The boundaryless organisation and Reengineering

The boundaryless organisation :

           In a boundaryless organisation, the boundaries that typically separate organisational functions (production, marketing, finance, etc.) and hierarchical levels are reduced and made more permeable. Cross-functional teams are created and used widely. Employees are encouraged to get rid of “It is not my job” kind of attitudes. The focus, instead, is put on defining the job in a flexible way, keeping the best interests of the organisation in the background.

Reengineering : 

          Reengineering brings about a radical, quantum change in an organisation. It requires organisational members to rethink what work should be done, how it is to be done and how to best implement these decisions. Reengineering is achieved in several ways:

• Specialised jobs are combined and enlarged.

• Each person’s job is made more interesting and challenging. Supervisory checks are reduced. Employees are allowed to oversee their own work.

• Workers are made collectively responsible for overall results rather than individually responsible for just their own tasks.

• The primary focus is on the customer and building an organisation structure that is production friendly. Workers are empowered to use more decisionmaking authority while carrying out work in small teams.

Flatter organisations and Work teams

 Flatter organisations:

            Most progressive organisations have opted in favour of trimming the ‘flab’ at the top level, reducing the traditional pyramidical structures to barely three or four levels. As the remaining managers are left with more people reporting to them, they can supervise them less, so the jobs of subordinates end up bigger in terms of both breadth and depth of responsibilities. 

Work teams:

Yesterday’s jobs were dominated by the rigidity associated with them. Workers performed the same tasks daily. Now the situation is different. Work itself is increasingly organised around teams and processes rather than around specialised functions. Cross-functional, self-directed teams handle different jobs at different points of time. Individuals will work with other workers for a specified period of time and then take up another project. The project can be in the organisation as well as outside it. Workers will perform their duties as members of project teams, not necessarily as members of a particular department within the organisation.

WRITING JOB SPECIFICATION

            Job specification summarises the human characteristics needed for satisfactory job completion. It tries to describe the key qualifications someone needs to perform the job successfully. It spells out the important attributes of a person in terms of education, experience, skills, knowledge and abilities (SKAs) to perform a particular job. The job specification is a logical outgrowth of a job description. For each job description, it is desirable to have a job specification. This helps the organisation to determine what kind of persons are needed to take up specific jobs. The personal attributes that are described through a job specification may be classified into three categories:

i. Essential attributes: skills, knowledge and abilities (SKAs) a person must possess.
ii. Desirable attributes: qualifications a person ought to possess.
iii. Contra-indicators: attributes that will become a handicap to successful job performance.

IT AND COMPUTERISED SKILL INVENTORY

         The growth of Internet has changed the hiring landscape. Job seekers register their resume on the website and they are informed of vacancies in any organisation that match their qualifications through e-mail.

         Automated staffing software would seem to provide a much-needed technological edge for human resource professionals in the high-tech age. It allows employers to create a reusable pool of applicants from resumes they receive. Resumes received by employers may be in electronic formats—through e-mails, Internet applications or diskettes — or on paper that must be optically scanned and converted into computer files. The software programmes typically rank the resumes on the basis of how well each applicant matches the employer’s criteria. 

Questionnaire method

            The questionnaire is a widely used method of analysing jobs and work. Here the job holders are given a properly designed questionnaire aimed at eliciting relevant job-related information. After completion, the questionnaires are handed over to supervisors. The supervisors can seek further clarifications on various items by talking to the job holders directly. After everything is finalised, the data is given to the job analyst.

Panel of experts and Diary method

Panel of experts :

This method utilises senior job incumbents and superiors with extensive knowledge of the job. To get the job analysis information, the analyst conducts an interview with the group. The interaction of the members during the interview can add insight and detail that the analyst might not get from individual interviews.

Diary method :

Several job incumbents are asked to keep diaries or logs of their daily job activities – according to this method – and record the amount of time spent on each activity. By analysing these activities over a specified period of time, a job analyst is able to record the job’s essential characteristics. However, it is a time consuming and costly exercise in that the analyst has to record entries for a painfully long time.

Guidelines for Conducting Job Analysis Interviews

• Put the worker at ease; establish rapport.
• Make the purpose of the interview clear.
• Encourage the worker to talk by using empathy creativity.
• Help the worker to think and talk according to the logical sequence of the duties performed.
• Ask the worker only one question at a time.
• Phrase questions carefully so that the answers will be more than just “yes” or “no”.
• Avoid asking leading questions.
• Secure specified and complete information pertaining to the work performed and the worker’s traits.
• Conduct the interview in plain, easy language.
• Consider the relationship of the present job to other jobs in the department.
• Control the time and subject matter of the interview.
• Be patient and considerate to the worker.
• Summarise the information obtained before closing the interview.
• Close the interview promptly.

METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS

           A variety of methods, are used to collect information about jobs. None of them, however, is perfect. In actual practice, therefore, a combination of several methods is used for obtaining job analysis data. These are discussed below. 

1. Job performance: In this method, the job analyst actually performs the job in question. The analyst thus receives first-hand experience of contextual factors on the job including physical hazards, social demands, emotional pressures and mental requirements. This method is useful for jobs that can be easily learned. It is not suitable for jobs that are hazardous (e.g., fire fighters) or for jobs that require extensive training (e.g., doctors, pharmacists).

2. Personal observation: The analyst observes the worker(s) doing the job. The tasks performed, the pace at which activities are done, the working conditions, etc., are observed during a complete work cycle. During observation, certain precautions should be taken:
i. The analyst must observe average workers during average conditions.
ii. The analyst should observe without getting directly involved in the job.
iii. The analyst must make note of the specific job needs and not the behaviours specific to particular workers.
iv. The analyst must make sure that he obtains a proper sample for generalisation. This method allows for a deep understanding of job duties. It is appropriate for manual, short period job activities. On the negative side, the method fails to take note of the mental aspects of jobs.

3. Critical incidents: The critical incident technique (CIT) is a qualitative approach to job analysis used to obtain specific, behaviourally focused descriptions of work or other activities. Here the job holders are asked to describe several incidents based on their past experience. The incidents so collected are analysed and classified according to the job areas they describe. The job requirements will become clear once the analyst draws the line between effective and ineffective behaviours of workers on the job. For example, if a shoe salesman comments on the size of a customer’s feet and the customer leaves the store in a huff, the behaviour of the salesman may be judged as ineffective in terms of the result it produced. The critical incidents are recorded after the events have already taken place – both routine and non-routine. The process of collecting a fairly good number of incidents is a lengthy one. Since incidents of behaviour can be quite dissimilar, the process of classifying data into usable job descriptions can be difficult. The analysts overseeing the work must have analytical skills and ability to translate the content of descriptions into meaningful statements.
4. Interview: The interview method consists of asking questions to both incumbents and supervisors in either an individual or a group setting. The reason behind the use of this method is that job holders are most familiar with the job and can supplement the information obtained through observation. Workers know the specific duties of the job and supervisors are aware of the job’s relationship to the rest of the organisation.
Due diligence must be exercised while using the interview method. The interviewer must be trained in proper interviewing techniques. It is advisable to use a standard format so as to focus the interview to the purpose of the analyst. 

Strategic partner

             HR’s role is not just to adapt its activities to the firm’s business strategy, nor certainly to carry out fire-fighting operations like compensating employees. Instead, it must deliver strategic services cost effectively by building a competent, consumer-oriented work force. It must assume important roles in strategy formulation as well strategy implementation. 

           To this end, it must identify external opportunities from time to time, develop HR based competitive advantages and move in to close the gaps advantageously (like excellent training centre, design centre, automation centre etc. which could be used by others as well). While implementing strategies, HR should develop appropriate ways to restructure work processes smoothly.

Change agent

           Strategic HR as it is popularly called now aims at building the organisation’s capacity to embrace and capitalise on change. It makes sure that change initiatives that are focused on creating high-performing teams, reducing cycle time for innovation, or implementing new technology are defined, developed and delivered in a timely manner. The HR manager in his new avtar would help employees translate the vision statements into a meaningful format (Ulrich, 1998).

             HR's role as a change agent is to replace resistance with resolve, planning with results and fear of change with excitement about its possibilities. HR helps an organisation identify the key success factors for change and assess the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses regarding each factor. It may not decide what changes the organisation is going to embrace, but it would certainly lead the process to make them explicit. 

             In helping to bring about a new HR environment there needs to be clarity on issues like who is responsible for bringing about change? Why do it? What will it look when we are done? Who else needs to be involved? , How will it be measured? How will it be institutionalised? How will it be measured? How will it get initiated, developed and sustained?

Strategic Roles

          An organisation’s success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities of its employees, particularly as they help establish a set of core competencies (activities that the firm performs especially well when compared to its competitors and through which the firm adds value to its goods and services over a long period of time, e.g. ONGC 's oil exploration capabilities and Dell's ability to deliver low cost, high-quality computers at an amazing speed) that distinguish an organisation from its competitors. 

          When employees’ talents are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and organised, a firm can achieve sustained competitive advantage through its people. The strategic role of HR management focuses attention on how to enable ordinary employees to turn out extraordinary performance, taking care of their ever-changing expectations. 

            The key areas of attention in this era of global competition include effective management of key Resources (employees, technology, work processes), while delivering cost effective, valueenhancing solution.

Operational Roles

These roles are tactical in nature and include recruiting, training and developing employees; coordinating HR activities with the actions of managers and supervisors throughout the organisation and resolving differences between employees.

i. Recruiter: “Winning the war for talent” has become an important job of HR managers in recent times in view of the growing competition for people possessing requisite knowledge, skills and experience. HR managers have to use their experience to good effect while laying down lucrative career paths to new recruits without, increasing the financial burden to the company.

ii. Trainer developer, motivator: Apart from talent acquisition, talent retention is also important. To this end, HR managers have to find skill deficiencies from time to time, offer meaningful training opportunities, and bring out the latent potential of people through intrinsic and extrinsic rewards which are valued by employees.

iii. Coordinator/linking pin: The HR manager is often deputed to act as a linking pin between various divisions/departments of an organisation. The whole exercise is meant to develop rapport with divisional heads, using PR and communication skills of HR executives to the maximum possible extent.

iv. Mediator: The personnel manager acts as a mediator in case of friction between two employees, groups of employees, superiors and subordinates and employees and management with the sole objective of maintaining industrial harmony.

v. Employee champion: HR managers have traditionally been viewed as ‘company morale officers’ or employee advocates. Liberalisation, privatisation and globalization pressures have changed the situation dramatically HR professionals have had to move closer to the hearts of employees in their own self interest. To deliver results they are now seriously preoccupied with:

l Placing people on the right job.

l Charting a suitable career path for each employee.

l Rewarding creditable performance.

l Resolving differences between employees and groups smoothly.

l Adopting family-friendly policies.

l Ensuring fair and equitable treatment to all people regardless of their background.

l Striking a happy balance between the employee's personal/professional as also the larger organisational needs.

l Representing workers’ issues, problems and concerns to the management in order to deliver effective results HR managers have to treat their employees as valuable assets. Such an approach helps to ensure that HR practices and principles are in sync with the organisation’s overall strategy. It forces the organisation to invest in its best employees and ensure that performance standards are not compromised.

Administrative Roles

The administrative roles of human resource management include policy formulation and implementation, housekeeping, records maintenance, welfare administration, legal compliance etc.

i. Policy maker: The human resource manger helps management in the formation of policies governing talent acquisition and retention, wage and salary administration, welfare activities, personnel records, working conditions etc. He also helps in interpreting personnel policies in an appropriate manner.

ii. Administrative expert: The administrative role of an HR manager is heavily oriented to processing and record keeping. Maintaining employee files, and HRrelated databases, processing employee benefit claims, answering queries regarding leave, transport and medical facilities, submitting required reports to regulatory agencies are examples of the administrative nature of HR management. These activities must be performed efficiently and effectively to meet changing requirements of employees, customers and the government.

iii. Advisor: It is said that personnel management is not a line responsibility but a staff function. The personnel manager performs his functions by advising, suggesting, counselling and helping the line managers in discharging their responsibilities relating to grievance redressal, conflict resolution, employee selection and training. Personnel advice includes preparation of reports, communication of guidelines for the interpretation and implementation of policies, providing information regarding labour laws etc.

iv. Housekeeper: The administrative roles of a personnel manager in managing the show include recruiting, pre-employment testing, reference checking, employee surveys, time keeping, wage and salary administration, benefits and pension administration, wellness programmes, maintenance of records etc.

v. Counsellor: The personnel manager discusses various problems of the employees relating to work, career, their supervisors, colleagues, health, family, financial, social, etc. and advises them on minimising and overcoming problems, if any.

vi. Welfare officer: Personnel manager is expected to be the Welfare Officer of the company. As a Welfare officer he provides and maintains (on behalf of the company) canteens, hospitals, creches, educational institutes, clubs, libraries, conveyance facilities, co-operative credit societies and consumer stores. Under the Factories Act, Welfare officers are expected to take care of safety, health and welfare of employees. The HR managers are often asked to oversee if everything is in line with the company legislation and stipulation.

vii. Legal consultant: Personnel manager plays a role of grievance handling, settling of disputes, handling disciplinary cases, doing collective bargaining, enabling the process of joint consultation, interpretation and implementation of various labour laws, contacting lawyers regarding court cases, filing suits in labour courts, industrial tribunals, civil courts and the like.

 

             In some organisations, the above administrative functions are being outsourced to external providers in recent times, with a view to increasing efficiency as also cutting operational costs. Technology, is being put to good use to automate many of the administrative tasks.

Emerging issues

                Effective management of human resources depends on refining HRM practices to changing conditions. Hence the need to look at other important issues that can motivate people to give their best in a dynamic and ever-changing environment.

i. Personnel records: Personnel records such as papers, files, cards, cassettes and films are maintained to have tangible record of what is actually happening in an organisation and to formulate appropriate HR policies and programmes (based on historical records, actual experience and future trends) from time to time.

ii. Human resource audit: Human resource audit refers to an examination and evaluation of policies, procedures and practices to determine the effectiveness of HRM. Personnel audit (a) measures the effectiveness of personnel programmes and practices and (b) determines what should or should not be done in future. 

iii. Human resources research: It is the process of evaluating the effectiveness of human resource policies and practices and developing more appropriate ones.iv. Human resources accounting (HRA): It is a measurement of the cost and value of human resources to the organisation. Human resource management is said to be effective if its value and contribution in any organisation is more than its cost. 

vi.Human resource information system: HRIS is an integrated system designed to improve the efficiency with which HR data is compiled. It makes HR records more useful to the management by serving as a source of information. 

 

Integration function

                This tries to integrate the goals of an organisation with employee aspirations through various employee-oriented programmes, like redressing grievances promptly, instituting proper disciplinary measures, empowering people to decide things independently, encouraging a participative culture, offering constructive help to trade unions etc.

i. Grievance redressal: A grievance is any factor involving wages, hours or conditions of employment that is used as a complaint against the employer. Constructive grievance handling depends first on the manager’s ability to recognise, diagnose and correct the causes of potential employee dissatisfaction before it converts into a formal grievance.

ii. Discipline: It is the force that prompts an individual or a group to observe the rules, regulations and procedures, which are deemed necessary for the attainment of an objective.

 

iii. Teams and teamwork: Self-managed teams have emerged as the most important formal groups in today’s organisations. They enhance employee involvement and have the potential to create positive synergy. By increasing worker interaction, they create camaraderie among team members. 

Maintenance

              It aims at protecting and preserving the physical and psychological health of employees through various welfare measures. 

i. Health and safety: Managers at all levels are expected to know and enforce safety and health standards throughout the organisation. They must ensure a work environment that protects employees from physical hazards, unhealthy conditions and unsafe acts of other personnel. Through proper safety and health programmes, the physical and psychological well-being of employees must be preserved and even improved.

ii. Employee welfare: Employee welfare includes the services, amenities and facilities offered to employees within or outside the establishment for their physical, psychological and social well being. Housing, transportation, education and recreation facilities are all included in the employee welfare package.

iii. Social security measures: Managements provide social security to their employees in addition to fringe benefits. These measures include: (a) Workmen’s compensation to those workers (or their dependents) who are involved in accidents; (b) Maternity benefits to women employees;

(c) Sickness benefits and medical benefits; (d) Disablement benefits/allowance; (e) Dependent benefits; (f) Retirement benefits like Provident Fund, Pension, Gratuity, etc.

Motivation and compensation

               It is a process which inspires people to give their best to the organisation through the use of intrinsic (achievement, recognition, responsibility) and extrinsic (job design, work scheduling, appraisal based incentives) rewards.

i. Job design: Organising tasks, and responsibilities towards having a productive unit of work is called job design. The main purpose of job design is to integrate the needs of employers to suit the requirements of an organisation.

ii. Work scheduling: Organisations must realise the importance of scheduling work to motivate employees through job enrichment, shorter work weeks flexi-time, work sharing and home work assignments. Employees need to be challenged at work and the job itself must be one that they value. Work scheduling is an attempt to structure work, incorporating the physical, physiological and behavioural aspects of work.

iii. Motivation: Combining forces that allow people to behave in certain ways is an integral aspect of motivation. People must have both the ability and the motivation if they are to perform at a high level. Managers generally try to motivate people through properly administered rewards (financial as well as non-financial).

Development

                It is the process of improving, moulding, changing and developing the skills, knowledge, creative ability, aptitude, attitude, values and commitment based on present and future requirements both at the individual’s and organisation’s level. 

This function includes:

i. Training: Training is a continuous process by which employees learn skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes to further organisational and personnel goals. 

ii. Executive development: It is a systematic process of developing managerial skills and capabilities through appropriate programmes. 

iii. Career planning and development: It is the planning of one’s career and implementation of career plans by means of education, training, job search and acquisition of work experiences. It includes succession planing which implies identifying developing and tracking key individuals for executive positions

iv. Human resource development: HRD aims at developing the total organisation. It creates a climate that enables every employee to develop and use his capabilities in order to further both individual and organisational goals.

Procurement function

             The first operative function of personnel management is procurement. It is concerned with procuringand employing people who possess necessary skill, knowledge and aptitude. Under its purview you have job analysis, manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and internal mobility. 

Job analysis: It is the process of collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities pertaining to a specific job. 

Human resources planning: It is a process of determining and assuring that the organisation will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which would meet their needs and provide satisfaction for the individuals involved. 

 
Recruitment: It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. 

Selection: It is the process of ascertaining qualifications, experience, skill and knowledge of an applicant with a view to appraising his/her suitability to the job in question.

Placement: It is the process that ensures a 360º fit, matching the employee’s qualifications, experience, skills and interest with the job on offer. It is the personnel manager’s responsibility to position the right candidate at the right level.

Induction and orientation: Induction and orientation are techniques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in his new surroundings and introduced to the practices, policies, and people. He must be acquainted with the principles which define and drive the organisation, its mission statement and values which form its backbone.

Internal Mobility: The movement of employes from one job to another through transfers and promotions is called internal mobility. Some employees leave an organisation due to various reasons leading to resignation, retirement and even termination. These movements are known as external mobility. In the best interest of an organisation and its employees, such job changes should be guided by well-conceived principles and policies.

ROLE OF HR MANAGERS

Human Resource Managers, nowadays, wear many hats. They perform mainly three different types of roles, while meeting the requirement of employees and customers, namely administrative, operational and strategic.

Administrative Roles

             The administrative roles of human resource management include policy formulation and implementation, housekeeping, records maintenance, welfare administration, legal compliance etc.

Operational Roles

         These roles are tactical in nature and include recruiting, training and developing employees; coordinating HR activities with the actions of managers and supervisors throughout the organisation and resolving differences between employees.

Strategic Roles

           An organisation’s success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities of its employees, particularly as they help establish a set of core competencies (activities that the firm performs especially well when compared to its competitors and through which the firm adds value to its goods and services over a long period of time.

International human resource management

             International business is important to almost every business today and so firms must increasingly be managed with a clear global focus. 

               This of course, poses many challenges before managers including coordinating production, sales and financial operations on a worldwide basis. International HRM places greater emphasis on a number of responsibilities and functions such as relocation, orientation and training services to help employees adapt to a new and different environment outside their own country.

 

Operative Functions

1. Procurement function: The first operative function of personnel management is procurement. It is concerned with procuring and employing people who possess necessary skill, knowledge and aptitude. Under its purview you have job analysis, manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and internal mobility. 

2. Development: It is the process of improving, moulding, changing and developing the skills, knowledge, creative ability, aptitude, attitude, values and commitment based on present and future requirements both at the individual’s and organisation’s level.

3. Motivation and compensation: It is a process which inspires people to give their best to the organisation through the use of intrinsic (achievement, recognition, responsibility) and extrinsic (job design, work scheduling, appraisal based incentives) rewards.

4. Maintenance: It aims at protecting and preserving the physical and psychological health of employees through various welfare measures.

5. Integration function: This tries to integrate the goals of an organisation with employee aspirations through various employee-oriented programmes, like redressing grievances promptly, instituting proper disciplinary measures, empowering people to decide things independently, encouraging a participative culture, offering constructive help to trade unions etc.

6. Emerging issues: Effective management of human resources depends on refining HRM practices to changing conditions. Hence the need to look at other important issues that can motivate people to give their best in a dynamic and ever-changing environment.

Managerial Functions

i. Planning: This function deals with the determination of the future course of action to achieve desired results. Planning of personnel today prevents crises tomorrow. The personnel manager is expected to determine the personnel programme regarding recruitment, selection and training of employees.

ii. Organising: This function is primarily concerned with proper grouping of personnel activities, assigning of different groups of activities to different individuals and delegation of authority. Creation of a proper structural framework is his primary task. Organising, in fact, is considered to be the wool of the entire management fabric and hence cannot afford to be ignored.

iii. Directing: This involves supervising and guiding the personnel. To execute plans, direction is essential for without direction there is no destination. Many a time, the success of the organisation depends on the direction of things rather than their design. Direction then consists of motivation and leadership. The personnel manager must be an effective leader who can create winning teams. While achieving results, the personnel manager must, invariably, take care of the concerns and expectations of employees at all levels.

iv. Controlling: Controlling function of personnel management comprises measuring the employee’s performance, correcting negative deviations and industrial assuring an efficient accomplishment of plans. It makes individuals aware of their performance through review reports, records and personnel audit programmes. It ensures that the activities are being carried out in accordance with stated plans. 

DESCRIPTION OF LINE AND STAFF FUNCTIONS

              In a sense, all managers are HR managers as they all get involved in activities like selecting, training, compensating employees. Yet most firms, now a days, have the HR department headed by a person with requisite qualifications in behavioural sciences. How do the duties of this HR manager relate to the line managers’ HR duties would be an interesting question to answer. Line managers have the final responsibility for achieving the organisation's goals. They also have the authority to direct the work of subordinates. Staff managers usually help and advise line managers in achieving organisational goals. HR managers are staff experts. They assist line managers in areas like recruiting, selecting, training and compensating. Managing people, in a broader context, is every manager’s business and successful organisations generally combine the experience of line managers with the experience of HR specialists while utilising the talents of employees to their greatest potential. HR managers have to win the hearts of employees working alongside line mangers and deliver results in a cost-effective manner. HR managers as indicated earlier are assuming a greater role in top management planning and decision making-a trend that indicates the growing realisation among executives that HRM can make significant contributions to the success of an organisation. 

HRM Department in Line Organisation

Line structure is more common in small firms. In this structure authority flows in a direct line from supervisors to subordinates. Each employee knows who his superior is and who has the authority to issue orders. Managers have full authority (line authority) in their areas of operation and are responsible for final results. Line authority implies the right to give orders and to have decisions implemented. The “one-man- one-boss” principle is observed strictly. Authority relationships are clear and there is strict discipline as persons working at lower levels can have access to higher level officers only through their immediate bosses.

FUTURE OF HRM: INFLUENCING FACTORS

1. Size of workforce: Corporates have grown in size considerably in recent years, thanks to global competition in almost all fields. The size of the work force, consequently, has increased, throwing up additional challenges before HR managers in the form of additional demands for better pay, benefits and working conditions from various sections of the workforce constantly.

2. Composition of workforce: The workforce composition is also changing over the years. The rising percentage of women and minorities in the work force is going to alter workplace equations dramatically. Demands for equal pay for equal work, putting an end to gender inequality and bias in certain occupations, the breaking down of grass ceiling have already been met. Constitutional protection ensured to minorities has also been met to a large extent by HR managers in public sector units.

3. Employee expectations: “Instead of attempting to force employees to conform to a ‘corporate mould’ future managers may well have to make more allowances for individual differences in people”.  Nowadays workers are better educated, more demanding and are ready to voice strong, violent and joint protests in case their expectations are not met.

4. Changes in technology: Increased automation, modernisation and computerization have changed the way the traditional jobs are handled. In such a scenario unless employees update their knowledge and skills constantly, they cannot survive and grow. This will necessitate training, retraining and mid-career training of operatives and executives at various levels. Where such initiatives are missing, it becomes very difficult for employees to face the forces of technology with confidence and get ahead in their careers steadily.

USING HRM TO ATTAIN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Competitive advantage refers to the ability of an organisation to formulate strategies to exploit rewarding opportunities, thereby maximising its return on investment. Competitive advantage occurs if customers perceive that they receive value from their transaction with an organisation. This requires single-minded focus on customer needs and expectations. To achieve this, the organisation needs to tune its policies in line with changing customer's requirements. The second principle of competitive advantage derives from offering a product or service that your competitor cannot easily imitate or copy. An organisation should always try to be unique in its industry along dimensions that are widely valued by customers. For example Apple stresses its computers’ usability, Mercedes Benz stresses reliability and quality; Maruti emphasises affordability of its lower-end car Maruti 800. In order to enjoy the competitive advantage, the firm should be a cost-leader, delivering value for money. It must have a committed and competent workforce. Workers are most productive if (i) they are loyal to the company, informed

about its mission, strategic and current levels of success, (ii) involved in teams which collectively decide how things are to be done and (iii) are trusted to take the right decisions rather than be controlled at every stage by managers above them (Thompson). A good team of competent and committed employees will deliver the goals if the are involved in all important activities and are encouraged to develop goals that they are supposed to achieve. In recent years, a new line of thinking has emerged to support this view-known as strategic human resources management (SHRM).

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

SHRM is the pattern of planned human resource developments and activities intended to enable an organisation to achieve its goals (Wright and McMahan). This means accepting the HR function as a strategic partner in both the formulation of the company’s strategic, as well as in the implementation of those activities through HR activities. While formulating the strategic plan HR management can play a vital role, especially in identifying and analysing external threats and opportunities. (Environmental scanning) that may be crucial to the company's success. HR management can also offer competitive intelligence (like new incentive plans being used by competitors, data regarding customer complaints etc.) that may be helpful while giving shape to strategic plans. HR function can also throw light on company's internal strengths and weaknesses. For example, IBM's decision to buy Lotus was probably prompted in part by IBM's conclusion that its own human resources were inadequate for the firm to reposition itself as an industry leader in networking systems (Dessler). Some firms even develop their strategies based on their

own HR- based competitive advantage. Software Majors, Wipro, TCS have not slowed down their recruitment efforts during the lean periods, pinning hopes on their own exceptionally talented employee teams. In fact they have built their strategic and operating plans around outsourcing sourcing contracts from US, Europe, Japan and Germanywhich would help them exploit the capabilities of their employees fully.

HR has a great role to play in the execution of strategies. For example, HDFC's competitive strategy is to differentiate itself from its competitors by offering superior customer service at attractive rates (searching the right property, finishing legal formalities, offering expert advice while negotiating the deal, competitive lending rates, fast processing of applications, offering other financial products of HDFC at concessional rates, doorto- door service as per customers’ choice etc.  Since the same basic services are offered by HDFC's competitors such as LIC Housing Finance GIC Housing Finance, banks and private sector, players like Dewan Housing Finance, Ganesh Housing, Live Well Home, Peerless Abassan etc. HDFC's workforce offers a crucial competitive advantage (highly committed, competent and customer-oriented workforce). HR can help strategy implementation in other ways. It can help the firm carry out restructuring and downsizing efforts without rubbing employees on the wrong side- say, through outplacing employees, linking rewards to performance, reducing welfare costs, and retraining employees. HR can also initiate systematic efforts to enhance skill levels of employees so that the firm can compete on quality.

Globalisation, deregulation and technological innovation have- in recent times- created the need for rather, faster and more competitive organisations. Under the circumstances, employee behaviour and performance is often seen as the best bet to push competitors to a corner and enhance productivity and market share. HR practices build competitiveness because they allow for strategic implementation, create a capacity for change and instil strategic unity.

Objectives of HRM

The principal objectives of HRM may be listed thus:

i. To help the organisation reach its goals: HR department, like other departments in an organisation, exists to achieve the goals of the organisation first and if it does not meet this purpose, HR department (or for that matter any other unit) will wither and die.

ii. To employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently: The primary purpose of HRM is to make people’s strengths productive and to benefit customers, stockholders and employees.

iii. To provide the organisation with well-trained and well-motivated employees: HRM requires that employees be motivated to exert their maximum efforts, that their performance be evaluated properly for results and that they be remunerated on the basis of their contributions to the organisation.

iv. To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualisation: It tries to prompt and stimulate every employee to realise his potential. To this end suitable programmes have to be designed aimed at improving the quality of work life (QWL).

v. To develop and maintain a quality of work life: It makes employment in the organisation a desirable, personal and social, situation. Without improvement in the quality of work life, it is difficult to improve organisational performance.

vi. To communicate HR policies to all employees: It is the responsibility of HRM to communicate in the fullest possible sense; tapping ideas, opinions and feelings of customers, non-customers, regulators and other external public as well as understanding the views of internal human resources.

vii. To be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society: HRM must ensure that organisations manage human resource in an ethical and socially responsible manner through ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards.