TOPIC 6 STAFFING

TOPIC 5

STAFFING

 

Staffing function is concerned with acquisition, development and maintenance of an efficient and satisfied work force in the organization.

It involves the recruitment training development and appraisal of personnel in the organization.

This staffing/personal management enables to contribute most effectively to the organization purpose in the performance of their duties, as well as to attain those personal and social satisfactions which they tend to naturally seek within their working environment.

Staffing is the acquisition and the maintenance of human resource necessary for the organizational success.

 

OBJECTIVES OF STAFFING

• To build and maintain cordial relations between people working at different
• To ensure effective utilization of available
• To provide fair working conditions, wages and amenities to
• To achieve the development of employees to their fullest
• To help other mangers in solving their personnel

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT

The function of the personnel department can be divided into two:- Managerial Function

This is concerned with planning, organizing, directing and controlling the activities related to the human resources..

Operative Function This involves:-

• Procurement/employment
• Record &

 

MANPOWER PLANNING

Also known as human resource planning manpower planning is the development of a comprehensive staffing strategy for meeting organizational future human resource needs. It is the process by which management determines how the organization should move from its present/current manpower position to its desired manpower position.

Through planning the management strives to have the right number and the right kind of people, at the right place and at the right time, doing things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving maximum long-term benefit.

 

Features of manpower planning

1. It involves forecasts of the future manpower needs so that an adequate and timely provisions may be made to meet those needs
2. The purpose of manpower planning is to determine the right number and the right type of people required for effectively accomplishing the tasks and goals of the organization
3. It helps in ensuring effective utilization of present and future manpower
4. It has two aspects i.e. quantitative and qualitative aspects
5. It result in the development and policy programmes and procedures for the acquisition, development, preservation and utilization of organizations human assets
6. It is a continuous process because the demand and supply of manpower are subject to frequent

 

Significance of manpower planning

1. It helps management to avoid both shortage and surpluses of manpower and thereby to control labour costs.
2. Manpower planning defines human resources required to meet the organizations objectives. By ensuring the right people at the right time, it contributes significantly to the success and growth of the
3. It provides a sound basis for the selection and training of manpower
4. A long term and systematic manpower plan is necessary to ensure a stream of qualified personnel flowing into the organization
5. Manpower planning is important for an organization and an economy. At the firm level, it warns management of upcoming manpower shortage and surpluses. At national level, manpower planning helps to ensure optimum utilization of the country’s human resources, to maintain employment to improve productivity and to develop the human assets
6. Inventory of existing manpower helps in ascertaining the status of the available personnel and to disclose untapped talent.

Objectives of manpower planning

1. Making the best use of human resources
2. Obtaining and retaining the quantity and quality of people an organization needs
3. Being able to anticipate the future term of potential surpluses and deficit of people
4. To promote and develop of existing personnel
5. To provide control measures so that human resources are available when required

 

Importance of manpower planning

• Helps in correcting staff imbalances in time, thus management can reduce labour costs of overstaffing and under utilization of talents is brought to
• MPP provides a sound basis for development of personnel to make an optimum use of available
• MPP identifies gaps in existing manpower so that suitable training programmes may be developed for building specific skills required in
• MPP enables the management to cope with uncertain
• MPP involves an inventory of current manpower to determine its status and therefore untapped talents available in the organization can be
• Helps management to have the right people at the right jobs at the right

 

Manpower Planning Process

Manpower planning process involves four basic steps:-

1. Assess current staffing needs. This involves assessment of the current jobs needed the organization, shortages and supplies should be identified in this
2. Forecasting future human resource needs. A systematic attempt to probe into the future human resource needs should be done. This should put into consideration of the organization and also technological
3. formulate staffing strategy

A staffing strategy should be formulated based on the needs of the organization.

4. Implementation of the strategy

The strategy is adopted and put into use.

5. Evaluate and update

The implemented strategy is monitored evaluated and updated to ensure that the goals of the enterprise are being met.

 

JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis refers to the process of determining the fundamental elements of a job through systematic observation and analysis. Job analysis occurs during the assessment of the organizational manpower needs.

It involves breaking up of a job into its basic elements and studying them in details to obtain all the pertinent facts about the job. e.g.

• what the worker is expected to do
• Methods and techniques used
• The working conditions
• Skills required. (Content, job duties and personal qualities)

 

Job analysis serves the following purposes.

• It provides a basis for MPP and for recruitment and selection
• Helps in matching the employee competencies and the job during selection
• Facilitates job evaluation and performance appraisal which is necessary in wage determination
• Helps in devising training and development programmes for
• Facilitates proper allocation of authority
• It facilitates job

The end result of job analysis is job description

 

JOB DESCRIPTION

This is a clear summary of duties and responsibilities of a specific job.

It describes the title of the job, its location, tasks to be performed and work conditions.

 

JOB SPECIFICATION

This is a statement of the minimum acceptable human qualities required for the successful performance of a job.

It specifies the physical requirements, education and knowledge, work experience, aptitude (ability to learn) and personal characteristic that one should possess in order to handle the duties of a particular job effectively.

 

JOB EVALUATION/GRADING

This technique/process of establishing the relative merits of jobs within an enterprise in order to establish pay differentials

It involves the assessment of the work content of all jobs in the organization and their classification into broad categories called job grades.

 

Advantages of job evaluation

1. Helps in selecting new staff
2. Assists in transferring employees from one department to another
3. Ensures that staff doing the same job receives the same rates of pay thus avoid wage
4. Assist in evaluating new jobs and deciding on appropriate rates of pay
5. May improve relationship between management and workers
6. Provide data needed for collective bargaining
7. May result in improved staff morale and thus low labour turn over and increased output
8. Useful for estimating budgets.

 

Disadvantages of job evaluation

1. It may place all jobs into few grades and reduce chances of promotion
2. Job grades fails to take into account individual differences in workers abilities
3. There is a tendency to view workers in terms of their grades
4. Job grades are rarely evaluated while job content change time to
5. Salary scales are not solely based on job grading but also other factors such as trade union influence etc

 

Question:

Describe the purpose of manpower planning in business organizations.

 

JOB RECRUITMENT

This is the acquisition of human resources to fill up particular positions in the organization

• Thus recruitment is to seek out, to explore to evaluate, to induce and to obtain commitment from prospective employees so as to fill up positions required for the successful operation of an
• Each organization has its own policies and procedures that guide the recruitment e.g.
• When to declare a job vacant
• When to advertise for the job

 

• The source of recruitment
• How to advertise etc
• Recruitment is very important because it increases the number of applicants from which a real choice can be

 

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Sources of recruitment can be classified into two broad sources i.e.

1. Internal sources
   • Transfers
   • Promotions
2. External sources
   • Advertisements
   • Education institutions etc

 

INTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Advantages

• Increases morale in the organization especially for the person being
• It’s easier to assess employees because you know
• it’s a form of rewarding good performance of work
• It is less expensive as it does not involve many procedures e.g. advertising short listing.
• There is no need for initiation/orientation as the person being recruited understands the procedures & operations of the

 

Disadvantages

• There is a danger of inbreeding in the organization
• There may be a problem of morale for those who were not promoted
• It may create infighting for promotions which may affect
• It discourages the hiring of experts
• A strong manager development programme becomes necessary
• There may be need to retrain the employee so as to suit the new

 

Organizations do have policies that guide them on transfers and promotions in the organization.

For instance a good transfer policy should have the following characteristics.

• it should ensure that the transferred workers in their new positions are not given completely new kinds of jobs
• Responsibilities for recommending and approving transfers should be clearly defined.
• How a transfer is going to affect security of the employee should be spelt out clearly.
• Complete accurate job description of the jobs to which transfer are under consideration.

A good promotion policy should entail the following:-

 

• Promotions should be recommended by line managers and decided by their supervisors in line
• Likely opening for promotion should be given wide
• Accurate job description should be prepared for each

 

External sources of Recruitment

It involves acquiring manpower from outside the organization. The sources include:-

• Direct application from suitable candidates
• Through management consultants
• Academic institutions e.g. colleges, universities
• Employment bureaus and agencies
• Sister organizations
• Government departments
• Through recommendations and suggestions current employees
• Unsolicited

 

Merits of External recruitment

• It’s an inexpensive way of hiring qualified
• New blood is brought into the organization thus new insight
• There is no danger of inbreeding and
• There is a wider choice as the person is selected from among a large number of applicants.

 

Demerits of external recruitment

• The person selected might not fit well in the organization
• There is a longer orientation and initiation
• The person recruited may meet with resistance from the other employees
• There is a morale problem for those from within who have not chosen
• It may be time consuming and costly coz of the many procedures

 

JOB ADVERTISEMENT

This is informing the public about existence of a vacancy position in an organization. It is a usually done through the mass media or in meetings. The job advert should contain the following elements;

-Details of the employing organization

-Position to be filled

-Location of the position

-Key duties and responsibilities of the position holder

-Essential requirements of the job

-The minimum personal qualifications

-Deadline of submitting applications

-To whom the application should be directed

 

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE JOB ADVERTISEMENT

In order to make an effective job advertisement the following principles should be observed;

• Always provide brief but sufficient information about the position to be
• Give brief but sufficient information about the employing
• Provide details of all the essential personal
• Outline clearly the essential requirements of the
• Provide the main conditions of the position especially the
• State clearly where or to whom the application should be
• The advertisement should be presented in an attractive

 

JOB SELECTION

Selection is the process of offering jobs to one or more candidates from among those who applied for the job.

It involves a series of steps which screens the candidates for choosing the most suitable person for the vacant post

Benefits of selecting the right kind of people

• Proper selection and placement of personnel go along way towards building up a suitable workforce. This in turn keeps the rate of absenteeism and labour turnover low.
• Competent employees will show higher efficiency and enable the organization to achieve its
• The rate of industrial accidents will be considerably low if suitable employees are placed on various
• When people get jobs of their choice and taste they get higher job satisfaction (contended workforce)
• Saves the organization time, money and efforts of having recruit and select incase where wrong selection was

Factors to consider when selecting employees: –

• Physical characteristics – sound body, limb, height, weight, sight etc
• Personal characteristics – age, sex, marital status, no of children, family background
• Proficiency/skills and abilities – qualification and past
• Competence – potentiality of an individual for learning and becoming proficient in a job. Capacity to acquire
• Temperament and character – emotional, moral and social qualities, loyalty etc high intelligence can never serve as a substitute for qualities such as honesty and trustworthiness
• Interest – without interest, work is colorless and monotonous. With interest work seems meaningful and

THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

The selection procedure usually varies from organisation to organisation and even from department to department depending on the position to be filled. The number of steps in the procedure and their sequence may also vary.

 

Selection procedure can involve the following process/steps.

1. Preliminary interview

Most organizations start with preliminary interview. They are used to eliminate the obvious/unqualified candidates.

It offers advantage both to the applicant and organization as it saves time, costs and efforts of both the applicant and the organization. Only those who are suitable are allowed to fill the application blanks.

 

2. Receiving Applications

When a vacant has been advertised or enquiries are made from suitable sources, applications are received from the candidates. This may be standard form or just ordinary application letters.

 

3. Evaluation of applications

The application blanks and letters and curriculum vitae are evaluated as per the individual qualities and the vacant job. Only questions that have job relevance should be encouraged. E.g. education, work experience and other specific job relate data.

 

4. Employment tests

Tests have become an integral part of the selection process. However certain conditions should be met of tests are to be used for employee selection they include:-

• A test should be reliable – provide consistent retort
• Should be valid – measure what they are designed to measure (e.g. job performance)
• Should be objective – can be interpreted by different people in the same way
• Should be standardized Advantages of tests

• They eliminate biasness in the selection personnel
• They can identify talents of individuals that can otherwise be
• Reduce the cost of selection and placement as a large number of candidates can be listed at the same place same
• Psychological tests can measure the aptitude of candidates and predicate their success.
• Provides health basis for comparing applicants’ background. Classification of tests
• Intelligence tests. They judge mental capacity of the
• Aptitude tests. They measure an applicant’s capacity and potential for
• development
• Proficiency tests. This measure skills already acquired by the
• Personality tests. They measure the total personality of the
• Interest tests. This reveals areas that an individual shows special concern and involvement. This will suggest what type of job may be satisfying to

 

5. Interviews

Interviews are the most widely used and probably the most important way of assessing the qualification of a candidate. They are able to obtain additional information, provide information about the firm etc.

Guidelines for effective interviews

• Plan for the interview (job specification & description)
• Create a good climate for the interview – friendly and open report with the applicant should be established
• Allow sufficient time for uninterrupted interviews
• Conduct a goal-oriented interview – irrelevant details should be left
• Avoid certain types of questions leading questions or those that may imply discrimination or embarrassing
• Seek answers to all questions & check for
• Record results of the interview immediately on

 

Structured interviews

These are a series of job related questions with predetermined answers that are consistently applied to all the candidates for a particular post/job.

Unstructured interviews

These are a series of questions asked by interview panels and which do not follow any format.

They have the following disadvantages

• Highly susceptible to distortion and bias
• Rarely job oriented
• Infringe on individual privacy
• Highly inconsistent
• The interviewee can only ask questions or look for details/qualities he/she likes and ignore the

Significance of interviews in the selection process

• Since the candidate is physically present, the interviewer gets an opportunity to study various aspects of his
• Mental and social make up the candidate is manifested in the
• Its cheaper and effective if properly planned
• Correct judgment of the candidate can be made

 

5. Reference Checking

A referee is potentially an important source of information about candidate’s abilities and personality. Prior to final selection the prospective employer normally makes investigation on the references supplied by the applicant.

 

6. Medical Examination

Physical and medical examination helps to determine if the applicant is fit for performing the job. Contagious diseases are identified.

 

7. Placement on the

This involves making an employment offer. It involves assignment of duties and introduction of other staff members.

 

STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training implies the act of increasing the knowledge and skills required for efficient performance. The major purpose of development is to improve managerial behaviour and performance.

 

Staff development refers to the process of changing employee behaviour, altitudes and opinions through some type of guided experience.

 

Objectives of training

• Increase knowledge and skills of worker in doing specific jobs
• To impart new skills and techniques among the workers
• To bring about change in attitude of the worker towards fellow workers, supervisors and the organization
• To make workers handle materials, machines and equipments efficiently thus check on wastage of time and materials.
• To reduce the number of accidents by providing safety training to workers
• To prepare workers for higher challenges
• To make workers adapt to changes in the environment quickly

 

TYPES OF TRAINING

1. Internal training (on the job training)
2. External training (off the job training)

 

Internal training programmes

They include:-

1. Orientation/induction training

Is a type of training meant to adopt workers to specific job requirements? Most organizations have a formal orientation program for new employees who join the organization. Usually the new employees could be put under old or senior employees.

 

Reasons for induction training

1. It helps to build up new employees’ confidence in the organization and himself so as to become an efficient
2. Helps to develop a feeling of belongingness and loyalty to the organization
3. Help to forge god relationship between newcomers and the old employees
4. Helps to give newcomers necessary information in the organization
5. Help to have a good impression of the organization

 

2. Apprenticeship

Apprentice is one of the oldest training methods. The worker is placed under a qualified senior who he/she understudies. The worker learns by observing and assisting his senior. It is common for trade jobs.

 

3. Delegation

Is a process where by the superior assigning certain responsibilities and authority to his/her subordinates. The subordinate learns through performance of the job or duties delegated.

4. Refresher training/retraining

This helps worker to learn new ways of handling things while still line their jobs. It also assists workers to refresh the knowledge and skill learned long time age. eg seminars, workshops etc

 

5. Job Rotation

In job rotation employees perform more tasks on a given schedule. The objective of job rotation is to make workers conversant with different parts of their jobs. The worker may be assigned duties in different departments on work observe different departmental head.

 

6. Membership to committees

Committees enable members to interact together, pool their experiences and ideas with an aim of solving problem. The committee members as a result to develop some problem solving skills

 

7. Creation of “Assistant to” positions

A trainee is posted to a department as an assistant. He/she acquire actual managerial experience.

 

8. Vestibule Training

It is similar to apprenticeship. The only difference is that the line managers on the job floor itself do not provide it. It is instead provided by special instructors outside/away from the job floor.

It has the following advantages: –

• Can be imported to a large number of people without affecting work at the work floor
• Relieve off the superior the responsibility of training
• Instructors are specialists and devotes full attention to training
• The trainees concentrate better as it’s away of self

Disadvantages of vestibule training.

• It is imported a place away from the shop floor so that trainees do not experience the problems arising from actual work situation.
• In the case of deficient performance by a worker, the line supervisor may blame the instructors and the instructor may blame the supervisor for ineffective
• It is costly because machines and equipments for training have to bought separately.

 

External training programmes

They include: –

1. Training institutions

Specialized    institutions    offer    training    specific    field   e.g.    colleges,    universities, polytechnics

 

2. Lectures, Conferences and seminars

These may be used to impart knowledge and develop analytical skills

 

3. Case study

Workers evaluate and analyze a real life situation suggesting alternative solution to prevailing problems. Such analysis is used in solving problems at hand.

 

4. Brainstorming sessions

This consists of evaluating of ideas put forward by a group of people convened for that particular purpose.

It encourage creative thinking among participants.

Members look forward brainstorming session as they enable them to talk freely. Their deliberations are oriented to problem solving.

 

5. Role Play

It’s a training method under which participants assume certain role and enact them in a classroom situation. The others act as observers and critics.

It enables participants to broaden their experience by trying various approaches to a problem situation.

 

BENEFITS OF TRAINING TO THE EMPLOYER.

1. Less supervision – Adequately trained employees will need less supervision as they are self reliant in work
2. Economical operations.- well trained employees will use the organizational resources prudently as there will be less wastage of materials and low rates of accidents.
3. High moral – training help to improve job satisfaction and morale of workers. Their attitude toward the organization will also change
4. Uniformity – training enhances uniformity of procedures as the best method of performance can be standardized and taught to all employees.
5. High productivity – when skills of the employees are increased the performance of the employee is enhanced in term of quality and
6. Manpower development – training enables the organization to have a study supply of competent people to fulfill the organization’s human resource
7. Less learning period – training helps to reduce the learning time to reach acceptable level of performance

 

BENEFITS OF TRAINING TO THE INDIVIDUAL

• Training creates a feeling of confidence in the mind of the
• Training enable an individual acquire new skill which are an asset for the individual
• Trainings provides opportunities for quick promotion and self development
• Trained individuals are likely to earn more
• Trained individuals handle machines safely and are less prone to accidents
• Training and develops adaptability among

 

JOB DESIGN

People spend a great deal of their time on job. This is the process of deciding the content of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, work methods and on the relationship that should exist between the jobholder and his superiors and subordinates.

 

WAGES AND SALARY ADMINISTRATION

This section is concerned with the dues paid as compensation for work performed. Policies with regard towages and salary administration should be a vital component of the personnel policy of the organization since it will enable the organization to attract capable and competent individuals and also retain them in the organization.

A good personnel compensation policy should cover the following elements

• Level of adequacy of payment
• Equity in wage payment
• Recognition of efficiency
• Incentive payment

 

Compensation may take different forms:

• These are compensations paid to workers for task performed over a short duration.
• This is labour compensation paid out once a month

 

Factors determining labour compensation

• Cost of living
• Wages parity/market rates
• Employer paying capacity
• Degree of unionization
• Performance efficiency of the employee
• Government regulation
• Availability of worker for the particular job

 

METHODS OF LABOUR COMPENSATION

1. Time Rate

This refers to fixed compensation for a particular period of time e.g. week, a day or month or even hours. This method has the advantage of:-

• Wages can be calculated easily
• Employee is assured of pay at the end of the

 

• It eliminates the need for measure performance
• Suitable for jobs that cannot be divided into smaller

2. Piece Rate

This refers to a fixed compensation per unit of output

This method motivates efficient workers and reduces the level of supervision in the organization

3. Commission Rate

This refers to compensation based on the % of sales made. It’s more common in insurance and travel agency businesses.

4. Bonus Rates

This refers to labour compensation whereby one work on time rate but any extra production or overtime worked, a higher rate is paid.

 

STAFF WELFARE & BENEFITS

This refers to any service or amenities provided to the employee. This includes:

• Transport services to and from work
• Staff housing plan
• Staff canteen/ rest
• Incentive tours
• Staff get-together/
• Credit plan t.c.

Staff welfare services serves to ensure that employees are as comfortable as possible at the work place.

 

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

It is essentially about reaching compromises in the face of conflicting interests, whereas participation, is about reaching optimum decisions on matters of common interest.

Collective bargaining is carried out by employers and trade unions.

Collective bargaining can be used to be a private process of negotiation between union and management aimed at settling disputes before they turn into conflict and industrial lobour unrest.

Negotiations here are supposed to submit disputes to mediation or arbitration. Mediation is an attempt to settle disputes through a neutral third party. The mediator may be a professional acceptable by both the union and the management.

Arbitration is the process by which a grievance or dispute is dissolved by an important third party.

Arbitration takes two types:

• Conciliators – where both the management and the union agree to call for 3^rd
• Compulsory – where the law provides for a 3^rd party to

 

Types of collective bargaining relationship

One of the important factors that determine the relationship between the union and management is the attitude of management towards unions.

• Conflict
• Power bargaining
• Armed truce
• Cooperation
• Collusion
• Accommodation

 

Conflict

Under this, strategic management takes totally uncompromising views attitude, the

management adopts the old western movie phase the only good union is “a dead one”.

Armed truce

The management representative take the position thus the vital interest of the company and the union is poles away and will always be so.

However the management realizes that the union is not likely to disappear and so will not force a head on collision.

Power bargaining

The management realizes also the power of the union, the management tasks is to impose its power and then use their power where possible to offset the power of the union.

Accommodation

Accommodation involves learning to adjust to each other and attempting to minimize conflicts to conciliate.

This strategy in no way suggests that management goes out of its way to help organize labour.

Cooperation

It involves full acceptance of the union and an active partner in a formal plan is a relatively rare occurrence in cooperation, management supports not only the right but the desirability of union participation in decision making.

 

Collusion

This is a form of mutual service monopoly and is unconcerned with interest except under the collusion strategies where the union and management engage in industrial price fixing designed to inflate wages at the expanse of the general public.

 

The process of collective bargaining

The process of collective bargaining contains a number of stages however, over time each union and management develop slight modification that are necessary for effective bargaining to occur.

 

Preparation

Both labour and management representative spend extensive time preparing negotiation to follow. Data on wages, working conditions, management and union rights, benefits, productivity and absenteeism is gathered and analysed. Each party outline its priorities and tactics to use to get what they want.

Initial demands

These are expectations of either party presented during negotiation.

Continuing negotiations

Each party attempts to determine what this other party (side) values highly and to reach the best bargaining possible.

 

Bargaining impasses

Labour and management do not reach an agreement always on all issues. In such case dead lock cases may result on strikes by the union or lock out by management.

Settlement and contract

After initial agreement on the issue being negotiated the two parties usually return to their constituencies to determine if what they have generally agreed on is acceptable.

The crucial stage thereafter, negotiation is ratification or getting a vote of acceptance. After ratification of the agreement then the agreement is formalized with a contract.

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

This describes the formal relationship between employers and trade unions or other groupings of employees together with the institutional arrangement which arise from these relationships.

Industrial relations attempts to bridge the gap between management goals/employers goals and the goals of the employees.

 

Objectives of industrial relations

• To safeguard interests of labour and management by securing understanding
• To avoid industrial conflicts and develop harmonious relationships
• To raise productivity
• To establish and nurse growth of industrial democracy
• To eliminate possible strikes
• To establish government control over such plants which operate at losses

 

Significance of Industrial Relations

• Smooth industrial relations help secure economic progress
• It helps establish and maintain true democracy
• Results in collective bargaining
• It helps the government in framing laws
• Results in less number of disputes in the organization
• Promote orderliness

PARTIES INVOLVED IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

In industrial relations three parties are involved,. The workers represented by trade unions, the employers represented by employee associations or management and the government as the arbitrator.

The agreement reached by the three parties is usually referred to as a triplet agreement.

 

Employers Associations

They represent the interests of the employers e.g. Association of Kenya Manufacturers, Federation of Kenya Employers (KFE)

Function Employers Associations

• Represent employers in collective bargaining
• Develop machinery for avoiding industrial disputes
• They provide information and advice on employee’s
• Represents employers on national issues.

Trade Unions

This refers to an association of workers whose major aim is to protect and promote the interests of members, through collective bargaining with the management/employers and sometimes in presence of the government.

Functions of trade unions

• They demand for higher wages for their members
• They demand for better working conditions for members
• Protect members against unfair dismissal and victimization
• They educate the workers on their rights
• They serve the interaction function with other trade unions in the field which improves their bargaining power
• Serves the political function i.e. can be used as stepping stone to ones political ambitions.

 

Types of Trade Unions

• Company unions – comprises employees of only one organization
• Craft unions – covers workers with a particular skill irrespective of the organization.
• Professional unions    –    caters    for    people    in    the    same    profession    g. doctors./teacher, lawyers etc
• General union – cater for workers from various fields occupations and organizations e.g. O.T.U.

 

Factors that have slowed down union growth

• Political dominance and influence
• Existence of about surplus
• Lack of sufficient funds to run union offices incase of strike
• Multiplicity of trade reduces their bargaining
• Legal restriction which makes it difficult to organize strikes
• Hostile attitude of the employers whereby they don’t want to hear anything about trade unions
• Lack of good organization due to poor leadership
• Poor policies inherited from colonial government
• Lack of awareness on the part of the

 

ACHIEVEMENTS OF TRADE UNION

• They have fought for revision of minimum wages and better working
• They have successfully challenged management power to dismiss employees
• They have provided to their members security and protection from
• Have been able to train their workers on labour

 

Union Membership

1. Closed shop – it arrangement whereby organization only employ workers afflicted to unions.
2. Union shop – is whereby a compromise is made between the unions and employer in the employer can hire can hire anyone whether union member or not provided he/she joins the union at a particular time
3. Preferential union shop- here an agreement is made between the worker union and employer first to hire union members before considering other job applicant. Incase of layoff, members are laid of

Advantages of trade unions

1. They help to negotiate with the management instead of the whole labour force on behalf of the
2. The play a vital role in determining wages of the
3. They help employees to have job satisfaction.
4. They help to maintain uniform wages throughout the
5. They have a professional approach in handling disputes between workers and management.
6. They are of help to management because they help in avoiding unnecessary disruption of workers and settle

 

Disadvantages of trade unions.

1. Some unions have been too powerful for the members thus they are specialized to huge salaries which their employers may not be able to
2. The union uses workers in order to achieve some selfish goals and this results in some optimal
3. The unions have known to cause workers to support their opinions and therefore call for strikes not for the workers grieves but because of the policy of the
4. The union tend to encourage inefficiency especially when they negotiate for higher wages and other benefits in comparison to the input of the

 

CENTRAL ORGANISATION OF TRADE UNIONS (COTU)

It was established in 1966 as a result of the ministerial committee set up to communicate/ investigate the activities of trade unions. It was also as a result of the strike in the year 1963 by the Kenya distributing workers union.

COTU is headed by a secretary general.

 

OBJECTIVES OF COTU

1. To improve economic and social conditions of all the workers in all parts of Kenya and to render to the assistant whether or not such members are employed or all ceased to be
2. Assist in the complete organization of workers in all Trade unions movements in Kenya.
3. Organize the structure and spheres of influence among nations of trade unions officiated with
4. Assist in settling disputes between members of the trade unions and the employers or between the trade unions and their or between two or more trade

 

FUNCTIONS OF INDUSTRIAL COURTS

 

• Promotion of harmonious industrial relations in the
• To ensure compliance with labour laws, international labour standards and codes of practice as well as review of labour standards and domestication of international conventions and
• Promotion of best practices of occupational safety and health in all
• To plan, development and promotion of effective utilization of human
• Judicial determination of trade disputes and judicial and registration of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs)
• Facilitation of the development of micro and small
• Provision of labour market
• To ensure availability of skilled manpower for the
• Promotion of productivity improvement.-Provision of social security through National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

 

PERSONNEL RECORDS

 

The personnel department keeps records which are necessary to help the top management in the formulation of appropriate personnel policies and procedures.

The records need to be:

• Accurate
• Relevant
• Comprehensive
• Simple
• Accessible

The data collected by the department helps in finding solutions for personnel problems such as absenteeism, labour turn over etc.

Information provided include: –

 

• Personal data
• Position and experience
• Salary scale
• Medical background
• Record of absenteeism
• disciplinary letters
• Promotion letters
• Labour turnover
• Industrial accidents
• industrial disputes
• Wages

Usually individuals have individual files in which information that relates to a particular person is kept.

 

USES OF PERSONNEL RECORDS

• It helps in promotion and transfer of employees
• Its necessary for salary and other computation of other benefits
• Indicates when individuals leave is due
• Help in formulating inventive plans and other strategies to correct personnel problems
• Serves as evidence and references in court of law
• Serves as reference when handling staff disputes especially in collective bargaining
• It is a legal requirement that organization keep

 

LABOUR TURNOVER

This refers to the number of employees that leave the organization within a specified period. It’s expressed as a percentage

For example. No of leaver x 100

No of employees

CAUSES OF LABOUR TURNOVER

Causes can be internal or external

 

Internal causes of labour turnover. e.g.

• Low wages
• Unsuitable work or working conditions
• Inability to perform
• Breach of discipline External causes of labour turnover. g.

• Lack of transport
• Retirement age
• Natural attrition
• Health reasons

 

EVALUATION

1. Explain the benefits of recruiting the right people in an organization
2. Outline the principles of job

• Describe the selection

1. Explain the Reasons why organizations conduct induction training
2. Outline reasons why trade unions in developing countries have not been