INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (INDIAN SCHOOL OF MINES), DHANBAD

MID WINTER SEMESTER EXAMINATION 2022-23

MODEL ANSWERS
MSC514: Human Resource Management

Total Marks: 38 marks Time Duration: 2 hours

Q1. For a number of years, many HR activities have been easily chopped off during the
time of recession or any crisis. Has the position of HRM undergone any changes since then?
What are the current trends that are fueling this change? (4+4 marks)
Ans: Yes, the position of HRM has undergone considerable changes since then.
Previously/traditionally, human resource management was considered to be reactive, i.e., having
a passive approach to deal with issues. It lacked strategic orientation and the HR managers were
the followers of the top management and the strategic think tank. Inputs were received from the
top with little or personal inputs being added. Mostly the traditional HRM can be divided into
three phases: the personnel management phase, the industrial relations phase and the HR
maintenance phase. During the personnel management phase, the HR department established
itself as an essential support function to business. However, it still was operating as a support
function. During the industrial relations phase, HR was mainly involved in dealing with unions
and industrial disputes, while in the maintenance phase it became involved in record keeping and
maintaining legal compliances. As the major function of the HR department at this point of time
was following the orders or the commands with no input or value addition of their own, they
obviously became the first target whenever the firm or the economy was going through a rough
phase.
However, post the HR maintenance phase, we notice the emergence of the strategic HR phase.
During this phase, the seasoned managers realized that the only organizational resource which
can give them a competitive advantage was the workforce or their human resources. Thus there
was a need to align the HR activities with the strategic goals of the organization, giving rise to
strategic human resource management (SHRM). At this stage all the planning and deployment of
human resources (people) and HRM (functions) were ensured in order to increase organizational
effectiveness. From this stage onwards, the activities and functions of the HR department were
aligned in such a way that they would add value and enhance the efficiency of the organization.
Thus, securing a more stable position in the organization. However, this was not the end, soon
the need to introduce data driven actions and decisions across the organization emerged.
Businesses and organizations understood the importance of data-driven decision making. The
HR department also started implementing data analytic tools and techniques to enhance their
effectiveness and make a mark in the organization. Presently, we are in the HR analytic phase
where any decision or discussion by the HR department is backed up by data. It is evidence
based decisions being taken in the HR department which are easy to justify and implement.
Given the present scenarios where the HR department is significantly contributing to strategic
and analytic decisions of the organization, the position of HR has definitely undergone a huge
change. It is no longer takes a reactive or passive approach, but an active, data-driven approach
and helps the organizations to achieve competitive advantage through the optimal utilization of
their workforce.
There are several trends that have been instrumental in bringing about the change in the HRM,
they are:
a) Workforce Demographics: The composition of the workforce is and will continue to change
over the next few years. It is specifically changing in terms of becoming more diverse with more
women, minority group members, and older workers in the workforce. The percentages of
younger workers is falling in many parts of the world, while those over 50-55 years of age is
falling and this problem is being referred as “the aging workforce”. There aren’t enough younger
workers to replace the aging workforce. Accommodating the new and diverse workforce requires
the HR manager to be more skilled and up to date.
b) Nature of Job: The nature of job is also changing with increase in on-demand workers,
freelancers and independent contractors. Due to this change the HR manager has to manage
multiple mode of work. Different nature of work requires different management options. The
appraisal, training, compensation of a full-time employee would be different from that of a
independent contractor or freelancer working for the organization.
c) Human Capital: Today people working in the organization are considered to be the most
valuable resource. Organizations have now started understanding the economic value of a
worker's experience and skills. The more investment a company makes in its employees, the
chances of its productivity and success becomes higher. Here the challenge faced by the HR
manager is to manager is the different types of investment the organization has to do on their
human capital in order to boost productivity. Adjusting the selection, training and compensation
program in ways that the human capital can be harnessed and overall productivity can be
improved.
d) Globalization trends: Globalization is helping organizations extend their sales, ownership,
and/or manufacturing to new markets abroad. At the same time it is also increasing international
competition: to lower costs, to make employees more productive, and to do things better and less
expensively. Managing the “people” aspects of globalization is a big task for any company that
expands abroad and for its HR managers.
e) Economic Trends: Although globalization supported a growing global economy, finding some
disturbance in economy is common. Stagflation, which is a rise in inflation as well as
unemployment is rampant and increasing disturbing. The unbalanced labor force adds to the
woes of men. Most of the jobs that the economy added in the past few years don’t require college
educations, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that will probably continue. In some
occupations (such as high-tech) unemployment rates are low, while in others unemployment
rates are still very high. Many people working today are in jobs “below” their expertise.
f) Technological Trends: Technology is changing HR management in two main ways- it is first
affecting the nature of jobs. More jobs are becoming “high tech” and allocation of resource (both
human as well as other resources) needs to be made in alignment with the ne job roles. Second,
technology is also changing how human resource management tasks are done. Use of social
media, mobile applications, analytics, etc. are revolutionizing the role of HR.
Q2. You have recently assumed the role of HR Manager in your company. In reviewing the
company records, you note that the job descriptions were last updated 5 years ago. The
Company President has taken the position that there is no need to update the job
descriptions. However, you also note that the company has grown by 50% during the last 5
years, resulting in many changes, including some in job functions. In light of the above
information answer the following questions:
a) Focusing on the importance of job analysis, build a case to convince your Company
President to reconsider his decision regarding updating job descriptions? (3 marks)
Ans: As the job descriptions were 5years old and since then the organization has also seen a
lot of changes there is definitely a need to convince the President for updating them.
However, in order to convince the President only focusing on the 5 years’ time duration and
company’s growth will not be sufficient as in that case the President may fail to understand
the real need. The President may in turn become more rigid that if using that job description
has led to the growth of the company we may continue using the same. Thus it might defeat
our entire purpose, thus in order to convince the President we need to focus on the
importance of job descriptions and how outdated job descriptions can harm the company.
Especially we need to highlight that when a company is growing, the changes would
automatically suggest a change/revision in the job descriptions too. So as an HR manager, I
would focus on explaining him the importance of job analysis, the process used for making
description and how a revision is mandatory/essential every 5-10 years, especially for a
growing company.
First I would explain in the context of Recruitment and Selection. In recruitment and
selection, the information about what duties the job entails and what human characteristics
are required to perform these duties helps the managers decide what sort of people to recruit
and hire. In a company experiencing increasing growth, the recruitment and selection criteria
has to be modified accordingly. The job duties and skills required to perform them would
also be of more advanced nature than that of the previous time as we would want more
skilled/highly skilled employees to be hired, who would be able to perform the
advanced/specialized duties more efficiently. Using the same job descriptions would lead to
hiring to similar employees and given the growth of the company, more
specialized/experienced employees might be required.
Next, in the context of Performance Appraisal, I would explain that now as the company is
growing we would be required to appraise employees accordingly. The employees would
also be expecting higher appraisals as they are the backbone of the company and made the
 company growth. Thus the standard for appraisal also needs to be modified accordingly and
job analysis will help doing so.
Then, on a similar note, the Compensation, which also usually depends on the job’s required
skill and degree of responsibility needs to be looked at. Outdated job description would not
capture the essence of the work done by the employees and thus it would be difficult to
compensate them accordingly. Thus a job analysis and subsequent revision of the job
descriptions and specifications would also help in determining the adequate compensation
level of the employees.
It would also help in designing the Training programs of the organization. The job
description lists the job’s specific duties and requisite skills thus pinpointing what training
the job requires. Revising them and making them aligned with the current business goals and
strategies would also help find out the training needs of the individuals.
Lastly, the EEO Compliance is a major reason why the job descriptions should be updated.
Job analysis is crucial for validating all major human resources practices. If an outdated job
description is used and it does not completely cover the entire range of the activities
performed by the employees, it can land the company into legal complications.
Thus, in this way, I would convince the President to reconsider his decision regarding
updating job descriptions.
b) After you have successfully convinced your Company President, how would you go
about in conducting the job analysis? Justify your answer with reference to the case.
(5 marks)
Ans: As the job descriptions were last updated 5years ago, I have a reference point to start with.
The previous job descriptions here would serve as my reference point upon which I would build
the new ones. Thus, as my company is not conducting the job analysis for the first time and
already has references to build one, I would try to keep the cost of conducting the job analysis as
minimum as possible (as compared to if I would have to start the job analysis from scratch).
At first I would review the previous documents associated with the last job analysis and also
I would review relevant background information. For reviewing relevant background
information, I would focus on the organization chart and the process chart of the company.
Reviewing the organization chart, process chart, and job description helps a manager identify
what a job’s duties and demands are now presently. However, it would not answer questions like
“Does how this job relates to other jobs?” or “Should this job even exist?” or “Should any
changes be brought in this particular job?” This would be done by the workflow analysis.
Workflow analysis is a detailed study of the flow of work from job to job in one identifiable
work process. This is a very vital step and many times, this analysis may lead to changing or
“reengineering” the job which is very essential given our present situation. So in this case, i.e.,
when revision old jobs, workflow analysis is of utmost importance and has to be done. Next,
if the workflow analysis reveals that some jobs need to be reengineered, then we must go for
“job redesign”. As our company is growing we need employees who are more flexible and can
handle higher positions based on their competencies. Thus, we can go for job enrichment or job
enhancement to meet the requirement of our company’s growth.
As we are trying to keep the cost of job analysis at a minimum because we are just updating it,
we would select only one method for collecting information regarding the jobs. Many methods
would be used where no job descriptions exist and new ones have to be built from the scratch.
Here we can simply go for the inexpensive interview method and talk with the employees
engaged in different jobs to understand how their work might have changed in the last 5 years.
This would be the most suitable method in this case as compared to the other methods for the
following reasons:
1) Interview is one of the quick, and most direct way to find overlooked information. So,
any information that needs to be added or updated can be simply accessed through this
method.
2) As an already existing job description is present, the employees would not be able to
distort much information. Thus the disadvantage of interview method, we can overcome
here using the past information to verify.
3) Other methods would either be way too expensive, time consuming, and unnecessary as
compared to the interview method.
a. Observation: It would be more suitable when we are conducting job analysis for
the first time and have no reference at all. It is very time consuming and thus
expensive. In this case it would just be a waste of time of observe all jobs and
write them down one by one as we already have job descriptions for this.
b. Questionnaire: We have to create questions pertaining to the jobs and thus it
would be necessary to first evaluate all the job descriptions and then create
questions which would tap on more information than we already have. As already
prepared questions from last time job analysis would land up with similar
information.
c. Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) or even functional job analysis are such
detailed methods and collect so much information that it is much more suitable
when conducting job analysis for the first time in order to understand the job.
Here as we already have job descriptions it would be necessary collection of
information and wastage of time.
Thus given all these points, I feel interview method would be the most effective in this case, as it
would help us tap only the required and relevant information for building on or updating the
previous job descriptions.
c) Imagine that while conducting the job analysis you came across a particular job role
that is very flexible and requires the person to switch between several different
functionalities and activities. Which method of job analysis would be applicable
here and why? (2 marks)
Ans: In this case I would be using Competency Based Job Analysis. Competency based job
analysis is used when the focus is on the individual, but not on the job. Here too, as the job
 role is flexible, the individual skills of switching between the jobs and handling ambiguity
becomes much more importance. We do not have any fixed roles and duties in the job and
thus the individual becomes much more important than the job itself. Here we would collect
information about the competencies of employees rather than job duties. These competencies
are those that an employee must exhibit to do the job well. This would enable the employees
to seamlessly move from job to job. Job descriptions based on lists of job specific duties may
actually inhibit (or fail to encourage) the flexible behaviors the companies need.
Q3. Suppose you have been hired to manage human resources for a small company that
offers business services including customer service calls and business report preparation.
The 20-person company has been preparing to expand from serving a few local clients that
are well known to the company’s owners. The owners believe that their experience and
reputation for quality will help them expand to serve more and larger clients.
a) How can you help this company achieve competitive advantage? What are the other
different ways in which a company can achieve competitive advantage? (3 marks)
Ans: This particular company can achieve competitive advantage by focusing on the
competitive strategy of differentiation. As given in the excerpt the owners already have
reputation for quality. Thus they can differentiate their services from other competitors by
focusing on enhancing their quality. In differentiation strategy, the firm seeks to be unique in
its industry along dimensions that are widely valued by buyers. Here as the quality is largely
valued by its buyers, it will go for differentiation strategy.
The other ways in which firms could achieve competitive advantage is by:
Cost leadership: Here the firm attempts at becoming the low-cost leader in an industry. It
follows the strategy of cost reduction throughout its organization and tries to keep the prices
of their products and services at a minimum. In this way they increase the reach to maximum
number of customers.
Focus: Here the firm attempts to carve out a market niche (like BMW, Audi). They offer a
product or service that their customers cannot get from generalist competitors (such as Tata
or Maruti). They also carter to the needs of a particular group and unlike the firms following
the strategy of cost leadership and differentiation, these firms do not attempt to increase their
reach to maximum number of people but to a limited/particular group of people.

b) Based on the competitive strategy you choose, how should be their job descriptions,
training and development and performance appraisal designed? (3 marks)
Ans: Given differentiation as their competitive strategy and quality enhancement as the main
goal, they should design their job descriptions, training and development and performance
appraisal in the following manner:
a) Job descriptions: Their job descriptions should be fixed and explicit with no room for
ambiguity as the employees should have a very clear idea oif what their roles and duties
 are and thus there is no effect of the quality. As compared to this, companies with a focus
on innovation strategy would not have a very explicit job description as they need create
and flexible employees who are competent to think out of the box.
b) Training and development: The training and development should be extensive for
continuous improvement. As quality is the main highlight here and the company would
also attract more customers because of their quality, they would very much like to
maintain their standards and improve them and not let anything harm their reputation.
This required highly trained employees and thus their focus on extensive training. As
compared to this, in cost reduction strategy organizations, low expenditure would be
dedicated for training in order to reduce the cost.
c) Performance appraisal: In this case also, as quality is the main concern, short term and
results oriented appraisal system should be designed. Short term appraisal would ensure
that any employee who would be compromising on quality because of quantity or any
other incentive be found out and given proper feedback and if necessary training. Result
oriented appraisal would ensure that set goals are given to the employees and at regular
intervals they are monitored. As compared to this, in innovation strategy organization,
focus would be on long term appraisals as here they would be more interested in
promoting creativity, ideas and innovation which takes time.

c) Explain the strategic management process that the company should adopt for
expansion. (4 marks)
Ans: The strategic management process that the company should adopt for expansion is:
First is to frame the mission statement: the strategic management process begins by asking,
“What business are we in?”, “what products do we sell, where do we sell them, and how our
products do or services differ from our competitors’?” Here in our case study we see that it is
small company that offers business services including customer service calls and business
report preparation. Their services differ in quality as this company offers higher quality
services than their competitors.
The next step is to perform external and internal audit. Here SWOT and PESTEL
analysis would be very useful. In this case the,
Strength of this company is that it is highly favored by its customers in terms of quality. It
also has a very good reputation among its customers.
The weakness of the company can be that at present it is serving only a few local clients that
are well known to the company’s owners. It is a very small company with limited manpower.
The opportunity that the company has is that as it has experience with local clients and has
also built a reputation, they can use this reputation (word of mouth) and expand their
business.
 Lastly, threat might be the less manpower of the company as expansion requires manpower.
Moreover, its competitors can also focus on enhancing their quality, i.e. replicate their
strategy or use other strategy to increase their foothold.
The next step of the company would be to formulate a vision strategy: Here in this case,
they have a vision of expansion. They want to serve more and larger clients.
Then the next step is to translate the mission and vision strategy into strategic goals and
formulate strategy to achieve those goals: Here the company had planned on to use the
competitive strategy of differentiation to achieve their goal of expansion. They would make
their quality a distinguishing factor so that customers are more drawn to them because of
higher quality. They would expand their business by attracting more customers by their
unmatched quality of services.
Lastly, the company would require to implement these strategies and evaluate its
performance.
Q4. A two year old startup, Technocrat is a software solutions service provider. It has
performed considerably well in the first two years and has earned a total revenue of
around Rs. 6.5 crore. The current composition of the startup includes 25 software
engineers, 4 consultants, 5 architects, 6 employees in the marketing team, and 10 employees
in the sales team. It has provided software solutions to 5 clients in the last year and 2 client
in its first year of service. The managing director now aims to target at least 10 new clients
in the upcoming year. She also plans to increase the total revenue by Rs.13 crore. Being a
two years old startup, it now decides to hire an HR strategist to plan the way forward. You
have been appointed as the new HR strategist of the company. Answer the following
questions in light of the above case:
a) Prepare a HR plan for this company for the upcoming year. (8 marks)
Ans: The HR planning of this company would start with:
Environmental scanning: A systematic monitoring of the external forces that might
influence the company has to be done. As the company is planning to increase its revenue
and likewise plan the recruitment process, certain factors need to be monitored. The
economic factors, including general and regional conditions, the technological changes,
including robotics and automation that can affect the intake should be considered. The
demographic composition of the area, including age, composition and literacy should also be
taken into consideration. This will help us determine whether we need to look beyond our
own labor market for hiring. Finally, legal and social factors also needs to be looked at.
After the environmental scanning, the organizational objectives and policies of the startup
needs to be reviewed as the HR plans need to be based on organizational objectives. The
specific requirements of the company in terms of number and characteristics of employees
would be derived from the organizational objectives.
The HR demand forecast is the next and one of the most crucial steps in HR planning
process. Here we would be estimating the future quantity and quality of people required in
this company. Forecasting workforce demand therefore starts with estimating what the
demand will be for your products or services or what would be your target revenue in the
upcoming year. There are several tools and techniques that are used for demand forecasting.
The most commonly used ones are the trend-ratio analysis. Here past data trends are used to
predict future staff requirements. In this case, the company has a total of 50 employees
presently and has earned a total revenue of around Rs. 6.5 crore. It aims to generate a total
revenue by Rs.13 crore in the upcoming year. Thus,
Rs. 6.5 crore generated by 50 employees
Rs. 13 crore would be generated by 50/6.5 * 13 employees = 100 employees.
Thus for generating a revenue of Rs. 13 crore, 100 employees would be required. This means
the company needs to consider an additional hiring of at least 50 more employees in order
meet its target revenue for the upcoming years. This calculation however is done assuming
everything else remains constant, i.e., the 50 employees who were working earlier would
continue to do their work as it is and will not resign or lower down their productivity.
Similarly other techniques like regression analysis and scatter plot can also be used to
forecast demand. Apart from these simple statistical techniques, the manager can also rely on
their judgment regarding the forecasting of the future demand or use the Delphi technique
where other managers and their views regarding the demand would also be taken into
consideration.
After completion of the demand forecasting, the next step is to perform the HR supply
forecasting. It determines whether the HR department will be able to procure the required
number of personnel. Specifically, supply forecast measures the number of people likely to
be available from within and outside an organization after making allowance for
absenteeism, internal movements and promotions, wastage and changes in hours, and other
conditions of work. Previously, in demand forecasting we see that there is a requirement of
50 new employees for this company. But previously we did not consider factors like transfer,
promotions, resignation. Now we will take into consideration these factors and then
recalculate the number of employees we need to recruit for a particular position. We would
do the analysis of internal supply using the inflows and outflows method for reaching this
particular conclusion. Other factors like the turnover rate of the company, conditions of
work and absenteeism as well as the productivity level of the employees would also be
taken into consideration.
Once the company’s’ personnel demand and supply are forecast, the two must be reconciled
or balanced in order that vacancies can be filled by the right employees at the right time. This
is known as HR programming.
After programming the next step is to implement these plans which requires converting an
HR plan into action and follow up in the form of control and evaluation.
b) Using ratio analysis determine how many new employees should the company
recruit the next year to meet its target revenue. (2 marks)
Ans: In order to meet its target revenue and decide on the number of new employees to be
hired, the company should conduct a trend-ratio analysis. Here from the case it is clear that
the company has 25 software engineers, 4 consultants, 5 architects, 6 employees in the
marketing team, and 10 employees in the sales team. This means the company has a total of
50 employees presently and has earned a total revenue of around Rs. 6.5 crore. It aims to
generate a total revenue by Rs.13 crore in the upcoming year. Thus,
Rs. 6.5 crore generated by 50 employees
Rs. 13 crore would be generated by 50/6.5 * 13 employees = 100 employees.
Thus for generating a revenue of Rs. 13 crore, 100 employees would be required. This means
the company needs to consider an additional hiring of at least 50 more employees in order
meet its target revenue for the upcoming years. This calculation however is done assuming
everything else remains constant, i.e., the 50 employees who were working earlier would
continue to do their work as it is and will not resign or lower down their productivity.