had usually received what he considered fair pay rise. During his salary review, his manager Denberu informed Mersha that he was recommending a 10 per cent raise. Denberu went on to extol the fine job Mersha done in the past year and to explain that Mersha should be especially proud of the above-average pay raise he would be getting. Upon reflection, Mersha was rather proud; in 10 years, he had been promoted twice and his annual salary had gone from birr150, 000 to 180,000 annual salaries. Things were moving along just fine for Mersha until he discovered few weeks later that ABC had just hired a new engineer right out of college at a starting salary of birr170, 000. It really had upset Mersha to think that a new unproven engineer would be starting at a salary almost equal to his Mersha‘s first move was to talk to several of his colleagues. Most were aware of the situation and didn't like it either. Denberu who had been an engineer with ABC for over 12 years asked Mersha if he realized he was probably making less money, in actual birr than when he started at ABC. This really floored Mersha and he realized inflation had eaten into everyone's paycheck, but he had never even considered the possibility that he had not kept up with inflation. That evening, on the local library and looked up the consumer price index (I) for the past 10 years. According to Mersha figures, if his pay had kept up exactly inflation it would be making at birr 205,000. After a very restless night, the first thing Mersha did upon arriving at work the next day was go straight to Human Resource Manager Almaz’s office. After presenting his case about the new employee and about how inflation had ended his pay Mersha sat back and waited for Almaz’s reply. Almaz started by explaining that she understood just how Mersha felt. At the same time, however, Mersha had to consider the situation from the company's standpoint as well. The current supply and demand situation dictated that ABC had to pay birr 170,000 to get new engineers who were any good at all. Almaz explained she could understand that, but she could not pay him and other senior engineers more money. Almaz again Sympathized with Mersha but then went on to explain that it was a supply and demand situation. The fact was that senior engineers just didn't demand that much more pay than engineers just starting! Questions: a) Do you thing Mersha is being fairly treated with by ABC? How would you react if you were Mersha? b) If you were Almaz how would you have responded to Mersha’s question? c) Do you think wage survey might help in this situation and how?

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d) Should Almaz establish pay grades for engineers keeping in view the demand and supply situation of the market? Case 3.5 as Products is a company manufacturing under one shed number of products requiring for Housing and Building Construction Industry. The products include hardware like door knobs, hinges, lock, tower bolts, sanitary fittings and floor tiles. AII requirements of housing and building construction industry are manufactured in different departments at its Akaki plant. The company wishes to produce and market top grade products. Dessu, the Director of Operations has been on foreign tour for over three months to see the manufacturing facilities at different plants world over. Dessu’s goal is to give to the industry, world class quality product at competitive rates and prices. His ambition is to make as the class one producer in this activity in Ethiopia. Dessu is a highly qualified technocrat with excellent background at engineering, general and marketing management. He had however limited exposure to Human Resource Management. You are hired as Manager of Human Resources. The ing team of highly qualified engineers, purchase managers and marketing managers are young and almost all of them are in the age group of 25 to 28 and very enthusiastic. They are excellent as individuals but lack the team spirit and work very hard to excel in their respective specialized knowledge. Many problems have come up for lack of communication, coordination, quality management and delivery schedules. The plant maintenance is below average. The inventories are high and the industrial relations poor as none of the managers had any exposure to this subject. You are required to make a comprehensive Management Development Program for Managers and Assistant Managers. Questions: a) How would you plan a program for the young managers? b) How will you test the existing level of their skills, attitudes and team spirit? c) What methods of developmental training would you like to use? Why? Case Study 3.6 Ethio Pharma Company manufacturing and marking drugs and medicines, the research staff has developed a number of new products and formulations, which are effective. But at the same time it has to meet severe competition from stalwarts with foreign collaboration. Debebe, the Vice President Marketing has a very successful Pharma Marketing background. He has been with the company for the past 4 years. Debebe had made ambitious plans for capturing sizeable share of market in the Oromia region. The company being medium sized, Debebe had kept his marketing department and the marketing team lean and trim. The field sales staff was given aggressive targets and was virtually pushed to reach the respective targets. The field staff worked to their best abilities to compete their respective targets. Debebe had himself been working hard almost 11- 12 hours a day. There was no formal appraisal and reward system in the company. During last 5 years more than 60 Medical Representatives and the Area Supervisors had left the company due to unsatisfactory increments and promotions. Those who left the company were star workers. However, Debebe did not care for this high turnover. He was over confident that he would be able to hire freshers and also select candidates who were not happy with their remuneration in their respective company. Debebe had never communicated to the field sales staff about their performance or reasons for not recognizing their outstanding performance in a few cases. There was on the whole a great dissatisfaction and good performers were leaving the company. Questions: a) What do you perceive is the basic problem in ‘Ethio Pharma Company’? b) What are the steps you will take serially to correct the situation? c) In the event of your suggesting a Performance Appraisal System: (i) how will you decide a suitable system of appraisal? (ii) Will your system include merit, rewards and promotions?

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