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526

Cricket / বৃষ্টিতে ম্যাচ ভেসে গেলেও...

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:56:04 PM »

    প্রচ্ছদ
    খেলা
    টি-টোয়েন্টি বিশ্বকাপ ২০১৬

বৃষ্টিতে ম্যাচ ভেসে গেলেও...
ক্রীড়া প্রতিবেদক | আপডেট: ১৫:৪৮, মার্চ ১৩, ২০১৬
০ Like
 
 
 
 
 
 

.আশঙ্কা আছে ধর্মশালার আকাশ নিয়ে। আজ সকাল থেকে অবশ্য সেই সংশয়ের মেঘ অনেকটা সরে গেছে। সকালে বৃষ্টি হয়নি, চলছে মেঘ-সূর্যের লুকোচুরি। তবে বেলা দুইটার দিকে সামান্য বৃষ্টি হয়ে আবার থেমে গেছে।

এই প্রতিবেদন লেখা পর্যন্ত ধর্মশালার আকাশ ঢাকা ছিল মেঘে। বাংলাদেশ-ওমান ম্যাচটা শুরু হওয়ার কথা বাংলাদেশ সময় রাত আটটায়। ওই সময় পর্যন্ত বৃষ্টি বাগড়া দেওয়ার সম্ভাবনা উড়িয়ে দেওয়া যাচ্ছে না। তবে ম্যাচটা যদি হয়, ওমানের কাছে হেরে গেলে বিদায় নিতে হবে বাংলাদেশকে। গ্রুপের অন্য দুটি দল হল্যান্ড ও আয়ারল্যান্ড এর মধ্যেই বাদ পড়ে গেছে। এই দু দলের আজকের ম্যাচটা তাই নিয়ম রক্ষারই।
গত পরশু আয়ারল্যান্ডের সঙ্গে বাংলাদেশে ম্যাচটাও ভেস্তে গেছে বৃষ্টির উৎপাতে। তবে ওই ম্যাচটি জিতলেও মাশরাফিদের সামনে আজকের সমীকরণ একই রকমই থাকবে। বাংলাদেশ ও ওমান দুই দলের পয়েন্টই এখন ৩। সে ক্ষেত্রে আজকের ম্যাচে জয়ী দলই চলে যাবে সুপার টেনে।
আর যদি ওই ম্যাচটাও বৃষ্টিতে ভেসে যায়? তাহলে বাংলাদেশই চলে যাবে মূলপর্বে। পরশু ম্যাচটি বাতিল হয়ে গেলে দুই দলের পয়েন্ট হয়ে যাবে ৪। কিন্তু রানরেটে ওমানের (ওমানের +.২৮‍) চেয়ে এগিয়ে আছে বাংলাদেশ (+.৪০)। তবে মাশরাফিরা নিশ্চয়ই বৃষ্টির দাক্ষিণ্যে নয়, খেলেই সুপার টেনে যেতে চাইবেন।

527

Business Administration / Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:20:01 PM »

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes publishes fundamental research in organizational behavior, organizational psychology, and human cognition, judgment, and decision-making. The journal features articles that present original empirical research, theory development, meta-analysis, and methodological advancements relevant to the substantive domains served by the journal. Topics covered by the journal include perception, cognition, judgment, attitudes, emotion, well-being, motivation, choice, and performance. We are interested in articles that investigate these topics as they pertain to individuals, dyads, groups, and other social collectives. For each topic, we place a premium on articles that make fundamental and substantial contributions to understanding psychological processes relevant to human attitudes, cognitions, and behavior in organizations.

In order to be considered for publication in OBHDP a manuscript has to include the following:

    Demonstrate an interesting behavioral/psychological...

View full aims and scope

528

Business Administration / Leadership and Organizational Behavior

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:19:07 PM »

Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives.

As you can see from the definition above, organizational behavior encompasses a wide range of topics, such as human behavior, change, leadership, teams, etc. Since many of these topics are covered elsewhere in the leadership guide, this paper will focus on a few parts of OB: elements, models, social systems, OD, work life, action learning, and change.
Elements of Organizational Behavior

The organization's base rests on management's philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn, drives the organizational culture that is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome are performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from.

529

Business Administration / Organizational behavior

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:18:05 PM »

Organizational behavior is the study of both group and individual performance and activity within an organization. Internal and external perspectives are two theories of how organizational behavior can be viewed by companies.

530

Business Administration / Importance of Vision and Mission Statements

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:16:37 PM »

One of the first things that any observer of management thought and practice asks is whether a particular organization has a vision and mission statement. In addition, one of the first things that one learns in a business school is the importance of vision and mission statements.

This article is intended to elucidate on the reasons why vision and mission statements are important and the benefits that such statements provide to the organizations. It has been found in studies that organizations that have lucid, coherent, and meaningful vision and mission statements return more than double the numbers in shareholder benefits when compared to the organizations that do not have vision and mission statements. Indeed, the importance of vision and mission statements is such that it is the first thing that is discussed in management textbooks on strategy.

Some of the benefits of having a vision and mission statement are discussed below:

    Above everything else, vision and mission statements provide unanimity of purpose to organizations and imbue the employees with a sense of belonging and identity. Indeed, vision and mission statements are embodiments of organizational identity and carry the organizations creed and motto. For this purpose, they are also called as statements of creed.

    Vision and mission statements spell out the context in which the organization operates and provides the employees with a tone that is to be followed in the organizational climate. Since they define the reason for existence of the organization, they are indicators of the direction in which the organization must move to actualize the goals in the vision and mission statements.

    The vision and mission statements serve as focal points for individuals to identify themselves with the organizational processes and to give them a sense of direction while at the same time deterring those who do not wish to follow them from participating in the organization’s activities.

    The vision and mission statements help to translate the objectives of the organization into work structures and to assign tasks to the elements in the organization that are responsible for actualizing them in practice.

    To specify the core structure on which the organizational edifice stands and to help in the translation of objectives into actionable cost, performance, and time related measures.

    Finally, vision and mission statements provide a philosophy of existence to the employees, which is very crucial because as humans, we need meaning from the work to do and the vision and mission statements provide the necessary meaning for working in a particular organization.

As can be seen from the above, articulate, coherent, and meaningful vision and mission statements go a long way in setting the base performance and actionable parameters and embody the spirit of the organization. In other words, vision and mission statements are as important as the various identities that individuals have in their everyday lives.

It is for this reason that organizations spend a lot of time in defining their vision and mission statements and ensure that they come up with the statements that provide meaning instead of being mere sentences that are devoid of any meaning.

531

Business Administration / Environmental Scanning - Internal & External Analysis of Environment

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:15:54 PM »

Organizational environment consists of both external and internal factors. Environment must be scanned so as to determine development and forecasts of factors that will influence organizational success. Environmental scanning refers to possession and utilization of information about occasions, patterns, trends, and relationships within an organization’s internal and external environment. It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must identify the threats and opportunities existing in the environment. While strategy formulation, an organization must take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. A threat for one organization may be an opportunity for another.

Internal analysis of the environment is the first step of environment scanning. Organizations should observe the internal organizational environment. This includes employee interaction with other employees, employee interaction with management, manager interaction with other managers, and management interaction with shareholders, access to natural resources, brand awareness, organizational structure, main staff, operational potential, etc. Also, discussions, interviews, and surveys can be used to assess the internal environment. Analysis of internal environment helps in identifying strengths and weaknesses of an organization.

As business becomes more competitive, and there are rapid changes in the external environment, information from external environment adds crucial elements to the effectiveness of long-term plans. As environment is dynamic, it becomes essential to identify competitors’ moves and actions. Organizations have also to update the core competencies and internal environment as per external environment. Environmental factors are infinite, hence, organization should be agile and vigile to accept and adjust to the environmental changes. For instance - Monitoring might indicate that an original forecast of the prices of the raw materials that are involved in the product are no more credible, which could imply the requirement for more focused scanning, forecasting and analysis to create a more trustworthy prediction about the input costs. In a similar manner, there can be changes in factors such as competitor’s activities, technology, market tastes and preferences.

While in external analysis, three correlated environment should be studied and analyzed —

    immediate / industry environment
    national environment
    broader socio-economic environment / macro-environment

Examining the industry environment needs an appraisal of the competitive structure of the organization’s industry, including the competitive position of a particular organization and it’s main rivals. Also, an assessment of the nature, stage, dynamics and history of the industry is essential. It also implies evaluating the effect of globalization on competition within the industry. Analyzing the national environment needs an appraisal of whether the national framework helps in achieving competitive advantage in the globalized environment. Analysis of macro-environment includes exploring macro-economic, social, government, legal, technological and international factors that may influence the environment. The analysis of organization’s external environment reveals opportunities and threats for an organization.

Strategic managers must not only recognize the present state of the environment and their industry but also be able to predict its future positions.

532

Business Administration / Strategy - Definition and Features

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:15:02 PM »

The word “strategy” is derived from the Greek word “stratçgos”; stratus (meaning army) and “ago” (meaning leading/moving).

Strategy is an action that managers take to attain one or more of the organization’s goals. Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction set for the company and its various components to achieve a desired state in the future. Strategy results from the detailed strategic planning process”.

A strategy is all about integrating organizational activities and utilizing and allocating the scarce resources within the organizational environment so as to meet the present objectives. While planning a strategy it is essential to consider that decisions are not taken in a vaccum and that any act taken by a firm is likely to be met by a reaction from those affected, competitors, customers, employees or suppliers.

Strategy can also be defined as knowledge of the goals, the uncertainty of events and the need to take into consideration the likely or actual behavior of others. Strategy is the blueprint of decisions in an organization that shows its objectives and goals, reduces the key policies, and plans for achieving these goals, and defines the business the company is to carry on, the type of economic and human organization it wants to be, and the contribution it plans to make to its shareholders, customers and society at large.
Features of Strategy

    Strategy is Significant because it is not possible to foresee the future. Without a perfect foresight, the firms must be ready to deal with the uncertain events which constitute the business environment.

    Strategy deals with long term developments rather than routine operations, i.e. it deals with probability of innovations or new products, new methods of productions, or new markets to be developed in future.

    Strategy is created to take into account the probable behavior of customers and competitors. Strategies dealing with employees will predict the employee behavior.

Strategy is a well defined roadmap of an organization. It defines the overall mission, vision and direction of an organization. The objective of a strategy is to maximize an organization’s strengths and to minimize the strengths of the competitors.

Strategy, in short, bridges the gap between “where we are” and “where we want to be”.

533

Business Administration / SWOT Analysis - Definition, Advantages and Limitations

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:14:27 PM »

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By definition, Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) are considered to be internal factors over which you have some measure of control. Also, by definition, Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) are considered to be external factors over which you have essentially no control.

SWOT Analysis is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates.

In other words, it is the foundation for evaluating the internal potential and limitations and the probable/likely opportunities and threats from the external environment. It views all positive and negative factors inside and outside the firm that affect the success. A consistent study of the environment in which the firm operates helps in forecasting/predicting the changing trends and also helps in including them in the decision-making process of the organization.

An overview of the four factors (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is given below-

    Strengths - Strengths are the qualities that enable us to accomplish the organization’s mission. These are the basis on which continued success can be made and continued/sustained.

    Strengths can be either tangible or intangible. These are what you are well-versed in or what you have expertise in, the traits and qualities your employees possess (individually and as a team) and the distinct features that give your organization its consistency.

    Strengths are the beneficial aspects of the organization or the capabilities of an organization, which includes human competencies, process capabilities, financial resources, products and services, customer goodwill and brand loyalty. Examples of organizational strengths are huge financial resources, broad product line, no debt, committed employees, etc.

    Weaknesses - Weaknesses are the qualities that prevent us from accomplishing our mission and achieving our full potential. These weaknesses deteriorate influences on the organizational success and growth. Weaknesses are the factors which do not meet the standards we feel they should meet.

    Weaknesses in an organization may be depreciating machinery, insufficient research and development facilities, narrow product range, poor decision-making, etc. Weaknesses are controllable. They must be minimized and eliminated. For instance - to overcome obsolete machinery, new machinery can be purchased. Other examples of organizational weaknesses are huge debts, high employee turnover, complex decision making process, narrow product range, large wastage of raw materials, etc.

    Opportunities - Opportunities are presented by the environment within which our organization operates. These arise when an organization can take benefit of conditions in its environment to plan and execute strategies that enable it to become more profitable. Organizations can gain competitive advantage by making use of opportunities.

    Organization should be careful and recognize the opportunities and grasp them whenever they arise. Selecting the targets that will best serve the clients while getting desired results is a difficult task. Opportunities may arise from market, competition, industry/government and technology. Increasing demand for telecommunications accompanied by deregulation is a great opportunity for new firms to enter telecom sector and compete with existing firms for revenue.

    Threats - Threats arise when conditions in external environment jeopardize the reliability and profitability of the organization’s business. They compound the vulnerability when they relate to the weaknesses. Threats are uncontrollable. When a threat comes, the stability and survival can be at stake. Examples of threats are - unrest among employees; ever changing technology; increasing competition leading to excess capacity, price wars and reducing industry profits; etc.

Advantages of SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. It is a strong tool, but it involves a great subjective element. It is best when used as a guide, and not as a prescription. Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weakness and protect against internal weaknesses and external threats. They also keep a watch on their overall business environment and recognize and exploit new opportunities faster than its competitors.

SWOT Analysis helps in strategic planning in following manner-

    It is a source of information for strategic planning.
    Builds organization’s strengths.
    Reverse its weaknesses.
    Maximize its response to opportunities.
    Overcome organization’s threats.
    It helps in identifying core competencies of the firm.
    It helps in setting of objectives for strategic planning.
    It helps in knowing past, present and future so that by using past and current data, future plans can be chalked out.

SWOT Analysis provide information that helps in synchronizing the firm’s resources and capabilities with the competitive environment in which the firm operates.
SWOT ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK

SWOT Analysis
Limitations of SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is not free from its limitations. It may cause organizations to view circumstances as very simple because of which the organizations might overlook certain key strategic contact which may occur. Moreover, categorizing aspects as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats might be very subjective as there is great degree of uncertainty in market. SWOT Analysis does stress upon the significance of these four aspects, but it does not tell how an organization can identify these aspects for itself.

There are certain limitations of SWOT Analysis which are not in control of management. These include-

    Price increase;
    Inputs/raw materials;
    Government legislation;
    Economic environment;
    Searching a new market for the product which is not having overseas market due to import restrictions; etc.

Internal limitations may include-

    Insufficient research and development facilities;
    Faulty products due to poor quality control;
    Poor industrial relations;
    Lack of skilled and efficient labour; etc

Learn about ‘SWOT Analysis’ with the help of easy to understand, richly illustrated Powerpoint Presentation of 130 Slides.
(Download Demo Below)

534

Business Administration / Benefits of Strategic Management

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:13:43 PM »

There are many benefits of strategic management and they include identification, prioritization, and exploration of opportunities. For instance, newer products, newer markets, and newer forays into business lines are only possible if firms indulge in strategic planning. Next, strategic management allows firms to take an objective view of the activities being done by it and do a cost benefit analysis as to whether the firm is profitable.

Just to differentiate, by this, we do not mean the financial benefits alone (which would be discussed below) but also the assessment of profitability that has to do with evaluating whether the business is strategically aligned to its goals and priorities.

The key point to be noted here is that strategic management allows a firm to orient itself to its market and consumers and ensure that it is actualizing the right strategy.
Financial Benefits

It has been shown in many studies that firms that engage in strategic management are more profitable and successful than those that do not have the benefit of strategic planning and strategic management.

When firms engage in forward looking planning and careful evaluation of their priorities, they have control over the future, which is necessary in the fast changing business landscape of the 21st century.

It has been estimated that more than 100,000 businesses fail in the US every year and most of these failures are to do with a lack of strategic focus and strategic direction. Further, high performing firms tend to make more informed decisions because they have considered both the short term and long-term consequences and hence, have oriented their strategies accordingly. In contrast, firms that do not engage themselves in meaningful strategic planning are often bogged down by internal problems and lack of focus that leads to failure.
Non-Financial Benefits

The section above discussed some of the tangible benefits of strategic management. Apart from these benefits, firms that engage in strategic management are more aware of the external threats, an improved understanding of competitor strengths and weaknesses and increased employee productivity. They also have lesser resistance to change and a clear understanding of the link between performance and rewards.

The key aspect of strategic management is that the problem solving and problem preventing capabilities of the firms are enhanced through strategic management. Strategic management is essential as it helps firms to rationalize change and actualize change and communicate the need to change better to its employees. Finally, strategic management helps in bringing order and discipline to the activities of the firm in its both internal processes and external activities.
Closing Thoughts

In recent years, virtually all firms have realized the importance of strategic management. However, the key difference between those who succeed and those who fail is that the way in which strategic management is done and strategic planning is carried out makes the difference between success and failure. Of course, there are still firms that do not engage in strategic planning or where the planners do not receive the support from management. These firms ought to realize the benefits of strategic management and ensure their longer-term viability and success in the marketplace.

535

Business Administration / Strategic Management Process - Meaning, Steps and Components

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:12:56 PM »

The strategic management process means defining the organization’s strategy. It is also defined as the process by which managers make a choice of a set of strategies for the organization that will enable it to achieve better performance.

Strategic management is a continuous process that appraises the business and industries in which the organization is involved; appraises it’s competitors; and fixes goals to meet all the present and future competitor’s and then reassesses each strategy.

Strategic management process has following four steps:

    Environmental Scanning- Environmental scanning refers to a process of collecting, scrutinizing and providing information for strategic purposes. It helps in analyzing the internal and external factors influencing an organization. After executing the environmental analysis process, management should evaluate it on a continuous basis and strive to improve it.

    Strategy Formulation- Strategy formulation is the process of deciding best course of action for accomplishing organizational objectives and hence achieving organizational purpose. After conducting environment scanning, managers formulate corporate, business and functional strategies.

    Strategy Implementation- Strategy implementation implies making the strategy work as intended or putting the organization’s chosen strategy into action. Strategy implementation includes designing the organization’s structure, distributing resources, developing decision making process, and managing human resources.

    Strategy Evaluation- Strategy evaluation is the final step of strategy management process. The key strategy evaluation activities are: appraising internal and external factors that are the root of present strategies, measuring performance, and taking remedial / corrective actions. Evaluation makes sure that the organizational strategy as well as it’s implementation meets the organizational objectives.

These components are steps that are carried, in chronological order, when creating a new strategic management plan. Present businesses that have already created a strategic management plan will revert to these steps as per the situation’s requirement, so as to make essential changes.

Components of Strategic Management Process
Components of Strategic Management Process

Strategic management is an ongoing process. Therefore, it must be realized that each component interacts with the other components and that this interaction often happens in chorus.

536

Business Administration / International Human Resource Management

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:11:35 PM »

The effective management and development of human resources is a challenging task in any work organization. As the pace of technological change increases and organisations develop a greater international focus, the management and development of people in order to adapt to these changing conditions becomes ever more important.

International Human Resource Management MSc aims to enable students to progress in any career linked with the management and development of people.

537

Business Administration / Strategic-HRM

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:09:11 PM »

This discipline covers the concepts and practices that guide and align Human Resource Management philosophy, tactical planning and practice with the strategic and long term goals of the organization, with a particular focus on human capital. It deals with the macro-concerns of the organization regarding structure, quality, culture, values, commitment, matching resources to future needs and other longer term people issues.

Strategic HRM gives direction on how to build the foundation for strategic advantage by creating an effective organizational structure and design, culture, employee value proposition, systems thinking, an appropriate communication strategy and preparing an organization for a changing landscape, which includes downturns and mergers & acquisitions. Sustainability and corporate social responsibility come within the ambit of this discipline, especially with reference to organizational values and their expression in business decision making.

Strategic HRM emphasizes organizational codes of ethics, managing the societal impact of business decisions, philanthropy and the role of the human resource professional in improving the quality of life of employees, their families and the community at large. - See more at: https://shrm.org/india/hr-topics-and-strategy/strategic-hrm/pages/default.aspx#sthash.PKbKM5ql.dpuf

538

Business Administration / HR: Functions

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:07:37 PM »

     Hiring
    Promotions
    Reassignments
    Position classification and grading
    Salary determination
    Performance appraisal review and processing
    Awards review and processing
    Personnel data entry and records maintenance
    Consultation and advisory services to management and employees
        Conduct problems
        Performance problems
    Policy development
    Technical policy interpretation
    Work Permitting Immigration Visa Program
    Benefits
        Health care insurance
        Life insurance
        Disability insurance
        Retirement
        Voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance
        Leave Transfer Program
        Tuition Assistance Plan
        Training opportunities
        Combined Federal Campaign
    Employee assistance referral
    Workers' compensation

539

Business Administration / Importance of Human Resource Management

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:06:08 PM »

An organisation cannot build a good team of working professionals without good Human Resources. The key functions of the Human Resources Management (HRM) team include recruiting people, training them, performance appraisals, motivating employees as well as workplace communication, workplace safety, and much more. The beneficial effects of these functions are discussed here:

Recruitment and Training
This is one of the major responsibilities of the human resource team. The HR managers come up with plans and strategies for hiring the right kind of people. They design the criteria which is best suited for a specific job description. Their other tasks related to recruitment include formulating the obligations of an employee and the scope of tasks assigned to him or her. Based on these two factors, the contract of an employee with the company is prepared. When needed, they also provide training to the employees according to the requirements of the organisation. Thus, the staff members get the opportunity to sharpen their existing skills or develop specialised skills which in turn, will help them to take up some new roles.

Performance Appraisals
HRM encourages the people working in an organisation, to work according to their potential and gives them suggestions that can help them to bring about improvement in it. The team communicates with the staff individually from time to time and provides all the necessary information regarding their performances and also defines their respective roles. This is beneficial as it enables them to form an outline of their anticipated goals in much clearer terms and thereby, helps them execute the goals with best possible efforts. Performance appraisals, when taken on a regular basis, motivate the employees.

Maintaining Work Atmosphere
This is a vital aspect of HRM because the performance of an individual in an organisation is largely driven by the work atmosphere or work culture that prevails at the workplace. A good working condition is one of the benefits that the employees can expect from an efficient human resource team. A safe, clean and healthy environment can bring out the best in an employee. A friendly atmosphere gives the staff members job satisfaction as well.

Managing Disputes
In an organisation, there are several issues on which disputes may arise between the employees and the employers. You can say conflicts are almost inevitable. In such a scenario, it is the human resource department which acts as a consultant and mediator to sort out those issues in an effective manner. They first hear the grievances of the employees. Then they come up with suitable solutions to sort them out. In other words, they take timely action and prevent things from going out of hands.

Developing Public Relations
The responsibility of establishing good public relations lies with the HRM to a great extent. They organise business meetings, seminars and various official gatherings on behalf of the company in order to build up relationships with other business sectors. Sometimes, the HR department plays an active role in preparing the business and marketing plans for the organisation too.

Any organisation, without a proper setup for HRM is bound to suffer from serious problems while managing its regular activities. For this reason, today, companies must put a lot of effort and energy into setting up a strong and effective HRM.

540

Business Administration / Six Main Functions of a Human Resource Department

« on: March 13, 2016, 04:05:10 PM »

Recruitment

The success of recruiters and employment specialists generally is measured by the number of positions they fill and the time it takes to fill those positions. Recruiters who work in-house -- as opposed to companies that provide recruiting and staffing services -- play a key role in developing the employer's workforce. They advertise job postings, source candidates, screen applicants, conduct preliminary interviews and coordinate hiring efforts with managers responsible for making the final selection of candidates.
Safety

Workplace safety is an important factor. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment for employees. One of the main functions of HR is to support workplace safety training and maintain federally mandated logs for workplace injury and fatality reporting. In addition, HR safety and risk specialists often work closely with HR benefits specialists to manage the company's workers compensation issues.
Employee Relations

In a unionized work environment, the employee and labor relations functions of HR may be combined and handled by one specialist or be entirely separate functions managed by two HR specialists with specific expertise in each area. Employee relations is the HR discipline concerned with strengthening the employer-employee relationship through measuring job satisfaction, employee engagement and resolving workplace conflict. Labor relations functions may include developing management response to union organizing campaigns, negotiating collective bargaining agreements and rendering interpretations of labor union contract issues.
Compensation and Benefits

Like employee and labor relations, the compensation and benefits functions of HR often can be handled by one HR specialist with dual expertise. On the compensation side, the HR functions include setting compensation structures and evaluating competitive pay practices. A comp and benefits specialist also may negotiate group health coverage rates with insurers and coordinate activities with the retirement savings fund administrator. Payroll can be a component of the compensation and benefits section of HR; however, in many cases, employers outsource such administrative functions as payroll.
Compliance

Compliance with labor and employment laws is a critical HR function. Noncompliance can result in workplace complaints based on unfair employment practices, unsafe working conditions and general dissatisfaction with working conditions that can affect productivity and ultimately, profitability. HR staff must be aware of federal and state employment laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act and many other rules and regulations.
Training and Development

Employers must provide employees with the tools necessary for their success which, in many cases, means giving new employees extensive orientation training to help them transition into a new organizational culture. Many HR departments also provide leadership training and professional development. Leadership training may be required of newly hired and promoted supervisors and managers on topics such as performance management and how to handle employee relations matters at the department level. Professional development opportunities are for employees looking for promotional opportunities or employees who want to achieve personal goals such as finishing a college degree. Programs such as tuition assistance and tuition reimbursement programs often are within the purview of the HR training and development area.