HR word of the day - Cronyism

A close kin to nepotism, favoritism,elitism,  cronyism is the practice of partiality in awarding jobs, unfair increments and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues. This term and hence the issue has been in existence since time long.

There are numerous disadvantages of cronyism and it leads to feeling of resentment to the aggrieved party. Person who are deserving of the position, if denied the opportunity would have lesser motivation to give his/her 100% thereafter. It may also lead to people leaving the organization and adds to attrition rate of valuable resource.

If such trend of cronyism is persistent and chronic in any company, it affects the overall productivity of the company and also its reputation in medium term if such cases come open in public.

Cronyism has negative effects on almost every part of the organization. It hinders effective group dynamics to evolve. It affects perception of procedural justice and respect is lost for the leader who encourage cronyism.
At a larger level, this can lead to damage to the workplace.

Combating Cronyism:
There’s really no step by step action methodology to deal with cronyism, as every situation is unique.
Only a good leader can make noticeable difference by cultivating a culture of loyalty and substituting cronyism with it.

Have a great HR day :) 

Shared by - Maneesh M S, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai  Sr. Executive HR, Apollo Tyres Ltd.

HR word of the day - Benchmark Jobs

The concept of benchmark jobs and non-benchmark jobs comes under Job Evaluation in context of Compensation Management.

Benchmark job also known as key jobs may be defined as a job that can be used to anchor the employee’s pay scale and around which other jobs are arranged in the order of their relative worth.

Non-benchmark jobs are on the other hand those jobs that are unique to an organization and the salary grades for these jobs are decided by comparing them with the related benchmark jobs.

Job evaluation can be used to find out the relative worth of each job. Benchmark jobs are mostly the common and defined jobs for which all data related to pay-scales and other specifications are mentioned and readily available.

These jobs also remain consistent across different organizations. They normally have the same set of responsibilities from one organization to other. Data about these jobs are readily available as many people work in these jobs across different organizations. Data about these benchmark jobs are extremely important for conducting the salary surveys. These data can be used by organizations to compare the wages that this organization is offering to its employees and whether they are fair in their wages. 

These data can also be used for job analysis purpose so that workplaces may be reorganized to increase productivity and efficiency of the organization.

Benchmark jobs are more likely to be either jobs inherent to business as a whole (e.g. office manager, HR manager) or industry-specific (e.g. graphic design in the digital media industry). 

Have a great HR day.

Shared by - Maneesh MS, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd

HR word of the day - Bureaucratic Inertia

Bureaucratic inertia refers to a position in which the bureaucratic principles and operations of an institution become so complex and time-consuming that they prevent the efficient operation of the company’s core activities. In other words, bureaucratic organizations perpetuate themselves and their focus turns to abiding by established protocol rather than core activities and goals.

The endpoint of bureaucratic inertia is a point where the organisation expands separately from its core growth areas. For example, a law firm may open new offices in existing areas for the purpose of ‘growth’ without considering whether there’s demand for their core services in that area.

Have a great HR day:)

Shared by - Maneesh MS, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd.

HR word of the day - Five Factor Model (FFM)

The Five Factor Model (FFM) is a theory based upon the Big Five personality traits, identified as: openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Each trait can be broken down into sub-traits, allowing minor variations in personalities to be standardised and tracked.

According to modern research, both heritability and environmental factors contribute to an individual’s scoring on the Big Five personality traits. Under the Five Factor Model, the Big Five personality traits are used in a range of disciplines as a framework, such as personality disorders, academic achievement, learning styles, social success and achievement in the workplace.

The FFM has been subjected to considerable research and has attracted praise and criticism. Some psychologists feel it is lacking in scope by failing to cover additional personality traits such as honesty, erotic capital and sense of humour. Another criticism is that it’s not based on underlying theory and is built from empirical evidence of observed traits.

Other models of personality include the HEXACO model of personality structure and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

Have a great HR Day:)

Shared by - Maneesh MS, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd.

HR word of the day - Up or Out Policy

Up or out is a policy in some organisations where employees have a set period of time in which to achieve a certain rank or level of progression within the business. If they don’t do so, they are required by contract to leave.

Up or out policies are particularly common in law firms, where associates or trainees have a specific amount of time to achieve the rank of partner. This principle forms part of the Cravath System, developed by law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moorein the 1800s, which outlines strategic management guidelines for law firms.

In the United States, professors on tenure tracks must progress from assistant professors to associate professors within four to eight years. Beyond this, there are no further no requirements as they have now achieved tenured status.

Have a great HR Day:)

Shared by - Maneesh MS, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai  Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd

HR word of the day - Encore Career

Encore careers are jobs taken between retirement and old age that balance remuneration, personal meaning and community and societal impact. The term ‘encore career’ was popularized by Marc Freedman is his book Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life.

Commonly-cited examples of people who have transitioned to encore careers include Bill Gates, who transitioned from Microsoft to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Al Gore, who moved from politics to climate change and environmentalism.

Encore careers are often found in public interest fields, such as education and health, social services, not-for-profits and charities. Related terms are social careers and ethical careers, which place a heavy emphasis on the ‘giving back’ aspect of a career.

Have a great HR Day :)

Shared by - Maneesh MS, +Maneesh Muralidharanpillai Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd.

HR word of the day - Lockstep Compensation

The lockstep model of compensation is a seniority-based system of remuneration where employees are paid according to their rank. No other factors, such as merit, performance background or university, affect remuneration.

The lockstep model has been traditionally favoured by law firms and has remained popular for so long due to its ease of administration and because the organisation does not need to dedicate time and resources in working out yearly remuneration packages for all employees. Proponents also say that it fosters feelings of unity and collaboration in law firms because there is no remuneration disparity to undermine these feelings.

However, the lockstep model is falling out of favour due to increased competition and the difficulties in attracting top talent with such a rigid compensation structure. Top performers can be more easily poached if their salaries are not perceived as commensurate with their performance.

Law firms are increasingly adopting either a hybrid model that combines lockstep with merit-based remuneration – such as introducing performance-based bonuses – or a pure merit-based system.

Disadvantages of lockstep systems include a lack of incentive as employees do not need to meet targets or remain as productive as colleagues in order to be paid well. The established structure of bonuses and annual increases also means that employees do not need to analyse their own activities to improve performance.

Have a great HR Day 

Shared by - Maneesh MS, Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd.

HR Word of the day - Abilene Paradox

The Abilene Paradox refers to a situation when a group makes a collective decision that is counter to the thoughts and feelings of its individual members. The Abilene Paradox occurs because individuals do not want to ‘rock the boat’ or ‘be a killjoy,’ even though their perceptions of the other members’ feelings are incorrect.

The Abilene Paradox was introduced by management thinker Jerry B. Harvey, Professor Emeritus of Management at The George Washington University, in an article on the subject. It occurs because human beings have a natural aversion to going against the feelings of a group - they want to conform socially. According to Harvey, the paradox may be driven because individuals believe they will experience negative attitudes or feelings if they ‘speak up’ on a topic. Of course, if no-one speaks up, the group will make a decision that is counter to the wishes and feelings of the group.

The paradox is similar to groupthink but generally when the Abilene Paradox occurs, the individual members of the group feel the overall decision is a poor one, but this isn’t always the case with groupthink. Efficient groups must work to overcome both groupthink and the Abilene Paradox as part of optimising group dynamics.

Have a great HR Day!

Shared by - Maneesh MS, Sr. Executive HR, Apppllo Tyres Ltd.

HR word of the day - Workplace Phobia

Workplace phobia refers to an acute anxiety response to thoughts of the workplace or experiences in the workplace.

Causes of workplace phobia are broad although the etiology is not well understood. Previous negative experiences of the workplace, such as bullying or intimidation, can cause individuals to develop workplace phobia, as can mental disorders which the social and constant nature of the workplace may make it difficult for individuals to hide.

Workplace phobia has received attention for several reasons; it’s a complex environment of stimuli, which makes the phobia more mysterious and perhaps pervasive than that of more simple stimuli such as flying or snakes. Avoiding the workplace is also much more destructive to personal development than avoiding snakes.

Treatment for workplace phobia is challenging because one of the most successful treatments for phobias – slow habituation which causes desensitisation – is difficult because the workplace can’t be recreated artificially and so the individual must undergo treatment in a public arena. Because of this, a combination of therapies, such as drugs and a development of coping strategies, is commonly used.

Some commentators argue that workplace phobia is not a separate disorder but an extension of a primary mental disorder such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or social anxiety disorder. Even if workplace phobia is a symptom of a primary disorder, there’s a case to treat it in its own right due to its significant effects on an individual’s professional and personal lives.

Have a great HR day.

Shared by - Maneesh MS, Sr. Executive HR, Appollo Tyres Ltd.