THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Examples of job duties include :

Recruiters :
Diversity officer or SC/ST cell (in PSU government) :
Investigate and resolve grievances
Job analysts : Collect and examine detailed information
about job duties to prepare job descriptions
Compensation managers: Develop compensation plans
and handle the employee benefits programe.
Training or learning and development specialists: Plan,
organize and direct training/learning activities.
Labour (employment/industrial) relations specialists:
Advise management on all aspects of union-management
relations.
Employee welfare officer: Takes care of employee
welfare, as prescribed by the law (The Factories Act,
1948)
Some of the Newer Titles in HRM Function are:
Happiness Officer: Responsible for helping
organizations to improve employee engagement levels by
helping them to achieve happiness, both personally and
professionally.
Talent Management Specialist: Responsible for hiring
and managing high performing and committed
employees and helping orgnizationsretain them.
HR/People Analytics Officer: Analyse trends using big
data and analytical tool and provide insights for people
management related decision making.
Workforce Demographics and Diversity Trends: Despite
the recession and job losses, trends in workforce
demographic are making hiring good employees more of
a challenge around the world. Acute skill shortage has
been identified as the main hurdle in achieving the
demographic dividend from its young growing
population. The Indian government has made skill
development a top priority in its agenda of economic
growth.
 The traditional workers prefer other employment
avenues like retail sector. Skilled labour shortage has also
promoted the construction industry to source specialized
talent from abroad (e.g. carpenters from South Korea)

First, work has shifted from manufacturing to service. In

India, too the contribution of services sector has
outgrown the agricultural secor.

ON-DEMAND WORKERS : Second, today in companies like

Uberand Upwork, most workers aren’t employees at all:
They are freelancers and independent contractor-gig
workers, who work when they can, on what they want to
work on, when they’re needed. The head of one such firm
said employers view those workers as “mobile,
independent bundles of skills. Ubersigns up thousands
and thousands of new independent contractor drivers per
month. And people don’t just do gigs full-time. About
one-third of all workers do gig work on the side, such as
teachers who driver for Uber. The accompanying HR and
the Gig Economy feature elaborates.

HR and the GIG Economy on-demand workers

:Freelancer, Uber, Ola and G Auto
 These workers are part of a vast workforce comprised of
contract, temporary, freelance, independent contractor,
“on-demand”, or simply “gig” workers

Boosting Customer Service : Customer feedback system

to know about customer satisfaction.
Employee Engagement at the Bank of Baroda : To
improve engagement levels, BoBlaunched Baroda
Anubhutiprogramewhich are :
1. Employee of the Month : Identified every branch,
every month, special badge and rolling trophy is
awarded.
2. Spot Recognition Prizes : Capture ‘WOW’ moments in
the branch offices and rewarding them.
3. Zero (Fun) Hour : Organize at least one occasion every
month, for activities that infuse fun and entertainment.
4. Compulsory Community Service or Social Service
Activities by Employees: Mandatory compulsory outreach
activity once in six months. The activity has to be a
collective effort, i.e., all employees and families should
also join. Separate budget allocation for each branch.
5. AnubhutiWorkshops at Bank Branches : Brainstorming
workshops of staff members on how to improve work
climate, employee involvement, customer experience,
and business performance. With this executive support, a
few more initiatives like sports club of employees,
organizing league-type competitors, encouraging fitness
and wellness among employees, dramatics and debate
clubs, and community outreach activities were
introduced.

Globalization refers to companies extending their sales,

ownership, and/or manufacturing to new markets
abroad. Thus , Toyota builds Camrysin Kentucky, while
Apple assembles iphonein China. India has become the
hub for IT enabled process and Indian companies like
TCS and Wipro support global Fortune 500 companies
and governments in managing their IT systems. Free
trade areas-agreement that reduce tariffs and barriers
among trading partners. Further encourage international
trade, example-NAFTA, SAARC, EU

Economic Trends : Although globalization supported a

growing global economy.
Technology Trends : Technology is changing human
resource management.

1-Technological change is affecting the nature of jobs-

“tech jobs”, jobs at Google. For an example-At an Alcoa
plant in Lowa, a computer in each workstation helps
employees control their machines or communicate data.
2. Technology is changing how employers get human
resource management tasks done.
Employers use social media
 Employers use mobile applications
Cloud computing
Data Analytics
Artificial Intelligence
Augmented Reality

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

introduced a “competency model”
Leadership and Navigation
Ethical Practices : The ability to integrate core values,
integrity and accountability through out all organizational
and business practices.
Business acumen : Organization strategic plan
Relationship Management : The ability to manage
interactions to provide service and to support the
organization.
Consultation : The ability to provide guidance to
organizational stakeholders.
Critical Evaluation: The ability to interpret information
with which to make business decisions and
recommendations.
Global and Cultural effectiveness: The ability to value
and consider the perspectives and backgrounds of all
parties.
Communication : To ability to effectively exchange
information with stakeholders.
SHRM also says human resource managers must have
command of the basic knowledge in the functional areas
of HR, such as talent acquisition.
Functional Areas :1: HR Strategic Planning
Functional Areas :2: Talent Acquisition
Functional Areas :3: Employee Engagement and
Retention
Functional Areas :4: Learning & Development
Functional Areas :5: Total Rewards
Functional Areas :6: Structure of the HR
Functional Areas :7: Organizational Effectiveness &
Development
Functional Areas :8: Workforce Management
Functional Areas :9: Employee & Labour Relations
Functional Areas :10: Technology and Data
Management
Functional Areas :11: HR in Global Context
Functional Areas :12: Diversity & Inclusion
Functional Areas :13: Risk Management
Functional Areas :14: Corporate Social Responsibility
Functional Areas :15: Employment Law & Regulations

HUMAN RESOURCE EFFECTIVENESS

•Human Resource Management has evolved over time from the

traditional administrative role involving hiring, firing and payment of
salaries of workers and employees to a more strategic role of creating
a competent workforce that provides a competitive advantage to the
organization. It is well accepted that human resource is a source of
competitive advantage; it distinguishes a good organization from an
excellent one.
•Measuring the effectiveness of human resource management remains
a complex issue since the outcome is not always tangible. The impact
of any human resource intervention leads to an addition to the
intellectual capital of employees which may not manifest in the form
of observable behavior. Or else, the observed behaviormaychange but
it cannot be exclusively attributed to the HR intervention, since
human beings are continuously learning from various sources.

•Yeungand Berman (1997), by employing Eastman Kodak as a case

study, identified three paths through which HR practices contribute to
business performance in terms of building organisational capabilities,
improving employee satisfaction, and shaping customer and
shareholder’s satisfaction. He has developed HR measures that drive
businessperformance.Cascioand Boundrenau(2008) studied the link
between behavioural costing and the financial impact of HR activities.
They measured the economic consequences of' behaviorof employees
such as absenteeism, turnover, employee attitudes, work life
programmes and employee training.
•Measurement of effectiveness helps to prove that human resource
activities create value for the organization in terms of business
performance (increasing profits). Good HR practices result in a
financial payoff. It would then be possible for organizations to focus
on those HR activities that are more beneficial in terms of impact on
the bottom line. This also led to the enhancement of the strategic
role of HRM.However, measurement of the impact of human
resource on business performance is still not a commonly used
metric.
Approaches to measurement
•Labour economics provide a theoretical construct for analyzingthe
market and productivity measurement of labour. The Firm-Specific
Human Capital Theory states that the firm increases its human capital
when the marginal economic contribution of employees exceeds the
marginal laborcosts of generating increased product. Firm-specific
human capital (FSHC) is defined as the NPV of income stream to the
firm that can be assigned to human resource investments (Hashimoto,
1981; Mangan, 1983). FSHC theory is valuable because it provides a
broad framework for most productivity models.

•The Human Resource Accounting approach for external reporting

states that human asset creation occurs when personnel practices and
policies increase the net present value of the firm.
•Flamholtz (1985) has proposed HRA system to measure HR
contribution.
•The industrial psychology approach examines effectiveness at the
individual level through the Utility Analysis, the economic
contribution of personnel practices and policies to the firm.
Tsui (1987) reported a multiple constituency approach to calculate the
effectiveness of HR function.
McConnell (1989) identifies 16 categories to be evaluated in human
resource auditing.
Pauly (1993) believes that conversion of HR function to the profit
centeris the ultimate way in which HR accountability can be
illustrated. Based on the available literature and research.
Phillips (1999) has identified 12 approaches that have been used to
evaluate the HR function such as survey approach, HR reputation
approach, HR accounting, HR auditing, HR case studies, HR cost
monitoring, competitive benchmarking, key indicators, HR
effectiveness index, HR management by objectives, HR profit centers,
and return on investment.

Measuring effectiveness
•Metrics
•Traditionally, the effectiveness of human resources has always been
measured. Metrics have been developed to measure the
performance of various human resource functions in any
organization. HR performance is increasingly being measured in
terms of numbers that can be understood without ambiguity and are
capable of comparison. These metrics are not perfect measures but
can act as effective indicators of human resource interventions.
•Measures such as the number of employees trained, training cost per
employee, time taken to hire and timely completion of performance
appraisal have always been in place. Similarly the rate of
absenteeism, employee turnover ratio, and increase in the number of
successful placements are metrics that are commonly used by
organizations.
•Attitude surveys regularly measure employee satisfaction and
commitment.
•Measurement has focused on effectiveness of HR functions over a
period of time or even with respect to other organizations in the
industry.

Complexities of measurement
•Although there is agreement on the importance of measuring the
effectiveness of human resources, developing and applying relevant
metrics is ridden with complexity. Even in the case of traditionally
accepted metrics there are issues about who is measuring
effectiveness.
Is it the HR staff evaluating their own effectiveness or is it the line
managers evaluating the contribution of the HR in the organization?
What would be the frequency of measurement?
Another issue relates to the importance accorded to this measurement
by the top management.
Are HR metrics reported to the top management and considered in
strategic decision making?
Or are the metrics only for internal use of the human resource
department to improve functioning and motivate the staff?

•M. Srimannarayana(2009) conducts a study based on 109 HR

professionals working in manufacturing, IT/ITES and service sectors
with a minimum experience of two years in their respective
organizations. They represented private, joint venture and public
sector organizations across India. He identifies 56 possible measures
covering all domains of HR activities to assess the effectiveness of all
domains of HR on a four-point scale.
The results show that compensation related activities are measured in
the organizations to a significant extent. New employee performance
rating by recruitment source, satisfaction of the manager who
requested for new recruits, and the response time by recruitment
source are not measured in their evaluation process to a significant
extent.
The satisfaction of the manager who requested for new hires is not
measured to a significant extent. The number of employees trained in
the programmes' is the principal measure of assessing the training and
development. Performance appraisal is the predominant tool used in
the performance management system. Employee quit rate is not only
measured but also reported to the top management for necessary
action in some of the organizations.

•Research shows that most measurement of human resource

effectiveness is carried out by the HR staff, resulting in an inherent
bias in the results. The effectiveness rating by line managers is
usually lower than that of the HR staff. Although a more accurate
measurement of effectiveness would be by the ordinary employees
who are consumers of human resource management since the HR
staff also has a tendency to give a higher rating to their role and
contribution in strategic human resource management.

Metrics in use
•Indices that are more commonly used are the number of hours on
training per employee, Absenteeism and Turnover rates. These can be
defined as
•Absenteeism rate=[no of days absent in a month/(average number
of employees X number of work days)]X 100
•Turnover rate=[no of separations in a month/average number of
employees] X 100
•Similarly, an organization can compare the effectiveness of the HR
staff by looking at the ratio of employees in the HR department vis-à-
vis the entire employee strength. The average ratio of HR staff to the
entire employee population is 1:100. It can be said that an
organization is more effective if the ratio changes to 1:110.

HR Scorecard
•A HR scorecard is derived from the balanced scorecard by Kaplan
and Norton (1996). This measurement framework helps management
translate strategic goals into operational objectives. It provides a clear
prescription about what companies should measure in order to
'balance' the financial perspective. The generic model of BSC
considers financial, customer, processes, and learning as four distinct
sectors. The logic is that learning helps organizations improve their
internal processes such as product development and services that are
critical for customer satisfaction. Value creation for the customer in
turn propels financial performance and profitability.

•Becker, Huselidand Ulrich (2001) have outlined an HR Scorecard

model, which aims at managing HR as a strategic partner, and
demonstrating HR's contribution to the financial success. Defining
clearly the business strategy, building a business case for HR as a
strategic asset, creating a strategy map, identifying HR deliverables
within the strategy map, aligning the HR architecture with HR
deliverables, designing the strategic measurement system, and
implementing management are the seven steps in this model.
The HR scorecard (HRSC) shows the link between a specific human
resource function, the subsequent employee behaviorand the targeted
organizational outcome. In other words, human resource functions
must contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. The cause-
effect link is shown in a ‘digital dashboard’. It is possible to monitor
the scorecard metrics in real time. As in the case of the dashboard of a
car, that indicates the levels of speed, fuel and temperature, the
scorecard indicates the real time metrics and the need for change.

Thus there must be clarity about the strategic goals of the

organization, the employee behavior, organizational outcomes and
overall performance of the organization.
•Relevant metrics need to be designed to measure HR outcomes. For
example a specific training in customer handling leads to improved
behaviour of the customer care executives and hence a reduction in
complaints and increase in the number of satisfied customers. Or time
taken to hire and its link with the quality of people hired.

•Becker, Huselidand Ulrich have identified 10 steps in the HR

Scorecard process:
1. Define the business strategy: The organization defines its corporate,
business level and functional strategy leading to specific, actionable
strategic goals.
2. Outline the company’s value chain: Thompson and Strickland III
define the value chain, “identifies the primary activities that create
value for customers and the related support activities”. It is possible to
establish a link between the HR activities and the expected employee
behaviour that results in customer satisfaction. This includes an
analysis of costs involved and aims at improving the quality of work.
For example- at Dell computers, phone technicians add value by
having the ability to engage with the customer and help understand
customer problems speedily.

3. Outline a strategy map: A graphical presentation of the inter-

linkages between departments or teams in terms of their contribution
to the success of the company is mapped. For example a chain of
hotels can focus on lowering costs of maintaining properties as well
as satisfying and retaining customers to become more profitable. This
in turn may be translated into expected employee behaviorand
consequent HR practices and policies.
4. Identify the strategically required organizational outcomes: There
must be clarity regarding the value chain within the organization. For
example, the customer care executives are trained to understand
problems and give technically correct and prompt advice in order to
be customer centric.
5. Identify the required workforce competencies and behaviours: The
value chain is useful in identifying relevant employee behaviour
(percentage of employees making suggestions, employee’s understand
company’s core values) that will facilitate the achievement of
strategic goals of the organization.
6. Identify the required HR system policies and activities: Specific
HR activities are earmarked for fulfilling the targets. It is possible to
introduce incentives and training programmes that will influence
employee behaviorand business outcomes.
7. Create HR scorecard: The information gathered is then
consolidated and shown in a computerized HR scorecard. The causal
links are established between HR activities, emergent employee
behaviour and final organizational performance. Computerized
scorecard packages based on metrics of world class companies are
available.
8. Choose HR scorecard measures: After ascertaining the HR
activities employee behaviors and strategic business outcomes, it is
essential to translate these into measurable indicators. These could be
in terms of financial or nonfinancial metrics, short or long term goals
for internal (time reduced in serving customers at a restaurant) or
external stakeholders such as improvement in customer satisfaction.
9. Summarise the scorecard measures in a digital dashboard: A
graphical indicator of metrics depicting all HR activities, employee
behavior, and strategic outcomes so as to get an instant picture of the
state of the organization. The digital dashboard can provide alerts
when the metrics fall below acceptable levels. For example, the
dashboard will trigger an alarm if the number of customer complaints,
or employee grievances increase beyond the accepted level.
10. Monitor, Predict, and Evaluate: The parameters shown in the
dashboard are susceptible to change, hence the scorecard has
predictive capabilities. It also needs regular review of the metrics used
and the efficacy of the cause-effect linkages.

Technology and HR effectiveness

•Computers and technology are a useful tool in implementing the HR
scorecard as well as performance of HR functions. It is possible to use
the intranet for updating personal information, setting career
pathways, self-appraisals and so on. A centralized human resource
call center can be created to ensure greater HR effectiveness.
Technology can thus improve HR productivity. The ratio of HR staff
to overall employees can fall drastically due to use of technology.

•Measuring the effectiveness of human resource management remains

a complex issue since the outcome is not always tangible.
•There is pressure to ascertain the return on investment in human
resources and justify the existence of the HR department or function.
•There are different approaches to ascertaining the economic value of
people’s contribution to an organization, the firm-specific human
capital theory, human resource accounting approach and the utility
analysis.
•Traditional measures such as the number of employees trained,
training cost per employee, time taken to hire and timely completion
of performance appraisal have always been measured.
•Becker, Huselidand Ulrich (2001) have outlined an HR Scorecard
model derived from the balanced scorecard by Kaplan and Norton
(1996).

LEADERSHIP STYLES AND INFLUENCE PROCESS

INTRODUCTION
To start with, you must have clear idea as to what is meant by
leadership. Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive
willingly for group objectives. As you can see, this process is a
function of the leader, the followers and the situation. There
may not be any particular organisation in our mind, when we talk of
leadership. In any situation where you are trying to influence the
behaviour of another individual or group, leadership is operating.
Thus each one of us tries leadership. at one time or the
other, whether our activities are centred around a business,
educational institution, hospital, political organisation, Government
organisation or a family. As part of this process, one who attempts to
influence the behaviour of others becomes a potential leader and
the persons he is attempting to influence are the potential followers.
This may happen irrespective of the fact that the leader may be their
boss or a colleague (associate) or a subordinate or a friend or a
relative. In other words through a style of functioning he influences
attitudes and expectations, which in turn encourage or discourage
the follower's activity or achievement, enhance or diminish the
follower's commitment to the work, etc.

In our day-to-day life, we come across instances of how people are

influenced by the activities or word of a person who is trying to lead
them. We always make judgments about the leaders of our own
office. In our mind, we make a difference between a good leader and
a bad one, by judging his style or way of functioning and his influence
on others. Hence, in understanding the phenomenon of leadership,
we must first understand the various styles of the leaders.

LEADERSHIP STYLES
The word style is the way in which the leader influences followers.
Let us have a look at the various studies that help us to understand
the leadership styles.

Hawthorne Studies:
Mayo and Roethlisberger did a series of studies from 1924
to 1932 in an electricity company, at Illinois, in USA. These
studies are known as Hawthorne Studies. One phase of
these studies aimed at finding out if changes in
illumination, rest period and lunch breaks can affect the
productivity of the workers. It was found to the surprise of
the researchers that less light, shorter and fewer rest
periods and shorter lunch breaks resulted in increased
productivity. And once all these changes; were
eliminated and the normal working conditions were
resumed, it was also seen that the workers' productivity
and the feeling of being together went up. The increase
in productivity was attributed to the attitude of workers
towards each other and their feeling of togetherness. In
addition, attention paid to the workers by the researches
made them feel important which resulted in improvement
in their work.
Researches made them feel important which resulted in
improvement in their work performance. This is known as
Hawthorne effect. These findings made Mayo and
Roethlisberger conclude that a leader has not only to
plan, decide, organise, lead and control but also consider
the human element. This includes social needs of being
together and being recognised for the work interaction of
the group members with each other and their well-being.
A good leader ought to keep the above aspects in his
style of working with people and supervising their work.

Theory X and Y
McGregor (1960) categorised leadership styles into two
broad categories having two different beliefs and
assumptions about subordinates. He called these Theory X
and Theory Y. The Theory X style of leaders believe that
most people dislike work and will avoid it wherever
possible. Such leaders feel they themselves are a small but
important group, who want to lead and take
responsibility, but a large majority of people want to be
directed and avoid responsibility. Therefore, this style of
leadership exercises strong controls and direction and
wherever necessary punish people if they do not do the
work. If people do the work as desired, they may even
get monetary or other rewards. Theory Y leaders assume
that people will work hard. and assume responsibility if
they can satisfy their personal needs and the objectives or
goals of their organisation. Such leaders do not sharply
distinguish between the leaders and the followers in
contrast to Theory X style. They feel that people control
themselves within rather than being controlled by others
from outside such as a leader or a manager or a
supervisor.
An effective leader needs to examine carefully his own
ideas about the motivation and behaviour of
subordinates and others, as well as the situation, before
adopting a particular style of leadership.

Iowa Leadership Studies

In 1939 Lippittand White under the direction of Lewin, did
a study on three different styles of leadership in the task
performance of ten-year old boys in three groups. The
authoritarian leader of the group was very directive. He
did not allow any participation. He was concerned about
the task and told the followers what to do and how to do
it. He was friendly while praising the performance of the
individual member and was impersonal while criticising
the individual member. In the other group, the
democratic leader encouraged discussion with the group
and allowed participation in making decisions. He shared
his leadership responsibilities with his followers and
involved them in the planning and execution of the task.
The laissez-faire leader of the third group gave complete
freedom to the group and did not provide any
leadership. He did not establish any policies or procedures
to do the task. Each member was let alone. No one
attempted to influence the other.

The researchers selected boys of the same intelligence

level. Each group did the same task of making paper
masks or model air-planes or murals or soap carvings. The
room used by the three groups remained the same. The
three group leaders assumed different styles as they
shifted every six weeks from group to group. The
researchers under the direction of Lewin, who did several
studies on groups, were trying to see how different styles
of leadership could change the satisfaction, frustration-
aggression levels of the individuals. One definite finding
was that nineteen out of twenty boys like the democratic
leadership style. That kind of a leader never tried to boss
over them, yet they had plenty, to do. The only boy who
liked the authoritarian style of leadership happened to be
the son of an army officer. It was also observed that seven
out of ten boys preferred the laissez-faire leader to the
autocratic one as they preferred
confusion and disorder to strictness and rigidity present in
the autocratic style. Boys under the latter style exhibited
more of aggressive, hostile and indifferent behaviour
as compared to their counterparts under other styles of
leadership. They either showed hostility or cracked jokes
about hostility towards others. Others belonging to
the democratic style of leadership showed less aggressive
and more indifferent behaviour when brought under the
autocratic style of a leader. Even under the laissez-faire
style of the leader, boys committed more aggressive acts
than the ones under the democratic style.
Of course, a study on ten year old boys in making paper
masks or soap carving, etc. cannot be compared to
leader behaviour of adults with complex jobs. But like the
studies of Mayo and Roethlisberger, the studies by Lewin,
Lippittand White are a pioneering effort in understanding
leadership styles from the point of scientific methodology.
They also throw light on how different styles of leadership
can produce different complex reactions from the same
or similar groups.

Michigan Studies on Leadership Styles

Likert(1961) at University of Michigan Survey Research
Centre identified two major styles of leadership
orientations-employee orientation and production
orientation.
The employee oriented style of the leader emphasises the
relationship aspect of the jobs of the individual. Such a
leader takes interest in everyone and accepts the
individuality and personal needs of the individual. He has
complete confidence and trust in all matters in his
subordinates. His subordinates feel free to discuss things
about their jobs with their superior. He always asks
subordinates for ideas and opinions and always tries to
make constructive use of them.
The production oriented style of the leader emphasises
production and technical aspects of the job. He looks at
subordinates or employees as tools to accomplish the
goals of the organisation. Work, working condition and
work methods are tried to be understood better in his style
of the leadership orientation. Likert related these
orientations to the performance of the employees. He
showed that the employee oriented style brought high-
producing performance compared to production-
oriented style. Of course, the satisfaction of employees
was not directly related to productivity in Likert’sstudy.

Ohio State Studies on Leadership Styles

Stogdill(1957) at the Bureau of Business Research at Ohio
State University initiated ‘a series of researches on
leadership in 1945. He, along with his colleagues, studied
leader behaviour in numerous types of groups and
situations by using a Leader Behaviour Description
Questionnaire (LBDQ). The studies were conducted on Air
Force Commanders and members of bomber crews,
officers, non-commissioned personnel, civilian
administrators in the Navy Department, manufacturing
supervisors, executives, teachers, principals and school
superintendents and leaders of various civilian groups.
They did not have any satisfactory definition of leadership.
They also did not think leadership is synonymous with
`good' leadership.
The LBDQ was administered in a wide variety of situations
and surprisingly two dimensions of, leadership continually
emerged from the study: one is `consideration' and the
other is ‘initiating structure’. Consideration reflects the
extent to which individuals are likely to have job,
relationship characterised by mutual respect for
subordinates, ideas and consideration of subordinates,
feelings. You may like to describe it as the behaviour of
the leader indicating friendship, mutual trust, respect and
warmth in the relationship between the leader and his
group members.

Scientific Manager's Style

Taylor (1911) stressed the best way of doing a job. He
emphasised the importance of having management and
labour work in harmony to maximise profits. The basis of
his scientific management was technological in nature. It
was felt that the best way to increase output was to
improve the techniques or methods used by workers.
Therefore, profit can be maximised by using a systematic
and scientifically based approach to the study of jobs.
Taylor was not trained as a manager He relied on
scientific study of time and movement spent and used for
a job to improve the performance of the worker.
According to the scientific managerial style,
management of a work organisation must be divorced
from human affairs and emotions and people have to
adjust to the management and not management to the
people. Once jobs are recognised with efficiency in mind,
the economic self-interest of the workers could
be satisfied through various incentive work plans such as
piece rate. system of payment, etc. The leader is assumed
to be the most competent individual in planning and
organising the work of subordinates according to Taylor's
principle of scientific management.

Various studies reflecting different styles of functioning of

a leader have been stated above, which highlight how
the leader simultaneously pays attention to the:
task to be accomplished by the group, and needs and
expectations of the group and its individual members.
Exactly how the leader goes about attending to these
two functions is a matter of his leadership style. Many
theories have been suggested by the researchers
regarding which leadership style is most effective. Even
the above two functions can have different descriptions
for different leaders. But in course of time every leader
develops a particular style which reflects his own ideas
and perspectives on the relative importance of task and
people.
We should now consider in what ways we can enrich the
understanding of various styles of leadership by making
ourselves familiar with some important theories of
leadership.

LEADERSHIP STYLES AND LEADERSHIPTHEORIES

Trait Theory
This theory as described by Kelly (1974) attempts to
classify what personal characteristics such as physical,
personality and mental, are associated with leadership
success. Trait theory relies on research that relates various
traits to the success of a leader. A lengthy list of traits has
been made to describe an effective leader in terms of
certain characteristics. A broad classification of six
categories of traits are given below:

1. Physical characteristics of the leader, such as age,

height, weight.
 2. Background characteristics-education, social status,
mobility and experience.
3. Intelligence-ability, judgment, knowledge.
4. Personality-aggressiveness, alertness, dominance,
decisiveness, enthusiasm, extroversion, independence,
self-confidence, authoritarianism.
5. Task-oriented characteristics-achievement needs,
responsibility, initiative, and persistence.
6. Social characteristics-supervisory ability,
cooperativeness, popularity, prestige, tact, diplomacy.

Group and Exchange Theories of Leadership

These theories as reported by Hollandder and Julian
(1969) state that the leader provides more benefits or
regards than burden or costs for followers who help him
achieve the goal of the organisation. There must be a
positive exchange between the leader and followers in
order for group goals to be accomplished. The leader
can give rewards to his followers in the form of praise or
pay increase or promotion for accomplishment of the
group goal or task. This has positive impact on attitudes,
satisfaction and performance of the followers. In return,
they respect the leader and give due regard for his status
and esteem and believe in his heightened influence. As
you are already aware, that a leader emphasises
initiating structure when followers do not perform very
well. He increases his emphasis on consideration when the
followers do a good job. In return, the perception of his
followers of his being an effective leader increases. Hence
the leader and the followers mutually affect each other.

Social Learning Theories

This theory by Bandura (1977) states that there is a
continuous reciprocal interaction between person,
environment and behaviour
Person and environment function in conjunction with the
behaviour itself and reciprocally interact to determine
behaviour. A person, through his actions, produces the
environmental conditions that affect his behaviour in a
reciprocal fashion. The experience generated by
behaviour also partly determines what a person becomes
and can do. This in turn affects his subsequent behaviour.
The theory is called social learning theory because,
individuals learn in an environment in the process of
interacting with each other-which is a social process. You
will appreciate the application of this theory in
understanding the behaviour of a leader and the
continuous reciprocal interaction between the person
(leader's cognitions) and experiences, objectives in the
organisation, abilities, skills, energy performance, etc.
known as contingencies that, regulate their behaviour).
Thus a social learning approach to leadership
The three aspects of this theory of leadership assume that
the leader knows how his behaviour is controlled by
various needs, situations and experiences that he
undergoes. The leader works with the subordinates to
discover what those needs situations and experience. The
leader and the subordinates jointly attempt to discover
ways in which they can manage their individual
behaviour to produce mutually satisfying as well as
organisationally productive outcomes. In this approach,
the leader and the subordinates have a negotiable and
interactive relationship. They are' continuously aware of
how they can modify or influence each other's behaviour
by giving the rewards or holding back the performance
respectively.
Managerial Grid Theory
Leaders can be oriented towards both tasks and persons.
This theory by Blake and Mouton (1978) has a popular
application of both task and person orientation.
According to this theory leaders are most effective when
they achieve a high and balanced concern for people
and for tasks. Each leader can be rated somewhere
along each of the axes from 1 to 9 depending on his
orientation

Interaction between Pelrson and Task orientations

Although there can be 81 possible combinations you

should try to understand the 5 types that are shown in the
diagram. These will give you a basic understanding of the
theory, on which you can base your other combinations.

1. The (9, 1) leader is primarily concerned about the task

or production. He is concerned with his responsibility to
see that the work is completed. He is called a Task-
Management leader.
2. The (1, 9) leader is primarily concerned for people and
only incidentally concerned with production. The leader's
major responsibility is to establish harmonious relationships
among subordinates and to provide a secure and
pleasant work atmosphere. He is called as Country Club
Management leader.
3. The (1,1) leader is concerned with neither production
nor people. He tries to stay out of the way and not
become involved in the conflict between the necessity
for production and the attainment of good working
relationship. He is called as Impoverish Management
leader.
4. The (5,5) leader reflects a middle ground position and is
called as Middle of the Road Management leader. He
seeks to compromise between high production and
employee satisfaction.
5. The (9,9) leader is extremely concerned about the task
and also the people. He is concerned to see that the
work accomplishment is from committed people;
interdependence through a 'common stake' in
organisation; purpose leads to relationship of trust and
respect. He is called a Team Management leader.
Contingency Theory of Leadership
Regarding this theory Fiedler (1967) states that a leader
may become effective if the situation is favourable in
three ways. These are: good leader-member relations
showing acceptance of the leader by the group; details
of the task spelled out to the leader's position; and a
great deal of authority and power is formally attributed to
the leader's position. With these three favourable
situations and his style of functioning, a leader will be
effective.
Path-goal Leadership Theory
This theory by House (1971) states that the leader smooths
out the path towards goals and provides rewards for
achieving them.
As a leader, you should understand the needs of the
people and their desire to work or behave in a way that
accomplishes goals that satisfy those needs. This theory is
based on a situation of the above kind. If you know the
need of the person and his desire to work and he is able
to accomplish the work, you can reward him to make him
feel happy and satisfied. In essence, you are doing three
things: One, you are motivating the members of the
group by clarifying the path to personal rewards that
result from attaining work goals. You have thus `fixed' him
on the job and made him see that his performance can
lead to positive or negative rewards. 'Two, you have
already made the path-goal clear to the member and
also told him about what the job requires. You need not
say too many things about the job to him as this may
decrease his interest in the work and deter his
performance. Three, you must offer the reward to the
member of the group who actually accomplishes the
task. Your reward may be a praise or increase in the pay
or promotion of the member to a higher position. Your
judgment about the desirability of the member to a
higher position is crucial. Your judgment about the
desirability of the member's effort and the goal helps you
to decide whether a reward can be given.
LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE PROCESS
Authority is the right to command and extract obedience
from others. It comes from organisation and it allows the
leader to use power. Power is the ability to exercise
influence or control over others. In the functioning of a
leader the ability to guide the action of others is achieved
through his authority. Carrying out of these decisions is
accomplished because of the power of the leader. You
will see the relationship between the authority and power
of a leader as we go further to understand various types
of power.
TYPES OF POWER
Legitimate Power
This power comes to the leader when the organisation's
authority is accepted. It comes from the rules of the
organisation. For example, parents, teachers, managers,
police, etc. have legitimate power only when their
authority is accepted in the positions they hold.
Expert Power
This is the power of knowledge and skill of special kind
that are important in getting the job done. A person's
professional competence or knowledge gives him the
expert power. His credibility increases. He can lead other
persons to trust his judgments and decisions, as an expert
like a physicist or a lawyer or a chemist or a computer
programmer or a purchasing agent or a financial analyst.
A leader himself may not be an expert in all fields, but he
can certainly take the help of experts in particular fields.
Charismatic Power
This is the power of attraction or devotion, the desire of
one person to admire another. A subordinate feels a
positive attraction towards a leader by identifying himself
with the leader, or gets influenced by the leader's
attractive power. This power helps the subordinate to
understand and value the leader so much that he
understands and acts according to the expectations of
the boss or the leader. It helps him to act as his own boss,
and behave in ways he thinks
Reward Power
This power is the present or potential ability to reward for
worthy behaviour. The superior or the leader has the
power to give tangible rewards such as promotion,
office space, time off from work, attractive work
assignments and help to the subordinate. Also
psychological rewards like praise, appreciation, approval
and recognition can be given by the leader or the
superior to the subordinate. The subordinate has to
believe that he has access to higher authorities, therefore
he can give rewards. This reward power of the leader can
also increase the leader's charismatic and legitimate
power.

Coercive Power

This is the ability to threaten or punish. The leader can give

tangible punishments like dismissal, demotion, low rating,
less satisfying work assignments, etc. Psychological
punishments include criticism, avoidance, disapproval,
satirical remarks on the subordinate. The reward power
helps to avoid something undesirable. Self-esteem of the
subordinate increases because of reward power and
decreases because of punishment or coercive power.
Even a subordinate may withdraw or break the rules or
become hostile. He may not feel attracted towards the
charismatic power of the leader and at times may ignore
the leader's legitimate power. Having seen the reasons for
differences between the authority and power of the
leader, you should know the type of leaders as
understood on the basis of their authority and power.
TYPES OF LEADER AND POWER CONCEPT
Formal Leader
A formal leader is selected by the organisation. For
example, a manager is a formal leader by virtue of the
authority coming from the organisation. He influences
others to help accomplish the goals of the organisation or
unit. Such a leadership lasts over a long period of time.
Informal Leader
An informal leader is chosen by the group. Thus, all
managers are leaders if their authority is accepted, but
not all leaders are managers. Informal leadership is
leadership without position and may shift from one person
to another. It may last for a brief time. Most people are
leaders at one time or the other and they can have
influence on others as defined by the concept of
leadership itself. The ideal leader is the one who can
combine the formal and informal leadership
simultaneously within himself.
SUCCESSFUL VERSUS EFFECTIVE LEADER
As we have seen in the preceding discussions, leadership
is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for
group objectives. It is the ability to persuade others to get
something done. So the leader attempts to have some
effect on the behaviour of another, which we call
attempted leadership. The response to this attempt may
or may not be successful. A basic responsibility of
managers in any work organisation is to get the work
done with and through people. The success of managers
is measured by the output or productivity of the group
they lead. Therefore, we should clearly distinguish
between successful versus effective leader.
Successful-Unsuccessful Leadership Continuum

In the above figure, A's attempt to influence B to do a

certain job can be judged successful or unsuccessful. B
does the job for the reason that A has position of power
and he controls the reward and punishment, then A's
attempted leadership.is successful.
A's style of leadership may not be compatible with B's
expectation and B is made hostile towards A and does
the job only because of A's position power; then we can
say A has been successful, but not effective. B does the
job because A can punish him for not doing it or reward
him for doing it. B's own needs are not being
accomplished by satisfying the goals of A (the leader) for
the organisation.
On the other hand, A's attempted leadership leads to a
successful response and B does the job because he wants
to do it and finds it rewarding, then we may say, A has
both position power as well as personal power. B respects
A, B is consistent with ' some personal goals and B sees
personal goals as being accomplished by the job he does
for A. We can then say A's leadership is effective.
We should try to understand the difference between
success and effectiveness.
Success has to do with how the individual or the group
behaves. Effectiveness describes the internal state or
predisposition of an individual or a group and is thus
attitudinal in nature.
A Leadership Story:
A group of workers and their leaders are set a task
of clearing a road through a dense jungle on a remote
island to get to the coast where an estuary provides
a perfect site for a port.
The leaders organise the labour into efficient units and
monitor the distribution and use of capital assets –
progress is excellent. The leaders continue to monitor and
evaluate progress, making adjustments along the way to
ensure the progress is maintained and efficiency
increased wherever possible. Then, one day amidst all the
hustle and bustle and activity, one person climbs up a
nearby tree. The person surveys the scene from
the top of the tree.
And shouts down to the assembled group below…
“Wrong Way!”
(Story adapted from Stephen Covey (2004) “The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People” Simon & Schuster).
“Management is doing things right, leadership is doing
the right things”
(Warren Bennis and Peter Drucker)
Types of Leadership-
Autocratic:
• Leader makes decisions without reference to anyone
else.
• High degree of dependency on the leader can
create de-motivation and alienation of staff.
• May be valuable in some types of business where
decisions need to be made quickly and decisively.
Democratic:
Encourages decision making from different perspectives –
leadership may be emphasised throughout the
organisation
 Consultative: process of consultation before
decisions are taken
  Persuasive: Leader takes decision and seeks to
persuade others that the decision is correct

▪ May help motivation and involvement

▪ Workers feel ownership of the firm and its ideas
▪ Improves the sharing of ideas and experiences within
the business
▪ Can delay decision making

Laissez-Faire:
▪ ‘Let it be’ – the leadership responsibilities are shared
by all
▪ Can be very useful in businesses where creative ideas
are important
▪ Can be highly motivational, as people have control
over their working life
▪ Can make coordination and decision making time-
consuming and lacking in overall direction
▪ Relies on good team work
▪ Relies on good interpersonal relations

Paternalistic:
▪ Leader acts as a ‘father figure’
▪ Paternalistic leader makes decision but may consult
▪ Believes in the need to support staff

Change Leadership
The most challenging aspect of business is leading and
managing change.
The business environment is subject to fast paced
economic and social change.
Modern business must adapt and be flexible to survive
Problems in leading change stem mainly from human
resource management
Leaders need to be aware of how change impacts on
workers:
Series of self-esteem states identified by Adams et al
and cited by Garrett
▪ Adams, J. Hayes, J. and Hopson, B.(eds) (1976)
Transition: understanding and managing change
personal change London, Martin Robertson
▪ Garrett, V. (1997) Managing Change in School
leadership for the 21st century Brett Davies and Linda
Ellison, London, Routledge

1. Immobilisation – as rumours of the change circulate, the

individual feels some sense of shock and possible disbelief
– so much so that they deem it worthy of doing nothing.
2. Minimisation: As the change becomes clearer, people
try to fit in the change with their own personal position
and may try to believe that it will not affect them.
3. Depression: as reality begins to dawn staff may
feel alienated and angry, feelings of a lack of control
of events overtake people and they feel depressed as
they try to reconcile what is happening with their own
personal situation.
4. Acceptance/letting go: The lowest point in self-esteem
finally sees people starting to accept the inevitable. Fear
of the future is a feature of this stage.
5. Testing out: Individuals begin to interact with the
change, they start to ask questions to see how they
might work with the change.
6. Search for meaning: Individuals begin to work with the
change and see how they might be able to make the
change work for them – self esteem begins
to rise.
7. Internalisation: the change is understood and adopted
within the individual’s own understanding – they now
know how to work with it and feel a renewed sense of
confidence and self esteem.
Theories of Leadership
Trait theories:
➢ Is there a set of characteristics that determine a
good leader?
➢ Personality?
➢ Dominance and personal presence?
➢ Charisma?
➢ Self confidence?
➢ Achievement?
➢ Ability to formulate a clear vision?
➢ Are such characteristics inherently gender biased?
➢ Do such characteristics produce good leaders?
➢ Is leadership more than just bringing about change?
➢ Does this imply that leaders are born not bred?

Behavioural:
Imply that leaders can be trained – focus on the
way of doing things
Structure based behavioural theories – focus on the
leader instituting structures – task orientated
Relationship based behavioural theories – focus on the
development and maintenance of relationships –
process orientated

Contingency Theories:
Leadership as being more flexible – different leadership
styles used at different times depending on the
circumstance.
Suggests leadership is not a fixed series of characteristics
that can be transposed into different contexts

May depend on:

➢ Type of staff
➢ History of the business
 ➢ Culture of the business
➢ Quality of the relationships
➢ Nature of the changes needed
➢ Accepted norms within the institution

Transformational:
Widespread changes to a business or organisation
Requires:
➢ Long term strategic planning
➢ Clear objectives
➢ Clear vision
➢ Leading by example – walk the walk
➢ Efficiency of systems and processes

Invitational Leadership:
➢ Improving the atmosphere and message sent out by
the organisation
➢ Focus on reducing negative messages sent out
through the everyday actions of the business both
externally and, crucially, internally
➢ Review internal processes to reduce these
➢ Build relationships and sense of belonging and
identity
➢ with the organisation – that gets communicated to
customers, etc.

Transactional Theories:
➢ Focus on the management of the organisation
➢ Focus on procedures and efficiency
➢ Focus on working to rules and contracts
➢ Managing current issues and problems

Factors Affecting Style

 • Leadership style may be dependent on various
factors:
• Risk - decision making and change initiatives based
on degree of risk involved
• Type of business – creative business or supply driven?
• How important change is – change for change’s
sake?
• Organisational culture – may be long embedded
and difficult to change
• Nature of the task – needing cooperation? Direction?
• Structure?

SELECTION

Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable

person out of all the applicants for a particular job. The
most suitable candidate is selected and unsuitable
candidates are weed out, so it is also a method of
rejection of applicants. The selection and rejection of an
applicant is decided on the basis of various criteria’s or
stages one has been able to clear because selection
process comprises of various levels or stages, a candidate
has to pass. If he is able to clear these stages, he would
be considered as a right or suitable candidate for the
right job otherwise rejected or an unsuitable candidate.
DEFINITION OF SELECTION-
According to Dale Yoder “Selection is the process of
choosing from among the candidates the most suitable
person for the current position or for the future position”.

It is very important to learn the difference between the

recruitment and selection. The various basis of distinction
is stated below:
 Recruitment is the process by way of which the various
sources of getting the manpower are identified and they
are stimulated to apply for the jobs in the organization.
Selection is from the persons who have been recruited.
Recruitment is a positive process because it increases
the number of persons who can apply for the job.
Selection is a negative process because it aims at finding
out the right or suitable candidates out of those recruited
by eliminating the unsuitable candidates.

Recruitment is a searching process of candidates.

Selection is the process of making comparisons or choice
out of recruited candidates.
In recruitment, there is no creation of contractual
relationship between the organization and the applicant.
It is just to communicate to the persons about the number
of vacancies. Selection builds a contractual relation
between the organizations and the employee. It follows
the recruitment process.
There is no restriction on the candidates in case of
recruitment but in selection only a certain number of
candidates are selected.

WHY IS SELECTION AN IMPORTANT TOOL?

Selection of a right candidate in the organization involves
various steps to be performed and involves a huge
amount of time and money. It is considered to be an
important function of an organization for creating a
stable workforce. The various benefits of selection are
stated as follows:
It reduces the labor turnover and absenteeism in the
organization and thus provides a stable workforce.
If right candidate is at right job, it increases the
productivity in the organization and low wastage and
high efficiency.
 Low accident rates because of suitable employees
being placed at the right job and thus employees safety
concerns are met.
High morale of the employees of the organization.
Creates an organizational climate based on cordial
interpersonal relationship of employees

In order to make a selection process successful, the

following conditions must be met:
Someone should have the authority to select the right
candidate for the right job, on the basis of the requisition
for employment in the organization.
Job analysis must be done prior hand before any
selection process takes place. It is because on the basis of
job description and job specification, a person can be
compared for the present job.
Recruitment must be done before any selection process
starts in order to get many applicants for the job out of
which best and suitable candidate must be selected for
the proposed job.

PROCEDURE OF SELECTION
The procedure for selecting a suitable candidate for the
job differs from organization to organization. There are
certain steps involved in a selection procedure and these
steps can be treated as barriers or hurdles, a candidate
has to cross, in order to get the right job in the
organization.
At every stage, there is an elimination of unsuitable
candidates and these stages are actually created to
eliminate the unqualified candidates at any point in the
selection process. There is no set standard for a selection
procedure and so the series of steps also differ from one
organization to another organization. The complexity of
the selection procedure increases with the level and
responsibility of the position to be filled.
The following steps are described for a selection of a
candidate:
1.Preliminary Interview:
At this stage, interaction of a candidate is there with the
organization for the first time. This step is a kind of initial
screening so that only a suitable candidate can be
retained and unsuitable ones are totally rejected.
Precaution has to be taken at this stage that suitable
candidates are not turned down in a hurry. It is a
kind of sorting stage where a prospective candidate may
be interviewed by junior executive who gives the
necessary information as to job, its characteristics, and
about the organization also.
At the same time, a necessary information is taken out
from the candidate such as his education, experience,
knowledge, and skills required for the job applied and
soon. The time, money and efforts of both the company
and the candidate is saved in this method by way of
avoiding unnecessary waiting for the rejected candidate
and a trouble of passing through the long selection
procedure.
2. Applications Forms Screening: Applying for a job
through application form is the oldest method for
collecting employee’s information such as age,
experience, education qualification, etc. In today’s
technological time, it is possible to download the
application forms of big companies through a website,
filling it, and uploading the same at that time only.
Generally, an application form contains the following list
of information:
Identity and personal information such as name, age,
address, mobile number, marital status, etc.
 Educational qualifications such as academic, technical,
and professional.
Experience-work experience, past and present job
experiences, salary drawn etc.
Research work-Projects and publications
Interest Area or miscellaneous facts-Extracurricular
activities, games, sports, membership of professional
national or international bodies.
References

3. Employment Test: Tests are conducted to match the

requirement of the job truly with the prospective
candidate. Test assesses the individual’s attitude,
behavior, and performance related to the job. Tests leads
to the better matching of candidate and the job by
revealing the facts and qualifications mentioned in the
form. The following types of tests can be conducted to
get the right candidate:
a. Intelligence test
b. Aptitude test
c. Occupational or professional test
d. Interest test
e. Personality test
No test can be foolproof. Care must be taken to design it
best without any biases, to be the good indicators of
one’s knowledge and skills.
4. Employment Interview: Interview is an essential face to
face interaction between the employer and the
candidate. The purpose of the interview is to assess the
mental and social make up and to know whether the
qualities possessed by him make him suitable for the job in
the concern. It is also the way to cross check the
information mention in the application form and
information obtained through tests. Interview should be
directed towards assessing ones behaviorand attitude
strictly towards the vacant job and therefore, job
specification based questions should only be preferred. It
is the way to judge the temperamental qualities of a
candidate.
The interview serves the purpose of:
Taking information from the candidate about his
education, experience and also to great extent, in
knowing his perception about the job.
Giving information to the candidate about the
organization, job, working conditions, working hours, etc.
To develop cordial relation with the candidate and to
motivate the right candidate to work for the organization.

5. Medical Test: Only a medically fit person can contribute

to the job in a good way and can help increasing
organizational productivity and also to achieve individual
as well as organizational objective. A medical
examination discloses the following:
The physical characteristics of individual, whether he is
physically fit for the job or not.
Reveals medical problems, if any.
Medical check as a record for employee’s health at the
time of selection which is also legally required.
The facts of having any contagious disease a person is
suffering from and affecting others at a workplace.
Candidates with physical disabilities and different types
of allergies can only be suitable for selected jobs through
medical advice.

6. Reference Checks: It means that a candidate is

required to give the name and address of the two or
three persons who know him well. These may be their
previous employers, heads of educational institutions or a
public figure. The purpose is to know about the candidate
and to get the frank opinion about him through these
references. A candidate can apply for jobs through
proper channel only, i.e., if a person is working in a
government organization or a public sector organization;
they have to route their applications through their present
employers only and they are referees in such a case.
7. Final Approval/appointment Letter: To the selected
candidate, an appointment letter is given mentioning his
name, job and post assigned, salary grade, the date by
which a candidate should join etc. Initially, an
appointment is on probation, generally for one or two
years and he is confirmed after the satisfactory
performance during the period. Once he joins the
organization, the orientation is organized and he is
placed on the job for which he is appointed.

Human Resource Planning is defined as strategy for

acquisition, utilization, improvement and preservation of
HR of an enterprise. HRP is a forward looking function. It
tries to assess human resource requirements in advance
keeping the production schedules, market fluctuations,
demand forecasts etc. in the background. The human
resource plan is subject to revision, of course and is tuned
to the requirements of the organization from time to time.
It is an integral part of overall corporate plan and reflects
the overall broad thinking of the management about
manpower needs within the organization.
Meaning :
It is planning for future personnel needs of an
organization. Identification of workforce requirements for
future i.e.
What quantity
What quality/skill requirement
What variety, and
What timing
Steps in manpower planning process :
a) Manpower forecasting
b) Manpower Inventory audit
c) Manpower gap
d) Manpower plans
Manpower forecast is predetermining/anticipating the
requirement of manpower in qualitative as well as
quantitative terms at a future point of time.
Manpower Inventory is inventorising the available people
i.e. the number of each type of personnel that are
currently available.
Manpower gap is the difference between the forecasted
requirement and the available human resources within
each category (which will have to be recruited to fulfillour
needs.)
Manpower plan: The plans to bridge the gap between
forecast needs and availability of Human Resources (e.g.
further recruitment plans, training plans, promotion plans
etc. to fill vacancies in future).
Thus, manpower planning aims at anticipating the
requirements of human resources at each level to prevent
shortages and surpluses of human resource

Benefits/uses/objectives of Human Resource plan

Determining the numbers to be employed at a new
location
If organizations overdo the size of their workforce it will
carry surplus or underutilized staff. Alternatively, if the
opposite misjudgement is made, staff may be
overstretched, making it hard or impossible to meet
production or service deadlines at the quality level
expected. So, the questions we ask are:
How can your output be improved through
understanding the interrelation between productivity,
work organization and technological development?
What does this means for staff numbers?
What techniques can be used to establish workforce
requirements?
Have more flexible work arrangement been
considered?
How the staff you need is to be acquired?

The principles can be applied to any exercise to define

workforce requirements, whether it be a business start-up,
a relocation, or the opening of new factory or office.

Retaining your highly skilled staff :

Issues about retention may not have been to the fore in
recent years, but all it needs is for organizations to lose key
staff to realize that an understanding of the pattern of
resignation is needed. Thus organizations should:
Monitor the extent of resignation
Discover the reasons for it
Establish what it is costing the organization
Compare loss rates with other similar organizations

Without this understanding, management may be

unaware of how many good quality staff are being lost.
This will cost the organization directly through the bill for
separation, recruitment and induction but also through a
loss of long-term capability. Having understood the nature
and extent of resignation steps can be taken to rectify the
situation. These may be relatively cheap and simple
solutions once the reasons for the departure of employees
have been identified. But it will depend on whether the
problem is peculiar to your own organization, and
whether it is concentrated in particular groups (eg. by
age, gender, grade or skill).
Managing an effective downsizing programme /
rightsizing :
This is an all too common issue for managers. How is the
workforce to be cut painlessly, while at the same time
protecting the long-term interests of the organization? A
question made all the harder by the time pressures
management is under, both because of business
necessities and employee anxieties. HRP helps by
considering:
the sort of workforce envisaged at the end of the
exercise
the pros and cons of the different routes to get there
the utility of retraining, redeployment and transfers
what the appropriate recruitment levels might be

Such an analysis can be presented to senior managers so

that the cost benefit of various methods of reduction can
be assessed, and the time taken to meet targets
established.
If instead the CEO announces on day one that there will
be no compulsory redundancies and voluntary severance
is open to all staff, the danger is that an unbalanced
workforce will result, reflecting the take-up of the
severance offer. It is often difficult and expensive to
replace lost quality and experience.
To facilitate change. HRP facilitates change, i.e.
whenever there is new technology or other changes; it
may require people with some specialized skills. As a result
Effective HRP can help in having such people in advance
in order to cope with the changes and facilitate change.
Many senior managers are troubled by this issue. They
have seen traditional career paths disappear. They have
had to bring in senior staff from elsewhere. But they
recognise that while this may have dealt with a short term
skills shortage, it has not solved the longer term question of
managerial supply: what sort, how many, and where will
they come from? To address these questions you need to
understand:
the present, career system (including patterns of
promotion and movement, of recruitment and wastage)
the characteristics of those who currently occupy senior
positions
the organization’s future supply of talent.

This then can be compared with future requirements, in

number and type. These will of course be affected by
internal structural changes and external business or
political changes. Comparing your current supply to this
revised demand will show surpluses and shortages which
will allow you to take corrective action such as:
recruiting to meet a shortage of those with senior
management potential
allowing faster promotion to fill immediate gaps
developing cross functional transfers for high fliers
hiring on fixed-term contracts to meet short-term
skills/experience deficits
reducing staff numbers to remove blockages or
forthcoming surpluses.

Thus appropriate recruitment, deployment and severance

policies can be pursued to meet business needs.
Otherwise processes are likely to be haphazard and
inconsistent. The wrong sort of staff is engaged at the
wrong time on the wrong contract. It is expensive and
embarrassing to put such matters right.
Succession planning : is the process by which companies
and businesses ensure that there is an orderly and
planned transfer of powers, responsibilities and job
functions when employees –usually in executive and
management positions, leave the company through
retirement, or other means.
If we think of human resource planning as ensuring that
the right people and right skills are available so the
company can meet its strategic and shorter term goals,
then it’s clear that succession planning is an important
part of this process.
In terms of process, succession planning involves
identifying positions and roles where vacancies are
anticipated, and identifying how the company will fill
those positions. When it’s determined that succession
planning will rely on internal promotions, some companies
will begin a process of identifying one (or more than one
potential candidate), and begin the development
process with them, so that when it is time for a person to
step up, they have ample experience and the necessary
skills to do so. Many MNCs have this policy of having a
‘hot list’ of promising candidates in advance. for e.g. HLL,
Proctor & Gamble, Godrej etc.
Further, a person targeted to fill an anticipated vacancy
from within may be encouraged to take relevant
university courses, attend seminars for skills building,
shadow the current incumbent to learn the ropes, receive
coaching and mentoring from the incumbent, participate
in job rotations, and other developmental activities.
While it may seem that succession planning (and
developmental planning) applies only to internal staff
(preparing an existing employee to move up) it can be
used with a new hire, who may be hired before the
incumbent leaves, and is prepared for the full position
while the incumbents is still place. The purpose is to ensure
continuity of operations.

Where Does Training and Staff Development Fit with

Human Resources Planning?
When companies have well thought out and useful
human resource plans, it allows them to move training
and staff development from a hit or miss process to one
that is also strategic, organized, and designed to
contribute to the company’s bottom line.
Much that passes for training in corporations yields to
value at all to the company because training and staff
development dangle unconnected to business needs,
present and future. Employees to go training because the
seminar “sounds good”, or “might be useful”, and while
it’s sound to develop and train employees as an ends in
itself, it also makes sense to choose the kinds of training
that will result in employees being better contributors now,
and also better contributors in the future.
A sound human resources plan will anticipate the skills
that will be needed in the future, identify gaps in skills that
are present, and will be needed, and then plan for the
development of staff in advance, so that the skills will be
available when required.
When training and staff development are linked to
identified present and future needs via HR planning, it also
allows for the use of multiple kinds of development
activities, and not just reliance on training for skill
development. This is because when skill needs are
anticipated earlier enough, longer term learning and
development activities can be used. For example, job
sharing and rotation will fit when there is enough time.
Human resource planning can be such a “big” endeavor,
with planning for all kinds of things, like quality staff
retention layoffs, training and development,
compensation, etc. that it’s hard to provide hints and tips
in anything less than a book sized manual. However, if we
take a “view from the top” perspective, there are some
things that apply to most human resources planning
functions, and are important in making the process
effective, or even to make it part of creating a
competitive advantage in the market place.
First, human resource planning needs to be linked to the
larger business planning or the overall strategic planning
process. HR planning is NOT an end to itself, and neither is
HR management an end in itself. The function is meant to
support and enable the company to attain its business
goals, so as such it needs to be linked to an and driven by
those business or strategic goals. This is called vertical
integration.
Second, and related, it’s important that when HR
planning is lead by the HR department, it must be
remembered that the whole process is to serve the
stakeholders and “customers’ of the human resources
department. This means that the planning process MUST
actively involve those stakeholders and customers –
managers, executives, even line employees.
Third, HR planning can’t be effective without an
understanding of the company or organization, its
managers and employees, its mission and issues, etc. and
the environment in which it works. The Public Service
Human Resources Agency of Canada puts it this way.
Good HR planning entails understanding the
demographics you know the numbers
o Data
o Profiles
o Projections

ETHICS
INTRODUCTION
•Etymologically the term “ethics” correspond to the
Greek word “ethos” which means character, habit,
customs, ways of behaviour, etc. Ethics is also called
“moral philosophy”. The word “moral” comes from Latin
word “mores” which signifies customs, character,
behaviour, etc. Thus ethics may be defined as the
systematic study of human actions from the point of view
of their rightfulness or wrongfulness, as means for the
attainment of the ultimate happiness. It is the reflective
study of what is good or bad in that part of human
conduct for which human has some personal
responsibility. In simple words ethics refers to what is good
and the way to get it, and what is bad and how to avoid
it. It refers to what ought to be done to achieve what is
good and what ought not to be done to avoid what is
evil.

•As a philosophical discipline, ethics is the study of the values and

guidelines by which we live. It also involves the justification of these
values and guidelines. It is not merely following a tradition or
custom. Instead it requires analysis an evaluation of these guidelines
in light of universal principles. As moral philosophy, ethics is the
philosophical thinking about morality, moral problems, and moral
judgements.

•Ethics is a science in as much as it is a set or body of reasoned

truths organised in a logical order and having its specific material and
formal objects. It is the science of what human ought to be by reason
of what one is. It is a rational science in so far as its principles are
deduced by human’s reason from the objects that concern the free
will. Besides it has for its ulterior end the art by which human may
live uprightly or comfortably to right reason. It is
normative/regulative science in as much as it regulates and directs
human’s life and gives the right orientation to one’s existence.

•Ethics is also theoretical and practical. It is theoretical in as much as

it provides the fundamental principles on the basis of which moral
judgements are arrived at. It is practical in as much as it is concerned
about an end to be gained, and the means of attaining it.
•Ethics is sometimes distinguished from morality. In such cases,
ethics is the explicit philosophical reflection on moral beliefs and
practices while morality refers to the first-order beliefs and practices
about good and evil by means of which we guide our behaviour (e.g.
music and musicology). However, in most cases they are referred to
as having the same meaning.
•Ethics is not merely a set of ‘codes’. Ethics certainly deals with
moral codes yet one cannot identify ethics to moral codes. Ethics is
not primarily to restrict one’s behaviour, rather to help one to find
what is good and how to get it. The obligatory character of ethical
norms derives from the very purpose of ethical enquiry, i.e. to
discover the most ultimate principles of explanation or the most
ultimate reasons whone ought to do anything.

SCOPE OF ETHICS
•Ethics deals with voluntary actions. We can distinguish between
human actions and actions of human: human actions are those
actions that are done by human consciously, deliberately and in view
of an end. Actions of human may not be wilfully, voluntarily,
consciously and deliberately done but all the same they are done by
human (e.g. sleeping, walking, etc.). It is the intention which makes
the difference between human action and action of human. In ethics
we deal only with human actions.

•Every science and subject has got a fixed area of study. It moves
within the ambit of that subject matter. Ethics has also an area of
study. The problem of ethics is related to our daily life. It is one of
the important fields of study in modern times and without morality
no human institution can progress. Ethics is a study of those
cherished ideals and values which is vital for the growth,
development and progress of human society. It is a matter of regret
that people have forgotten the higher values of life and are
hankering after power and money. Prof. Mackenzie says “The
materialization of value has lowered down morals of human society”.
Thus morality is an important trait of human personality. The Scope
of Ethics is wide which is mainly concerned with the principles or
causes of action as :
•What obligation is common to all ?
•What is good in all good acts?
•The sense of duty and responsibility.
•Individual and Society.
•The entire question is laid under the scope of ethics.

ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES

•Rapid advances in the science of genetics and its applications have
presented new and complex ethical and policy issues for individuals
and society. Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) programs that
identify and address these implications have been an integral part of
the U.S. Human Genome Project (HGP) since its inception. These
programs have resulted in a body of work that promotes education
and helps guide the conduct of genetic research and the
development of related medical and public policies.

•A continuing challenge is to safe guard the privacy of individuals and

groups who contribute DNA samples for large-scale sequence-
variation studies. Other concerns have been to anticipate how the
resulting data may affect concepts of race and ethnicity; identify
potential uses (or misuses) of genetic data in workplaces, schools,
and courts; identify commercial uses; and foresee impacts of genetic
advances on the concepts of humanity and personal responsibility.
The project's goals included not only identifying all of the
approximately 24,000 genes in the human genome, but also to
address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that might arise
from the availability of genetic information. Five percent of the
annual budget was allocated to address the ELSI arising from the
project.
The main criticism of ELSI is the failure to address the conditions
raised by population-based research, especially with regard to
unique processes for group decision-making and cultural worldviews.
Genetic variation research such as HGP is group population research,
but most ethical guidelines, according to Harry, focus on individual
rights instead of group rights. She says the research represents a
clash of culture: indigenous people's life revolves around collectively
and group decision making whereas the Western culture promotes
individuality. Harry suggests that one of the challenges of ethical
research is to include respect for collective review and decision
making, while also upholding the Western model of individual rights.

ELSI RESEARCH GOALS

•The HGP is probably one of the most profound research efforts in
human history, which will certainly impact all of us because of the
many implications for medicine and human health. The Genetic
advancements and Human Genome Project has the potential to heal
and restore the brokenness of creation. However it has serious
ethical, social, philosophical and religious implications. Ethical, legal
and social implications of the Human Genome Project are privacy
and confidentiality, psychological impact and stigmatization, genetic
testing, reproductive issues, education, standards, and quality
control, commercialization, conceptual and philosophical
implications.
•Fairness and privacy: fairness in the use of genetic information.
Who should have access to your genetic information? (Chan and Chia
2003)
•Psychological stigmatization: how does knowing your predisposition
to disease affect an individual?
•Genetic testing: should screening be done when there is no
treatment available?
•Reproductive issues: Reproductive issues including adequate
informed consent for complex and potentially controversial
procedures, use of genetic information in reproductive decision
making, and reproductive rights.
•Clinical issues: implementation of standards and quality control
measures in testing procedures.
•Commercialization: commercialization of products includes
property rights (patents, copyrights, and trade secrets) and
accessibility of data and materials.

Some of the other related issues that are related to ELSI are:
•Examine issues surrounding the completion of the human DNA
sequence and the study of human genetic variation.
•Examine issues raised by the integration of genetic technologies
and information into health care and public health activities.
•Examine issues raised by the integration of knowledge about
genomics and gene-environment interactions in non-clinical settings.
•Explore how new genetic knowledge may interact with a variety of
philosophical, theological, and ethical perspectives.
•Explore how racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors affect the
use, understanding, and interpretation of genetic information; the
use of genetic services; and the development of policy.

ETHICAL ISSUES
•It is often asked whether it is right for human beings to manipulate
human genes at all, as if this in some sense “playing God” by altering
fundamental aspects of human makeup which are God’s prerogative
only, or simply that it is a dangerous “tampering with nature” in a
way which we have neither the right nor the skill to do. We need to
worry about whether genetic technology generated from the HGP
will make us less accepting of people who are different. For example,
if it is possible to predict and prevent the birth of a child with a gene-
related disorder, how will we react to children who have that
disorder? At the same time the non reproductive cloning requires
abortion (Kilner, Pentzand Young 1997). Here life is created
specifically for the purpose of destroying it and then cannibalizing it
essentially for spare parts. Human life is intrinsically sacred even at
this early stage of development.
•Genetic modification of trees to reduce Co2 levels is a new attempt
in genetic world. It aims to bring a benefit to all people which would
be treating them as an end in themselves. A comparison with the
duty based ethics of Kant would show more light into this. Immanuel
Kant says that we should treat each person as an end in themselves
and not merely as a means to an end. Kant see it as a duty to
implement this technology, provides we look as much care as
possible to ensure that it was for the welfare (Lewis 2007). Thus the
humanity will benefit from a stabilization of the climate by
genetically modified trees. It is Kantian duty to act in the interests of
future generations to treat them all as ends in themselves. However
if something goes wrong, then humanity would suffer from changes
to their eco-system.

What are some of the Ethical considerations for using gene therapy?
Some questions to consider are:
•What is normal and what is a disability or disorder, and who
decides?
•Are disabilities diseases? Do they need to be cured or prevented?
•Does searching for a cure demean the lives of individuals presently
affected by disabilities?
•Is somatic gene therapy (which is done in the adult cells of persons
known to have the disease) more or less ethical than gremlin gene
therapy (which is done in egg and sperm cells and prevents the trait
from being passed on to further generations)? In cases of somatic
gene therapy, the procedure may have to be repeated in future
generations.
•Preliminary attempts at gene therapy are exorbitantly expensive.
Who will have access to these therapies? Who will pay for their use?

•What are the ethical issues surrounding gene? Because gene

therapy involves making changes to the body’s set of basic
instructions, it raises many unique ethical concerns. The ethical
questions surrounding gene therapy include:
•How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished?
•Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a
disability or disorder?
•Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the
wealthy?
•Could the widespread use of gene therapy make society less
accepting of people who are different?
•Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic
human traits such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability?
•Short-lived nature of gene therapy –Before gene therapy can
become a permanent cure for any condition, the therapeutic DNA
introduced into target cells must remain functional and the cells
containing the therapeutic DNA must be long-lived and stable.
Problems with integrating therapeutic DNA into the genome and the
rapidly dividing nature of many cells prevent gene therapy from
achieving any long-term benefits. Patients will have to undergo
multiple rounds of gene therapy.
•Immune response –Anytime a foreign object is introduced into
human tissues, the immune system has evolved to attack the
invader. The risk of stimulating the immune system in a way that
reduces gene therapy effectiveness is always a possibility.
Furthermore, the immune-system's enhanced response to invaders
that it has seen before makes it difficult for gene therapy to be
repeated in patients.

•Problems with viral vectors –Viruses, the carrier of choice in most

gene therapy studies, present a variety of potential problems to the
patient —toxicity, immune and inflammatory responses, and gene
control and targeting issues. In addition, there is always the fear that
the viral vector, once inside the patient, may recover its ability to
cause disease.
•Multi-gene disorders –Conditions or disorders that arise from
mutations in a single gene are the best candidates for gene therapy.
Unfortunately, some of the most commonly occurring disorders,
such as heart disease, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease,
arthritis, and diabetes, are caused by the combined effects of
variations in many genes. Multi-gene or multi-factorial disorders
such as these would be especially difficult to treat effectively using
gene therapy.
•Current gene therapy research has focused on treating individuals
by targeting the therapy to body cells such as bone marrow or blood
cells. This type of gene therapy cannot be passed on to a person’s
children. Gene therapy could be targeted to egg and sperm cells
(germ cells), however, which would allow the inserted gene to be
passed, on to future generations. This approach is known as germ-
line gene therapy (Harwood 1994).

•Preliminary attempts at gene therapy are exorbitantly expensive.

Who will have access to these therapies? Who will pay for their use?
The eradication of disease through germ-line therapy might not
seem, by itself, to raise many ethical questions. After all, humans
have eradicated the smallpox virus from the world, why not diseases
with genetic components? Do doctors not have the moral obligation
to provide the very best treatment to their patients and would not
the eradication of the disease be more cost effective in the long run
than continually treating adults with somatic gene therapy? The
main ethical problem arises in defining a "treatable" disease. Some
might say that eradication of a genetic disease for which there no
treatment is and which is always fatal, should be pursued with all
means possible. Others say that this would be the start of a slippery
slope moving on toward the treatment of less obvious diseases and
then to genetic enhancement.

•Some argue that if the technology is advanced in order to eradicate

some diseases, it will inevitably be used by parents wishing to
"enhance" their children, giving them the genes for raven black hair
and blue eyes or athletic prowess. It was serious ethical concerns
about genetic enhancement that prompted the Council of Europe to
adopt the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity
of the Human Being with Regard to the Application of Biology and
Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. Article 13
of the Convention states that "an intervention seeking to modify the
human genome may only be undertaken for preventive, diagnostic
or therapeutic purposes and only if its aim is not to introduce any
modification in the genome of any descendants.

“Article 11 of the UNESCO (Universal Declaration on the Human

Genome and Human Rights) states that "practices which are contrary
to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning of human beings,
shall not be permitted." It is left to individual states; however, to
define exactly what they believe these practices to be. Thus, while
some countries, such as the signatories to the European Convention,
may prohibit germ-line therapy, others may not. It is the existence of
national differences in regulation of research on human embryos
that has allowed controversial research to be performed, for
example, in Singapore. Regulation has thus slowed down the
progress of research but not prevented it.

•Another ethical consideration with respect to germ-line therapy is

defining what is normal, what a disability is, and what a disease is.
Which of the genetic variations within a population ought to be
eradicated, if any? In trying to eradicate a certain variation, are we
demeaning those in the population who currently carry the gene?
Somatic gene therapy has its own, less controversial, set of ELS
implications. These may be less ominous than eugenics but are of
perhaps more immediate concern, given the more advanced state of
the technology. Effectively, gene therapy involves the introduction of
a properly functioning gene into target tissues in the hopes that it
will be translated into a properly functioning protein, which will mask
the malfunctioning protein. Often the new gene is placed into a
modified virus, which is then introduced into a patient in the hope
that the gene will be introduced into a tissue and properly
expressed.
•Such types of therapy, after much research on laboratory in
animals, have now reached the clinical trial stage. Unfortunately,
what works for a mouse does not always work for a human being. In
one highly publicized case, a patient, Jesse Gelsinger, was given an
injection of a virus in the hope of introducing a protein into the liver.
Mouse studies showed good absorption of the gene into the liver;
however, the mouse has a much higher concentration of viral
receptors on its liver cells than do humans. The virus did not absorb
well into the human patient and, for still unknown reasons, created a
massive immune response, causing the patient to die. The original
plan for the trials had been to use the virus only on children in a
coma caused by the lack of the particular liver enzyme; however,
ethical and safety reviews caused the researchers to change the trial
direction and use adults only.

•Many questions are now being asked regarding the ethics and
scientific judgment of those performing such clinical trials. How well
are "volunteer" patients informed of the possible risks and benefits?
How objective are investigators who have equity in the companies
that are funding the trials? One of the risks at this stage of gene
therapy is the excessive public anticipation, created in part by some
researchers, with respect to future benefits. This anticipation may
turn to public distrust of science, if the benefits fail to be realized and
problems such as that in the Gelsinger case continue to occur. Some
clinical trials have shown positive results, and so there is still hope
that somatic gene therapy will become a powerful medical tool
(Green 2007).

LEGAL ISSUES
•Medical therapies: Scientists are now discovering the genes which
"trigger" various genetic diseases which, in turn, constitute a large
part of the inherited causes of the suffering of humanity. For
example, the genes which express Huntington's disease, a serious
affliction, have been identified on the human genome. Their
discovery permits the conduct of extremely accurate tests which can
now identify those people who carry and may transmit this genetic
condition. That knowledge would, theoretically, in combination with
prenatal tests and abortion, permit the future elimination of carriers
of Huntington’s. So we need to ask the following questions:

•Is such elimination of carriers of Huntington’s.desirable? Can it be

distinguished from the abortion of a foetus with Down syndrome?
•Where does this process of medical elimination of the results of
"defective" genes begin and end?

•Is there a less life-destructive means of using the genetic

information to delay the onset or diminish the symptoms of
Huntington's disease whilst respecting the life of a person born with
those genes or others like it? Criminal Law: For the lawyer, the
discovery of genetic causes of disorders and of some antisocial
conduct may have implications for the future. The criminal law is
built upon a general hypothesis of free will. For the crime to be
established it is normally necessary to prove both the act of the
accused and the will occasioning that act. Some related issues are: •
What are the implications for the law of discovering that, in some
cases at least, for some people, the act is practically nothing but the
product of a genetic characteristic?
•Can we persist, in all cases, with the unquestioned hypothesis of
free will in the face of scientific knowledge which casts doubt upon
it?

•Privacy and Confidentiality: The basic rule of the healthcare

professions has long been respect for the confidences of the patient.
This rule goes back at least to the Hippocratic Oath. It existed in
ancient civilisations.
•When a disorder is of a genetic characteristic, is the "patient" the
individual or the entire family?
•Does a family in such circumstances have a right to override the
wishes of the patient and to secure data about the patient's genes
relevant to genetic features important for them all?
•Should a patient have a right not to know the determinants of his or
her future medical conditions?

•Third Party Interests: This last question leads to the rights of third
parties. Should an employer have a right to require an employee to
submit to genetic testing to show, with greater perfection, the likely
future health status of the employee? Should an insurer be entitled
to secure a detailed genetic profile of the insured? Until now,
insurance has generally involved the sharing, within the community,
of the risks attached to medical conditions which are largely
unpredictable. If such conditions can be predicted with perfect or
near perfect accuracy, would that not shift the scales unfairly to the
advantage of insurers? Where insurers can require those seeking
insurance to submit to old-fashioned medical tests, is it sensible to
close off knowledge of the best medical information that may be
made available by genetic tests?

•Intellectual Property: One of the key issues of genetic research

concerns the desirability of permitting the patenting of human genes
or their sequences as the basis for future therapeutic applications. Of
course, in every country, the patentability of such matter depends
upon the terms of the local law on intellectual property protection.
That law is itself normally the product of national legislation and is
often influenced by international law. At conferences on the
genome, strong views are commonly expressed by participants from
developing countries and elsewhere about this topic. They urge that
the human genome is the common heritage of humanity. That it
belongs to the human species as a whole -some say to God -and not
to private corporations engaged in research, however potentially
beneficial such research may prove to be. They point to the fact that
Watson and Crick never attempted to secure the slightest
commercial advantage for themselves from their discoveries.

•Human Rights: An important element in UNESCO's Universal

Declaration on Human rights and the Human Genome, to which I will
now turn, is the attempt to reconcile the development of genetic
technology and research on the human genome with fundamental
human rights and human dignity inhering in every individual
(Podimattom2003).

SOCIAL ISSUES
•The HGP is rich with promises, but also fraught with social
implications. It is quite likely that the new knowledge from the HGP
will be used in ways that don't always have to do with health. Our
challenge is to reduce any negative impacts, which result from the
misuse of genetic information. Researchers, scientists, business and
governmental people who are involved in the HGP must avoid any
activity that could cause harm while they pursue professional and
personal goals.

•On the other hand, individuals not directly participating in genetic

research are responsible to educate themselves and seek
information about potential risks and benefits of genetic research
and about the interventions that it produces before they utilize new
genetic technologies. Individuals with access to information about
their genetic endowments will be able to predict their susceptibility
to genetically related disorders in the future (Chan and Chia 2003).
Threats evolve around the major question of whether or not an
individual has access to genetic technologies. One type of threat
occurs when individuals are denied access to technologies that
would benefit them. The likelihood of genetic technologies becoming
available to some peoples but not to others, and that a major
determinant of access will be wealth, raises profound social issues. In
view of Global collaboration the HGP should also has to deal with
rules especially fair regulations that concern the access and uses of
the new information.
•The regulation of access of technologies and information obtained
from the HGP should be handled very carefully and is probably one
of the most difficult tasks for the future. This is especially true since
the project has international dimensions and opinions on this issue
differ among participating countries. That leads into another
question, whether countries that do not directly contribute to the
success of the HGP should be treated differently in terms of access to
information and technologies being generated from the HGP.

•Humans are the moral agents in this world with a capacity to think,
evaluate, choose, communicate and articulate. It has been argued
that the most significant issue genetic science forces on society
concerns the understanding of human nature. Objectification also
represents a fundamental breach of human dignity. To treat persons
who are the sources of genetic material for cloning or persons who
are created through cloning as mere objects, means or instruments
violates the religious principle of human dignity as well as the secular
principle of respect for persons.