HRM continued

Functions of HRM

Managerial Functions

Managerial functions of personnel management involve planning, organising, directing, and controlling.  All these functions influence the performance of operative functions.

Planning:  It is a predetermined course of action.  Planning is determining of personnel programmes and changes in advance.  In other words it involves planning of manpower requirements, recruitment, selection, transfers, promotions, training, etc.  It also includes forecasting of personnel needs, changing values, attitudes and behaviour of employees and their impact on organisation.

Organising:  An organisation is a means to an end.  it is essential to carryout the determined course of action.  In the words of J.C. Massie, an organisation is a " structure and  a process by which co-operative group of human beings allocates its tasks among its members, identifies relationships and integrates its activities towards common objective.  Complex relationships exist between the specialised departments and the general departments as many top managers are seeking the advice of personnel manager.  thus organisation establishes relationships among the employees so that they can collectively contribute to the attainment of company goals.

Directing:  The next logical function after completing planning and organising is the execution of the plan.  the basic function of personnel management at any level is motivating, commanding, leading and activating people.  the willing and effective co-operation of employees for the attainment of organisational goals is possible through proper direction.  Tapping the maximum potentialities of the people is possible through motivation and command.  Thus direction is an important managerial function in building sound industrial and human relations besides securing employee contributions.  Coordination deals with the task of blending efforts in order to ensure successful attainment of an objective.  the personnel manager has to coordinate various managers at different levels as far as personnel functions are concerned.  Personnel management function should also be co-ordinated with other functions of managements like management of material, machine and money.

Controlling:  After planning, organising, directing and various activities of the personnel management.  At this point the performance is to be verified in order to know that the personnel functions are performed in conformity with the plans and directions.  Controlling involves checking, verifying and comparing of the actuals with the palns, identification of deviations if any and correcting the identified deviations.  Thus action and operation are adjusted to pre-detrmined plans and standards through control.  Auditing, training, programmes, analysing labour turnover records, directing morale surveys, conducting separation interviews are some of the means for controlling the personnel management functions.

A tribute to Mom and Dida

A day of food and fun at a Bengali House(Dadur badi)

Food is an integral part of any Bengali house hold.  My mom was the first person who made me love the food.  She was a housewife but was having extensive taste in cooking including south Indian, north Indian and very few Maharastrian food.

There are two parts of being a bengali, East bengal(bangal) and west bengal(ghoti).  My mom had learnt ghoti style of cooking from her mom and as my father is from the bangal style, so she learnt the this way of cooking also.

There is something special about the cooking and process of cooking of bengali food.  A typical household in Kolkatta, who are not conscious of oil/sugar, will start the day with a cup of cha, which is mostly liquor tea(prefered Darjeeling, Orange pekoe, lopchu) with very less or no milk.  This is accompanied with moori or shingara.  In Kolkatta unlike Delhi you get jilapi(jalebi) in the morning.  This is just the jol khabar or starter before the actual breakfast. As the day starts early in Kolkatta around Now the breakfast preparation starts with an arid choice of dishes.

The summer times are the best for food with Aam and Kathal with moori, kosha narkel, sugar and milk with moori(wow), radha bollobi, cholar dal are loochi, porotha are ghugni or porotha with special alloo bhaja with kalonji(kalojeera) and pyej, with loads of green chillies.  Simple yet amazing breakfast.  Other than this you can also have egg paratha, egg roll, omlette, desi version of Fritata (egg on top of potato and onion sauted.)  All this is happening at around 10-11 AM.

Then if it is the Sankrant then pitha of various kinds are being made puli, chushi,patishpta.  Remember the Unaan(anghithi) at my nani,s place.  She used to put to light at 4.30 or 5 in the morning started cooking by 6 AM.

Before the breakfast, dadu used to go to the vegetable and fish market for the fresh supplies. this was a daily affair, nothing used to go waste, which we do now, left overs of the vegetables used to be given to the cows.  Fish  trimmings used to be given to the pet cats, it was such sustainable environment.

Then didu  and mami's with mom would plan for the lunch menu and sit and cut the vegetables and gossip around.  The life was so not complicated.

The lunch would have a variety of dishes, starting from bhaja-which could be neem pata bhaja, beguni, aloo, potol, bata maach, morola,kakrol, korola,kumdo, kumdo phul, bok phul, sojna phool, etc. the list is endless.
Then the shukto or the tito(Karela).  Then dal, again an ample to choices- motor daal, bhaja moog dal matha diye: lau diye, kolair daal, musoor dal, aam daal, cholar dal, chola daler dalna, papder dalna.

Bengali special saag: pui saag with kundo, laal saag, data saag, kolmi saag, palak saag, sojna saag, kochu saag, loti, etc.

The variety of sobji that the list will be too short, kochu bata, kachakola bata, posto bata, aloo posto, jhinga posta, lau chngri, dal chorano lau/chalkumdo. kumdor chokka, khonto, ghet, bodir jhol, chichiga bhaja, borboti, bandha kofi, phool kofir dalna, macher matha diye ghonto etc.

After this the non-veg dishes-macher jhol, macher jhal, tok mach, sorse bata maach, malai curry, rui maach bhaja, telapia, pabda, tengra, chingri, and my favourite Illish, just zeera jhol or bhapa, yummy.

Mangsho khashi or patha the dish used to taste just wow.  Manshor jhol, kosha mansho with lots of aloo, tastes yummy with porotha or bhat.

Chutni variety- Amra, chalta, aam, tomato, aam sotto, khejur, annanas, tetul, etc. with variety of phoron, panch phoron the common one or the sorsa, shukno lonka and adda(ginger).

Then is the turn for the sweets includes misti doi, rosogulla, kheer kodom, kacha golla, payesh, sandesh, kalakand, chanar jelapi, kalo jam, lengcha, chenna toast, chondropolli, gojja, gujia, lobongo lotika, etccc.

Misti paan ba saja paan to end the special lunch or the dinner.   Maybe only supari or Mouri ba bhaja ajwain, and then the sleeping time to get up again at 4.00 PM for the tea and the snacks, which will include the jhal muri, roll, mughlai, phuchka, churmur, etc.

Eating was so much fun when we were young, now restricted food intake mars the appetite.

Just enjoyed my childhood so much that I had to write it out.

Objectives of HRM

The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of competent and willing workforce to an organisation.  The specific objectives include the following:

1)  Human Capital:  assisting the organisation in obtaining the right number and types of employees to fulfill its strategic and operational goals.

2)  Developing organisational climate: helping to create a climate in which employees are encouraged to develop and utilise their skills to the fullest and to employ the skills and abilities of the workforce efficiently.

3)  Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity through effective job design; providing adequate orientation, training and development; providing performance-related feedback; and ensuring effective two-way communication.

4)  Helping to establish and maintain a harmonious employer/employee relationship.

5) Helping to create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment.

6)  Developing programs to meet the economic, psychological, and social needs of the employees and helping the organisation to retain the productive employees.

7)  Ensuring that the organisation is in compliance with provincial/territorial and federal laws affecting the workplace(such as human rights, employment equity, occupational health and safety, employment standards, and labour relations legislation).  To help the organisation to reach its goals.

8)  To provide organisation with well trained and well motivated employees.

9)  To increase the employees satisfaction and self actualisation.

10)  To develop and maintain the quality of work life.

11)  To communicate HR policies to all employees.

12)  To help maintain ethical policies and behaviour.

The above stated HRM objectives can be summarised under four specific objectives: 

• Societal Objectives:  Seek to ensure that the organisation becomes socially responsible to the needs ansd challenges of the society while minimising the negative impact of such demands upon the organisation.  The failure of the organisations to use their resources for the society's benefit in ethical ways may leed to restriction.
• Organisational Objectives:  It recognises the role of HRM in bringing about organisational effectiveness.  It makes sure that HRM is not a standalone department, but rather a means to assist the organisation with its primary objectives.  The HR department exists to serve the rest of the organisation.
• functional Objectives:  is to maintian the department's contribution at a level appropriate to the organisation's needs.  Human resources are to be adjusted to suit the organisation's demands.  The department's value should not become too expensive at the cost of the organisation it serves.
• Personal Objectives:  it is to assist employees in achieving their personal goals, at least as fas as these goals enhance the individual's contribution to the organisation.  Personal objectives of employees must be met if they are to be maintained, retained and motivated.  Otherwise employee performance and satisfaction may decline giving rise to employee turn over.