Human Resources

The Impact of Labor Unions in the Hospitality IndustryAbstract Labor Unions in the United States have protected employee rights and benefits for several decades. Human Resources play an essential role in the work place in dealing with labor unions. Unions represent thousands of workers and employees throughout the nation in an effort to fight for human rights and equality in the work force. Negotiations are then met through the dedication of these unions that allow for a company to provide higher wages, adequate benefits, and better working conditions to employees around the world.

This document will explain the importance of unions and the role they play in today’s economy and work force and how a business can remain union free. Introduction When deciding on which career path to take and what corporation to work for doing substantial research on benefits, wages, and the working conditions of that particular company is essential. What most people do not realize is what it took for those benefits to be created. History reflects the changes in employee benefits and working conditions back to the 19th century.

During this time farm workers began working in mines and factories facing terrible working conditions and health risks. Women and children also worked under the same conditions with lesser wages. In an attempt to fight against these working conditions, workers would gather to strike and protest for change and to be a voice for their communities. The effects of these protests and strikes in the work force made way for the Industrial Revolution allowing for the birth of labor unions.

Labor unions are organizations formed by employees and workers around the world from various industries. The unions unite in an effort to bargain and protect employee benefits, wages, and fight for better working conditions. Today, several unions are in existance in mutliple industries to protect employee rights and work hand in hand with human resources managers. One union, for example, is the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE), that united with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) to create UNITE HERE.

UNITE HERE is an organization that protects members in the hospitality industry and is in conjunction with The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, also known as AFL-CIO. The ALF-CIO is the largest federation of unions representing workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, and airport industries. UNITE HERE has fought to create jobs and change low-wage jobs to higher paying jobs within these industries. (“Unite here, 2012”) Human resources practices have advanced since workers began to unionize.

Managers were now challenged with the demands of labor unions and were forced to face union representatives rather than dealing with employees directly about issues such as wages, benefits, and grievance. The struggle between labor unions and companies still continues and it is in the convenience of both unions and corporations to have an understanding and functional relationship with one another for peace and equality within working quarters. The History of Labor Unions “Workers in the United States are facing a number of difficulties,” said Daniel J.

B. Mitchell, a professor emeritus of public policy at UCLA. “Job security, healthcare, retirement funds — we haven’t seen such levels of uncertainty since the Great Depression. ” (Lazarus, 2012) Dating back to the 19th century, this is when businesses began to change from household agriculture into the mining industry and machine operated labor factories. Due to the changes and intense job conditions labor unions began to form in an effort to bargain for better rights. Strikes took place, resulting in conflict between workers and employers.

The most influential of the unions being created at the time was the American Federation of Labor union due to its focus on higher wages and improved working conditions for its members. Miners in the mining industry were faced with long working hours, unsafe working conditions and were poorly paid. Most lived in company towers where doctors, schools, and law enforcement were provided by the actual companies in an effort to control the workers. “Companies maintained an oppressive working environment, prohibiting workers from talking or gathering, to discourage the creation of unions. (Habashi, 2011) In 1890 the Unite Mine Workers of America was founded representing workers in the mining sector that fought for collective bargaining. During 1933 and 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was created protecting the rights of labor unions and prohibited employers from firing workers who took part in union activities. Labor Unions Today The work force has become extremely competitive over the past decade due to the drop in the economy. Union members are found to be in an advantage being that in some cases they earn a higher wage than a non-union worker.

But this higher salary does not mean regular pay raises. (Sherk, 2009) The Hilton Hotel in Glendale, California is one prime example of the impact unions can have on workers today. For over a year a group of 30 or more employees from the hotel met in secrecy in an effort to form a union against the hotel’s low wages, overworked staff, and unorganized labor. This would become an almost four year battle against the Hilton Hotel. In 2005, with the help of UNITE HERE, the Rising Workers Campaign was launched against the hotel.

Hilton attempted to soften the matter and come to an agreement by offering 50-cent pay increases and a promotion to a cook to become a kitchen key leader. This was not enough for the workers. What Hilton in Glendale did not know was that UNITE HERE had signed a national neutrality agreement with the Hilton Corporation in 2006, but it only applied to sites Hilton actually owned and operated. Because the Hilton in Glendale was a separate entity owned and operated by Eagle Hospitality, which ran 12 other hotels across the country, UNITE HERE went in for a boycott of Eagle Hospitality properties instead.

Picketers targeted Eagle Hospitality hotels across Los Angeles weekly for 18 months until a settlement was agreed upon. “From that day on the whole hotel changed,” [Angela Reid – a bartender at the Hilton] said. “It wasn’t even the same hotel anymore. ” (Gaus, 2008) Another example of how unions impact the work force is with the Industrial Workers of the World Union (IWW) and it’s involvement in supporting all industries. Industrial Workers of the World believes in organizing all workers by producing the same goods or providing the same services into one union, rather than dividing workers by skill or trade. “About the IWW,” 2011) Industrial Workers of the World began organizing Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) in 2003. Starbucks Workers Union unlike other unions is an example of solidarity unionism, meaning they take direct action against Starbucks Company without involvement from the government or a union representative. The Starbucks Workers Union has done just that successfully. (Tanyeri, 2011) “Working together, we have won improvements in wages and working conditions and remedied individual grievances with management. (“Starbucks workers union,” 2012) Labor Unions and Their Impact in the Hospitality Industry A major labor union impacting the hospitality industry is UNITE-HERE. This is the Needle Trades Union (UNITE) and the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) that merged together to fight for the rights of the workers in the hospitality industries. The hotels and casinos, and restaurants, etc. , in hospitality industry argue that UNITE HERE is unlawful at times. They claim that some of the UNITE HERE actions range from harassment to criminal.

The invasion of private property and increased noise level by picketers is something the companies argue against. “Union representatives can come to the office and demand to see the higher-ups. No law says they have to be let in. ” (Howe, 2012) UNITE HERE’s ultimate goal is to help as many people as possible. D. Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer of the Nevada Culinary Workers Union and executive committee member of UNITE HERE, interviewed with Casino Journal about his outlook for the economy and the hospitality industry during the ongoing recession the United States has faced.

He touches on health coverage and agrees that every individual can surely pay for their own private health coverage given they were employed. With the amount of workers being laid off though, how are they supposed to manage these costs he asks. Also, with the amount of workers being laid off in an effort to save on labor costs, how are businesses supposed to offer adequate customer service. “It’s a real dilemma,” says Taylor. (Taylor, 2009) On the other hand, UNITE HERE not only supports workers in fighting for their rights, it also launched a public website in an attack against Motel 6 franchises.

UNITE HERE stated that Motel 6 was falling short of service standards and accused them of not having the ability to survive in this industry. Motel 6 replied in defense of their corporation stating that they have good standing relationships with their franchisees and will continue to grow in the years to come. They feel attacked by UNITE HERE and even stated having opened 50 new franchises in the year 2008. (“Unite here raises,” 2009) The impact that unions can have in the hospitality industry as any industry can range from positive impacts for workers and negative impacts on business.

How to Remain Union Free “The time to communicate openly and treat employees the right way is every day,” says Rick Van Warner, senior partner and principal at Parquet Public Affairs in Orlando. Warner’s theory is quite simple and direct. He states if union laws and agreements are automatically followed companies do not risk attacks from workers and unions. His advise on remaining union free is to establish an open communication with management and employees. He advises to never assume all management is treating staff fairly. Observation is key and constant communication.

Explaining employee costs and benefits regularly is also essential because again assumption that the staff knows this type of information is not recommended. Opportunities for job advancement within a company and offering safe and non-intimidating working conditions will keep employees happy and allow them to feel that they also have a voice at their work place to discuss any matters that may arise. (Tanyeri, 2011) Summary Labor unions throughout the course of history have played an integral part in the business world and protection of employee rights.

Beginning with the 19th century and the worker strike forces, the progress in employee rights over the past century has drastically improved. Labor unions are here to protect the rights of workers and be a voice so there is not any wrong doing on behalf of a business. Maintaining a clear understanding and functioning relationship with union representatives is in the best interest of the business and human resources management. By having an established understanding and abiding by union labor law companies avoid accusations from unions and workers.

Employees will remain happy and grow productively with the help and support of their employer, which usually results in a flourishing business. Conclusion I believe that unions offer a positive balance in the business world. Without unions the exploitation of workers would still exist. It takes a higher force to fight for protection of human rights and see results. The progress of employee benefit packages and wages has come a long way just in the past decade alone. As an active employee in hospitality for the past 10 years wages alone have risen.

The history in labor unions set a stepping-stone for our society in creating confidence amongst our generation to protect our rights as workers. In my research, I found it very devastating to learn the living and working conditions workers had in the 19th century. It made me feel extremely fortunate to be a part of this generation and have the opportunities given to me in our society. Companies still have a long way to go, but as Van Warner mentioned in my last article section, the time to treat employees right is everyday.

If businesses would stop the ultimate focus on the worth of a dollar for profit only and put some of that effort into staff and working environments it would only result in an employee taking pride of their job. A happy employee means excellent customer service, which brings in returning customers and increased revenue. The earlier case with the Hilton Hotel in Glendale, California is a result of faulty practices by management. The staff was not happy. They did not feel well compensated or valued for their work. And with the case of the

Motel 6, they received bad media for not following through with the service standards they are required to abide by. Remaining union free may take effort and even money, but in the long shot is only in the benefit of the business’ longevity in the work force. Overall, in the years to come there will be new laws and hopefully more improvements to our working industries and especially the hospitality industry. References * About the iww. (2011, July 3). Retrieved from http://www. iww. org/en/about * Taylor, D. D. (2009). Keeping up the Fight. Casino Journal, 22(6), 28-29 * Gaus, M. 2008, After four years of struggle: Hotel workers rising campaign pays off in L. A. Labor Notes, (352), 5-5. http://ezproxy. fiu. edu/login? url=http://search. proquest. com/docview/203683040? accountid=10901 * Habashi, F. (2011, February). Social problems in the mining industry – a historical essay (part 1). CIM Magazine, 6(1), Retrieved from http://www. cim. org/bulletin/bulletinlive/articles_print. cfm? Issue_ID=992&Type=1&row=2&Segment_ID=46&hide=1 * Howe, J. T. (2012, March). When your venue faces union trouble: peaceful gatherings are the ultimate goal for all.

Meetings & Conventions, 47(3), 26. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CA283705823&v=2. 1&u=flstuniv&it=r&p=PPTH&sw=w * Lazarus, D. (2012, April 27). As its power wanes, is there a future for organized labor? . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved from http://www. lexisnexis. com/hottopics/lnacademic/ * Sherk, J. (2009, May 21). What unions do: How labor unions affect jobs and the economy. Retrieved from http://www. heritage. org/research/reports/2009/05/what-unions-do-how-labor-uni ons-affect-jobs-and-the-economy * Starbucks workers union. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. tarbucksunion. org/about * Tanyeri, D. (2011). How to stay union-free. Restaurant Business, 110(11), 50. * Tanyeri, D. (2011, November 1). Unions rising. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? sid=3acda697-cb54-46b2-928d-232b0c55d4e6@sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=24 * Unite here. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. unitehere. org/about/ * UNITE HERE Raises Questions About the Competitiveness of Accor’s Motel 6 Franchise. (2009, January 13). Business Wire. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CA191957986;v=2. 1;u=flstuniv;it=r;p=PPTH;sw=w

Hitek 1 Title: JOB DESCRIPTIONS AT HITEK & DOWNSIZING: ANATHEMA TO CORPORATE LOYALTY Institution: Grantham University Instructor: Barbara Davis Student: Franessa Wilson Date: March 26, 2013 Hitek 2 Case Study: Job Descriptions at Hitek Based on what you know about high-tech companies, what are some likely strategic objectives for HITEK? Given these what should be the objectives of HITEK’s HR department? Do you think these are the objectives that guide the behaviors of Rains? Explain. A strategic objective is one that an organization must achieve to make its strategy succeed.

Strategic objectives for Hitek are continued industry issues and supply chain challenges of prices, short product lifestyles, mass customization, globalization and strategic market planning. Strategic objectives provide direction for an organization, and strategic objectives provide a way to measure the organization’s progress toward realizing the ideas listed in the mission statement. For instance, if an organization has the idea that it will provide perfect customer service, then a strategic objective for the organization would be to score at the top level on customer service satisfaction.

Strategic human resource objectives are goals aligned with the organizations goals. It’s the managerial process requiring human resource policies and practices to be linked with the strategic objectives of the organization. The human resources objectives at Hitek, supports organizational goals; such as profitabilities, business regulations, ethics and principles. Yes, I believe these are the objectives that guide the behaviors of Rains. Isabel Rains is the vice president of human resources and she rules the department with iron fist.

Iron fist according to Wikipedia means with strict authority. Hitek 3 Jobs change frequently at HITEK. What approach to job analysis makes the most sense in such a fast changing environment? Customized? Standardized? Task-focused? Competency modeling? Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative approaches and make recommendations to Hill about how to proceed. A job analysis sits at the heart of all human resource practices making it a critical component of management activity in every organization.

Emphasis should be placed on a strategic approach to job analysis, present a strategic job analysis framework and discuss implications for the organization. A job analysis is necessary for the successful functioning of an organization. Job analysis is focused on the collection of work related information for the job as it currently exists or existed in the past. The need for change often is unpredictable, thus tends to be reactive. The successful management of change is crucial to an organization in order to survive, and succeed in the present highly competitive, and continuously evolving business environment.

The environment of an organization consists of the conditions circumstances and influences that affect the organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. The external and internal environment of an organization are both composed of five elements; which are physical, technological, social, political, and economical. The external environment influences how human resource functions will be performed. The internal environment influences both of human resource policies and procedures, as well as the individuals who make up the workforce of the organization or business.

External environment has a significant impact on HR policies and practices. It helps to determine the values, attitudes, and behavior that employees bring to the job. Internal environment is also Hitek 4 known as organizational climate. The elements of the internal environment technological, physical, social, political, and economical effect and are affected by the policies, procedures, and employment conditions that managers oversee. The human resource department plays a more active role in influencing change in an organization or business.

Organizational effectiveness is critical to success in any economy. Change management is defined as the process of continually renewing an organizations direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever changing needs of the internal and external customers or consumers. According to Burnes 2005, change is an ever present feature of organizational life, both at an operational and a strategic level. In order to achieve increased and sustainable business results, organizations need to execute strategy and engage employees.

To create organizational effectiveness, business leaders need to focus on aligning and engaging their people, the people management systems, and the structure and capabilities (including organizational culture) to the strategy it results in higher financial performance, higher customer satisfaction, and higher employee retention. An organization that can sustain such alignment will achieve increased business results. Effective implementation of strategy is a key driver of financial performance. Organizations that fail to fully engage their workforce in the business strategy will fail to produce reliable, sustainable business results.

The link between employee engagement factors and successful strategy execution is vital (Burnes, 2005). Hill could use a SWOT analysis for the strengths and weaknesses of an alternative approach. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis can offer helpful perspectives at any stage of an effort. Explore possibilities for new efforts or solutions to problems. Make decisions about the best path for the firm’s initiative. Identifying the opportunities for success in context of threats to success can clarify directions and Hitek 5 choices.

Determine where change is possible. If the organization is at a juncture or turning point, an inventory of their strengths and weaknesses can reveal priorities as well as possibilities. Adjust and refine plans mid-course. A new opportunity might open wider avenues, while a new threat could close a path that once existed. The purpose of performing a SWOT is to reveal positive forces that work together and potential problems that need to be addressed or at least recognized. Before conducting a SWOT analysis, Hill should decide what format or layout he will use to communicate the issues.

Strengths are resources that an organization possesses and the capabilities that an organization has developed. Weaknesses are resources and capabilities that are lacking or deficient in an organization; thus preventing an organization or business from developing a sustainable competitive advantage. Is the new job description (case exhibit 4) better than the old one (case exhibit 3)? Why or why not? Consider the perspective of employees as well as the perspective of the person supervising this job, Does your answer change depending on the way the job description is being used?

The new job description is better than the old job description because it is more detailed. The skills needed are listed, how much education the applicant should have, and how much relevant experience is required. The supervision received is listed, therefore the applicant knows that he or she will be working under close supervision of a technical superior or manager, but no supervisory duties or experience is required. No, my answer does not change. Hitek 6 Case Study: Downsizing- Anathema to Corporate Loyalty Why is Daniels sensitive to DSI’s recruitment efforts?

At Defense Systems Incorporated, Daniels feels that DSI’s layoffs or terminations are poor alternatives to dealing with a turbulent environment. The major problem as Daniels sees it is to preserve as many jobs as possible until business picks up. To terminate the new hires would irreparably harm DSI’s future recruitment efforts. Although terminations would improve the balance sheet in the short run, Daniels worried about the impact of such a move on corporate loyalty, a fragile and rare commodity at other major firms that have had to cut their white collar workforce ( Jackson et al; 2009, p. 226).

A great possibility for downsizing to be an unsuccessful firm’s strategy and therefore to decrease the corporate reputation, it is important before making the decision about downsizing to reconsider the necessity of such a decision. Downsizing has become a critical issue around the world. Downsizing and mass lay-offs are happening not only on US companies but also organizations in the entire industrial world. The number of organizations and jobs affected by downsizing has been staggering. In theory, downsizing is presumed to have positive outcome for an organization. In many situations, downsizing did accomplish what management had intended.

However, there are many critiques on the manager views where unintended and negative consequences of downsizing resulted. It is important to point out that downsizing can be approached from at least three different perspectives: a global or industry level, a micro or individual level, and an organization or strategy level (Burnes, 2005). From a global or industrial point of view, discussions of downsizing, including mergers and acquisitions, ventures, and market strategies. From a micro or individual point of view, discussions of downsizing focus on individual stress levels associated.

Hitek 7 What are some potential problems for the current class of engineers recruited at DSI? DSI does not rely on subcontractors to produce parts needed in its assembly operation, and the new employees will only receive ten hours per year of training, and most of the training will be obtained during orientation. Underutilizing these talented recruits for a long time would certainly lead to major dissatisfaction (Jackson et al; 2009, p. 226). How could the use of temporaries, student interns, or subcontractors potentially help DSI? They could bring a fresh perspective to the company.

Interns often come in to jobs unafraid to question how things work or why jobs are performed a certain way which can help bosses discover smarter ways to do those tasks. Their perspective as newbies is valuable, especially when it comes to identifying and even solving problems that go unnoticed by full-time employees. They are at ease with the social media. Interns tend to understand social media in a way many business owners and bosses cannot, simply because young people live and breathe networks like Facebook. To them, networking on online channels is not another time-consuming task, but rather part of the day.

They are productive in nature. While many full-time workers toil in jobs that lack benchmarks, most interns have a start and end date. Because of that, interns tend to be more productive. Unless you count the rare promotion or job change, some employees work in what feels like an endless cycle, which can lead to career burnout. They are courteous. New employees can be shy, but since interns are trying to make a good impression in a short period of time, they’re often more friendly than their paid counterparts. Interns recognize that every hallway passing could be a future opportunity.

They are trying to impress. An internship Hitek 8 serves as a trial period for both sides. The intern may also be looking to set the groundwork for a recommendation or a full-time position down the road. That means they’re likely to put in a significant amount of effort to make sure you’re happy with their work. They provide free advertising via word of mouth. These young workers are excited, and if you impress them, they’ll want to tell the world about their experience with your company. They’ll spread the good word to their peers about the job, which can help recruitment efforts. They are fast learners.

Young minds are like sponges, absorbing information quickly. Young workers also tend to be good at multi-tasking. The time it takes to train an intern to perform a task is often a fraction of what it takes to train a full-time employee. Evaluate Daniels’s alternatives for reducing DSI’s labor surplus. What do you recommend? Why? Several older employees have accumulated several weeks of unused vacation time. Daniels wondered if employees could be encouraged to take unpaid leaves of absence. He also thought that early retirement incentives could be offered to make room for some of the bright young engineers (Jackson et al; 2009, p. 27). Unpaid leave is time off from work which is provided without pay. When an employee takes or is given unpaid leave, he or she retains a position in a company, and many retain benefits as well, but the employee receives no salary or wages. There are a number of reasons to take or institute this type of leave, and it is an option which is available from many companies. A company may require employees to take unpaid leave, or a furlough. This is done as a cost cutting measure, with the company preferring to force employees to take time off instead of eliminating positions at the company.

This tactic is designed to retain Hitek 9 employees during periods of economic hardship, and while it may be onerous to employees, many people prefer unpaid leave to uncertain layoffs. Hitek 10 Works Cited 1. Burnes, R. (2005). Organizational Change Management: A Critical Review. Journal of Change Management Vol. 5(4): 369-380. Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://www. ncbi. nlm. org 2. Jackson, S. , Schuler, R. ; Werner, S. (2009). Managing Human Resources, 10th edition, pgs. 184-187, and 226-227.

The Right to Freedom of Expression and Religion This chapter includes two rights: a) the freedom of opinion and expression and b) the freedom of conscience and religion. Although these are two distinctive rights, they are in the same group as they both entail essential conditions for individual personal development. These rights are juxtaposed because freedom of expression is a quintessential aspect of the freedom to hold, practice and share one’s religious beliefs. It is important to note, however, that the freedom of expression is subject to more restrictions than the freedom of religion.

A. The right to freedom of opinion and expression The freedom of expression is a right without which other rights are difficult to acquire and defend. The right to freedom of expression is rooted in the 17th century struggle of European legislators for freedom of speech. The world has seen a continuing struggle for the freedom of expression, including the freedom of speech and freedom of the press, often going hand in hand with the endeavour to limit the power of governments.

The freedom of expression can be considered an essential aspect of the individual’s defence against government, just as the suppression of the freedom of expression is essential to tyranny. Human rights defenders also rely heavily on this right to challenge government indifference to or infliction of human rights abuses. As freedom of expression is a foundation for religious and political activities, it is often exercised in concert with the right to freedom of thought and assembly. Under present international Conventions, state obligations in relation to freedom of expression are absolute and immediate.

At the same time, as with other forms of liberty, completely unrestricted freedom of expression may lead to the infringement on the rights of others. The freedom of expression has been hedged in by a number of limitations and restrictions, often more extensively than other rights. Historically, most limitations have dealt with the expression of sentiments contrary to prevailing institutions or religious, political or other beliefs. In addition, in times of war, governments often restrict the freedom of expression in the interest of national security.

Like in the US Supreme Court decided in the Schenk vs. United States- case. As a cornerstone of democracy, the complexity and importance of freedom of expression has lead to extensive case-law before national courts and international supervisory mechanisms. Standards International human rights law recognises a spectrum of expression, ranging from those forms that must be protected to those that must be punished. Article 19 of both the UDHR and the ICCPR establish the freedom of opinion and expression.

Article 19 UDHR stipulates: ‘everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. ’ The regional Conventions also contain provisions regarding the freedom of expression: Article 10 ECHR, Article 13 ACHR and Article 9 ACHPR. The freedom of expression and opinion is a complex right that includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through any media.

The exercise of this right ‘carries with it special duties and responsibilities’ (see Article 19 ICCPR and Article 10 ECHR). Therefore, in general, certain restrictions or limitations on the freedom of expression are permitted under human rights law. Thus, Article 20(2) of the ICCPR requires states parties to prohibit ‘advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. ’ CERD also requires states parties to prohibit certain hostile expressions.

Article 19 ICCPR stipulates that these limitations ‘shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: a) for respect of the rights or reputations of others; b) for the protection of national security or public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals’. In addition, Article 10 ECHR explicitly gives the state broad discretion in licensing of the media. In the Inter-American system, the Inter-American Court has dealt with freedom of expression in Advisory Opinion No. 5 on ‘Membership in an Association Prescribed by Law for the Practice of Journalism’.

A strong correlation between freedom of expression and the right to gain access to information in order to form and express opinions has been recognised in the Inter-American System. In June, 2006, the OAS General Assembly adopted a Resolution that ‘urge[d] the States to respect and promote respect for everyone’s access to public information and to promote the adoption of any necessary legislative or other types of provisions to ensure its recognition and effective application. ’ In the African system, the ‘Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa’ was adopted by the African Commission in 2002.

It stresses the ‘fundamental importance of freedom of expression as an individual human right, as a cornerstone of democracy and as a means of ensuring respect for all human rights and freedoms’. The Danish Cartoon Controversy What has become known as the Danish cartoon controversy exemplifies the precarious balance between freedom of expression and the repression of expression. In 2006 a Danish newspaper published a series of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed as a possible terrorist, in one instance with a bomb in his turban.

Many Muslims were outraged because depictions of Mohammed are prohibited in the majority of Muslim communities and likening Muslims to terrorists could incite discrimination and prejudice. Other factions upheld the right of the paper to publish the cartoons as a freedom of expression issue. The Danish cartoon incident sparked mass demonstrations throughout the world resulting in death and extensive damage of property in addition to sparking a fiery debate on international law, freedom of expression and permissible limitations of this right. * Supervision

The freedom of expression is reduced by possible limitations under several international standards mentioned above. Moreover, freedom of expression and its internationally accepted limitations can be distorted by government initiatives through propaganda, control of the media and various other measures aimed at restricting the press, e. g. , licensing requirements, economic measures or restrictions on access to information. The right to freedom of expression has engendered a substantial body of case-law, in which both the right itself as well its limitations have been further defined.

Under the auspices of the European system, the European Court has stated that freedom of expression:   [C]onstitutes one of the essential foundations of such a (democratic) society, one of the basic working conditions for its progress and for the development of every man. [… ] It is applicable not only to ‘information’ or ‘ideas’ that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population.

Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no ‘democratic society’ (Handyside v. The United Kingdom). Many cases have been brought before the former European Commission and the Court regarding the freedom of expression; several deal with the rights of journalists to freedom of expression. Case law zoeken!!! In the Chorherr judgment of August 1993 the Court dealt with an application concerning the applicant’s arrest, detention and conviction for breach of the peace after he had refused to stop distributing leaflets and exhibiting placards at a military parade.

The Court held that the interfer- ence was “prescribed by law” and that there were legitimate grounds based on Article 10 §2 (prevention of disorder) for regarding the interfer- ence as “necessary in a democratic society”. The Court has established that, according to the protection granted by the American Convention, the right to freedom of thought and expression includes ‘not only the right and freedom to express one’s own thoughts, but also the right and freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds’ (Lopez Alvarez et al. . Honduras). On this note the Court has held that the state has a positive obligation to ensure that laws and regulations governing restrictions to access to state-held information comply with the Convention’s parameters and restrictions may only be applied for the reasons allowed by the Convention; this also relates to the decisions on this issue adopted by domestic bodies (Claudio Reyes et al. v. Chile). In the African system, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has addressed the right to freedom of expression in diverse realms.

It has, inter alia, found the detention of members of opposition parties and trade unions under legislation outlawing all political opposition during a state of emergency a violation of the freedom of expression; it has found that the failure of a state to investigate attacks against journalists violates their right to express and disseminate information and opinions and also violates the public’s right to receive such information and opinions (Sir Dawda K. Jawara v.

The Gambia, Communications 147/95 and 149/96). The Commission has held that state harassment with the aim of disrupting legitimate activities of an organisation that informs and educates people about their rights constitutes a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression. Recognising the importance of freedom of expression, international fora and national governments have sought to promote additional standards to protect particular elements of this right.

Several governments have enacted legislation to improve access to information; to provide adequate access to media; to protect employees from reprisals for disclosing illegal activities of their employers; and to provide data protection so that individuals have access to their personal files held by public authorities and to ensure that such information is withheld from all persons not expressly entitled to it. International organisations have addressed the implementation and supervision of the right to freedom of expression by, for instance, appointing experts on the issue.

B. The right to freedom of conscience and religion The guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion are closely related to other substantive rights. For instance, the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association are fundamental to holding religious beliefs and practising one’s religion. Thoughts and views are intangible before they have been expressed, and convictions are valuable for a person only if he or she can express them. The private freedom of thought and religion is an absolute right that does not permit any limitation.

The guarantee of the value of freedom of thought and religion implies that one cannot be subjected to treatment intended to change one’s process of thinking, be forced to express thoughts, to change opinion, or to divulge a religious conviction; thus, the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, belief and opinion is closely associated with the right to privacy. No sanction may be imposed for holding any view, or for changing religion or conviction; and the freedom of thought and religion protects against indoctrination by the state.

The public aspect of the freedom, the right to manifest one’s belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching, is subject to limitations and defining the meaning of the freedom is complex; for instance, may refusal to serve in the military or pay taxes be justified on grounds of religion? Many states include guarantees for the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief in their constitutional traditions; in laws and regulations provisions are incorporated to prevent and punish interference with legitimate manifestations of religion or belief.

Nevertheless, violations of the principles of non-discrimination and tolerance in the area of religion or belief are extensive; millions of people enjoy the freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief only to a limited extent. Most human rights Conventions do not allow governments to impose as many limitations on freedom of religion as on comparable rights such as freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

In the last decades increasing political attention has been given to the freedom of religion, notably in Europe, in the light of religious intolerance. 1. STANDARDS One of the first standards for protection against religious intolerance was the founding document of the Republic of the United Netherlands, the Union of Utrecht from 1579, which stipulated that no one will be persecuted because of his religion. With the founding of the United Nations, protection against religious intolerance found its way into modern international standard setting.

All regional Conventions contain provisions regarding the freedom of thought and religion: Article 9 ECHR defines the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in the same words as Article 18 ICCPR. The First Protocol to the ECHR includes a provision ensuring education and teaching in conformity with the parents’ religious and philosophical convictions. Supervision The international supervisory bodies have dealt with a number of communications regarding violations of the freedom of thought and religion.

The Human Rights Committee has dealt with several individual communications regarding freedom of thought and religion. For instance, the Committee has found forbidding prisoners wearing a beard and worshipping at religious services and taking away their prayer books a violation of this right. The Committee affirms that: ‘[T]he freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching encompasses a broad range of acts and that the concept of worship extends to ritual and ceremonial acts giving expression to belief, as well as various practices integral to such acts’ (Boodoo v.

Trinidad and Tobago). The Committee has, however, found that requiring a Sikh who wears a turban in daily life to wear a safety-helmet at work does not violate his right to religious freedom (Singh Bhinder v. Canada). Similarly, the European Court of Human Rights held that refusing a Muslim medical student entry into classes and examinations in accordance with a school ban on head scarves upheld the principles of secularism and equality between men and women and was necessary in a democratic society (Leyla Sahin v.

Turkey). In recent years the Committee has departed from its previous jurisprudence, stating that conscientious objection to military service can be derived from Article 18 ICCPR (General Comment 22). In this General Comment, the Committee, inter alia, ‘views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility by a predominant religious community’.

The Committee states, inter alia, that Article 18(2) bars coercion that would impair the right to retain one’s religion or belief, including threats of violence and that designated state religions may not serve as justifications of violations of the right to freedom of religion. The ‘Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief’ stipulates that all states must take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.

Within the regional systems several cases regarding freedom of thought and religion have been brought before the supervisory mechanisms. The European Court of Human Rights has decided numerous cases regarding the right to freedom of conscience and religion, many of which have dealt with the freedom of religion in Greece. Article 9 protects non-religious beliefs; the Court has said that the values of the article are the foundation of a democratic society: ‘It is, in its religious dimension, one of the most vital elements that go to make up the identity of believers and their conception of life, but is also a precious asset for theists, agnostics, sceptics and the unconcerned’ (Kokkinakis v. Greece). Further to indoctrination, the Court has made a distinction between ‘improper proseltysm’ and ‘bearing witness to Christianity’, the former possibly entailing brainwashing or violence (Kokkinakis v. Greece). Finally, in a controversial communication regarding assisted suicide, it was stated that freedom of thought under Article 8, that had hitherto included beliefs such as veganism and pacifism, could be applied to the applicant’s belief in and support for the notion of assisted suicide for herself.

This was rejected by the Court as her claims did not involve a form of manifestation of a religion or belief, through worship, teaching, practice or observance as described in the ICCPR (Pretty v. The United Kingdom), citing, inter alia, a case where the European Commission had found that not all acts which are motivated by religion or belief constitute ‘religious practice’ (Arrowsmith v. The United Kingdom).

In regard to the right to freedom of conscience and religion under the Inter- American system, the Commission has ruled on a number of cases concerning Jehovah’s witnesses and legitimate limitations of the right. The Commission has found that prosecuting members of that religion for refusing to swear oaths of allegiance, recognise the state and its symbols and to serve in the military is a violation of the right (Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Argentina (Case 2137)). Case of Plan de Sanchez Massacre v. Guatemala (Series C No. 105)). The African Commission has also dealt with the freedom of religion; it has, for instance, found harassment of Jehovah’s witnesses and religious leaders, assassinations and death threats aimed at them and destruction of religious structures in violation of the right (Free Legal Assistance Group, Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme, Les Temoins de Jehovah v.

Zaire, Communications 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93). It has also stipulated that the expulsion of political activists was denying them, inter alia, the right to freedom of conscience in violation of Article 8 ACPHR (Amnesty International v. Zambia, Communication 212/98).

Questions 1. What should be the format and final form of the store manager’s job description? There is no standard format as to what should be included in the job description of store manager but most job descriptions cover the following sections • Job identification • Job summary • Responsibilities and Duties • Authority of incumbent • Standards of performance • Working conditions • Job specification 2. Is it practical to specify standards and procedures in the body of the job description, or should these be kept separate?

Not all the standards and procedures are important to mention in the body of job description except the ones that are relevant and important for the applicants to know i. e. Performance and Competency standards. Note: It depends upon the type of job under discussion as to what sort of standards to include. 3. How should Jennifer go about collecting the information required for the standards, procedures and job description?

First of all Jennifer should conduct a complete job analysis for the job of store manager and she should also check out existing policies and procedures of the company in place, then she should use one or more of the following methods for collecting information about Standards, Procedures and Job description for the job of Store Manager. • The Interview • Questionnaire • Observation • Participant Diary/ Logs In addition to these basic methods Jennifer Carter can also use these Quantitative techniques as well for measuring job description of store manager Position analysis questionnaire • Department of labor procedures • Functional job analysis 4. What, in your opinion should the store manager’s job description look like and contain? The Sore manager’s job description should look like and contain the following things. Carter Cleaning Center Store Manager Job Description |Title |2025 Store Manager | |Department(s) |Cleaning | |Reports to |President (Jennifer Carter) | Job summary

The store manager is responsible for directing all store activities in such a way that quality work is produced, customer relations and sales are maximized and profitability is maintained through effective control of labor supply and energy costs Summary of essential job functions In accomplishing the general aim the store manager’s duties and responsibilities are • Quality control • Store appearance and cleanliness • Customer relations • Bookkeeping and cash management • Cost control and productivity • Damage control • Pricing • Inventory control • Spotting and cleaning Machine maintenance • Purchasing • Employee safety • Hazardous waste removal • Humane resource administration • Pest control Knowledge, skills and abilities (The knowledge, skills and attitudes required for satisfactory job performance) Knowledge The incumbent must have proficient knowledge in the following areas: • Cusomer service • Accounts payable accounts receivables • Store and motel management and administration Skills The incumbent must demonstrate the following skills: Personal Attributes The incumbent must also demonstrate the following personal attributes: be honest and trustworthy • possess cultural awarenes and senstivity The Store Manager would normally attain the required knowledge, skills and attitudes through related in experience in a retail setting. Equivalencies will be considered. Disclaimer The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed. Additional information |HR use only | |Job code | | |Generic title | | |Pay grade | | |Management? (Yes/No) | | |E/NE status | | |Last revised | | ———————– • excellent customer service and interpersonal skills • effective verbal and listening communications skills • effective written communications skills • decision making skills • time management skills • analytical and problem solving skills •

Chapter: 1 Introduction 1. Background of the report After completion of MBA program students have to do internship in an organization for the fulfillment of the Degree. Internship program gives an opportunity of learning the real working dynamics and applied knowledge of Business Administration. I complete my M. B. A program from department of Management Studies, University of Chittagong. To complete the academic requirement I did my internship at HR department of Royal Capital Limited.

My internship topic was “functions & responsibilities of HR and Admin department of Royal Capital Limited. This report is prepared to focus on the functions and responsibilities of HR and Admin department of Royal Capital Limited. 1. 2Rationale of the report Internship program is the part of MBA program which gives a scope to MBA students to prepare a study report focusing solution to problematic issues of management of the organization. It is an opportunity to gather practical knowledge and reduce the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge.

It also gives opportunity to the future managers to deal with practical problems and give solution in real business life. I did my internship in Royal Capital Limited which is a leading equity brokerage house in the country. My internship report is based on the practical experience through working at the HR department of the company. 1. 3Objectives of the report The main objective of this report is to fulfill the academic requirement as well as the following objectives: • To understand the Human Resource Management practices. • To have a clear picture of the basic HR functions. To identify the clear picture of HR practices in RCL. • To analyze the performance of the HR & Admin department of RCL. 1. 4Methodology and Data collection The report is prepared on the basis of experience and data collection through direct supervision at the work place. The methodology followed for the purpose of the study has been desk research as well as field survey. The desk research method has been followed to review the existing literature on the subject. Both primary and secondary data were collected to prepare the report.

The main sources of the primary data to prepare the company profile and its performance had been collected from organization’s web site and the concerned with HR Manager of Royal Capital Limited and secondary data collected from the web site and books for the purpose of preparing the literature part. 1. 5Scope of the report The report is prepared on the basis of direct supervision and collection and analysis of primary and secondary data. It provides information of a successful broker house, its practice and prospect of HR and Admin department.

It will guide and give complete idea to a learner and clients about broker house and its activities. This report also provides gridlines to a learner about practice of HR and functions and responsibilities of HR and admin department. 1. 6Limitations of the report The study has been conducted subject to certain limitation. The rate of success of my study may be limited as I might have failed to collect proper information due to lack of my experience, some data could not be supplied for their confidentiality and official secrecy. The secondary sources of data were not available and well organized.

In addition to the above, RCL is a private limited company, which does not does not provide with all the necessary information as required due to their sensitivity and competitiveness in regard to its competitors. In spite of these limitations, I have tried my best to pinpoint various findings of this company. I, therefore, hope that the study will be evaluated subject to the recognition of the above limitation. 1. 7MY WORKING AREA As I complete MBA program major in HRM from department of Management Studies, University of Chittagong my interest was to know the HR practice in real life in the organizations.

I got the opportunity to work in the HR department of Royal Capital Limited under HOD-HR manager. My internship topic was “functions & responsibilities of HR & Admin department of Royal Capital Limited”. My organization supervisor helps me to closely work with the functions and responsibilities perform by them to successful continuation of a company in the competitive business environment. Chapter: 2 Company Overview 2. 1Royal Capital limited Royal Capital Limited is a leading equity brokerage house in the country.

It has diverse clientele of institutions, high net worth individuals, foreign funds and retail investors which help to success in the market. Royal Capital Limited was established in 1995 and over time become one of the largest stock broking companies in the country. Side by side it has also dealership licences. It’s a member of Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange. Its authorized capital is TK 150 million; paid-up capital is TK 65 million. There are 12 offices and branches of Royal Capital Limited situated in Dhaka, Chittagong, Feni, Jessore, Bogra and Khulna.

Its corporate head office is located in Chittagong. Its number of employees is 110. The number of Beneficiary Owner Account holders is 37,112. Its daily average turnover is US $ 1. 7 million. The market share of Royal Capital Limited is 1. 20%. Royal Capital Limited is a depository participant of Central Depository Bangladesh Limited. Mr. A. Q. I Chowdhury, OBE is the chairman of the company, a prominent business personality of the country. He has a good track record of running the manufacturing and service oriented multinational company like James Finlay Plc for the last 20 years.

He was awarded by Her Excellency Queen Elizabeth II the “Order of British Empire” (OBE) for his contribution to the society and ethical business. Under his leadership a young dedicated, skilled professional team has been develop to render the service as required by customers. 2. 1. 1Mission The mission of Royal Capital Limited is to develop the company into an ideal and antique financial institution by providing excellent financial service to its customers. 2. 1. 2Objectives of Royal Capital Limited Success of an investor depends on good understanding of market, reliable information, sound fund management and risk planning.

Royal Capital Limited is the right place to get all those services. It has already gained confidence of Investors of all class for its sincere efforts to assist client in every possible way. Objectives of Royal Capital Limited are as follows: ? To help client understand investment choices. ? To provide timely account and transaction information that accurately reflects the investment positions of the client. ? To Build and justify clients trust. ? Provide clients with frank, timely feedback on how we are doing and how we can improve our service to clients. 2. 1. 3Management

Royal Capital Limited has a policymaking body which consists of 7 members of whom 2 are elected. The board comprises of one Chairman, one Managing Director, three directors and 2 members. It has provision for 23,000 clients. The executive power of RCL is vested with the Department Manager. 2. 1. 4Sister concerns The followings are the concern business of Royal Capital Limited: ? Royal Trade International ? Royal Cuisine ? Royal Garden. 2. 2Major businesses and product divisions As a broker house Royal Capital Limited perform following activities: ? Brokerage Activities:

Royal Capital limited provides trade execution activities for clients in Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange under Securities & Exchange Commissions Law. ? Dealer Account: The SEC Act defines a dealer as someone who is engaged in the business of buying and selling securities for his own account that would require their registration as a dealer under SEC Act. Also Royal Capital limited has a dealer Account, Name: ROYAL CAPITAL LTD. B. O ID: 1201590000001005. ? Stock Broking Account: The process of investing in the share market, either individually or through a broker is known as stock broking.

Stock broker is also an individual who makes stock trades on behalf of his or her clients. ? Margin Loan: Margin loans are taken to finance the purchase of securities, usually the purchase of stock (also known as equity). Margin loans normally are extended by the same financial services firm (stock brokerage firm or securities firm) that the customer uses to trade in the security in question. The maximum value of a margin loan relative to the value of the underlying securities is set by the SEC. Each firm is free to implement more stringent lending policies than prescribed by the SEC. Margin Loan Activities & Agreement of RCL: In this segment Royal provide two kinds of A/C: Cash: This type of account asks to client deposit cash and then client can use that cash to buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds or other investments. But sometimes client can take loan for buying securities, it’s providing for short time. It’s also called unauthorized loan. Margin: With a margin account the broker lends a portion of the funds at the time of purchase and the security acts as collateral. The loan in the account is collateralized by the securities and cash.

If the value of the stock drops sufficiently, the account holder will be required to deposit more cash or sell a portion of the stock. ? Margin Call: A broker demands an investor using margin to deposit additional money or securities so that the margin account brought up to the minimum maintenance margin. Margin calls occur when an account value depresses to a value calculated by the broker’s particular formula. This is sometimes called a “fed call” or “maintenance call”. ? Margin facilities of Royal Capital Limited:

A financial institution must have some written guidelines on the credit approval process and the approval authorities of individuals or committees as well as the basis of those decisions. Royal Capital Limited provides credit facilities to the customer as per Margin Rules, 1999. ? Margin Risk Management Process: Margin risk management process should cover the entire margin cycle starting from the origination of the margin in a financial institution’s books to the point the margin is extinguished from the books. ? Internet Trading Service (ITS): This is a border less trading system.

Investor who have access to internet take part in share market from any part of the world, and can do his own buy-sale at own pace. Investor interested to may be able to log on to www. bangladeshtockmarket. com to get all the relevant information on the Internet trading and also for trading. ? Real time trading facility in both Dhaka & Chittagong Stock Exchanges: A client can trade any bourse simultaneously from any of our branches. ? Xpress Settlement On selling shares through ‘Xpress settlement’ cheque is issued on the same day & not on the exchange payout date.

This money can then be withdrawn immediately. ? Any Branch Trading Facility RCL is giving any branch trading facility to its client. ? Depository Service A depository is an organization formed to provide electronic depository facilities to share holder under prevailing law in the electronic form through the medium of depository participants (DPS). The Central depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL) is the only depository in Bangladesh, which is setup and governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh (SEC).

RCL is among the few Depository Participant (DP) in the country and the first DP who started related service right from introduction of this in the country. ? Beneficiary Owner (BO) Account A BO account is mandatory for applying IPO shares and also for trading of CDBL shares in secondary market. By opening a BO account with RCL you can enjoy both facilities. ? Demat Securities Dematerialization is the process of converting physical securities in electronic form. RCL is trusted name in providing that service for its client. ? Pledge

Depository service with RCL allows you to pledge demated securities with any bank or financial institution to avail loan. ? Research Activities: This is one of the issues that the Royal Capital Limited management was very much serious about and accordingly put due emphasis according to the need of the capital market. Stock business is information based. Right information at the right time in the right place is the core of the game. So RCL publish some very informative and analytical publications intended to help explore the financial performance of the listed organization so that the client can take wise investment decision. . 3Board of directors Chairman – Mr. A Q I Chowdhury, OBE CEO & MD- Mr. Munir Ahmed Director- Ms Jesmin Islam Chowdhury Director- Mr. Sami Chowdhury Director- Mr. Saadi Chowdhury SWOT Analysis of Royal Capital Limited |Positive |Negative | | |Strength(s) |Weakness(w) | |Internal |Goodwill. |Inadequate IT system. | |Factors |Credibility. |Lack of trained ersonnel. | | |Strong financial condition; ample financial resource. |Absence of risk management assessment. | | | |Insufficient research and development. | | |Efficient and experience management team. |Lack of strategic planning. | | |Prompt service. | | | |Transparency. | | | |Never a default to client and to DSE, CSE and CDBL. | | |Opportunity(O) |Threats(T) | |External |Immense scope to increase trade. |Entry of new competitor. | |Factor | |Increased competition. | | | |Share market crisis. | 2. 4Organogram of RCL: Royal capital Limited at A Glance Name of the company: Royal Capital Limited. Type of company: Private limited.

Date of incorporation : 1st April 1995. Member Registered No: Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd. Registration No. 3. 1/Dse-21/2006 Chittagong Stock Exchange Ltd. Registration No: 3. 21/CSE-121053 Authorized capital: BDT 150 million. Paid up capital: BDT 65 million. No. of Offices & Branches: 12 No. of employees: 110 Number of BO holders: 37,112 Daily average turnover: US$ 1. 7million Market share: 1. 20% Chairman of the company: Mr. A Q I Chowdhury, OBE CEO & MD: Mr. Munir Ahmed Administration : 07 members Board of Directors Organization Address: Corporate Office:

Finlay House (Ground Floor), Agrabad C/A, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Chapter: 3 Literature Review 3. 1Human Resource Management HRM involves all kind of decisions related with human resource. HRM can be define as a specific combination of HR practices, work structures and process that maximizes employees knowledge, skill, commitment and flexibility. Storey (1995) defines HRM as a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to obtain competitive advantage developed showing how HRM practices leads to overall corporate performance.

According to Khatri (1999), people are one of the most important factors providing flexibility and adaptability to organizations. Rundle (1997) argues that one needs to bear in mind that people (managers), not the firm, are the adaptive mechanism in determining how the firm will respond to the competitive environment. Several scholars have noted that managing people is more difficult than managing technology or capital (Barney, 1991; Lado and Wilson, 1994). 3. 1. 1Human Resource Management: Nature Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met.

HRM practices refer to organizational activities directed at managing the pool of human resources and ensuring that the resources are employed towards the fulfillment of organizational goals (Schuler & Jackson, 1987; Schuler & MacMillan, 1984; Wright & Snell, 1991). Redman and Matthews (1998) identify an ‘HRM bundle’ of key practices which support service organizations quality strategies, these being: ? Careful recruitment and selection, for example, ‘total quality recruitment’, ‘zero defects recruitment’, ‘right first time recruitment’. ? Extensive remuneration systems, for example, bonuses available for staff willing to be multi-skilled. Team working and flexible job design, for example, encouraging a sense of cohesiveness and designing empowered jobs. ? Training and learning, for example, front line staff having enhanced interpersonal and social skills. ? Employee involvement, for example, keeping employees informed of key changes in the organization. ? Performance appraisals with links to contingent reward systems, for example, gathering customer feedback to recognize the work by employees over and above their expected duties, which in turn is likely to lead to a bonus for staff. 3. 1. 2Human Resource Management: Objectives

Human Resource Management (HRM) ‘is about matching employment practices to an organization’s strategy’, according to Hendry (1999, p. 3). In Torrington, Hall and Taylor’s (2008) opinion, its objectives are to ensure that organizations are well staffed and that those employees are well treated, motivated and committed to their work to provide best performance. ? To help the organization reach its goals. ? To ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resources. ? To ensure respect for human beings. To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals. To ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization. ? To achieve and maintain high morale among employees. ? To provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees. ? To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualization. ? To develop and maintain a quality of work life. ? To be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society. ? To develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect. ? To enhance employee’s capabilities to perform the present job. To equip the employees with precision and clarity in transaction of business. ? To inculcate the sense of team spirit, team work and inter-team collaboration. 3. 1. 3The HRM Department is responsible for: ? Understanding and relating to employees as individuals, thus identifying individual needs and career goals. ? Developing positive interactions between workers, to ensure collated and constructive enterprise productivity and development of a uniform organizational culture. ? Identify areas that suffer lack of knowledge and insufficient training, and accordingly provide remedial measures in the form of workshops and seminars. Innovate new operating practices to minimize risk and generate an overall sense of belonging and accountability. ? Recruiting the required workforce and making provisions for expressed and promised payroll and benefits. ? Implementing resource strategies to subsequently create and sustain competitive advantage. ? Empowerment of the organization, to successfully meet strategic goals by managing staff effectively. ? The human resource department also maintains an open demeanor to employee grievances.

Employees are free to approach the human resource team for any conceived query or any form of on-the-job stress that is bothering them. ? Performance of employees is also actively evaluated on a regular basis. Promotions are conducted and are predominantly based on the overall performance of the individual, accompanied by the p or tenure he has served the organization. The Human resource department also looks at the possibilities of the employee migrating from one job to another, maintaining the hierarchy in the company and considering the stability of post and the salary obtained over a period of time. 3. 2Functions of HRM:

The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding the staffing needs of an organization and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Human resource department of an organization consist of all human resource management functions. Job Analysis: Job analysis is one of the most important task that performed by the HR staff.

Through job analysis the vacant position is find out and the job description and job specification is prepared. Job description: Job description is an organized and factual statement of the duties and responsibilities for a particular job. Job Specification: It is a statement of minimum acceptance of human qualities necessary to perform a job properly. The company selects employees according to job specification. 1. Recruitment: Recruitment involves searching for and obtaining qualified job candidates in such numbers that the organization can select the most appropriate person to fill its job needs.

In addition to filling job needs, the recruitment activity should be concerned with satisfying the needs of the job candidates. [pic] Methods of recruitment: Job posting: The organization announces position openings through bulletin boards, company publications, and internet/intranet. Skills inventories: Manual or computerized systematic records listing employees’ education, career and development interests, languages, special skills, and so on to be used in forecasting inside candidates for promotion. 2. Succession Planning

Succession planning refers to the plans a company makes to fill its most important executive positions. It involves analysis of the demand for managers and professionals by company level, function, and skill and planning of individual career paths based on objective estimates of future needs and drawing on reliable performance appraisals and assessments of potential. 3. Selection: The selection criteria for a position are a list of the essential and desirable skills, attributes, experience, and education which an organization decides is necessary for a position. Step-1 Job analysis: Job analysis means developing job-related information. It’s the starting point in the selection plan and, for that matter, in the entire recruitment and selection process: • Conducting a job analysis: Start by generally describing the purpose of the job. Define the major work processes the employee does. These are the duty statements. • Decide which duties are essential: Essential duties are either critical to the job or they take up a large percentage of time. • Identify the KSBs: needed to do the major duties and responsibilities. Minimum qualifications (MQs) describe the knowledge, skills, and behaviors (KSBs) needed to perform the major duties of a job upon entry to the job • Developing minimum qualifications: Using the job analysis, identify the KSBs that are necessary on the first day of the job. ? Step-2 Identifying selection procedures Following job analysis, the second stage in developing a selection plan is deciding how you will evaluate applicants and select the best person for the job. • Training and experience evaluations – This method, often called TE, looks at an applicant’s training and experience as they relate to the job. Supplemental Questions – Supplemental questions give applicants specific guidelines to describe the competencies they gained through training and experience. • Written tests – Written tests can be good selection tools, but they aren’t always practical. Written exams cost a lot of time and money to develop. • Performance tests – Performance tests involve having an applicant perform small samples of an actual duty. Examples include: • Physical tests – Physical tests often include endurance or strength measurements, which could adversely impact on women, older workers, and others. References – If not done well, reference checks can result in the same problems as informal, unstructured interviews. • Work Sample – A work sample is some tangible thing an applicant has produced. It should represent the applicant’s level of competence in a specific area. • Interview – The oral interview remains the most popular selection procedure, but they also need to be valid and consistent. • Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee absenteeism. Appointment Letter- A reference check is made about the candidate selected and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment letter. 4. Human Resource development: Human Resources Development (HRD) is a framework for the expansion of human capital within an organization through the development of both the organization and the individual to achieve performance improvement. HRD includes the areas of training and development, career development, and organization development: [pic] Training and development means acquiring knowledge, developing competencies and skills, adopting behaviors that improve performance in current jobs.

Organization development is the diagnosis and design of systems to assist an organization with planning change. Career development is the activities and processes for mutual career planning and management between employees and organizations. 5. ORIENTATION & TRAINING After recruiting & selecting next step is to orientation & train the employees. To ensure better performance, employees must know what to do & how to do, to know this they have to go through orientation. Training Need Assessment A needs assessment is the process of identifying the “gap” between performance required and current performance.

The purpose of a training needs assessment is to identify performance requirements and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by an organization’s workforce to achieve the requirements. The assessment should address resources needed to fulfill organizational mission, improve productivity, and provide quality products and services. 6. Performance Management And Appraisal: Performance management is a process that consolidates goal setting, performance appraisal and development into a single common system, the aim of which is to ensure that the employee’s performance is supporting the company’s strategic aims. . Compensation and benefits: Compensation is the financial remunerations given by the organization to its employees in exchange for their work. Employee compensation refers to all forms of pay or rewards going to employees and arising from their employment. There are two main components of employee compensation: ? Direct financial payments: wages, salaries, incentives, commissions, bonuses. ? Indirect payments: employer paid insurance and vacations. Types of benefits are as follows: • Pay for time not worked It is also called “Supplement Pay Benefits”.

It is generally an employer’s most costly benefits because of the large amount of time off that many employees receive. Common time off pay periods include Holidays, Vacations, Maternity leave, Sick leave, Personal days, Unemployment insurance payments for laid-off or terminated employees. • Insurance benefits: workers’ compensation, health & disability insurance, mental health benefits and life insurance. • Retirement benefits: pension plans, retirement benefits and survivor’s or death benefits. • Services: personal services credit union and counseling services. Chapter: 4 Findings 4. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT of RCL Human Resource Management has come to be recognized as an inherent part of management, which is concerned with the human resources of an organization. Besides all other departments Royal Capital Limited also has a HR department. HR Manager is responsible person the planning the Human Resource Policy in the organization. The basic Organogram of the Human Resource Department of RCL is as follows |Manager (HR) | |Deputy Manager | |Assistant Manager | Senior Executive | |Executive | |Jr. Executive | The role of Human Resource department of RCL is as follows: ? Human resource planning, recruitment and selection. ? Making Human Resource Policy. ? Under taking training programs for skill development. ? Ethical issues and codes of conduct ? Maintain liaison with the administrative manager. ? Grievances handling of the employees. ? Keep proper security of the company assets. ? To arrange promotions for staffs. Maintain personal files & records of employees. ? Conducting motivational programs. ? Taking care of in-house cleanliness, health and safety. 1. Human Resource Planning Human resource planning is a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an organization to achieve its goals. Manpower planning is the process by which an organization can engage the right number of people for the right job at the right time. The manpower needs of RCL reviewed twice in a year. The responsibility of HR Planning is on HOD-HR. RCL follow the following steps for effective human resource planning:

Step 1 Analysis of existing positions An analysis of all post done with respect to the requirement of those posts for the current and future functioning of the organization. They use trend analysis and ratio analysis for forecasting personnel needs. Step 2 Estimation of job vacancies The number of job vacancies which will occur in the coming year estimated considering the following matters: ? Promotions ? Demotions ? Separation due to Retirement, Resignation and/or Dismissal Creation of new position due to increased work load, i. e. Workload P = No. Of people

Step 3 Taking stocks of the existing manpower skills Then a list is prepared of each employee which contains his/her name, educational qualification, experience in each trade/position, area of specialization, special award received, outstanding achievements etc. Step 4 Arriving at the net manpower requirements & initiating further activities The gross manpower requirements, assessed as per Step 2 compared with the availability of existing skills arrived at Step 3. The comparison leads to one of the following situations: All vacancies may be filled up by the redeployment of existing manpower.

The redeployment can be done based on the skills identified in the Performance and Potential appraisals of every employee. The options before management are Promotions, Transfer, Retraining, Reallocation of work and Job Rotation. This will occur when it is found that there is surplus manpower in certain departments/sections/branches and deficit of similar skills in other departments/sections/branches. The decisions taken by the HOD-HR and the concerned HOD and the final approval of the MD. Deficit manpower skills: If in spite of redeployment of personnel, deficit of skills remain in the organization the action is recruitment.

In case of surplus manpower, retrenchment action will be resorted to after approval from the MD. Based on the above steps the HOD-HR prepares a detailed Manpower Plan for the coming year. A copy of the Manpower Plan forwarded to all the competent authority. It is the responsibility of HOD to get approval from MD. After getting the approval it is the Manpower Plan for the coming year. Then it is the responsibility of the HOD-HR to institute necessary subsequent actions based on the Manpower Plan i. e. Promotions, Transfers, Retraining, Job Rotation, Recruitment etc. fter carrying out the above Manpower Planning exercise if new positions need to be added, it need to get approval from the Board. 2. Recruitment and selection of employee Recruitment involves searching for and obtaining qualified job candidates in such numbers that the organization can select the most appropriate person to fill its job needs. In addition to filling job needs, the recruitment activity should be concerned with satisfying the needs of the job candidates. 1. Recruitment RCL have a standard recruitment procedure described as follows: [pic]

Personnel requisition form contains detail the Job specification, Job responsibility and necessary qualification, experience, and skills required for the specific post. The HOD-HR sends the PRFs to the departmental heads as the number of the positions to be filled in that department. The departmental heads return the PRFs to the HOD-HR after filled up the forms. Based on the specifications in the PRF, the HR department will start the recruitment process. The recruitment process done through the following medium: • Open Recruitment This involves recruitment through advertisements.

The advertisement for required post will appear in major national and regional newspapers, business magazines or in different websites of job circulation. • Deputation Some vacancies filled y recruiting employees on deputation. • Receipt of resume The last date for receipt of resumes/applications will specified in the advertisements. Once the applications are received, they can screen out by the HOD-HR. then suitable candidates are sent interview letters by the HR department. The call for test/ interview sent only short listed candidates well in advance.

The letter will inform the candidates’ date of test/ interview, venue of the test/ interview. HR department is responsible for making the test/ interview arrangement at the appointed date, time and place. This consist of an appropriate test and interview room, a waiting room, lunch and tea for candidates and selection committee members, arrangements for the reimbursement of the fare to candidates and to interview panel experts. 2. Selection RCL follow the standard selection procedure for selection of personnel: All the above steps are detailed below.

Selection procedure for support staff such as Drivers, Office Assistants, etc. , For selection of support staff the following procedure shall be adopted: ? The Drivers and Office Assistants may be selected from known and reliable sources after verifying the reliability of the applicant. ? The applicant must possess basic knowledge of office environment. ? The person selected shall be appointed on probation for a period of 12 months, which shall be reviewed and if needed can be further extended up to 12 months. ? The support staff shall be selected by Managing Director (MD) on the recommendation of board of directors. [pic]

The persons who will constitute the selection committee depend upon the position for which the interview will be conducted. ? For MD : A subcommittee of the Board of Directors. ? For GM & DGM : MD and some other members of the Board of Directors. ? For HODs : The selection committee consists of the ED, GM, DGM, HOD-HR, and some experts may also be called from outside the organization to assess the candidate. The members of the Governing body can also be part of the selection committee. ? For other posts: The selection committee consists of the concerned HOD, and HOD-HR. The MD involves in recruitment of all employees.

Final approval of all candidates lies with the MD. The MD and HOD-HR meet to form the selection committee. The HOD-HR informs the respective HOD of their role on the committee. An appropriate date for the interview/test is fixed with the consent of all and the selection committee informed of the same. HOD-HR is responsible for coordinating with the selection committee members. Various tests like the Language test, Performance test, Aptitude test, Intelligence test and Personality test is conducted, if required, depending upon their relevance and applicability for different positions.

The Human Resource Department designs the above tests in consultation with the respective HODs and gets it approved by the MD. <> After the test, (if administered), the short listed candidates are interviewed by respective the selection committee. Irrespective of the position being filled, Interviews are conducted. Each members of the selection committee fill up one approved rating form for each of the candidates. The selection committee meets, at the earliest, after all the interviews are over, to decide on the final candidates to be selected.

The points scored in the tests and interviews tallied and the final decision for the selected candidate taken. The list is forwarded to the MD for approval. The MD returns the list to the head of the HR department to send the letter of offer. The letter of offer informs the candidate of his/ her selection. It contains details of the post, grade and scale of pay being offered to the candidate. It also contains any special terms and conditions of appointment. The letter also contains the proposed day and date of joining, intimation of the address of joining and how to get to the address.

A copy of the letter send to the selected candidate duly signed indicating that he/ she will join on the appointed date and time. If certain terms are unacceptable to him/ her, then he/ she may inform accordingly so that negotiations may be conducted, if required. The letter of Offer duly signed by the selected candidate (after all negotiations are over, if required) will constitute the Letter of Acceptance. <> The objective of the appointment procedure is to ensure that the employee completes all formalities before he is given the formal appointment letter. The procedure for appointment will consist of the following steps: ? Joining report

The prospective employee has to report to the HOD-HR on the appointed date. The HOD-HR then takes the employee through the appointment procedure. ? Check of Certificates The appointing authority checks the certificates of the prospective employee. These include his/her academic and other certificates as well as past experience certificates. These are cross checked with the information mentioned by the candidate in the application form. ? Check of age of candidate The appointing authority also check the age of the candidate through his/her school leaving certificate and cross check it with the age mentioned in the application form. Medical tests The candidate will be asked to undergo a medical test consisting of blood test, chest X-ray, blood pressure, eye test. ? General check up The organization can either appoint a doctor on contract or it can approve a panel of doctors for the employees of the society. The prospective employee shall bring the above test reports with him/ her or the doctor can send them directly to the organization. ? References The prospective employee is asked to furnish names and address of three references who have known him/ her for more than two years.

The HR department sends reference sheets to them and gets their responses on the person’s qualifications, abilities and other traits. ? Secrecy Bond The prospective employee also signs a bond of secrecy so that confidential information is not leaked out. ? Appointment Letter After all the above steps are completed the HOD-HR issues a formal Appointment letter to the selected candidate, duly signed by the MD. ? Employee Personal File As soon as an employee joins the organization, a personal file is opened on his/ her name. This file is kept confidential and maintained and is under the care of the HR department.

The personal file will contain the following: • Joining report • Ratings of Test and/ or Interviews • Photocopies of academic Qualification certificates • Photocopies of past employment certificates • A record of the date of birth or National ID card • Medical test report at the time of appointment as well as any subsequent tests done. If any • Comments of referees • Copy of the secrecy bond • All correspondence before joining including copies of the letter of Offer, Letter of Acceptance, and appointment Letter • Emergency contact number and address 3. Induction

Induction is the process of familiarizing a newcomer to the organization with the job, surroundings and the organization itself. RCL use the following induction process for the new employee to familiarize the job and the organization to him/her: The procedure of induction consists of the following steps: ? Orientation of new Employee The HR department plans an induction program in consultation with the departments concerned for the newly induced employees based on experience and grade. ? Introduction to the Organization The new employee meets the HOD-HR.

He explains the new employee organizations mission, objectives, culture and organizational structure. The HOD-HR also ensures that he/she gets a booklet that contains important rules/ terms of service and conditions of employment. ? Advice to various departments The HR department informs the relevant department heads of the appointment of new employee. This also includes the HOD-Finance and Accounts as well as the HOD of the concern department. ? Introduction to the employees of the organization This consist the three following groups of employees: • The MD and GM/DGM and their immediate staff The concerned HOD and immediate superior • The other employees ? Induction Training The HOD informs the employee his/her induction training schedule. ? Issue of identity Card and Visiting Cards A formal identity card with the employee’s name, number, photograph and signature issued. The HR department also arrange visiting card for the employee. ? Service book Proper record of different types of leaves, performance etc of employees of the RCL for sanctioning leave, leave encashment, annual increment and performance of individual employees maintained in the service book of the employee concerned. . Compensation management All the employees of RCL receive salary and allowances as per the rules framed by the governing body of RCL. The pay and allowances paid to the employees on the 1st date of the month following the month during which the service is performed. If the 1st day is holiday then the payment made on the afternoon of the last working day of the month for which payment is due. ? Increment Increment normally accrues on satisfactory of the completion of the calendar year. The increment is granted on satisfactory performance of the employee and the approval of the MD. Special pay Special pay may be granted for discharge of additional work, work of high quality or special nature. The grant of special pay requires the approval of the MD. ? Revision of salary structure The management of RCL conducts a salary structure revision once in a year. The responsibility of revising the salary structure for all grades lie within the management and the authority for approval lie with the Governing Body. [pic] Non-financial benefits of RCL that provided to its employees are as follows discussed: Pay for time not worked: ? Weekly Holidays

Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays unless otherwise specified. ? Leaves The organization provides leave to the employees to refresh themselves, celebrate festivals and have a vacation. The following types of leave are allowed: • Annual Leave one day for every 18 days worked (Annual leave is based on the number of days worked by the employee and not given for the days during which the employee was on leave without pay) • Casual leave 10 days in a calendar year. • Sick leave 14 days in a year (Medical Certificate needs to be produced if leave is taken for three or more days) • Maternity leave National & Festival Holidays organization observes the same National holidays and holidays on account of festivals and other holidays. ? Other benefits: • Insurance RCL provide insurance benefits to its employees. • TA/DA • Dearness allowances • Tour expenses • Profitability sharing 5. Performance appraisal & management Performance and potential appraisal for employees of RCL is done quarterly in a year. The individual appraisal is done in Appraisal forms. The HR head send as many forms as there are employees in each department and each branch, to the department heads and branch in charge.

The department heads distribute the forms to all employees who would fill up the relevant columns along with their immediate supervisors within a week’s time. Then the departmental heads give their ratings and discuss the same with the respective employees and their immediate supervisors. After completing the forms sent to the HR department for completion. Individual performance Appraisal will be done at two levels: ? Initiating Authority: This would lie with the immediate superior of the appraisee. ? Accepting Authority: This would lie with the HODs /MD/Chairman as the case may be.

The Initiating authority and Accepting authority at different levels in SIFPSA will be as follows: • Performance Appraisal for the MD The initiating and accepting authority would lie with the Chairman of the Governing Body of RCL. • Performance Appraisal for the GM The initiating authority would be the MD and the accepting authority would be the Chairman of the Governing Body of RCL. • Performance Appraisal for Grade IX employees. GM shall be Initiating / Reviewing Authority and Managing Director shall be the Accepting Authority. Performance Appraisal for Grade I to VIII employees Initiating Authority shall be the Departmental Managers of the division concerned. Reviewing Authority shall be the GM and Accepting Authority shall be the Managing Director. Organization performance appraisal The MD, GM, and Heads of the departments will meet to discuss the performance of RCL as a whole. They will assess the achievements of the organization since the last appraisal, causes for delay/ non-achievements, corrective measures, and the tasks for the organization till the next appraisal. 6. Training and development

Training is the process of teaching new employees the basic skills they need to perform their jobs. On the other hand Management development means any attempt to improve current or future management performance by imparting knowledge, changing attitudes, or increasing skills. ? Procedure During the Performance and Potential Appraisal, the training needs of individuals and departments will be identified. The HR head prepare a list of training needs and categorize them into Technical, Managerial, and Behavioral. He/ She will also circulate the days and dates of the various training programs to be organized in the next one year.

The training programs should ideally begin after the recruitment process is over so that new employees can also be trained along with the regular employees of the organization. Kinds of Training The various trainings that will be imparted are as follows: • Training conducted by a society employee: This type of training is essentially conducted by an experienced employee of RCL. It is conducted when some skills are to be transferred to another person within the society or to train new employees. • Training conducted by outside agencies:

This training is conducted when new skills are to be imparted to the employees of the organization. The HR department identifies agencies and experts who can impart relevant training. The HR department also has to arrange the training conducted in the organization or outside it. ? Training Impact Assessment Thus training and development programs play an important part in the smooth and effective functioning of the organization. The impact of such programs on the functioning of the organization also assessed periodically. The responsibility of such assessment is of HOD-HR.

The period of assessment is from one month to a year after the program has been conducted or on the spot assessment. Based on these assessments the organization decides to discontinue the particular program. It can also decide to change the trainer in order to improve the impact of such training. 6. Career planning & growth Career Planning is concerned with providing experiences that will enable employees to develop their full potential. Procedure RCL designs avenues for career planning and growth of the employees and its compensation package such as to attract and keep the best managerial talent.

Career planning and growth of the organization, take place through the following steps: [pic] • Career Planning Performance and Potential Appraisal is an indication of the employee’s accomplishments and his/ her potential Training and its applications show how quickly he/ she is able to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. The employee have to take initiative in his/ her own career planning by setting targets for himself/ herself and suitably getting nominated for training in areas which he/ she needs to develop. Based on the above, management encourages career planning and growth for all the employees of RCL. Career Growth Career Growth depends upon the performance of the employee and the avenue open for him/ her in his/ her own or other departments due to exit of superiors. If the employee needs special skills to occupy those positions, appropriate training arranged for him/ her. The Appraisal committee decides the promotion of the employee and indicates future avenues of growth. Promotion also takes place through transfer of employees from one department to the other or from one location of operation to another. The management consults the employee on whether such a promotion is acceptable to him/ her or not. Promotions: The HOD – HR prepares the following letters at the end of the Appraisal Committee deliberations: The above letters are approved by the MD and sent to the employee. 7. DIFFERENT TYPICAL HR FUNCTIONS OBSERVED IN RCL RCL authority provides opportunity to the students from different institutions, to take part in their internship program. This type of programs continues for 2- 3 months. As RCL is a giant organization in the area of capital market, there is ample opportunity for the students who engaged there for internship, to gather lots of practical experiences, which will be fruitful for their career.

Another most comprehensive responsibility for the HR department of RCL. The executives of HR department in RCL are responsible to develop the personal files of different employees. For that they have to always keep close contract with every employee to collect their profile and to update their personal history, which are kept into a different format prescribed by the RCL authority. It’s a common responsibility for all the departmental heads of Royal Capital Limited to give daily briefing to their executives about the particular responsibility for the day.

For example the Trade Manager of RCL It involves discussions- it means that is an act of communication and the general objective of counseling is to understand and/or decrease an employee’s emotional disorder. Counseling is involved in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship. 1. Analysis and gap between theory and practice After analyzing and comparing the literature with the functions and responsibilities of HR & Admin department of RCL it is found that RCL follows a well established HR policy to recruit and to guide its human resource.

But there are some gap between the theory and practice which need addressed to make its human resources more competitive and achieve organizational goals. Chapter: 5 Recommendations & Conclusions 5. 1Key policy recommendations Develop a strategic HR function ? Review the configuration and staffing of the HR function to transform it into a strategic HR function. ? Develop a service improvement plan that reflects customer feedback and builds on the work started at the HR away day. ? Refocus the work of the HR team on the OD agenda and the refined HR strategy and implement an associated development program for HR staff.

Review and develop the HR strategy ? The HR strategy should capture the ‘employer brand’ of RCL, and focus directly on achieving the vision and developing the required culture. ? Communications/ employee engagement and workforce development planning should be key strands. ? Review core values and develop the new vision into a practical strategy and change program that all staff can understand. Align Training and Development to OD ? Create a separate training and development department for the employees. ? Refocus corporate training and development to ensure that core training eflects and reinforces the OD agenda. Performance management ? Performance standards should be defined in quantifiable and measureable terms which easily understood able to the employees of RCL. ? There should use the 360degree performance appraisal method to evaluate the performance of the employees. ? The employees should provide the feedback of performance appraisal so that they can improve their performance in future. 5. 2Conclusion Human resource management (HRM, HR) is the management of an organization’s employees. An organization success is fully depending on proper personnel management.

As a result, the organization can ensure the productivity by ensuring the proper human resource management. They provide better service facility to their employees, which in turn give the timely production and necessary activities effectively and efficiently without any hazard. It means the proper service facility and sound-working condition remains the whole organization. The stock market of Bangladesh as of today consists of stock exchanges such of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In modern business world stock broker house plays a vital role for their client. This research report took an endeavor to identity the brokerage house human resource management practice and performance that took place within last decade with special emphasis on Royal Capital Ltd. Royal Capital Limited has a HR department with highly skilled professionals who are employed to achieve organizational goals. The successes of an organization fully depend on its human capital. So it needs to provide proper guidelines, training and continuous developing with the changes in the business world to achieve the market share and rganizational goals. References 1. Organization’s web site. 2. HR manuals of Royal Capital Limited. 3. Dessler G. (2004), “Human Resource Management”, 11th edition, Prentice Hall. 4. Management, Heinz Weigh rich, Harold Koontz 10th edition. 5. A b c d Thomas N. Garavan, Pat Costine, and Noreen Heraty (1995). “Training and Development: Concepts, Attitudes, and Issues”. Training and Development in Ireland. Cengage Learning EMEA. pp. 1. ISBN 1872853927. 6. Derek Torrington, Laura Hall, and Stephen Taylor (2004). Human Resource Management. Pearson Education. pp. 363.

ISBN 0273687131. 7. Web site, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 8. Storey, J. (1995). “New perspectives on human resource management”. New York: Rutledge. 9. Beatty, R. W Schneier, C. E (1997). “New Human Resources roles to impact organizational performance: From partners to players”. In D. Ulrich, M. R Losey & G. Lake (Eds), “Tomorrow’s HR Management: 48 Thought leaders call for change, pp. 69-83. 10. Public Sector and Management Act (May 9, 2001), “Advertising, Selection, Appointment, Transfer and Promotion”, Employment Instruction Number-1,from http://www. ocpe. nt. gov. u/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/9791/ei01. pdf[pic][pic] [pic][pic] ———————– Junior Executive Senior Executive Senior Executive Senior Executive Senior Executive Executive Junior Executive Executive Junior Executive Executive Junior Executive Executive Activities of RCL: ? Stock Broking ? Cash Account ? Margin Account ? Internet Trading Service (ITS) Real time trading facility in both DSE & CSE ? Xpress Settlement ? Any Branch Trading Facility ? Depository Service ? BO Account ? Demat Securities ? Pledge Functions of HRM: ? HR planning. ? Recruitment, selection & placement Training & development ? Performance Appraisal ? Transfer ? Remuneration ? Social security & welfare of employees. ? Setting general and specific management policy ? Collective bargaining, contract negotiation and grievance handling. ? Staffing the organization. ? Role Analysis for job occupants. ? Job Rotation. ? Quality Circle, Organization development and Quality of Working Life. ? Benefits: • Health care insurance • Life insurance • Disability insurance • Retirement • Voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance • Leave Transfer Program Tuition Assistance Plan • Training opportunities Junior Executive Executive Senior Executive Junior Executive Executive Senior Executive Junior Executive Executive Senior Executive GM Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Deputy Manager Chairman & Board of Directors Manager (HR) Manager (Compliance) Manager (C. C) Manager CDBL & Settlement) Manager (IT) Manager (Fin & Acc) Manager (Trade) Managing Director Assistant Manager Assistant Manager Assistant Manager

Task #1 – JDT2 Memo to CEO To CEO: As you may be aware, the company is currently facing a lawsuit brought about by a former employee, Mr. X. He is claiming that under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII he has been a victim of “constructive discharge” since we have changed the company’s working schedule policy to a four day rotational shift. Constructive discharge or forcing an employee to resign by making the work environment so intolerable a reasonable person would not be able to stay (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012) is illegal according to U. S. law. Mr. X states that since we have gone to the four day rotational schedule, his religious beliefs are being infringed upon since he would have to work on his religious “holy day”. According to U. S. law, the company does have an obligation to accommodate Mr. X’s request. The law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause difficulty or expense for the employer. (EEOC, 2012).

I would like to make the following recommendations regarding this situation. First, deny any wrong doing based upon the following:

1. Mr. X neglected to notify anyone within the company of his religious status, in other words he did not establish one of the key components of prima facie (Leagle, n. d. ). Had Mr. X made the company aware of his religious beliefs, it might have been possible to make allowable accommodations for him.
2. Mr. X was not subjected to intolerable conditions during his employment, which is also another component. A constructive discharge occurs when a person quits his or her job under circumstances in which a reasonable person would feel that the conditions of employment have become intolerable. (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, 2002).
3. If the Mr. X was unable to agree to the reasonable accommodations put forth by the company, then the company would sustain “undue hardship” (Justia, 1982) by requiring the added expense and time to hire a temporary employee to cover Mr. X’s shift.

Secondly, to avoid any legal issues around Title VII or the Civil Rights Act of 1964 I recommend implementing a “best practices” policy. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “Employers should adopt “best practices” to reduce the likelihood of discrimination and to address impediments to equal employment opportunity. ” (Society for Human Resource Management, 2011). Possible practices to be implemented could include written criteria for hiring, standardized questioning, proper record keeping, management training, publicized anti-harassment policy, allowing non-disruptive religious expression and proactively intervening in possible conflict. (EEOC, 2012).

References

Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices. Retrieved from http://www. eeoc. gov/laws/practices/index. cfm EEOC. (2012).

Best Practices for Eradicating Religious Discrimination in the Workplace http://www. eeoc. gov/policy/docs/best_practices_religion. html Leagle. (n. d. ) Jerrold S. HELLER v. EBB AUTO CO. Retrieved from http://www. leagle. com/xmlResult. aspx? xmldoc=19891863774P2d1089_11857. x ml=CSLWAR2-1986-2006

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. (2002, August 10). Court Concludes There Was No Constructive Discharge Due to Religious Beliefs. Retrieved from http://lcwlegal. com/64957 Justia. (1982, March 22). Marvin Brener v. Diagnostic Center Hospital. Retrieved from http://law. justia. com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/671/141/442160/##

Society for Human Resource Management. (2012) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. EEOC Retrieved from http://www. shrm. org/LegalIssues/FederalResources/FederalStatutesRegulationsan dGuidanc/Pages/TitleVIIoftheCivilRightsActof1964. aspx

Human Resources Management Coursework – Manjeet Singh – 7637434 The Question: “Examine the claim that the management of knowledge workers requires the development of human resource practises that are more suited to the particular characteristics of these workers and their jobs” Introduction The term “knowledge worker” was first used by Peter Drucker in “Landmarks of Tomorrow” in 1959.

A knowledge worker is someone who specialises in a specific field as they possess certain knowledge which has been accrued through specific courses or experience in relevant activities, they usually have some sort of accreditation or documentation to certify that they have accrued this knowledge. They are typically well educated, and with the application of their knowledge it aids them to solve problems for an organisation and it is through problem solving that value is added for the organisation.

As well as problem solving, knowledge workers are also involved in innovation, re-engineering, training etc. although there are certain tasks which would require knowledge workers with specific specialities. Knowledge workers are seen as a crucial asset as with application of their knowledge it can determine the success and reputation of the organisation. “The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable asset of a 21st-century institution, whether business or non-business, will be its knowledge workers and their productivity. (Drucker, 1999, P135) This quote highlights the fact that we are moving away from the traditional mentality that wealth was based on the amount of resources an organisation held in its possession, and more towards how we handle knowledge workers and attain this knowledge. Knowledge workers attract higher banded salaries, with enhanced levels of autonomy in comparison to the normal employee. As a result the turnover of Knowledge workers is typically high, because they are aware of the fact that the knowledge that they possess is of great need and importance to the organisation.

In many cases the knowledge that these workers have allows the organisation to establish a competitive advantage over their rivals, which is why they are willing to pay the generous salary of these workers. If the workers are not kept happy, then it is easy for them to just move to a different organisation or hold back on the knowledge that they provide for the company. In addition, as the levels of autonomy are high this means that here is an element of self-government, and they have a high amount of freedom, for example they can work from home, this then decreases the amount of control that a firm has over a knowledge worker. Within this report I wish to discuss the different factors that would result in the need for different HR practices for knowledge workers. I will then also highlight which characteristics these workers possess that sets them apart from their colleagues at the organisation where they work and how the characteristics affect the HR practices.

As these workers are of such importance to the organisation, they try their best to keep these workers at the organisation and as their job description differs vastly in comparison to the typical employees, this highlights the need for adaptation in the HR practices that are implemented by the firm as typical employees can be replaced rather easily, through the normal recruitment procedures, however, with knowledge workers, they add value for the organisation, thus, changes would have to be made to keep them happy at the organisation, whilst performing at an acceptable level.

What are the benefits a Knowledge Worker receives? The main technique where we can identify a knowledge worker is by highlighting the benefits that they receive in comparison to normal workers. According to Lowendahl (1997), these workers are offered high remuneration and substantial autonomy, this simply means that there is no one overlooking them constantly and they are highly paid in comparison to others. Knell (2000) & Pink (2002), also describe these workers as “free workers”, this would mean that for them there is a lot more choice as to what they can do.

As they hold all the knowledge which is valuable, it usually means that these workers are a lot less reliant on the organisation that employs him. In addition to this, it is because these workers have access to knowledge and it is them that control it, this then enables them to control the flow of the knowledge, this would mean that they need to be kept happy in order to make sure that the flow of information is suffice and of value to the company. As a result of this, knowledge workers are also offered a lot more freedom in comparison to other workers. As described above, Knowledge workers are offered many benefits due to how aluable they are to the organisation, however, there are challenges that are then forced on HR with the benefits that they offer to these workers. I will now describe these below and show examples of changes and alterations that have been made either for the attracting, motivating or retention of knowledge workers. HRM challenges as an effect of these Knowledge Workers As Knowledge workers are offered such attractive advantages due to the nature of their work, this impacts the normal practices that are in place by HRM. Therefore, managing these Knowledge workers can be challenging for HRM.

These include: Firstly, we can look at the work organisation; this has a major impact on the motivation and productivity of the knowledge worker. If the environment and the organisation is structured in a way that the knowledge worker doesn’t like then this could have a high negative effect on the company, as they need environments where they are comfortable and more importantly a place that offers them new challenges. Another challenge is the constantly changing psychological contract, this is where there are unwritten obligations and expectations that are out of the written contract of the knowledge worker.

The firm should not expect too much of the worker and likewise the worker should not expect too much from the firm, hence the need for contracts to get an understanding of the needs. Thirdly, if the knowledge workers have more than one employer, it is difficult to ensure that these knowledge workers stay loyal. The factor of opportunism can arise here as the knowledge worker would not take into consideration how them leaving or not being productive, can affect the company, instead they will just focus on the benefits that they can take advantage of.

Due to the autonomy that is offered to these workers, monitoring the productivity and motivating the workers is difficult for the organisation. These workers also have varied desires as some of them go for the more short-term incentives, like money and freedom of work, or some tend to focus on building their career, and it is a must for them to work with well recognised clients. One of the biggest challenges that they face is the challenge of retaining these workers as turnover of these workers is significantly high in comparison to other workers.

So it is critical that the HR department devise correct and well suited practices to make sure that these workers are content. The management of the knowledge is important because the knowledge is held by the workers and it is important to make sure that the flow of this knowledge is not restricted by any other factors that can be controlled or altered by the firm. The knowledge that they have also needs to be up to date as out-dated knowledge would not add maximum value for the organisation.

Defining who owns the knowledge at question is also a challenge for the organisation as there are always boundaries which are often unclear and vague, they would need to know this so that they can clearly see how much knowledge the worker can dedicate to the firm. Also as a result of the worker having the knowledge with them, there is also always the threat of them going away and setting up their own firms and as they typically work with clients directly, they could take the clients with them to their own firm.

As all these challenges to HRM have been described and highlighted I believe it also reveals the need for the differentiated HR practices for these workers as they vary massively to normal workers. Different contexts and organisations The dependency between the knowledge workers and the organisation also varies largely to normal workers as the firm itself is a lot more dependent on the knowledge workers. (Swart and Kinnie, 2003) suggest that this is because of knowledge workers changing the typical trend of the firm owning all the knowledge.

In addition, the work process also differs making the firm more dependent on the workers. An example of this is where the knowledge is at the core of the company so that would mean the knowledge worker would usually be the main source of this knowledge. The knowledge worker is at the centre of the business but this is collaborated with the reputation of the firm and working closely with the worker to main a strong relationship which is strategically vital in that particular type of industry.

As a result of this type of relationship and strategic collaboration, this would mean that both parties involved would be highly dependent on each other as the firm would not have the knowledge they require to do business as the knowledge is with the workers but the worker would need the resources, brand reputation and the clients that the firm has. Pink (2002) describes this as “substantial interdependency” as they are both reliant on each other. The only way this dependency can be reduced is by using knowledge management and outlining boundaries and expectations from both parties.

It is important to look after these workers, as if the workers leave then the value created will also leave with them. It is also difficult within this type of industry to determine how much the knowledge worker did or is needed to add value as it is tacit knowledge, which is hard to measure. Knowledge work also influences the network of the organisation as in traditional employment, there is usually a hierarchy which is implemented and all who are involved in this will adhere and follow this hierarchy (Williamson, 1975).

However, with knowledge work hierarchies won’t work due to the power differences that will be incurred as a result of the hierarchy. With knowledge work it is all about being in the correct networks and building a portfolio of careers (Castells, 2000). This gives them the freedom to go out and expand their knowledge base and they can progress within their career at their own will. It is the responsibility of the organisation to provide the workers with clients that are well recognised to keep them happy and motivated, as it would challenge them more and allow them to utilise their knowledge to their maximum potential.

This is very good for the knowledge worker, however it poses a threat to the firm as they can potentially, take the clients with them if they were to leave because they could have formed a strong bond due to the high level of autonomy that they are granted, thus meaning that the organisation won’t know how close they are. For this reason it is important to evaluate the level of autonomy that is offered to these workers, they would need enough to keep the workers motivated but not too much where the workers can get too close with clients and cause problems for the organisation.

Another factor which highlighted by Horwitz (2003), was how the ownership of the firm (foreign or local) affects the practices and the attraction of these knowledge workers, this shows that the culture of the firm has a major impact on the motivation and attraction of these workers. “Foreign versus local ownership appears, therefore, to reflect differences in certain types of HR practices such as using headhunters and advertising media to recruit and select knowledge workers” (Horwitz, 2003).

This shows us that the differing organisations from different cultures use approaches to which they think is best, and there is not a universal, “one fits all” approach which can be used globally. In addition to this they also found that “both wholly owned foreign and local firms found a fun and informal work environment more highly or fairly effective” (Horwitz, 2003), this shows us that the workers take a preference to an environment which is more informal and again changing from the conventional hierarchical approach.

An example is when Horwitz (2003), describes how there are certain cultural requirements or standards within Singapore (where they did their study), for example they have large respect for the hierarchy and everybody seems to know their positions. This would affect the knowledge workers in the sense that if there is a major emphasis on hierarchies within the organisation, it may push them towards multi-national companies with different cultures.

Also, if a firm is international, this attracts knowledge workers as it allows them to travel and experiment different cultures, whilst working for the same firm, this also builds on their experience and makes them a more valuable worker. Figure 1: Proposed schema for attracting, motivating and retaining knowledge workers Source: Frank M. Horwitz. (2003). Finders, Keepers? Attracting, motivating and retaining knowledge workers. Human Resource Management Journal. 13 (4), 23-44. HR practices

Figure 1 shows a schema which proposed for attracting, motivating and retaining knowledge workers, I believe that the elements that have been taken into consideration within the schema are critical and the schema is accurate, however, Horwitz (2003), says himself that it needs further hypotheses testing to make sure its accurate. In addition to this, it does not take into account anything about differing industries as for each industry, they found that different things motivated or attracted the knowledge workers, this is crucial as it again highlights that there cannot just simply be one standard approach or practice across all industries.

According to Kinnear and Sutherland (2000), some researchers have found HR practices which they believe are vital for retention of knowledge workers and decrease the turnover of these workers. However, how could this be possible when there are so many factors that affect the different requirements of these workers and the HR practices required to accommodate these workers? The nature of work is exceedingly different, although there may be tensions between the two types of worker simply because, the knowledge workers are granted such high benefits and salaries.

Again as per Figure 1, we can see that there is no consideration of normal workers, this implies further that these practices should be altered and suited for the knowledge workers. With altered practices it also shows that there is a possibility that it could affect the current employees’ chances of progression to get to the level of knowledge workers as the firm would invest so much into the recruitment of these knowledge workers, they would expect to find people that already have the knowledge and don’t require the training to work, simply just to settle in to the culture of the organisation.

On the other hand, Frost (2002), goes on to also talk about how employers can distinguish between the two types of workers and thus, supports the claim that HR practices need to be different for the types of workers and this will allow them to both be happy and progress accordingly.

In addition to this, Despres and Hiltrop (1995), state “traditional approaches to work remuneration and reward are no longer appropriate in a post-industrial knowledge economy” (Horwitz, 2003) this further reinforces the idea that new and fresh approaches are needed for knowledge workers and the industries need to move away from this old fashioned mentality as the industries are evolving more and more towards knowledge based organisations.

A key thing that Horwitz (2003) found was that the most popular HR practices implemented by the organisations were not always the most effective, this can be questioned as the study was in Singapore, but I believe that it just simply reinforces that the culture of each country and organisation varies and thus would affect the wants and needs in HR practices from the knowledge workers. In addition to this, they say “There is increasing evidence that particular organisations are beginning to acknowledge that distinctive HR practices lead to better knowledge worker performance. (Horwitz, 2003) this again shows the link between altered practices for these workers has a positive impact on the work and the morale of the workers. The design of the job was stated as being high important as part of the satisfaction of the knowledge workers, as if it designed correctly, then this can have a positive impact on the morale, productivity and behaviour of the knowledge worker (Thompson and Heron, 2002). This again shows the importance of different practices for these types of jobs and not to just let them have a monotonous job style like the normal employees. Conclusion

In conclusion, I agree with the initial claim that HR practices should be altered for knowledge workers. I have discovered the real sheer importance of these workers to organisations and how they add value to organisations, for this reason I believe the benefits that are afforded for them are fair and deserved and although they do require some changes which organisations are not accustomed to, for example, losing hierarchies, partnership style working, allowing them to work from home and other challenges the pose to HR, there are certain ways to attract, retain and motivate them.

They also can be risky for a firm, with the ambiguity of their tasks and lack of control from the organisation, but if the firm can keep them happy and monitor in a suitable way, then the worker would be kept happy. Knowledge based companies especially should recognise the importance of tailoring HR practices for these workers, as they are what would give them the competitive advantage, they are also characterised as being innovative and this is key to any firm.

Finally, I believe that these workers will shape the industry in the coming years, so firms should invest into finding the best HR practices which suit their own culture and organisations based also on their industry. References Castells, M. (2000). The rise of the network society: rise of the network society. Oxford, Blackwell. Despres, C. and Hiltrop, J. M. (1995), “Human resource management in the knowledge age: current practice and perspectives on the future”, Employee Relations, Vol. 17 No 1, pp. 9-23. Drucker (1999). Managing Oneself,” Management Challenges for the 21st Century. Frost, M (2002) `Managing knowledge workers’. HR Magazine, May, 47: 5, 124-126 Horwitz, F, 2003. Finders, Keepers? Attracting, Motivating and Retaining knowledge workers. Human Resource Management Journal, 13/4, 23-44. Knell, J (2000) Most Wanted: The quiet birth of the free worker. Futures reports Kinnear and Sutherland (2000) `Determinants of organisational commitment amongst knowledge workers. ’ South African Journal of Business Management, 32: 2, 106-111.

Lowendahl (1997) Strategic Management of Professional Service Firms Pink, D. H. (2002). Free agent nation: the future of working for yourself. New York, Warner Books. Swart, J. & Kinnie, N. (2003) knowledge-intensive firms: the influence of the client on HR systems. HRMJ, 13 (3) 37-55 Thompson, M. and Heron, P. (2002). `The employment relationship and knowledge creation: evidence from R&D based high technology firms. ’ EURAM Conference, Stockholm (May), 1-10. Williamson, Oliver (1975), Markets and hierarchies, analysis and antitrust implications Word Count : 3,242 including references