Human Resources

Communication

Communication process?

communication process consists of a message being sent and received. The message maybe verbal or non-verbal. Communication process which consists of the sender, encoding, the channel, decoding, the receiver, feedback.

Types of Channels?

Formal Channels

Are established by the organization and transmit messages that are related to the professional activities of members.

Informal Channels

Used to transmit personal or social messages in the organization. These informal channels are spontaneous and emerge as a response to individual choices.

Types of Communication?

Communication can occur via various processes and methods and depending on the channel used and the style of communication there can be various types of communication.

Types of Communication Based on Communication Channels

Based on the channels used for communicating, the process of communication can be broadly classified as verbal communication and non-verbal communication.

• Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is further divided into written and oral communication. Oral communication can either be face-to-face communication or a conversation over the phone or on the voice chat over the Internet. The other type of verbal communication is written communication. Written communication can be either via snail mail, or email.

• Nonverbal Communication

Non-verbal communication includes the overall body language of the person who is speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures, and overall body movements.

Types of Communication Based on Style and Purpose?

Based on the style of communication, there can be two broad categories of communication, which are formal and informal communication that have their own set of characteristic features.

• Formal Communication

Formal communication includes all the instances where communication has to occur in a set formal format. Typically this can include all sorts of business communication or corporate communication. The style of communication in this form is very formal and official.

• Informal Communication

Informal communication includes instances of free unrestrained communication between people who share a casual rapport with each other. Informal communication requires two people to have a similar wavelength and hence occurs between friends and family.

Computer-Aided Communication?

Ø E-mail

- Advantages: quickly written, sent, and stored; low cost for distribution.

- Disadvantages: information overload, lack of emotional content, cold and impersonal.

Ø Instant messaging

- Advantage: "real time" e-mail transmitted straight to the receiver's desktop.

- Disadvantage: can be intrusive and distracting.

Ø Intranet

- A private organization-wide information network.

Ø Extranet

- An information network connecting employees with external suppliers, customers, and strategic partners.

Ø Videoconferencing

- An extension of an intranet or extranet that permits face-to-face virtual meetings via video links.

Barriers to Effective Communication?

Filtering:A sender's manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver.

Selective Perception: People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes.

Information Overload: A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual's processing capacity.

Emotions:How a receiver feels at the time a message is received will influence how the message is interpreted.

Language: Words have different meanings to different people.

Communication Apprehension: Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both.

Communication Barriers between Men and Women?

Ø Men talk to:

- Emphasize status, power, and independence.

- Complain that women talk on and on.

- Offer solutions.

- To boast about their accomplishments.

Ø Women talk to:

- Establish connection and intimacy.

- Criticize men for not listening.

- Speak of problems to promote closeness.

- Express regret and restore balance to a conversation.

Communication Barriers and Cultural Context?

High-Context Cultures

High-Context cultures rely heavily on nonverbal communication when communication with other people what it not said what it said. Ex. - Country like China, Japan.

Low-Context Cultures

Low-Context Cultures rely essentially on words to convey meaning body language or formal title are secondary spoken are written words. Ex. - Country like Germany, North American

Team versus Group

Difference Team group and Work group?

Work Group

- Individual accountability

- Come together to share information and perspectives

- Focus on individual goals

- Produce individual work products

- Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks

- Concern with one's own outcome and challenges

- Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by manager

Work Team

- Individual and mutual accountability

- Frequently come together for discussion, decision making, problem solving, and planning.

- Focus on team goals

- Produce collective work products

- Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks to help team do its work; often share and rotate them

- Concern with outcomes of everyone and challenges the team faces

- Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by team leader with team members

Types of Teams?

Problem-Solving Teams: Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment.

Project team: A project team is pretty much what it sounds like - a group of people brought together to accomplish a particular project. Typically, when the project ends, the team ends.

Cross-functional team: A cross-functional team is made up of employees from different departments or areas of the business.

Self-Managed Work Teams: Groups of 10 to 15 people who take on the responsibilities of their former supervisors.

Virtual Teams: Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal.

Foundations of Group Behavior

Defining and Classifying Groups?

Two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

Formal Group: A designated work group defined by the organization's structure.

Informal Group: A group that is neither formally structured now organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact.

Informal Group: A group that is neither formally structured now organizationally determined; appears in response to the need for social contact.

Task Group: Those working together to complete a job or task.

Interest Group: Those working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.

Friendship Group: Those brought together because they share one or more common characteristics.

The Five-Stage Model of Group Development?

Forming Stage: In the forming stage, personal relations are characterized by dependence. Group members rely on safe, patterned behavior and look to the group leader for guidance and direction. Group members have a desire for acceptance by the group and a need to be know that the group is safe.

Storming Stage: The next stage, called Storming, is characterized by competition and conflict in the personal-relations dimension an organization in the task-functions dimension. As the group members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably results in their personal relations.

Norming Stage: In the norming stage, interpersonal relations are characterized by cohesion. Group members are engaged in active acknowledgment of all members' contributions, community building and maintenance, and solving of group issues.

Performing Stage: The performing stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit with equal facility.

Adjourning Stage: The final stage, adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviors and disengagement from relationships. A planned conclusion usually includes recognition for participation and achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes.

Temporary Groups with Deadlines?

Punctuated-Equilibrium Model: Temporary groups go through transitions between inertia and activity.

Sequence of actions:

1. Setting group direction
2. First phase of inertia
3. Half-way point transition
4. Major changes
5. Second phase of inertia
6. Accelerated activity

Group Structure - Roles?

Group structure is a pattern of relationships among members that hold the group together and help it achieve assigned goals.

Group size

Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people. Small groups of two to ten are thought to be more effective because each member has ample opportunity to participate and become actively involved in the group. Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes and trying to decide who should participate next.

Group roles

In formal groups, roles are usually predetermined and assigned to members. Each role will have specific responsibilities and duties. There are, however, emergent roles that develop naturally to meet the needs of the groups. The informer role involves finding facts and giving advice or opinions. Clarifiers will interpret ideas, define terms, and clarify issues for the group. Summarizers restate suggestions, offer decisions, and come to conclusions for the group.

Group norms

Norms are acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the members of the group. Norms define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. They are typically created in order to facilitate group survival, make behavior more predictable, avoid embarrassing situations, and express the values of the group.

Why People Join Groups?

In my opinion people join groups for different reasons at different times. It really depends on the circumstances. But what you have mentioned covers the major reasons why do they join a group.

I could think of only minor reasons like:

Security, Status, Self-esteem, Affiliation, Power, Goal achievement.

Conflict and Negotiation

Conflict Defined

Is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.

View of Conflict?

Traditional View of Conflict: The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided. Causes: Poor communication, Lack of openness, Failure to respond to employee needs

Human Relations View of Conflict: The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group.

Interactionist View of Conflict: The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively.

Functional Conflict: Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance.

Dysfunctional Conflict: Conflict that hinders group performance

Task Conflict: Conflicts over content and goals of the work.

Relationship Conflict: Conflict based on interpersonal relationships.

Process Conflict: Conflict over how work gets done.

The Conflict Process?

Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

The first step in the conflict process is the presence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. They need not lead directly to conflict, but one of these conditions is necessary if conflict is to surface.

Communication: The communication source represents the opposing forces that arise from semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and noise in the communication channels.

Structure: The term structure is used, in this context, to include variables such as size, degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to group members, jurisdictional clarity, member-goal compatibility, leadership styles, reward systems, and the degree of dependence among groups.

Personal Variables: As practical experience has taught us, some people are conflict oriented and others are conflict aversive. Evidence indicates that certain personality types-for example, individuals who are highly authoritarian and dogmatic-lead to potential conflict.

Stage II: Cognition and Personalization

If the conditions cited in stage I negatively affect something that one party cares about, and then the potential for opposition or incompatibility becomes actualized in the second stage. As our definition of conflict notes, perception is required. One or more of the parties must be aware of the existence of the antecedent conditions. However, because a conflict is perceived does not make it personalized. In other words, "A may be aware that B and A are in serious disagreement . . . but it may not make A tense or anxious, and it may have no effect whatsoever on A's affection toward B."6 It is at the felt level, when individuals become emotionally involved, that parties experience anxiety, tension, frustration, or hostility.

Stage III: Intentions

Intentions intervene among people's perceptions and emotions and overt behaviors. These intentions are decisions to act in a given way. Using two dimensions-cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party's concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns)-we can identify five conflict-handling intentions:

1. Competing: assertive and uncooperative, such as when you strive to achieve your goal at the expense of the other party achieving his.

2. Collaborating: assertive and cooperative-intending to find a win-win solution that makes both parties happy.

3. Avoiding: unassertive and uncooperative, such as when you avoid a conflict based on the hope it will just go away.

4. Accommodating: unassertive and cooperative, such as when you give in just to please someone else.

5. Compromising: mid-range on both assertiveness and cooperativeness, where the pie is sliced down the middle).

Stage IV: Behavior

When most people think of conflict situations, they tend to focus on stage IV because this is where conflicts become visible. The behavior stage includes the statements, actions, and reactions made by the conflicting parties. These conflict behaviors are usually overt attempts to implement each party's intentions, but they have a stimulus quality that is separate from intentions. As a result of miscalculations or unskilled enactments, overt behaviors sometimes deviate from original intentions.

Stage V: Outcomes

The action-reaction interplay among the conflicting parties results in consequences.

Functional Outcomes It is hard to visualize a situation in which open or violent aggression could be functional. Yet in a number of instances, it's possible to envision how low or moderate levels of conflict could improve the effectiveness of a group. Because people often find it difficult to think of instances in which conflict can be constructive, let's consider some examples and then review the research evidence. Note how all these examples focus on task and process conflicts and exclude the relationship variety. Conflict is constructive when it:

■improves the quality of decisions,

■stimulates creativity and innovation,

■encourages interest and curiosity among group members,

■provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released, and

■fosters an environment of self-evaluation and change.

Dysfunctional Outcomes The destructive consequences of conflict on a group's ororganization's performance are generally well known. A reasonable summary mightstate that uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent, which acts to dissolve commonties, and eventually leads to the destruction of the group. And, of course, a substantialbody of literature documents how conflict-the dysfunctional varieties-can reducegroup effectiveness.13 Among the more undesirable consequences are a retarding ofcommunication, reductions in group cohesiveness, and subordination of group goalsto the primacy of infighting among members. At the extreme, conflict can bring groupfunctioning to a halt and potentially threaten the group's survival.

Creating Functional Conflict One common ingredient in organizations that successfully create functional conflict is that they reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders. The real challenge for managers, however, occurs when they hear news that they don't want to hear. The news may make their blood boil or their hopes collapse, but they can't show it. They have to learn to take the bad news without flinching. No tirades, no tight-lipped sarcasm, no eyes rolling upward, no gritting of teeth.

Types of Bargaining Strategies?

There are two general approaches to negotiation: distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. Distributive and integrative bargaining differs in goal and motivation, focus, interests, information sharing, and duration of relationship. Let's examine the differences between these two approaches.

Distributive Bargaining:

Goal- Get as much of the pie as possible

Motivation- Win-lose

Focus- Positions ("I can't go beyond this Interests point on this issue.")

Interests- Opposed

Information- Low (sharing information will allow other party to advantage)

Duration of relationship- Short term

Integrative Bargaining:

Goal- Expand the pie so that both parties are satisfied

Motivation- Win-Win

Focus- Interests ("Can you explain why this issue is so important to you?")

Interests- Congruent

Information- High (sharing information will allow each party to find ways to satisfy interests of each party)

Duration of relationship- Long term

The Negotiation Process?

It views negotiation as made up of five steps:

1. Preparation and planning

2. Definition of ground rules

3. Clarification and justification

4. Bargaining and problem solving

5. Closure and implementation

Third-Party Negotiations?

Mediator: A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives.

Arbitrator: A third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an agreement.

Conciliator: A trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent.

Consultant: An impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis.

Dimension Conflict-Handling Intention?

Conflict-Handling Intention: Competition

Ø When quick, decisive action is vital (in emergencies); on important issues.

Ø Where unpopular actions need implementing (in cost cutting, enforcing unpopular rules, discipline).

Ø On issues vital to the organization's welfare.

Ø When you know you're right.

Ø Against people who take advantage of noncompetitive behavior.

Conflict-Handling Intention: Collaboration

Ø To find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised.

Ø When your objective is to learn.

Ø To merge insights from people with different perspectives.

Ø To gain commitment by incorporating concerns into a consensus.

Ø To work through feelings those have interfered with a relationship.

Conflict-Handling Intention: Avoidance

Ø When an issue is trivial, or more important issues are pressing.

Ø When you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns.

Ø When potential disruption outweighs the benefits of resolution.

Ø To let people cool down and regain perspective.

Ø When gathering information supersedes immediate decision.

Ø When others can resolve the conflict effectively

Ø When issues seem tangential or symptomatic of other issues.

Conflict-Handling Intention: Accommodation

Ø When you find you're wrong and to allow a better position to be heard.

Ø To learn, and to show your reasonableness.

Ø When issues are more important to others than to yourself and to satisfy others and maintain cooperation.

Ø To build social credits for later issues.

Ø To minimize loss when outmatched and losing.

Ø When harmony and stability are especially important.

Ø To allow employees to develop by learning from mistakes.

Conflict-Handling Intention: Compromise

Ø When goals are important but not worth the effort of potential disruption of more assertive approaches.

Ø When opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals.

Ø To achieve temporary settlements to complex issues.

Ø To arrive at expedient solutions under time pressure.

Ø As a backup when collaboration or competition is unsuccessful.

Human Resource Policies and Practices

Methods of Performance Evaluation?

Written Essay

A narrative describing an employee's strengths, weaknesses, past performances, potential, and suggestions for improvement.

Critical Incidents: Evaluating the behaviors that are key in making the difference between executing a job effectively and executing it ineffectively.

Graphic Rating Scales: An evaluation method in which the evaluator rates performance factors on an incremental scale.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): Scales that combine major elements from the critical incident and graphic rating scale approaches: The appraiser rates the employees based on items along a continuum, but the points are examples of actual behavior on a given job rather than general descriptions or traits.

Forced Comparisons: Evaluating one individual's performance relative to the performance of another individual or others.

- Group Order Ranking: An evaluation method that places employees into a particular classification, such as quartiles.

- Individual Ranking:An evaluation method that rank-orders employees from best to worse.

- Paired Comparison: An evaluation method that compares each employee with every other employee and assigns a summary ranking based on the number of superior scores that the employee achieves.

Wage earners are paid by the hour.

Salary earners are paid by the year.

Salary earners usually receive paid time when they are not working.

Wage earners often have to give up pay for time off.

Salaries are often calculated as packages.

Wage earners get paid more for working more than 40 hours per week.

Salary workers are rarely offered overtime pay.

Salaries can contain all kinds of benefits and perks. Difference between training,learning,development,education?

Training is concerned with the teaching of specific, factual, narrow - scoped subject matter and skills. It is a formal classroom learning activities.

Development is concerned with a broader subject matter of a conceptual or theoretical nature and the development of personal attitudes. It comprises all learning experiences, both on and off the job, including formal, classroom training.

Education, primarily, involves the presentation of material by the faculty to students who are learning about the subject matter. The material being studied is fundamentally well known material. Those activities known as teaching and training are included in this category.

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skill through study, experience or teaching. It is a process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential. Behavior potential describes the possible behavior of an individual in a given situation in order to achieve a goal.

Task interdependence is the extent to which activities are dependent on each other. That is the degree to which activities are related. There are three categories of task interdependence (in reverse hierarchical order):

1. Sequential interdependence: when one task is completed then handed off for the next stage; this type of relationship often requires dense information flows at points of transfer (between one activity to the next)

• Assembly line is an example of this, once the parts are made, it goes to the next activity where they are put together, and then to the next activity where the car is painted. Thus, there is little dependency between each stage. (Clearly I'm not a car person!)

2. Pooled interdependence: when inter-dependent task are undertaken simultaneously and the final result of each activity is put together (or 'pooled'); such dependency is the easiest of the three to manage because each group could work on the activity independently and then come together for the final stage where all items are put together

• An example of this is a group of students who want to raise money for a charity foundation, each student/group of would work to get donations of their own independently and then the contributions they get at the end of the process is pooled and donated

3. Reciprocal interdependence: when task are conducted with repeated interaction among each other; this type of activity requires sustained interaction between individuals for the task to be completed and is the most difficult to manage

• An example of this is a marketing department in a company, they have to continually communicate the current trends to the company to keep them well informed of the market that is what is demanded and what should be created, but the operations of the company has to continually communicate with the marketing department to inform them of what products should be marketed to which target group, and the such.

Planning is nothing but using the available assets for the effective implementation of the production plans. After the preparing the plans, people are grouped together to achieve organizational objectives.

Planning is concerned with coordinating, motivating and controlling of the various activities within the organization. Time required for acquiring the material, capital and machinery should be taken into account. Manager has to reasonably predict future events and plan out the production. The basic purpose of the management is to increase the production, so that the profit margin can be increased. Manager has to guess the future business and to take timely and correct decisions in respect of company objectives, policies and cost performances. The plans need to be supported by all the members of the organization. Planning is making a decision in advance what is to be done. It is the willpower of course of action to achieve the desired results. It is a kind of future picture where events are sketched. It can be defined as a mental process requiring the use of intellectual faculty, imagination, foresight and sound judgment.

It involves problem solving and decision making. Management has to prepare for short term strategy and measure the achievements, while the long term plans are prepared to develop the better and new products, services, expansion to keep the interest of the owners.

Advantages of manpower planning:

Manpower planning ensures optimum use of available human resources.

1. It is useful both for organization and nation.

2. It generates facilities to educate people in the organization.

3. It brings about fast economic developments.

4. It boosts the geographical mobility of labor.

5. It provides smooth working even after expansion of the organization.

6. It opens possibility for workers for future promotions, thus providing incentive.

7. It creates healthy atmosphere of encouragement and motivation in the

organization.

8. Training becomes effective.

9. It provides help for career development of the employees.

Steps in Manpower planning

1. Predict manpower plans

2. Design job description and the job requirements

3. Find adequate sources of recruitment.

4. Give boost to youngsters by appointment to higher posts.

5. Best motivation for internal promotion.

6. Look after the expected losses due to retirement, transfer and other issues.

7. See for replacement due to accident, death, dismissals and promotion.

Factors which affect the efficiency of labor:

1. Inheritance: Persons from good collection are bound to work professionally. The quality and rate of physical as well as mental development, which is dissimilar in case of different individuals is the result of genetic differences.

2. Climate: Climatic location has a definite effect on the efficiency of the workers.

3. Health of worker: worker's physical condition plays a very important part in performing the work. Good health means the sound mind, in the sound body.

4. General and technical education: education provides a definite impact n the working ability and efficiency of the worker.

5. Personal qualities: persons with dissimilar personal qualities bound to have definite differences in their behaviour and methods of working. The personal qualities influence the quality of work.

6. Wages: proper wages guarantees certain reasons in standard of living, such as cheerfulness, discipline etc. and keep workers satisfy. This provides incentive to work.

7. Hours of work: long and tiring hours of work exercise have bad effect on the competence of the workers.

Downsizing of manpower:

Downsizing of manpower gives the correct picture about the number of people to be employed to complete given task in the predetermined period. It is used for achieving fundamental growth in the concern. It can work out the correct price by the resource building or capacity building. It aims at correct place, correct man on a correct job.

Thus manpower planning is must to make the optimum utilization of the greatest resource available i.e. manpower for the success of any organization.