Building Strong Brands: Why Is It Hard?

In today’s competitive market, a brand can only achieve success if it can connect with consumers and effectively communicate its unique qualities in a way in which they create a positive impression in the minds of consumers. The brand builder who attempts to develop a strong brand is like a golfer play ­ing on a course with heavy roughs, deep sand traps, sharp doglegs, and vast water barriers. It is difficult to score well in such conditions. Substantial pressures and bar ­riers, both internal and external, can inhibit the brand builder. To be able to develop effective brand strategies, it is useful to understand these pressures and barriers.… Read the rest

Strategic Recruitment

Recruitment is a key HRM activity. Organizations to survive and grow need to attract candidates who are qualified to help them achieve their objectives.   Effective recruitment does this by locating and attracting potential candidates to job openings within the organization. Such applicants form a pool from which candidates who most closely meet the job specifications can be offered employment. Recruitment begins with the identification of human resource requirements and ends with the receipt of an application. It immediately precedes the selection process and involves attracting qualified and interested candidates from either inside or outside the organization. It is a two way process.… Read the rest

Use of Personality Tests in Employee Selection

Personality or temperament tests are designed to measure basic aspects of an applicant’s personality, such as degree of introversion/extroversion, emotional stability and motivation. Personality tests are the most difficult tests to evaluate and use in employee selection. This is because the concept of personality itself is hazy and the relationship between performance on the job and personality is often vague or nonexistent.   In addition, the applicant can easily fabricate answers. Consequently, personality tests tend to have very limited value in employee selection and their use may be extremely difficult to justify if challenged by EEO authorities.   Finally, some tests may include questions that could be regarded by applicants as an invasion of privacy.  … Read the rest

Integration of Payroll System with HRIS

Computerization began in the human resource area via the payroll system. Payrolls are large masses of detailed information which need to be accurately and quickly updated. This is a fundamental accounting activity, so organizations had little hesitation in introducing such systems.

Early systems were computer bureaus where data was processed outside the organization. Initially, it seemed that the promised benefits of computerization had finally arrived. The army of pay clerks was substantially reduced. However, new issues relating to input errors and processing delays soon arose.   It is important for HR managers to understand this history because it explains why many early (and even some contemporary) HRIS have a bias towards payroll activities.  … Read the rest

Trade Unions – Definition, Characteristics, Need, Nature and Purpose

The trade union is an association, either of employees or employers or of independent workers. It is a relatively permanent combination of workers and is not temporary or casual. It is an association of workers engaged in securing economic benefits for its members.

According to Section 2(b) of the Trade Unions Act of 1926, “a trade union is any combination of persons, whether temporary or permanent, primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workers and employers, or between workers and workers and for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes the federation of two or more trade unions.”

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Definition and Concept of Industrial Relations

An Introduction to Industrial Relations

Industrial relations constitute one of the most delicate and complex problems of the modern industrial society. This phenomenon of a new complex industrial set-up is directly attributable to the emergence of ‘Industrial Revolution”. The pre-industrial revolution period was characterized by a simple process of manufacture, small scale investment, local markets and small number of persons employed. All this led to close proximity between the manager and the managed. Due to personal and direct relationship between the employer and the employee it was easier to secure cooperation of the latter. Any grievance or misunderstanding on the part of either party could be promptly removed.  … Read the rest