A Project On Transfo Power: Lahore School of Economics
A Project On Transfo Power: Lahore School of Economics
HRM
A project on Transfo Power
Submitted by: Farhan Ajmal Hira Shafaque Syed Ammar Hasan Zaid Rahman
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express the deepest appreciation to conveyed a spirit of adventure in regard to research and an excitement in regard to teaching. Without his guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Miss Maryam for being a source of help and guidance throughout the semester.
ABSTRACT
Transfo Power is a firm at its prematurity level. The firm has to face many challenges and the tough competition ahead in the field of transformer productions. In this report, we gathered information and analyzed the current Human Resource Management activities of the firm by conducting interviews with the firms employees. After a complete analysis, we figured out the HRM needs of the firm. We tried to formulate a well organized and practicable HRM plan for Transfo Power which if implement would bring profits to the firm in the long run.
INTRODUCTION
TransfoPower industries (Pvt) Limited is a private firm that grew from a tiny seed to a gargantuan tree. Its roots were laid by three friends who all belonged to Engineering backgrounds. One of the friends, namely, Fawad Shamsi was the initiator of this idea. His father belonged to the very successful Waves Refrigeration company and it was he who encouraged his son to come up with a company that belonged to roots of engineering. Transfopower Industries (Private) Limited was established in 1993 to manufacture distribution transformers (Pole Mounted & Kiosks), power transformers and special purpose transformers to meet the requirement for the local market i.e.: WAPDA, KESC, AJK and Private Sector as well as export markets.
Presently, the firm is manufacturing Transformers from 5KVA to 5000KVA for WAPDA Area Electricity Boards, KESC, AJK and the Private Sector like Housing Societies, Shopping Plazas, Fuel Stations and Industries (Sugar, Textile, Cement, and Engineering etc.). Also Furnace Transformers have been manufactured for steel mills in Pakistan and Africa.
They also manufacturer Special Purpose Transformers designed for Specific Application.
Their transformers are designed by a team of qualified engineers. The manufacturing process is supervised by experienced engineers and a strict quality control is assured at all stages. Tests accordingly to relevant standards are carried out before dispatch. Transfopower is ISO 9001:2000 Certified Company.
The company produces products such as distribution transformers, power transformers, furnace transformers, dry type transformers, and non-flammable transformers. They also
provide for special needs of the customers by manufacturing transformers according to the requirements of their clients. The company consists of three members at the top. They are the pioneers of the firm and also the three main board members are equal shareholders as well. This is mainly due to the fact that they were equal investors at the start of the firm. The organizational structure of Transopower is a fairly simple one. Top management includes three CEOs of the company to which the middle managers directly report to. They are ultimately responsible for the entire organization. Under the top managers lie the middle managers who are also department managers e.s general manager, functional manager, project manager. These managers also perform as first-line managers it is a small firm and they are directly responsible for the work of the operating employees. They control the entire workforce that works under them. There are a total of 350 employees, out of which 256 are low-line laborers, 2 are managers and the rest of the 3 are the CEOs. The firms mission is to provide maximum satisfaction to its customers through satisfying products (transformers, generators etc). Initially, the firm started by just providing repair and maintenance facility for customers but later it expanded and started producing transformers. This operation expanded further and Transfopower culminated into a proper, registered firm. In 1993, the firm started with a factory area of 3 kanal only and a workforce of 10 employees. This was because the company had just started and wasnt financially very strong. Presently, it is working at a factory area of 73 kanals and a labor force of 350 employees.
METHODOLOGY
The sources of information used in this report are the internet, our text book and the interviews. Mostly the information is obtained from the interviews that we conducted from the CEO and General Managers of Transfo Power. No articles, library material or any other form of literary material was used for the formulation of this report.
Analysis of the firms current Human Resource Management plan: Transfo Power is not a very large scaled firm due to which it does not have too many specified and organized departments. During our research we found that the company does not have a separate Human Resource Department but they have merged it with their Administrative department. So they have a Human Resource and Admin Department which works as a single unit. Another reason that we were told for not having a unique HRM department is that the company does not have to deal with hiring and managing of thousands of employees like most of the multinational firms do. There are approximately 350 employees working in the firm from which 250 employees are the low line workers. As we entered to the Transfo Powers headquarters with our reference letter, we were entertained by the administration and were given cards at the entrance after which we were guided towards the GMs office. The card read Visitors. This showed that the employees perform their duties in a systematic manner. Mr. Shoaib Dar is the GM Finance of Transfo Power. His job description includes handling and managing accounts of the firm. He has to report to the CEO of the firm about the profits or losses that occur in a particular month. Accounts include expenditures like travelling, food, fuel, machinery maintenance and repairing. He interviews the applicants of managerial level. We also interviewed GM works of the company, Mr. Ahsan Islam. He is responsible for the maintenance of the machines and assures that they are in a proper working condition. Furthermore he assigns day to day jobs to the employees working in the factory. The final decision making authority lies with the CEO of the firm, Mr. Fawad Shamsi. The CEO and his partners recruit, interview, hire and appraise executive level candidates.
We interviewed the above Personnel and gathered some information to analyze the current system of Human Resource in the firm. As mentioned above, the company has a so-called Human Resource and Admin department but most of the Human Resource management is done by Executives and CEOs. What we found by interviewing these persons is that their Human Resource and Admin department is only responsible for keeping the record of attendance of the low level employees who work in the factory. It caters some other minor administrative responsibilities like accepting or rejecting the leave applications and facilitating the employees with their needs and demands accordingly. A formal job description is given to all employees on the very first day of their job though it is not very strictly followed by the employees. These job descriptions are not updated timely. Foremen are appointed for every unit in the factory who ensures that each worker performs his job correctly. The workers can interact directly with the foreman who reports to the supervisor of the respective department. These supervisors are responsible for assisting the managers and assistant managers.
Personnel Planning
The company holds a meeting of the senior level staff members with the CEOs after every two years. Every aspect like companys performance is discussed in the meeting. They carry a trend analysis which includes the analysis of the employees entering and exiting the company. The number of job vacancies, the recruiting method and the skills required for the vacant job are defined in the meeting. The process of Personnel planning is carried out by the company executives. The GMs make monthly reports of number of employees working under their departments which are then
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forwarded to the CEO. The GM themselves are responsible for recruiting and hiring employees of their respective departments. They write a report after analyzing candidates file and interviewing him and send the final documents to the CEO with his recommendations. Finally it is the CEO who decides whether to accept or reject the application.
Employee Hiring/Recruitment:
The hiring process is systematic. Usually the hiring is done on the basis of references, that is, a new employee is hired for the vacant post at the low level by the reference of an older employee already working in the firm. Direct applications are also a main source of candidates applying for the job. These Walk-Ins are supposed to leave their files in the office. The files are entertained further by the administration. The company only calls back the candidates for the interview who they think is eligible for the job. They dont answer the applications that they dont call for the interview. Usually the company doesnt advertise for the vacant jobs in any newspaper nor in any website, but they advertise for very crucial posts and for executive jobs. Last time they advertise in 2009 for the post of Assembly Manager. The person who was eligible to apply for this job was supposed to be a mechanical engineer. A formal job description was published in the newspaper. There is also a section of job vacancies on the official website of the company.
Interviews:
Every employee has to go through a formal interviewing process before being a part of the firm. At the low level the interviews are carried by the supervisors of the respective department which is not a well prepared interview. The supervisor asks random job related questions, makes a file, and then sends it to the GMs. The interviews for the executive jobs
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are panel interviews. The panel consists of the company owners who have to decide and make plans for attaining the future goals and objectives of the firm. These are well structured interviews and the panel is already prepared with the questions they want to ask from the applicant. According to the interviewee the applicants first impression on the interviewer has a great impact on making the decision of accepting or rejecting him. He said that a candidate must be well dressed and show an adequate confidence level to impress him and make him feel that he is responsible enough to take the vacant position in the firm. Transfo power doesnt take the interview from the employees leaving the firm.
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Appraisal:
No formal employee orientation is practiced with the new employee entering Transfo Power, though the employee is felt comfortable and at ease by the friendly environment of the company. The interactions between the same line workers are rather very informal and with the high level staff it is a bit formal. There are situations when the employees are given tasks which were not the part of their job description. For these tasks and extra work the employees are not paid yet they are paid for the extra time they work for their own job. Promotions are given on the basis of performances and seniority of the employees.
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of five percent is made due to inflation in the country. The employees from low level to CEOs are provided with the Group life Insurance which is a part of their pay plans. Transfo Power has well defined retirement and pension plans. Ten percent of the salary of each employee and ten percent from the company, both added together, is transferred to a separate account called Staff Provident Fund Account. This account is a separate entity with has now nothing to do with the company. The summed up percentage amount of the employees in the account is invested in stocks. The profit incurred is also transferred to the fund account. This account works as an alternate to the pensions given to the employees after their retirements. The retired employee withdraws his share from this provident account which is the only amount he gets after leaving the company.
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For the low line workers like transformer winders, electrical component handlers, and assemblers most of the job should be filled by outside candidates. To attract the outside candidates Transfopower should definitely use advertising As the firm is currently operating in the local Lahore region. So local newspaper should be the best and most cost effective medium. Also because Transfopower lacks a formal human resource department they could use the help of employment agencies. Currently in Lahore there are employment agencies 4 which provide manpower to firms. Such as on the next page.
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Referrals:
Transfopower uses referrals as the major source of recruiting . It should continue this approach as it is not only cost effective but also saves a lot of time. The current employees usually provide good applicants because their own reputation is on the line. Its a good practice and they should continue it. Application Form: Application form is one of the most useful tools for recruiting. Transfopower uses application form (attached in appendix II). But improvement is needed to get all the four types of information it should provide. 1. Provide substantive information about candidates 2.draw conclusion about progress and growth 3.Applicant Stability from previous record
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A None
B 1
C 2
D 3
E 4
Q. Which tool or combination of tools would be most useful for checking flow of current? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Work sample:
Transfopower has a lot o do with handling of machine, equipment and instrument. Testing the candidates on work related sample test should help to predict the
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success of the worker on the job. Work samples also have one of the highest validity when it comes to assessment. The candidates can be then marked according to their actions.
Q. Did the worker check coils before installing the magnets in the transformer? Yes 1 pt No 0 pt
Integrity Test
During our analysis we mentioned that the supervisor like assistant assembly manager do have trouble dealing with the workers. Integrity test can really help to solve this issue. Not only will it reduce difficulties in dealing with supervision, but can also reduce business costs by identifying individuals who are likely to be absent, or engage in other counterproductive behavior.
Q1. Does it bother you when your tools are out of place?
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Q3.
Do you get annoyed when following safety precautions gets in the way of
your work?
Interviewing Candidates
As explained earlier, Transfopower follows an informal interview for the hiring of employees at low levels of the organization. It is highly recommended that they use structured
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questionnaires to conduct interviews even at low levels. This will give them a fair comparison of the applicants at the time of hiring. Transfopower should also implement the use of Appraisal interviews in the firm. This is important because the firm should know whether each employees performance meets the goals of the organization or not. This will also provide feedback to the employees and make it easier to improvise remedies that need to correct mistakes. As the company uses no Exit interviews for current employees, they should make it a part of their current HR plan. This will enable the employer to extract information about the job or related matters that might give the employer an idea about why a particular employee is leaving their firm when nothing wrong has happened in the past or present times. It will also give them an idea about the rights and wrongs of the firm. The firm should also use a set of other interviews to judge the abilities and behavior of the applicants. For this purpose, we suggest them to use interviews that include situational interviews, behavioral interviews, job-related interviews and stress interviews.
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as well. This is a method which isnt only easy to follow but is practically possible and inexpensive as well. Informal learning could also be used. This provides more positive results than formal learning or training. After the training process, it is very important to evaluate the effort of the training. If this isnt done, the whole purpose of training the employees goes in vain. It is important to see whether the time and resources spent on training the employees has produced positive results or not, did the trainees learn something from the program or otherwise. For this purpose, a controlled experimentation should be implemented to compare data before and after the process of training.
Play Plans
The companys current HRM plan follows fair pay plans. But we would like recommend them to establish pay rates that are in line with the rest of the prevailing wage rates in Pakistan. For this purpose, they should carry out salary survey frequently to see if they are paying the employees according to the prevailing wage rates. They should also take into account any inflation that takes place and should follow up to change their wages accordingly. They should pay employees on the basis of the competencies they entail, not according to the job title. This means that they should pay them according to the skills and knowledge that they hold and the time, effort and hard work that they put in to complete their task. This offers a more strategic reason for setting pay rates.
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Conclusion
Transfo Power is a small firm with more or less 350 employees working in it. After analyzing the current practices of the company regarding the management of Human Resource we came to know that the Executives feel that a separate Human Resource Department is wastage of money. Usually all HRM practices are done by the Executives like hiring, firing, compensating and appraising. We were told that 350 is a small number of employees and for this they dont need a specific HRM system. In our project we tried to develop a Human Resource Management plan for the company which will increase their costs a little bit, but applying this to their firm will definitely profit the firm in a sense that it will grow faster. This is a general trend in Pakistan that companies usually dont pay much attention on HRM due to which the growth of the companies in Pakistan is not appreciable. But in todays changing trends, Globalization and Technology, Human Resource Management plays a very pivotal role in the growth of firms. So a firm, no matter big or small, must have knowledge about how they can systematically manage their people and use those HRM practices to add more strength to the company.
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References
http://www.transfopower.net/homepage.html http://www.paq.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=SCO.DspReportPage http://www.hrvillage.com/hrjobdesc/Assembler.htm Gary Dessler 11e http://www.directpk.com/search/?reg=Punjab&cat=Employment%20and%20Recruitment%20Agenci es&city=Lahore http://www.hooverwebdesign.com/free-printables/sample-job-employment-application-form.html http://www.psychometric-success.com/faq/faq-free-mechanical-aptitude-test.htm
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Appendices
Appendix 1
cboEducationLev
Aurally or orally literate Limited or less - at least literate and able to communicate in English Equivalent to 8th grade plus additional classes High school graduate or more - does not provide for direct entry into skilled work High school graduate or more - provides direct entry into skilled work Equivalent to one year trade school, technical school or junior college Equivalent to two years junior college or apprenticeship training Equivalent to four year college degree in a non technical field
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Equivalent to four year college degree in a technical field Equivalent to a Masters degree Equivalent to a Ph.D. degree requiring special certifications or licenses. 6. Environmental Conditions How often does this job require a worker to be exposed to other environmental conditions or hazards ? (All other conditions not defined above.) (69)
chkEnvironmenta 95
Not Present Rarely Occasionally Frequently Constantly Continuously 7. Creativity How often does the job's primary duty require invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor? (73)
101 chkDriving
Not Present Rarely Occasionally Frequently Constantly Continuously The questions were generated randomly and were close to 70 . So all not included
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Appendix II
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Appendix III
Photo
Personal Details
Place of Birth:
NIC No.
Male/female
Married or single:
Name of Spouse
Present Address
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Telephone
Email address
Telephone
NAME OF INSTITUTION
CERTIFICATE OR DEGREE
PERIOD To
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PERIOD NAME OF THE ORGANISATION, APPOINTMENT HELD & JOB RESPONSIBILITIES From To
Basic Salary:
Total Allowances:
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Interests/Trainings
Please list your main extra-curricular activities and explain why you enjoy them.
LANGUAGE
SPEAKING ABILITY
WRITING ABILITY
What achievement has had most impact in developing skills or characteristics that you are proud of? (What was the achievement, what aspects did it help you develop and how?)
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General Information
I have previously applied for a job in National Silk.
Yes
No
(date)
I have the following relatives / friends (if any) working in National Silk 1. 2. 3. 4.
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1.
2.
3.
I certify that I have read and understood all the questions asked in this application and the answers I have furnished on this from are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that any false or misleading statement may result in my disqualification from the selection process. I further certify that I have never been arrested or convicted for any offence or crime and that there are no legal proceedings pending against me in any legal court in Pakistan.
Date:
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Appendix IV
Mechanical Aptitude Test Questions
A 15kg
B 5kg
C 10kg
D 7.5kg
E 20kg
A 30kg
B 25kg
C 28kg
D 40kg
E 35kg
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A 24lbs
B 10lbs
C 48lbs
D 12lbs
E 18lbs
4) If gear X turns clockwise at a constant speed of 10 rpm. How does gear Y turn?
c/w=clockwise
B c/w 10 rpm
5) If drive wheel X rotates clockwise at a speed of 10 rpm. How does wheel Y turn?
C c/w faster
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6) A force of 5 Kg compresses the springs in series 10cm. What will be the total distance that the springs in parallel are compressed?
A 10 cms
B 5 cms
C 20 cms
D 7.5 cms
E 15 cms
7) In the circuit shown, how many switches need to be closed to light up one bulb?
A None
B One
C Two
D Three
E Four
A None
B 1
C 2
D 3
E 4
9) Which tool or combination of tools would be most useful for general woodwork?
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A 4&2
B 3,5 & 7
C 2 ,4 & 6
D 4&7
E 3&6
10) The sketch shows the floor plan of a bathroom. The shower tray is 2'6" square and is fixed to the floor. The toilet and washbasin are both wall mounted. Allowing for 15% wastage, approximately how many square meter of floor tiles should be ordered?
A 7.25
B 6.25
C 9.25
D 5.50
E 8.50
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Appendix V
Face to face interview integrity test: Do you finish what you set out to do.?
9 10
uniform.
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Do you put my tools back in their appropriate spot after Im done using them. Do you read the fine print regarding safety rules. Do you check your work over for mistakes.
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Do you waste time at work. Do you get annoyed when following safety precautions gets in the way of you
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work.
Q1. What is your formal post in this firm and what jobs do you perform under this post? Q2. Do you perform any extra duty that your job description doesnt cover? Do you get extra credit for this? Q3. What is the process of hiring a new employee that you follow? Q4. When your recruit for new employees, what recruitment methods do you use n prefer? Q5. Do you use employee referrals?
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Q6. Do you carry out an employment planning & forecasting? (Deciding which & how to fill vacant job positions) Q7. Do you use any employment agency to hire new employee? Q8. Do you carry out background checks on the selected applicants to test them? Q9. Do you interview your employees before hiring? Q10. Do you ask personal questions in interviews too? Q11. In your opinion, does snap judgments or first impressions matter while hiring a new employee? Q12. Do you practice employee orientation on the first day of employment? Q13. How do you train your employees? On the job training, informal training, job rotations etc? Q14. Do u use off the job training methods too? Q15. Do you carry out performance appraisals? Q16. Do you use 360 degree feedback method? Q17. On what basis do you offer promotions? Are they fixed? Q18. How do you compensate/pay your employees? Pay scales? According to no. of hours they work or monthly salary? Q19.Do you offer salaries increases (due to inflation)? Q20. How do you maintain equity regarding employee compensation? Q21. In case of strikes by labor unions, how do you handle them? Q22. Do you offer retirement benefits? Social security? Pension plans to your employees?
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