Today, we read in the employment sections of many of the newspapers; “wanted HRM Executives” with so so experience and so so qualifications. Many of us may wonder what this “HRM” is. HRM i.e. Human Resource Management is a field of study which deals with the recruitment and organization of manpower in a proper way to increase the productivity by increasing efficiency of the working employees. This actually means, putting the rightly appointed persons on the right job or work as per his or her qualifications, experience, skill and commitment to a particular work. By this, we can squeeze out the maximum talent from a working person. Every person trained or untrained has a higher potential for some particular type of work. Every person has a power zone. In this zone, he or she can put into maximum skills and give best results to the top authority. The only thing needed is to point out the right person. This in turn helps in his or her own progress. That is, when one person accomplishes the tasks allotted to him in a proper manner, his performance comes into notice of the top Management cadre and he or she may be promoted to higher posts. Now let us have an expounding look over the overall concept of Human Resource Management.
As discussed earlier, after the planning of the pre-requisites for setting up a business i.e. the Capital, Target Customer, Location etc. one needs to appoint people to run the machines or computers in the industry and also for the management of certain necessities therein. The selection of the employees should be very keen. Proper employees should be recruited possessing ample experience and right qualification. Proper selection of employees is more important because unskilled employees may prove to be hazardous to the whole working system of an industry. Even a minor person appointed for work, forms a part of the chain of the industrial system. Properly selected employees keep this chain intact and the flow of information form top management towards the workers and vice-versa becomes smooth without any discrepancy.
Following chart shows the hierarchy or composition of manpower in an industry that is responsible for its proper functioning. Or in other words, they may be looked as the main constituents involved to run an industry. This hierarchy is put forth by considering an Automotive Industry or most likely a Heavy or Light Machinery Industry. Other Industries like the Construction Industry or the Instrumentation Industry posses the manpower composition quite similar to that given below. But looking at today’s market conditions, the Automotive Industry has gained quite a popularity and interest due to its technological innovative aspects. Moreover, the Automotive Industry has occupied about half of the industries all over the world. So its choice is made for the further explanation
The Owner or Founder
The Managing Director
The H.R. Department
The General Manager
The Departmental Managers
The Engineers
The Supervisors or Inspectors
The Workers
The Stores Department
The Purchase Department
The Accounts Department
In above chart, the flow of information is shown with the help of arrows. It can be seen that the flow of information is two-way i.e. while dealing with industrial matters, mutual correspondence is essential right from the workers to the top management and authorities. Actions taken must receive feedback. This aspect is quite necessary. This will result in the proper co-ordination and linking between the various departments of an industry and no one will be unknown of the crucial decisions that are being taken within. This will also help in transparency of work done by every employee in an industrial system. Now let us broadly look over the above constituents that form a chain of manpower involved in an industry.
- The Owner or Founder: – Truly speaking, the Owner or Founder of an industry is not actually involved in the manpower chain because he is only concerned with the profitable earnings that are procured by sale of products of his industry. He only checks the monthly or yearly accounts and thinks over the development or changes in case the accounts show considerable loss. But that’s one side of the coin. The Owner of an Industry plays an important role in acquiring customers for his products because he is in contact with the Owners of other industries. He has a chance to develop business relations with new customers who are Owners of certain types of industries. Thus he is able to bring about new product proposals for his industry and look over expansion of his business. Actually, the task of finding new business proposals and customers by the medium of persuasion is of the Marketing Management Executives. They basically approach the needy customers and by unfolding the potentials and assets of their concerned industry, they acquire proposals and contracts for manufacture of a product. This in turn results in the expansion of business and turnover of the concerned industry and also the customers find a supplier for their needed products. But, the Owner of an industry can also play this similar role as the Marketing Officials if he really wishes to.
2. The Managing Director: – The Managing Director of an industry is the receiver and analyzer of all the information that comes from the bottom hierarchy. Important issues like worker’s problems, managerial problems, capital problems that originate from the bottom hierarchy are received by the Managing Director. He analyses these issues in a proper manner and takes certain decisions over them. These decisions are taken by taking into consideration the overall system of the industry. For example, if there is some unrest amongst workers, then the Managing Director finds the root cause of that unrest by conducting a joint meeting of the officials of all the departments. When the actual reason of the unrest amongst workers is found out, then he makes certain changes and takes some decisions on the issue. Thus the Managing Director is a “director” who directs the officials under him so that the functioning of the industry may go on smoothly. In real terms he is a “Way-Finder” during problems and delicate times.
3. The General Manager: – The role of a General Manager in an industry is to report the crucial information received from the departmental managers to the Managing Director. In case an industry doesn’t have a policy to have a Managing Director, then it is the duty of the General Manager to report the matters to the industry Owner. The crucial information regarding the present situation of the industry, its profits and losses and problems if any can be gained by conducting meetings of the industry employees and even the workers. The correspondence with workers plays a crucial role for information gain as they are the bread earners for an industry Owner and also for the other employees. Workers are actually in contact with the machines and they are solely responsible for the continuous production of items in an industry. Counseling with them continuously will result in clearing of their doubts and queries if any and if there are any problems then the solution finding can be done through this. This also helps in motivation of the workers.
4. The Departmental Managers: - When there is manufacturing of something, its quality is needed to be checked frequently. Certain tests may be needed to be done on the manufactured products. Thus all this tasks allied along with the main task of production, need to be managed and constantly supervised. Departmental managers must get information from the supervisors and the engineers working under them. Today there are number of departments in an industry that look after different type of works. For example, in an Automotive Parts Manufacturing Industry, there are departments like the main manufacturing or production department, quality assurance department, purchase department, research & development department etc. These departments constitute of their own employees. They are to be directed and supervised day to day. Departmental Managers need to follow-up the employees working under them and report the functioning to the top Managers. They should respond to the decisions taken in concern to their departments by the Top Authorities.
5. The Engineers: – Engineers, they may be of a heavy or light machinery industry or of any software industry, form the building blocks of an industry. Engineers are technically sound and know the technical aspects of the works going on in an industry. Their task is to look after the day to day work done by the workers. Engineers appointed for the routine production generally have to do tasks of completing the daily projected manufacturing of products to supply the same to the customers. They should get work done from the workers under them. Unlike machinery or automotive or construction industries, in software industries the task of producing new software as per customer requirements is mostly done by the engineers themselves. Software industries do not actually possess workers as such, rather than those working as office boys. Engineers are the workers in that case. Construction, machinery or automotive industries include various departments and hence they require engineers in them who deal the process technically. For example, production engineers, quality engineers, development engineers etc. Quality Engineers need to look after maintaining the good quality of the products manufactured by the Production Department actually on the shop floor as per the customer requirements. Quality inspectors do the work of inspecting products. And if any discrepancy is found in the quality of a product or a lot of products, then the quality engineers report the same to the production engineers and they are advised to make necessary changes in the process of production. And once the satisfactory quality of products is achieved, the routine production is continued as usual.
6. The Supervisors: – The Departmental Supervisors actually work on shop floor along with the workers. They look over whether the workers are functioning properly as per their given targets and schedule. Supervisors also cross check the quality of the products on the shop floor after it is primarily checked by the workers. If there is any ambiguity, they then inform it to the engineers. Engineers with their technical know-how find a solution to the problem and help the process continue as before.
7. The Workers: – As said earlier, that the workers are the bread earners for an industry Owner. They actually run the machines assigned to them and carry out the production. For them, it is necessary to mindfully work on machines and look that the products are within the required dimensional tolerances by performing general preliminary inspection. If any major problem is found, then it is their duty to inform the same to the supervisors for its solution. Mindfulness and attentiveness of workers is utmost important because when the process of manufacture is in action, it is very necessary to maintain the dimensional stability to reduce the number of rejected products due to bad quality and acute shift from the mean dimensions and requirements along with maintaining the repeatability in dimensions. If the workers are attentive and conscious about what they are doing, then there are less chances of rejection of products. This in turn results in higher productivity rate and hence the profit of an industry. Profit of an industry again is related to the well being of workers and also the other employees. If all the workers and employees work in unison and with maximum efficiency, the industry will profit and this will result in increase in their wages. This will develop a feeling of satisfaction regarding the work amongst the employees and workers and they will be motivated to further work with increased efficiency.
8. The Stores Department: – The Stores Department possesses all the necessary tools and equipments that are required day to day on shop floor. They include objects like inserts, tool holders, hammers, jigs, fixtures etc. These are the objects required in a heavy or light machinery industry. However, the requirements of an IT industry are quite different from these. They require computers and related equipments like microprocessors, microcontrollers, PCB’s, programming languages, operating systems etc. Any may be the requirements, of the machinery industry or an IT industry, the work of the Stores Department is to provide the necessities required in an industry on the approval of engineers or managers. In most of the machinery industries the material requirement is first detected by the workers who are actually working on the machines. The requirements may arise due to degradation and wear of tools and equipments by continuous usage. Thus, in correspondence to the requirements of the workers, Stores Department needs to provide them with the same after the approval of engineers and managers. But this need and demand of tools must be reasonable and explainable. Because sometimes it may happen that the tools are actually not worn out or degraded but due skeptic conditions developed, a worker may demand a new tool by replacing the old one. In this case, the Stores Department should cross check whether the need of a tool is genuine and if found ok then grant the tool to the worker.
9. The Purchase Department: – The purchase department deals with the work of purchasing of tools and equipments and also the purchase of raw goods needed for manufacturing of a finished product. The material purchased is then transported or shipped to the stores department where it is further given to the workers on shop floor for working with. The purchase department keeps the record of the inward and outward material related to an industry.
10. The Accounts Department: – The Accounts Department maintains the daily, monthly and yearly balance sheets and tallies. It looks over all the financial matters of an industry. The amount of production done for a specific period, their sales and the income obtained from the sale. The income in then compared with the expenditures and costs of processing done within an industry along with the wages of the employees and workers. Then the profit or loss is estimated. Wages decided by the Managing Director or the General Manager are provided to the employees and workers by the Accounts Department. Expenditures records are maintained by this department. Travel and tour bills are recorded to know how much is expended for traveling. Thus the overall financial aspects of an industry are controlled, handled and governed by the Accounts Department. But transparency in maintaining the Accounts is also necessary as it is related to the interests and satisfaction of the employees, as they receive their wages from this department and they will always want a proper justice to be given to their efforts and work according to the overall income and profit of the industry.
11. The Marketing Department: – As described earlier, marketing department and their officials look over persuasion of the assets and capabilities of an industry for acquiring new business proposals for expansion of the business. Marketing executives personally approach the needy customers or other industries that are up with some requirements. They explain to them regarding the present facilities and machinery available for manufacturing a product in their industry and by this they get the proposals for manufacturing a product. New business proposals result in expansion of business and help increase the future prospects of the industry. It can also result in globalization of an industry if the Marketing Executives represent their industry outside a country.
And finally,
12. The Human Resource Department: - As seen in the hierarchy, most of the lower links like The Workers, The Engineers, The Departmental Managers, The Supervisors, The Stores Employees, The Accounts Department employees and The Purchase Department employees are related to the Human Resource Department. This is because, in every department there are employees working and there is a constant need of checking that only selective, deserving, skilled and properly qualified employees are recruited in those departments. Wrong recruitment of an employee or worker has its own hazard. As said earlier, that employees and workers put on work without analyzing their skills, knowledge and commitment to work, may prove to be nuisance for an industry. They may result in unnecessary accidents and unwanted incidents. Thus screening and scrutiny of aspirants is necessary. This is in turn related in profit earning or loss of an industry. If proper people are recruited and they are placed in proper working criteria, they will work with their maximum potentials and give maximum profits to an industry and vice-versa. When there is a need of new employees to be recruited in a particular department or change of present employees, the department Heads report the same to the Human Resource Department. The HR Department gives circular and advertisements in newspapers or other media as per the requirements. When the information reaches the aspirants possessing the qualification and experience needed by the industry, they apply for the positions or walk in for interview held by the industry’s HR Dept. In this recruitment process, the candidates are to pass through stages like the General Aptitude Tests, Group Discussion Stage and finally The Personal Interview Stage where the interviews are taken by the HR officials to check the confidence level of the candidate and for knowing personal information etc. Aptitude Tests held, generally include the questions related to the type of the industry conducting the recruitment. For example, the Aptitude Tests taken by an Automotive Industry include questions mostly related to automobile engineering. But many of the industries are now keen in asking questions related to the basic engineering concepts and also some percentage of questions related to other fields of engineering. They also include some General Knowledge questions. This variety of questions are asked to the applicants because today’s industries are interested in recruiting candidates possessing overall knowledge of the basics of the engineering and also possessing the knowledge of the external society and social issues in which they are living day to day. Aspirants passing in the Aptitude Test are then short-listed for further stages of Group Discussions and Personal Interviews. Group Discussions are conducted to know the speech skills of a candidate and his capability of representing and putting forth his ideas and views in a certain subject of concern. These qualities are essential when joint meetings are conducted by the Top Managers regarding a crucial issue or problems in their industry and they expect the employees to take part in the discussion to use their knowledge and skills to give suggestions regarding the matter. When this is done, it may be quite possible that a suggestion of a particular employee may prove to be very useful for solution of the problems, which the other employees or even the Top Managers may have been unable to find out. Candidate’s Group Discussing capability also comes in action in certain Projects working where there is a need of Team Work and considering the ideas of every member involved in a team becomes quite necessary. It is seen that even a foolish suggestion has been proved to be useful in problem solution when working in a project team or working in separate Departments. After the proper screening and filtering of correct candidates they are appointed for work in the departments that are in need with by fixing them a reasonable remuneration. Thus the HR Dept has to work in correspondence with the other Departments.
Having looked at the basic composition of the manpower of an industry and the roles they have to play, we will now further look upon the individual constituents in a descriptive manner. This description will be included in the forthcoming article.