3.5.4 Text for discussion.

a. Look up the dictionary or Unit 3 Glossary for the meaning and pronunciation of the following words and word-combinations and use them to discuss the problems outlined in the text.

Training courses, training schemes, induction, apprenticeship, trainee, operative level, supervisor level, delegated, in-company, to liase, polytechnics, sponsored, ready made, an aid.

b. Briefly scan the text and outline the list of major points.

c. Read the text more carefully and comment on the following items:

- the necessity of training personnel at all levels in the organisation;

- the costs of training personnel;

- the costs of not training personnel;

- the system of training personnel in Russian firms.

Training Strategy

An effective system of training will cover the whole organisation, at all levels. It is now recognised that the first contact a customer has with the firm is likely to be with personnel at a lower level in the organisation. Schemes of training must be developed at various levels in the organisation and stages in the employee’s career including: induction, apprenticeship or trainee scheme, operative level, supervisor level, management and development. The development of training programmes will usually be delegated to the Personnel Manager. His role will be to:

• consult with all functional departments to discuss specific training needs;

• develop and implement in-company training programmes;

• liase with colleges, polytechnics and universities in the development sponsored training programmes (in the case of large firms) or to adapt company training to fit ready made courses available at local colleges;

• advise employees on available college courses, etc;

• maintain training records as an aid to future recruitment programmes and promotions.

3.6 Render the passage in English using the English equivalents of the italicised phrases given in Russian. Express the main idea of the passage in one sentence.

В коммерческой организации самым важным и сложным (complex) ресурсом являются люди, работающие в ней. Поэтому (So,) управление персоналом состоит в том, чтобы наиболее эффективно использовать (is all about making the most effective use of) умения и навыки людских ресурсов в компании.

Оно также состоит в обеспечении обучения (providing training to) персонала, чтобы повысить их навыки (to enhance their skills), с тем чтобы (so that) они могли достичь целей организации быстрее и более эффективным образом (in a more efficient manner). Управление персоналом начинается с набора квалифицированного персонала для компании. Управление персоналом далее (further) включает руководство их карьерным ростом (career growth). Отделу по работе с персоналом доверяется (is entrusted with) функция управления персоналом. Сотрудники (Executives in the) отдела, известные как (known as) Менеджеры по работе с персоналом, выполняют (discharge) функцию управления персоналом. Их задачи (tasks) включают классификацию работ, подготовку заработной платы, установку шкалы ставок оплаты труда (fixation of salary scales) работников на всех уровнях в организации. Они также занимаются (are concerned with) дисциплинарным воздействием на недобросовестных сотрудников (disciplinary action against errant employees) и переговорами (negotiations) с профсоюзами работников. Функция управления персоналом также включает разработку (development) стандартов безопасности и передового опыта (best practices), пенсионных планов, пособий по болезни (health benefits) и группового страхования.

UNIT 3 Glossary

CAREER LADDER A metaphor or buzzword used to denote vertical job promotion. In business and  human resources management, the ladder typically describes the progression from entry level positions to higher levels of pay, skill, responsibility, or authority. This metaphor is spatially oriented, and frequently used to denote upward mobility within a stratified promotion model. Because the ladder does not provide for lateral movement, it is assumed to be a singular track with the greatest benefits at the top. Job training programs, funded by public sector workforce funds and private foundations, have made attempts to increase the number of career ladders in various sectors, including health care, finance, and hospitality.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS   (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, perqs or perks) are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. In most countries, most kinds of employee benefits are taxable to at least some degree. Some of these benefits are: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance (health, dental, life etc.),disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid),social security, profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits. The purpose of the benefits is to increase the economic security of employees. The term perqs (also perks) is often used colloquially to refer to those benefits of a more discretionary nature. Often, perks are given to employees who are doing notably well and/or have seniority. Common perks are take-home vehicles, hotelstays, free refreshments, leisure activities on work time (golf), stationery, allowances for lunch, etc.

HEADHUNTER It is an industry term for a third-party recruiter who seeks out candidates often when normal recruitment efforts have failed. Headhunters are generally considered more aggressive than in-house recruiters or may have pre-existing industry experience and contacts. They may use advanced sales techniques such as initially posing as clients to gather employee contacts as well as visiting candidate offices. They may also purchase expensive lists of names and job titles but more often will generate their own lists. They may arrange a meeting or a formal interview between their client and the candidate and will usually prepare the candidate for the interview, help negotiate the salary and conduct closure to the search. They are frequently members in good standing of industry trade groups and associations. Headhunters will often attend trade shows and other meetings nationally or even internationally that may be attended by potential candidates and hiring managers.

HUMAN ASSETS ACCOUNTING Work done to quantify the value of human capital to organizations - the buzz word refers to "the intellectual capital" of the organisation.

HUMAN CAPITAL The sum total of a person's productive knowledge, experience, and training. The acquisition of human capital is what makes a person more productive. One of the most notable methods of stocking up on human capital is through formal education--from grade school to advanced college degrees. However, human capital is also effectively obtained through less formal training and highly informal on-the-job experiences.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT - Human resource management is concerned with the development and implementation of people strategies, which are integrated with corporate strategies, and ensures that the culture, values and structure of the organization, and the quality, motivation and commitment of its members contribute fully to the achievement of its goals. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) It is concerned with carrying out the same functional activities traditionally performed by the personnel function, such as HR planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection, employee relations, performance management, employee appraisals, compensation management, training and development etc. But, the HRM approach performs these functions in a qualitatively distinct way, when compared with Personnel Management.

HUMAN RESOURCES The workforce of an organization. the office or department in an organization that interviews, appoints, or keeps records of employees. It is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources). This function title is often abbreviated to the initials "HR". Human resources is a relatively modern management term, coined as late as the 1960s. The origins of the function arose in organizations that introduced 'welfare management' practices and also in those that adopted the principles of 'scientific management'. From these terms emerged a largely administrative management activity, coordinating a range of worker related processes and becoming known, in time, as the 'personnel function'. Human resources progressively became the more usual name for this function, in the first instance in the United States as well as multinational or international corporations, reflecting the adoption of a more quantitative as well as strategic approach to workforce management, demanded by corporate management to gain a competitive advantage, utilizing limited skilled and highly skilled workers.

INCENTIVE A cost or benefit that motivates a decision or action by employees, consumers, businesses, or other participants in the economy. Some incentives are explicitly created by government policies to achieve a desired end or they can just be part of the wacky world we call economics. Other incentives are created by employers to motivate employees.

JOB Specific employment activities associated with a production process that are usually undertaken by a single worker. For example, someone might have the job of serving food or repairing cars. Others might have the job of teaching economics. The word "job" is the primary designation applied to a worker when hired by an employer. It is commonly used as a modifier for other terms, such as job satisfaction or job security, as reference to specific aspects of working or employment.

JOB ANALYSIS The process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and specifying the skills and other requirements necessary to perform the job.

JOB DESCRIPTION A list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range. Job descriptions are usually narrative, but some may instead comprise a simple list of competencies; for instance, strategic human resource planning methodologies may be used to develop acompetency architecture for an organization, from which job descriptions are built as a shortlist of competencies.

JOB ENRICHMENT An attempt to motivate employees by giving them the opportunity to use the range of their abilities. It is an idea that was developed by the American psychologist Frederick Hertzberg in the 1950s. It can be contrasted to job enlargement which simply increases the number of tasks without changing the challenge. As such job enrichment has been described as 'vertical loading' of a job, while job enlargement is 'horizontal loading'. An enriched job should ideally contain: a range of tasks and challenges of varying difficulties (Physical or Mental); a complete unit of work - a meaningful task; feedback, encouragement and communication.

JOB SATISFACTION The satisfaction or utility that a worker receives from employment. Job satisfaction might result from the working environment (friendly co-workers, supportive boss) or from the type of work performed (playing sports, creating artwork, accomplishing goals). Satisfaction generated by a job is part of the "total compensation" an employee receives, meaning workers with more job satisfaction are often willing to accept a lower monetary wage payment.

JOB SECURITY The prospects of continued employment with little or no fear of being forced to leave. Job security is often part of the terms of employment and is designed to reduce uncertainty for both employees and employers. However, it can also reduce worker productivity and restrict the efficient movement of resources between jobs.

JOB SPECIFICATION A statement of employee characteristics and qualifications required for satisfasctory performance of defined duties and tasks comprising a specific job or function. Job specification is derived from job analysis.

LABOUR One of the four basic categories of resources, or factors of production (the other three are capital, land, and entrepreneurship). Labour is the services and efforts of humans that are used for production. While labour is commonly thought of as those who work in factories, it includes all human efforts (except entrepreneurship), such as those provided by clerical workers, technicians, professionals, managers, and even company presidents.

LABOUR AGREEMENT A formal, official, legal contract between a firm and the labor/trade union representing the firm's employees. Such an agreement stipulates the various aspects of employment, including wages, fringe benefits, vacations, layoffs, promotions, and grievance procedures. The terms of the agreement are generally negotiated through the collective bargaining process. Should the collective bargaining process breakdown, the terms of the labour agreement might be helped along through a third-party mediator. If this doesn't help, then the labour union might call a strike or the firm might impose a lockout. Once in effect, any questions about the terms of the agreement are often subject to arbitration.

LABOUR TURNOVER or staff turnover  is the rate at which an employer gains and loses employees. Simple ways to describe it are "how long employees tend to stay" or "the rate of traffic through the revolving door." Turnover is measured for individual companies and for their industry as a whole. If an employer is said to have a high turnover relative to its competitors, it means that employees of that company have a shorter average tenure than those of other companies in the same industry. High turnover may be harmful to a company's productivity if skilled workers are often leaving and the worker population contains a high percentage of novice workers.

LABOUR/TRADE UNION An organization of workers or employees who act jointly to negotiate with their employers over wages, fringe benefits, working conditions, and other facets of employment. The main function of unions is to provide a balance for the market control exerted over labour by big business.

MANPOWER Power in terms of people available or required for work or military service.

MANPOWER PLANNING It is a dynamic process which enables growth of an organization through optimized used of its most important asset - its employees. It is a process which defines staffing requirements & maintains the same through promotions & hiring of fresh talent.

MORALE Also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others. The second term applies particularly to military personnel and to members of sports teams, but is also applicable in business and in any other organizational context, particularly in times of stress or controversy. While the term is often used by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, obedience and self-discipline of a group tasked with performing duties assigned by a superior, more accurately it refers to the level of individual faith in the collective benefit gained by such performance.

NATURAL WASTAGE The process of employees leaving their jobs because they want to retire or move to other jobs, rather than because their employer makes them leave.

PENSION In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. The term retirement plan refers to a pension granted upon retirement. Retirement plans may be set up by employers, insurance companies, the government or other institutions such as employer associations or trade unions. Called retirement plans in the United States, they are commonly known as pension schemes in the United Kingdom and Ireland and superannuation plans  in Australia and New Zealand. Retirement pensions are typically in the form of a guaranteed life annuity, thus insuring against the risk of longevity. A pension created by an employer for the benefit of an employee is commonly referred to as an occupational or employer pension. Labour unions, the government, or other organizations may also fund pensions. Occupational pensions are a form of deferred compensation, usually advantageous to employee and employer for tax reasons. Many pensions also contain an additional insurance aspect, since they often will pay benefits to survivors or disabled beneficiaries.

  PERSONNEL The body of persons employed by or active in an organization, business, or service. An administrative division of an organization concerned with the body of persons employed by or active in it and often acting as a liaison between different departments. Also called human resources.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT The recruitment of qualified personnel for a company. It involves directing their growth through the ranks. It is also concerned with how to channelize the energies of personnel in a way that will maximize the turnover of the organization. The Human Resources department in a company is entrusted with the personnel management function. Personnel Managers discharge the function of personnel management. Personnel management tasks include the classification of jobs, preparation of wages, and the fixation of salary scales of employees at all the various levels in an organization. It is concerned with disciplinary action against errant employees and also their counseling. It is also concerned with service contracts and negotiations with employee unions. Personnel management provides for the development of employees. It is responsible for the optimum training of qualified employees.

RECRUITMENT It refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. The recruitment industry has four main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, "headhunters" for executive and professional recruitment, and niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing. Some organizations use employer branding strategy and in-house recruitment instead of agencies. Recruitment-related functions are generally carried out by an organization's human resources staff. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, screening potential candidates using tests and/or interviews, selecting candidates based on the results of the tests and/or interviews, and on-boarding to ensure the candidate is able to fulfill their new role effectively.

RECRUITMENT/EMPLOYMENT AGENCY Companies which attempt to match the employment needs of an employer with a worker having the required skill set and interests. Some agencies are privately owned while others are sponsored by government.

REDEPLOYMENT The redeployment of forces, troops, workers, or resources involves putting them in a different place from where they were before, or using them for a different task or purpose.   

REDUNDANCY (UK) (Layoff in British and American English) is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or (more commonly) a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs. Originally the term  layoff  referred exclusively to a temporary interruption in work, as when factory work cyclically falls off. The term however nowadays usually means the permanent elimination of a position, requiring the addition of "temporary" to specify the original meaning. Many synonyms such as  downsizing  exist. Downsizing is the "conscious use of permanent personnel reductions in an attempt to improve efficiency and/or effectiveness". Since the 1980s, downsizing has gained strategic legitimacy. Indeed, recent research on downsizing in the U.S., UK, and Japan suggests that downsizing is being regarded by management as one of the preferred routes to turning around declining organisations, cutting costs, and improving organisational performance, most often as a cost-cutting measure.

RETIREMENT PENSION  A pension given to a person who has retired from regular employment, either one paid by the state or one arising from the person's former employment. 

RETRAINING  It is the process of learning a new skill or trade, often in response to a change in the economic environment. Generally it reflects changes in profession rather than an "upward" movement in the same field.

SOCIAL SECURITY A system for providing financial assistance to the poor, elderly, and disabled. The social security system in the United States was established by the Social Security Act (1935) in response to the devastating problems of the Great Depression. Our current Social Security system has several parts. The first part, Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) is the one that usually comes to mind when the phrase "Social Security" comes up. It provides benefits to anyone who has reached a certain age and who has paid taxes into the program while employed. It also provides benefits to qualified recipients survivors or dependents. The second part of the system is Disability Insurance (DI), which provides benefits to workers and their dependents in the case of physical disabilities that keeps them from working. The third part is Hospital Insurance (HI), more commonly termed medicare. Medicare provides two types of benefits, hospital coverage for anyone in the OASI part of the system and optional supplemental medical benefits that require a monthly insurance premium. The last part of the social security system is Public Assistance (PA), which is the official term for welfare and is covered under it's own heading.

STAFFING It refers to the number of workers employed to work in a particular organization or building. 

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT It is the field which is concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names, including employee development, human resource development, and learning and development.

WAGE (also wages) money you earn that is paid according to the number of hours, days, or weeks that you work. A factor payment to the owner of labour for using labour services in the production of goods and services. Wages are included in the National Income and Product Accounts maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (USA) under the official title compensation of employees. Wages are the largest of the four factor payments, accounting for about 70% of the income earned by the household sector. The other factors of production (and their corresponding resource) are: interest (capital), rent (land), and profit (entrepreneurship).

WAGE AND SALARY ADMINISTRATION Administrative procedure of establishing and supervising wage levels and operations in an organisation. In most organisations, wage and salary administration is performed in the personnel department, although larger organisations often have a payroll or wage and salary administration.

WAGE POLICY A government policy setting wages and wage increases for workers, for example, setting minimum wage requirements.

WORKFORCE PLANNING It is a continual process used to align the needs and priorities of the organisation with those of its workforce to ensure it can meet its legislative, regulatory, service and production requirements and organizational objectives. Workforce Planning enables evidence based workforce development strategies.

Unit 3